The only value I never question is that of the teachings I received from Shaivite Hinduism which rejects any kind of dogmatism, since I have found no other form of thought which goes so far, so clearly, which such depth and intelligence, in comprehending the divine and the world's structures.
Alain Daniélou
1907 - 1994
Alain Daniélou, son of French aristocracy, travelled to India as a young man and stayed.
He is the author of over thirty books on Indian music and culture. He received several awards for his work on music. He was also a photographer and painter. He studied Indian classical music in Varanasi with Shivendranath Basu and played the veena. He also translated some of the works of Swami Karpatri by whom he was initiated into Shaivism under the name Shiva Sharan (Protected by Shiva). He is perhaps best remembered for his important work on classical Indian music.
He has published seminal works on religion (Hindu Polytheism/The Myths and Gods of India), society (Virtue, Success, Pleasure and Liberation, The four Aims of Life, The Kama-Sutra), music (The Ragas of Northern Indian Music, Music and the Power of Sound), sculpture and architecture (Visages de l'Inde Médiévale, Le Temple Hindou, La Sculpture Erotique Hindoue, L'Erotisme Divinisé), tales (Tales from the Ganges, Tales from the Labyrinth), a history of India, and a book on Yoga. His double but by no means synthetic culture gave Alain Daniélou an outsider's view of the Western world, which may sometimes surprise. In two of his works, Gods of Love and Ecstasy, The Tradition of Shiva and Dionysus and While the Gods Play - Shaiva Oracles and Predictions on the Cycle of History and the Destiny of Mankind, he deals with the problems of a Western culture that has gone astray, having lost its own traditions and estranged man from both nature and the divine. He demonstrates that the ancient rites and beliefs of the Western world are very close to Shivaism and can be clearly explained with the aid of the texts and rites existing in India.
- excerpted from http://www.alaindanielou.org
| India whose ancient borders stretched until Afghanistan, lost with the country of seven rivers (the Indus Valley [of modern Pakistan]), the historical center of her civilization. At a time when the Muslim invaders seemed to have lost some of their extremism and were ready to assimilate themselves to other populations of India, the European (British) conquerors, before returning home, surrendered once more to Muslim fanaticism the cradle of Hindu civilization. |
The young Daniélou studied singing under the famous Charles Panzéra, as well as classical dancing with Nicholas Legat (teacher of Vaslav Nijinsky), and composition with Max d'Olonne.
He and his partner, Swiss photographer Raymond Burnier, first went to India as part of an adventure trip, and they were fascinated with the art and culture of the nation. Daniélou was one of the first Westerners to visit India's famed erotic temples in the village of Khajuraho. His stunning photographs of the ancient temple complex launched the site internationally. The first-ever photo exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum were those of Khajuraho taken by Daniélou.
... [H]is more important contribution to Indology is his writings on the ancient wisdom of the Veda, Hindu philosophy, and Shaivism.
In 1949, Daniélou was appointed professor at the Hindu University of Benares and director of the College of Indian Music.
He is the author of over thirty books on Indian music and culture. He received several awards for his work on music. He was also a photographer and painter. He studied Indian classical music in Varanasi with Shivendranath Basu and played the veena. He also translated some of the works of Swami Karpatri by whom he was initiated into Shaivism under the name Shiva Sharan (Protected by Shiva). He is perhaps best remembered for his important work on classical Indian music.
He was an Officer of the Légion d'Honneur, an Officer of the Ordre National du Mérite, and Commander of Arts and Letters. In 1981, he received the UNESCO/CIM prize for music, and, in 1987 the Kathmandu Medal from UNESCO.
- excerpted from Wikipedia, 2006
_____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________