The Cultural Influence of Hinduism on Different Parts of

the World

The Civilizational March of India i.e. Bharat

• India never invaded any culture, society, country or civilization in its glorious past of time immemorial.

• The Great Civilizational march started from this land of Bharat has time and again proved that

- culture can advance without political motives. - that trade can proceed without imperialist designs. -settlements can take place without colonial excesses

and that literature, religion and language can be transported without xenophobia.

Three Waves of Hindu Culture*• First Wave: 1st century to 4th-5th Century in

Asia ( as conqueror, Merchants and Knowledge provider)

• Second Phase: late 19th Century in Caribbean Islands Mauritius, Fiji and South Africa as Indentured laborers

• Second Half of 20th Century: West Europe and North America as Skilled man force (Student, Doctor, Engineer)

(*Not Including Puranic Refrences)

Indianization of Asia

• Indianization of Asia was entirely peaceful, never resorting to physical force or coercion to subvert local cultures or identities, or to engage in economic or political exploitation of the host cultures and societies.

• Its world views were based on compassion and mutual exchange, and not on the principle of conquest and domination.

‘Greater India’ • Arab writers such as Al-Baruni testify that Indians

called the whole Southeast region Suwarndib (Suvarnadvipa).

• Only Since World War II has the term Southeast Asia been used to describe the area to the east of India and to the south of China, which includes the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines, roughly forming a circle from Burma through Indonesia to Vietnam.

• Before the term Southeast Asia became common usage, the region was often described as Further or Greater India.

Sylvain Levi (1863-1935)

• “From Persia to the Chinese Sea, from the icy regions of Siberia to the islands of Java and Borneo, from Oceania to Socotra, India has propagated her beliefs, her tales and her civilization. She has left indelible imprints on one-fourth of the human race in the course of a long succession of centuries. She has the right to reclaim in universal history the rank that ignorance has refused her for a long time and to hold her place amongst the great nations summarizing and symbolizing the spirit of Humanity."

French Orientalist

Heinrich Zimmer,German Indologist

• “Each of the colonial cultures and art styles of Ceylon, Indonesia, and Further India, as well as that of Tibet, China, Korea and Japan, took over in a worthy way the Indian heritage, giving to it an original and happy local application. Out of various ethnological and biological requirements self-contained styles were formed that were the peers in originality, nobility and delicacy of the Indian.”

Wrote in his book Asia before Europe: Economy and Civilization of the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750

“The expansion of Indian culture and influence both in Central Asia and the South East towards the countries and islands of the Pacific is one of the momentous factors of world history.”

- Sardar Kavalam Madhava Panikkar ‘’’’A Survey of Indian History

Mackay Hill Buckler

• "Seldom has the world seen such a protracted and pervasive cultural diffusion. It stands a monument to the vitality and magnetism of Indian civilization."

Wrote in his book ‘A History of World Societies’ (p.318-319)

Pre-(Occidental) historical Linkages with South-East ASIA

• The name Java comes from the Sanskrit Jawadwip, which means a (dvip) island (yawa) shaped like a barley corn.

• The Vedic Indians must have charted Java, Yawadvip, thousands of years ago because Yawadvip is mentioned in India's earliest epic, the Ramayana.

• The Ramayana reveals some knowledge of the eastern regions beyond seas; for instance Sugriva dispatched his men to Yavadvipa, the island of Java, in search of Sita. It speaks of Burma as the land of silver mines.

• The Agni Purana, along with many other Puranas, calls India as Jambudvipa as distinguished from Dvipantara or India of the islands or overseas India.

• Towards the end of the fifth century, Aryabhatta, the Indian astronomer, wrote that when the sun rose in Ceylon it was midday in Yavakoti (Java) and midnight in the Roman land.

• In the Surya Siddhanta reference is also made to the Nagari Yavakoti with golden walls and gates.

Occidental Discourse

• The Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and Indonesia.

• The name "Indies" is derived from the river Indus and is used to connote parts of Asia that come under Indian cultural influence.

Hinduism in South-East Asia

• Hinduism in Southeast Asia influenced the former Champa civilization in southern parts of Central Vietnam, Funan in Cambodia, the Khmer Empire in Indochina, the Srivijayan kingdom on Sumatra, the Singhasari kingdom and the Majapahit Empire based in Java, Bali, and the Philippine archipelago.

• The civilization of India influenced the languages, scripts, calendars, and artistic aspects of these peoples and nations.

Indonesia• The Ministry of Religious Affairs, as of 2007

estimates there to be at least 10 million Hindus in Indonesia.

• The new Hindu communities in Java tend to be concentrated around recently built temples (pura) or around archaeological temple sites (candi) which are being reclaimed as places of Hindu worship.

• An important new Hindu temple in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt. Semeru, Java's highest mountain.

Indonesia• The national language, Bahasa Indonesia, is replete with Sanskrit

words. So are names of people: Nirmala, Apsara, Rati, Dewi and so on.

• At a traffic roundabout on one of the busiest arteries of the city stands a monumental sculpture facing the central bank on one side and the national monument on the other. It depicts Krishna and Arjuna in a chariot drawn by several horses.

• When you drive past the defence ministry -- called the Yuddha Graha -- you come across the following inscription engraved in marble on the archway: Chatur Dharma, Eka Karma.

• Further down the road is the ministry of sports known as the Krida Bhakti. The government has also named its national airlines after Garunda Airways.

Indonesia• The five cardinal points of the Indonesian constitution

are also designated by the Sanskrit word Panchashila. • Its airline is called Garuda, the Sanskrit name for the

eagle carrier of Lord Vishnu. • The old Javanese alphabet derives from the Pallava

script of South India. One such inscription was found in the south-eastern region of Borneo on four octagonal stone pillars, written in Sanskrit in a 4th century Indian script.

• Indonesians still follow the Vedic year and call it Sakh-Samvat.

An image of Lord Ganesha is printed on high denominational currency notes. Ganesha statues are seen everywhere, including a magnificent one at the

entrance of the presidential palace.

Garuda Airlines

Suharto Sukarno (1901- 1970)

First President of Indonesia

• "In the veins of every one of my people flows the blood of Indian ancestors and the culture that we possess is steeped through and through with Indian influences. Two thousand years ago people from your country came to Jawadvipa and Suvarnadvipa in the spirit of brotherly love. They gave the initiative to found powerful kingdoms such as those of Sri Vijaya, Mataram and Majapahit. We then learnt to worship the very Gods that you now worship still and we fashioned a culture that even today is largely identical with your own.”

wrote in a special article in The Hindu on 4 January 1946

Myanmar (Burma)• Hinduism, along with Buddhism, greatly influenced the

royal court of Burmese kings in pre-colonial times, as seen in the architecture of cities such as Bagan.

• Likewise, the Burmese language contains many loanwords from Sanskrit and Pali, many of which relate to religion.

• Burmese literature has also been enriched by Hinduism, including the Burmese adaptation of the Ramayana, called Yama Zatdaw.

• Many Hindu gods are likewise worshipped by Burmese Buddhists, including Saraswati (known as Thuyathadi in Burmese), the goddess of knowledge, who is often worshipped before examinations.

Myanmar (Burma)

• Hinduism in Burma is practised by less than 2% of the population (approximately 240,000), with most practitioners being Burmese Indians.

• Despite its minority designation today, Hinduism has been greatly influential in Burmese history and literature.

Thuyathadi ( Godess Saraswati in Burmese Culture)

Cambodia (Kamboj)

• Cambodia was first influenced by Hinduism during the beginning of the Funan kingdom.

• Hinduism was one of the Khmer Empire's official religions.

• Cambodia is the home to one of the only two temples dedicated to Brahma in the world.

• Angkor Wat of Cambodia is the largest Hindu temple of the world.

Cambodia

• Cambodia's principle river is today called Me Kong, which scholars say is derived from India's Ma Ganga (Mother Ganges).

• Cambodia's national flag, which features the imposing facade of Angkor Wat, the 12th century Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is only one of the symbols of how deeply internalized India is in the collective consciousness of the Cambodian people.

The Biggest Temple of the World

Angkor Wat in Combodia (Champa)

Will Durant

• “Angkor wat is a masterpiece equal to the finest architectural achievements of the Egyptians, the Greeks, or the cathedral builders of Europe. An enormous moat, twelve miles in length, surrounds the temple; over the moat runs a paved bridge guarded by dissuasive Nagas in stone; then an ornate enclosing wall; then spacious galleries, whose reliefs tell again the tales of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; then the stately edifice itself, rising upon a broad base, by level after level of a terraced pyramid, to the sanctuary of the God, two hundred feet high."

(1885-1981) American historian

• ‘About 2,000 years ago the first navigators, Indian merchants and Brahmins, brought to our ancestors their Gods, their techniques, their organization. Briefly, India was for us what Greece was to the Latin Occident.’

- King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia to Indian Prime

Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.

Laos• Laos used to be part of Khmer Empire. • The Laotian adaptation of the Ramayana is called Phra

Lak Phra Lam.• The Wat Phou is one of the last influences of that

period. • Vat Phou (temple-mountain) is a ruined Khmer temple

complex in southern Laos. • It is located at the base of mount Phu Kao, some 6 km

from the Mekong river in Champasak province. • There was a temple on the site as early as the 5th

century, but the surviving structures date from the 11th to 13th centuries.

Vat Phou (Temple Montain), Laos

Thailand (Siam)

• In the past, Thailand came under the influence of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots.

• The national epic of Thailand- Ramakien, is based on the Ramayana.

• The city, Ayutthaya, is named after Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama.

• Numerous rituals derived from Hinduism are preserved in rituals.

Thailand (Siam)

• The Siamese call their coronation by its ancient Sanskrit designation, the rajabhiseka.

• The entire complex of coronation ceremonies, such as homa (sacrifice of Fire), purificatory rites, ablutions, anointment, are closely modelled on Hindu rituals, and are presided over by the Brah Maha Raja Guru.

• The tonsure ceremony in Siam is a rite of initiation of youths, corresponding to the Hindu Cudakarma Mangala, which is very important Hindu Samskara.

• Cremation, an old vedic rite, is the only means of disposal of the remains of deceased royalty in Siam.

Thailand (Siam)

• Even today, the kings of Thailand bear the royal title is Rama, a Hindu avatar, and the story of Ramayana is depicted on the palace and temple walls of Bangkok.

• Hindu festivals such as Dashahara, commemorating the victory of Rama over the demon king Ravana, are still observed in Thailand.

• The Thais, like the Hindus, still believe in Vishnu or Naryana (Phra Narain), and Mahadeva or Siva, and dislike the asuras (asuns) as the enemies of the devas.

Lord Ganeshasits majestically in an elegantly crafted shrine outside the Bangkok World Trade Center, Thailand.

Vietnam (Champa)• The Champa civilization was located in the more

southern part of what is today Central Vietnam, and was a highly Indianized Hindu Kingdom, practicing a form of Shaivite Hinduism brought by sea from India.

• Myson, a Hindu temple complex built by the Champa is still standing in Quang Nam province, in Vietnam.

• In all, approximately 50,000 Chams in Vietnam are Hindu, with another 4,000 Hindus living in Ho Chi Minh City; some of these are ethnic Cham, but most are Indian (Tamil) or of mixed Indian-Vietnamese descent.

• The Mariamman Temple is one of the most notable Hindu temples in Ho Chi Minh City.

Po Nagar is a Cham temple tower located in the medieval principality of Kauthara, near modern Nha Trang in Vietnam. It is dedicated to Yan Po Nagar, the goddess of the country, who came to be identified with the Hindu goddesses Bhagavati and who in Vietnamese is called Thiên Y Thánh Mâu.

Champa Civilization

Borneo

• The Dayaks, the original inhabitants of Borneo, follow the religion of Kaharingan, which the Indonesian government has classified as a form of Hinduism.

• The Dayak Hinduism is allied to the Balinese Hinduism.• The sultan of Brunei (in Borneo) bore the title of Seri

Bhagwan meaning Shree Bhagwan (Lord Almighty). • Sarawak, a part of Borneo happened to lose its

suzerainty to the British. Yet the white English ruler of Sarawak too was known as the Rajah.

Malaysia

• In Malaysia, the commander-in-chief is still called Lakshmana -- a remnant of the role played by Rama's brother in the battle of Lanka.

• Take the name of Kuala Lumpur. The suffix 'Pur' is a Sanskrit termination used to signify a township. the original Sanskrit name was Cholanampuram. i.e. the city of the Cholas.

• A city in mountainous north Malaysia is called Sungei Pattani. Its ancient Sanskrit name was Shringa Pattan meaning ' a mountain city.'

Singapore• The introduction of Hinduism into Singapore dates

back to the early 19th century, when immigrants from southern India, mostly Tamils, arrived as labourers for the British East India Company, bringing with them their religion and culture. Their arrival saw the building of Dravidian temples throughout the island, and the beginnings of a vibrant Hindu culture. The first temple, Sri Mariamman Temple in Singapore's Chinatown.

• Today, two government bodies deal with all Hindu affairs: The Hindu Endowments Board and The Hindu Advisory Board.

Philippines

• The first document found in the Philippines, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (circa 900 AD), shows direct Hindu influences present in Filipino culture prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century.

• Until the arrival of an Arab trader to Sulu Island 1450 and Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed in behalf of Spain 1521, the chiefs of many Philippine islands were called Rajas, and the script was derived from Brahmi.

Sri Lanka• Sri Lanka, Sinhala, or Ceylon, which is India's closest neighbor to the

south, was possibly the first country in southern Asia to feel the impact of Indian immigration.

• The Hindu epic, Ramayana, narrates the story in which Rama's conflict with Ravana, the king of Lanka, is the central theme.

• Although the history of ancient Sri Lanka is largely a complex of legends, it is undoubted that the early settlers of Lanka came from India.

• The Aryan migrants, members of the Sinhalas or the Lion Tribe, named their new home Sinhaladvipa, from which has derived its later variations: the Portuguese Ceilao or Zeylan, or the English Ceylon.

• The coming of the Aryans is represented in the Mahavamsa by the story of Prince Vijaysimha who came from northern India in the sixth century B.C. Close ties were established during the reign of Asoka, with the introduction of Buddhism.

Sri Lanka

• In Buddhist shrines Hindu deities occupy honored places. Vishnu is particularly popular in Sinhalese Buddhist temples, for he is not considered a rival of the Buddha but the protector of Sri Lanka.

• Hindu temples were also built, for example, the Shiva temple at Polonnaruva dating probably from the 11th century resembles the South Indian Chola buildings.

Japan

• Japan 's Hindu linkages still alive one can also see the influence of the Indian epic Ramayana in the traditional Japanese dance forms of 'Bugaku' and 'Gigaku' .

Hajime Nakamura

• "India is culturally, Mother of Japan. For centuries it has, in her own characteristic way, been exercising her influence on the thought and culture of Japan."

(1912 - 1999) Japanese scholar

Korea• Korean historians believe that Queen Huh was a

princess of an ancient kingdom in Ayodhya. • She went to Korea some two-thousand years ago and

started the Karak dynasty by marrying a local king, Suro.

• South Korea's 72nd generation descendents of King Suro believe they are related to India's present day Raja Bimlendra Mohan Prasad Mishra, whose ancestors ruled Ayodhya. (Both families have two fishes as their insignia.)

• They sent delegations to India to built a monument in Ayodhya to commemorate the relationship.

Nepal• India's immediate neighbor Nepal, owe much of its cultural

inheritance to contact with India. The holy scriptures of the Hindu religion like the Vedas and Upanishads are the common heritage of the Nepalese and Indians.

• Skanda Puran, the ancient holy text of the Hindu religion, describes the fame of Nepal as -"in the Himalayas there is a most auspicious blessed place, where Shanker (the giver of joy) in the form of Pashupatinath resides."

• Lord Gautam Buddha, the light of Asia, who was born in Lumbini in Nepal, trekked down to the plains in India in search of Enlightenment.

• It is a proven fact that Valmiki, the composer of renowned epic the Ramayana, saw the light of the world within Nepal at Balmikinagar in Bhisalotoan.

Second Wave of Hindu Culture

• Migration of laborers to Caribbean Islands, Mauritius, Fiji and South Africa.

• These laborers were basically from Eastern UP and Bihar.

• Countries: Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamiaca, Grenada, St. Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Surinam, Mauritius and South Africa

• Gandhi ji started his political voyage from South Africa

‘The 13th Jyotirlinga’ in Maurtius

Third Wave of Hindu Culture

• First Gujarati and Punjabi went for small business in countries like Canada and USA. Today they are many of them are doing good business and few have become business tycoons.

• In the second half of 20th century Students went countries like US, UK and Australia for higer studies and settled there.

• In countries like USA and UK this generation Hindus are playing a pivotal role in society, polity and economy.

From Laborer to Ruler

• In some countries Indians reached at the highest post like Prime Minister and President.

• Mauritius: Sir Shivsagar Ramghulam, Aniruddha Jagannath, Dr Naveen Ramgoolam,

• Singapore: Deven Nair, SR Nathan (President)• Trinidad and Tobago: Kamala Prasad Bisseser and Basudeb

Pande (Ex-PM)• Guyana: Bharat Jagdev• Newzealand: 19th Governor General of Newzealand• Fiji: Mahendra Chaudhary• Canada: Ujjawal Dosanjh, Prime Minister of British Colambia

Roma: The Lost Tribe of India

• Roma originated in North-Central India, migrated via the Upper-Indus Valley, Persia, the Caucuses, Armenia, Byzantium, Greece, the Kingdom of Serbia and what is now Rumania to Eastern Europe and then split off into small groups and made our way into all the countries of Europe.

• There are 15 million Roma in the world mostly in East European countries.

Smt. Indira Gandhi, Former Prime Minister

• “I feel a kinship with the Roma People. I have always admired their love of adventure, their closeness to nature and above all, their fortitude and resilience.”

inaugrating the World Romani Conference in Chandi Garh in 1983.

Romani Flag with wheel in the middle

Modren India’s Cultural Contribution

• Pt. Ravi Shankar• Shekhar Kapur, Manoj Shaymlan, Gurinder

Chadhdha• Indian Cinema• Indian Curry• VS Naipaul, Arvind Adiga • Vijay Singh, World Golf Champion, FIJI • ..and many more

Modern India’s Spiritual Contribution

• ISKCON• Osho• Mahesh Yogi (Guru of Beatels)• Swami Chinmayanand (Guru of Ben Johnson)• Yog• Deepak chopra • Sri Sri Ravi Shankar• Maa Amritanandmayi• …and many more

Hindu Population in the WorldCountry Total Population Percentage of

HindusNumber of Hindus

1,189,610,328 80.5% 957,636,314

28,901,790 80.6%- 81% 23,294,843 - 23,410,450

150,448,339 9.2% - 10.5% 13,841,247 - 15,797,076

234,693,997 2% 4,693,880

164,741,924 1.5% - 2.02% 2,471,129 - 3,327,787

24,821,286 6.3% 1,563,741

20,926,315 7.1%- 15% 1,485,768 - 3,138,947

301,139,947 0.4% 1,204,560

91,077,287 1.9% 1,100,000

60,776,238 1% 607,762

1,250,882 48%- 50% 600,423 - 625,441

43,997,828 1.25% 549,973

36,913,721 1% 369,137

39,384,223 0.9% 354,458

33,390,141 1% 333,901

2,505,559 12% 300,667

918,675 30% - 33% 275,603 - 303,163

4,553,009 4% 262,120

1,056,608 22.5% 237,737

47,373,958 0.5% 236,870

769,095 28.3% - 33% 217,654 - 253,801

What They Said• ‘We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile

scientific discovery could have been made.’ - Albert Einstein ‘India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most constructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only. ‘- Mark Twain ‘If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.’ Romain Rolland‘India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.’ Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA ‘Many of the advances in the sciences that we consider today to have been made in Europe were in fact made in India centuries ago.’ - Grant Duff, British Historian of India‘India was the motherland of our race and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages. India was the mother of our philosophy, of much of our mathematics, of the ideals embodied in Christianity... of self-government and democracy. In many ways, Mother India is the mother of us all.’ - Will Durant, American Historian

Vande Bharat Matram