DEIVATHIN KURAL # 129 (Vol # 5) Dated 17 Feb 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 129 (Vol # 5) Dated 17 Feb 2012

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the second para on page No 803 of Vol 5 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that here in 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
775. The first thing that they noticed is the fact that, the biggest religion all over South East Asia up to Japan was Buddhism while in its place of origin India, there was only a scattering of Buddhists. At the same time they noticed that Hindus had a respect in for Buddha for his loving heart, abnegation, renouncement and sense of sacrifice! Not only did Hindus have a deep sense of respect for Buddha but, Hindus had included Buddha as one of the Dasa Avatara of Vishnu, they noticed. So they planned to make use of this fact to erode this Hindus’ faith and belief in their own religion of Sanatana Dharma! Before introducing the unknown Jesus Christ to them, by projecting Buddha as a highly venerable ideal, let us make inroads in to the Hindu minds, they could have decided. As Buddhists do not have much of an organization in India, neither will they object to our eulogizing the Buddhist image nor will people convert to that religion wholesale! This is very convenient to us! The one, whom the Hindus call an Avatara, has ridiculed the ideas of Vedic karmas, rituals and division of the society into various compartments of Jaati, caste and further sub divisions. By projecting these we can weaken their hold on their own lot and at a suitable time all we have to say is, ‘for Buddha read Jesus Christ’, pronto! You have a readymade strategic plan!
776. Instead of showing that Indian civilization is only after the advent of Christianity, we can show that it just came into its own just a little earlier before Jesus Christ, and that by Buddha’s influence only any worthwhile mentioning of Indian History became possible! We should depict that Buddha was the most important great man on the horizon of the Indian Panorama. Rama, Krishna and Arjuna were all only characters in their literature and not of any historical relevance. Concepts like Adwaitam and Maya have evolved only from Buddhism. Vishnu in the recumbent posture is from Buddha’s Maha Pari NirvaaNa statue only! Like this, whatever is great in their religion, we will show that they have been derived from Buddhism.
777. As the basis of everything Indian, we will picture paint as to how the background is the Dravidian Culture, which is totally different and from which the Indian culture has drawn heavily and balance have come from the Buddhist ethos. All this should be done nicely as though telling the truth as it is, devoid of any prejudice. The whole thing should be done in such a manner as to completely wean away the entire populace from their pride in the Hindu religion. Then our missionaries are always there ready to rope them in to our Christianity! It is with this Master Plan that the Britishers did all their research and reconstructed our history!
778. The Vedas that the Hindus pride themselves with as sans a beginning and without an end; itself is only some 1,000, to 1,500 prior to Buddha. It is wrong to say that these Vedas were the foundations of their culture. A few hundred years earlier there was a Mohenjo-Daro – Harappa civilization, which might have been a Dravidian Civilization! All those people were over powered and chased out and these people appropriated many of their ways and means! Having started such canard as History, they did many other things as contributions for the past and investing the future! If this is taught to our children from a young age as history, it will get so deeply imbedded in their minds that, after growing up those impressions cannot be erased. All Hindu Saastraas are contrary to reason and logic. They are all too full of blind beliefs and superstitions. Since such views have been well proclaimed and publicised, our own children believe so, and we ourselves have some doubts in their veracity!
779. In our PuraNas there is description of various dynasties and the period / duration of each is given, which we tend to consider as so much fiction and stories of imagination. Those who believe in the Saastraas and PuraNas are thought to be stupidly naive and blindly trusting. All those who believe in our religion are described in such terms that the younger generation do not listen to whatever the older generation has to say and assert, ‘What our Professors and Doctors say is authority’! In fact this is also a superstition only. They do not even think of asking questions such as, ‘by what logic do these so called researchers claim our PuraNas to be false, by what basis do they decide the time frame of our past and is there no other interpretation?’ Whatever these modern educationists say becomes acceptable and our old literature and ideas become fictitious!
780. Our Calculations in Kali Yuga. As said earlier, we will leave the matter of the Kruta – Treta – Dvapara Yugas. The details of all the royal dynasties of Kali Yuga are available. Each kings name and his tenure is clearly given continuously. There is nothing unbelievable in them. In this vast country, as there were not many roads, there could be errors in what is written in one region about another region or state. But, if you make a comprehensive comparative study and analysis, you can come to a concurrence. There is neither the patience to do so nor is there the basic trust in our Saastraas and PuraNas, what to do?
781. Everyday before stating the day’s work of karma, we have been saying something known as ‘Sankalpa’, that is the ‘Decision to do so and so activity’. This is done in every nook and corner of India wherever Brahmins are doing their work. In it, starting from Brhma’s age, coming down to Kali Yuga, the year, season, month, fortnight, Titi, Star of the day, are being mentioned, adding one day every day! Thus we are keeping track of our calendar verbally. In it from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, we are saying this year 1963 A.D., is being mentioned as Kali Yuga 5064. Actually there is a description of the whole Nation from Kashmir to Kanyakumari too, with specific mention of where that particular Sankalpa is being taken, in the land area between which two rivers, is being mentioned. Thus in this imaginary world of Maya, we are fixing the Karma in Time and Space without any scope for misunderstanding! If you say that ‘No, we do not believe all this’, how can we talk sensibly and exchange views?
782. Regarding our AachaaryaaL’s time in Siva Rahasya Itihasa it is mentioned, ‘sahasra dviyaat param’ meaning two thousand years later. Then it does not say exactly how many years later. It seems to have been left out unsaid so that we may exercise our brains about it, may be! That anyhow means some three thousand years before now. In Bhavishya Uttara Purana it is said that his birth was in the end part of the second set of thousand years, ‘kalyaadou dvi sahasraante’. Many other Puranas, books safely guarded over the years in our Matam, other sources, and heard traditionally over the years by our ears (known as KarNa Parampara), we firmly believe that our AachaaryaaL’s life time was Kali Yuga 2593 to 2625, which is the same as 509 to 477 B.C.
783. Our Historical Evidence. Let me tell you a little bit about our historical evidence. In PuraNas there is description of our royal dynasties. In addition some thousand years back one of our poets KalhaNa has made a vast study about the royal dynasties of Kashmir from the beginning to the end, in a book known as ‘Raja Tarangini’. The moment I say, KarNa Parampara, you should not throw it out as some fiction to be discarded. Baselessly our ancestors could not have taken the pains to record such things, say with the sole aim of befooling the future! If compared and related to other such evidences some approximation could be made. If there is a king there will be records of his going to war and pacts of peace and alliances of marriage between royal families and so on. So, this Tarangini which talks about the royal dynasties of Kashmir, also talks about visit by the royalty from the rest of India. In many cases what is given in this Tarangini and details in the PuraNas match.
784. In Nepal similarly there is a record known as, ‘Raja VamsaavaLi’ or what is called in English as ‘Chronicles of Nepal’. One Pundit Bhagwan Laal Indraji has obtained this book from a Buddha Bikku and publicised it. It contains the names of the Kings of Nepal from the time of Maha Bharat. There are many details available from other sources matching to a remarkable extent with what is given in that book! Similarly in Sri Lanka there is book ‘Maha Vamsam’, at least more than 1,500 years old, describing the spread of Buddhism in that island State. Since the Britishers give more credence to the Buddhist books than the Hindu ones, this book is more acceptable to them. Since there have been much mutual exchanges between India and Sri Lanka on the grounds of culture, religion, royalty, wars and pacts of friendship, there are a lot of information about our countrymen too.
785. If we do a comparative study of PuraNas, with Raja Tarangini from Kashmir being one northern corner of India, Nepal’s Raja VamsaavaLi from yet another end, Sri Lanka’s Maha Vamsam from the southern tip of the Indian sub-continent and then see as to where they differ and where they are at concordance. Even stories are based on the general ethos existing and even historical records could be sometimes boosted or exaggerated in some places. So we can do a comparative study with a balanced point of view, can we not? The main question now!
786. The Central Question – Who is the ‘Santra Cottas’ Mentioned by Megasthanis? Let us set aside the deliberate efforts on the part of British Historians to purposefully reduce our pride in our civilization going on from time immemorial till modern times. There is no meaning in going on and on about their partiality. All of them may not be motivated adversely. But what is possible is one man’s mistake or deliberate misreading, could affect other’s judiciousness. It occurs to me that may be there is one error intentional or otherwise, which could have vitiated the whole calculation. In the ancient Indian History, they have fixed one particular date in relation to which the earlier and later events have been dated. It is like a ‘Key’ which opens a ‘Pandora’s box’ of ancient History of India. What is that?
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.