1-26-07

Aryans Veda/Vedic
Sasseti Brahma
Goa Vishnu
W. Jones Shiva
M. Muller Upanishads
Penka Dayananda
Sanskrit Samhitas/Yuedas
Dasyu S. Radharkishnan
Raja K. M. Panikkar

 Coming of the Aryans – second greatest event

 1948 Portuguese discovery of the new sea route to India – Vasco Digamma
o revolutionized relationship between India and Europe
o Remained under Portuguese control until 1960
o Goa – Portuguese conclave (assembly) in India
 Phillip Sasseti – intrigued that many Indian words are similar to European ones.
 W. Jones – was able to establish that there was a common ancestor between
European and Indian languages.
o Greek, Gothic, Celtic, Sanskrit, Persian, Latin, Hindu, Urdu.
o The Aryan problem: words that originated from Sanskrit.
o 2 separate schools emerged;
 German Max Muller: connection of language; language isn’t the
monopoly of a race or nation.
• Language is aquired and may be their mother language (majority
agree).
 Penka: opposes Muller’s view; language is the monopoly of a race or
nation.
• Language is a inborn thing.
 The Aryans
o Center of where these people came are European; possibly Lithuania
(language)
o The Dravidians – people of the south have nothing to with the Aryan’s
Sanskrit
o Hundreds of different Aryan tribes came down and invaded. Not one unified
nation.
o Impressed with the IVC’s wealth.
o Creators of the Vedas.
 Filled with racial slurs against the dark-skinned Dravidians.
 • Dasyu: a VERY negative and degrating word that was highly
used towards the Dravidians.
o Physically taller and stronger than the Dravidians
o Dravidians were urbanized and civilized.
 Early Aryans weren’t so much
o Raja – Chief, under the petty chief
o Had the sword, unlike the Dravidians
o Aryans had a lot of hidden powers – head of household (ect..)
o Squared homes and thatched roofs
o When someone dies, they are cremated.
 Significance of fire in their rituals
• Hearth
o Brought wool and the skins b/c they were used to colder weather
 Dravidians only had cotton
o Lentils brought good source of protein
 Extensive use of lentils by Aryans leading to vegetarianism.
o Aryans were an optimistic people; vigorous about life
o Hinduism emerging
 More than a religion—a way of life
o Ram Mohan Roy – founding father of modern Hinduism.
 Upanishads - are part of the Vedas and form the Hindu scriptures,
which primarily discuss philosophy, meditation, and the nature of God;
they form the core spiritual thought of Vedantic Hinduism. The
Upanishads are mystic or spiritual contemplations of the Vedas, their
putative end and essence.
o Satyarath Prakas – 14 chapter book. (one chapter per book)
 Hinduism not included
o Samhitas/Yueda- first original Vedas
o S. Radhakrishnan – westernized, occupied the oxford chair of Hinduism
 Russell was his opponent- the chair of Christianity. (they would debate
back and forth)
o Hinduism continues to change and absorb throughout time
o Nehru – Indian ambassador to many countries
o K. M. Panikkar – Indian diplomat that wrote about Hinduism.
 A religion that borrows from others making it its own.