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by Anwar
Shaikh EDITORIAL About seventy years ago, it
was taught in all Indian schools that the Hindus had never travelled abroad.
This myth was believed in so strongly that when Mohandas Karam Chand, alias
Mahatama Gandhi, was about to leave for Reluctance
to write history has been a serious omission of When
we delve deeper into ancient history, it becomes evident that it was the Vedic
Indians who brought civilisation to "In Dr.
Durant's remarks concern the spread of Buddhism, an Indian religion; it rose in
opposition to the Vedic faith, which had existed centuries earlier. When this
fact is taken into consideration, Ignorance
about the global cultural import of the Vedas is a great tragedy to the psyche
of the Indian people. Those who do not know their history, do not know
themselves. The history of a nation is the mirror that reflects its past to
guide its future. Especially, a worthwhile past is the fountain of national
pride, which is an essential ingredient of a people's greatness. No
nation has suffered half as much through ignorance of history as have the
Indians, and it equally applies to both the Hindus and Muslims. Apathy on this
account, has led to the loss of national unity, which has proved fatal to the
honour and dignity of Ancient
Veda
means knowledge, and it was realised in The
lethal effect of this tradition has asserted itself loud and clear, not only in
Ignorance
of the Indian history was so stupefying that, until about a century ago, it was
believed that the Hindus had never set their foot on the foreign soil; as a
result, travelling abroad, came to be held a sinful act for a Hindu. This is
the reason that when Mahatma Gandhi wanted to go to Of
course, Buddhism is an ambassador of the Indian culture but it is based on the
opposition of the Vedas, and is a comparatively recent event. Of course,
Buddhism has its own glory but it is the Vedas, which acted as the fountain of
world civilisation. This
is a big statement, and necessitates mention of certain facts which gave 1. Iron, and the concept of morality, 1. Iron and the Concept of
Morality: The
Rgveda is the first book ever to mention the word: Iron. In fact, it states
this fact twenty times in various contexts. The scriptural height of the Rgveda
is revealed by Verse 15 of hymn LXXV, Book VI, which states that the Ksatriyas
used arrows which had iron tips but they were not allowed to smear them with
venom. Forbidding
soldiers to use poisonous arrows, as the laws of Manu clearly state, is not
only an act of high morality but also reveals that the concept of moral
conscience probably first arose in India. It
is obvious that the world civilisation would not have gone very far without
iron technology, which was invented in Not
only iron is an invention ot Nobody
could have imagined that Not
only steel is an invention of At
this juncture, one ought to note the fall in the Hindu character. The people
who invented iron and steel and fought so heroically that they thought it a sin
to poison the tips of their arrows, are now afraid of their own shadows. They
believe in non-violence as a morality to hide their pusillanimity! 2. Cotton, Sericulture and
Rice: The
archaelogical excavations of the Ascribing
the invention of silk to It
is also now universally acknowledged that rice was first produced in 3. Mathematics: It
was 4 & 5. Aryans and the
Vedas: I
have already discussed in a previous article that the Aryans were Indians for
being people from the Panjab which is the home of the Rgveda and Sanskrit.
Since Vedas are the Scriptures of the Aryans, they could not have been uncouth.
In view of the above discussion, they were the most advanced people of their time.
Wherever they went, they took the Vedas with them to spread civilisation in the
East and the West. I will explain these points as the discussion progresses. Writing
"The Discovery of India," Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru noted on page 11:
" I remember when I first read .... an account ot the history of Had
the Hindus known about their past, they would not have sunk so low as they
have. How many of them have ever heard of Sailendra, a great Indian soldier
whose military exploits match those of Alexander, the Great, Julius Caesar and
Napoleon? Obviously, not many. It sounds even more incredible when history
states that the Indians founded a powerful empire abroad in the 8th century
A.D. This magnificent empire comprised the What
I am about to say is new in the sense that it is little known, and has not been
described in the proper Vedic context, which ought to exhibit its cultural and
spiritual benevolence, especially to Europe, and the world at large. If
yearning for glory is not accompanied by realisation, it causes a psychological
vacuum leading to inferiority complex. This is what has prompted some Hindu
writers to fake history to prop up their ego. It is wrong; manipulation of
history is a disservice to the nation and mankind. I am, therefore, determined
to resist this temptation, and shall base discussion on the following two
articles from the Encyclopaedia Britannica: 1. Celtic Religion, and The
reason for such a preference is simple: these articles have been written by the
non-Hindu scholars dedicated to their subject through study and research, and
they have demonstrated genuine respect for the issue through a high degree of
honesty, sincerity and accuracy: The
Celts were prehistoric people who had settled north of the The
Celtic way of life is represented by what is called the La Tene culture named
after a Swiss archaelogical site on Lake Neuchatel. Archaeologists have made a
thorough study of it, and it represents the second Early Iron Age. It is
difficult to describe with certainty the Celtic history before the 5th century
B.C. One
ought to know that modern France, southern Germany as far as central Bohemia,
once formed part of the Celtic colonisation. It is possible to trace their
origin to the Bronze age Tumulus culture, which had reached its full
development by 1200 B.C. The succeeding culture known as the Urnfield culture
(1200-800 B.C.) refers to the burial customs of the people of that era. This is
also true about the following Hallstatt Period (7th-6th centuries B.C.)
associated with the burial ground near Hallstatt in upper Austria. One ought to
realise that practically the entire Europe belonged to the Celts by the 5th
century B.C. through conquest and colonisation; the Greek and Roman states were
barely visible on the European map during that period. Having
described a short history of the Celts, now I may enumerate some of their
cultural peculiarities and religious beliefs: 1.
The Celts buried their dead in chamber graves. The splendour of the grave
demonstrated the greatness of the buried person. The mound graves known as
barrows at Apremont (Haute-Saone) have an average diameter of seventy metres,
and contain a wagon, gold objects and various ornaments. These are the graves
of the men who were princes, chieftains and notable warriors. 2.
Physically, the Celts possessed high stature, masculine appearance and a
colouring not quite white, which eventually became milky under the effect of
the cold climes. 3.
They loved war, adventure and feasting. 4.
Some of their kings were hereditary and some were elected. 5.
In certain parts of Europe, such as Ireland and Wales, the Celtic society was
divided into three strata: king, warrior aristocracy and freeman farmer.
However, there was also the fourth social order comprising of lesser men who placed
themselves under the protection of a powerful lord. Historians call it
clientalism. 6.
The family was patriarchal i.e. headed by a male, and kinship was recognised by
agnatic descent i.e. from father's side. 7.
The landownership belonged to the family and not the individual. 8.
The household was organised on the principle of extended family i.e. consisting
of a man, wives, children and grandchildren. 9.
Druid or priest came from the warrior class, but ranked higher than him.
Educating the young noble was one of the responsibilities of the priests.
Woods, groves and some individual trees were sacred to them. They did not have
any temples. The priests were responsible for conducting sacrifices. 10.
Men wore trousers with a belted tunic or shirt, preferably with a cloak, but
women wore a single garment with a cloak. The clothes were made of linen or
wool and were usually of bright gaudy colour. 11.
They loved music, drinking, feasting and quarrelling and could not do what
required a long concerted effort. Hospitality was their special characteristic.
At feasts, bards sang the praises of their lords, and their singing was
accompanled by a lyre-like instrument. 12.
Though the Celts dominated Europe for five centuries, they did not build an
empire because tribe happened to be their basic political unit. At
this point, I ought to raise the question: Who
were the Celts? In
view of the seriousness of this enquiry, I should provide an answer on two
accounts: a. Cultural, and a. Culture: Speaking
culturally, I should add that the above mentioned twelve points clearly state
that the Celts could have come from India only because they practised the
Rgvedic culture peculiar to the Punjab, where the Hindu Scriptures were
composed. Now I may explain this truth point by point in the same order: a.
The Celts are thought to have entered Europe in the 12th century B.C. but this
date can be moved back by another 500 years on the authority of the Rgveda. The
Ksatriya way of burying the dead on high grounds, found in Europe as the
barrows or mound-graves, is clearly stated in the Rgveda. Here are some
couplets from the hymn XVIII, book X, dedicated to various Deities. The period
involved is so ancient that at that time the God of Death, Judge and Ruler of
the departed, was not God Yama but God Myrtu; it is not that Yama was unknown: "Go hence, O Death ..... The
word: "heroes" in the present context is important because the
mound-graves were meant for the Ksatriya chieftains: "..may they bury Death I
should stress that there is no mention of cremation in the Rgveda. Historians,
have erroneously remarked that the Rgvedic society had temporarily suspended
the burning of the widows. It seems that there had developed a custom which
required the widow to lie down by the side of her dead husband to show her love
and loyalty for him: "Rise come into the World of life, O The
other stanzas of the hymn support the idea that the mound-graves belong to the
Ksatriya warriors, who were buried: "From the dead hand I take the bow he The
following stanzas clearly demonstrate that the Ksatriya warriors were buried
during the Rgvedic age: "Heave thyself, Earth, nor press the down - Now let the heaving earth be free from Be they to him a home distilling fatness, I stay the earth from thee, while over thee I
should add that some commentators think that the Ksatriya dead were cremated,
and the urns containing their ashes were buried. Even if this be true, it
involves burial and a grave. At
this juncture, I cannot help inserting a little digression: stanza 23 states
that the earth is subject to motion. It is simply marvellous that even during
the earliest part of human history, the Hindu mind knew that the earth was not
static but eternally moved! Europe came to know of this secret through Galileo
in the 16th century A.D. 4b.
The stature and colouring of the Celts is of the Punjabi origin. Being the
military sect, they loved war and feasting. Their
political system is essentially Vedic: A
man became king (Rajah or Samrat) through formal consecration, accompanied by
hymns. This Hindu tradition was adopted by the Jews and Christians. The
kingship was both hereditary and elective. This highest office of the state was
more of a sacred duty than a secular dignity. As long as the king performed his
function according to the Vedic law, son could succeed his father. If he proved
unworthy of his job, he incurred deposition, and the people became entitled to
elect a new ruler. Election also took place when the king left no issue. The
principle of election is clearly stated in book X: GXXIV: 8: "And they, like people who elect their
ruler." The
kingship whether hereditary or elective was watched by two political bodies
which may be described as lover and upper houses of a modern democratic
government. One was called Sabha. It was a gathering of the elite and referred
to the people in "conclave" and the "hall" where they met
to deliberate and decide the important issues of the state to advise the ruler.
The second chamber was known as Samiti; it was a general council chosen from
the whole tribe and consisted of both commoners and elites. Both
Sabha and Samiti are mentioned in the Rgveda. 5b.
This social division is the replica of Caste System described in R.V. X: XG:
XII. It consisted of Brahman Ksatriya (Rajanya) Vaisya and Sudra. From other
hymns of the Rgveda where Caste System is implied, one can construe that
Brahman and Ksatriya were originally one class. Eventually, the learned
Ksatriya emerged as brahmans and were acknowledged as the superior class for
having monopoly of the Vedic knowledge and sacrificial functions. Vaisya of the
Punjab were the freemen farmers of Europe and the European villeins who sought
protection of a lord, were a close variant of the Punjabi Sudra, who were
natives of the Punjab but mistakenly called people of foreign origin as Dasa
and Dasyu, for being poor, precarious and propertyless. 6b.
The Vedic society was strictly patriarchal. Head of the family had to be a
male. It was necessary for a woman to be under the guardianship of a man -
father, husband, or son. This Vedic custom became an essential part of the
Roman Law. 7b
and 8b. Since the Vedic pattern of living was patriarchal head of the family
had to be powerful enough for exerting control over members of his family. Thus
land belonged to family, controlled by the father. This situation is known as
Patria Potestas. It became a rule of the Roman Law. Another
reason for the land to be in family ownership is the fact that the Vedic
society practised extended-family culture which required parents, grandchildren
and even members of the third generation to live as one family under the same
roof. 9b.
The word Druid ( Dru-Vid) contains the Vedic syllable Vid, meaning "to
know," which is the root of Veda. The Celtic Druids (priests) were an
offshoot of the Indian Brahman, who was the teacher and priest, ranked highest
in the society, took 20-30 years to memorise the Scriptures to avoid writing
them down, paid no taxes and believed in transmigration of souls. The
Druids had all these characteristics. 10b.
An Indian male has always worn trousers and dhotis, and women have used skirt,
and sari which is a single garment. 11b.
Hospitality, gaudy clothing, colourful living, loud- speaking, feasting, love
of music and dancing have always been the integral part of the Punjabi culture.
12b.
The Rgveda in 126.1 and VIII 21.18 clearly shows that the basic political unit
in the Punjab was based on clanish integrity, thus the country was divided into
tribal principalities. The Punjabis are possibly the only people in the world
who suffer from national self-hatred, and for this reason, have never united
into a nation to reap political harvests. As these people migrated to the
European lands; they took their anti-national habits with them and thus failed
to build an empire. It took them centuries to weld their clanish systems into
national identities. People of Scotland serve as a good example of this fact. b. Religion: The
Rgveda, mostly emanates from rational cogitation, and therefore, it advocates
free will which is opposed to fate as believed in by the Stoics, Christians and
Muslims. I may cite Plagius, a Welsh monk, to explain the meaning of this
concept: 1. He was born in Wales c. 354 A.D. Though a devout
Christian known for piety and asceticism, he was opposed to the Christian
doctrine of divine grace. He believed in moral law or free will which means
that a person chooses heaven or hell as a matter of free will and not fate.
Being a Celt, he had inherited this Vedic principle from his ancestors who had
emigrated from the Punjab centuries earlier. 2. The author of the article: "Celtic
Religion" has remarked (p. 1068, Enc. Britannica) that, owing to the
religious, cultural and lingual similarities between the insular Celts, that
is, the Irish and Welsh, and the people of India, it is obvious that they had
"an ancient common heritage." Geographically,
both Ireland and Wales are parts of the British Isles. They have preserved some
characteristics of their heritage, which conclusively demonstrate that the
Celts came from the Panjab, India. These
Celts had inherited the evil habit of their Indian ancestors not to keep
written record of anything, especially history and literature. Most of the
information about them is known through the historical work of Poseidonius, a
Stoic philosopher; Celtic sculpture and inscriptions provide additional
guidance in this matter. For
better understanding of the discussion, I may remind the reader that the number
three has a special significance in the Hindu religion: the syllable OM
represents this point effectively: it is composed of three sounds a-u-m, which
refer to several important triads such as three worlds of earth, atmosphere and
heaven; Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and three scriptures Rg. Yajur and Sama. Om is
also the major mystical Hindu word, which symbolises the essence of the entire
world. The
Hindus have always believed in three aspects of Godheads and thus sculpturally
represented their major deities as three-headed or three gods as one i.e.
Brahma, Vishnu and Siva: "I laud the seven-rayed, the triple-headed,
Agni all-perfect...." (R.V. I. CXLVI: 1 ) This
principle is repeated in the three-faced figure of Siva (The Trimukha), an
archaelogical find of the Indus Valley. At this juncture, I may introduce an
important digression: Siva is a junior god of the Rgveda; since he has
inherited the features of Agni, a senior god of the Rgveda, it shows that the
Rgveda is much older than the Indus Valley Civilisation. A
god can be represented as three-headed or three gods can be treated as one.
This is the Hindu doctrine of Trimurti, and this is also the basis of the
Celtic gods. For example, Wales had a triad of Teutates, Esus and Taranis; they
were appeased by human sacrifice - an extension of Purushamedha, fully
described in the Yajurveda (Baoks XXX and XXXI). The
sculpture indicates that the Celtic pantheon had another triad of Cernunnos,
the god with the horns of a stag, Sucellus, the god witk the mallet, and Taruos
Trigaranus, the bull with three cranes. In
Gaul (France), the mother-goddess, known as Matres or Matronae, was also
worshipped in triple form. Another
Hindu feature is noted by the fact that most goddesses appear in association
with their consorts only. The goddess Sucellus had Nantosueita for consort;
Brixia has Luxovius, a god of healing, and Damonia had Bravo, also a god of
healing. A
three headed deity called "Mercury" by Julius Caesar was, in fact,
Cernunnos, the great god of the Celts. His greatness is confirmed by the still
extant 440 inscriptions and 350 sculptures. In Ireland, he was called Lug of
the Long Hand. As three dedicatory texts demorlstrate, he was known as Lugus on
the continent; he also had other variants such as Lugoues in Switzerland at
Avenches; at Asma (Tarragona) he appears as Lugouibus, and this form is a
dedication by the guild of cobblers; at Penalba de Villestar, he is known as
Luguei. Because of these name variations, he is considered to have been a
triple god. The god Lug was called Samildanach, though in the Irish mythology,
his regular epithet happened to be Lug Lamfota or Lug of the Long-Hand. He
seems to have been an international god because his cult is also found in the
Caucasus as well as Sweden where his effigies are called, to this day, as
"the Cobbler" confirming him as the patron saint of shoemakers.
However, of greater interest is his Irish epithet: Lamfota i.e. Lug or God of
the Long Hand because it connects him with Prthu-Pani (of the large hand), the
Vedic Savitr, god of the sun. Though the name of this god has disappeared in
the European mythology, he still lingers on in the Irish memory. In Ireland,
his feast Lugnasad, was held on August 1, coinciding with the date of the
harvest festival, and survives even today as "Garland Sunday." Not
only Lugus was considered a triple god, but Matres were also worshipped in
triple form. There were many deities in Ireland who were three-headed; some or
them for example, were the three gods of Danann; the three Brigits i.e. a
goddess of poetry, a goddess of healing and a goddess of smithcraft; the three
goddesses of battle: Morrigan, Badb and Nemain. This Hindu doctrine of Trimurti
was extensively practised in Europe, and there are still thirty-two extant images
of a three-headed god on the Continent. Here
the truth emerges clearly; the Rgveda and Sanskrit are products of the Punjab.
There is nothing whatever to show their foreign origin; they are indigenous to
the Punjab, it is not possible to ascribe these two facts to any other country.
Because of the Rgveda, Sanskrit is rooted in India; it is as live and kicking
there today as it ever was. The few words found in the European languages
cannot prove that the Aryans moved from these lands to India. The truth is the
other way round: European tongues still have these words as remnants of the
Vedic settlers in these lands, who came in waves from the Punjab possibly five
thousand years ago. These were the Aryans, and they were not uncouth
barbarians. They were the ambassadors of civilisation. Their refinement of
manners and maturity of thinking is fully supported by the Rgveda. They were
the people who had invented iron which they used to civilise the natives of
Europe. Since
the origin of the Aryans has always been a highly significant topic of hlstory,
I may continue this discussion and refer to the famous Cauldron of Gundestrup,
which is in the Nationa Museum at Copenhagen. It has the figure of the
mysterious deity known as Cernunnos, "Lord of the animals." He sits
in the familiar Indian posture of yoga, has the horns of a stag, holds the
serpent and is surrounded by animals. This Cernunnos is none else but the
Indian Lord Shiva known as Pasupati (Lord of animals) who is found in exactly
the same circumstances on a seal from the Indus Valley (Pakistan) now in the
Delhi Museum. He is also portrayed on the Paris "altar" in the yoga
posture, having the horns of a stag. Not only in Ireland but also in Britain
the Horned God is widely attested. Antiquity
of the seal depicting the Trimukha (three faced) or the god Siva goes back to
3,000 B.C. he wears a horned head-dress, a pectoral round the neck, has an
erect penis and is surrounded by several types of animal such as tiger, buffalo
and rhinoceros, with a deer under the seat. Siva is essentially an Indian god
whose cult known as phallus- worship accompanied the people of the Punjab
(Aryans) as they migrated to settle in the European lands and elsewhere. Since
the home of Siva is India, the Aryans could not have been foreigners in India.
The presence of the Siva figures, Hindu religion, its principles and practices
confirm beyond doubt that the Aryans were Indians. The honour of colonising the
West goes to India because she was the only country in the world which had the hardy,
headstrong and haughty caste, Ksatriya, whose members fought to death as a
matter of faith with professional honesty, honour and heroism. So
far, I have explained the Vedic principle of Trimurti (triad) with reference to
the three-headed gods of the West, but now I may describe an Indian practice
which prevailed in the Celtic lands of Europe for more than 1500 years. Until I
read it myself, I used to believe, like most people, that the Aryans were
foreign invaders in India. The practice I am referring to is of the Vedic
origin, and is called asvamedha. The Welsh ecclesiastical writer Giraldus
Cambrensis (died c. 1223) described this vedic ritual which was observed in the
Irish kingdoms. So
important is the rite of Asvamedha that the Yujarveda devotes several books to
its performance. How did Asvamedha reach Ireland and elsewhere? It was through
the Indian emigrants, the Aryans. The concept of the god Agni clearly shows
that fire, priesthood and sacrificing are the integral parts of Vedism. This is
the reason thal sacrificial fire signified a Vedic household. It is the
Punjabis who took it with them to make it an institution in Rome, Greece and
Iran. Agni is Indian; therefore the sacrificial fire that he presides over is
also of the Indian Origin. Asvamedha
is a Sanskrit word, meaning horse-sacrifice. It represents one of the most
superb Vedic religious rites observed in the ancient India. A king performed it
to celebrate his pararnountcy. This ritual required of the king to let a choice
stallion roam freely for one year under the protection of a royal guard, who
claimed all the lands marked by the horse's wanderings. Since it represented a
show of power, if the horse wandered into another king's territory, he had to
concede it or fight for its recovery. If the horse was not caught within the
period of one year, it was brought back to its master's capital along with the
rulers whose territories it had penetrated. It is then that the horse was
sacrificed at a splendid public ceremony. The successful ceremony entitled the
king to assume the title Cakravartin (the universal monarch). The purpose of
the rite was not only to publicise the authority of the ruler but also to
ensure the prosperity and fertility of the entire kingdom. The
Aryans were obviously people of the Indian origin; otherwise they could not
have practised the Indian rites. In fact, there are many vedic peculiarities
which are woven into the cultural texture of many European nations. Take the
Romans for example: They
would not have observed the Indian principles and practices without having the
Indian-origin. The Indians themselves have so thoroughly been reconciled with
their smallness of political and cultural stature, emanating from the last 1000
years of degradation, that they find it hard to believe the stories of their
ancestral suzerainty, splendour and superiority. The Celts established their
hegemony on almost all countries of Europe and this condition continued for
more than 500 years. Having colonised France (Gaul), they even reached the
shores of the Mediterranean. This truth is confirmed by the contact that
Hannibal, the Carthaginian commander made with them during the 3rd century B.C.
The
Celts had conquered Rome but were eventually beaten and driven out by the
Romans. But who were the Romans themselves? It is agreed that they came from
the East, but what part of the East? They are either earlier emigrants from
India or they are part of the Celtic migration, which came to be known as Roman
over a period of time. They have inherited a good bit of the Vedic culture. See
for yourself: 1.
The Romans called people with the jaundice "Icterici" anc believed
that this condition could be cured by looking at a parrot or starling. As a
result, it was the bird and not the patient who died. This customary belief is
clearly stated in the Rgveda: "To parrots and starlings let us give In
those days, when the Punjab and Rome were worlds apart, such a maxim could have
attained currency only if the Romans had taken their culture from the Punjat.
This is not wishful thinking because their way of life is a reflection of the
Vedic Culture. Note the following facts: a.
Chariot- racing was as great a hobby of the Romans as football or cricket are
of some nations today. The Rgveda states this fact beautifully: "O Indra, help our chariot on, yea, Ho there! why sittest thou at ease? This
fact is repeatedly stated in the Rgveda and vouches for the Ksatriya character
of the Punjabis; the Romans had inherited it and displayed it with a skill and
pride, which became exemplary for centuries. b.
Cambling was another feature of the Vedic life which the Romans had inherited. The
Rgveda frequently speaks of the dice, the gambling houses, and cheating habits
of the gamesters. It shows the magnitude of this game. The Hindu custom of
gambling at Diwali and casinos of the Western world are the echoes of the Vedic
era: "Sprung from tall trees on windy heights, When the brown dice, thrown on the board, The gamester seeks the gambling house, Nuts
of the Vibhidaka tree were used as dice in the Vedic Age. There were
established gambling houses in the Punjab, cheating was a part of the game, and
the gamblers had developed consummate skills: "Yea, by superior play he wins advantage, c.
The Roman patriarchal family system, which I have already described, is of the
Vedic origin. d.
There is clear evidence of Caste System in the Roman society as was among the
Celtic people. It was based on gentes or groups composed of people having
common ancestry. There was a priestly class, the military aristocracy
(Patricians) and the commoners known as Plebians. Every gen was distinguished
by a name and character, and stubbornly protected its identity and traditions
in birth, death, marriage and ordinary course of life. The Ksatriya military
ethos had become the main feature of the Roman society. Besides,
the Roman mythology was similar to that of the Indian. They respected hearth,
the Vedic sacrificial fire, did not eat meat and also practised cremation. The
Indian principle of Trimurti was actively observed by the Romans, who also
followed their superstitions such as magic, miracle, amulets, charms,
incantations, spells, evil-eye, witches and spirits. Again, they had
arranged-marriages and the customs of dowry including many other marital
peculiarities such as hypergamy. It is also known that most Roman women wore
saris and the haircut of men resembled those of the Hindus i.e. having a tuft
of hair from the middle of the closely cropped or shaven head. Their
method of crucifixion was also borrowed from India and this fact can be
verified from the "CIay Cart," a Sanskrit play written c. 200 B.C. There
is plenty of further evidence which confirms the Indian presence in Europe.
Since the evidence is Vedic, it proves beyond a shadow of doubt that the Aryans
were Indians, who once dominated Europe. The facts that I am about to produce
are the traces of the Indian culture in the West. Those who insist that the
Aryans were non-lndians, have the obligation to show that: 1. The Vedas are of European origin. 2. Why the Vedas vanished in the West but remained
intact in India. 3. And why Sanskrit died in the West but remained
live and kicking in India. The
answer to all these questions is simple: when the dominance of a foreign
conqueror comes to an end, its cultural effects including the language, die
with it, leaving traces of its past existence here and there. But these
conditions do not apply to the original homeland of the conqueror. The Arab occupation
of Spain is a good example to this effect; the Arab culture has died in Spain
but is still alive in Arabia, though its traces can still be seen in its former
colony. Bearing this pattern in mind, one can see the following Indian vestiges
in Europe as indicated by the Vedas: a.
The Atharvaveda, II: XII3-5 states: So
may the Universal Gods protect thee, whom we divest of raiment worn aforetime.
So after thee, well-formed and growing stronger, be born a multitude of
thriving brothers. Ralph
T. H. Griffith says: "This hymn has been translated by Ludwig." It
describes the details that have been stated in the Kausika-Sutra, LIII, LIV,
associated with the Roman youth's assumption of the toga virilis. It
was customary in Rome that free-born boys wore a purple-bordered toga (toga
praetexta) until they reached puberty, when they started wearing the plain
man's toga, called toga pura or toga virilis, after going through a ceremony
referred to in the above-quoted hymn. It
is surely a Vedic custom which has been erroneously ascribed to the Etruscans;
otherwise how could it have been mentioned in the Vedas? b.
The influence of the Vedic poetry and ritual is clearly visible on the European
verse and way of life. I may explain this fact in relation to the greatest
Roman poet Publius Vergilius Maro, popularly known as Virgil, who was born on
October 15, 70 B.C. His collection of ten poems is called the Eclogues; in
Eclogue, IV, 61, he states: "Matri
longa decem tulerunt fastidia menses." It
is a reference to "A ten month old child: born in the tenth lunar
month" as stated in the rgveda, V.78. 8. 9. It is also described in the
Athervavveda, 3. 23-1.2. This hymn is a charm to remove sterility and assure
the birth of male children: 1. "From thee we banish and expel the cause of
thy sterility. 2. As arrow to the quiver, so let a male embryo
enter thee. Then from thy side be born a babe, a ten- month child, thy hero son
.." This
hymn was a part of the ceremony which required the use of an arrow along with
the recitation. This fact has been stated in the Kausika-Sutra. 3. The dread of evil-eye is associated with many
lands. It is called "Chashm-i-Bad" in Iran. In all European
countries, under the Vedic influence, scare of the evil- eye was felt. Italy
ought to be mentioned in this respect where a person known as a jettatore or
jettatrice (caster of the evil-eye) aroused so much fear and revulsion that he
or she invited ostracism irrespective of social stature. The source of evil-eye lies in India because it is a
part of the Atharvaveda: "Upon the cursor fall his curse! Dwell we with The presence of this custom in Italy and other
European countries, confirms the Indian settlement in the said lands. 4. I have already described the Vedic belief
prevalent among the Romars that people with the jaundice called
"Iterici," could cure this disease (yellowness) by looking at the
icterus i.e. a member of the starling family. This fact is described both in
the Rgveda and Atharvaveda: 'To parrots and to starlings we transfer thy sickly
yellowness: Now in the yellow-coloured birds we lay this yellowness of
thine." (A.V.I: 22-4) 5. "She mounted up, she came unto the fathers.
The Fathers called to her, O Food, come hither. This food the Fethers make
their lives' sustainer.." (A.V. 8: X - 23) This is the source of the international belief that
the departed ones are sustained by the oblations presented to them by their
relations. Even the Muslims in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh observe this
doctrine. It was equally observed in the Greek and Roman world; they visited
the tombs of their relatives during certain periods to offer them sacrifices,
foods and gifts. This custom was also noticed in the North of England. 6. The Germans claim to be the pure Aryans. They
retained a vedic tradition: "Let all of these in concert call thee hither.
Live they tenth decade here, a strong kind ruler." (A.V. 3: 4-7) The vedic seers believed that life was meant to be a
century long. Therefore, they prayed for a longevity of "100 autumns,
" and divided it into ten decades. The Grmans, similarly, divided life
into ten decades from childhood up to "Grace with God." (See Ralph T.
H. Griffith - Hymns of A.V. p. 70) 7. As already stated, Punjabis i e. the Aryans in
Europe elected their kings. This prinoiple is described in A.V. 3-4.2: "The Tribesmen shall elect thee for the
kingship, these five celestial regions shall elect thee." 8. The Bull, what time thou followedst the way of "The Bull" is an allusion to Vritra, the
mighty demon, who was the obstructor of rain. It was the god, Indra who slew
him in a battle. This Vedic event became a part of the Western mythology. It
refers to, the dragon- fights of the Greek Apollo and the Scandinavian Sigmund.
This idea is also incorporated in the Bible. (See Job 7.12 and 26.12) 9. "This amulet, this Varana, will guard thee
from sneeze, and from the bird's ill-omened message." (A.V X: 111-VI) When someone sneezes, it is customary to say:
"Bless you." This benediction is of the Vedic origin. Wherever, the
Aryans went, they took it with them. Erroneously, it is attributed to St.
Gregory; its roots go back to the vedas. Aristotle has mentioned a similar
custom among the Greeks. Cisero of Rome says "Sternutamenta erunt
observanda." (de Div. 2.40) (Ralph T.H.Griffith - Hymns of R.V. page 11 ) The superstition associated with "The Bird's
ill-omened message" is also of the Indian essence. Here the allusion is to
the raven; in the Rgveda, owl and dove have also been help as ominous birds. 10. "Even for him hath Tvashtar forged the
thunder (bolt) most deftly wrought. celestial, for the battle." (A.V.
20-35: 6) The phrase Indra's thunderbolt is more frequently
described in the Rgveda. It is this god's weapon to fight his enemies. Indra,
the Chief Indian god became the model of foreign god's weaponery. It shows that
once the Indian culture was the dominant way of life in the known world; Zeus
of Greece, Jupiter of Rome, Ramman, the Assyrian god of the air - all had
thunderbolt as their main weapon. Trident, another Indian weaporl was the weapon of
Bel. Merodrach of Mesopotamia, who killed the dragon Tiamat. 11. "This we address to all the gods, faithful That gods have human characteristics, is essentailly
a vedic idea. As humans had wives and husbands, so did the gods, and passessed
similar temperaments and habits. 12. The Rgveda declares that the world was created
from the sacrifice of a person calledt "Purusha." This is what
appears in the creation-myth of the world-giant, Ymir in Old Northern poetry.
Obviously, there was a time when the Vedic beliefs were rife in Europe. 13. "Not over-crowded by the Crowd of Manu's
sons, she who hath many heights and floods and level plains." (A.V. 10:
1-2) Here Manu's sons means, human beings, the children
of Manu, the primeval man. The old German equivalent of Sanskrit Manu is
Mannus. In fact, the English word: "man" itself is its variation. It
clearly shows that there was a time when European lands were inhabited by the
Vedic people - and the Vedas are the Holy Books of India. 14. The Rgveda (Valakhilya, 3.2.) describes a
strange custom in connection with Praskanava. It implies that people cast out
their extremely old relatives to die of hunger. A.V. 18: 2 34 states this
customs as follows: "Bring them the Fathers one and all Agni, to
eat the sacrifice, The buried, and the cast away, those burnt with fire, and
those expose." Since it is the god Agni who is being addressed in
this hymn, this custom is of the Vedic origin but according to Strabo, it was
sanctioned by the old German law, and also practised by the Iranians, Bactrians
and Massagetae (see Ralph T. H. Griffith's Hymns of the Atharvaveda p. 191).
This custom must have travelled from the Punjab to these lands, otherwise they
could not have observed it. 15. Max Muller has establisehd the Biblical debt to
the Vedas by pointing out the following truth: "Thou for Turviti heldest still the flowing
floods, Again: "And thou for the sake o- Vayya, for Turviti,
didst Turviti is a hero liked by the Chief Vedic God,
Indra, who rescues him by tampering with the flow of water so that he can pass
the stream easily. An event of similar nature has been recorded in the Bible,
Psalm 78: 13 ( Maschil of Asaph ): "He divided the sea, and casued them This Psalm narrates the conditions when the Jews
escape Egypt and are fallowed by the Pharaoh. As they reach the Red Sea, they
realise that they have the choice to drown themselves in the water or suffer
slaughter at the hand of the Egyptian soldiers. There the miracle took place
"at the behest of the Lord:" " ... Moses stretched out his hand over the
sea; One can see, the Jewish God performed the same
miracle to save the Jews as the Chief God Indra had done to help Turivti
centuries earlier. Since the Vedas belong to India, it clearly shows that the
Vedic legends would not have spread in the east and the west unless the Aryans
were the natives of the Punjab. 16. It was the Vedic people of India, who invented
the tradition of riddle i.e. describing fact in an obscure way and asking the
hearer to tell what it really is. The Rgveda in 10: 117: 8, says: "He with one foot hath far outrun the Here by one- footed is meant Ekapad, the sun who is
taken over by man (the Biped) who may be surpassed by an old three-footed
person i.e., walking with the help of a staff. This Rgvedic riddle appears in
Greece as Sphinx and Oedipus. This Vedic tradition was taken up by the Biblical
sages, as it is clear in Judges 14: 12. Samson says: "I will not put forth a riddle unto you: 17. "Whatever fault or error was in marriage or
bridal pomp. These
verses refer to the old custom where marriages were arranged by the interceder,
who was a match-maker. He recommended the bride-seeker to her parents and
guaranteed the good conduct of the would-be bridegroom. This custom was
prevalent in the Isle of Man, where the interceder was called
"Dooiney-Mollr." It literally means, the "man- praiser"
because the interceder praised his client lavishly to the future bride's
parents for persuading them to agree to the match. This
custom was also found in Germany and Italy. People of the Indian sub-continent
still practise it. By
now, I think that I have produced sufficient evidence to show that the Aryans
originated from the Punjab. Of course, they do not have white skins and blue
eyes. This is not a genetic but a climatic effect. The European gypsies also
come from the Punjab; some 90% of them have developed white skins and blue eyes
since they have been in Europe. In essence, this discussion is dedicated to
showing that it is the Vedas which acted as the ambassador of civilisation
through the adventurous spirit of the Ksatriya sons, though their progency has
come to be called "Dhotiwalas'' because of their addiction to Ahimsa, a
sacred name for the profanity known as cowardice. The
Indians have no reason to be ashamed of their past, which is proud, pleasing
and pompous; it is ignorance which has become the source of their
self-humiliation. However, it is something that the Hindus still have a sense
of belonging to India, but on the contrary, those who have embraced Islam,
cannot see anything good in their own land of birth; this is the result of 1000
years of psychological molestation, which they have suffered at the hands of
the foreign predators. To hide their inferiority complex, they call themselves
"Muslims only," and look for everything good in the sands of Arabia. I
dare them refute my findings, which establish the greatness, grandeur and glory
of the Indian sub-continent as the fountain of human civilisation. |