Friday, November 12, 2010

Sack Raja and cut off DMK from coalition.


The nation is watching minute after minute the way Congress is reacting to the Guinness Scam of the world, master minded by the one who was identified by the Sarkaria Commission as the Spring-board of scientific corruption. With the Kalainjar, having the expertise in the art of corruption, holding the strings in Gopalapuram, the King (A. Raja) is executing the mind boggling acts at New Delhi. We from Tamilnadu in the know of these parasites for long do not expect Karunanidhi & Co to budge that easily. They have the longest record for swindling money perhaps in the history of the world. They are the most indefensible criminals. But Veerappa Moily is defending them as though nothing has happened. How he has forgotten that that this phenomenal scam has already been indicted by the Judiciary. Hearing the case, the Delhi HC made a remark that Raja has sold the 2G like cinema tickets! (news report below)

Jayalalithaa was right when she told that even a child knows about this scam. This is known to all in Tamil nadu. In fact this is matter of shame for all Tamils to have such tainted persons in the Centre and a shameless CM who is living on scam money throughout his political career.

Already the mood in Tamilnadu is anger. There is anger in every mind over the kidnaps and murders taking place of late. The criminals are having a field day in power and on the streets. Today every person in Tamilnadu is worried about the safety of his kids and the safety of his own self and belongings. Safety is the biggest issue. We need a government for giving us safety. When that safety is a question, people would definitely rise  The encounter shoot-out by the police of the kidnap- murderer was welcomed by all. We even suspect that the police also grew weary of the system and resorted to shooting that murderer to vent out their frustration.

The people may have tolerated all the corrupt activities all these days. But when the government can not give the safety, the people will rise from their inertia. Such a moment has now come in Tamilnadu. The people are also watching the gay abandon with which the Karunanidhi's  family is making money and holding the film industry under its grip. There is a fuming anger behind the outward calm face of the man in the street. In this situation, a small spark is enough to vent out their feelings. Anyone who is coming forward to mirror their frustration will become a channel to let out their anger. Jayalalithaa has done it. Jayalalithaa's concern for nation's safety is also noted very well by many. Remember the Kargil times that saw the rise of BJP into power.

The local congress leaders are spine less creatures. They have their interest only in themselves, like Karunanidhi & Co and not on the nation. In this situation Moily's support for Raja is like adding fuel to the fire. What has he taken from Karunanidhi to make this defense of Raja? Or does Sonia also have a share in the money looted? How much has he been paid out of that loot? We are asking Mr Moily.

If this is the way coalition partners must behave, then we don't want such coalitions.
If the politicians of Tamil nadu are going to be ostrich like in this scam, then there is no way other than facing the people's wrath sooner than later. Its time the Congress party reads the underlying frustration in Tamilnadu. Karunanidhi has threatened to recall all his ministers from the centre if Raja is sacked and offered to support from outside. Let him do that. Sack Raja and cut off DMK from the coalition.

- jayasree


Reproduced below are 2 old articles from the media. They are very relevant now.



Govt sold 2G spectrum like cinema tickets: HC

Parvaiz Sultan | New Delhi

The Centre found it difficult in the Delhi High Court on Friday to defend itself on alleged irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation to private players. Furious with the way the Government allotted the spectrum, the court observed, "We are utterly disgruntled and astounded that the spectrum was sold like cinema tickets." 



Slamming the Government, a Bench comprising Justices Mukul Mudgal and Valmiki J Mehta was stunned by the manner in which the allocation was manipulated at the cost of public money. "We find it strange that the public exchequer and valuable resources were involved and wasted this way," the Bench stated. It grilled the counsel appearing for the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), "How much spectrum has been sold off and how much remains? What is the amount of spectrum available for public?"



Senior lawyer Vikas Singh, who was representing DoT, claimed that the spectrum allocation had been "a very transparent process". 



Meanwhile, Arvind Gupta - who has approached the high court against the "shady practice" adopted by the Government in spectrum allocation - alleged that DoT had acted "arbitra rily and with undue haste" in granting telecom licences. "The spectrum was allotted to various licensees without laying any transparent guidelines and without disclosing any terms and conditions and eligibility criteria for the prospective telecom licence for public review, reaction, response and scrutiny," he added. 



Gupta also requested the Bench that his petition be heard separately and not clubbed with another petition pending before the court challenging the allotment of 3G spectrum. The Bench, however, posted the hearing for July 8 and referred the matter to the Chief Justice's Bench. "It appears to be an astounding state of affairs. We express our dissatisfaction over the manner the whole process was carried out…we are adjourning the matter till July 8," the Bench said.



In 2008, Gupta had moved the high court alleging that the procedure followed by the Government was non-transparent and intended for the benefit of some private players in the telecom industry. He also referred to a 1993 judgement of the high court in which the court had said that the first-come-first-served policy was unreasonable and unfair.



He questioned the Government's intention of not following a competitive bidding procedure. "The proximity of real estate developers to corridors of the Department of Telecom has enabled even real estate developers to overnight turn into telecom entrepreneurs. Indian real estate developers and infrastructure promoters have also become telecom players, Gupta alleged.



http://www.dailypioneer.com/179611/Govt-sold-2G-spectrum-like-cinema-tickets-HC.htmlPRINT

 

 

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Raja, Telecom minister, sold 2G spectrum like cinema tickets. Shame on Manmohan and Sonia for giving him a cabinet slot

 

Blot on the Cabinet

 

The Pioneer Edit Desk

 

Raja not right man for Telecom

 

The Prime Minister and the Congress were no doubt under tremendous pressure from the DMK to accommodate in the Cabinet those of its Ministers in the previous UPA regime who had distinguished themselves by making a mockery of ministerial probity and violating all rules for reasons that do not need to be elaborated.


 

While Mr TR Baalu was dropped from the list of ministerial hopefuls to make space for claimants from the DMK chief's rather large family, Mr A Raja was more fortunate — not only was his inclusion made non-negotiable,20Mr Karunanidhi insisted that he should be given the Telecommunications and Information Technology portfolio.


 

The reason for this is not difficult to seek: Mr Raja brazenly misused his authority to manipulate 2G spectrum allocation; there is evidence to believe that he did not do so for altruistic reasons. It is unlikely he was the sole beneficiary of the scam with which his name has come to be associated.


 

But whatever the DMK's compulsions, the Prime Minister should have stuck to his guns and insisted on keeping tainted individuals out of his Council of Ministers; the Congress, given its parliamentary strength, should have refused to cave in. Strangely, neither the Prime Minister stood firm nor did the Congress hesitate to capitulate before a belligerent DMK.

 


Mr Raja is now back at his old job, smugly confident that he can continue with his shenanigans unchecked and unhindered. Hence, we can expect the loot to continue over the next five years in a Government presided over by a Prime Minister who, ironically, is perceived as 'decent' and 'honest' by those who voted for the Congress. This has nothing to do with 'coalition dharma'; it is all about pandering to those who do not attach a premium to honesty and integrity.


 

Given this reality, only the judiciary can now ensure that Mr Raja's disdainful attitude towards rectitude does not cause enormous loss to the public exchequer. He needs to be restrained and made accountable for his sins omission and commission. After all, what he has indulged in is more than just tweaking the rules to help a friend in need; he has rewritten them to the advantage of 'corporates' with questionable credentials.


 

The Prime Minister may have no other option but to turn a Nelson's eye to the deeds of his Cabinet colleague, but not so the courts. As much was evident on Friday when the Delhi High Court, which is hearing a petition alleging irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum, scathingly commented, "We are astounded that the spectrum was sold like cinema tickets... We find it strange that the public exchequer and valuable resources were involved and wasted this way." What prompted this castigation was the Government's inability to explain in court the non-transparent allocation of spectrum, which also shows that Mr Raja's actions are indefensible. Or else the Government would not have faltered in so pathetic a manner.

 


The Prime Minister deserves to be commended for his choice of Ministers from the Congress and the distribution of portfolios. In fact, he has done well to drop certain individuals, including Mr Arjun Singh, from his team. And, there is nothing to quibble about those who have been inducted from the Congress's allies, barring, of course, worthies like Mr Raja who are a disgrace and will in no manner fetch accolades for the UPA Government. Hopefully, adverse judicial pronouncement on the spectrum scandal will force the Prime Minister to act decisively — and rid his Cabinet of its malcontent.

 http://www.dailypioneer.com/179515/Blot-on-the-Cabinet.html

& nbsp;

 


 

 

 



Oldest Vedic ritual 'Athirathram' to be held after 35 years

Here is an information on the proposed conduction of the Athirathra homa in Kerala. The last time it was conducted was in 1975. An article on the homa and the Kirlian photography experiments of that homa were reported as a full page article in The Hindu at that time. It was reported that the smoky atmosphere (made so by the homa) at the time of the Purna ahuthi showed a massive image of dancing Shiva through Kirlian photography. I am curiously looking forward to this Homa next year.

A related article on this can be read in the following link in this blog.

http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com/2008/08/homa-to-be-monitered-by-scientists.html

Given below is the news item on the upcoming homa in 2011.


Oldest Vedic ritual 'Athirathram' to be held after 35 years
Agencies
Posted online: 2010-11-11 15:38:46+05:30


Kochi

'Athirathram' considered as the oldest vedic ritual in the world, will be held at Panjal, a sleepy village in Kerala's thrissur district, in April next year, after a 35 year gap.


Considered the ultimate invocation of vedic scriptures for universal harmony, the 2011 'Athirathram', aims to promote universal harmony, peace, prosperity and spirtitual enlightment, and will be held from April 4-15 at the vicinity of Panjal Lakshmi Narayana temple, Dr Shivakaran Namboodiripad, P Neelakantan and Advocate K Krishnakumar, all trustees of the Ottapalam based Varthathe Trust, the organisers, told reporters here today.


Panjal was the venue of the 'Athirathram' held in 1975 under the leadership of the US Harvard and Berkeley Universities and Finland's Helsinki University. The event had made global headlines for its message of peace, universal oneness and solidarity.


Puthillathu Ramanujan Somayajippadu will be 'Yajamanan' and Dhanyapathanadi as 'Yajamanapatni'.


Krishnakumar said the preparations for the ritual are on in full swing. 'Yajurveda' and 'Samaveda' practices that precede the Athirathram' have begun at the Panjal Thotttathil Mana and Kavupra Maarath Mana. Preparation for the ritual began after obtaining the customary consent from Shukapuram temple.

The choice of Panjal as the venue for Athirathram is also in line with geographic and vaasthu principles. The 'yagashala' (where the ceremonies will be performed) is positioned to imbibe the energy of the sun, Dr Shivakaran said.


The expenses are estimated to touch rs one crore and the organisers are expecting at elast 15,000 people to witness the rituals daily.


The rituals will begin every day with the vedic chantings and homas. On the last four days, the rituals would be held throughout the day and night without any break.


People of all relgious can particiapte in the Athirathram.

The organisers are also planning to approach the scientific community to study the various effects of the ritual on the atmosphere and the surroundings.




Monday, November 8, 2010

'Battle for Rama Janmabhumi: Is a solution near?' - by Sandhya Jain

From


Battle for Rama Janmabhumi: Is a solution near?

By

Sandhya Jain

05 Nov 2010

(The author is Editor, www.vijayvaani.com

The article was written for the Diwali Special Issue of Organiser weekly

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=369&page=7

http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=1481)

 


The Hindu struggle to recover the Sri Rama Janmabhumi is still some battles and skirmishes away, as all parties plan to approach the Supreme Court to rectify - to the satisfaction of each contending litigant - the fractured verdict delivered by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Sept. 30, 2010. Hence it is dicey to engage in political forecast over whether we are near a solution to this vexed issue. Nor is it advisable to stir the waters at a time when the nation is besieged with complex and volatile problems and nothing will be gained by provoking ill will and unrest.

 

What is gratifying, however, is that for the first time in the decades since the murti of Ram Lalla appeared beneath the central dome of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, and particularly since the climactic moment of Dec. 6, 1992, voices have risen within the Muslim community in favour of closure of the dispute. Some of the parties have held meetings to attempt a settlement, and important Muslim religious leaders, notably Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and Maulana Mahmood Madani, MP (Rajya Sabha) have urged Muslims to accept the High Court verdict.

 

Regardless of the milestones ahead, we may now be able to present some of the issues involved in the Ayodhya dispute dispassionately. Previous attempts by Prime Ministers V.P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar, and P.V. Narasimha Rao, to resolve the issue by across-the-table sharing of evidence by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Babri Masjid Action Committee ended in abrupt Muslim withdrawal; now the community seems prepared to face the issue in totality.

 

Hindu tradition lists the Ramayana and the Mahabharata epics as Itihasa (History); thus, Sri Rama and Sri Krishna are divine historical personages, and not the subject of legend or faith (read imagination) – the argument being used by opponents of the verdict to undermine its legality.

 

Coming to the material evidence, archaeological investigations in the 1970s showed evidence of a temple; this was validated by a Ground Penetration Radar Survey which showed several pillars below the spot where the Masjid once stood. In 2003, the Supreme Court ordered archaeological excavation of the site, which yielded convincing evidence of two temples – one a grand structure build by the Gahadvala dynasty, and an earlier smaller structure that probably made way for the grander temple. The Babri Masjid was built atop the Gahadvala temple and incorporated the pillars of the old temple into its structure – a feature typical of early Muslim architecture in India.  

 

The historical experience of northern India is that since 1000 AD, every Hindu temple has been desecrated, razed, or appropriated; not one stands intact, save those built after the Mughal Empire went into terminal decline and could not be accessed. Hindus then became pro-active about regaining the lost sacred spaces; Akharas were formed and armed sadhus waged pitched battles at several temple sites to reclaim the sacred heritage. Hence the samadhis (graves) of thousands of sadhus at temple sites in northern India.

 

Ayodhya was one such contested site, contrary to the fatuous claims of Leftist intellectuals that no one had heard of it until the Sangh Parivar made a political movement of it in the last decades of the twentieth century. Sadhu-devotees clawed their way back into the sacred precincts, established and maintained control of spaces known as Sita ki Rasoi and Ram Chabutara, even as Muslim political power held sway in Awadh-Faizabad.

 

Ayodhya entered the annals of modern India when, on Dec. 22-23, 1949, the murti of Ram Lalla appeared under the central dome of the disputed mosque. Local intelligence believes this to be the handiwork of Seth Bishan Chand and Mahant Digvijay Nath ji Maharaj of Gorakhnath Mandir (both Hindu Mahasabha MPs); Shri Ramchandra Paramhans; and Gopal Singh Visharad, Faizabad district president, Hindu Mahasabha.

 

Visharad took the matter to court on Jan. 16, 1950, and won the right to worship the deity. Thereafter the 'Ram durbar' (murtis of Sita, Lakshman, Hanuman were incorporated into the makeshift temple). This victory set the foundation for establishing the Hindu title to the site as it validated Hindu law that 'once a temple, always a temple,' which was upheld by the British Privy Council in the case of the Natraj statue stolen from the premises of a derelict temple. This must be the starting point for overturning any Muslim claim to the site. The High Court judges unanimously gave the central dome where Ram Lalla Virajman is housed to the Hindu Mahasabha.

 

The Nirmohi Akhara became party to the court case in 1959, claiming it alone had the right to perform puja, and that it had won cases to this effect under the Raj, notably in 1853 and again in 1885. In 2010, the Akhara won the Sita Rasoi and Ram Chabutra.

 

The Sunni Central Waqf Board impleaded itself as a party only in 1961; one judge declared it time-barred. But the more pertinent question about the Board is its legality and locus standi. There is an All India Waqf Board established by the Government of India, which is a registered body. The Sunni Waqf Board is neither registered nor a recognised body, nor is it known when it was established.

 

In contrast, the Nirmohi Akhara has been present in Ayodhya since the 18th century. The Hindu Mahasabha was set up in 1882 by Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Maharaja Manindra Chandra Nandi of Bengal, and Kurtikoti Adi Guru Shankaracharya of Sringeri (which is why Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao brought the current Sringeri Shankaracharya to set up a parallel Ramalaya Trust, though the Matham had ceased to have contact with the Mahasabha). The Hindu Mahasabha was registered as a society in 1915 in Lucknow.

 

A more ticklish issue is the Islamic denomination of the Babri mosque-structure. Babur and the Mughal dynasty were Sunni; his general, Mir Baqi, reputed to have built the mosque by demolishing an extent temple or over the ruins of a temple, was a Shia. So was the mosque a Shia or Sunni mosque? Or was it just a structure covering a Hindu sacred site?

 

The question is pertinent because the Shia Nawabs of Awadh did not perform namaaz at Ayodhya, and most likely prayed at the Imambara. There are doubts if the Babri structure was ever a functional mosque as there is no wazu for washing before prayers, which is mandatory in Islam. Hence there was never a regular namaaz there, and hence the obscurity over its denominational status. 

 

Interestingly, the Shia community was never excited over the mosque and is now even more disinterested in fighting for it. It is the Sunni-dominated All India Muslim Personal Law Board that is pushing for confrontation. And as in 1992 when some leading Muslims toyed with the idea of giving the site to the Hindus, the Secular Stalinists and Leftists in the media and academia are egging them on, opposing all voices of reasonableness and sanity.

 

All told, Justices Dharam Veer Sharma, Sudhir Aggarwal, and SU Khan performed yeoman's service in giving some form and coherence to this centuries-old dispute. It is for the apex court to remove the anomalies in their judgment and give the land to Ram Lalla Virajman.

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

What is ‘Aryan’ morality? – as told by a Chandala to Vishwamitra.



Amarakosa defines Arya as one who hails form a good family, of gentle behavior and demeanor, good nature and righteous conduct".

Description such as this may not sink in our minds in the way it should. But a story might convey the meaning better. There is a story or rather a conversation between a robber – hunter termed as a Chandala and the sage Viswamitra which is in the lines of Vyadha Gita.

It was narrated by Bheeshma lying on the arrow-bed to Yudhishtra in Shanthi parva, Mahabharartha. (12-140).

The scene was a time when a terrible famine struck the land. Sage Vishwamitra was one among the many people affected by the famine. Unable to bear hunger that was eating his life, he dared to steal the meat of  a dog from a Chandala's hut. The conversation that occurred between him and the Chandala contains a fantastic exposition of the Aryan morality brought out by the Chandala.

The hidden effects of  karma caused by the acts are also brought out in this conversation. Till the end, the Chandala does not approve of the sage taking the meat. The kind of karmic results of a sage stealing the meat and eating a forbidden food, of the Chandala being a silent spectator of such an act by the sage or giving him that food so that the sage can be saved of the karmic effect of stealing are all raised succinctly in this conversation.

The translation of that part is given here:-

 

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The great Rishi Viswamitra, urged by pangs of hunger and engaged in search after food, entered that hamlet and endeavoured his best to find something to eat. Though the son of Kusika begged repeatedly, yet he failed to obtain any meat or rice or fruit or root or any other kind of food. He then, exclaiming, Alas, great is the distress that has overtaken me' fell down from weakness in that hamlet of the Chandalas. The sage began to reflect, saying to himself, What is best for me to do now' Indeed, O best of kings, the thought that occupied him was of the means by which he could avoid immediate death. He beheld, O king, a large piece of flesh, of a dog that had recently been slain with a weapon, spread on the floor of a Chandala's hut.

 

The sage reflected and arrived at the conclusion that he should steal that meat. And he said unto himself, I have no means now of sustaining life. Theft is allowable in a season of distress for even an eminent person. It will not detract from his glory. Even a Brahmana for saving his life may do it. This is certain. In the first place one should steal from a low person. Failing such a person one may steal from one's equal. Failing an equal, one may steal from even an eminent and righteous man. I shall then, at this time when my life itself is ebbing away, steal this meat.

 

I do not see demerit in such theft. I shall, therefore, rob this haunch of dog's meat' Having formed this resolution, the great sage Viswamitra laid himself down for sleep in that place where the Chandala was. Seeing some time after that the night had advanced and that the whole Chandala hamlet had fallen asleep, the holy Viswamitra, quietly rising up, entered that hut. The Chandala who owned it, with eyes covered with phlegm, was lying like one asleep. Of disagreeable visage, he said these harsh words in a broken and dissonant voice. The Chandala said, Who is there, engaged in undoing the latch? The whole Chandala hamlet is asleep. I, however, am awake and not asleep. Whoever thou art, thou art about to be slain'

 

These were the harsh words that greeted the sage's ears. Filled with fear, his face crimson with blushes of shame, and his heart agitated by anxiety caused by that act of theft which he had attempted, he answered, saying, O thou that art blest with a long life, I am Viswamitra. I have come here oppressed by the pangs of hunger. O thou of righteous understanding, do not slay me, if thy sight be clear' Hearing these words of that great Rishi of cleansed soul, the Chandala rose up in terror from his bed and approached the sage. Joining his palms from reverence and with eyes bathed in tears, he addressed Kusika's son, saying, What do you seek here in the night, O Brahmana' Conciliating the Chandala, Viswamitra said, I am exceedingly hungry and about to die of starvation. I desire to take away that haunch of dog's meat. Being hungry, I have become sinful. One solicitous of food has no shame.

 

It is hunger that is urging me to this misdeed. It is for this that I desire to take away that haunch of dog's meat. My life-breaths are languishing. Hunger has destroyed my Vedic lore. I am weak and have lost my senses. I have no scruple about clean or unclean food. Although I know that it is sinful, still I wish to take away that haunch of dog's meat. After I had filed to obtain any alms, having wandered from house to house in this your hamlet, I set my heart upon this sinful act of taking away this haunch of dog's meat. Fire is the mouth of the gods. He is also their priest.

 

He should, therefore, take nothing save things that are pure and clean. At times, however, that great god becomes a consumer of everything. Know that I have now become even like him in that respect' Hearing these words of the great Rishi, the Chandala answered him, saying, Listen to me. Having heard the words of truth that I say, act in such a way that thy religious merit may not perish. Hear, O regenerate Rishi, what I say unto thee about thy duty. The wise say that a dog is less clean than a jackal. The haunch, again, of a dog is a much worse part than other parts of his body. This was not wisely resolved by thee, therefore, O great Rishi, this act that is inconsistent with righteousness, this theft of what belongs to a Chandala, this theft, besides, of food that is unclean. Blessed be thou, do thou look for some other means for preserving thy life.

 

O great sage, let not thy penances suffer destruction in consequence of this thy strong desire for dog's meat. Knowing as thou dost the duties laid down in the scriptures, thou shouldst not do an act whose consequence is a confusion of duties Do not cast off righteousness, for thou art the foremost of all persons observant of righteousness' Thus addressed, O king, the great Rishi Viswamitra, afflicted by hunger, O bull of Bharata's race, once more said, A long time has passed away without my having taken any food. I do not see any means again for preserving my life. One should, when one is dying, preserve one's life by any means in one's power without judging of their character. Afterwards, when competent, one should seek the acquisition of merit. The Kshatriyas should observe the practices of Indra. It is the duty of the Brahmanas to behave like Agni. The Vedas are fire.

 

They constitute my strength. I shall, therefore, eat even this unclean food for appeasing my hunger. That by which life may be preserved should certainly be accomplished without scruple. Life is better than death. Living, one may acquire virtue. Solicitous of preserving my life, I desire, with the full exercise of my understanding, to eat this unclean food. Let me receive thy permission. Continuing to live I shall seek the acquisition of virtue and shall destroy by penances and by knowledge the calamities consequent on my present conduct, like the luminaries of the firmament destroying even the thickest gloom' The Chandala said, By eating this food one like thee cannot obtain long life. Nor can one like thee obtain strength from such food, nor that gratification which ambrosia offers.

 

Do thou seek for some other kind of alms. Let not thy heart incline towards eating dog's meat. The dog is certainly an unclean food to members of the regenerate classes' Viswamitra said, Any other kind of meat is not to be easily had during a famine like this. Besides, O Chandala, I have no wealth wherewith to buy food. I am exceedingly hungry. I cannot move any longer. I am utterly hopeless. I think that all the six kinds of taste are to be found in that piece of dog's meat' The Chandala said, Only the five kinds of five-clawed animals are clean food for Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, as laid down in the scriptures.

 

Do not set thy heart upon what is unclean for thee' Viswamitra said, The great Rishi Agastya, while hungry, ate up the Asura named Vatapi. I am fallen into distress. I am hungry. I shall therefore, eat that haunch of dog's meat' The Chandala said, Do thou seek some other alms. It behoves thee not to do such a thing. Verily, such an act should never be done by thee. If however, it pleases thee, thou mayst take away this piece of dog's meat' Viswamitra said, They that are called good are authorities in matters of duty.

 

I am following their example. I now regard this dog's haunch to be better food than anything that is highly pure' The Chandala said, That which is the act of an unrighteous person can never be regarded as an eternal practice. That which is an improper act can never be a proper one. Do not commit a sinful act by deception' Viswamitra said, A man who is a Rishi cannot do what is sinful In the present case, deer and dog, I think, are same both being animals. I shall, therefore, eat this dog's haunch' The Chandala said, Solicited by the Brahmanas, the Rishi Agastya did that act. Under the circumstances it could not be a sin.

 

That is righteousness in which there is no sin. Besides, the Brahmanas, who are the preceptors of three other orders, should be protected and preserved by every means' Viswamitra said, I am a Brahmana. This my body is a friend of mine. It is very dear to me and is worthy of the highest reverence from me. It is from the desire of sustaining the body that the wish is entertained by me of taking away that dog's haunch. So eager have I become that I have no longer any fear of thee and thy fierce brethren' The Chandala said, Men lay down their lives but they still do not set their hearts on food that is unclean. They obtain the fruition of all their wishes even in this world by conquering hunger. Do thou also conquer thy hunger and obtain those rewards'

 

Viswamitra said, As regards myself, I am observant of rigid vows and my heart is set on peace. For preserving the root of all religious merit, I shall eat food that is unclean. It is evident that such an act would be regarded as righteous in a person of cleansed soul. To a person, however, of uncleansed soul, the eating of dog's flesh would appear sinful. Even if the conclusion to which I have arrived be wrong, and if I eat this dog's meat I shall not, for that act, become one like thee' The Chandala said, It is my settled conclusion that I should endeavour my best to restrain thee from this sin. A Brahmana by doing a wicked act falls off from his high state. It is for this that I am reproving thee' Viswamitra said, Kine continue to drink, regardless of the croaking of the frogs. Thou canst lay no claim to what constitutes righteousness and what not.

 

Do not be a self-eulogiser' The Chandala said, I have become thy friend. For this reason only I am preaching to thee. Do what is beneficial. Do not, from temptation, do what is sinful' Viswamitra said, If thou be a friend desirous of my happiness, do thou then raise me up from this distress. In that case, relinquishing this dog's haunch, I may consider myself saved by the aid of righteousness and not by that of sinfulness' The Chandala said, I dare not make a present of this piece of meat to thee, nor can I quietly suffer thee to rob me of my own food. If I give thee this meat and if thou take it, thyself being a Brahmana, both of us will become liable to sink in regions of woe in the next world' Viswamitra said, By committing this sinful act today I shall certainly save my life which is very sacred.

 

Having saved my life, I shall afterwards practise virtue and cleanse my soul. Tell me which of these two is preferable to die without food, or save my life by taking this food that is unclean' The Chandala said: In discharging the duties that appertain to one's order or race, one's own self is the best judge of its propriety or impropriety. Thou thyself knowest which of those two acts is sinful. He who would regard dog's meat as clean food, I think, would in matters of food abstain from nothing' Viswamitra said, In accepting an unclean present or in eating unclean food there is sin. When one's life, however, is in danger there is no sin in accepting such a present or eating such food. Besides, the eating of unclean food, when unaccompanied by slaughter and deception and when the act will provoke only mild rebuke, is not matter of much consequence' The Chandala said, If this be thy reason for eating unclean food, it is then clear thou dost not regard the Veda and Arya morality. Taught by what thou art going to do, I see, O foremost of Brahmanas, that there is no sin in disregarding the distinction between food that is clean and food that is unclean'

 

Viswamitra said, It is not seen that a person incurs a grave sin by eating forbidden food. That one becomes fallen by drinking wine is only a wordy precept for restraining men from drinking. The other forbidden acts of the same species, whatever they be, in fact, every sin, cannot destroy one's merit' The Chandala said, That learned person who takes away dog's meat from an unworthy place like this, from an unclean wretch like me, from one who like me leads such a wicked life, commits an act that is opposed to the behaviour of those that are called good. In consequence, again, of his connection with such a deed, he is certain to suffer the pangs of repentance' Bhishma continued, The Chandala, having said these words unto Kusika's son, became silent. Viswamitra then, of cultivated understanding, took away that haunch of dog's meat. The great ascetic having possessed himself of that piece of dog's meat for saving his life, took it away into the woods and wished with his wife to eat it. He resolved that having first gratified the deities according to due rites, he should then eat that haunch of dog's meat at his pleasure. Igniting a fire according to the Brahma rites, the ascetic, agreeably to those rites that go by the name of Aindragneya, began himself to cook that meat into sacrificial Charu.

 

He then, O Bharata, began the ceremonies in honour of the gods and the Pitris, by dividing that Charu into as many portions as were necessary, according to the injunctions of the scriptures, and by invoking the gods with Indra at their head for accepting their shares. Meanwhile, the chief of the celestials began to pour copiously. Reviving all creatures by those showers, he caused plants and herbs to grow once more. Viswamitra, however, having completed the rites in honour of the gods and the Pitris and having gratified them duly, himself ate that meat. Burning all his sins afterwards by his penances, the sage, after a long time, acquired the most wonderful ascetic success. Even thus, when the end in view is the preservation of life itself, should a high-souled person possessed of learning and acquainted with means rescue his own cheerless self, when fallen into distress, by all means in his power. By having recourse to such understanding one should always preserve one's life. A person, if alive, can win religious merit and enjoy happiness and prosperity. For this reason, O son of Kunti, a person of cleansed soul and possessed of learning should live and act in this world, relying upon his own intelligence in discriminating between righteousness and its reverse

 

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Ramayana by Veerappa Moily.




Shree Ramayana Mahanveshanam
Written by Veerappa Moily.

Review by R. BALASHANKAR

From



A moral force, in verse

by
R. BALASHANKAR
(Editor of Organiser )


EACH GENERATION of Indians has seen amidst them Rama, the hero of Ramayana who has come to personify the highest level to which a human can aspire. It's also the commonest level to which the divine would descend. Ramayana has inspired generations of Indians, and many political leaders have found in Ram Rajya the model of an equitable society.


However, M. Veerappa Moily, Union minister for law and justice, is perhaps the only contemporary politician who has dived deeper into this fascinating epic to produce his magnum opus. Gandhiji, Tilak, Rajaji, Aurob-indo and Dr S.
Radhakrishnan all tried to interpret the Ram-ayana and propound Shri Ram to replicate and explain their political paradigm. To that sense Ramayana is as much a political treatise as it is a spiri tual text.


Drawing heavily from Valmiki's Ramayana and its numerous versions, Moily, in his Shree Ramayana Mahanve Ramayana Mahanveshanam, attempts to inquire the ancient saga in a new perspective. What we have is an excellent work embodying a rare purity of thought, and lofty moral ideals expressed with an alluring poetic charm. He has made the context akin to the Indian situation today. He has taken liberties, allowed his personal likes and biases to creep in, but never deviating from the spirit and substance of the original theme.


Moily took almost a decade to complete the original work in Kannada, in five volumes.
His team of brilliant translators took another two years to render the 43,000 verses in English in two volumes. To paraphrase what Moily said in his Preface, "...the work of an individual's mind has today become the work of collective mind", a metaphysical history.


Moily has shown that the problems confronting us today can be understood and solved by learning from the Ramayana. He states with candour that India with its new economic, political and industrial forte requires a revision of moral and social ideals. But any change, which does not grow out of the past, may prove highly devastating.


Indians have not yet done what W.R. Inge said of the new generation in other countries -of taking "great pleasure in removing the household gods of its parents from their pedestals and consigning them to the cupboard". Because our gods are also humans in flesh and blood, with failings, emotions, weaknesses and passion.

That is why, as Moily underlines, Ramayana is one of the rarest of rare books in human history that has survived time and endured revisions, recasting, renderings, interpretations, adaptations and denunciations, yet retaining the intense sway of its kernel theme on the thinking and world view of the people.


Moily presents not an academic discussion of any moral theory, but a concrete moral ideal in the narrative of various personalities, particularly the chief characters of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. Valmiki also composed the original work in a "loose and troublesome age", when the evil of terror challenged the virtuous fabric of the sovereign state. Against such a background the Ramayana asserts the force and efficacy of good.


Moily has sorted out his "doubts" in this quest. The minor "corrections" he has made have gone well with the basic format. Like where Ahilya accepts her "momentary lapse" and seeks to become stony frozen, emotionally, to perform penance, or when Sita gives her reasons for declining to be rescued from Ravana's captivity by Hanuman. Moily says he has used the medium of poetry as it is the most effective one. The story of Ramayana is well known, and yet there are many poignant episodes that Moily recreates with great insight.


For instance, when Rama and Lakshmana are about to leave the forest after killing the rakshasas, and guarding the yagna, a woman accosts them and tells them that the rakshasas had taken away her husband and had sexually abused her. She is pregnant and the community is eschewing her as a fallen woman.




Consoling her, Rama says: "Get up, mother! Become the dynamite to explode around Community awareness. Think of your suffering As a bad dream; it will not recur. For all women You be the model. Take on the form of Durga The destroyer of the wicked and evil The edge of selfishness blunts it; break it immediately."


Here is a woman emancipated and empowered. In Ramayana, as Moily repeatedly illuminates, women are neither weak nor victims of male domination. Yet again, in the context of Ahilya, Moily lucidly flourishes his thoughts through Rama: "While a smile that could melt stones/Flashed over his lips," Shri Rama said, "We are representatives of the society that ruined you. Why should we say that? We are princes of Ayodhya/We beg you, please forgive the wrong, mother/The law of punishing the innocent and protecting/The wrong-doers is ours alone/Looking at this, heads should be hung in shame/Law cannot tolerate dishonouring women."


The endeavour for peace, harmony, protection to weak, forest dwellers and the poor marks Moily's version. At Chitrakoot, Rama speaks about protecting the environment. He tells Lakshmana not to cut young trees for building the hut: "Do not cut living trees. It hurts the environment. Search for logs of dry wood and bring them over".

There, Sita organises the forest dwellers, who were slaves, into cottage artisans. She interacts and encourages them to become independent.

One of the most touching scenes in Ramayana is the meeting between Bharata and Rama in the forest. It is a scene that yields to dramatisation and is exploited to the hilt by Moily. He describes the agony of Bharata when the sages in the forest suspect him of deceit. On seeing Rama he runs unto him, "strength being lost in excess of sorrow", and falls at the feet of Rama, collapsing. Bharata's eyes won't stop the tears, and Rama embraces him, trying to soothe him.


The beauty of Ramayana is that it realises that abstract moral principles, detached from the real life of human beings, can only be logical perspectives failing to influence the course of human conduct. Moily tries to take off from here, and he does it with aplomb.


In Shree Ramayana Mahanveshanam the principles of governance, morality and righteousness are set forth in real time human situations.
Vishwamitra's words to Rama, Rama's words to Bharata, Vibhishana's advice to Ravana.
The philosophy of non-violence is bewitching to the author.


Not having read Moily's original work in Kannada, one cannot comment on whether translation retained the poetic felicity and imagery of the author. But it is clear that it's been a fulfilling quest for Moily. He has dedicated the book to his wife, Malati, in touching verse.


Rajaji's Ramayana is very popular, but in short crisp prose. Any rendering of the Ramayana ultimately is a work of devotion. So there is no point comparing one with another. All of them in different ways enchant you. No doubt, to read this volume is a delightful experience. As one goes through the work, Moily's skillful creation of the plot, the unity of the poem, the flights of imagination and balanced treatment of incidents are striking. His grasp of human psychology and delineation of human character mark his work. With Shree Ramayana Mahanveshanam, Moily has assured his place among the pantheon of Indian writers fired by Ram's mystique.


Saturday, October 30, 2010

"The myth of the aryan invasion" by Swami B.V. Giri

From

http://gosai.com/writings/the-myth-of-the-aryan-invasion

The myth of the aryan invasion

By

Swami B.V. Giri

(SWAMI BHAKTI VIJNANA GIRI MAHARAJA resides in Govindaji Gardens where he trains the devotees in Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy. Giri Maharaja also spends his time in research as well as book editing and multi-media projects. He is expert in Sanskrit, Bengali, and the performance of Gaudiya-sampradaya rituals.
http://gosai.com/ashrama/swami-bv-giri )



Introduction

The aryan invasion theory has been one of the most controversial historical topics for well over a century. However, it should be pointed out that it remains just that – a theory. To date no hard evidence has proven the aryan invasion theory to be fact. In this essay we will explain the roots of this hypothesis and how, due to recent emergence of new evidence over the last couple of decades, the validity of the aryan invasion theory has been seriously challenged.


It is indeed ironic that the origin of this theory does not lie in Indian records, but in 19th Century politics and German nationalism. No where in the Vedas, Puranas or Itihasas is there any mention of a Migration or Invasion of any kind. In 1841 M.S. Elphinstone, the first governor of the Bombay Presidency, wrote in his book History of India:


'It is opposed to their (Hindus) foreign origin, that neither in the Code (of Manu) nor, I believe, in the Vedas, nor in any book that is certainly older than the code, is there any allusion to a prior residence or to a knowledge of more than the name of any country out of India. Even mythology goes no further than the Himalayan chain, in which is fixed the habitation of the gods... .To say that it spread from a central point is an unwarranted assumption, and even to analogy; for, emigration and civilization have not spread in a circle, but from east to west. Where, also, could the central point be, from which a language could spread over India, Greece, and Italy and yet leave Chaldea, Syria and Arabia untouched? There is no reason whatever for thinking that the Hindus ever inhabited any country but their present one, and as little for denying that they may have done so before the earliest trace of their records or tradition.'


The Birth of a Misconception


Interest in the field of Indology during the 19th Century was of mixed motivations. Many scholars such as August Wilhelm von Schlegal, Hern Wilhelm von Humboldt, and Arthur Schopenhauer lauded praise upon the Vedic literatures and their profound wisdom, others were less than impressed. To accept that there was an advanced civilization outside the boundaries of Europe, at a time before the Patriarchs Abraham and Moses had made their covenant with the Almighty was impossible to conceive of for most European scholars, who harbored a strong Christian tendency. Most scholars of this period were neither archeologists nor historians in the strict sense of the word. Rather, they were missionaries paid by their governments to establish western cultural and racial superiority over the subjugated Indian citizens, through their study of the indigenous religious texts. Consequently, for racial, political and religious reasons, early European indologists created a myth that still survives to this day.


It was established by linguists that Sanskrit, Iranian and European languages all belonged to the same family, categorizing them as 'Indo-European' languages. It was assumed that all these people originated from one homeland where they spoke a common language (which they called 'Proto-Indo-European' or PIE) which later developed into Sanskrit, Latin, Greek etc. They then needed to ascertain where this homeland was. By pure speculation, it was proposed that this homeland was either southeast Europe or Central Asia.


Harappa and Mohenjo-daro

Harappa

The discovery of ruins in the Indus Valley (Harappa and Mohenjo-daro) was considered by indologists like Wheeler as proof of their conjectures – that a nomadic tribe from foreign lands had plundered India. It was pronounced that the ruins dated back to a time before the Aryan Invasion, although this was actually never verified. By assigning a period of 200 years to each of the several layers of the pre-Buddhist Vedic literature, indologists arrived at a time frame of somewhere between 1500 and 1000BC for the Invasion of the Aryans. Using Biblical chronology as their sheet anchor, nineteenth century indologists placed the creation of the world at 4000BC1 and Noah's flood at 2500BC. They thus postulated that the Aryan Invasion could not have taken place any time before 1500BC.


Archeologists excavating the sites at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro found human skeletal remains; this seemed to them to be undeniable evidence that a large-scale massacre had taken place in these cities by the invading Aryan hordes. Prof. G. F. Dales (Former head of department of South-Asian Archaeology and Anthropology, Berkeley University, USA) in his 'The Mythical Massacre at Mohenjo-daro', states the following about this evidence:


Mohenjo-daro

'What of these skeletal remains that have taken on such undeserved importance? Nine years of extensive excavations at Mohenjo-daro (1922-31) - a city of three miles in circuit - yielded the total of some 37 skeletons, or parts thereof, that can be attributed with some certainty to the period of the Indus civilizations. Some of these were found in contorted positions and groupings that suggest anything but orderly burials. Many are either disarticulated or incomplete. They were all found in the area of the Lower Town - probably the residential district. Not a single body was found within the area of the fortified citadel where one could reasonably expect the final defense of this thriving capital city to have been made…Where are the burned fortresses, the arrow heads, weapons, pieces of armor, the smashed chariots and bodies of the invaders and defenders? Despite the extensive excavations at the largest Harappan sites, there is not a single bit of evidence that can be brought forth as unconditional proof of an armed conquest and the destruction on the supposed scale of the Aryan Invasion.'


Evidence from the Vedas


It was therefore concluded that light-skinned nomads from Central Asia who wiped out the indigenous culture and enslaved or butchered the people, imposing their alien culture upon them had invaded the Indian subcontinent. They then wrote down their exploits in the form of the Rg Veda. This hypothesis was apparently based upon references in the Vedas that point to a conflict between the light-skinned Aryans and the dark-skinned Dasyus.2 This theory was strengthened by the archeological discoveries in the Indus Valley of the charred skeletal remains that we have mentioned above. Thus the Vedas became nothing more than a series of poetic tales about the skirmishes between two barbaric tribes.


However, there are other references in the Rg Veda3 that point to India being a land of mixed races. The Rg Veda also states that "We pray to Indra to give glory by which the Dasyus will become Aryans."4 Such a statement confirms that to be an Aryan was not a matter of birth.


An inattentive skimming through the Vedas has resulted in a gross misinterpretation of social and racial struggles amongst the ancient Indians. North Aryans were pitted against the Southern Dravidians, high-castes against low-castes, civilized orthodox Indians against barbaric heterodox tribals. The hypothesis that of racial hatred between the Aryans and the dark-skinned Dasyus has no sastric foundation, yet some 'scholars' have misinterpreted texts to try to prove that there was racial hatred amongst the Aryans and Dravidians (such as the Rg Veda story of Indra slaying the demon Vrta 5 ).


Based on literary analysis, many scholars including B.G. Tilak, Dayananda Saraswati and Aurobindo dismissed any idea of an Aryan Invasion. For example, if the Aryans were foreign invaders, why is it that they don't name places outside of India as their religious sites? Why do the Vedas only glorify holy placeswithin India?


What is an 'Aryan'?

Max Mueller

The Sanskrit word 'Aryan' refers to one who is righteous and noble. It is also used in the context of addressing a gentleman (Arya-putra, Aryakanya etc).6 Nowhere in the Vedic literature is the word used to denote race or language. This was a concoction by Max Mueller who, in 1853, introduced the word 'Arya' into the English language as referring a particular race and language. He did this in order to give credibility to his Aryan race theory (see Part 2). However in 1888, when challenged by other eminent scholars and historians, Mueller could see that his reputation was in jeopardy and made the following statement, thus refuting his own theory -

"I have declared again and again that if I say Aryas, I mean neither blood nor bones, nor hair, nor skull; I mean simply those who speak an Aryan language...to me an ethnologist who speaks of Aryan race, Aryan blood, Aryan eyes and hair, is as great a sinner as a linguist who speaks of a dolichocephalic dictionary or a brachycephalic grammar."
(Max Mueller, Biographies of Words and the Home of the Aryas, 1888, pg 120)


But the dye had already been cast! Political and Nationalist groups in Germany and France exploited this racial phenomenon to propagate the supremacy of an assumed Aryan race of white people. Later, Adolf Hitler used this ideology to the extreme for his political hegemony and his barbaric crusade to terrorize Jews, Slavs and other racial minorities, culminating in the holocaust of millions of innocent people.


According to Mueller's etymological explanation of 'Aryan', the word is derived from 'ar' (to plough, to cultivate). Therefore Arya means 'a cultivator, or farmer'. This is opposed to the idea that the Aryans were wandering nomads. V.S. Apte's Sanskrit-English Dictionary relates the word Arya to the root 'r-' to which the prefix 'a' has been added in order to give a negating meaning. Therefore the meaning of Arya is given as 'excellent, best', followed by 'respectable' and as a noun, 'master, lord, worthy, honorable, excellent,' 'upholder of Arya values, and further: teacher, employer, master, father-in-law, friend.'


No Nomads

Kenneth Kennedy of Cornell University has recently proven that there was no significant influx of people into India during 4500 to 800BC. Furthermore it is impossible for sites stretching over one thousand miles to have all become simultaneously abandoned due to the Invasion of Nomadic Tribes.


There is no solid evidence that the Aryans belonged to a nomadic tribe. In fact, to suggest that a nomadic horde of barbarians wrote books of such profound wisdom as the Vedas and Upanisads is nothing more than an absurdity and defies imagination.


Although in the Rg Veda Indra is described as the 'Destroyer of Cities,' the same text mentions that the Aryan people themselves were urban dwellers with hundreds of cities of their own. They are mentioned as a complex metropolitan society with numerous professions and as a seafaring race. This begs the question, if the Aryans had indeed invaded the city of Harrapa, why did they not inhabit it after? Archeological evidence shows that the city was left deserted after the 'Invasion'.


Colin Renfrew, Prof. of Archeology at Cambridge, writes in his book Archeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins' -

'It is certainly true that the gods invoked do aid the Aryas by over-throwing forts, but this does not in itself establish that the Aryas had no forts themselves. Nor does the fleetness in battle, provided by horses (who were clearly used primarily for pulling chariots), in itself suggest that the writers of these hymns were nomads. Indeed the chariot is not a vehicle especially associated with nomads'


Horses and Chariots

The Invasion Theory was linked to references of horses in the Vedas, assuming that the Aryans brought horses and chariots with them, giving military superiority that made it possible for them to conquer the indigenous inhabitants of India. Indologists tried to credit this theory by claiming that the domestication of the horse took place just before 1500BC. Their proof for this was that there were no traces of horses and chariots found in the Indus Valley. The Vedic literature nowhere mentions riding in battle and the word 'asva' for horse was often used figuratively for speed. Recent excavations by Dr.S.R. Rao have discovered both the remains of a horse from both the Late Harrapan Period and the Early Harrapan Period (dated before the supposed Invasion by the Aryans), and a clay model of a horse in Mohenjo-daro. Since Dr. Rao's discoveries other archeologists have uncovered numerous horse bones of both domesticated and combat types. New discoveries in the Ukraine also proves that horse riding was prevalent as early as 4000BC – thus debunking the misconception that the Aryan nomads came riding into history after 2000BC.


Another important point in this regard is that nomadic tribes do not use chariots. They are used in areas of flat land such as the Gangetic plains of Northern India. An Invasion of India from Central Asia would require crossing mountains and deserts – a chariot would be useless for such an exercise. Much later, further excavations in the Indus Valley (and pre-Indus civilizations) revealed horses and evidence of the wheel on the form of a seal showing a spoked wheel (as used on chariots).


An Iron Culture

Similarly, it was claimed that another reason why the Invading Aryans gained the upper hand was because their weapons were made of iron. This was based upon the word 'ayas' found in the Vedas, which was translated as iron. Another reason was that iron was not found in the Indus Valley region.


However, in other Indo-European languages, ayas refers to bronze, copper or ore. It is dubious to say that ayas only referred to iron, especially when the Rg Veda does not mention other metals apart from gold, which is mentioned more frequently than ayas. Furthermore, the Yajur and Atharva Vedas refer to different colors of ayas. This seems to show that he word was a generic term for all types of metal. It is also mentioned in the Vedas that the dasyus (enemies of the Aryans) also used ayas to build their cities. Thus there is no hard evidence to prove that the 'Aryans invaders' were an iron-based culture and their enemies were not.


Yajna-vedhis

Throughout the Vedas, there is mention of fire-sacrifices (yajnas) and the elaborate construction of vedhis (fire altars). Fire-sacrifices were probably the most important aspect of worshiping the Supreme for the Aryan people. However, the remains of yajna-vedhis (fire altars) were uncovered in Harrapa by B.B. Lal of the Archeological Survey of India, in his excavations at the third millenium site of Kalibangan.


The geometry of these yajna-vedhis is explained in the Vedic texts such as the Satpatha-brahmana. The University of California at Berkley has compared this geometry to the early geometry of Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia and established that the geometry found in the Vedic scriptures should be dated before 1700BC. Such evidence proves that the Harrapans were part of the Vedic fold.


Objections in the Realm of Linguistics and Literature

There are various objections to the conclusions reached by the indologists concerning linguistics. Firstly they have never given a plausible excuse to explain how a Nomadic Invasion could have overwhelmed the original languages in one of the most densely populated regions of the ancient world.


Secondly, there are more linguistic changes in Vedic Sanskrit than there are in classical Sanskrit since the time of Panini (aprox.500 BC). So although they have assigned an arbitrary figure of 200 year periods to each of the four Vedas, each of these periods could have existed for any number of centuries and the 200 year figure is totally subjective and probably too short a figure.


Another important point is that none of the Vedic literatures refer to any Invasion from outside or an original homeland from which the Aryans came from. They only focus upon the region of the Seven Rivers (sapta-sindhu). The Puranas refer to migrations of people out of India, which explains the discoveries of treaties between kings with Aryan names in the Middle East, and references to Vedic gods in West Asian texts in the second millenium BC. However, the indologists try to explain these as traces of the migratory path of the Aryans into India.


North-South Divide

Indologists have concluded that the original inhabitants of the Indus Valley civilization were of Dravidian descent. This poses another interesting question. If the Aryans had invaded and forced the Dravidians down to the South, why is there no Aryan/Dravidian divide in the respective religious literatures and historical traditions? Prior to the British, the North and South lived in peace and there was a continuous cultural exchange between the two. Sanskrit was the common language between the two regions for centuries. Great acaryas such as Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha, and Nimbarka were all from South, yet they are all respected in North India. Prior to them, there were great sages from the South such as Bodhayana and Apastamba. Agastya Rsi is placed in high regard in South India as it is said that he brought the Tamil language from Mount Kailasa to the South.7 Yet he is from the North! Are we to understand that the South was uninhabited before the Aryan Invasion? If not, who were the original inhabitants of South India, who accepted these newcomers from the North without any struggle or hostility?


Saivism

Pasupati Siva

The advocates of the Invasion theory argue that the inhabitants of Indus valley were Saivites (Siva worshippers) and since Saivism is more prevalent among the South Indians, the inhabitants of the Indus valley region must have been Dravidians. Siva worship, however, is not alien to Vedic culture, and is certainly not confined to South India. The words Siva and Sambhu are not Dravidian in origin as some indologists would have us believe (derived from the Tamil words 'civa' - to redden, to become angry, and 'cembu' - copper, the red metal). Both words have Sanskrit roots – 'si' meaning auspicious, gracious, benevolent, helpful, kind, and 'sam' meaning being or existing for happiness or welfare, granting or causing happiness, benevolent, helpful, kind. These words are used in this sense only, right from their very first occurrence. 8 Moreover, some of the most important holy places for Saivites are located in North India: the traditional holy residence of Lord Siva is Mount Kailasa situated in the far north. Varanasi is the most revered and auspicious seat of Saivism. There are verses in the Rg Veda mentioning Siva and Rudra and consider him to be an important deity. Indra himself is called Siva several times in Rg Veda (2:20:3, 6:45:17, 8:93:3).


So Siva is not a Dravidian divinity only, and by no means is he a non-Vedic divinity. Indologists have also presented terra-cotta lumps found in the fire-alters in Harappa and taken them to be Siva-lingas, implying that Saivism was prevalent among the Indus valley people. But these terra-cotta lumps have been proved to be the measures for weighing commodities by shopkeepers and merchants. Their weights have been found in perfect integral ratios, in the manner like 1 gm, 2 gms, 5 gms, 10 gms etc. They were not used as the Siva-lingas for worship, but as the weight measurements.


The Discovery of the Sarasvati River

Whereas the famous River Ganga is mentioned only once in the Rg Veda, the River Sarasvati is mentioned at least sixty times. Sarasvati is now a dry river, but it once flowed all the way from the Himalayas to the ocean across the desert of Rajasthan. Research by Dr. Wakankar has verified that the River Sarasvati changed course at least four times before going completely dry around 1900BC. 9 The latest satellite data combined with field archaeological studies have shown that the Rg Vedic Sarasvati had stopped being a perennial river long before 3000 BC.

As Paul-Henri Francfort of CNRS, Paris recently observed –

"...We now know, thanks to the field work of the Indo-French expedition that when the proto-historic people settled in this area, no large river had flowed there for a long time."


The proto-historic people he refers to are the early Harappans of 3000 BC. But satellite photos show that a great prehistoric river that was over 7 kilometers wide did indeed flow through the area at one time. This was the Sarasvati described in the Rg Veda. Numerous archaeological sites have also been located along the course of this great prehistoric river thereby confirming Vedic accounts. The great Sarasvati that flowed "from the mountain to the sea" is now seen to belong to a date long anterior to 3000 BC. This means that the Rg Veda describes the geography of North India long before 3000 BC. All this shows that the Rg Veda must have been in existence no later than 3500 BC. 10


With so many eulogies composed to the River Sarasvati, we can gather that it must have been well known to the Aryans, who therefore could not have been foreign invaders. This also indicates that the Vedas are much older than Mahabharata, which mentions the Sarasvati as a dying river.


Discoveries of New Sites

Since the initial discoveries of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa on the Ravi and Sindhu rivers in 1922, over 2500 other settlements have been found stretching from Baluchistan to the Ganga and beyond and down to the Tapti Valley. This covers almost a million and a half square kilometers. More than 75% of these sites are concentrated not along the Sindhu, as was believed 70 years ago, but on the banks of the dried up river Sarasvati. The drying up of this great river was a catastrophe, which led to a massive exodus of people in around 2000-1900BC. Some of these people moved southeast, some northwest, and some to Middle-eastern countries such as Iran and Mesopotamia. Dynasties and rulers with Indian names appear and disappear all over west Asia confirming the migration of people from East to West.


With so much evidence against the Aryan Invasion theory, one wonders as to why this ugly vestige of British imperialism is still taught in Indian schools today! Such serious misconceptions can only be reconciled by accepting that the Aryans were the original inhabitants of the Indus Valley region, and not a horde of marauding foreign nomads. Such an Invasion never occurred.


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1 In 1654 A.D. Archbishop Usher of Ireland firmly announced that his study of Scripture had proved that creation took place at 9.00am on the 23rd October 4004 B.C. So from the end of the seventeenth century, this chronology was accepted by the Europeans and they came to believe that Adam was created 4004 years before Christ.

2 Rg Veda (2-20-10) refers to "Indra, the killer of Vritra, who destroys the Krishna Yoni Dasyus". This is held as evidence that the "invading Aryans" exterminated the "dark aboriginals"

3 RV.10.1.11, 8.85.3, 2.3.9

4 RV.6.22.10

5 RV. 1.32.10-11

6 In Valmiki's Ramayana, Lord Ramacandra is described as an Arya as follows - aryah sarva-samas-caivah sadaiva priya-darsana (Arya: one who cares for the equality of all and is dear to everyone)

7 Tradition has it that Lord Siva requested the sage Agastya to write the Tamil grammar, which was spoken prior to Sage Agastya's work. Agastya chose his disciple Tholgapya's grammar for Tamil which was considered much more simple than the grammar that Agastya had developed. This laid the foundation for later classical Tamil literature, and also spawned other Dravadian languages. Agastya Muni and Tholgapya are considered to be the Tamil counterpart of Panini of Sanskrit.

8 Monier-Williams Sanskrit to English Dictionary

9 Gods, Sages and Kings by David Frawley

10 Aryan Invasion of india: The Myth and the Truth by N.S. Rajaram