contrast, serious historians are obliged, as much as possible, to see the whole
picture and seek to understand the parts (even those that seem less than
pleasant) in terms of the whole.
“Noble savage”
Yet another lens which has been used to view Indian religion is characterized
by the term “noble savage” made famous by the philosopher Rousseau.
It lies somewhere between romanticism and disdain, but tends to be more
paternalistic. It characterizes a tradition in relatively positive terms as the
reflection of a primal innocence or even nobility. But as with the romantics
of the post-Enlightenment period, there is an assumption that things pro-
gress for the better. The assumption, often implied, is that this innate nobility
will be capped or fulfilled by that which the West affords.
One is tempted to include in this mode of viewing the work of one of the
early “Western” interpreters of India – Al-Bı ̄ru ̄nı ̄. Far more sensitive to
Indian religion than many of the European interpreters who succeeded him,
this eleventh-century Muslim astronomer worked with brahman pundits,
studied Sanskrit and certain texts, and found in them much that reminded
him of his own religion – Islam. Al-Bı ̄ru ̄nı ̄ confessed to having a “great
liking for the subject [of Indian culture and religion]” and claims that his
intention is mostly to “simply relate without criticizing.”^10 Where there were
differences from his own belief system, he offers plausible excuses, implying
the subcontinent had not had the opportunities for more enlightening
revelations. He concludes his descriptions, nonetheless, with this reason
for his study:
We have here given an account of these things in order that the reader
may learn by the comparative treatment of the subject how much
superior the institutions of Islam are, and how much more plainly this
contrast brings out all customs and usages, differing from those of Islam,
in their essential foulness.^11Some later missionary scholars and translators similarly had a genuine
appreciation for aspects of the Hindu tradition, though they often attributed
these positive developments either to the influence of Christianity or saw
them as intimations of Christianity. G. U. Pope, for example, in translating
in the nineteenth century the devotional poetry of the ninth-century
(dates uncertain) Tamil saint, Ma ̄n.ikkava ̄cakar, celebrated the notions of
grace (arul.) and divine love (an
̄
pu), which he thought were reminiscent
of Christian pietism. Some missionary scholars of the twentieth century
thought of Hinduism as a “preparatio evangelica” with the same relationship
6 On Wearing Good Lenses