Jain Journal 1976 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 50

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DR. W. NORMAN BROWN
On April twenty-second, 1975 passed away one of the great Indologists of the present century Dr. W. Norman Brown. A savant as he was Dr. Brown spent his many years in India which was perhaps responsible for his intimate love and devotion for the country and its civilization. His deep interest in Indian history as also in the country's social and religious systems and legacy has emphasised upon the variegated story of a great nation whose status may be discovered in an ancient and traditional perspective. In his early years Dr. Brown studied manuscripts and was engaged in teaching English in India. The University of Pennsylvania has its claim over him since 1926. For a long time he was Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit and Chairman Emeritus of the South Asia Regional Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania. A son of missionaries brought to India at the age of eight Dr. Brown developed his love for Hindu, Buddhist and Jain thoughts and folklore. His genius was strengthened during his study of classical Indian culture at the Johns Hopkins University where he was conferred doctorate in 1926 while working under Maurice Bloomfield. As Ernest Bender observes :
"His subsequent studies and travels there nurtured in the scholar and teacher a deep-rooted appreciation of India's cultural achievement and a sympathy for its national aspirations which formed the treasured legacy he passed on through his lectures and writing to his students, and they to theirs, into a third generation."