China diary-Part1: The silk road of knowledge exchange

Recently I made my first ever trip to China. There has been a lot of curiosity and interest amongst my friends and family to know what my experiences were like there. So I thought I would share some of my observations and insights in a few blog posts.

There is much talk around the world about the idea of "Chindia" these days but the exchange of ideas, goods, and people across China and India has a very long history. Traveling scholars such as Hsuan Tsang, Fa Hein, and Boganathar served as cultural ambassadors and bridges across the two ancient revered civilizations. Of course, the silk road symbolizes this flow in a very visible, concrete manner. Buddhism serves as a spiritual connection between both lands that have coexisted peacefully across thousands of years. However, the influence of Hindu scholars such as Bhoga who laid the foundation for Zen meditation, taichi, the idea of yin-yang, and Shaolin martial arts traditions is also undeniable.

By the early third century A.D., India was a very happening place in the world. Nalanda and Takshashila (or Taxila) were like today's Stanford and Harvard. They were prestigious universities to which students from far away places arrived to learn literature, philosophy, fine arts, medicine, law, martial arts, etc. Students would join Takshashila university, once part of united India and now in Pakistan, at the age of 16. Some famous alumni of this university were Chanakya (who wrote treatises on strategy and economics), Panini the Sanskrit grammarian, and Charaka who was one of the world's first known surgeons authoring a famous text on medicine called Charaka Samhita. It is no surprise then that Chinese scholars such as Fa Hien and Hsuan Tsang made the long trek from China through the silk route through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan, entering Pakistan and then India all the way to a place like Nalanda in North-Central India. Here is a nice website that describes current day Nalanda and provides pictures of the place, including those of the statue of Hsuan Tsang.

Hsuan Tsang became so well-versed in Sanskrit that he translated some 200 odd texts, mostly about Buddhism and Hinduism, into Chinese. He also wrote a travelogue about King Harsha's kingdom and everyday life in India at this time, which serve as important historical documents. The original Indian texts in Sanskrit have not been well preserved but thanks to visiting scholars such as Hsuan Tsang, we are able to now translate back from Chinese to Sanskrit to recover those lost texts.

What about Indian scholars who visited China? There were many such people too. There is even evidence of Indian scholars being part of Kublai Khan's court in Mongolia. Of all of them, I was most intrigued by Bhoganathar. Bhoganathar's life is so interesting and fascinating that I absolutely have to share it.

Bhoganathar (also known as Bhoga or Bogar) was an extraordinary Tamil monk who was an expert in many varied fields of study such as herbal medicine, martial arts, sculpting and even in alchemy. He was one of the 18 famous Siddhas of Tamilnadu (including Patanjali and Agastya who have both written extensively on yoga, grammar, and medicine).

Who is a Siddha or Siddhar? A Siddha is a yogi who has gained mastery over aspects of life that we laypeople see as beyond our control. For instance, some of them can go for days without eating and sleeping. They can even stop their breath for a long time. Some of them can levitate. Few of them can materialize objects from thoughts. Others are known for transmigration of souls from one body to another. They can read people's minds and also communicate telephatically. Few more can even bring the dead back to life. You can read all this and say "Oh, that is bullshit." Or say, "wow, that is amazing."

A calendar I saw in Tamilnadu with images of the 18 famous Siddhars

Anyhow, our hero Bhoga was well-versed in all of these things- herbal medicine, telepathy, transmigration of the soul, martial arts, yoga, and alchemy. Honoring the last wishes of his Guru Kaalaangi Naatha of Benaras, Bhoga is said to have travelled around the world to share the Siddha knowledge. He is said to have visited South America, Arabia and also China. The Tamil texts vary in their account of how he went to China. It is said that he flew to China in an aircraft and then transmigrated his soul into the dead body of a Chinese man. Some other versions say that he built a ship.

Bhogar was known as either Bo Yang or Bodhidharma (or simply as Dharma or Da Mo) in China. He plays a very significant role in the history of China. He is said to have taught yoga and meditation to the Chinese. He is also the founder of the famous Shaolin martial arts tradition in China. He was the first Zen master. India was a pioneer in the use of the body itself as a weapon. Even today the kalaripattu martial arts tradition of South India in Kerala and Tamilnadu continue to require immense physical and mental strength. The idea of Shiva (masculine energy) and Shakti (feminine energy) that were central principles of Siddha worship, are said to have influenced Chinese ideas of yin and yang.

Bhogar is said to have lived a very long life (he was already 150 years old when he reached China). After living in China for many years, he then came back to South India with three of his Chinese disciples and his pet dog - to all of whom he had given a very special longevity pill called kaayakalpa (Sanskrit word that means body of your dreams or wishes). He carefully documented all his experiences in verse form. He was a prolific poet. 70,000 of his poems were found in Sri Lanka where he describes his experiences in China. Most of these poems are said to be about spirituality, philosophy and medicinal herbs. Wow, what a treasure!

Multi-talented Bhoganatha also found the perfect alloy of metals for use in temple statues in order to preserve them for centuries without much damage. The famous Muruga statue in the town of Pazhani in Tamilnadu, which happens to be our family deity, was sculpted by him. Bogar attained samaadhi in this place and his shrine continues to be worshipped here. Bogar's lone discipline at the very end of his life was Pulippani, whose family still cares for this shrine as their own.

There really are no coincidences in life. But it so happened that I picked up a book about Siddhars while in India after my trip to China. And when I visited the Ramana Ashram on the way to Tiruvannaamalai, I noticed a big Siddha research institute for medicine. And then on my flight back from India via Dubai, my neighbor was watching what looked like an interesting movie. I also tuned into the same channel. It was a Tamil movie called "Aum Arivu" based loosely on the life of Bogar, with a lot of masala action added to spice it up, of course!! To me, all these signs were too loud to miss. It said, hey, you gotta write a blog entry on Boganathar. And here I am, doing just that.

My next blog entry will be about some of the places that I visited in Beijing and a poem that I was inspired to write based on my experiences there.

Peace and love to all!