Alexander of Macedonia – Viewpoint of Indian Wise Men

History might consider Alexander of Macedonia as a great emperor who conquered almost the entire world. But there is one more angle to the story of Alexander, which is related to his invasion of India. Alexander was humbled not by any monarch, but by simple wise men. These wise men were ascetics and sages having profound knowledge of philosophy and dharma.

Firstly, it must be highlighted that concepts of philosophy carrying deep meaning were not unknown to Alexander. But the problem was that he was obsessed with his goal of conquering the world. This prevented him from making the great philosophical truths the guiding principles of his life.

On one occasion, Alexander met a group of wise men who were under the vows of asceticism at Takshasila. There, he interacted with the eldest of the ascetics, Sage Dandamis. After a lengthy dialogue with the Sage and his disciples, Alexander came to the conclusion that they were actually people who had experienced genuine freedom.

During the interactions with these holy people who left all worldly things and embraced spirituality, Alexander was simply stunned. The sages were neither lured by the wealth that the king offered nor afraid of the immense power he wielded. They were equanimous. It was the first time in his life that Alexander met people who were unmoved by his presence. The fact that he conquered a significant part of the world was treated as something grossly irrelevant by the ascetics.

The sages fearlessly conveyed that a day will come, when the treasures and wealth that the king looted during his conquests will be of no value. When he dies, everything will be left behind, and someone else will enjoy that wealth. This is something over which even Alexander has no control. Similarly, the wise ascetics made Alexander conscious of the fact that everyone is a mortal; this is a fact of life that even he can’t change.

The ascetics had no hesitation in frankly conveying to Alexander that his ambition caused a lot of suffering and hardships to many people. Controlling the senses is much more significant than conquering kingdoms. The king was always accustomed to seeing people bowing down without contradicting him in any way. But, the courageous and yet polite approach of the Takshasila sages left him puzzled.

At a later point in time, Alexander met another Indian sage named Calanus. The king had an exhaustive conversation with Calanus, too, where many complex aspects of philosophy were covered. Unlike Dandamis and his followers, Calanus chose to go to Persia along with the king.

On arriving in Persia, the sage became sick, and his health rapidly deteriorated after that. After some time, Calanus decided to end his life, as he saw no point in remaining alive as a dependent. Alexander tried to persuade the ascetic to revoke his decision, but he couldn’t do so. Eventually, the sage immolated himself. During the course of this entire process, several irrefutable facts of philosophy and dharma were conveyed to Alexander subtly.

All the wise men mentioned above didn’t attach any importance to the ‘greatness’ of Alexander. It is indeed amazing that a powerful emperor whose conquests covered almost the whole world was ‘defeated’ by people with no worldly possessions. They were not warriors or emperors, but simple monks. The king was shown the reality, and brought down from the pedestal where Alexander positioned himself.