纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 068湿婆与雪山女神像（9）

 

Stuart spoke¹ out strongly against missionary² attempts to convert Hindus to Christianity. He thought it simply impertinent, and his intention always was that his collection should be seen in England to persuade the British to honour this great world religion. Stuart would, I'm sure, be pleased that after two hundred years, his sculpture of Shiva and Parvati, made around 1300 to welcome worshippers to a temple in Orissa, is still on show to the public. And he'd be delighted that many of those who come to see it are British Hindus - part of that large population of Indian descent that now lives in the UK.

Although the stories of Hinduism are increasingly taught in British schools, some of us not brought up as Hindus struggle to master the complicated theology that embraces many deities³ in many manifestations⁴. But it would be hard to stand in front of this sculpture, and not grasp immediately one of the central insights of this great religious tradition - that God may perhaps best be conceived not as a single isolated⁵ spirit, but as a joyous⁶ loving couple, and that physical love is not evidence of fallen humanity, but an essential part of the divine. This sculpture does indeed make God seem very close.

In the next programme, we'll be in Mexico, thinking about how a different religious system at the same date took a very different - and much less happy - view of the gods, of humanity, and of sex.

图亚特大声疾呼，反对游说印度教徒饭依基督的传教行为，认为其十分可耻。他也一直希望自己的藏品能够在英国展出，让大家崇敬这一伟大的世界性宗教。我相信，斯图亚特如果有知，一定很高兴看到在两百年后，他收藏的湿婆与雪山女神雕像仍然在大英博物馆公开展示。这一制作于公元一千三百年的雕像，其初衷就是欢迎前来朝拜的信徒。他也会很高兴地看到，在如今前来参观的英国人中，有许多是印度教徒。

英国教科书上有关印度教的内容逐渐增多，但多数不曾自幼受印度教熏陶的人仍然很难理解有多重化身、多位神的复杂的印度教系统。然而，只要站在这座雕像前，你便能立刻感受到这一伟大宗教传统的核心教义：神也许不应该被设定为孤单的个体，而该是一对恩爱的欢乐夫妻。肉体欢愉不是人类的堕落，而是神性不可或缺的一部分。

 

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

3 deities   

n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明

参考例句：

• Zeus and Aphrodite were ancient Greek deities. 宙斯和阿佛洛狄是古希腊的神。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Taoist Wang hesitated occasionally about these transactions for fearof offending the deities. 道士也有过犹豫，怕这样会得罪了神。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

4 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。