Highest Sageness -27

 

The Vedas, Mithraism and Christianity

"These two are the Almighty of the Gods, they are noble.
  They will make our people full of vigor.
  May we attain you, Mitra and Varuna, wherever Heaven and the days overflow." 

                        -  Rig Veda vii.65 ( Mitra and Varuna are in all hymns to the Sun as the Divine Lord and Friend)

The contact between India and the West were more frequent in the period of the Roman Empire especially in the reign of Augustus, Trajan and Marcus Aurelius. The Jatakas contain many references to Buddhist merchants and their adventures in distant lands. India had a reputation for high philosophy and religion in the middle of the second century A.D., for Lucian makes Demetrius, the Greek philosopher give up his property and depart for India, there to end his life among the Brahmins. Clement of Alexandria, who died about A.D. 220, knew the distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism. " There are, he says, some Indians who follow the precepts of Boutta,( Buddha)  whom, by an excessive reverence, they have exalted into a god." Clement mentions that Pythagoras learnt from Brahmins among others. 

The vast development of material prosperity in the Roman Empire had no spiritual purpose behind it. Its ultimate end seemed to be the satisfaction of selfishness, individual and corporate. The ancestral cults had ceased to hold the large part of the population in the Roman Empire. The religious-minded, for whom the Roman gods had lost their meaning and served only as occasions for civic ceremonial, sought to find spiritual solace outside the life of the society in an esoteric ideal of individual salvation. The people were attracted by the Eastern cults, which were streaming into the Empire, the cults of Isis or Mithras. Mithraism was a religion with roots in India and Iran spread into the Roman world. Mithraism was the first officially recognized monotheistic cult of the Roman world. By the third century Mithra had evolved in the Roman world into the sun-god, Sol Invinctus -- So far as is now known, Mithra appears as the bull-slayer only in his Roman manifestation. Mithraism was a formidable competitor of early Christianity. Renan's observation has often been quoted that if Christianity had failed, the whole of Europe would have been Mithraist. 

First appears as an Aryan sun-god in Sanskrit ( Rig Veda) and Persian literature circa 1400 BCE.  The cult was introduced into the Roman empire in the 1st century BCE. The Mithra traditions and doctrines are collected in the Persian Avesta and a yasht, a special hymn of praise, is dedicated to Mithra.  Mithra is the Persian name of the Vedic Mitra, the deity of light and truth, warring against the powers of darkness in association with Varuna. In India he was, in fact, regarded as the sun. In Vedic texts, the connection between Mithra and the bull, which later became the focal point of Mithraism, is perhaps more clearly found than in the Avesta. The cult of Mithraism appears to have come to the Roman Empire from Persia (Iran), having introduced to Rome by Cilician seamen in about 68 B.C. Mithras is a Greek form of the name of an Indo-European god, Mithra or Mitra.  Mithra was conceived as the intermediary between man and the Supreme God and the redeemer of the human race. Mithraism was carried to the remotest corners of the empire. But despite these opportunites, circumstances conspired against Mithraism, and " the ultimate success, permanent and undoubted, fell to the combination of Jewish and Greek worship called Christianity."

There are however, many similarities between Christianity and Mithraism. Besides sharing faith in a divine mediator and the hope of resurrection, both taught the efficacy of prayer, sacramental union with God, and his providential presence in all the events of daily life. Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist of the Christians are analogous to certain rites of Mithraism. It was when Christianity spread into the pagan world that the idea of Jesus as a savior God emerged, emulating already existing concepts. It was only in 324, several centuries later, that the Church at the council of Nicaea, called by Emperor Constantine, formally accepted by a majority vote Jesus Christ as the Savior God. The coming of Christianity under state control was to preserve it as a religion, and was the death knell of all other sects and cults within the Roman Empire.

Had Constantine decided to retain Mithraism as the official state religion, instead of putting Christianity in its place, it would have been the latter that would have been obliterated.

"If Christianity was somehow stopped at its birth, whole world would be following Mithraism today." 
- Ernest Renan Ernest Renan (1823-1892) was an important French theorist who wrote about a variety of topics. His famous essay "What is a Nation?" (Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?) was first delivered as a lecture at the Sorbonne in 1882.
To Constantine however, Christianity had one great advantage, it preached that repentant sinners would be forgiven their sins, provided that they were converted Christians at the time of their Passing, and Constantine had much to be forgiven for, He personally did not convert to the new religion until he was on his death bed, the reason being that only sins committed following conversion were accountable, so all sins committed by a convert, prior to conversion, didn’t matter, and he could hardly have sinned too much whilst he was lying on his death bed. Mithraism could not offer the same comfort to a man like Constantine, who was regarded as being one of the worst mass-murderers of his time.

It was the birthday of Mithra, 25 December (winter solstice), that was taken by the early Christians as the birthday of Jesus. The need and urgency by the early Christians to compromise with existing traditions were further illustrated by the fact that even the Sabbath, the Jewish seventh day, Saturday, appointed a day of rest by God in the Mosaic Law and hallowed by his own resting day after the work of Creation, was abandoned in favor of the Mithraic first day, the Day of the Conquering Sun, Sunday. The worshippers of Mithra were called "Soldiers of Mithra" which is probably the origin of the term "Soldiers of Christ." 

The most frequent theme of Christ as the Good Shepherd is reminiscent of a similar identification of Mithra, who was often called the Good Shepherd. And it is interesting to note that since Mithra was addressed as Dominus, Sunday must have been " the Lord's Day" long before Christian times. Concepts such as " the blood of the Lamb" or "Taurus the Bull" were similarly borrowed from Mithraism. The Last Supper (the Eucharist) was taken from Mithraism to combine with the sacred meal of Palestinian Christianity. The ceremony of eating an incarnate god's body and drinking his blood is of remote antiquity, with its origin in cannibalistic practices, and there could have been several sources for the Christian rite, but its connection with the Mithraic Eucharist is most apparent. The Mithraic Eucharist is the commemoration of Mithra's Last Supper in a cave with Sol Helios before ascending to Heaven.  Some scholars believe that the Resurrection of Christ derived from the Vigil of Mithra, who after his death reappeared to watch continuously over the faithful. The Mithraic high priest's title, Pater Patrum soon became the title for the bishop of Rome, Papa or Pope.

Thus, the extent of the indebtedness of Christianity to pagan religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Mithraism) is very great indeed.

Christianity and Roman Decline

Whether the rise of Christianity with its train of bitter religious conflicts and persecutions was a contributing cause of the Roman decline or not, the two certainly coincided. During the following hundred years, Roman authority gradually weakened, Roman armies suffered defeats, and Rome was sacked. By the end of the fifth century there was nothing left of the Roman Empire in the West.

Europe lapsed into the Dark Ages for centuries. Total and devoted acceptance of the authority of the new faith, as interpreted by its priests or guardians on earth, inculcated amongst the people an attitude of surrender and they handed over the right and responsibility of thinking to others. Passive submissions suppressed scientific inquiry and academic integrity, the main characteristics of the preceding age of Alexandrian syncretism. Intellectual stagnation, religious intolerance, and racial and regional exclusiveness characterized Europe for the next thousand years.

(source:  Eastern Religions and Western Thought - By Dr. S Radhakrishnan and India and World Civilization - By D. P. Singhal and The Bhagavad Gita: A Scripture for the Future - By Sachindra K. Majumdar). Also Refer to Indic Challenges to the Discipline of Science and Religion - By Rajiv Malhotra).

Refer to Christian persecution against the Hellenes - ethnicoi.org.

Krishna Worship and Christ

Krishna worship was observed by the Yavana (Alexander's Greeks) who noticed the similarity between some of Krishna's exploits and that of Hercules. The stories of the child Krishna predate that of the child Christ, and the similarities are too many to be coincidental.

Correspondences between events in Jesus' and Krishna's life:

Author Kersey Graves (1813-1883), a Quaker from Indiana, compared Yeshua's and Krishna's life. He found what he believed were 346 elements in common within Christiana and Hindu writings. That appears to be overwhelming evidence that incidents in Jesus' life were copied from Krishna's. However, many of Graves' points of similarity are a real stretch.

He did report some amazing coincidences:

Yeshua and Krishna were called both a God and the Son of God.
Both was sent from heaven to earth in the form of a man.
Both were called Savior, and the second person of the Trinity.
His adoptive human father was a carpenter.
A spirit or ghost was their actual father.
Krishna and Jesus were of royal descent.
Both were visited at birth by wise men and shepherds, guided by a star.
Angels in both cases issued a warning that the local dictator planned to kill the baby and had issued a decree for his assassination. The parents fled. Mary and Joseph stayed in Muturea; Krishna's parents stayed in Mathura.
Both Yeshua and Krishna withdrew to the wilderness as adults, and fasted.
Both were identified as "the seed of the woman bruising the serpent's head."
Jesus was called "the lion of the tribe of Judah." Krishna was called "the lion of the tribe of Saki."
Both claimed: "I am the Resurrection."
Both referred to themselves having existed before their birth on earth.
Both were "without sin."
Both were god-men: being considered both human and divine.
They were both considered omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.
Both performed many miracles, including the healing of disease. One of the first miracles that both performed was to make a leper whole. Each cured "all manner of diseases."
Both cast out indwelling demons, and raised the dead.
Both selected disciples to spread his teachings.
Both were meek, and merciful. Both were criticized for associating with sinners.
Both encountered a Gentile woman at a well.
Both celebrated a last supper. Both forgave his enemies.
Both descended into Hell, and were resurrected. Many people witnessed their ascensions into heaven.

In addition, there are other points of similarity between Krishna and Yeshua:

"The object of Krishna's birth was to bring about a victory of good over evil."
Krishna "came onto earth to cleanse the sins of the human beings."
"Krishna was born while his foster-father Nanda was in the city to pay his tax to the king." Yeshua was born while his foster-father, Joseph, was in the city to be enumerated in a census so that "all the world could be taxed."
Jesus is recorded as saying: "if you had faith as a mustard seed you would say to the mountain uproot yourself and be cast into the ocean" Krishna is reported as having uprooted a small mountain.
Krishna's "...foster-father Nanda had to journey to Mathura to pay his taxes" just as Jesus foster-father Joseph is recorded in the Gospel of Luke as having to go to Bethlehem to pay taxes.
"The story about the birth of Elizabeth's son John (the Baptist), cousin of Jesus, corresponds with the story in the Krishna myth about the birth of the child of Nanda and his wife Yasoda." Nanda was the foster-father of Krishna.
The Greek God Dionysos, Jesus and Krishna were all said to have been placed in a manger basket.

Kersey Graves - Compared Krishna and Christ

Back in 1875, a man by the name of Kersey Graves presented a book — to the old Truth Seeker magazine titled The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors. 

Kersey goes on then to describe the recent translation for the first time of the Hindu Vedas into the English language — and remember that he was describing this all about one hundred years ago. He discusses Horace Greeley's expressed surprise at the translation when Greeley exclaimed, "No doctrine of Christianity but what has been anticipated by the Vedas."

“If, then, this heathen bible [the Vedas, compiled 1500-1200 B.C.] contains all the doctrines of Christianity, then away goes over the dam all claim for the Christian bible as an original revelation, or a work of divine revelation or inspiration. “

(source: religioustolerance.org and American Atheist). Also Refer to Indic Challenges to the Discipline of Science and Religion - By Rajiv Malhotra).

Refer to Did the Hindus Help Write the Bible and Give the Ancient Mexicans Their Religious Traditions? - By Gene D. Matlock. Who was Abraham? - By Gene D Matlock and Is the Hopi Deity Kokopelli an Ancient Hindu God? - By Gene D. Matlock and Ancient Sanskrit Pictograph near Sedona, Arizona? - By Gene Matlock and Atlantis in Mexico - By Gene Matlock. 

Buddhism and its relation to Hinduism - Some information 

Buddha is recognized as the ninth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. It was several hundred years before the time of Lord Buddha that his birth was predicted in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism and is considered one of the heterodox schools of Hindu philosophy. The teachings of Buddhism are not significantly different from those of Hinduism, but are essentially the same as the teachings of the Jnana Yoga (path of knowledge) school of Hinduism.

Following are the major views:

Buddhism and Hinduism both aim at transcending the phenomenal existence. Buddha rejected the ritualistic aspects of the Vedas, but DID NOT deny the higher teachings of the Upanishads. The Vedic rituals in Hinduism are recommended for a beginner for attaining concentration and meditation on the spiritual path. This position is very clearly conveyed in the Bhagavad Gita in the following words:

" To the knower of Truth (God), all the Vedas are of as little use as a small water-tank is during the time of a flood, when water is everywhere." (BG. 2.46)

For both Hinduism and Buddhism religion is salvation. Bodhi or enlightenment, which Buddha attained is an experience. Perfect insight (sambodhi) is the end and aim of the Buddhist eightfold path.

Both believe in theory of KARMA and REBIRTH with one major difference. Hinduism believes that the atman (individual self or spirit) transmigrates from one birth to another, Buddhism holds that nothing transmigrates from
one birth to another. In Buddhist view, karmas of one individual give birth to another, but no identity is retained between the two individuals.

Buddha declared the Self and the World are both unreal. To a Hindu, the Self is immortal and the world is an illusive appearance. However, behind the illusive appearance of the universe lies the Ultimate Reality which is the
seed of all things and beings in the world.

Buddha advocated a monastic life for attaining nirvana, Hinduism teaches that truth can be realized by all people from all walks of life, including householders.

Buddha refused to discuss topics, such as the science of the soul, the creation of the universe and the existence of God.  These are questions which occupy the center of interest in the Upanishadic literature.

Articles

 Christmas’ Hindu Roots
D. Parsuram Maharaj (Trinidan & Tobago, West Indies)
http://www.swordoftruth.com/swordoftruth/articles/readersvoice/readersvoice3.html
Last year Christmas Trinidad & Tobago's Archbishop Pantin in his weekly column repeated what scholars have been asserting for years on the origins of Christmas. Archbishop Pantin essentially officially confirmed the celebration of Christmas was 'borrowed' from pre-Christian religions. This type of 'borrowing' was not new to Christianity that aggressively practised a process of inculturalisation in order increase its mass appeal and thereby win as many converts as possible. The practice is still employed by missionaries in Asia and even in Trinidad. What Archbishop Pantin did not develop was the celebration of the birth of the divine being was borrowed from a Hindu Deity. It is time that Hindus re-claim this celebration and its Hindu roots rather then to let continue to be hijacked by Christian mythology.
The festival that is now known as Christmas was actually a celebration for the Vedic Deity Mitra. According to "A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion" by John Dowson [1998] the Hindu Mitra was connected to the Persian Mithra which later was adopted by Rome. Mitra was a form of the sun, and in the Vedas he is generally associated with Varuna. Will Durant's "The Story of Civilisation, Volume III. Caesar and Christ" [1944] wrote "as far back as the second century the Eastern Christians celebrated the nativity on January 06th. In 354 some Western churches, including those of Rome, commemorated the birth of Christ on December 25th; it was ALREADY the central festival of Mitraism, the natalis invivti solis, or birthday of the unconquered sun".
The Christmas date of December 25 was originally the celebrated birthdate of the Roman version of Mitras. The 4th-5th century Church decided to 'borrow' that date for the sake of establishing a national holiday. The Iranian version of Mit(h)ra was called the "Light of the World" is another interesting fact to note. Mithraism explained the world in terms of two ultimate and opposing principles, one good (depicted as light) and the other evil (darkness). Human beings must choose which side they will fight for; they are trapped in the conflict between light and darkness. Mithra came to be regarded as the most powerful mediator who could help humans ward off attacks from demonic forces.
In the religions of antiquity the vast majority of the pre-modern world was syncretistic, meaning that one religion would often incorporate the myth and ritual of other cults with which it came in contact. Often the deities would simply change names. This suggests that we may be comparing Jesus (one individual ) to the combined characteristics of multiple agents that are all called by the SAME NAME. Mitra--he is a mixture of Hindu Iranian, Greek, and Roman religious beliefs. Both Hindu and Iranian Mithraism predates Jesus .
Hindu thought was filtered to the West via Greek colonies which are known to have existed in India prior the time of the Buddha in the 6th century B.C.E. The Buddha actually refers to the Greeks in a discourse in the Middle Length Sayings. Alexander the Great's invasion brought Hellenism to India during the rise of the brilliant Mauryan empire (322-185 B.C.E.) in Northern India, and had significant impact on the upper class and urban segments.
After Alexander died, his empire divided into several pieces--one of which was called the Seleucid dynasty. In spite of the fact that the Seleucid and Mauryan dynasties were border-competitors, they still had a great deal of friendly interchange between them, and the first two kings of the Mauryan dynasty are referred to in Greek sources. 
The peace treaty between them in 303 BCE included a marriage alliance, and Seleucus' ambassador Megasthenes lived for 10 years and travelled extensively in the Mauryan empire during the reign of the founding king Chandragupta (Sandrocottos in the Greek). Megasthenes gathered huge amounts of information about India and wrote a book (which is lost), many parts/information of which are preserved in the writings of Strabo, Arrian, and Diodorus.
One of the most famous of the kings of this dynasty was Ashoka. Although he is not mentioned in any Greek sources, he "records having sent missions from India bearing his message of the victory of the Dharma to the Greek kings Antiochus II of Syria, Ptolemy II (Philadelphus) of Egypt, Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia, Magas of Cyrene and Alexander of Epirius."
Until his death in 232 BCE, he maintained frequent communications with the south and the west, even sending missionaries to Ceylon and to the West. Historical data and quotes shows, there was information about the religious content of proto-Hinduism transmitted to the West, and even about Buddhism. The last two centuries B.C.E saw the rise of the Parthian empire, which quickly became a barrier to cultural exchange.

There are material, significant, and pervasive similarities between Jesus Christ and other Savior-figures, and that these similarities are best explained by the hypothesis that the figure of Jesus is materially derived from or heavily influenced by these other Dying God/Savior-figures. The similarities between Jesus and the other relevant Savior-gods are material, significant, and pervasive enough to suspect a liberal borrowing. Scholars have proposed several theories to account for the obvious similarities between Christianity and the mystery religions. The birth and celebration of Christmas as a Christian festival is merely an example of one such borrowing.

Buddhism in Christianity
http://www.hindunet.org/alt_hindu/1995_May_2/msg00015.html
 A few months ago, I heard Jesus quoted "even to have an angry thought" was as punishable as actually murdering someone. This idea seemed to have a direct correlation with the Buddhist idea of "mental volition", that even our thoughts create karma. This seemingly obvious connection poses the question: what other teachings of Jesus Christ could be found mirrored in the teaching of Gautama Buddha?
There are three main types of literature on the subject: First, books that date from the end of the nineteenth century which attempt to show that there was Buddhist influence in the fertile crescent and in Greece during the years before the birth of Jesus. This speculation arose as a result of the translations of Buddhist texts into European languages that occurred during the British colonialism of India. Scholars recognized the similarity in the stories of the births and life styles of Jesus and Buddha. It was also noted that many of their teachings were parallel. In these seminal works there is much speculation about Buddhist influence in early Christianity. These books are often scholarly works that use sources such as the records of historians who were roughly contemporary with Jesus, and other texts: Biblical (Christian, Jewish), Greek and Arabic, in an attempt show an historical connection between the two religious traditions.
The second type of literature is the New Age genre books that attempt to tie the two masters together as emanations from the same cosmic divine source. In this group there is even a fairly extensive body of literature that claims that Jesus went to India and there studied from Hindu and Buddhist masters between the age of thirteen and thirty. These are referred to as the "lost years of Jesus".
The third type of literature, which could be called, "Creating a Christian-Buddhist Dialogue", seeks to compare and contrast the teachings of the two masters in an effort to bridge the gap between cultures and make to the world a better place. This type of literature usually denies any borrowing or Buddhist influence in Christianity but does admit that certain elements within the two doctrines are similar..
Much of the early academic research that was done tended to center around the possibility of Buddhist influence in Palestine and in Greece during the two centuries prior to the birth of Christ. In India, around 270 B.C., the great king Ashoka ascended the throne, and after his conversation to Buddhism, he sent missionaries around the world to preach the word of the Lord Buddha. There are records, left by Ashoka, that indicate that "his missions were favorably received" in countries to the West. There are also records from Alexandria that indicate a steady stream of Buddhist monks and philosophers who, living in that area, which was at the crossroads of commerce and ideas, influenced the philosophical currents of the time.
There are strong similarities between Buddhist monastic teachings and Jewish ascetic sects, such as the Essenes, that were part of the spiritual environment of Palestine at the time of Christ's birth. The Essenes were a monastic order that did not marry. They lived in the desert and were very simple in their life styles. They did not believe in animal sacrifice and were vegetarians. They believed in the pre-existence of the soul and in angels as divine intermediaries or messengers from God. They were famous for their powers of endurance, simple piety and brotherly love. They were interested in magical arts and the occult sciences. John the Baptist was an Essene. His time of preparation was spent in the wilderness near the Dead Sea. Jesus was greatly influenced by his stay with John the Baptist. Many of the basic tenets found in the teachings of Jesus can be traced back to the ideas flourishing among groups such as the Essenes. Were these groups indeed influenced through several centuries of dialogue with Buddhist monks who traveled through Palestine?
Before, during, and after the death of Christ, there were Buddhist missionaries who visited Greece, Egypt and other countries in the Mediterranean area. One such visit is documented in 20 B.C. in Athens. In this account an ambassador from India was accompanied by a Buddhist philosopher who burned himself (to prove some point of impermanence?). His tomb became a famous tourist attraction and is mentioned by several historians. It has been argued that in St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he alludes to this well known event when he writes that "though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing."
The fact that there was commercial trade between the Indian Subcontinent and Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt and the countries of the Fertile Crescent, for almost 2500 years before the birth of Christ is well documented. Cuneiform records dating from 2400 B.C. describe shipments of cotton cloth, spices, oil, grains, and such exotic items as peacocks from the Indus Valley region. Ideas as well as merchandise had been exchanged between the Middle East and India for centuries. Pythagoris is said to have been influenced by Oriental ideas and a Greek prince, Seleucus Nikator, shortly after the time of Alexander the Great, gave his daughter in marriage to the Indian sovereign and sent an ambassador, Megasthenes, to the court of Chandragupta, who was the grandfather of Ashoka. There were practitioners of Buddhism, living in the western parts of Askoka's empire who were from Greece and also from Palestine. This is known because one of the famous edicts of Ashoka, carved on a pillar in what is now the country of Afghanistan, is written in both in Greek and Aramaic, the languages spoken in Palestine at the time.
Stories of Buddhist origin, and some of the basic concepts of Buddhism, were known in the West prior to, during, and after the time of Jesus. The most famous Buddhist story that made its way into Christendom, is the tale of "Barlaam and Josephat," which enjoyed considerable notoriety during the Middle Ages and ultimately resulted in the canonization, in the sixteenth century, of Buddha, as a Catholic saint. In the story of Barlaam and Josephat, Josephat, which is a corrupted version of the word "Boddhisattva", was an Indian prince who was heir apparent to a throne occupied by his father, a tyrannical idolater who persecuted Christians. At Josephat's birth prophets predicted his future greatness as successor to the king, but one wise man said that the prince would achieve greatness not as a worldly king, but because he would convert to Christianity. To shelter his son, and prevent his conversion, the king kept him locked in the palace. Eventually, the young prince was allowed to leave the palace and saw a crippled man, a blind man and a senile man, and so learned of life's darker side (that life is suffering?). Josephat soon met a monk named Barlaam, who converted him to Christianity. The story continues that when Josephat went to search for Barlaam he had to suffer austerities and was tempted by the devil to give up his faith. He eventually found Barlaam and the two lived as hermits until their deaths. Relics of these saints were worshipped in Europe and there were several churches built to Josephat in Russia, one in Vienna and in Portugal. As I said, they were canonized by the Catholic Church in the 16th century... Saint Josephat, the Boddhisattva.
Anyone who knows the story of the life of the Buddha will see the exact repetition of the tale in the story of Barlaam and Josephat: The fact that he was an Indian prince even provides the correct setting, the predictions at his birth of spiritual greatness, his early life spent locked in the castle and finally his exposure to people in pain and old age which led, in the case of the Boddhisattva, to enlightenment and in the case of Josephat to conversion. Even the austerities and temptations that they had to endure are parallel. There is no doubt that this is a Buddhist story transplanted and retold within a Christian context. The Buddhist origins of the story were obscured when the tale was retold in Europe, but earlier versions of the story exist in Arabic, which do not refer to Josephat's conversion, but which testify to the story's Buddhist roots. The fact that Saint Josephat was very popular in Europe, where his relics were worshipped, is an ironic aspect of this borrowing theory of Buddhist influence on Christianity since some scholars theorize that relic worship is a Buddhist implant into early Christianity. There are other Christian stories that have their origins in the Buddhist Jatakas Tales such as the conversion of the Roman general Placides, who was converted while hunting a beautiful deer.
There are numerous elements in Christian practices that could have originated from the many Buddhist missionaries who traveled from India spreading the teachings of the Buddha. Philosophically, Alexandria in Egypt was the center of early Christian thought. There is mention of a teacher called Ammonius Sakka, who had a great influence on the thinkers of the first century of the common era. Some scholars speculate that Ammonius Sakka could be a reversed form of "Sakya - Muni", one of the names of the Buddha, which means "the sage of the Sakya clan". (Sakya was Buddha's family name.) This philosopher-teacher who believed in reincarnation, has been called a Neo-Platonist. He was the teacher of Plotinus and Origen. Origen who was one of the early philosophers of the Christian church whose writings were later expunged at the Council of Nicea.
What are some other points of convergence between the practices of Christianity and Buddhism? There are a wealth of similarities: shaving or cutting of the hair of monastic initiates, ringing of bells, domed basilicas, shared legends, the practice of confession, relic veneration, celibacy, rosaries, monasticism, and the burning of incense. A comparison of the Sermon on the Mount with verses from the Dhammapada, yields a rich collection of interconnections and similarities. Even if some of these similarities are synchronistic in nature and are not borrowed, nonetheless, there are still many elements that have distinctive Buddhist overtones and which are not found within the predominant Jewish practices of the time. There are many stories about the life of Jesus and Buddha that are so similar that it is hard to believe that there was not some borrowing or merging of myths that occurred. 
The story of the conception and birth of Christ in the Gospel of Luke has an uncanny resemblance to the birth stories of Buddha. In both cases the mother was a pure woman who had a vision and from this vision became pregnant with a extraordinary child, without the help of sexual intercourse. At their birth, each baby was surrounded by persons and events that marked them for greatness. Each was delivered outside while the mother was on a journey. Their births were both announced by angels in the heavens. It may be hard for us creatures of the twentieth century to appreciate the role of angels, but previously, they played an important part in the scheme of things: bringing messages, making great spiritual announcement with pomp and splendor. After the birth of Buddha a hermit sage, who had heard the celebrations of the angels, was told by them with great rejoicing that "In the city of Kaplilavastu, to king Suddhodana, a son is born. This boy will sit on the throne of enlightenment and become a Buddha." In the Christian story, the angels appeared in great awe-inspiring beauty and told the shepherds that a child was born that day who is Christ the Lord. The story of the conception and birth of Christ in the Gospel of Luke has an uncanny resemblance to the birth stories of Buddha. In both cases the mother was a pure woman who had a vision and from this vision became pregnant with a extraordinary child, without the help of sexual intercourse. At their birth, each baby was surrounded by persons and events that marked them for greatness. Each was delivered outside while the mother was on a journey. Their births were both announced by angels in the heavens. It may be hard for us creatures of the twentieth century to appreciate the role of angels, but previously, they played an important part in the scheme of things: bringing messages, making great spiritual announcement with pomp and splendor.
After the birth of Buddha a hermit sage, who had heard the celebrations of the angels, was told by them with great rejoicing that "In the city of Kaplilavastu, to king Suddhodana, a son is born. This boy will sit on the throne of enlightenment and become a Buddha." In the Christian story, the angels appeared in great awe-inspiring beauty and told the shepherds that a child was born that day who is Christ the Lord. Both narratives stress the fact that at the birth of the infant, along with the angels, holy people came to pay homage to the savior who had descended into the world of humans. In the Bible there is a story about the righteous man Simeon, who was informed by the Holy Spirit that he "should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ." Inspired by the Spirit, he came to the temple on the day that Jesus was brought in for his naming ceremony, where he took the child into his arms and said that he was destined for greatness. Mary and Joseph marveled at the words of this old sage. In the Buddhist story the hermit Asita performed the same role in announcing to the amazed parents that this child was destined for spiritual greatness. In both stories an elderly wise man was the first to inform the parents that their sons were no ordinary boys.
The Biblical accounts of the birth of Christ are somewhat different in Luke and in Matthew. In Matthew the account of the visitation by the Magi is dealt with in great detail. These Magi were astrologers from the East, where astrology had been a developed science for centuries. They represented the pinnacle of foreign scholarly achievement; and it was they, rather than the Hebrew, who were able to discern that the baby who lay in the manger in Bethlehem was a very special child. The word "Magi," is a Persian word that named a class of learned men who sought to master the occult sciences. This is the root of our word, Magic. Only later were they referred to as kings, initially they were called Holy Men. References to Magi in the Palestine of Jesus's day usually had negative connotations, but in Matthew's account, the reference is quite positive. Similarly, the infant Gautama was first adored by four divine archangels who presided over his birth in the wooded grove near Lumbini. Later, sages came to pay homage to the child and amazed his father. In both stories there is a reference to a star that announces the birth of the great child.
here are other similarities in the lives of these two great beings. Some may say that this type of comparison is inevitable when great spiritual leaders come into the world. However, some of the events in their lives have quite a resemblance. Both Buddha and Christ were precocious youths who confounded their teachers with their gifted knowledge. Both began their spiritual quest at about the age of thirty. Both fasted and prayed in the wilderness and both were tempted by the devil while practicing these austerities. The setting of these two accounts is almost identical as are the events. Both men were fasting when tempted by the devil who tried to entice them into worldly pleasures and trick them into using the magical powers that they possessed. Both men overcame the temptation and soon left their seclusion and took up the mission of a life of teaching and traveling. Jesus's life at this time seems very much like the age-old life of an Indian mystic or holy man. He traveled from village to village and lived off the hospitality of the people of the village. There are some differences, but, nonetheless, both Buddha and Christ got into trouble with the ruling aristocracies by their deliberate blindness to social status and by taking food and refuge from courtesans and prostitutes.
Both masters told their disciples to leave behind their homes and families and to follow him. Both sent his followers out to preach their message. Both were social revolutionaries who reacted against the conservative elements of their time. Both put an end to animal sacrifice which was popular in both Hinduism and Judaism. As you can see there are great similarities in the lives of these two great beings. Both forgave evil doers, both conquered death in a metaphysical sense. The earth shook when each of them died. Their messages are also similar: they told their followers to overcome anger, to practice non-violence, to "turn the other cheek" to be pure of mind and body. 
There is, as well, the school of thought that says that Jesus traveled to India during the lost years of his youth. There is a temple in the state of Kashmir that is dedicated to Saint Issa. The priests say that Jesus traveled there two thousand years ago. Many of the miracles performed by Jesus are similar to miraculous powers possessed by holy men in India. Jesus even taught his disciples to perform these miracles such as Peter walking on the water. There is a work by a Russian who lived at the end of the 19th century, Nicolas Notovitch, who claims to have seen an ancient document that told the story of Saint Issa and his return to his home in the West and his subsequent violent death. These tales are unsubstantiated and somewhat fanciful, however the priests at the Kashmiri Temple to Saint Issa are devout and completely believe in the story. There are also visionaries such as Edgar Casey who had similar visions of Jesus. Jesus did adopt a remarkably Indian-like approach to wandering, begging and preaching immediately upon beginning his public career. There is, however, documented evidence that Buddhists traveled to the region where early Christianity was developing. It must be remembered that Christianity did not become the established religion for several hundred years and actually it was not the accepted religion of the European masses for almost a thousand years. During this period, when church theology was being formulated, there was much discussion about the true nature of the savior and many of the early ideas of the church were discarded in favor of ideas that would support the establishment of a centralized Church. These factors are a discussion for another time, but suffice it to say that many scholars have tried to prove that the Councils at Nicea expunged all references to reincarnation from the words of Jesus. He was after all, influenced by the Essenes, who did believed in transmigration of souls.
I realize that these ideas are heretical to some people. However to me, they are fascinating. That Jesus was divine, that He was God made man, I do not deny. I call Him an AVATAR, a Boddhisattva... but, I do not say that He is exclusive in this role.
Buddhism in Christianity Bibliography 
Allegro, John, The Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls Revised, Grammercy Publishing Co., New York, 1981 (first published Penguin Books, 1956).
Amore, Roy C., Two Masters, One Message, The Lives and the Teachings of Gautama and Jesus, Parthenon Press, Nashville, 1978.
de Silva, Lynn, A., The Problem of the Self in Buddhism and Christianity, Macmillan Press, London, 1979. -Reincarnation in Buddhist and Christian Thought, 1968.
Haring, Hermann & Metz, Johann-Baptist, eds., Reincarnation or Resurrection?, SCM Press, Maryknoll, 1993.
Head, Joseph, & Cranston, S.L., eds., Reincarnation An East-West Anthology (Including quotations from the world's religions & from over 400 western thinkers), Julian Press, New York, 1961.
Howe, Quincy, Jr., Reincarnation for the Christian, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1974.
 Leaney, A.R.C., ed., A Guide to the Scrolls, Nottinham Studies on the Qumran Discoveries, SCM Book Club, Naperville, Ill., 1958.
 Lefebure, Leo D., The Buddha and the Christ, Explorations in Buddhist and Christian Dialogue (Faith Meets Faith Series), Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, 1993.
 Lillie, Arthur, Buddhism in Christendom or Jesus, the Essene, Unity Book Service, New Delhi, 1984 (first published in 1887). - India in Primitive Christianity, Kegan House Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1909.
 Lopez, Donald S. & Rockefeller, Steven C., eds., The Christ and the Bodhisattva, State University of New York, 1987. Phan, Peter, ed., Christianity and the Wider Ecumenism, Paragon House, New York, 1990.
Pye, Michael & Morgan, Robert, eds., The Cardinal Meaning, Essays in Comparative Hermeneutics: Buddhism and Christianity, Mouton & Co., Netherlands, 1973.
Radhakrishnan, S., Eastern Religions in Western Thought, Oxford University Press, 1939.
Siegmund, Georg, Buddhism and Christianity, A Preface to Dialogue, Sister Mary Frances McCarthy, trans., University of Alabama Press, 1968.
Smart, Ninian, Buddhism and Christianity: Rivals and Allies, Macmillan, London, 1993.
Streeter, Burnett H., The Buddha and The Christ, an Exploration of the Meaning of the Universe and of the Purpose of Human Life, Macmillan and Co., London, 1932.
 Tambyah, Isaac T., A Comparative Study of Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, Indian Book Gallery, Delhi, 1983 (first edition 1925).
 Yu, Chai-shin, Early Buddhism and Christianity, A comparative Study of the Founders' Authority, the Community, and the Discipline, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1981.
See also: Neander Hutchinson (Literature) Barlaam and Josephat

Christianity: a naive beginning to a Buddhistic peace movement...(excerpts) The Will To Power
1888 By Nietzsche (1844-1900) the great German Philosopher, poet, classical philologist, who became one of the most provocative and influential thinkers of the 19th century. He was deeply influenced by Schopenhauer in his youth. One of the great European philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche's beliefs were best expressed in his Thus Spake Zarathustra, in which his teachings are put into the mouth of the wandering prophet Zarathustra.
" Christianity: a naive beginning to a Buddhistic peace movement at the very seat of resentment - but reversed by Paul into a pagan mystery doctrine, which finally learns to treat with the entire state organization -wages war, condemns, tortures, swears, hates.

Paul starts from the need for a mystery felt by the broad, religiously excited masses: he seeks a sacrifice, a bloody phantasmogoria which will stand up in competition with the images of the mystery cults: God on the cross, blood-drinking, and unio mystica with the "sacrifice."

He seeks to bring the afterlife (the blissful, atoned afterlife of the individual soul) as resurrection into a casual relationship with that sacrifice (after the type of Dionysus, Mithras, Osiris).

He needs to bring the concept of guilt and atonement into the foreground, not a new way of life (as Jesus himself had demonstrated and lived) but a new cult, a new faith, a faith in a miraculous transformation ("redemption" through faith).

He understood what the pagan world had the greatest need of, and from the facts of Christ's life and death made a quite arbitrary selection, giving everything a new accentuation, shifting the emphasis everywhere – he annulled primitive Christianity as a matter of principle.

The attempt to destroy priests and theologians culminated, thanks to Paul, in a new priesthood and theology - in a new ruling order and a church. The attempt to destroy the exaggerated inflation of the "person" culminated in faith in the "eternal person" (in concern for "eternal salvation" ), in the most paradoxical excess of personal egoism.

This is the humor of the situation, a tragic humor: Paul re-erected on a grand scale precisely that which Christ had annulled through his way of living. At last, when the church was complete, it sanctioned even the existence of the state."


For more interesting articles:
Indic Challenges to the Discipline of Science and Religion - By Rajiv Malhotra
Raising a holy rukus - CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2000/books/news/09/21/jesus.mysteries/index.html
Christ And Christianity In The Year 2000 - The Jesus Myth
By N. S. Rajaram
http://www.swordoftruth.com

Christianity - By Emma Goldman
http://au.spunk.org/library/writers/goldman/sp001501.html
First published in April 1913, in the Mother Earth journal.
Refer to Did the Hindus Help Write the Bible and Give the Ancient Mexicans Their Religious Traditions? - By Gene D. Matlock. Who was Abraham? - By Gene D Matlock and Is the Hopi Deity Kokopelli an Ancient Hindu God? - By Gene D. Matlock and Ancient Sanskrit Pictograph near Sedona, Arizona? - By Gene Matlock and Atlantis in Mexico - By Gene Matlock. 
Vedic Links to Judaism 
Brahma/Saraswati - Abraham/Sarah? 
According to Dr. Venu Gopalacharya " Abraham and Sarah (Sarai) refer to the Indian version of Brahma and Saraswati. This indicates that this is an abridgement of some of the versions in the Indian Puranas . 
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan has informed in his book, Pracya Mattu Paschatya Sanskriti, that the Greeks asserted that the Jews were Indians whom the Syrians called Judea, the Sanskrit synonym of which is Yadava or Yaudheya, and the Indians called them Kalanis, meaning orthodox followers of the scriptures. 

**

" The Jewish bible says that Abraham and Sarai went to the Middle East to escape a terrible flood that had taken place in their original homeland, at approximately the time that Dwaraka sank under the sea. I think it significant that Sarai was the half sister of Abraham and that Saraswati was the half sister of Brahma. Sarai had a handmaiden named Hagar. Ghaggar was a tributary of the river Saraswati. It would not surprise me if the tombs of Abraham and Sarai at Hebron, Israel are also those of Brahma and Saraswati. There are even those who think that Jerusalem's Temple mount could be the resting place of Krishna. There is no doubt. The Yadavas founded ancient Israel. The real name of the Jews, Yahuda, seems to suggest this."  (refer to www.viewpoint.com. )

The Jews spell the name of the city of 'Yerushalayim,' of which the Sanskrit synonym is Yadu Ishalayam, which means the temple of the Lord of the Yadus (the descendents of Lord Krishna's clan.)
Star of David - the Jewish emblem consists of two interlocking triangles, one pointing up, the other down, which is a Trantic Vedic symbol or Shri Yantra. 
Sikhism

Guru Nanak (1469-1539) born of Hindu parents, (his father Kalu Mehta was a Revenue official and Vedi (bedi) Khatri by caste) proclaimed his faith around 1500 AD in one God who was Nirankar (without bodily manifestations) and a caste-free society. Those who accepted his creed described themselves as Sikhs or his disciples. They remained a part of the Hindu social system. Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru, declared: “We are neither Hindus nor Muslims.” Nevertheless, in the Adi Granth he compiled around 1600 AD a little over 11,000 names of God that appear over 95 per cent are of Hindu origin: Hari, Rama, Gopal, Govind, Madhav, Vithal and others. Some like Allah, Rab, Malik are Muslim. The exclusively Sikh word for God, Wahguru, appears only 16 times. 

The Granth Sahib is compiled. It contains the works not just of the Gurus but also of Jaidev, Nam Dev, Trilochan, Parmanand, Sadhna, Beni, Ramanand, Dhanna, Pipa, Kabir, Ravidas, Mira, Surdas – Hindu poets and seers, Sufi bhakatas, each from a different part of the country. The Granth, a scholar reminds us, invokes the name of Krishna ten thousand times, of Rama two thousand four hundred times. It invokes Parabrahma 550 times, Omkar 400 times. It invokes the authority of the Vedas, Puranas, Smritis about 350 times. The names of the Nirguna Absolute – Jagdish, Nirankar, Niranjan, Atma, Paramatma, Parmeshwar, Antaryami, Kartar – are invoked twenty six hundred times. Those of Saguna deity – Gobind, Murari, Madhav, Saligram, Vishnu, Sarangpani, Mukund, Thakur, Damodar, Vasudev, Mohan, Banwari, Madhusudan, Keshav, Chaturbhuj, etc, - are invoked two thousand times. 

The rapture of the Gurus in describing Rama and Krishna, their reverence for Yashodha and Krishna, for Krishna and Radha, their repeated affirmations that in this day and age, in this Kaliyuga, the unfailing, indeed the only panacea, is to chant the name of Rama – what does all this mean? The description of the formless, attributeless Absolute is explicitly derived from the Vedas, Upanishads and the Gita; the legends of the Puranas – of Krishna and Sudama, of Prahlad and Hiranyakashyap – are recounted to what do these facts testify? 

Guru Tegh Bahadur is executed explicitly for his defence of the Hindus of Kashmir, he is executed in the company of his Hindu devotees. Guru Gobind Singh composes a paen to Rama – Ramavatara – and another to Krishna – Krishnavatara. He declares as his aspiration: 

Sakal jagat mein khalsa panth gaaje
Jage dharma Hindu, sakal bhand bhaje 

Let the path of the pure prevail all over the world
Let the Hindu dharma dawn and all delusion disappear. 

He declares as his goal: 

Dharam vedamaryaada jag mein chalaaun
Gaughaat kaa dosh jag se mitaaun 

May I spread dharma and prestige of the Veda in the world.
And erase from it the sin of cow-slaughter.

(source: A Secular Agenda: For saving our country, For welding it - By Arun Shourie p. 3 - 11).

***

Guru Gobind Singh, the last Sikh Guru who founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699 AD, invoked the names of Shiva, Sri and Chandi.  

Ramavatar by Guru Gobind Singh

India is fortunate to have Ramayana as its spring of inspirational literature. Literature is the main and most fundamental medium which has the force to bring about change in the pattern of thinking, which has the strength to brighten up the heights of the high ideals, which has the power to move the highly hard and ever unmoved individuals, which has the capacity of performing miracles of transforming human, mental and moral self. 

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth master of Sikhs, wrote the Ramavatar. In the words of the great writer: 

“Netar tung ke charan tal
Sakidruv tir tarang
Sri bhagwat puran ko
Raghubar Katha Parsang.  

I composed the whole narrative of Rama, the incarnate, at the bank of river Sutlej, flowing at the foot of the mount Naina Devi.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh also had Brahmins perform havans, regarded cows as sacred, punished cow-killing with death, went to Hardwar to bathe in the Ganga and expressed the wish that on his death the diamond and Koh-i-Noor should be gifted to the temple of Jagannath at Puri. Till then relations between the Hindus and the Sikhs were of naunh-maas — as the nail to the flesh out of which it grows. Inter-marriages between Hindus and Sikhs of same castes were common. Many Hindu families brought up their eldest sons as Khalsas, whom they regarded as Kesha Dhaaree Hindus (Hindus who did not cut their hair or beards). (For more on Ranjit Singh refer to chapter on European Imperialism).

Seeds of Hindu-Sikh separatism were sown by the British after they annexed Punjab in 1839 AD. They made reservations for Khalsa Sikhs in the Army, Civil Services and legislatures. Thus an economic incentive was given to Khalsa separateness. The feeling was eagerly nurtured by leaders of both communities. The lead was taken by Swami Dayanand Saraswati of the Arya Samaj. He visited Punjab and in his intemperate speeches described Guru Nanak as a semi-literate imposter (Dambhi). Sikhs picked up the gauntlet and made Swamiji or mahasha a synonym for a bigoted Hindu. Sikh separatism was boosted by the Singh Sabha movement started in the 1880s. It found expression in a booklet by Sikh scholar Bhai Kahan Singh of Nabha entitled “Hum Hindu Naheen Hain” — we are not Hindus. Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs started treading different paths. The Hindus opened DAV and Sanatan Dharm schools and colleges. The Sikhs opened Khalsa schools and colleges. They closed ranks to face Muslim dominance and later against the demand for Pakistan. Though Muslims conceded that Sikhs were Ahl-e-Kitaab (people of the Book) as were the Jews and the Christians, they regarded them too close to the Hindus to be accommodated in Pakistan. When Partition came, Punjabi Muslims drove both Hindus and Sikhs out of their country.

With the affluence that came with the Green Revolution, the younger generation of Sikhs in increasing numbers began to give up the Khalsa tradition of keeping their beards and hair unshorn. They became clean-shaven (mona) Sikhs. The dividing line between the two communities became blurred because a mona Sikh was no different from a Hindu believing in Sikhism, no different from millions of Punjabi and Sindhi Hindus who revered Granth Sahib and frequented gurdwaras.

(source: Hindu-Sikh relations - By Khushwant Singh - tribuneindia.com). 

(source: The Ramayana Tradition in Asia  - Edited by V Raghavan. Ramavatar by Guru Gobind Singh – Smt. Baljit Tulsi p. 517 - 533).

Sikhs and Hindus: A Common Heritage

The ritual aspects of the Sikh tradition demonstrate the Hindu origins remaining in the scriptures.

Many scholars have stated that the Granth contains specific references to Hindu gods such as Rama and Krishna. The gurudwaras, or Sikh temples, have always been decorated with pictures of Hindu devas and devis. 

If the Guru Granth Sahib were to be examined, there is no difference between Hinduism and Sikhism because the Granth is based on the Hindu scriptures and beliefs.

An authority on modern Sikhism, Dr. Gopal Singh, indicated in his translation of Shri Guru Granth Sahib that the worship of Rama and Krishna is found in the Granth.

Guru Gobind Singh describes in the Dasma Granth how Akal (God) had expanded Himself to first become Vishnu, then Brahma and Shiva. This is described in the Vichitra Natak.
The Guru then goes on to describe the characteristics of Vishnu. He also goes on to discuss the origins of gods, demons, Garuda and other beings in the same manner as Vedvyas did before. The Tenth Guru then goes so far to claim his own origin from Lord Rama and His descendants.
Most people of the Punjab know that the city of Lahore was built by the elder son of Rama, Luv, while the city of Kasur was built by Kush, the younger son. A powerful point can be made here in that Guru Gobind Singh states Guru Nanak as being a descendant of Kush, while himself (Guru Gobind) is a descendant of Luv. Guru Gobind describes the genealogy in great detail and tells how this came to be so. Except for Guru Angad and Guru Amardas, the eight remaining Gurus were recognized as descendants of Lord Rama, whether it is because of devotion or respect, this view is held by both Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs.
A further analysis of the Guru Granth, the Dasma Granth and Hindu scriptures will show that there is no difference between the philosophies they all convey. The philosophy and devotion of Hindus belonging to the Shakti cult (Mother Goddess) can also be seen by Guru Gobind's monumental work "Var Durga Ki" which is revered by both Sikhs and Hindus. The only conclusion that one can make is that there is no philosophical or cultural difference between the Hindus and Sikhs. It is only that Sikhism is a simplistic form of Hinduism and is separate from any other religion that could have influenced it during its evolution.
Guru Arjun, who compiled the Granth Sahib, writes in the fifth Granth "O God you are as great as you adopted the form of Vamana [fifth incarnation of Vishnu], you are also Ram Chandra [seventh incarnation of Vishnu] but you have no form or outline". This "no form or outline" concept can also be found in the Divine Manifestations, the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna states He has a form and is beyond form. Guru Arjun goes on to make references to Narsimha [fourth avatar], Warha [second avatar], Krishna [eight avatar] and Kach [third avatar].
Guru Nanak makes specific references to Lord Rama and wrote several hymns about Lord Krishna. All throughout the Granth praises are specifically addressed to the avatars of Vishnu, particularly to Rama and Krishna. A very interesting observation of the literature is the occurrence and reference to the name "Bithal", which is found throughout the Granth. Bithal is the Punjabi version of the Marathi name "Vithal" which is another name for Lord Krishna. Hardyal Singh M.A., a famous Punjabi revolutionary during the time of the British Raj, said that "if you were to remove every page that contained the name of Bithal or Ram from the Granth, you will be left with nothing more than a few pages and the book case." The Guru Granth Sahib clearly states that Bithal is the Lord.
The goal of Hindus and Sikhs alike is not to reach a heaven, because this achievement is only temporary, but to break the cycle of life and death in order to achieve moksha (salvation or nirvana). If one fails, they may have to repeat either one, some or all of their existences. This is not the view held by the other tradition that could have influenced Sikhism, namely Islam.
Reference is made to the avatars of Vishnu in the Granth Sahib. There are ten major avatars referred to as the Dasha Avatars, there are fourteen minor avatars as well. All these avatars are recognized in the Guru Granth Sahib even if Hindus of different sects may not recognize them all. The Dasma Granth deals with all the avatars beginning on page 169. Volume two of the Dasma Granth is exclusively based on Krishna. It is accepted that Guru Gobind Singh was a staunch believer in Durga Mata (Mother Goddess) as many of his hymns such as 'Deh Vo Shiva' are directed towards Shiva (not the male god but his female consort also known as Shakti or Devi who at times is referred to by His name).
In the entire Guru Granth Sahib, the Vedas are respected and referred to as sacred. Guru Gobind Singh states that the Vedas originated from Brahma and the path of the Vedas is the only path for the people to follow:
Chaupai 197 Brahma char he ved banaie Sarab lowg tih karam chale Brahma created the Vedas Guru Nanak also recited the famous aarti (song of worship) of Ek Omkar which he composed in praise of Lord Jaganath of Puri. He also went on pilgrimage to Badri Nath which is sacred to Hindus. Guru Tegh Bahadur, tn pilgrimage to Jwalamukhi in Kangra. Guru Gobind Singh worshipped Durga and fought the mughals to free Ayodhya Masjid (the controversial mosque of Ayodhya). Guru Ramdas wore a Vaishnav tilak on his forehead.

Divine Descendance of Sikh Gurus

Sun Dynasty
|
Sri Ram
----------------------------------------
Laoo (Lavu)..........................Kashoo
(settled in lahore).................(settle in Kasoor)
|..........................................|
|..........................................|
Kal Rai.............................Kal Ket
|..........................................|
|..........................................|
Sodhis.................................Bedis
|..........................................|
|..........................................|
Forth to Tenth Gurus....................First to Third Gurus
4. Guru Ram Das Ji......................1. Guru Nanak Dev Ji
5. Guru Arjan Dev Ji.....................2. Guru Angad Dev Ji
6. Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji............3. Guru Amar Das Ji
7. Guru Har Rai Ji..................................|
8. Guru Har Krishan Ji.............................|
9. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji...........................|
10.Guru Gobind Singh Ji..........................|
|..................................................|
|..................................................|
|
|
|
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

(source: Sikhs and Hindus: A Common Heritage and  Divine Descendance of Sikh Gurus).

Bharat Gupta, associate professor at Delhi University writes: "...in the 19th century Sikh separateness was redefined by the earlier British historians first and the Indians later. Sikhism was made to appear as a new religion, Anti Vedic, and a mixture of Indic-Islamic tenets, not based on philosophical tenets but on things like dress and food and architecture of Gurdwaaras and supposed rejection of caste. In this fabrication, the Khalsa has been fore grounded, almost equated with all Sikhism, and the Naamdhaaris, Nirankaaris, and such denominations of the Sikh tradition have been ignored, even persecuted"

Japji Sahib is Based on the Upanishads - says Khuswant Singh

Sikhs are kes-dhari [sporting unshorn hair] Hindus. Their religious source is Hinduism. Sikhism is a tradition developed within Hinduism. Guru Granth Sahib reflects Vedantic philosophy and Japji Sahib is based on the Upanishads. 

Sikhism, like unity of God, casteless society, etc. were also preached by other Vaishnava bhaktas [saints] of the time. 

In the Encyclopedia Britannica Khuswant Singh has said that Sikhism is a tradition developed within Hinduism or an extension of the bhakti movement. Again, in The Wall Street Journal (Oct. 12, 2001) he states that Sikhism is a branch of Hinduism.

(source: Japji Sahib is Based on the Upanishads - By Khuswant Singh - sikhtimes.com).

Sikhs and Hindus

Hindus are conditioned to regard Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism as "panths" or sects. My folks told me that the elder son would become a Sikh while the younger remained Hindu; that the Gurus were devotees of Ram and Krishna; that the Marathi sant-poet Namdev's hymns are included in the Granth Sahib; that, prior to the tenth Guru, there was no separate name for the followers of Guru Nanak and they were considered a part and parcel of Hinduism; that Guru Gobind Singh gave the name "Sikh" to those who were willing to fight the tyranny of the Mughals. I was taught that Hinduism is a generic name given to all the faiths which have roots in India and believe in Parmatma (God), Prarthana (prayer), Punerjanma (reincarnation), Purushartha (Karma) and Prani Daya (kindness to all living beings). Sikhism believes in all...

At a meeting in Bombay on August 19, 1964, Tara Singh declared, 

"Sikhs and Hindus are not separate. Sikhs will survive only if Hindus survive. Sikhs are part and parcel of the Hindu Society. Guru Govind Singhji brought in Gurumukhi the wisdom and philosophy from our scriptures and Puranas. Are we going to give up this heritage? In fact Hindus and Sikhs are not two separate communities. Name is Sikh and beard... Mona (non beard) Sikh and Sevak... That is all... Sikhs live if Hinduism exists. If Sikhs live Hinduism lives. They are not two separate communities. They are one indeed. "

What are the roots of Sikhism...? Here are some stanzas from the Gurus and the Guru Granth Saheb:

Taha hum adhik tapasya sadhi / Mahakal kalika aradhi ~ Guru Gobind Singh.
(There I worshipped and did penance to seek Kali.)

 * Ram katha jug jug atal / Sab koi bhakhat net Suragbas Raghuver kara / Sagri puri samet Jo en Katha sune aur gaave / Dukh pap tah nikat na aave ~ Guru Gobind Singh
(The story of Ram is immortal and everyone should read it. Ram went to heaven along with the whole city. Whoever listens to or sings His story, will be free of sin and sorrow.)

* Vedahun vidit dharma pracharyun / Gohat kalamka vishva nivaryun Sakal jagat mein Khalsa Panth gaajey / Jagey dharm Hindu sakal bhand bhajey ~ Guru Gobind Singh
(May I preach the Vedas to the whole mankind / May I remove the blot of cow-slaughter from the whole world / May the Khalsa Panth reign supreme / Long live Hinduism and falsehood perish).

* Kahaiya Hinduan daro na ab tum / Im likho pathon dil sain Guru Nanak ki gadi par / Ab hain Tegh Bahadur Unko jo Muhummadi kar lihoon / To ham hain sab sadar Arya Dharma rakhak pragatiyo hain ~ Guru Tegh Bahadur
(Hindus, do not fear, Guru Tegh Bahadur is Guru Nanak's successor. If Muslims bother you, I'll take care of them. For I am the protector of Hinduism.)

Tin te sun Siri Tegh Bahadur / Dharam nibaahan bikhe Bahadur Uttar bhaniyo, dharam hum Hindu / Atipriya ko kin karen nikandu Lok parlok ubhaya sukhani / Aan napahant yahi samani Mat mileen murakh mat loi / Ise tayage pramar soi Hindu dharam rakhe jag mahin / Tumre kare bin se it nahin ~ Guru Tegh Bahadur's reply to Aurangzeb's ordering him to embrace Islam.
(In response, Shri Tegh Bahadur says, My religion is Hindu and how can I abandon what is so dear to me? This religion helps you in this world and that, and only a fool would abandon it. God himself is the protector of this religion and no one can destroy it.)

* Sakal jagat main Khalsa Panth gaje / Jage dharam Hindu sakal bhand bhaje ~ Guru Gobind Singh.
(The Khalsa sect will roar around the world. Hinduism will awaken, its enemies will flee).

(source: Betrayal - By Varsha Bhosle - rediff.com and VHP and Master Tara Singh). For more refer to chapters on Islamic Onslaught and European Imperialism).

For more on Sikh and Hindus: A Common Heritage - Hinduweb.org.

 Christian Missionaries destroying Sikhism in India?
Sikh and Destroy
Holding fierce pride in their identity, Sikhs have for decades been seen as “off-limits” by the missionary machine but not anymore. In a alarming trend, evangelism has begun to tread on the Sikh faith as well. Every aspect of Punjabi society is being overwhelmed with this new wave of assertive Christianity. Besides nationwide programs in Hindi, Punjabi television channels have been deluged by Christian programs even though the Christian population of Punjab is less than 1%. Taking aim at Sikh youth, animated films and children’s books on Christianity are freely distributed by missionaries.

Because of the strong adherence to tradition by Sikhs, missionaries have attempted to repackage Christianity. Jesus is called “Satguru”, church is referred to as “Satsang” and choir singing is called “Kirtan”. Choir boys in Punjabi churches wear turbans to attempt to minimize the variation between Sikhism and Christianity. However, despite these attempts to disguise Christianity as a version of Sikhism, missionaries still cannot hide their intent: to destroy the Sikh faith.
A recent study showed that at least 800,000 are converted to Christianity every year throughout India . In the coming years, this number can significantly increase with attacks on the Sikh faith.

(source: Sikh and Destroy - Sikh Sangat News December 1, 2007)  For more refer to chapter on Conversion.

Did You Know
Got the Time?
According to Astrophysicist Carl Sagan, the age of the universe is somewhere around 12 billion-years-old. The Hindu tradition has a day and night of Brahma in his range, somewhere in the region of 8.4 billion years.

Dr. Sagan said, "As far as I know, India is the only ancient religious tradition on the Earth which talks about the right time scale. In the West, people have the sense that what is natural is for the universe to be a few thousand years old, and that it is billions of years is mind-reeling, and no one can understand it. The Hindu concept is very clear. Here is a great world culture which has always talked about billions of years."
"The Hindu religion  is the only one of the world's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths.  It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, to those of modern scientific cosmology.  Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma, 8.64 billion years long. Longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the Big Bang.  And there are much longer time scales still." 

There is the deep and appealing notion that the universe is but the dream of the god who, after a Brahma years, dissolves himself into a dreamless sleep. The universe dissolves with him - until, after another Brahma century, he stirs, recomposes himself and begins again to dream the great cosmic dream. 

Carl Sagan further says: " The most elegant and sublime of these is a representation of the creation of the universe at the beginning of each cosmic cycle, a motif known as the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva. The god, called in this manifestation Nataraja, the Dance King. In the upper right hand is a drum whose sound is the sound of creation. In the upper left hand is a tongue of flame, a reminder that the universe, now newly created, with billions of years from now will be utterly destroyed."

These profound and lovely images are, I like to imagine, a kind of premonition of modern astronomical ideas."
(source: Cosmos - By Carl Sagan p. 213-214).

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...) 

( My humble Pranam, Honour  and also gratefulness  to   Ms. Sushma Londhe ji for her  noble, magnanimous and eminent works on the   peerless  Wisdom of our Sacred Scriptures)

  

_{(My humble salutations to   , H H Swamyjis, Hindu Wisdom, great Universal Philosophers, Historians, Professors and Devotees   for the discovering  collection)}

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