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Eurocentrism and Mathematics

For some their Eurocentrism (or Graeco-centrism) is so deeply entrenched that they cannot bring themselves to face the idea of independent developments in early Indian mathematics, even as a remote possibility. 

A good illustration of this blinkered vision is provided by a widely respected historian of mathematics at the turn of this century, Paul Tannery. Confronted with the evidence from Arab sources that the Indians were the first to use the sine function as we know it today, Tannery devoted himself to seeking ways in which the Indians could have acquired the concept from the Greeks. For Tannery, the very fact that the Indians knew and used sines in their astronomical calculations was sufficient evidence that they must have had it from the Greeks. But why this tunnel vision? The following quotation from G. R. Kaye (1915) is illuminating: 

"The achievements of the Greeks in mathematics and art form the most wonderful chapters in the history of civilization, and these achievements are the admiration of western scholars. It is therefore natural that western investigators in the history of knowledge should seek for traces of Greek influence in later manifestations of art, and mathematics in particular."

It is particularly unfortunate that Kaye is still quoted as an authority on Indian mathematics. Not only did he devote much attention to showing the derivative nature of Indian mathematics, (Attempts to show the derivative nature of Indian sciences, and especially its supposed Greek roots, continue even today. For example, David Pingree has prepared a chronology of Indian astronomy which is notable for the absence of any Indian presence!) usually on dubious linguistic grounds (his knowledge of Sanskrit was such that he depended largely on indigenous ‘pandits’ for translations of primary sources), but he was prepared to neglect the weight of contemporary evidence and scholarship to promote his own viewpoint. So while everyone else claimed that The Bakhshali Manuscript was written or copied from an earlier text dating to the first few centuries of the Common era, Kaye insisted that it was no older than the 12^th century A.D. Again, while the Arab sources unanimously attributed the origin of our present-day numerals to the Indians, Kaye was of a different opinion. And the distortions that resulted from Kaye’s work have to be taken seriously because of his influence on Western historians of mathematics, many of whom remained immune to findings which refuted Kaye’s inferences and which established the strength of the alternative position much more effectively than is generally recognized. 

This tunnel vision is not confined to mathematics alone. Surprised at the accuracy of information on the preparation of alkalis contained in an early Indian textbook on medicine (Susruta Samhita) dating to few centuries  BCE, the eminent chemist and historian of the subject, Marcelin Berthelot (1827-1909) suggested that this was a later insertion, after the Indians had come into contact with European chemistry! 

This Eurocentric tendency has done more harm, because it rode upon the political domination imposed by the West, which imprinted its own version of knowledge on the rest of the world.  

The geographical location of India made her throughout history an important meeting-place of nations and cultures. This enabled her from the very beginning to play an important role in the transmission and diffusion of ideas. The traffic was often two-way, with Indian ideas and achievements traveling abroad as easily as those from outside entered her own consciousness. Archaeological evidence shows both cultural and commercial contacts between Mesopotamia and the Indus valley. Certain astronomical calculations of the longest and shortest day included in the Vedanga Jyotisa, the oldest extant Indian astronomical text, have close parallels with those used Mesopotamia.  

Some sources even credit Pythagoras with having traveled as far as India in search of knowledge, which may explain some of the close parallels between Indian and Pythagorean philosophy and religion. These parallels include: 

1. a belief in the transmigration of souls;
2. the theory of four elements constituting matter;
3. the reasons for not eating beans;
4.  the structure of the religio-philosophical character of the Pythagorean fraternity, which resembled Buddhist monastic orders; and
5. the contents of the mystical speculations of the Pythagorean schools, which bear a striking resemblance of the Hindu Upanishads. 

According to Greek tradition, Pythagoras, Thales, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Democritus and others undertook journey to the East to study philosophy and science. By the time Ptolmaic Egypt and Rome’s Eastern empire had established themselves just before the beginning of the Common era, Indian civilization was already well developed, having founded three great religions – Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism – and expressed in writing some subtle currents of religious thought and speculation as well as fundamental theories in science and medicine. There are scattered references to Indian science in the literary sources from countries to the west of India after the time of Alexander. In a letter Aristotle wrote to his pupil Alexander in India, he warns of the danger posed by intimacy with a ‘poison-maiden’, who had been fed on poison from her infancy so that she could kill merely by her embrace!

(source: The crest of the peacock: Non-European roots of Mathematics - By George Gheverghese Joseph   p. 1 - 18 and 215 - 216

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Hinduism offers False Hope – says Pope Benedict (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger)

"I can hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my Father, Brother and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine."   
                                            
 - wrote Charles Darwin (1809 -1882) naturalist known for his The Theory of Evolution. 

Darwin lost all faith in a beneficent God and saw Christianity as futile. Refer to article - The Evolution Wars - time.com

Refer to Former Catholic Sister Says Even Mother Teresa Is a Fraud - By By Greg Szymanski June 6, 2007

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"Intolerance towards other Faiths – In the eyes of a Christian, all who do not belief in Christ are damned eternally." "To burn in the fires of hell".

"In a true Christian’s ideal world, all humans will be "saved". This means that the whole world would have to be Christian and all other faiths must be destroyed. Just this statement alone proves what is wrong with this Christian ideology."

(source: War for Souls in Iraq and beyond - By Yoginder Sikand). Refer to Truth can kill the West - By M.S.N. Menon - Truth can kill the West—the truth about Christianity. It is all in the Dead Sea scrolls. 

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Narrow Dogmatism?

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." 

             - Abraham Lincoln (American Statesman, 1809-1865). Also refer to The Dark Bible - nobeliefs.com.

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Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) was one of the most profound philosophers of this century, author and educationalist has observed:

"Such dogmatisms are the vehicles of human pride and not humility. Faith cannot be opposed to reason. The weakness of these narrow  orthodoxies is a spiritual cowardice, the failure to face realities. They are likely to destroy religion altogether."

In Hinduism the attitude of freedom and generosity to other faiths is bound up with the conviction that the religious life has its source and certainty in the eternal deeps of man's soul. 

Unfortunately Christian religion inherited the Semitic creed of the 'jealous God' in the view of Christ as 'the only begotten son of God', and so could not brook any rival near the throne. When Europe accepted the Christian religion, in spite of its own broad humanism, it accepted the fierce intolerance which is the natural result of belief in 'the truth once for all delivered to the saints'.

Jacob Wilhelm Hauer (1881-1961) a missionary in India and an official exponent of "the German faith", and a Sanskrit scholar, who gave to the Bhagavad Gita, a central place in the German faith. A Basle missionary, later professor of Indology, eventually leader in the neo-pagan Germanic religious movement, says:

"Christianity claims to possess the absolute truth, and with this claim is bound up the idea that men can only achieve salvation in one way, through Christ, and that it must send to the stake those whose faith and life do not conform, or pray for them till they quit the error of their ways for the Kingdom of God. "

Professor Hauer, who spent some years in India as a Christian missionary, is much impressed by the Hindu attitude of toleration.  

He says: "If the attitude and the conviction, that there is only one road to truth and one way to God, form an inalienable characteristic of Christianity, then Christianity is fundamentally opposed to the German genius."

(source: Eastern Religions & Western Thought - By. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan  p. 285 - 288). Refer to Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org.

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"Although the Bible says that "God is love," Christianity has shed more blood and perpetrated more cruelty than any other religion in the world."

                -  G W Foote and J M Wheeler, authors of Crimes of Christianity. Progressive Publishing Co. London. 1887.

No Salvation outside Church ?

A Vatican document of 1990, Redemptoris Mssion (“The Redeemer’s Mission”) confirms that “dialogue” is still a means of conversion rather than a meeting between equals. Winand Callewaert, a prominent Catholic Indologist summarized: 

“The Church is by definition missionary….For our subject, it is important to note that RM strongly emphasizes the need of missionary activity in Asia. For this mission, ‘dialogue’ and ‘inculturation’ are recommended as the best strategies. The challenge consists in tuning that dialogue to the primordial goal. Viz. evangelization…After all, (RM declares) ‘the obvious road to salvation is the Church, which alone is entrusted with the fullness of the instrument of salvation’. RM continues to assert that ‘Christ is the only redeemer of all men’. The only mediator between God and men’. 

(source:  Decolonising The Hindu Mind - Ideological Development of Hindu Revivalism - By Koenraad Elst Rupa & Co. January 2001 ISBN 8171675190  p 282.  originally cited in Christenen in India – W Callewaert – India  (Brussels) June 1995. p. 17- 20).

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Hinduism, Pope Benedict said, offers ‘false hope’; it guarantees ‘purification’ based on a ‘morally cruel’ concept of reincarnation resembling ‘a continuous circle of hell’.

In 1997 Ratzinger annoyed Buddhists by calling their religion an ‘autoerotic spirituality’ that offers ‘transcendence without imposing concrete religious obligations’… The Cardinal predicted Buddhism would replace Marxism as the Catholic Church’s main enemy this century.

Cardinal Ratzinger had even more choice words for those who are not Catholic:

… Dominus Jesus, the major Vatican document released… by Cardinal Ratzinger… called other world religions “gravely deficient,” denied that other religions can offer salvation independent of Christianity, and said non-Catholic Christian churches have “defects” and are not “churches” at all in the proper sense.

(source: Hinduism offers false hope – Pope Benedict (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) - newint.org). Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and The Sunshine of Secularism. Also refer to chapter on Conversion. Also refer to How various parts of the world was converted to Christianity and Catholic Priests Molest Third World Nuns to Avoid AIDS. Refer to Crimes of the Popes - by G W Foote and J M Wheeler.

Refer to Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica? - By Alex Pomero and Christians have Destroyed Various Ethnic Cultures of the World - christianaggression.org. Also refer to and Missionary's Dark Legacy and Dutch Christians Target Hindus for Conversion. Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). Refer to Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America .

Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon

Christianity is dying in the West. But it is springtime for Christianity in Asia and elsewhere. A Paradox? No. The Pope himself says so. According to Pope Benedict, "there is no longer evidence in the western world for a need of God, even less of Christ."

Dear Hindu reader, are you listening? Do you know the implications of what he says? Perhaps not. But you should know-Christianity is in decline in the West because the West is ashamed of the Christian God Yahweh, who used to drink human blood, and it is flourishing in Asia because Asians are still under the spell of religion. A commission of Bishops (of York and Canterbury), after 16 years of research, declared that the Bible story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ was incorrect. It is this lack of proper evidence of his life and work, which made Ian Wilson, author of Jesus: The Evidence conclude: "There is scarcely a crumb of information to compel a belief in Jesus' existence." Rudolf Bultmann, the greatest New Testament theologian of the 20th century, almost said the same thing. Ernest Kasemann, a specialist on the New Testament at the Tubingen University, says of the research on the life of Jesus: "One is overwhelmed by how little of the accounts about Jesus in the New Testament can be called authentic! Among the distinguished theologians, who authored the book was Prof. Canon Maurice Wiles, Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford. They said; "The historical Jesus never presented himself as incarnate."

(source: Christianity Dying In The West? - By M S N Menon - organiser.org). Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com). Refer to From De Nobili to Clooney: The Christian Methods of Inculturation and American Christian Fundamentalist Leader Calls for Global War - By Yoginder Sikand - christianaggression.org). Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org.

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According to the Bhagavad Gita, even those who worship other gods (anyadevatah), ancestral deities, elemental powers, if they do so with faith, then their faith is justified, for the Divine accepts every form conceived by the worshipper."

(source:  Eastern Religions & Western Thought - By. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan  p  310 - 319).

Why this war on Hinduism?- These two (Christianity and Islam) hostile ideologies, flawed because they are not based on human experience but on spurious and fantastic literature, are based on a priori illusion that human beings are genetically flawed and can be redeemed only by symbolic conversion and the acceptance of their bookish deity. For instance, if the Christian and Islamic clergy do not propagate and force their sterile ideologies down the throats of unsuspecting or helpless people through dubious means, or do not force them to stay on with censure and punishment, their religions would be wiped out in decades. Europe is a primary example.

(source: Why this war on Hinduism? - By George Thundiparambil - christianaggression.org). Refer to Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America .

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Padmashree for Religious Conversion ?
Gladys Staines and Stained Padma 

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) said: " I am a Hindu because it is Hinduism which makes the world worth living."

(source: Young India 1-12-26). For more refer to chapter on Quotes).

The father of the nation, had called religious conversions a fraud on humanity.  

He also considered missionaries as "a clear libel on Indian humanity." 

"Conversions are harmful to India. If I had the power and could legislate I should certainly stop all proselytizing.'' 

(source: "A Repudiation," Young India, 4 March 1926, in Collected Works, vol. 30 (1968), 70. The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Volume 46. p.110 and Volume 61, p. 46-47  volume 64, p. 37 and 400 New Delhi 1968. For more refer to Mahatma Gandhi on The Christian Missionary Menace - Compiled by Swami Aksharananda).

Also refer to India is now 6% Christian - World Christian Database and chapter on Conversion. Refer to Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org.

As is clear from the Mahatma's polemic against the Christian missionaries, he was first and foremost a Hindu, who opposed all designs to destroy Hindu culture. 

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Professor Friedrich Heiler (1892 - 1967)  He was a professor of history of religions and he writes in Hibbert Journal, January 1954, p. 112 – 113:

“It is only too true that Christianity has been disgraced by inexplicable crimes that are not found in the same form and degree in any of the other great religions. Neither Islam nor Buddhism nor Hinduism has slaughtered anything like as many human beings for their beliefs as have the Christian Churches…With the stain of this disgrace upon it how can Christianity claim to be absolute, compared with the incomparably less tainted non-Christian religions? 

(source: The Present Crisis of Faith - By S Radhakrishnan  p. 74). Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org and The Burningcross

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Religions aren't equal, Vatican says

A new Vatican declaration issued yesterday says that only faithful Catholics can attain full salvation from earthly sin, and that other beliefs - including Protestant Christian ones - have defects that render them inferior.

The goal, according to a top Vatican official, is to combat the "so-called theology of religious pluralism," which suggests that Catholics are on par in God's eyes with, say, Jews, Muslims or Hindus.

(source: Religions aren't equal, Vatican says). Also refer to chapter on Conversion.

"The Christian Church establishment in India is also involved in anti-nationalist activities as it supports various separatist movements throughout the country. Over the past few years the news has trickled out that from Kerala to Tripura the Christian Church financially supports the naxals and other like-minded terrorist outfits in the country. Especially, in Tripura, the Church authorities threaten innocent Hindus with reprisals from the naxalites if they do not convert to Christianity.

Similar atrocities are repeated by these Christian missionaries on a daily basis throughout the country, hence the RSS hit the bulls eye when it proclaimed that the Christian Church should be nationalized and freed from the strongholds of its foreign masters. In its blind fit to proselytize the Church establishment in India has essentially become a criminal organization which enjoys financial support from sympathetic Christian nations around the globe. This establishment poses a great threat to the unity of India and it must be steered in the right direction or crushed if necessary before it gains too much power." – By Vikram Chobe author of The Sinister Designs of Christian Missionaries in India.

Indian Marxists Historian Criticizes Hindu Proselytism in West

In statements published by the Indian Catholic agency, SAR News, Marxist historian Romila Thapar says that fact that Hindu fundamentalist groups that criticize Catholics for converting their members is rather ironic, when Hindu groups like the RSS and VHP are on a conversion spree, initiating hordes of tribals into the Hindu fold in various parts of India. 

Do you think Christian missionaries are really doing selfless work;" "Do you think it is proper to exploit the poverty of people to induce them into conversion" etc.

Moreover, Thapar explained that the Hindu missionaries who have gone abroad in recent years are not the "best representatives of our civilization. They are not 'alter Sankaracharyas'; they lack the dignity and the stature of an Asian figure like the Dalai Lama. One wishes they would project a better image of their nation."

What even makes her think she and her coterie are the best representatives of India? Who paid for the Kluge Chair in the LOC - Library of Congress ? Refer to chapter on Aryan invasion theory.

If the educational system set up before the Hindutva tampering is so good, why does the average Indian suffer from an inferiority complex? Why is it that the average Indian student is totally ignorant of his heritage?

When India has provided some of the greatest innovations in mathematics from the numeric system, the concept of zero, the decimal system, the basic algebra etc, why is it that the average Indian student is not even aware of it?

Why is that we read of only Pythagoras and Archimedes? Why doesn't Aryabhatta or other Indian mathematicians or scientists figure in our books?

When even Goethe salutes Kalidasa in his Faust, how come our students read only Wordsworth and Keats? Why not Ashvaghosa instead of Shakespeare? Why not the Panchatantra instead of the Canterbury Tales? Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999.

(source: Indian Marxists Historian Criticizes Hindu Proselytism in West - zenit.org and 'History is, has been, and will be written by the winners' - rediff.com).  Also refer to India is now 6% Christian - World Christian Database. Also refer to chapter on Conversion and Catholic Priests Molest Third World Nuns to Avoid AIDSAlso refer to How various parts of the world was converted to Christianity. Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com). Refer to From De Nobili to Clooney: The Christian Methods of Inculturation. Refer to Christian Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America and The Burningcross

Refer to The Republican War on Science - By Chris Mooney. Refer to Quotes from The American Taliban.  Refer to As America declines, the Bible thumpers take hold - By Ramesh Rao - indiareacts.com. Refer to Communismwatch and cpmterror.

Refer to Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica? - By Alex Pomero and Christians have Destroyed Various Ethnic Cultures of the World - christianaggression.org. Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). 

American Christian Fundamentalist Leader Calls for Global War - By Yoginder Sikand - christianaggression.org

India is now 6% Christian- The 2005 edition of the World Christian Database (http://www.worldchristiandatabase.org/) says that India is now 6% Christian. The government of India last conducted a census on the Indian population in 2001 said that Hindus were 81.4% of the population followed by Muslims at 12.4% and Christians at 2.3%. However, the more recent data from the World Christian Database states that Hindus are now 74% of the population and Christians are 6% of the population. The new survey claims that Catholics have grown from 1.52% of the population in 1970 to 1.66% in 2005. The recent data suggests that the rampant and aggressive conversion by Christian missionaries is much more widespread than previously acknowledged.

(source: India is now 6% Christian - World Christian Database). Refer to Who Killed Our Culture? We Did - By Youki Kudoh - time.com  May 3 1999.

A large number of foreigners have made India their home, empathised with its people and worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Indians because they fell in love with this land. Even during the freedom struggle, several Britons distinguished themselves by participating in the movement and rousing the conscience of their own countrymen against the injustices perpetrated on Indians by the colonial rulers.

A grateful India reciprocated by bestowing affection and honour on the countless foreign-born men and women who helped this country rediscover its self-esteem. In contemporary India, too, there are many examples of such selfless dedication. Therefore, the conferring of the Padma Bhushan on William Mark Tully, for decades the BBC's voice in India and India's voice to the world deserves unstinted commendation. 

But, however tragic Graham Staines' killing, can it be official policy to honour the widow of every person who dies in mob violence?

There are hundreds of foreign missionaries active in different parts of the country, but controversy has always dogged their actions because of the wide suspicion that their final goal remains proselytisation, regardless of the camouflage. This may not be true in many instances, but the popular anger against conversion-related activities has often led the Government to ask many of them to leave the country. Curiously, Ms Staines too left India "on furlough" for her native Australia some time ago despite averring that Orissa would remain her place of work. That raises an additional question: 

What were the compelling reasons for honouring an absentee missionary?

Why was Gladys chosen for Padmashree when there are many of people here who are much more eligible for such an honour?"

"She does not even want to stay in our country and yet we give her a Padmashree. What about the large scale conversion they were engaged in? This is unfair. She does not deserve this honour."

(source: Stained Padma - Editorial - DailyPioneer.com - January 27 2005).  Also refer to chapter on Conversion and India is now 6% Christian - World Christian Database. Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and Catholic Priests Molest Third World Nuns to Avoid AIDS and The Sunshine of Secularism. Also refer to How various parts of the world was converted to Christianity

Why this war on Hinduism?- These two (Christianity and Islam) hostile ideologies, flawed because they are not based on human experience but on spurious and fantastic literature, are based on a priori illusion that human beings are genetically flawed and can be redeemed only by symbolic conversion and the acceptance of their bookish deity. For instance, if the Christian and Islamic clergy do not propagate and force their sterile ideologies down the throats of unsuspecting or helpless people through dubious means, or do not force them to stay on with censure and punishment, their religions would be wiped out in decades. Europe is a primary example.

(source: Why this war on Hinduism? - By George Thundiparambil - christianaggression.org). Refer to From De Nobili to Clooney: The Christian Methods of Inculturation and American Christian Fundamentalist Leader Calls for Global War - By Yoginder Sikand - christianaggression.org). Also refer to and Missionary's Dark Legacy and Dutch Christians Target Hindus for Conversion. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org.

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Fighting the Buddhists with `God’s Armour

  "Put on the full armor of God and fight with weapons of Spiritual warfare."                                                                                               - Christian Evangelist Luis Bush (Time, June 30, 2003).

Going through some old press clippings, I was reminded of this when I read a statement by leading American Christian Evangelist Billy Graham. He was defending himself against accusations of being an anti-Semite, as reported in the New York Times of March 17, 2002. In the last paragraph of his statement he says: “...hatred of anyone with different beliefs has no place in the human mind or heart. I urge everyone to examine themselves and renew their own hearts before God. Only the supernatural love of God through changed lives can solve the problems that we face in our world.”

Isn’t that funny? The man is obviously contradicting himself. This is the mental sickness of all Christian evangelists. While ostensibly denying they are opposed to other beliefs, they cannot really consider as a religion, any faith devoid of monotheism. Hence is the craze to “save non-Christian souls.” It was Sri Lanka'as Anglican Bishop Lakdasa De Mel who declared over five decades ago that the task of the Church would not be finished till the remaining 90 per cent of the island's population were converted to Christianity (The Revolt in the Temple).

Sri Lankan-born Dhammika Akeemana, a long time U.S. resident, recalls Christian evangelists on American TV stressing the need to convert Buddhist and Hindu Asians who are “barbarians”: because they believe “in many gods.”  

This inane perception was dramatically reflected many years ago in the celebrated trial in which a young American high school teacher was tried in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925 for denying the Divine creation of man. During the trial, Defence Lawyer Clarence Darrow, an agnostic, questioned relentlessly, Chief Prosecutor William Jennings Bryan, a Christian fundamentalist.

You have never in all your life made any attempt to find out about other peoples of the earth – how old their civilizations are, how long they have existed on the earth – have you?”  “I think they are very inferior…

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Asked Darrow: “You have never in all your life made any attempt to find out about other peoples of the earth – how old their civilizations are, how long they have existed on the earth – have you?”

Responded Bryan: “No sir, I have been so well satisfied with the Christian religion that I have spent no time trying to find arguments against it. I have all the information I want to live by and die by.”

Asked about the religions of Confucius and Buddha, Bryan retorted: “I think they are very inferior… The Christian religion has satisfied me, and I have never felt it necessary to look up to some competing religion.” (20th Century Journey - William L. Shirer)

Small wonder that evangelists have virtually no respect for and understanding of Hinduism and Buddhism. Christianity has been used as a Trojan horse from the time it replaced Paganism in Europe.

Provoking people who do not agree with them and then accusing those violently provoked of intolerance and fanaticism has been the evangelist strategy, since colonial times. We see plenty of evidence of it today in Sri Lanka and India. Is there any other reason for these proselytizers to open prayer houses in predominantly Buddhist and Hindu areas?

In the late 19th Century, foreign Christian missionaries, hand in glove with Western powers, tried similar tactics (giving special privileges and powers to Christians) in China. When enraged Chinese peasants rose in revolt (the 1899-1901 `Boxer’ uprising) and killed not only foreign missionaries but also Chinese Christians, the West promptly branded the rebels barbarians and reactionaries. As in Central and Eastern Europe, traditional religion in Asia is inextricably related to culture and national heritage. The problem with the West is that it has always been too outward bound. For the past several centuries it has been trying to conquer and convert the world – ideologically, culturally and economically. Christian evangelists have formed part of this offensive.

(source:  Fighting the Buddhists with `God’s Armour’  - christianaggression.org). Also refer to India is now 6% Christian - World Christian Database). Also refer to chapter on Conversion. Also refer to How various parts of the world was converted to Christianity

(For more refer to The Scopes Trial of 1925 pitted William Jennings Bryan against Clarence Darrow and teacher John T. Scopes in an American court case that tested a law passed on March 13, 1925, which forbade the teaching, in any state-funded educational establishment in Tennessee, of "any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals"). 

Refer to A conflict between science and God - By Martin Kettle - Crusade against science in Modern America - Three-quarters of Americans, in other words, still do not accept what Darwin established 150 years ago. Just under half of all Americans believe the natural world was created in its present form by God in six days as described in Genesis. They believe, incredibly, that the earth is only a few thousand years old).

Refer to Cornell President Says "Intelligent Design" Religion, Not Science -    Rawlings noted that this is not the first time evolution has been challenged. Similar groundswells rose against it in the 1860s, shortly after Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,'' and in the 1920s, culminating in the famous "monkey trial'' involving Tennessee high school biology teacher John Scopes. Evolution also was the focus again in 1987 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana's "Creationism Act'' was invalid. Rawlings' comments aren't the first time in which Cornell has stepped up to defend science. Cornell's first president, Andrew Dickson White, wrote a two-volume work, "A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom,'' in which he sought to provide his readers with a clear distinction between theology and science.

Pat Robertson tells Dover, PA citizens, after the election: “Don’t turn to God if you need help”

On today’s 700 Club, Rev. Pat Robertson took the opportunity to strongly rebuke voters in Dover, PA who removed from office school board members who supported teaching faith-based “intelligent design” and instead elected Democrats who opposed bringing up the possibility of a Creator in the school system’s science curriculum. Rev. Robertson warned the people of Dover that God might forsake the town because of the vote.

(source: http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=19453).  Also refer to Dinosaurs, evangelicals and the state - By Justin Webb - BBC). Refer to Quotes from The American Taliban

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Jayendra Saraswati punished for countering Christian propaganda: RSS
 
RSS leaders have said that Jayendra Saraswati, has been punished for countering Christian conversion propaganda.

RSS chief KS Sudarshan, has accused the Central government of harassing Jayendra Saraswathi.

Saraswathi, implicated in a series of cases, ranging from money laundering to assaults, was earlier arrested in a case relating to the murder of a temple official, Shankararaman, who incidentally was also a bitter critic of the Seer. Saraswati ic was granted bail in January, after nearly a month of detention and massive nation wide protests by Hindu groups.

The RSS said that the seer's extensive charity work was increasingly luring India's poor away from Christian missionaries.

"Even now the seer is being harassed and victimized and all this is happening at the behest of the Central government. It is under pressure from Christian missionaries who have been destabilized by Shankaracharya. The number of hospitals, school and charity organisations opened by him came as a boon for the poor people," Sudarshan told thousands of party workers at a conclave in Mangalore. (ANI)

(source: Jayendra Saraswati punished for countering Christian propaganda: RSS. Also refer to India is now 6% Christian - World Christian Database). Also refer to chapter on Conversion.

Refer to Bible thumpers: Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid - By Arvind Kumar - indiareacts.com). Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org and The Burningcross

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Tsuanami unveils ancient Indian port city

The deadly tsunamis that crashed into the southern Indian coast have unearthed priceless relics, including two granite lions, buried under sand for centuries, archaeologists say. Archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have descended on the ancient seaport of Mahabalipuram, famed for its rock carvings dating back to the great Pallava dynasty, to see the objects.

"The sea has thrown up evidence of the grandeur of the Pallava dynasty. These have been buried for centuries," the archaeologal body's superintending archaeologist, T Sathiamoorthy, told AFP late Thursday.

"We're all very excited about these finds."

The dynasty dominated much of South India from as early as the first century BC to eighth century AD and Mahabalipuram is now recognised as the site of some of the greatest architectural and sculptural achievements in India. Among the tsunami "gifts" found in Mahabalipuram, are the remnants of a stone house and a half-completed rock elephant, archaeologists say. There are also two giant granite lions, one seated and another poised to charge. The statues are each carved out of a single piece of granite stone, testifying to the carver's skill.

The objects were uncovered when the towering waves withdrew from the beach, carrying huge amounts of sand with them. The archaeologists are also excited about a report from locals that just before the waves struck on December 26, the sea withdrew a great distance baring the seabed on which lay a temple structure and several rock sculptures. "We'll be exploring the seabed to document these Pallava relics," Sathiamoorthy said, adding the Archaeological Survey of India would dispatch a team of marine archaeologists next month to the area.  

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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The myths of Mahabalipuram were first set down in writing by British traveller J Goldingham, who visited the South Indian coastal town in 1798, at which time it was known to sailors as the Seven Pagodas. The myths speak of six temples submerged beneath the waves with the seventh temple still standing on the seashore. The myths also state that a large city which once stood on the site was so beautiful the gods became jealous and sent a flood that swallowed it up entirely in a single day.

(source: Tsuanami unveils ancient Indian port city - sify.com and Tsunami throws up India relics - BBC news.com).  

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Lying in Ruins
Why Ancient India has not been tapped by Indian media?

On April 1, 2002, a team of divers from the Indian National Institute of Oceanography and the Scientific, England, found some ruins, off the coast of Mahabalipuram, South India, covering several square miles under the sea. This was considered the biggest breakthrough on ancient India and was heralded by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a discovery which may ‘rewrite history’. But the response from the Indian media? Zilch. 

In the past few years, BBC and other Western media have made several well-executed programmes based on ancient India, namely the Vijayanagar empire, the ancient Buddhist marvles, the underwater structures at Lothal in Gujarat, the sea routes from India to Egypt, the Indo-Atlantis expedition, the Harappan Civilization….The list is never-ending. Indian television channel, in stark contrast, have failed to tap any of the topics. Ironically, ancient India, considered a veritable treasure trove on ancient culture and heritage by the West, has time and again, been sidelined by the Indian media. 

“I personally think that the Indian media considers viewers as mindless illiterates hooked only to Bollywood and puerile soaps. Watch any Western media channel, they keep showing fabulous programmes on ancient India,” lambasts Sushmita Dasgupta, a school teacher and an avid history buff.  

Disgruntled Indian historians, however, hold the Indian media responsible for the lack of interest among the viewers. “The Indian media (other than some newspapers) have never shown interest in anything about ancient India even though I have been in the thick of things for 10 years – from the Indus script decipherment to the Gulf of Cambay discoveries. Television, it seems, has no correspondents to look beyond political gossip,” says eminent historian, vedic scholar and author Dr N S Rajaram, bitterly. Incidentally, he has been interviewed by the BBC alongside Graham Hancock, the person behind the discovery of The Lost City of the Gulf of Cambay.’ 

Another scholar, Dr. S Kalyanraman who has done extensive studies on the river Saraswati and other subjects on ancient India, seconds Dr Rajaram’s views. He says, “No Indian reporter ever bothers checking out on ancient Indian culture or talking to Indian historians. All they are interested in is debunking anything good about the heritage. In fact, they tend to ignore these subjects even after the Western media covers the discoveries.” 

The Indian media has an aversion to taking risks. They do not want to stray from conventional tearjerkers or even contemporary subjects and rationally speaking, why should they? That’s what gives them their ratings.”

(source: Lying in Ruins: Why Ancient India has not been tapped by Indian media?  - By Sumita Chakraborty).

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Nadi astrology
Leafing Through a Life  - The mysterious Nadi Shastras saw it all before

Imagine walking into a simple dwelling in India and having someone you have never met pull out an ancient palm leaf and begin reading about your past, telling about the house you were born in and the name of your parents.

Can you believe that someone in India keeps the record of your past, present and future? Yes! This is called Nadi Astrology written by enlightened masters called the Siddhas. These Siddhas may have known you in a past lifetime when you lived in India. These Siddhas are an esoteric group of enlightened saints from the distant past. The stories of many of them are not yet well-known in the West. They founded Nadi astrology. Lord Shiva, pleased with their devotion, bestowed upon them some exclusive powers. He gave them the incredible clairvoyance to know the past, present and future. The Siddhas have etched their priceless knowledge on ancient palm leaves called Nadis. If they were associated with you in your 'Poorva Janma' (previous birth), they promised to help you in a future life, i.e. now. By the Nadi law, you will be involuntarily attracted to the leaves by destiny only. Not everyone has a leaf, so it is an interesting omen that you are reading this far.

The Nadi leaves are inscribed in Sanskrit, the language used in all ancient Indian arts and sciences. It is said that thousands of years ago, the great sages of Indian had the power to look into the past and future of the entire universe and recorded the life of each human being who either lived, were living or were to live.

***

The Nadi leaves are inscribed in Sanskrit, the language used in all ancient Indian arts and sciences. The Maharajah Serfoji II of Tanjore, a true patron of art and sciences, stored these palm leaves in his palace library. He had them translated into Tamil.

Nadi astrology is relatively unknown in the West, and even in India it's surrounded by mystery. Thousands of palm-leaf bundles of prophecy, going by the name of Nadi Granthas in Tamil in South India and Bhrigu Samhitas in Sanskrit in the North, expound minute details about a person's life, including their name, caste, occupation, medical problems and remedies for sins committed in the past life.

Thousands of years ago the Maharishis (great seers) recorded destiny of individual souls (jivas) for all time. They accomplished this through their ability to cognize the subtle mechanics of creation on the finest levels of their own awareness. 

It is said that thousands of years ago, the great sages of Indian had the power to look into the past and future of the entire universe and recorded the life of each human being who either lived, were living or were to live. At some point of time, these discussions were written on palm leaves in an ancient Tamil script, which can now only be deciphered by expert Nadi astrologers. Nadi in Tamil means “ in search of“. Because one individual goes in search of his details in the nadi, this system came to be called by this name. The palm leaf inscriptions are scattered throughout India.

There are Number of Nadis available named after the Rishis who composed the same. There are only a few Nadi readers available who could interpret the inscriptions which are written in the poetic language. There are various Nadis available like Agathiya Naadi, Suka Nadi, Brahma Nadi, Kausika Nadi etc.

The palm leaf inscription of an individual is spotted out by his thumb impression. Lines on the thumb of people on the earth are are classified into 108 types. The Nadi palm leaves are arranged according to these types. The Nadi readers identify the particular types of lines on the thumb and the corresponding set of palm leaves are taken. The time duration to pick up your leaf depends upon the identification of the thumb impression. Some impressions are identified easily and the corresponding leaves are found soon.

Leaves are there not only for Indian nationals but also for foreigners and other nationals belonging to other religions and creeds. Destiny has leaves for those who wished to have their readings. It is also stated that about 40% of the people in the world only are likely to get these results as available. The other leaves might have been damaged or lost in the course of time.

(source: Nadi astrology  

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Saving Hindus from Vile Brahmans ? 

"Scholars are generally agreed that the Inquisition of Goa had earned “a sinister renown as the most pitiless in Christendom.” 

***

AD EXTREMAS ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON SEMINARIES FOR NATIVE CLERGY
"Converting thousands of Hindus from the myths and vile superstitions of Brahmans"

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, on the 24th day of June, in the year 1893, the sixteenth year of Our pontificate.

Pope LEO XIII (1810- 1903):

To Our Venerable Brothers, the Patriarchs, Archbishops and Bishops and other Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Holy See.

Venerable Brothers, Health and Apostolic Benediction.

The Orient, courageously and successfully explored by the Portuguese, is coveted by many today for its lucrative trade. We, however, have a more noble purpose in mind. We reflect upon those immense regions of the Indies where for many centuries men of the Gospel have expended their labor. Our thoughts turn first of all to the blessed Apostle Thomas who is rightly called the founder of preaching the Gospel to the Hindus. Then, there is Francis Xavier, who long afterwards dedicated himself zealously to the same praiseworthy calling. Through his extraordinary perseverence, he converted hundreds of thousands of Hindus from the myths and vile superstitions of the Brahmans to the true religion. In the footsteps of this holy man followed numerous priests, secular and religious, who with the authority and permission of the Holy See strove untiringly to preserve and promote the Christian mysteries and institutions introduced by Thomas and renewed by Xavier. To this day, they are continuing these noble efforts; nevertheless, in the vast reaches of the earth, many are still deprived of the truth, miserably imprisoned in the darkness of superstition! How very great a field, especially in the north, lies yet uncultivated to receive the seed of the Gospel!

(source: AD EXTREMAS ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON SEMINARIES FOR NATIVE CLERGY). 

For more refer to and The Spanish Inquisition : A History - By Joseph Perez nd Flesh Inferno : Atrocities of Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition. (The Blood History Series) and Arrogance of Faith - By Forrest G Wood. Also refer to chapter on Glimpses V.  Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org.

Refer to Truth can kill the West - By M.S.N. Menon - Truth can kill the West—the truth about Christianity. It is all in the Dead Sea scrolls. 

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Indian Christians resent Roman bossism

Papacy and the Pope of Rome are the legacies of the Imperial State Church of the Holy Roman Empire, which had nothing to do with the Christians outside the erstwhile Oikumene (Roman Empire), till the advent of the European colonization. The Christians in Rome of the 1st century AD, which was then only a movement in Judaism, could not function as an established church due to the brutal persecution unleashed by successive Roman emperors. It could assert its identity only by 70 AD after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. By the middle of the 2nd century every important city in the Roman Empire had its own Christian community headed by a bishop. It was only in the 4th century (313 AD) that Christianity was permitted to be practised in Roman Empire by the Emperor Constantine. In 380 AD, Theodosius-I decreed Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire, and all other religions including the different denominations of Christianity were prohibited. Through this decree the Church became the Imperial State Church of the Holy Roman Empire, and the religious persecution in the reverse direction started.

There is no biblical, theological or historical reasoning for the Roman Patriarch to wield authority over other churches. It was only due to political reasons that the Bishop of Rome could become Patriarch of the Roman Church and later become the Pope-head of the churches in the Oikumene (Roman Empire). During the European colonial period the Papacy encroached on all the churches in the world by suitably manipulating history and theology, that the Bishop of Rome is the only successor to St. Peter’s throne, and that Jesus entrusted his Church with St. Peter. This is nothing but religious imperialism.

Malabar Church and Indian Christianity are degraded to the status of religious colonies of the Roman Church. Even to appoint a local Bishop the Church has to get ratification from the Roman Curia! The Bishop elected has to kneel down and declare his faith and allegiance to the Roman pontiff in front of his representative-of course a European

The Malabar Church is one among the most ancient churches in the world-more ancient than the Roman Church. The early Malabar Church (Thomas Christians) maintained a unique identity due to geographical, historical and cultural factors. In the absence of any written documents on the history of early Malabar Christianity, we get information on these only from the oral traditions and folklores. This Church is Christian in faith and Indian in culture and heritage. This was the only Church in the whole world administered in a democratic manner right from the lowest units-parishes-each parish being a democratic republic.

But the identity and the cultural heritage of this Church were brutally trampled by the Portuguese colonial invaders. Through the pseudo-synod convened by the Portuguese Governor-cum-Arch Bishop Dr. Dom Menezis at Udayampur in 1599 AD, the Malabar Church was annexed and made a territory of the Roman Church. All the documents pertaining to the history, heritage and liturgy of the Church were burnt and there started a gradual invasion on the tradition, heritage, hierarchical set-up and identity of Malabar Christianity. The much-cherished Indian customs and rituals were replaced by Western rituals. It was a total surrender of the Indian Christianity before the Westerners. The transformation was manifest even in the theology. According to the Book of Geneses, man is created in the image and likeness of God (Imago Dei). But according to the Western import man is categorised as ‘sinner’. As the great Indian Saint Swami Vivekananda put it, “It is a standing libel on human dignity to call him a sinner.”

Now like the other 20 churches, Malabar Church and Indian Christianity are degraded to the status of religious colonies of the Roman Church. Even to appoint a local Bishop the Church has to get ratification from the Roman Curia! The Bishop elected has to kneel down and declare his faith and allegiance to the Roman pontiff in front of his representative-of course a European-before being consecrated.

(source: Indian Christians resent Roman bossism - By Joy C.L. Kuriachira - organiser.org). Also refer to India is now 6% Christian - World Christian Database).

Refer to VINDICATED BY TIME: The Niyogi Committee Report  On Christian Missionary Activities - Christianity Missionary Activities Enquiry Committee 1956 and The Sunshine of Secularism. Also refer to chapter on Conversion. Also refer to How various parts of the world was converted to Christianity. Refer to The War of Religions and The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Refer to Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica? - By Alex Pomero. Refer to The Swami Devananda Saraswati Interview with Rajeev Srinivasan - christianaggression.org.

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India finds 50 lakh manuscripts and counting 

People at the National Mission for Manuscripts are a surprised lot. When they began a survey to map and document ancient scriptures lying neglected and unseen in numerous pockets of the country they followed an estimate that India had nearly 10 to 20 lakh of them. The figure they found out after their pilot survey in three states, had shot up to a staggering 50 lakh manuscripts, making India the largest storehouse of the `records of yore' in the world. And the count is not the final tally, says Sudha Gopalakrishnan, director of the mission.

Seven lakh of these are just from the three states-UP, Bihar and Orissa, where the mission surveys were held. And of the interesting volumes that they came across include a voluminous copy of the Mahabharata weighing a quintal. The mission, established in 2003 by the centre under the Ministry of Culture to attend to the unkempt manuscripts across the country, plans to embark on a hunt for the ancient volumes in states such as Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The last year's search in three states - 30 districts of Orissa, 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 10 districts of Bihar was carried out through a well-defined strategy involving around 2700 people. "We involved students and teachers in our drive to find the scriptures. They then searched the villages in the districts-in libraries, temples, monasteries and Madrassas for the texts," says Gitanjali, co-ordinator of the survey. From Orissa itself, around 17,857 repositories were found, most of them containing texts of the 'tantric' thought. From Unnao in up about 25,000 manuscripts were procured.  

Painting scene from Bali - Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata 

(For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor).

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The 50 lakh also includes manuscripts that were digitized and documented such as the 500 manuscripts of the 6000 stored at the Iqbal library in Srinagar and 85 manuscripts of 1,000 Kudiyattam manuscripts from Kerala. The mission has also identified 3,500 manuscripts from the Orissa state museum, 4,000 vaishnavite manuscripts from Majuli islands in Assam and 6,500 manuscripts from Tamil Nadu about Siddha stream of medicine, digitisation of which began from January 15 this year, according to a report prepared by the mission.

Yet another project of the mission is to embark on preservation of manuscripts with natural ingredients and considering the climatic conditions of the area of preservation. There are references on preservation of scriptures in ancient and medieval literature such as Ashokan edicts, Kautilya's Arthashastra, puranas, Dasabodhas and the medieval saint literature, Shreenand Bapat, an indology lecturer at Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth says in a paper that he compiled on preserving ancient scriptures.

Saroj V Bhate, honorary secretary of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in Pune, says the institute is planning to coach around 30 people in indigenous methods of conservation. "One of the reasons for bringing the manuscripts from Mumbai to Pune in 1971 was because the climate here is dry. There need not be much done to preserve the documents, except for treatment with tobacco powder and camphor. But that is not the case with the areas in the coastal belt, where humidity is more," Bhate says. Sudha Gopalakrishnan says they had organised an exhibition and seminar where different regions across the country had exhibited their specific method of preservation. These would be compiled into reference texts and would be used for preservation works in future, she says. 

(source: India finds 50 lakh manuscripts and counting - financialexpress.com).

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Did You Know? 

India, the Land of the Sages 
Who were the Vedic Sages?

The sages who composed the Vedas, capturing the eternal truths and shaping them into beautiful hymns, are called rishis, which means “seers.” 

Hinduism acknowledges that seers come in different flavors. There are advanced seers who see everything. There are beginning level seers, too – great souls for sure, but they have only just begun to glimpse the full majesty of the Supreme Reality.   

1. Deva-rishis means god-like seers. These sages level of consciousness is beyond human imagination. Their awareness extends to all worlds and throughout the past and the future. These great beings live in a much higher plane of reality than ours, but when they do so, they can enter our world. To us they are practically gods. The sage Narada is an example.
2. Brahma rishis means god-realized seers. These are fully enlightened men and women who exist here on earth in physical bodies. They could move into higher worlds if they wanted to but remain here to serve humanity.
3. Raja-rishis are “royal seers” – those who have gained mastery in both the physical and the spiritual worlds. The legendary King Janaka, who successfully governed the prosperous and cultured kingdom of Videha while remaining in a continuous state of divine awareness, is a famous example.
4. Maha rishis are “great seers” who may not be fully enlightened like the Brahma rishis, but they have a deep and authentic understanding of the divine, and work tirelessly to help raise humanity to higher levels of consciousness. Veda Vyasa belonged to this group.
5. Parama rishi are “advanced adepts” who are well along the road to enlightenment but have not yet completely purified their minds.
6. Shurta rishis means “learned seers” those souls who have grasped the truths at the core of their spiritual tradition, and are now working hard to translate that knowledge into living experience.
7. Kanda rishis are “striving seers” the beginners on the path who don’t have much technical knowledge about spirituality, yet feel a complete commitment to spiritual life and a burning desire for spiritual truth. 
8.  

The men and women who “channeled” the wisdom inherent in the Vedic hymns thousands of years ago were only able to do so because of their advanced stage of spiritual development. Hindus universally hail them as Brahma rishis, seers of the highest order possible for mortal beings.

(source: Hinduism - By Linda Johnsen  p. 47 - 48).  

Seers: Valmiki, Vyasa, Vishwamitra, Bharatwaj, Rishi Sandipani  

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