The Universal Religion .

[Guest guest]

(Written by : Paramacharya Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati Swamy)

 

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

the world. Archaeological studies reveal the existence of relics of

our Vedic religion in many countries. For instance, excavations have

brought up the text of a treaty between Rameses II and the Hittites

dating back to the 14th century B. C. In this, the Vedic Gods Mitra

and Varuna are mentioned as witnesses to the pact. There is a

connection between the name of Ramesses and that of our Rama.

 

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

Sanskritic origin. In the Western Hemisphere too there is evidence of

Hinduism having once flourished there. In Mexico a festival is

celebrated at the same time as our Navaratri ; it is called " Rama-

Sita " . Wherever the earth is dug up images of Ganapati are

discovered here. The Aztecs had inhabited Mexico before the

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

of " Astikas " . In Peru, during the time of the holy equinox [vernal? ]

worship was conducted in the Sun temple. The people of this land were

called Incas : " Ina " is one of the Sanskrit names of the Sun God.

Don't we call Rama Inakula-tilaka ? . There is book containing

photographs of the aborigines of Australia dancing in the nude (The

Native Tribes of Central Australia, by Spencer Killan, pages 128 &

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

that the dancers have a third eye drawn on the forehead.

 

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

penetrated by any human being until recently, explorers have found a

sacrificial post with an inscription in a script akin to our Granthas

characters. Historians know it as the inscription of Mulavarman of

Kotei. Mention is made in it of a sacrifice, the king who performed

it, the place where the 'yupas' was installed. That the king gave

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

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

people who ridicule our religion.

 

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

find amusing. You know that the Sagaras went on digging the earth

down to the nether world in search of their sacrificial horse. An

ocean came into being in this way and it was called 'Sagara' after

the king Sagara.

 

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

Maharsi. Thinking that he must be the man who had stolen the animal

and hidden it in the nether world they laid violent hands on him.

Whereupon the sage reduced them to ashes with a mere glance of his

eye. Such is the story according to the Ramayana. America, which is

at the antipodes, may be taken to Patala or the nether world.

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

further take it, was situated there. It is likely that Kapilaranya

changed to California in the same manner as Madurai is something

altered to " Marudai " . Also noteworthy is the fact that there is a

Horse Island near California as well as an Ash Island.

 

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

that ages ago the Sahara desert was an ocean. It seems to me that

Sahara is derived from sagara.

 

Some historians try to explain the evidence pointing to the worldwide

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

and religious ideas between India and other countries established

through travels. I myself believe that there was one common religion

or dharma throughout and that the signs and symbols that we find of

this today are the creation of the original inhabitants of the lands

concerned.

 

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

of the remnants of our religion in other countries- these relating to

what is considered the historical period of the past two or three

thousand years- is that Indians went to these lands, destroyed the

old native civilizations there and imposed Hindu culture in their

place. Alternatively, they claim, Indians thrust their culture into

the native ways of life in such a way that it became totally absorbed

in them.

 

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

of their Vedic connection dating back to 4, 000 years or more. That

is, with the dawn of civilization itself, aspects of the Vedic

dharama existed in these lands. It was only subsequently that the

inhabitants of these regions came to have a religion of their own.

 

Greece had an ancient religion and had big temples where various

deities were worshipped. The Hellenic religion had Vedic elements in

it. The same was the case with the Semitic religions of the pre-

Christian era in the region associated with Jesus. The aborigines of

Mexico had a religion of their own. They shared the Vedic view of the

divine in the forces of nature and worshipped them as deities. There

was a good deal of ritual in all such religions.

 

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

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

Christianity flourishes in Greece. Buddhism has spread in Central

Asia and in East Asia up to Japan. According to anthropologists,

religions in their original form exist only in areas like the forests

of Africa. But even these ancient faiths contain Vedic elements.

 

Religious and philosophical truths are often explained through

parables, stories, so that ignorant people can understand them

easily. Since metaphysical concepts are difficult to grasp, either

they have to be told in the form of a story or they have to be given

the form of a ritual, that is they must find expression as religious

acts. For the common people the performance of a rite is a means of

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

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

symbolic in their significance and that there is no need to perform

them so long as their inner meaning is understood.

 

Ritual as ritual has its own place and efficacy. Similarly, I would

not say that stories from the Puranas are nothing but illustrations

or explanations of certain truths or doctrines. As stories they are

of a high order and I believe that they really happened. But, at the

same time, they demonstrate the meaning of certain truths. As for

rites, their performance brings up benefits. But in due course, as we

learn to appreciate their inner meaning we shall become purified in

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

from their performance and will be rewarded with supreme well-being

(that is, liberation).

 

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

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

be, the inner meaning will be altogether forgotten. So it must be

that, when new religions took shape abroad, after the lapse of

thousands of years-religions not connected with the Vedic faith that

is the root-the original Vedic concepts become transformed or

distorted.

 

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

the Hebrew tradition. It occurs in the Genesis of the Old Testament

and speaks of the tree of knowledge and God's commandment that its

fruit shall not be eaten. Adam at first did not eat it but Eve did.

After that Adam too ate the forbidden fruit.

 

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

But because of the change in the time and place the original idea has

become distorted-or even obliterated.

 

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

a 'pippala' tree. One eats the fruit of tree while the order merely

watches its companion without eating. The 'pippala' tree stands for

the body. The first bird represents a being that regards himself as

the 'jivatman' or individual self and the fruit it eats signifies

sensual pleasure. In the same body (symbolized by the tree) the

second bird is to be understood as the 'Paramatman'. He is the

support of all beings but he does not know sensual pleasure. Since he

does not eat the fruit he naturally does not have the same experience

as the 'jivatman' (the first). The Upanisad speaks with poetic beauty

of the two birds. He who eats the fruit is the individual

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

who knows Himself to be the Atman.

 

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

religious tradition. " Ji " changes to " i " according to a rule of

grammar and " ja " to " ya " . We have the example of " Yamuna "

becoming " Jamuna " or of " Yogindra " being changed to " Joginder " . In

the biblical story " jiva " is " Eve " and " Atma " (or " Atman " )

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

of Knowledge is our " bodhi-vrksa " . " Bodha " means " knowledge " . It is

well known that the Budhha attained enlightenment under the bodhi

tree. But the pipal (pippala) was known as the bodhi tree even before

his time.

 

The Upanisadic ideas transplanted into a distant land underwent a

change after the lapse of centuries. Thus we see in the biblical

story that the Atman (Adam) that can never be subject to sensual

pleasure also eats the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. While our

bodhi tree stands for enlightenment, the enlightenment that banishes

all sensual pleasure, the biblical tree affords worldly pleasure.

These differences notwithstanding there is sufficient evidence here

that, once upon a time, Vedic religion was prevalent in the land of

the Hebrews.

 

Let me give the another example to strengthen the view that however

much a custom or a concept changes with the passage of time and with

its acceptance by people of another land, it will still retain

elements pointing to its original source. Our TiruppavaiT and

TiruvembavaiT are not as ancient as the Vedas. Scholars ascribe them

to an age not later than 1, 500 years ago. However it be, the authors

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

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

empires arose across the seas. Even the Chola kings extended their

sway beyond the shores of the country. More worthy of note than our

naval expeditions was the great expansion in our sea trade and the

increase with it of our foreign contacts. As a result, people abroad

were drawn to the Hindu religion and culture. Among the regions that

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

Islands like Bali in the Indonesian archipelago became wholly Hindu.

People in Siam (Thailand), Indochina and the Philippines came under

the influence of Hindu culture. 'Srivijaya' was one of the great

empires of South-East Asia.

 

[Here the Paramaguru briefly touches upon the stages representing the

emergence of various religions]. In primeval times the Vedic religion

was prevalent everywhere : this was the first stage. In the second

stage new religions emerged in various parts of the world. In the

third stage these decayed and their place was taken by Buddhism,

Christianity or Islam. In the subsequent stage the Hindu civilization

became a living force outside the shores of India also, particularly

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

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

religion and culture: Angkor-vat in Cambodia; Borobudur in Java,

Indonesia; Prambanan, also in Java. Now it was that our Tiruppavai

and Tiruvembavai made their passage to Thailand.

 

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

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

read the Tiruppavai and Tiruvembavai with devotion. As part of the

celebrations a 'dolotsava'(swing festival) is held. A remarkable

feature of this is that, in the ceremony meant for Visnu, a man with

the make-up of Siva is seated on the swing. This seems to be in

keeping with the fact that the Tiruppavai and Tiruvembavai contribute

to the unification of Vaisnavism and Saivism. If you ask the people

of Thailand about the Pavai poems, they will not be able to speak

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

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

the month corresponding to the Tamil Murgazhi. But the point to note

is that the people of that country themselves call it " Triyampavai-

Trippavai " .

 

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

Upanisads, but they are sure to know the story that can be traced

back to them, that of Adam and Eve. The Thais now must be likewise

ignorant about the Pavis but, all the same, they hold in the month of

Dhanus every year a celebration called " Triyampavai - Trippavai. " As

part of it they also have a swing festival for Visnu. Also during

this period the Thais have forgotten the Pavis but, significantly

enough, they still conduct a festival named after them. Keeping these

before you, take mind back to three thousand years ago and imagine

how a religion or a culture would have changed after its passage to

foreign lands.

 

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

all the changes and distortions that it has undergone in other

countries during the past millennia its presence there is still

proclaimed through elements to be found in the religions that

supplanted it.

 

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

the religious beliefs of people said to belong to prehistoric times?

It does not seem right to claim that in the distant past our religion

or culture was propagated in other countries through an armed

invasion or through trade, that is at a time when civilization itself

has not taken shape there. That is why I feel that there is no

question of anything having been taken from this land and introduced

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

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

over the countries, it must have gone through a process of change and

taken different forms. These forms came to be called the original

religions of these various lands which in the subsequent period-

during historical times- came under Buddhism, Christianity or Islam

as the case may be.