Corruption in Ancient India

The recent anti-corruption agitation in India has brought the issue of corruption to the forefront of conscious attention. People may be ruing that today’s India has become a hotbed of corruption.

However, it is not that India in ancient times was free from the influence of the hydra-headed evil of corruption. What distinguishes today’s India from ancient one, when it comes to corruption, is that while ancient people were able to keep corruption at bay, modern India is finding helpless in rooting out corruption from public life.

Corruption thrives on human weakness. It is as old as the human race and has as many facets as human nature itself.

There are references to the judicial corruption in ancient India. To check this, high standards for judges were set. A judge has to be gentle, learned, religious and impartial. He should not show any sign of anger.

It was suggested that till the settlement of the cases, no private meetings between the judges and litigants should be allowed.

The Arthashastra by Kautilya suggests that agents provocateurs should be employed to test the honesty of the judges at periodic intervals. According to Vishnu Smriti, a judge found guilty of corruption should be banished and forfeit all his property.

In the 5th century AD, the Gupta rulers employed a sort of vigilance network to bring corrupt official to book.

Writing in the 3rd century BC, Megasthene remarked that litigation was not a regular part of people’s life in India. However, this cannot be said of modern times. This can be gauged from the sheer number of court cases and the resultant delay in the administration of justice in India. So, it is only to be hoped that taking leaf from the ancient India, those, at the helm of affairs in modern India, will do something to root out this evil.

Vivekananda: Embodiment of Highest Ideas

Narendranath Dutta, better known as Swami Vivekananda, was a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886), a poor priest in a temple at Dakhinesvar in Kolkata. Ramakrishna believed in the truth of all religions. A graduate of the Calcutta University, Vivekananda (1863-1902) carried his master’s message throughout India.

Vivekananda was a Vedantist. In 1983 he went to the US and attended the famous “Parliament of Religions” at Chicago. His speech at that august assembly earned him fame and followers throughout the world. New York Herald wrote, “after hearing him we feel how foolish it is to send missionaries to this learned nation”

Sir Valentine Chirol characterizes Vivekananda as “the first Hindu whose personality won demonstrative recognition abroad for India’s ancient civilization and of her new-born claim to nationhood.”

  

Harappa's Contact with Mesopotamia

In Harappan civilization, trading activities were in a state of flourish.  That the Harappan traders had contact with Mesopotamia can be gauged from the fact that a number of Harappan seals and objects have been found in Sumer. According to experts, the land of Melukha, which finds mention in Sumerian documents, is, in fact, the land of Harappan civilization.

Lothal, Surkotda and Balakot in Indus civilization were some of the important coastal towns from where the Harappan products might have found their way to Mesopotamia.

From Mesopotamia precious metals and raw materials were exported to Indus civilization. If you take discovery of the Indus seals in Mesopotamian civilization, we can safely come to the conclusion that traders from India actually resided in Mesopotamia. It seems that cotton was the main article of export to Mesopotamia.

Kabir: The Mystic Poet and Great Humanist

Kabir (1440-1510) was a medieval saint who was more modern than our moderns. He was the most radical disciple of Ramanand, the first great Bhakti saint of North India.  A product of Bhakti cult of eclecticism Kabir preached his messages in the 15th century.

Kabir was a great humanist. At the root of his humanism which we may call a form of radicalism can be seen in his love of God. He had the courage to repudiate all our scriptures as worthless.

Nothing can be said with certainty about Kabir’s birth. He grew up in a family of Muslim weavers.

A believer in simplicity, Kabir disparaged ritualism and priest-craft. He disparaged even Sanskrit, the language in which the externals of religion were described.

He writes, “O Kabir, Sanskrit is water of the well, the vernacular is a flowing stream.

Kabir discarded idol-worship, fasting, alms-giving and pilgrimage. He spoke against asceticism which according to him means nothing if it is not accompanied by bhajan (devotional worship). Even yog was to him a form of ritual. For Kabir devotion was the only way to God. Opposing the institution of Sati, which was so popular during Kabir’s times, he disapproved the veiling of women.

There is some element of Sufi influence on Kabir. This is natural because the foundation of his thought is Vednata.

All these things raised Kabir above all notions of community and sect. He contemplated a united India of Hindus and Muslims.

While leading a religious life, Kabir was married to a woman named Loi. His son was named Kamal who was also a great thinker.