The History of India: Every Year

[Premi5]

@GurjantGnostic @californiasardar1 @S1ngh @Jacfsing2 and any other Americans on here. 

What do you think the future map of USA would look like , if say in whatever time in the distant future, it became divided?

Could it divide along lines of Latinos in the southwest being separated from the other parts ?

Could California or Texas really become their own country ?

[MisterrSingh]

2 hours ago, Premi5 said:

Are the Japanese all Buddhists? Has that shaped its identity and culture more than other things (like I said, I don't know much about Japan - the first thing I think of is martial arts, followed by business and technology)

@GurjantGnostic seems to know, and might be able to expand that discussion with you

I don't believe so, but Buddhist doctrine has shaped their philosophy in a particular period of their history to a certain degree. There are many regional belief systems that have shaped and impacted Japan as we know it today. Shinto is a notable one, the emphasis of nature itself being a spirit, etc. 

[MisterrSingh]

2 hours ago, Premi5 said:

If India had never faced any invaders, then the people would likely be a lot more relaxed ?

I've been wanting to pen a topic on this issue for a while now, but it's quite comprehensive, and I haven't had the time to do my ideas and thoughts justice.

My personal belief is that the medieval Indian bhakti movement weakened the national spirit, which made the people susceptible to foreign invasions. It's a gross oversimplification of what's an incredibly nuanced subject, but that's my summary in a sentence. By the time Guru Hargobind Sahib tried to arrest this disturbing decline, it was arguably too late. The damage had been done in quite a number of notable ways.

[Jacfsing2]

2 hours ago, MisterrSingh said:

My personal belief is that the medieval Indian bhakti movement weakened the national spirit, which made the people susceptible to foreign invasions. It's a gross oversimplification of what's an incredibly nuanced subject, but that's my summary in a sentence. By the time Guru Hargobind Sahib tried to arrest this disturbing decline, it was arguably too late. The damage had been done in quite a number of notable ways.

Wasn't the bhagti movement mostly focused on the individual's connection with the divine?

[GurjantGnostic]

6 hours ago, Premi5 said:

Thanks for the post. I really know little about the Japanese and only a superficial knowledge of Buddhism. 

I guess that for example, North Indians seem quite bold/aggressive compared to South Indians, which is supposedly related to being proximal to borders and invaders which has hardened those people. 

If India had never faced any invaders, then the people would likely be a lot more relaxed ?

I think though that the way people develop is more 'nurture' than 'nature'. If it's 'in your blood' then you are susceptible to change (e.g. monay Sikhs who become Singhs and Kaurs)

Are the Japanese all Buddhists? Has that shaped its identity and culture more than other things (like I said, I don't know much about Japan - the first thing I think of is martial arts, followed by business and technology)

@GurjantGnostic seems to know, and might be able to expand that discussion with you

And, @MisterrSingh please recommend a book that covers the History of India. I'm looking for something that is to the point , maybe just a  chapter to cover say, a century - *actually, this one looks good

https://www.amazon.co.uk/India-History-John-Keay/dp/0007307756

The Japanese spiritual identity is a now home grown fusion of Shinto shamanic beliefs and Buddhism, primarily Zen Buddhism. And Yamato Damashi, the spirit of the Yamato tribes who took japan from the Ainu. 

They have a deep relationship with Dharam, they call Do, and turn all their works and interests into a Do or a type of Bhagti. 

Most japanese tend to lean more to one side or the other of Shinto and Buddhist, and there are many Dharams in Japan not mentioned, like Omoto Kyo, and various Monastaries dedicated to Hikari which we call Jot. 

Zen Buddhism has left such an imprint on japanese thought and custom so as to...inseperable. 

Because they are so traditional, so repetetive, so artistic, so Do about everything they encounter they've preserved more things from the last Yugh, and many things passed from present day india to japan some five thousand years ago, that remain in better preserved condition in japan. 

Sanjoga, Yoga, for example is better preserved in Shin Shin To Itsu Do, Kiko and other japanese practices. 

Japan is actually called Nippon and the people Nihon Jin. They are a fusion of Yamato and Ainu.  They're actually koreans. 

[Jacfsing2]

17 minutes ago, GurjantGnostic said:

The Japanese spiritual identity is a now home grown fusion of Shinto shamanic beliefs and Buddhism, primarily Zen Buddhism. And Yamato Damashi, the spirit of the Yamato tribes who took japan from the Ainu. 

They have a deep relationship with Dharam, they call Do, and turn all their works and interests into a Do or a type of Bhagti. 

Most japanese tend to lean more to one side or the other of Shinto and Buddhist, and there are many Dharams in Japan not mentioned, like Omoto Kyo, and various Monastaries dedicated to Hikari which we call Jot. 

Zen Buddhism has left such an imprint on japanese thought and custom so as to...inseperable. 

Because they are so traditional, so repetetive, so artistic, so Do about everything they encounter they've preserved more things from the last Yugh, and many things passed from present day india to japan some five thousand years ago, that remain in better preserved condition in japan. 

Sanjoga, Yoga, for example is better preserved in Shin Shin To Itsu Do, Kiko and other japanese practices. 

Japan is actually called Nippon and the people Nihon Jin. They are a fusion of Yamato and Ainu.  They're actually koreans. 

I heard most Japanese are atheist/non-religious today.

[GurjantGnostic]

1 hour ago, Jacfsing2 said:

I heard most Japanese are atheist/non-religious today.

True, with a mainly intact strict adherence to Yamato Damashi, which is highly infused with Shinto and ZaZen, so they can only get so far away from it. You're not wrong though. 

[MisterrSingh]

5 hours ago, Jacfsing2 said:

Wasn't the bhagti movement mostly focused on the individual's connection with the divine?

Yeah, at the expense of everything else.

When your creed decrees that God resides in all, one tends to extend this to people who should never be allowed to set foot on "your" soil. 

Plus, when the philosophy teaches that this is one of many millions of human lifetimes the soul must endure; one that's largely dictated by previous karma, a person tends to get quite philosophical about one's role in things: "Maybe these current hardships are punishment for previous misdeeds? Perhaps resistance is futile?" See how easy it is to rationalise yourself into inactivity and succumb to threats like hostile foreign invasions? "Oh well, God wills it. I'll just retreat to the forest and connect with the Divine so I can receive more favourable circumstances in the next lifetime."

[GurjantGnostic]

59 minutes ago, MisterrSingh said:

Yeah, at the expense of everything else.

When your creed decrees that God resides in all, one tends to extend this to people who should never be allowed to set foot on "your" soil. 

Plus, when the philosophy teaches that this is one of many millions of human lifetimes the soul must endure; one that's largely dictated by previous karma, a person tends to get quite philosophical about one's role in things: "Maybe these current hardships are punishment for previous misdeeds? Perhaps resistance is futile?" See how easy it is to rationalise yourself into inactivity and succumb to threats like hostile foreign invasions? "Oh well, God wills it. I'll just retreat to the forest and connect with the Divine so I can receive more favourable circumstances in the next lifetime."

Good points. 

Shoot God is in the mosquito too. I still swat it, if it won't shoo.

[Premi5]

On 1/1/2022 at 7:55 PM, Premi5 said:

@GurjantGnostic @californiasardar1 @S1ngh @Jacfsing2 and any other Americans on here. 

What do you think the future map of USA would look like , if say in whatever time in the distant future, it became divided?

Could it divide along lines of Latinos in the southwest being separated from the other parts ?

Could California or Texas really become their own country ?

@S1ngh @Jacfsing2 @GurjantGnostic @NaamTiharoJoJapeand any Americans here, interested in your opinion pls