IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST BENEFICIENT THE MOST MERCIFUL

1. IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST BENEFICIENT THE MOST MERCIFUL Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

2. Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

3. Under the able supervision of • Professor Dr. Amir Hossein Zekrgoo • (प्रोफेसर अमीर हुसैनगुरु शीश) • Traditionalist Schools of Thought: A Thematic Reading Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

4. “Ananda Coomaraswamy (आनंद कुमारस्वामी)” What is Civilization? Coomaraswamy, Tradition and the Meaning of Civilization.

5. Class Schedule and Timeline Timeline • 10:30 AM – 12:15 PM: Presentation • 12:15 PM – 01:15 PM: Lunch • 1:30 PM – 02:15 PM: Discussion Plan • Part I: Civilization: Genealogy of an Idea • Part II: Critique of Modern Civilization • Part III: “Never the twain shall meet?” Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

6. Influential Personalities on Coomarswamy (आनंद) Albert Schweitzer (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) René Guénon or ’Abd al-WâhidYahyâ (November 15, 1886 – January 7, 1951) Rabindranath Tagore ( রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর) (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941). Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

7. PART I CIVILIZATION PART II CRITIQUE OF MODERNITY PART III NEVER SHALL WE TWAIN Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

8. Part I: Civilization: Genealogy of an Idea. • The concept of Purusha (नागरिक): • In Hinduism, Purushaपुरुष "man, Cosmic man", in Sutra literature also called puṃs "man") is the "self" which pervades the universe. The Vedic divinities are considered to be the human mind's interpretation of the many facets of Purusha. According to the Rigvedic Purusha sukta, Purusha was dismembered by the Devas -- his mind is the Moon, his eyes are the Sun, and his breath is the wind. Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

9. Part I: Civilization: Genealogy of an Idea. • The concept of Epigoni: • In Greek mythology, Epigoni (Greek: Ἐπίγονοι, meaning "offspring") are the sons of the Argive heroes who had fought and been killed in the first Theban war, the subject of the Greek Thebaid, in which Polynices and six allies (the Seven Against Thebes) attacked Thebes because Polynices' brother, Eteocles, refused to give up the throne as promised. The second Theban war, also called the war of the Epigoni, occurred ten years later, when the Epigoni, wishing to avenge the death of their fathers, attacked Thebes. Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

10. Part I: Civilization: Genealogy of an Idea. • The Animal Man जानवर आदमी, انسان حیوانی,الرجل الحيوان • The Real Man (आदमी): Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

11. Part I: Civilization: Genealogy of an Idea. • The Republic (c. 380 BCE), by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue about the order and character of the City-State. The dialogues, among Socrates and various Athenians and foreigners, discuss the meaning of justice, and examine whether or not the just man is happier than the unjust man, by proposing a society ruled by philosopher-kings and the guardians; hence the The Republic's original Ancient Greek title: Πολιτεία | Politeía (City-State Governance). Moreover, in the dialogues, the Classical Greek philosopher Plato also discusses the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul, and the roles of the philosopher and of poetry in society. The Republic, Plato’s best-known work, proved one of the most intellectually and historically influential works of philosophy and political theory Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

12. Part I: Civilization: Genealogy of an Idea. • Upanishad (उपनिषद) can be translated from the sanskrit as upa-ni-shad, coming from the verb sad - to sit with, and upa - at the feet of a master. They describe to us the hidden path of life - from creation, through sustenance and into dissolution. There are at least 108 Upanishads, each of different length. If collected in one volume, they would be approximately the combined size of the Judaic and Christian Testaments. Composed over a span of more than 1500 years, the oldest is dated between 800 and 400 b.c.e., the youngest from the Middle Ages. • . Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

13. Part I: Civilization: Genealogy of an Idea. • The Meaning of’ Self Government’?: • वहाँ कुछ भी नहीं है कि उसके द्वारा कवर नहीं है कि (सर्वोच्च व्यक्ति) कुछ भी नहीं है, उसके द्वारा कि नहीं है.(Upanishad: Chapter 2:Section 5: Verse 18). • There is nothing that is not covered by him that is (the supreme person), nothing that is not pervaded by him. • (George Feuerstein: The One and the Many) Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

14. Part I: Civilization: Genealogy of an Idea. • The concept of “the City of God”: "भगवान के शहर": • Plato: The ‘acropolis’ or the city within a man; the man literally at the heart of the city. • Brahampura: The city with the Sky and the Earth, Fire, and the gale, Sun and Moon. • The true City of God: That, he whose game and sport, dalliance and beatitude are in and with the self atman (स्व). Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

15. PART 1: CIVILIZATION: GENEALOGY OF AN IDEA Characteristics of Traditional Civilization 1. Religion 2. City 3. Work Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

16. Part II: Critique of Modern Civilization • Page 7 Paragraph 3 • आत्मा के किसी हथियार से टुकड़ों में काट कभी नहीं हो सकता है, और न ही वह आग से जला सकते हो, और न ही पानी से सिक्त, और ना ही हवा से सूख गया.शर्मंदगी.(भगवान गीता: द्वितीय: 23) • The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. Immanent Spirit Centre of rays of light from a luminous source. तीव्रता (Samtati Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

17. Part II: Critique of Modern Civilization. • आत्मा के किसी हथियार से टुकड़ों में काट कभी नहीं हो सकता है, और न ही वह आग से जला सकते हो, और न ही पानी से सिक्त, और ना ही हवा से सूख गया.शर्मंदगी.(भगवान गीता: द्वितीय: 23) • The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.(BhagwadGita II:23) Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

18. Part II: Critique of Modern Civilization. • All kinds of weapons, swords, flames, rains, tornadoes, etc., are unable to kill the spirit soul. It appears that there were many kinds of weapons made of earth, water, air, ether, etc., in addition to the modern weapons of fire. Even the nuclear weapons of the modern age are classified as fire weapons, but formerly there were other weapons made of all different types of material elements. Firearms were counteracted by water weapons, which are now unknown to modern science. Nor do modern scientists have knowledge of tornado weapons. Nonetheless, the soul can never be cut into pieces, nor annihilated by any number of weapons, regardless of scientific devices. Nor was it ever possible to cut the individual souls from the original Soul. The Mayavadi, however, cannot describe how the individual soul evolved from ignorance and consequently became covered by illusory energy. Because they are atomic individual souls (sanatana) eternally, they are prone to be covered by the illusory energy, and thus they become separated from the association of the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of the fire, although one in quality with the fire, are prone to be extinguished when out of the fire. In the VarahaPurana, the living entities are described as separated parts and parcels of the Supreme. They are eternally so, according to the Bhagavad-gita also. So, even after being liberated from illusion, the living entity remains a separate identity, as is evident from the teachings of the Lord to Arjuna. Arjuna became liberated by the knowledge received from Krsna, but he never became one with Krsna. Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

19. Part II: Critique of Modern Civilization. • The Idea of the “Constitution”:संविधान • A constitution is a set of rules for government—often codified as a written document—that enumerates and limits the powers and functions of a political entity. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is. In the case of countries and autonomous regions of federal countries the term refers specifically to a constitution defining the fundamental political principles, and establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties of a government. By limiting the government's own reach, most constitutions guarantee certain rights to the people. The term constitution can be applied to any overall system of law that defines the functioning of a government, including several uncodified historical constitutions that existed before the development of modern codified constitutions. • Our constitution is a habitation that the spirit makes for itself ‘just as a Gold-smith draws’ out for himself (tanute) from the gold another shape”. • हमारे संविधान में एक बस्ती है कि भावना सिर्फ एक गोल्ड के रूप में ही 'के लिए बनाता है खुद (सोने की एक और आकार से tanute) "के लिए बाहर स्मिथ ड्रॉ' है. • (Brhadaranyaka Up: IV.4.4) Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

20. Part II: Critique of Modern Civilization. • Coomaraswamy’s Fundamental’s: • “…the thread of his luminous pneumatic rays, on which the ‘tissue of the Universe is woven”. • “…not a sparrow falls to the ground or ever has or ever will without his present knowledge. He is in fact, the only seer, thinker, etc., in us.” Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

21. Part III: “Never the twain shall meet?” • Confusion of functions. • Competing interests. • Organism not an aggregate’. • Imbalance of power. • Focused functions. • Free of impurities. • Truly civilized. • Agreement of rule. Mind The Self Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

22. Important Questions • In what ways are "city", politics" and “Purusha" critical to an understanding of "civilization"? • Is modern civilization really an "Epigone"? If so, how? • What does Coomaraswamy mean, when he speaks of the 'City of God'? Can this ideal be realized in the contemporary world? Comment upon the relevance of the relationship between the 'City of God' and the' Kingdom of God'? • What is the difference between vocation and occupation? How is modern civilization deficient in confounding the two, as Coomarswamy understands it? • Can tradition embrace modernity? Are Traditionalist criticism's of modern civilization still valid in the light of Post modernism? • Elaborate on the conception of City as the macrocosmic representation of Purusha? • What aspects of Tradition are still alive which we can make use of to cultivate ethical values in the modernist era? Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi

23. Appreciation Developed by Irfan Bin Sarwar Ali Thanvi