Hinduism
:
Hinduism
is a way of life, a way or art towards a good living. The word Hindu
is derived from the celebrated river Indus that is their foundation
head of this country's ancient history. The vernacular name of the river
is Sindhu.
Perhaps
the biggest misconception that the world has about Hinduism is presuming
that it is a religion. Hinduism as it is known today was never conceived.
It just happened just evolved. The last thing it was intended to be
was religion. Hinduism is a path towards better living and better understanding
of our universe. Its base is faith in the sheer connectivity of every
matter in the universe, and the belief that knowledge alone is the goal
of life.
Hindu
is a person who walks on path of Hinduism.
Aryans
:
Aryan
is an English word derived from the Sanskrit, Avestan and Vedic term
arya, meaning noble.
Another
meaning refers to the Aryan race, a (presumed) more or less pure blood
descendant ethnic group of this original Aryan group.
The
texts describe geography that some believe to be north India. The greatest
river of the Rig Ved was Saraswati. Our knowledge of the early Aryans
comes mainly from the Rig ved, the earliest of the Veds.
Aryan
Invasion theory :
The
origin of the Vedic civilization and its relation to the Indus Valley
civilization is considered as controversial. This controversy is created
through a research of DNA pattern.
This
research was conducted by The study, led by Micheal J. Bamshad of the
University of Utah, in Salt Lake City and his colleagues is reported
to be the most comprehensive genetic analysis to date of the impact
of European migrations on the structure and origin of the current Indian
population.
A
study showed that Indians belonging to higher castes are genetically
closer to Europeans than are individuals from lower castes whose genetic
profiles are closer to those of Asians.
Through
this theory it was considered that Aryans were not Indians but, there
are certain facts which are hided from people to show that Europeans
are superior and that Aryans are not Indians.
The
below concepts are of Gaurav A. Vyas regarding Aryans being Indians
:
1.
|
The
DNA pattern can change and there can be genetic changes found
due to certain reasons such as sunlight, climate, smoking, radiation,
environments change, etc. The reason why DNA structure of Aryans
is similar to DNA structure of Europeans is because Aryans lived
in North of India where the climate is similar to European countries.
Thus,
through a DNA structure research it cannot be said that Aryans
are Europeans or came from some other country.
|
2.
|
Our
Vedic civilization is the oldest civilization in the whole world
and it is still preserved. If Aryans were not Indians then how
come this Vedic civilization is still found in India and not in
other European countries?
|
3.
|
Our
culture, tradition, religion, etc. is completely different then
of other countries and thus, we Aryans are Indians and just through
a research on some DNA pattern it cannot be proved that Aryans
are not Indians.
|
4.
|
It
is agreed all over the world that Aryans Vedic civilization is
the oldest civilization and Aryans had also gone to Europe and
other countries and multiplied there and hence Europeans and other
country people can be Aryans but Aryans are certainly not Europeans
or from some other but are originally from India.
|
5.
|
In
Vedas and specially the Rig ved which is the oldest Ved in all
Vedas no theory about Aryan Invasion on India is written.
|
6.
|
In
fact it is not written in any ancient book about Aryan Invasion
and thus the theory that Aryans invaded India is completely false
and should not be given any importance. |
Conclusion :
As
Aryan civilization is the oldest and most profound civilization it does
not mean that it is European or something else. Thus, from the above
given points we can clear the controversial theory about Aryans.
I
would also like to add that the Aryan Invasion theory has been universally
proved wrong but still it is put in books by political parties such
as political in India to gain votes and to divide India so that they
can divide and rule.
Political
parties have divided India before and they are still dividing India
so that there can be riots and they can gain votes out of it in order
to stay in power.
According
to another person :
Invasion
Theory has been proved to be a myth and as a wrong theory long back.
But let me explain in detail the actual history and dirty politics behind
this theory.
Let
us first see what the Aryan Invasion Theory says.
It
calls the race which belonged to the Vedic age as Aryans. It says that
at around 1500 BC Aryans, (which it says was a tribe from the Europe)
invaded north India plundering and pushing down the local Dravidians
(who it says were the original natives of India) who lived there to
down South India. In a nutshell, it says the North Indians of today
belong to an Aryan race which came to India from Europe and today's
South Indians are the native Indians (called Dravidian Race!) who lived
in North India before the Aryans came! The Vedic people who lived in
North India during the Vedic ages were these Aryans, it says!
First
let us see how they arrived at these dates! It was well known in India
in the British period that Vedas pre-dated Christ, since they definitely
pre-dated Buddha who lived some 400 years before Christ. Some scholars
then said that as per Bible the world was created in 4000 BC, and Noah's
flood took place in 2500 BC. So they decided that Aryan Invasion of
India must have taken place only after this flood and before Buddha,
and hence would be around 1500 BC.
This
is the funniest investigation I have ever heard about. I doubt if anybody
can dare to call this a scientific investigation! This is what some
call as, 'adjusting history' to be 'compliant' with 'religious texts'
Dravidians
was not a separate race :
The
people of south India whom the Aryan Invasion theory says were the original
natives, are NOT a race separate from the North Indians! They all belong
to one and the same race. The ancient Indian Vedic race. This is because;
the languages of both, the so called Aryan and Dravidian people have
their roots in Sanskrit language. Both worship the same Gods. Both have
the same epics. Both have same philosophies. Both have histories which
date back to BC.
Given
these facts, how can then Aryans and Dravidians be two separate races?
If Aryans had invaded India then why are Dravidians following the same
customs and religion as Aryans. How do they speak languages which originated
from the same parental language?
Why
don't any dravidian folk lore or ancient texts or sayings or stories
or epics exist which talk about the so called Aryan Invasion? Also why
do the Vedic texts talk about locations in South India? The Ramayana,
Mahabharatha all talk about South Indian locations even below and beyond
the main land of India into the Indian Ocean like Srilanka! If Aryans
were from Europe and if they invaded North India and pushed local people
down to South India, where did these locations come from?
This
proves beyond doubt that there do not exist any separate Aryan and Dravidian
races. Instead natives of both North India and South India belong to
one single race called the Vedic Indian race!
No
mention of Europe :
There
is no mention of any location outside the mainland of India in any of
the Vedic texts! If Aryans came from Europe, then why haven't the so
called Aryans mentioned any of the European locations in any of the
Vedic or related texts? The farthest location away from India towards
the west mentioned in the vedas is Kadhahar of present day Afghanistan,
which was called Gandhar in the Vedic texts and was said to be the kingdom
of Shakuni.
Why
haven't any of the texts mentioned about their European locations? Why
is there no Vedic text which talks about migration from Europe?
No
European Rivers :
None
of the Vedic texts talk about rivers outside India! Everybody knows
that rivers were the major sources of water for all ancient civilizations
and so all ancient civilizations were centered around the world's major
rivers. Why is there no mention of any European river or a river outside
India anywhere in the Vedic texts? Wouldn't a race mention something
or the other about its native place in at least one of its texts?
Saraswati
River :
This
is a death blow to the Aryan Invasion theory. According to the Aryan
Invasion theory the Aryans who invaded India in around 1500 BC settled
on the banks of Indus or Sindhu river in North India.
The
Vedic texts talk about Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati as the trio river
, the three great rivers of their age. Ganga and Yamuna rivers exist
even today in North India and till sometime back Saraswati was thought
to be a mythological river. But vedas talk about Saraswati as a mighty
river that flowed in the north India during the Vedic ages.
There
is also the mention of the Ganga Yamuna Saraswati merging at a place
called Prayag , which was also called the Triveni Sangam (the current
Allahabad in North India where today only Ganga and Yamuna meet). It
is said that the Saraswati that merged here with the other two rivers
was a subterranean channel of the main river of Saraswati.
The
Mahabhartha talks about Saraswati river saying that it dried up in a
desert! So it has to be noted here that Mahabhartha can be dated back
to the drying up of the Saraswati.

Saraswati
river
Recent
satellite images and geological excavations have proved the existence
of an ancient river in North India, with exactly the same features of
river Saraswati described in the vedas and Mahabharath. Today Saraswati
is a dried up river.
Before Saraswati dried up, the present Rajasthan was a lush green area!
The drying up of Saraswati created the Thar Desert in Rajasthan. Even
the current dry beds of Sindh and Baluchistan (currently in Pakistan)
were lush green fertile lands before the Saraswati river dried up.
Why
did the Saraswati river dry up? :
The
plate tectonics of the Indian sub continental plate and the himalayan
sources of this river are thought to be the main reason for that. Sutlej
and Yamuna were the main sources of the Saraswati river. As the Indian
plate moved up towards the main Eurasian plate, the course of Yamuna
got altered in the Himalayas moving more water of Yamuna towards the
Ganga River and that of Sutlej got altered to join Indus! This caused
a major loss in terms of its water source for the river Saraswati and
is thought to have been the cause for its drying up.
Now
what does Saraswati river have to say about the Aryan Invastion theory
of 1500 BC? Well, the geological excavations give a date of about 4000
BC for the drying up of Saraswati river.
Why
Aryan Invasion Theory? :
Then
why was the Aryan Invasion Theory created? Well, more than saying created,
it was popularized and promoted by the British without investigating
its merits and demerits because it suited their divide and rule policy
in India. The same way they divided the Hindus and Muslims in India
based on religion, they also divided the Indians using this theory as
Aryans (North Indians) and Dravidians (South Indians).
This
was the politics behind this theory.
Conclusion
:
In a nutshell, the ancient Vedic people were settled in India much before
4000 BC and have nothing to do with the myth of 1500 BC Invasion theory!
There is no separate Aryan or dravidian race. There is one single ancient
Indian Vedic race with roots IN INDIA. Indus valley civilization is
NOT the most ancient Indian civilization. It was probably only a remnant
civilization of an ancient Civilization that existed till the end of
the Mahabarath war. The most ancient Indian civilization was therefore
the Saraswati valley civilization (or a Ganga-Yamuna-Saraswati civilization)
of the Vedic age.
According to another person :
There
was never an Aryan Invasion :
The
Aryan Invasion theory was hypothesized in the nineteenth century to
explain the similarities found in Sanskrit and the languages of Europe.
One person who reported about this is Deen Chandora in his article,
Distorted Historical Events and Discredited Hindu Chronology, as it
appeared in Revisiting Indus-Sarasvati Age and Ancient India (p. 383).
He explains that the idea of the Aryan Invasion was certainly not a
matter of misguided research, but was a conspiracy to distribute deliberate
misinformation that was formulated on April 10, 1866 in London at a
secret meeting held in the Royal Asiatic Society. This was "to
induct the theory of the Aryan Invasion of India, so that no Indian
may say that English are foreigners. India was ruled all along by outsiders
and so the country must remain a slave under the benign Christian rule."
This was a political move and this theory was put to solid use in all
schools and colleges.
So
it was basically a linguistic theory adopted by the British colonial
authorities to keep themselves in power. This theory suggested, more
or less, that there was a race of superior, white Aryans who came in
from the Caucasus Mountains and invaded the Indus region, and then established
their culture, compiled their literature, and then proceeded to invade
the rest of India.
As
can be expected, most of those who were great proponents of the Aryan
Invasion theory were often ardent English and German nationalists, or
Christians, ready and willing to bring about the desecration of anything
that was non-Christian or non-European.
In
this way, the Aryan Invasion theory was created to make it appear that
Indian culture and philosophy was dependent on the previous developments
in Europe, thereby justifying the need for colonial rule and Christian
expansion in India. This was also the purpose of the study of Sanskrit,
such as at Oxford University in England, as indicated by Colonel Boden
who sponsored the program. He stated that they should "promote
Sanskrit learning among the English, so as 'to enable his countrymen
to proceed in the conversion of the natives of India to the Christian
religion.'"
So,
in essence, the British used the theory of the Aryan Invasion to further
their "divide and conquer" policy. With civil unrest and regional
cultural tensions created by the British through designations and divisions
among the Indian society, it gave a reason and purpose for the British
to continue and increase their control over India.
However,
under scrutiny, the Aryan Invasion theory lacks justification. For example,
Sir John Marshall, one of the chief excavators at Mohenjo-Daro, offers
evidence that India may have been following the Vedic religion long
before any so-called "invaders" ever arrived. He points out
that it is known that India possessed a highly advanced and organized
urban civilization dating back to at least 2300 B.C., if not much earlier.
In fact, some researchers suggest that evidence makes it clear that
the Indus Valley civilization was quite developed by at least 3100 B.C.
The known cities of this civilization cover an area along the Indus
river and extend from the coast to Rajasthan and the Punjab over to
the Yamuna and Upper Ganges. At its height, the Indus culture spread
over 300,000 square miles, an area larger than Western Europe. Cities
that were a part of the Indus culture include Mohenjo-Daro, Kot Diji
east of Mohenjo-Daro, Amri on the lower Indus, Lothal south of Ahmedabad,
Malwan farther south, Harappa 350 miles upstream from Mohenjo-Daro,
Kalibangan and Alamgirpur farther east, Rupar near the Himalayas, Sutkagen
Dor to the west along the coast, Mehrgarh 150 miles north of Mohenjo-Daro,
and Mundigak much farther north. Evidence at Mehrgarh shows a civilization
that dates back to 6500 B.C. It had been connected with the Indus culture
but was deserted in the third millennium B.C. around the time the city
of Mohenjo-Daro became prominent.
We
also have to remember that many of the Indus sites, like Kalibangan,
were close to the region of the old Sarasvati River. Some Hindu scholars
are actually preferring to rename the Indus Valley culture as the Indus-Sarasvati
culture because the Sarasvati was a prominent river and very important
at the time. For example, the Sarasvati River is glowingly praised in
the Rig-ved. However, the Sarasvati River stopped flowing and later
dried up. Recent scientific studies calculate that the river stopped
flowing as early as around 8000 B.C. It dried up near the end of the
Indus Valley civilization, at least by 1900 B.C. This was no doubt one
reason why these cities were abandoned. This also means that if the
Vedic people came after the Indus Valley culture, they could not have
known of the Sarasvati River. This is further evidence that the Vedas
were from many years before the time of the Indus Valley society and
were not brought into the region by some Invasion.
As
a result of the latest studies, evidence points in the direction that
the Indus sites were wiped out not by acts of war or an Invasion, but
by the drought that is known to have taken place and continued for 300
years. Whatever skeletons that have been found in the region may indicate
deaths not by war but by starvation or lack of water. Deaths of the
weak by starvation are normal before the whole society finally moves
away for better lands and more abundant resources. This is the same
drought that wiped out the Akkadians of Sumeria, and caused a sudden
abandonment of cities in Mesopotamia, such as at Tell Leilan and Tell
Brock. The beginning of the end of these civilizations had to have been
near 2500 B.C. This drought no doubt contributed to the final drying
up of the Sarasvati River.
Regarding
Mohenjo-Daro, archeologists have discovered no sign of attack, such
as extensive burning, or remains of armor-clad warriors, and no foreign
weapons. This leaves us to believe that the enemy of the people in this
region was nature, such as earthquakes, flooding, or the severe drought,
or even a change in the course of rivers, and not warrior invaders.
So again, the Invasion theory does not stand up to scrutiny from the
anthropological point of view.
Another
point that helps convince that the Vedic religion and culture had to
have been there in India and pre-Harappan times is the sacrificial altars
that have been discovered at the Harappan sites. These are all of similar
design and found from Baluchistan to Uttar Pradesh, and down into Gujarat.
This shows that the whole of this area must have been a part of one
specific culture, the Vedic culture, which had to have been there before
these sites were abandoned.
In
a similar line of thought in another recent book, Vedic Glossary on
Indus Seals, Dr. Natwar Jha has provided an interpretation of the ancient
script of the numerous recovered seals of the Indus Valley civilization.
He has concluded that the Indus Valley seals, which are small soapstone,
one-inch squares, exhibit a relation to the ancient form of Brahmi.
He found words on the seals that come from the ancient Nighantu text,
which is a glossary of Sanskrit compiled by the sage Yaksa that deals
with words of subordinate Vedic texts. An account of Yaksa's search
for older Sanskrit words is found in the Shanti Parv of the Mahabharat.
This may have been in relation to the Indus Valley seals and certainly
shows its ancient Vedic connection.
The
point of all this is that the entire Rig-ved had to have been existing
for thousands of years by the time the Indus Valley seals were produced.
Therefore, the seals were of Vedic Sanskrit origin or a derivative of
it, and the Indus Valley sites were part of the Vedic culture. This
is further evidence that there was no Aryan Invasion. No Aryan Invasion
means that the area and its residents were already a part of the Vedic
empire. This also means that the so-called Indo-Aryan or Indo-European
civilization was nothing but the worldwide Vedic culture. From this
we can also conclude, therefore, that the so-called Indo-Aryan group
of languages is nothing but the various local mispronunciations of Sanskrit
which has pervaded the civilized world for thousands of years.
Another
interesting point is that skeletal remains found in the Harappan sites
that date back to 4000 years ago show the same basic racial types in
the Punjab and Gujarat as found today. This verifies that no outside
race invaded and took over the area. The only west to east movement
that took place was after the Sarasvati went dry, and that was involving
the people who were already there. In this regard, Sir John Marshall,
in charge of the excavations at the Harappan sites, said that the Indus
civilization was the oldest to be unearthed, even older than the Sumerian
culture, which is believed to be but a branch of the former, and, thus,
an outgrowth of the Vedic society.
One
more point about skeletal remains at the Harappan sites is that bones
of horses are found at all levels of these locations. Thus, the horse
was well known to these people. The horse was mentioned in the Rig-ved,
and was one of the main animals of Vedic culture in India. However,
according to records in Mesopotamia, the horse was unknown to that region
until only about 2100 B.C. So this provides further proof that the direction
of movement by the people was from India to the west, not the other
way around as the Invasion theory suggests.
Professor
Lal has written a book, The Earliest Civilization of South Asia, in
which he also has concluded that the theory of an Aryan Invasion has
no basis. An Invasion is not the reason for the destruction of the Harappan
civilization. It was caused by climactic changes. He says the Harappan
society was a melting pot made up of people from the Mediterranean,
Armenia, the Alpine area, and even China. They engaged in typical Vedic
fire worship, ashwamedha rituals. Such fire altars have been found in
the Indus Valley cities of Banawali, Lothal, and Kalibangan.
He
also explains that the city of Kalibangan came to ruin when the Saraswati
River dried up, caused by severe climactic changes around 1900 B.C.
Thus, the mention of the Sarasvati River also helps date the Vedas,
which had to have existed before this. This would put the origin of
Sanskrit writing and the earliest portions of Vedic literature at least
sometime before 4000 B.C., 6000 years ago.
The
Indus Valley Civilization a part of the Vedic culture :
Besides
what we have already discussed, more light is shed on the advanced civilization
of the Indus Valley and how it influenced areas beyond its region when
we consider the subject of Vedic mathematics. E. J. H. Mackay explains
in his book, Further Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro, that the whole basis
of Vedic mathematics is geometry, and geometrical instruments have been
found in the Indus Valley which date back to at least 2800 B.C. The
Vedic form of mathematics was much more advanced than that found in
early Greek and Egyptian societies. This can be seen in the Shulbasutras,
supplements of the Kalpasutras, which also show the earliest forms of
algebra which were used by the Vedic priests in their geometry for the
construction of altars and arenas for religious purposes. In fact, the
geometrical formula known as the Pythagorean Theorem can be traced to
the Baudhayans, the earliest forms of the Shulbasutras dated prior to
the eighth century B.C.
The
Shulbasutras are the earliest forms of mathematical knowledge, and certainly
the earliest for any religious purpose. They basically appear as a supplement
to the ritual (Shrauta) aspect of the Kalpasutras. They essentially
contain the mathematical formulas for the design of various altars for
the Vedic rituals of worship, which are evident in the Indus Valley
sites.
The
date of the Shulbasutras, after comparing the Baudhayana, Apastamba
and Katyayana Shulbas with the early mathematics of ancient Egypt and
Babylonia, as described by N. S. Rajaram in Vedic Aryans and The Origins
of Civilization (p.139), is near 2000 B.C. However, after including
astronomical data from the Ashvalayana Grihyasutra, Shatapantha Brahman,
etc., the date can be brought farther back to near 3000 B.C., near the
time of the Mahabharat War and the compilation of the other Vedic texts
by Srila Vyasadeva.
With
this view in mind, Vedic mathematics can no longer be considered as
a derivative from ancient Babylon, which dates to 1700 B.C., but must
be the source of it as well as the Greek or Pythagorean mathematics.
Therefore, the advanced nature of the geometry found in the Shulbasutras
indicates that it provided the knowledge that had to have been known
during the construction of the Indus sites, such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro,
as well as that used in ancient Greece and Babylon.
It
is Vedic mathematics that originated the decimal system of tens, hundreds,
thousands, and so on, and in which the remainder of one column of numbers
is carried over to the next column. The Indian number system was used
in Arabia after 700 A.D. and was called Al-Arqan-Al-Hindu. This spread
into Europe and became known as the Arabic numerals. This, of course,
has developed into the number system we use today, which is significantly
easier than the Egyptian, Roman, or Chinese symbols for numbers that
made mathematics much more difficult. It was the Indians who devised
the methods of dividing fractions and the use of equations and letters
to signify unknown factors. They also made discoveries in calculus and
other systems of math several hundred years before these same principles
were understood in Europe.
Thus,
it becomes obvious that if the Europeans had not changed from the Roman
numeral system to the form of mathematics that originated in India,
many of the developments that took place in Europe would not have been
possible. In this way, all evidence indicates that it was not any northern
invaders into India who brought or originated this advanced form of
mathematics, but it was from the Vedic Aryan civilization that had already
been existing in India and the Indus Valley region. Thus, we can see
that such intellectual influence did not descend from the north into
India, but rather traveled from India up into Europe.
Additional
evidence that it was not any invaders who originated the highly advanced
Vedic culture in the Indus Valley is the fact that various seals that
Waddell calls Sumerian and dates back to 2800 B.C. have been found bearing
the image of the water buffalo or Brahma bull. Modern zoologists believe
that the water buffalo was known only to the Ganges and Brahmaputra
valleys and did not exist in Western India or the Indus Valley. This
would suggest a few possibilities. One is that the Sumerians had traveled
to Central and Eastern India for reasons of trade and for finding precious
stones since Harappa was a trading center connected by way of the Indus
river with the gold and turquoise industry of Tibet. Thus, they learned
about the water buffalo and used images of them on their seals. The
second and most likely possibility is that the Aryan civilization at
the time extended from Eastern India to the Indus region and farther
west to Mesopotamia and beyond, and included the Sumerians as a branch.
So, trade and its Vedic connections with India naturally brought the
image of the water buffalo to the Indus Valley region and beyond.
Further
evidence showing the Vedic influence on the region of Mohenjo-Daro is
a tablet dating back to 2600 B.C. It depicts an image of Lord Krishna
as a child. This positively shows that the Indus Valley culture was
connected with the ancient Vedic system, which was prevalent along the
banks of the Rivers Sarasvati and Sindhu thousands of years ago.
The
Vedic literature supplies no evidence of Aryan Invasion :
Since
the Rig-veda (7.95.1) describes the course of the river from the mountains
to the sea, as well as (10.75.5) locates the river between the Yamuna
and the Shutudri (Sutlej), it becomes obvious that the Vedic Aryans
had to have been in India before this river dried up, or long before
2000 B.C. The Atharv-ved (6.30.1) also mentions growing barley along
the Sarasvati. And the Vajasaneya Samhita of the Yajur-ved (Shukla yajur-ved
34.11) relates that five rivers flow into the Sarasvati, after which
she becomes a vast river. This is confirmed by satellite photography,
archeology, and hydrological surveys that the Sarasvati was a huge river,
up to five miles wide. Not only does this verify the antiquity of the
Aryan civilization in India, but also of the Vedic literature, which
had to have been in existence many hundreds of years before 1900 B.C.
So this helps confirm the above date of 3102 B.C. when the Vedic texts
were compiled.
Furthermore,
the ancient Rig-ved (10.75.5; 6.45.31; 3.59.6) mentions the Ganges,
sometimes called the Jahnavi, along with the Yamuna, Sarasvati, and
Sindhu (Indus) rivers (Rig-ved, 10.75.1-9). So the rivers and settlements
in the Ganges region did have significance in the Vedic literature,
which shows that the Vedas were written in India and not brought into
the Ganges area after they had been written at some other location.
The
Manu-samhita (2.21-22) also describes Madhyadesa, the central region
of India, as being where the Aryans were located between the Himavat
and Vindhya mountains, east of Prayaga and west of Vinasana where the
Sarasvati River disappears. It also says the land that extends as far
as the eastern and western oceans is called Aryavata (place of the Aryans)
by the wise. This means that the center of Vedic civilization at the
time was near the Sarasvati River.
The
point of this is that here is more evidence that the Vedic Aryans could
not have invaded India or written the Rig-ved after 1800 B.C. and known
about the Sarasvati River. In fact, for the river to have been as great
as it is described in the Vedas and Puranas, the Aryans had to have
been existing in the area for several thousand years, at least before
the river began to dry up. And if the Aryans were not the first people
in this area, then why there is no pre-Aryan names for these rivers?
Or why has no one discovered the pre-Indus Valley language if it had
been inhabited by a different people before the Aryans arrived? And
why is there no record of any Aryan Invasion in any of the Vedic literature?
In
this regard, Mr. K. D. Sethna points out on page 67 of his book, The
Problem of Aryan Origins From an Indian Point of View, that even scholars
who believe in an Aryan Invasion of India around 1500 B.C. admit that
the Rig-ved supplies no sign of an entry into the Indian subcontinent
from anywhere. There is no mention of any such Invasion. From our research
and evidence, the Rig-ved can be dated to at least around 3000 B.C.
or much earlier. Thus, for all practical purposes, there is little reason
to discuss any other origination of the Vedic Aryans than the area of
Northern India.
This
is corroborated in The Cultural Heritage of India (pp. 182-3) wherein
it explains that Indian tradition knows nothing of any Aryan Invasion
from the northwest or outside of India. In fact, the Rig-ved (Book Ten,
Chapter 75) lists the rivers in the order from the east to the northwest,
in accordance with the expansion of the Aryan outflow from India to
the northwest. This would concur with the history in the Puranas that
India was the home of the Aryans, from where they expanded to outside
countries in various directions, spreading the Vedic culture. The Manu-samhita
(2.17-18) specifically points out that the region of the Vedic Aryans
is between the Sarasvati and the Drishadvati Rivers, as similarly found
in the Rig-ved (3.24.4).
Any
wars mentioned in the Vedic literature are those that have taken place
between people of the same culture, or between the demigods and demons,
or the forces of light and darkness. The idea that the term "Aryan"
or "Arya" refers to those of a particular race is misleading.
It is a term that means anyone of any race that is noble and of righteous
and gentle conduct. To instill the idea of an Aryan Invasion into the
Vedic texts is merely an exercise of taking isolated verses out of context
and changing the meaning of the terms. Even the oldest written Vedic
book, the Rig-ved, contains no mention of a wandering tribe of people
coming from some original holy land or any mountainous regions from
outside India. In fact, it describes the Indian subcontinent in recognizable
terms of rivers and climate. The Sarasvati River is often mentioned
in the Rig-ved, which makes it clear that the region of the Sarasvati
was a prime area of the Vedic people. Furthermore, it describes no wars
with outsiders, no capturing of cities, and no incoming culture of any
kind that would indicate an Invasion from a foreign tribe. Only much
later after the Vedic period do we have the Invasion of India by the
Muslims and the British, for which there is so much recorded evidence.
More
evidence for the original home of the Aryans :
The
Brahmin priests and Indian scholars believe that the Sarasvati and Ganges
valley region are the origin of Indian civilization and the Aryan society.
This can be given some credence when we look at the cities in this region.
For example, North of Delhi is the town of Kuruksetra where the great
battle of the Mahabharat took place when Sri Krishna was still on the
planet over 5,000 years ago. There is also the old city of Hastinapura
that was once situated along the Ganges until the river changed its
course and swept the city away in 800 B.C. This is the old capital of
the Kuru dynasty in the Mahabharat. Pottery remains have been found
near these locations that are traced back to at least 1200 B.C. In New
Delhi we find the Purana Qila site, which is known to have been part
of the ancient city of Indraprastha. An interesting quote can be found
in the ancient Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.72.13) which can give us some idea
of how prominent Indraprastha had been. It states that during the time
when Sri Krishna was on this planet 5,000 years ago, King Yudhisthira
sent his brothers, the Pandavas, to conquer the world in all directions.
This was for bringing all countries to participate in the great Rajasuya
ceremony that was being held in ancient Indraprastha. All countries
were to pay a tax to help the performance of the ceremony, and to send
representatives to participate. If they did not wish to cooperate, then
they would have to engage in battle with the Pandavas. Thus, the whole
world came under the jurisdiction of the Vedic Aryan administration.
The
Vedic explanation of the original Aryans and how their influence spread
throughout the world.
The
Vedic literature establishes a different scenario. They present evidence
that ancient, pre-historical India covered a much broader area, and
that the real Aryans were not invaders from the north into the Indus
region, but were the original residents who were descendants of Vedic
society that had spread over the world from the area of India. Let us
remember that the term Aryan has been confused with meaning light or
light complexion. However, Aryan refers to Arya, or a clear consciousness
toward God, not white or white people. In the Vedic sutras, the word
Aryan is used to refer to those who are spiritually oriented and of
noble character.
The
Sanskrit word Aryan is linguistically related to the word harijana (pronounced
hariyana), meaning one related to God, Hari. Therefore, the real meaning
of the name Aryan refers to those people related to the spiritual Vedic
culture. It has little to do with those immigrants that some researchers
have speculated to be the so-called "invading Aryans." Aryan
refers to those who practice the Vedic teachings and does not mean a
particular race of people. Therefore, anyone can be an Aryan by following
the clear, light, Vedic philosophy, while those who do not follow it
are non-Aryan. Thus, the name Aryan, as is generally accepted today,
has been misapplied to a group of people who are said to have migrated
from the north into India.
Some
call these people Sumerians, but L. A. Waddell, even though he uses
the name, explains that the name Sumerian does not exist as an ethnic
title and was fabricated by the modern Assyriologists and used to label
the Aryan people. And Dr. Hall, in his book Ancient History of the Near
East, says that there is an anthropological resemblance between the
Dravidians of India and the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, which suggests
that the group of people called the Sumerians actually were of Indian
descendants. With this information in mind, it is clear that the real
Aryans were the Vedic followers who already existed throughout India
and to the north beyond the Indus region.
To
help understand how the Aryan influence spread through the world, L.
A. Waddell explains that the Aryans established the pre-historic trade
routes over land and sea from at least the beginning of the third millennium
B.C., if not much earlier. Wherever the Aryans went, whether in Egypt,
France, England, or elsewhere, they imposed their authority and culture,
much to the betterment of the previous culture of the area. They brought
together scattered tribes and clans into national unity that became
increasingly bright in their systems of social organization, trade,
and art. In seeking new sources of metal, such as tin, copper, gold,
and lead, the Aryans established ports and colonies among the local
tribes that later developed into separate nations which took many of
their traditions and cultural traits from the ruling Aryans. Of course,
as trade with the Aryans diminished, especially after the Mahabharat
War in India, variations in the legends and cultures became prominent.
This accounts for the many similarities between the different ancient
civilizations of the world, as well as those resemblances that still
exist today.
Another
consideration is that since the Aryans were centralized in the Gangetic
plains and the Himalayan mountains, from there they could have spread
east along the Brahmaputra River and over the plain of Tibet. The Chinese,
in the form of the Cina tribe, also are likely to have originated here
since they have the legend of the sacred mountain in the west with four
rivers. The ancient Puranas explain that Manu and his sons ruled over
the area, over as many lands north of Mount Meru and Kailas as south.
Other Aryans could have easily gone down the Sarasvati and Sarayu into
north India. Others went from the Indus into Kashmir and Afghanistan,
and into Central Asia. Others went into the areas of Gujarat and Sind,
and over through Persia and the Gulf region. This is how the Sumerian
civilization was founded, along with Babylonia. From there they went
farther into Turkey and Europe.
After
spreading throughout South India, they continued down the Ganges by
sea east into Malaysia and Indonesia, founding the ancient Vedic cultures
there. By sea they continued to China, meeting the Aryans that were
probably already there. From China and the orient, they sailed over
the Pacific Ocean and finally reached and colonized the Americas. Plenty
of evidence of this is presented in the following chapters.
We
can see some of the affect of this spread out of India in regard to
the term Aryan. The name Harijana or Aryan evolved into Syriana or Syrians
in Syria, and Hurrians in Hurri, and Arianna or Iranians in Iran. This
shows that they were once part of Vedic society. A similar case is the
name Parthians in Partha, another old country in Persia. Partha was
the name of Krishna's friend Arjuna, a Vedic Aryan, and means the son
of King Prithu. So the name Parthian indicates those who are the descendants
of King Prithu. Parthians also had a good relationship with the early
Jews since the Jews used to buy grains from the Parthians. The Greeks
referred to the Jews as Judeos, or Jah deos or Yadavas, meaning people
of Ya or descendants of Yadu, one of the sons of Yayati. It is also
regarded that the basis of the Kabbalah, the book of Jewish mystical
concepts, as described in The Holy Kabbalah by Arthur Edward Waite,
is linked with Kapila Muni, the Indian sage and incarnation of Krishna
who established the analytical sankhya-yoga philosophy. Therefore, a
connection between the early Jews and ancient Vedic culture is evident.
Another
aspect of the connection between these various regions and the Vedic
culture is explained in the Vedic literature. In the Rig-ved (10.63.1)
Manu is the foremost of kings and seers. Manu and his family were survivors
of the world flood, as mentioned in the Shatapatha Brahmana (1.8.1).
Thus, a new beginning for the human race came from him, and all of humanity
is descendants from Manu. The Atharv-ved (19.39.8) mentions where his
ship descended in the Himalayas. One temple that signifies the location
of where the ship of Manu first touched land after the flood is in Northern
India in the hills of Manali. His important descendants are the Pauravas,
Ayu, Nahusha, and Yayati. From Yayati came the five Vedic clans; the
Purus, Anus, Druhyus, Turvashas, and Yadus. The Turvashas are related
to India's southeast, Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, and are the ancestors
of the Dravidians and the Yavanas. Yadu is related to the south or southwest,
Gujarat and Rajasthan, from Mathura to Dwaraka and Somnath. The Anus
are related to the north, to Punjab, as well as Bengal and Bihar. The
Druhyus are related to the west and northwest, such as Gandhara and
Afghanistan. Puru is connected with the central Yamuna/Ganges region.
All but Puru were known for having intermittently fallen from the Vedic
dharma, and various wars in the Puranas were with these groups.
The
chronology of events in the spread of Vedic culture :
In
any case, we can begin to see that the Vedic Aryans had been living
in the region of India since the last deluge, from about 13,000 to 10,000
B.C. Thus, there could not have been any pre-Aryan civilization in this
area that had been conquered by so-called "invading Aryans"
in 1500 B.C.
Using
the many types of evidence previously provided in this chapter, it is
clear that the height of the Vedic Age was certainly long before 3100
B.C., even as early as 4000 to 5000 B.C. as some scholars feel. Bal
Gangadhar Tilak estimates that the Vedas were in existence as early
as 6000 B.C., based on historical data, while others say it was as far
back as 7000-8000 B.C. Since the Vedic culture during this time was
practicing an oral tradition, and the literature had still not been
put into written form, the basic hymns of the Rig-ved, and even the
Atharv-ved and others, could have been in existence for many thousands
of years. These Vedas were used in everyday life for society's philosophy,
worship, and rituals. Therefore, they were a highly sophisticated product
of a greatly developed society, and must date back to the remotest antiquity.
Or, as the tradition itself explains, the essence of Vedic knowledge
had been given to humanity by God at the time of the universal creation
and has always been in existence.
By
3700, all of the principal books of the Rig-ved were in place and known.
Of course, this was still an oral tradition and additional books could
still have been added. One point in this regard is that the father of
the great Bishma was Shantanu whose brother, Devapi, is credited with
several hymns of the Rig-ved. This could not have been much earlier
than 3200 B.C. since Bishma played a prominent role in the Mahabharat
War at Kuruksetra, which is calculated to have been around 3137 B.C.
Further calculations can be accorded with the dynastic list as found
in the Adi Parv of the Mahabharat. With the help of the list, from 3100
B.C. we get nearly an additional 630 years or longer going back to Sudas
and the Battle of the Ten Kings, as described in the Rig-ved. This takes
us back to about 3730 B.C. Therefore, the height of the Vedic Age can
be dated no later than 3700 B.C.
From
the Vedic literature, we can also see that the Sarasvati River had to
have been at its prime around 4000 to 5000 B.C. or earlier. This is
when it was recorded in the Rig and Atharv-vedas. This was also when
the Vedic culture was spreading throughout the world, either because
of reasons of trade, migration, or because some of the degenerated tribes
were driven out of the Indian region. Some of the first tribes to have
left India may include the Prithu-Parthavas (who later became the Parthians),
the Druhyus (who became the Druids), the Alinas (Hellenes or ancient
Greeks), the Simyus (Sirmios or ancient Albanians), the Cinas (Chinese),
and others. This could have been around 4500 B.C., as explained by N.
S. Rajaram in the Vedic Aryans and the Origins of Civilization (p. 210).
These
were some of the earliest of Aryans who created the most ancient form
of Indo-European society. They took with them their Vedic customs, language,
rituals, etc., all of which gradually changed with time due to their
lack of seriously following the Vedic traditions, or because of their
loss of close contact with the orthodox homeland. This would certainly
help explain the many similarities in languages and culture that we
find today between numerous regions of the world, many of which we will
explain later in this book.
During
the fourth millennium, near 3800 B.C., North India had plenty of water,
with such great rivers as the Indus to the north, the Ganga to the east,
and the central Sarasvati-Drishadvati river system, which was fed by
the Sutlej and the Yamuna. The great Thar Desert did not yet create
a division between North India and the western areas. So it was all
one cultural entity. Thus, the central Vedic society covered a much
wider area and had greater influence than the mere country of India
today.
The
reason why the populace of Europe gradually forgot their connection
with India was because contacts between India were reduced to the Greeks
and Romans. Then when Alexander and the Greeks invaded India, contacts
were reduced to almost nothing for centuries. Thereafter, the Romans
became Christians, forcing the rest of Europe to follow. This left the
Arabs as the primary traders between India and Europe, until the wars
developed between the Christians and the growing Muslims. Once the Muslims
captured Constantinople in Turkey, they controlled all trade routes
between Europe and India, and forced Europeans to find a sea route to
India. This lead to the "discovery" of America, Australia,
and parts of Africa. Later, as the trade routes with India were opened,
missionaries, new invaders, and so-called scholars became the new conquerors.
With them also came the new versions of history brought about to diminish
the real heritage and legacy of India.
Conclusion
:
This
chapter provides evidence of the real origination of the Vedic Aryans.
It also makes it clear that it is to the East, specifically the area
of India, where the origins of advanced civilization and the essence
of religion and spiritual philosophy can be traced. From there, the
Aryan influence had spread to many other regions and can still be recognized
in numerous cultures. Only a few open-minded people who look at the
whole picture of this kind of religious development will understand
the inherent unity the world and its history contains. Such unity is
disturbed only by mankind's immature, dogmatic, and self-centered feelings
for regional and cultural superiority.
We
have seen this in the propaganda that was effectively used by the Nazis
and is presently used by neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups who
now employ the modern myth that the original location of the Aryan race
was in northern Europe. Thus, they imply that members of this race are
superior over all other races in physique, language, mental capabilities,
and culture. This myth must be seen for what it is because there is
no doubt that the real Aryan people originated and spread from the region
of India and the Indus Valley, not Europe.