''The Light of Asia'', or ''The Great Renunciation'' (''Mahâbhinishkramana''), is a book by Sir Edwin Arnold. The first edition of the book was published in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in July 1879. In the form of a

narrative poem Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be s ...

, the book endeavours to describe the life and time of Prince

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

, who, after attaining enlightenment, became the Buddha, The Awakened One. The book presents his life, character, and philosophy in a series of verses. It is a free adaptation of the Lalitavistara. A few decades before the book's publication, very little was known outside

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

about the Buddha and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. Arnold's book was one of the first successful efforts to popularize Buddhism for a Western readership. After receiving the poem from

theosophists Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

was awed and his subsequent introduction to

Madame Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 ...

and her '' Key to Theosophy'' inspired him to study his own religion. The book has been highly acclaimed from the time it was first published and has been the subject of several reviews. It has been translated into over thirty languages, including

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Summary

The 1892 publication begins with the following dedication: ''This Volume is Dutifully Inscribed to the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

, Grand Master, and Companions of the Most Exalted

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

by the Author.'' Sir Arnold's preface ends with him stating: The first six chapters deal with the early part of Buddha's life – his birth as Siddhartha, prince of Kapilavastu, Lumbini, Nepal; his gaining first-hand knowledge of the sufferings of mankind; his resorting to meditation; and his ultimate transformation as the " Enlightened One" after long years of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

. The subsequent chapters speak of the Buddha's travels and the important elements of the message he spread are discussed — for instance, that suffering is a built-in aspect of existence; that craving for sensuality and identity is the root of suffering, and that suffering can be ended. It calls for right understanding; right thought; right speech; right action; right livelihood; right effort; right mindfulness; and right concentration. Throughout his peregrinations, mostly in

eastern India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadha fr ...

, Gautama Buddha was joined by thousands of disciples and admirers from all walks of life.

Influence

In his autobiography,

writes of when two

theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

brothers gave him a copy of ''The Light of Asia'' along with Arnold's version of the

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

, ''

The Song Celestial ''The Song Celestial: A Poetic Version of the Bhagavad Gita'' is a translation of the Bhagavad Gita (a part of the Mahabharata) from Sanskrit into English by Sir Edwin Arnold, first published in 1885. The translation following ''The Light of A ...

'', while he studied in

. Gandhi recalls: "Once I had begun it I could not leave off." The brothers also brought Gandhi to the

Blavatsky Lodge The Blavatsky Lodge, officially The Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society, was an English Theosophical Society founded by Helena Blavatsky and 13 other members. History The Blavatsky Lodge was founded on May 19, 1887 in London by 14 membe ...

and introduced him to

. Upon reading her '' Key to Theosophy'', Gandhi was stimulated to read more on

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, now "disabused ..of the notion fostered by the missionaries that Hinduism was rife with

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

." Former Indian minister

Jairam Ramesh Jairam Ramesh (born 9 April 1954) is an Indian politician belonging to Indian National Congress. He is a Member of Parliament representing Karnataka state in the Rajya Sabha. In July 2011, Jairam was elevated to the Union Council of Ministers o ...

wrote ''The Light of Asia: The Poem that Defined the Buddha'' on ''The Light of Asia's'' phenomenal influence on how people see the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

and his teachings, calling the poem a "milestone in Buddhist historiography" that "impacted so many public personalities in different countries, inspired movements for

social equality Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within a specific society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and ...

and incarnated itself in music, dance, drama, painting and film".

Adaptations

A film adaptation of the poem directed by

Franz Osten Franz Osten (23 December 1876 in Munich – 2 December 1956) was a Bavaria, Bavarian filmmaker who along with Himansu Rai was among the first retainers of Bombay Talkies. Osten partnered with Rai on a number of India's earliest blockbuster film ...

and

Himansu Rai Himanshu Rai (1892 – 16 May 1940), one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, is best known as the founder of the studio in 1934, along with Devika Rani. He was associated with a number of movies, including ''Goddess'' (1922), ''The Light of Asia ...

titled ''

Prem Sanyas ''Prem Sanyas'' (''The Light of Asia'') (''Die Leuchte Asiens'' in German) is a 1925 silent film, directed by Franz Osten and Himansu Rai. It was adapted from the book, '' The Light of Asia'' (1879) in verse, by Edwin Arnold, based on the lif ...

'' (''The Light of Asia'' in English, ''Die Leuchte Asiens'' in German) was made in 1925 and restored for rerelease by

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

in 2001. The Indo-European co-production was filmed in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

with the cooperation of the reigning

Maharajah Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

, made by German technicians and featuring Indian actors. The film is well-regarded for avoiding the

exotic Exotic may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Exotic R4, a differentiable 4-manifold, homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the Euclidean space R4 * Exotic sphere, a differentiable ''n''-manifold, homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the ordina ...

orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...

normally found in Western portrayals of

Indian culture Indian culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse India. The term al ...

.Overview
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''.

Dudley Buck Dudley Buck (March 10, 1839October 6, 1909) was an American composer, organist, and writer on music. He published several books, most notably the ''Dictionary of Musical Terms'' and ''Influence of the Organ in History'', which was published i ...

used the book as the basis for an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

, ''

The Light of Asia ''The Light of Asia'', or ''The Great Renunciation'' (''Mahâbhinishkramana''), is a book by Sir Edwin Arnold. The first edition of the book was published in London in July 1879. In the form of a narrative poem, the book endeavours to describe ...

'', first performed in London, 1887. It was the first American-composed oratorio to be produced in Britain, premiering at St. James's Hall.Orr, N. Lee (2008)
''Dudley Buck''
p. 98. University of Illinois Press In the 1945 movie version of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical fiction, philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''Th ...

'' (1891), as the protagonist turns to a life of depravity, a friend tries to turn him back to a good life by lending him a copy of ''The Light of Asia''.

References

Clausen, C., "Sir Edwin Arnold's ''Light of Asia'' and Its Reception," ''Literature East and West'', XVII (1973), 174–191.

External links

''The Light of Asia'' at Project Gutenberg

Bengali Drama Based on ''The Light of Asia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Light of Asia 1879 books Buddhism studies books Narrative poems Books adapted into films Books about Gautama Buddha Epic poems in English Poems adapted into films Articles containing video clips

Summary

Influence

Adaptations

See also

References

External links