Christianity and the Vedic Teachings within it

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Christianity and the

Vedic Teachings Within It

 

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, 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 Christmas, declared: `Public Notice--the

observation of

Christmas having been deemed a sacrilege, the exchanging of gifts and greetings,

dressing in fine clothing, feasting and similar Satanical practices are hereby

forbidden with

the offender liable to a fine of five shillings.'

 

" Similarly in 17th century England, Christmas celebrations were

banned as `Pagan

and Papish, Saturnalian and Satanic, idolatrous and leading to idleness.' That

term Pagan

and Papish is again a clear admission that the Papacy is a pre-Christian Pagan

i.e. Vedic

institution.

 

" Jehovah's Witnesses has declared in the article `Is Christmas

Really Pagan?' in its

journal titled Awake (December 22, 1981) that `All the standard Encyclopedias

and

reference-works agree that the date of Jesus's birth is unknown and that the

church

borrowed the date of December 25 from the Romans, along with their customs and

festivals.'

 

" Encyclopedia Americana records: `It is usually held that the day

(December 25)

was chosen to correspond to Pagan festivals that took place around the time of

the winter

Solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the rebirth of the Sun.'

 

" The New Catholic Encyclopaedia notes that `On this day (December

25) as the Sun

began its return to northern skies the Pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the

birthday of

the invincible Sun.' "

 

From the above references it is obvious that Christmas is being

celebrated all over

the world on December 25th not because of Christians but in spite of Christians.

It would,

therefore, be more truthful on their part to admit their participation in

pre-Christian

customs.

 

One of the purposes of the Christians in using the 25th of December

was to

change the pagan festivals into Christian holidays, and, hopefully, to attract

the heathens

to Christianity. For example, everyone knows that December twenty-first is the

winter

solstice, the shortest day of the year. For the next three days the length

remains the same.

But then on December twenty-fifth the day begins to get longer. So on this day

the people

celebrated in a very raucous manner. They took it that the sun-god was the

redeemer and

that on account of his birth there was the hope that everyone would be saved.

Therefore,

when the Christians wanted to establish their Christendom everywhere, they found

some

opposition to eliminate the birthday of the sun. People had become accustomed to

enjoying themselves on that day. Of course, the Christians could not go on

celebrating the

birthday of the sun-god; so they simply replaced it with the celebration of the

birth of

Jesus. In this way, the Christians calculated that the pagans could go on with

their

celebrations but would simply change the meaning of it. So, Christianity

incorporated and

helped preserve many of the pagan traditions that were observed on the 25th.

 

Nowadays, the Christians are supposed to be religious people

observing the day of

Christ's birth, but they still celebrate in a very paganish way. They have kept

many of the

aspects of the pagan celebration that earmarks Christmas day; namely,

drunkenness,

revelry, spectator events like football, and feasting on slain animals. Each

year so many

advertisements go up claiming that amongst the best gifts on Christmas include a

fifth of

liquor or other useless items. So gradually, Christmas has deteriorated from

what was

meant to be an observance of a holy day to a mere display of devotion to

commercialism.

 

After all is said and done, anyone can practically see that what is

present-day

Christianity is a modern adaptation of pre-existing, pagan beliefs and

philosophy.

Centuries before the time of Jesus, among the " heathen " are beliefs in an

incarnate God

born of a virgin; his descent from heaven or the spiritual domain; astronomical

signs

indicating his birth; the rejoicing of the angels or devas; the adoration of the

magi,

shepherds, or local devotees; offerings of precious gifts to the divine child;

the slaughter

or terrorization of the innocents; temptation by the devil or tests by demons;

the

performance of miracles; and the death and resurrection or ascension into

heaven. These

elements can all be found in cultures prior to Christianity.

 

So what does this mean? From Robert Taylor's Diegesis (p. 329),

Ammonius

Saccus, the Greek philosopher and founder of the Neoplatonic school, expressed,

" Christianity and Paganism, when rightly understood, differ in no essential

points, but had

a common origin, and are really one and the same thing. " This is concurred by

the

historian Mosheim, who speaks of the Christian church during the second century

in the

book, Ecclesiastical History (volume One, p. 199), as follows: " The profound

respect that

was paid to the Greek and Roman mysteries, and the extraordinary sanctity that

was

attributed to them, induced the Christians to give their religion a mystic air,

in order to put

it upon an equal footing, in point of dignity, with that of the Pagans. For this

purpose they

gave the name of mysteries to the institutions of the gospel, and decorated,

particularly

the holy sacrament, with that solemn title. They used, in that sacred

institution, as also in

that of baptism, several of the terms employed in the heathen mysteries, and

proceeded

so far at length, as even to adopt some of the rites and ceremonies of which

those

renowned mysteries consisted. " Herein we can understand that various terms used

in

Christian rituals are merely adaptations of those rites from earlier religions.

 

So, in summary, let me say that it has been recognized by many men

of the past,

such as Bishop Faustas when writing to St. Augustine, Ammonius Saccus the Greek

philosopher, the Epicurean philosopher Celsus, Eusebius the historian, and the

early

Christian writer Justin Martyr, that Christianity does not differ from the old

traditions and

customs that were called paganism, nor does Christianity hold anything that was

not

previously known to the ancients. If anything, through its attitude of

exclusivity and

general feelings of proud superiority, Christianity has lost the elaborate

explanations of

the once well known truths and now merely holds hazy reflections of the ancient

wisdom.

So many Bible stories are interwoven with tales borrowed from neighboring

cultures, and

numerous Christian rituals and symbols have been taken from previous ancient

customs

and traditions. So, Christians should look beyond the superficialities of modern

Christianity to try and see the real religions and cultures from which it came.

As Saint

Augustine said hundreds of years ago: " The same thing which is now called

Christian

Religion existed among the ancients. They have begun to call Christian the true

religion

which existed before. " And to quote T. W. Doane from his book, Bible Myths and

Their

Parallels in Other Religions, (page 413), he sums it up as follows:

 

 

 

We have seen, then, that the only difference between Christianity and Paganism

is that

Brahma, Ormuzd (Ahura Mazda), Zeus, Jupiter, etc., are called by another name;

Krishna,

Buddha, Bacchus, Adonis, Mithras, etc., have been turned into Christ Jesus:

Venus' pigeon

into the Holy Ghost; Diana, Isis, Devaki, etc., into the Virgin Mary; and the

demigods and

heroes into saints. The exploits of the one were represented as the miracles of

the other.

Pagan festivals became Christian holidays, and Pagan temples became Christian

Churches.

 

 

 

 

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Inner Reaches of Outer Space, Joseph Campbell, Harper & Row, New York, 1986

 

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Oxford,

London, W. H. Allen, 1875.

 

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1954

 

Jesus Lived in India, Kersten, Element Book Ltd., Dorset England, 1986

 

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Ramachandran, Agam Prakashan, Delhi, 1976

 

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Teachers of the One Catholic faith and Practice, by John P. Lundy, Presbyter,

New York: J.

W. Bouton, 1876.

 

Narrative of a Journey Overland From England to India, Mrs. Colonel Elwood,

published by

Henry Calhoun, London, 1830

 

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Library,

New York, New York, 1951

 

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Nabarun

Ghose. Published by World Association for Vedic Studies, c/o Dr. Deen B.

Chandora, 4117

Menloway, Atlanta, GA. 30340. 1998

 

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Elizabeth

Poor, C. Kegan Paul & Co., Paternoster Square, London, 1881

 

Story of Civilization, by William Durant

 

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&

Chance, St. Paul's, Churchgate & Radgway & Sons, Picadilly, 1929

 

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Albans,

Herts, England, 1973

 

The Diegesis: Being a Discovery of the Origin, Evidences, and Early History of

Christianity,

by Reverend Robert Taylor, J. P. Mendum, London edition, 1873

 

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of

AMORC, San Jose, CA., 1953

 

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The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined, by the Right Reverend

John

William Colenso, D. D., Bishop of Natal. Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1863

 

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Published by

Rakesh Goel for Aditya Prakashan, 4829/1 Prahlad Lane, 24 Ansari Road, New

Delhi. 1992

 

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Society, Inc.,

Los Angeles, California, 1962

 

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of

AMORC, San Jose, CA., 1953

 

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M.A., LL.B.,

Ph. D., Published by Sadgyan Sadan, 7A, Pandara Road, New Delhi, India, 1963

 

The Story of Indian Music and its Instruments, Ethel Rosenthal

 

The Sumerians, C. Leonard Woolley, W. W. Norton & Co., New York, 1965

 

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The Theogony of the Hindus, Count Biornsttierna

 

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University Press, London, 1975

 

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Travels in Arabia, by John Lewis, published by Henry Calhoun, London, 1829

 

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Frawley.

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Ansari

Road, New Delhi 110 002, 1995, 1997

 

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Maharshi

Bharadvaja.)

 

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Bidhan Sarani,

Calcutta, India, 1985

 

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New York, 1971

 

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Good Will

Society, Aundh, Pune, India, 411 007

 

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1471-D,

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[Guest guest]

Dear Nicole,

 

i would like to use some excerpts from this article, which can be used in HSS

(Holy Spirit/Shekinah). The Vedic teachings within Christianity would be good

for Christians to know about. Thanks for this and other articles to come!

 

warmest regards,

 

violet

 

 

 

- In ,

" nicole_bougantouche " <nicole_bougantouche wrote:

>

> Christianity and the

> Vedic Teachings Within It

>

> 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 Christmas, declared: `Public

Notice--the observation of

> Christmas having been deemed a sacrilege, the exchanging of gifts

and greetings,

> dressing in fine clothing, feasting and similar Satanical practices

are hereby forbidden with

> the offender liable to a fine of five shillings.'

>

> " Similarly in 17th century England, Christmas

celebrations were banned as `Pagan

> and Papish, Saturnalian and Satanic, idolatrous and leading to

idleness.' That term Pagan

> and Papish is again a clear admission that the Papacy is a pre-

Christian Pagan i.e. Vedic

> institution.

>

> " Jehovah's Witnesses has declared in the article `Is

Christmas Really Pagan?' in its

> journal titled Awake (December 22, 1981) that `All the standard

Encyclopedias and

> reference-works agree that the date of Jesus's birth is unknown and

that the church

> borrowed the date of December 25 from the Romans, along with their

customs and

> festivals.'

>

> " Encyclopedia Americana records: `It is usually held

that the day (December 25)

> was chosen to correspond to Pagan festivals that took place around

the time of the winter

> Solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the rebirth

of the Sun.'

>

> " The New Catholic Encyclopaedia notes that `On this day

(December 25) as the Sun

> began its return to northern skies the Pagan devotees of Mithra

celebrated the birthday of

> the invincible Sun.' "

>

> From the above references it is obvious that Christmas

is being celebrated all over

> the world on December 25th not because of Christians but in spite

of Christians. It would,

> therefore, be more truthful on their part to admit their

participation in pre-Christian

> customs.

>

> One of the purposes of the Christians in using the 25th

of December was to

> change the pagan festivals into Christian holidays, and, hopefully,

to attract the heathens

> to Christianity. For example, everyone knows that December twenty-

first is the winter

> solstice, the shortest day of the year. For the next three days the

length remains the same.

> But then on December twenty-fifth the day begins to get longer. So

on this day the people

> celebrated in a very raucous manner. They took it that the sun-god

was the redeemer and

> that on account of his birth there was the hope that everyone would

be saved. Therefore,

> when the Christians wanted to establish their Christendom

everywhere, they found some

> opposition to eliminate the birthday of the sun. People had become

accustomed to

> enjoying themselves on that day. Of course, the Christians could

not go on celebrating the

> birthday of the sun-god; so they simply replaced it with the

celebration of the birth of

> Jesus. In this way, the Christians calculated that the pagans could

go on with their

> celebrations but would simply change the meaning of it. So,

Christianity incorporated and

> helped preserve many of the pagan traditions that were observed on

the 25th.

>

> Nowadays, the Christians are supposed to be religious

people observing the day of

> Christ's birth, but they still celebrate in a very paganish way.

They have kept many of the

> aspects of the pagan celebration that earmarks Christmas day;

namely, drunkenness,

> revelry, spectator events like football, and feasting on slain

animals. Each year so many

> advertisements go up claiming that amongst the best gifts on

Christmas include a fifth of

> liquor or other useless items. So gradually, Christmas has

deteriorated from what was

> meant to be an observance of a holy day to a mere display of

devotion to commercialism.

>

> After all is said and done, anyone can practically see

that what is present-day

> Christianity is a modern adaptation of pre-existing, pagan beliefs

and philosophy.

> Centuries before the time of Jesus, among the " heathen " are beliefs

in an incarnate God

> born of a virgin; his descent from heaven or the spiritual domain;

astronomical signs

> indicating his birth; the rejoicing of the angels or devas; the

adoration of the magi,

> shepherds, or local devotees; offerings of precious gifts to the

divine child; the slaughter

> or terrorization of the innocents; temptation by the devil or tests

by demons; the

> performance of miracles; and the death and resurrection or

ascension into heaven. These

> elements can all be found in cultures prior to Christianity.

>

> So what does this mean? From Robert Taylor's Diegesis

(p. 329), Ammonius

> Saccus, the Greek philosopher and founder of the Neoplatonic

school, expressed,

> " Christianity and Paganism, when rightly understood, differ in no

essential points, but had

> a common origin, and are really one and the same thing. " This is

concurred by the

> historian Mosheim, who speaks of the Christian church during the

second century in the

> book, Ecclesiastical History (volume One, p. 199), as follows: " The

profound respect that

> was paid to the Greek and Roman mysteries, and the extraordinary

sanctity that was

> attributed to them, induced the Christians to give their religion a

mystic air, in order to put

> it upon an equal footing, in point of dignity, with that of the

Pagans. For this purpose they

> gave the name of mysteries to the institutions of the gospel, and

decorated, particularly

> the holy sacrament, with that solemn title. They used, in that

sacred institution, as also in

> that of baptism, several of the terms employed in the heathen

mysteries, and proceeded

> so far at length, as even to adopt some of the rites and ceremonies

of which those

> renowned mysteries consisted. " Herein we can understand that

various terms used in

> Christian rituals are merely adaptations of those rites from

earlier religions.

>

> So, in summary, let me say that it has been recognized

by many men of the past,

> such as Bishop Faustas when writing to St. Augustine, Ammonius

Saccus the Greek

> philosopher, the Epicurean philosopher Celsus, Eusebius the

historian, and the early

> Christian writer Justin Martyr, that Christianity does not differ

from the old traditions and

> customs that were called paganism, nor does Christianity hold

anything that was not

> previously known to the ancients. If anything, through its attitude

of exclusivity and

> general feelings of proud superiority, Christianity has lost the

elaborate explanations of

> the once well known truths and now merely holds hazy reflections of

the ancient wisdom.

> So many Bible stories are interwoven with tales borrowed from

neighboring cultures, and

> numerous Christian rituals and symbols have been taken from

previous ancient customs

> and traditions. So, Christians should look beyond the

superficialities of modern

> Christianity to try and see the real religions and cultures from

which it came. As Saint

> Augustine said hundreds of years ago: " The same thing which is now

called Christian

> Religion existed among the ancients. They have begun to call

Christian the true religion

> which existed before. " And to quote T. W. Doane from his book,

Bible Myths and Their

> Parallels in Other Religions, (page 413), he sums it up as follows:

>

>

>

> We have seen, then, that the only difference between Christianity

and Paganism is that

> Brahma, Ormuzd (Ahura Mazda), Zeus, Jupiter, etc., are called by

another name; Krishna,

> Buddha, Bacchus, Adonis, Mithras, etc., have been turned into

Christ Jesus: Venus' pigeon

> into the Holy Ghost; Diana, Isis, Devaki, etc., into the Virgin

Mary; and the demigods and

> heroes into saints. The exploits of the one were represented as the

miracles of the other.

> Pagan festivals became Christian holidays, and Pagan temples became

Christian Churches.

>

>

>

>

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Publishing House, Tokyo,

> 1905

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>

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Atlantic Highlands, New

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Hawthorne, CA

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Banarsidass, Delhi, 1985

>

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Associates

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>

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Publications, Hawthorne,

> California, 1980

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York, 1986

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Kak, & David Frawley,

> Quest Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1995

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York, 1989

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Havell

>

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University of Oxford,

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>

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1982

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> Ramachandran, Agam Prakashan, Delhi, 1976

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> The Makers of Civilization, L. A. Waddell, Hollywood, CA. 1929

>

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Chaplin, Scot Rider & Co.,

> Paternoster Row, London, 1935.

>

> Millennia of Discoveries, Alexander Adams, Vantage Press, New York,

1994

>

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>

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Church as Witness and

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Presbyter, New York: J.

> W. Bouton, 1876.

>

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Elwood, published by

> Henry Calhoun, London, 1830

>

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>

> Origines, by Sir W. Drummond, printed by A. G. Valpy, Red Lion

Court, Fleet Street, London

>

> Readings From World Religions, Selwyn Champion, Dorothy Short,

Fawcett World Library,

> New York, New York, 1951

>

> Revisiting Indus-Sarasvati Age and Ancient India, Editors Bhu Dev

Sharma and Nabarun

> Ghose. Published by World Association for Vedic Studies, c/o Dr.

Deen B. Chandora, 4117

> Menloway, Atlanta, GA. 30340. 1998

>

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>

> Sanskrit and Its Kindred Literatures--Studies in Comparative

Mythology, Laura Elizabeth

> Poor, C. Kegan Paul & Co., Paternoster Square, London, 1881

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> Story of Civilization, by William Durant

>

> The Celtic Druids, Godfrey Higgins, Rowland Hunter, St. Paul's

Churchyard, Hurst &

> Chance, St. Paul's, Churchgate & Radgway & Sons, Picadilly, 1929

>

> The Chosen People, John M. Allegro, Granada Publishing Ltd., Park

Street, St. Albans,

> Herts, England, 1973

>

> The Diegesis: Being a Discovery of the Origin, Evidences, and Early

History of Christianity,

> by Reverend Robert Taylor, J. P. Mendum, London edition, 1873

>

> The Mystical Life of Jesus, H. Spencer Lewis, published by Supreme

Grand Lodge of

> AMORC, San Jose, CA., 1953

>

> The Origins of the Aryans, by Sir Isaac Tailor

>

> The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined, by the Right

Reverend John

> William Colenso, D. D., Bishop of Natal. Longmans, Green & Co.,

London, 1863

>

> The Problem of Aryan Origins (From the Indian Point of View), K. D.

Sethna. Published by

> Rakesh Goel for Aditya Prakashan, 4829/1 Prahlad Lane, 24 Ansari

Road, New Delhi. 1992

>

> The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manly P. Hall, The Philosophical

Research Society, Inc.,

> Los Angeles, California, 1962

>

> The Secret Doctrine of Jesus, H. Spencer Lewis, published by

Supreme Grand Lodge of

> AMORC, San Jose, CA., 1953

>

> The Sphinx Speaks or The Story of Prehistoric Nations by Jwala

Prasad Singhal, M.A., LL.B.,

> Ph. D., Published by Sadgyan Sadan, 7A, Pandara Road, New Delhi,

India, 1963

>

> The Story of Indian Music and its Instruments, Ethel Rosenthal

>

> The Sumerians, C. Leonard Woolley, W. W. Norton & Co., New York,

1965

>

> The Teachings of the Vedas, Reverend Morris Philip

>

> The Theogony of the Hindus, Count Biornsttierna

>

> The Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque, by Fanny

Parks, Oxford

> University Press, London, 1975

>

> The Wonder That Was India, A. L. Basham, Fontana, London, 1971

>

> Travels in Arabia, by John Lewis, published by Henry Calhoun,

London, 1829

>

> Tibetan Buddhism, L. A. Waddell, Dover, New York, 1972

>

> Vedic Aryans and The Origins of Civilization, by Navaratna S.

Rajaram and David Frawley.

> Published by World Heritage press, Quebec, Canada, and Voice of

India, 2/18, Ansari

> Road, New Delhi 110 002, 1995, 1997

>

> Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India & Atlantis, David Childress,

Adventures Unlimited Press,

> Stelle, IL 60946, 1991. (Contains a translation of The Vimaakia

Shastra of Maharshi

> Bharadvaja.)

>

> Vimana in Ancient India, Dileep Kumar Kanjilal, Sanskrit Pustak

Bhandar, 38, Bidhan Sarani,

> Calcutta, India, 1985

>

> What the Great Religions Teach, Health Research, Mokelumne Hill,

California, 1958

>

> Who Wrote the Bible?, Richard Elliott Friedman, Harper

SanFrancisco, a division of Harper

> Collins Publishers, New York, 1989

>

> Who Wrote the New Testament?, Burton L. Mack, Harper SanFrancisco,

a division of Harper

> Collins Publishers, New York, 1995

>

> World Religions, From Ancient History to the Present, Parrinder,

Facts on File Publications,

> New York, 1971

>

> World Vedic Heritage, by Purushottam Nagesh Oak, published by P. N.

Oak, 10, Good Will

> Society, Aundh, Pune, India, 411 007

>

> World-Wide Hindu Culture and Vaisnava Bhakti, Dr. S. Venu

Gopalacharya, 1471-D, Jains'

> Colony, Ashoka Nagar, Mandya, 571 401, India, 1997

>

> World-Wide Kannada-Tamil & Sanskrit Vocabulary, Dr. S. Venu

Gopalacharya, 1471-D,

> Jains' Colony, Ashoka Nagar, Mandya, 571 401, India, 1989

>

> [This article is available at http://www.stephen-knapp.com]

>

> [back to the " Articles " page]

>

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[Guest guest]

Dear Violet,

 

Please, do !

 

with Love,

nicole

 

--- On Thu, 21/2/08, Violet <violetubb wrote:

 

> Violet <violetubb

> Re: Christianity and the Vedic Teachings

within it

>

> Thursday, 21 February, 2008, 9:48 PM

> Dear Nicole,

>

> i would like to use some excerpts from this article, which

> can be used in HSS (Holy Spirit/Shekinah). The Vedic

> teachings within Christianity would be good for Christians

> to know about. Thanks for this and other articles to come!

>

> warmest regards,

>

> violet

>

>

>

> - In ,

> " nicole_bougantouche "

> <nicole_bougantouche wrote:

> >

> > Christianity and the

> > Vedic Teachings Within It

> >

> > 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 Christmas,

> declared: `Public

> Notice--the observation of

> > Christmas having been deemed a sacrilege, the

> exchanging of gifts

> and greetings,

> > dressing in fine clothing, feasting and similar

> Satanical practices

> are hereby forbidden with

> > the offender liable to a fine of five shillings.'

> >

> > " Similarly in 17th century England,

> Christmas

> celebrations were banned as `Pagan

> > and Papish, Saturnalian and Satanic, idolatrous and

> leading to

> idleness.' That term Pagan

> > and Papish is again a clear admission that the Papacy

> is a pre-

> Christian Pagan i.e. Vedic

> > institution.

> >

> > " Jehovah's Witnesses has declared

> in the article `Is

> Christmas Really Pagan?' in its

> > journal titled Awake (December 22, 1981) that `All the

> standard

> Encyclopedias and

> > reference-works agree that the date of Jesus's

> birth is unknown and

> that the church

> > borrowed the date of December 25 from the Romans,

> along with their

> customs and

> > festivals.'

> >

> > " Encyclopedia Americana records: `It

> is usually held

> that the day (December 25)

> > was chosen to correspond to Pagan festivals that took

> place around

> the time of the winter

> > Solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to

> celebrate the rebirth

> of the Sun.'

> >

> > " The New Catholic Encyclopaedia notes

> that `On this day

> (December 25) as the Sun

> > began its return to northern skies the Pagan devotees

> of Mithra

> celebrated the birthday of

> > the invincible Sun.' "

> >

> > From the above references it is obvious

> that Christmas

> is being celebrated all over

> > the world on December 25th not because of Christians

> but in spite

> of Christians. It would,

> > therefore, be more truthful on their part to admit

> their

> participation in pre-Christian

> > customs.

> >

> > One of the purposes of the Christians in

> using the 25th

> of December was to

> > change the pagan festivals into Christian holidays,

> and, hopefully,

> to attract the heathens

> > to Christianity. For example, everyone knows that

> December twenty-

> first is the winter

> > solstice, the shortest day of the year. For the next

> three days the

> length remains the same.

> > But then on December twenty-fifth the day begins to

> get longer. So

> on this day the people

> > celebrated in a very raucous manner. They took it that

> the sun-god

> was the redeemer and

> > that on account of his birth there was the hope that

> everyone would

> be saved. Therefore,

> > when the Christians wanted to establish their

> Christendom

> everywhere, they found some

> > opposition to eliminate the birthday of the sun.

> People had become

> accustomed to

> > enjoying themselves on that day. Of course, the

> Christians could

> not go on celebrating the

> > birthday of the sun-god; so they simply replaced it

> with the

> celebration of the birth of

> > Jesus. In this way, the Christians calculated that the

> pagans could

> go on with their

> > celebrations but would simply change the meaning of

> it. So,

> Christianity incorporated and

> > helped preserve many of the pagan traditions that were

> observed on

> the 25th.

> >

> > Nowadays, the Christians are supposed to

> be religious

> people observing the day of

> > Christ's birth, but they still celebrate in a very

> paganish way.

> They have kept many of the

> > aspects of the pagan celebration that earmarks

> Christmas day;

> namely, drunkenness,

> > revelry, spectator events like football, and feasting

> on slain

> animals. Each year so many

> > advertisements go up claiming that amongst the best

> gifts on

> Christmas include a fifth of

> > liquor or other useless items. So gradually, Christmas

> has

> deteriorated from what was

> > meant to be an observance of a holy day to a mere

> display of

> devotion to commercialism.

> >

> > After all is said and done, anyone can

> practically see

> that what is present-day

> > Christianity is a modern adaptation of pre-existing,

> pagan beliefs

> and philosophy.

> > Centuries before the time of Jesus, among the

> " heathen " are beliefs

> in an incarnate God

> > born of a virgin; his descent from heaven or the

> spiritual domain;

> astronomical signs

> > indicating his birth; the rejoicing of the angels or

> devas; the

> adoration of the magi,

> > shepherds, or local devotees; offerings of precious

> gifts to the

> divine child; the slaughter

> > or terrorization of the innocents; temptation by the

> devil or tests

> by demons; the

> > performance of miracles; and the death and

> resurrection or

> ascension into heaven. These

> > elements can all be found in cultures prior to

> Christianity.

> >

> > So what does this mean? From Robert

> Taylor's Diegesis

> (p. 329), Ammonius

> > Saccus, the Greek philosopher and founder of the

> Neoplatonic

> school, expressed,

> > " Christianity and Paganism, when rightly

> understood, differ in no

> essential points, but had

> > a common origin, and are really one and the same

> thing. " This is

> concurred by the

> > historian Mosheim, who speaks of the Christian church

> during the

> second century in the

> > book, Ecclesiastical History (volume One, p. 199), as

> follows: " The

> profound respect that

> > was paid to the Greek and Roman mysteries, and the

> extraordinary

> sanctity that was

> > attributed to them, induced the Christians to give

> their religion a

> mystic air, in order to put

> > it upon an equal footing, in point of dignity, with

> that of the

> Pagans. For this purpose they

> > gave the name of mysteries to the institutions of the

> gospel, and

> decorated, particularly

> > the holy sacrament, with that solemn title. They used,

> in that

> sacred institution, as also in

> > that of baptism, several of the terms employed in the

> heathen

> mysteries, and proceeded

> > so far at length, as even to adopt some of the rites

> and ceremonies

> of which those

> > renowned mysteries consisted. " Herein we can

> understand that

> various terms used in

> > Christian rituals are merely adaptations of those

> rites from

> earlier religions.

> >

> > So, in summary, let me say that it has

> been recognized

> by many men of the past,

> > such as Bishop Faustas when writing to St. Augustine,

> Ammonius

> Saccus the Greek

> > philosopher, the Epicurean philosopher Celsus,

> Eusebius the

> historian, and the early

> > Christian writer Justin Martyr, that Christianity does

> not differ

> from the old traditions and

> > customs that were called paganism, nor does

> Christianity hold

> anything that was not

> > previously known to the ancients. If anything, through

> its attitude

> of exclusivity and

> > general feelings of proud superiority, Christianity

> has lost the

> elaborate explanations of

> > the once well known truths and now merely holds hazy

> reflections of

> the ancient wisdom.

> > So many Bible stories are interwoven with tales

> borrowed from

> neighboring cultures, and

> > numerous Christian rituals and symbols have been taken

> from

> previous ancient customs

> > and traditions. So, Christians should look beyond the

> superficialities of modern

> > Christianity to try and see the real religions and

> cultures from

> which it came. As Saint

> > Augustine said hundreds of years ago: " The same

> thing which is now

> called Christian

> > Religion existed among the ancients. They have begun

> to call

> Christian the true religion

> > which existed before. " And to quote T. W. Doane

> from his book,

> Bible Myths and Their

> > Parallels in Other Religions, (page 413), he sums it

> up as follows:

> >

> >

> >

> > We have seen, then, that the only difference between

> Christianity

> and Paganism is that

> > Brahma, Ormuzd (Ahura Mazda), Zeus, Jupiter, etc., are

> called by

> another name; Krishna,

> > Buddha, Bacchus, Adonis, Mithras, etc., have been

> turned into

> Christ Jesus: Venus' pigeon

> > into the Holy Ghost; Diana, Isis, Devaki, etc., into

> the Virgin

> Mary; and the demigods and

> > heroes into saints. The exploits of the one were

> represented as the

> miracles of the other.

> > Pagan festivals became Christian holidays, and Pagan

> temples became

> Christian Churches.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > REFERENCES

> >

> > A History of India, Hermann Kulke and Dietmar

> Rothermund, Dorset

> Press, New York,

> > 1986

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> > Bharat (India) As Seen and Known by Foreigners, By G.

> K. Deshpende,

> Swadhyaya--Mandal,

> > Killa Pardi, District Surat, 1950

> >

> > Bhavisya Purana

> >

> > Bible, New York International Bible Society, 1981

> >

> > Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions, by

> T. W. Doane,

> reprinted by Health

> > Research, P. O. Box 70, Mokelumne Hill, CA 95245, 1985

> >

> > Book of Jasher, Published by The Rosicrucian Order,

> San Jose,

> California, 1934

> >

> > Book of Morman, The Church of Jesus Christ of

> Latter-day Saints,

> Salt Lake City, Utah,

> > 1976Breakthrough, Clifford G. Hospital, Orbis Books,

> Maryknoll, New

> York, 1985

> >

> > Buddhist and Christian Gospels, Albert J. Edmonds,

> Yukwan

> Publishing House, Tokyo,

> > 1905

> >

> > Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War,

> translated by T. Rice

> Holmes, Macmillan & Co.

> > Ltd., St. Martins Street, London, 1908

> >

> > Chips From a German Workshop, Max Mueller

> >

> > Collectania De Rebus Hibernicus, Lt. Gen. Charles

> Vallancy,

> Craisberry and Campbell, 10

> > Back Lane, Dublin, 1804

> >

> > Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, Reese,

> Humanities Press,

> Atlantic Highlands, New

> > Jersey, 1980

> >

> > Egyptian Civilization, L. A. Waddell, Christian Book

> Club,

> Hawthorne, CA

> >

> > Elements of Hindu Iconography, by T. A. Gopinatha Rao,

> Motilal

> Banarsidass, Delhi, 1985

> >

> > Encyclodaedia Judaica, Heter Publishing Co., Jerusalem

> >

> > Hindu Influence on Greek Philosophy, Timothy J.

> Lomperis, Minerva

> Associates

> > (Publications) PVT. LTD., Calcutta, 1984

> >

> > The Indo-Sumerian Seals Deciphered, L. A. Waddell,

> Omni

> Publications, Hawthorne,

> > California, 1980

> >

> > Inner Reaches of Outer Space, Joseph Campbell, Harper

> & Row, New

> York, 1986

> >

> > In Search of the Cradle of Civilization, Georg

> Feuerstein, Subash

> Kak, & David Frawley,

> > Quest Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1995

> >

> > In Search of the Indo-Europeans, J.P.Mallory, Thames

> & Hudson, New

> York, 1989

> >

> > India in Greece, by Edward Pococke

> >

> > India's Past, A. A. Macdonell

> >

> > India--What Can It Teach Us, Max Mueller

> >

> > Indian Architecture--Its Psychology, Structure and

> History, E. B.

> Havell

> >

> > Indian Wisdom; or Examples of the Religious,

> Philosophical, and

> Ethnical Doctrines of the

> > Hindoos, by Monier Williams, M.A., Professor of

> Sanskrit in the

> University of Oxford,

> > London, W. H. Allen, 1875.

> >

> > Islam, Alfred Guillaume, Penguin Books Ltd., Hammomnds

> Worth,

> Middlesex, UK, 1954

> >

> > Jesus Lived in India, Kersten, Element Book Ltd.,

> Dorset England,

> 1986

> >

> > The Jesus Mystery, Bock, Aura Books, Los Angeles, 1980

> >

> > Jesus the Magician, Smith, Harper & Row, San

> Francisco, 1978

> >

> > Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile,

> Colonel John

> Speke

> >

> > Mahabharata, Kamala Subramaniam, Bharatiya Vidya

> Bhavan, Bombay,

> 1982

> >

> > Mahabharata: Myth and RealityBDiffering Views, edited

> by S. P.

> Gupta and K. S.

> > Ramachandran, Agam Prakashan, Delhi, 1976

> >

> > The Makers of Civilization, L. A. Waddell, Hollywood,

> CA. 1929

> >

> > Matter, Myth and Spirit, or Keltic and Hindu Links, by

> Dorothea

> Chaplin, Scot Rider & Co.,

> > Paternoster Row, London, 1935.

> >

> > Millennia of Discoveries, Alexander Adams, Vantage

> Press, New York,

> 1994

> >

> > Memoirs of India, R. G. Wallace, 1824

> >

> > Monumental Christianity, or the Art and Symbolism of

> the Primitive

> Church as Witness and

> > Teachers of the One Catholic faith and Practice, by

> John P. Lundy,

> Presbyter, New York: J.

> > W. Bouton, 1876.

> >

> > Narrative of a Journey Overland From England to India,

> Mrs. Colonel

> Elwood, published by

> > Henry Calhoun, London, 1830

> >

> > Oriental Mythology, Joseph Campbell, Penguin Books,

> New York, 1962

> >

> > Origines, by Sir W. Drummond, printed by A. G. Valpy,

> Red Lion

> Court, Fleet Street, London

> >

> > Readings From World Religions, Selwyn Champion,

> Dorothy Short,

> Fawcett World Library,

> > New York, New York, 1951

> >

> > Revisiting Indus-Sarasvati Age and Ancient India,

> Editors Bhu Dev

> Sharma and Nabarun

> > Ghose. Published by World Association for Vedic

> Studies, c/o Dr.

> Deen B. Chandora, 4117

> > Menloway, Atlanta, GA. 30340. 1998

> >

> > Primitive Mythology, Joseph Campbell, Penguin Books,

> New York, 1959

> >

> > Sanskrit and Its Kindred Literatures--Studies in

> Comparative

> Mythology, Laura Elizabeth

> > Poor, C. Kegan Paul & Co., Paternoster Square,

> London, 1881

> >

> > Story of Civilization, by William Durant

> >

> > The Celtic Druids, Godfrey Higgins, Rowland Hunter,

> St. Paul's

> Churchyard, Hurst &

> > Chance, St. Paul's, Churchgate & Radgway &

> Sons, Picadilly, 1929

> >

> > The Chosen People, John M. Allegro, Granada Publishing

> Ltd., Park

> Street, St. Albans,

> > Herts, England, 1973

> >

> > The Diegesis: Being a Discovery of the Origin,

> Evidences, and Early

> History of Christianity,

> > by Reverend Robert Taylor, J. P. Mendum, London

> edition, 1873

> >

> > The Mystical Life of Jesus, H. Spencer Lewis,

> published by Supreme

> Grand Lodge of

> > AMORC, San Jose, CA., 1953

> >

> > The Origins of the Aryans, by Sir Isaac Tailor

> >

> > The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined,

> by the Right

> Reverend John

> > William Colenso, D. D., Bishop of Natal. Longmans,

> Green & Co.,

> London, 1863

> >

> > The Problem of Aryan Origins (From the Indian Point of

> View), K. D.

> Sethna. Published by

> > Rakesh Goel for Aditya Prakashan, 4829/1 Prahlad Lane,

> 24 Ansari

> Road, New Delhi. 1992

> >

> > The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manly P. Hall, The

> Philosophical

> Research Society, Inc.,

> > Los Angeles, California, 1962

> >

> > The Secret Doctrine of Jesus, H. Spencer Lewis,

> published by

> Supreme Grand Lodge of

> > AMORC, San Jose, CA., 1953

> >

> > The Sphinx Speaks or The Story of Prehistoric Nations

> by Jwala

> Prasad Singhal, M.A., LL.B.,

> > Ph. D., Published by Sadgyan Sadan, 7A, Pandara Road,

> New Delhi,

> India, 1963

> >

> > The Story of Indian Music and its Instruments, Ethel

> Rosenthal

> >

> > The Sumerians, C. Leonard Woolley, W. W. Norton &

> Co., New York,

> 1965

> >

> > The Teachings of the Vedas, Reverend Morris Philip

> >

> > The Theogony of the Hindus, Count Biornsttierna

> >

> > The Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the

> Picturesque, by Fanny

> Parks, Oxford

> > University Press, London, 1975

> >

> > The Wonder That Was India, A. L. Basham, Fontana,

> London, 1971

> >

> > Travels in Arabia, by John Lewis, published by Henry

> Calhoun,

> London, 1829

> >

> > Tibetan Buddhism, L. A. Waddell, Dover, New York, 1972

> >

> > Vedic Aryans and The Origins of Civilization, by

> Navaratna S.

> Rajaram and David Frawley.

> > Published by World Heritage press, Quebec, Canada, and

> Voice of

> India, 2/18, Ansari

> > Road, New Delhi 110 002, 1995, 1997

> >

> > Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India & Atlantis, David

> Childress,

> Adventures Unlimited Press,

> > Stelle, IL 60946, 1991. (Contains a translation of The

> Vimaakia

> Shastra of Maharshi

> > Bharadvaja.)

> >

> > Vimana in Ancient India, Dileep Kumar Kanjilal,

> Sanskrit Pustak

> Bhandar, 38, Bidhan Sarani,

> > Calcutta, India, 1985

> >

> > What the Great Religions Teach, Health Research,

> Mokelumne Hill,

> California, 1958

> >

> > Who Wrote the Bible?, Richard Elliott Friedman, Harper

> SanFrancisco, a division of Harper

> > Collins Publishers, New York, 1989

> >

> > Who Wrote the New Testament?, Burton L. Mack, Harper

> SanFrancisco,

> a division of Harper

> > Collins Publishers, New York, 1995

> >

> > World Religions, From Ancient History to the Present,

> Parrinder,

> Facts on File Publications,

> > New York, 1971

> >

> > World Vedic Heritage, by Purushottam Nagesh Oak,

> published by P. N.

> Oak, 10, Good Will

> > Society, Aundh, Pune, India, 411 007

> >

> > World-Wide Hindu Culture and Vaisnava Bhakti, Dr. S.

> Venu

> Gopalacharya, 1471-D, Jains'

> > Colony, Ashoka Nagar, Mandya, 571 401, India, 1997

> >

> > World-Wide Kannada-Tamil & Sanskrit Vocabulary,

> Dr. S. Venu

> Gopalacharya, 1471-D,

> > Jains' Colony, Ashoka Nagar, Mandya, 571 401,

> India, 1989

> >

> > [This article is available at

> http://www.stephen-knapp.com]

> >

> > [back to the " Articles " page]

> >

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Dear Violet,

 

Please, do !

 

with Love,

nicole

 

--- On Thu, 21/2/08, Violet <violetubb wrote:

 

> Violet <violetubb

> Re: Christianity and the Vedic Teachings

within it

>

> Thursday, 21 February, 2008, 9:48 PM

> Dear Nicole,

>

> i would like to use some excerpts from this article, which

> can be used in HSS (Holy Spirit/Shekinah). The Vedic

> teachings within Christianity would be good for Christians

> to know about. Thanks for this and other articles to come!

>

> warmest regards,

>

> violet

>

>

>

> - In ,

> " nicole_bougantouche "

> <nicole_bougantouche wrote:

> >

> > Christianity and the

> > Vedic Teachings Within It

> >

> > 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 Christmas,

> declared: `Public

> Notice--the observation of

> > Christmas having been deemed a sacrilege, the

> exchanging of gifts

> and greetings,

> > dressing in fine clothing, feasting and similar

> Satanical practices

> are hereby forbidden with

> > the offender liable to a fine of five shillings.'

> >

> > " Similarly in 17th century England,

> Christmas

> celebrations were banned as `Pagan

> > and Papish, Saturnalian and Satanic, idolatrous and

> leading to

> idleness.' That term Pagan

> > and Papish is again a clear admission that the Papacy

> is a pre-

> Christian Pagan i.e. Vedic

> > institution.

> >

> > " Jehovah's Witnesses has declared

> in the article `Is

> Christmas Really Pagan?' in its

> > journal titled Awake (December 22, 1981) that `All the

> standard

> Encyclopedias and

> > reference-works agree that the date of Jesus's

> birth is unknown and

> that the church

> > borrowed the date of December 25 from the Romans,

> along with their

> customs and

> > festivals.'

> >

> > " Encyclopedia Americana records: `It

> is usually held

> that the day (December 25)

> > was chosen to correspond to Pagan festivals that took

> place around

> the time of the winter

> > Solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to

> celebrate the rebirth

> of the Sun.'

> >

> > " The New Catholic Encyclopaedia notes

> that `On this day

> (December 25) as the Sun

> > began its return to northern skies the Pagan devotees

> of Mithra

> celebrated the birthday of

> > the invincible Sun.' "

> >

> > From the above references it is obvious

> that Christmas

> is being celebrated all over

> > the world on December 25th not because of Christians

> but in spite

> of Christians. It would,

> > therefore, be more truthful on their part to admit

> their

> participation in pre-Christian

> > customs.

> >

> > One of the purposes of the Christians in

> using the 25th

> of December was to

> > change the pagan festivals into Christian holidays,

> and, hopefully,

> to attract the heathens

> > to Christianity. For example, everyone knows that

> December twenty-

> first is the winter

> > solstice, the shortest day of the year. For the next

> three days the

> length remains the same.

> > But then on December twenty-fifth the day begins to

> get longer. So

> on this day the people

> > celebrated in a very raucous manner. They took it that

> the sun-god

> was the redeemer and

> > that on account of his birth there was the hope that

> everyone would

> be saved. Therefore,

> > when the Christians wanted to establish their

> Christendom

> everywhere, they found some

> > opposition to eliminate the birthday of the sun.

> People had become

> accustomed to

> > enjoying themselves on that day. Of course, the

> Christians could

> not go on celebrating the

> > birthday of the sun-god; so they simply replaced it

> with the

> celebration of the birth of

> > Jesus. In this way, the Christians calculated that the

> pagans could

> go on with their

> > celebrations but would simply change the meaning of

> it. So,

> Christianity incorporated and

> > helped preserve many of the pagan traditions that were

> observed on

> the 25th.

> >

> > Nowadays, the Christians are supposed to

> be religious

> people observing the day of

> > Christ's birth, but they still celebrate in a very

> paganish way.

> They have kept many of the

> > aspects of the pagan celebration that earmarks

> Christmas day;

> namely, drunkenness,

> > revelry, spectator events like football, and feasting

> on slain

> animals. Each year so many

> > advertisements go up claiming that amongst the best

> gifts on

> Christmas include a fifth of

> > liquor or other useless items. So gradually, Christmas

> has

> deteriorated from what was

> > meant to be an observance of a holy day to a mere

> display of

> devotion to commercialism.

> >

> > After all is said and done, anyone can

> practically see

> that what is present-day

> > Christianity is a modern adaptation of pre-existing,

> pagan beliefs

> and philosophy.

> > Centuries before the time of Jesus, among the

> " heathen " are beliefs

> in an incarnate God

> > born of a virgin; his descent from heaven or the

> spiritual domain;

> astronomical signs

> > indicating his birth; the rejoicing of the angels or

> devas; the

> adoration of the magi,

> > shepherds, or local devotees; offerings of precious

> gifts to the

> divine child; the slaughter

> > or terrorization of the innocents; temptation by the

> devil or tests

> by demons; the

> > performance of miracles; and the death and

> resurrection or

> ascension into heaven. These

> > elements can all be found in cultures prior to

> Christianity.

> >

> > So what does this mean? From Robert

> Taylor's Diegesis

> (p. 329), Ammonius

> > Saccus, the Greek philosopher and founder of the

> Neoplatonic

> school, expressed,

> > " Christianity and Paganism, when rightly

> understood, differ in no

> essential points, but had

> > a common origin, and are really one and the same

> thing. " This is

> concurred by the

> > historian Mosheim, who speaks of the Christian church

> during the

> second century in the

> > book, Ecclesiastical History (volume One, p. 199), as

> follows: " The

> profound respect that

> > was paid to the Greek and Roman mysteries, and the

> extraordinary

> sanctity that was

> > attributed to them, induced the Christians to give

> their religion a

> mystic air, in order to put

> > it upon an equal footing, in point of dignity, with

> that of the

> Pagans. For this purpose they

> > gave the name of mysteries to the institutions of the

> gospel, and

> decorated, particularly

> > the holy sacrament, with that solemn title. They used,

> in that

> sacred institution, as also in

> > that of baptism, several of the terms employed in the

> heathen

> mysteries, and proceeded

> > so far at length, as even to adopt some of the rites

> and ceremonies

> of which those

> > renowned mysteries consisted. " Herein we can

> understand that

> various terms used in

> > Christian rituals are merely adaptations of those

> rites from

> earlier religions.

> >

> > So, in summary, let me say that it has

> been recognized

> by many men of the past,

> > such as Bishop Faustas when writing to St. Augustine,

> Ammonius

> Saccus the Greek

> > philosopher, the Epicurean philosopher Celsus,

> Eusebius the

> historian, and the early

> > Christian writer Justin Martyr, that Christianity does

> not differ

> from the old traditions and

> > customs that were called paganism, nor does

> Christianity hold

> anything that was not

> > previously known to the ancients. If anything, through

> its attitude

> of exclusivity and

> > general feelings of proud superiority, Christianity

> has lost the

> elaborate explanations of

> > the once well known truths and now merely holds hazy

> reflections of

> the ancient wisdom.

> > So many Bible stories are interwoven with tales

> borrowed from

> neighboring cultures, and

> > numerous Christian rituals and symbols have been taken

> from

> previous ancient customs

> > and traditions. So, Christians should look beyond the

> superficialities of modern

> > Christianity to try and see the real religions and

> cultures from

> which it came. As Saint

> > Augustine said hundreds of years ago: " The same

> thing which is now

> called Christian

> > Religion existed among the ancients. They have begun

> to call

> Christian the true religion

> > which existed before. " And to quote T. W. Doane

> from his book,

> Bible Myths and Their

> > Parallels in Other Religions, (page 413), he sums it

> up as follows:

> >

> >

> >

> > We have seen, then, that the only difference between

> Christianity

> and Paganism is that

> > Brahma, Ormuzd (Ahura Mazda), Zeus, Jupiter, etc., are

> called by

> another name; Krishna,

> > Buddha, Bacchus, Adonis, Mithras, etc., have been

> turned into

> Christ Jesus: Venus' pigeon

> > into the Holy Ghost; Diana, Isis, Devaki, etc., into

> the Virgin

> Mary; and the demigods and

> > heroes into saints. The exploits of the one were

> represented as the

> miracles of the other.

> > Pagan festivals became Christian holidays, and Pagan

> temples became

> Christian Churches.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > REFERENCES

> >

> > A History of India, Hermann Kulke and Dietmar

> Rothermund, Dorset

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> K. Deshpende,

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> >

> > Bhavisya Purana

> >

> > Bible, New York International Bible Society, 1981

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> > Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions, by

> T. W. Doane,

> reprinted by Health

> > Research, P. O. Box 70, Mokelumne Hill, CA 95245, 1985

> >

> > Book of Jasher, Published by The Rosicrucian Order,

> San Jose,

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> >

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> >

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> >

> > Chips From a German Workshop, Max Mueller

> >

> > Collectania De Rebus Hibernicus, Lt. Gen. Charles

> Vallancy,

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> >

> > Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, Reese,

> Humanities Press,

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> >

> > Egyptian Civilization, L. A. Waddell, Christian Book

> Club,

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> >

> > Elements of Hindu Iconography, by T. A. Gopinatha Rao,

> Motilal

> Banarsidass, Delhi, 1985

> >

> > Encyclodaedia Judaica, Heter Publishing Co., Jerusalem

> >

> > Hindu Influence on Greek Philosophy, Timothy J.

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> Associates

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> >

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> >

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> >

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> >

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> >

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> History, E. B.

> Havell

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> Ethnical Doctrines of the

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> >

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> >

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> > Mahabharata, Kamala Subramaniam, Bharatiya Vidya

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> > by Reverend Robert Taylor, J. P. Mendum, London

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> published by Supreme

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> London, 1863

> >

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> Road, New Delhi. 1992

> >

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> Philosophical

> Research Society, Inc.,

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> >

> > The Secret Doctrine of Jesus, H. Spencer Lewis,

> published by

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> by Jwala

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> New Delhi,

> India, 1963

> >

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> >

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> >

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> Picturesque, by Fanny

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> >

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> >

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> Navaratna S.

> Rajaram and David Frawley.

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> India, 2/18, Ansari

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> >

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> Childress,

> Adventures Unlimited Press,

> > Stelle, IL 60946, 1991. (Contains a translation of The

> Vimaakia

> Shastra of Maharshi

> > Bharadvaja.)

> >

> > Vimana in Ancient India, Dileep Kumar Kanjilal,

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> >

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> >

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> Parrinder,

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> >

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> Oak, 10, Good Will

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> >

> > World-Wide Hindu Culture and Vaisnava Bhakti, Dr. S.

> Venu

> Gopalacharya, 1471-D, Jains'

> > Colony, Ashoka Nagar, Mandya, 571 401, India, 1997

> >

> > World-Wide Kannada-Tamil & Sanskrit Vocabulary,

> Dr. S. Venu

> Gopalacharya, 1471-D,

> > Jains' Colony, Ashoka Nagar, Mandya, 571 401,

> India, 1989

> >

> > [This article is available at

> http://www.stephen-knapp.com]

> >

> > [back to the " Articles " page]

> >

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