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RELIGIONS OF INDIA
WHEN THOMAS ENTERED INDIA
When Thomas entered India, there
were three major religions on the scene.
1. The Aryan Vedic Religion.
2. Buddhism
3. Jainism
It would be necessary to know the
basic belief system of these three religions to appreciate what
Thomas did.
The Three main religions
When Thomas entered India were
1.
Aryan Vedic Religion (Nature Worshippers)
2.
Buddhism (Anti-theistic)
3.
Jainism (Non-theistic)
Vedic Religion (13C BC)
Vedic Religion is what the Aryans
brought into India from their original homelands.
Who were the Aryans? Despite the
recent attempt by the Indian Hindu extremists to establish that
Aryans originated from India, there is no evidence to indicate any
such fact historically, linguistically or archeologically. The
Aryans were nature worshippers. Zoroastrians –the sun and fire
worshippers - claim themselves as Aryans. Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes,
and other Persian Kings claimed that they were Aryans. (The Parsees
of India are the descendants of these Kings who migrated to India
under Islamic persecution). According to Zoroastrian Sacred book,
“Zend Avesta,” the original abode of these people was the Polar
Regions of Siberia. They moved to the Middle East because of
increasing coldness of the region. Another group arrived in the
region over the sea from Camphtor. Still another group arrived from
Sub Saharan desert according to some scholars. This mixed race was
known as Hittites. The Indian Aryans are the descendants of
Hittites. They were warriors and had no written language. They
were good at storytelling and worshipped the forces of nature. They
retained there stories and ideals through songs and ballads. During
the invasion of Canaan by Israel under Commander Joshua, these
Hittites were forced to move out of their land. This is exactly the
time (around 1300 BC) when Aryan migration to India took place.
Just as Israelites massacred the Canaanites, Aryans massacred
Dravidian Indians. The conquest of India must have taken several
centuries. By the 7th C BC (or by 2nd C BC at
least), they were even in Sri Lanka, conquering the Giant King
Ravana. However, they were not able to control south India and only
had a weak presence in those areas. Today the Brahmin families in
Kerala can claim their descent only after sixth C. AD. Something
happened to the Brahmins in Kerala between the second Century BC and
sixth Century AD. The reason for their disappearance will be clear
when the Thomas story unfolds.
Vedic Religion is not Hinduism.
Vedic religion was not Hinduism, as
we know today. There are four Vedas (Sacred Scriptures) in Hinduism
today. If which only the Rig Veda was in existence at the time
Thomas entered India in written form. Additionally, the Rig Veda
was not written in Sanskrit but in Vedic or Avestan, which is a form
of Persian.
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“Vedic Hinduism” is a
contradiction in terminis
since Vedic religion is very different from what we generally
call “Hindu religion",
- at least as much Old Hebrew religion is from
medieval and modern Christian religion.”
S.W.Jamison and M.Witzel
Vedic Hinduism 1992
Sanskrit Department, Cambridge
University
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These portions of Rig Veda were
written down only by the 2nd C BC.
Chapters II and X and other three
Vedas are written in Sanskrit and are of later Post Christian
Period. We will deal with this later, as they are very important in
our study.
The hymns of Rig Veda were simply
psalms to their nature gods – 33 gods can be counted including the
later Vedic gods. However, none of these gods are found among the
gods of Hinduism today. It is thus evident that though in order to
push the date of heritage, Hinduism claim that Vedism was the start
of Hinduism, the fact remains that there is very little relation
between them. This is a critical issue and the fact will emerge as
we deal other areas of study. The Pre-Christian Vedic religion had
absolutely no concept of a God of gods or of a supreme God.
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An example of the Vedic Psalm.
RIG VEDA : HYMN II. Vayu.
1 BEAUTIFUL Vayu, come, for thee
these Soma drops have been prepared: Drink of them, hearken to our
call.
2 Knowing the days, with Soma juice poured forth, the singers
glorify Thee, Vayu, with their hymns of praise.
3 Vayu, thy penetrating stream goes forth unto the worshipper,
Far-spreading for the Soma draught.
4 These, Indra-Vayu, have been shed; come for our offered dainties'
sake: The drops are yearning for you both.
5 Well do ye mark libations, ye Vayu and Indra, rich in spoil So
come ye swiftly hitherward.
6 Vayu and Indra, come to what the Soma. presser hath prepared:
Soon, Heroes, thus I make my prayer.
7 Mitra, of holy strength, I call, and foe-destroying Varuna, Who
make the oil-fed rite complete.
8 Mitra and Varuna, through Law, lovers and cherishers of Law, Have
ye obtained your might power
9 Our Sages, Mitra-Varuna, wide dominion, strong by birth, Vouchsafe
us strength that worketh well.
Translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
=================================================================
Vayu = Air Indra
=Thunderbolt Mitra =Friend Varuna = Sun
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“The
Vedic Aryans invoked gods, especially Indra, Varuna, Agni, Vayu,
Mitra, Aditya, Pushan, Asvins, Usha etc, performed yagnas and other
rituals to supplicate them, invoke them, and seek their approval,
guidance and help for their material comforts, personal gains,
general welfare, appeasement of nature and victory over hostile
tribes.”
V.Jayaram , History
of Hinduism: The Beginnings, Hinduism Website.com
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Buddhism
(5c BC)
Buddhism is positively
anti-theistic.
“Existence of suffering can only be
explained with Cause and Effect.”
“Man cannot rely on gods.”
Buddhism is unique amongst the
religions of the world because it does not have any place for God in
its aspiration for the ultimate redemption. Buddhism goes beyond
most of the other religions in that it is positively anti-theistic,
because the very notion of God conflicts with some principles, which
are fundamental to the Buddhist view of the world and the role of
humans in it. The Buddha argues that the
three most commonly given attributes of God, viz. omnipotence,
omniscience, and benevolence towards humanity cannot all be mutually
compatible with the existential fact of dukkha – the existence of
suffering.
“The fate of the world depends on
causes and conditions. Therefore the wise man may not rely on
gods,” wrote Nargarjuna the Indian Buddhist philosopher of the
second C AD. What controls the world is simply the Cause – Effect
process. It is simple science. God has no place in the scheme.
Buddhism underwent lot of
theological transformations in the later period. It essentially
started as a materialistic religion based on reincarnation.
Incidentally, the concept of reincarnation is not found in the Vedas
– in any of the Vedas. It was not an Aryan concept at all. The
Reincarnation concept came into Indian religious scenario probably
through the Greek influence. Later during its contact with Thomas
Christianity in China, Buddhism took a new form known as Mahayana
Buddhism (Higher Vehicle) with theistic notions. The Southern group
known as Hinayana Buddhism (Lower Vehicle) is still vigorously
atheistic. A third school called
Vajrayana
or the "Diamond
Vehicle" is essentially based on mantra and tantra art of esoteric
concentration.
Jainism (5c BC)
In Jainism
there are higher beings called arhats in heaven and
also beings with
greater freedom and higher degree of knowledge and intelligence in
cosmos.
They are not gods.
Jainism is again a materialistic
religion. It assumes the totality of the Universe as eternally
dependant and is self-maintained with its own eternal rules. It
assumes no God beyond the existence of the intelligent beings and
life entities. There is a hierarchy of life forms in the universe.
It is the interaction between these entities living and non-living
that constitute life in progress.
“Know that the world
is uncreated, as time itself is, without a beginning and without an
end... Uncreated and indestructible, it endures under the
compulsions of its own nature, divided into three sections- hell,
earth and heaven."
Among the
intelligent beings, there are various levels of existence. There
are higher beings called arhats in heaven and embodied souls but
with greater freedom and high degree of knowledge and intelligence.
However, they are not gods.
Local Religions
There might have been other forms
of local religions in various parts of India in addition to the
three major religions as well. There are evidences that indicate
the Dravids who were the creators of ancient Mohen Jodero
civilizations and who today occupy the Southern part of India are
the descendants of Abraham through his third wife Keturah. Bible
indicates that these children were send to the East when Isaac was
given his inheritance. DNA evidences do concur in this regard.
Into this spiritual vacuum without
a God, Thomas brought in the concept of Parameswara –the Most High
God - and his incarnation as Man in the person of Nazarene and he
transformed India totally.
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Parameshwara.
[Iswara is God. Param means Most High.]
The prescript Param can be
replaced with Maha meaning “The Great” to give Maheshwara
– The Great God.
These words Parameswara and
Maheswara occur in Indian religious scenario only after the first
century.
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This was very new to the Indian
continent. It transformed all the religions of India – Vedism,
Buddhism, and even Jainism to some extent. The idea that there is a
Personal God who is Omnipotent and loving changed the whole theology
of Indian continent as the later religious scenario shows. The
extent of this impact indicates that Thomas established churches
with Jesus as center of worship as the Parameshwara throughout
India.
Thomas’ journey covered the whole
of India for two whole decades, very similar to the travels of
Paul. Paul transformed the Greco-Roman world into Christian faith.
Did Thomas achieve the same? There are indications even today to
show that he did just that. Scattered groups of Christian sects can
be found all along the route of Thomas, claiming their root from
Thomas. From Malabar Coast (In South India) Thomas traveled along
the West coast to Kalyan, (Bombay) and then onto Sind (Pakistan) and
Tibet returning along the East cost through Kaveri area to Mylapore
(“The city of Peacock”, Madras, South India.) They are there even
today. Some of them remain as secret communities in the face of
later persecution.
Sufficient records are there to
show that:
* There existed a thriving
Christian community in Kerala at that time.
There are palm leaf records, which
show that:
* Among the Dravidians in Central
India (Kaveri Area)
there was a Church as early as
293 AD. These documents show that, Seventy-Two families of
Christians of Vellala origin from Kavery Poopatanam of Puhur
District on the River Kaveri
arrived in Kollam (Quilon) in Kerala as refugees fleeing from the
persecution in AD 293.
The container changed, but the content
remained
Historically well-documented
Christian Kingdom of Villarvattom Pana Dynasty (near the present-day
Cochin) lasted nearly a millennium from 510 to 1439 AD, until the
coming of the Portuguese. There are documents indicating powerful
Christian Kingdoms in Kerala, particularly in Ayr (referred to in
Greek documents- Ayroor) and Ranni and Vel (Velnad). There must
have been other major churches all over India other than in Kerala.
However, the problem is “Where are they?” It is this question we
are trying to answer. The basic reason why we do not see them is
that we may be looking for the wrong clues and so we do not
recognize them for want of familiarity.
What are we really looking for?
-
Church buildings similar to the
Greek and Roman churches.
- Worship
forms like the liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the
Roman Churches
-
Out stretched arms of Praise and
Worship
We are simply assuming that these
are the norms of the Christian Churches. It is these basic
expectations that put us off track | 
