How Indian culture inspired these 5 personalities
Indian culture is very vast and rich. Being the birthplace of many religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, etc., it has abundant scriptures and books centered around values, purpose, and connecting with the almighty. Not just on the spiritual side but also on the academic side, Takshashila University is widely considered the first university in the world. Takshashila University was known for its expertise in science, especially medicine in the form of Ayurveda. The institution also had a wealth of knowledge in religion, archery, and astrology. All this wealth of knowledge has shaped and defined what India is and this culture has inspired many people from the West. Here are some stories behind them:
- J Robert Oppenheimer: Oppenheimer was a brilliant theoretical physicist of his generation. He led “The Manhattan Project” which was about the design and development of the first atomic bombs and this earned him the title of “Father of the atomic bomb”. Oppenheimer was very inspired by the “Bhagavad Geeta”, shortly after the detonation of the first atomic bomb in Japan, Oppenheimer cited the following text from the book. “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, and most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Geeta. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. I suppose we all thought that one way or another”.
He did not cite those words to justify his actions rather he was quoting it from a philosophical standpoint. The Bhagavad Geeta is widely considered an inspirational book by many to find all the answers regarding life. The book is an excerpt from the final battle of Mahabharatha. It is a dialogue conflict between Arjuna(Warrior Prince) and Lord Krishna. Arjuna doesn’t want to go against his family and is uncertain about his actions, and Lord Krishna provides a philosophical insight to urge Prince Arjuna to fulfill his duties. The sacred book has many lessons like duty, time, greed, salvation, etc.
Oppenheimer found comfort in Bhagvad Geeta, as a theoretical physicist it was his duty to experiment on the atomic bomb. Just like how Arjuna had to take up his duty as a warrior and end the war, Oppenheimer had to do research on atomic bombs before Nazi Germany got better at it. The burden of innocent lives however stuck with him for a long time.
2. Steve Jobs: Steve Jobs was one of the biggest pioneers of the technological revolution by founding Apple Inc. Steve Jobs is a well-known follower of Buddhism after his trip to India. In his teen years, Steve Jobs made a trip to India in search of inspiration. He was seeking to find himself; longing to be enlightened. Along with his college companion, Daniel Kottke, Jobs set off on the path of finding spirituality and direction by visiting India. ‘Be Here Now’ about Neem Karoli Baba, and then a whole series of further books about Eastern spirituality had set the stage for their trip. The visit is said to have changed his thinking. After his visit to India, Jobs returned as a Buddhist with a shaved head. His faith in human intelligence and technology was rejuvenated during their visit to Neem Karoli Baba, a popular mystic of that era.
This India trip basically changed the entire perception of the world for Steve Jobs. He faced harsh truths of the world and was also said to have attained an interest in spirituality on his departure from India. He returned to America as a Buddhist and also transformed into a more focused and visionary individual. His trip to India made him ruthless and a perfectionist. This hardened personality of his, as a result of his trip to India, laid down the foundations of Apple Inc. ideologically and contributed to Steve Jobs’ endeavor to shape Apple into what it is today.
3. The Beatles: The Beatles are still one of the biggest bands to exist. They started making albums in the 60s and became the most influential band of all time in the space of just a couple of years. They recorded 13 albums in just under 10 years. Over the course of these years, the band had been through a lot. With the sudden passing of their manager Brian Epstein, their relationship with each other began to suffer as well. They had stopped touring altogether due to exhaustion and poor audio equipment. During this turbulent time, they needed a spiritual awakening, which would give them new ideas for songwriting.
George Harrison was the one who first got curious about Indian music. He had a fondness to learn the Sitar and He journeyed to India in order to learn more about the sitar from Ravi Shankar, the sitar maestro. When Shankar realized that Harrison really wanted to learn, he became his full-fledged guru. George brought back his learnings to the other bandmates, who embraced Indian culture too.
To carry on with the theme of spiritualism, the Beatles then decided to go to Rishikesh, India to stay at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram. This trip to India proved to be one of the most creative periods. They had written over 40 songs while in India. It became a major publicized event that carried over to the West. This trip brought Indian music to the limelight in Western media, they even incorporated the Sanskrit lyrics “ Jai Guru Deva” which translates to “Hail the mighty teacher” in their song across the universe to remark on their trip to India.
4. U2: U2 was another big rock band. In terms of financial success, they are the number 1 band in terms of highest-grossing tours. Bono the band’s lead singer is a big fan of Mahatma Gandhi and his mantra of Ahimsa. The band even has a song called Ahimsa. These are the exact words of Bono about India “Ahimsa, that’s the word for nonviolence [in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism] — it’s a beautiful word. There’s something in the chaos in that country: It’s really ancient traditions and it’s also ultra-modern. The future of democracy is being played out there in some ways. Europe is quite staid, America is founded on that concept, and in India, it’s very much about, “Can it survive at that scale with the pressures going on?” With so many different ethnic groups all obviously should be respected. Pluralism and democracy are less stable, and dependable there than elsewhere in the world. Of course, we all have a stake in it surviving as a democracy”.
To summarize U2 were very inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and believes that Ahimsa is the biggest gift that India has given to the world, and it is still very applicable in a polarized world.
5. Coldplay: Coldplay are one of the active big bands in the world. It is no secret that they love Indian culture. The band always carries the writing “कोल्डप्ले” on their drum kit and performs around the world. Their biggest music video is Hymn for the Weekend which was shot in India and depicts the festival of colors called “Holi”.
Chris Martin is also the brand ambassador of the global poverty project, so he first visited India during this business trip when he met PM Narendra Modi to discuss India’s Swachh Bharat campaign and efforts towards sanitation. It was almost a year after this that Coldplay shot the hymn for the weekend in India.
This is what Chris Martin had to say about India during their first full-length show in Mumbai in 2016: “India appeals to everybody. For me personally, I always felt like we would come here when we wanted to embrace all colors. I don’t mean racially, but literally; just all the colors of the world. To me, India’s always represented ‘everything’, it represents ‘all’. Everything is here. You can stay here forever and you’ll never feel like you’ve missed out on life. There’s enough to keep you occupied. We felt, that as a band, we had to get to a place where we could maybe handle that expanse of color. Then we came up with that video, and the thing we’re talking about now is accepting everybody and loving everybody, which is reflected in the use of all colors. We chose to come here because here’s where it’s reflected very strongly.”
