Himalayan Times (1962)

'July 8, 1962

Himalayan Times

Five

Dr. S. C CHATTERJI

In the central part
of the largest continent
of the world and connec-
ted with the northern re-
gion! of India & Burma
there ia situated the high-
est table land of Tibet,
alio known as the roof-
of-the-world. Wreathed in
the romance of centuries,
this land of seolusion of
vast plains at immense
altitudes has recently be
come the topic of the
day. It is the marvel of
the 20th oentury that a
country larger in area
than France should remain
sealed to the outer world
for such, a long time.

One of the ohief rea
sons for this isolation ia
due, to the. pbysioal con-
figuration of the country -
the extra ordinary height
of the wild uplands of
the interior averaging
12,000 to 15,000 feet
above the sea level, and
only rivalled by the still
more mighty heights which
form a majeatio rampart
surrounding the entire
country.

Another reason is that
the Tibetans whole life is
outwardly religious. He
is constantly praying and
consults the priests, calls
the lama at every step.
While crossing a pass he
reverntly plaocs a stone

on a mound at the top
and tells his beads all
the way. It may be to
a great extent true that
the monks who are also
the rulers are prompted
by their own olerioal self-
interest to raise a politi-
cal barrier and for fear
of losing their advanta-
geous monopoly have strug-
gled and striven by every
means in their power to
preserve the isolation of
their country.

Ethnological!}- the Ti-
betans belong to Tartar
raoe which from time im-
memorial has inhabitated
the Central Asian plateau.
They are more closely
akin to the people of
Mongolia, Burma, Nepal
and the India border land
than to the Chinese. Be-
sides raoe, the most im-
portant factors in the.
evolution of the nation
have been geographical
and religious. A country
whose average height is
some three miles above
sea level is not likely to
altraot the inhabitants of
lower level and therefore
remained isolated for
centuries. It is but na-
tural that under these
conditions they have a
fantastic notion of their
origin. It will be interest-
ing to note that they

forestalled Darwin in his
hypothesis of the descent
of man. They claim as
their first parent a mon-
key which crossed the
Himalayas and then roar,
ried a she-devil of the
mountain. The young
progeny of apes ate soma
magical fruits, and won-
derful were the results
which then followed. Their
tails and hairs grew shorter
till they finally disap-
peared. '1 hey began to
speak and noticing the
change began to clothe
themselves with leaves.
Thus they aleo account
for the chief traits of
their character. Perhaps
influenced by the Indian
epic poem, Ramayana', in
whioh the monkey God
II aim ma i> was an incar-
nation of love, piety and
strength, they attribute
to themselves these qua-
lities and have inherited
roughness, cruelty and
ferocity from their mother.

The reliable history
of the Tibetans begins
from tht King Songtsen
G&mpo who overran up-
per Burma and Western'
China in 640 A. D. and
compelled the Chinese
Emperor to yield a prin-
cess in marriage to the
conqueror who also mar-
ried a beautiful princess
in Nepal; and these two
Buddhist queens speedily
converted their young hus-
band to their faitb.

This heW religion thnt