This book brings together various stories and myths from the Hindu and Buddhist religions, with the aim of serving as an introduction to their respective cultures.
Thus, this book can be classified within the didactic genre in the form of a literary essay and subclassified within categories such as mythology and philosophy of religion.
This is a single edition distributed by Mateos Ediciones (also called M.E. Editores and Edimat Libros) in 1995, which is a Spanish publishing house founded in 1991 aimed at creating collections which compile universal classics of various genres, encyclopaedias, cookbooks and children’s books. This book is available in English.
- Publication date: 1913
- Country: United Kingdom
- Pages: 359
- Reading date: July 2022
- Rating: 2/5
This book is jointly authored by Sister Nivedita, born Margaret Elizabeth Noble (County Tyrone, United Kingdom, 1867-Darjeeling, India, 1911) and Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1877-Needham, United States, 1947). On the one hand, Sister Nivedita was an Irish woman disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She was a social activist in India, founded a girls’ school in northern Calcutta and cared for poor patients during a plague epidemic in that region in 1899. On the other hand, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy was an Anglo-Indian specialist in oriental art. He studied mineralogy and geology in London in his youth. He discovered a previously unknown mineral called thorianite in Sri Lanka. Later, he turned to the study of symbolism, mythology, metaphysics and comparative religion. He is considered a representative of the perennial philosophy.
Other well-known books by Sister Nivedita are:
- Kali the Mother (1900)
- The Web of Indian Life (1904)
From among the extensive work of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy’s best known book is:
- Figures of Speech or Figures of Thought?: The Traditional View of Art (1938)
Within the list of other books published by the authors, those for which there is already a post in this blog are highlighted.
Click on it to read it!
Ever since I was a child, I have been interested in mythology and legends. All around me, I heard about Greco-Roman or Nordic mythology, and also a bit of Celtic mythology. However, I once heard the story of Buddha in high school and from then on I started to read about Indian culture, the cradle of Hinduism and Buddhism.
The stories of Hindu mythology began to fascinate me, because of their symbolism and universal character. Sometimes I listened to mantras, and some of them caressed something inside me that gave me peace. Even so, Buddhism was the one I delved into the most, and I have yet to delve deeper into Hinduism. This reading I am reviewing today has been an introduction to this religion and mythology.
I found the book in a Re-Read bookshop, a low-cost chain. I instantly thought that it could be a good start in these stories as they are presented in a summarised form and adapted to a more contemporary language, easier to understand than if I were to read these stories in a more pure form.
“What we miss through all the poetry of this gradual Aryanizing is the element of awe- for this, though present, is perpetually growing less. The Aryan mind is essentially an organizing mind, always increasingly scientific, increasingly rational in its outlook upon things. The colour and caprice that make early mythologies so rich in stimulus for the imagination are almost always the contribution of older and more childlike races. To humanity, in its first morning-hours, there seemed to be in the animal something of the divine. Its inarticulateness, not then so far removed from man’s own speech, constituted an oracle. Its hidden ways of life and sudden flashings forth upon the path were supernatural. The dim intelligence that looked out from between its eyes seemed like a large benevolence, not to be compassed or fathomed by mortal thought. And who could tell what was the store of wisdom garnered behind the little old face of the grey ape out of the forest, or hoarded by the coiled snake in her hole beside the tree?»
Sister Nivedita
As I have already mentioned, this book is a compilation of Hindu and Buddhist myths and legends in a summarised and briefly introduced form. Being written by two authors, there are parts which were written by Sister Nivedita and parts by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Who wrote which part is specified in the preface at the beginning of the book.
After the preface, there is a chapter that discusses and describes the mythology of the Indo-Aryan races, as well as their evolution over time. This first chapter serves as a general introduction to the rest, which will be the myths and legends themselves, abridged, briefly put in context and analysed:
- Chapter 2: The Ramayana. It is a story with similarities to the Iliad, as it deals with the rescue of a kidnapped bride.
- Chapter 3: The Mahabharata told in fifteen episodes. It is the Indian national saga, a military epic poem about the divine incarnation Krishna and a conflict between two families of cousins as the main theme. It includes the Bhagavad Gita, an interlude considered the national gospel.
- Chapter 4: Krishna. In this chapter notes on the youth of the divine incarnation Krishna are condensed from various sources. The sources are the Vishnu Purana, the Bhagavata Purana and the Prem Sagara.
- Chapter 5: Buddha. This section deals with the mythical story of Siddhartha Gautama, Buddha. It is the only chapter referring to the Buddhist religion.
- Chapter 6: Shiva. Here are condensed stories of the god Shiva.
- Chapter 7: Other stories from the Puranas, epic poems and Vedas. This chapter includes other stories from ancient sources and closer to the Vedic religion (precedent of Hinduism).
The book ends with a conclusion which clarifies concepts of Hindu religion and Indian society.
«In the night of Brahma, when all beings and all worlds are resolved together in one equal and inseparable stillness, I beheld the great Narayana, soul of the universe, thousand-eyed, omniscient, Being and non-Being alike, reclining on the formless waters, supported by the thousand-headed serpent Infinite; and I, deluded by his glamour, touched the eternal being with my hand and asked: «Who art thou? Speak». Then he of the lotus eyes looked upon me with drowsy glance, then rose and smiled, and said: «Welcome, my child, thou shining grandsire». But I took offence thereat and said: «Dost thou, O sinless god, like a teacher to a pupil, call me child, who am the cause of creation and destruction, framer of the myriad worlds, the source and soul of all? Tell me why dost thou thus speak foolish words to me?» Then Vishnu answered: «Knowest thou not that I am Narayana, creator, preserver, and destroyer of the worlds, the eternal male, the undying source and centre of the universe? For thou wert born from my own imperishable body»».
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
The tone of the narrative is solemn, appropriate to the stories told. The preface, the first introductory chapter and the conclusion are welcome, as they clarify concepts, historical contexts and discuss aspects of Hindu mythology. The illustrations are beautiful, by Abanindra Nath Tagore. The rest of the chapters are very variable. The fact that the writing is split between two authors makes it difficult to give a uniform character to the work, as each has his/her own prose, and there are chapters split between one author and the other.
I have read about the work and in many places it appears that there are wrongly translated and adapted parts of these stories. It is possible it is influenced by the fact that the authors were not Indians, even if they happened to be fascinated by that culture. This makes sense as there are times when I seemed to be reading a different book and the prose was somewhat incoherent. Also, Sister Nivedita, one of the authors died while writing the book and two years later the other author, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, finished it. This would not help to bring uniformity to the text despite its joint authorship.
«The universe, he said, is born of Maya, illusion, to be the scene of countless incarnations and of actions both good and evil. As an earthen pot has for its first cause the potter, for material cause the clay, and instrumental cause the potter’s staff and wheel, so the universe has illusion for its material cause, the Shakti of Shiva-that is, Parvati-for its instrumental cause, and Shiva himself for its first cause. Shiva has two bodies, the one with parts and visible, the other without parts, invisible and transcendental. Beyond these again is his own essential form of light and splendour. He is the soul of all, and his dance is the creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe, and the giving of bodies to souls and their release. The dance is ceaseless and eternal».
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
In conclusion, it is not a book I would recommend as an introduction to Hindu and Buddhist myths and legends, as I think there should be better texts, better adapted and translated. Furthermore, it only refers to Buddhism in one chapter of the book, so the whole work is more a reading about Hinduism.
On the other hand, I understand the circumstances I have already explained which may have influenced the errors in translation, adaptation and uniformity of the text. The book, published in the early 20th century, seems to me to be of interest as an example of early approaches and attempts to bring Indian culture to the West. I would recommend it for its historical value. I have also been able to meet such an important figure in perennial philosophy as Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, of whom I am writing down several books which interest me to read in the future, as his work is extensive.
Thus, I found this book a curious read, although at times confusing and dense, not entirely delightful. Even so, I was able to enjoy some parts of it.
«The prevailing philosophy (…) is a form of uncompromising monism called the Vedanta; it maintains that there is but One Reality, the Brahman, of which naught whatever can be predicated. This is the Unshown, the Unknown God; whatever qualities or attributes one might wish to use to express its nature, in a famous Vedantic phrase: «It is not that, it is not that» (neti, neti). To know this reality is to know all, just as to know clay is to know all that is made of clay, the apparent differences consist only in name and form (namarupa). This reality is within ourselves, and we in it. It is, in fact, our only true Self (atman), obscured in us by personality (ahamkara) and attributes (upadhis). The knowledge of this Reality is Release (moksha, nirvana), just as when an earthen pot is broken it is realized that the space within is one with the space without. To attain this release is the highest end of life».
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
Some reflections:
- Do you know anything about the mythology of Hinduism, are you familiar with any of its stories, and are you attracted by this part of the East?
- What do you think of the most primitive religions and what feelings do they give you?
- Do you see Hinduism as a polytheistic or monotheistic religion? How does it usually show itself in appearance?
Type your e-mail address and click on subscribe to be notified of new content!
- When I sing, mountains dance
- Canto yo y la montaña baila
- The Phantom of the Opera
- El fantasma de la Ópera
- Siddhartha
- Siddhartha
- Zen in the Art of Archery
- Zen en el arte del tiro con arco
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Matar a un ruiseñor
Cambia el idioma a:
arquerociego 
Which are the latest blog posts?