Gautam Buddha : The Origin

Gautam Buddha as king Siddhartha from Ajanta Cave Paintings

Gautama Buddha was born in a small kingdom called Kapilvastu in the year estimated 563 BC. Also known as Siddhartha gautam, he was a prince by birth. Later, he was exposed to worldly pain and suffering and understood that actual life is far more difficult that what was shown to him by his father.

Being a prince Siddhartha was kept away from the sufferings of life. At the age of 16 he was married to yashodha, cousin of same age. She gave birth to a child, Rahul.

At age of 29, an interesting story crosses by. One day siddhartha went out of the palace to see the world. On his way he saw an OLD MAN. He asked his Charioteer,"Does everyone grow old", charioteer replied,"Yes master, everyone does".


Later on the way he saw a diseased man, again he asked "What happened to him?", reply was "He is deseased.", further he saw a decaying dead body. It was hard for him to believe that the world out side the palace was so different. This moved siddhartha a lot and he decided to live a life of an Ascentic.

                                         Prince Siddhartha

TEACHINGS:
Siddharth Gautam became gautama buddha once he started living a life of an ascetic. He deprived himself from the worldly pleasures and started working on the principle of self mortification. Although, self mortification was a little too tough and so buddha had to find a middle path, the 'Jhanas'. According to him the body. The ultimate destination of every soul is 'Nirvana'.

                                                 Siddhattha and a company of five wondering ascetics lived in the jungle to live the ascetic life of self mortification. They tried to find enlightenment through deprivation of worldly goods (including food)

BUDDHISM: 
For the res of his life, Gautam Buddha traveled to various parts of India, Nepal and Burma spreading his thinking and preaching about Buddhism. The First Two discipline of Budhhism were 'Tapussa' and 'Bhallika'. The disciples grew in numbers over the years to come. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism was simpler to follow, less number of rituals and as a result t's followers kept on increasing.

The Sramanas movement (movement of ascetics of Gautam Buddha), which originated in the culture of world renunciation that emerged in India from about the 7th century BCE, was the common origin of many religious and philosophical traditions in India, including theCharvaka school, Buddhism, and its sister religion, Jainism. The Sramanas were renunciants who rejected the Vedic teachings, which was the traditional religious order in India, and renounced conventional society.  

Siddhartha Gautama lived during a time of profound social changes in India. The authority of the Vedic religion was being challenged by a number of new religious and philosophical views. This religion had been developed by a nomadic society roughly a millennium before Siddhartha’s time, and it gradually gained hegemony over most of north India, especially in the Gangetic plain. But things were different in the 5th BCE, as society was no longer nomadic: agrarian settlements had replaced the old nomad caravans and evolved into villages, then into towns and finally into cities. Under the new urban context, a considerable sector of Indian society was no longer satisfied with the old Vedic faith. Siddhartha Gautama  was one of the many critics of the religious establishment.

               picture of Buddha in Chandigarh, India

After Siddhartha Gautama passed away, the community he founded slowly evolved into a religion-like movement and the teachings of Siddhartha became the basis of Buddhism. The historical evidence suggests that Buddhism had a humble beginning. Apparently, it was a relatively minor tradition in India, and some scholars have proposed that the impact of the Buddha in his own day was relatively limited due to the scarcity of written documents, inscriptions, and archaeological evidence from that time.

                                The Tripitaka Scripts  

The Tripitaka (or Tipitaka) is the Sanskrit (or Pali) canon of religious discource most highly regarded in Theravada Buddhism. The literal translation is the "three baskets", so named because the original writings were kept in baskets. 

The three elements of the canon are the Vinaya Pitaka, which are the disciplinary rules by which monks are expected to live their lives; the Sutta Pitaka, which are the discources of the Lord Buddha and other leading scholars of Buddhist belief; and the Abhidharma Pitaka, which are a series of philosophical discourses on the nature of the universe and of Buddhist belief. 

The Tripitaka was assembled shortly after the death of Gautama Buddha through a sangha, or council of monks. It was preserved in oral tradition for some four centuries before being committed to palm-leaf manuscript in the first century c.e.

Owing to linguistic and cultural differences, the Tripitaka varies from country to country where Theravada Buddhism is practiced. In each case the writings are extensive and occupy many volumes. The Sutta Pitaka, for example, contains more than 10,000 sutras of the Buddha. 

These include details of the life of the Buddha and his road to nirvana, or enlightenment; Mahayana and Vajrayana forms of Buddhism also have their own Tripitaka canons. The Vinaya Pitaka consists of rules and junctures for both monks and nuns, although in some societies the role of nuns is not offi cially accepted. 

Various offenses against the sangha are enumerated together with their degree of severity and, hence, the sanctions that they attract. Monks are expected both to know and to abide by the 227 rules of the Great Division (Mahavibhanga), which greatly expand on the five basic precepts that all followers of Buddhism are expected to follow.

           The Three baskets of Tripitaka

By the 3rd century BCE, the picture we have of Buddhism is very different. The Mauryan Indian emperor Ashoka the Great (304–232 BCE), who ruled from 268 to 232 BCE, turned Buddhism into the state religion of India. He provided a favourable social and political climate for the acceptance of Buddhist ideas, encouraged Buddhist missionary activity, and even generated among Buddhist monks certain expectations of patronage and influence on the machinery of political decision making. Archaeological evidence for Buddhism between the death of the Buddha and the time of Ashoka is scarce; after the time of Ashoka it is abundant.

KEY BUDDHIST CONCEPTS:

The Buddha was not concerned with satisfying human curiosity related to metaphysical speculations. Topics like the existence of god, the afterlife, or creation stories were ignored by him. During the centuries, Buddhism has evolved into different branches, and many of them have incorporated a number of diverse metaphysical systems, deities, astrology and other elements that the Buddha did not consider. In spite of this diversity, Buddhism has a relative unity and stability in its moral code.

The most important teaching of the Buddha is known as “The Four Noble Truths”, which is shared with varying adjustments by all Buddhist schools. In general, the Four Noble Truths are explained as follows:

1. The First Noble Truth is generally translated as “all life is suffering”, which can be easily understood when it comes to painful situations like death, illness, abuse, poverty, and so forth. But suffering also may arise from good things because nothing is permanent, everything is changing, and whatever gives us happiness will sooner or later come to an end. It seems that all pleasures are temporary and the more we enjoy them, the more we will miss them when they end. “Nothing lasts forever”, is one of the insights of the Buddha.
2. The cause of suffering is desire. Suffering comes from desire, also referred as “thirst” or greed. Our desires will always exceed our resources and leave us unhappy and unsatisfied. All suffering originates in desire, but not all desire generates suffering. Only selfish desire generates suffering:  desire directed to the advantage of the part rather than to the good of the whole.
3. By stopping desire, suffering also stops. The idea is not to get too attached to material goods, places, ideas, or even people. Non-attachment to anything is the main idea behind the third noble truth. It means that since all changes if our attachment is too strong, we will inevitably suffer at some point. After all, we will all get old, decay, and die; this is a natural cycle, and there is nothing wrong with it. The problem comes when, by attaching too much, we do not accept the changes.
4. By following “The Eightfold Path”, desire stops. The Eightfold Path is composed of: right views, right intentions, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

In some religions, sin is the origin of human suffering. In Buddhism there is no sin; the root cause of human suffering is avidyā “ignorance”. In the entrance area of some Buddhist monasteries, sometimes the images of four scary-looking deities are displayed, the four protectors whose purpose is to scare away the ignorance of those who enter.

In its most basic form, Buddhism does not include the concept of a god. The existence of god is neither confirmed, nor denied; it is a non-theistic system. The Buddha is seen as an extraordinary man, not a deity. Some Buddhist schools have incorporated supernatural entities into their traditions, but even in these cases, the role of human choice and responsibility remains supreme, far above the deeds of the supernatural.

In some Chinese and Japanese Buddhist monasteries, they go even further by performing a curious exercise: The monks are requested to think that the Buddha did not even existed. There is a good reason for this: the core of Buddhism is not the Buddha, but his teachings or dharma. It is said that those who wish to understand Buddhism and are interested in the Buddha are as mistaken as a person who wishes to study mathematics by studying the life of Pythagoras or Newton. By imagining the Buddha never existed, they avoid focusing on the idol so that they can embrace the ideal.

Scientific Reasoning Behind The Hindu Superstitions Beliefs

1. Cats Crossing Your Path 

In ancient times, during night people used to travel through forests in bullock carts with a light of kerosene lantern. The carriage animals get past big cats like leopards, hyenas and jackals foxes. These animals have glowing eyes and scare the cows, horses or the bulls that pull the carts. That is why the travelling party halts nearby and help the animals refresh themselves before they pull the carts for the long journey ahead without any stress. Travelers shared their hard experiences and told other travelers not to proceed travel while the cats crossing the roads and in the course of time changing, the cat crossings got live and the people forget forest cats and took the domestic cats instead.

2. Hair Cut On Tuesday

In past days a large portion of the Indians were farmers. After a week of hard work, Monday was their resting day. Characteristically majority of them cleaned their homes and cut their hair on that day. So the Barber wouldn’t have much deal with Tuesdays and would close his shop. This practice is continued till date but the reason behind it is completely forgotten and lot misconceptions revolve around this.

3. Opening An Umbrella Inside The House

Restriction of opening umbrella inside house had a sensible reason back in the days. The umbrellas were built with hard metal spokes and spring triggers, which could be dangerous to open. In fact, opening one indoors could pose a danger to people and fragile objects nearby.

Warning people not to open an umbrella indoors served to protect the health and safety of people and property indoors. Later this was considered as “bad luck” considering the injuries and broken objects, which often coincided with the umbrella’s opening.

4. Hanging Lemon And 7 Green Chillies In Shops And Business Places.

Superstitious belief goes like this: Alakshmi, god of misfortune brings bad luck to the shop owners or business. In order not to allow her entering the shops they hang these 7 chilies and lemon. Alakshmi likes sour, pungent and hot things. Therefore at the door, Alakshmi will only come up to the door and eat her favorite food and satisfy her hunger and leave without entering the shop. It is believed that after consuming lemon and green chillies, Alakshmi loses her urge to enter the house or shop. She will turn around without casting her vicious eye.

Scientific Reason:  The cotton thread which is used to pierce the chillies and lemon absorbs the acid from the fruit whilst it is fresh. This smell keeps the pests and insects away from the shops. This is a simple pesticide which came into practice from ancient times, which is mislead now superstitiously as explained above.

5. Breaking Mirror Brings 7 Years Bad Luck

During old times, mirrors were not cheap and they were low quality and easily defected. In order to avoid negligence it was told that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck. That was simple scare tactic. Romans were the one who tagged to the broken mirror a sign of seven years bad luck. The length of the prescribed misfortune came from the ancient Roman belief that it took seven years for life to renew itself. If the person looking into the mirror were not of good health, their image would break the mirror and the run of bad luck would continue for the period of seven years, at the end of which their life would be renewed, their body would be physically rejuvenated, and the curse would be ended.

6. Cutting Nails And Shaving After Sunset

In the olden days there was no electricity and shaving or cutting nails would result in cuts after sunset because of darkness. Hence our ancestors advised not to cut nails or shave after sunset. In Later days it was believed that the night spirits will be awaken and come in the search of flesh. People have been warned to get attacked by these evil spirits in the darkness of night if people cut nails or shave hair after sunset which continues as a superstition.

7. Lighting 3 Cigarettes With One Matchstick

‘Three on a match rule’ apparently was a tale told to the young ones after the World War 1. When it was night and you lit a pipe or cigarette if you lit three people off the same match a sniper would have time to zero in and he would kill the third man. Would you want the enemy knowing exactly where to lob a grenade because you lit the pathway for him? This story was twisted around as the time passed by and considered to be bad luck.

So folks, as long as you are not in war zone you are safe to light three cigarettes. Oh, hang on you are not safe until you quit smoking technically.

8. Pregnant Women Not Allowed To Go Out During Eclipse

In India it is believed that during an eclipse one must not wander out, since it is believed that the Sun is swallowed up by the demon. Pregnant women, especially, must stay indoors in order to ensure that their babies are not born with any deformities. In fact, pregnant women are often not allowed to sew or cut vegetables during an eclipse. Some families avoid cooking and eating altogether during an eclipse. However, the reason behind some of these superstitions can be scientific. For example, one should actually avoid going out during an eclipse in order to keep away from the harmful UV rays.

9. Menstruating Women Are Considered Impure And Unclean

In India, menstruating women are considered impure and unclean. This, of course, gives rise to many superstitious beliefs. Women who are menstruating are not allowed to enter the kitchen. They are also supposed to stay away from temples, mosques and all religious spots in the house itself. A woman on her period is not allowed to perform regular household duties like cooking food. Some might argue that the reason behind this superstition is scientific, and that a woman menstruating loses a lot of blood and thus becomes weak and must refrain from strenuous activities. Others claim that there is nothing scientific in this belief and it is just another superstition created to subordinate the position of women in society.

10. 

Do Not Leave A Dead Person’s Eye Open

This is a very common superstitious belief in India,  if a dead person’s eyes is left open it is believed that the other soul around the dead body will be taken away with him through his eyes. But the real reason behind this is to make the dead person look as if he is sleeping peacefully and nothing more or less.

11. 

Bats Entering The House Brings Death

The fact that few species of bat drinks blood does not help to the superstitious beliefs revolving around them. There is an old myth that if a bat enters the house or flies around the hose for three times or more then death is waiting for someone in the family. There are many different myths associated with the bats in different countries and culture which adds up to bats being an bad omen.

The real reason behind the bats entering the hose brings death is because of the disease transmitted by bats were deadly back in the days when there was no medicines for these disease. Rabies, Nipah, Hendra, Ebola and Marburg are all viruses carried by bats that can cause serious disease in humans. Marburg virus and some strains of Ebola virus can kill up to 80-90% of humans infected.

12. Lizard Falling On Human Is Bad Luck

Every movement of the wall lizard holds some significance according to Gowli Shastra in India. The colour, spots, stripes, chirping or twittering of the lizard and where it falls on a person’s body are said to indicate future happenings. However the fact is that, lizards that are poisonous in nature release poisonous chemicals from their body in order to protect them from their enemies. If such lizard comes in contact of a person’s body or falls in a food item like milk etc. then is bound to make it contaminated. One should wash that particular spot and area to avoid infectious disease.

13. 

Friday The 13th And The Number 13 Is Unlucky

The number 13 is considered an unlucky number in some countries. The superstitious sufferers try to avoid bad luck by keeping away from anything numbered or labelled thirteen. As a result, companies and manufacturers use another way of numbering or labelling to avoid the number, with hotels and tall buildings being conspicuous examples (thirteenth floor). It is also considered unlucky to have thirteen guests at a table. Friday the 13th has been considered the unluckiest day of the month.

One major reason is that, at Jesus Christ’s last supper, there were thirteen people around the table, counting Christ and the twelve apostles. Some believe this unlucky because one of those thirteen, Judas Iscariot, was the betrayer of Jesus Christ. Another major reason for Friday the 13, On Friday 13 October 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar, and most of the knights were tortured and killed.

14. Fallen Hair Around The House Will Bring Fight In Your Family

The myth is that if you throw fallen hair inside the house instead of binning it, soon you will see a fight within your family. Well, who would like to pick up a quarrel at home?

But the real reason behind this superstition is if you leave the fallen hair inside the house it may end up falling inside the food when the wind blows.

15. Twitching Of The Eye Is Inauspicious

Twitching of the left eye is considered to be either a bad or a good omen, depending upon which culture we are referring to. These superstitions take into account the gender and the part of the eye in which the twitching is observed as well. Eye twitching or the sudden involuntary movement or spasms in the eyelids is a common condition. Although there is an established explanation for these constant or intermittent involuntary muscle twitches, including various medical reasons behind them. Apparently, these twitches are nature’s way of warning a person about some impending problem or indicative of some good news on the way.

16. 

Adding One Rupee To A Gift Sum Is Auspicious

It is common in India to give money for weddings and auspicious occasions. It is considered auspicious to add a rupee to the sum total.

There are various reasons, for some, it is a blessing, a token of love and luck. For some it is the beginning of a new cycle. For some it makes the sum an odd number and indivisible which is a good omen for the married couple. If the rupee is not added the sum total will be separable or it will end in zero which indicates the end, so adding the rupee will make the number odd hence assuring continuity.

17. Walking Under A Ladder Is Bad Luck

There are a couple of theories about this superstitious belief. Many Christians are believers in the Trinity—that God is made up of three parts, the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit). A ladder leaning up against a building was seen as a triangle of these three. To walk through this triangle was seen as breaking the Trinity and hence considered as bad luck. Another origin of the superstition was a bit less specific, and had to do with the similarities between a ladder leaning against a wall and a gallows. However the fact is that, it is simply unsafe to walk under the ladder and you may get hurt or might hurt someone around by knocking the ladder down.

18. 

Crows Are Referred As Our Ancestors

Crow is the vahana of shani who represents the karmas of past. We are indebted to our ancestors who have given us birth. So offering food to crow is regards as pacifying the hunger of ancestors where ever and whichever form they are reborn. It is believed that crows are being related to our ancestors since the ‘treta yuga’.

As per this popular legend, once Jayant the Son of God Indra, disguised in the form of crow and hurt Sita. In turn God Rama took hay and used it as an arrow and parted one of the eyes of Jayant. After realizing his mistake, Jayant asked for God Rama’s forgiveness. Then Rama forgave him and blessed him with a boon that when food is offered to the crows that will reach the ancestors.

19. Do Not Sweep The House After Sunset

This is another common myth in India. If you sweep your house after sunset Lakshmi will walk out of the house and hence inviting poverty.

But the real reason behind this is back in the days when there was no electricity, light of lamp was not enough to spot any small gold ornaments while sweeping and hence chances of sweeping them away with the dust is high. Hence it was not advised to sweep after dark.

20. Sacrifice Of Goats To God

In all the ancient religions of the world, the ritual of animal sacrifice has remained a great means of attaining the nearness of the Almighty. In India, Goddess Kali is known to favor animal sacrifices—goats in particular. Killing a goat in her name is believed to relieve one of negative emotions such as fear, anger, and jealousy.

There is no scientific explanations behind this tradition apart from having a feast. Sadly this is still in practice in most of the parts in India. Can we justify the act of killing animals for whatever superstitious belief is been passed on ?

India: Mother Of All Civilizations: THE EVIDENCE

Modern day history says that the Indian Civilization dates back from 4500 – 2500 BCE.  The Greek,  Mesapatomian and Egyptian Civilizations are often encountered as the oldest civilizations in the world. Several Historians, Indologists (Those who learn about India) and anthropologists after a serious study have come to a conclusion that the Indian civilization is the oldest compared to any other civilizations in the world.

Many scholars and historians have spent their entire life time in finding out the origin of civilizations and mankind. Many theories have been put forward by the scholars on the migration of mankind during different periods of time.

                                       

                                                                    Will Durant,  An American Historian who spent the major part of his life time in search of the secrets of  Civilization for more than 20 Years and has traveled across the world covering almost all the ancient cities of the world. He made a wide research on the culture, tradition, language and religious practices of different parts of the world. He published his collections in the name of  ” The Story of Civilizations ” Which comprises a massive 10 parts. The first part, ‘Our Oriental Heritage’, described India as the most ancient civilization on earth, and he offered many examples of Indian culture through out the world. He demonstrated that as early as the 9th century B.C.E. Indians were exploring the sea routes, and reaching out and extending their cultural influences to Mesopotamia, Arabia, and Egypt.

While all other civilizations where at a stage of decay, India flourished with her rich cultural and traditional richness. 20th Century can be considered as an golden period for India in her timeline as many of her myths started getting a recognition with a historical and scientific background. Michael Woods in “The Story of India”, mentions South India as “The living civilization”.

Much of the ancient traditional practices and customs are still carried out by the people of India knowing or without, the scientific basis. These practices receive scientific accreditation and is being spread all over the world. At the same time, the history of the Indian civilization is limited to some 2500 – 4500 BCE. While historians all over the world are being converted into Indologists for their interest, love and passion towards India and her rich cultural background, India lacks Indologists. All our Indian books resemble  just as a “Xerox” from a foreign text.

India is the mother of mathematics. Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus and many other branches of  mathematics has its deep roots in India. Vedic mathematics gives us a much easier methods and practice to solve problems then the modern day calculations. But till today our schools never teach them. Millions of facts about anatomy, metabolism, genetics and medicine are sleeping without any recognition. All the works of our sages, written texts, more than a million year experiences of a mankind which has been saved for the future generation are being wasted without knowing their value.Our old texts on Jyotishya (Astronomy), Vimanasashtra (Aeronautics), Ayurvedha (Medicines) are still considered to be a mythical fiction story book.

Later parts of 20th Century gradually recognizes the value of Indian civilizations. Indian Vedas, traditions and practices gains accreditation in the global platform. A famous historian Dr. Arnold Joseph Toynbee

says “It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in human history , the only way of salvation is the ancient Hindu way. Here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together in to a single family.” In 1952, Toynbee had observed: “In fifty years, the world would be under the hegemony of the USA, but in the 21st century, as religion captures the place of technology, it is possible that India, the conquered, will conquer its conquerors.”

India has been existing before since the period it was found to be existed. Indian Civilization has its roots on other global civilizations. It was India that gave the two great languages to the mankind, Tamil and Sanskrit which in-fact gave birth to all other European languages. Forbes Journal on 2000, published that Sanskrit was the most suitable language for computers. “The Mirror” of England, Published that Tamil is the oldest of all other global languages.

Prominent traces of ancient Vedic civilization can still be found today not only in India but outside her borders as well. If we recognize ancient India as a spiritual giant, we will have to reckon with her modern-day representations. This poses a threat to modern civilization and the current world-view. Vedic literature and spiritual ideology loomed as the greatest threat to the British in their imperialistic conquest of India.

The Aryans’ footsteps are found throughout neighboring Southeast Asia. They were skilled navigators and pioneers of many cultural developments. According to several sources, these Aryans ruled in Java, Bali, Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Annan, Burma, and Thailand until the 14th century. Even today, the kings of Thailand bear the title of Rama after the Indian epic of Ramayana. The story of Ramayana is depicted on the palace walls of Bangkok.

                                                             Sight of Angkor Wat Temple

Cambodia, the ancient Kamboja, boasts the largest temple complex in the world, named Ankor from the Sanskrit language meaning ‘the capital city’. It was built in honor of Lord Vishnu by an Indian King, Suriyavarma II. The complex extends over an area more than twice the size of Manhattan and took 37 years to complete.

Vietnam once called Champa, figured prominently as a stepping-stone of India’s cultural expansion. The Hindu state of Java was founded by the King of Kalinga (Orissa) in the 1st century C.E. Java is said to be the ancient Yava-Dveepa mentioned in the Ramayana. The Indonesian national flag flies the symbol of Garuda, the bird carrier of Vishnu.

                                                                 National Emblem of Indonesia

In 1949, two scholars, Gordon Ekholm and Chaman Lal, systematically compared the Mayan, Aztec, Incan, and North American Indian civilizations with the Hindu-oriented countries of Southeast Asia and with India herself. According to them, the emigrant cultures of India took with them India’s system of time measurement, local gods, and customs. They found signs of Aryan civilization through out the Americas in art (lotus flowers with knotted stems and half-dragon/half -fish motifs found commonly in paintings and carvings), architecture, calendars, astronomy, religious symbols, and even games such as our Parchesi and Mexican Patolli, which have their origins in India’s pachisi.

Both the Hindus and the Americans used similar items in their worship rituals. They both maintained the concept of Four Yuga cycles or cosmological seasons, extending over thousands of years, and conceived of 12 constellations with reference to the sun as indicated by the Incan sun calendar. Royal insignias, system of government, and practice of religious dance and temple worship all showed remarkable similarities, pointing its strongly to the idea that the Americas were strongly influenced by the Aryans.

Another scholar, Ramon Mena, author of the “Mexican Archeology” called the Nahuatl, Zapoteca, and Mayan languages of Hindu origin. He says that ‘ their writing and their personal adornments.. their system and style of construction clearly indicate the remotest antiquity….they all speak of India and the Orient.

                                                                          Mayan Calender

History says it was Christopher Columbus who landed first in America. When Columbus landed in America he found a group of tribal people, whom he considered as the Indians as he was unfortunately believing that the land he landed upon was India. He called them as the Indians.

But who where they? Where did they come from? Have any ships sailed across the Atlantic before the Columbus?

A series of archeological and linguistic researches have been carried out by many scientists across the world to explore the early life of America.  These researches put out many shocking relationships between the Ancient Mayan Civilization and South Indian Civilization in terms of their tradition, culture, religion, worship, language, architecture and astronomy.

                                           Dr Baron Robert Freiherr von Heine Geldern

Dr Baron Robert Freiherr von Heine Geldern (1885 – 1968) andGordon F. Ekholm (1909 – 1987) World’s leading anthropologists, have said:

“Ships of size that carried Fa-Hien (399-414 AD) from India to China (through stormy China water) were certainly capable of proceeding all the way to Mexico and Peru by crossing the Pacific. One thousand years before the birth of Columbus Indian ships were far superior to any made in Europe up to the 18th century.”

Right from the period of first Spanish historian Mr. Fray Shahaun (1515 AD) till today a number of scholars have worked over the life of native Americans and some of them came to the conclusion that in ancient times people from India and the Indian archipelago migrated to America and developed a great civilization there. In his book ‘A Compact History of Mexico’ Mr. Ignacio Bernall states that people from Asia entered America some thirty-five thousand years before, whereas Mr. Arcio Nuns, a Brazilian nuclear scientist, mentions about the Dravidians of Asia with America as old as eleven thousand years.

                                                                                             Sylvain Levi

Sylvain Levi (1863-1935) French scholar and Orientalist who wrote on Eastern religion, literature, and history. Levi was appointed a lecturer at the school of higher studies in Paris (1886), he taught Sanskrit at the Sorbonne (1889-94) and wrote his doctoral dissertation, Le Théâtre indien (“The Indian Theatre”).

In L’Inde et le monde (“India and the World”), he discussed India’s role among nations. He writes:

“From Persia to the Chinese Sea, from the icy regions of Siberia to the islands of Java and Borneo, from Oceania to Socotra, India has propagated her beliefs, her tales and her civilization. She has left indelible imprints on one-fourth of the human race in the course of a long succession of centuries.”

“She has the right to reclaim in universal history the rank that ignorance has refused her for a long time and to hold her place amongst the great nations summarizing and symbolizing the spirit of Humanity.”

With great zeal Indian historians pointed out that, in the past, Hindu civilization had extended far beyond the present boundaries of India. It had included not only Southeast Asia but extended as far as Indonesia (Bali and Java), the Philippines and perhaps it has influence even to South America, is something the world may have to think again, with the strong evidences emerging with time.

The question arises whether the ancient Hindus of Indonesia had contact with Mayan civilization across the pacific which is evident from the pyramid constructions in Indonesia very similar to that of the Mayans.

The strongest, and indeed a hard piece of evidence established for trans-Pacific contact is the use of a particular technique for the manufacture of bark paper, common to China, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Mesoamerica.

                                                                                              Michael Coe

Michael Coe,  in his book says that knowledge of this paper-making method“was diffused from eastern Indonesia to Mesoamerica at a very early date.” He further argues that since bark paper was used to make books, information may have been exchanged between Pacific and Mesoamerican peoples.
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”There is definitely an important connection between the old Vedic people and Maya-ancestors. The Mayas are actually referred to in The Mahabharata, one of the main Hindu scriptures, as a tribe having left the Indian subcontinent. There are sources who have revealed those people to be the same as the Nagas, one of the oldest Indian tribes recorded. Those Nagas seem to have been a people, later called Danavas, with a capital Nagapur. They are referred to in another main Hindu-scripture, the Ramayana, as belonging to a Naga-Maya tribe, who is said to have transmitted their culture towards Babylonia, Egypt and Greece.”

THE NAGAS AND MAYAS

                                                                                 The Mayan God, Kukulcan

Naga is the Sanskrit word for serpent or snake. The feathered serpent represents the Mayan God Kukulcan or Quetzacoatl, a Christ/Krishna-like figure. In those days the ancient serpent  religion referred to the Serpents of Wisdom. Mercury or Hermes (Narada) – his symbol is the caduceus : two serpents entwined around a staff.

“The four principal groups in ancient India were the Asuras (Assyrians or Indus Valley people), Panis (Phoenicians), Yakhus or Yakshas (subjects of Kubera, god of gold and treasure a.k.a. Nagas) and Mayas. We know them today as the Dravidians (Tamils, Malayalam, etc.)

The non Indus Valley people in ancient days were exceedingly superstitious and fearful of the Mayans. The latter were excellent international shippers and traders, builders and astronomers. Their superstitious enemies thought their accomplishments had to be magic and beyond human ability. They were ultimately driven to Ceylon where they inhabited the province of Maya. Later, they went to the Americas, having been taken there by Kubera and his Yakshas.”‘Ceylon’ in those ancient times was more than likely the now sunken land to the south of India and connected geographically to the Ceylon of today, Sri Lanka. This is the ancient Tamil country of which today’s Tamil Nadu in India is but a small remnant

The skill of the Mayan astronomers is also well known:

“Recent studies suggests a link between Indus Valley and Mayans of Central America. The studies focused on the calendars of the two advanced civilizations. The Indus Valley inhabitants followed a calendar based on the movements of Jupiter, and the Mayans followed one based on the Venus. In the Puranas, a secondary Hindu scripture, Jupiter, Brihaspati, was acknowledged to be the leader of the gods, while Venus, Shukra, was the leader of the asuras. The texts further state that the devas and asuras lived on opposite sides of the Earth.

                                                             Ancient Tamil Nadu (Kumari Kandam or Lemuria)

Mexico and India are at opposite sides in longitude. The correspondences were pointed out by B. G. Siddarth, director of the B. M. Birla Science Centre in Hyderabad. He also said the Hindu story of the churning of the ocean has been found in carvings in Mexico, as well Mayan representations of a tortoise carrying twelve pillars similar to Indian illustrations. Dr. Ganapati Sthapati of Chennai, a foremost expert on Vastu shatra, the ancient Hindu architecture, has visited the Mayan structures in Central America and found many similarities between the design and construction methods of the Mayans and that of the ancient Hindus.”

South of Mexico lays Guatemala, the major centre for the Mayans, yet they ventured north and south of this location, spreading their knowledge widely.

Dr. Balaram Chakravarti

 author of The Indians And The Amerindians has written:

It will be evident from a close study of the texts of Indian Astronomy that Latin America was known to ancient Indians, who called it Pataladesa. The Surya Siddhanta, a textbook of Astronomy, composed before 500 A.D. identifies and describes Pataldesa in very clear and definite terms in the chapter of geography (chapter xii).

The Surya Siddhanta categorically says that the Devas and Asuras live on the earth. The Devas live in the northern hemisphere while the Asuras live in the Southern hemisphere and have a tradition of enmity against each other. It further says that the ocean which surrounds the poles of the earth has divided the planet into two great continents, viz. the continent of the Devas and the continent of the Asuras. The Brahmanas of India write the epithet Deva-Serman after their names thus describing themselves as the Devas.

When the Sun is in the northern hemisphere eg. in Aries, he appears first to the Devas, and again when the Sun is in the southern hemisphere, he appears first to the Asuras. When the Sun is on the Equator both the Devas and the Asuras find the Sun in the middle and the days and nights are equal. As the Sun proceeds to the northern hemisphere, the Devas experience summer because of the directness and intensity of the solar rays, the Asuras do not get the rays so directly then and its intensity is also less, the sun being in the northern hemisphere. Hence they experience winter during this time. This obviously indicates that Pataldesa was South America.

The Surya Siddhanta explains how the people living on opposite ends of the globe consider themselves, wrongly, as living on the upper and lower part of the globe, though there cannot really be an upper or lower part, of the globe, which moves in vaccuum.

Surya Siddhanta also mentions the four great cities situated on the opposite ends of the world, equidistant from one another. 1. Yamakotipura in Bhadrasvavarsa (Indonesia?) in the east, Lanka in Bharatvarsa (India) in the south and 3. Rome in Ketumalavarsa (Europe) in the west and Siddhapura in Kuruvarsa (America?) in the north.

The celebrated astronomer Bhaskaracarya mentions the time difference between the important cities situated in different parts of the world in his Siddhanta Siromani(Goladhyaya) thus:

“When the sun rises at Lanka, the time as at Yakakotipura to the east of Lanka, will be midday. Below the earth at Siddhapura, it will be twilight then, and at Romakadesa in Europe, the time will be midnight.”

                                Accurate time difference of places around the world found in ancient Sanskrit texts
                              (image source: The Indians And The Amerindians – By Dr. B. Chakravarti p. 34-110)

From such location of places round the globe and the movement towards the east, it appears that many Indian merchants used to sail frequently and some even settled down in Indonesia and Indochina, who used to relay on to Polynesia and then further on to South or Middle America, may be not a single ship and in a single effort, but after stopovers at the important ports on the other islands-chain of which seems to have existed then and some of which submerged later because of tectonic movements. It seems that some contact with the cities mentioned by Bhaskaracharya might have existed till his time.

With time, we are increasingly aware of the existence of ever older cultures. As recently as the 18th century, it was believed that human culture was something very recent - that the first roots of it are to be found only in the social and scholarly institutions of ancient Greece and Rome. The Europeans of that time thought that prior to ancient Greece there were only uncivilized customs and barbaric art and therefore ideas about nature, and particularly about the Universe, must have been quite primitive, too. Furthermore, it was commonly thought that though, to be sure, the Greeks had laid the foundations for modern science, true scientific research had actually begun only in the Renaissance era.