HINDUISM - Q & A Part 2

Is the Indus valley civilization same as the Hindu dharma civilization?

Definitely all the proofs available say so. Particularly those are available recently. Even though foreigners and the so called Indian intellectuals wanted to distort the true history and wanted to prove wrongly that they are different from Hindu dharma. The conclusion is that both are the same.

But many people said earlier against this conclusion and few still continue to say so. why?

There was an intentional conspiracy to distort the facts which was spearheaded and created by the British to confuse Indians through the Aryan invasion theory and to create a feeling among Indians that they are also the invaders like the British ( to Indian subcontinent). So they wanted to prove that Indus valley, Harappan civilization, etc are entirely different from the Vedic civilization and Hindu culture . This was fully utilized by our pseudo intellectuals and also the so called secularists for creating a complex in the Indian mind.

Who were/ are the Aryans ?

The word Aryan does not mean any race or a group of people. It only means the scholarly people. You know arya vaidya sala, aryaavartham, aryavepu, aryaputra all meant for ‘scholarly’ meaning. During the last days of Maxmuller , he too commented strongly that, Aryan word has got nothing to do with a race.

Where can we see the use of this word in Vedas?

In Vedas there are a number of places where the Arya word is used as “krunvantho viswam aryam = let us make the world a glorious one. Srunvanthu viswe amruthasya putraa aaye dhamaani divyaani thasthu = the children of immortals, Let us come together and chant the great songs. Here too the message is Arya. Every wife , in olden days, use to call her husband of royal family as aryaputra.

Why some people say the Vedic civilization and Hindu civilization are different?

Vedic civilization itself is the Hindu civilization and they are not different. There is nothing like Hindu civilization which is different from Vedic culture.

When was the Vedas written or composed ?

Vedas are known as anaadi which means the date of origin is not known. It is also said that it existed from time immemorial. But the Veda Vyasa compiled it in the present form.

What is the real meaning of the word Veda?

Veda was formed from ‘vid’ means knowledge. ( more details will be available when we discuss about Vedas separately)

What the Vedas say about the date of its origin?

Brihaspati prathamam jaayamaanam thishyam nakshatram abhisambhaboova . The delta cancri (thishyam) star when got occulted by Jupiter planet, and when the planet moved forward, it looked as the star was born newly.

This is an astronomical phenomenon. The computer simulation studies on the movement of the celestial bodies, showed that this occulting might have taken place almost during BC 4275 or so. If this Vedic line might have written after seeing this celestial phenomenon, then this line (which is in the last part of Rig Veda) might have been composed about 6250 years ago. So the last part of Rig Veda might have composed during this period. If this is true the first part might have got composed about 2 to 3 thousand more years ago. The last part of Vedas are composed of modern Sanskrit and the first part with vedic Sanskrit. So the Vedas may be more than 7 - 8 thousand years old.

Is this observation agree with other scholars’ opinion ?

No ! This is not agreeing with Indian scholars Opinion. Indian scholars like Balagangadhara Thilak, Jnanaanda Saraswati, Dayananda Sarawati, and so on fix the period of Vedas 20 to 50 thousand years ago. Some other ‘scholars’ fix the period around 1000 BC or so, like their western or Russian gurus.

Does it agree with foreign scholars?

Some of the foreign scholars started rethinking and proving that this period ( 6 – 8 thousand years old) may be correct. Some of them even conclude that Vedas are of 2 to 3 thousands old only. Now a rethinking is picking up fast. Some of them also fix the period as ‘many thousand years’ ago.

Does it mean that Hindu dharma is the oldest religion ?

If you want to label Hindu dharma as a religion , it is the oldest religion. If you want to consider it as the way of life then also Hindu dharma is the oldest codified systematic way of life in the world and Rig Veda is the oldest literature.

How the message of Hinduism spread from generation to generation?

This dharma spread from place to place and generation to generation through the practice of acharas ( seen and heard) from the parents, books, illustrations, etc. The messages also got transferred from mouth to ear by oral traditions.

Did Hindu dharma spread outside Indian continent ?

Yes ! It spread through out the world, including African continent, American continents and so on. Many archeological proofs are available now.

What are the Acharas ( customs and rituals) in Hindu dharma ?

Acharas are those practices of our day to day life . Or it is the life style by itself. In India the acharas are practiced for the following purposes and benefits

Acharath labhathe hi ayu: acharath dhanamakshayam acharath

labhathe suprajaa: aachaaro ahanthya lakshanam

Acharas are practiced for the psychological and physiological benefits and for a long healthy life; acharas are followed for prosperity and wealth; acharas are followed for strong family and social bondage. By following the acharas, one gets a fine personality and dharmic vision. Says our dharma saastra books and the acharyas.

Why the people should practice the acharas ?

In India, everyone practiced his/her dharma through these acharas. They could get the psychological, physiological, family relation based, social bondage and national integration based benefits. One should understand scientifically, rationally and logically the meaning and message of every achara, practice and teach the messages to others.

Who created these acharas ?

Thousands of Rishies created these acharas based on their experiences. They taught them to their students. Some of these acharas were written in books. Some were passed to generations through oral tradition of chanting the Sanskrit lines which give the message of the acharas.

How the acharas used to get refined?

It is said that acharyaath paadam aadatthey paadam sishya swamedhaya paadam sa brahmachaaribhya sesham kalakramena cha. One quarter of the acharas is to be learned from the teacher and one quarter by the student himself, one quarter by discussing with others and the last part during the process of living ( by addition, deletion, modification and correction).

When these acharas were created/ written ?

These acharas were not written in one day nor within a period of a decade nor a century. They were written during the course of thousands of years. The addition, deletion. Modification and corrections were done continuously. Still the refining is going on. In fact it is a process of updating which continues even today.

Where these acharas were written?

Majority of the acharas were written in kalpasastra, puraanas, itihasas and some in Vedangas and so on.

Are these acharas written by Brahmins?

These acharas were written by Rishies from all castes and from different parts of India. They are also written in different languages. During the period when acharas were written, none of the Rishies was known in their caste name. The present type of caste system never existed during then.