Mahatma Gandhi on Conversion

USA president Obama gets Nobel peace prize for waging war & Gandhiji does not get it because………..read below….

Mahatma Gandhi on Conversion

 

Gandhiji was not awarded the Nobel peace prize because he refused to be converted. Now that missionaries are spreading their tentacles far and wide in India converting people by allurement, inducement and fraud (In the north east killings and threats are becoming commonplace) Gandhiji's message is all the more relevant in understanding and reacting to this problem. Missionary Terrorism will become as dangerous as Islamic terrorism if ignored. Please read & distribute.

 

Compiled by Swami Aksharananda

(Track No. 010119.1, Jan. 19, 2001)

 

I Call Myself a Sanatani Hindu

 

I call myself a Sanatani Hindu, because I believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, and all that goes by the name of Hindu scripture, and therefore in avataras and rebirth; I believe in the varnashrama dharma in a sense, in my opinion strictly Vedic but not in its presently popular and distorted crude sense; I believe in the protection of cow. I do not disbelieve in murti puja. (Young India: June 10, 1921)

 

Why I am Not a Convert

 

Hinduism as I know it entirely satisfies my soul, fills my whole being. When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and when I see not one ray of light on the horizon, I turn to the Bhagavad Gita, and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of tragedies and if they have not left any visible and indelible effect on me, I owe it to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. (Young India: June 8, 1925)

 

I Disbelieve in Conversion

 

I disbelieve in the conversion of one person by another. My effort should never to be to undermine another's faith. This implies belief in the truth of all religions and, therefore, respect for them. It implies true humility. (Young India: April 23, 1931)

 

Conversion: Impediment to Peace

 

It is impossible for me to reconcile myself to the idea of conversion after the style that goes on in India and elsewhere today. It is an error which is perhaps the greatest impediment to the world's progress toward peace. Why should a Christian want to convert a Hindu to Christianity? Why should he not be satisfied if the Hindu is a good or godly man? (Harijan: January 30, 1937)

 

No Such Thing as Conversion

 

I believe that there is no such thing as conversion from one faith to another in the accepted sense of the word. It is a highly personal matter for the individual and his God. I may not have any design upon my neighbour as to his faith which I must honour even as I honour my own. Having reverently studied the scriptures of the world I could no more think of asking a Christian or a Musalman, or a Parsi or a Jew to change his faith than I would think of changing my own. (Harijan: September 9, 1935)

 

No Conversion Designs Upon Me

 

I am not interested in weaning you from Christianity and making you Hindu, and I do not relish your designs upon me, if you had any, to convert me to Christianity. I would also dispute your claim that Christianity is the only true religion. (Harijan: June 3, 1937)

 

Conversion

 

Conversion must not mean denationalization. Conversion should mean a definite giving up of the evil of the old, adoption of all the good of the new and a scrupulous avoidance of everything evil in the new. Conversion, therefore, should mean a life of greater dedication to one's country, greater surrender to God, greater self-purification. (Young India: August 20, 1925)

 

Aping of Europeans and Americans

 

As I wander about through the length and breath of India I see many Christian Indians almost ashamed of their birth, certainly of their ancestral religion, and of their ancestral dress. The aping of Europeans by Anglo-Indians is bad enough, but the aping of them by Indian converts is a violence done to their country and, shall I say, even to their new religion. (Young India: August 8, 1925)

 

Why Should I Change My Religion

 

I hold that proselytisation under the cloak of humanitarian work is unhealthy to say the least. It is most resented by people here. Religion after all is a deeply personal thing. It touches the heart.

 

Why should I change my religion because the doctor who professes Christianity as his religion has cured me of some disease, or why should the doctor expect me to change whilst I am under his influence? (Young India: April 23, 1931)

 

Missionary Aim: Uprooting Hinduism

 

My fear is that though Christian friends nowadays do not say or admit it that Hindu religion is untrue, they must harbour in their breast that Hinduism is an error and that Christianity, as they believe it, is the only true religion. So far as one can understand the present (Christian) effort, it is to uproot Hinduism from her very foundation and replace it by another faith. (Harijan: March 13,1937)

 

Undermining People's Faith

 

The first distinction I would like to make between your missionary work and mine is that while I am strengthening the faith of people, you (missionaries) are undermining it. (Young India: November 8, 1927)

 

Physician Heal Yourself

 

Conversion nowadays has become a matter of business, like any other. India (Hindus) is in no need of conversion of this kind. Conversion in the sense of self-purification, self-realization is the crying need of the times. That however is never what is meant by proselytization. To those who would convert India (Hindus), might it not be said, "Physician, heal yourself." (Young India: April 23, 1931)

 

Missionaries: Vendors of Goods

 

When the missionary of another religion goes to them, he goes like a vendor of goods. He has no special spiritual merit that will distinguish him from those to whom he goes. He does however possess material goods which he promises to those who will come to his fold. (Harijan: April 3, 1937)

 

If I had the Power and Could Legislate.

 

If I had the power and could legislate, I should stop all proselytizing. In Hindu households the advent of a missionary has meant the disruption of the family coming in the wake of change of dress, manners, language, food and drink . (November 5, 1935)

 

The Only Begotten Son of God?

 

I regard Jesus as a great teacher of humanity, but I do not regard him as the only begotten son of God. That epithet in its material interpretation is quite unacceptable. Metaphorically we are all sons of God, but for each of us there may be different sons of God in a special sense. Thus for me Chaitanya may be the only begotten son of God. God cannot be the exclusive Father and I cannot ascribe exclusive divinity to Jesus. (Harijan: June 3, 1937)

 

Western Christianity Today

 

It is my firm opinion that Europe (and the United States) does not represent the spirit of God or Christianity but the spirit of Satan. And Satan's successes are the greatest when appears with the name of God on his lips. (Young India: September 8, 1920)

 

I consider western Christianity in its practical working a negation of Christ's Christianity. I cannot conceive Jesus, if he was living in flesh in our midst, approving of modern Christian organizations, public worship, or ministry. (Young India: September 22, 1921)

 

Christianity and Imperialistic Exploitation

 

Christianity in India has been inextricably mixed up for the last one hundred and fifty years with British rule. It appears to us as synonymous with materialistic civilization and imperialistic exploitation by the stronger white races of the weaker races of the world. Its contribution to India has been, therefore, largely negative. (Young India: March 21, 1929)

 

No Room For Them

 

In the manner in which they are working there would seem to be no room for them. Quite unconsciously they do harm to themselves and also to us. It is perhaps impertinent to say that they do harm to themselves, but quite pertinent to say that they do harm to us. They do harm to those amongst whom they work and those amongst whom they do not work, i.e., the harm is done to the whole of India. The more I study their activities the more sorry I become. It is a tragedy that such a thing should happen to the human family. (Harijan: December 12, 1936)

 

Outrage!

 

Only the other day a missionary descended on a famine area with money in his pocket, distributed it among the famine stricken, converted them to his fold, took charge of their temple, and demolished it. This is outrageous. (Harijan: November 5, 1937)

 

Let the Hindu be a Better Hindu

 

I came to the conclusion long ago that all religions were true and also that all had some error in them, and whilst I hold by my own, I should hold others as dear as Hinduism. So we can only pray, if we are Hindus, not that a Christian should become a Hindu. But our innermost prayer should be a Hindu should be a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim, a Christian a better Christian. (Young India: January 19, 1928)

 

Welcome Them Back

 

If a person through fear, compulsion, starvation, or for material gain or consideration goes over to another faith, it is a misnomer to call it conversion. Most cases of conversion have been to my mind a false coin. I would therefore unhesitatingly re-admit to the Hindu fold all such repentants without much ado. If a man comes back to the original branch, he deserves to be welcomed in so far as he may deem to have erred, he has sufficiently purged himself of it when he repents his error and retraces his steps. (Collected Works: Vol. 66, pp. 163-164)

 

Thanks & Regards,


Sudhir Srinivasan
B.Arch, MSc.CPM, Dip.ID, Dip.CAD, Dip.PM, Dip.LD
| Architect |
Sudhir-Architect <ar_sudhirkumar@yahoo.com>

1,240 Christians including a pastor came back to Hinduism

Bhubaneswar: A total of 1,240 converted Christians, including a pastor, returned to Hinduism at a home coming programme organised by the Dharma Jagran Vibhag at Batamul Ashram in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh neighbouring Odisha. Out of 1,240 persons, 1,080 persons are from Odisha and 160 persons are from Chhattisgarh. Member of the Parliament Shri Dillip Singh Judev was present on the occasion. The programme was organised with the help of Gayatri Parivar and Arya Samaj.

A Pancha Kundiya Yajna was organised on this occasion. A Kalas Yatra and Pravachan programme was also held on this occasion. A former pastor, Bandhna Oram, also returned to Hinduism. He said he had converted many Hindus to Christianity. "I shall  try to bring them back to Hindu fold, as it will be my prayashchit," he said.

National secretary of Dharma Jagran Vibhag, Shri Rajendra, State secretary Shri Binay Bhuyan, Shri Arun Kumar Panda, Shri Mahesh Tripathy and others were also present on the occasion. Leading saint Dharmanadji Maharaj and some other saints of Mahima Sect were also present.

- Samanwaya Nanda

http://www.organiser.org/Encyc/2012/6/3/-b-1,240-Christians-including-a-pastor-came-back-to-Hinduism--b-.aspx?NB=&lang=4&m1=&m2=&p1=&p2=&p3=&p4=&PageType=N

सेवा भारती, विहिप, वनवासी कल्याण परिषद और हिन्दू बोडो सुरक्षा परिषद के संयुक्त तत्वावधान में असम के दंगाग्रस्त इलाकों में फ़िलहाल 56 सेवा कैम्प लगाए गए हैं।

गुजरात से 3 डॉक्टरों की टीम, दवाईयों और 2 एम्बुलेंस के साथ वहाँ पहुँच चुकी है… दवाओं के 20 बक्से, मच्छरदानियों के बण्डल, बिस्किट, साड़ियाँ और डिब्बाबन्द दूध भी पहुँचाया जा रहा है…

शरणार्थी शिविरों में रहने वालों के लिए तत्कालिक आवश्यकता के इस सामान के साथ पुस्तकें, भोजन, जलाऊ लकड़ी इत्यादि की व्यवस्था भी की जाएगी…

जो बन्धु इस सेवाकार्य में अपना सहयोग दे सकते हैं वे श्री सुरेन्द्र तलखेड़कर (उत्तरी असम सेवा प्रमुख - 09436160217 ) से सम्पर्क करें…

सीधे अपना दान भेजने के लिए पता निम्नानुसार है -

SBI Maligaon, Guwahati
Branch No. 229
IFSC Code-SBIN0000229
CIF No. -85045662052
A/c No. 30078760763

जिस पैमाने पर बांग्लादेशी मुसलमानों द्वारा विनाश किया गया है, उसे देखते हुए भारी राशि की आवश्यकता होगी। फ़िलहाल इन 56 सेवा कैम्प में लगभग 3000 लोग शरण लिए हुए हैं, जिनमें से 500 को फ़ौरी मदद दी जा चुकी है…।

अतः मुक्त हस्त से दान दें और अपने मित्रों तक यह खबर एवं खाता नम्बर/फ़ोन नम्बर शेयर करें

Samanwaya Nanda

Science in Hinduism-Gravitational force and repulsive force

Posted By sarinmall on Sep 16, 2012

The Vedas have indefinite knowledge and depth of knowledge about science. When we talk of gravity what comes to our mind. Certainly newton, because that is what is being taught in schools today. But if we go one step down and ask how newton discovered force of gravity. Then one would say, through rigorous experimentation. Similarly, Vedas consist of real life information perceived by Rishis (sages) after intense penance, spiritual austerities and meditation.

In order to realize the supreme truth, one needs to practice the concepts mentioned in the Vedas and recommended by great souls like dayanand saraswati, Vivekananda etc.

Let us see some of the verses before we proceed further
Rigveda 8.12.28
As planets come closer to sun due to attraction, their speed of coming closer increases proportionately -  
The above verse was later proved by kepler and is known today as Kepler law or conservation of angular momentum

Rig Veda 8.12.28
"O Indra! By putting forth your mighty rays, which possess the qualities of gravitation and attraction-illumination and motion - keep up the entire universe in order through the Power of your attraction."

Rig Veda 5. 45. 9
Seven horses draw the chariot of Surya".  


Lod surya(Sun) on his seven divine horses

Rig Veda 1.6.5, Rig Veda 8.12.30
"O God, You have created this Sun. You possess infinite power. You are upholding the sun and other spheres and render them steadfast by your power of attraction.


Rig Veda 1.35.9
"The sun moves in its own orbit but holding earth and other heavenly bodies in a manner that they do not collide with each other through force of attraction.

Rig Veda 1.164.13
"Sun moves in its orbit which itself is moving. Earth and other bodies move around sun due to force of attraction, because sun is heavier than them.
  
Yajur Veda 33.43
"The sun moves in its own orbit in space taking along with itself the mortal bodies like earth through force of attraction."

Atharva Veda 4.11.1
"The sun has held the earth and other planets"

Above verses are self-explanatory. Now let us see verses from some other texts in details.
On seeing a fruit falling down from a tree, Newton derived the notion of gravitational force.  However, millenniums before the birth of Newton, Indian spiritual sages recorded the concept of gravitational force in various ancient texts. For example, In Surya Siddhartha (written around 400 AD), Bhaskaracharya stated that "Objects fall on the earth due to one force. The Earth, planets, constellations, moon and sun are held in orbit because of that one force".

Statue of bhaskaracharya at patnadevi (Birth place)
  
According to Indian spiritual gurus, all knowledge is pre-existing, and needs to be "recovered" rather than "discovered", by researching Vedas and similar ancient indian texts.

The words gravity and gravitational force in sanskrit is called as "GURUTVA AKAARSHANA SHAKTI". 'Gurutva' meaning 'mass' and 'Akaarshana' means 'attractive pull'.  
  
The Taittiriya branch of Krishna Yajurveda says -
  

The above verse says sun is holding the earth and other planets in space. kristheeh Means attraction. So, above verse says sun has power of attraction (kristheeh) and shines without interruption. (Which means sun is shining even at night). 

Saying that the sun attracts earth implies that the earth is also an onject with different type of repulsive force (Gravitational force). Otherwise, if sun had attractive force and earth doesn't have any force of its own, then they would have collided long back. 

This same idea is also reflected in verse of Varahamihira (6^th  century AD)  


Above verse means earth is like a sphere made up of the five basic elements, and is placed  
At the middle of a cage, this cage is made up of the galaxies and stars and hence, earth is dangling in the sky, like an iron ball in the middle of a cage of magnetic balls.  
   
Above verse also says that earth was not made only of earth. Instead it had five basic elements like fire, soil, water etc.  Bhaskaraacharya (12^th  century AD) rediscovered this concept in his work "Goladhyaya".
  

Above verse means "Without any support, Earth is hanging in the space through his  
own internal energy (shakti), because of which the whole solar system rotates in  
specified orbits, while creatures  like demons, humans, animals etc rests on her surface.  
Notice the five basic elements in the above verse which combiningly forms the earth


Five elements of earth
  
In above verse, it is said that earth is hanging in space because of her own energy.  So, what is this energy? Bhaskaracharya answers in the subsequent verse
  

  
Above verse translates as "Ball of earth has energy of aakrushti shakti meaning "attraction". Because of this attractive force, the earth pulls eveything towards her (svastham) and this power is her own and natural. Due to this attractive false, all objects dropped on earth appears to be falling down."
  
  Bhaskara concludes his topic by answering the question, "Is earth falling down in space?"  
By answering this question, he was actually referring to a group of western scholars who proposed that earth must be falling down at a great speed since objects thrown in space falls down in varying speed as per their size and earth itself is a very heavy object.  
  
To counter these arguments, Bhaskaracharya started with the assumption that heavier object falls with greater speed than lighter object. Let us now suppose an arrow is shot up, it goes to a certain distance and then its starts falling down. The arrow started falling down, and since the earth itself is traveling down, arrow should never fall back to the earth surface since the earth is mighty compared to arrow and is falling down at a heavier speed than a light weighted arrow. But it is not so. Hence, bhaskacharya suggested everyone to accept earth is not falling down. 

Today, this concept is well known by the formulae  
 
Bhaskaracharya gave one more argument to prove his theory. He said that for a person standing on the northern hemisphere, word 'downward' means a direction from head to feet.  At the same moment, a person standing on the southern hemisphere feels the same but it is actually in the opposite direction.  Now, if the earth is falling down, then which way it is falling, from the northern hemisphere side or the southern hemisphere?  So, it is worthless to say that earth is falling down.  

Bhaskara also gave a third technical argument. Suppose the sun is in the star "Bharani". On such a date, at the time of sunset, the face of the Dhruva fish (fish shaped group of stars around dhruva the pole star) moves to the western direction.  The next morning when the Sun rises in the east, the face of Dhruva fish turns to the eastern side.  This can be clearly observed by anybody. If the earth is falling down, the same Sun, who was on the western end of the Dhruva fish yesterday, cannot appear on the eastern end of the same fish in a gap of 12 hours. If that is the case, we may have to agree that there are two Suns, which is absurd.  So, Bhaskara concluded that it cannot be said that the earth is falling down.  
  
Objects are falling down because of the attractive force of earth. Referring to this idea, Aryabhatta(5^th   century AD) said that livings beings in different location are not scattered away into the space because of the attractive force of earth.  
  

In this verse, Aryabhatta used flower as synonyms of this universe objects.
Above verse translates as "Each flower is a cluster of co-centric smaller flowers, all of which put together make a ball like single flower. The smaller flowers of the Kadamba flower are tied to the center of the cluster, all the water living, the surface living and the sky living creatures are tied to the center of the earth.  "
   
Indian scriptures also say that not all objects falls on earth.


  
This verse states that one should not say that every object in this earth falls down. In fact, every element of this Universe has a quality of attracting other objects of its own class, and repelling those of other classes. Sage Valmiki (who wrote Ramayana) takes the example of the falling fruit.  
   
Scientific formula for attractive force
  
Sage Valmiki says that, since the fruit is a smaller part of the earth, it is attracted by the earth and hence it travels towards earth. It is neither going down nor up. It is going towards earth. Take a ball, which is hanged in the space by the help of a small thread.  Now suppose some ants walk all around the ball in a zigzag way. Now, how will you determine the downward direction for these ants? Every ant says that his legs are in the downward direction and his back is towards the upper direction. All ants are right even those who are in the downward direction relative to earth but upward direction relative to ball. So, there is nothing like a downward or upward direction. 

There is only a travel of an object towards another object of its own class.  
  
Interestingly the same example is repeated in Surya Siddhanta.    

Above verse questions that if every element of panchabhutas has a quality of repelling the other bhutas, how is it that water, air and fire are also available on the surface of the earth itself. He says that the other elements on the earth are studded in her, just like a few gems in a big golden bangle. The panchabhutas available to us are not pure ones. They are intermixed by a process called "panchikarana."  Hence, every particle in this Universe has a few traces of other elements also with in itself. Hence, the earth cannot totally repel other elements living on her surface. 

That is why they stay there, just like studded stones in a bangle.  If it were a piece of her own category, that would not have remained like a stone in a bangle, but it would have been totally absorbed in the earth in due course. That means, the power of attraction between two atoms of the same category is maximum
  

Attractive and repulsive force
  
This statement straightaway reminds us about the most recent EPR paradox, established by Einstein and subsequently development by Dr. Bell. According to Bell's theorem, it was proved experimentally that two atoms of the same category, separated by seven to eight lakh miles, behave as if they are inter connected. They have termed this connection as "superluminal".  

It is very clear that Valmiki's understandings of the principle of gravity are subtler and more logical than that of the medieval Vedic scientists (Sages).  
  
According to modern concept of cosmos, no celestial body is static in space. Each and  Every celestial body is rotating about itself and also about another heavier one, nearby.   The earth does so about sun.  Likewise, the sun also is revolving about a celestial body  named by scientists as "SERIUS" .  As such, the entire solar system is to be considered as  Rotating about that 'Serius'.   That being so, the locus of Earth in space, or of any other member of the solar system, cannot be considered as a simple ellipse (which is a closed conic).  It may, for the time being, be assumed to be an Elliptical spiral.  The statement that the orbit of Earth is  
elliptic is only relative and limited to the solar system - only under the assumption that  the Sun is static - which is not a reality.    That being so, we have come, in some other path, near to the concept of earth's falling  Down.    

Thus, we saw the concepts of gravitational force and repulsive force between objects in deep and I hope you liked this depth explanation.

So, before I end, Let us pray to the supreme god for his divine creation by embracing the below image which shows the magnificence of sun rays and how sun makes objects look extremely beautiful.


Jai shree krishna

Science in Hinduism-Evolution in Vishnu avatars

Posted By sarinmall on Jun 24, 2012

Starting with this article, I will be writing many articles relating our ancient spiritual scriptures with science. Content of an individual article can be treated as mere coincidence, but if you relate all these articles together, then you will be able to realize the deep connection between ancient spiritual scriptures(written by sages) and modern scientific experiments and theories( by well-known scientists).
In this article, we will be seeing concept of evolution through different avatars of Vishnu. Some more articles on evolution will be posted later.  
  
As we all know, there are ten avatars of lord Vishnu. However, some scriptures suggest that there are 24 avatars out of which these 10 Avatars (incarnations) actually form a sub-set of the original 24 Incarnations of Lord Vishnu. These ten avatars are:
1)    Matsya, the fish-avatar who saved Manu  - the progeniter of mankind from the great deluge and rescued the Vedic scriptures by killing a demon.  
2)   Kurma the tortoise avatar, who helped in the Samudra manthan - the churning of the ocean.  
3)   Varaha , the boar avatar, who rescued the earth from the ocean, by killing her kidnapper-demon Hiranyaksha  
4)   Narasimha the half man-half lion avatar, who killed the tyrant demon-king Hiranyakashipu to rescue the demon's son Prahlada who was a Vishnu-devotee
5)   Vamana the dwarf-avatar, who subdued the king Maha Bali Story can be found in the Vamana Purana
6)   Parashurama sage with the axe who killed the thousand-armed king Kartavirya Arjuna  
7)   Rama the king of Ayodhya and the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana
8)   Krishna, the king of Dwarka , a central character in the Bhagavata Purana and the Mahabharata and reciter of Bhagavad Gita
9)   Gautama Buddha spiritual teacher on whose teachings Buddhism was founded
10)   Kalki ("Eternity", or "time", or "The Destroyer of foulness"), who is expected to appear at the end of Kali Yuga.  

Did you find evolution in the above listed avatars? No? Let me make thing simpler to you by showing these avatars in a different way.
  
Fish(Aquatic)àTortoise(Amphibian)àBoar(Mammal)àHalf lion man(semi animal)àDwarf(Half grown man)àJungle sage with axe(Neanderthal Type)àRama(Fully civilized man)àKrishna(Man with supreme power like modern man having technological powers)àGautama Buddha(Spiritual guru to teach non violence)àKalki (Proposed avatar with all modern technological powers)  
  

Lord Vishnu Avatars depicting evolution starting from bottom left
  
Now let us discuss these major avatars in details to understand the process of evolution much better
1)    Matsya the fish avatar,
This Avatar was taken at the end of the previous yuga(eon) and the creation of our new Yuga. (Note that time span of our present universe is equal to one day of Lord Brahma. If you are confused about yuga, then read the below post before you proceed further).  
Living in an illusionist world-Part 1   
Living in an illusionist world-Part 2
  
This is most significant of all avatars because it sets the tone of our creation.  English Movie 2012 is also based on the concept of this avatar (the fish shaped boat was made to survive in this movie).
At the time when the previous yuga was about to end, the Great Deluge was to occur, Lord Surya's son Satyavrat ruled the Dravid-desha in that period. When it was time for him to retire, he handed over the kingdom to his eldest son Ikshvaku (who gave rise to the Solar Dynasty). And went to the foothills of Mount Malaya to perform meditation.
After a long time, Brahma appeared to him and asked for a boon. Satyavrat knew that this was the time for the end of the Chatur-Yuga; hence he asked the boon of becoming Manu (First man) in the NEXT Manvantar and Brahma readily granted this boon.
One morning, while performing ablutions in a pond, satyavrat immersed his hands in the water so as to offer some water to his ancestors. When he raised his cupped hands, he was amazed to find a tiny minnow fish (shafari) in his hands and that too, a talking one!

 
Satyavrat finds a tiny talking fish in his hands
  
The tiny fish requested for shelter and Satyavrat obliged the creature. But, during the night, the fish grew too large for the small pot it was kept in, so the next morning, the King asked his men to transfer that talking fish to a small pond. However soon enough, it became too big and was moved in to a still bigger one.



 
King moving the fish from one pond to another

However, the tiny fish continued to grow immediately to the size of the pond it was kept in. So, finally satyavrat decided to move the fish to the ocean, but soon it grew as large as the size of the ocean. Seeing this mighty creature, satyavrat immediately realized that the fish was none other than the Supreme Lord Vishnu Himself and immediately bowed down to pay his respects.
 
Satyavrat praying to the magical creature
  

Lord Vishnu in matsya avatar
The Lord, pleased with his humility, told him that he aspired to be the Manu for the next Manvantar and so, the responsibility of saving all the existing species of life for their continuation in the next eon (Yuga) also lay with him.
The Lord told him that exactly seven days after that day, Pralaya or the Great Deluge will come and everything will be swallowed by the mighty ocean waves.
Lord Vishnu told Satyavrat that the demigods themselves would construct a ship and he has to take with him the Saptarishis and a pair of each species of living beings, and wait at the same spot for the Lord to come there.

 
                                  All living species collected for the next Yuga.
  (Don't you think English movie 2012 is copied from this story?)
  
The appointed day came as lord vishnu said, and clouds completely filled the sky. The torrential rains caused by Seven classes of clouds, known as Samvarta, Bhimananda, Drona, Chanda, Valahaka, Vidyutapataka and Kona began and entire land mass was flooded.  

 
Satyavrat along with his consort and chosen ones waiting for matsya
  
As suggested by the lord, satyavrat along with his consort Shradha, the Saptarishis, chosen animals and plants safe boarded the ship made by demigods and began flowing in waves as mighty as mountains. As promised, at the predicted time,Lord Vishnu in form of Matsya appeared and the boat was tied by means of Nag-raj Vasuki, to the horn on the head of Matsya and thus, the virtuous devotees of Lord were saved to take life ahead to the next Eon. During the period of Deluge, Vaivasvat Manu asked Lord Vishnu several questions and this conversation is recorded in the form of the Matsya Puraan.
At last the rain stopped, the water took some more time to subside, and the land peeped out from under its watery prison. As promised, Satyavrat Vaivasvat Manu and his associates had been saved, and began the task of settling in the new world.  
  
  

Lord Vishnu in matsya avatar carrying boat with him
  
2)   Kurma, the tortoise avatar,
Once, The  Devas (Demi-God)  lost their strength and powers due to a curse by the sage Durvasa because Indra, the king of the Devas, had insulted the sage's gift (a garland) by giving it to his elephant (Airavata which trampled upon it. Thus, after losing their immortality and kingdom, they approached Lord Vishnu for help.
Vishnu suggested that they needed to drink the nectar of immortality to regain their lost glory. However, they needed to strive hard to acquire the nectar since it was hidden in the ocean of milk. After declaring a truce with their foes (Asuras) The Asuras (demons) and Devas (demigods) approached the Milky Ocean to perform the churning. Mandara Mountain was chosen as the churn drill. The huge snake Vasuki volunteered to be the Churning rope. The Devas took hold of the tail of Vasuki and the Asuras took hold of the mouth the snake.

Devas and Asura churning of the ocean
  
  But as Mandara Mountain had no fixation (below or above) it started to sink down.
  Taking the form of a  turtle (Kurma),  Vishnu lifted the mountain on his back and made it possible for the churning of the ocean or Samudra Manthan to take place. Some Hindu scriptures mention that the Kurma incarnation lifted the mountain higher than what was needed. So, Lord Vishnu took the form of the eagle and sat on top of the mountain and it came down to the exact position. The Devas obtained the Nectar of Immortality - Amrit from the ocean alongwith riches like the wish-fulfilling Kamdhenu cow; Parijaat tree; Airavat, the white elephant and Uchhaishrava, the flying horse.
  

Lord Vishnu sitting on top of the ocean
  
The Cosmic Churning of the Ocean occurred in the 6th Manvantar when the leader of the Gods was MANTRADRUMA and that of the Demons was Maharaj BALI, the grandson of Prahlad Maharaj.

3)   Varaha , the boar avatar,
    There was a demon named Hiranyaksha, an incarnation of Jaya, who was a gatekeeper of Vaikunta (the abode of Lord Vishnu). He was born as an Asura (Demon) due to a curse of the twin Rishis known as the Sanat - Kumaras. Hiranyaksha, who became vigorous, after getting the boons of invincibility from Lord Brahma against ALL known species of Men, Animals, Birds and Divine Beings (male as well as female).  To prevent the Devas from becoming powerful, this demon once carried whole earth and submerged it in the cosmic waters of Garbhodak Ocean.
As per the boon of lord brahma, to kill Hiranyaksha, lord Vishnu had to take such a form which does not exist. Hence, Lord Vishnu had to incarnate in this particular boar form and used its tusks to dig earth out of the bottom, and carried towards the surface.  
  

  
The enraged Hiranyaksha interrupted the Varaha, and then commenced a battle which is believed to have lasted for a thousand human years. Eventually, Lord Vishnu rescued the earth and restored it to its place in the universe. In this avatar, Lord Vishnu had to marry Goddess Earth ( Prithvi (Bhudevi). )

Hiranyaksha fighting with varaha avatar
Varaha is depicted in art as either purely animal or as being anthropomorphic, having a boar's head on a man's body. In the latter form he has four arms, two of which hold the wheel and conch-shell while the other two hold a mace, sword or lotus or make a gesture (or "mudra ") of blessing. The Earth is held between the boar's tusks.
    
Anthropomorphic Form of varaha avatar
The avatar symbolizes the resurrection of the Earth from a pralaya (deluge) and the establishment of a new kalpa)> (cosmic cycle).
    Thus Varah-avatar was the FIRST Avatar of Lord Vishnu in the present day of Brahma and this incident took place 6 Manvantars = 1.8 Billion Solar Years ago!!  

  
More on Vishnu avatars in next article
  
Before ending, a small poem to summarize and conclude

When world in danger or demons declares war,
Supreme lord Vishnu manifests suitable avtar.
No matter how much strong the opponents are,
Lord avatars help us, he's the only savior.
  
When world(Yuga) was about to end,
Living beings about to disappear.
In matsya avatar, Lord descend.
Gave the world things to cheer
  
When Demons and demigods churned ocean,
Mandara Mountain began to sink down.
To keep the mountain back to it region,
Lifted the mountain taking kurma form.
  
When lord brahma gave invincibility boon,
Demon Hiranyaksh submerged mother earth.
Took the Varaha(Boar) avatar very soon  
Killing the demon, you showed your worth
  
Same supreme Creator, worship all religion,
God only adores your love and devotion.
God is only one, but His forms are many.
Fighting in name of religion is insanity.

Did Egyptians worshipped lord krishna

Posted By sarinmall on Dec 01, 2012

Recently, while surfing on the internet, I came across the article where the author claims the Egyptians deity 'Amun' as Lord Krishna. According to the author, during his journey across the ancient sacred sites of Egypt, he attended the light and sound show at temple complex in karnak. In this show, he heard a dialogue echoing from the loudspeakers "I am Amon-Ra...The waters of the Nile sprout from my sandals." 


Sound and light show at karnak

He symbolically decoded this statement with the depiction of Hindu deity lord Vishnu in which you find the sacred river ganga emerging from the toes of lord Vishnu. Note that lord Krishna is believed to be an incarnation of lord vishnu.

In this article, I will be discussing his research on Egyptians god 'Amun' as lord Krishna by validating his research with my own additional points. Before we proceed further, we must have the better understanding of Egyptians chief deity 'Amun'

Who is 'Amun?'
Starting from 2^nd  millennium BC, Amun was worshipped as the creator god of the universe and one of the national gods of Egypt.  Being a primeval god, He was title as Amun-re-Kamutef. In hermopolis, a city in southern Egypt, he along with goddess amaunet was considered as creator deities, with power over air and wind. He is either depicted in anthropoid form, with a long beautiful crown, or in the shape of man with a two tall plumes containing ostrich feathers surmounted on his head, a long beautiful necklace and close fitting garment. Amun (meaning an Invisible One) has a scepter in one hand symbolizing power and in the other; he has an ankh, the symbol of life. He is often shown sitting on the throne of a kingdom like a pharaoh.

He along with his wife mut and son khonsu formed the sacred triad of thebes. 

 
Traid of Amun, mut and khonsu
  Later, as he became the chief deity, he was merged with Sun god 'Ra' to become a new deity called Amun -Ra. Amun-Ra was depicted with the head of a hawk surmounting a bright golden disk(Symbolizing sun), encircled by a serpent. In 1700s B.C when Hyksos conquered northern Egypt, Amun was worshipped only in southern Egypt but after the Egyptians defeated hykos in 1500s B.C, his influence spread across whole of Egypt and neighboring countries. Even today, two of the largest temple in Egypt, located at Luxor and Karnak, is dedicated to Amun.
  
Similarities between Amun and Krishna/Vishnu
Amun is depicted in a blue color with two feather surmounted on his head crown. Now if you ask any Indian "Who is the blue colored god with feathers on his head", then the answer would be lord Krishna, the deity with beautiful peacock feathers around his head adding his beauty and excellence. 


Egyptians deity Amun (Left) and Indian Deity Krishna (Right)
  
One point worth to note here is that Lord Krishna died in 3102 BC and Amun became the deity of Egypt in 2000 BC. So, there is a very high probability that legend of lord Krishna reached Egypt a millennium after the demise of lord Krishna. In Egypt, local traditions, customs and belief were added to form a new deity Amun symbolizing lord Krishna. (Temples dedicated to deity Amun at Luxor and Amun has been dated to 2055-1650 BC). 

If one tries to decode etymology of word Amun, one can find association with Krishna. In Egypt, Amun is written as Ymn, which is spelled as "Yamun" or "Yamanu". One can easily relate sacred river Yamuna to word "Yamanu" or "Yamun". To those who don't know, Yamuna is the river situated on the banks of Gokul (Vrindavan), the place where lord Krishna spent his childhood. It is quite possible that the word "Ymn" may have been subsequently decoded as "Amun" in Egypt, but this is not enough since the other two names 'Mut' and 'Khonsu' cannot be etymologically referred with subhadra/ lakshmi and balarma/sheshnag.
In Egyptian texts, you will find number of hymns in which Amun is associated with falcon-headed god Horus. Now the same concept can be found in Hindu mythology where Lord Vishnu is associated with eagle headed deity Garuda, who acts as his vehicle.


Lord Vishnu on eagle headed deity Garuda
  
Scriptural Similarities between Amun and Krishna/Vishnu
The Boulaq Papyrus (dated 1552-1295 BC) describes Amun as the "Lord of the universe who is in all things, who is greatest in Heaven. He is the supreme creator and everything happens because of him. He is the savior of the poor and protector of the devotees."  
Now if you have read bhagavad gita, then you will easily find many verses with the meaning exactly similar to the above inscriptions found in papyrus.

Actual Sanskrit verse  
PARITRANAYA SADHOONAAM VINASHAYACHA DUSHKRITAAM  
DHARMA SAMSTHAPANARTHAYA SAMBHAVAAMI YUGE YUGE 

Translation:
For the protection of the righteous, for the destruction of wicked, and for the establishment of Dharma, I am born in every age. 

I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in my devotional service and worship me with all their hearts."
(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.8)

should be understood that all species of life, o son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed giving father" (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 14.4)
  
"I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire"(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.17)
  
"The whole cosmic order is under me. By my will it is manifested again and again, and by my will it is annihilated at the end" (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.8)
  
"Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being, moving or unmoving, that can exist without me" (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.39)

Lord krishna guiding arjuna
  
"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts"(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.8)
  
"Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both the origin and the dissolution" (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 7.6)
  
"I give heat, and I withhold and send forth the rain" (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.19)
  
"With a single fragment of myself I pervade and support this entire universe"(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.42)
  
"This material nature, which is one of my energies is working under my direction"(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.10)
  
"There is no truth beyond Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread"(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 7.7)
  
"I am the supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities; I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings" (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 10.20)

Opet Festival (Rath yatra) in Egypt
Further, there is a mention of annual opet festival celebration in Karnak, where the idols of Amun, his wife Mut and son Khonsu were placed on sacred boats, which was pulled by devotees in a joyous, splendid procession to the venue of Sphinx, about 2 miles away from temples of Luxor and Karnak.

Pulling of sacred boats in ancient opet festival

  On reaching Luxor temple, sacred rituals were conducted to coronate kings, which were meant to transfer the power of Amun to the pharaoh. This annual opet festival is depicted beautifully on walls of Luxor temple. Idols of Amun, mut and khonsu were washed with local religious rituals and then beautifully dressed with colorful garments, dress and precious jewelry. These dressed idols were then placed on boats. The pharaoh would offer his obeisance on the boats and would order the beginning of pulling up of boat by priests and locals. Musicians would play pleasant music to entertain the crowd and local crowds would clap, sing and dance to the enchanting music of the trumpets, horns, flutes etc.

Locals dancing to the tunes of music in opet festival
  
Chariots with magnificently decorated horses would be a part of the procession. Locals would offer their prayers to the triad idols by burning incense sticks and offering foods, fruits etc. On reaching Luxor temple, sacred rituals were conducted to coronate kings, which were meant to transfer the power of Amun to the pharaoh. After these coronation rites, idols would stay at Luxor for a brief period of time after which another procession begins to bring back the idol to Karnak, along the route of river Nile. This Opet festival was initially celebrated for 11 days which later go extended to 25 to 27 days.
  
Similarities of Opet Festival with Rath yatra

If you narrate this detailed description of opet festival to any Indian then he would complain "Are you fooling me by calling an Indian festival an Egyptian festival?" 

Yes an exactly similar festival is celebrated every year after the beginning of monsoon season in the eastern coastal city of Puri, situated in state of Orissa. In India, this festival is called as Rathayatra festival. Rath means 'Chariot' and Yatra 'Journey'. So, Rathyatra combiningly means sacred journey of the chariot. Idols of lord Krishna (or Jagannath), sister Subhadra and brother Balaram are placed in three beautifully decorated huge chariots. Instead of horses, lakhs of devotees pulls these chariots along the 2 kilometer road (Note the distance) connecting the coastal Jagannath Temple to Gundicha Temple.Similar to opet festival, this festival is celebrated splendidly with music, hymns, song, dance, prayers etc. Traditionally, king of Puri would offer their obeisance to the triad idols. However in modern times, local leaders would offer their obeisance to the sacred idols. These leaders would not only offer their obeisance but would also clean the path of the chariots or would pull the sacred chariot themselves.


Top BJP leaders LK Advani and Ravi Shankar Prasad at annual rath yatra
  
  As per the belief, Person pulling the chariot or seeing the face of Jagannath (Krishna) gets absolved of all his past sins. After reaching Gundicha Temple, idols stays for seven days after which another procession known as Ulta rath (Reverse Chariot) begins to bring back the idol to Jagannath temple. This whole festival goes on for 25-26 days, matching with the number of days of Opet festival.
Krishna brother Balaram is regarded as an incarnation of "Ananta-Sesha" - the primeval serpent on which lord Vishnu rests in the middle of the Milky cosmic Ocean. On walls of Karnak, Son of Amun, khonsu is depicted as the "Great Snake who fertilizes the Cosmic Egg in the creation of the world" (Wikipedia). Now with no doubt, we can say khonsu is "Ananta-Sesha" , the great serpent on which lord Visnnu rests in the middle of cosmic ocean.

Lord Vishnu resting on Ananta shesha
  
Mut (wife of Amun) is called as a manifestation of the supreme mother goddess whereas in hindu mythology, Subhadra or Goddess Lakshmi, both are regarded as the manifestations of supreme universal mother goddess 'Durga'. Check below link for more
  
Is Goddess Durga the supreme universal mother <http://www.mallstuffs.com/Blogs/BlogDetails.aspx?BlogId=182&BlogType=Spiritual&Topic=Is%20Goddess%20Durga%20the%20supreme%20universal%20mother>

History of Rath yatra in India
Scholars have dated rath yatra to the Vedic times, much older than the Egyptians opet festival.  Though the current Jagannath temple dates to 1200 AD, it is said that festival of rathyatra has been celebrated since thousands of years. Before the construction of current Jagannath temple, there existed a small Vishnu temple from where the Rath yatra procession is said to begin. 

All the deities of Jagannath are made of wood of neem tree. Heights of the idols are between 2.5 to 3 meters. Layers of beautiful garments made of pure silk are wrapped on the wooden idols of deities.

Idols of Krishna (Right), subhadra(Middle) and Balarama(Left)
  
Before demise of lord Krishna, the three idols of Jagannath temple were lord Vishnu, his consort goddess Lakshmi and Sheshnag (The divine serpent on which lord Vishnu rest). In many ancient Indian scriptures, you will find goddess Lakshmi hailing sheshnag as his son. Compare this with the Egyptian version (Amun, his consort mut and son khonsu).

After the demise of lord Krishna, these idols were given the new forms of lord Krishna, sister Subhadra and brother Balrama. Note that lord Krishna is an incarnation of lord Vishnu whereas fair skinned Balrama is an incarnation of sheshnag.

Even in modern Egypt, the Opet festival has taken a new form. In present day Egypt, Opet festival is celebrated with a procession of a Muslim saint in a sacred boat.
  
Rath yatra in ancient scriptures
The Skanda Purana declares the first Jagannath temple constructed in Puri in Krita Yuga, Which as per the Hindu calendar began at 10,900 BC. In Mahabharata, It is said Pandavas travelled to Puri to worship Jagannath (Vishnu). Puri is one of the four most sacred places (Char-Dham) of Hinduism.
The Skanda Purana(composed in 1500BC) glorifies the sanctity of the Rath Jatra in the following words-
Sanskrit
Gundicha mandapam namam jatrahamajanam pura Ashwamedha sahasrasya mahabedi tadadvabat.
 
Translation:
Those who are fortunate to see the deities of the Srimandira in the Gundicha Temple, the final destination of the procession of the chariots, derive the benefits of a thousand horse sacrifices, an immensely pious deed. 

In other Indian ancient scriptures like Padma Purana , Narada Purana and the Ramayana, benefits, virtues and glories of worshipping Jagannath has been extolled. Since Jagannath refers to Vishnu i.e., he was worshipped in kaliyuga as Krishna. The festival is, therefore, indubitably Vedic in origin.  
It is said that the procession of rath yatra with idols of lord Krishna, brother balarama, and sister Subhadra began after the demise of lord Krishna.  

Ocean of crowds (Estimated 10 lakhs) dying to pull the three chariots of Jagananth, Balarama and subhadra
  
This may be because of lord Krishna following verse in the bhagavad gita.
"Atmaanam rathinam viddhi shareeram rathamevatu Buddhim tu saarathim viddhi manah pragrahameva cha"
Translation:
The body is the Chariot and the soul is the deity installed in the chariot. The wisdom acts as the charioteer to control the mind and thoughts.  
  
Vedic Architecture in Egyptians temples
Some historian's claims to find the incredible footprints of Vedic temple architecture in the grand temple complexes set up at luxor and karnak.
Many historians claim of incorporation of vedic knowledge in temples of luxor and karnak. Egyptologist R.A.Schwaller de Lubicz studied Luxor temple for 15 years and concluded "the various sections of the human body had been incorporated into the proportions of the temple. He found that specific locations within the temple correspond to the seven Hindu Chakras (energy centers) in the human body. These locations actually stimulate experiences and feelings that dowsers and meditators are able to perceive consciously"^.
I will be discussing more research related to this topic in my next article

How rath yatra reached Egypt?
It is a well known fact that Indians traded extensively with Arabs through the silk route. Along with commodities like cotton, ivory, iron, gold, spices etc, cultures and spiritual knowledge was exchanged with Egyptians scholars. If one compares the Egyptians culture with Indian culture, you will find lots of similarities. Trade exchanges through Silk-route, cultural and scientific exchanges between scholars, mythological and cultural similarities with India are enough evidence to confirm the idea of Opet Festival to be derived from Indian Ratha-yatra.

Land and water silk routes  

Mahabharata describes the Bharat (India) empire extended up to the mlechha country. Mlechha meaning uncivilized was referred as race beyond the Indian subcontinent (i.e Beyond Persia). Those day, Indian subcontinent included present day Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and up to Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia in the south, thus roughly covering an area of 1.2 million sq. km.
I wrote many articles on river saraswati where I said post the disappearance of river saraswati , people residing on the banks of river saraswati migrated to other cities located near the banks of large river.
If you haven't read these articles, then please go through the below links
  
India most sacred river saraswati found <http://www.mallstuffs.com/Blogs/BlogDetails.aspx?BlogId=186&BlogType=Spiritual&Topic=India%20most%20sacred%20river%20saraswati%20found>
Fall and Rise of river saraswati-India most sacred river <http://www.mallstuffs.com/Blogs/BlogDetails.aspx?BlogId=190&BlogType=Spiritual&Topic=Fall%20and%20Rise%20of%20river%20saraswati-India%20most%20sacred%20river>
How Saraswati- india most sacred river disappeared <http://www.mallstuffs.com/Blogs/BlogDetails.aspx?BlogId=199&BlogType=Spiritual&Topic=How%20Saraswati-%20india%20most%20sacred%20river%20disappeared>

After losing their habitat to natural calamities, some of the Vedic Indians migrated westwards in search of a huge river and finally settled on the banks of river Nile. In my next article, I will be sharing the details and evidences on migration of Vedic Aryans from India to Egypt and other African countries.

Vedic Aryans migration routes

I would like to end with the following message
By writing the link between Egyptians and Indians, I am not trying to say that the Hinduism is the oldest and most supreme religion but my intention is to highlight the fact that the ancient world were very open minded to other cultures and incorporated cross cultural belief in their customs, traditions and rituals. This understanding is very important in modern times since most of the destruction in this world happens because of the narrow and close minded thinking of modern religious fundamentalists who incites violence by calling the followers of other religions as idolaters, pagans, kafirs, traitors etc.
  
Hope All of you spread the message of love and peace as stated in bhagavad gita and other ancient Indian scriptures.