Chronology of India – Proceedings of the two day National seminar held at Bangalore on February 18th and 19th 2019 [3]

Chronology of  India – Proceedings of the two day National seminar held at Bangalore on February 18^th and 19^th 2019 [3]

Why BISS support “Jesus in India” myth?: The support for “Jesus in India myth,” extended by the researchers of Bharatiya Itihasa Sankalana Samiti has been intriguing, perplexing and nauseating. The vehement support for “Jesus in India myth,” by S. R. Krishna Murthy has already been pointed out. When searching through internet, I could find another BISS-Professor  also supporting the myth. Historian Prof Dr Himansu Sekhar Patnaik on the occasion of the 5th State-level conference of Bharatiya Itihas Sankalana Samiti, Odisha held here on Sunday said[1] that, “Jesus, also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ spent years studying in Odisha and learning about devotion ‘Bhakti Yoga’ under Den lang, a Buddhist monk, at Biswanathmundia of Delang. He studied the ancient Vedic scriptures and after finishing his study, he returned to Jerusalem and started his mission. The missing years of history of Jesus were omitted by the British Raj and history was rewritten according to western culture for their political benefits, he added[2].

The purpose of the conference was to sensitize historians, researchers and intellectuals to rewrite the history of Odisha as well as India. The writing should be in accordance with the chronological facts and figures, devoid of any prejudice whatsoever. Further rewriting of the “Bharatya Itihas” will be in the light of modern scientific researches and new archaeological findings in order to bring about true, integrated and comprehensive history of our country including all social, cultural, spiritual, economic, political and all other relevant aspects of our national life, he said. Therefore, archaeological, literary, epigraphic and numismatic sources are to be taken up to understand the evolution of Odishan society from remote Stone Age culture up to late medieval period, he maintained.

Prof Dr Narayan Rao, vice president of Akhila Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana, New Delhi said historians have been exposed to western distortions, which created a false impression of Indian cultural diversity, and screened its uniformly Aryan past. Beneath the diversity of India’s culture is a unifying Hindu culture, he opined. Among others, Prof Dr Ramachandra Mishra, Prof Dr Mamata Dash and Prof Dr Dadhimanaba Misha spoke. Now, I come across a Facebook posting[3], where BISS-Karnataka promoting the “Jesus in India myth”! Therefore, it is totally intriguing as to note as to why BISS promote such myths? Thus, the myth was promoted in 2014, 2016 and 2019 by three different persons:

1. Facebook posting – May be by Admn.
2. Historian Prof Dr Himansu Sekhar Patnaik during the 5-day conference held in Odhisa.
3. R. Krishna Murthy during the national seminar held at Bangalore on Indian chronology.

Initially, started propagating this myth by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian embracing all religions by telling that Rama, Krishna were also prophets, just like Mohammed Nabi[4].

Max Mueller brushed aside the myth after thoroughly verifying the sources and the places through the officials of British India in 1894 itself[5]. However, the myth was kept alive by the vested interested persons for their personal benefits. They included Abayananda and others[6]. Even today, Yogananda Paramahamsa group promotes the myth. Of course, the Christians continue to propagate for their “Christology” approach, as the myth gains for their propaanda. Thus, C. F. Potter[7], P. C. Pappas[8], Holger Kersten[9], Susanne Olsson[10] and others add more and more unhistorical narratives with the current narratives.

Another Christ myth promoted by the Hindutwavadis: A 1946 book by one of the founders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that claims Jesus Christ was born a Tamil Hindu is being reissued by a Mumbai-based right wing trust. Written by Ganesh Damodar (Babarao) Savarkar, one of the five people who founded RSS, Christ Patriarchy claims that Jesus was a Vishwakarma Brahmin by birth[11]. Okay, so now are we also going to claim that we gifted Statue of Liberty to United States of America? Foot in mouth The book will be / was released in Marathi on February 26, 2016 by Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak (Savarkar National Memorial). Here are some of the audacious claims made by the author in his book[12]:

1. Ganesh Damodar claims that Christianity is a sect of Hinduism.
2. The present day Palestinian and Arab territories were a Hindu land.
3. He went on to say that Christ traveled to India and learnt yoga. Who knows Modi might have also learnt it from ‘our very own’ Christ, right?
4. Christ’s real name was Keshao Krishna, according to the author. He even had a dark complexion and his mother tongue was Tamil.
5. Christ’s sacred thread ceremony (janeyu) was held when he was 12, according to Brahmin tradition. He even wore a sacred thread.
6. Apparently, Christianity was never a separate religion and it was a Hindu cult and doctrine introduced by Christ.
7. Christ was saved after his crucifixion by people from the Essene’s cult, who practiced Yoga and spiritual science.
8. He was given medicinal herbs and plants for his recovery from the ‘deathbed’. Christ also was taken to Kashmir.
9. It was in Kashmir that Christ prayed to Lord Shiva and he spent the last days of his life in the Himalayas.
10. Damodar claims that Christ’s family dressed in an ‘Indian’ way and had Hindu signs on their bodies.

Audience on LHS from the stage….

Audience from the RHS…………………….

Audience from the RHS – middle …………………….

students………….

students sitting…………..

students sitting last ………………

students sitting  LHS

students sitting…………………..

Coming to the papers presented, two delved upon the dating the texts:

Dating Sanskrit texts with internal evidences: There were two papers, where, the researchers tried to fix the date of the text with internal evidences. Tanya Agarwal presented a paper on “Digha nikhaya – The Complete chronology of the ancient Indian tradition,” based on the Bhuddhist Pali texts, but, chronology aspects in the theme of the seminar was not touched upon. When I asked about the date of Buddha mentioned with internal evidences to solve the issue, she could not answer.

Sushmita presented a paper on “Khasyapa Samhita” and tried to fix its date in 13^th 16^th centuries based on many versions, commentaries and other contemporary texts. I pointed out that taking interpretations, additions and updating of the text to suit the contemporary society, the events could be correlated. However, the date of text cannot be placed in such 300 years period. She had not worried about interpolations, additions and updating of the text so that it could appeared to have written during the period of three centuries. Anyway, it does not go to have impact on Indian chronology during the medieval period.

Bharata Jeeva Tarangini – in four charts giving chronology of India from Vedic period to 1947 – very interestig and useful for the researchers.

Bharata Jeeva Tarangini: R. Krishnamurthy took much time giving his details based on his charts prepared. The charts have been very good for easy reading, ready reference and understanding. His mention about Dongla observatory and Kakaraja temple in the context of Indian longitude was interesting and informative. He said that his lengthy speech was addressed to the college students. Actually, if that had been the case, a session could have been conducted separately and exclusively for them.

Many temples have been situated where the tropic of cancer cuts the latitude…..

 

Kark Rajeswar Temple: The temple is situated on the Tropic of Cancer (kark rekha). Varamihira, one of the nine gems in King Vikramaditya’s court used to visit this temple regularly and carried out his astrological and astronomical experiments here. In ancient times the central meridian line was assumed to pass through this point (Surya Siddhanta 1/624). Even today Hindu calendar astronomical calculations are made by placing Ujjain on the Zero longitude.

Greenwitch 0° longitude and  Significance of Dongla, Ujjaini[13]: Currently the world follows Greenwich meridian (0° longitude) is the International Standard Meridian or Prime Meridian and the world timing is related to the time at Greenwich. European Christians believed that the “Post Christ the zero meridian” was passing near the Louvre Museum in Paris. Long before the establishment of Greenwich as the prime meridian, the Zero longitude of the entire world has passed directly through Paris and through the Church of Saint Sulpice. The brass marker in Saint Sulpice was a memorial to the world’s first prime meridian, and although Greenwich has stripped Paris of the honour in 1888, the original Rose Line is still available today. Life on Earth and its day night schedule is based on the rays from Sun. Sun rays oscillate between the two tropics- Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. Both the tropics are the northern and southern extremes where sun rays can be parallel at noon during the respective solstice. Greenwich has no astronomical significance as it is neither on the tropics nor on the equator. Dongla is significant in this sense, that it lies on the intersection of the Tropic of Cancer and local longitude which was our ancient Indian Time meridian and the sun rays are exactly perpendicular during summer solstice.

Wakankar rediscovered Dongla: Dr Wakankar proposed that as Ujjain has been the seat of astronomical studies in ancient India and most of the Vedic calculations were based on the location of Tropic of Cancer at Ujjain, Dongla should now gain recognition as the world zero longitude point and international calculations of time should start from longitude. In 1985 Dr. Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar – devoid of modern state- of- art equipment – located the exact spot at village Dongla 30km near Tehsil Mahidpur, District Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh where the Tropic of Cancer and the Local Longitude (which was the ancient Indian Time Meridian) intersect each other. Longitude 23° 26’ 42.91 “N; Latitude 75°45’ 43.31” E; Height : 515m. It is at this spot, that on summer solstice on 21st June, the sun rays are perpendicular and do not cast any shadow at noon. It may be noted that centuries ago Tropic of Cancer used to pass through Ujjain [23°11’] and that is probably the reason for the construction of ancient ‘Karka Rajeshwar’ temple at Ujjain. Over the period due to Earth’s declination, the tropic of cancer has moved North and is currently passing through village Dongla in Mahidpur District of Madhya Pradesh.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

27-02-2019

[1] The Pioneer, ‘Jesus studied Bhakti Yoga in Odisha under Buddhist monk’, Tuesday, 01 March 2016 | PNS | BHUBANESWAR

[2] https://www.dailypioneer.com/2016/state-editions/jesus-studied-bhakti-yoga-in-odisha-under-buddhist-monk.html

[3] In November 2014, the BISS Karnataka posted in the Face book, https://p.facebook.com/Bharatiya-Itihas-Sankalan-Samiti-Karnataka-375047499314952/ giving link to this –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9w-xJfSOyc&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0t2-qGRzTxpdmhZo4QiiB7GQtVPOg8b7ZFW7_y1XAgUyW9-GaPG4G66FM and asking to watch the video.

[4] Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1989). Jesus in India. Tilford (Surrey,

[5] Miiller, F. Max. “The Alleged Sojourn of Christ in India.” Nineteenth Century, October 1894, pp. 515-21.http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/scanned/notovitch.htm

[6] Abhayananda, Swami. “Journey Into Kashmir and Tibet: With the Life of Jesus by Nicolas Notovitch.” (1987).

[7] Potter, Charles Francis. The lost years of Jesus revealed. Fawcett, 1962.

[8] Pappas, Paul Constantine. Jesus’ Tomb in India: The Debate on His Death and Resurrection. Jain Publishing Company, 1991.

[9] Kersten, Holger. Jesus lived in India: His unknown life before and after the crucifixion. Penguin Books India, 2001.

Olsson, Suzanne. Jesus in Kashmir: The Lost Tomb. Olsson. books, 2007.

[10] Olsson, Suzanne. Jesus in Kashmir: The Lost Tomb. Olsson. books, 2007.

[11] India Today Web Desk, Jesus Christ was a Tamil Hindu, claims RSS founder’s book. Aiyyo!, New Delhi, February 23, 2016; UPDATED: February 24, 2016 13:36 IST.

[12] https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/jesus-christ-tamil-hindu-rss-310087-2016-02-23

[13] http://wakankar.org/dongla/