Anjana Suta Academy
www.jayarama.us/ardhives/archaeology1.htm
(rev. 2011 April 15)
ASA – Follows a nice letter from Braja-raja-suta Das in Nashville. It gives a nice presentation of some of the Hare Krsna, propositions in this area. As he points out there may be inaccuracies in D. Frawley et al’s propositions, but they seem to our understanding to have a lot of valid content and those interested can research more.
From a larger perspective, this approach to an absolute truth is based upon the rational empirical methods of modern science, so it is impossible to go beyond probabilities and therefore anyone can argue these topics forever, “nonetheless support by materialist history can be used to support Srila Prabhupada's mission.”
Hare Krishna.
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada and all the Vaishnava devotees.
Of course if Srila Prabhupada and his current followers had no supporting
background (i.e. even if mundane history did not indicate the vastness of
ancient Vedic culture) the message would still be of the utmost importance.
Yet nonetheless support by materialist history can be used to support Srila
Prabhupada's mission.
Although I would use the term "Vedic Culture" instead of
"India" (which I
see as a political entity; versus "Vedic Culture" which is a broader,
cultural identifier) below are the main points from the book Hidden Horizons
by David Frawley and N.S. Rajaram.
Frawley, like others, of course has his critics. Perhaps he was not educated
in traditional research, but the material he presents speaks loudly.
Also before proceeding I'll state that when one looks at the globe,
considering places influenced by Vedic Culture and language, one will notice
an enormous swath of land.
Going northwest to southeast it includes Europe as far north as Ireland,
Turkey and Asia minor, Greece, the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
India, Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malayasia,
Indonesia and the Philippines.
Here are the main points from the book Hidden Horizons:
(These points are directly gleened from Frawley's website, not written by
me, BRS Dasa.)
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1) India had the largest and most continuous of all the civilizations of the
ancient world starting by at least 3000 BCE, with a much more extensive
urban civilization than Egypt or Sumeria of the same time periods. Yet its
role as a source of civilization has largely been ignored by the historical
biases of the West.
2) The Vedic Literature is the ancient world's largest, with its many
thousands of pages dwarfing what little the rest of the world has been able
to preserve. This literature reflects profound spiritual concepts, skill in
mathematics, astronomy and medicine, special knowledge of language and
grammar and other hallmarks of a great civilization. It cannot be attributed
to nomads and barbarians or to the short space of a few centuries.
3) The ancient Indian literature, the world's largest, and ancient Indian
archaeology, also the ancient world's largest, must be connected. We can no
longer accept the idea of Ancient India without a literature and Vedic
literature reflecting no real culture or civilization. Vedic literature and
its symbolism is clearly reflected in Harappan archaeology and its
artifacts.
4) Southeast Asia, which included South India, was the home of most human
populations, which migrated after the end of the Ice Age, when the water
released by melting glaciers, flooded the region around ten thousand years
ago. Southeast Asia, not the Middle East, is the likely cradle not only of
populations, but culture and agriculture as well.
5) The Sarasvati River, the dominant river in India in the post-Ice Age era,
after 8000 BCE, and the main site of urban ruins in ancient India, is well
described in Vedic texts. It ceased to flow around 1900 BCE, making the
Vedic culture older than this date. All stages of the development and drying
up of the Sarasvati can be found in Vedic texts down to the Mahabharata,
showing that the Vedic people were along the river at all phases.
6) There is no scientific or archaeological basis for any Aryan or Dravidian
race, which are now discredited concepts. No Aryan skeletal remains have
ever been found in India apart from the existing populations in the country
going back to prehistoric times. There is no archaeological evidence of any
Aryan invasion or migration into India but only the continuity of the same
populations in the region and their cultural changes. This requires that we
give up these old ideas and look at the data afresh apart from them.
7) Connections between Indian languages and those of Europe and Central
Asia, which can be found relative to both Sanskritic and Dravidian
languages, are more likely traceable to a northwest movement out of India
after the end of the Ice Age. The late ancient Aryan and Dravidian
migrations, postulated to have taken place c. 1500 BCE into India from
Central Asia of western linguistic theories occur too late, after
populations and cultures were already formed, to result in the great changes
attributed to them. Besides no records of such proposed migrations/invasions
have yet to be found. Archaeology, literature and science, including
genetics, all contradict it.
8) Vedic spirituality of ritual, mantra, yoga and meditation, based on an
understanding of the dharmic nature of all life, created the foundation for
the great spiritual traditions of India emphasizing individual experience of
the Divine and spiritual practice over outer dogmas and beliefs. Such a
spiritual ethos is the fruit of a great and mature ancient civilization.
9) The Hindu view of time, as through the Hindu Yuga theory, that connects
human history with natural history of tens of thousands of years marked by
periodic cataclysms makes sense relative to new scientific discoveries
relative to natural history through genetics and climate changes.
10) This ancient, eternal Vedic culture is still relevant to the world today
and lives on in the great ashrams, temples and spiritual practices of India.
Reclaiming this ancient spiritual heritage of India and spreading it
throughout the world is one of the greatest needs of the coming planetary
age, in which we must go beyond the boundaries of creedal boundaries and
materialistic values.
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Well, while the ice is still in retreat
(rapidly apparently), what say we
spread Krishna Consciousness to all the towns and villages before the next
cataclysmic event?
Your aspiring servant,
BRS Dasa