"The History of Hindu India"

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/blogs-news/hindu-press-international/hinduism-today-releases-documentary---the-history-of-hindu-india-/13726.html


KAUAI, HAWAII, July 1, 2014: The editorial team of Hinduism Today is pleased to announce the release of its professional documentary film, "The History of Hindu India" (Part 1), developed in collaboration with Dr. Shiva Bajpai, Professor Emeritus of History, California State University Northridge. More than a year in the making, the movie (http://bit.ly/HinduHistory) provides an authentic presentation of the history of India and Hinduism to non-Hindus for use in American 6th grade social study classes. It is equally useful for Hindu temple study groups and to introduce the Hindu religion to general audiences.

The film was received with enthusiasm at its first public showing to 350 people gathered at the "Meet the Publisher and Editor of Hinduism Today" on June 29.

One young lady summed up the audience reaction, "Wow! I have to tell you, this is the first time I have ever seen my religion presented in a way that touched me so deeply. Tonight I feel proud to be a Hindu."

Bhavna of the Hindu temple in Santiago Chile, who watched the Spanish-subtitled version, called it "a wonderful presentation."

Tushar Agarwal of Dinodia Photo agency in Mumbai declared it "fabulous."

At a pre-release showing in San Jose, California, members of the audience immediately requested a copy for local classes in Hinduism at temples and public schools.

The film was directed by Sushma Khadepaun and narrated by Roger Narayan. Both also served as producers for the movie which included filming at the 2013 Prayag Kumbha Mela and at temples in Chennai, India. Most funding for the project was granted by the Uberoi Foundation Institute for Curriculum Advancement. Subtitles are provided in five languages: French, Spanish, Balinese, Hindi and Tamil. It is available for free on YouTube in multiple resolutions at http://bit.ly/HinduHistory or http://youtu.be/dBZRTzXARWM?rel=0.

The documentary is based on the first chapter of our 2011 textbook, The History of Hindu India. The first section of the film, "Origins of Hinduism," includes much new material on the Indus Valley civilization, especially its parallels with subsequent Hindu culture of India, such as yoga, Shiva, the namaste greeting and more.

Section two, "Hindu Scriptures," introduces the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata, while section three, "Hindu Society," covers the caste system and the roles of men and women. The great achievements of early Indian empires such as those of the Guptas are described, including early advancements in medicine, mathematics and metallurgy.

Section four, "Hindu Belief, Practices and Saints" (one of the longest parts) explains the basic beliefs and practices of Hinduism as found today, including scriptures, Gods, Goddesses, saints, temples, pilgrimages and more. It presents the concept of dharma and the related practice of ahimsa as expressed in the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and Nelson Mandela. Karma is taught through an amusing animation of "What goes around, comes around." Hindu forms of worship are described as they are experienced at home and in the temple, along with spiritual practices such as japa and meditation. The section concludes with descriptions of Hindu saints, swamis and gurus, both men and women.

The final section, "Hindu Festivals," features spectacular footage of Diwali celebrations in India coupled with footage from the 2009 observance of Diwali at the White House by President Barack Obama. This is followed by video from the 2013 Kumbha Mela in Prayag, India.

The documentary concludes on this upbeat note, "Hinduism has persisted for thousands of years because the dharma, faith and culture have instilled in each Hindu a unique and strong sense of identity, family and spiritual purpose. It endures because it is a dynamic religion which gives complete freedom of practice accepts that there are many ways to worship God and provides festivals, temples, pilgrimages, gurus and scriptures to illumine the path, thereby celebrating life itself."

The movie is intended for use in middle schools, either in 6th or 7th grade, when the history of India is taught as part of ancient history. The film covers the standard US curriculum for ancient India, beginning with Indus Valley and continuing through the Gupta period, plus a religious overview, as is taught for other religions that same school year. Parents and community activists can bring "The History of Hindu India" to the attention of local schools as a means to offset the largely negative presentation of India and Hinduism which is otherwise being given. Additional resources for parents and teachers, including a complete set of lesson plans for the book, are available at: www.hinduismtoday.com/education/.

English: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory.
Subtitled versions:
French: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory-French
Spanish: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory-Spanish
Tamil: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory-Tamil
Hindi: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory-HindiSubtitles
Balinese: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory-Balinese
English: http://bit.ly/HinduHistory-English

Note to website managers: You are welcome to embed the movie in your site, but to do so you will need to use the YouTube URL and not the shorter bit.ly one above.

Building collapse – some astrological clues.

These days we are coming across news about falling buildings, killing people. While 3 such incidents were reported in Chennai within a span of 10 days, there is news about deliberate breaking of ancient structures in strife- ridden Iraq by ISIS men. In this current period minor fall of buildings and bridges were reported in other parts of the world too. This made me think that some universal indication must be there for collapse of structures. I went through the list of such collapses given in the Wikipedia and checked the astro maps of them. The results are being shared here.

Basically astrology does talk about death from building collapses or stones falling on one. At the mundane level there is no rule given for fall of buildings. However the pointers for earthquake which cause the collapse of built structures can be extended to building collapses. It is because any building owes its existence primarily to the strength of the earth that holds it. Therefore the astrological combination for earthquakes must have a stronger presence at the time of collapse of built structures. Those factors written by me elaborately in 2010 can be read here.

The basic astro features of earthquake are

1. The Martian signs of Aries and Scorpio must be afflicted by aspect or association by malefics (Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu).
2. The earthy signs particularly Taurus must be afflicted in the same way as told above.
3. The other earthy sign of Virgo is found afflicted in the same way in many earthquakes and volcanic explosions in South east Asia.

So I looked for these features in the major collapses of buildings around the world in which casualties were more than 50. 

Looking back, building collapses are recent whereas collapse of bridges and dams were the events in the past. So I had gone through dam or bridge collapses also where the death toll was high.

With this basics in mundane astrology I looked at the probable clues from horoscopic astrology  that can be related to collapse of buildings. The striking combination comes from the distance between Mars and Sun. 

According to Brihad Jataka, death will be caused by stones if Sun is in 4^th and Mars is in 10^th house. There is yet another verse that relates the distance between Mars, Sun and Saturn similarly as above – that is, in Kendra to each other with Saturn in 1^st , Sun in 4^th and Mars in 10^th. (In this case weak moon must be present in 8^th) This causes death from blows from rods or clods of earth. What we cannot miss is the Kendra distance between Mars, Saturn and Sun.  

Then there is a very important verse that makes a mention of two signs namely Aries and Libra to be associated with malefics. (Brihad Jataka 25-8). These two signs are indeed the main ones in earthquake times. Sun and Mars at 4^th or 10^th to each other is also repeated in 3 verses for death from falling rocks or soil.

When I analysed charts for major collapses of bridges, dams and buildings in since 1850 till date where the death toll was more than 50, I came in for a confirmation of earthquake rules I stated above. The position of Rahu and Ketu also made a striking presence in specific houses in major collapses. Rahu signifies the earth and its transit across equinoxes and solstices coincided with major collapses.

For instance presently Ketu is crossing the junction of Aries and Pisces while Rahu is crossing the junction of Libra and Virgo. This is the point of Vishuva or Equinox. At the current juncture Sun and Mars are 4- 10 to each with Mars at the 4^th house from Sun and Sun from the 10^th house from Mars. This is one of the main features in individual horoscopes as told in Brihad Jataka. In addition to these, the earthquake position of malefics is also fully present. Saturn in Libra is aspecting Aries along with Rahu while Mars in Virgo is also casting its 8^th aspect on Aries. 

Another major position for the nodes was their presence in the junction or close to the junction of solstices. That is, when the nodes were in the junction of Gemini- Cancer and Sagittarius- Capricorn collapses of built structures had happened, provided, the above mentioned earth quake factors were also present. However the Kendra position of Sun - Mars or Mars- Saturn were not always present.

Based on these observations I deduce the following for collapse of built structures.

Rahu and Ketu must be crossing the junction of Aries – Pisces and its opposite or the junction of Sagittarius – Capricorn and its opposite for powerful collapse of structures.

Aries and / or Taurus must be afflicted by malefics.

Scorpio is also afflicted

Mars and Saturn will be afflicting these signs .

At times Sun joins them

Sun and Mars or Mars and Saturn are in 4^th and 10^th to each other. This is not a strict criterion. But when such a distance occurs, we have to look for the above features too to assess whether Time is indicative of collapses. 

Given below are data of some of the major collapses. I have given the recent collapses in Chennai first followed by other ones.

(1)    Chennai, Moulivakkam June 28, 2014

Casualty – 61

Ketu – Rahu 0 degree in Aries - Libra

Sa, Ma, Ra aspect Aries.

Moon in Punarpoosam

(2)    Thiruvallur July 6, 2014, 8:00 am

Casualty – 11

Ketu – Rahu in Aries – Libra junction

Ra, Sa, Ma aspect Aries.

Moon- Mars conjunction within a degree.

(3)    Chennai, Santhome 150 yr old builing, July, 7 2014

Casualty – 0

Ketu – Rahu 0 degree Aries – Libra junction

Sa, Ma, Ra aspect Aries.

Moon in Swati

(4)    Bangladesh April 24, 2013.

Casualty – 1100

Ketu – Rahu 23 degree Aries – Libra

Ra, sa, aspect Aries. Ma, Su occupy Aries.

Moon in Hastha – Chitra

(5)    Latvia, Nov 21, 2013

Casualty – 54

Ketu – Rahu 12 degree Aries – Libra

Ra, sa, aspect Aries. Ma aspect Scorpio. Sun in Scorpio.

Moon in Punarpoosam

(6)    Korea, June 29, 1995

Casualty – 502

Ketu – Rahu 8 degree Aries - Libra

Saturn aspects Taurus. Ma aspects Scorpio

Moon in Punar Poosam

(7)    Thane, Mumbai April 4, 2013

Casualty – 61

Ketu – Rahu 24 degree Aries - Libra

Ra, Sa aspect Aries. Ma aspect Libra.

Moon in U shada

(8)    Virginia, Dec 15, 1967

Casualty – 46

Ketu – Rahu 1 degree Libra – Aries

Sa, Ma aspect Aries.

Moon in Rohini

(9)    France bridge collapse April 16, 1850

Casualty – 226

Ketu – Rahu 28 degree Capricorn - Cancer

Sa aspect Taurus

Moon in Mrigashirsha

(10)Kansas, July 17, 1981

Casualty – 114

Ketu – Rahu 8 degree Capricorn - Cancer

Saturn in Virgo. Ma, Ra aspect Virgo.

Moon in Sravana

(11)New Zealand Bridge collapse Dec 24, 1953

Casualty – 151

Ketu – Rahu 1 degree Cancer – Capricorn

Sa, Ma aspect Aries.

Moon in Swati

(12)Malaysia Dec 11, 1993

Casualty – 48

Ketu – Rahu 8  degrees - Taurus – Scorpio

Ra, Ma, aspect Taurus. Sa aspect Aries.

Moon in Visaka

(13)Poland Jan 28, 2006

Casualty – 65

Ketu – Rahu 13 degree Virgo- Pisces

Ma in Aries. Sa aspects Aries

Moon in U shada

(14)Los Angeles, March 12, 1928 Dam collapse

Casualty – 600

Ketu – Rahu 20 degree Scorpio - Taurus

Sa aspect Taurus. Ma aspect Aries

Moon in Anusham

(15)Quebec, Canada Bridge collapse August 29, 1907

Casualty – 75

Ketu – Rahu 28 degree Sagittarius - Gemini

Sa  aspect Taurus

Moon in Krittika

Fascinating Vinayaka found in Vietnam!

Many readers would have read the India Divine article on 4000 years of antiquated items of Vishnu worship unearthed in Vietnam. It can be  read here:http://www.indiadivine.org/news/history-and-culture/4000-year-old-vishnu-statue-discovered-in-vietnam-r766

While looking for more details on this topic in the internet, I came across unique images of Hindu deities from Oc Eo, in Vietnam. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93c_Eo)

What looks like Vinayaka with the trunk is seen as a twin image as below.

What looks like Durga has ten pairs of hands as follows:

Yet another similar figure has a 3- layered crown of 3 Devis. Reminds me of the line "Nava Durgam Maha Kalim Brahma Vishnu Shivathmikaam" of Lakshmi Stotram.

Similar type of multi-handedness is shown for Buddha (presumably) or a king?

See here:

The most fascinating of all is the statue of Buddha in Bhumi Sparsa Mudra.

This is same as the one found in Harappa belonging to a period of 5000 years before present.

 see below.

What better proof can be there for a continuing culture of Hinduism covering greater part of east Asia? The Oc Eo culture was supposed to have existed 2000 years ago.

The Harappan image shows the existence of many Buddhas in Hindu culture as far as 5000 years ago.

This shows that Ikshvahus existed even before that, i.e., before Indus- Saraswathi culture.