Interview

Interview with Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA, New Delhi

India possesses an estimate of ten million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world. These cover a variety of themes, textures and aesthetics, scripts, languages, calligraphies, illuminations and illustrations. It has emerged as a movement, undoubtedly the most popular and effective among all the heritage conservation initiatives in the country. In this context, IGNCA has played a great role in identifying, documenting, conserving and making accessible the manuscript heritage of India. What is the latest remarkable addition to the Manuscript re-prints that has been done in your guidance?

The first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur published by the National Mission for Manuscripts, IGNCA is one of the most important additions we have made recently. Mongolian Kanjur, the Buddhist canonical text in 108 volumes is considered to be the most important religious text in Mongolia. In the Mongolian language ‘Kanjur’ means ‘Concise Orders’ – the words of Lord Buddha in particular. It is held in high esteem by the Mongolian Buddhists and they worship the Kanjur at temples and recite the lines of Kanjur in daily life as a sacred ritual. The Kanjur are kept almost in every monastery in Mongolia. Mongolian Kanjur has been translated from Tibetan. The language of the Kanjur is Classical Mongolian. The Mongolian Kanjur is a source of providing a cultural identity to Mongolia. During the socialist period, xylographs were consigned to flames and monasteries were bereft of their sacred scriptures.

The publication of Mongolian Kanjur by the Government of India for the Government of Mongolia will act as a symbol of cultural symphony between India and Mongolia and will contribute to furtherance of bilateral relations during the coming years.

The first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur was presented to the Ambassador of Mangolia in the presence of Hon’ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind on the occasion of Guru Purnima, also known as Dharma Chakra Day on 4th July 2020. Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi in his address on this occasion expressed, happiness on this achievement.

What are the courses undertaken by IGNCA on Buddhism?

IGNCA is currently offering a one year Post Graduate Diploma course in Buddhist Studies. The course brings together the information from a variety of disciplines – Philosophy, Psychology, Art, Architecture, History, and Archaeology – to highlight their various findings and perspectives regarding the different facets of Buddhism past and present. The diverse and highly qualified programme faculty present a variety of intellectual and historical view points, creating a stimulating milieu in which genuine inquiry can occur. Participants are encouraged to examine their own cultural and intellectual assumptions as they pursue this study in a challenging and supportive environment.

The interdisciplinary, multi-instructor course provides an introduction to Buddhism within the context of development in India and the world, particularly South East Asia. We end with a study tour to the Buddhist Heritage Sites.

IGNCA has been playing a great role in disseminating art and culture from India primarily and Asia in general, through exhibitions in the public domain. What are IGNCA’s undertakings in exhibitions on Buddhist art and culture in recent years?

Avalokitesvara/Guanyin: Feminine Symbolism in Buddhist Art and Tiji Festival: Driving Out Demons, are the two noteworthy exhibitions recently undertaken on Buddhism.

The exhibition on ‘Avalokitesvara/Guanyin: Feminine symbolism in Buddhist Art’ was displayed at Kagyupa Monlam International Trust, Bodhgaya by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi. It remained open from 9 March to 31 March, 2018. The central theme of the exhibition was the representations of feminine symbolism in the images of the Avalokitesvara, the most popular Mahayana Bodhisattva as his cult has played an important role in the growth of Mahayana Buddhism and art.

The Tiji Festival’s essence event is invoking the deity Dorje Shunu (Vajrakila), a deity who defeats and keeps evils away. A lama plays the role of Dorje Shunu the main dancer (tsowo) wearing the mask. The folkfore of Lo Manthang records the 19^th century Sakyapa lama Ngachen Ngawang Kunga Sonam from Tibet who played lead dancer in the Tiji festival to ward off the awful fortune that Lo Manthang was witnessing.

One of the key divisions under IGNCA is the Kalakosa Divison. Notably, this division handles area Studies, under which there are specialized branches like East Asia, Central Asia and South East Asia, which broadly cover a number of countries with a sizeable population whose cultural and religious background is Buddhism. What are the objectives of this division and its branches?

East Asian Studies is a distinct multidisciplinary field of scholarly enquiry which focuses on the cultures of China, Japan, and Korea. East Asia, Central Asia must be seen as a dynamic site of trans-cultural relations. This highly interdisciplinary study enrich the scholarly community by bringing together students and scholars from a diverse array of fields, ranging from the social sciences, economics, religion to global humanities. The main focus is on Buddhism, Buddhist art, archaeology & culture especially in China, Japan, Korea and other parts of the globe and its linkage with India.

South-East Asian Study deals with India’s classical cultural relations with Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar. Additionally, the programme also focuses on the study of the classical art and culture of these regions of Asia devoting considerable attention to Buddhism and its other sister sects and conducting studies on the classical literature based on Indian epics: the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Central Asian Studies also studies the distinctive culture of these countries and their Cultural linkages with India.

Periodical organization of the Conferences, Seminars, exhibitions and scholarly discussion in the shape of lecture have also been key activities of these centres.

What are the digitization mechanisms employed to ensure the preservation and increase the outreach of the accessibility of documents, research and manuscripts in the public domain?

IGNCA has been utilizing different forms of Multimedia and ICT in the preservation of its resources. The qualified teams of the Centre have been compiling materials like visuals, books, stories, and folk tales etc. into DVDs, as well as online versions which are accessible through our website. The catalogue of the IGNCA library is available online. One notable example of IGNCA’s efforts in digitalization in this context is the collection of illustrated Jataka tales and Buddha stories that has been made available on the IGNCA website. IGNCA has a specialized Division known as Cultural Informatics under which we are converging Information Technology and various cultural verticals. We also have Vedic Heritage Portal and National Cultural Audio Visual Archives.

Shri Prahlad Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State with Independent charge of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, stated that there are plans to revive the Buddhism circuit in collaboration with the IGNCA and to have an office of the International Buddhist Conclave at the newly devised building of the IGNCA. What are the plans to initiate new projects to revise the Buddhist Circuits in the region of Eastern India?

We are conducting studies through eminent scholars and experts to identify the cultural routes through different countries through which Buddhism spread in these countries from India. We are trying to document the Cultural Linkages and Intra Cultural Commonalities with these countries. There is a strong need to document the shared heritage and revive old traditions which gave strength to our relationship. Culture has the power to bring us closer and make our relationship happier and healthier. We are working on that. IBC is an important initiative and we at IGNCA are more than happy to support this initiative in whatsoever manner it is possible, as has been said by the Hon’ble Minister.

In recent past IGNCA in association with Deshkal Society, a leading Civil Society organization based in Delhi, have developed a programme on Bodhgaya Global Dialogues, in your guidance. What are the aim and objectives of the Bodhgaya Global Dialogues? What has been achieved through these Dialogues?

The aim of the Bodhgaya Global dialogues (BGD) is to create a platform for expression of experiences, reflections and insights from plural perspectives connecting heritage, education and sustainability for building a future on the foundations of Buddha’s legacy on enlightenment and compassion. The key objective of the Bodhgaya Global Dialogues is to create dialogue, knowledge building and sustainable network with international organizations, non government organizations, politicians, policy makers, practitioners, ordinary citizens, tourists and pilgrims for safeguarding the heritage and securing sustainable development of the Bodhgaya region.

IGNCA in collaboration with Deshkal society and other leading institutions (private and public) succeeded not only in building a network with the scholars, policy makers and practitioners in India in particular and around the world in general, but also generated a repository of knowledge from multi-disciplinary approach on Heritage, Buddhism, and sustainability. In addition, it also succeeded in connecting and sharing the key messages of the deliberation with participants and delegates, especially undergraduate and post-graduate students in the Bodhgaya region.

In this regard, I would also like to underline that the Bodhgaya Global Dialogues is not merely an event, rather a sustainable effort in order to build a centre and course so as to ensure research, documentation and dissemination of heritage and practice as well as philosophy of Buddhism based in Bodhgaya region, among local researchers and students as well as abroad, especially South Asian and South East Asian countries.

Last but not the least, I would like to get your response on how has Buddhism influenced Sanatan Dharma in terms of philosophy, art, religion etc., and vice versa?

Honestly speaking I am not an authority to speak on that. But whatever I could understand as an ordinary student, I can narrate that much Sanatan Dharma and Buddhism both religious belong to this land of Bharat. The glory of this land has been that it provided ample opportunity for all kinds of thoughts and philosophies to blossom and flourish. As we all know what prompted Siddharth to move out in search of the replies to his queries. Once he found the reply and attained enlightenment he became Buddha.

I feel Sanatan Dharma is like a spectrum which is through a prizm gets converted in one ray of Buddhism. These can be unending similarities and contrasts between these two religions but at the end both reach the same destination. The only difference left them is either to choose Moksha (Sanatan) or Nirvana (Buddhism).