Untitled

History of Anavils

ANAVILS OF SOUTH GUJARAT by Shri AMBELAL GOPALJI DESAI

Nag and Dasyu Races In The Pauranik Era
When did the ancestors of Anavil Brahmins start residing in Deccan Gujarat?  What reasons prompted the ancestors of this community to come down to Gujarat?  Were they residing in this area from the beginning?  Without proper research, true answers to these questions cannot be found.

To what extent Pauranik references can be relied upon is a debatable point.  The progressive, modern world may not accept such Pauranik references as true.  Some scholars hold different opinions about the Purans.  However the credibility of these Purans have been increased by Pargiter.  Relying on Pargiter, many scholars have given credence to the belief that the old history of India is truly contained in the Puranas.

Some ancient facts are noted here.  When the Aryans came to India, the Nagas of the Dasyu races were residing in Gujarat of the Saurashtra regions.  The Naga race were considered as Anarya.  That race used to reside on the western coast of Gujarat of Saurashtra.  The Nagas were of wheat and gold complexion and their culture was superior to that of the Dasyu race.  The Nagas were proficient in state administration, as well as art and artistry.

Bhim was poisoned and thrown in the river by the Kauravas.  Some people are of the belief that the adverse effect of Bhim’s poison might have been neutralized by someone belonging to the Naga race.  And as a result, Bhim might have come to the Naga region on the Gujarat-Saurashtra coast, and eventually might have married a Naga bride.  It is said in Mahabharat that Bhim went to Patal-lok (bottom less pit) from there. Many battles were fought between the Aryans and the Nagas.  On some occasions, Dasyus were on the side of the Aryans, while on other occasions they were fighting for the Nagas (Anaryans). Out of sheer fear and in order to protect their culture the Nagas migrated to South India and settled there, leaving their Patal Pradesh in Gujarat.  Some of the Nagas also embraced the Aryan religion.  The Anaryan leader known as Tarakasur, residing in Tarapur near Khambhat.  also fled to the south.   Tarkasur passed the remainder of his life in a town known as Tarapur , established by him, and it is near the present day Boisar.  Another Anaryan known as Mahishasur went to the south and established the town of Mysore (Mahisur).  The Aryans of the Nagas again fought some battles, on occasion, around Mysore.  Mahishasur was killed by Chamundadevi in one of these battles.  Chamundadevi is also known as the killer of Mahishasur.  A life size statue of the demon Mahishasur has been installed on the Chamundi hill, while on the way to the Chamundadevi temple.  This fantastic looking demon has been shown standing with a chopper in one hand and a cobra in the other.  At some places in the area around Mysore one finds the idol with the cobra like images.  This leads us to believe that at sometime there must have been Naga kingdom around here.  The cobra in one of the hands of the Mahishasur’s statue may be to create an impression of Mahishasur’s dominance over the Naga race.  The Naga race was under his dominance and used to carry out his bidding.  Mahishasur is shown having held the cobra in the center very carefully, so he may not be injured.  It can therefore be presumed that from this that Mahishasur was not the enemy of the Naga race.  It is quite possible that the cobra may be taken  as the emblem of the Naga race

The impressive Rishi Ashtik, the savior of the Naga family at the Naga-Yagna of Janmajey was the nephew of the Nagas.  It is said Rishi Astik was staying in the southern coast of the river Tapti.  The temple of Ashtik Rishi is situated in a village Ghodadara, near Udhna.  Many people of the Surat District call the Rishi Astik as “ASPAR BAPJI”.  The existence of the Astik temple elsewhere in India is not known.
In those times there was neither any social nor religious embargo on Aryans marrying Aryan men or women.  It is observed that brides from lower status used to marry grooms in the higher status.By such marital alliances with original natives they used to create their superior culture in those people. It is not impossible that according to the then times, the Aryan may have absorbed a sect of the Nag community , amongst them after settling in this region.  The Aryans permanently settled in this region upon absorbing a sect of the Naga community.

References have been found that the ancestors of Anavil Brahmins had married the Nag brides.  To indicate that they used to marry the Nag brides, certain words are spoken in the Anavil community.  When an Anavil youth marries a beautiful bride, the people used to say that the bride looks like a Naga bride.  If per chance a father were to visit his daughter during a fight between the daughter and the mother-in-law, the angry mother-in-law would haughtily order him to take with him his Naga Kanya. The cluster of words such as Nag-Panchmi, Nag-Puja, Nag-Talao, Nag-Dhara, Nag-Devi, Nageshwar, Nagpur, Nagmandel proves that at one time the Nag people may  have a  considerable dominance in the Deccan Gujarat.  On the banks of the river Narmada, there used to be an administrative office of the Karkotak Nag.  Such offices of the Nag people were also seen in the Lat region (Pradesh).  The civilized traits of the Naga community are still preserved in the whole of Gujarat and is amply proved by the ritual of the cobra worship, by the Anavils.  The name of the mother of Small-pox Goddess was Ulupi and she was Nag-Kanya (maiden). That such stories of folklore are still current in Deccan Gujarat of Nagdevta, having rescued a married but a harassed bride in her in-law’s house.  The Nag community people were smart, agile, adventurous, vindictive, proud and illustrious.  That community was not of that caliber of the Aryans.  The facial shape of the Nag people was not as oval shaped as that of the Aryans.  Many  traits of these clever and bold community are found in the Anavil community today.  The Naga community used to worship the Cobra.  There used to be the images of cobras with fangs raised on the helmets of the soldiers of the Naga community. It is quite possible that the community may have been called the Naga community.

Now we get some information about the Dashyu community.  This community known as Dashyu was also residing in Deccan Gujarat when the Naga race had its suzerainty.  The Dashyu people were black in appearance .  They were short and stub-nosed.  Their faces could be called ugly.  In the Vedas, they are described as ‘Anas” -i.e., ugly faced.  Their physical structure was greatly different to that of the people of the Nag community.  The trail of loyalty was much less in this community with thick stout necks and low intellect.  Consequently the Dashyu community sometimes used to be on the side of the Anaryans and at other times would be on the side of the Aryans.  The community was adept at  usurping other people’s wealth.  The very meaning of the word Dashyu is a thief or scoundrel.  The Aryans drove away the Nag people and also captivated the Dashyu community.  Some of the Dashyu people were absorbed by the Aryans in their religion, some were left as slaves.  The remaining Dashyu community, in order to protect themselves from the tyranny of the Aryans fled into the jungles of eastern Gujarat.  There used to be a bitter enmity between the Aryan community and the Anaryan community in the forest.

It has been observed in historical annals that a victor-nation may consider and make others take them as cultured and well behaved.  At the same time they consider and acknowledge a vanquished nation as un-Aryan and uncultured.  Are we not unmindful of the vanity of the whites?  They still claim to protect the colored races of this world.  Some of the people are of the view that the Aryans have perpetrated unparalleled tyranny on the natives of this region.  However it can positively be said that the Aryans were more powerful both physically and mentally than the natives of this region.
In the list of Gods and Goddesses of the Dashyu community are included the names of Mamadevi, Khetar-pal, Shikotri goddess and Khodiyarmata.  Some of the old fashioned Anavils still worship these Dashyu Gods and Goddesses.  Some people are of the belief that the area around places near Surat, Broach, Kosad, Bharthana was known as Hedambavan during the times of Mahabharat.  It is so said that Bhim and Hedamba had met in this region and as compared to the normal height of this race Hedamba’s height was outstanding. It is also said that Hedamba was a non-Aryan lady of Dasyu race.  The nick-name of Hedamba is generally awarded to the tall ugly ladies in the Anavil community.

The Dashyu community was dirty, obstinate, lazy and possessed a highly angry temperament.  One is likely to err if one is to take for granted that today’s forest people are of the Dashyu community.  The traits of the Nag and Aryan community are also observed in some of the forest population.  In today’s times, we find the traits of the highbrows in the people whom we consider of the low class and vice-versa.
It is believed that blood of the Aryans and the Nag community flow in the veins of the ANAVIL community.  With the changing of times.  They may have mixed other blood in their flow.  Therefore it is difficult to say how much blood of which tribe may be flowing in the veins of the Anavil community.  It is impossible to claim with certainty, whether any community of today’s India was formed from the good mix of which tribes.  Many rivers have merged in the ocean of the communities of India.   None of the communities of India is pure.

                      Mr. Rashiklal Chhotalal Parikh in his preface to Umashanker Joshi's book "Gujarat in Paranas" has said that according to Pargiter's "The Dynasties of Cleage" and "Indian Historical Tradition"  has attempted to unearth the historical facts concealed in the Puranas, has rendered the study of Puranas indisputable and at some places the opinions hava started veering round to go into the direction that whatever has been said in the Puranas is history.  This is the reaction of the History of Puranas by Macualy and it is quite understandable that it may be short of critical analysis.  However there is both reality and imagination in the Puranas.  To find out reality is the researcher's job.
            Mr. Ratnamanirao Bhimrao Jot in his "Cultural History of Gujarat, Part II" has said it has been probed that the Puranas are not only gossips and some of the facts are of the Vedic times and even more ancient than that.  Even the Vaidic period is believed to be more ancient than the common belief.  So, based on that belief, the strict historians have to more or less accept the manner of evaluating the old ancient historical facts in the distant past.  This entire subject is confusing . It is however, very important in the cultural history of Gujarat.  The geographical conditions are the base of its history.  The material for its solid foundation is the progressive historic but confusing ancient and incomplete but important facts.  With the passage of time and more research it will be proved as history.
            Judicious evaluation necessitates to unearth the truth from the Puranas.  If in case we dismiss Puranas as gossip, we will prove ourselves to be careless and negligent towards the invaluable treasure of our literature.
            Professor Wilson says about Puranas " Some of the stories of the Hindus in the Puranas are as old as three Hundred years, having relationship with the era even before that and that the birth of certain Hindu Puranas has occurred before religious beliefs of the peoples of other nations, their miracle institutions and mionor illogical stories.  The exact and detailed description of the places and importance of the rivers are contained more in the fast forgotten historical annals, than in the books and maps published both by the government and other bodies.  Some believe that the period of Puranas is before the birth of Christ.  Pargiter states that the Puranas were written not before 950 years before Christ.  Shri Ramanlal Vasantrai Desai is of the view that the Puran period is from 300 B.C to the Mohammed period.  It is difficult to predict the exact period of the Puranas.

           The place Mahishmati on the banks of the river Narmada was the natural place of the demons of the Mahishi clan.  Some of these demons went and settled at Mysore in the south and it was known as Mahishasurpur Mysore.  It is said that Mahisasur's abode is in the Chamundi hills.  The tradition of the demons and their places shown in Mysore are in fact originating from the settlement of the demons in Gujarat.  It is believed that the idol of the goddess slaying Mahisasur is in Unai.  In one of the hands of this goddess is the hair of Mahisasur.  (From  Mr. Manibhai  Kaliawadikar's artticle titled "UNAI".)

           Refer to Late Rao Bahadur Kantawala'a article in "Kapol".

           "... and imposed their superior civilization on those with whom they so mingled."   (Gujarat and its Literature by Mr. K.M. Munshi)
http://www.anavilsamaj.com/history.php
 
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Indian encounter with two occupations
By Dr Vijaya Rajiva

India experienced two back to back occupations lasting a thousand years, the Muslim and the British. Of these two, with the passing of time, the British occupation has become less problematic than the other one. While scholars and historians continue to examine the British period, the existential reality of Britain in India has become less urgent and has vanished into the mist of time. The Muslims on the other hand are an existential reality in present day India and the attendant angst(while moderated by good things) is very much there in both communities, largely because of its haunting presence in the Muslim community to start with and its blowback in the Hindu majority community.

Hindu certitude derives not only from the fact of their majority but because the history of India goes back for several millennia, long before the two occupations. Indian history can be traced back at least to 5,000 BC (now scholars have placed it at 7,000 BC) with the Indus Valley civilization . The existence of indigenous peoples pre-dates even that. With the arrival of the Indo Aryans in successive waves starting approximately in 2,000 BC the third important component of the famed Hindu synthesis was physically present.

India then, is earlier than either Islam or Britain. The conquest of Sind in the 8th century AD was accompanied by the forced conversion of the indigenous Hindus to Islam. This is well known and acknowledged by historians. There may have been other reasons also for the conversions such as material incentives, political alliances and in some cases an escape from the orthodoxy of Hinduism. Whatever the motives, the conversions happened and hence with some exceptions the majority of the Muslim population today is indigenous, ethnically, in the same way that Hindus are. However, the advent of a religious text and an imported ethos from Saudi Arabia and other foreign lands has given this indigenous population a special configuration which is important for both the minority and majority communities to recognise.

The conversion process has led to the erasure of indigenous memories from the Muslim population of a time when they were not Muslim. Hence Muslims, even well informed scholars, think in terms of the medieval period as their earliest racial memory and history.

Take for instance the sensitive work of Rasheeduddin Khan, called Bewildered India (Har Anand Publications, 1994 ). His argument that Muslims have contributed as much to Indian history as the Hindus starts only from the medieval period. True, the Muslims did contribute their own successes to national life and continue to do so to day. But Hindu or Indian history, started long before the medieval period, as has been pointed out above. And the continuity of Indian history is largely supplied by the Hindu ethos. As in classical Indian music the sruti is provided by Hindu experience(defined above as the synthesis of the Indus Valley, the indigenous population and the Indo Aryan). The variations are provided by the other communities alongside of Hindu variations.

This sruti is therefore, both geographic and civilisational. Hindus never left the land, nor were they driven out (unlike the Jews). They continued on the land which was variously called Bharat and India. There is therefore not so much complacency or a sense of entitlement or arrogant self assertion of Hindu identity as much as the existential preponderance of a lived history on the same land, continuously for several millennia.

The Hindu religion has been variously described as polytheism, as monism, as dualism, as henotheism , as idolatory, and many other isms. These are interesting labels but the key feature of Hinduism is its awareness of the ‘Divine Principle’ as being infinite and therefore manifesting itself in various forms. Hence, the built in tolerance for other faiths, which can be seen as expressions of the Divine in some form other than the one which any particular individual or community experiences.

Islam and its followers in India are committed to monotheism, the belief that there is only the one God that they worship and that mediation to this one God as they understand it, is through one Prophet, and only Him. This central belief of Islam cannot be wished away and is ever present in the consciousness of every Muslim. This leads to the attendant belief that the true way must be communicated to non believers. The proselytisation tendency is ever present.

Hence, the absence of a historical perspective of going back long before the Muslim conquest of India in combination with the dogmatic belief in the correctness of their own religion has led to a certain type of psyche that now finds it difficult to adjust to the larger Hindu community, in the last analysis. The adjustment takes place at the everday level of livelihood, during exchange in commerce and in the market place or in social events. But the underlying need for proselytisation is never far from the Muslim psyche, since it is built into the religious system. The non believer, is that other person who is an obstacle to the realisation of a world wide religious Caliphate. This must surely be an internalised value, although it manifests in violence only under certain circumstances and under certain political influences. And only in certain segments of the population.

The exclusivity of the Hindu ethos (in its internal dynamic towards the lower castes) does not apply to the Muslim world. The Hindu exists in some primordial world in which the Muslim or the Christian simply fits into as a distant variation. Any feelings of superiority are not external to the fact that Hindu India existed long before the arrival of the Muslim conquerors on the subcontinent. A simple example will suffice. The greater part of the Indus river now flows through Pakistan. Neverthless, to the Hindu this is still their sacred river. This is the river where the sacred texts may have been composed. This is the river, whose famed tributary the Saraswati (mentioned in the Rg Veda) once existed. The romance of this river is all encompassing.

Of course, since the Muslim occupation other memories and associations have been created, but the most ancient memory is Hindu. The same thinking applies to Kashmir, where Islam arrived only in the 14th century. Recently, the American Taliban, whose name prior to conversion is Adam, made a video which was shown on CNN. He claimed that his jihad was righteous because it consisted of driving out the foreigners from Muslim lands. He mentioned Kashmir in this statement. While a certain case may be made for ‘Muslim’ lands even in Iran or other places in the Middle East, in Kashmir, it is singularly inappropriate and reflects his ignorance of Indian history.

While in all lands where the Muslim conquest was successful the native indigenous traditions were largely destroyed and supplanted by Islam, this did not happen in India.

It is an important question to ponder, and an initial approximate answer is this: the resilience of Hinduism as a way of life, as a religion, as a philosophy ,as a culture, is elusive and cannot be identified in simplistic terms. It goes beyond ancient lineage and enters the realm of the indescribable. It is both most ancient and forever young. It allows for the gracious acceptance of other religions, because it is secure both in its physical home, the subcontinent of India and its psychological and spiritual home. Once, the Muslim inhabitants of this gracious land can truly understand this, then the attempt to overthrow this ethos will be abandoned once and for all. There is room for all in Hinduism and in Bharat Varsha, so that all may live in peace and prosperity.

(The writer taught Political Philosophy at a Canadian university.)
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 Christianity and the Vedic Teachings Within It
« on: December 12, 2008, 11:02:31 AM » 

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By Stephen Knapp

                                   

            When we consider the story of how baby Jesus appeared in the heart of his mother Mary by immaculate conception, as well as the bright star appearing in the night sky, we can discern a direct parallel to Lord Krishna’s birth three thousand years earlier in Vrindavana, India, as recorded in the Vedic literature. It is described in the ancient Vedic texts how Krishna appeared in the mind of Vasudeva, Krishna’s father, and was then transferred into the heart of His mother, Devaki. During Krishna’s birth, the bright star Rohini was high in the sky, and the king at the time, Kamsa, actually ordered the killing of all the infants in an attempt to kill Krishna, similar to the way Herod was supposed to have done as described in the gospel of Matthew. And just as a multitude appeared among the shepherds in the hills praising God at the time of Jesus’ birth, there were also many demigods who came and danced and sang about the glories of Krishna when He was ready to appear in this world. Krishna was born in a cave-like dungeon, while Jesus was also born in a cave, although some say a manger in a barn. Rays of light illuminated the area after they had taken birth. While newly born, they both spoke of why they had come to this world. And as wise men were supposed to have presented Jesus with frankincense and myrrh, baby Krishna was also presented with gifts that included sandalwood and perfumes.

            At the time when Krishna left this planet, His foot was pierced with an arrow, while Jesus’ side was pierced with a spear. There was a darkness that descended when Jesus is said to have been crucified, just as there was a darkness and many calamities taking place when Krishna left this world. And as there is a description of many ominous signs that are to signify the second coming of Christ, there are even more symptoms of the terrible age of Kali that we are going through that indicates the time before the coming of Krishna’s next incarnation as Kalki. Many of these I have included in my book, The Vedic Prophecies. There are many other parallels that we could refer to that are disclosed in the Vedas, which were written many hundreds of years before the Bible.

            Jesus preached in a way that can also be compared to the sayings of Krishna. For example, in Bhagavad-gita (7.6-7) Krishna said, “I am the cause of the whole universe, through Me it is created and dissolved, all things are dependant on Me as pearls are strung on a thread.” Jesus said, “Of Him and through Him, and unto Him, are all things. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1.3) Krishna had said (Bg.4.7), “For the establishment of righteousness I am born from time to time.” This compares to Jesus in John 18:37, wherein he says, “Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” These and many other comparisons can be made. Nonetheless, the fact is that the history of Krishna is thousands of years older than that of Jesus.

            In this way, practically speaking, what we find in the Bible regarding Jesus’ birth is a description of the appearance of Lord Krishna, but only the names have been changed. Of course, there are different theories about how this happened. One theory is that when the Christians went to India, they found out that this story was there in the Bhagavat-Purana; so, they immediately had to change the date of when the Bhagavat-Purana was supposed to have been written. So now the historians generally say that it was written about 1400 years ago. Otherwise, how could they explain the story of Krishna’s birth being so similar to the story of Christ’s birth? They thought that the Vedic pundits must have heard about the story of Jesus and adapted the story to their own incarnation, as if the Vedic scholars would demean themselves by putting a story into their scripture that was heard from people who were considered low-born foreigners. Actually, what happened was just the opposite.

            Since both the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam contain many similar sentiments and descriptions to Christianity, numerous Christian scholars have tried to prove that the stories therein had been borrowed from the Bible. However, this has been proved to be quite the reverse. This is has been accepted by Reverend J. B. S. Carwithen, known as one of the “Brampton Lecturers,” who says, as quoted in Reverend J. P. Lundy’s Monumental Christianity (pp. 151-2), “Both the name Crishna and the general outline of his story are long anterior to the birth of our Savior [Jesus Christ]; and this we know, not on the presumed antiquity of the Hindoo records alone. Both Arrian and Strabo assert that the God Crishna was anciently worshiped at Mathura, on the river Jumna, where he is worshiped at this day. But the emblems and attributes essential to this deity are also transplanted into the mythology of the West.”

            Monier Williams, one of the accepted early Western authorities on Hinduism, Professor at Oxford in London and a devout Christian, also focused on this issue when writing for the “Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge” in his book, Indian Wisdom. Therein he states: “To any one who has followed me in tracing the outline of this remarkable philosophical dialogue, and has noted the numerous parallels it offers to passages in our Sacred Scriptures, it may seem strange that I hesitate to concur to any theory which explains these coincidences by supposing the author [of such Vedic books as the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam] had access to the New Testament, or that he derived some of his ideas from the first propagators of Christianity. Surely it will be conceded that the probability of contact and interaction between Gentile systems and the Christian religion of the first two centuries of our era must have been greater in Italy than in India. Yet, if we take the writings and sayings of those great Roman philosophers, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, we shall find them full of resemblances to passages in our Scriptures, while there appears to be no ground whatever for supposing that these eminent Pagan writers and thinkers derived any of their ideas from either Jewish or Christian sources. In fact, the Reverend F. W. Farrar, in his interesting and valuable work, Seekers After God, has clearly shown that ‘to say that Pagan morality kindled its faded taper at the Gospel light, whether furtively or unconsciously, that it dissembled the obligation and made a boast of the splendor, as if it were originally her own, is to make an assertion wholly untenable.’ He points out that the attempts of the Christian Fathers to make out Pythagoras a debtor to Hebraic wisdom, Plato an ‘Atticizing Moses,’ Aristotle a picker-up of ethics from a Jew, Seneca a correspondent of St. Paul, were due in some cases to ignorance, in some to a want of perfect honesty in controversial dealing. . . It must indeed be admitted that the flames of true light which emerge from the mists of pantheism in the writings of the Indian philosophers, must spring from the same source of light as the Gospel itself; but it may reasonably be questioned whether there could have been any actual contact of the Hindoo systems with Christianity without a more satisfying result in the modification of pantheistic and anti-Christian ideas.”

            Again, Monier points out the antiquity of the Vedic culture, practically over and beyond all others, when he explains on page iv of his book: “It should not be forgotten that although the nations of Europe have changed their religions during the past eighteen centuries, the Hindu has not done so, except very partially. Islam converted a certain number by force of arms in the eighth and following centuries, and Christian truth is at last slowly creeping onwards and winning its way by its own inherent energy in the nineteenth; but the religious creeds, rites, customs, and habits of thought of the Hindus generally have altered little since the days of Manu. . .”

            In light of all this research, by myself and others, we can conclude with the words of T. W. Doane in his book, Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions. Therein he goes so far as to say at the beginning of Chapter Twenty-Eight, “. . . the mythological portion of the history of Jesus of Nazareth, contained in the books forming the Canon of the New Testament, is nothing more or less than a copy of the mythological histories of the Hindoo Savior Crishna, and the Buddhist Savior Buddha, with a mixture of mythology borrowed from the Persians and other nations. . .”

            One archeological find that proved that knowledge of Krishna antedated Christianity by at least 200 years was the Heliodorus column, built in 113 B.C. in central India by the Greek ambassador to India, Heliodorus. On it is an inscription commenting on the ambassador’s devotion to Lord Vishnu (Krishna) and mentioning when the column had been erected. The column still stands near the town of Vidisha.

            We must remember that when the Christians first came to India to preach, they were not very well received by the local people. There was very little penetration because the Christian priests and missionaries were seen for what they were: mlecchas and yavanas, more or less unclean cow-killers or untouchables in local terminology. So it is doubtful that the Vedic pandits spent much time even listening to them, what to speak of writing scripture or changing the story of Krishna’s birth on account of hearing these missionaries. Of course, now as Indian society has deteriorated and become more attracted to Western values (partly due to being indoctrinated by the British rule years ago), Christianity is more easily accepted.

            So, the conclusion we must arrive at is that the story of Lord Krishna’s birth, along with numerous other parts of the Vedic philosophy, must have come to the mid-eastern part of the world because of the many trade caravans going back and forth at that time from India to the region of Palestine. Since there were no real witnesses of Christ’s birth and hardly any history in the gospels of the life of Christ up to the age of thirty, it is likely they applied the story of Krishna to Jesus’ life. Otherwise, there is little historical evidence that any of it is factual.

            There is evidence, however, as more facts are being uncovered, that contends that Jesus may have been nailed to the cross but did not die on it. After having been taken from the cross, he later recovered from the ordeal rather than rose from the dead. The Shroud of Turin, if it is authentic (which has been a great debate by itself), seems to provide some evidence that Christ was not dead when taken from the cross since his body was still bleeding while wrapped in the cloth. Even if Christ did appear to die on the cross, being a yogic master, he could have put himself into trance to be revived later. This goes on even today with yogis in India or fakirs in Egypt who can appear to die, be buried for hours, days, months, or sometimes years, and then be uncovered and resurrected from their apparent death. Even the Koran (4.157) claims that Jesus did not die on the cross.

            There is also evidence that after the crucifixion Jesus traveled through Turkey, Persia, and then India. The Russian scholar Nicolas Notovitch discovered in 1887 Buddhist documents at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh that describe the life of Issa. Issa is the Tibetan spelling while Isa is the Arabic spelling of the name Jesus, and the name commonly used in Islam. The manuscript was originally from Lhasa, translated into Tibetan from the Pali language. Jesus’ ascension into heaven may have referred to his entrance into Kashmir, an area considered by many to have been like heaven or the promised land.

            Furthermore, the Bhavishya Purana, dating back to 3000 B.C. and compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, also described the future coming of Jesus and his activities. Dr. Vedavyas, a research scholar who holds a doctorate in Sanskrit, said that the Purana tells of how Jesus would visit the Himalayas and do penance to acquire spiritual maturity under the guidance of the sages and siddha-yogis of India. Dr. Vedavyas says that besides describing the future events of Kali-yuga, the Purana predicted that Jesus would be born of an unmarried woman, Kumari (Mari or Mary) Garbha Sambhava, and would first go to India when he was 13 years old and visit many Hindu and Buddhist holy places. This was his spiritual training in a time of his life of which the gospels are totally ignorant. Furthermore, the actual burial place of Jesus is believed to be in Anzimar or Khanyar, Srinagar’s old town in Kashmir, where thousands of pious pay homage to the tomb of Issa each year. There is where he settled and died sometime after the crucifixion.

            In any case, the Christian Church began with what Paul said about the resurrection of Jesus. Whether the resurrection actually happened or not cannot be proved. Nonetheless, a new faith was born. But through the years there has been much controversy about the nature of Jesus and whether he was actually God as some Christians seem to believe. None of his direct disciples believed that he was, and, indeed, there are many Bible verses which state directly that he was the son of God, such as Luke 1.35, Matthew 17.5, John 4.15, 8.28, 14.28, and others. Only Paul put forward the idea that Jesus was God. But historically it is said that Paul never met Jesus personally, and was converted to Christianity several years after Jesus’ disappearance. Other than that, most of Jesus’ followers thought that perhaps he was the Jewish Messiah. But the Jewish Messiah, according to their prophecies, was not God but rather a Jew who was empowered by God. This actually fits into the Vedic view because there are many empowered living beings who appear from time to time who are sent by God to represent and disseminate His law. Furthermore, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, one of the great Vaishnava spiritual masters in the Madhava-Gaudiya line of disciplic succession, has stated that Jesus was a shaktyavesha avatar, or an empowered living entity meant to preach the glories of God.

            People may say that Jesus walked on water, healed the sick, raised the dead, so he must have been God. But even today in India there have been yogis who have walked on water or who can do other amazing things, like walking over hot coals. This is not like the Hollywood fad of fire walking, but the yogis let the coals burn for days and get so hot that you cannot even get near them without burning your clothes. Then, after spending one month in penance, praying to Durga, they walk across the fire and do not even burn their feet. But some people will say this is the work of the devil. However, is this not peculiar logic to say that walking across fire is of the devil, but if one walks across water he is God? This kind of thinking that is usually found amongst fundamentalists simply shows a great ignorance of yogic powers, which is all walking across fire or water is. Therefore, the miracles of Jesus are a sign of his knowledge of the mystical powers that come from practicing yoga. But it is not a proof that someone is God.

            One important part of Eastern knowledge that was present in early Christianity was the understanding of karma and reincarnation. I have already discussed this and pointed out some of the verses that showed the acceptance of reincarnation in the Bible in The Secret Teachings of the Vedas; so, I will not go into it so deeply here. But it is known that the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 A.D. threw out all references to reincarnation and stated that the idea of it was a myth, and anyone who believed in it would be excommunicated. Of course, this action would not be unexpected in light of the other things the Church has done throughout history in order to place itself as the only way to reach heaven and attain the mercy of God. By eliminating the possibility of reincarnation and the soul’s existence prior to this life, there could be no chance for the soul to reach the state of spiritual perfection over a period of several lifetimes. There would only be this one lifetime in which the soul came into existence, and one chance for a person to reach either heaven or eternal hell, which would be determined by the intervention of the Church. In other words, the Church felt threatened by the fact that the soul has an eternal and personal relationship with God that must be rekindled either in one, two, or however many lifetimes it takes, and this relationship does not necessarily depend on one’s good standing in any religious organization. Thus, people could try to re-establish their relationship with God by other means than the dictates of the Church, which is what the Church could not tolerate.

 

    Unfortunately, by taking out the knowledge of reincarnation and karma, the Church has created huge gaps in its philosophy which leave questions it cannot answer. For example, the Christians cannot explain why one person may be born blind, poor, deformed, or sickly, while another may be born healthy and rich. They do not understand why reversals in life may happen to some, and others seem to have a life of ease. They cannot explain why these differences take place and, in fact, they sometimes blame God for such things, which only shows their ignorance of spiritual knowledge. Furthermore, they do not understand the science of the soul and our spiritual identity, the nature of the spiritual realm, the characteristics of the personality of God, nor the pastimes and incarnations of God, and so on. Thus, the spiritual knowledge that the Christians utilize in their philosophy is very elementary and incomplete. And as we have already established in our previous writings, reaching complete spiritual perfection is not possible in such an incomplete spiritual process. At best, it promotes good moral values, detachment toward worldly life, attachment and devotion to God, and the possibility of reaching the heavenly planets. However, the heavenly planets are still within the material cosmic manifestation and not in the spiritual realm. A real religionist or transcendentalist is interested only in reaching the level of spiritual realization that enables him to directly perceive his spiritual identity and enter the spiritual strata far beyond this material creation.

            Actually, Christians still must accept the understanding of karma and reincarnation to some extent in order to explain logically how one can have a life after death in heaven or hell. According to the Christian doctrine, qualifying for heaven or hell depends on one’s actions in this life. That is called karma in Vedic literature. And as one enters heaven or hell in his next life, he takes on or incarnates in a different form. This is reincarnation. So Christians must, at least to this degree, accept karma and reincarnation whether they fully understand it or not. But to understand it more completely, as explained in the philosophy of the Vedic literature, allows us to realize that our good or unpleasant situations in this life depends on our activities from past lives. And by our activities in this life we can cause our future existence to be good or bad, or we can reach the heavenly or hellish planetary systems to work out our karma. This understanding is accepted by many cultures throughout the world. In fact, the scholar Max Muller remarked that the greatest minds humanity has produced have accepted reincarnation.

            More connections between Christianity and the Vedic culture can be recognized as follows:

            The ancient Vedic custom of applying ash or sandalwood paste to the body is still retained by Christianity in the observance of Ash Wednesday. The so-called “All Soul’s Day” is an exact translation of the Vedic observance of Sarva Pitri Amavasya, the day fixed by tradition for the worship of all deceased ancestors.

            Another Christian tradition derived from Vedic origins is that of having and ringing bells in the churches, especially before or during worship. In Vedic temples it is often seen where bells are rung during worship and when pilgrims enter the temple, announcing their entrance. Christian churches also ring bells to announce the beginning of worship. The word “bell” comes from the Sanskrit bal which means strength. This is in reference to the idea that ringing a bell adds force to the voice of prayer in invoking divinity.

            When the Christians say “Amen” at the end of their hymns or to emphasize something, what they are saying is a corrupted form of “Aum” or “Om,” which is a standard form of Vedic meditation and name of the Supreme Being.

            While we are on the topic of words used in Christianity that are derived from Sanskrit, the Catholic term “Madonna,” another name for Mother Mary, comes from the Sanskrit Mata Nah, meaning “Our Mother.” This is also derived from the great Vedic Mother Goddess. Thus, Mother Mary was a reference not only to the mother of Jesus alone, but a reference to the Goddess, mother of all humanity. Furthermore, the European term of “Madam” is a soft pronunciation of the Hindu term mata or mataji, which also means “Mother.”

            The term “vestry” in referring to the room in churches in which holy clothes are kept comes from the Sanskrit word vestra, meaning clothes. Even the word “psalm” with a silent “P” comes from the Sanskrit word sam or sama which means holy and serious sacred songs, hymns or chants, as found in the Sama-veda.

            Other Christian links with Sanskrit words can be found in the name Bethlehem, which is the English mispronunciation of the Sanskrit Vatsaldham, which means “the home (town) of the darling child.” The Sanskrit term Nandarath is linguistically connected with Nazareth. Nandarath means Nanda’s chariot, and King Nanda was the guardian at whose village he nurtured Lord Krishna (sometimes pronounced as Chrisn, and later Christ in some regions).

            The Christian term “Satan” and the Islamic term “Shaitan” both are derived from the Sanskrit term Sat-na, which means non-truth, falsehood, or fraudulence. The Christians who explain the term “Devil” as a fallen angel should realize that the word is derived from the Sanskrit terminology which signifies a fallen Deva.

            At the beginning of the book of John in the New Testament, it states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is actually a verbatim translation of the Vedic Sanskrit mantra: “Prajapatirvai idamagraasit, tasya vag dvitiyaa asit, vag vai paramam Brahma.”

            The Holy Spirit in Christianity is called Paramatma in Sanskrit, or Parakalate. In Greek the word is Paraclete. This is the God of that spiritual knowledge which is revealed or descended, or the Veda, which is spoken through the prophets (Sanskrit purohitas) . Veda is Yeda in Hebrew, the word God uses for His Self-revelation in Exodus of the Old Testament. Veda in Greek is Oida, and Aidos, from which the English word idea is derived. The term oida is used for God’s/Christ’s Sel-revelation in the New Testament. Thus, the Vedas, the Old and New Testament, and the related scriptures are but part of one continuous revelation of God.

            Dr. Venu Gopalacharya also points out in his book, World-Wide Hindu Culture (pp. 158-9), that in the book of Genesis, Chapter 22, God told Abraham that he and his wife, Sarah, would be blessed and God would, “make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. . . and through thy seed, shall all nations be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Dr. Venu Gopalacharya explains, “Abraham and Sarah [Sarai] refer to [or was derived from] the Indian version of Brahma and Sarasvati. This indicates that this is an abridgement of some of the versions in the Indian Puranas referring to ‘Brahma and his consort as the first aspects of the Supreme Lord or His agents of creation and offering sacrifices [or performing austerities].’ In the commencement of the book of Genesis, the sentence, ‘In the Beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters.’ This is similar to the Vedic Puranas stating that MahaVishnu or Narayana was lying on Adisesha in the ocean, [who is] the original source from which Brahma comes into being. The killing of Abel by his brother for the sacrifice of animals refers to the slaying of Asuras by the Devas, their own brothers, due to the difference of opinion about the mode of offering sacrifices or worshiping God.

            “Just as Indian Puranas were compiled to glorify a particular aspect of the Supreme Lord as Vishnu, or of Shiva, Durga, Ganesha, etc., the Old Testament deals with ‘Yahwe,’ an aspect of the angry god Rudra. As the word ‘Rudra’ means a weeping god, the Jews for worship use weeping before the wailing wall of the ‘Dome of the Rock’ within the temple of Harmahesh Sri (called by Judaic religionists as Haram Esh Sheriff) in the old city of Jerusalem, i.e., Yadusailam. The Jews spell the name of the city as ‘Yerushalayim,’ of which the Sanskrit synonym is Yadu Ishalayam, which means the temple of the Lord of the Yadus [the descendants of Lord Krishna’s clan].

            “Dr. S. Radhakrishnan has informed in his book, Pracya Mattu Paschatya Sanskriti, that the Greeks asserted that the Jews were Indians whom the Syrians called Judea, the Sanskrit synonym of which is Yadava or Yaudheya, and the Indians called them Kalanis, meaning orthodox followers of the scripture.”

            This information certainly provides serious insights into the relationship between the early Jews, Christians, the Bible, and the Vedic culture. I could go on pointing out more Eastern traditions that influenced or were adopted and preserved in various levels of Christianity, but this should be enough for now.

                   

FURTHER SOURCES OF OUTSIDE INFLUENCE IN CHRISTIANITY

At the time of Jesus’ appearance there were many cults in Judaism. There were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and another was the Essenes who were very pure in their habits. They were frugal and were strict vegetarians, eating no meat of any kind and drinking fresh fruit juices or water. They believed in working in harmony with nature and the forces that surround the world and all within it.

            The name Essene is supposed to derive from a Syrian word meaning physician, and they would practice the healing of the sick in mind, body, and soul. They had two main communities, one in Egypt, the other in Palestine near the Dead Sea. Another was in Syria. Their origins can be traced to the Far East, and their methods of prayer, meditation, and fasting were quite similar to Eastern or Vedic practices.

            Their membership was open to all and they were a well respected order with many hundreds waiting to join. But their teachings were given only to members. To be a member of the Essene order, one had to pass a probationary period of one year and be able to fast for 40 days. Their school had three degrees, and few passed successfully through all. They divided themselves into two levels, consisting of those who were celibate and those who were married. The Essenes were a peaceful order of pious men and women who lived in asceticism, spending their days in simple labor and their evenings in prayer. They never became involved with political or military affairs. They never became merchants or entered into commercial life in the cities, but maintained themselves by agriculture and raising sheep for wool, as well as by crafts like pottery and carpentry. (And tradition holds that Jesus was a carpenter.) Any profits or harvests were not kept individually, but were given to the community and then divided.

            More information is provided by H. Spencer Lewis who writes on page 28 of his book, The Mystical Life of Jesus: “Every member of the Essenes in Egypt or Palestine had to be a pure-blooded descendant of the Aryan race.” This would indicate that the Essenes were a clan of Aryans and, as we know, the Aryans were followers of the Vedic principles. On page 29, Lewis explains further: “Immediately upon initiation, each member adopted a robe of white composed of one piece of material, and he wore sandals.” This one-piece robe sounds very much like the Vedic practice of wearing a dhoti.

            In a footnote (p. 31) of another book, The Secret Doctrine of Jesus, H. Spencer Lewis describes that, “Findings of such archeologists as G. Lankester Harding, Director of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities (viz. The) most startling disclosure of the Essene documents so far published is that the sect possessed, years before Christ, a terminology and practice that has always been considered uniquely Christian. The Essenes practiced baptism and shared a liturgical repast of bread and wine, presided over by a priest. They believed in redemption and immortality of the soul. Their most important teacher was a mysterious figure called the Teacher of Righteousness.”

            This makes it quite obvious that many of the so-called Christian practices and terminology, aside from those that Paul established, are a mere continuation of the pre-Christian Essene tradition. The Essenes were also followers or worshipers of Essan (Issan), which comes from the Sanskrit term Isha, which means God.

            Jesus was a member of the Essenes and was apparently the head of one of the Essene temples. In all the Essene temples there was one leader and twelve assistants. When they had their ritual, which they had been doing many years before Jesus appeared, they would break bread and take wine. The leader would stand over the wine and bread and say, “This is my body, this is my blood,” acting as a representative of God. Then he would distribute it. This is information from the Dead Sea Scrolls which were written long before Christ appeared. So we can see that this is a tradition previous to Christ that is still being carried on in the Christian churches today.

            The philosophy of the Essenes was very exalted for that period of time. Traditionally, the Jewish doctrine for justice was an eye for an eye. But the Essenes, even before Christ, taught that one should simply turn the other cheek. So in many cases when Jesus taught, he was simply repeating the doctrine of the Essenes. It was not original. But considering the advanced level of the Essene philosophy in general, it would not be surprising if they had been influenced by the Vedic writings in some way. In fact, evidence of this can be seen when we consider that the school of the Essenes was originally conducted chiefly for the purpose of interpreting the Pythagorean symbols and teachings.

            According to legend, Pythagoras was one of the many sages of antiquity for whom an immaculate conception is asserted. He was born between 600 and 590 B.C. and the birth was predicted by the oracle of Delphi. Pythagoras had traveled and learned the mysteries of the Greeks, Egyptians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, and even went through Media and Persia to Hindustan to study for several years under the learned Brahmin priests. This is accepted by some to be the same areas where Jesus later traveled and learned the Eastern spiritual philosophy.

            One of the things Pythagoras had declared was that meat-eating clouded the reasoning faculties, and that judges should refrain from eating meat before a trial to assure that the most honest decisions would be made for those who went before them. He also taught that mortals who, during their earthly existence, had become like animals in their activities would return to earth again in the form of the beasts they had grown to resemble or act like. Pythagoras also taught the medicinal properties of plants and how to heal by the use of color, vibrations, music, herbs, etc. He also taught how there was a Supreme World, spiritual in nature, which pervaded all things. The material worlds existed within the nature of this supreme sphere, and people should try to recognize the spiritual nature in their surroundings. The Essenes taught many of these same points. They also believed in the eternality of the soul and the philosophy of reincarnation, as did the Pythagoreans and other groups of that time, and taught that rewards of righteousness must be earnestly striven for.

            Jesus’ brother James was one of the leaders of the Essenes in Jerusalem and was a strict vegetarian. It is said that never in his life did he eat meat, nor did he drink liquor. He was an ascetic. So if these two brothers were stalwart preachers of the Essenes and one was a staunch vegetarian, it is hard to imagine that the other one would not also be. Of course, if a person wants to establish Jesus as a meat-eater, they can repeat the biblical story in which he distributed many fish. But that was an emergency situation, and whether Jesus actually ate any fish is still in question. But, from an objective point of view, there is evidence that Jesus did not eat meat. In Isaiah (7.14-15) it is stated: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” This shows that Christ was a vegetarian.

            The founding fathers of the early Christian church, such as Tertullian, Pliny, Origen, St. John Chrysostom, etc., were also strict vegetarians. In fact, St. John Chrysostom advised that saints are loving not only toward people, but also to the beasts because they come from the same God who created mankind. Other saints who were either vegetarian or who at least made friends with animals or protected them from hunters include St. Francis, and Georgian saints like St. David of Garesja, St. John Zedazneli, and early Celtic saints like St. Wales, St. Cornwall, and St. Brittany. Therefore, a real “Christian” who follows Christ’s doctrines should also extend their love to all of God’s creatures as Christ had done. Otherwise, how can they be considered real followers of Christ?

            The fact of the matter is that the Bible, in Genesis (1.26), states: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Herein, dominion does not mean to do whatever one wants to with other creatures, but to have dominion as a ruler of a country has leadership over the people he rules. It is not expected that a leader will torture and eat the people who inhabit his country. That is no leader at all, but is merely one who exploits others for his own interests. Furthermore, only a few verses after the one above we find that God expects us to be vegetarian: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for meat.” (Genesis 1.29) Therefore, meat-eating should be avoided in Christianity.

            Only after the Ecumenical councils at the time of Emperor Constantine, who was a meat-eater, did vegetarian Christians have to practice underground. It was either this or live in fear of having molten lead poured down their throat, which Constantine would do if he caught any vegetarian Christians. Of course, now this is no longer an issue in Christianity. Almost everyone considers that meat-eating is normal and that animals have no soul or feelings.

            The idea that animals have no soul was started by Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.) also supported this view because he favored meat-eating. Aristotle based his opinions on his speculations, but later Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) unfortunately adopted Aristotle’s philosophy, and the Church took Aquinas’ teachings as dogma. And now most everyone in Christianity has followed suit. In fact, due to the expansion of Christianity in Ceylon and other parts of the East, meat-eating has spread, although the slaying of animals is forbidden in Buddhism and amongst those lamas, yogis, and Brahmins who are working to attain the highest spiritual development. Therefore, we can see how this destructive opinion that animals have no soul, which is based on a gross ignorance of spiritual knowledge, has spread.

            The understanding that meat-eating is incompatible with spiritual progress can be seen more clearly in early Christianity and Eastern religious systems. In fact, such similarities between the Eastern and Western philosophies were more evident before the Ecumenical councils, which did away with many of the early Christian teachings that dealt with such things as reincarnation, karma, rebirth, and so on. Such Eastern influence was no doubt partly due to Jesus’ travels through the Eastern countries, such as India, Ceylon, and a few of the Himalayan countries. But the modern Church often declines to discuss the fact that early Christianity shows every evidence of being influenced by the East. And the East, specifically India, has always been viewed as the land of spiritual knowledge since time immemorial. So it should not be considered too unusual that many philosophical ideas of Christianity are rooted in the Vedic literature. However, if it is ever established beyond a doubt that Jesus was an initiate of the so-called “pagan” Asiatic teachings, it could certainly have a considerable effect on the members of the Christian faith. However, more and more people are gradually becoming aware of this Eastern influence.

                   

                   

PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY

                                          

            The name pagan means a country man. The name heathen comes from the word heath, which is a common name for a variety of evergreen shrubs that live in swamps or along mountain slopes. Thus, the name heathen simply referred to those who lived in the country near such plants. Therefore, the use of the name heathen or pagan originally was not meant in a condescending way. To be a heathen or pagan simply meant that one followed those religions that existed prior to Christianity, or that he or she participated in the nature religions, which primarily meant demigod worship. So paganism is simply a reference to following the old remnants of the Vedic Aryan culture. And people throughout pre-Christian Europe worshiped a variety of spirits and demigods, known by different names according to culture and region. The Romans and Greeks of that time also worshiped demigods. The sun-god, Mithra, was apparently considered the most exalted of the demigods. Even King Constantine (280-337 A.D.) was originally a devotee of the sun-god. His famous vision of the cross that he had while marching on Rome came to him from the sun. In fact, even after he was converted to Christianity, he remained a devotee of the sun-god, and because of that he continued to hold the Sabbath on Sunday, which traditionally was on Saturday.

            According to Jewish tradition, the Sabbath was Saturday when God finished the creation and rested. So Saturday is the seventh day and Sunday is the first. Therefore, the Seventh Day Adventists, in a kind of protest, changed the Sabbath back to the original day. So even today the Sabbath is celebrated as a kind of pagan carry-over on the sun’s day. In this way, each day was set aside for different demigods, who are the presiding deities of different planets. Thus, Sunday is for the sun, Monday is for the moon, Tues is the Greek name for Mars, Wednesday is for Mercury, Thursday for Jupiter, Friday for Venus, and Saturday for Saturn.

            We can trace many more similarities between Christianity, Judaism, and other cultures. The origin of one of the first stories in the Bible can be traced to Zoroastrianism. In Zoroastrianism we find where the Lord, Ahura Mazda, creates the world in six stages, and then creates the first man and woman and brings them to consciousness with the breath of life. Shortly afterward, Ahriman, the devil, convinces the man and woman to eat of the forbidden fruit, thus bringing sin and death into the world.

            In other cases, the Jews, having such little information about their founders, borrowed ideas from the legends of neighboring cultures to make their own heroes look special. For example, the stories of Moses’ activities are borrowed from the god Bacchus, who as a baby was found floating in a small boat in the water the way Moses was. Bacchus also emitted rays of light from his forehead, wrote laws on stone, crossed the Red Sea without getting his feet wet, and had armies that were led by pillars of fire. Other similarities can be found in the story of Lord Rama and in the activities of Zoroaster who is said to have lived many years before Moses.

            Other customs, such as circumcision, that now most Christians practice, is not exclusively Jewish, but actually came from Egypt. It had been practiced by the Egyptian priests as far back as 4,000 BC, long before there ever was a Jewish tribe.

            Baptism is another ceremony that is often considered exclusively Christian. However, this is far from true, as some authorities admit. Reverend J. P. Lundy, who made ancient religions a special study, relates on page 385 of his book, Monumental Christianity, that, “John the Baptist simply adopted and practiced the universal custom of sacred bathing for the remission of sins. Christ sanctioned it; the church inherited it from his example.”

            So from where did Baptism come? The fact is that it has been practiced in the form of immersion or by sprinkling for the purification of sins as a common rite in various countries far and wide, for many centuries, in religions that are the least connected. One of the oldest forms of baptism comes from and is found in India. It is here where people, for aeons, have bathed with the intent of spiritual purification in rivers that are considered sacred. Rivers like the Ganges and Yamuna, or sacred lakes and ponds, have long been accepted as sources of spiritual cleansing if one bathes in them with reverence, especially at important times or events. Even today you can visit holy towns along the Ganges where people, young and old, make special endeavors to take a holy bath in the river, in which they plunge three times into the water, or at least sprinkle drops on their heads. This ancient practice spread all over the world in various forms.

            Ancient Persians also practiced baptizing their infants soon after birth, dipping the baby in a vase of water. The old Mithraic initiation ceremonies also included baptism. The Egyptians used baptism as a symbol and rite of spiritual regeneration. Baptism by immersion was also performed by the pagan Greeks, Romans, Mayans, Incas, and, of course, the Essenes and Jews, long before it became a Christian custom.

            There are also events and miracles in the life of Jesus that were known to have happened to other special beings, such as Buddha several hundred years earlier. For example, Jesus was supposed to have radiated light after his birth. However, other personalities who also had light shining from them when they were born include Bacchus, Apollo, the first Zoroaster, Moses, and the oldest of which is Krishna. Furthermore, just as Jesus fasted for 40 days and was tempted by the devil, Buddha also fasted and was tempted by the demon Mara in a more severe manner than Jesus. And just as Jesus told the devil, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” the Buddha also told Mara, “Get thou away from me.” However, other personalities from various cultures were also tempted in a similar way, such as Zoroaster of the Persians, and Quetzalcoatl of ancient Mexico.

            Actually, Paul was the fanatic who took whatever was known of Jesus and, while misinterpreting Jesus’ teachings, made Jesus out to be the incarnation of God, the Messiah, that Jesus never wanted to be. As described in Mark (8.29-30), when Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was, Peter said that he was the Christ. And Jesus charged them that they should tell no man of him. In fact, the term Christ was first used in relation to Jesus by Paul when Paul first started preaching in the city of Antioch. The name Christ was simply the Greek word for Messiah. It was not a person’s name.

            Paul was the person who developed Christian theology and ritual and simply wrote in the Epistles his own ideas of Jesus while never referring to what Jesus actually said. Paul also put many threats into the philosophy of Christianity and created an image of a fearsome and jealous God rather than one that was merciful and loving. But, according to Paul’s version of Christianity, salvation was granted by God alone who would save you if you simply became a Christian because Christ had already died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sins. In this way, faith was all that was needed, and faith outweighed the need for good works. This may be a simple and comfortable concept for Christians but is not a true one and was never presented in the real teachings of Jesus. Jesus actually did emphasize the need for good works. So what we really find in Christianity are the teachings of Paul, which in some areas have little to do with what Jesus actually taught.

            Paul also accepted Sunday as the day of rest from Mithraism rather than Saturday, the seventh day as found in the Hebraic tradition. Paul also took Easter from Mithraism as the day Jesus rose from the grave. Mithra is said to have died in battle on a Friday and was buried in a rock tomb from which, after three days, he rose on the festive occasion of the spring equinox, called Eastra, the Latin word for Astarte, the earth mother goddess. Interestingly, the 40 days before the spring equinox corresponding to Lent was the period for searching for the renewal of life in that tradition. Furthermore, the celebration for the resurrection of the Greek god Adonis is said to have taken place as late as 386 A.D. in Judea at the same time as the Easter observance of Jesus’ resurrection. And the use of dyed Easter eggs was widely known by such people as the Egyptians and Persians who made presents of them, and by the Jews who used them in the Passover feast. These are some of the non-Christian traditions that became incorporated into the Christian Easter holiday and are still practiced today.

            In regard to Jesus’ crucifixion, he is supposed to have died and descended into hell, and on the third day rose again. However, if we look at other cultures, many of which are far older than Christianity, this is hardly an isolated event. The Persian Zoroaster, the Egyptian Osiris, Horus, Adonis, Bacchus, Hercules, and the Scandinavian Baldur, and the Mexican Quetzalcoatl all are supposed to have spent three days in hell after their death and then rose again. All these persons also performed many miracles that can be compared to the ones Jesus performed.

            The Eucharist of Christianity was also a practice of the ancient Egyptians in commemoration of the death of Osiris. They would eat the sacred cake or wafer after it had been consecrated by a priest, after which it became the veritable flesh of his flesh. The Persian Magi also administered bread and wine in their worship of Mithra. The ancient Pagan Greeks celebrated the sacrament of the Lord’s supper in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine.

  A more ancient form of this practice is found in the Vedic culture in which the people and priests would offer opulent foodstuffs to the Deities, and then partake of the remnants as prasadam, which means the Lord’s mercy. The food would be accepted as practically equal to God and extremely purifying and sacred. This custom is still widespread around the world among Vedic followers. From these ceremonies and observances came the practices now seen in the Christian sacrament.

            We can easily recognize many more outside influences in Christianity if we take a closer look. For example, one of the basic doctrines of Christianity is the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. But the holy trinity existed many years prior to Christianity as an Eastern tradition. The Trinity, as in God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, is another concept which is far from being of Christian origin. It comes from outside Christianity and from a much earlier source. We find the trinity in many cultures, including the Chinese and Japanese Buddhists (in the form of Fo), the Egyptians (in God’s form represented as the wing, globe and serpent, and in which the second aspect is called the Logos or Word of God), the Greeks (Pythagorus, Heraclitus, and Plato all taught the Trinity in their theological philosophy), Assyrians, Phoenicians, the ancient inhabitants of Siberia, as well as the Maya ( Tezcatlipoca, Huitzlipochtli, and Tlaloc) and Incas. The Scandinavians worshiped Odin, Thor, and Frey. The Druids worshiped Taulac, Fan, and Mollac. The Romans’ trinity was God, the Word, and the Spirit. The Persians had a trinity consisting of Ahura Mazda as the creator, Mithras as the son or savior, and Ahriman as the evil one, or destroyer.

            The oldest and one of the most prominent forms of the Trinity is the tri-murti (meaning three forms in Sanskrit), which is the Vedic triad consisting of Brahma (the secondary creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer), often worshiped in a three-in-one Deity form or separated on individual altars in many temples of India. Even the Vedic form of the one Supreme Being has three forms or expansions as Bhagavan (the Lord’s Supreme Personality, Krishna), Paramatma (the Supersoul that accompanies each individual soul), and Brahman (the spiritual energy or force that emanates from the body of God and pervades everywhere). A variation of that is Lord Vishnu as the universal father, His incarnations as the sons, and His form of the omnipresent Supersoul as the Holy Ghost.

            Therefore, long before Christianity, God was worshiped in a Trinity form around the world. The idea of a Trinity is not Christian at all, but a “pagan” concept. So Christians, namely Paul, may have adopted the Trinity not out of a philosophical choice, but out of necessity to accommodate the majority view. Thus, the trinity was nothing new in the world when Christianity adopted it.

            After the Trinity was accepted by the Christians, it was still not until the 2nd century when the Christians claimed Jesus to be the son in their Trinity. This idea is traced back to Justin Martyr who simply stated that he realized this understanding by God’s special favor rather than by using biblical references to verify it. In fact, though it had been proclaimed by Paul, the very idea that Jesus was God in human form, and, therefore, a part of the Trinity, was not settled until 325 A.D. during the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. Controversy had developed in regard to whether there was a time when the Trinity did not exist and whether the Trinity was formed only after the birth of the son, Jesus. Emperor Constantine was forced to summon the Council of Nicaea in hopes of solving this problem. During the council it was resolved that never was there a time when the Son of God did not exist, and those who thought there may have been were anathematized by the Church. They denounced the teachings of Arius, who had taught that the Son of God was a created human being who appeared once only and was secondary to the Father. Thus, by a majority vote, the Church pushed the resolution through and those who did not agree or believe it were expected not to oppose it and to keep their thoughts to themselves.

            In fact, it was at this Nicaean Council that all the bishops gathered to discuss what interpretations of Christian theology the Church would teach. This was an attempt to calm the many disputes that had been going on within the Church about its varied teachings. Once this was settled, all other teachings were thrown out and considered heretical, and to teach or follow them was punishable by excommunication or death. To solidify these essential teachings, the Church compiled and edited the New Testament, omitting what was not acceptable and adding new material to justify its viewpoints and fill in what it did not know. Thus, the Church presented itself as the only source of truth and salvation.

            Another interesting point regarding pagan influence is that the crucifix or cross and its many variations was not exclusively a Christian symbol. Bishop Colenso explains in his book, The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined (Vol. 6, p. 113), “Of the several varieties of the cross still in vogue, as national and ecclesiastical emblems, and distinguished by the familiar appellations of St. George, St. Andrew, the Maltese, the Greek, the Latin, etc., etc., there is not amongst them the existence of which may not be traced to the remotest antiquity. They were the common property of the Eastern nations.”

            Prior to Christianity, history shows that the cross was an auspicious and mystical symbol amongst ancient Babylonians, Indians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Druids, and even Laplanders and Scandinavians. For centuries, Indians used the cross in a variety of shapes, most notably as the swastika. For many years the Romans carried a cross with a dark skinned man on it as a standard. The crucifix was also known in ancient Mexico, as discovered by the Spanish monks who first went there. They were told that the Son of God, Quetzalcoatl, died on the cross for the sins of mankind. Even Tertullian, as late as 211 A.D., wrote that the Christians neither adored nor desired crosses, and criticized pagans for doing so and for putting a man on the cross, too. For pagans, a cross was a sign of eternity.

            In the first several centuries of Christianity, Jesus was represented as a lamb, or as a shepherd with a lamb over his shoulders. It was not until the 6th synod of Constantinople that it was decided that the symbol of Christianity, which was confirmed by Pope Adrian I, would be represented from that time on as a man crucified on the cross. In fact, the earliest instances of any artwork that illustrates Jesus on the cross can be traced back only to the eighth or ninth century. Thus, the Christians adopted the crucifixion as a symbol from the pagans.

            Another interesting point regarding pagan influence is within one of the first principles of Christianity: the virgin birth of Jesus from Mary. Chapter 19 of the Koran explains Mary’s pregnancy, which some interpret to mean she was impregnated by an angel of the Lord, said to be Gabriel. But the idea of a virgin birth for a highly revered personality is not exclusive to Christianity. Those who are said to have had a miraculous birth, or were born from a virgin, include Buddha, the Siamese Codom, the Chinese Fo-hi (said to be born 3468 B.C.), Lao-tzu (604 B.C.), the Chinese sages Yu and Hau-ki, as well as Confucius. In India everyone knows of Krishna who was born of a virgin without the need of any sexual exchange. In Egypt, there is the god Ra, and Horus born of the virgin Isis. Also Zoroaster of Persia. The Greek Hercules, Bacchus, Amphion, Prometheus, and Perseus are all said to have been fathered by the gods and born of mortal mothers. There are also Romans, such as Romulus, Alexander the Great, Ptolemy, King Cyrus of Persia, Plato, Pythagorus, and others who have the reputation of being born of virgin mothers. So this was nothing new.

            The celebration of Christmas is, of course, supposed to commemorate the birth of Jesus. However, historical evidence shows that Jesus was born in the springtime. Some of the early churches observed the birth in April or May, and some in January. Even today the Eastern Church celebrates Christmas on the seventh of January, while the Western Church celebrates it on December 25. Generally, no one is really sure of what day it was. But the birth of Jesus being held on the 25th of December can be traced back to the time of Emperor Commodus (180-192 A.D.), but it is earlier attributed to Telesphorus who had influence during the time of Antonins Pius (138-161 A.D.).

            Other cultures also celebrated the 25th of December. The Persians celebrated it as the birthday of Mithras. The Greeks celebrated it as the birth of Bacchus. Egyptians recognized it as the appearance day of Osiris. The Romans also celebrated the Saturnalia festival by feasting, stopping all business, holding public games, and exchanging gifts. The Scandinavians celebrated it as the birthday of Freyr, son of their god Odin and goddess Frigga. Here, too, there was much merry-making and exchanging of presents. The early Germans observed it as part of the Winter solstice, called the Yule feast. They spent time in jovial hospitality, made sacrifices, and worshiped their gods and burned the yule-log on the eve of the 24th. Yule was the old name for the 25th, which came from the word Jul used by the Scandinavians, while Noel in French came from the Hebrew word Nule.

            Actually, the whole affair with the Christmas tree, the use of the mistletoe, hanging wreaths of flowers or evergreens on the doors, giving presents and so on, were all a part of the pagan celebration. The gift-giving we now observe on Christmas is a carry-over from the early pagan celebrations, and is not something that was started by Christianity. In fact, Tertullian, one of the early Fathers of Christianity, called such practices rank idolatry since it was associated with the “customs of the heathen.” After all, the use of evergreens, Christmas trees, wreaths, etc., have nothing to do with Christianity, but they were used in the old traditions to signify the return of the sun, the longer days, and the regenerative power that was sure to follow the winter solstice. Thus, the 25th of December was a day of celebration and for showing respect to the gods long before the Christians adopted it for their purposes.

            Historically, it is known that Jesus was not even born in the winter. So why is the celebration placed on December 25th? The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge explains that, “the date of the festival depended upon the Pagan Brumalia (December 25) following the Saturnalia (December 17-24), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the ‘New Sun’. . . The Pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence.”

            The same Encyclopedia also reveals that emperor Constantine incorporated Sunday as a day of Christian rest and holiday because Sunday was the pre-Christian Pagan day of worship.

            December is also the time of year when the celebration takes place of Lord Krishna speaking the Bhagavad-gita at Kuruksetra. This could mean that Christ’s “Sermon on the Mount” is none other than a reference or similarity to Krishna’s sermon delivered to Arjuna while Krishna was mounted on His chariot. The Bhagavad-gita is a sermon, given 5,000 years ago, that provides indispensable spiritual guidance to all people, which is also said about Christ’s sermon, said to have taken place on the Mount of Olives.

            Ultimately, there is nothing Christian about the Christmas celebrations. Even Christians admit this pagan influence, as pointed out in numerous Christian publications. One such publication is The Plain Truth About Christmas, by the staunch Christian Worldwide Church of God (P. O. Box 6727, Mumbai, 400 052, India). The booklet seems to plead to rid Christianity of its non-Christian content. It says that Christians tend to “follow the crowd” and assume things about Christmas that are not true. Christmas came not from the New Testament or the Bible, nor from the original apostles. “It gravitated in the fourth century into the Roman church from Paganism.”

            The conclusion is that if we took everything non-Christian out of Christmas, you would have almost nothing left. In fact, some of the most orthodox Christian countries went so far as to place a statute to ban Christmas. In World Vedic Heritage (p. 975-6) we find that: “A statute passed in 1660 A.D. by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England, USA, prohibiting the observance of Chr
 
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    Re: Christianity and the Vedic Teachings Within It
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2008, 11:06:18 AM » 

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esus Predicted in the Vedic Literature

By Stephen Knapp
 

            Every once in a while someone writes in to ask me what I know about Jesus being mentioned in the Vedic literature, specifically the Bhavishya Purana. So I've decided to make the information that I know available to everyone.

            Dr. Vedavyas, a research scholar with a doctorate in Sanskrit, discusses some important prophecies from the Bhavishya Purana, which he says dates back to 3000 B.C. He states that one prophecy describes the future appearance of Isha putra, the son (putra) of God (Isha)(Jesus Christ), born of an unmarried woman named Kumari (Mary) Garbha Sambhava. He would visit India at the age of thirteen and go to the Himalayan Mountains and do tapas or penance to acquire spiritual maturity under the guidance of rishis and siddha-yogis before going back to Palestine to preach to his people. So if Jesus was trained by the sages of India, this would explain why he was able to perform various miracles (siddhas). It also explains why there are so many philosophical similarities between early Christianity and Hinduism.

            Dr. Vedavyas goes on to say that the Bhavishya Purana describes how Jesus would visit Varanasi and other Hindu and Buddhist holy places. This is also corroborated by the manuscript on the life of Isha (or Issa), discovered by Mr. Notovich in 1886 at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, India as well as by the Hebrew inscriptions found in Srinagar, Kashmir at the Roza bal, the tomb of Yuz Asaf [Isha or Issa]. The Bhavishya Purana also predicted how Jesus would meet Emperor Shalivahana who established the Shalivahana or “Saka” era. Dr. Vedavyas describes this in his Telegu book, Veerabrahmendra Yogipai Parishodhana.

            The description that is taken to be of Jesus is found in verses 17-32 in the 19th chapter of the Chaturyuga Khanda Dvitiyadhyayah of the Bhavishya Purana. To get a clearer understanding, here is what the verses say:

Texts 17 - 21

vikramaditya-pautrasca
pitr-rajyam grhitavan
jitva sakanduradharsams
cina-taittiridesajan

bahlikankamarupasca
romajankhurajanchhatan
tesam kosan-grhitva ca
danda-yogyanakarayat

sthapita tena maryada
mleccharyanam prthak-prthak
sindhusthanam iti jneyam
rastramaryasya cottamam

mlecchasthanam param sindhoh
krtam tena mahatmana
ekada tu sakadiso
himatungam samayayau

            “Ruling over the Aryans was a king called Shalivahana, the grandson of Vikramaditya, who occupied the throne of his father. He defeated the Shakas who were very difficult to subdue, the Cinas [Chinese], and the people from Tittiri and Bahikaus who could assume any form at will. He also defeated the people from Rome and the descendants of Khuru, who were deceitful and wicked. He punished them severely and took their wealth. Shalivahana thus established the boundaries dividing the separate countries of the mlecchas [low classes] and the Aryans. In this way Sindusthan came to be known as the greatest country. That personality appointed the abode of the mlecchas beyond the Sindhu River and to the west.”

Text 22

ekadaa tu shakadhisho
himatungari samaayayau
hunadeshasya madhye vai
giristhan purusam shubhano
dadarsha balaram raajaa

            Once upon a time the subduer of the Sakas went towards Himatunga and in the middle of the Huna country (Hunadesh - the area near Manasa Sarovara or Kailash mountain in Western Tibet), the powerful king saw an auspicious man who was living on a mountain. The man’s complexion was golden and his clothes were white.

Text 23

ko bharam iti tam praaha
su hovacha mudanvitah
iishaa purtagm maam viddhi
kumaarigarbha sambhavam

            “The king asked, ‘Who are you sir?’ ‘You should know that I am Isha Putra, the Son of God’, he replied blissfully, and ‘am born of a virgin.’”

Text 24

mleccha dharmasya vaktaram
satyavata paraayanam
iti srutva nrpa praaha
dharmah ko bhavato matah

            “‘I am the expounder of the religion of the mlecchas and I strictly adhere to the Absolute Truth.’ Hearing this the king enquired, ‘What are the religious principles according to your opinion?’

Texts 25 - 26

shruto vaaca mahaaraaja
praapte satyasya samkshaye
nirmaaryaade mlechadeshe
masiiho 'ham samagatah

iishaamasii ca dasyuunaa
praadurbhuutaa bhayankarii
taamaham mlecchataah praapya
masiihatva mupaagatah

            “Hearing this questions of Shalivahana, Isha putra said, ‘O king, when the destruction of the truth occurred, I, Masiha the prophet, came to this country of degraded people where there are no rules and regulations. Finding that fearful irreligious condition of the barbarians spreading from Mleccha-Desha, I have taken to prophethood’.”

Texts 27 - 29

mlecchasa sthaapito dharmo
mayaa tacchrnu bhuupate
maanasam nirmalam krtva
malam dehe subhaasbham

naiganam apamasthaya
japeta nirmalam param
nyayena satyavacasaa
manasyai kena manavah

dhyayena pujayedisham
suurya-mandala-samsthitam
acaloyam prabhuh sakshat-
athaa suuryacalah sada

            “Please hear, Oh king, which religious principles I have established among the mlecchas. The living entity is subject to good and bad contaminations. The mind should be purified by taking recourse of proper conduct and performance of japa [meditation on the chanting of the holy names of God]. By chanting the holy names one attains the highest purity. Just as the immovable sun attracts, from all directions, the elements of all living beings, the Lord of the Surya Mandala [solar planet], who is fixed and all-attractive, and attracts the hearts of all living creatures. Thus by following rules, speaking truthful words, by mental harmony and by meditation, Oh descendant of Manu, one should worship that immovable Lord’.”

Text 30

isha muurtirt-dradi praptaa
nityashuddha sivamkari
ishamasihah iti ca
mama nama pratishthitam

            “Having placed the eternally pure and auspicious form of the Supreme Lord in my heart, O protector of the earth planet, I preached these principles through the mlecchas’ own faith and thus my name became ‘isha-masiha’ (Jesus the Messiah).”

Text 31

iti shrutra sa bhuupale
natraa tam mlecchapujaam
sthaapayaamaasa tam tutra
mlecchasthaane hi daarune

            “After hearing these words and paying obeisances to that person who is worshiped by the wicked, the king humbly requested him to stay there in the dreadful land of mlecchas.”

Text 32

svaraajyam praaptavaan raajaa
hayamedhan ciikirat
raajyam kriitvaa sa shashthyabdam
svarga lokamu paayayau

            “King Shalivahana, after leaving his kingdom performed an asvamedha yajna and after ruling for sixty years, went to heaven. Now please hear what happened when the king went to (the heavenly region of) svargaloka.”

            Thus ends the second chapter entitled, “The Age of Shalivahana” of the story of Kali Yuga of the Chaturyuga Khanda also called Pratisarga-parva of the wonderful Bhavishya Maha Purana.

            As we can read here, this relates that the grandson of Bikrama Jit, Shalivahana, was the ruler of the Kushans. Some estimate that he ruled from 39 to 50 A.D. It is also said that he vanquished the attackers from China, Parthia, Scythia, and the Bactrians. After establishing a border between the Aryans and the mlecchas, he ordered all the mlecchas to leave India. Once when Shalivahana went to the Himalayas he reached the land of the Hun, or Ladakh, and saw a man who was fair and dressed in white, looking very saintly. The powerful king asked who he was. The man replied that he was called a son of God, born of a virgin, a teacher of the nonbelievers, and was earnestly searching for the truth.

            The king asked his religion. The man replied that he came from a foreign country where there was no truth, only unlimited evil. He had appeared as the Messiah but the terrible demon Ihamasi [illusion] of the barbarians appeared and he had ended up in her realm.

            The man explained to the king that his religion was to purify the consciousness and impure body, after which, seeking guidance in the Naigama [a scripture], man could pray to the Supreme. By acting in truth and justice and engaging in meditation and spiritual unity, man will return to Isa, the Supreme Being. God will one day unite with all wandering spiritual beings, and Ihamasi [the evil of illusion] will be destroyed. Then man will be absorbed in the ecstatic image of Isa who exists in the heart and is the source of happiness. The man then told the king, “I am called Isa-Masih [Jesus the Messiah].” After the king heard the man speak, the king sent the teacher of the faithless back to his land of nonbelievers.

            Another thing Dr. Vedavyas says is that there is evidence that it was not Jesus Christ whom they crucified on the cross but his double. The last words, “Oh Lord, why have you forsaken me?” refers to Jesus having left him on the cross after Jesus went to the “promised land” of Kashmir. Of course, there are other theories on this. Among other scholars, some say Jesus did not die on the cross but was crucified, suffered and was later revived. Others also say his ascent into heaven was actually his journey up to the heavenly land of Kashmir, where he eventually died and was buried in Srinagar at the Roza bal, the presently known grave of Yuz Asaf, a name known to be that of Jesus.

            Dr. Vedavyas goes on to say that the coming of Lord Kalki, as described in the Bhavishya as well as many other Puranas, is the avatara equivalent to the second coming of Christ as described in the Bible. Lord Kalki will be the next great world leader many years from now and will establish a world government and bring back the Vedic culture in a new Satya-yuga, a new kingdom of God. However, before this will happen, Dr. Vedavyas says the Bhavishya Purana describes a great tribulation and global disaster. It has been suggested that when this may happen, or when the events that will begin to trigger the event, could be sometime after the year 2000 A.D. Some people also say that there will be a planetary effect of great magnitude striking the earth at that time which may cause widespread earthquakes or tidal waves, or even what may become a shifting of the north and south poles. The fact is, there has been an increase in earthquakes, and on December 26, 2004 the planet felt the impact of a mighty tsunami that greatly affected the people of the region of Indonesia and East India. This could only be a sign of what more may come. Such things have also been described in Nostradamus’s predictions. However, we know these things have happened before many years ago. So what may or may not continue to happen remains to be seen.

            The Bhavishya Purana also relates the likelihood of a great war of wars which could change the entire map of the world, at least politically, and possibly even geographically if nuclear weapons are used. This has been further corroborated by other psychics and astrologers.

            Aside from all of this, the Bhavishya Purana also contains quotes relating to various personalities, such as Adam, Noah, Allah, Shankaracarya, Jayadev, Kabir, Nanak, Aurangzeb, Shivaji, and on up to the rule of Queen Victavati, meaning Queen Victoria. It even describes how the British will build factories in Calcutta. Most of these quotations are rather short with little elaboration. An example of one such quote is that which describes the appearance of Mohammed.

SPECIAL NOTE:

            One point we must clearly understand, is that if we do accept that Jesus was predicted in the Bhavishya Purana and traveled to India, and if Jesus did study under the Vedic brahmanas and priests before returning to his homeland to preach, which some evidence indicates, then I’m sure it would come as a shock to most Christians that Jesus was an initiate of the Vedic wisdom of India. Thus, he naturally based much of his own teachings on Vedic knowledge, as anyone who is familiar with Eastern philosophy can see. This would also explain why there are so many similarities between early Christianity and the Dharmic wisdom, much of which seems to have been lost from the Christian fold through the ages.

            It is obvious that Christianity is but a modified form of Sanatana-dharma. Yet, since Jesus spoke in parables on many occasions, the connection with Vedic knowledge and the deeper meaning of his teachings are not always made clear. In fact, there have been numerous diversions and misunderstandings made because of this, as shown by the hundreds of sects that have developed within the Christian community. So, essentially, this would also mean that you cannot comprehend the deepest aspects of Jesus’ teachings without understanding Vedic scripture or the philosophy of Sanatana-dharma, since those are really the roots of Christianity and the basis of the teachings of Jesus. Therefore, it makes sense that we all look into, study and learn this Vedic knowledge and follow its principles for a higher degree and more complete form of spirituality that we can add to our lives, for this is the foundation of most of the spiritual knowledge that has spread throughout the world into its many forms that we find today.

WAS JESUS REALLY PREDICTED IN THE BHAVISHYA PURANA?

            Though some people have become convinced that Jesus went to India, or is predicted in the Vedic literature, there is also another view to this. With the help of the research done by B. V. Giri Swami, based near Mysore, India, he relates that a closer look at the prediction of Jesus found in the Bhavishya Purana strongly suggests foul play or interpolation on the part of Christian missionaries in India during the late 18th century.

            The Bhavishya Purana is considered to be one of the major 18 Puranas of the Vedic canon. As the name suggests, it mainly deals with future events (bhaviysati). The Bhavishya Purana is also mentioned in the ancient text of the Apastambha-dharma-sutras, so it is to be taken as an original Puranic literature dating from the time of Srila Vyasadeva, who is said to be its original author.

            However, there are presently four known editions of the Bhavishya Purana, each having different predictions from the other, but suspiciously having one consistent prediction - that of Jesus. One edition contains five chapters, one contains four, another contains three and yet another contains only two. Additionally, the contents in all four editions differ in various degrees - some having extra verses and some having less. Due to these circumstances, it is difficult to ascertain which of the four is the original text of the Bhavishya Purana, if indeed an original text still exists, but suspiciously, as mentioned, all four editions do mention Jesus.

            The Venkateswar Steam Press edition of the Bhavishya Purana printed in Bombay in 1829 (and reprinted by Nag Publishers in 2003) is probably the most complete version available, containing all the main features of the four manuscripts. Since none of the four editions of the Bhavishya Purana predate British Rule in India, this further suggests a discrepancy. The fact is that the British tried to monopolize the publishing of all Sanskrit literature during the British Raj. They bought or confiscated any Sanskrit literature they could locate. And that is why you practically cannot find any Vedic literature that is published before 200 years ago. It is further known that they liked to publish their own translations, as if India could not produce its own Sanskrit scholars to translate the Sanskrit themselves. Plus, they would also try to interpolate various verses here and there to have the reader draw a different conclusion of the personality or traits of the characters described in the texts. Most were quite noble, but by slipping in verses that said certain persons had less than admirable qualities, or that questionable practices were used, it would change the reader’s disposition and attitude toward the Vedic culture, even if they were Indian born followers of it.

            Therefore, the consistent prophecy of Jesus in all four editions of the Bhavishya Purana, in spite of the differences in the editions found, seems to indicate an interpolation regarding the so-called meeting of Maharaja Shalivahana and Jesus. This is found in the 19th chapter of the Pratisarga-parva. However, as B. V. Giri Swami relates, in examining this section, certain flaws can be found which betray its dubious origins.

            For example, at the very outset of this description of Jesus meeting Shalivahana, this section is fraught with historical inaccuracies. Shalivahana was the king of Ujjain (in modern day Madhya Pradesh), and while it is not surprising that Shalivahana traveled to the Himalayas, the enemies that he supposedly vanquished in battle before he went should be looked into more thoroughly. Historical research tells us that the only invading force that Shalivahana actually subdued were the Sakas, who entered India from the north-west regions. But as for his defeating the Cinas (Chinese), Bahlikas (Bactrians), Kamarupas (Assamese), Romas (Romans) and the Khurus (Khorasans, or Persians), there is no historical evidence that validates Shalivahana doing this, nor is their any historical proof of the Romans and the Chinese ever invading India at that time. The Bactrians (Greeks) came earlier during the Gupta Period and the Persians (Moguls) came later. The people of Assam were simply a small hill-tribe during this period of Indian history [conquering which would not have warranted a mention in Vedic verse].

            Later, the king asks Jesus “Who are you?” and Jesus answers that he was born of a virgin. However, the Christian idea that Jesus was born of a virgin is based on the following verse found in the Christian version of the Old Testament in the Book of Isaiah: “Behold, a virgin has conceived and bears a son and she will call his name Immanuel.” But the original Hebrew text of the Book of Isaiah does not mention anything about a virgin. The original text being: hinneh ha-almah harah ve-yeldeth ben ve-karath shem-o immanuel, “Behold, the young woman has conceived - and bears a son and calls his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7.14)

            The Hebrew word for virgin is betulah yet it appears nowhere in this verse of Isaiah. The word used is almah which simply means “a young woman”. Isaiah only uses almah once. However, the word betulah is used five times throughout the Book of Isaiah, so Isaiah obviously made a distinction between these two words.

            After Jesus has introduced himself to Shalivahana, he explains that he is teaching religion in the distant land of the mlecchas and tells the king what those teachings are, in which he says: “Please hear from me, O King, about the religion that I have established amongst the mlecchas. The mind should be purified by taking recourse of proper conduct, since we are subject to auspicious and inauspicious contaminations - by following the scriptures and concentrating on japa (meditation on the repetition of God’s names) one will attain the highest level of purity; by speaking true words and by mental harmony, and by meditation and worship, O descendant of Manu. Just as the immovable sun attracts from all directions the elements of all living beings, the Lord of the Surya-mandala (sun globe) is fixed and all-attractive, and attracts the hearts of all living creatures.” (19:27-29)

            However, nowhere in the Gospels do we find in the ministry of Jesus the above teachings to his followers, unless they had been removed from the Gospels and somehow preserved in the Bhavishya Purana. Furthermore, in this passage, Jesus is advocating the worship of the sun-god (again, something that is absent in his instructions to the apostles). Japa, meditation, the negation of both good and bad karma, are all concepts that are familiar to eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, but not to the Abrahamic religions of the west, unless Jesus had already been trained by Vedic brahmanas and Buddhist priests at that time. In such a case, the Bhavishya Purana may have preserved some of the concepts of the teachings of Jesus that were never included in the Gospels, or were later deleted from them because of manipulating politics.

            Considering the above anomalies and the fact that no edition of the Bhavishya Purana can be found prior to the British period in India, we can deduce that the Bhavishya Purana may have been tampered with by the Christian missionaries who added the chapter on Jesus. Their motive would be obvious -- to make the personality of Jesus acceptable to the Hindus in order to convert them to Christianity.

            In 1784, the famous Indologist Sir William Jones wrote the following letter to Sir Warren Hastings, Governor General of India, confirming our suspicions that this was indeed part of their program:

            “As to the general extension [spreading] of our pure faith [Christianity] in Hindoostan [India] there are at present many sad obstacles to it... We may assure ourselves, that Hindoos will never be converted by any mission from the church of Rome, or from any other church; and the only human mode, perhaps, of causing so great a revolution, will be to translate into Sanscrit... such chapters of the Prophets, particularly of ISAIAH, as are indisputably evangelical, together with one of the gospels, and a plain prefatory discourse, containing full evidence of the very distant ages, in which the predictions themselves, and the history of the Divine Person (Jesus) is predicted, were severally made public and then quietly to disperse the work among the well-educated natives.” (Asiatic Researches Vol. 1. Published 1979, pages 234-235. First published 1788).

            What better way to translate into Sanskrit whatever they could of predictions of the Christian prophets and then disperse them among the well-educated natives than to slip such translations into some of the Vedic texts themselves? Plus, we often see that Christians, especially in India, tell Hindus that since Jesus is supposed to be predicted in the Vedic texts, then they should accept Jesus as their ultimate savior. But the Vedic texts are much more open and inclusive than that and also describe so many more avataras and incarnations of Lord Vishnu. So why shouldn’t the Christians also accept Lord Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme Person, or at least aspects of the Supreme Being? After all, it was proclaimed that Jesus was the son of God. And who is the Father? So Vishnu or Krishna must have been the Supreme Father as the Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic texts clearly state. And if Jesus did go to India, then he was familiar with this concept, which he thus expressed in his own teachings in his homeland. This is not going against the Biblical tenants. After all, the Bible does not exactly describe who is the Supreme Person, but only gives Him a name, such as Yahweh, etc. The Vedic texts, however, give God innumerable names and describes much more about Him, such as His character, personality, pastimes, and so on.

            Swami B.V. Giri concludes that it may also be noted that throughout the Pratisarga-parva of the Bhavishya Purana we find the stories of Adam and Eve (Adhama and Havyavati), Noah (Nyuha), Moses (Musa), and other Biblical characters. These he also considers to be likely additions by zealous Christians. The Bhavishya Purana may well be a genuine Vedic scripture prophesying future events, but from the above analysis we may want to reconsider how likely it is that the Jesus episode of the Bhavishya Purana is an authentic Vedic revelation.

[This article available at: www.stephen-knapp.com]
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Catholic nun, Hindu Swami and the politics of identity
By Saurav Basu

In India, every day over 18 women are raped, but their sordid stories rarely make headlines. However, in this case, the vested interests in the media found an opportunity to twist a case of human suffering to fit their own communal agenda. Even before ascertaining the facts of the case, they started a campaign of using this one-off incident to foster their goal of demonising anything that is Hindu. To anyone who has been following the incidents in Orissa, it would be absolutely clear that these very same groups in the media have, from the very beginning, presented a totally distorted picture of the actual nature of the conflict in the state.

The alleged rape of a Catholic nun in Kandhamal by suspected Kandh Vanvasis has intensified the Congress-led UPA government’s fascist intention to dismiss the popularly elected, two term Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik heading the BJD-BJP coalition, hypocritically disowning their own legacy of failure under Congress Chief Minister JB Patnaik.

Big font headlines in English dailies over an event which considering the explosive situation prevailing in Kandhamal district, barely two days after Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati’s murder, seems intriguing especially since the latter’s brutal murder along with four other Ashram inmates were shunted to page 10 by the same. Not satisfied with that, they accepted with alacrity the supposedly Maoist appropriation of the crime, even when this claim of a Maoist group had been rejected by their own peers, who are known to be in cohorts with Christian evangelists.

In India, every day over 18 women are raped, but their sordid stories rarely make headlines. However, in this case, the vested interests in the media found an opportunity to twist a case of human suffering to fit their own communal agenda. Even before ascertaining the facts of the case, they started a campaign of using this one-off incident to foster their goal of demonising anything that is Hindu. To anyone who has been following the incidents in Orissa, it would be absolutely clear that these very same groups in the media have, from the very beginning, presented a totally distorted picture of the actual nature of the conflict in the state. They have used every trick out of their propaganda manual to try to paint the conflict in such a way as to support their own nefarious thesis.

In Orissa, for decades, there has been simmering tensions between the Kandh Vanvasis and the Panis, the latter having allied with the missionaries have persistently persecuted the former and frequently been party to land grabs. A lot of this forcibly appropriated land has been used for constructing illegal churches which serve as houses of conversion. The fact is that the Panis are not even Vanvasis, but they strive to demote their caste status from SC to ST in order to conveniently usurp the very meager state doles, meant for the Kandhas in a district where 78 per cent of the population resides below the poverty line. Even The Statesman, known for its socialist viewpoint, in an editorial admitted the deep rooted Vanvasi disaffection representing the ethnic aspect of the subaltern strife which cannot be reduced to the terms of the recent pattern of VHP-Christian confrontation. This internecine struggle between two indigenous communities on considerations of caste and reservation has been further accentuated by the Christian evangelist propaganda and consequent exploitation of the situation.

The yet unknown culprits have also been explicitly identified as ‘Hindu fanatics’ by the very same media which dogmatically dither from denigrating terror bombers as ‘Muslim fundamentalists’ and instead prefer to use politically loaded terms like misguided Islamic militants or sometimes even ‘misguided youth’! Not surprisingly, these Hindu fanatics will discover no guardian angels in the English language mouthpieces unlike the SIMI which has Tehelka and a host of other sympathisers in human right forums, academic circles and political parties. MC Sharma has now been declared to have been killed in a fake encounter by MJ Akbar, The Hindustan Times, Muslim fact finding teams and Mushirul Hasan, Vice Chancellor and “JNU recognised secular historian” of the Jamia Milia Islamia. But it is certain that no Hindu activist, group or leader will allege the rape to be fake or consensual; such conspiracy theories have no place within the domains of a genuine ‘Hindu mindset’ despite the fact that in the infamous Jhabua rape case in 1999, six of the twelve accused in question who had been prematurely identified as Hinduvta activists by the ‘secular brigade’ turned out to be Vanvasi converts to Christianity. Of course, the `secular’ media ran away after telling such a massive lie, when the truth was revealed. No apology was forthcoming.

The confabulating Catholics will vehemently deny the Vanvasis a place in the Hindu religious fold in order to facilitate their conversion strategies. They are animists, they say, ironically the very cult Romila Thapar reserved for the Vedic Aryans in her VI class NCERT textbook. However, the same Catholics in alliance with the ‘secularists’ now claim Hindus to be responsible for this dastardly drama—the accused Vanvasis in question have now been conveniently elevated to the status of ‘caste’ Hindus. Perhaps, we are also ignoring that in most Indian Vanvasis, the ideology of rape is minimal, if not non-existent.

The perversions of The Times View (October 4) is explicit in their illegitimate improvisation where they have the audacity to declare discovering no difference between the acts of terrorist bombings in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and that of the rape in question. It is preposterous to suggest that an isolated solitary rape case in a remote and inaccessible region and in a highly charged atmosphere caused by the brutal murder of a popular religious icon is the same as pre-planned conspiracy to destroy the nation by Islamic fundamentalists, guided by an inhuman and barbaric ideology. The propagation of such patently false ideas is not only a great disrespect to thousands of victims killed and maimed in terror attacks but also exposes the moral vacuity and the vicious agenda of a section of India’s fourth estate.

Moreover, it is becoming increasingly apparent that sections of the ‘secular’ media have their own doctrinal axis to grind, which includes distortion and suppression of news involving Christian atrocities on Hindus in Kandhamal. For instance, on September 26, CNN.com, the leading American news channel, reported a Hindu man killed by a presumably Christian mob in Kandhamal. In contrast, the very next day on September 27, the communist national daily, The Hindu, applied their Goebellesque imagination by insisting that some man was killed by members of the majority community!

Rediff.com reported on October 3 that two Hindus had been hacked to death, however they had no word of condemnation for any Christian group, which is in total contrast to their behaviour when a victim is other than Hindu.

France 24, a French daily in one of their inflammatory articles, accused the late Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati to be an extremist fundamentalist eliminated by Maoists for good reasons. And yet, Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi continue to bend over backwards to appease hyperbolic Christian sensitivities of the West actively engaged in funding the likes of Project Joshua which relentlessly rushes to Christianise India by the turn of the next century. While this conflagration rages on, the debate over conversion has been sidelined. Unconstitutional, unlawful conversion is cheered in the name of providing health and education services through quacks and Christian geocentric theories respectively. Any nationalist and Hindu rescuing his faith through reconversion is deemed communalist and cause of tension, a situation strangely reminiscent of the Raj’s attitude which VD Savarkar had summed up thus:

“If reconversion movement created tension, why should the conversion movement not be considered so? I emphasize that if at all anybody was to be held responsible for the tension, the missionaries and the maulvis should be held so because they had started the conversion first…moreover, I was doing sacred work for my nation which is being exploited in her fallen days by foreign faiths. It was a strange attitude on the part of a government that allowed robbers to commit robberies and prohibited the owners from protecting and defending their property”

Ultimately, cynical exploitation of an unfortunate rape victim’s tragic story and zealously transforming her into a ‘secular’ mascot in the political crusade against ‘imaginary Hindu fundamentalism’ is representative of the absolute amorality of its agents.
 
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