Vedic Scriptures are , the Source of All Religions .

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Hare Krishna !

I had wondered that with a rich history as our background, we are looking at others for guidance. If only someone knowledgeable devote some time and do some research, we can highlight several theories which are being discussed by Americans. How did this world come into being, who were the first inhabitants, what are the seven continents as said in our Vedas, what are the 14 universes referred, what is Pathala Loka, where is it, can also be replied just by a reference to our scriptures. Under the British rule the first thing that we lost was our precious education system. Earlier, our literacy level was 100 percent and subsequently it got reduced because we were under the control of McCaulay's system. Even after six decades of our getting independence, we will follow misdirected curriculum where there is no reference at all of our great culture and their sources nor will there be any more reference in future, as they are treated as a part of Hinduism, and we are ruled by a Government t which has got its secular (irreligious) priorities. Sorry, I am lamenting.......

 

Recently I read an article written by a foreigner on connections between other religions and our scriptures and the Vedic culture. Now, on reasons of brevity, I am sending herewith a few paragraphs of the article for your information.

 

" 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 theirentrance. 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 Christ's Sel-revelation in the New Testament.

Dr. Venu Gopalacharya also points out in his book, World-Wide Hindu Culture (pp. 158-9),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 brothers, due to the difference of opinion about the mode of offering sacrifices or worshiping God.

"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."