Aping the Occidental

Aping the Occidental

https://ramamohanraocheruku.blogspot.com/2018/12/aping-occidental.html
It is very pathetic to blindly acknowledge the west with particular reference to US, anything on our face by them say it language, fashion, ideology, education discipline or anything we will be fond of ruminating it without evincing any interest to know about it.

The greatest damage done to our country, our Sastras and our scholars is securing our ancient authentic knowledge about anything they need, with their dramatics take away to their land and gradually declare it to be their own. After independence this is how they grab our ancient knowledge and never acknowledge.

Of course for about 800 years our knowledge was destroyed by disastrous conflagrations by Muslim rulers owing to their fanaticism and little literacy. Their after India was ruled by the most cunning western countries who cheated us by various strategies, by closure of Sanskrit gurukulas, by introducing English as medium of instruction, by misinterpreting Vedas and by introducing pseudo theories like Aryan theory etc. As the Indians were the oppressed they were compelled to obey the ruler’s dictates and gradually they got imbibed the trash thrusted on them to be true. Most of our traditions and culture gradually faded into pitch black oblivion. If, still any such thing which is called Indianness is there that is getting eroded by US craze by the present generation. 

 Let us just see what is making the present youth to get more inclined to go certain countries abroad.

The main factor is the currency value of the country like USA, Canada, Australia and other European countries as they have the highest value for their currency when compared to India. The other perception is that educational standards of these countries are far better than the Indian education system and where research is not a sham and jobs offer better opportunity and better quality of life. Heavy competition among Indian graduates with in the country. A fancy of exploring a different kind of world and people of different cultures which helps the students in gaining knowledge globally.

Let us try to deal with the above problems one by one. The first one is the low value of rupee compared to the said countries.

High fuel prices have a direct bearing on the non-food parts of CPI (Consumer Price Index) and WPI (Wholesale Price Index) inflation and it may have a bearing on the RBI’s decision to go for another interest rate hike in its efforts to contain inflation.

There is nothing the government can do to check the rise in global crude oil prices, nor can it do much to check the fall of the rupee as it is driven mostly by external factors. If the excise duty is reduced by Rs. 1/litre it might lead to reduction in revenue collections of around Rs. 7,000-8,000 crore on an annualized basis”. When the problem is clearly visible how to tackle deal solve and overcome, the problem should not be a problem for the Government. The clear sighted genii working for the government should be deployed for the purpose and arrange to put a check to the problem. So thus the low rupee value can be checked. Any solution needs a commitment.

As regards standards of education, I would like to quote an example. Let me at the outset tell you about the education structure prevalent in our ancient Gurukula system. The research of great Nationalist Sri Rajiv Dixit ji reveals that there was Gurukula system irrespective the place being a city town or a village. These Gurukuls used to contain the student strength ranging from 250 to 10 thousand and beyond. Actually this was stated by

Thomas Babington Macaulay in the British parliament which is said to be remaining as a record in its library. Answering to a question as to how the class is maintained where the strength is say, 100. He replied then the upadhyaya used to select ten bright students, gives them tips as to how to teach and bring up his class mate to a standard level. So each such student will be allotted 9 from the class. He equips them with adequate knowledge. Now I come to the example I wanted to quote. There was one professor by name Bruc Lipton in Wisconsin University wrote a book called Biology of Belief. He was not getting adequate money and hence switched over to a medical college in West Indies. There he found majority student not up to the mark. He told than to give rankings as 1, 2 and 3 let each student considered to be bright undertake 5 students and train them. The one who succeeds in getting his lot passed he will get 1^st rank awarded with a Gold Medal. He could achieve 100% success. He also took his students to Wisconsin Medical College where they proved themselves brighter than WMC students. Is this not the practice that was adopted in our Gurukulas? Hence don’t belittle yourself and your country by adopting everything coming from them as a great invention. There are so many Indian innovations which reach USA get renamed in Latin, take a U-tern and come back to India. Now after obliterating the fools proof Indian education system and totally and blindly adopting Macaulay’s system our education standards have gone down drastically.  As the affluent enroll their children in sophisticated schools and colleges where these students in general pay all the importance to everything but not education. The poor and below middle class cannot afford the costs and hence settle with mediocre educational institutions. Where from we can get the standards.

Two non-resident US students used to come to me for learning mathematics and our traditions and culture. When I tested them I could find nothing exemplary in them but for speaking in English which is their native language. Another problem is competition. Yes, when the population is more the competition will also be more. Therefore the Governments both State and Central should show their sincerity to address the problem. If the leaders stand selfish, the subjects will not remain shell-fish. They come out and enter into seas and go overseas. Hence it should be a collective effort of both the Government and the country men to act according to their responsibilities so that the name of the country, the ancestors and the culture will not be jeopardized.

There is another point which, I think did not occur to several knowledge treasures of our country. Though this was prevailing like a shadow in my mind, I could get enough light on this by Sri Rajiv Malhotra. The following is the gist of what he said:

A very large but unacknowledged contribution, of Indian dharma traditions, has been in Mind Sciences. This covers psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, clinical therapies and metaphysics of mind. The lecture is a brief survey of many westerners who are famous as pioneers, but their appropriation from India remains largely unknown. These individuals include: Sigmund Freud, Jung, Ken Wilber, Stephen Bachelor, Owen Flaganan, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Stephen LaBarge, Francisco Varela, Kevin Thompson, Sam Harris, Herb Benson, Mind-Life Institute, Templeton Foundation, California Institute of Integral Studies, etc.

Mr. Rajiv Malhotra gives several examples of these people who appropriated great information from renowned information from genuine Gurus of our mother land reshape, re-characterise, changing the meaning in a very subtle way and giving it a Latin or English name that suits their plagiarised restitched version. How and why this is happening? Prima facie two things are achieved. 1. Westerners are intelligent and knowledgeable 2. Orientals with special reference to Indians are parasites totally inclined on Occidental wisdom. There are two more things I guess. 1. They get bulks of money if they brand it and spread as their innovation by patenting it. 2. The will be shot to international fame. 3. They will get considerable sponsorship from big religious and other Organisations of the like.

Hence it is imperative on the Indian youth to keep an eye on this to know the greatness of their ancestors, their inventions, and strive to uphold the theories and bring them to light. While doing so it is also most important to reinvent the technical words and thus language preferably Sanskrit.

With an urge to the youth that the time has come for them to think of their nation, its greatness and pride and contribute their mite to do so.

Swasti.

The anguish shown by two impeccable patriots

The anguish shown by two impeccable patriots 

“Tell me, why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?”

~~~ Abdul Kalam (President of India) once with utmost disgust asked the scribes

Ancient India’s Achievement in Sciences

Posted on June 19, 2011 by admin

It has been my long-standing conviction that India is like a donkey carrying a sack of gold – the donkey does not know what it is carrying but is content to go along with the load on its back. The load of gold is the fantastic treasure – in arts, literature, culture, and some sciences like Ayurvedic medicine – which we have inherited from the days of the splendor that was India.

Modern India will find her identity and the modern Indian will regain his soul when our people begin to have some understanding of our priceless heritage. A nation which has had a great past can look forward with confidence to a great future. It would be restorative to national self-confidence to know that many discoveries of today are really re-discoveries and represent knowledge which ancient India had at her command. World thinkers have stood in marvel at the sublimity of our scriptures.

~~ Nani Ardeshir Palkhiwala (Indian lawyer & philanthropist)

Father of Botany - Sage Parasara

Parasara had early explained the structure of Plant cell in the Sanskrit work "Vriksha Ayurveda" and explained the phenomenon of the Photosynthesis (process of self-nourishment in the plants) in the fourth chapter (Vriksha sharira Dharma sastram) of the same book.

Knowledge of botany (Vrksh-Ayurveda), discussed in India's Rig Veda. Sage Parashara is called the "father of botany" because he classified flowering plants into various families, nearly 2000 years before Linnaeus (the modern father of taxonomy). Pharasara described plant cells - the outer and inner walls, sap color-matter and something not visible to the eye - anvasva. Nearly 2000 years later Robert Hooke, using a microscope described the outer and inner wall and sap color-matter.

RAGHUPATI RAGHAVA RAJARAM

RAGHUPATI RAGHAVA RAJARAM

The Middle East Forum, a Philadelphia-based think tank, founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, who serves as its president. It is dedicated to defining American interests in the Middle East and protecting America from Islamist threats. It achieves its goals through intellectual, activist, and philanthropic efforts.

MEF became an independent non-profit organization in 1994. It publishes a journal, the Middle East Quarterly.

According to an article published in the said journal on 14^th Nov.2018:

MEF is warning Americans about the risks of giving to charities that are active in areas of the world where terrorist groups operate. This comes in the wake of an investigation into World Vision, the international evangelical aid charity, and its continued refusal to acknowledge the depths of its involvement in the financing of a designated terrorist-funding Sudanese charity linked to Osama Bin Laden, or to take any corrective measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

I just want to draw the attention of those who follow Sanatana Dharma to read in between the lines of the above statement. What we infer from this is an organization called World Vision, the international evangelical aid charity, which provides non-transparent charities of millions and millions of US Dollars, to not only christen bands but to Islamic terrorist groups also.

Ours being the isolated nation with Secular Tread Mark, though Hindus are enjoying a majority as high as 79.8%, are not receiving any charity from such Organisations nor we need it. As we stand alone, without any open support of Central Government for various reasons nor the opposition parties, have we not to be firm in safeguarding the chastity of our Dharma by 1. Adhering to it, 2. By studying it through our scriptures, 3. By exhorting its greatness to the younger generation, 4. To keep our identity as the followers of Sanatana Dharma, 5. To safeguard our monuments, 6. To show to the world, the greatest Engineering skills far superior to Tajmahal, A Siva temple, which was restructured as a grave of Mumtaj Mahal who was one of the 8 or 9 wives of Shah Jahan. Above all these there should be a devoted and dedicated nonprofit organization which collects funds from affordable donors for the welfare and upkeep of our Dharma.

One more important point to note is that never raise a slogan that all religions are one because at the outset ours is not a religion but a way of life. One more thing I would like to bring about is Gandhiji introduced a song to Indians as follows:

Raghupati Raghava Rajaram Patit pavan Sitaram

Eswar Alla tero nam sabko sanmathi de bhagvan

For all the Indians. This is not sung by Christians as it does not contain Jesus’ name. Muslims will not sing it as the song contains Rama. So who are keeping the song live all =the way? It is only Hindus. The other religions derive benefit out of this as we sing this and follow this by letter and spirit and consider them on par with us but they do not do so. Neither their holy book nor they consider us on par with them. On the contrary those books envisage their followers to kill those who do not convert by any means.

The unadulterated original text of the song is as follows said to have been written by Sri Lakshmanacharya a Telugu man.:

 Raghupati Raghava Rajaram Patita Pavan Sitaram

Sundara Vigrah Meghasyam Ganga Tulasi Salagram

Bhadragireeshwara Sitaram Bhakta Janapriya Sitaram

Janaki Ramana Sitaram Jaya Jaya Raghava Rajaram

Every leader to whatever Dharma he belonged played with Hindu Dharma only. Hence I urge the followers of Sanatana Dharma to be compassionate to our Dharma and not to say all religions are one which is not true in its own spirit.

Swasti

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Sabarimala controversy

Sabarimala controversy

स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः संसिद्धिं लभते नरः।

स्वकर्मनिरतः सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति तच्छृणु॥

స్వే స్వే కర్మణ్యభిరతః సంసిద్ధిం లభతే నరః l

స్వకర్మ నిరతః శుధ్ధిం యథా విందతి తచ్ర్ఛుణుll

Swe swe karmanyabhiratah samsiddhim labhate narahl

Swakarmaniratah siddhim yathaa vindati tacchrinu ll

(Bhagadgitha - mokshasanyasayogam - ll18.45ll)

Each man, devoted to his own duty, attains perfection. When a person acts according to his nature the entire personality supports the action. His body mind and intellect cooperate. He finds fulfilment in what he does. The environment or circumstance may not allow a person to act wholly according to his nature. Yet he should pursue to the extent he can leaving rest to God.

Let us now extend it to the issue of Sabarimala. Now we equate man to Electrical Energy. By itself it is not visible. It is felt in the form of several electrical appliances. A grinder cannot condition the air, a bulb cannot grind and an air conditioner cannot lit. Though the energy is the same every appliance is different to the other. No appliance can discharge the other ones duty. The same case with temples also. Some are meant to men, some for women and some for both. Even then there will be certain days where the entry is restricted. This concept we should understand. More over the temples in Kerala are more Tantric by nature than of Agama Shastra. They meticulously abide by the temple laws.

In Kerala the deity is a celibate, only in Sabarimala as against five Ayyappa Temples prevailing in Kerala. As such the other four temples allow devotees of all kinds with no restriction.

In Sabarimala, the deity is Naishthika Brahmachari (నైష్ఠిక బ్రహ్మచారి) and thus he does not want to see ladies of procreation ability. Beyond 10-50 age group stipulation is not correct as it cannot be taken for granted. There is also scriptural evidence from the sthalapurana which is otherwise called as Bhuthanadhopakhyanam (భూతనాథోపాఖ్యానము).

 We now come to the present situation. Naushad Ahmed Khan, President of the Indian Young Lawyers Association, is one of the two lawyers who had filed a plea in the Supreme Court against women been barred from entering the temple.

 Here is an open letter written by a professional women from Kerala slamming all these double standards people, who cannot work on women’s equality in their own religion but poke their nose into other religions. It was first published by Mission Bengal on 30 January 2016.

 I shall try to give the gist of what she wrote in my own words.

 1. You as a Muslim raking up the issue is like a nude person asking the others to cover their clothes properly.

2. Kerala ladies have exclusively their own festivals where the gents will have no entry. These ladies include highly educated, big executives of renowned Organisations, journalists, poetess, writers etc. Thiruvathira, is an exclusively women’s festival and no men allowed in the vicinity. During Pongala a specific Pooja for ladies, the streets of Thiruvananthapuram will be crowded by ladies thrusting the devaswom board to shut the doors of Padmanabha temple.

3. They have a temple where once a year the priests there will wash the feet of every woman devotee who comes there because a woman is the representation of the Goddess.

4. In the same way Sabarimala is for men where women of the age from which they do not get menstruation are eligible to see the God.

5. There are men who while going to Sabarimala take their mothers aged sisters, kith and kin along with them. The devotees are creating a social bondage in the society. The refrain from taking intoxicating drinks and lead a pious life for all the 40 days. This practice enables a thick reunion with the better half and freshness among the men to attend to their routine with enriched enthusiasm.

Let us come to the people who have raised the issue.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said no one would be allowed to stop women devotees of menstruating age from going to Sabarimala..... The Asian Age. With this assurance

Activist Rehana Fatima, who had made an attempt to enter Sabarimala temple, has been expelled from the Muslim community for "hurting the sentiments of lakhs of Hindu devotees", the Kerala Muslim Jama'ath Council said.

journalist Kavitha Jakkal of Hyderabad based Mojo TV, on Friday is another lady who was within the age of menstrual cycle have started walking towards the Sabarimala temple with tight police escort amid strong protests by devotees opposing entry of women of menstrual age into the Lord Ayyappa temple in Kerala.

While Kavitha tried for want of exposure of her bravery Rehana wanted to belittle the customs and traditions of Devaswom.

One lady by name Mary of 46 years also tried but in vain. I need not tell why she tried, as you can assess by her name itself.

One simple question to these three ladies is ‘whether can they try to go into a mosque at the time of prayer. Why don’t they fight for that?

With due respects to Mr. Sujit Nair I am bringing to your notice the facts he exhorted.

The Government tried to amend the Travancore Cochin Hindu religious institution Act. The act was institutionalized in the year 1950. Let us see the clause no.5 of the amendment.

5. Amendment of section 29- In subsection (2) of section 29 of the principle act, the word who shall be appointed by the board. “He shall be a Hindu” shall be omitted. What the communist Government wanted to bring about is the board should contain a member other than a Hindu. Will it be possible for a Church and a Masjid? If it is not possible then why only for a Hindu Temple.

The Government intends to control the board of any Temple but not other religions’ revered places. Is this not the conspiracy by the Govt.?

Going into the chronology of the Sabarimala verdict, in 2006 Indian Young Lawyers’ Association filed the petition against Devaswom to scrap non entry of women of age in between 10-50. Actually this constituted body is entitled to take care of the secular aspect of maintenance only and not Temple customs. When the deity is consecrated with Mulamantra Upadesha he is deemed to be a living being as far as the temple is concerned. He being celibate.

5 ladies put this petition, but ironically Prerana Kumaran who was one of the petitioners confessed that she was not aware of the Devaswom regulations while joining hands with the other four, further she added she was not from Kerala. After coming to know several facts after going through books and journals she felt she was wrong. Though she wanted to withdraw it was too late for her to do so. On Nov.27 the LDF Govt. of Kerala files an affidavit in support of that PIL resting with the court regarding entry of ladies in question. The matter was going cold, however the Kerala Govt. again raked it up and submitted another affidavit on 7^th Nov 2016, stating that they favored entry of ladies of all age groups. This says that the Govt. was keen for the verdict and on the verdict. In a 17 member Polite Bureau of communists there are only two women.

This it-self shows their commitment for women.

However in the 5 judge bench of the Supreme Court Indu Malhotra who was the only lady gave her verdict in favor of the defense council and two petitioners among all the five ladies withdrew themselves, which can be considered as moral victory for the defense. Of these two Prerana Kumaran whom I referred above was one.

When we thoroughly go over these things we can conclude that the LDF Govt. is keen on any amendment detrimental to the interests of Hindu religion with special reference to Sabarimala, for the reason that it is one of the most famous temples of India, and any verdict against its customs and traditions will cripple the Hindu religion and shaker the spirit of Hindus in Kerala vis-à-vis the nation.

The head of one house cannot have power to administer other house with which he has nothing to do. It is the same case with two different Organisations also. How that a Muslim or a Christian can poke his nose into Hindu cultural rituals.

Sabarimala temple is one which was constructed on par with great temples of India according to Sthapathya Veda. According to the plan devised by the Sthapathis the construction takes place. Hence every construction will abide by certain axioms and they are to be followed verbatim by the devotees. They will be bestowed with repercussions and rewards. Hence, than to disobey the stipulated terms better to go by them for the good. More over one thing that we should remember is a temple is not a prayer hall like in the case of other religions.

The temple is said to have been constructed before 12^th Century as per Historians. Right from that time till the date of verdict by the court things were in place. A keen observation of proceeding that took place just before the matter was referred to court prompt to conclude that the Sanatana Dharma should receive a fatal attack for its detriment.

Swasti.

Amma read this as an annex to my above article. Afterwards we can speak on the topic.

SR.ADVOCATE K PARASARAN ROCKS SUPREME COURT WITH HIS ARGUMENTS ON SABRIMALA TEMPLE

Brilliant submissions by Sr. Advocate Shri K Parasaran today before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Sabarimala matter

(Source: People for Dharma @People4Dharma)

1. Arguments in the Petition resume. Mr. Parasaran now argues for the Nair Service Society.

2. Mr. Parasaran submits that Kerala is an educated society.

3. Mr. Parasaran submits that 96% of the women in Kerala are educated. They are independent. It is a matrilineal society. Therefore to assume that the practice of the Temple is based on patriarchy is fundamentally incorrect.

4. Mr. Parasaran submits that the practice of the Temple is not comparable to Sati. In fact, Sati itself has not connection to the Hindu faith.

5. Mr. Parasaran cites the examples of the wives of Dasaratha and Kunti to prove that they did not commit Sati after their husbands' death.

6. Therefore Mr. Parasaran submits that we should not approach the issue of with notions of patriarchy.

7. Mr. Parasaran says that a right question will lead to the right answer, a wrong question will lead to the wrong answer.

8. Mr. Parasaran submits that if a person asks "can I smoke when I pray?" he will get a slap. But if he asks "can I pray as I smoke?" he will be appreciated.

9. Therefore, Mr. Parasaran says the right questions must be asked in this case for the Court to get the right answers.

10. Mr. Parasaran further submits that in this case he has to be even more careful and prepared because he is answerable not just to the Lordships but also the Lord above.

11. Mr. Parasaran is now reading out portions from the Shirur Mutt decision of the Supreme Court.

12. Mr. Parasaran submits that even democracies, especially democracies, must protect religion and tradition.

13. Mr. Parasaran submits that Hindu religion respects merit and wisdom wherever it comes from. He says for neeti, it is still Vidura neeti which is cited. That is the greatness of the faith.

14. Mr. Parasaran submits that while the court must listen to activist voices, it must equally listen to voices which seek to protect tradition.

15. Mr. Parasaran submits that the Legislature is Brahma, Executive is Vishnu and Shiva is judiciary because only Shiva's Ardhanarishwara form epifies Article 14, equal treatment of both sexes.

16. Mr. Parasaran submits that Shiva is no Brahmachari, but even when his meditative state was sought to be disturbed by Kama Deva, he was reduced to ash because he failed to respect that state of Shiva.

17. Mr. Parasaran submits that we must not proceed with the presumption that the ancients knew nothing and that we know better in all aspects of life.

18. Mr. Parasaran that Lord Ayyappa's character as a Naishtika Brahmachari (Not NASTIKA BRAHMACHARI) is protected by the Constitution.

19. Mr. Parasaran is placing reliance on the judgment of the Court in Tilkayat Govindaji Maharaj (1964).

20. Mr. Parasaran refutes the argument of the Petitioner that some women may die before they reach the age of 50, Mr. Parasaran says that a person carries her or his fate with him. That's not a legal consideration to reverse the tradition

21. Mr. Parasaran points out that there are thousands of ppl who register for Padi Pooja at , the consequence being that the pooja will be conducted in their name only long after their deaths.

22. Mr. Parasaran therefore submits that using death as an argument to upset the tradition is neither here nor there.

23. Mr. Parasaran submits that the basis of the practice is the celibate nature of the Deity, not misogyny. Devotees who visit the Temple too are expected to observe celibacy in letter and spirit. Hence, during the journey, company of women must be avoided.

24. Mr. Parasaran is reading out portions from the Sundarakanda of the Ramayana to explain the concept of Naishtika Brahmacharya.

25. Mr. Parasaran submits that Lord Ayyappa is a yogi. To define who a Yogi is, Mr. Parasaran is quoting Adi Sankara.

26. Mr. Parasaran submits that misogyny is not supported by Hindu Shastras nor is chastity the sole obligation of the woman. In fact, chastity is a greater obligation on the man and he is duty bound under the Shastras to give a pride of place to the woman.

27. Mr. Parasaran submits that the practice in Sabarimala by no stretch of imagination is informed by misogyny. The only consideration is the nature of the Deity.

28. Mr. Parasaran now proceeds to address Article 25.

29. Mr. Parasaran submits that Article 25(2)(b) applies only to social reform, it still does not apply to matters of religion covered by Article 26 (b).

30. Justice Chandrachud wonders if Article 25(2)(b) applies to only Hindu institutions. Mr. Parasaran responds that the practice sought to be addressed by the said Article is peculiar only to Hindu institutions.

32. Mr. Parasaran resumes submissions post lunch. Mr. Parasaran submits that women do not fall under the protection of Article 25(2)

---

 [D1]

‘Alexander’s invasion’ and facts thereof

‘Alexander’s invasion’ and facts thereof

https://ramamohanraocheruku.blogspot.com/2018/10/alexanders-invasion-and-facts-thereof.html

It is very pathetic to note that the countrymen of this Aryavartha do have subtle interest to know both the greatness and grandeur of their own country which is the greatest among the great of the world. We have least interest to know about our past. We don’t care to know about the pseudo historians who thrusted in our minds all the fictions and concoctions and the fables and parables of the West with a view to depicting them mighty by courage, scientifically wise and intellectually brilliant ignoring even a minuscule achievement of any ancient Indian Acharya. In the process they are so abominable to purposefully ignore the valor and knighthood of great people like (Porus) Purushottham who was also called as pourav Raj or Parvateshwar, who confronted Alexander( Who was conferred ‘The Great’ by the pseudo Historians) and defeated him in the battle.

Though my thinking is hypothetical, you may feel, with all the yearning I am attempting to write, that a few at least evince a little Interest to read this article and know about the great knights of the soil, of whom Purushottham is one.

Contrary to what Western historians made us to believe that mighty Alexander conquered the border kingdoms of India, he failed utterly in his India invasion. This is the truth behind Battle of Hydaspes (The battle took place on the east bank of the Hydaspes River, as called by ancient Greeks. 

(The river Vitastā (Sanskrit: वितस्ता) in Rigveda is termed as Hydaspes by the ancient Greeks and is mentioned as one of the major rivers by the Holy Scriptures — the Rigveda, which is now familiar to us as Jhelum). (Jhelum River, is a tributary of the Indus River, what is now the Punjab Province of Pakistan.) The war took place on the banks of Jhelum between Alexander and Porus.

Alexander’s invasion of India is regarded as a huge Western victory against the disorganised East. But according to Marshal Georgy Zhukov, the sturdy Macedonian army suffered a fate, worse than Napoleon in Russia.

In 326 BC a formidable European army invaded India, led by Alexander. It comprised battle hardened Macedonian soldiers, Greek cavalry, Balkan fighters and Persian allies. The total number of fighting men numbered more than 41,000. Their most memorable clash was at the Battle of Hydaspes or The Battle at the River Jhelum against the army of Porus, the ruler of the Paurava kingdom of western Punjab. For more than 25 centuries it was believed that Alexander’s forces defeated the Indians. Greek and Roman accounts say the Indians were outwit by the superior courage and stature of the Macedonians.

Two millennia later, British historians latched on to the Alexander legend and described the campaign as the triumph of the organised West against the chaotic East. Although Alexander defeated only a few minor kingdoms in India’s northwest, in the view of many gleeful colonial writers the conquest of India was complete.

In reality much of the country was not even known to the Greeks. So handing victory to Alexander is like describing Hitler as the conqueror of Russia because the Germans advanced up to Stalingrad.

In 1957, while addressing the cadets of the Indian Military Academy-Dehra Dun, Zhukov said Alexander’s actions after the Battle of Hydaspes suggest he had suffered an outright defeat. In Zhukov’s view, Alexander had suffered a greater setback in India than Napoleon in Russia. Napoleon had invaded Russia with 600,000 troops; of these only 30,000 survived, and of that number fewer than 1,000 were ever able to return to duty.

So if Zhukov was comparing Alexander’s campaign in India to Napoleon’s disaster, the Macedonians and Greeks must have retreated in an equally ignominious fashion. Zhukov would know a fleeing force if he saw one; he had chased the German Army over 2000 km from Stalingrad to Berlin.

Alexander’s troubles began as soon as he crossed the Indian border. He first faced resistance in the Kunar, Swat, Buner and Peshawar valleys where the Aspasioi and Assakenoi, known in Hindu texts as Ashvayana and Ashvakayana (Rathamulu), stopped his advance. Although small by Indian standards, they were very tiny kingdoms, they did not submit before Alexander’s killing machine.

The Assakenoi offered stubborn resistance from their mountain strongholds of Massaga, Bazira and Ora. The bloody fighting at Massaga was a prelude to what awaited Alexander in India. On the first day after bitter fighting the Macedonians and Greeks were forced to retreat with heavy losses. Alexander himself was seriously wounded in the ankle. On the fourth day the king of Massaga was killed but the city refused to surrender. The command of the army went to his old mother, which brought the entire women of the area into the fighting.

Realising that his plans to storm India were going down at its very gates, Alexander called for a truce. That night when the citizens of Massaga had gone off to sleep after their celebrations, Alexander’s troops entered the city and massacred the entire citizenry. A similar slaughter then followed at Ora.

However, the fierce resistance put up by the Indian defenders had reduced the strength – and perhaps the confidence – of the Alexander’s army. In his entire conquering career Alexander’s hardest encounter was the Battle of Hydaspes, in which he faced king Porus, a small but prosperous Indian kingdom on the river Jhelum. Porus is described in Greek accounts as standing seven feet tall.

To be continued………….

   ‘Alexander’s invasion’ and facts thereof-Part-2

 Ambhi the ruler of the neighbouring kingdom Taxila, who was a rival of Porus, had offered to help Alexander on condition that he would be given the kingdom of Porus.

In May 326 BCE, the European and Paurava armies faced each other across the banks of the Jhelum. By all accounts it was an awe-inspiring spectacle. The 34,000 Macedonian infantry and 7000 Greek cavalry and the extra army bolstered by the Indian king Ambhi however did not fructify.

Facing this tumultuous force led by the genius of Alexander was the Paurava army of 20,000 infantry, 2000 cavalry and 200 war elephants. Being a comparatively small kingdom by Indian standards, Paurava couldn’t have maintained such a large standing army, so it’s likely many of its defenders were hastily armed civilians. Also, the Greeks habitually exaggerated enemy strength.

The elephants of Porus, and the two meter bows of pourava infantry with massive arrows which could transfix more than one enemy soldiers.

The sarissas used by the Greek though pierced into some elephants the beasts got wild and could create havoc added to the phenomenal damage to the enemies created by the above referred bows and arrows. [The sarissa or sarisa (Greek: σάρισα) was a long spear or pike about 4–6 meters (13–20 ft.) (Here the troops of Alexander were said to have used sarissas of 17 feet length.), in length. It was introduced by Philip II of Macedon and was used in his Macedonian phalanxes as a replacement for the earlier dory, which was considerably shorter.]

The terrified Macedonians were left with no option but to push themselves back in the battle. These elephant fleet and the archery was new to the enemies.

In the process of the battle Porus’s brother Amar was successful in killing Alexander’s favorite horse which forced Alexander to dismount. In all the combats the Greek soldiers were successful in not allowing their enemy like Amar to penetrate so much and cause damage to their side. They never allowed to even to leave a scratch on their king’s body. Not only this, but the Indian army killed Nicaea who was one of his leading commanders.

According to the Roman Historian Marcus Justinus, Porus challenged Alexander who charged him on horseback.  In the ensuing duel Alexander fell of his horse and was at the mercy of Porus. However Porus dithered, and the bodyguards of Alexander rushed in, to save their king.

Plutarch the Greek historian and biographer, says there seems nothing wrong with the Indian morale. Despite initial setbacks when their vaunted chariots got stuck in the mud, Porus’s army “rallied and kept the Macedonians with unsurpassable bravery.” Although the Greeks claim Victory the fanatical resistance put up by Indian soldiers and ordinary people everywhere had shaken the nerves of the Alexander’s army to the core. They refused to move further east. Alexander’s all efforts were futile to enthuse his soldiers. “The army was close to mutiny. The combat with Porus took the edge of the Macedonians’ courage and staid their further progress into India. For having found it hard to defeat the farther kingdoms and hence determined to go back against the will and wish of their king.” says Plutarch. He also adds “To the other side of Ganges where Magadha kingdom was situated and ruled by Dhananand was a very big empire with Cavalry, elephants, chariots and infantry in abundance. The soldiers when came to know that Nanda was waiting with 2,00,000 infantry 80,000 cavalry, 8000 war chariots and 6,000 fighting elephants. Undoubtedly Alexander’s army would have walked into a slaughter house. Hence far away from the Indian heartland Alexander ordered a retreat enabling a great jubilation among his soldiers. On the way back Alexander’s army was harried by Indian partisans, republics and kingdoms. In a campaign at Sangala in Punjab they faced a ferocious attack from the local Royals and the destruction of Alexander’s army was so devastating.

Alexander was forced to attack them by bare feet. In the next battle with the Malavs of Multan, Alexander was felled by a warrior’s arrow that pierced into his breastplate and ribs.

Military History Magazine says “Although there was much fighting, Alexander’s wound put an end to any more personal exploits. Lung tissue never fully recovered, and the thick scarring in its place made every breath very miserable. Alexander never recovered from the wound and died in Babylon which is now in the present day Iraq at a young age of 33.

It is for you now to decide whether we have to regret or feel great for him to lose life for adamance.

Thus the people of Northern-Indian Plains (Punjab) resisted the great army of Alexander and successfully halted his so far unchecked advance resulting in the end of his campaign and life.

Swasti.

Decoding the mystery of Mahatmas and sex

Decoding the mystery of Mahatmas and sex
In the hagiography of modern India, Mahatma Gandhi is a near-divine superstar.
Published: 07th October 2018 05:00 AM  |   Last Updated: 04th October 2018 11:54 PM in INDIAN EXPRESS By Ravi Shankar

In the hagiography of modern India, Mahatma Gandhi is a near-divine superstar. The year of his 150th birthday is being celebrated with great pomp starting this week with a tribute to his ‘swachhata’ philosophy. But how clean was Bharat’s greatest moral force really?

Gandhi’s driving obsession after satyagraha was sex. The man who became a father at 16, and went on to have four more children ranted vehemently against sex in marriage, advising his followers not to marry and if they did, to live separately from their wives. Like all mass leaders, Gandhi’s monumental arrogance was both a weapon and a flaw. In the contradictory terrain of his spiritual imagination, desire and denial nourished each other. He was so convinced about his own charisma that he expected riots to stop when he went on fast—and they did. However, his dark side tormented him to perverse excess.

That he slept naked with his nieces and other women and got massages in the nude are well-documented. Gandhi’s quest for “purity” mesmerised his victims who felt they were part of something greater than themselves: his grand niece Manu, who he caressed in bed in the buff, died a sick, 40-year-old spinster. His personal physician Dr Sushila Nayar was made to sleep and bathe with him naked: reasons why his close aide P Parasuram left Sabarmati Ashram. On January 1, 1947, he berated Gandhi’s experiments with brahmacharya: “How many are the days when she (Dr Nayar) has not wept? She is a doctor and yet she is always a patient, always is ill.” Vallabhbhai Patel accused Gandhi of ‘adharma’, which the Mahatma dismissed, claiming it was his ‘moral duty’ to sleep naked with girls.

Was Gandhi a dirty old man? In today’s age, his sexual experiments seem lecherously similar to Asaram Bapu’s (no pun intended) or Ram Rahim’s; men who claimed divine sanction to sexually exploit women who trusted them. Gandhi’s affair with the married Sarla Devi, when he was himself married to Kasturba, was nothing short of infidelity for such an extreme moralist: a ‘spiritual marriage’ he had to end on the insistence of C Rajagopalachari.

Sex is a historical force that has toppled many reputations. Two foreign Gandhians, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, were no paragons of virtue: recently declassified FBI documents revealed King hired prostitutes and was a sexual deviant. Mandela married thrice, and many women later claimed he had fathered their love children.

When revolutions overturn the established order, their leaders are invested with superhuman virtue, which discounts the frailty of human character. Newborn India and the Congress party needed a patron saint in 1947. Mahatma Gandhi was it. But let it not be forgotten that the pedestal was built with sacrifice, all of which was not his.

Ravi Shankar

ravi@newindianexpress.com

Bible Quran and Vedas About Earth Sun and Moon (A small write up)

Bible-Quran and Vedas

About Earth Sun and Moon

(A small write up)

https://ramamohanraocheruku.blogspot.com/2018/09/vedas-and-christianity-with-reference.html

With reference to the debate in TV 5 on Vedas and Jesus I heard Bible does not say earth is flat. I am just quoting the references from Bibles written\translated by various people and the relevant content therein, without my commentary.

According to Ethnologue (an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world), there are currently 6909 living languages in the world. At least one book of Scripture has been translated for 2932 of these languages. The New Testament is available in 1,333 languages, with portions in 1045. The complete Bible has been translated into 553 languages.

1. EARTH: Read these texts of the chronicles and make your own inferences

1 Chronicles 16:30: “He has fixed the earth firm, immovable.”

Psalm 93:1: “Thou hast fixed the earth immovable and firm ...”

Psalm 96:10: “He has fixed the earth firm, immovable ...”

Psalm 104:5: “Thou didst fix the earth on its foundation so that it never can be shaken.”

Isaiah 45:18: “...who made the earth and fashioned it, and himself fixed it fast...”

Shape of the earth:

Isaiah 11:12 — From the four corners of the earth.12 and he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH. (King James Version Bible)

Daniel 4:11: 11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height there of reached unto heaven, and the sight there of to the ENDS OF ALL THE EARTH: (KJV)

"He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. (From the New International Version Bible, Psalm 104:5)"

"The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. (From the NIV Bible, Ecclesiastes 1:5)"

The Vault of Heaven

The vault of heaven is a crucial concept. The word “firmament” appears in the King James Version of the Old Testament 17 times, and in each case it is translated from the Hebrew word raqiya, which meant the visible vault of the sky. The word raqiya comes from riqqua, meaning “beaten out.” In ancient times, brass objects were either cast in the form required or beaten into shape on an anvil. A good craftsman could beat a lump of cast brass into a thin bowl. Thus, Elihu asks Job, “Can you beat out [raqa] the vault of the skies, as he does, hard as a mirror of cast metal (Job 37:18)?”

Isaiah 45:12, “I, with my own hands, stretched out the heavens [shamayim Hebrew Language] and caused all their host to shine...”

And so on......

The Quran says the sun revolves around the earth

In another thread I got into a debate with a Muslim about this, time to write a comprehensive look at all the verse that support the sun revolving around the earth.

Verse 2:258 ...he said, "I give life and cause death." Abraham said, "Indeed, Allah brings up the sun from the east, so bring it up from the west." So the disbeliever was overwhelmed...

Analysis: We can clearly see from this verse that the belief was that the sun moves not the earth. Else the wording would dictate a challenge for the believers to rotate the earth in another direction thus causing the sun to rise from the west. The language of the current state of sun plus the challenge state that they believed the sun was moving. It clearly says that Allah literally moves the sun.

Verse 21:33: And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all in an orbit are swimming.

And He is the One who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; each floating in its own orbit.

Analysis: This verse clearly states the sun is in an orbit and places it directly in comparison with the moon's orbit. No one with any sense of self-respect or intellectual honesty would think this verse is not meant to directly apply an orbit similar to the moon to the sun, the belief was that the sun moves around the earth in an orbit prescribed by Allah the same as the moon. There is NOTHING that states anything like the moon revolving around the earth and the earth then revolving around the sun.

Verse 7:54 ...He covers the night with the day, [another night] chasing it rapidly; and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, subjected by His command...

...The night overtakes the day, as it pursues it persistently, and the sun, the moon, and the stars are committed to serve by His command...

Analysis: here we see that belief that the day and the night are in equal placement and literally chase each other. This wording makes it appear almost as if the night and the day are a cylinder literally rotating around the earth facing inward, still the earth is at the center in this description otherwise it would point out the night is only the earth’s shadow side facing from the sun (which it does not describe). This chasing supports the other verses in that the orbits are believed to be in comparison to one another.

Verse 39:5 ...He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term...

...He committed the sun and the moon, each running for a finite period...

Analysis Here again we see the sun being grouped with the moon being described as having a course and movement, with no distinction as to reference from earth, making it's meaning clear that the sun is believed to be revolving around the earth. There is no wording alluding to the earth moving around the sun nor any complete accurate description of the day and night (earth’s shadow from the sun)

Verse http://quran.com/91 [91:1]; By the sun and its brightness.

[91:2]: The moon that follows it.

[91:3]: The day that reveals.

[91:4]: The night that covers.

Analysis: We clearly see the beginning subject is the sun in verse1. Verse 2 supports all the analysis above by saying the moon literally follows the sun, in an orbit following its course around the earth. We know the moon does NOT follow the sun. Then verse 3 states the day reveals the sun but in fact the sun is the cause of the day, the cause of the light. Verse 4 thinks the night covers the day when in fact the night is just the earth’s shadow from the sun.

Verse [36:40]: The sun is never to catch up with the moon - the night and the day never deviate - each of them is floating in its own orbit.

It is not allowable for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night overtake the day, but each, in an orbit, is swimming.

Analysis Here the sun and the moon are compared with each other as though they move in orbits but never allowed to touch each other, in fact someday the sun will touch the moon... when the sun goes into a red dwarf mode or super nova. Also the verse closes stating the night and the day are floating in an orbit too, not true. Again here the sun is believed to be swimming in orbit around the earth and there is ZERO reference to the earth in relation to scientifically verified realities.

Conclusion If the Quran was the word of a god it wouldn't have seemed so confused to the point where it completely loses sight of the reality of the earth, moon, and sun relation. The above verses clearly show the Quran was limited to primitive archaic understandings of the sun and moon. Nothing in the verses alludes to anything that any arabian could deduce from watching the sky back in the day. I think that about sums that up.

(https://www.reddit.com/r/exmuslim/comments/ij3g2/the_quran_says_the_sun_revolves_around_the_earth/)

Vedas about Earth Sun and Moon

The Rig Veda Mantra says.

Chakraanasah Parreenaham Prithivya Hiranyena Manina Shubhamanaah

Nahinwaa naasasti thirusta indram parisparsa udagaat suryena

This Rigvedic mantra states that the earth is spherical, but at the same time it is half-light and half dark at the same time. Not only that, the following verse says, due to the Sun’s gravitational pull earth stays in the space revolving and rotating round its orbit.

'Savita yantraih prithivi maramnaan askambhave savitadvamadruhanta'

It would be a mistake to assume that we did not know about the 'telescope' until Galileo invented it in the 17th century. This is explained in detail in the ancient scripture 'Shilpa Samhita'. The description that begins with the following verse makes this clear.

Manorvaakyam Samaadhaaya Tena Shilpeendra Shaswatah l

Yantram cha kaara Sahasaa drushtartha Dooradarsanam ll

The meaning of all these verses is not only to describe the process of making a 'telescope' but also to name it 'Turiyantra'.

One mantra in the Rig Veda (1.50) states that the sun travels 2,202 yojanas in half a minute. The auxiliary (c.1315-1387 AD) interpretation is as follows.

One Yojana = approximately 9 miles according to Artha Shastra.

According to our Puranas

15 minutes (Not the 60seconds minute)  = 1 kashta

It is in fat a Nimesha.

30 kashta = 1 kala

30 Kala = 1 Muhurtha

30 muhurtas = 1 day and night

So this minute is equal to the current 16/75 seconds. Multiplied by this, the speed of light is 185 793.75. Today's science states that it is 1, 86,000. See the proximity of both the calculations.

The diameter of the earth is 7,840 miles, according to the 3000-year-old ‘Surya Siddhanta', which was reformed less than 1000 years before Christ. See how close the modern scientific confirmation is to 7,926.7 miles.

The diameter of the earth is 7,840 miles, according to the 3000-year-old ‘Surya Siddhanta', which was reformed less than 1000 years before Christ. See how close the modern scientific confirmation is to 7,926.7 miles.

The same scripture says that the earth is 2, 53, 000 miles from the moon, while today's science confirms that the theory of the sun as stated in the sais scripture that it is 2, 52,710 miles.

1000 years before Copernicus, Arya Bhata claimed that the terrestrial planets revolved in a fixed orbit around the sun .

Bhaskaracharya - 1 (5th century) stated that it takes 365.258756484 days for the earth to orbit the Sun.

Bhaskaracharya-2 in his Siddhanta Shiromani (Bhuvana Koshamu-6) 400 years before Newton described the earth’s gravitational force..

Brahma Gupta in 630 AD described that the gravitational pull of the earth was as natural as the flow of water into a slump. We read in the text that this was discovered by Newton in the 17th century.

That is the greatness of our Vedas from which our Scholars derived all these facts and they never claimed this to be their greatness.

Swasti.