Free Paper on Echoes of Wisdom: Exploring Ancient Texts, Historical Decrees, and Philosophical Debates

The Rig Veda comprises sacred hymns of the Sanskrit literature and Hindu religion. The word Rig-Veda arose from the Sanskrit word rg, which stands for praise, and Veda, which means knowledge. Some sections of Vedas are still recited as prayers, indicating continuities in the long cultural processes of political change. The Gig-Veda describes the hierarchical relationships among Rajanya, Brahmin, Sudra, and Vaisya as a body image of sacrifice. It justifies this description by stating that people belong where they are because Gods dictate so, following the decisions made when Purusha was sacrificed. The hymns in Rig-Veda characterize the relationships between humans and the natural world as godly. It states that god is in all things since all the body parts of Purusha created the universe. Sacrifice is related to the creation story in the hymn through the changes born form the sacrificial formula. The mind bore the moon, eye the sun, mouth the Agni and Indra, and breath bore the wind.

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The evolution of Upanishads (a collection of Indian sacred texts) has led to their inclusion in modern times. The first ones dated back to the early millennium BCE with fundamental principles of Hinduism and the establishment of Buddhism and other faiths. This excerpt has laid some basic ideas of reincarnation and karma, associating the desires and conduct of people in their current lives with their souls’ fate in the future. According to the Upanishads, an individual who is free from earthly desires reaches Brahma. For those who are reborn in this world, their actions determine the kind of body they are reborn in for existence. The individuals who have not behaved well in their present life, would be reborn as animals, insects, etc., or even move down a caste. It means that being a member of the lower or upper caste, actions of the previous life will place someone in that position, and he or she must deal with the reward-punishment of the past actions.

The document on the decree for the return of the Jews provides two perspectives of how they returned to Israel after they were exiled from Babylon. The book of Ezra in the Bible describes their return to Jerusalem and how they rebuilt the temple. At this time, Cyrus was the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty of the Persian Empire. He conquered most of central Asia and the Near East and made the largest empire that ever existed. Cyrus is seen as one of the most religiously tolerant rulers and welcomed those he conquered. Cyrus based his legitimacy on being a liberator and a protagonist. His strategy for dealing with the conquered people involved allowing them to live positively and return to their homes. Cyrus is seen as honoring the will of God through his decision to let the Jews go back to the land of Israel. He even repossessed the things that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and used in the temple of his gods, and declared Mithredath as the chief treasurer of these things.

Herodotus was regarded as the father of anthropology and history in the West. He was curious about the origins of Greco-Persian wars, which resulted in “The Histories”. In this excerpt, Herodotus initiates a debate about the appropriate forms of governance. The Persian leaders debated about three forms of governance, including democracy, monarchy, and oligarchy, all of which have benefits and drawbacks. Democracy governance is beneficial in that the power does not lie on one single person, but it is disadvantageous in that it will make the leader prideful and envious and lead to deeds of savage violence. One of the drawbacks of monarchy governance is that the power will be entrusted to the best people. However, it is advantageous in that people would choose a leader who would lead the nation appropriately. On the other hand, oligarchy does not allow people to define the qualities of the next ruler, and they may end up choosing non-qualified leaders. Nonetheless, through an oligarchy form of governance, nothing would change for the country. Further, the Persians taking part in the debate would have known about these forms of governance if they listened to the speeches of Megabyzus, Otanes, and Darius. The claim by Darius that monarchy can provide stability and put down evil-doers bears out the perspectives on monarchy given to him by Herodotus because the person being admired by all is later appointed as the king.

Guan Zhong extended a set of instructions for rulers. He pursued policies such as helping agriculture, developing state monopolies for strategic goods, and bypassing the aristocracy directly to tax and rule peasants, among others. In this passage, Guanzi emphasizes reducing luxuries and prioritizing military power and food production. The reasons why Guanzi told the rulers to focus on grain supplies were to avoid becoming a wasteful state and for the citizens to starve because if they went hungry, they revolt. Guanzi also stated that rulers should limit people from using ponds, forests, and non-agricultural lands because the elite would want to own additional land, build big houses, and so on. Further, Guanzi focuses on agriculture and a thriving community, while Mencius focuses on training people to work on the land and allowing them to work on it freely.

Bibliography

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Lariviere, Richard W., Ainslie T. Embree, and Stephen Hay. “Sources of Indian Tradition.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 110, no. 4 (1990): 734. https://doi.org/10.2307/602901.

Pratt, James Bissett, and Robert Ernest Hume. “The Thirteen Principal Upanishads.” The Journal of Philosophy 19, no. 19 (1931): 528. https://doi.org/10.2307/2939539.

Rawlinson, George. The History of Herodotus. 2. Vol. 2. New York: Tandy-Thomas, 1866.

Rickett, W Allyn. “Guanzi: Political, Economic, and Philosophical Essays from Early China: Vol. 1, Chapters I, 1-XI, and XX, 64 XXI, 65–66. Edited and Translated by W. Allyn Rickett. (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1985. Pp. x + 484. $50.00.).” American Political Science Review 79, no. 4 (1985): 1277–77. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003055400238823.