Hinduism and the Man on the Cross

By Norman Law

The reason for writing this book is because of God's irrefutable love for the people of India through His only Begotten son, Jesus Christ.

This book explores the records of archeology, history of migration, language, and religion of Hinduism, and the findings are astonishing in that it is not what we normally expect.

The author described the character and attributes of the six major Hindu deities: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra, Krishna, and Rama as written in the ancient sacred Vedic Hindu texts: Rig Veda, Samaveda, Yajur (Black and White) Vedas, Atharva Veda, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Puranas, and they are definitely not as common beliefs or rumors passed down from generation to generation. A comparison is made with the character and attributes of God as described in the Christian Bible.

Similarly, the author explores the origin of Hinduism's major doctrines: Krishna's claims, the Samsara cycle, Trimurti, avatars, dharma, self-realizations, renunciation of and freedom from attachments, yogic meditation, demonic possession, and minor doctrines like worship, idol worship, sin, death incarnation, castes, hell, curses, women, astrology, etc. as found in the ancient sacred Vedic texts as mentioned above and compared them with the theology, doctrines, and practices as found in the Christian Bible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887514574

Book preview

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Hinduism and the Man on the Cross

Norman Law

ISBN 979-8-88751-456-7 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88751-457-4 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Norman Law

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Used by permission www.Lockman.org.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

References for the Sacred Hindu Texts

Preface

Some Biblical Quotations on Satan, the Serpent and Lord of All Deceivers

Introduction

Chapter 1

Archeological Evidence of Ancient Civilizations, Periods (Dates), Temples, and Settlement Sites

1. Anatolia

2. Mesopotamia (Sumer)

3. Syria (And Parts of Eastern Turkey)

4. Turkey

5. Indus Valley Civilization (Pakistan and Northwest India)

6. Oldest Temples of India

Comments

Chapter 2

Original Common Language to Multi-Languages and Its Dispersion

(i) Biblical Evidences

Comments

(ii) Eridu (Babylon of Mesopotamia or Sumer)

(iii) Universal Language (Attested in Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta)

(iv) Zoroaster (Avestan)

Date of Zoroaster

(v) Terms in Sanskrit: Avestan

Some identical verses from Vedas and the Avesta:

(vi) World's Oldest Written Language

(vii) Egyptian Writings (Hieroglyphics)

(viii) Oldest Hindu Sacred Text

(ix) Timeline for the Vedas

Comments

Chapter 3

Migration

Introduction

A. Natural Migration

B. Migration and Trade with the Indus Valley Civilization

C. Forced Migration (Circa 1400 BC; Christian Holy Bible)

Comments

Conclusions

Chapter 4

Hindu Sacred Texts and the Christian Holy Bible, Mythologies

A. Introduction

B. Rig Veda (1500–1200 BCE)

Indian Caste System (for details, please go to chapter 11, section f)

C. Samaveda (1200-thousand BCE)

D. Yajur Veda (Black and White; 1000–500 BCE)

E. Atharvaveda (1000–500 BCE)

F. Upanishad (900–300 BCE)

G. Bhagavad Gita (400–200BCE)

H. Ramayana (700–400BCE) Translated by Ramesh Menon

I. Mahabharata (400 BCE) Translated by Ramesh Menon

J. Puranas (Meaning: Ancient)

K. Christian Holy Bible

L. Mythologies

Chapter 5

Who and What Is the God of the Christian Bible?

A. Introduction

B. God's Attributes

C. Texts Supporting God's Attributes

The fulfillment

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

D. Overall Commentary

Chapter 6

Satan (Devil), Fallen Angels, and Evil Spirits or Demons

A. Introduction

B. Satan Fell and Was Thrown Out of Heaven

Comments

C. Appearance of Satan (The Anointed Cherub and Fallen Angel)

Comments

D. Character of Satan

Comments

Comments

E. Satan's Weakness

Comments

F. Satan, the Deceiver

G. The Eventual End of Satan (The Devil), His Rebellious Angels, Evil Spirits, and Demons

Comments

H. Demons, Fallen Angels, or Evil Spirits

I. Worshipping of Angels (Evil Spirits or Demons)

Comments

J. Jesus Gave Power and Authority Over Evil Spirits, Angels, or Demons

K. Satan Entered Judas; Spiritual Possession

Comments

L. Sacrifices to Demons

Comments

M. Evil Spirits and Demons in Animals and Idols

N. Different Types of Evil Spirits or Demons

Comments

O. If God Is Truth, Who Then Is a Deceiver and Liar?

Comment

P. Warning Against Evil Spirits, Teaching False Doctrines

Comments

Q. God's Warning

Comments

R. Warning Against False Doctrines by Angels or Demons

Comments

Chapter 7

Major Hindu Deities (Detailed List Summary Is Found in the Respective Chapters)

Chapter 7A

Brahma

A. Introduction

Comments

B. Vedic Prajapati Is Not the Hindu God, Brahma

Comments

C. Creation of Brahma

Comments

D. Brahma's Appearance

Comments

E. Brahma's Feminine Power

Comments

F. Brahma Witnessed Rama's Suicide

Comments

G. Brahma's Power

Comments

Comments

H. Brahma, the Creator

Comments

I. Brahma's Time and Life Span

Comments

J. Trimurti (For More on the Trimurti Versus the Trinity, Please Go to Chapter 7); Brahma/Shiva/Vishnu; Shiva/Brahma/Vishnu/Creation/Sati Went to Daksha Yagna

Comments

K. Brahma's Character

Comments

L. Brahma's Attributes

Comments

Chapter 7B

Vishnu

A. Introduction

B. Vishnu's Appearance

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

C. The Creation of Vishnu (by Shiva)

Comments

D. Vishnu's Home (Loka) or Vaikunth

Comments

E. Praises and Worship of Vishnu

Comments

Comments

Comments

F. Vishnu's Attributes

Comments

G. Vishnu and His Avatars

Comments

H. Vishnu and His Consorts

Comments

I. Trimurti

Comments

J. Vishnu's Attributes

Comments

Chapter 7C

Shiva

A. Introduction

B. Brahma Creates Rudra (Shiva) from His Mind

Comments

C. Shiva's Appearance

Comments

D. Shiva's Powers

Comments

E. Shiva's Son, Kartikeya

Comments

Comments

F. Shiva's Weapon

Comments

G. Shiva's End

Comments

H. Trimurti

Comments

I. Doctrines

Comments

J. The Many Consorts of Shiva

Comments

K. Shiva Worship

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

L. Rudra

Comments

General comments

M. Rudra in the Vedas

Comments

N. Shiva's Incarnations

Comments

O. Maruts (Son of Rudra and Prisni)

Comments

P. Shiva's Character

Comments

Comments

Q. Shiva's Attributes

Comments

Chapter 7D

Indra

A. Introduction

B. Indra's Appearance

C. Indra's Transportation, Weapon, and Status

Comments

D. In Praise of Indra

Comments

E. In the Vedas, Indra Comes to the Sacrifice and Worship, Soma Drinks and Song, and to Give Wealth in Cattle to the Villagers, Subdue the People, and Give Fame

Comments

F. Indra's Exploits

G. Indra, a God Unable to Defeat His Enemies

Comments

H. In Praise of Indra Driving Away Sins

Comments

I. Animal Sacrifices to Indra

General comments

J. Indra's Claim that Certain Sacrifices Are Needed for Certain Rewards

Comments

General comments

K. Indra's Character (Deceptions)

Comments

L. Indra in Conflict

Comments

M. Prajapati Teaches Indra and Virochana

Comments

N. Indra's Yagna to Vishnu

Comments

O. Indra Cursed

Comments

P. Indra's Attributes

Comments

Chapter 7E

Krishna and His Doctrines

A. Introduction

B. Krishna's Rebirths

Comments

C. Krishna's Childhood

Comments

D. Krishna's Appearance

Comments

Comments

Comments

E. Krishna's Role, Purpose, and Responsibility

Comments

F. Krishna's Claims (With Continuation in Chapter 10, Section B)

Comments

Comments

Comments

G. Krishna's Requests for Boons from Shiva

Comments

H. Krishna's Doctrines

Introduction

Comments

Comments

Comments

I. More on Krishna

Comments

Comments

J. Krishna in Conflict

Comments

K. The Fighting Krishna

Comments

L. Krishna Killing a Demon

Comments

M. Krishna's Ability to Bring Dead Folks from Yamloka (Hell)

Comments

N. Krishna's Character, the Great Deceiver and Lord of the Maya

Comments

Comments

O. Curses on Gods and Deities

Comments

P. Krishna's Last Days

Comments

Q. Krishna and His Wives

Comments

R. Krishna's Attributes

Summary

Chapter 7F

Rama

Ramayana (7–4 BCE) Translated by Ramesh Menon

A. Introduction

B. The Beginning of Rama

Comments

Comments

C. Rama's Character

Comments

D. To Rama, His Brother Meant More to Him Than His Wife, Sita

Comments

E. Rama's Changed Personality: His Reputation

Comments

F. Sita Hid Her Pregnancy from Rama

Comments

G. Rama and Sita

Comments

H. Sita's Suicide and Rama's Indifference

I. Rama's Reaction

Comments

J. Brahma Testified to Sita's Purity

Comments

Alternate story

Comments

K. Rama's Reaction to Sita's Suicide and His Own Suicide

Comments

L. Astrology and Prophecy on Rama's Separation from His Wife, Sita

Comments

Addendum

M. Comments Regarding Rama's Character

Chapter 8

The Biblical Trinity and the Trimurti

A. Introduction

B. Biblical Trinity

C. The Unity and Oneness of the Biblical Trinity

D. Scriptures Testifying that God the Father and God the Son, Jesus, Are One

E. There Is Only One God

Comments

F. Hindu Trimurti

The origin or beginning of the Trimurti

G. Conflicts among Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva

Introduction

Comments

General Comment

Chapter 9

Avatars

A. Introduction

B. Avatars of the Vishnu

Comments

C. Shiva and His Ten Incarnations

Comments

D. Ganesh

E. Creation of Hanuman

F. Seven Avatars of Brahma

G. Doctrine on Possession

H. General Comments

Conclusions

I. Dissatisfaction with the Status Quo

Chapter 10

Major Hindu Doctrines (II)

A. Introduction

B. Krishna's Claims

Comments

C. Krishna's Doctrine: Dharma

Comments

D. Self-Realization and the Vedic Practices

Comments

E. Self-Realization

Comments

F. Self-Realization and Possession

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

G. Self-Realization and Freedom from Attachments

Comments

H. Self-Realization and Renunciation

Comments

I. Self-Realization and Selfless Service

Comments

J. Self-Realization and the Samsara Cycle

Comments

K. Self-Realization and Yoga

Comments

L. Yoga and Meditation

Comments

M. Self-Realization and Yoga Mantram

Comments

N. Demonic Possession

Comments

Chapter 11

Miscellaneous Hindu Doctrines (III)

Introduction

A. Worship

Comments

B. Idol Worship

Comments

General comments

C. Sin

Comments

Comments

Comments

D. Death and Incarnation

Comments

E. Castes

Comments

F. Hell

Comments

Comments

Comments

G. Curses

Comments

H. Various Other Hindu Doctrines

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Chapter 12

Doctrines and the Practices of Snake Worship

A. Hindu Doctrines and the Practices on Snake Worship

Comments

B. Christian Doctrine on Snake Worship

Chapter 13

Animal Sacrifices

Chapter 13A

Origin of Animal Sacrifices in Judaism and Christianity

A. Introduction to Biblical Christian Doctrine on Sin Offerings

B. All Have Sinned

C. Only One Mediator

D. Reason for Redemption

E. Redemption through Blood Sacrifice

F. Detailed Procedures of the Animal Sacrifice: An Old Covenant (Pre-AD 27), Which Is a Shadow of What Is to Come or Fulfilled for Sin

G. Prophecy of a New Covenant to Come (Circa 600 BC)

H. New Covenant (Circa AD 27), a Fulfillment of the Old Covenant

I. The Crucifixion

J. The Resurrection

K. The Ascension

L. Doctrine of the New Covenant

Chapter 13B

Vedic Animal Sacrifices and Eating

A. Introduction

B. The Following Quotations Offer Irrefutable Proofs that the Early Vedic Hindus Were Meat Eaters

Comments

Comments

General comments

Chapter 14

Sexuality in Christianity and in Hinduism

A. Purpose of Creation

B. Marriage, Love, Pleasure, and Procreation

C. Immorality: Adultery, Sex without Marriage, Rape, Incest, Homosexuality, and Bestiality

D. Consequences of Immorality

E. Sexuality in Hinduism

Comments

Glossary

About the Author

To the Only One True, Holy, and Righteous God, whose Glory outshines the brightest star and whose Love, Mercy, Compassion, Grace, Wisdom, and Blessings are found in His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, be my praise, forever and ever. Amen.

References for the Sacred Hindu Texts

Rig Veda, Samada Veda, White Yajur Veda, and Atharvaveda by Ralph T. H. Griffith. Black Yajur Veda by Arthur B. Keith. Compiled and edited by Jon William Fergus

Upanishad by Eknath Easwaran

Ramayana as translated by Ramesh Menon

Bhagavad Gita as translated by Eknath Easwaran

Mahabharata by Ramesh Menon

Puranas as compiled by the Dharmic Scriptures Team of India, October 3, 2002

Pictures/Images of the following:

Brahma was taken by Dennis Jarvis and Uploaded by Mark Cartwright in mAy 2015. Licensed under Creative Commons. Attribution-ShareAlike

Vishnu A sculpture of sleeping Vishnu Hindu Deity at Museum CSMVS, Mumbai, India. Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0

, via Wikimedia Commons (Huchchap

paiyya Gudi Temple Aihole, Bagalkot, Karnataka)

Shiva was taken by Thejas Panarkandy, Licensed under Creative Commons. Attribution (Statue of Shiva at Murudeshiwar)

Indra by Nomu 420 (On the East side of a Hindu Temple)

Krishna by L. Mandle, Honalulu Academy of Arts, gift of Mr & Mrs Christian Aall, 1993, 7454.1 Creative Commons legal code (Scultpure of Tamil Nadu, India)

Rama Original image by Sowrirajan. Uploaded by MArk Cartwright in Spetember 2015. Licensed under: Creative Commons. Attribution (Sculpture of Rama from Srivaikundam, Tamil Nadu, India)

Meditation Posture of a Yogi and a King Cobra: Statue of meditating Shiva at Murugeshpalya, Bangalore posted in 2008 by Indianhilbilly, using Flicker and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution—Share Alike 2.0 Generic and the King Cobra was taken by Dr. Anand Titus and Geeta N. Pereira

[e-mail]

Shiva's Penis or Linga was taken by Mohit Prasad in August 2017. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.

ASI Monument Number N-KA-B56 (: Linga Temple near Narsimha Statue Badavilinga Temple)

Preface

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world, and it predates Christianity and Islam by over 2,000 years, yet it is cloaked in mystery and has over a billion followers. Many shake or wave off its stories and tales as mythologies, but that would be a great disrespect to Hinduism and its historical past. In fact, if you had read the Christian Bible, you would be able to understand the beginning of Vedic Hinduism.

If you have never seen an angel or supernatural entity before and one appeared to you claiming and he is a god, it would scare the living daylights out of you, and you have no choice but to accept what is told and worship that angel as a god. You certainly do not know how to verify if that supernatural being or angel is a god. In the Christian Bible, it talks about angels visiting mankind, and many preached false doctrines. They are called fallen angels, who have been under the control of the greatest of them all, the great Cherubim, an angel with wings, named Lucifer and called Satan or the devil.

Satan led one-third of the angels in heaven to rebel against God and failed. They were thrown out of heaven and were called fallen angels. The fallen angels are spirits or demons, and they try to possess human bodies. Satan and the demonic angels have been causing havoc ever since as well as him and the demonic spirits. They do have powers over the earth and the air. So this book exposes the character of the Hindu gods.

Some Biblical Quotations on Satan, the Serpent and Lord of All Deceivers

And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:9)

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. (Revelations 20:1–3; emphasis added)

You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:14–16)

Introduction

This book deals with the archeological evidence, language, migration, and the character of the different major Hindu gods and doctrines. Many questions are raised, and it is up to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.

Hinduism has a pantheon of gods, and the numbers grow with each passing year. It is not different in Mesopotamia, over four thousand years ago where they had thousands of gods. It amounts to the general dissatisfaction with the gods that they have. If you are satisfied with the one that answers to every need, why would you want another? Hinduism is ready to adopt another god if it thinks that god will meet his or her needs. The gods, therefore, have become their servants, answering to all their needs, and when their needs are not answered, it is time for another new servant!

The content of this book is taken from the Rig Veda, Samaveda, Black Yajur Veda, White Yajur Veda, Atharvaveda, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and the Puranas, and the Christian Bible. A majority of Hindus, practicing and nonpracticing, do not even know where their passed-on doctrines and stories, which they hold dearly, came from. So the book is an attempt to provide Hindus a connection with the roots of their religion.

This book challenges the Hindus with regard to their concept of God, which has been passed on from generation to generation and has been accepted without question. If the truth be known, no one really dares to question their parents or elders less they be punished, ostracized, and at worst, kicked out of their villages and disowned.

Seeking the truth is not for the faint-hearted, and it is only for the relentless. India had made a giant step in their progress in the twenty-first century, and it is rich in culture, the arts and trading, and has advanced today in its technical abilities and resources. But it is stuck in a religion with Vedic roots and is discouraged from asking those necessary questions to discover the truths. Truth must form the basis of a civilization, if it is to be a great civilization. This book is only a kickoff and start for seeking the truth, to ask those necessary questions, and attempts to provide the necessary texts from the Hindu Sacred Texts for your long and honorable journey. Yes, indeed, it is an honorable and noble quest, and there is nothing higher.

What is not addressed here is how the beliefs in the Hindu gods affected the national character of the Indian populous as it is not the role nor position of the author to judge.

It is also not the intent of the author to denigrate, put down, or slander another person's faith and beliefs as all the sources of the writings are from the sacred Vedic Hindu texts and the Christian Bible. The intent of the author's comments are to stir the readers to reason and come to terms with their own conclusions as everyone has a right to their own faith and beliefs.

Chapter 1

Archeological Evidence of Ancient Civilizations, Periods (Dates), Temples, and Settlement Sites

This first chapter identifies some of the archeological and other findings that show the following: (i) the Middle Eastern civilizations existed with worship temples and its pantheon of deities, including deities with the same names as those of Hinduism, at least 2,000 years before the first evidence of temple worship in India; (ii) the migration of the Middle Eastern people (Aryans, Amorites, Hittites, Canaanites, etc.) into the Indus Valley (present-day Pakistan, Northwest India, and some parts of Afghanistan); and (iii) that Sanskrit did not migrate north to the Middle East, nor did Egyptian hieroglyphics, but that the opposite is true.

1. Anatolia

Gobekli Tepe (Turkey; 13000–8000 BCE): to date the oldest human settlement and sites of worship discovered.

2. Mesopotamia (Sumer)

Ubaid Period (6500–3800 BCE): Upper Mesopotamia: absorbed the Halaf Period (6500-5500 BCE); evidence of 300 to thousand different deities (https://www.ancient.eu/Early_Dynasic_Period_(Mesopotamia)/By Joshua J. Mark,

October 2019)

Eridu (6500–3800 BCE): settlement (urban center) Temple—Ziggurat of Enki (https://thoughtco.com/eridu-iraq-earliest-city-in-mesopotamia-170

802#:~text=Eridu is among the earliest, Ubaid to Late Uruk periods).

Sumer Period (4500–2000 BCE): Sumerian Temples—Ziggurat 3400 BCE (https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/sumer).

Uruk Period (4000–3100 BCE): Upper Mesopotamia: settlement (urban center); in Habuba Kabira, there were two temples. Tablet W 5233, a/VAT 15245: description on CDLI (https://web.archive.org/web/20110925035156/; https://www.cdii.ucla.edu/cdiisearch/index.php?SearchMode=

Browse&ResultCount=1&txtID_Txt=P000734).

Algaze Guillermo, The Uruk World System: The Dynamics of Expansion of Early Mesopotamia Civilization (Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press).

Other temple periods: Elam (3300–539 BCE) Part of modern-day western Iran; Proto Elamite Period (3200–2700 BCE); Old Elamite Period (2700–1500 BCE); Middle Period (1500–1100 BCE); Neo Elamite Period (1100–539 BCE); Invaded by Kassites (1400–1210 BCE)

Dynastic Temple (1150-1120 BCE): https://www.livius.org/articles/place/susa/susa-photos/susa-temple-of-the-sutrukids/

Amorites: in Western Mesopotamia, Northern Syria, and Canaan (3000 BCE).

Nomadic people: There were no temples, but they absorbed the deities of the places where they settled and as well as lands they had conquered. They worshipped a pantheon of deities, but there is no evidence of temple or sacrifices.

(Amorite (people), Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., Retrieved 30 November 2012)

Akkadian Period (2334–2150 BCE; replaced the Sumerian Period); King Sargon's daughter Enheduanna (2285–2250), a high priestess of the temple of Inanna (Ishtar) in the city of Ur (https://www.ancient.eu/Early_Dynasic_Period_(Mesopotamia)/ By Joshua J. Mark, October 2019).

Kassite (1500 BCE): From Northern Iran: pantheon of deities (some names written in Sanskrit; C2007, last updated 08/18/2017, at piereligion.org/kassite.html).

3. Syria (And Parts of Eastern Turkey)

Mitanni (Syria; 1500–1300 BCE): Horse training manual (some words written in Sanskrit).

Mitanni Peace Treaty (1380 BCE) with names of Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and Nasatya as witnesses. These are names of Vedic deities in the Vedas and deities in Hinduism.

T. Burrow, The Proto Indo-Aryans The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 2 (1973), pp. 123–140 (Cambridge University Press), https://www.jstor.org/stable/25203451.

P. Thieme, The Aryan Gods of the Mitanni Treaties, JAOS. 60. 1960. 301–306.

Sten Konow, Aryan Gods of the Mitanni People (Christiania, 1921).

4. Turkey

Hittites and Hurrians (present-day Turkey): Old Kingdom, 1680–1500, Middle Kingdom 1500–1430, Empire 1430–1200. Total collapse around 1180 BC (Matthews, 2010).

Weather deities with numerous temples.

Temples in Hattusa (1300 BCE)

(https://www.google.com/search?q=Hittites+and+Hurrians&oq=Hittites&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j0l6.8974j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)

The Kingdom of the Hittites History Essay, UK Essays (November 2018), Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/the-kingdom-of-the-hittites-history-essay.php?vref=1.

5. Indus Valley Civilization (Pakistan and Northwest India)

Mahenjo Daro (2500 BCE)

Mohenjo-Daro (Archaeological Site, Pakistan), Encyclopedia Britannica website, Retrieved on 25 November 2019.

Jump up to: Gregory L. Possehl (11 November 2002), The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective (Rowman Altamira), p. 80, ISBN 978-0-7591-1642-9.

Archeological site in the Indus River Valley Civilization.

There areno temples, figurines, or statuettes of Vedic deities found in the digs. There is no evidence of Sanskrit or Avestan.

Harappan (3,000–1,300 BCE)

Archeological sites in the Indus Valley Civilization (Pakistan). Same reference as Mahenjo Daro above.

There were no temples, but they had some figurines or statuettes showing no clear evidence of Hindu or Vedic deities. Different conclusions were drawn from the Pashupati seal by different authors.

There was a discovery of firepits but no clear evidence that they were used for animal sacrifices.

No evidence of Sanskrit or Avestan language.

The Pashupati Seal is a steatite seal that was discovered at the Mohenjo Daro archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilization. The seal depicts a seated figure that is possibly tricephalic (having three heads). It was once thought to be ithyphallic, an interpretation that is now mostly discarded. The man has a horned head dress and is surrounded by animals. He may represent a horned deity.

"Hope B. Werness, Continuum Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism in World Art (A&C Black, 2006), p. 270, ISBN 0826419135, 9780826419132, google books.

The Pashupati seal can be found in the National Museum, New Delhi, India.

6. Oldest Temples of India

https://medium.com/@swami_rara/oldest-temples-in-india-995a29bb45a4.

Jagatpita Brahma Temple (AD 20): Brahma.

Dwarakadish Temple (AD 480): Vishnu.

Badami Cave Temple (sixth century AD): Vishnu.

Durga Temple Aihole (seventh or eighth century AD): Shiva/Vishnu.

Kailasa Temple (AD 756–773): Shiva.

Kedarnath Temple (eighth century): Shiva.

Badrinath Temple (eighth century): Vishnu

Adi Kumbeswarar Temple (AD 900): Shiva

Ambarnath Temple (AD 1060): Shiva

Brihadeeswarar Temple (AD 1010): Shiva

Comments

What is significant in the above information from findings of all the archeological digs in Turkey, Syria, Mesopotamia (including present-day Iraq), Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (Indus Valley Civilization), and Northwest India is that there was no temple or evidence of temple worship in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and in Northwest India before AD 20, whereas in the Middle East, temples had existed more than two thousand years prior.

In archeological digs in Harappan, the Indus Valley Civilization, where only figurines or statuettes were found meant the religion was not flourishing and was not practiced as a group of believers. The worship of deities remained as a private household practice. Therefore, it is more likely or a possibility that the statuettes were brought in by migrants.

In the Middle Eastern countries, there was a pantheon (three hundred to a thousand) of deities, and their worship was associated with the hosts of the heavens, like the celestial bodies of the sun, moon, stars, and weather deities like storm, water, fire, and lightning, etc. There are, of course, deities of fertility, death, disaster, afterlife, harvest, animals, rewards, etc. All the deities are similar with that of Hinduism in India, but they come with different names according to the civilizations, culture, and language. These deities existed and were worshipped much before the Vedas (1500–800 BCE), which was compiled and written around 500 BCE. However, there are also many terms and deities with almost the same sounding names.

From the above, it is very difficult or even impossible to postulate or theorize (i) the pantheon of deities that moved from India to the Middle East but otherwise, and (ii) the idea that temple worship moved from India to the Middle East because the archeological evidences testify to the contrary.

Chapter 2

Original Common Language to Multi-Languages and Its Dispersion

Chapter 2 discusses the historical movement and development of the languages Sumerian, Avestan, Sanskrit, and Egyptian hieroglyphics, and those languages cannot just appear fully developed without the preliminary stages of development.

The evidence from development of written languages can be found in the Middle East in the form of pictographs and then cuneiforms and, finally, its written form. India's written language is Sanskrit. Ardent and zealous nationalists are very proud of it and naturally so, but some venture to say that Sanskrit originated from India; similarly, that hieroglyphics migrated from Egypt to the Middles East. Is impossible to prove that as all written languages must have their developmental evidences like pictographs and cuneiforms, but none could be found in India or in the Indus Valley civilization.

There is archeological evidence provided of written Sanskrit in the Mitanni civilization as well as names of deities (of Hinduism) way before that of India. It is impossible to jump from having no developmental evidence to having a sophisticated and complex written Sanskrit. The information provided showed that Sanskrit did not originate from India but from the Mitanni people of Syria and parts of Northeast Turkey.

I do believe that many times, there are difficulties in translating ancient Sanskrit, and where there are no equivalent words in other languages, some of the true meanings were lost in translation. Nevertheless, we have to deal with it the best we can.

(i) Biblical Evidences

Genesis 11:1–9 (NASB; Jewish Torah/Christian Bible) Inspired Word of God written by Moses:

Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar (Babylon) and settled there. They said to one another, Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly. And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth. The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. The Lord said, Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing, which they purpose to do, will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech. So, the Lord scattered them abroad from there, over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth. (emphasis added)

Comments

The biblical account only documents the dispersion of the people that settled in Babel, which is one of the earliest urban centers in history. All the people of that period did not live in Babel. Therefore, the biblical account is about the dispersion of the urbanites of Babel. The archeological findings in Eridu support the biblical account as shown above.

(ii) Eridu (Babylon of Mesopotamia or Sumer)

Tower of Babel (circa 2350–2300 BCE): archeological evidences of the tower of Babel in Eridu and its dispersion provided by archeologist Dr. Douglas Petrovich.

Dr. Doug Petrovich, Identifying Babel and Its Tower (Conf Lecture), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1b3jzT5GkE.

Dr. Doug Petrovich, Identifying the Post-Babel Dispersion (Conf Lecture),

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4_7KlM59rA.

(iii) Universal Language (Attested in Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta)

Archeological evidences and writings (Enmerkar was a legendary king of Uruk, Sumer) from the early Sumerian civilization confirmed the biblical account written by Moses and inspired of God, as shown in (i), of a common language spoken amongst all people. It also attested to the fact that the early Sumer people suddenly spoke in all the different languages and dispersed through all the lands. This confirmed the account spoken of in Genesis of the Bible as shown above.

An ancient Sumerian writing known as Enmerkar showed the legendary king of Uruk and the Lord of Aratta, attested to the time when a universal language was spoken on earth. Here is a portion:

In those days, the mountain lands of Shubur (Shinar or Babylon, Sumer) and Hamazi, the mountain of noble functions, Akkad, the mountain land resting in the meadows, the mountain land of the nomads, the people taken care of gave praise to Enlil (Sumerian deity) in one tongue.

In those days, the contending lord, the contending prince, the contending king, Enki—the contending lord, the contending prince, the contending king, the contending lord of wisdom, the wise one of the countries, the sage of the gods—changed the language in their mouths, as many as had been established, the language of (each one of) mankind being one. (emphasis added)

The ancient sources attest to a single language.

(Dr. Doug Petrovich, Identifying the Post-Babel Dispersion (Conf Lecture), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4_7KlM59rA.)

(iv) Zoroaster (Avestan)

Zoroaster was a Persian prophet, whose teachings form the basis of the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism. His name was derived from the Greek translation of Zarathustra, which means shining light.

Date of Zoroaster

Scholars considerably differ about the date of Zoroaster's birth. Greek sources place Zoroaster at six thousand years before the death of Plato; that is, about 6350 BC. Archeological remains in Turfan, China, state that Zoroaster was born 2,715 years after the Great Storm, placing his birth at 1767 BC. The latest dates for his life come from Persian writings that place him 258 years before Alexander; that is, about 600 BC. Many other scholars place Zoroaster's birth between 1500 and 1200 BC (Contractor, Dinshaw, and Hutoxy, Zoroastrianism: History, Beliefs, and Practices, Quest, 91.1 [January–February 2003]: 4–9).

There are also common terms and names of deities found in Sanskrit versus Avestan (language spoken in Iran at the time of Zoroaster).

(v) Terms in Sanskrit: Avestan

Deity: deva: daeva

Priests: hotar: zoatar

Sacrificial drink: soma: haoma

Sacrifice: yajna: yasna

Worship: stotra: zaothra

Lord: asura: ahora

Demon: raksha: rakshas

List of some Sanskrit and Avestan names for deities:

Some identical verses from Vedas and the Avesta:

(https://www.hindupedia.com/en/Zoroastrianism_and_Hinduism By Himanshu Bhatt)

(vi) World's Oldest Written Language

The oldest known written language is Sumerian, and it dates to at least 3500 BC. The earliest proof that the written Sumerian language existed was the Kish Tablet, which was found in Iraq.

Sumerian is older than Egyptian, but it only lasted as a spoken language until around 2000 BC, when it was replaced by another language called Akkadian. The existence of the Sumerian language was unknown to the world until the nineteenth century, when archaeologists began to find evidence of the language (https://www.oldest.org/culture/written-languages/#:~:text=The%20oldest%20known%20written%20language,which%20was%20found%20in%20Iraq).

(vii) Egyptian Writings (Hieroglyphics)

Ancient Egyptian writing is known as hieroglyphics and developed at some point prior to the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150–2613 BCE; https://www.ancient.eu/Egyptian_Writing/#:~:text=Ancient%20Egyptian%20writing%20is%20known,came%20to%20Egypt%20through%20trad).

The first stage used elementary pictures that were soon also used to record sounds. Cuneiform probably preceded Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, because we know of early Mesopotamian experiments and ‘dead-ends' as the established script developed—including the beginning of signs and numbers—whereas the hieroglyphic system seems to have been born more or less perfectly formed and ready to go.

Almost certainly, Egyptian writing evolved from cuneiform; it cannot have been an on-the-spot invention.

(https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/cuneiform-6-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-worlds-oldest-writing-system/)

(viii) Oldest Hindu Sacred Text

Sanskrit language (from Sanskrit saṃskṛta, adorned, cultivated, purified), an Old Indo-Aryan language in which the most ancient documents are the Vedas, is composed in what is called Vedic Sanskrit. Although Vedic documents represent the dialects then found in the northern midlands of the Indian subcontinent and areas immediately east thereof, the very earliest texts, including the Rig Veda (The Veda Composed in Verses), which scholars generally ascribe to approximately 1500 BCE, stem from the northwestern part of the subcontinent, the area of the ancient seven rivers (sapta sindhavaḥ; https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sanskrit-language).

NB: The word Aryan is of Sanskrit origin and was hijacked to refer to certain European Caucasian ethnic groups. And the word Indo-Aryan does not refer to people of the Indian continent but the people that settled in the Middle East. The word Aryan is where we get the word Iran, referring the ancient people of Persia.

(ix) Timeline for the Vedas

Rig Veda (1500–1200BCE)

Sama Veda (1200–1000 BCE)

Yajur (Black and White) Veda (1000–500 BCE)

Atharva Veda (1000–500 BCE)

The Vedas were only written down after 500 BCE.

(Michael Witzel, Vedas and Upaniṣads Flood 2003, p. 69; For oral composition and oral transmission for many hundreds of years before being written down, see: Avari, 2007, p. 76; Bujor Avari, India: The Ancient Past (London, Routledge, 2007), ISBN:978-0-415-35616-9; Michael Wood, The Story of India, Hardcover (BBC Worldwide, 2007).

Comments

From the above, we can see similarities between Avestan and Sanskrit and how Sanskrit is derived from Avestan, and once established, Sanskrit continues to develop and matures on its own as can be found in the Vedas. Similarly, like the Egyptian hieroglyphics, Sanskrit cannot be an on-the-spot invention, and no evidence can be found in India of its development.

Chapter 3

Migration

Introduction

This chapter discusses the migration of religious practices and languages. There were evidences of trade and migration between the Indus Valley Civilization and Mesopotamia prior to 1900 BC, and the migration was prominently to the south.

A. Natural Migration

Archeologist Dr. Doug Petrovich provided the evidence on the dispersion of the urbanites in Babel as shown in chapter 1. There was no war, famine, not natural catastrophe that forced the people to move out of Babel (Dr. Doug Petrovich, Identifying the post-Babel Dispersion (Conf Lecture), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4_7KlM59rA).

We can safely assume that the former urban people of Eridu (Babel) migrated in all directions as we can see the archeological evidences of their language, arts, culture, and religion spread to all the lands around them, north, south, east, and west. The dispersion of the people from the Babel was around 2200 BC. Many migrated to the Indus Valley.

B. Migration and Trade with the Indus Valley Civilization

Trade between the Indus Valley Civilization and the cities of Mesopotamia and Elam can be inferred from numerous finds of Indus artifacts, particularly in the excavation as Susa. Various objects made with shell species that are characteristic of the Indus coast, particularly Trubinella Pyrum and Fasciolaria Trapezium, have been found in the archaeological sites of Mesopotamia and Susa dating from around 2500–2000 BC (T. R. Gensheimer, The Role of Shell in Mesopotamia: Evidence for Trade Exchange with Oman and the Indus Valley [1984], pp. 71–72). Carnelian beads from the Indus were found in Susa in the excavation of the tell of the citadel (Jane McIntosh, The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives [ABC-CLIO, 2008], pp. 182–190, ISBN 9781576079072).

In particular, carnelian beads with an etched design in white were probably imported from the Indus Valley and made according to a technique of acid-etching developed by the Harappans. (jump up to: Musée Guimet, Les Cités oubliées de l'Indus: Archéologie du Pakistan in French [FeniXX réédition numérique, 2016], p. 355, ISBN 9782402052467; Amanda H. Podany, Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East [Oxford University Press, 2012], p. 49, ISBN 978-0-19-971829-0; Joan Aruz, Ronald Wallenfels, Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium BC from the Mediterranean to the Indus [2003], p. 246, ISBN 978-1-58839-043-1). Square-shaped Indus seals of fired steatite have been found at a few sites in Mesopotamia.

Exchanges seemed to have waned after 1900 BC, together with the disappearance of the Indus valley civilization (Julian E. Reade, The Indus-Mesopotamia Relationship Reconsidered (Gs Elisabeth During Caspers) [Archaeopress, 2008], pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-1-4073-0312-).

C. Forced Migration (Circa 1400 BC; Christian Holy Bible)

With the conquest of the land of the Canaan after 1250 to 1200 BC, most of the people were driven out. To the west is the Mediterranean Sea, to the north were the powerful Hittites and Assyrian people, and to the east were the Semitic people, so one of the options available, due southeast, would be to finally arrive in the rich and fertile Indus Valley.

Tribes forced out by the conquering Israelites:

Joshua 3:9–10:

Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God. Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite." (emphasis added)

Deuteronomy 7:1:

When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you. (emphasis added)

Numbers 26:51 says, "These are those who were numbered of the sons of Israel, 601,730 (the number is that of the number of warring males that entered the land of Canaan)" (emphasis added).

Therefore, the estimated total size of Israelites (men, women and children) moving into Canaan is abouttwo million.

Time it took to possess the land of Canaan;Joshua 1:1 to Judges 1:1–2:10 (about seven years).

Comments

The conquest of Canaan is said to happen around 1250–1200 BCE (https://www.ancient.eu/canaan).

The question that comes to mind is what happened to all those people (seven tribes, etc. as mentioned in book of Genesis of the Bible or Torah) in the land of Canaan? The biblical scriptures said that some of the tribes decided to stay with the Israelites, and some were probably assimilated into them. The dispersed people must be in the hundreds of thousands as even the conquerors were close to two million people (men, women, and children). At that time period, to see two million people on the move would be a spectacular and fearful sight, and no population of that period in the land of Canaan or surrounding areas was ever that massive in size. The news of their movement would throw the different population into an upheaval, horror, and a sense of fear and impending overlording and to live in servitude. Therefore, most of the population picked up and left. Some left even before their arrival and many, after being conquered, fled.

The original people of the land could not have gone north as the northern tribe (Hittites) was too strong. To the west is the Mediterranean Sea. The Assyrian and the Elamites to the east were too strong militarily. Egypt was too strong military and was not exactly friendly as the Egyptians and made many warring incursions up north. The only natural direction to head for was the southeast. Most of the land due south was the Arabian desert. So my hypothesis is that the most suitable place to move to is the Indus Valley for its lush vegetation and fertile soil and that it had existing settlements. So they brought with them their language, culture, arts, music, and their pantheon of deities.

The forced migration took more than the seven years for the Israelites, too, to occupy the land of Canaan and the land east of the Jordan River. Therefore, we can easily surmise that the migration to the Indus Valley took more than ten to fifteen years.

The Indus Valley must have seen a sharp spike in the different peoples arriving over a ten-to-fifteen-year period with their culture, arts, languages, skills, and their pantheon of deities. All these migrations eventually have their influence on the population of Northwest India of that time period.

The event of the forced migration would certainly add to the first wave of natural migration of some of the people of Eridu (Babel) from the Uruk Period, other than the people that settled there from trade and commerce in that period.

Conclusions

From the above, one can safely conclude the following: (i) that original deities in India originate from the Middle East; (ii) that Sanskrit came from the Middle East to India; (iii) temple worship of deities in the Middle East existed at least two thousand years before any evidence of temple worship in India; and (iv) the peoples that moved into the Indus Valley and northwest India were more than just Aryans but also some of the peoples and tribes driven out of Canaan, together with their pantheon of deities.

Chapter 4

Hindu Sacred Texts and the Christian Holy Bible, Mythologies

A. Introduction

It is the intent of the author to discuss the contents of the sacred books listed below and not on the artistry of the writing or the poetic structure of the writing itself. There is no denial that the books listed below are of great treasure to the Hindus, Indian people, as well as to the rest of the world.

The authorship of the Vedas is unknown but said to be, by many, rishis or sages and later was said to be compiled by Maharishi Vyasa. However, it does run into logistical problems under present-day norms as Maharishi Vyasa would have to be several hundreds of years old. However, in the Bible, there were many characters who lived several hundreds of years old. Therefore, it may not be too far-fetched for Vyasa to have been several hundred years old also.

The Vedas, which is made up of four books (Rig Veda, Samada Veda, Yajur Veda [content: White Veda and Black Veda], and the Atharvaveda), the Upanishad, the Bhagavad Gita and the Puranas formed the basis for the practice of Hinduism today. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are stories that supplement the four ancient sacred Vedic books, and some believers also regard them as sacred text whereas to others they are just mythologies like in the tales found in Homer's The Iliad and Odyssey.

There is another possibility that many will not address. Those actual spiritual entities or angels did appear to the Vedic and Hindu sages of old to teach their doctrines as shown in more details in chapter 6. So it would be disrespectful for anyone just to write them all off as mythologies. To most believers, the line is blurred between what is true and sacred and what is not. If the Ramyana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and Puranas are regarded as mythologies and therefore omitted from Hinduism, then Hindus have no well-established ideas or concept of their deities like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Indra, and Rama and their exploits. Today, the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads are the main sources for Hindu doctrines that form the backbone of modern-day Hinduism and some with continued practices from the Vedas.

The compilation of the Rig Veda took place in the Indus Valley Civilization by members of the Kuru Kingdom, which was the center of the Vedic culture and was located east of the Punjab into what is now Uttar Pradesh.

The four Vedas forms the basic manual for the Vedic priests. The four different type of priesthood are: (i) the Hotars, who invite the gods to the sacrifice and sacred drink, the Soma, with their chants; (ii) the Udgatar, who prepared the Soma drinks and sacrifices with their chants; (iii) Adhvaryus, who perform the different rites with their appropriate versus and chants; and (iv) the Brahmans, who supervise the whole operation. The canonical book for the Hotar is the Rig Veda, Udgatar is the Samaveda, and for the Adhvaryus, it is the Yugarveda. However, the Brahmanas do not use the Atharvaveda.

B. Rig Veda (1500–1200 BCE)

The author uses the English translation of the Vedas by Ralph T. H. Griffith and 1889–1916, except for the Black Veda, which is by Arthur Berriedale Keith, both compiled and edited by Jon William Fergus.

Rig Veda means praise knowledge and it is a collection of hymns. The hymns were transmitted orally and believed to be around the late Bronze Age (circa 1500 BCE) but was only written after 500 BCE. The Vedas are divided into Mantra and Brahmana. The Mantra is a collection of hymns in verses, and the Brahmana is a collection of ritualistic, liturgical verses in prose. It is a collection of ten books (mandala) with 1,028 hymns (suktas) with some 10,552 verses. Books two to nine are about fire sacrifices, soma rituals, praises or thanksgiving, and requests to its pantheon of deities. Books one and ten talk about philosophy, the origin of the universe, and the nature of the deities, etc.

289 hymns were dedicated to Indra (guardian deity).

218 hymns were dedicated to Agni (fire deity).

46 hymns were dedicated to Varuna (water deity).

12 hymns were dedicated to Vayu (wind deity).

8 hymns were dedicated to Surya (sun deity).

Only three of the 1,028 hymns had any mention of Rudra, and there was no mention at all that Rudra is Shiva. Other books identify Shiva as a Rudra, but not all Rudras are Shiva.

The remainder of the hymns were dedicated to Soma (deified drink), gods of plants and cows, etc. Several other deities were mentioned within the different hymns. Sometimes the hymns are dedicated to a couple of the deities together.

The so-called Trimurti or the Hindu equivalent of the biblical trinity—Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma—were not directly mentioned at all in the Rig Veda. The believers did not arrive at the term triumvirate until after the Christian era, when the Trinity was preached. This will be addressed later in the writing. For the comparison of the Trimurti and the Trinity, please go to chapter 8.

Shiva is regarded as the supreme destroyer, protector, and transformer of the universe.

Vishnu is the supreme preserver of man, protector of the dharma, and appeared in many incarnations or avatars to fight with demons and maintain the universe.

Brahma is the creator deity.

Prajapati (a late Vedic deity) appeared late in the Vedic texts (RV 10:121) as an individual god of his own right, and he was not associated with Brahma or as a collective deity. It will be addressed under the discussion on Brahma in chapter 7A.

Indian Caste System (for details, please go to chapter 11, section f)

The oldest Indian sacred writing testifies of the presence of the caste system already in existence in the Vedic era.

For example, from Purusha with a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, issued forth:

The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rājanya made. His thighs became the Vaiśya (merchant caste), from his feet the Śūdra (lowest Caste) was produced. The Moon was gendered from his mind, and from his eye the Sun had birth; Indra and Agni from his mouth were born, and Vāyu from his breath. (Rig Veda 10:90:1, 12–13)

The Brahmana (priestly caste) was His (Purusha) mouth; the Kshatriya (warrior caste) His arms became. His thigh is as were the Vaisya (commercial and business enterprise); of His feet, the Sudra (productive and sustaining force) was born. The moon (symbol of the mind) was born from His (cosmic) mind; the sun (symbol of self and consciousness) was born from His eyes. Indra (power of grasping and activity) and Agni (will-force) came from His mouth; from His vital energy, air was born. (https://wiwitan.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/The-Purusha-Sukta.pdf)

C. Samaveda (1200-thousand BCE)

Sama Veda means song knowledge, and it is the knowledge of melodies and chants used in its liturgies, rites for their fire sacrifices and drink offerings. There are nine chapters with a total of 1,875 verses, of which 1,549 are liturgical verses and most of them had been taken from the Rig Veda. (Michael Witzel (1997), The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu, Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts: New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas (Harvard University Press), pp. 269–270)

118 chants were dedicated to Indra (Guardian deity).

116 chants were dedicated to Soma (Drink deity).

55 chants were dedicate to Agni (Fire deity).

Two chants were dedicated to Vishnu (protector, whose virtues depends on what avatar Vishnu elects to assume); the rest were dedicated to other deities or combination of deities including Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Surya, Dawn, Maruta, Asvins, Vayu, etc. None was dedicated to Shiva or Brahma.

D. Yajur Veda (Black and White; 1000–500 BCE)

Yajur Veda means sacrifice or worship knowledge. This is the chants or mantras for the fire sacrifice (jagna) or ritual worship used by the Vedic priests. The Veda can be divided into two portions; one called the white Yajur Veda (Shukla) because it is well arranged or compiled, and the black Yajur Veda (Krishna) because it is unorganized collection. The Yajur Veda has forty chapters and 1,975 verses or mantras, but the basis or foundation comes from the Rig Veda. Again, like the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, the most mentioned deities are Indra, Agni, Varuna, Soma, and Mitra. Any mention of Shiva, Vishnu (Adhyaya 5.1), or Brahma hardly makes an impression. Any mention of the inner-self (Atman, soul) first makes it appearance in chapter 40 of the book in verse 40:6.

The Yajurveda formed the foundational basis for the different Upanishad: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Isha Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, etc.

E. Atharvaveda (1000–500 BCE)

This is a late addition to the Rig Veda, Samaveda, and Yajurveda, and it is composed basically of praise and songs or hymns used in the religious ceremonies, fire sacrifices, or rituals. According to Ralph T. H. Griffith (1895), it is assumed that the book derived its name from the priest Atharvan, mentioned in the Rig Veda as the first priest who rubbed Agni forth or produced fire by attrition, who first, by sacrifice, made the path or established ways of communication between men and gods and overcame hostile demons by means of the miraculous powers which he had received from heaven.

The Atharvaveda was originally known as the Mukhya (Upanishad) and was added to the three Vedas at a later date. It has twenty chapters, 730 hymns, with 5,977 verses or mantras. The Atharvaveda is made up of formulae for spells, magic potions, witchcraft, or sorcery but also daily rituals for marriages and funerals, etc. The Atharvavedas also form the basis for many of the Upanishad books like the Mundaka Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad, and Prashna Upanishad, etc.

F. Upanishad (900–300 BCE)

The author, me, uses the English translation of the Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran (1910–1999). The Upanishad showed tremendous understanding of human psychology and the psychological make-up, wants, needs, desires, and longings of the human heart, soul (atman), and spirit and is able to dissect and categorize them at least more than two thousand years before the famous Dr. Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856–September 23, 1939).

The word Upanishad has been derived from the root Sad (to sit), to which are added two prefixes, Upa and Ni. The prefix Upa denotes nearness and Ni totality. Thus, this word means sitting nearby devotedly (https://vedicheritage.gov.in/upanishads/).

The authorship of the Upanishad is unknown. The Upanishad was transmitted orally over several centuries. There are 108 Upanishads that form Muktika Canon, and they are classified into major (mukhya) and minor Upanishads.

According to the Muktikopanishad, 108, Upanishads are divided according to four Vedas and are as follows (By Dr. Shashi Tiwari [Retd.], Sanskrit Department, Delhi University):

Division of the Upanishads:

10 Upanishads derived from the Rig Veda.

19 Upanishads derived from the White (Shukla) Yajurveda.

32 Upanishads derived from the Black (Krishna) Yajurveda.

16 Upanishads derived from the Samaveda and.

31 Upanishads derived from the Atharvaveda.

The principal thirteen Upanishads related to the Vedas are:

Upanishads of the Rig Veda:

Aitareya Upanishad.

Kaushitaki Upanishad.

Upanishads of the Shukla or White-Yajurveda:

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

Isha Upanishad.

Upanishads of the Krishna or Black-Yajurveda:

Taittiriya Upanishad.

Katha Upanishad.

Shvetashvatara Upanishad.

Maitrayaniya Upanishad.

Upanishads of the Samaveda:

Chandogya Upanishad.

Kena Upanishad.

Upanishads of the Atharvaveda:

Mundaka Upanishad.

Mandukya Upanishad.

Prashna Upanishad.

Even as the Upanishads had its foundational basis from the Vedas, it is essentially describing the Vedas with its rituals, sacrifices, and offerings, but the Vedas do not enable the believers or devotees to achieve immortality or be at one with Brahma or Krishna.

The author uses the English-translated Upanishads by the late Mr. Eknath Easwaran and the books translated are as the thirteen shown above (except for the two Upanishad in asterisks) and the four minor Upanishad: Tejobindy, Atma, Amritabindu, and Paramahamsa. There are many translators for the Upanishad, and Mr. Eknath Easwaran was chosen because of his scholarship in the English language and ability to communicate the thoughts, ideas, and intent of the Upanishads.

G. Bhagavad Gita (400–200BCE)

The author uses the English translation of the Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran (1910–1999). There are many translators for the Bhagavad Gita and Mr. Eknath Easwaran was chosen because of his scholarship in the English language and ability to communicate the thoughts, ideas, and intent of the Bhagavad Gita.

The author of the Bhagavad Gita is unknown but was assigned to Vyasa, the same as the assigned author of the three Vedas, and that meant that Vyasa must had lived about a thousand years.

This is a story of Arjuna, a warrior caste (kshatriya), who struggled with the morality of conducting a war against his cousins and how Sri Krishna (incarnated deity, an avatar of Vishnu) convinced him that there is such thing as a righteous war and righteous killing. This is attained through self-realization, meditation, and renunciation. This is a story of the conflict in the Kuru Kingdom of the Indus Valley Civilization.

H. Ramayana (700–400BCE) Translated by Ramesh Menon

There are translations of the Ramayana by many translators and Mr. Ramesh Menon was chosen for his scholarship in the English language and for his gifted ability to communicate clearly the thoughts and ideas as well as his writing, which is spell-binding.

The Ramayana is said to have been written by Rishi Valmiki. This epic tale is used as a vehicle to propagate doctrines and life's teachings as found in the Upanishad and on how to achieve one's dharma and fulfill the karma through fire sacrifices, devotion, and self-denial and self-control. It is a place where sages can curse a deity and have it come true.

The Ramayana is an epic tale of Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu and his adventures (for information on avatars, please go to chapter 9). The story is about Rama, his wife, Sita, and brother, Lakshmana, who are exiled in the great forest and with the help of Hanuman (king of the monkeys) and his monkey warriors warred against the demon king Ravana and his hoards who, in turn, had abducted Rama's wife, Sita. It is an epic battle of extraordinary proportions, greater than the likes of Star Wars, when ancient spells and astral weapons, mayas (illusions), flying chariots drawn by horse and other animals were fought in the sky and on land. It is a story of how Rama is more concerned for his reputation as king to the citizens of his kingdom than the happiness of his wife, Sita, and that caused his wife, Sita, to walk into a pyre and immolate herself.

I. Mahabharata (400 BCE) Translated by Ramesh Menon

There are translations of the Ramayana by many translators and Mr. Ramesh Menon was chosen also for his scholarship in the English language and for his gifted ability to communicate clearly the thoughts and ideas as well as his writing that is spell-binding.

The author of the Mahabharata is unknown but was assigned to Vyasa, the same as the assigned author of the three Vedas, and that meant that Vyasa must had lived about a thousand years.

Similarly, this epic tale is used as a vehicle to propagate doctrines and life's teachings on how to achieve one's dharma and fulfill the karma through fire sacrifices, devotion, and self-denial as can be found in the Vedas and Upanishad. It is a story where sages can curse a deity and have it come true.

This epic tale and that of the Ramayana more than rivals that of Homer's Iliad or Odyssey combined. It is a tale of the sons of Pandu and Kunti (mother), the five Pandava brothers: Yudhishthira, Bheema, Arjuna (an avatar of Indra), Sahadeva, and Abhimanyu. They were of the warrior caste, kshatriyas, and all married to the same woman, Draupadi. There were other wives also. Yudhishtira lost his kingdom in a game of dice and also lost Draupadi to servitude to their cousins (the Kauravas). Krishna's (the seventh avatar of Vishnu) life is intertwine with that of the Pandava princes, with special kinship with Arjuna and assisted them with the war against their cousins. Like the Ramayana, the war is fought with Star Wars like astral weapons, magic, mayas (illusions), and flying chariots. The weapons are given by the different deities to kill their enemies and for protection. All the warring factions have special powers and curses that come true.

The two factions are engaged in a great Kurushetra war and is said to have taken place in the Kuru kingdom of the great Indus Valley Civilization beginning around the ninth century BCE (A. L. Basham, p 40; citing HC Raychaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India, pp 27ff).

J. Puranas (Meaning: Ancient)

(Compiled by the Dharmic Scriptures Team of India, October 3, 2002)

Wendy Doniger, based on her study of Indologists, assigns approximate dates to the various Puranas. She dates Markandeya Purana to c. 250 CE (with one portion dated to c. 550 CE),