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82 : Śramaņa, Vol 61, No. 3 July-September 10
of Siva. This hand drum is like two inverted triangles joined by the common vertex.
Such a unique concept of time cannot be taken to be a total denial of history. Unless you are witness to the whole, you cannot relate yourself to reality. You need to have a fuller vision. Here comes the role of myth in India religiosity and thought. In the Indian context, it is more powerful than history. Indian creativity is myth-making creativity by integrating the earlier vision with a more expansive and comprehensive vision. Prof. Vidya Nivas Mishra had rightly emphasized, "Myth is a transcendental frame that takes, gives, and apprehends out of finite time and tries to place it in an infinite time and space. The very process of myth-making necessitates a continuous, unbroken chain of creativity. Thus, it is the most important language of Indian art, thought, and religios
ity."7
In light of such a unique notion and function of myth, the role of myth in Indian religiosity, ritualism, and spiritual practice with the symbols and metaphors and their continuous presence in Indian life may be understood properly.
This also explains why Indian life cannot be dichotomized into sacred and profane. It is an experience of indivisible totality, Plenitude.
This uniqueness of Indian thought had given rise to new trends in dialogue between the West and India. An attempt towards a better understanding of Indian art and aesthetics on one hand and Jainism on the other may be cited as the most recent development in contemporary Western studies.
For example, Malmo University of Sweden has embarked on the project to solve the riddle of Consciousness in which physicists, Neuro Scientists as well as the scholars of Jaina Philosophy have been working together.
This augurs well not only for a better world, but for resolving some of the most crucial problems of contemporary science also.
