George Uglow Pope as the Pandit, the Philosopher, and the Missionary

Vecherina Ol'ga ORCID: 0000-0001-5223-4683 PhD in History Associate professor, Department of Mediation in Social Sphere, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education; Senior researcher, Centre of Investigation of Indian Philosophy and Culture “Purushottama”, RUDN University 127051, Russia, Moscow, Sretenka str., 29 o.p.vecherina@gmail.com Other publications by this author

BeginningOne of the founders of Tamil studies in the West, George Uglow Pope (1820-1908), lived a long and very fruitful life.

He was born on April 24, 1820 on Prince Edward Island (Canada), his parents were zealous followers of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, a current in English Protestantism named after the founder of the "holiness movement" John Wesley (1703-1791). In 1826, the family returned to the UK. Young George was distinguished by outstanding language skills. He fell in love with the sound of the Tamil language when he accidentally heard a missionary who came on vacation from Madras and said a few words in Tamil, addressing 17-year-old Pope and his fellow schoolchildren. As noted by his biographers and judging by his later career, young Pope seems to have been more inspired by the language itself than by practical missionary work. Having made an extravagant decision about his future as a propagator of biblical truths among the Tamil-speaking population of South India, Pope began to study Tamil with the help of Wesleyan missionaries even before he left the UK. He later said that "all his higher education was in Tamil" ^{[1, p. xiv–xv]}.

"Pandit" (skt. "scientist") — this nickname was given to Pope when he demonstrated his brilliant knowledge of the Tamil language on board the ship on which he sailed to Madras in 1839. He spent eight hours a day reading on the ship itself. By the time he got to Chennai, he had prepared a book of Christian messages in Tamil. Thus, the 19-year-old Pope arrived in Madras, having learned Tamil from books during his long journey. He persevered on his way to becoming a missionary in South India, sent by the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, although he had no higher or theological education. How successful was the nickname given to him on the ship, Tamilnadu had to find out over the next 40 years ^{[1, p. xvi; 2]}. In Madras, Pope, as well as his senior colleagues M. Winslow (1789-1864), K. T. Renius (1790-1838) and many other Western scientists and missionaries, He learned the language more profoundly from Ramanuja Kavirayar (1780-1853), the famous Tamil pandit of that time ^[2]. At the same time, Pope also began to study Sanskrit and Telugu.

SoyerpuramDuring the first ten years, Pope's main activity was concentrated in Tinnevelli (Tirunelveli), a small ancient city in the southeast of Tamil Nadu.

Pope arrived here in 1842, when he was 22 years old, immediately after his marriage to the young Jane Mary Anderson, who was only 18 years old. There was nothing here then but endless sand dunes. In 1843 Pope was ordained a deacon of the Anglican Church, and then he worked together with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, which had just taken over the local communities founded by Christian Friedrich Schwarz (1726-1798) and other German missionaries in the extreme south of India ^{[3, p. 39-64]}. In total, Pope lived in this place for eight years, founding the Soyerpuram Seminary and intensively engaged in missionary activities, teaching and scientific work. On the territory of the seminary, two huge wells built by him are still in an abandoned state. In the bungalow where he lived, his bath was preserved. The Soyerpuram Seminary was built on 150 acres of land purchased back in 1814 by Samuel Sawyer, a merchant of the Portuguese East India Company. However, construction began only in 1844 and was completed in 1846. Pope became the first director of the seminary. Several buildings that were part of the seminary are still located at the Pope Memorial High School in Soyerpuram^[4].

Pope was an ardent advocate of strict and even cruel discipline. "Good food, good training and a good spanking" — that's what he offered to his wards in Soyerpuram, who later became successful lawyers, teachers and officials ^{[1, p. xv]}. His methods of maintaining discipline irritated many, including missionaries, although some of the students recall the years of study with affection.

Pope's first wife died in 1845 during the birth of their second son, and this tragedy severely affected his physical and mental health. In 1849, Pope remarried in Madras to Henrietta Page, the daughter of G. Van Someren, and returned to Oxford for two years ^[5].

The second visit to India, the long-awaited recognition and return to Oxford

Returning to India in March 1851, Pope began missionary work in Tanjore.

In 1857, when his health deteriorated, he left the mission and founded a new gymnasium in Utakamunda, attracted by the delightful climate of this resort place. In addition to his school duties, he held the positions of Sunday morning lecturer at St. Stephen's Church and chaplain at the local prison for European criminals. In January 1871 Pope moved to Bangalore as the headmaster of Bishop Cotton School, where he left a memory of himself as a stern man with a cane. With this appointment, he combined the work of writing textbooks of the Tamil language and published many textbooks during the same period. In addition, he zealously and gratuitously performed the duties of a preacher in the Church of All Saints. In 1873, at the suggestion of the bishop, Pope assumed additional duties as chaplain of Fort Church. He continued to perform all these various duties to the satisfaction of both his parishioners and all those who studied with him ^{[1, p. xxi–xxiii]}.

Since the founding of the University of Madras in 1859, Pope has been closely associated with it throughout his career. In 1864, he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Archbishop of Canterbury — in recognition of his knowledge and, mainly, his phenomenal contribution to Tamil studies. In 1870 he was elected a member of the Leipzig Oriental Society, and two years later became a member of the Royal Asiatic Society ^{[1, p. xxiv]}.

In 1880, after forty years of active work, Pope finally left India. He first spent some time in Manchester, and then settled in Oxford, where he spent the last, no less fruitful period of his life. In 1884 he was appointed a lecturer in Tamil and Telugu at the University; in 1886 he was awarded the honorary degree of Master of Arts. From 1888 Pope became chaplain at Balliol College, where he enjoyed the close friendship of two rectors, B. Jowitt and E. Curd. In 1906 he received the gold medal of the Royal Asiatic Society, awarded every three years ^{[6, p. 341-342]}.

Pope died and was buried in Oxford after a short illness on February 11, 1908.^[7] His friends and students in India, most of whom were Hindus, by subscription erected a monument on his grave and established a memorial prize for the study of Tamil at the University of Madras; a gymnasium was built in Bangalore, named after him.

The significance of Pope's works for Tamil studiesAmong the European Tamilists of the XVIII–XIX centuries, J. W. Pope probably occupies the first place, even if we compare him with the famous creator of the first grammar of the Tamil language K. J. Beski (1680-1747) or his contemporary, the great R. Caldwell.

"You must learn not only to think in Tamil, but also to feel in Tamil if you want to be understandable and useful among the Tamil people," he wrote in the preface to the Tamil translation of "Thiruvasahama".  Pope's love for the Tamil language was boundless and all-encompassing.  In his letter to the editor of Siddhanta Deepika, J. M. Nallasamy Pillay (1864-1920), he said that the inscription on his tombstone should be "A Student of Tamil" ^{[6, p. 337]}.

For Pope, the Tamil language was a means of understanding the history, religion and attitudes of the people of South India. Back in 1842, he published in Tamil his "First Catechism of Tamil Grammar", which fifty years later was republished in 1895 with an English translation by the Clarendon Press ^[8]. Together, his educational books have made up a whole series under the general title "Handbook of the Ordinary dialect of the Tamil language", which includes Tamil-English and English-Tamil dictionaries, as well as a reading textbook ^[9].

However, the scientific reputation and significance of Pope's works for modern Tamil studies is primarily based on his critical editions of three classical early medieval texts of Tamil literature. This is the Tirukkural of Tiruvalluvar (1886), which has been a poetic catechism of morality for South India for at least a thousand years ^[10]. In 1893, the Naladiyar, or four hundred quatrains of didactic, probably Jain sayings, probably even earlier and as popular as the Kural, was published ^[11].

All these publications contain not only translations into English, but also extensive notes and exhaustive lexicons. Apart from the amazing erudition of the author, they all demonstrate Pope's warm sympathy or even love for the Tamil language, Tamils and their classical literature.

The publication of J. The discovery of outstanding Tamil monuments of religious literature, especially the work of the Shaiva Bhaktas ^{[12; 13; 14]}, contributed to the penetration of these texts into the circles of the Tamil intelligentsia, who were surprised to find in their own antiquity a rich culture, in many respects completely forgotten by them or distorted by later Brahmin commentators. Note that all of Pope's works are still being read and retain their scientific and literary value today.

Among Pope's other works, we will mention numerous pamphlets and sermons published by him mainly in the early years of his stay in India, as well as the slightly curious "Alphabet for All India" (1859), which is a plan for adapting the Latin alphabet to all the languages of India ^[15].

Two important works continued and completed by his successors are dictionary materials collected by Pope throughout his life, which were subsequently used in the creation of "Tamil Lexicon" ^[16]. This fundamental work remains today the main dictionary for everyone studying ancient and medieval monuments of Tamil literature. Around 1890 Pope began work on a catalogue of Tamil printed books available in the British Museum. This work was subsequently continued by L. D. Barnett (1971-1960), and the catalog is still being republished ^[17].

Pope's contribution to Shaiva-Siddhanta studiesHowever, his opus magnum is "Thiruvasaham" (1900), a huge and very difficult for the European reader to understand collection of poems by one of the most important poets of the Shaivite Bhakti Manikkavasahara (IX century) ^[18].

The preface to "Thiruvasakham" is dated to the author's eightieth birthday, and the work is dedicated to the memory of Benjamin Jowitt, the late head of Balliol College, a friend and inspirer of this grandiose work. Here's how Pope himself said about it: "I date this work to my eightieth birthday. In my notes I found that my first Tamil lesson was in 1837. This ends, I believe, a long life devoted to the study of the Tamil language. It is not without deep emotion that I thus complete the literary work of my life. A few years ago, when this publication was almost not planned, one evening, after prayer, the writer was walking with the late head of Balliol College in the courtyard. The conversation turned to Tamil legends, poetry and philosophy. Finally, during a pause in the conversation, the rector, with his usual speed, said: “You should print this.” The natural answer was: “Teacher! I don't have a patent for immortality, and the work will take a very long time.” I can see it as it is now. He turned around —the moonlight fell on his gray hair and kind face—put his hand on my shoulder and said: “Great work leads forward, and it is the way to a long life. You will live until you finish it.” Of course, I didn't think so then, although these words often came to my mind as a prophecy, encouraging me when I was tired. And they were fulfilled, while he left us forever" ^{[18, p. xiv]}.

The translation is preceded by a summary of the poet's life based on the local Sthala Puranas, as well as 15 additional sections, which the author calls appendices, in which the philosophical and religious school of South India, known as shaiva-siddhanta, is described and analyzed for the first time ^{[18, p. xvii-lxxxvii]}. These appendices also include a translation of one of the most significant treatises of this system, "Thiruvarutpayan", written by the most prolific author of the canonical collection of texts called "Shastras of Meikandara" Umapati Shivacharya, who lived in the XIII–XIV centuries ^{[18, p. xxxix–lxxxvii]}.

The main provisions of the shaiva-Siddhanta as presented by PopePope was the first to note such a fundamental property of Shiva as his passion for games and fun with his devotees, sometimes very cruel — on the verge of life and death, in which he experiences the measure of their devotion.

If the love of the bhaktas is often called vannanbu (vaa?pu — "cruel love") ^[19], then the attention of Shiva often has a literally deadly character ^{[18, p. xxxvii–xxxviii]}. In confirmation, Pope cites a very important legend for the tradition about the Siruttondara experienced by Shiva through human sacrifice, moreover, through the sacrifice of the only son, comparing it with the sacrifice of Abraham ^{[18, p. xxxviii–xxxix]}.

Pope showed that the dance of Shiva in the Golden Hall of Chidambaram is of particular importance for adherents seeking liberation. Pope first shrewdly associated this manifestation of Shiva with Bhairava, "who dances in cremation glades, smears himself with the ashes of the dead, adorns himself with necklaces of their bones and takes the skulls with him as a trophy" ^{[18, p. xxxviii]}.

Based on his translation of "Thiruvarutpayana", which he included as an authoritative commentary created within the tradition itself at the final stage of its development by the last author of the shaiva-Siddhanta canon, Pope for the first time in the European tradition analyzed the concept and various orders of recitation of panchakshara — the five-syllable mantra na-ma-ci-va-ya, which became the key the universal mantra of shaiva-siddhanta, which allows the adept to achieve everything he desires, ranging from immortality and mastery of all magical powers to the ultimate realization — mukti or moksha ^{[18, p. xxxix–xli]}.

In the 3rd note, Pope explains the shaiva-siddhanta doctrine of mukti, or the final liberation of the soul from incarnation, including another treatise of Umapati Shivacharya "Sivappirakasam", which is a commentary on the main work of the canon - "Sivanyanabodam" by Meikandar. After briefly enumerating 10 erroneous ways of achieving liberation taught by other competing schools of philosophy prevalent in Tamil Nadu, Pope formulates the "true doctrine of liberation", defining it as follows: "When the soul is finally freed from the influence of the triple defilement by the grace of Shiva, acquires divine wisdom and thus rises to live forever, in conscious full enjoyment of Shiva's presence, in ultimate bliss. This is liberation, according to the Siddhanta philosophy" ^{[18, p. xliv]}.

The 4th note Pope devotes to the role of the guru, defining him as a "revered" mentor, teacher and incarnate god. "He is the one who in successive incarnations has been approaching closer and closer to the final liberation (mukti) and is now in his last stage of incarnation" ^{[18, p. xliv]}.

In the 5th note, Pope traces how the shaiva-siddhanta system traces the transition of souls in a state of bondage to a "free, eternally liberated state" (mu k ti). In particular, he considers the second state, transitional before the final liberation, when the soul becomes a jivan-mukta, and the six steps leading to this state. Jivan-mukta is already free, but he is still "in the flesh: he is the one in whom the great work of grace is being accomplished, and it is close to completion" ^{[18, p. xlvi–xlviii]}.

The 6th note is devoted to the study of the concept of arul- mercy of Shiva, which is key for shaiva—siddhanta, and the four steps for obtaining it ^{[18, p. xlviii–lx]}.

The 7th note analyzes in detail the role of the main temple of the tradition — Chidambaram, and related legends ^{[18, p. lx–lxvii]}.

The 8th note is devoted to the analysis of the idea of bhakti. Pope writes: "Bhakti, or loving piety, is the basic idea of the Shaivite system, and fervent selfless love and worship of Shiva are presented as including all religions and transcending all kinds of religious rites; and since everyone is capable of this, people of all castes can become devotees and saints in the Shaivite system. Love is the fulfillment of all laws. Love elevates and perfects everything" ^{[18, p. lxvii]}.

In the 9th note, Pope analyzes in detail the Manikkavasahara dispute with the Buddhists, in which the saint defeats opponents, however, according to the researcher, "the victory of the sage was a victory of feeling and authority, but not of logic or knowledge" ^{[18, p. lxvii-lxxii]}. 

10th note — Pope's detailed and almost amorous description of the manifestation of Shiva on the Silver Mountain (Kailasa) ^{[18, p. lxxiii–lxxiv]}.

The 11th note is devoted to the results of the analysis of the shaiva-siddhanta system. Considering it in the context of other philosophical and religious systems of India, the author argues that "the shaiva-Siddhanta system is the most complex, influential and, undoubtedly, the most valuable of all the religions of India. This is a specifically South Indian and Tamil religion, and should be studied by anyone who hopes to understand and influence the great peoples of South India" ^{[18, p. lxxiv—lxxvi]}.

In the 12th note, Pope examines the three main categories of shaiva-siddhanta - pati (Lord), pacu (herd) and pacam (bond, fetters), mainly based on the analysis of Umapati's Sivappirakasam, but also the first two chapters of the same author's Tiruvarutpayana ^{[18, p. lxxvi–lxxxii]}.

The 13th note is devoted to the analysis of the energy of Shiva: "The supreme Shakti, or essential energy, residing in Shiva and one with him, sends in successive manifestations (1) the energy of desire, (2) the energy of wisdom and (3) the energy of action. These forces in action constitute the sacred body of Shiva" ^{[18, p. lxxxii]}. In this chapter, Pope draws parallels between the Shaiva Siddhanta and earlier sacred texts of Hinduism (in particular, with the Bhagavad Gita), and also hypothesizes their similarity to the ideas of the Alexandrian School of Philosophy and theology ^{[18, p. lxxxiii]}.

In the 14th note, Pope analyzes the ideas of shaiva-siddhanta as opposed to the atheistic concepts of the lokayata and Sankhya Kapila schools ^{[18, p. lxxxiii–lxxxiv]}.

The last, 15th note is devoted to the presentation of the concept of anavam, or about the fetters of ignorance, which he believes to be a relatively late development of the ideas of the 13th century shaiva-siddhanta ^{[18, p. lxxxiv–lxxxvii]}.

ConclusionThus, Pope became a true pioneer in the study of the basic tenets of shaiva Siddhanta, which is still one of the most authoritative areas of Indian philosophy today.

As a method of research, he proposed and brilliantly demonstrated the advantages of the comparative method of research, including using both traditional commentaries recognized as authoritative in the tradition itself, and other sources authoritative in Hinduism, as well as Christian scriptures (including apocrypha).

In Russian-language Tamilistics, the pioneer of shaiva-Siddhanta studies, A.M. Pyatigorsky, also used this method in his pioneering studies ^[20], which unfortunately did not receive continuation.

Undoubtedly, one of the main advantages of Pope, which allowed him to write this work, as well as to express many important hypotheses for later researchers, was a brilliant command of both Tamil and many other languages.

Until now, such a breadth of coverage of sources remains unattainable for many modern researchers. Despite the importance of Shaiva Siddhanta for Tamil culture and more than a century of translations of its main works into English, its research is still quite fragmentary, and the achievements in this field of Tamil Studies D. Goodall in his brilliant review of the research literature in the field of Shaiva Siddhanta as a Pan-Indian philosophical and theological school characterizes as "deplorable" ^{[21, p. xxiv]}. Note that it remains so today, almost 20 years later. Goodall sees the main reason in the fact that "most scientists today claiming to study shaiva Siddhanta in South India ignore Sanskrit sources, and those who study them tend to study only relatively late South Indian sources" ^{[21, p. xxx]}. As R. Davis points out, this trend was partly set by J. Pope, who considered her the creation of a Tamil genius ^{[22, p. 368]}

It was these, Pope's final works on the translation, commentary and research of "Thiruvasaham" as the forerunner of the Tamil shaiva Siddhanta, which still retained scientific significance, that became the beginning of European academic research in the field of Tamil studies and Tamil shaiva Siddhanta, which began, however, only after several decades (for more details, see ^[23-25]). At first, they became a fundamental academic base in the movement for the purity of the Tamil language and Tamil identity ^{[26, 27]}.

As D. Hudson noted, "Pope ... published in Oxford his monumental translation and study of the Thiruvasaham, an important text of the Dravidian Veda. In the preface, he confirmed the value of Shaivism for Tamils: “... Shaivism is the true religion of southern India and Northern Ceylon; and the philosophy of Shaiva—Siddhanta has and deserves to have a much greater influence than any other.” It is not surprising that Pope, like Besky before him, became a cultural hero and was immortalized by his own statue on Marina Beach" ^{[28, p. 11]}.