Dharmaraja

Read a fascinating book about King Asokha by Charles Allen.He writes about how excavations by British Indophiles(the irony!!) in the last couple of centuries have shown Ashoka's efforts to help spread Buddhism and its tenets throughout India and elsewhere and also how over a period of time, his efforts were intentionally effaced.The great details he goes into make it a laborious read,but it has the pace of a detective novel with diverse characters and keeps you in thrall of the hunt for rock edicts and stupas and such, that when the book comes to an end,you close it with a faint sense of dissatisfaction like you don't know how the story ends-considering the  number of such edicts and archeological marvels which have been lost to time and its vagaries or even human interference and the ones yet to be rediscovered.
We did learn a lot about Ashoka in history class-the Sanchi stupa,Nalanda University,the Ashoka Chakra,the Lion pillar,Fahien,Huen Tsang and of course the Kalinga war.
The fact that these historical nuggets were brought to light in the recent past and were not part of Indian history forever was a revelation to me.
Ashoka's contribution to Buddhism is immeasurable and if anything  he is associated irrevocably with Buddha.
But the excavations yield a totally different theory-I am quoting from the book,which in turn,quotes ad verbatim from Ashoka's Pillar edicts.It goes like this:'What constitutes Dharma?'and sums it up as'little evil,much good,kindness,generosity,truthfulness and purity'-to which he adds,from another rock edict,'much self-examination,much respect,much fear(of evil) and much enthusiasm'.Not so much as a word about prayers,offerings,sacrifices,rituals or gods.
To me it was an,'Aha' moment.So Ashoka wasn't just enlightened in the Buddhist sense.He was far more enlightened to know that Dharma had nothing to do with religion.As much as history suggests that he was a devoted Buddhist and went to great lengths to help spread Buddhism and legend has it that he tried to give away everything he possessed to the monks and was left with half a cherry plum fruit which he offered to the monks to be mashed and made into soup to feed them.Inspite of such single mindedness and irrational religiosity,what he left to posterity is far from that.If Dharma is what he says it is,then religious tolerance becomes a tenet too does it not?
I also liked the profusion of things suggested rather than the dearth of anything.Evil is the only negative quality discussed and obviously prefaced with the adjective 'little' and every positive thing is in profusion-'much'!!Not just good and kindness and purity and such,but also much self-examination. Sometimes we are so sure of our selves that we do not stop to self-examine.Which I think might actually help us rethink our motives and actions and time and again re-orient ourselves to the right path.
Nehru rediscovered Ashoka and in a glorious act of vindication,has made him literally representative of India-the Chakra on the Indian flag and the Lion pillar which is the national symbol of India.
Buddhism predates quite a few religions and has far more tolerance and openness than those religions-wish it had caught on in the west!!