Guest guest Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 >Bipin Patel <bipin.p >manthan (Manthan) >E-Manthan <manthan >[manthan] Saraswati civilisation >Thu, 16 Oct 2003 09:43:32 -0700 (PDT) > >************************************************************************ >manthan: Information Exchange Network for Intellectual Defense of Dharma >Sponsored By: Bharatvani - http://www.bharatvani.org >************************************************************************ > >Saraswati civilisation > >Bharat Jhunjhunwala > >http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=oped&file_name=opd1%2 >Etxt&counter_img=1 > >14th Oct 2003 > >The Government of India is taking up a project to excavate a large number >of >sites along the "lost" Saraswati river. Satellite images have shown that >once, three rivers flowed from the Himalayas into the Arabian Sea through >Pakistan which have since dried up. The fourth, Ghaggar, still flows >westward during the monsoons. It is possible that one of the dried up >rivers >is the ancient Saraswati on the banks of which the Rig Vedic culture >prospered. A nation's self-esteem depends upon its present and past >achievements hence it is necessary to know about this dimension of our >history. The Vajpayee Government should be commended for this undertaking. > >One of the most widely discussed questions in relation to our history is >regarding the "Aryan invasion". The archeological remains of the Indus >Valley civilisation were found in early 20th century. Sir Mortimer Wheeler >had excavated Harappa and Mohenjodaro. He came across some evidence that >those cities had been burnt down or otherwise destroyed in what appeared to >be a violent conflict. This discovery matched beautifully with the Rig >Vedic >descriptions of Indra destroying many cities. He is called Purandara. >Putting the two facts together, Wheeler put forth the thesis that some >nomadic Vedic people had invaded the Indus civilisation and destroyed it. >This was the origin of the idea that the Rig Vedic people originally came >from Central Asia. The implication was that modern Indian "Vedic" >civilisation need not feel proud of its achievements because these were >made >by Central Asians. > >Other historians are of the view that the Vedic civilisation may have >arisen >along the Saraswati, which has since been lost. Indra of the Saraswati >civilisation may have destroyed the cities of the Indus civilisation. There >could be several other possibilities. There are many arguments and >counter-arguments on this question, which we need not go into here. The >point is that excavations along the lost Saraswati may provide conclusive >evidence whether the Vedic civilisation was of indigenous or foreign >origin. >It is possible that artefacts such as yajna vedi may be found which will >prove that the Vedic civilisation was indigenous. > >This idea is not palatable to many historians who cannot get out of their >Western thinking. Sadly, they are mostly relying on the fact that no >evidence of Vedic habitation has been found in the Saraswati valley. DN Jha >of Delhi University says "Extensive surveys in Haryana and the neighbouring >areas where the Ghaggar is an important river have revealed that there is >no >evidence of the Harappan culture in Ambala and Sirsa districts." Shireen >Ratnagar of Jawaharlal Nehru University says: "We have no means of proving >that a certain channel was a particular Vedic river." > >These statements belie a strange poverty of scholarship. One of the basic >principles of archeology is that we cannot argue from what has not been >found because evidence may be found in the future. Two hundred years ago >the >existence of Harappan civilisation too was not known. It could have been >said at that time "India has no ancient achievements because no >archaeological evidence has been found". One can be led into making such >false claims by relying on absence of evidence. The origin of the Vedic >civilisation might be settled by excavating the sites along the Saraswati >river. To oppose excavations because no evidence has been found till date >is >astounding. > >The basic problem here is that in the process we are being distracted from >the more important teaching of our history. The Indian approach to history >is low on facts and heavy on teachings. The Valmiki Ramayana, for example, >tells us nothing about the date of birth of Bhagirath, the location of >Mount >Gokarna where he undertook austerities, the location of Bindusarovar where >the mighty Ganga descended and many other details of his reign. The story >is >focused on the fact that King Bhagirath did not have any sons yet he >undertook penance to bring the Ganga from the Himalayas for providing water >to his people; and to the ashes of his ancestors. > >Bhagirath could have undertaken penance for begetting a son. Instead he >undertook penance for bringing water to his people. This is the message. >The >purpose of history in our tradition is not to collect millions of "facts" >but to put forth knowledge that is beneficial for the present. It matters >little whether Bhagirath was born in 4000 BC or 3000 BC, whether Gokarna is >located in the Shivaliks or Garhwal. What was more important was his >commitment to secure the welfare of his people. > >It is for this reason that our historians take great liberty with facts. It >might be true that Lord Krishna did not actually make the sun move >backward. >Who knows? But our historians asked themselves whether social good will be >secured by saying this? The message that was conveyed alone was important. > >The danger is that by focussing on archaeological investigations we would >be >playing on the turf of the Western historians for whom the value of history >lies in collection of facts. We may win. We may be able to prove that the >Vedic civilisation was indeed based along the Saraswati river. But that >victory would yet be defeated because the basic purpose of history would >have been lost. Instead of drawing lessons useful for our present, we would >get entangled in facts which may be meaningless. > >We should realise that self-respect ultimately comes from our present >achievements. We can be considered to be a great people only if we can stop >the United States from invading Iraq; stop Saddam Hussein from tyrannising >his people; land our astronauts on the moon; and lead the our people into >prosperity and so on. The fact of our having a great past might be useful >only if it helps us make these achievements in the present. Egypt has a >great past. They made wonderful use of geometry to make the pyramids. They >cultivated the Nile Delta. But these facts have not provided them with much >self-respect. Similarly, Iraq had a grand past. The Sumerian civilisation >prospered there. That fact did not help it to face the US invasion. We >should certainly be aware of our past. But that is incidental. The real >test >is the present. The past is useful only if it helps us make a beautiful >present. > >There is a wealth of information about governance, economy, astrology and >other issues in our scriptures. Our first love must be to study those >sciences so that we can give better direction to our future. It matters >little if we prove that Indra was an Indian and that there was no Aryan >invasion. That would merely be good intellectual gymnastics for a >conference >of historians, no more. > >The Western historians have cleverly distracted us. They have made baseless >charges regarding date, place, etc. of the Rig Vedic people. We have got >drawn into that debate. We are spending our energies in challenging their >wrong allegations. Even if we win, we would have been distracted from the >basic task of making a better future. Thus we should focus first on reading >the teachings of our scriptures and involve in debates surrounding the >Saraswati river later. > > >************************************************ >Manthan is a moderated, by invitation only list. >Listowner: owner-manthan >************************************************ > _______________ Never get a busy signal because you are always connected with high-speed Internet access. Click here to comparison-shop providers. https://broadband.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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