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Japan Times
26 October, 1933
Former Ruler if Indian State now Peace Advocate
Raja J.P. Bahadur Singh
To Lecture in Japan on World Unity
By Franz Weissblatt
Once Maharajah of an independent state
in India, holding the power of life and death over 30,000
subjects now Raja Jai Prithvi Bahadur Sing, Private Citizen,
Philosopher and Author- this remarkable character has just
arrived in Japan for a three weeks visit.
The Rajah has been attending a world
conference of the Humanistic club in Chicago, of which he
is the founder, and where he was elected president of the
International Committee of the World Fellowship. He has been
deputed to carry the mission of 'World Fellowship" to
Japan, China and India and to establish centers in these countries.
Three lectures on the ideas and object of the mission will
be given in Tokyo.
If the idea of the 'Humanistic Club'
his broadcast throughout the World, the Nations of the World
will not have to spend enormous sums on the upkeep of their
Military and naval equipment. The people of all the Nation
will have nothing but a friendly feeling for each, stated
the Rajah Mission is World Peace
The Rajah when interviewed at the San
Hotel was asked to give his opinion on future trade relations
between Japan and India. He smiled and said- I am not interested
in international affairs in that sense of the world. My mission
is world peace and unity.
After abdicating in 1914 as Raja of
Bajhang, one of the Nepal States on the Southern face of the
Himalayas between British India and Tibet, the Rajah went
to Southern India, made friends with other social reformers,
founded the Humanistic club and devoted himself entirely to
spreading the gospel of religious tolerance, abolition of
castes and classes, and to furthering the fellowship of Nations.
In 1928, when his father-in-law, the Prime Minister of Nepal
and actual ruler of Nepal States, tried to force him to return
to his native land, the Rajah packed his bag and started on
a world lecture tour. Since then he has gained recognition
among leaders of the world fellowship.
Educated in India
The Colonel Rajah, who is 56 years old,
is a tall, striking man with gentle brown eyes. Although he
was educated in India, he speaks English perfectly. The State
of Bajhang, over which I once ruled, is a very small place,
said the Rajah. He explained that it had a population of 30,000
was 30 miles long and 12 miles broad. The Rajah will lecture
in Osaka and Kobe after leaving here and then sail for Shanghai
and Nanking for a series of lectures.
Addresses Meeting
Raja J.P. Bahadur addressed a meeting
of the Asia Club, Takaratei, Hirakawa-Cho, Kojimachi-Ku, Thursday
evening.
Excepts from his speech follow:
This is my first visit to this beautiful
and wonderful country of yours. My object of visiting this
country has been twofold. In the first place I had long since
cherished an idea of seeing this land of the rising sun, the
nation that has redeemed the prestige of the orient. Next
and this is the more important object, I have come to spread
the message of the second parliament of religions, or the
world fellowship of faiths that was held at Chicago.
"I belong to a country between
British India and Tibet in the Southern watershed of the Himalayas
known as Nepal. This is an independent country like Afghanistan,
though we have no diplomatic relations with other countries.
Nepal is the Holy Land to the Buddhist World for it was in
this country that Lord Buddha was born. Excavations are proceeding
today at Kapilavastu, the birthplace of Buddha, and are likely
to reveal a great wealth of information. As for my self, I
was once the ruler of a small province in this Kingdom of
Nepal and in the year 1914 when the Great War broke out, I
gave up my title preferring to serve my fellowmen by being
one of them. Ever since I have devoted all my means and energy
to the ideal of bringing peace and unity between all classes,
races and creeds of humanity. It was with this object, that
I undertook a lecturing tour in Europe in 1929, and started
an organization called the Humanistic Club in Bangalore India.
This year I visited Chicago to attend the parliament of religions
whose ideals I discovered to be almost identical with those
of mine. This conference at Chicago was a very significant
one. More than two hundred speakers from different parts of
the world among whom were such distinguished personages from
Japan as Dr. Anezaki of the Emperial University and His Holiness
K. Nakayama of Tenrikyo Temple. Every one, whatever his faith,
race or creed came forward in a sprit of friendliness, and
met each other in a cordial spirit of fellowship".
Japan Times
November 5, 1933
Sanskrit Characters
for Japanese
Appeal to Japanese People
By Col. Raja Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh of Nepal
It was on
board the N. V. K. liner Asama Maru, on my way to Japan from
America, that I had the first opportunity of listening to
Japanese language being spoken among my fellow passengers
as well as the Steamship employees. Then I first realized
how close the Japanese tongue sounded to the languages of
India and particularly to that of my country, Nepal. When
I listened to Japanese, I felt I was listening to a language
very much skin to my own, though I could not understand the
sense. I was just then preparing my speech in English which
I intended to deliver in Tokyo, regarding any mission in connection
with the world fellowship of faiths whose message, after the
connection of the conference Chicago, I was entrusted to carry
to the East.
It was then
a bright idea stuck my mind, 'Why' said I to myself, Should
I address in English in Japan when I know that the majority
of the people will not understand me, unless through the mediation
of an interpreter? Rather than have an interpreter stand between
me and my audience, I thought I could have my speech translated
in Japanese, which I would take down in Sanskrit Characters,
which, I would take down in Sanskrit characters, which, by
the way, are the same employed for my own mother tongue- Nepalese,
and would read out directly to my audience. Enthused with
the idea, I hastened up to a fellow passenger, a Japanese
gentleman, whose acquaintance I had made previously, to try
and see if my idea is workable. I asked him to translate for
me a rather complex sentence from a newspaper and took down
the translation in Sanskrit and read it out him and later
to a few other friends who complimented me on my exact reproduction
of the sentence. This experiment convinced me of the feasibility
of reading my address directly to my audience in Japan.
Is put
To Test
At a meeting
of the members of Asia Club, a couple of days ago, I put this
experiment to the full-test by reading out a rather lengthy
speech translated into Japanese and written out in Sanskrit
characters, and at the close of the address all the members
present congratulated me on my novel idea, and assured me
that they understood every word I said. I relate this story,
as a personal instance, in support of the argument, which
I am going to put forth before the Japanese people, both academicians
and layman, on behalf of my appeal for the introduction of
Sanskrit characters for the Japanese language.
It is an
obvious fact that a tremendous lot of energy, time and concentration
is taken up in just learning to master the baffling number
of Japanese characters. All this strain exerted by the student,
which I am told extends over a period of more than six years,
could be so simplified, as if by magic, by just introducing
the Sanskrit alphabet consisting of forty-eight letters. It
is no exaggeration to say, with in these 48 letters may be
written every articulate sound of the human tongue. Sanskrit,
perhaps the oldest language of the world, is the mother of
a great culture. Sanskrit, writing is undoubtedly the most
scientific method of phonetic writing ever evolved. The very
word 'Sanskrit' means "well-made", All the great
Buddhist Scriptures, in the original are in Palf language,
a dialect of Sanskrit, and written in the same script, More
than half a dozen languages spoken in India are written in
the Sanskrit characters.
Attempt
will fail
I have been
told that there is a movement in certain circles for the introduction
of Roman characters for Japanese writing. It is an obvious
fact that such an attempt is bound to fail, not only because
the transcription involves an informs loss of time and occupies
a greater space, but also because the Roman alphabet has no
equivalents for certain of the sounds in the Japanese language.
By the time you will have written the Japanese word for 'I'
in Roman script you will have come to the end of the line.
On the other
hand, Sanskrit not only reproduces every sound in Japanese
but also conserves space and time. Besides, Sanskrit writing
is very artistic in appearance, and what is more important
than all these, is that is can be learnt in so short a period
as a month or two, depending upon the attention paid by the
student.
Sanskrit
has none of the silent sounds of French or English nor is
there the baffling problem of spelling that you have to face
in trying to learn these two languages.
I put forth
this plea for Sanskrit alphabet, with the fervent hope that
not only Japan but every other country of the East may adopt
one common script, script, just as Europe all over has adopted
the Roman script, and thereby uniting the Great Human Family
of Asia. The adoption of a common script encourages and facilitates
the study of one another's language and helps to remove the
barriers of speech that stand so much in the way of mutual
understanding among the nations of the East.
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