Continuity and World Influence of the Vedic Civilization: Nicholas Kazanas (May 2013)

7/30/2019 Continuity and World Influence of the Vedic Civilization: Nicholas Kazanas (May 2013)

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Continuity and World-Influence of the Vedic Civilization

N. Kazanas


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civilization? civilized?

Roman : civis citizen, civilis civil,civitascity:

ordered civil life in city.

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We think of

Civilized man : not violent, rapacious and selfish.

Cultured : has interest in other nations, arts, etc.

Care of Environment.


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Swami Viveknanda :

Civilisation is the manifestation of divinity in man.

Yoshinory Yasuda on the Japanese Jmon (11th millennium BCE):

Respect for and co-existence with nature

proper relationship in accord with the

features of the given region.

A. West on Ancient Egypt:

In civilization men are concerned with inner

life to master greed, ambition, envy.

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Are modern nations

with their cupidity, injustice and selfishness civilized?

in harmony with environment when they pollute it so severely?

concerned to master greed, envy, ambition?

We see wars, piracy and genocide ;pollution of the air and waters;

exploitation of the weak by the rich and strong;

widening gap between the wealthy and the poor.

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Platos Ideal Society (Republic370Cff)

1. Simple agriculture and animal husbandry.

2. Essential crafts and exchanges (trade).

3. Feeding on barley-bread and bulbs; drinking moderately.

4. Singing hymns to the gods.

(Much like life in the gveda!)

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Desire for happiness, health, wealth and heaven.

But beneath:

Axis of Vedic culture: divinization or Self-realisation :

aha brahma-asmi(Bh Up 1.4.10)&

yas tu sarvi bhtny-tmany-eva-anupayati/

sarvabhteu ca-tmnam ( Up 6).

This divinization tmajna or brahmavidy,

is achieved through ethical behaviour (dharma, suktni,dna), yoga-practice and Soma-drinking.

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RV1.164.25:

ino vivasya bhvanasya gops m dhra pkam atr vivea.

The mighty Guardian of this entireworld, He, the wise One has settledin me, the simpleton.

RV8.6.10:

ahm d dh pits pri medhmtsya jagrabha ;

aha srya iva-ajani.

Kava says: Having receivedfrom my father/teacher theessential knowledge (medh) ofthe Cosmic Order (ta) I was (re)

born like the Sungod Srya!

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In RV : the One tad-ekam (10.129.2).

Also 1.164.16,46; 3.54.8; 8.58.2.

Also Many deities, worlds, phenomena.One and Many synchronically.

Most interest shown in the Many, less in the One!

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Material world : Astronomy: constellations and calendar.

Geometry (ulbastras) in building Harappan cities and altars.

Medicine with herbs and mineral substances.

Chanting of hymns; dancing.Weaving, Metallurgy, Pottery and other crafts (household

utensils and weapons like bows.

Agriculture and Animal husbandry.

Trade with ocean-going boats.


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ulba Stras

Forming part of the rauta Stras(pastamba, valyana, Ktyyana, Baudhyana):

they belong to the Kalpa Stras which are

one of the Six Vedgas (=limbs of Veda).

What is their date?

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It is very difficult to derive the Vedic ritual applicationof the theorem [of Pythagoras] from Babylonia. (The reverse

process is easy.) The application involves geometricalgebra and there is no evidence of geometric algebra fromBabylonia. And the geometry of Babylonia is alreadysecondary whereas in India it is primary. Hence we do not

hesitate to place the Vedic altar rituals, or, more exactly,rituals exactly like them, far back of 1700 BCE. Theelements of ancient geometry found in Egypt and Babyloniastem from a ritual system of the kind observed in the

Sulvasutras(Seidenberg 1962: 515).

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Seidenberg reiterated his finds in another paper in 1978.

Note that the Mesopotamian ziggurats (=temples with steps) and

the Egyptian mastamba-tombs and the step-pyramid of Djoser, all in

the 3rd

millennium BCE, are based on trapezoid figures which arefound in the ulbastras and those figures are at the basis of Vedic

altar brick-constructions like the maana-cit.

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Foundations of linguistic studies:

Yska (Nighau &Nirukta);

Pini (Adhyy).

Patajali : Mahbhya (comments on Pini).Bharthari : Vkyapadya

Concepts (ofVibhaktiand) kraka in West only in 19th cent

i.e. surface and deep structure grammar and meaning.

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After internecine wars some peopleare scattered far over the earth (abh km7.18.16)and some pushed to the West (prvacakra parm 7.6.3).

5.10.6 asmkasaca sryo vvs tarnithat our sages may pervade all regions

6.61.9s no vv ti dva svsr anytvar/ tann heva srya//

She [Saravati] has spread us beyond enmities, beyond theother [seven] sister[-rivers], she who follows Cosmic Order,as the Sun spreads out the days.

10.65.11:srya div rohyanta nava sudry vrat visjnto dhi kami

the bounteous gods made the sun mount in heaven anddiversely released (vi-sj-) the Aryan laws over the earth.


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Vedic Tradition in Near East

a) c3000 possible influence on Egypt: Affinities in religion : creation throughSpeech; Sungods boat; Cow of plenty; Lotus-born one; Creators eye

running off and being brought back; etc, etc. (Kazanas 2009, ch8.)

Also, the ulbastra geometry and trapezoids for mastaba tombs and

step-pyramid, etc.(Rajaram and Frawley 1997)b) c2600 on Mesopotamia :Actual trade links. Affinities in religion: Seven is;

flood legend; horse sacrifice; magical rituals; etc, etc. (Kazanas 2009, ch7)

Also the ulbastra geometry and ziggurats. (Rajaram and Frawley 1997)

c) Perhaps Judaic culture with monotheism.(Kazanas 2009, ch7)


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Kassites & Mitannis in the Near East(17th-16th centuries BCE).

Apart from Indoaryan names and horse-husbandry,

under Agum II in early 16th cent. A surge of literacy

invention, collection and recording (Dalley S. 1991: 47,

229).

A rennaissance with perhaps ideas of Vedic origin.

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Unity of Being in 1st & 2nd cent CE:

Hermeticists and Christian Gnostics 1st & 2nd cent.

Neoplatonists and Neopythagoreans 3rd cent.

(Enneads of Plotinos; Porphyry; Iamblichos).

Influence of Vedic Tradition (?)

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Influence on Persians :

Perhaps some influence after Persian conquests in 6th cent BCE.Certainly there were translations of literature 5th cent CE (some of these

tales reached Syria in the NE).

Also translation of 50 Upanishads in 17th cent CE under Prince

Mohammed Dara Shakoh. (From this a French translation.)

1200 CE Decimal system and numbers 0 to 9 via the Arabs into the

West: Leonardo FibonaccisLiber Abacus (in Algiers).

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Spread of Buddhism and Hinduism


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Buddhism into China 1st cent CE.

Sanskrit into China 3rd cent CE.

Buddhism into Korea 4th cent CE.Buddhism into Japan 6th cent CE.

Buddhism into Thibet 7th cent CE.

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JAVA from 1st cent CE

CHAMPA (=todays Vietnam) 2nd cent CE

SUMATRA, BORNEO 4th cent CE

BALI (still much Hinduism) 6th cent CE

Valmikis Rmyaa found in

LAOS in dance-dramas and sculptures in templesTHAILAND in paintings and sculptures; capital of Siam Ayothya

(< ayodhy)

CAMBODIA sculptures and reliefs in temples;

temple Angkor-wat with its Hindu cosmology.

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The Ramakrishna Mission.

Shri Vivekanandas visit to the USA & UK;

Sept 1893 Sisters and brothers of America speech in

Parliament of Religions in Chicago.

1899-1902 2nd tour in the West.

Many others subsequently Tagore et al.

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Exports to the West from 19th cent onward :

Literature and Linguistic ideas;

(e.g. Emerson in the US, Schopehauer in Germany,

Eliot in Britain; Comparative Philology.)

Vednta and Buddhism;

yurveda, Meditation and Yoga

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astga-yoga of Patajali (2.29).

EIGHT STAGES LIMBS) OF YOGA

8) samdhi ABSORPTION

7) dhyna MEDITATION

6) dhra CONCENTRATION OF THE MIND

5) pratyhra WIHDRAWAL OF THE SENSES

4) pryma BREATH REGULATION

3) sana BODY POSITION

2) niyama INTERNAL RULES

1) yama EXTERNAL RULES(CODE OF CONDUCT)

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yog citta-vtti-ni odha(1.2)

Yog(All

Pat

effects the cesssuch movemen

jali, by 5 kleas

tion of mindts of thinking

.)

-movements.and feeling a e caused, says

5 kl as afflictions(2.3)

avidy asmit rga dvea abhinivea

ignorance egoism

(separate ego)

attachment,

passion

abhorence attachment to

the world

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5 regulations ( ama) (2.30)

ahis satya asteya brahmacarya aparigraha

non-injury truth non-stealing life of purity non-grabbing,non-amassing

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gveda 10.117 Hymn to Generosity

Bhadrayaka Up datta [humans], give!

Manusmti 1.86 d

nam eka kalau yugegiving alone in the kali yuga

Bhagavad Gt 8.28; 16.1; etc


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Cycle f Four Yugas

Kta- or Sad-yuga : tapas

Tret-yuga : jna

Dvpara-yuga : yaja

Kali-yuga : dna Deterioration


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Depletion and pollution of Ganges waters

Himalaya glaciers diminish.

Tehri Dam absorbs tributaries.Increasing canals for supplying agriculture and cities.

Uncontrolled, explosive growth of cities.

City sewage and industrial toxins into the river.

Drop of average level at Varanasi from 60 down to 10 metres.

Other problems:

Caste system; cruelty to girls and widows;

Increasing gap between rich and poor.

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Studies in 2002 reveal that :

350 colours

300 000 sounds

130 colours

180 000 sounds

In France & USA youngsters had vocabulary 25 000 ords.

today only 10 000 ords.

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5 egulations ( ama)(2.30)

ahis satya asteya brahmacarya aparigraha

non-injury truth non-stealing life of purity non-grabbing,

non-amassing

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Swami Vivekananda:

Civilisation is the manifestation of divinity in man.

(See H. P. Kanoria 2012: 8)

Yoshinory Yasuda on the Japanese Jmon (11th millennium BCE):

Respect for and co-existence with nature proper

relationship in accord with the features of the given

region.

A. Weston Ancient Egypt:In civilization men are concernedwith inner life to master greed, ambition, envy.

(For Yasuda, Rudgley 1998: 31-33.

A. West see his publication of 1993: 6-7.)S35

Continuity and World Influence of the Vedic Civilization: Nicholas Kazanas (May 2013)

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