Hinduism Greek Marlow

7/28/2019 Hinduism Greek Marlow

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A. N. MARLOW

HinduismndBuddhisminGreekhilosopkhyTHE PARALLELSetweenGreek nd Indian iterature, y-thology,ndphilosophyavebeen tressedften ince hedays fSirWilliamJones,whodrew n elaborate nd forced omparison etween heHinduphilosophicalystemsndtheirupposed ounterpartsn theGreek chools,1and thedaysof Colebrooke, ho also had some concise emarks o makeonthe ubject.2Recent cholars ave restatedomeofthe vidence, otablyS. Radhakrishnan,3nd attentions being ncreasinglyirectedo thechan-nelsbywhich ndian nfluenceeachedGreece. Thepurposef thispaper smerelyocite few f theparallels etween he wo iteratures,ndparticu-larly etween induism nd muchofthethoughtfPlato, o as to indicatetheir ffinityftypemore han theirdentityforigin.Radhakrishnan,shissubject emands,s naturallymore oncerned ith hereligiousspectsofthequestion.There eems o havebeenan early nd common tock fprimitiveeliefsabouttheheavenly odies nd the face ofNaturegenerally. orexample,intheAitareyarahmanaheres a passagedescribinghenocturnalourneyoftheSun backto its tartingoint,'whichmay ontainnprimitiveormthe egendwhichppearsnStesichorus5nd MimnermusftheSun's ravel-ingoverthe ocean n a cup. Mimnermusays: "For a delightfulollowcouchbearshimover hewave, couchforged ythe handofHephaistus,madeofprecious old,winged,whichbears himsleeping ver thewater's

surface,urryingimbackfrom heland of theHesperideso the and oftheEthiopians."'Here Athenaeusays hatby"couch"Mimnermus eantcup.-

'Sir WilliamJones,Works,VoL I (London: forJohnStockdale, 807), pp. 360-361. Jones om-paresGautamawithAristotle, anidawithThales,JaiminiwithSocrates, yisawithPlato,KapilawithPythagoras,ndPatafijaliwithZeno.'H. T. Colebrook,Miscellaneousssays,VoL I (London: Williams nd Norgate, 837), pp. 436 ff.' EasternReligionsnd Western hought Oxford: Clarendon ress, 939), especially haps.V-VII.'IIL 44.sSee C. M. Bowra,GreekLyricPoetry Oxford: ClarendonPress, 936), pp. 86-88.'Fr. 10 Diehl,Antbologia yricaGraeca (3d ed.; Leipzig: 1949). See alsoStesichorusr. 6 Diehl.'II. 470a. 35


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36 A.N. MARLowThe Hindu pantheon,f course, howsgreat ffinitiesiththatof the

earlyGreeks, inceboth rederived rom commonource,nd theVedascontainheearliestxpressionfthatworshipf theheavenly odieswhichpersists ightdownto thetimeof theStoics."The legendof Earth ndHeaven as theparents fthegods,the earliestGreekform f which s inHesiod,9s common ntheRg Veda. In Rg VedaX.190 andX.168 wateris theprimaryrinciple, hichdevelopsnto heworld hroughime, aiz-vatsarayear),kama (desire),purusa intelligence),ndtapas warmth);and in X.190 water s picturedr assumed s thefirst rinciple. imilarconfusedttemptsopicturehe firstrinciplerefound n Iliad XIV.201and 246, whereOceanus s the"origin f thegods"and the"origin fallthegods";and ntheOrphic oems,where ights themost ncient oddess,a birdwithblackwings.'0Hesiod nclinesmore o theOrphicview," butthere s a similar onfusionn theGreek ndVedicaccounts f thebegin-nings,ndtheconfusionies betweenhe ameclaimantso the title f firstgod.Manyof thegods rethe ame: Dyaus sZeus,Varunabecomes uranos,Usasbecomes os, ndAgni stheprimitiveodoffire, hodoes not mergeinGreekbut hasa shadowy ersonifications the Latin gnis. The Asvins,"horsemen,"nseparablewins, rightordsof brilliance nd lustre, ro-tectorsfmankind, ho are referredo inmanyhymns,re theDioscuri,whoseprincipalaterfunction as thatof protectingods,theoisoteres,mighty elpers fman,delightersn steeds, rinces, nakesorAnaktes.'2TheHinduconceptionfRta,the awofNature, r"course fthings," asthesamescopeas theGreekdike,'3 nd a saying f Heraclitus,The sunshallnottransgresstsbounds,""'might avebeenwritten ithRZgVeda1.24.8and I.160.1 in mind.The Hindushave their rometheusnMatarisvan,'" ho stole fire romthe ky nd entrustedttothekeeping ftheBhrigus, warlike lan. Theirgod,Soma,uponwhomWhittier rote poem("The Brewing fSoma"),part fwhichhasbecome popularhymn"Dear Lordand Father fman-

'Cf. Chrysippus,r. 1076 (Arnim): "He thinks hesun and moon nd other tars o be gods."STheogony126 ff.f'Otto Kern,Orphicorumragmenta,470 (Berlin: Weidmann,922).STheogony116 ff.' Plutarch,Theseus33; StraboV. 232; Aelian,V.H. I. 30; IV. 5; Aristophanes,ysistrata 301;Pausanias. 31. 1, VIII. 21 fin.LIRadhakrishnan, IndianPhilosophy, ol. I (London: GeorgeAllen and Unwin, Ltd., 1923), pp.78-80; F. .. Earp,TheWayof theGreeks London: OxfordUniversityress,1930), passim.1'B94 Diels-Kranz,Die Fragmente er VorsokratikerBerlin: Weidmannsche erlagbuchhandlung,1951).Rg Veda I. 60.


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HINDUISMANDBUDDHISMIN GREEKPHILOSOPHY 37kind, orgive urfoolish ays.."), hasthe ame haracteristicss Dionysus.In bothGreek nd Hindupoetry ivers re constantlyersonifieds gods,andtheform f sacrificerescribedn theRg Veda is very imilar o thesimple itual fHomer-prayer, prinklingfnrain, urnt ffering,astingofflesh,nddedicationothegods. "Theseagreements,"rites adhakrish-nan, indicate hat hetwopeoplesmusthavebeen ncontacttsome arlyperiod, ut neither ossessednyrecollectionf those imes nd theymetas strangers ithin hePersian mpire."'In dealingwithpre-Socratichought, e constantlyind urselvesn anatmosphere ore akin to that f the Orient hanto that f theWest. Asthe ateProfessor . H. Smithpointed ut," theapeiron fAnaximanderis almost xactly he Hindunirvikalpa,he nameless nd formless,alledAditi, heunlimited,n theRg Veda. Moreover,hisAditi,which s nirvi-kalpa, s ordered ythe mmanentta ordharma,"sust s inAnaximanderan mmanentike nsureshat ll thingshall ventuallyeturno the peironwhence hey ame: "Fromwhich ll things aketheir ise, ndby necessitythey re destroyedntothese;forall things enderustatonemento oneanother or heirnjustice ccordingo thedueorderingftime."''In themoremaginativeiew ftheUpanisads, efind hat personal od,PrajJpati"lordofcreatures"),raws orth rom imselfll existinghings,or, nanother assage,2eivides imselfntomale andfemale ndproducesall creaturesy his elf-division.nemightdducehere he imilar hinesedoctrinef yangand yin, heprinciples f expansion nd contractionywhich heworld s formedrom haos. Empedocleseems obe expressinga similardea,or,rather,ombiningt with heequally ncient octrinefprimordialtrife,lso found n theUpanisads:"I will tellyoua twofold ruth: t one time t increasedo as to be oneout ofmany ndat anothertparted o as toproducemany rom ne. Fortwofolds the creation fmortalsnd twofoldheir ecline.The unionofall things ausesthe birthnd destructionf theone,and theother s nur-tured nd flies sunder s the elements rowapart. And theseelementsnever ease to be continuallyxchanged, oming ogethert timesunderthe nfluencef ovesoas tobecome ne, ndbeing eparatedtother imesthroughheforce fstrife."2'Heraclitus harestwo fundamentaloctrines iththeearly chools ofBuddhism-that ire s theprimarylementnd that ll thingsremomen-

"Indian Philosophy, oL I, p. 118. " Religion, ept.1950,p. 81.I Rg Veda IV.23.9. "Diels, B 1.2*BrbaddranyakaUpanisad I. ii. 4; I. iv. 3-4. nDiels,B 17.


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38 A.N. MARLOWtaryndpass away. It seems lmost oogreat coincidenceo imaginehattwo suchstrikingnd radicaldoctrineshouldhave arisen ndependentlyintwoplaces tabout he ame time.Here the onfusionf ndian hronol-ogyand theobscurityurroundinghe ifeofHeraclitusregreat bstacles,but t squite ertainhat hefloruitf theBuddhawas in the atter art fthe ixth entury,ndthat eadoptedmanydeas romarlierchools.Tracesofthebeliefn fire s theprimordiallement ccur searly s theRg Veda,22and aretreatedhilosophicallyntheUpanisads. heBuddha, ikeHeracli-tus, hooses ire s themostmutable fthe lementso representismeta-physical rinciplefbecoming,ndhasa longdiscoursen whichhe com-parestheexistence f beingsto the candle flame hat s renewed veryinstant.'HereonethinksfEmpedocles,r.B62 (Diels) : "Hear nowhowfirewhen eparatedentupthenight-producedhoots f menandlamentingwomen,"ndofHeraclirus,r.B30 (Diels): "No godnorman ever reatedthisworldwhich s the ame for ll,but t wasand sandeverwillbe ever-lasting ire."Again,theBuddhauses n the samediscourse2"heanalogyof the riverwhich s never he samefor womomentsutis sustainedyever-new aters, sentimentchoednHeraclitus,r.B91 (Diels): "Everdifferents the water or hosewhostep nto hesamerivers,"ndbythefamous aying uotedbyAristotle,It is notpossible o step nto hesameriver wice."25 robably r. B6 (Diels) referso the same belief n themomentarinessfexistence,The sun .. is newevery ay."FortheBuddha, hefundamentalrinciplefexistence as the mmutabledharma law) whichdecreed hat verymallestction nd wordearneditsreward, otan ouncemoreor less. Thisprinciplebviously atesbackto theUpanisads rearlier, uttheBuddhawas the first o enthronetastheruling owern theuniverse,universeompletelyree romhe yrannyofgods. Heraclitusmaybe thinkingf dharman Fr. B2 (Diels): "Sowemustfollow hecommon rinciple,or hat s shared yall," forobviouslythis ommon rinciple ust ea universalaw. We meet tagain n Fr.B41(Diels): "Forwisdom onsistsn one thing, o know the principle ywhich ll things re steered hroughll things" or "on all occasions").Theseopinions fHeraclitusreexpressednshort, ithy,nddifficultay-ingswhich emind sverymuchofsatras.The epistemologyfEmpedoclesresentseveral eatures hich esemblethoseto be foundn theUpanisads r in the variousHindusystems. orinstance,ccordingotheSirikhya octrine,heworld s theobject fper-

SSee e.g., i67. " Mahavagg . 121."*Ibid., i. 123. "Dies, B91.


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HINDUISM NDBUDDHISMN GREEKPHILOSOPHY 39ceptionhas thefive anmatrasroughly,subtle lements"), nd each ofthese sperceivedysomethingorrespondingo it in ourselves,26hich sEmpedocles'wndoctrine,e being n fact he first reek o propoundthoroughheoryfsenseperception: For byearthwe perceive arth, ywaterwater, yairdivine ir andbyfire estructiveire."Anyonewho studies heHindu theories fperceptionnd cognitionssetforthn theNyiya,VaiSesika,nd Siixkhya ystemsnd then urns othefragmentsfEmpedoclesannot ut be struckythe imilarityftheirtheories.Empedocless keenly onscious f a sortof"fall ofman"and affectsorememberastbirthssplant ndanimal, oy ndgirl.28 hewaybywhichtheoriginal lissmaybe gained,fromwhichhe is nowan exile,29s byasceticism,heHindu method.He advisesmeditation,orbythismeans lltruthhallbe revealednd evensupernormalowers ttained.30n theend,thesoul of therighteousscetic egains tsdivinity--aounterpartf theHindubelief n reincarnationnd mnoksa.ee, in particular,mpedocles,B.146 (Diels): "Atthe endthey ecameseers nd bards nd chiefs ndphysiciansmongmortalmen, ndfinallyhey lossom orthsgodshighestinhonor."Theremay venbean echoofthemonismftheUpanisadsnEmpedocles,which,ikemany ther eaturesfhisphilosophy,eems o havebeenmedi-atedthrough rphism. n theAaznd;akyapanisad .7we find listofthequalities ftheOne,whichhas resemblanceso Fr.B17 (Diels) ofEmpe-docles s quoted bove.A distinctraditionfmysticismuns hrough rphism, ythagoras,ndPlatowhich s as unlike nythingn Greekthoughts it is liketheHindumysticismftheUpanisads.There s a distinctreakwith ationalistuman-ismandwith hehealthynreflectingxtraversionfthe seventh nd sixth

centuries.nstead fHomer's Themselves e madea prey odogs,"3wehave completehiftingfemphasisrom hephysicalothe piritual,romthetemporal o theeternal.Reality s not nowwhat s perceived ythesensesbutwhat iesbeyond hem.The soul lives an independentife andis in tself heonly rue eality.Orphismnd Hinduism avemuchncommon.Just s theBrahminseptthebelief f theshamans r medicinemenof the Vedas thatman couldbecome god,but ttemptedo achieve hisunionnotbydrinkinghe ntoxi-SA doctrine asedon PrainaUpanisuad,V.8. 2TDiels,109.2 Diels, B117. SIbid., B119.'Mlbid.,B110, B111. IL.L4.


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40 A.N. MARLOWcating omabutbyabstinencend ascetic ractices,o Orpheus urifiedheold Dionysiacreligion nd substitutedsceticism ordrunkenness.32heaimofOrphismeemsto be the liberationf thesoul from he chains fthebody,nd this stobeachieved y sceticism,utmanmust assthroughmany ivesbefore e achieves inal reedom. his is very ar, ndeed, romgenuineGreekreligion fanyperiod,33ut lmost xactlyhepredominantviewof theUpanisads.Even themetaphorsn whichthisconceptionsclothed re thestockHinduand Buddhistmetaphors--theheelof life ntheUpanisads ppears s the"sorrowfulearywheel"ofOrpheus.34t hasbeen emarkedhat he imofOrphism,he ealizationymanofhis dentitywithGod,wouldhave appeared lasphemousnsolence o a sixth-centuryAthenian.In thedetails fOrphic bstinence eagaincomeacross amiliarractice.The avoidance fflesh nd fishs due tothedoctrine ftransmigration,ndin theOrphic bstinencerom nimalsacrificehere eemto be traces ftheprimitiveaboowhich, ccordingo the latest vidence,35averise tothecaste ystemnd tothedoctrine fahimisa-non-injuryrreverenceorlife). Indeed, t is a strikingeature fOrphismhat t inculcatesriendli-nessto all creaturesnd not man alone. Again,theOrphic osmogonysdifferentrom hat fHomer ndHesiod. Instead fhavingOceanas theorigin fall things, e havea world-egg,n idea commonn theVedas;36we also havethe soul's journeyfter eath oward inalpurification.heevidence ere svery entative,ince hronologyften ails s a guide, utonceagaintheparallels rehighly uggestive.In Pythagoras,oo, hereremany arallels oHinduism,utthe videncehasbeendifferentlynterpretedydifferentcholars.All I can attemptsa brief ecapitulationf theevidence.A fundamentaloctrinewas that"we are strangersn thisworld nd thebody s the tombof thesoul,andyet hatwe arenotto escapebyself-murder;orwe are thechattelsfGodwho s ourherdsman,ndwithout is commandwe haveno right omakeour escape.""' The belief n transmigrations mistakenlyttributedyHerodotus o theEgyptians,nd was apparentlyaken verby PythagorasfromnOrientalource; longwith his ame heprohibitionfthe laughter

SAlbert chweitzer,ndian Thought nd its Development, rs. CharlesE. B. Russell, rans. Lon-don: Hodder and Stoughton, 936), pp. 21-23. J. E. Harrison, rolegomenao the Studyof GreekReligion Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityress, 903), p. 477."See on thisW. KLC. Guthrie, rpheus nd GreekReligion London: Methuen, 935), pp. 236-237." Kern,op. cit.,Fr. 36 (c) line6.wSSee .H. Hutton,Caste n India (Cambridge:Cambridge niversityress, 946), pp. 62-79.*E.g., Rg VedaX. 82. 5-6."J. Burnet, arlyGreekPhilosophy4th ed.,London: A. & C. Black,1930), p. 98.


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HINDUISM AND BUDDHISMIN GREEK PHILOSOPHY 41of animals nd thevegetarianiet. The doctrinefpurificationyasceticpracticesndbytheoria contemplation)eemsfamiliar. ven thesecrecyof thedoctrinend therefusal o committ to writing eminds s oftheverymeaning f the word"Upanisad," "confidentialommunication."And the separation f the disciples nto two grades, he mathematikoi(inner ircle)andtheakousmatikoiouterring f listeners),3 reminds sof the twostagesof instructionivenbytheVedas and theUpanisads,nthe atter f whichwas found he esoteric octrine fbecoming ne withtheSupra-sensuouseing mpartedythe Brahmin eacher o hispupil-nota sentence f this ecret octrinemustbe uttered eforemembersflower astes.

Incidentally,earingnmind hese imilaritiesetween heBrahmin each-ing, rphism,ndPythagoreanism,ne anhardlyesisthe peculationhatintheUpanisadsnd n thedoctrinesndpracticesased nthemwemayhave clueto theGreekmysteries.id they riginallynculcateimplythe ttainmentf mmortalityy cstasyncontemplation?It is interestingo find ttributedoPythagoras39hedistinctionfthethreeives,he polaustic,hepractical,ndthe heoretic,sed yAristotlein hisEthics,nd the ttemptobase hese hreenthepredominancefoneor other lementnhuman ature. his s thevery oreof Hinduspeculationn the asteystem,hich ases hepleasforts fficacyn thecorrespondencef the hreeastes o the hree onstituentsf thehumansoul, attva thatwhich ives hehighestliss),rajas thatwhichmpelstoactivity),nd tamastheearthly,epresentedythe ppetites).No one anread ny fPlato's ialogues ithouteingtruckyhisfre-quenttressnthe ompletendependencef oul ndbodyndhis quallysignificantnsistencenthefact hat he ouldoesnot ome nto tsownuntil hebodys quiescent. isview frealitys not heordinaryreekview;he hilosopheras upersensualisionndrecallshe eatificision fformernnocence hen twas tself ure nd not nshrinedn the mpsychostaphosliving omb)ofthebody,ikean oystern its hell.40 he soulbecomesrulytselfnlywhen t stroubledynopainorpleasureut sinsofar spossiblelone ndtakes eaveof thebody; orwhen t avoidscontactwith the body t can reach out towardrealitynd attain ruth."1Having ttained his ranscendentalm, tdwells mmortalndchangeless,

' Aristotleeems o treat hese s opposingects, nd it maybe that havereadtoo muchinto theGreek erms.'By Heraclitus; eeBurnet, p.cit.,p. 98 (though erious oubts re thrown yJaegern thisrefer-enceto Pythagoras).0 Phaedrus50. Phaedo65-67,Cratylus00C.1Phaedo 5A.


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42 A.N. MARLOWhaving easedfrom ts ongcycleofwanderings;hus, he truths alwaysinoursoul,which s immortalnd has been rebornmany imes.42So, con-crete xistences a phantom f reality,nd theordinary an is nottrulyawakebut s like somnambulistnpursuitfphantoms.43r,we havethetremendousimile fthecave intheRepublic,whichs a pictorial orm fthe Hindudoctrine fmaryaillusion),though n a dualistic ystemuchas Plato'sthe deaofmiyais replaced ythatofmere ppearance.As in theUpanisads, efind nPlato heAbsolute rinciple, hich ppearsas the dea of theGoodin theRepublic,nd as theDemiurgus,hepersonalGod andcreatorr souloftheuniverse,n theTimaeus,ndthese wo deasexist ideby ide.Again,ntheRepublic efind heprinciplesf ogistikon,thymos,pithymia,eason, pirit,ndappetite,s the basis of thewholestructure,nd these rebodied orthnthe lasses f ociety hich reworkedoutwith rigidityhat annot ailtoremind neof the ndian aste ystem.TheretheBrahmins,r priests, ere upreme,yvirtue,uriouslynough,of their ossessingmagicformulaewhich nabledthem o achieveunionwith heAbsolute,ut riginallyhey ad trictuties o other lasses.Beingenlightened,orewas asked fthemnd heywere xpectedogiveguidancein all branchesf ife.Thencametheksatriyaswarriors),hen hevailyas(businessmen),ndfinallyhefidras artisans). Of course, lato had noroomforoutcastes,uthe keepstheorder f precedencef philosopher,warrior,nd artisan. n theRepublic, s in Hindusociety,asteand classare rigid--itwas difficultorthe Greek nd impossibleortheHindutochangefrom ne to another.In theRepublic heguardians erch neasily n their innacles, encedround ydiverse rohibitions,nditwould xplain gooddeal ofthearti-ficialityfthefourthook fPlatowere ryingo introduce form fcastesystemboutwhich e hadheard rread.ProbablyheHinducaste ystemoriginallyame ntobeingforthereasonswhichPlatoprofesses,amely,stabilityndeugenics.Thus, twasnaturalhatforPlatoas for he Brahminshilosophyhouldbe a meditationndeath, ndthetrial f Socratess,ofcourse,dealfor hecommunicationfthis onviction.t is strongestn thePhaedo, s forex-ample n 64A: "Itseems o be that hey hoare the rue otariesfknowl-edgehaveescaped henotice ftherest, amely,hat hey ractice othingelsebuthow todieormeetdeath."Again,n 66E,pureknowledges heldtobe the xclusive ight fthosewhohavepassedbeyondhis ife: "IfpureS Ibid.,79D. ' Meno80E


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HINDUISM NDBUDDHISMN GREEKPHILOSOPHY 43knowledgesnot ossiblenthe ody,hen neof wo hingsollows,itherknowledgesnot obe obtainedtall,or, f tall,aftereath."Thecomplete anfor latomusteavebehind im hildren'shildrentoperpetuatehe ace, .g., aws773E,where he trivingor ternalifesmostlluminatinglyndnaturallyentionedith heeavingfdescendants.These wo ctionsrecorollaries,s intheUpanisads.heresnosugges-tion f cholasticr monasticelibacyneither. he resemblancefPlato'sideal othat ftheUpanisadssbest roughtutby ontrastingothwiththeBuddhistdeal fthe rhant,he rulynlightenedanwho,ike bsen,sees heworlds a colossalhipwreckndconceivesisfirstutyobethesavingfhisown oul.ImmortalityntheUpanisadseemsohave he ame onnotations atha-nasia nthe ymposium,07D-208A,where hysicalirth nddeathreshowns inseparablyonnected,nd themortal uts n immortalityustin ofarshedwellsnthe piritualorldnd ees he alue f rue nowl-edge. Comparewith his eachingatapatha rahmanaI.ii.2,14 andBhagavad-gitaI.27.The deal very isemanputsbefore imselfs a quiet ranquillityfsoul," phrase hichptlyums pthe deal f theyogi. o,he must eabove he nfatuationhichesultsromhe powerfappearance"liketheHindu jzpa,orm),ort s this ower hicheadsmen stray.45o beovercomeypleasuresignorancen thehighestegree,"'nd elf-controlis truewisdom.o,we findhemetaphorfthe harioteern the haedrus,which erballynd ndetail esemblesmetaphorn theKathaUpanisad(Valli 3), whichmay etranslatedhus: "Know he elf rAtmanstheLordwho its n the hariotalled hebody; uddhiintelligence)s thecharioteer;indhe eins,he ensesrethehorses,nd he bjectsre heroads. he elfs the ontrollernd njoyer.uthe whohasnounderstand-ing,but sweak nmind, is senses unriot ikethevicious orsesfacharioteer.e whohasunderstandingnd s strong-minded,is ensesrewell ontrolledike he oodhorsesfa charioteer."Whole ractsf ndianhoughtregivenotheoriesfknowledge.heirthinkerspeculatendlesslynperceptionndcognition,nwhat appenswhenweseea rope nd maginet tobea snake,ra shell nd maginettobesilver.s itsomethingnthe hell? s our ognitionf terroneous?Howcan onecognitionestroynother ithoutnfiniteegress? reallqualitiesf hingsmaginary?nshort,hatserrorndwhat ruth? nlike" Ibid.,471D. " Protagoras 358C. " Ibid.,357E.


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44 A. N. MARLowjesting ilate, heHindupandits ever epart,venthoughheywait life-time ndarenot nswered.The Theaetetuss fullof such peculations,utshort ndpurgedfhair-splitting,utunmistakablyeminiscent.hedoctrineof relativity,or nstance,o which ll Hinduthinkingended,s there n152D: "I will tellyoua doctrinef nocommonplaceind.Nothing xistssinglyndby tself,ndyoucannot all anythingf tself yanyname;butifyouspeakof itas great, t will seemunder ther onditionso be small;ifheavy lsolight; nd sowith verythinglse, ntheground fthere eingnosingle xistenceither s a thing ras a quality."Again,153E: "Withrespectosight,hatwhichyou allwhite oesnot xist er e as somethingexternal o your yes,noris it in your yes.Do not, herefore,ssign nyplaceto itat all." It is thinkingfthiskindwhich eads, n theonehand,tothe nihilism ftheBuddhistsnd,on theother,othetheoryf relativestates f reality, hich Plato shareswiththe loftiest induthought. ncommonwithndian hilosophers,e sunable ogive ny onsistentccountofhowtheuniversals embodiedn theparticular. hisverydeficiencysoneofthemost trikingesemblancesetween latoand Hinduism.Hinduphilosophys absorbedn the relative eality fvarious tates fconsciousness. irstcomes dreamless leep whichapproachesnearest onirvana,hen leep tself,ndthen hewakingtate, ut heUpanisads efusetoascribemore han relative ealityven owaking onsciousness,orwhoknowswhen tmay esublatednto omethinghich ears he amerelationto tas itdoestodreams?Hence, heirmportantoctrinefvnjya illusion).We find his n theTheaetetus:47Nay, go further,ndsaythat fwe arehalfofourlivesasleep, ndtheotherhalfawake, n eachof theseperiodsourminds re convincedhatwhateverpinions resenthemselveso us,these rereally ndcertainlyrue; o we insist n thetruthf both like."In theCratylushe heoryftheorigin f anguage resents any imilari-ties o thatoftheNyiyasystemflogic. Briefly,lato'stheorys that hetrue tymologyfa wordgoesbackto the ndividualettersfwhich tiscomposed"8andthatwemust ake word syllable y yllable, ay etter yletter" this s Ruskin,who follows lato n Sesame ndLilies). Primarynames reconstructedut ofrudimentaryounds,which, ythe actions ftheorganproducinghem, renaturallyuitable orreproducingrocessesandstates.Dionysius f Halicarnassus ationalizeshisprocess,"' ut,as Plato ex-pounds t, t s strange. he Hindus ikewise educe hemeaning fa word

, 158D. " 424 C-E."De Compositionwerborum,W. R Roberts, d. (London: Macmillan, 910), Chap. 14.


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HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY 45tothesignificancefits etters, hich repronouncedndperish ne aftertheother:c, o, w. Theyhavea term alledsphota,which s roughlyheessentialound fa word s revealedn the soundof ts ettersronouncedone after he other.AlthoughPlato has no word forthis,he certainlyemploys he dea.These oincidencesfthoughtnd anguage, ach mall n tself,mounttoquite formidableotal.As totheproblem fthewaybywhichndianinfluenceeachedGreece havenonewsolution oofferndfallback withothers nPersia s the ntermediary.f course,fter he ime fAlexandertheway ay oopen oOrientalnfluencehatparallels ecomemore requentand lessremarkable.50

' I have drawnmyexamplesargely rom hoseUpanisadswhichHinduscholars gree n consideringtheearliestndwhichmusthavebeen n existence efore hefifth entury,s they requoted n writ-ingsdemonstrablyf thatdate or earlier.

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Hinduism Greek Marlow