Sunday, November 25, 2001		Books

The Mystery of Israel’s Ten Lost Tribes and the Legend of Jesus in India
by Joshua M. Benjamin. Mosaic Books, New Delhi. Pages x + 150. Rs. 250.

MOSES, the progenitor of Hebrews, lived nearly 4000 years ago. He declared the God of mankind to be One and Omnipotent. His progeny produced three great religions – namely, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Moses liberated Hebrews from the slavery of Pharaohs and brought them out of Egypt to the Promised Land. He bound the children of Israel into a nation and gave them their law, the Ten Commandments, and a guidebook in the form of the Torah.

Jacob’s 12 sons became founders of Israel’s 12 tribes. When Assyrians and other tribes inimical to Jews destroyed the latter’s temple in Jerusalem, the two Jewish tribes comprising the kingdom of Judah, and the 10 constituting the kingdom of Israel were scattered. The Bible and history give enough evidence of the fate of the two tribes of Judah. But what happened to the 10 tribes of Israel? This book provides a fascinating account of the various attempts made to trace the lost tribes.

About 1800 years ago, a historian who had traveled to India on a Roman ship, discovered that in one of the Indian ports a small community of Jews strictly observed the Sabbath and refused to sell food to Roman sailors on that day. Similar groups were also found in such diverse parts of India as Kashmir and Manipur.. This book mentions the research done by an American missionary named Mason who closely observed Karens – the tribals populating Burma and Assam. He says, "The people of this region are called Ehom or Ahom – who once ruled over Assam and their religion was Buddhism. The two tribes, Thei and Kho, were known as Amra. The meaning of this word ‘Amra’ in Arabic is the tribes which could mean Hebrew tribes."

Mason found that these tribals’ dress, traditions and personal appearance, and the sacred word "Yoowah" (a possible contraction of Jehovah), indicated some link with the lost tribes.

Benjamin points out that the Falashas of Ethiopia, the Pathans of Afghanistan, certain settlements in Kashmir, Cochin, Manipur, coastal Maharashtra, and some in the East Asia – in China and Japan – show links to the lost tribes of Israel. George Moore, in his book "The Lost Tribes" published in 1861, says that remnants of these tribes were assimilated into diverse cultures such as the Christian Nestorians, the Irish, the Anglo-Saxons and the Scythians. He even goes so far as to claim that even Buddhism is of Israeli origin and quotes from the various Buddhist stupas in India to prove his point.

Joshua Benjamin’s investigation leads him to interesting facts and legends, which indicate that the 17 years of Jesus life unaccounted for in the Bible were spent in India. His research also advances the possibility of the return of Jesus to India after his survival of the crucifixion and of his ultimate death and burial at Rozabal in Kashmir. The site of his grave exists even today and is known as the tomb of Yuz Asaf, another name for Jesus.

So much has happened in the past. Some of it has been recorded in history, some has been immortalised in mythology while quite a bit has been lost with the passage of time. Cross-cultural pollination, thus, has been going on for ages. Whither the espousers of cultural exclusivity and ethnic thoroughbreds? Though the author’s intention behind writing this book appears to be to trace the 10 lost tribes of Israel, he has also brought out some hidden facets of history. Xenophobes, the world over, are going to be quite uncomfortable with the contents of such books as the one under review.

Some intellectuals prefer to divide humanity into neat, comfortable civilisation- based slots. Stereotypes, after all, fit nicely into preconceived notions without one having to delve deep into the processes that silently mould us into a complete universal whole. From time immemorial saints, seers and prophets have roamed the earth spreading their message of universal brotherhood, emphasising the intrinsic sameness of all mankind. Yet, we, after the departure of such enlightened souls, build temples in their name and start a "religion" as though it is the brand or trademark for a new product in the market. What is more dangerous is the fact that instead of fulfilling the wishes of the holy souls for uniting humanity, we create one more division in the name of those very souls.

Joshua Benjamin’s book is invaluable — not merely to the students of history but to all those who would like to understand the present with reference to the past..

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Building Women’s Capacities
edited by Ranjani K. Murthy. Sage Publications, New Delhi. Pages 383. Price not mentioned.

The lot of Indian women is unenviable. Yes, there are constitutional guarantees that not only protect their rights but also, at least on paper, open up vistas of personal and material progress and security. But the ground realities do not exactly match the promise offered by constitutional safeguards. In the new millennium the age-old gender inequalities persist despite the fact that our government has ratified the Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Ranjani Murthy avers, "…decline in the sex ratio over the past four decades points to the possibility that the position of Indian women may have worsened during this period in some ways. Even the gains in terms of basic human development seem to have accrued predominantly to women from privileged groups." She fears that globalisation could marginalise Indian women even further in all walks of life. Their effort to secure a place under the sun might come to nothing. She strongly advocates economic, social and political empowerment of women.

Sabala and Kranti highlight the social apathy towards women’s healthcare needs. They say, "It is ironic that women are expected to take care of the community while their own reproductive health needs are neglected." They give details of their experiences while conducting five self-help training programs in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat between 1993 and 1997.

Giving example of an experiment in Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu, Nitya Rao says that reasonably successful attempt can be made to transform the broader social relations, including gender relations, to make for a more economically and socially just society. He gives such effort the nomenclature "transformative training". In the experiment, women quarry workers in the district were organised into groups and given quarry leases during the period between 1991 and 1992. The nature of training and support provided to these women’s groups through the District Literacy Society is also analysed. The experiences of various other individuals and groups in the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women have been narrated in this well documented and extremely interesting tome.

Indispensable for social scientists, this book can be of interest to socially aware individuals and organisations too.

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Of Repose & Rapture
by Surinder Singh (Justice retd.) Platinum Publications, Chandigarh.
Pages vii + 170. Rs 60.

"That man is wisest who, like Socrates, realises that his wisdom is worthless."

"Philosophy is dead, long live the philosopher!" a cynical acquaintance said when he saw this volume on my table. Yes, it is true, philosophy is no more "an interesting subject". University seats for this discipline go abegging. Kant, Plato et al have been consigned to musty rooms of dilapidated libraries. We live in the age of instant solutions to age-old problems. Who has time to pause and reflect? Even Hamlet agrees, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio/ Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Pragmatism is in, idealism is out. It was Karl Marx who began the trend of showing healthy scepticism towards philosophy’s utility when he declared, "The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." But must we forget that in order to change the world one ought to have some idea of what is wrong with it in the first place? Must not we know how to launch the process of change?

Diagnosis of and prescription for the various ills that bedevil society from time to time can be greatly facilitated by the one who has the time and inclination for deep thought, the facility of analytical intellect and keen insight. It is so easy to be lighthearted for those who have hardly faced soul-shattering dilemmas. They might well quote Oliver Edwards who admitted, "I have tried too in my time to be a philosopher; but I don’t know how, cheerfulness was always breaking in."

Such flippancy is absent in Justice Singh’s latest offering – his 13th. This book depicts the spiritual evolution that the author has undergone since he wrote the "Short Cut to Happiness". His observation in the chapter, "The Wise Oyster" reflects this, "Nature is a veritable treasure-house of knowledge, the crux of which is knowing how to live a life without any conflict even in situations beyond one’s control".

Attainment of such mental equilibrium and spiritual tranquility requires having some sort of philosophical anchorage in life. One has to develop an attitude imbued in sapience that comes with maturity in life. How about the youth? Must one flounder in darkness just because one is young? There is really no need for that. One can learn from the experience of one’s elders. Instead of dumping them in homes for the aged, one would do well to sit with them once in a while and listen to their words of wisdom. They might be garrulous, cranky and even incommunicative sometimes. But a bit of love and understanding on the part of the young will be richly rewarded. What if one is unable to turn to an elder? Well, one can only quote from Romeo and Juliet, "Adversity’s sweet milk, philosophy."

Edward Gibbon once remarked, "The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally false; and by the magistrate as equally useful." The judicial mind of Justice Singh looks upon religion as an ever-evolving concept. According to him its usefulness lies in enabling people to shed fatalistic mindset and imbibe the virtues of right action. He points out, "A practical yogi or vedantin or a practical bhakta always remains immersed in a non-dual state of mind…He never spreads despair or negativity to any one or at any place."

Emphasis on action helps us develop self-respect. Some might even, like Immanuel Kant, declare, "I am never to act without willing that the maxim by which I act should become a universal law." The powers of philosophical thought can be truly amazing.

Chapters in the volume under review like "Penance & Purity", "Dying while Living", "Knowing Death" and "Enigma of the Soul" are thought provoking. Here and there the printer’s devil has been up to his old tricks, but these irritants need to be taken a bit philosophically.

Books such as this one must not merely be read, but also reflected upon.