When the Elders Actually Practiced What They Preached

Author Note:

Written in early 2020 for MMW 12 — the same survey sequence I would later teach as a graduate teaching assistant. The essay takes up a deceptively simple question: did the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita actually translate into how people lived? The answer, via the monk Faxian's travel writings from Gupta-era India, is a qualified yes. I'll note that the title was written with a provocation in mind that the essay then happily subverts.

Tell the Elders to Practice what they Preach

Oftentimes, the best picture of a society comes from one that is foreign, thereby analyzing everything with a fresh perspective. This applies to the use of Hinduism as a foundation for daily life. Hailing from China, the monk Faxian thoroughly detailed his pilgrimage to India, thus providing his viewpoints on the society at the time. His accounts evidence the idea that the Hindu teachings were held to a high standard, and therefore were applied to daily life (Faxian). By using Faxian’s accounts, an essential question (of any religion) can be answered -- are the preachings put into practice? Although there is no other evidence of application and the view may be externally influenced, it is evident from Faxian’s description of India that the Hindu practices found in the Bhagavad Gita, such as following your Dharma, were the basis of his interactions with Indians at the time period. 

The Bhagavad Gita, written by Veda Vyasa, is a compilation of preachings by the God Krishna to the warrior Arjuna, who has second thoughts about battling his friends and family on the opposing side of the Mahabharat War (Bhagavad Gita). The text lays the foundation for the Hindu social order -- by following your Dharma, society will benefit by becoming more unified (Chang Lecture Nine). In order to support the Big Question, evidence is provided by the monk Faxian who came from China in order to further his spiritual journey. He detailed his travels and, by doing so, provided a picture of the way that society functioned during the Gupta Empire (Faxian). From his writings, it can be concluded that, at least in his case, the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita were applied to the daily lives of people. 

Faxian notes that “the people are well off,” and the kings have created “viharas” or sanctuaries for  priests. Faxian’s writings focus heavily on the way that religious figures are treated; the kings of the area created the optimal environment for the highly- respected priests to engage themselves in scripture and meditation (Faxian). This encapsulates the idea of following your Dharma since, according to the Hindu caste system, Brahmins are to be treated with utmost respect as learned men and the kings’ (kshatriyas) duty lies in protecting society’s values (Chang Lecture Nine). In the Gita, Arjuna exclaims that men who create violent environments “create disorder in society” and “undermine the constant laws of caste,” which as evidenced by Faxian, was not the case in the time (Bhagavad Gita). Thus, we surmise that since the traditions of the caste system were upheld, society was generally able to work together in harmony. 

A general assumption that could be made about a monarchical system of rule is that the aristocracy dominated society. Even though this idea was probably true at the time, Faxian wrote that the state of affairs for the working class was not terrible. According to him, “only those who till...lands…profit” (Faxian). Just this one sentence shows that, for the people that Faxian came across in his widespread travels, there was an equilibrium in society between those who profited and those who worked. This idea can be reflected in Hinduism, because Lord Krishna spoke about killing “the enemy menacing you in the form of desire” (Bhagavad Gita). Desire, although human in nature, was not a large problem for Gupta society, as per Faxian (Faxian). This is yet another example that proves Hindu teachings were applied to society. 

Even with this evidence, however, there is still a pressing question: what drove Faxian to write about the time period in such a rosy light? There must have been other motivations to write about a foreign land in such a reverent way. Firstly, as an outsider, would he have been able to get a full picture of the lifestyle at the time? In accordance with that, when looking at the time period that China had just come out from, there was an “existential crisis” after the collapse of the Han dynasty (Chang Lecture Thirteen). These crises could have created an unstable environment, so that by contrast the nature of the Indians was a welcome change for Faxian. This counter, however, falls flat when weighed against the nature of Buddhism; the religion is based on the idea of an unbiased and unattached life. Therefore, Faxian, as a dedicated monk, should have been able to look beyond the troubles in his native country when visiting India, thereby creating an account that would have been relatively accurate and without undue praise. 

Another possible counter theory is the mere fact that, apart from Faxian’s account, we have no other pieces of evidence that can strengthen the argument. Without any other evidence, we cannot say that Hindu practices were applied to everyone’s daily life and that his positive interactions were a result of his being a holy man. In that very argument lies the rebuttal; if a religious figure is treated with respect, that in itself is an application of the Gita’s preachings (Bhagavad Gita). Similar to how evidence of one flaw can refute a hypothesis, one piece of evidence in support increases the likelihood of the lifestyle being mirrored across the community. Since we have one account of the application of the Gita’s teachings to daily life and interactions, it is reasonable to say that the community would have had at least a little bit of a similar lifestyle. Moreover, since the Gita is a text that affects people's actions today, it follows that our ancestors would have followed the same principles. 

Although there is no way of knowing if the applications of the Gita went beyond the treatment of priests and foreigners, it can be stated that there was an attempt to put the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings into practice. This is evidenced by the positive account of Gupta society written by the monk Faxian. Even though he would most likely have been treated well as both a holy man and as a foreigner, his writings are detailed enough to show links between the religious text and daily life. Therefore, we can conclude that the Hindu preachings of the Gita were applied to the interactions between Faxian and the Indians, and, using that as a basis, were most likely an important foundation of the society. 

Works Cited:

“Bhagavad Gita,” Translated by Barbara Stoler Miller, Bantam Classic, 1986.

Chang, Edmond. “Outline Lecture Nine—Hindu Values in the Bhagavad-Gita.” University of

California, San Diego, La Jolla, February 4, 2020, Lecture.

Chang, Edmond. “Outline Lecture Ten—The Gupta Empire’s Impact on Hindu Ethics.”

University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, February 6, 2020, Lecture.

Faxian. “ A Chinese Perspective on Gupta India.”

Wiesner- Hanks, Merry E., et al. A History of World Societies. Value Edition. 10 the Ed

Bedford/St Martin’s 2018.