Sanatan links : connect to root

Nourishing the Balance of the Universe

2012-01-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

Dr. Yashwant Pathak , International Coordinator, ICCS, USA (http://iccsus.org/) talks on comparative study of various ancient traditions & cultures in remote areas of north-eastern parts of India, American Indian, South American traditions as Inca,Mayan and the African continent.

Dr. Pathak is presently the Associate Dean in College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida (http://is.gd/oo7HYd).

The finding are surprising, all the ancient traditions have numerous similarity with Sanatan Dharma.

Please watch this interesting talk at below video.

ICCS's Research Activities
1. Preparing exhaustive bibliography of different cultures.
2. Translating important texts of different cultures.
3. Comparative studies of different cultures regarding their Philosophy, Religion, Society, Literature, History, Music and Fine Arts.
4. Arranging guest lectures, seminars, informal discussions, etc.
5. Publication of research journals.

Ganesh worshiping in South-East Asia

2011-11-27T07:07:00.000-08:00

One more link about cultural and Sanatan Dhama's influence in pan-Asia. One can find heritage of Sanatan Dharma in Asian countries very easily.
This french author(s) given more focus on Ganesh worshiping and found it is very much prevailing in Asia. You can read his article Ganesh in South-East Asia.
Author(s) summed up as "Ganesh worship has been disseminated in nearly all the Far-East Asia countries. More or less numerous representations of this god are known in the following countries :Afghanistan, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, etc."

I had posted a blog earlier about Sanatan Dharamic influence in the same region which was called Suvarnabhumi in past, you can read Sanatan Dharma's influence throughout Asia and
Sanatan legacy in S- E Asia!.

Weapons in Ancient India (Bharat)

2011-10-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Unlike fire-based weapons of current era, in ancient India or Bharat (भारत), weapons were of many kinds. Weapons were called Astra ( अस्त्र ) in Samskrtam. As you may have seen in Ramayana (रामायण) and Mahabharata (महा भारत ), there were various types of astras made of fire (Agni), rain (Varuna) and wind (Vayu). In addition, there were astras made out of venom (Naga), intense light (Surya), lightening (Vajra) and mountains (Parvata). Typically, each of these astras was named after a Deity. As an example, fire based astras had Agni or god of fire as the Deity.

In addition to these Deity-based astras, trimurtis (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) had their own more powerful astras.

Lord Vishnu’s astra was Narayanaastra. It fires a powerful tirade of millions of deadly missiles simultaneously. The intensity of the shower increases with increase in resistance. The only way of defense towards this missile, was to show total submission before the missiles hit. This in turn will cause this astra to stop and spare the target. Ashwathama, a Kuru warrior in Mahabharata unleashes this astra on the Pandava forces. Lord Krishna, who was an avatar of Vishnu, tells Pandavas and their warriors to drop their astras and lie down on the ground, so that they all surrender completely to the power of the astra. This secret of nullifying the power of this astra by this method was known only to three warriors namely Drona, Aswathama, and Krishna. Even Arjuna was not aware of this secret. It was also said that this astra can be used only once in a war and if one tries to use it twice, then it would devour the user's own army.

Lord Shiva’s astra was Pashupatastra. It was discharged by the mind, the eyes, words, or a bow. Never to be used against lesser enemies or by lesser warriors, the Pashupatastra was capable of destroying creation and vanquishing all beings. On a side note, PashupatiNath is the most important of all Shiva temples located in Kathmandu, Nepal. This Pashupatastra was used in the Mahabharata war by Arjuna to kill Jayadratha, and by Meghanada on Lakshmana in Ramayana. It returned without causing any harm since it can be used only to uphold Dharma.

The deadliest of all astras was Lord Brahma’s Brahmastra, capable of killing even Devas. It was used by Ashwatthama on Parikshit. It was considered the deadliest astra (similar to the hydrogen bomb). When the Brahmastra was discharged, there was neither a counter attack nor a defense that could stop it. The Brahmastra never missed its mark and had to be used with very specific intent against an individual enemy or army, as the target faced complete annihilation. It could only be used once in a lifetime. The user would have to display immense amounts of mental concentration. According to ancient Sanskrit writings, the Brahmastra was invoked by a key phrase or invocation that was bestowed upon the user when given this astra. The astra was also believed to cause severe environmental damage. The land where the astra was used became barren and all life in and around that area ceased to exist, as both women and men became infertile.

In the Ramayana, passages describe how the Brahmastra was used by Lord Rama as the final blow against Ravana, during their battle in Lanka. Srimad Bhagavatam describes the effect of Brahmastra in the following sloka.

It means, "When the rays of the two Brahmastras combined, a great circle of fire, like the disc of the sun, covered all outer space and the whole firmament of planets."

In a discourse, Swami Prabhupada explained "The heat created by the flash of a Brahmastra resembled the fire exhibited in the sun globe at the time of cosmic annihilation. The radiation of atomic energy is very insignificant in comparison to the heat produced by a Brahmastra. The atomic bomb explosion can at utmost blow up one globe, but the heat produced by the Brahmastra can destroy the whole cosmic situation. The comparison is therefore made to the heat at the time of annihilation."

In summary, contrary to popular belief that Hinduism is a soft religion that promotes nothing but ahimsa, we find numerous and potent astras in our Puranas that were needed to protect Dharma. That is why we say Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah, or Dharma protects those who protect Dharma.

Deciphering Indus Script- Professor Rajesh Rao's journey

2011-10-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

Professor Rajesh Rao have done extensive research to decipher Indus Script.
His research paper was published in IEEE with subject
"Probabilistic methods for analyzing sequences are providing new insights into the 4,000-year-old undeciphered script of the Indus civilization".

He also rebutted claims of Steve Farmer, Richard Sproat, and Michael Witzel that "the Indus valley civilization was illiterate and that Indus writing was a collection of political or religious symbols".

His paper to debunk above thesis from Witzel can be read here.

Following is his excellent talk on the research at TED.

Sanatan Dharma's increasing influence in the USA

2011-09-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

Philip Goldberg author of book American Veda talks about : How Vedic culture got introduced to west , and its positive outcome.

Listen to this presentation for historical account of Sanatan Dharma prasar in USA and west.

Philip Goldberg is a spiritual counselor, public speaker, and author or coauthor of numerous books. His latest publication is American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West.

Here is LA Times review on his book American Veda.

Sanaran Dharma and Bharat hater Angana P. Chatterji

2011-07-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

Excerpts from the book Braking India by Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan. They reveal lies of leftist historian/professors in chapter 14 of the book.

Angana P. Chatterji

Angana Chatterji is associate professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), an institution that was established specifically to bring the spiritual teachings of Sri Aurobindo to the West. Ironically, she has used this position to do exactly the opposite, namely, to try to demolish the legitimacy of Indian spirituality and the Indian nation. She cites her interests as ‘identity politics, nationalisms, self-determination.’[i] Prior to joining CIIS, she worked in policy and advocacy research at the Indian Social Institute, which is run by Jesuits in Delhi, for the explicit purpose of propagating ‘Christian inspiration and following the social teaching of the Catholic Church.’^{^[ii]}

Chatterji provided ‘critical assistance’ to a highly libelous and unsubstantiated report that damned a US-based Indian charity organization, India Development Relief Fund (IDRF), alleging that they were funding hatred and atrocities against Indian minorities.[iii] The driving force behind this was that IDRF’s schools in Indian rural and tribal areas were providing a successful alternative to Christian missionary schools involved in conversion, and Chatterji was brought in to defame the non-Christian competition that IDRF provided.

While she finds US intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan to be a violation of those countries’ rights and calls George Bush ‘a man who himself should be charged with crimes against humanity,’[iv] she still wants US intervention in India’s affairs, for example through the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Chatterji provided testimony before the United States Congressional Task Force on International Religious Freedom on violence in Orissa,[v] chaired by Congressmen Trent Franks and Joseph R. Pitts, both with strong right-wing evangelical connections.[vi]

She also sent an unsolicited testimony on Orissa violence to the government of India, in which all her data came directly from the report by the All India Christian Council, which was discussed earlier. Her input was so one-sided that she completely ignored some well-established facts about the aggressive evangelism involved [vii] and the nexus between Christian evangelists and Maoists in the state.[viii] The violence was precipitated by the murder of a Hindu sage, who she dismisses as ‘a male Hindu proselytizer.’ She describes the social services done by Hindu organizations, as ‘conscription into Hindu activism,’ even as she praises the same kind of social work in ‘health care, education and employment offered by Christian missionaries.’[ix]

Chatterji is also a standard and predictable face at major events supporting Kashmir separatists, having declared herself to be working on ‘self-determination in Indian-administered Kashmir.’[x] At one such conference on Kashmir, organized by the Pakistani Students Association at George Washington University, the Embassy of Pakistan, and Pakistan’s Minister of Kashmir Affairs, she spoke of the ‘growing concern among civil society groups about human rights crises in Indian-occupied Kashmir in the areas of social, political, cultural, religious, and economic rights.’ She accused India of ‘continued occupation of (certain areas of) Kashmir.’[xi] Muhammed Sadiq, who maintains a Kashmiri news and analysis portal, explains how Angana Chatterjee uses human rights concerns in a lopsided way to play in the hands of Islamic terrorists:

[Angana Chatterji] announced the formation of the ‘International Peoples’ Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian Administered Kashmir’ on April 5 in Srinagar. Interestingly, this organisation too insists that the focus of HR investigations should be on the Indian side of Kashmir and not in PoK too. Moreover, this is a fault finding mission. Its only aim is to slam the Indian security forces, further highlight HR issues and vitiate the situation. There is no attempt at reconciliation, offering succour to HR victims or working with the government to ensure that HR violations do not take place. Dr Chatterji like many before her, are intent on primarily demonising the Indian security forces and thereby fanning hatred.[xii]

By depicting India as an undemocratic state filled with horrors of Hindu savagery, such left-wing academics have blurred the distinctions between Islamic terrorism and what they portray as equally bad violations by Indians against Muslims, Christians and Dalits. This seems to justify terrorist attacks on India as well-deserved. In the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, this view was reflected by Julian Duin, the religion editor of Washington Times:

The terrorist assault—this time by Muslims—on Mumbai later in the year highlighted the powderkeg India has become and how often in this Hindu-majority country, the oppressed don't get a lot of justice. The perpetrators in Orissa have gone unpunished.[xiii]

Another public event at the New York Public Library also featured the same view, namely, that Indians deserved the blame for the Mumbai attacks because they were illegally occupying Kashmir and oppressing Muslims in general. One of the prominent panelists with this view was Columbia University professor of philosophy, Akil Bilgrami, an Indian-American with staunch views against Indian civilization. The meeting was declared closed once a few Indians in the audience, led by Narain Kataria, started to point out the radical one-sidedness of the discussion.

[i] (www.ciis.edu 1999:2009)

[ii] (www.fides.org 2004)

[iii] (www.proxsa.org 2002)

[iv] (Frontline 25-Mar-2005)

[v] (AICC 19-Dec-2008)

[vi] (Franks, Cleaver and Pitts 2008)

[vii] See for example the report (India Today 30-Mar-1998). According to this report, several Christian provocations such as row over the desecration of a village temple, Christians spreading rumors that Hindus were "poisoning the village wells" – incidentally a rumor used in medieval Christendom against Jews, changing the names of villages like referring Krishnapur as Krishtopur and "the missionaries on an overdrive."

[viii] Press Trust of India reported on 5 Oct 2008 that Maoist leader admitted that they derived support from Christians and that there was pressure from Christians to eliminate the Hindu sage.

[ix] (indianchristians.in 2008)

[x] (www.ciis.edu 1999:2009)

[xi] (Al-Jazeerah 30-Oct-2006)

[xii] (Sadiq 2008)

[xiii] (Duin 2008)

Book review : The Man of Numbers

2011-07-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

The book "The Man of Numbers" and its review reiterate (for western readers) that current numerals/algebra are inherited from Hindus. It starts with an example how would be current math if west is still using Roman numerals.
One interesting thing which I read first time is "It were merchants (European) who first used Hindu numerals not mathematician , because it was very practical for their accounting".

This book is on Italian mathematician Fibonacci , how he read Hindu math and presented to Europe.

Author still mix Arabic with Hindu numerals , but I guess slowly with more open researches Arabic could be omitted.

The best video discussion on the book "Breaking India" thus far.

2011-06-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

Breaking India author Shri Rajiv Malhotra was in LA in June to deliver a talk on his book. It was very informative and objective talk. He sets a mission and goal for us to defend integrity of great Bharat.
He also provided hints/ways by which we can do our part.

Here is the Youtube playlist of that talk.

The playlist has 9 videos, the first four are divided into thematic breakpoints. The remaining five are Q&A combining LA and Bay Area. This collection is probably the best video discussion on the book "Breaking India" thus far.
1: Importance of Managing our Civilization Discourse
2: Changing the Game through Non-Ignorable Interventions
3: Anti-India Nexuses
4: Exploiting India's Minorities
5: Q & A (Los Angeles) 1
6: Q & A (Los Angeles) 2
7: Q & A (Los Angeles) 3
8: Q & A (Bay Area) 4
9: Q & A (Bay Area) 5

Sanskrit ebooks and news podcast

2011-06-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

The blog SanskritEBooks search and list Sanskrit books regularly. The books include classical Sanskrit literature, contemporary work and tutorials.
Those who are practicing to learn Sanskrit , listening to daily news would be a great help. They can get daily newscast from All India Radio. Go to MediaFly to listen daily newsfeed.

Pravachan , e-books from Swami Ramsukhdas Ji available online.

2011-06-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

हरी ॐ
I blogged earlier about Swami Ji , which can be found here.Recently I was searching again on Swami Ji. I have got pleasant surprise when I found that there are two more beautifully designed website are dedicated to Param Shradhey Swami ji Shri Ram Sukhdas Ji Maharaj.
You may visit http://www.shriswamiramsukhdasjimaharaj.com/index1.html and http://www.swamiramsukhdasji.net/ebooks.html .

नारायण नारायण नारायण

Who invented the ‘Dravidian’ Race ?

2011-06-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

Excerpts from the book Braking India by Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan. Refer chapter 6 for detailed information.

Hodgson Invents ‘Tamulian’

In 1801, H.T. Colebrooke (1765–1837) published an important article, which claimed that all Indian languages originated from Sanskrit. But by 1816, when Franz Bopp (1791–1867) was establishing the foundations of comparative philology, a critical role was played by Alexander D. Campbell and Francis Whyte Ellis, Collector of Madras, who claimed that the South Indian family of languages was not derived from Sanskrit. Ellis had influential friends at College of Fort St George in Madras, which was an active center for producing colonial knowledge about India and teaching new officers arriving in India. Trautmann refers to this as the ‘Madras School of Orientalism.’[i] There was rivalry between the Calcutta and Madras schools of colonial Orientalists. Ellis explicitly broke ranks with the thesis supported by William Carey, a missionary-scholar in Calcutta’s College of Fort Williams, that Sanskrit unified all the Indian languages. The Campbell-Ellis book, Grammar of the Teloogoo Language, (1816) opened the door for later intervention in India’s internal sociopolitical structures. It argued that Tamil and Telugu had a common, non-Sanskrit ancestor. No Indian thinker had made such a claim before.

Because the assumption of Mosaic ethnology was well established, it was important to secure both families of languages within that framework. Ellis claimed that Tamil is connected with Hebrew and also with ancient Arabic. Their logic was that since William Jones considered Sanskrit to be the language of Ham and other scholars claimed that Sanskrit descended from Noah’s oldest son, Japheth, by the process of elimination the remaining son of Noah, Shem, must be the ancestor of the Dravidian people. This made Dravidians a branch of the Scythians or in the same family as Jews.[ii]

The next major milestone came in the 1840s, when Reverend John Stevenson (1798–1858), who was sent by the Scottish Missionary Society[iii] and Brian Houghton Hodgson (1800–1894), proposed a category of ‘aboriginal’ languages. Into this category they lumped all the languages that are today classified in the Dravidian and Munda families that allegedly predated the arrival of Sanskrit from outside of India. In 1848–49, Hodgson came out with a very clear theory of Tamilians as the aborigines of India whose many languages were spread across India prior to the Aryan invasion.

In 1856 the aboriginal thesis received a major boost among scholars with the publication of Comparative Grammar of Dravidian Languages, by Bishop Caldwell.[iv] This work claimed that Dravidian was one of the major language groups of the world.[v] Caldwell coined the term ‘Dravidian’ from the Sanskrit ‘drāvida,’ which was used in a seventh-century text to refer to the languages of south of India.[vi]

[i] Phillip Wagoner, according to Trautmann, has argued that the Mackenzie project relied upon Telugu Brahmins working under the Nawab of Arcot, and it was their skills at dealing with multiple languages and scripts that made this colonial breakthrough possible. Furthermore, he asserts that many of the epigraphic practices currently used by the Archeological Survey of India may be traced backed to that project. (Trautman 2006, 211)

[ii] The complexities and contradictions of European Race Science are beyond the scope of this study. However, Caldwell’s identification of Dravidian with Scythian is not an offhand speculation. It is a continuation of the colonial ethnographic identification of different Biblical races in the peoples of India. For example, Buddhist images excavated in Western India were considered as of a ‘Hamitic’ type and Buddha himself was speculated to have belonged to ‘Hamitic Scythian’ type, and earliest immigrations into India were traced to ‘Scythian origin’ (Rev.Dr.Wilson 1857, 679)

[iii] Sent by the Scottish Missionary Society, he became a Sanskrit scholar while in India. He was also president of the Royal Asiatic Society, Bombay Branch. He later extended the Dravidian hypothesis to also include Marathi.

[iv] Caldwell questioned ancient Tamil society's exposure to the higher forms of civilization, and doubted the existence of suchmanifestations as art, science or religion, prior to the arrival of Brahmins (118); Dravidian religion, for instance, prior to the advent of Brahmins, had been a sort of demonolatry or primitive Shamanism (579-97). Nevertheless, Caldwell concluded, even though civilization came with the Brahmins, the beneficial effects of that higher system of knowledge was more than negated by the counter-balancing effect of the the fossilizing caste system (119). Subsequently, Caldwell made the comprehensive case that there were two non-Sanskrit families of languages in India: Dravidian, and the languages of Munda and what he called ‘the other rude tribes of Central India and Bengal’(42). (Caldwell 1856:2009)

[v] Trautmann claims that Ellis had made this thesis much earlier, but the work of Caldwell eclipsed it partly because Ellis’ papers were lost due to his untimely death in India. (Trautmann 1997, 150) Another reason not explicitly stated by Trautmann, is that Ellis and Campbell did not share the animosity Protestant missionary scholars had for Brahmins. Trautmann does state that the typical Protestant animosity for Brahmins is missing in Ellis and Campbell: (Trautman 2006, 210). Nevertheless Ellis too worked within the Mosaic ethnological framework and classified Tamil as connected to Hebrew, which was then called Semitic in contrast to Sanskrit, which was Hamitic as per the classification of Jones. (Trautmann 1997, 154)

[vi] (Caldwell 1856:2009, 3-6)

Series of articles from Breaking India book.

2011-06-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have started reading book "Breaking India" by Shri Rajiv Malhotra and Shri Aravindan Neelakandan. This is an eye opening book , it is a must read book for those who seeks to know what forces are working overtime to weaken Bharat. It covers roles and tactics of Christian Evangelicals.
India's integrity is being undermined by three global networks that have well-established operating bases inside India: (i) Islamic radicalism linked with Pakistan, (ii) Maoists and Marxist radicals supported by China via intermediaries such as Nepal, and (iii) Dravidian and Dalit identity separatism being fostered by the West in the name of human rights. This book focuses on the third: the role of U.S. and European churches, academics, think-tanks, foundations, government and human rights groups in fostering separation of the identities of Dravidian and Dalit communities from the rest of India.

The book reveals how outdated racial theories continue to provide academic frameworks and fuel the rhetoric that can trigger civil wars and genocides in developing countries. The Dravidian movement’s 200-year history has such origins. Its latest manifestation is the “Dravidian Christianity” movement that fabricates a political and cultural history to exploit old faultlines. The book explicitly names individuals and institutions, including prominent Western ones and their Indian affiliates. Its goal is to spark an honest debate on the extent to which human rights and other “empowerment” projects are cover-ups for these nefarious activities.

Keep reading this blog for important topics and excerpts from "Breaking India".

Vedic Roots of Ancient America

2011-05-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

What if Hindus and Hopis, Advaitins and Aztecs, Tibetan Monks and Mayans were part of one world culture - a spiritual one?

Hindu culture, civilization, custom and belief also dominated ancient America to some extent. Ancient Americans believed in legendary cataclysm, rebirth, four yugas and the concept of two planets like Rahu and Ketu causing solar eclipse. The Hindu doctrine of the ages is preserved in a stone monolith popularly known as the Aztec calendar. This remarkable piece of stone carving is in the form of an immense disc 12 feet in diameter and weights over 20 tons. A festival called Sita-Ram (Situa-Raimi) was celebrated in Mexico during Nav-Ratri or Dussehra period which has been described on page 5867 in the book 'Hamsworth History of the World'. Both in Central and South America, there are found Sati cremation, priesthood, gurukul system, yajna, birth, marriage and death ceremonies to some extent similar to the Hindus.

Full article available here.

Astha Bharati - Quality journals on the Sanatan History

2011-05-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

While searching for oldest calender (which is from Sanatan Dharma called "Shristi-Samvat" ) , google took me to this link and a Journal called Dialouge with this link. And I found it publish quality papers on Sanatan History and contemporary issues. It is published from an organization called Astha Bharati.
They also publish quality journal called Chintan-Srijan in Hindi.

Their website is rudimentary but contents are not.

Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco). Its Mystery Solved at Last!

2011-05-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

Linkage to vedic past found with Inca temple remains. Sanskrit travelled to Bolivia 10-20 thousand years back.
Some links below:
This web page writes Tiwanaku appears to derive from Sanskrit: Diva (heaven; sky) plus Naka (mountain).
And wiki too says Kalasasaya have it's root in Sanskrit.

Sanatan legacy in S- E Asia!

2011-04-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

Following is from Indian newspaper The Freepress Journal. Read full article here.

The Preah Vihear temple of Siva built during the Khmer Empire is a reminder of the common culture that the entire region once shared with India. In fact, such monuments do not belong exclusively to one one country, but to the South- East Asia region as a whole.
A lthough King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia was invited to yesterday’s royal wedding in London, he was not among the crowned monarchs at the function. His Majesty had more serious concerns at home where Cambodia and its bigger neighbour, Thailand, are involved in angry exchanges that could deteriorate into hostilities over an early 9th century Hindu temple that UNESCO lists as a World Heritage Site More resource that provide historical insight of Sanatan Dharma's legacy in Suvarnabhumi (South East Asia).

Vedic Mathematics : Shulba Sutras

2011-04-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

From research paper "Applied Geometry of the Sulba Sutras" by John F. Price

The Sulba Sutras, part of the Vedic literature of India,describe many geometrical properties and constructions
such as the classical relationship

a²+b²=c²

between the sides of a right-angle triangle and arithmetical formulas such as calculating the square root of two accurate to five decimal places. Although this article presents some of these constructions,its main purpose is to show how to consider each of the main Sulba SDtras as a finely crafted, integrated manual for the construction of citis or ceremonial platforms. Certain key words, however, suggest that the applications go far beyond this.

Paper "Square Roots in the Sulbasutra" by David W. Henderson can be read here.

Following are some more relevant links :-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shulba_Sutras

http://www.krishnamurthys.com/kvforp/VK1/History_Maths_Indian_contribution.html

http://www.ias.ac.in/resonance/April2002/pdf/April2002p4-19.pdf

http://www.math.neu.edu/~gilmore/U201sp08files/India.pdf

Similarity between Vedic and Egyptian Civilization

2011-04-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

Author Amlan Roychowdhury have written a paper on similarity between Vedic and Egyptian Civilization. He tried to relate missing links. You can read the paper " VEDIC CIVILIZATION THE PROGENITOR OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION" here.

A blog on Vedic Archeological Discoveries

2011-03-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

This blog is about recent Archeological Discoveries that support the Vedic view of world history and development. It is maintained by Stephen Knapp.

Archeological evidences of Anceint Dwarka

2011-02-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

Historicity of Shri Krishna and His city Dwaraka.

Underwater Worlds 3 Ancient Aliens - Dwaraka
Uploaded by Yahn25. - More video blogs and vloggers.

Story of India in British Museum

2011-01-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

The British Museum’s website on Ancient India is divided in six chapters: The Buddha, Geography, Early Hinduism, Indus Valley, Time, and Writings.For each chapter there is a ‘Doormat’ page, which is an atmospheric introductory page that leads to the chapter homepage. Within each chapter, find the Story, a presentation of information in a narrative form; Explore, a non-linear presentation of information; and Challenge, an activity that allows students to practice certain skills (historical, analytical, mathematical, observational) within the context of a theme or topic relevant to ancient India.

Sanatan EBook

2010-12-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

Book on Vivekanand, Rani Laxmi Bai, Veer Savarkar, Lokmany Tilak and more at
http://bharateeya.wordpress.com/

Maharan Pratap's biographies online

2010-12-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

Maha Rana Pratap Singh (1540-1597) was a Hindu King of Mewar who is remembered for his spirit of independence, patriotism and other exemplary qualities.
Rana Pratap scorned comfort and luxury when they had to be bought at the cost of his independence. While Persia and England, Baghdad and Arabia felt honoured in sending costly embassies to the court of the Great Mughal, Rana Pratap was content with sending his word of defiance. And the result? “There is not a pass in the Alpine Aravalli that is not sanctified by some deed of Rana Pratap, some brilliant victory or more glorious defeat.” What a sight it must have been, Rana Pratap against the might of Akbar!
In the collective memory of the Hindus, Rana Pratap has got a place along with Sivaji and Ranjit Singh; and along with them he proved that not even centuries of Mohammadan domination could kill the spirit out of a proud race.
Thanks to Digital Library of India, now, we have access to various biographies of heroes like Rana Pratap Singh in Sanskrit, Hindi & English.
http://www.archive.org/details/RanaPratap-BiographiesInEnglishHindiSanskrit

Online availability of All four Vedas, 108 Upnishads

2010-12-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

Gayatri Pariwar has published several important literature and made them available online, including the 4 vedas and Upanishads.
Inspired by the HMEC's vision of sharing ideas and resources as well as networking in the view of larger interest of Sanatan Dharma, Gayatri Pariwar has made available All four Vedas, 108 Upnishads and other Arsh literature for online reading to all.
Availability on this literature online is so important, please spread the word around. Currently most of it is available in Hindi. But a good start ...
Ved , Puran ,Upanishads and Darshan
http://literature.awgp.org/hindibook/vedPuranDarshan
Many more books in Hindi and English by Pt Shriram Sharma Acharya
http://literature.awgp.org/

Kumbh mela multimedia project

2010-11-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

Ascetics with Cameras is a seva (volunteer service) organization providing multimedia services, tools and training to Shiva’s Army – the sadhus & sadhvis of Juna Akhara – since 2004. It's mission is to, not only provide multimedia tools to document and preserve the living-histories of these followers of Sanatan Dharma, but more importantly to train the members (of the oldest and largest order of Dasnaami Hindu ascetics) to document it for themselves. Giving them the skills to share with the world the stories and aspects of their culture they find important, will empower these ascetics to participate in the process of media-making to which their Akhara has been subject for centuries and enlighten audiences to the sacred, ancient paths and esoteric traditions of truth seekers.

Ayodhya : Shri Ram Janmbhoomi

2010-11-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hindus believed from time immemorial that Ayodya(UP,India)is birth place of Lord Shri Ram. But the temple was destroyed by Mogul invader Babar's army in 1528 C.E. After that there were several attempts by Hindus to reclaim the land and build the Ram temple at his birth place. After Independence , court battle was going on. And on September 30,2010 High Court of U.P have given Judgement.
As news paper Daily Pioneer sums verdicts as
"The makeshift temple of lord Ram at Ayodhya belongs to Hindus and the Babri masjid was an illegal construction, this was the sum and substance of a historic judgement delivered by the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday."

The complete verdict is available online.

Brief history and evidences . Read book AYODHYA The Case Against the Temple by Koenraad Elst for detailed History.

Now some are not pleased with the verdict. Read why they are unhappy ? How court exposed their imagined beliefs.

Sanatan Dharma's influence throughout Asia

2010-11-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

From towns in Russia to Gods of Japan, Sanatan Dharma influence can be seen.
The following article list all those place outside Bharat. It have place names, historical maps, various photographs of historical sites. Also famous quotes from eminent people.
Suvarn Bhumi : Greater India

Sarasvati Valley Civilization

2010-11-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

The Sarasvati River (Sanskrit: सरस्वती नदी sárasvatī nadī) is one of the chief Rigvedic rivers mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. The Nadistuti hymn in the Rigveda (10.75) mentions the Sarasvati between the Yamuna in the east and the Sutlej in the west, and later Vedic texts like Tandya and Jaiminiya Brahmanas as well as the Mahabharata mention that the Sarasvati dried up in a desert.

Here you can find more information on it.
Article : Recent Research on the Sarasvati River by Stephen Knapp
180 Page eBook : SARASVATI RIVER by Dr. S. Kalyanaraman
Article : Saraswati – the ancient river lost in the desert by A. V. Sankaran
And if you want a brief information read this presentation by Dr. V. Raja Bandaru

Indian war of independence, 1857

2010-10-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

Veer Damodar Savarkar written book on India's first war of Independence against British Rule. The book was originally written in Marathi. Britishers banned this book that time.
Its English version is now available online at Digital Library of Delhi University.

Ancient Indian Hostory

2010-10-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

http://ancientindians.net/

Sanatan knowledge in nutshell

2010-09-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder who are Tridev, Char-dham, 16-sansakars etc.
Read this wiki book.

Archeological excavation at Ram Janm Bhumi Ayodhya

2010-09-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

Outlook magazine have published a graphical representation of Ram-Janm Bhumi site at Ayodhya.
Here is the link.

Lord Krishna history or myth ?

2010-09-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

If you need proof ,
Read this blog.

Watch this wonderful documentary created Saraswati films.A unique documentary which proves the existence of Krishna and shows the scientific proof of Mahabharata with exact year of Kurukshetra war.

Krishna: History or Myth from Saraswati Films on Vimeo.

Hinduism's lagacy in South east asia and Austronesia

2010-09-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Shri Vrandavan parker have published a paper which describe how Hinduism was thriving in the region. It also write Hinduism's impact on current activities.
Read paper here
and the website can be accessed at this link

Online Vedic Radio and Devotional Songs

2010-08-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

A nice and soothing online music portal.
You get to listen Vedic Wisdom, Bhajans (Devotional Songs),Mantra, Strota and more.
Click on wisdomspeak

A history of world GDP

2010-08-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

The economist have posted a chart to depict historical data on world GDP.
India was number 1 country till 1700 C.E.
Look here

Forum for Hindu Awakening

2010-08-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Forum for Hindu Awakening (FHA) is a charitable organization devoted to awaken society to the unique spiritual science behind Hindu Dharma concepts and practices, to motivate people to live and preserve them and to facilitate the spiritual progress of humanity.
Click here

How to balance a vegetarian diet

2010-06-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

Rediff.com have published an article to explain balancing your vegetarian diet. It have provided vegetarian alternative/sources of various nutrition.
It is easy to become a vegetarian.
http://getahead.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jun/08/slide-show-1-health-how-to-balance-a-vegetarian-diet.htm

Origins of Vedic Civilization

2010-06-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

Read and download from here
HOW ANCIENT IS THE VEDIC TRADITION
and how did it begin? Was it the creation of a people who invaded India from outside, as many European scholars believed for centuries? Or did it arise among an indigenous people of northern India? In this chapter we will ask where the Vedic tradition originated, and in the next chapter,we will consider when it came into existence. In the third chapter, we will consider its relation to European civilization.
According to the Vedic tradition, the Veda is eternal. It exists within the eternal
fabric of consciousness itself. As such it is uncreated. But even so, we can ask, when
was the Veda first cognized? And when did the tradition of reciting the Veda begin?

Sanskrit Texts and Stotras

2010-06-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Find following and more here

Study Sanskrit, read Sanskrit texts, listen to Vedic pundits chant, or read Sanksrit humor. This site contains a wide variety of Sanskrit texts and stotras in the pdf format, which you can view or print for your personal use. Most of the texts are in Devanagari script, some with English translation. The Bhagavad-Gita, Devi Mahatmyam, all of the sahasranama stotras, and several other texts are also encoded in transliteration (by popular demand). A lot of attention has been put into formatting the texts for maximum aesthetic appeal and ease of use.

Bhagavad-Gita
Devi Mahatmyam
Selections from the Veda & Vedic Literature
Sahasranama Stotras
Miscellaneous Stotras
Stotras to the Planets - Navagraha Stotras
Transliterated Documents
Audio Recordings
Learning Tools
Favorite Books and Tapes
Sanskrit Humor
Dedication

South Asian History

2010-04-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

South Asian History is a non-commercial project that brings the most vital aspects of the sub-continent's history to web users. Their selections illuminate aspects of South Asian History that aren't always very well known, but of crucial importance to the region's future.
http://india_resource.tripod.com/sahistory.html

Book review : Mathematic in India

2010-04-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

David Mumford is professor of applied mathematics at Brown University.
Please read this review from him on "Mathematic in India".
http://www.ams.org/notices/201003/rtx100300385p.pdf

Author of that book Kim Plofker also have published several books on same topic.
http://www.math.union.edu/people/faculty/plofkerk.html
http://www.math.union.edu/people/faculty/publications/plofkerk.html

Stories from Puraan, about Rishis, Mahatma

2010-04-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

Source : sushmajee.com
Click here

Recent Archeological Finds Confirming Vedic History

2010-04-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

Source : stephen-knapp.com
Link : click here

Numerous archaeological evidence of Vedic era found around the world.

Temple discovery reveals clues of Indonesia's Vedic past

2010-04-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Source : nytimes.com
Link : click here

Source : abc.net.au
Link : click here

Temple Built In Early Pala Period Excavated in Bangladesh

2010-04-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Source: www.thedailystar.net
Link : click here

DHAKA, BANGLADESH, March 29, 2010: Archaeologists of Jahan-girnagar University in Dhaka have recently dug out the first Hindu temple from the early Pala period in Bengal at Chandipur village in Birampur upazila of Dinajpur district, tentatively dating back to the 8th century. No other Hindu temple of any kind dates from Pala period (eighth-eleventh century) was found in Bengal, according to experts.

A team of students of the Department of Archaeology and experienced excavators from Mahasthan started digging on this archaeological mound locally known as “Tileshwarir Mound” in 2007. A number of experts from India, France, England and Bangladesh from various fields including archaeology, geology and geomorphology are collaborating with the team.

Swadhin Sen, the director of the excavation team, said this season they have found another cell on the western part adjoining a cell found previously. According to him the four-pillared room served as the garvagriha and the cell of the west with a brick built platform inside acted as the mandapa as per the layout style of a Hindu temple. He added that the stratigraphy of the excavation proves that the religious edifice was used and reused several times until the 14th-15th century.

The team has found three terracotta plaques from a trench. One of them has been identified with the Vamana incarnation of God Vishnu.

Hidden History of the Human Race

2010-04-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Scientific Verification of the Vedas

2010-04-05T09:16:00.001-07:00

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Invading The Sacred : An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America

2010-02-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

This book analyzes the representation of Hinduism in American academia and the ensuing and ongoing politics when such representations are challenged both by the Indian diaspora as well as by academicians.This is undoubtedly an informative and provocative book, and it deserves to be read by all who are intellectually or emotionally affiliated to Hinduism.
Website
http://invadingthesacred.com/

Bhumi Project: Hindu Plans for Environmental Change

2010-02-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
Presents
Bhumi Project: Hindu Plans for Environmental Change
Very insightful presentation explains how following Sanaatan Dharma can save mother earth from Global Warming and other environmental changes.

Bhumi Project: Hindu Plans for Environmental Change from Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies on Vimeo.

Hampi : capital of the Vijayanagara Empire

2010-01-19T16:39:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

" Hampi (Kannada: ಹಂಪೆ hampe) is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. Located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, Hampi is the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city.
As the village is at the original centre of Vijayanagara, it is sometimes confused with the ruined city itself. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi.[1] "

Hampi festival : celebrating a great Hindu empire
Read the report here and watch image slideshow here .

Sanatan E Books

2009-12-31T14:49:00.000-08:00

I came across two excellent ebook blogs which provide lots of sanatan e books.
Links are here:
http://hinduebooks.blogspot.com/
http://hinduebooks.wordpress.com/

The great mathematician Aryabhata

2009-12-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.archive.org/details/The_Aryabhatiya_of_Aryabhata_Clark_1930
The Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata (CE 476 to 500) is one of the most important texts in the history of Indian mathematics and astronomy. He composed this work at the age of 23.
Here are some of his noted achievements that are found in Aryabhatiya:
1. Aryabhata asserted that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight and that the orbits of the planets are ellipses.
2. He also correctly explained the causes of eclipses of the Sun and the Moon.
3. His value for the length of the sidereal year at 365 days 6 hours 12 minutes 30 seconds is only 3 minutes 20 seconds longer than the true value of 365 days 6 hours 9 minutes 10 seconds.
4. He estimated the value of 'Pi' as : "Add four to one hundred, multiply by eight and then add sixty-two thousand. The result is approximately the circumference of a circle of diameter twenty thousand. By this rule the relation of the circumference to diameter is given." In other words, Pi=62832/20000 = 3.1416, correct to four rounded-off decimal places.
5. Aryabhata accurately calculated the Earth's circumference as 24,835 miles, which was only 0.2% smaller than the actual value of 24,902 miles. This approximation remained the most accurate for over a thousand years
Download pdf : http://www.archive.org/download/The_Aryabhatiya_of_Aryabhata_Clark_1930/The_Aryabhatiya_of_Aryabhata_Clark_1930.pdf

An Indian Ancestry: a Key for Understanding Human. Diversity in Europe and Beyond

2009-12-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

A recent study reveals how human migrated from India to other part of world.
http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Kivisild2000.pdf

Historical and Scientific evidence on Lord Ram's era

2009-12-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

Literature and Local Legends have continued to keep alive the image of Rama as a popular legendary hero, a righteous man, a noble King, a God. The conviction about the historicity of Rama, is based upon the ability to date Rama and the Rama Setu, to around 5200 BCE, ie 7200 years ago using traditional methods and validate the date scientifically too.
Get the detailed information here.
http://www.historicalrama.org/home.html

Vedic Knowledge Online

2009-07-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

http://veda.wikidot.com/main

http://www.stutimandal.com/welcome.htm

http://indology.info/etexts/#002

Great Saint and Poet Tulasidas Ji

2009-07-31T16:42:00.001-07:00

This post have links about life and great work of Shri Tulasidas Ji.
Short Biography
https://sites.google.com/site/goswamitulsidasji/home
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsidas
http://www.dharmakshetra.com/sages/Saints/tulasi%20das%20goswami.html

Work
http://wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B8
http://sanskritdocuments.org/hindi/tulasi/

The Hindu Encyclopedia

2009-07-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Stotra

Vedanta Library
http://www.celextel.org/

Strotras and Shruti
http://stotraratna.awardspace.com/index.html

Hindi Literature

2009-05-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.khapre.in/portal/url/hi/index.aspx

Stories from Sanatan Dharma

2009-02-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

A good website on Sanatan Stories.
http://www.indolink.com/Kidz/mythology.html

Sanatan influence on Japan

2009-02-25T14:38:00.000-08:00

Look at the page no 24 for Siddham Script in Japan and its resemblance with Devnagari script.
http://www.hindueducation.org/resources/HinduInfluenceOnJapan.pdf

Find more information and links at
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/siddham.htm

Sacred morning prayer

2009-02-25T14:20:00.000-08:00

कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मी, करमध्य सरस्वती।
करमूले तु गोविन्द:, प्रभाते कर दर्शनम्।।

समुद्र वसने देवि, पर्वत स्तन मण्डले।
विष्णु पत्नी: नमस्तुभ्यम्, पाद स्पर्शम् क्षमस्व मे।।

Ancient Vedic Mathematics

2009-02-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

Online tutorial on elementary vedic maths.
http://www.vedicmaths.org/Introduction/Tutorial/Tutorial.asp

Books on Advanced Vedic Mathematics.
गणित-शास्त्र के विकास की भारतीय परम्परा
http://pustak.org/bs/home.php?bookid=4545
http://pustak.org/bs/home.php?bookid=7
http://pustak.org/bs/home.php?bookid=2557
http://pustak.org/bs/home.php?bookid=2558

References
http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~moorthy/vm/index.html
http://www.vedamu.org/home.asp

Chanakya : The master strategist

2009-02-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

These links explore the biography of the one of the greatest Statesmen Chanakya.
His two major works are the Arthashastra and the Nitishastra. The Arthashastra lays the rules of governance and gives a detailed account of the state of affairs and polity at that time. The Nitishastra speaks more of morals, principles and observance of austerity in all walks of life.
http://www.philosophy.ru/library/asiatica/indica/authors/kautilya/canakya_niti_sastra.html
http://projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu/Docs/history/primarydocs/Arthashastra/
http://www.worldofbiography.com/9046-Chanakya/
http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/greatpersonalities/chanakya/index.htm
http://www.hindutemplesc.org/balagokulam/BGDownloads/Chanakya.pdf
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/chanakya.html
http://www.indiavideo.org/text/chaanakya-1074.php?pg=34

Hindi TV serial on Biography of Chanakya
http://www.veoh.com/collection/Kautilya/watch/v16822254kXBzEamb#

25GB Space : Share Files Anywhere You’re Online, 24/7

2009-02-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

Store, access, and share your files with friends or co-workers, from anywhere online. Free 25 GB online storage means you can easily get to your stuff with just a few quick clicks.
http://www.windowslive.com/Online/skydrive

Want to recyle, get info here

2009-02-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

Guide to local resources including recycling centers, how to recycle, pollution prevention and how help protect the environment.
http://earth911.com/

Swami Ramsukhdas Ji

2009-02-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

This website is dedicated to the Great Saint Late Swami Ramsukhdas Ji Maharaj.
http://www.swamiramsukhdasji.org/

A tribute to Swami Ramsukhdas (an obituary) from Organiser magazine.
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=90&page=17

And one more blog on Swamiji
http://sanatanavenkat.blogspot.com/2008/03/swamy-ramsukhdas-rishi-extraordinary.html

This news posted on rediff when He was alive.
http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/jan/08swami.htm

Sanatan Sanskrit Documents

2009-02-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

A vast collection of rare Sankrit Documents. http://sanskritdocuments.org/
Vedic mathematics and science http://www.vedamu.org/home.asp

Welcome

2007-09-13T00:18:00.000-07:00

Hi,
Welcome to this blog. You will find great links to Ved,Puran and Sanatan dharma.
Sanatan.