Yantra , Tantra, Mantra

While different versions of the Ramayana or even later editing can explain any mention of Buddhists or Charvakins,I am going to try to prepare a list of reasons why I think the stories are not fiction:                   1) The ancestries are longer than necessary for fiction            Even considering that Rama's descendants forged their identity,            there is really no need for Rama's ancestry to extend as far back            as Sagara from the point of view of fiction.  If Rama was            the King of Ayodhya and an incarnation of Vishnu, he needed            no further introduction.                            2) Puranic evidence            Both the Ramayana and Mahabharata overlap with Puranic stories, the            lineages likewise overlap and are carefully preserved in            the Puranas well beyond those found in the stories.  The history            of Magadha and the rule of Jarasandha then quite neatly merges with            historical

Other recipients: Mr. Gurupdesh Singh has questioned whether the agrarians of Bihar can prove that they have ancient roots in Bharat, suspecting that we may just be descendants of the Indo-Scythians. Certainly, proving a descent prior to the arrival of the Indo-Scyth Mr. Gurupdesh Singh has questioned whether the agrarians of Bihar can prove that they have ancient roots in Bharat, suspecting that we may just be descendants of the Indo-Scythians.  Certainly, proving a descent prior to the arrival of the Indo-Scythians would be quite easy if one accepted the lineages as described in the Puranas.  But being from the northwest, Mr. Gurupdesh Singh has no faith in things like the Ramayana, Mahabharata or the Puranas having any authenticity whatsoever.  According to him all these are figments of Brahmins'imaginations. :-) So given the above constraint, I have given some thought to how I could determine if I, a Kurmi from Bihar, was descended from some I

Kammas were kings belonging to the Solar,lunar and Haihaya clans of Kshatriyas(warriors),who ruled over a famous land called Kamma rashtra or kamma nadu .They were basically an amalgam of the lunar clan Chalukyas and the solar clan Cholas who initially fought ferociously for the coveted land of kamma nadu, and later on made peace by entering into marital alliances.   Every one claims such lofty pedigrees but it is difficult to show any continuance from the decline of those dynasties to the establishment of these relatively petty kingdoms. The only one in Indian history I can think which has any credibility is the Mauryas of Konkan named for the erstwhile Maurya empire 400 years prior. Interestingly Cholas were Tamil and Chalukyas were Kannada and yet you have a purely Telugu dynasty, odd is it?     Practically all the ruling families of South India as well as Sri Lanka excepting Kerala were related to the Kammas.   More unsubstantiated claims.   A clan of c

Surprisingly despite the presence of so many erudite religious VHP/RSS Hindu scholars nobody seems to have bothered posting anything regarding Rama Navami.  So I figured I should post it, as apparently it seems quite like 'Chat', 'Rama Navami' is apparently another Hindu festival which can now be termed 'Bihari' as others don't seem to bother celebrating it anymore. I am not talking about high culture of Thyagaraja etc but of common rural folk. Immediately following the Chata celebrations in Bihar, Ramanavami iscelebrated which marks the birth of Rama.  In the city of Patna duringRamanavami various temples encourage participants to come andcelebrate the event and a small mela is held near the Patna railwaystation near the Hanuman temple.  However, the event seems to be more visible outside of Patna in the rural areas. Strangely, Ramanavami is marked more by the worship of Hanuman, Rama's greatest devotee, than by the worship of Rama himself.  And as

I often wonder if the myth of indomnitable Afghans/Pathans had been fostered by the British to make up for their own lackluster performance in that region. And this had in time turned into some sort of self fulfilling prophecy especially involving super powers such as Russia and now U.S where the opponents use this powerful piece of propaganda to undermine their opponents. But how true is the narrative of the tough and unconquered Afghans? The earliest ethnic group associated with Afghanistan are the Kambojas who were defeated by Sagara and were forced to maintain short hair and beards as a sign of submission. They were thus excluded as mlecchas or barbarians to whom Vedic rites and rituals were to be denied. However that region was deemed strategic enough to maintain a presence of  Kshatriyas from the heartland and the location of Taxila university suggests that it was firmly under Indian political and cultural influence. Alexander invaded and conquered this area with m

" Anaganaga Oka Raju"..... (once upon a time,there was a king). Thus start all the folk stories of Andhra and describe the various adventures the king accomplishes. All these kings (folkheroes like Bangaru Thimma Raju ) were invariably Kammas.   No that is too fantastic a claim.    The Kammas were considered synonymous with bravery and chivalry while the kamma women were icons of beauty and chastity. But, all this was 'once upon a time' i.e. the glory of the past. (It is a different story, that the term "raju" is presently being applied to the Vadde Rajus or Oriyan kings).   Well Oriyan kings are still kings.     If we go through the history of a thousand years, we can easily ascertain that the social status and life style and customs of the Rajputs in the North and the Kammas in the South were one and the same.   There is scant evidence of Rajputs being linked to Kammas. However there are quite a few Rajus who may have strong

Hinduism, Buddhism included is a meditative religion and thus it marks meditative progress with the attainment of various deities.  This has been confused by the non-religious writers as leading to 'polytheism' and yet Hinduism is a religion that knows the path well to the one supreme, after attaining to whom, all minor deities are attained.  Unlike other religions, it also knows what is encountered in the path.  If you haven't attained to a deity it will naturally be very difficult for you to relate.  But I'm afraid if as a Buddhist you ignore attaining to deities then you're the one whose wasting his time.  And at least you seem to be on a different path from the original 500 Arhats of Buddhism who discussed the land of Sakra in some detail.  The statement of 'sense pursuits' has special significance when it is applied to Indra, maybe one day you'll find out, though given that you seem to be on the wrong path, it may be doubtful. The more correct s