The Light of Asia (book)

COver of 1879 American edition. From Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library, TSA Wheaton.

The Light of Asia is a poetic work by Edwin Arnold based on the life of Gautama Buddha. Siddhartha was a prince, well-educated and of high status. He married a beautiful and had a son. On one of his tours around the country, he was shocked and saddened by the suffering of the people and the abuse of animals. He left the palace and relinquished all worldly pleasures to go in search of truth and meaning. Finally he achieved Nirvana while sitting under a Bodhi tree in Gaya. From that point on, he was known as the Buddha. The main principle of his teachings was ahimsa or non-violence toward fellow creatures.

Publication history

Editions:

• New York: A.L. Burt, 1879.
• Boston: Roberts Bros., 1880.
• Philadelphia: John Wanamaker, 1890. With full and complete explanatory notes by Mrs. I.L. Hauser.
• New York, Boston: T.Y. Crowell & Co. 1894.
• London: John Lane and New York: Dodd, Mead 1926, A new edition with illustrations by Hamzeh Carr; introduction by Sir E. Denison Ross.
• Philadelphia: David McKay Company, 1932. Ilustrated by Willy Pogany.
• Mount Vernon, N.Y.: Peter Pauper Press, 1940s. Illustrated by Valenti Angelo.
• Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1969.
• Avon, Conn.: Limited Editions Club, 1976. Introduction by Melford E. Spiro and illustrated by Ayres Houghtelling. Limited edition of 2,000 copies, printed by A. Colish, and signed by the artist. Issued in slipcase.

Digital versions

• Buddha Dharma Education Association web page Buddhanet.net [5]

Reviews

In the sumptuous Buddhist literature of the world, "The Light of Asia", by Sir Edwin Arnold, is without any doubt, a unique work. It is primarily because, this is the only original poem written in English on the Buddha, throughout the long history of Buddhism. This distinction is quite necessary to be established, because there are translations of original Pali works into English and other languages. Some of these are outstanding instances of spiritual poetry. Sir Edwin Arnold, the Author of this epic poem, was initially persuaded to compose this sacred work, as a result of his deep and abiding desire to aid in the better and mutual understanding between East and West.

Commentary

One reason for the striking success of The Light of Asia with Western readers was that Arnold, by filtering Buddhist myth through his Victorian consciousness, created an intellectual landscape familiar enough not to be forbidding but still exotic enough to be intriguing.

White Lotus Day

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky specified that each year on the anniversary of her death, her friends should gather and read from The Light of Asia and the Bhagavad-Gita.

Impact of this work

Arnold's work caught the imagination of many in the West, and greatly increased popular interest in Buddhism and the religions of the East.

Mahatma Gandhi was among those influenced by this work:

The first two religious books that Gandhiji studied during his student days in London (1888–1891) were Sir Edwin Arnold’s English translation of the Bhagavad Gita—The Song Celestial (1885)—and The Light of Asia (1879)—which depicted the life and philosophy of Gautama Buddha. He writes in his Autobiography; "I read it [The Light of Asia] with even greater interest than I did the Bhagavad Gita. Once I had begun it, I could not leave off... My young mind tried to unify the teaching of the Gita, The Light of Asia, and the Sermon on the Mount. That renunciation was the highest form of religion appealed to me greatly."

Theatrical and film productions

Rukmini Devi Arundale created a theatrical production of The Light of Asia with the assistance of Alex and Mary Elmore. It was also produced by All India Radio at their Marshal Road Studios.

Another theatrical version was presented in 1918 in the upper gardens at Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Hollywood, California. It ran for 35 performances in the Krotona Stadium that could seat 800 people. According to Joy Mills:

A pre-convention attraction which caused a great stir was the presentation of "The Light of Asia," as a dramatic production with the well-known actor, Walter Hampden (hailed by one newspaper as "America's best Hamlet") in the leading role as the Buddha. Staged in the Krotona Stadium, the play attracted great attention in Los Angeles and surrounding communities; among the distinguished spectators were the Mayor of Los Angeles, John Masefield of England, the Japanese consul, and a number of prominent motion picture producers and stars."

In India, the film industry, in its infancy, chose The Light of Asia as a subject:

Bengal-born Himanshu Rai, while pursuing his legal education at the Inner Temple in London, came into contact with playwright Niranjan Pal, who was working on a script based on Edwin Arnold's poem, Light of India. The two set up a partnership. Pal got Peter Ostermeyer's German company, Emelka, to pre-buy the European distribution rights and contribute the technical crew consisting of Director Franz Osten (Ostermeyer's brother), cameraman Joseph Wirsching, production designer Karl von Spretti and assistants and all technical equipments, while Rai got the Delhi-based Great Eastern Film Corporation owned by Moti and Prem Sagar to invest in one-third of the production. And thus took shape Light of Asia (1925) - the first significant international co-production. The unique film was shot entirely in India, in actual locales, without aid of studio sets, artificial lights, faked up properties or make-up.