Ali
04-18-2005, 07:15 AM
“Aryans, or Indo-Europeans (Caucasians) created the great Indian, or Hindu civilization. Aryans swept over the Himalayas to the Indian subcontinent and conquered the aboriginal people. (...) The word Aryan has an etymological origin in the word Arya from Sanskrit, meaning noble. The word also has been associated with gold, the noble metal, and denoted the golden-skinned invaders (as compared to the brown-skinned aboriginals) from the West. (...) The conquering race initiated a caste system to preserve their status and their racial identity. The Hindu word for caste is Varna, which directly translated into English means color.” (p.517-518)" From My Awakening , by David Duke (www.davidduke.com/).
David Duke’s brief analysis of Indian society is a shorthand version of the most widespread theory of the Aryan invasion and the caste system. He has not distorted it to suit his own purposes; you can find it like that in many history books (e.g. the late Alain Daniélou’s Histoire de l’Inde, and publications by leading scholars like Jan Gonda, SK Chatterjee, Gordon Childe, FBJ Kuiper, the early Asko Parpola, H Kulke & D Rothermund). You also find it in the missionary-supported pseudo-Ambedkarite movement which, unlike Dr. Ambedkar himself, fervently believes in and propagates this racial version of the AIT, the only difference being the respective evaluations of the contending races: pseudo-Ambedkarites and Dravidian separatists consider the dark-skinned natives the good guys. Yet, the world of scholarship is beginning to take its distance from this “Aryan apartheid” theory. reference (http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/articles/aid/davidduke.html)
The study of ancient India, at least in the modern Western sense, may be said to have begun with Sir William Jones in the late 18th century. One of Jones's discoveries was that Indian languages - Sanskrit in particular - and European languages are related. To account for this, European scholars, the most famous of whom was F. Max Müller, proposed an invasion of 'Aryans' from the Eurasian steppes. There were other currents - like colonial politics and Christian missionary interests - that need not detain us here. He assigned a date of 1500 BC for the invasion and 1200 BC for the composition of the Rigveda. The reason for the date was his firm belief in the Biblical chronology that assigned 23 October 4004 BC for the Creation and c. 2448 for Noah's Flood, though he sought to give other - equally fanciful - explanations. Though their knowledge of the Vedas and the Sanskrit language was limited, European scholars contrived to find and interpret a few passages in the Vedas as the record of the invasion of fair skinned Aryans and their victory over the dark skinned natives. In other words, the Aryan invaders were colonisers like themselves. As often the case, such theories tell us more about the people who created them than history. reference (http://members.rediff.com/thereviewer/12091999p.htm) Facist bigots like David Duke (and Adolf Hitler) use historical "evidence" such as the Aryan Invasion Theory (http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/aryan/aryan_frawley.html) to 'prove' that white people are better than other races and should be allowed to fuck them over. The Aryan Invasion theory states that the Vedas, the books upon which Hinduism is based, were actually written by "fair skinned invaders from the North" - hence all the religions of Asia and the Middle East were actually the product of the White Man!
Until the mid-19th century, no Indian had ever heard of the notion that his ancestors could be Aryan invaders from Central Asia who had destroyed the native civilization and enslaved the native population. Neither had South-Indians ever dreamt that they were the rightful owners of the whole subcontinent, dispossessed by the Aryan invaders who had chased them from North India, turning it into Aryavarta, the land of the Aryans. Nor had the low-caste people heard that they were the original inhabitants of India, subdued by the Aryans and forced into the prisonhouse of caste which the conquerors imposed upon them as an early form of Apartheid. All these ideas had to be imported by European scholars and missionaries, who thought through the implications of the Aryan Invasion Theory (AM, the theory that the Indo-European (IE) language family had spread out from a given homeland, probably in Eastern Europe, and found a place in Western and Southern Europe and in India as cultural luggage of horse-borne invaders who subjugated the natives. Koenraad Elst: UPDATE ON THE ARYAN INVASION DEBATE (http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/books/ait/ch11.htm) Now, here's a HUGE leap of logic. Why is there so much interest in Iran at the moment? It is believed that the ancestors of the Indo-Europeans branched into two-the European and the Indo-Iranian. The later branch further divided into two:- the Iranian and the Indian. This conclusion is drawn from the similarity in the language of the Avestan Gathas and the Vedas. A proto-Indo-Iranian language is thought to have evolved in c. 1500 BC, probably in Syria. Egyptian excavations indicate that Syria had rulers with Indo-Iranian names in the second millenium BC [2].
By the time the Indian branch of the Indo-Iranians reached India, Indus Valley Civilization IVC was at least a thousand years old. The IVC had a notable religion of its own. Whereas in other civilizations men built magnificent temples for gods and kings but the average citizen lived an ordinary life, in the IVC the average citizen lived in spacious houses, had access to public baths, good drainage etc, and religion was a private affair [3]. Mother goddess was worshipped as the supreme deity and the worship of a proto Shiva was known [4].
The state of India between the IVC and the coming of the Aryans (the Indians of the Indo-Iranian branch) is fuzzy. It is believed [3] that the greatest fusion of culture in India is that of the Aryans and the Dravidians (possible representatives of the IVC). If one assumes that the Aryan invasion theory is correct, the location of the original home of the Aryans is an important question. Based on the foregoing arguments Max Muller believed that they came from central Asia. Indian scholars like B.G.Tilak think of the arctic circle as the original home of Aryans since the descriptions of sunrise given in the Vedas are too detailed and beautiful to refer to the equatorial sunrise.
Aryans who came to India brought with them a well-defined religion, which was essentially a refined form of nature worship. The fusion of this religion with that already existing in India gave raise to the so-called Hinduism. It is believed that the Aryans, during their course of migration, came in contact with the Babylonians who were experts in astronomy and use of metals. The Indo-Iranians (Aryans) carried this knowledge to an art of perfection. In addition to learning from the Babylonians and perfecting their learning, the Aryans developed religious institutions unique to them, which are reflected in the Avestan Gathas and the Vedas. Some of them are the Hotr of Vedas (Zaotar of the Gathas), Adhvaryu (Rathwi) and the Atharvan (Atharva) who were specifically trained priests; Isti (Ishti) – a rite to invoke a deity to whom Ahuti (Azuiti) or offering was made.
In addition to ceremonies, mythologies assumed a definite form. Both the Vedas and the Gathas believe that Yama (Yima) is the ancestor of all humans (Aryans); that the demon Vrtra was slain by Vrtrahan (Verethraghna); that Thrita was the first physician; Mitra (Mithra) is the sun god; and Aryaman (Airyman) is the god presiding over marriage [5].
Both the Vedas and the Zend-Avesta state that gods and demons had a common origin- the gods chose truth and the demons chose untruth. This is about as far as the two agree, for whom each calls as god or demon contradicts with the other. The Gathas call the gods Ahura and hence their greatest god is Ahura Mazda. On the other hand the Vedas call the demons Asura and the gods Deva. Deva in Zend Avesta refers to demons. It is believed that the Indo-Aryans drank a lot of the intoxicating Soma and were hence called Suras in opposition to the Iranian –Aryans who did not drink (A-suras).
The struggle between these two groups grew keener. According to Aitreya Brahmana, the Asuras were initially successful in these wars due to which the Devas were forced to take refuge in the north-east (of Iran) and found their way to India [5].
These Aryan settlers in India wrote the Vedas, which they called the Srutis i.e., that which was heard. The poets who wrote the Srutis did not claim these works to be their own but attributed them to divine revelations. Hence Srutis were also called apaurusheya or that which is not of human origin.
reference (http://www.geocities.com/fisik_99/vedic.htm#intro) If you are still readig this, then you might like to reflect on the real reason for invading Iran... the Aryans are coming back (via Europe and N.America).
Or maybe it's just about oil.
David Duke’s brief analysis of Indian society is a shorthand version of the most widespread theory of the Aryan invasion and the caste system. He has not distorted it to suit his own purposes; you can find it like that in many history books (e.g. the late Alain Daniélou’s Histoire de l’Inde, and publications by leading scholars like Jan Gonda, SK Chatterjee, Gordon Childe, FBJ Kuiper, the early Asko Parpola, H Kulke & D Rothermund). You also find it in the missionary-supported pseudo-Ambedkarite movement which, unlike Dr. Ambedkar himself, fervently believes in and propagates this racial version of the AIT, the only difference being the respective evaluations of the contending races: pseudo-Ambedkarites and Dravidian separatists consider the dark-skinned natives the good guys. Yet, the world of scholarship is beginning to take its distance from this “Aryan apartheid” theory. reference (http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/articles/aid/davidduke.html)
The study of ancient India, at least in the modern Western sense, may be said to have begun with Sir William Jones in the late 18th century. One of Jones's discoveries was that Indian languages - Sanskrit in particular - and European languages are related. To account for this, European scholars, the most famous of whom was F. Max Müller, proposed an invasion of 'Aryans' from the Eurasian steppes. There were other currents - like colonial politics and Christian missionary interests - that need not detain us here. He assigned a date of 1500 BC for the invasion and 1200 BC for the composition of the Rigveda. The reason for the date was his firm belief in the Biblical chronology that assigned 23 October 4004 BC for the Creation and c. 2448 for Noah's Flood, though he sought to give other - equally fanciful - explanations. Though their knowledge of the Vedas and the Sanskrit language was limited, European scholars contrived to find and interpret a few passages in the Vedas as the record of the invasion of fair skinned Aryans and their victory over the dark skinned natives. In other words, the Aryan invaders were colonisers like themselves. As often the case, such theories tell us more about the people who created them than history. reference (http://members.rediff.com/thereviewer/12091999p.htm) Facist bigots like David Duke (and Adolf Hitler) use historical "evidence" such as the Aryan Invasion Theory (http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/aryan/aryan_frawley.html) to 'prove' that white people are better than other races and should be allowed to fuck them over. The Aryan Invasion theory states that the Vedas, the books upon which Hinduism is based, were actually written by "fair skinned invaders from the North" - hence all the religions of Asia and the Middle East were actually the product of the White Man!
Until the mid-19th century, no Indian had ever heard of the notion that his ancestors could be Aryan invaders from Central Asia who had destroyed the native civilization and enslaved the native population. Neither had South-Indians ever dreamt that they were the rightful owners of the whole subcontinent, dispossessed by the Aryan invaders who had chased them from North India, turning it into Aryavarta, the land of the Aryans. Nor had the low-caste people heard that they were the original inhabitants of India, subdued by the Aryans and forced into the prisonhouse of caste which the conquerors imposed upon them as an early form of Apartheid. All these ideas had to be imported by European scholars and missionaries, who thought through the implications of the Aryan Invasion Theory (AM, the theory that the Indo-European (IE) language family had spread out from a given homeland, probably in Eastern Europe, and found a place in Western and Southern Europe and in India as cultural luggage of horse-borne invaders who subjugated the natives. Koenraad Elst: UPDATE ON THE ARYAN INVASION DEBATE (http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/books/ait/ch11.htm) Now, here's a HUGE leap of logic. Why is there so much interest in Iran at the moment? It is believed that the ancestors of the Indo-Europeans branched into two-the European and the Indo-Iranian. The later branch further divided into two:- the Iranian and the Indian. This conclusion is drawn from the similarity in the language of the Avestan Gathas and the Vedas. A proto-Indo-Iranian language is thought to have evolved in c. 1500 BC, probably in Syria. Egyptian excavations indicate that Syria had rulers with Indo-Iranian names in the second millenium BC [2].
By the time the Indian branch of the Indo-Iranians reached India, Indus Valley Civilization IVC was at least a thousand years old. The IVC had a notable religion of its own. Whereas in other civilizations men built magnificent temples for gods and kings but the average citizen lived an ordinary life, in the IVC the average citizen lived in spacious houses, had access to public baths, good drainage etc, and religion was a private affair [3]. Mother goddess was worshipped as the supreme deity and the worship of a proto Shiva was known [4].
The state of India between the IVC and the coming of the Aryans (the Indians of the Indo-Iranian branch) is fuzzy. It is believed [3] that the greatest fusion of culture in India is that of the Aryans and the Dravidians (possible representatives of the IVC). If one assumes that the Aryan invasion theory is correct, the location of the original home of the Aryans is an important question. Based on the foregoing arguments Max Muller believed that they came from central Asia. Indian scholars like B.G.Tilak think of the arctic circle as the original home of Aryans since the descriptions of sunrise given in the Vedas are too detailed and beautiful to refer to the equatorial sunrise.
Aryans who came to India brought with them a well-defined religion, which was essentially a refined form of nature worship. The fusion of this religion with that already existing in India gave raise to the so-called Hinduism. It is believed that the Aryans, during their course of migration, came in contact with the Babylonians who were experts in astronomy and use of metals. The Indo-Iranians (Aryans) carried this knowledge to an art of perfection. In addition to learning from the Babylonians and perfecting their learning, the Aryans developed religious institutions unique to them, which are reflected in the Avestan Gathas and the Vedas. Some of them are the Hotr of Vedas (Zaotar of the Gathas), Adhvaryu (Rathwi) and the Atharvan (Atharva) who were specifically trained priests; Isti (Ishti) – a rite to invoke a deity to whom Ahuti (Azuiti) or offering was made.
In addition to ceremonies, mythologies assumed a definite form. Both the Vedas and the Gathas believe that Yama (Yima) is the ancestor of all humans (Aryans); that the demon Vrtra was slain by Vrtrahan (Verethraghna); that Thrita was the first physician; Mitra (Mithra) is the sun god; and Aryaman (Airyman) is the god presiding over marriage [5].
Both the Vedas and the Zend-Avesta state that gods and demons had a common origin- the gods chose truth and the demons chose untruth. This is about as far as the two agree, for whom each calls as god or demon contradicts with the other. The Gathas call the gods Ahura and hence their greatest god is Ahura Mazda. On the other hand the Vedas call the demons Asura and the gods Deva. Deva in Zend Avesta refers to demons. It is believed that the Indo-Aryans drank a lot of the intoxicating Soma and were hence called Suras in opposition to the Iranian –Aryans who did not drink (A-suras).
The struggle between these two groups grew keener. According to Aitreya Brahmana, the Asuras were initially successful in these wars due to which the Devas were forced to take refuge in the north-east (of Iran) and found their way to India [5].
These Aryan settlers in India wrote the Vedas, which they called the Srutis i.e., that which was heard. The poets who wrote the Srutis did not claim these works to be their own but attributed them to divine revelations. Hence Srutis were also called apaurusheya or that which is not of human origin.
reference (http://www.geocities.com/fisik_99/vedic.htm#intro) If you are still readig this, then you might like to reflect on the real reason for invading Iran... the Aryans are coming back (via Europe and N.America).
Or maybe it's just about oil.