Early Buddhism-study of fundamental teachings

Introduction

This is what I mean by perspective, because in the western perspective Buddhism has a certain image, while in the traditional perspective we have another image. This negative image that people have about Buddhism has to be changed before they can really come to appreciate the Buddha’s teachings, before they can get a kind of balanced perspective regarding Buddhism.

One of the first things that a westerner appreciates Buddhism is that it is not culture bound, not bound to any particular society, race or ethnic group. There are certain religions that are culture-bound, Judaism is one example. Buddhism is not. That is why historically we have Indian Buddhists, Thai Buddhists, Chinese Buddhists, Sri Lankan Buddhists, Burmese Buddhists and so forth, and we are going to have in the near future English Buddhists, American Buddhists, French Buddhists and so forth. This is because Buddhism is not culture-bound. It moves very easily from one culture to another because the emphasis in Buddhism is on internal practice rather than on external practice. Its emphasis is on the way you develop your mind rather than the way you dress, the kind of food you take, the way you wear your hair and so forth.

The second point that I would like to make regards the pragmatism or the practicality of Buddhism. Instead of taking an interest in metaphysics and academic theories, the Buddha deals with problems per se and approaches them in a concrete way. This is again something which is very much in agreement with western ideas about utilitarianism. That is, if something works, use it. It is very much a part of western political, economic and scientific philosophy. This attitude of pragmatism is clearly expressed in the Culamalunkya Sutra where the Buddha made use of the example of the wounded man. The man wounded by an arrow wishes to know who shoots the arrow, from which direction it comes, whether the arrow head is made of bone or iron, whether the shaft is of this kind of wood or another before he will have the arrow removed. This man is likened to those who would like to know about the origin of the Universe, whether the world is eternal or not, finite or not before they will undertake to practise a religion. Just as the man in the parable will die before he has all the answers he wants regarding the origin and nature of the arrow, such people will die before they will ever have the answers to all their irrelevant questions. This exemplifies what we call the Buddha’s practical attitude. It has a lot to say about the whole question of priorities and problem solving. We would not make much progress developing wisdom if we ask the wrong question. It is essentially a question of priority. The first priority for all of us is the problem of suffering. The Buddha recognized this and said it is of no use for us to speculate whether the world is eternal or not because we all have got an arrow in our chest, the arrow of suffering. We have to ask questions that will lead to the removal of this arrow. One can express this in a very simple way. We can see that in our daily life, we constantly make choices based on priority. If, for instance, we happen to be cooking something on the stove and we decide that while the beans are boiling we will dust the house, and as we dust the house we smell something burning. We have to make the choice, whether to carry on with our dusting or whether to go to turn down the flame on the stove to save the beans. In the same way, if we want to make progress towards wisdom we have to recognize our priorities and this point is made very clearly in the parable of the wounded man.

The third point that I would like to refer to is the Buddha’s teaching on the importance of verification through experience. This point is made clearly in His advice to the Kalamas contained in the Kesaputtiya Sutra. The Kalamas were a people very much like us in our modern day when we are exposed to so many different teachings. They went to the Buddha and enquired that as there were so many different teachers and as all of them claimed that their doctrine was true, how were they to know who was telling the truth. The Buddha told them not to accept anything out of authority, not to accept anything because it happens to be written down; not to accept anything out of reverence for their teacher; or out of hearsay; or because it sounds reasonable. But to verify, test what they have heard in the light of their own experience. When they know for themselves that certain things are harmful then they should abandon them. When they know for themselves that certain things are beneficial, that they lead to happiness and calm, then they should follow them. The Buddha gives this advice that one has to verify what one hears in the light of one’s experience. In the context of the Buddha’s advice to the Kalamas, I think what the Buddha is saying is to use your own mind as a test tube. You can see for yourself that when greed and anger are present, they lead to suffering, pain and disturbance. And you can see for yourself that when greed and anger are absent from your mind, it leads to calm, to happiness. It is a very simple experiment which we all can do for ourselves. This is a very important point because what the Buddha has taught will only be effective, will only really change our life if we can carry out this kind of experiment in our life, if we can realize the truth of the Buddha’s teachings through our own experience and verify it through our own experience. Only then can we really say that we are making progress on the path towards enlightenment.

We can see a striking parallel between the Buddha’s own approach and the approach of science to the problem of knowledge. The Buddha stresses the importance of objective observation. Observation is in a sense the key to the Buddha’s method of knowledge. It is observation that yields the first of the Four Noble Truths, the truth of suffering. Again at the final stage of the Buddha’s path, it is observation that characterizes the realization of the total end of suffering. So at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the Buddha’s path, observation plays an extremely important role. This is similar to the role that objective observation plays in the scientific tradition which teaches that when we observe a problem we must first formulate a general theory followed by a specific hypothesis. We find the same thing happening in the teaching of the Four Noble Truths and here the general theory is that all things have a cause, and the specific hypothesis is that the causes of suffering are craving and ignorance. This truth that the causes of suffering are craving and ignorance can be verified by the experimental method. In the context of the Four Noble Truths, the experimental method is the path. Through the path, the truth of the Second Noble Truth (the truth of the cause of suffering), and the Third Noble Truth (the truth of the cessation of suffering) are verified because through this cultivation of the path one eliminates craving and ignorance. And through the elimination of craving and ignorance one eliminates suffering. This experiment is repeatable just as in science because not only did the Buddha attain the end of suffering, but so too did all those who followed His path. Therefore, there are many points of early Buddhism study of fundamental teachings. And there are also called the introduction of fundamental teachings of Buddism.

Early Buddhism-study of fundamental teachings

Today I would like to spend a little bit of time on the life of the Buddha. I do not intend to spend too much time on the life and career of the Buddha since most of the biography is essentially narrative. But I would like to take the opportunity today to draw attention to a few important Buddhist values which come through strikingly in the life of the Buddha.

Last week we talked about the two traditions and how the two traditions which were originally very distinct gradually began to interact and eventually fused in India and we said that the beginning of this process of interaction can be placed about the time of the Buddha. In fact during the time of the Buddha, we can see the beginning of the interaction and it was a process that continued until a thousand years later when the two traditions fused and became difficult to differentiate. It is not perhaps a coincidence that one of the primary areas where the two traditions came into the most active contact was in the area known as Madhyadesha, the area around what is now Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This area was regarded by the Brahmins as an area of challenge to the Aryan tradition. It happens that when two traditions of this nature meet, it creates an atmosphere where there is a great potential for the growth of new religious directions. To a large extent we can see the life and teachings of the Buddha in this context. In addition to the interaction of the two religious traditions, there were also significant social, economic and political changes that were taking place and which we have touched on last week. All these contributed to a heightened level of religious consciousness. It always happens in times of political and social upheaval that man looks inward, that man turns to religion. When they see the institutions that their forefathers took as stable and unchanging shaken, there is a natural tendency to turn to religion, and this contributes to heightened religious consciousness and activities. This is very much the case in the 6th century B.C.

The values that emerge from the Buddha’s life that I would like to highlight are essentially three, and they are renunciation, loving-kindness and compassion, and wisdom. These three values emerge very clearly through episodes in the Buddha’s own life. Incidentally it is no coincidence that these three qualities between them equal the attainment of Nirvana because as you know there are three defilements (Klesha) that cause us to be born again and again - the defilements of desire, ill-will and ignorance. In this context we might also remember that renunciation is the antidote for desire, loving-kindness and compassion is the antidote for ill-will, and wisdom is the antidote for ignorance. Through cultivating these three qualities one is able to eliminate the defilements and attain enlightenment. So it is no accident that these qualities should stand out so prominently in the life of the Buddha.

Let us look at them one by one and let us start with renunciation. As often happens, some of the very first evidence of the Buddha’s renunciation manifested itself while He was still very young. Renunciation is basically a recognition that all existence is suffering. When one recognizes the fact that all existence is suffering, this brings about what we might call a turning about, in other words, seeing that life is full of suffering one begins to look for something more. This is why suffering is the First Noble Truth. This recognition that existence is suffering is the essence of renunciation. You may know of Prince Siddhartha’s visit to the annual ploughing ceremony at the age of seven. It was there that while watching the ploughing the prince noticed a worm that had been unearthed by the plough devoured by a bird. This sight led the prince to contemplate the realities of life, to recognize the fact that all living beings kill each other for food and this is a great source of suffering. Already we see at this tender age in the biography of the Buddha the beginning of this recognition that existence is suffering. If we look a little bit later in the life of the Buddha, we will come to the famous episode of the four sights which moved the prince to renounce the household life and to follow a life of asceticism to seek the truth. The sights of old age, sickness, death and an ascetic led Him to consider why it was that He should feel uneasy when in fact He was Himself not free from, was subject to old age, sickness and death. This consideration led Him to develop a sense of detachment from pleasure, led Him to seek the truth by way of renunciation. It is interesting to note that Prince Siddhartha’s renunciation is not renunciation out of despair. He enjoyed the greatest happiness and yet saw these sufferings of life, recognizing that no matter how great one’s indulgence in pleasures of the senses might be, eventually one would have to face these sufferings. Recognizing this, He was moved to renounce the household life and seek enlightenment for the sake of all living beings.

Let us look at wisdom which is the third of the three qualities. Wisdom is the most important of the three qualities because after all it is wisdom that opens the door to enlightenment. It is wisdom that uproots ignorance, the underlying cause of suffering. It is said that just as one can cut off the branches and trunk of a tree and yet if the root of the tree is not taken out the branches and trunk will grow again. So in the same way one can eliminate desire through renunciation, ill-will through loving-kindness and compassion, but so long as ignorance is not eliminated, this desire and ill-will are liable to grow again.

Wisdom is achieved primarily through meditation. We have an episode again early in the life of the Buddha in which we see His early development of skill in concentrating the mind and this episode in fact occurred at the same time as the incident we considered a moment ago involving the bird and the worm. We are told that after having witnessed the bird devouring the worm, having recognized the unhappy nature of life, the young prince sat under a tree and began to meditate spontaneously. He achieved the first level of meditation through concentrating the mind on the process of in-breathing and out-breathing. So we have this experience of meditation in the early life of the Buddha, and later when He renounced the household life and went forth to seek the truth, one of the first disciplines which He tried was again the discipline of mental concentration. We are told that He studied with two foremost teachers of the time, Arada Kalama and Udraka Ramaputra and He learned from these teachers the methods of mental concentration. Last week we said that amongst the discoveries made at Mohenjodaro and Harappa were images of the figures sitting in postures of meditation. We have very good reasons to believe that the methods of mental concentration go as far back as the 3rd Millennium B.C. and it is very likely that these two teachers were exponents of this tradition of mental concentration. Yet we find that the prince left the two teachers because He found that meditation alone could not permanently end suffering. This is important because, although in its emphasis on mental development Buddhism is very much in the tradition of the Indus Valley Civilization, yet the Buddha goes beyond the tradition of mere meditation. This is what distinguishes the Buddha’s teachings from the teachings of many other Indian schools, particularly the teachings of the tradition of Yoga. It is also what distinguishes Buddhism from some of the contemplative traditions of other religions, because in Buddhism meditation by itself is not enough. Meditation is like sharpening a pencil, sharpening the mind so to speak. Just as when we sharpen a pencil we sharpen it for a purpose, so that we can write with it, so in sharpening the mind we have a purpose and that purpose is wisdom. Sometimes this relationship between meditation and wisdom is exemplified by the example of a torch. Suppose we want to see a picture in a darkened room with a torch. If there are many draughts in the room, we will find that the light of the torch will flicker. Similarly, if our hand shakes, the light cast by the torch will be unsteady, and we will be unable to see the image. In the same way, if we want to penetrate into the real nature of things, if our mind is unsteady, distracted, wavers as a result of emotional disturbances, then we will not be able to penetrate into the real nature of things. The Buddha applied this discovery on the night of His enlightenment when we are told that with His mind concentrated, made one-pointed and supple by meditation, He directed it to the understanding of the nature of reality and penetrated the real nature of things. So the Buddha’s enlightenment is the direct result of this combination of meditation and wisdom - concentration and insight.

We also find other aspects of wisdom expressed in the life of the Buddha, and one of the more important ones is of course the Middle Way. We do not have time today to discuss all the various levels of the meaning of the Middle Way but suffice it to say that the most basic significance of the Middle Way is the avoidance of the extreme of indulgence in pleasures of the senses and the extreme of tormenting the body. The Middle Way is exemplified in the life of the Buddha by His own experience of a life of luxury as a prince and by the six years of vigorous asceticism which He practised after He left His father’s palace. After realizing the futility of these extremes in His own experiences, He then hit upon the Middle Way which avoids these extremes.

In the other hand, we all know what dependent means, and what birth, origination or arising means. It is only when we begin to examine the function and application of dependent origination that we have to recognize the fact that we have a very profound and significant teaching. Some indication of this can be gained from the Buddha’s own statements. Very frequently, we find that the Buddha expressed His experience of enlightenment in one of two ways, either in terms of having understood the Four Noble Truths, or in terms of having understood the nature of dependent origination. Again, the Buddha has often mentioned that in order to attain enlightenment one has to understand the Four Noble Truths; or similarly, one has to understand dependent origination.

On the basis of the Buddha’s own statements, we can see a very close relationship between the Four Noble Truths and dependent origination. What is it that the Four Noble Truths and dependent origination have in common? The principle is that both have in common is the principle of causality, the law of cause and effect, of action and consequence. In one of our earlier lectures we have mentioned that the Four Noble Truths are divided into two groups; the first two suffering and the causes of suffering, and the last two the end of suffering and the path to the end of suffering. In both of these groups, it is the law of cause and effect that governs the relationship between the two. In other words, suffering is the effect of the cause of suffering; and similarly, the end of suffering is the effect of the path to the end of suffering. Here too in regard to dependent origination, the fundamental principle at work is that of cause and effect. In dependent origination, we have a more detailed description of what actually takes place in the causal process.

Let us take a few examples that establish the nature of dependent origination. Let us take first an example used by the Buddha Himself. The Buddha has said the flame in an oil lamp burns dependent upon the oil and the wick. When the oil and the wick are present, the flame in an oil lamp burns. If either of these is absent, the flame will cease to burn. This example illustrates the principle of dependent origination with respect to a flame in an oil lamp. Let us take the example of the sprout. Dependent upon the seed, earth, water, air and sunlight the sprout arises. There are in fact innumerable examples of dependent origination because there is no existing phenomenon that is not the effect of dependent origination. All these phenomena arise dependent upon a number of causal factors. Very simply, this is the principle of dependent origination.

Particularly, we are interested in the principle of dependent origination as it applies to the problem of suffering and rebirth. We are interested in how dependent origination explains the situation in which we find ourselves here. In this sense, it is important to remember that dependent origination is essentially and primarily a teaching that has to do with the problem of suffering and how to free ourselves from suffering, and not a description of the evolution of the universe. Let me briefly list the twelve components or links that make up dependent origination. They are ignorance, mental formation, consciousness, name and form, the six senses, contact, feeling, craving, clinging, becoming, birth, and old age and death.

There are two principal ways in which we can understand these twelve components. One way to understand them is sequentially, over a period of three lifetimes: the past life, the present life and the future life. In this case, ignorance and mental formation belong to the past life. They represent the conditions that are responsible for the occurrence of this life. The following components of dependent origination - consciousness, name and form, the six senses, contact, feeling, craving, clinging and becoming - belong to this life. In brief, these eight components constitute the process of evolution within this life. The last two components - birth and old age and death - belong to the future life. According to this scheme, we can see how the twelve components of dependent origination are distributed over the period of three lifetimes, and how the first two - ignorance and mental formation result in the emergence of this life with its psycho-physical personality and how in turn, the actions performed in this life result in rebirth in the future life. This is one popular and authoritative way of interpreting the twelve components of dependent origination.

But for today, I am going to focus on another interpretation of the relation between the twelve components of dependent origination. This interpretation too is authoritative and has the support of recognized Buddhist masters and saints. This interpretation might be called a cyclical interpretation because it does not depend upon a distribution of the twelve components amongst three lifetimes. Rather, it divides the twelve components into three groups, and these are defilements (Klesha), actions (Karma), and sufferings (Duhkha). This scheme has the advantage of not relying upon a temporal distribution amongst three lifetimes. According to this scheme, ignorance, craving and clinging belong to the group of defilements. Mental formation and becoming belong to the group of actions. The remaining seven, that is, consciousness, name and form, the six senses, contact, feeling, birth, and old age and death belong to the group of sufferings. Through this interpretation we can see how the teaching of the Four Noble Truths and particularly the teaching of the Second Noble Truth - the truth of the cause of suffering, is conjoined with the teaching of karma and rebirth; and how together these two important teachings explain in a more complete way the process of rebirth and the origination of suffering.

On the one hand, it is in this sense that the Buddha uses the term "characteristic" to refer to facts about the nature of existence, that are always connected with existence and that are always found in existence. The characteristic heat is always connected with fire. So we can understand something about the nature of fire from heat. We can understand that fire is hot. We can understand that we can use fire to cook our food, to warm ourselves and so forth. The characteristic of heat tells us something about fire, how to use fire and what to do with fire. If we were to think of the characteristic of heat as connected with water, it would not help us to use water because heat is not always connected with water. We cannot cook our food with water. We cannot warm ourselves with water. So when the Buddha said that there are three characteristics of existence, He meant that these characteristics are always present in existence, and that they help us to understand what to do with existence.

The three characteristics of existence that we have in mind are the characteristics of impermanence (Anicca), suffering (Dukkha) and not-self (Anatta). These three characteristics are always present in or are connected with existence, and they tell us about the nature of existence. They help us to know what to do with existence. What we learn to develop as a result of understanding the three characteristics is renunciation. Once we understand that existence is universally characterized by impermanence, suffering and not-self, we eliminate our attachment to existence. Once we eliminate our attachment to existence, we gain the threshold of Nirvana. This is the purpose that understanding the three characteristics serves. It removes attachment by removing delusions, the misunderstanding that existence is permanent, is pleasant and has something to do with the self. This is why understanding the three characteristics is part of the contents of wisdom and so on.

After all, I would like to mention about the four noble truths which are the truth of suffering, the cause of the truth of suffering, the truth of the path of suffering and the truth of cessation of suffering. The Four Noble Truths are a very important aspect of the teachings of the Buddha. Their importance has been stated in no uncertain terms by the Buddha. He has said that it is because we fail to understand the Four Noble Truths that we have run on so long in this cycle of birth and death. This indicates how important the Four Noble Truths are to the understanding of the Buddha’s teachings and to the realization of the goal of His teachings. Similarly, it is no coincidence that in the Buddha’s first sermon the Dhammachakkappavattana Sutra to the five monks at the deer park near Benares, the Buddha spoke primarily about the Four Noble Truths and the Middle Path. Here we have two very significant indications of the importance of the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths in a sense are a summary of the Buddha’s teachings both from the point of view of doctrine or theory and also from the point of view of practice. So here in the Four Noble Truths which are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering, we have the foundation of the teachings of the Buddha for understanding and practice.

Before we consider the Four Noble Truths individually, I would like to say a few words about the nature of the scheme that the Four Noble Truths represent and in this context we can perhaps remember that medical science had enjoyed a certain amount of development in ancient India. One of the structures that had been developed by medical science in ancient India was the four fold structure of disease, diagnosis, cure and treatment. Now if you think carefully about these four steps in the practice of medicine, the practice of the art of healing, you will see that they correspond quite closely to the Four Noble Truths. In other words, suffering corresponds to the illness; the cause of suffering corresponds to the diagnosis, in other words identifying the cause of the illness; the end of suffering corresponds to the cure; and the path to the end of suffering corresponds to the treatment whereby one is cured of the illness.

If you look at the Four Noble Truths you can see that they divide quite naturally into two groups. The first two, suffering and the cause of suffering belong to the realm of birth and death. Symbolically they can be represented as a circle, in the sense that they are circular. The causes of suffering lead to suffering, suffering produces the causes of suffering which again produce suffering. They are circular. They belong to samsara. The second two, the end of suffering and the path to the end of suffering can be symbolized in terms of a spiral. Movement is no longer circular. It is now directed upwards. If we keep this structure, the idea of cause and effect at the back of our mind when we look at the Four Noble Truths, I think we can find them easier to understand.

Similarly, if we remember the principle of cause and effect it will be of great value to us as we continue to study the Buddha’s teachings when we come to consider karma and rebirth or when we come to consider dependent origination. In short, throughout all the Buddha’s teachings we will see that the principle of cause and effect runs like a thread.

Let us now look at the first of the Four Noble Truths, the truth of suffering (Duhkha). Many non-Buddhists and even some Buddhists have felt disturbed by the choice of suffering as the first of the Four Noble Truths and many have said that this is an indication of pessimism. I often find non-Buddhists saying to me "Why is Buddhism so pessimistic? Why does it begin with and emphasize suffering?" There are a number of answers to this question. Some of you may be familiar with the distinction between pessimism, optimism and realism. Let us put it this way. If one is suffering from a disease and one refuses to recognize the fact that one is ill this is not being optimistic, this is merely being foolish. It is analogous to the ostrich burying its head in the sand. If there is a problem the only sensible thing to do is to recognize the problem and see what can be done to eliminate it. Secondly, if the Buddha had taught only the truth of suffering and had stopped at that, then there might be some truth in the charge that the teachings of the Buddha are pessimistic. But the teachings of the Buddha do not end with the truth of suffering because the Buddha taught not only the truth of suffering but also the truth of its cause and more importantly in this context the truth of its cessation.

All of us, I am quite sure, if we are honest with ourselves, will admit that there is a fundamental problem with life. Things are not as they should be. Something somewhere is not quite right. And no matter how much we may try to run away from it, at some time or other, perhaps in the middle of the night, or perhaps in the middle of a crowd, or perhaps in the moment during one’s work, we do come face to face with ourselves, the realization that things are not all as they should be, that something is wrong somewhere. This is what in fact impels people to seek solutions. They may seek solutions in more material things or they may seek solutions in various therapies.

In Buddhism, specifically the truth of suffering can be divided into two categories, broadly speaking, physical and mental. Here the physical sufferings are the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death. You can recall that last week we touched upon the Buddha’s encounter with sickness, old age and death in the form of the three sights — the sick man, old man and the corpse. Here we find a fourth suffering, the suffering of birth. Birth is suffering because of the physical pain suffered by the infant and because birth impels all the other sufferings. Birth in a sense is the gateway to the other sufferings of sickness, old age and death which follow inevitably upon birth. I think one need hardly spend much time on the suffering of sickness, old age and death. Most of us have experience of suffering from sickness and we have also observed the suffering of sickness in our friends and relatives. We have all observed the suffering of old age, the inability to work, to function and to think coherently. We have all observed the suffering of death, the pain, and the fear experienced by the dying. These sufferings are an inevitable part of life. No matter how happy and contented our lives may be, the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death are absolutely unavoidable.

In addition to these physical sufferings there are mental sufferings. There is the suffering of separation from our loved ones, separation either due to reasons of work or because those whom we love die or because those whom we love have to go away, or because we have to leave them. Then there is the suffering of contact with those whom we dislike or those who dislike us. It can take very mild forms such as a colleague at work who is antagonistic to us and we dread to go to work because we know that this person whom we dislike somehow always wants to find fault with us. It can take more radical forms such as persecution, torture and so forth. Finally there is the suffering of frustrated desire, when we cannot get what we want, when we cannot get that job, the position that we want, when we cannot win over this or that person. These physical and mental sufferings are woven into the fabric of our existence. But what about happiness is? Is there no happiness or enjoyment in life? Of course there is. But the pleasure or happiness which we experience in life is impermanent. We may enjoy a happy situation, we may enjoy the company of someone we love, we may enjoy youth and health and yet all these forms of happiness are impermanent. Sooner or later we will experience suffering.

If we really want to do something about suffering, to solve the problem of suffering, we must identify its cause. If the lights go out and we want to set it right we have to identify its cause. We have to find out whether it is a short circuit or whether a fuse has blown or whether perhaps the power supply has been cut off. Similarly, when we recognize the problem of suffering we have to look for the cause. It is by understanding the cause of suffering that we can do something to solve the problem. What is the cause of suffering according to the Buddha? The Buddha has taught that craving or desire (Sanda or Raga) is a great cause of suffering — craving for pleasant experiences, craving for material things, craving for eternal life and craving for eternal death. We all enjoy good food; we all enjoy fine music, pleasant company. We enjoy all these things and we want more and more of these things. We try to prolong these pleasant experiences. We try to get more and more of these pleasures. And yet somehow we are never completely satisfied. We may find that we are fond of a particular kind of food and yet if we eat it again and again we get bored with it. We try another kind of food. We like it, enjoy it and again we get bored with it. We go on to look for something else; we get tired of our favorite piece of music. We get tired of our friends. We look for more and more. Sometimes this chase after pleasant experiences leads one to extremely negative forms of behavior such as alcoholism and drug addiction. All of these are the cravings for satisfaction of our desires for pleasant experiences. It is said that trying to satisfy one’s desire for pleasant experiences is like drinking salt water when one is thirsty. If one drinks salt water to satisfy one’s thirst, one’s thirst, rather than being quenched, is only increased and so forth.

Hence, craving for existence or eternal life is a cause of suffering. We all crave for existence, we all crave for life. Despite all the suffering and frustration of life we all crave for life. And it is this craving which causes us to be born again and again. Then there is the desire for annihilation, the desire for non-existence, what we might call the desire for eternal death. This expresses itself in nihilism and in suicide. Craving for existence is one extreme. Craving for non-existence is another extreme.

You may ask, "Is craving alone a sufficient cause of suffering? Is craving alone enough to explain suffering? Is the answer as simple as that?" The answer is no. There is something that goes deeper than craving. There is something which in a sense is the foundation of craving. And that something is ignorance (Avijja).

Ignorance is not seeing things as they really are, or failing to understand the reality of experience or the reality of life. All those who are well educated may feel uneasy about being told that they are ignorant. I can recall what Professor B.P.U who visited somewhere a few months ago said regarding this. He said this is one of the most difficult things to explain to university students in B.P.U when they begin a course in Buddhist studies because they are all very happy and proud to be in the university. Specifically in Buddhism, we are speaking about ignorance regarding the self, taking the self as real. This is the fundamental cause of suffering. We take our body or ideas or feelings as a self, as a real independent ego just as we take the tree stump for a potential assailant. Once we have this idea of self we have an idea of something that is apart from or different from ourselves. Once we have this idea of something that is apart or different from ourselves, then it is either helpful or hostile. It is either pleasant or unpleasant to us. From this notion of self we have craving and ill-will. Once we believe in the real existence of ourselves, that "we" exist in reality, independently, apart from all others, apart from all the physical objects that surround us, we crave and desire and want those things which benefit us and we are averse towards those things which do not benefit us, which damage us or which are unhelpful to us. Because of this failure to see that in this body and mind there is no independent, permanent self, desire and ill-will inevitably thrive. Out of the root and the trunk of ignorance grow the branches of craving - desire, greed, ill-will, anger, hatred, envy, jealousy, pride and the whole lot. All these branches grow out of the root and trunk of ignorance and these branches bear the fruits of suffering. So here, ignorance is the underlying cause, and craving, ill-will, greed and anger are the secondary or subsequent causes.

After having identified the causes of suffering one is in a position to put an end to suffering. Just as when one might identify the cause of that pain in one’s lower abdomen on the left side as appendicitis, one would then be in a position to remove the cause of the pain. One can put an end to suffering by eliminating the cause of suffering, by eliminating craving, ill-will and ignorance. Here we come to the Third Noble Truth, the truth of the end of suffering.

In dealing with the truth of the end of suffering, the first obstacle that we have to overcome is the doubt that exists in some minds of whether an end of suffering is really possible. Whether one can really end suffering, or whether one can really be cured. It is in this context that confidence or faith plays an important role in Buddhism. Once we accept that the end of suffering is possible, that we can be cured of an illness, then we can proceed with the steps that are necessary in order to achieve that cure. But unless and until we believe that that cure is possible there is no question of successfully completing the treatment. In order therefore to realize progress on the path, to realize eventually the end of suffering one has to have at least confidence in the possibility of achieving the goal, in the possibility of attaining Nirvana.

In conclusion, these are Early Buddhism-study of fundamental teachings. We may find out the assignment of the topic as much as we would like to write down that there is some information about the Early Buddhism-study of fundamental teachings during the time of Buddha. However, we express our gratitude to professor of B.P.U for kindly preparing the topic. Finally, my thanks are due to professor for his kind help and advice in many ways, and to Early Buddhism-study of fundamental teachings bringing out this assignment.

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Emergence Of Buddhism Historical Background

Emergence of Buddhism historical Background
Discuss whether the Aryans led a mundane life

Introduction

Although studies of Buddhism usually begin with the life of the Buddha, the historical founder of the faith, I would like first to examine the situation that prevailed in India before the time of the Buddha, that is to say, the pre-Buddhist background of Buddhism. I personally believe such an examination to be particularly helpful because it enables us to understand the life and teaching of the Buddha in a broader historical and cultural context. This sort of retrospective examination can help us better understand the nature of Buddhism in particular, and perhaps, too, the nature of Indian philosophy and religion in general.

I would like to begin our examination of the origin and development of Indian philosophy and religion with a geographical analogy. In the north of the Indian subcontinent are two great rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna. These two great rivers have separate sources in the high Himalayas, and their courses remain quite separate for the better part of their great length. Gradually they draw nearer to each other and eventually unite in the plains of northern India, near the city now known as Allahabad. From their point of confluence they flow on together until they empty into the Bay of Bengal.

The geography of these two great rivers exemplifies the origin and development of Indian philosophy and religion because in Indian culture, as in Indian geography, there are two great currents of thought that were originally quite different and distinct in character. For many centuries the course of these two remained separate and distinct, but eventually they drew closer together, merged, and continued to flow on together, almost indistinguishable from each other, right up to the present day. Perhaps as we proceed with our examination of the pre-Buddhist culture of India, we can bear in mind the image of these rivers whose origins were separate, but which at a certain point merged and continued together to the sea.

When we look into the very early history of India, we find that, in the third millennium B.C.E., there was a very highly developed civilization on the subcontinent. This civilization was easily as old as those which are called the cradles of human culture, such as the civilizations of Egypt and Babylon. It flourished from about 2800 to 1800 B.C.E. and was known as the Indus Valley, or the Harappan, civilization. It extended from what is now western Pakistan south to a point near present-day Bombay and east to a point near Shimla, in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Next, let us look at the religion of the early Aryan people, which contrasted sharply with that of the Indus Valley civilization. Indeed, it would be difficult to find two religious cultures more radically different. Constructing a complete picture of the religious attitudes and practices of the early Aryans is much simpler than doing so for the Indus Valley people. When the Aryans arrived in India, they brought with them a religion that was completely secular in nature. As I have said, they were an expansionist society--a pioneer society, if you like. Their origins lay in Eastern Europe, and their religion in many ways resembled that of the ancient Greeks. If you look at descriptions of the gods who composed the Greek pantheon, you will not fail to notice striking parallels between the two. The Aryans revered a number of gods who were personifications of natural phenomena, including Indra (not unlike Zeus), the god of thunder and lightning; Agni, the god of fire, and Varuna, the god of water--to name just a few.

In brief, while the religion of the Indus Valley civilization stressed renunciation, meditation, rebirth, karma, and the final goal of liberation, the Aryan religion stressed this life, ritual sacrifice, loyalty, wealth, progeny, power, and heaven. Thus it is clear that the sets of religious attitudes, practices, and values professed by these two ancient civilizations of India were almost diametrically opposed to each other. And yet, over the course of centuries of cohabitation, these two religious traditions did manage to merge and become, in many instances, practically indistinguishable. Therefore, I would like to find out the introduction of emergence of Buddhism historical Background and discuss whether the Aryans led a mundane life.

I m grateful to professor for his kindness in preparing emergence of Buddhism historical Background and discuss whether the Aryans led a mundane life and thank the civilization of Commission professor for giving to use emergence of Buddhism historical Background and discuss whether the Aryans led a mundane life prepared by my writing. I express my gratitude to professor for kindly preparing the assignment. Finally, my thanks are due to professor of B.P.U for his kind help and advice in many ways and to emergence of Buddhism historical Background and discuss whether the Aryans led a mundane life for bringing out the assignment.

Emergence of Buddhism historical Background

Discuss whether the Aryans led a mundane life

With only a small amount of research, a person can discover that each area of the world has its own ancient culture that includes its own gods and legends about the origins of various cosmological realities, and that many of these are very similar. But where did all these stories and gods come from? Did they all spread around the world from one particular source, only to change according to differences in language and customs? If not, then why are some of these gods and goddesses of various areas of the world so alike?

Unfortunately, information about prehistoric religion is usually gathered through whatever remnants of earlier cultures we can find, such as bones in tombs and caves, or ancient sculptures, writings, engravings, wall paintings, and other relics. From these we are left to speculate about the rituals, ceremonies, and beliefs of the people and the purposes of the items found. Often we can only paint a crude picture of how simple and backwards these ancient people were while not thinking that more advanced civilizations may have left us next to nothing in terms of physical remains. They may have built houses out of wood or materials other than stone that have since faded with the seasons, or were simply replaced with other buildings over the years, rather than buried by the sands of time for archeologists to unearth. They also may have cremated their dead, as some societies did, leaving no bones to discover. Thus, without ancient museums or historical records from the past, there would be no way of really knowing what the prehistoric cultures were like.

If a few thousand years in the future people could uncover our own houses after being buried for so long and find television antennas on top of each house wired to a television inside, who knows what they would think. Without a recorded history of our times they might speculate that the antennas, being pointed toward the heavens, were used for us to commune with our gods who would appear, by mystic power, on the screen of the television box inside our homes. They might also think that we were very much devoted to our gods since some houses might have two, three, or more televisions, making it possible for us to never be without contact with our gods through the day. And since the television was usually found in a prominent area, with special couches and reclining chairs, this must surely be the prayer room where we would get the proper inspiration for living life. Or they might even think that the television was itself the god, the idol of our times. This, of course, would not be a very accurate picture, but it reflects the difficulty we have in understanding ancient religion by means of analyzing the remnants we find. However, when we begin comparing all the religions of the world, we can see how they are all interrelated and have a source from which most of them seem to have originated. And most of them can be traced to the East.

Most scholars agree that the earliest of religions seems to have arisen from the most ancient of organized cultures, which are either the Sumerians along the Euphrates, or the Aryans located in the region of the Indus Valley. In fact, these two cultures were related. C. L. Woolley, one of the world’s foremost archeologists, establishes in his book, The Sumerians, that the facial characteristics of the Sumerian people can be traced to Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and on to the Indus region. The early Indus civilization, which was remarkably developed, has many similarities with Sumer over 1500 miles away, especially in regard to the rectangular seals that have identical subjects on them, and are similar in the style of engraving and inscriptions. There are also similarities in the methods used in the ground plans and construction of buildings. Woolley suggests that, rather than concluding too quickly that the Sumerians and Indus civilization shared the same race or political culture, which may actually have been the case, or that such similarities were merely from trade connections, the evidence at least indicates that the two societies shared a common source.

The researcher and scholar L. A. Waddell offers more evidence to show the relation between the Aryans and the Sumerians. He states in his book, The Indo Sumerian Seals Deciphered that the discovery and translation of the Sumerian seals along the Indus Valley give evidence that the Aryan society existed there from as long ago as 3100 B.C. Several Sumerian seals found along the Indus bore the names of famous Vedic Aryan seers and princes familiar in the Vedic hymns. Therefore, these Aryan personalities were not merely part of an elaborate myth, like some people seem to proclaim, but actually lived five thousand years ago as related in the Vedic epics and Puranas.

Waddell also says that the language and religion of the Indo-Aryans were radically similar to that of the Sumerians and Phoenicians, and that the early Aryan kings of the Indian Vedas are identical with well-known historical kings of the Sumerians. He believes that the decipherment of these seals from the Indus Valley confirms that the Sumerians were actually the early Aryans and authors of Indian civilization. He concludes that the Sumerians were Aryans in physique, culture, religion, language, and writing. He also feels that the early Sumerians on the Persian Gulf near 3100 B.C. were Phoenicians who were Aryans in race and speech, and were the introducers of Aryan civilization in ancient India. Thus, he concludes that it was the Aryans who were the bearers of high civilization and who spread throughout the Mediterranean, Northwest Europe, and Britain, as well as India. However, he states that the early Aryan Sumero-Phoenicians did not become a part of the Aryan Invasion of India until the seventh century B.C. after their defeat by the Assyrian Sargon II in 718 B.C. at Carchemish in Upper Mesopotamia. Though the Sumerians indeed may have been Aryan people, some researchers feel that rather than being the originators of Vedic Aryan culture, or part of an invasion into India, they were an extension of the Vedic culture that originated in India and spread through Persia and into Europe.

THEORIES ON THE ARYAN ORIGINS

This brings us to the different theories that scholars have about the origins of the Aryan society. Though it seems evident that an Aryan society was in existence in the Indus Valley by 3100 B.C., not everyone agrees with the dates that Waddell has presented for the Aryan Invasion into India, and whether the Aryans were actually invaders is doubtful. Obviously, different views on the Aryanization of India are held by different historians. Some scholars say that it was about 1000 B.C. when Aryans entered Iran from the north and then occupied the Indus region by 800 B.C. In this scenario, the Aryans had to have entered India sometime after this. But others say that it was between 1500 and 1200 B.C. that the Aryans entered India and composed hymns that make up the Rig-Veda. So some people calculate that the Rig-Veda must have been composed around 1400 B.C.

Mr. Pargiter, another noted scholar, contends that Aryan influence in India was felt long before the composition of the Vedic hymns. He states that the Aryans entered India near 2000 B.C. over the Central Himalayas and later spread into the Punjab. Brunnhofer and others argue that the composition of the Rig-Veda took place not in the Punjab, but in Afghanistan or Iran. This theory assumes that Aryan entrance into India was much later.

Even Max Muller, the great orientalist and translator of Eastern texts, was also a great proponent of speculating on the dates of the compilations of the Vedas. He admitted that his ideas on the dates of the Vedas could not be dependable. He had originally estimated that the Rig-Veda had been written around 1000 B.C. However, he was greatly criticized for that date, and he later wrote in his book, Physical Religion (p.91, 1891), “Whether the Vedic hymns were composed 1000, 1500 or 2000 BCE, no power on earth will ever determine.”

So, as we can see from the above examples, which are just a few of the many ideas on the Aryan origins, analyzing these theories can get rather confusing. In fact, so many theories on the location of the original Aryans or Indo-Europeans have been presented by archeologists and researchers that for a time they felt the location could change from minute to minute, depending on the latest evidence that was presented. In many cases over the years, archeologists presumed they had located the home of the Sumerians or Aryans any time they found certain types of metal tools or painted pottery that resembled what had been found at the Sumerian or Indus Valley sites. Though such findings may have been of some significance, further study proved that they were of considerably less importance than had been originally thought, and, thus, the quest for locating the original Aryan home could not be concluded.

MORE EVIDENCE FOR THE ORIGINAL HOME

OF THE VEDIC ARYANS

The Brahmin priests and Indian scholars believe that the Sarasvati and Ganges valley region are the origin of Indian civilization and the Aryan society. This can be given some credence when we look at the cities in this region. For example, North of Delhi is the town of Kuruksetra where the great battle of the Mahabharata took place when Sri Krishna was still on the planet over 5,000 years ago. There is also the old city of Hastinapura that was once situated along the Ganges until the river changed its course and swept the city away in 800 B.C. This is the old capital of the Kuru dynasty in the Mahabharata. Pottery remains have been found near this location that are traced back to at least 1200 B.C. In New Delhi we find the Purana Qila site, which is known to have been part of the ancient city of Indraprastha. An interesting quote can be found in the ancient Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.72.13) which can give us some idea of how prominent Indraprastha had been. It states that during the time when Sri Krishna was on this planet 5,000 years ago, King Yudhisthira sent his brothers, the Pandavas, to conquer the world in all directions. This was for bringing all countries to participate in the great Rajasuya ceremony that was being held in ancient Indraprastha. All countries were to pay a tax to help the performance of the ceremony, and to send representatives to participate. If they did not wish to cooperate, then they would have to engage in battle with the Pandavas. Thus, the whole world came under the jurisdiction of the Vedic Aryan administration.

South of New Delhi are the holy towns of Vrindavan and Mathura along the Yamuna River. Both of these towns are known for being places of Krishna’s pastimes and Vedic legends that go back thousands of years, which are also described in the Vedic literature. Farther south, located on the Yamuna, is the ancient city of Kaushambi. This city still has the remains of massive defense structures from the tenth century B.C. that are very similar to buildings in Harrappa and the Indus region that use baked brick for construction. The Yajur-veda (Vajasaneyi Samhita 23.18) also mentions the town of Kampila, which is located about halfway between Hastinapur and Kaushambi. The next city is Allahabad (Prayag) where we find the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganges. This location abounds with importance and Vedic legends that are so remote in antiquity that no one can say when they originated. Then there is Varanasi along the Ganges that is another city filled with ancient Vedic legends of importance. A short distance north of Varanasi is Sarnath, where Buddha gave his first sermon after being enlightened. A four-hour train ride north of Varanasi is the town of Ayodhya, where Lord Ramachandra had His capital, as fully described in the ancient Ramayana. And, of course, there are the Himalayan mountains that have many Vedic stories connected with them. Furthermore, there are numerous other places that could be mentioned that are connected with the Vedic legends throughout the area. (Most of these have already been described in the Seeing Spiritual India sections in my previous books.)

Though some archeologists claim they have discovered no evidence for the ancient existence of the Vedic Aryan culture in this Gangetic region, even a casual tour through this area, as mentioned above, makes it obvious that these towns and holy sites did not gain importance overnight, nor simply by an immigration of people who are said to have brought the Vedas with them. These places could not have become incorporated into the Vedic legends so quickly if the Vedic culture came from another location. Therefore, the argument that the early Vedic literature was brought from another region or describes a geographical location other than India cannot so easily be accepted. The fact is that the whole of India and up through the Indus region was the original home of the Vedic Aryan culture from which it spread its influence over much of the rest of the world.

THE VEDIC EXPLANATION OF THE ORIGINAL ARYANS

AND HOW THEIR INFLUENCE SPREAD

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

How the Aryan name was given to those who are said to have invaded the Indus region is regarded as uncertain, and, as I have shown, whether there really was any invasion is no longer a legitimate consideration. Nonetheless, the term aryan has been applied to those people who occupied the plains between the Caspian and Black Seas. The hypothesis is that they began to migrate around the beginning of the second millennium B.C. Some went north and northwest, some went westward settling in parts of the Middle East, while others traveled to India through the Indus Valley. Those that are said to have come into India were the “invading Aryans.”

The Vedic literature establishes a different scenario. They present evidence that ancient, pre-historical India covered a much broader area, and that the real Aryans were not invaders from the north into the Indus region, but were the original residents who were descendants of Vedic society that had spread over the world from the area of India. Let us remember that the term aryan has been confused with meaning light or light complexion. However, Aryan refers to Arya, or a clear consciousness toward God, not white or white people. In the Vedic sutras, the word aryan is used to refer to those who are spiritually oriented and of noble character. The Sanskrit word aryan is linguistically related to the word harijana (pronounced hariyana), meaning one related to God, Hari. Therefore, the real meaning of the name aryan refers to those people related to the spiritual Vedic culture. It has little to do with those immigrants that some researchers have speculated to be the so-called “invading Aryans.” Aryan refers to those who practice the Vedic teachings and does not mean a particular race of people. Therefore, anyone can be an Aryan by following the clear, light, Vedic philosophy, while those who do not follow it are non-Aryan. Thus, the name Aryan, as is generally accepted today, has been misapplied to a group of people who are said to have migrated from the north into India.

Some call these people Sumerians, but L. A. Waddell, even though he uses the name, explains that the name Sumerian does not exist as an ethnic title and was fabricated by the modern Assyriologists and used to label the Aryan people. And Dr. Hall, in his book Ancient History of the Near East, says that there is an anthropological resemblance between the Dravidians of India and the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, which suggests that the group of people called the Sumerians, actually were of Indian descendants. With this information in mind, it is clear that the real Aryans were the Vedic followers who were already to existing throughout India and to the north beyond the Indus region.

To help understand how the Aryan influence spread through the world, L. A. Waddell explains that the Aryans established the pre-historic trade routes over land and sea from at least the beginning of the third millennium B.C., if not much earlier. Wherever the Aryans went, whether in Egypt, France, England, or elsewhere, they imposed their authority and culture, much to the betterment of the previous culture of the area. They brought together scattered tribes and clans into national unity that became increasingly bright in their systems of social organization, trade, and art. In seeking new sources of metal, such as tin, copper, gold, and lead, the Aryans established ports and colonies among the local tribes that later developed into separate nations which took many of their traditions and cultural traits from the ruling Aryans. Of course, as trade with the Aryans diminished, especially after the Mahabharata War in India, variations in the legends and cultures became prominent. This accounts for the many similarities between the different ancient civilizations of the world, as well as those resemblances that still exist today.

Another consideration is that since the Aryans were centralized in the Gangetic plains and the Himalayan mountains, from there they could have spread east along the Brahmaputra River and over the plain of Tibet. The Chinese, in the form of the Cina tribe, also are likely to have originated here since they have the legend of the sacred mountain in the west with four rivers. The ancient Puranas explain that Manu and his sons ruled over the area, over as many lands north of Mount Meru and Kailas as south. Other Aryans could have easily gone down the Sarasvati and Sarayu into north India. Others went from the Indus into Kashmir and Afghanistan, and into Central Asia. Others went into the areas of Gujarat and Sind, and over through Persia and the Gulf region. This is how the Sumerian civilization was founded, along with Babylonia. From there they went farther into Turkey and Europe.

After spreading throughout South India, they continued down the Ganges by sea east into Malaysia and Indonesia, founding the ancient Vedic cultures there. By sea they continued to China, meeting the Aryans that were probably already there. From China and the orient, they sailed over the Pacific Ocean and finally reached and colonized the Americas. Plenty of evidence of this is presented in the following chapters.

We can see some of the affect of this spread out of India in regard to the term aryan. The name Harijana or Aryan evolved into Syriana or Syrians in Syria, and Hurrians in Hurri, and Arianna or Iranians in Iran. This shows that they were once part of Vedic society. A similar case is the name Parthians in Partha, another old country in Persia. Partha was the name of Krishna’s friend Arjuna, a Vedic Aryan, and means the son of King Prithu. So the name Parthian indicates those who are the descendants of King Prithu. Parthians also had a good relationship with the early Jews since the Jews used to buy grains from the Parthians. The Greeks referred to the Jews as Judeos, or Jah deos or Yadavas, meaning people of Ya or descendants of Yadu, one of the sons of Yayati. It is also regarded that the basis of the Kabbalah, the book of Jewish mystical concepts, as described in The Holy Kabbalah by Arthur Edward Waite, is linked with Kapila Muni, the Indian sage and incarnation of Krishna who established the analytical sankhya-yoga philosophy. Therefore, a connection between the early Jews and ancient Vedic culture is evident.

Another aspect of the connection between these various regions and the Vedic culture is explained in the Vedic literature. In the Rig-veda (10.63.1) Manu is the foremost of kings and seers. Manu and his family were survivors of the world flood, as mentioned in the Shatapatha Brahmana (1.8.1). Thus, a new beginning for the human race came from him, and all of humanity are descendants from Manu. The Atharva-veda (19.39.8) mentions where his ship descended in the Himalayas. One temple that signifies the location of where the ship of Manu first touched land after the flood is in Northern India in the hills of Manali. His important descendants are the Pauravas, Ayu, Nahusha, and Yayati. From Yayati came the five Vedic clans; the Purus, Anus, Druhyus, Turvashas, and Yadus. The Turvashas are related to India’s southeast, Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, and are the ancestors of the Dravidians and the Yavanas. Yadu is related to the south or southwest, Gujarat and Rajasthan, from Mathura to Dwaraka and Somnath. The Anus are related to the north, to Punjab, as well as Bengal and Bihar. The Druhyus are related to the west and northwest, such as Gandhara and Afghanistan. Puru is connected with the central Yamuna/Ganges region. All but Puru were known for having intermittently fallen from the Vedic dharma, and various wars in the Puranas were with these groups.

As explained by Shrikant Talageri in his book, The Aryan Invasion Theory: A Reappraisal (pp. 304-5, 315, 367-368), from these descendants, the Purus were the Rigvedic people and developed Vedic culture in north central India and the Punjab along the Sarasvati (Rig-veda 7.96.2). The Anus of southern Kashmir along the Parushni or modern Ravi River (Rig-veda 7.18.13) spread over western Asia and developed the various Iranian cultures. The Druhyus northwest of the area of the Punjab and Kashmir spread into Europe and became the western Indo-Europeans, or the Druids and ancient Celts. A first group went northwest and developed the proto-Germanic dialect, and another group traveled farther south and developed the proto-Hellenic and Itallic-Celtic dialects. Other tribes included the Pramshus in western Bihar, and Ikshvakus of northern Uttar Pradesh.

Incidentally, according to legend, thousands of years ago Kashmir was a large lake surrounded by beautiful mountain peaks. It was here where the goddess Parvati stayed in her boat. One day she went to see Lord Shiva in the mountains. Then a great demon took possession of the lake. Kashyapa Muni, who was present at the time, called for the goddess to return. Together they chased the demon away and created an immense valley. It was called Kashyapa-Mira, and later shortened to Kashmir. This again shows the Vedic connection of this region.

Other tribes mentioned in the Vedic texts include the Kiratas, who are the mountain people of Tibet and Nepal, often considered impure for not practicing the Vedic dharma. The Vishnu Purana (4.3.18-21) also mentions the Shakas who are the Scythians of ancient Central Asia, the Pahlavas who are the Persians, and the Cinas who are the Chinese. They are all considered as fallen nobility or Kshatriyas who had been driven out of India during the reign of King Sagara.

To explain further, Yadu was the eldest of the five sons of Yayati. Yayati was a great emperor of the world and one of the original forefathers of those of Aryan and Indo-European heritage. Yayati divided his kingdom amongst his sons, who then started their own dynasties. Yayati had two wives, Devayani and Sharmistha. Yayati had two sons from Devayani: Yadu and Turvasu. Yadu was the originator of the Yadu dynasty called the Yadavas, later known as the Lunar Dynasty. From Turvasu came the Yavana or Turk dynasty. From Sharmistha, Yayati had three sons: Druhya, who started the Bhoja dynasty; Anu, who began the Mleccha or Greek dynasty; and Puru who started the Paurava dynasty, which is said to have settled along the Ravi River and later along the Sarasvati. Some say that this clan later went on to Egypt who became the Pharaohs and rulers of the area. These Aryan tribes, originating in India by King Yayati and mentioned in the Rig-veda and Vishnu and Bhagavat Puranas, spread all over the world.

The Yadava kingdom later became divided among the four sons of Bhima Satvata. From Vrishni, the youngest, descended Vasudeva, the father of Krishna and Balarama and their sister Pritha or Kunti. Kunti married the Yadava prince Pandu, whose descendants became the Pandavas. Kunti became the mother of Yudhisthira, Bhima, and Arjuna (Partha), the three elder Pandavas. The younger Pandavas were Nakula and Sahadeva, born from Pandu’s second wife Madri. After moving to the west coast of India, they lived at Dwaraka under the protection of Lord Krishna. Near the time of Krishna’s disappearance from earth, a fratricidal war broke out and most of the Pandavas were killed, who had grown to become a huge clan. Those that survived may have gone on to the Indus Valley where they joined or started another part of the advanced Vedic society. Others may have continued farther west into Egypt and some on to Europe, as previously explained.

This is further substantiated in the Mahabharata which mentions several provinces of southern Europe and Persia that were once connected with the Vedic culture. The Adi-parva (174.38) of the Mahabharata describes the province of Pulinda (Greece) as having been conquered by Bhimasena and Sahadeva, two of the Pandava brothers. Thus, the ancient Greeks were once a part of Bharata-varsa (India) and the Vedic civilization. But later the people gave up their affiliation with Vedic society and were, therefore, classified as Mlecchas. However, in the Vana-parva section of the Mahabharata it is predicted that this non-Vedic society would one day rule much of the world, including India. Alexander the Great conquered India for the Pulinda or Greek civilization in 326 B.C., fulfilling the prophecy.

The Sabha-parva and Bhisma-parva sections of the Mahabharata mention the province of Abhira, situated near what once was the Sarasvati River in ancient Sind. The Abhiras are said to have been warriors who had left India out of fear of Lord Parashurama and hid themselves in the Caucasion hills between the Black and Caspian Seas. Later, for a period of time, they were ruled by Maharaja Yudhisthira. However, the sage Markandaya predicted that these Abhiras, after they gave up their link with Vedic society, would one day rule India.

Another province mentioned in Mahabharata (Adi-parva 85.34) is that of the Yavanas (Turks) who were so named for being descendants of Maharaja Yavana (Turvasu), one of the sons of Maharaja Yayati, as previously explained. They also gave up Vedic culture and became Mlecchas. They fought in the battle of Kuruksetra against the Pandavas on behalf of Duryodhana and lost. However, it was predicted that they would one day return to conquer Bharata-varsa (India) and, indeed, this came to pass. Muhammad Ghori later attacked and conquered parts of India on behalf of Islam from the Abhira and Yavana or Turkish countries. Thus, we can see that these provinces in the area of Greece and Turkey (and the countries in between there and India) were once part of the Vedic civilization and had at one time not only political and cultural ties, but also ancestral connections. This is the Vedic version, of the origin of Aryan civilization and how its influence spread in various degrees throughout the world.

CONCLUSION

This chapter provides evidence of the real origination of the Vedic Aryans. It also makes it clear that it is to the East, specifically the area of India, where the origins of advanced civilization and the essence of religion and spiritual philosophy can be traced. From there, the Aryan influence had spread to many other regions and can still be recognized in numerous cultures. Only a few open-minded people who look at the whole picture of this kind of religious development will understand the inherent unity the world and its history contains. Such unity is disturbed only by mankind’s immature, dogmatic, and self-centered feelings for regional and cultural superiority. We have seen this in the propaganda that was effectively used by the Nazis and is presently used by neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups who now employ the modern myth that the original location of the Aryan race was in northern Europe. Thus, they imply that members of this race are superior over all other races in physique, language, mental capabilities, and culture. This myth must be seen for what it is because there is not doubt that the real Aryan people originated and spread from the region of India and the Indus Valley, not Europe.

As N. S. Rajaram so nicely explains in Vedic Aryans and The Origins of Civilization (pp. 247-8), “To conclude: on the basis of archeology, satellite photography, metallurgy and ancient mathematics, it is now clear that there existed a great civilization--a mainly spiritual civilization perhaps--before the rise of Egypt, Sumeria and the Indus Valley. The heartland of this ancient world was the region from the Indus to the Ganga--the land of the Vedic Aryans.

“This conclusion, stemming from scientific findings of the past three decades, demolishes the theory that nomadic Aryans from Central Asia swooped down on the plains of India in the second millennium BCE and established their civilization and composed the Rig-veda. The picture presented by science therefore is far removed from the one found in history books that place the ‘Cradle of Civilization’ in the river valleys of Mesopotamia. Modern science and ancient records provide us also a clue to a long standing historical puzzle: why since time immemorial, people from India and Sri Lanka, to England and Ireland have spoken languages clearly related to one another, and possess mythologies and beliefs that are so strikingly similar.

May I also say that this corroborates the history as we find it in the Vedic literature, especially the Rig-veda and the Puranas. It therefore helps prove the authenticity of the Vedic culture and our premise that it was the original ancient civilization, a spiritual society, using the knowledge as had been given by God since the time of creation, and established further by the sages that followed. According to a recent racial study (The History and Geography of Human Genes), it has been confirmed that all people of Europe, the Middle East, and India belong to a single Caucasian type race. This means that they had to have come from the same source. Thus, we are all descendants of this great Vedic culture, the center of which is India. As more evidence comes forth, it will only prove how the testimony of the Rig-veda and the Puranas is confirmed, and will point to the area of northern India as the original homeland of the Vedic Aryans.

The point of all this is that even if Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, etc., all keep their own ideology, legends, and traditions, we should realize that all of these legends and conceptions of God and forms of worship ultimately refer to the same Supreme God and lesser demigods, although they may be called by different names according to present day variations in region and culture. In other words, all these doctrines and faiths are simply outgrowths of the original religion and worship of the one Supreme Deity that spread throughout the world many thousands of years ago from the same basic source and which is now expressed through the many various cultural differences in the world. Therefore, no matter what religion we may consider ourselves, we are all a part of the same family. We are merely another branch of the same tree which can be traced to the original pre-historic roots of spiritual thought that are found in the Vedic culture, the oldest and most developed philosophical and spiritual tradition in the world.

In the following chapters this will become more apparent as we begin to take a closer look at each individual culture and religion, and various locations throughout the world, and recognize the numerous connections and similarities they have with the Vedic traditions and knowledge.

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