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in suffering or in joy
because they are like himself,
that man has grown perfect in yoga.
Ashoka, one of the most famous leaders of early India who lived in the third century BCE, began to extend his rule via harsh warfare and slaughter. He became a pacifist after converting to Buddhism, and his empire crumbled under his descendants. The Gupta dynasty (320-480) was able to unite much of Northern India, and forced numerous tribes under the domination of one umbrella. But defeated rulers were allowed to stay in place which created a weak state vulnerable to attack. By 515, India was overwhelmed by invasions by the Huns and regressed into a collection of weak and smaller states.
Villages in ancient India operated independently and were not dependent on a larger state. The Brahmins (religious leaders) promoted a religion that emphasized the ephemeral quality of life and therefore did not promote literacy, and this view still limits mobility for the poorest classes. The king only was considered a legitimate ruler if he followed the laws outlined in the scriptures, as interpreted by the Brahmins, and revolts would take place when kings became too autocratic.96
Of course these practices prevented India from establishing a strong, central state. The Indian bureaucracies were totally based on birth privilege and not on merit – there was no way for lower castes to advance themselves. There also was no attempt to standardize laws and practices – such as weights and measures – throughout the country until British rule in the nineteenth century.97
Beginning in the tenth century, India experienced a series of invasions that imposed the values of other cultures, such as the Muslims and eventually the British, who while bringing colonialism, introduced the concept of democracy. The Muslim influence lingers today in Northern India and Pakistan, but the Muslim conquerors did not impose the type of central administration that is seen in China and the West. The British occupation, however, imposed a unity of administration, language and custom that lingers to the present. India remains unstable in many ways, with the allegiances among its citizens being largely to their own region rather than the state, which has impeded the building of modern transportation and communication systems.98
At the end of the seventh century the first Heavenly Sovereign, Jito, ruled in Japan. A Buddhist theocracy developed with the Sovereign as head of state.99
Wine drinking in Japan goes back at least 2,000 years.
A funeral ceremony is described by a Chinese envoy to Japan in the first century:
At death they use a coffin with no outer sealing box. Earth is built up like a mound. They observe more than ten days of obsequies, during which time they do not eat meat. The chief mourner wails, and others sing, dance, and drink sake. After interment the family assembles to go into water for purification.
Sake still is used in Japan in many types of ceremonies – weddings, wakes, New Year celebrations, and to mark an occasion like a business arrangement or new home.
A Concise History of Japan, Page 20
The Second Millennium
The Second Millennium – but a bleep in the total time of human existence – produced the greatest progress toward democratic institutions and government of any period, but also has generated the greatest number of wars and casualties.
As this period opened, the western world began to emerge from what many historians consider its darkest period and seemed on the verge of becoming a more civilized society. There was progress toward a greater appreciation of the talents and abilities of the individual, yet persecutions of those who did not fit the mainstream were rampant despite growing proclamations of humanism. As populations expanded, lands became more settled which led to the gradual creation of national borders.
We began to live in larger and more organized societies with more elaborate rules and laws. Yet our tendency toward aggression remained unconquered – in both individuals and nations – as we repeatedly attempted to expand our influence and borders at the expense of others. We promoted models of behavior that preached tolerance, yet were forced to live with the results of the intolerance we practiced.
The democratic ideal – government guided by the recognition of the value of each individual – became established to the greatest extent in Western Europe during this period, then spread to the New World, with less democratic influence the further one goes east. That said, there continued to be conflicting elements between greater and lesser degrees of democracy in every region on earth.
1000-1500
In Western Europe the millennium opened with a myriad of skirmishes and minor wars between fiefdoms that sent out their knights in battle against each other, although rarely in as chivalrous a manner as later portrayed in romances such as those of Chrétien de Troyes in his stories of the Knights of the Round Table.100 Such ideals – about how to treat others with respect, particularly women – would establish rules of behavior and influence readers for centuries.
Christianity was founded upon principles of forgiveness101 and non-judgment.102 But once it had become the established religion in Europe it faced down numerous “heresies” that it believed challenged its absolute position as the representative of God on Earth. One reason for protests against the Church was that sacraments – and thus salvation – often were sold by priests who accumulated considerable wealth.103
An attempt to free the Church from political influence came about under Pope Gregory VII, starting in 1073, who declared that he had the ultimate authority on earth, including the ability to depose kings.104 He forbade the marriage of priests and outlawed the sale of Church offices. He separated the spiritual from the secular worlds, but with that opened new possibilities for the establishment of secular rule.
After the year 1000, what historians call “the rule of law” – a legal system where those who make the laws also are subject to them – became more firmly established in the West. Genuine rule of law is largely tied to economic growth and human creativity. States where people feel oppressed are less likely to create the trust needed for a robust economy. Rule of law also allows individuals to go about their daily lives – including holding and transferring property – without interference from government, except when they are challenged through legitimate governmental channels based on laws.
Many Western nations, if not actually democratic, witnessed progress toward recognition of the validity – and value – of individual human beings during this period, which moved the world in the direction of democracy. Some religious leaders, such as Francis of Assisi, were able to exert influence on the men and women of their time and subsequent times by inspiring them – via word and action – to acknowledge the holy aspect of God’s creation, including human beings, and thus treat each other with greater compassion:
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither
