East Vs.West
Sun rises in the East and sets in the West. This natural law is also true of civilizations. In distant past different civilizations flourished in the east and then gradually those civilizations faded away. The dawn of awakening happened in West and East went into deep slumber under the covers of dark night. But sun is now leaning towards horizon and once again east is seeing faint lights of dawn. It will have to wake up, get out of its slumber and be active, once again. Once again the beautiful chants should fill in the crisp air of dawn.
East and West share a unique relationship. When Jesus was born, three wise men from the East visited the Lord. They saw in the stars the sign of a great man with a mission. By then East was at the peak of its glory, with so many civilizations in so many countries flourishing and fading away - Indus Valley, Babylon, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, India, China, all extending their great influence all over the world. Then faint dawn showed in the West, Rome arose and fell, followed by Holy Roman Empire and rise of Christian Church. by the middle ages it was clear that East was on the way to decline and West was on the rise and by 17th century when colonialism took its root, it was clear who was going to rule the next few centuries. Although East did great in early science, mathematics, art, culture, literature and philosophy, post Renaissance West soon took over.
West almost always believed in power and reason, and tried establishing its superiority over others, while East was humble enough to accept everybody and give dignity to all. Universal tolerance was the language of East and that was its bane. Those who were greeted with open arms came with swords and cannons and unleashed reigns of terror.While East did not enforce its rules and culture over others, West did try to do so, in many cases successfully. Whil Eastern religion and philosophy was inward looking, realizing the divinity within selves, Western philosophy was driven primarily outwards, towards a God in heaven. While East tried to find the kingdom of heaven within, West tried finding it elsewhere. This inward seeking of East also resulted in their getting trapped inside their cocoons, thereby destroying any possibility of discovering and doing great things. This outward approach of West helped them in unleashing a new materialistic culture which also helped immensely in crossing new frontiers in science and technology, trade and commerce. But in many cases their philosophy and thinking was greatly indebted to the thoughts of East as openly admitted by Maxmueller, Schopenhauer, Goethe, Emerson, Henry David Thoreau
But sun will once again lean towards the horizon in Western Hemisphere and once again first lights of awakening will greet East. There in lies the great hope of mankind, therein lies salvation. We need great wisdom.
East and West share a unique relationship. When Jesus was born, three wise men from the East visited the Lord. They saw in the stars the sign of a great man with a mission. By then East was at the peak of its glory, with so many civilizations in so many countries flourishing and fading away - Indus Valley, Babylon, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, India, China, all extending their great influence all over the world. Then faint dawn showed in the West, Rome arose and fell, followed by Holy Roman Empire and rise of Christian Church. by the middle ages it was clear that East was on the way to decline and West was on the rise and by 17th century when colonialism took its root, it was clear who was going to rule the next few centuries. Although East did great in early science, mathematics, art, culture, literature and philosophy, post Renaissance West soon took over.
West almost always believed in power and reason, and tried establishing its superiority over others, while East was humble enough to accept everybody and give dignity to all. Universal tolerance was the language of East and that was its bane. Those who were greeted with open arms came with swords and cannons and unleashed reigns of terror.While East did not enforce its rules and culture over others, West did try to do so, in many cases successfully. Whil Eastern religion and philosophy was inward looking, realizing the divinity within selves, Western philosophy was driven primarily outwards, towards a God in heaven. While East tried to find the kingdom of heaven within, West tried finding it elsewhere. This inward seeking of East also resulted in their getting trapped inside their cocoons, thereby destroying any possibility of discovering and doing great things. This outward approach of West helped them in unleashing a new materialistic culture which also helped immensely in crossing new frontiers in science and technology, trade and commerce. But in many cases their philosophy and thinking was greatly indebted to the thoughts of East as openly admitted by Maxmueller, Schopenhauer, Goethe, Emerson, Henry David Thoreau
But sun will once again lean towards the horizon in Western Hemisphere and once again first lights of awakening will greet East. There in lies the great hope of mankind, therein lies salvation. We need great wisdom.
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