Weekly page from Hindu Dharma: The Universal Religion

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This week's page from Hindu Dharma (see note at bottom) is "The Universal

Religion" from "The Vedic Religion: Introductory". The original page can be

found at http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part2/chap2.htm.

 

Next week, you will be emailed "Distinctive Features of Sanathan Dharama" (from

"The Vedic Religion: Introductory")

 

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for kamakoti.org

 

 

Venkatesh

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The Universal Religion

from The Vedic Religion: Introductory, Hindu Dharma

 

In the dim past what we call Hinduism today was prevalent all over the

world. Archaeological studies reveal the existence of relics of our Vedic

religion in many countries. For instance, excavations have brought up the text

of a treaty between Rameses II and the Hittites dating back to the 14th century

B. C. In this, the Vedic gods Mitra and Varuna are mentioned as witnesses to the

pact. There is a connection between the name of Ramesses and that of our Rama.

 

About 75 per cent of the names of places in Madagascar have a Sanskritic

origin.

 

In the Western Hemisphere too there is evidence of Hinduism having once

flourished there. In Mexico a festival is celebrated at the same time as our

Navaratri; it is called "Rama-Sita". Wherever the earth is dug up images of

Ganapati are discovered here. The Aztecs had inhabitated Mexico before the

Spaniards conquered that land. "Aztecs " must be a distorted form of "Astikas".

In Peru, during the time of the holy equinox [vernal? ] worship was conducted in

the sun temple. The people of this land were called Incas: "Ina" is one of the

Sanskrit names of the sun god. Don't we call Rama Inakula-tilaka?

 

There is book containing photographs of the aborigines of Australia dancing in

the nude (The Native Tribes of Central Australia, by Spencer Killan, pages 128 &

129). A close look at the pictures, captioned "Siva Dance", shows that the

dancers have a third eye drawn on the forehead.

 

In a virgin forest in Borneo which, it is said, had not been penetrated by any

human being until recently, explorers have found a sacrificial post with an

inscription in a script akin to our Granthas characters. Historians know it as

the inscription of Mulavarman of Kotei. Mention is made in it of a sacrifice,

the king who performed it, the place where the yupas was installed. That the

king gave away kalpavrksass as a gift to Brahmins is also stated in this

inscription. All such details were discovered by Europeans, the very people who

ridicule our religion.

 

Now something occurs to me in this context, something that you may find

amusing. You know that the Sagaras went on digging the earth down to the nether

world in search of their sacrificial horse. An ocean came into being in this way

and it was called sagara after the king Sagara.

 

The Sagaras, at last found the horse near the hermitage of Kapila Maharsi.

Thinking that he must be the man who had stolen the animal and hidden it in the

nether world they laid violent hands on him. Whereupon the sage reduced them to

ashes with a mere glance of his eye. Such is the story according to the

Ramayana. America, which is at the antipodes, may be taken to Patala or the

nether world. Kapilaranya(the forest in which Kapila had his hermitage), we may

further take it, was situated there. It ia likely that Kapilaranya changed to

California in the same manner as Madurai is something altered to "Marudai". Also

noteworthy is the fact that there is a Horse Island near California as well as

an Ash Island.

 

Another idea occurs to me about Sagara and sagara. Geologists believe that ages

ago the Sahara desert was an ocean. It seems to me that Sahara is derived from

sagara.

 

Some historians try to explain the evidence pointing to the worldwide

prevalence of our religion in the past to the exchange of cultural and religious

ideas between India and other countries established through travels. I myself

believe that there was one common religion or dharma throughout and that the

signs and symbols that we find of this today are the creation of the original

inhabitants of the lands concerned.

 

The view put forward by some students of history about the discovery of the

remnants of our religion in other countries- these relating to what is

considered the historical period of the past two or three thousand years- is

that Indians went to these lands, destroyed the old native civilizations there

and imposed Hindu culture in their place. Alternatively, they claim, Indians

thrust their culture into the native ways of life in such a way that it became

totally absorbed in them.

 

The fact, however, is that evidence is to be found in many countries of their

Vedic connection dating back to 4, 000 years or more. That is, with the down of

civilisation itself, aspects of the Vedic dharama existed in these lands. It was

only subsequently that the inhabitants of these regions came to have a religion

of their own.

 

Greece had an ancient religion and had big temples where various deities were

worshipped. The Hellenic religion had Vedic elements in it. The same was the

case with the Semitic religions of the pre- Christian era in the region

associated with Jesus. The aborigines of Mexico had a religion of their own.

They shared the Vedic view of the divine in the forces of nature and worshipped

them as deities. There was a good deal of ritual in all such religions.

 

Now none of these religions, including that of Greece, survives. The Greek

civilization had once attained to the heights of glory. Now Christianity

flourishes in Greece. Buddhism has spread in Central Asia and in East Asia up to

Japan. According to anthropologists, religions in their original form exist only

in areas like the forests of Africa. But even these ancient faiths contain Vedic

elements.

 

Religious and philosophical truths are often explained through parables,

stories, so that ignorant people can understand them easily. Since metaphysical

concepts are difficult to grasp, either they have to be told in the form of a

story or they have to be given the form of a ritual, that is they must find

expression as religious acts. For the common people the performance of a rite is

a means of finding the truth present in it in the form of a symbol. I do not,

however, agree with the view that all rituals are nothing but symbolic in their

significance and that there is no need to perform them so long as their inner

meaning is understood.

 

Ritual as ritual has its own place and efficacy. Similarly, I would not say

that stories from the Puranas are nothing but illustrations or explanations of

certain truths or doctrines. As stories they are of a high order and I believe

that they really happened. But, at the same time, they demonstrate the meaning

of certain truths. As for rites, their performance brings up benefits. But in

due course, as we learn to appreciate their inner meaning we shall become

purified in mind. This is the stage when we shall no more yearn for any benefits

from their performance and will be rewarded with supreme well-being (that is,

liberation).

 

It is likely, though, that, with the passage of time, some stories or rites

will become far removed from their inner meaning. Or, it may be, the inner

meaning will be altogether forgotten. So it must be that, when new religions

took shape abroad, after the lapse of thousands of years-religions not connected

with the Vedic faith that is the root-the original Vedic concepts become

transformed or distorted.

 

You must be familiar with the story of Adam and Eve which belongs to the Hebrew

tradition. It occurs in the Genesis of the Old Testament and speaks of the tree

of knowledge and God's commandment that its fruit shall not be eaten. Adam at

first did not eat it but Eve did. After that Adam too ate the forbidden fruit.

 

Here an Upanisadic concept has taken the form of a biblical story. But because

of the change in the time and place the original idea has become distorted-or

even obliterated.

 

The Upanisadic story speaks of two birds perched on the branch of a pippala

tree. One eats the fruit of tree while the order merely watches its companion

without eating. The pippala tree stands for the body. The first bird represents

a being that regards himself as the jivatman or individual self and the fruit it

eats signifies sensual pleasure. In the same body (symbolished by the tree) the

second bird is to be understood as the Paramatman. He is the support of all

beings but he does not know sensual pleasure. Since he does not eat the fruit he

natuarlly does not have the same experience as the jivatman (the first). The

Upanisad speaks with poetic beauty of the two birds. He who eats the fruit is

the individual self, jiva, and he who does not eat is the Supreme Reality, the

one who knows himself to be the Atman.

 

It is this jiva that has come to be called Eve in the Hebrew religious

tradition. "Ji" changes to "i" according to a rule of grammar and "ja" to "ya".

We have the example of "Yamuna" becoming "Jamuna" or of "Yogindra" being changed

to "Joginder ". In the biblical story "jiva" is "Eve" and "Atma" (or "Atman") is

"Adam". "Pippala" has in the same way changed to "apple". The Tree of Knowledge

is our "bodhi-vrksa". "Bodha" means "knowledge". It is well known that the

Budhha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. But the pipal (pippala) was

known as the bodhi tree even before his time.

 

The Upanisadic ideas transplanted into a distant land underwent a change after

the lapse of centuries. Thus we see in the biblical story that the Atman (Adam)

that can never be subject to sensual pleasure also eats the fruit of the Tree of

Knowledge. While our bodhi tree stands for enlightenment, the enlightenment that

banishes all sensual pleasure, the biblical tree affords worldly pleasure. These

differences notwithstanding there is sufficient evidence here that, once upon a

time, Vedic religion was prevalent in the land of the Hebrews.

 

Let me give the another example to srengthen the view that however much a

custom or a concept changes with the passage of time and with its acceptance by

people of another land, it will still retain elements pointing to its original

source. Our TiruppavaiT and TiruvembavaiT are not as ancient as the Vedas.

Scholars ascribe them to an age not later than 1, 500 years ago. However it be,

the authers of these Tamil hymns, AndalT and ManikkavacakarT, belong to an age

much later than that of the Vedas and epics. After their time Hindu empires

arose across the seas. Even the Cola kings extended their sway beyond the shores

of the country. More worthy of note than our naval expeditions was the great

expansion in our sea trade and the increase with it of our foreign contacts. As

a result, people abroad were drawn to the Hindu religion and culture. Among the

regions that developed such contacts, South-East Asia was the most important.

Islands like Bali in the Indonesian archipelago bec!

ame wholly Hindu. People in Siam (Thailand), IndoChina and the Philippines came

under the influence of Hindu culture. Srivijaya was one of the great empires of

South-East Asia.

 

[Here the Paramaguru briefly touches upon the stages representing the emergence

of various religions]. In primeval times the Vedic riligion was prevalent

everywhere: this was the first stage. In the second stage new religions emerged

in various parts of of the world. In the third stage these decayed and their

place was taken by Buddhism, Christianity or Islam. In the subsequent stage the

Hindu civilization became a living force outside the shores of India also,

particularly in South-East Asia. This was the period during which great temples

reminding us of those of Tamil Nadu arose with the spread of our religion and

culture: Angkor-vat in Cambodia; Borobudur in Java, Indonesia; Prambanan, also

in Java. Now it was that our Tiruppavai and Tiruvembavai made their passage to

Thailand.

 

Even today a big festival is held in Thailand in December- January,

corresponding to the Tamil Margazhi, the same month during which we read the

Tiruppavai and Tiruvembavai with devotion. As part of the celebrations a

dolotsava (swing festival) is held. A remarkable feature of this is that, in the

ceremony meant for Visnu, a man with the make-up of Siva is seated on the swing.

This seems to be in keeping with the fact that the Tiruppavai and Tiruvembavai

contribute to the unification of Vaisnavism and Saivism.

 

If you ask the people of Thailand about the Pavai poems, they will not be able

to speak about them. It might seem then that there is no basis for connecting

the that festival with the Pavai works merely because it is held in the month

corresponding to the Tamil Murgazhi. But the point to note is that the people of

that country themselves call it "Triyampavai- Trippavai".

 

Those who read the Bible today are likely to be ignorant about the Upanisads,

but they are sure to know the story that can be traced back to them, that of

Adam and Eve. The Thais now must be likewise ignorant about the Pavis but, all

the same, they hold in the month of Dhanus every year a celebration called

"Triyampavai - Trippavai. " As part of it they also have a swing festival in

which figures a man dressed as Siva. Here the distortion in the observance of a

rite have occurred during historical times- one of the distortions is that of

Siva being substituted for Visnu. Also during this period the Thais have

forgotten the Pavis but, significantly enough, they still conduct a festival

named after them. Keeping these before you, take mind back to three thousand

years ago and imagine how a religion or a culture would have changed after its

passage to foreign lands.

 

It is in this context that you must consider the Vedic tradition. For all the

changes and distortions that it has undergone in other countries during the past

millennia its presence there is still proclaimed through elements to be found in

the religions that supplanted it.

 

How are we to understand the presence of Hindu ideas or concepts in the

religious beliefs of people said to belong to prehistoric times? It does not

seem right to claim that in the distant past our religion or culture was

propagated in other countries through an armed invasion or through trade, that

is at a time when civilization itself has not taken shape there. That is why I

feel that there is no question of anything having been taken from this land and

introduced into another country. The fact according to me, is that in the

beginning the Vedic religion was prevalent all over the world. Later, over the

countries, it must have gone through a process of change and taken different

forms. These forms came to be called the original religions of these various

lands which in the subsequent period- during historical times- came under

Buddhism, Christianity or Islam as the case may be.

 

 

 

 

Note:

Hindu Dharma is a translation of two volumes of the well known Tamil Book

"Deivatthin Kural", which, in turn, is a book of 6 volumes that contains talks

of His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji of Kanchipuram.

The entire book is available online at http://www.kamakoti.org/ .