Author: nitinsingh

Postgraduate in International relations. Experience in writing in various journals, from BBC WORLD NEWS SERVICE to India's one of the oldest hindi daily. I like to write on international relations, religion, religious conflict. Social media has bridged the distance between writing and reading. Now writing is not just the expression of one's own thought, but also knowing the expression of people on various subject.

Buddha’s statue unearthed in Egypt

A statue of Buddha has been found near the ancient city of Egypt.

According to a public announcement by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities it was discovered by the Polish-American Joint Archaeological Mission, which had been working on this subject since 1994.

BERENIKE (BERENICE)

The statue of Buddha has been found at a place called BERENIKE, Egypt. In ancient times this place developed as a port city. BERENIKE was an important trading port built by the Ptolemaic dynasty. This dynasty ruled Egypt for about three centuries.

Egypt was not only a major civilization settled on and around the banks of the river Nile, but it was also a place connecting all the prominent civilizations of that time together. These included the Mesopotamian, Indian, and Chinese civilization.

NOW IN EARLIER TIMES THE WORLD’S HISTORY HAD CONSISTED, so to speak, of a series of unrelated episodes , the origins and results of each being as widely separated as their localities , but from this point onwards history becomes an organic whole :the affair of Italy and Africa are connected with those of Asia and of Greece , and all events bear a relationship and contribute to a single end .

POLYBIUS (died 118 B C), on the rise of the Rome

UNEARTH BUDDHA STATUE

Historians are considering the received statue of Buddha to be about 1900 years old. This idol is made of stone and its height is 71 cm. Buddha is depicted in a standing position in this statue.

Salient features of the received idol

In the received idol, Gautam Buddha is depicted in a standing position.

The statues of Buddha in which he is depicted in a standing position are believed to be the oldest statues of Buddha.
Sculpture depicting Buddha in standing posture is believed to be an attempt to depict Buddha in human form.

A sun-like structure is carved behind the Buddha’s head, to represent the spiritual powers of the Buddha, his majesty.

Some believe that the reason behind carving the sun-like structure was something else.

Buddha came from the Ikshvaku dynasty, this dynasty was one of the main dynasty of India.

The Ikshvaku dynasty is also called the solar dynasty because like the dynasty of Japan, the origin of this dynasty is believed to be from the sun and the sun was their main deity, so the shape of the sun behind Buddha’s head represents his dynasty.

Buddha is depicted holding the end of his robe in one hand. The shape of a lotus flower is made under the feet of Buddha’s statue, in most of the ancient statues of Buddha found, Buddha has been shown sitting, meditating, or standing on a lotus flower.

The lotus flower has a prominent place in Buddhism, the lotus flowers were present in all monumental events such as birth, marriage, enlightenment or preaching of Lord Buddha, so for this reason the lotus flower is used in most of the statues of Buddha.

Apart from the statue of Buddha, an inscription written in Sanskrit has also been received.

What is the significance of the ancient statue of Buddha found in Egypt in context of India.

The ancient sea route which connected India to Egypt(Berenice).

Trade relations between India and Egypt date back much before the advent of Buddha.

Everyone is aware about the pyramids of Egypt. The mummies found inside the pyramids are still a matter of curiosity.

MUMMY:- is a dead body which was preserved long ago by being rubbed with special oils and wrapped in cloth .

Many bodies have been found inside the pyramids in ancient Egypt. To protect these dead bodies, these dead bodies were kept wrapped in special types of oil and clothes, Historians believe that the clothes used to protect and preserve the dead bodies were all made in India.

In ancient times, indigo was used to dye clothes. Many textiles found in the roman and the Egyptian empire display the usage of indigo in them. Indigo was supplied all over the world from India. This is trivial as Indigo got its name because of India itself.

According to old Persian stories, Indian steel was used in the making of high quality swords even during the time of Alexander.

There is evidence of large quantities of black pepper, silks, ivory ornaments and valuables being imported from India at a place called Berenice where the Buddha statue has been found.

All these Indian goods were sent to the Roman Empire from Berenice itself. In this way, India’s trade with Egypt was done on a large scale, as well as Egypt was a major stop of trade between East and West countries.

GRAND TRUNK ROAD

Note :- Trade between India, Egypt and Roman Empire was done not only through sea, ocean routes but by land route as well.

Starting from the remote part of India (now Bangladesh) via Peshawar, the Grand Trunk Road also connected Central Asia and Ancient Greece.

In ancient times, this road has mentioned by the name of Uttarpath “meaning ~ The Northern road”. During the time of Mauryan Empire (322 BCE), this road was renovated. The length of this road is about 2500 kilometers and it passes through almost all the major business cities of North India.

# The statue of Buddha found in Egypt once again well establishes the fact that India was the center of world trade for about 2000 years in ancient times.

# There was a huge demand for goods made in India all over the world and at that time the people of India had made good progress in chemistry, metallurgy as compared to other civilizations and empires.

# There was a great demand in Egypt and Europe for the clothes made in the Far East of India.

#In ancient India, the business of shipbuilding was in an advanced stage.


#Indian sailors had good knowledge of the sea route.

Here in Sarnath, Buddha gave his first sermon and ordered the Buddhist monks to spread his teachings in all four directions, following this order of Buddha, Buddhist monks spread all over the world and started promoting the teachings of Buddha for the development of human welfare.

As the layers of ancient history are being opened with the help of modern science, it is becoming clear that Indian traders also had a big role in the propagation of Buddhism across the world.

How Buddha resolved the problem of water scarcity between 2 kingdoms ?

There was a situation of war between the two states regarding the water of a river. How did Buddha deal with this problem and why is this incident so relevant even in the present circumstances?

In general, water scarcity or water crisis makes us feel that this is a modern problem, and this problem is limited to some big metropolitan cities, to some extent it is okay to think so, but water problem has always been there and due to man’s greed, jealousy, fake pride, this problem has become even worse.

Similarly, around the time of Buddha, there was a violent dispute between two provinces regarding the usage of the water of a river.

The manner in which Buddha settled this dispute between the two states over the water of the river is equally relevant today.

About 2600 years ago from today. The boundaries of two major kingdoms used to meet at what is presently the Indo-Nepal border.

These two major kingdoms were Sakya and Koliya.

Rohini river used to flow between Sakya and Koliya kingdom. In this way, the geographical division of both the states was done by the Rohini river only. The relations between the two states were very good.

Current geographical location of Rohini river

The Rohini River originates from the hills of the Shivalik Mountains in the Kapilvastu Districts of the Lumbini region of Nepal and enters the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, flowing southwards. It joins the Rapti river near Gorakhpur inside the border of India, which joins Ghaghra and Ghaghra goes ahead and meets the Ganges river.

Drought and conflict between the states.

The residents of both the states used the water of the Rohini river in their daily life. Once it did not rain for many days, as a result of which there was a severe famine, both the states also had to face the shortage of water.

The farmers of both the states depended on the water of the Rohini river for agriculture.
Due to lack of rain, water was not available in abundance in the Rohini river that year. At the time of rice planting, (Rice was the major crop of both the states). The farmers of both the states wanted to use the water as much as they possibly could, as a result, the farmers of both the states started showing their desire to use the water of the river by building dams in their respective borders.

People who had been living together for generations became enemies of each other due to lack of water. People on both sides wanted water. In the beginning, the farmers of both the states said bad things to each other, there was a round of accusations and counter-accusations between them, then a lot of ill-will was generated by the use of abusive language.

One day there was a fight between the farmers on both sides after listening to each other. Many farmers of both the states were injured in the conflict over the rights to the water of the Rohini river. The conflict increased so much that first the police of both the states and then later the army had to be deployed.

Relations between the two states had become extremely tense. An armed conflict could break out between the two states at any time.

Arrival of Buddha and solution to the problem

Buddha came to know about this incident, he immediately went to meet the kings of both the states to solve this problem.

Both the states were important to Buddha. Sakya region was the homeland of Buddha, while Buddha’s mother and wife Yashodhara both came from Koliya region.

After meeting the members of the royal family of both the countries, Buddha also met the officials, farmers of both the states and took stock of the real situation. Buddha came to this conclusion after thoroughly understanding the problem:-

@ At the root of the problem is water scarcity. The people of both the states can overcome this shortcoming with mutual understanding.

@To deal with this problem long term measures were needed which was possible only with the efforts of the ruling class of both the states.

@Buddha found that corrupt politics and arbitrary behavior of officials had made the problem worse.

LIFE IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN WATER .

Buddha explained to the rulers of both the states that life is more precious than water. Buddha said that the lack of water had fanned the flames of anger and hatred among the people of the two kingdoms and this led to war. Had hatred and anger been kept under control, this unfortunate situation would not have arisen.

Buddha suggested the rulers of both the states to sit down and look forward for negotiations. Buddha also suggested the farmers of both the states to face this difficult time together. Buddha suggested equal distribution of water to the farmers of both the states, which was happily accepted by the people and rulers of both the states.

Buddha was highly respected both by the ruling class of the state and the public, so soon peace was established with the efforts of Buddha and warm and cordial relations were again established between the two states.

 ” THE NEXT WAR IN OUR REGION WILL BE OVER THE WATERS OF THE NILE , NOT POLITICS .“

BOUTROS BOUTROS GHALI

At present the whole world is suffering this water crisis. There is a situation of conflict between many countries regarding the distribution of water. Within countries, conflicts have also seen between provinces, or between cities and villages regarding the distribution of water.

Instead of solving this problem together, the ruling class escapes from its duty by inciting anger and hatred among the general public. People blinded by hatred do not even try to solve the root problem. If Buddha’s words are heeded, then undoubtedly it is possible to get rid of the world’s water crisis. Remember that Buddha’s teachings are also based on experience instead of pure idealism and public welfare is his one and only goal.

SUTRA OF THE LION’S ROAR

What is the significance of the four lions depicted in the National Emblem of India? What teachings of Gautam Buddha do these represent? Why did Emperor Ashoka get the statue of these four lions built on the top of the Ashoka pillar? Today, even after almost 2600 years, the embodiment of Buddha’s teachings is a unique example of the richness of the Indian culture.

Recently a controversy has arisen over the “Lion Capital”, the national emblem of India.

The reason for this controversy was the replica of the LionCapital to be installed on top of the newly constructed building of the Parliament of India.

Highlights of the Lion Capital statue to be installed on the roof of the new Parliament building

@ The Lion Capital statue to be installed on the roof of the newly built Parliament House is a replica of the original statue located in the museum of Sarnath, Varanasi.

@ The replica to be installed on the roof of the Parliament House is made of bronze and weighs 16,000 kg. The total height of this replica is 6.5 meters.

@ The replica was made by 100 artisans over a period 9 months. This statue is completely hand made, no machine has been used in its construction.

The controversy behind this statue-:

Major opposition parties mainly Congress and Communist Party are attacking the ruling party over this statue. These political parties say that in the construction of this statue, the four lions have been shown as aggressive, whereas in the Lion Capital statue at Sarnath, the four lions have been shown calm and majestic.

Some people say that these lions seem to be violent and man-eaters.

This dispute increased so much that some people went to the court, well the court rejected this petition, but many people are still angry about this incident.

At first glance, it seems that because of being associated with Buddhism, these four lions must have been depicted with a calm nature in the Original statue.

Are the four lions actually depicted as calm & majestic in the original statue located in the Sarnath Museum?

Close up of Lion Capital in Sarnath Museum. (Wikimedia commons )

In fact, even in the original Lion Capital, the four lions are depicted in an aggressive posture.

All four lion’s mouths are open, sharp teeth, their tongue flapping, protruding veins, heavy mane, their claws sticking out (It is worth noting that lion’s claws are retractable and they come out of their paws only when hunting.) It becomes clear at the very first sight itself that all the four lions are depicted in an aggressive posture.

Now an important question arises here.

There is a lot of emphasis on non-violence in Buddhism, then why are the lions depicted in an aggressive posture in the Lion Capital ?

Along with this it becomes necessary to find answers to some more questions.

@ What does the Lion Capital built by Emperor Ashoka on the top of the pillar symbolize?

@ What teachings of Buddha did Emperor Ashoka consider as the basis for the construction of the Ashoka Pillar?

To answer these questions, we must turn to Buddhist literature and Lion Capital. Fortunately, all of these sources are available in abundance.

IN THE WORDS OF THE BUDDHA HIMSELF

THE SUTRA OF THE LION’S ROAR

A teaching of the Buddha was named the Sutra of the Lion’s Roar by his disciple Ananda. Buddha had emphasized the need of Buddhist organization(known as SANGHA, a BUDDHIST COMMUNITY) under this and highlighted the importance of organization.

SANGHA : Monastic community of bhikkhu (monks )and bhikkuni (nuns) Buddha described Sangha as the community that supports one along the path.

Buddha explained this importance of Sangha by giving the example of rice that joint effort is better than single effort, just as a rice grain has the natural tendency to turn into a rice plant, but for this to happen some other Factors are also required such as: sunlight, soil, water, air etc.

Similarly, a person can also try to attain enlightenment all by himself, but with the help of other people, his/her path becomes easier, so association is necessary for attaining knowledge. According to Buddha, by concerted effort under the Sangha, the wall of ignorance crumbles in the same way as darkness with the advent of light.

After explaining the importance of the Sangha, Buddha described the Sangha as powerful as a lion roaming in the jungle.
According to Buddha, The lion is the king of the jungle, when he comes out of his cave, the message of his arrival spreads in all four directions.
When the lion roars before the hunt, fear prevails in all the animals and all the creatures start hiding.
Birds start flying high on hearing the lion’s roar, crocodiles start searching the depth of water, foxes hide in burrows, even the majestic elephants which are decorated with precious jewels, equipped with golden canopies start running away from the roar.

Sangha is the proclamation of the path of enlightenment like the roar of a lion in the jungle. Buddha says that Sangha is like the roar of a lion. All false ideas and misconceptions lurking in some corner are replaced with the ideas and concerted effort of the Sangh.

The teachings of the Buddha, known as the Sutra of the Lion Roaring, make it clear that the lion that the Buddha portrayed the Sangha as, was a majestic and aggressive one.

Now another question arises as to why did Emperor Ashoka get Buddha’s sermons depicting Sangha like a lion installed on the top of the pillars in the form of idols at Sarnath and some other places?

Not only did Buddha give the first sermon in Varanasi Sarnath, but he also gave the concept of the Buddhist Sangha here and established the Sangha. Later, a huge Buddhist monastery was also established here.

The great Chinese traveler Hieun Tsang, during his visit to India, mentioned the residence of 1500 monks and nuns in this huge Buddhist monastery.

In 1905, during the excavation of Sarnath, the ruins of the Ashoka Pillar were found. A picture from that period shows the Lion Capital, and the section of the pillar bearing Emperor Ashoka’s edict. Presently the top of the pillar is located in the Sarnath Museum and the fragments of the pillar are located in a glass show case among the Sarnath Ruins.

Ashoka Pillar Fragments and the warning of Emperor Ashoka can be seen in Sarnath.

English translation of Emperor Ashoka’s warning It is mentioned by Mr. F.O Oertal. The credit for the archaeological excavations of Sarnath in 1905 and the discovery of the Ashoka pillar goes to Mr. F.O Oertal.

Thus saith the beloved of the Gods announced in the Order of Monks and in the Order of Nuns. The Church (Baudh- Math)is not to be divided But whosoever, monk or nun, shall break up the Church, shall be made to dwell white garments and dwell in a place which is not a residence for the clergy. Thus must this edict be announced in the Order of Monks and in the Order of Nuns…………………

Key points of Emperor Ashoka’s warning

Emperor Ashoka was very upset and worried about the rising trend of rebellion in the Sangha. In order to convey his point clearly to the Buddhist monks and nuns, the emperor got his warning inscribed on a pillar.

The top of the pillar reflects Gautam Buddha’s description of the Sangha as a lion and reflects the majestic qualities of the lion, certainly for this reason, Emperor Ashoka built the Lion Capital on the top of the pillar.

Observing the teachings of Buddha himself in the Buddhist literature and the warning of Emperor Ashoka, which is still inscribed on the Ashoka Pillar and the top of the pillar kept in the museum of Sarnath, there is no doubt that the Lion Capital’s lions are majestic. Depicted in an aggressive and virtuous posture.

If you want to find out the significance of the Ashoka pillar, the carved figure of other animals on the lion capital, the wheel with 32 spokes, the wheel with 24 spokes and the base like a lotus flower? You can check out this blog post that I wrote earlier—– https://nithinks.com/2022/11/23/ashokan-pillar-its-history-and-importance/

Source :- OLD PATH WHITE CLOUDS (THICH NHAT HANH)

BUDDHACARITA (ASHWAGHOSH)

THE ROMANTIC LEGEND OF SHAKYA BUDDHA (FO SO HING TSAN )

Basant Panchami, Saraswati Puja and historical journey of India .

Basant Panchami, Saraswati Puja are not only the holy festivals of Hindus, but they also reflect the entire ancient “INDIANNESS”
The oldest signs of Hindu civilization are visible in this festival even today.

According to the Hindu calendar, the seasons have been divided into six types.
These are:-
1.SPRING (BASANT) 2. SUMMER (GRISMA)3. MONSOON(VARSHA ) 4. AUTUMN (SHARAD)5. WINTER (HEMANTA )6.WINTER (SHISHIRA)

When spring (BASANT) arrives yellow mustard flowers start appearing all over North India.

yellow mustard flowers

BASANT PANCHMI

Spring is called the king of all seasons. For this reason it is also addressed by the nameBasantraj.

There is neither too much heat nor too much cold in the spring season, the weather is very pleasant. In the spring season new leaves appear on the trees, new buds appear on the flowers, in a nutshell nature can be seen in its most beautiful form.

The festival of Basant Panchami is celebrated in the joy of the arrival of the spring season.

It is customary to wear yellow clothes on Basant Panchami, yellow clothes are probably a symbol of embracing the color of nature, because with the arrival of spring, yellow mustard flowers start appearing all over North India.

In rural areas, it seems as if the mother earth has worn yellow clothes. Mother Saraswati is worshiped on Basant Panchami, for this reason. Basant Panchami is also celebrated as Saraswati Puja Day.

According to the Puranas, Lord Krishna was pleased with Goddess Saraswati and gave her a boon that she would also be worshiped on Vasant Panchami, and since then Saraswati, the goddess of learning, was also worshiped on Vasant Panchami, which continues unabated till date.

Image : Wikimedia

Maharaja Ranjit Singh holding court outside near the Golden Temple in Amritsar with everyone dressed in Basant (yellow)

Image :From Wikimedia Commons

Maharaja Ranjit Singh on horseback with attendants with all dressed in Basant (yellow).

GODDESS SARASWATI

The Veena in the hands of Goddess Saraswati is a symbol of artistry and music. The book in the hands of Goddess Saraswati gives knowledge and the rosary gives the sense of piety and religion. The vehicle flamingo is the symbol of beauty and melodious voice.

GODDESS SARASWATI is considered as the goddess of knowledge .(the goddess of literature, music, arts etc.)

The description of Goddess Saraswati can be found in quite detail in ancient Hindu scriptures. The oldest description of Goddess Saraswati is given in Rigveda, the oldest of all the 4 Vedas.

VEDAS: Vedas are the most ancient religious texts of Hindu religion. There are four Vedas. 1.Rigveda 2.Yajurveda 3.Samaveda 4. Atharvaveda . Rigveda is the most ancient of them (Rigveda was composed around 1700 BC).

BEST OF MOTHERS, THE BEST OF RIVERS , BEST OF GODDESSES , SARASWATI.

RIGVEDA

Best of mothers :- In Hindu religion, the place of mother has always been considered the highest and most worshipable, therefore all Hindu goddesses are depicted and described as mothers.

The Best of Rivers :- In ancient times in India there was a river named Saraswati which was considered the most sacred of all the rivers. It is said that this river disappeared because of drying up around 2600 BC.

Best of Goddesses :- In Hinduism, knowledge has always been considered supreme, so it is natural to give the highest place to the goddess of knowledge.

In two other major branches of Hinduism namely-: Buddhism and Jainism, Goddess Saraswati has been praised with all respect.
Since ancient times, India has always been known as the land of knowledge, this belief got further strength during the time of Buddha. During that time, when foreign students studying in major universities of India returned to their motherland after receiving education, they carried many Indian traditions with them.

Because of this, as Buddhism spread, so did the worship of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. This resulted in the Chinese and the Japanese also worshiping Goddess Saraswati.

OM SARASWATYAI SVAHA  (Sanskrit)

ON SARASOBATEIEI SOWAKA (JAPANESE)

IMAGE : WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A sculpture of Benzaiten, Goddess of arts, Saraswati, Hase-dera Temple, Kamakura Japan.

IMAGE : WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

1150 CE Hoysaleswara temple Halebidu Karnataka, Dancing Saraswati.

INDIA’S LOST SARASWATI SCRIPT .

The pictographic script found in the Indus Valley Civilizations is also called the Saraswati writing .

Seals found in Saraswati civilization excavation.

The development of Saraswati civilization started about 8000 years ago. According to historians these seals date back to 15oo BC. Some figures are made on these seals and the text is written in Saraswati script, unfortunately historians have not been able to read Saraswati script till date.

THE SARASWATI CIVILIZATION OR INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

This civilization is also known as the Indus Valley Civilization due to the disappearance of the Saraswati River thousands of years ago and due to its present location on the banks of the Indus River.
Historians like B. B. Lal, Dales, Danino, Kenoyer referred to this civilization as Saraswati Valley Civilization due to the fact that more than 60% area of the seven major cities found in Indus Valley Civilization and 80% of the remains found in Mohenjodaro were found on the banks of the lost Saraswati River.

AREA AROUND THE LOST SARASWATI RIVER

THE SARASWATI CIVILIZATION OR Indus Valley Civilization is considered one of the most ancient civilizations of the world. According to research done in recent years, this civilization is at least 8,000 years old. This civilization was spread in the western part of South Asia, which is currently known as Pakistan and Western India.

The Indus Valley Civilization was the most advanced among other contemporary civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China.

Evidence of worship of trees, rivers, earth, animals is also found in some seals found in the Saraswati valley civilization.
It is quite possible that like the river Saraswati, the tradition of seeing and worshiping the Saraswati script as a mother has started from the time of Saraswati civilization itself.

GODDESS SARASWATI WORSHIP IN MODERN TIME

Idol worship was prohibited during the Islamic rule, but this ban was completely removed during the British rule, the tradition of celebrating Saraswati Puja once again gained momentum during the British rule. Another reason for the popularity of Saraswati Puja festival was the establishment of modern educational institutions during the British rule.

Hindus soon adopted the British education system and many educational institutions were also established by rich Hindus, Goddess Saraswati is considered the goddess of knowledge, so gradually the worship of Goddess Saraswati started in educational institutions. After the independence of India, the expansion of Saraswati Puja happened more rapidly which was natural. Presently Saraswati Puja is a festival celebrated in educational institutions across whole India.

The idol of Goddess Saraswati is made from clay and bamboo. Every year a new idol is made on the day of Basant Panchami.

The festival of Basant Panchami and Saraswati Puja is banned in Pakistan.

What an irony it is that celebrating Basant Panchami and Saraswati Puja is a crime at the place where mostly Saraswati Civilization remains are found, the place where Saraswati river used to flow, where the Saraswati script was born.

After the partition of India-Pakistan, Pakistan became an Islamic country, so Saraswati Puja was banned here, but the tradition of thousands of years of celebrating the festival of Basant Panchami continued till recent years with some changes.

The spring festival in Pakistan was limited to wearing yellow clothes and flying kites, but a few years ago kite flying was also declared un-Islamic, possibly due to Taliban influence.

If viewed with this perspective, Saraswati Puja is not just a Hindu festival, but the history of the entire Hindu religion, and the saga of gradual development of India’s history is stored in itself. Definitely someday historians will succeed in reading Saraswati script and we all will get a chance to get acquainted with many untold, untouched aspects of the Saraswati civilization.

Some interesting stories from Vivekananda’s life

If you want to know India, study Vivekananda.
In him everything is positive and nothing negative. (Romain Rolland, in a letter written to Swami Ashokananda informed that Rabindranath Tagore once told him these words.

NATIONAL YOUTH DAY

Swami Vivekananda’s birthday, January 12th, has been declared as National Youth Day by the Government of India. The Government of India mentioned the significance of this day as follows-

“It was felt that the Philosophy of Swami ji and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration to the Indian youth”.

Swami Vivekananda was born in Calcutta on 12th January 1863, according to the Hindu calendar, that day was also the festival of Makar Sankranti.

On hearing the name ‘Swami Vivekananda’, an image of a serious personality emerges in one’s mind. This is also true to some extent, but there is another aspect of Vivekananda’s personality as well, which is Vivekananda’s funny nature.

Sometimes Swamiji used to explain many serious things in a very hilarious and light-hearted manner, I have compiled some such incidents here.

Why did Vivekananda shave without looking in the mirror?

In those days it was not customary to shave at home. Generally, people used to go to the barber shop to shave, everyone had their own favorite barber, but Swami Vivekananda, who lived in Bellur Math in those days, was famous for shaving himself, and that too without using a mirror.

When someone used to discuss this habit of his with Swami ji , he used to tell that he had developed this habit during his stay in America.

Swami ji used to mention an incident that once he went to a barber shop to get his beard shaved during his stay in America, but that barber refused to shave him.

The barber said that he could not shave them because if his white customers came to know that this barber has shaved a black person they would boycott his shop as black people are also shaved here.
After this incident, Swamiji decided to shave himself and this habit of his remained even after he returned to India.

Is playing football more important than reading the Gita?

The Gita is one of the most sacred religious texts of the Hindus. Gita has the same importance among Hindus as Bible among Christians and Quran among Muslims.

Once a strange-looking young man came to Swami Vivekananda and urged that he wanted Swami Ji to explain him the knowledge of Gita in simple language.

Swami Vivekananda looked at the young man carefully and said that young man listen to me carefully “Playing football is more important for you than understanding the knowledge of the Gita”.The young man asked with surprise why so?
Vivekananda smilingly said that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body.
To understand the knowledge of Gita, it is necessary to have a healthy mind, and a healthy mind will nurture and cherish only when the body is healthy.

The young man, after listening to Swami ji went back and for 6 months spent his time playing football, exercising, and meditating which thereby resulted in a drastic improvement in his health.

After six months, the young man recovered and came to Swami Vivekananda and once again requested him to preach on Gita. Swami ji did not disappoint the young man this time and explained to him the essence of Gita in quite a detail.

The young man was so impressed by Swami ji’s lecture on Gita that he later founded Gita Prachar Mandal(an organization to explain the teachings of Gita in simple language to the general public) and wrote a poetic version of Gita in Bengali. That young man was none other than Satendra Banerjee.

THE MONK WHO LOVED TEA

CHA ~ TEA

Everyone is aware of Vivekananda’s love for tea. In those days tea was considered a stimulant drink and the consumption of tea was prohibited in monasteries. Swami Vivekananda used to drink about 20 – 25 cups of tea a day. He categorically refused to consider tea as a stimulating and harmful drink, describing it as an invigorating drink. Tea was also considered a beverage for the elite class in India, Swami Vivekananda had a major contribution in the democratization of tea. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SUBJECT PLEASE VISIT : https://nithinks.com/2021/06/10/a-happily-tea-adict-country/

When swami Vivekananda got angry

Vivekananda very rarely got angry. But once in Varanasi, when people were not paying attention to his words because of his young age, he angrily said that “I shall not return until I burst on society like a bomb shell, and it will follow me like a dog”  

People were stunned to see Swami ji angry, this anger of Swami ji was not a part of his nature but it was a fury born out of the neglect of the elite class.

People who were witnesses to this incident said that Swami Vivekananda was repeatedly urging the enlightened people of Varanasi city to donate to the welfare of the poor, but people were not paying much attention considering him young, so Swami ji could not control his temperament.

My effort in this post was to show some untouched aspects of Vivekananda’s life, if anyone of you has some unique information related to Vivekananda, please share it with me, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Makar Sankranti: A Glimpse of the Evolution of Hindu History

MAKAR SANKRANTI is one of the most popular ancient festivals of Hindus. There has been no significant change in the way of celebrating the Makarsankranti festival for thousands of years.

Diversity can be seen in this festival due to local food and traditions, but this diversity makes this festival even more attractive and adds to its beauty.

LOHRI

(PIXABAY) FIREWOOD LOHRI CELIBRATION

Makar Sankranti is known as Lohri in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Haryana.

THE FESTIVAL OF LOHRI is celebrated a day before Makar Sankranti. It is a tradition to celebrate this festival in the open at night on the eve of Makar Sankranti. The family members sit together in a circle around the fire. At this time rewdi, peanuts, lava, etc. are eaten and local folk songs called Dulla Bhati are sung.

SANKRANTI

Makara Sankranti is known as Sankranti in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.

“Women celebrating Pongal festival in India”.

PONGAL

In Tamil Nadu, it is known as Pongal. Pongal is the main festival of Tamil Nadu state of South India. It marks the beginning of the Tamil New Year.

IMAGE : UNSPLASH

Making of the famous South Indian dish “Sakkarai Pongal” aka Sweet Pongal made with rice, jaggery, and other condiments to celebrate the Pongal Festival aka “Uzhavar Thirunaal”

On Pongal, there is a tradition of cleaning the entire house, offering dishes made from new crops to Lord Sun, and seeking his blessings.
It is also a festival of new crops, so the tools and animals used in agriculture are also worshiped on this day.

KHICHDI

KHICHDI is A dish in South Asian cuisine made of rice and lentils.

In Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, Makar Sankranti is also known as Khichdi, because, on this day after morning bath and donation, Khichdi is cooked for lunch. (KHICHDI is A dish in South Asian cuisine made of rice and lentils ). There is also a tradition of flying kites on this day all over central India.

IMAGE UNSPLASH

Foods made with jaggery, lai (made by roasting paddy, millet, Lava etc.) chuda (Flattened rice,) sesame, etc. are consumed in this festival.

IMAGE UNSPLASH

WAR OF KITES ~ KAI PO CHE

As mentioned earlier there is a tradition of kite flying on Makar Sankranti in the whole of Central India, but Gujarat has no match.
On Makarsankranti, kite flying is a sight to behold in the entire state of Gujarat. The whole sky is filled with colorful kites, and the environment echoes with one, and only one sound – Kai Po Che. When a person cuts off another person’s kite. It’s a victory shot.

As night falls, paper lanterns replace the kites. The whole sky is filled with light, and different types of lanterns are seen in the whole sky.

KITE FESTIVAL

The International Kite Festival is also organized on this day on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat , in this kite festival, people from all over the world participate. The kite festival runs for a week.

WHAT IS MEANT BY MAKAR SANKRANTI ?

The origin of the word Makar Sankranti is from the combination of two words Makar and Sankranti.

Makara means Capricorn and Sankranti means entering.

The festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated on the day the Sun enters Capricorn.
In simple language, this day signifies the advent of the spring season and the end of the winter season.

People taking a dip in the holy Ganges at dawn on Makar Sankranti festival

Its ancient form is the same all over India. Like ancient times, even today people, on Makar Sankranti, bathe in holy rivers, and donate to the poor and needy.
This day is also a symbol of the new crops, so dishes made from the new crops are also cooked in every house, for this reason, it is also called the festival of crops.


Feeding birds on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi on the occasion of Makarsankranti. The local people gave me a piece of interesting information about these birds. These are Siberian birds which migrate to the plains of India every year in winter to escape the extreme cold of Siberia.
And by the end of February, when the outbreak of cold subsides, they again return back to Siberia.

WHY IS MAKAR SANKRANTI ALWAYS CELEBRATED ON JANUARY 14th? (WELL,IT WASN’T ALWAYS.)

In many ancient civilizations, there has been a tradition of depicting the Sun as a deity. Amazingly, both in the Greek and Hindu depictions, Surya(Sun) is shown as a human being riding a chariot. According to the Hindu religion, the chariot of Lord Surya is harnessed by seven horses, perhaps these seven horses represent the seven constituent colors that are present in the sunlight.

At present, Makar Sankranti is celebrated on 14th January for years, so it is a common belief that the festival of Makar Sankranti falls on 14th January, which is incorrect.

According to the Hindu calendar, every year the entry of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn is delayed by 20 minutes, so the date of Makar Sankranti shifts forward by one day in 72 years.

According to Pandit Ganesh Mishra, astrologer of Banaras Hindu University (B.H.U),

Makar Sankranti was celebrated for the first time on January 14th in 1902.

Earlier in the 18th century, the festival of Makar Sankranti was celebrated on 12th and 13th January. At present, due to the leap year, its date falls on 15th January every fourth year. In this way, Makar Sankranti will be celebrated for the last time on January 14th in 2077. 900 years ago, Makar Sankranti was celebrated on January 1st.

HISTORICAL EVIDENCE

The great Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang visited India during the reign of Harshavardhana. Around 627 to 643 CE, Hiuen Tsang lived in India. During this, he described the Makar Sankranti festival in Prayag.

According to Hiuen Tsang, there was great enthusiasm for the 75-day festival of Magha Mela, from the general public to King Harshavardhana. The festival of Magh Mela started on the auspicious day of Makarsankranti

PRAYAG RAJ

MAGHA MELA PRAYAGRAJ :- Even today, on the banks of Sangam in Prayagraj, from the day of Makar Sankranti, a religious fair is organized for 45 days, which is known as Magh Mela.

The great emperor Harshavardhana also took a holy dip at the Sangam bank along with thousands of people and donated all the wealth of his treasury to the poor people. It is said that Harshavardhan donated all his wealth to the poor, even his clothes. This proves that taking a dip in the holy rivers and donating on Makar Sankranti is a tradition that has been going on for thousands of years.

Realizing the power of religion and culture

A man offering prayers after taking a bath in the holy waters of the Ganges.

Following are the holy cities, on the banks of the Ganges, where on the day of Makar Sankranti, the religious importance of donating after taking a bath is very high.
1) Haridwar

2) Hrishikesh

3) PRAYAG

4) VARANASI

5) GANGASAGAR

Rivers provide life to the entire creation with their water, so expressing respect towards them is an integral part of Hindu religious rituals.

Hindu women offering Ganga water to Lord Shiva after taking a dip in the holy Ganges at dawn on Makar Sankranti festival.

Just as Christianity binds the whole of Europe in one thread despite many differences in Europe, in the same way Sanatan Dharma binds the entire Aryavarta in a thread of unique unity. North Indian, South Indian, Punjabi, Marathi, sadhus, saints, and householders, all can be seen together entwined in the spirit of unity.

Tales of Hindu struggle

IMAGE BRITISH LIBRARY

Eve Of The Eclipse Of The Moon, 25th November 1825.  “Benares Illustrated” JAMES PRINSEP

There is an ancient tradition of bathing in the holy Ganges in some ancient festivals of Hindus. On the eve of lunar eclipse, a huge crowd can be seen at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, performing rituals after bathing in the Ganges.

 ‘ Conjunctions of the planets, eclipses and Sankrant, or the Sun’s entrance into the zodiacal signs, are accounted the most auspicious moments for bathing in the Ganges…For two or three days previous to such an event, pilgrims and travelling parties…assemble in groups upon the terraces and balconies of the temples and houses near the river. Every vacant spot is put in requisition and hired out by the square foot…the scene bears more the character of a fair (mela)…At the eclipse of the 25th Nov. the crowd was unusually great, and no less than forty lives were lost in the press of bathers at the first glimpse of the moon’s obscured visage. Most of the figures in the view were drawn and finished on the spot…The smoke on the left hand points out the spot on which the dead are burned, a place dedicated to Vishnoo…In the crowd are seen a couple of Missionaries distributing tracts with zeal as ardent, and perhaps as unavailing as that of the poor Suttees themselves…’. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MANIKARNIKA GHAT PLEASE VISIT :- https://nithinks.com/2021/01/18/makar-sankranti-is-an-ancient-hindu-festival-or-the-burden-of-old-tradition/

When the temples of Hindus were being demolished, their religious places were being desecrated, then it was the Sanatani festivals that connected Hindus with their roots. Hindus threw off Islamic imperialism as soon as they got the chance to do so. It can be a matter of surprise for any person that even after facing Islamic imperialism for centuries, the majority of the country’s population is Sanatani.

Will Rahul Gandhi’s long walk revivify congress ?

Will Rahul Gandhi’s plan to repeat what Mahatma did, be successful in 2022?

In a healthy democracy both the ruling party and the opposition have a responsibility to the country and surely the people will judge them in the discharge of that responsibility. ~R VENKATARMAN

Who is responsible for starting padayatras in India?

If we look at the modern history of India, then we come to know thatBIG AND LONG WALKS (PADYATRAS)have been of great importance. The most successful use of which, in politics was done by Mahatma Gandhi.

Indian politics is still largely influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s mannerisms, for Indian politicians leave no stone unturned to show themselves influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas. Undoubtedly, Mahatma Gandhi remains the brightest star in the sky of Indian politics to date.

The biggest question is, can government power be captured from the ruling party by Gandhian methods?

Will Rahul Gandhi’s plan to repeat what Mahatma did, be successful in 2022?

What is meant by Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra?

Bharat jodo literally means unite india .

Congress party is calling this yatra a movement and urging all the people of the country to join this yatra.

When did the Yatra start? Where will it eventually go?


Bharat Jodo Yatra will start from Kanyakumari, the last city of far south India and will go till Sri Nagar in Kashmir. During this, the passengers involved in the journey will cover a distance of about 3570 km in 150 days.

CONGRESS PARTY :-

Congress party is the oldest political party in India. It was founded by an Englishman A. O. Hume. Congress played an important role in India’s freedom struggle. It had influence across the whole nation due to its large no. of members.
Mahatma Gandhi should be credited for transforming Congress from an elite Indian institution to a mass institution.

What is the purpose of Bharat Jodo Yatra according to Congress Party

Congress believes that the present government has proved to be a complete failure on every front.


Congress says that inflation is at the peak, there is no employment, and the divisive forces threaten the nation, in such a situation, the nation needs to be united and make a joint effort, this effort to unite the countrymen on this subject has been named as Bharat Jodo Yatra.

There are conversations taking place which talk about an increase in incidents of violence against minorities and women. Congress says that the policy interventions of the central government are focused only on maximizing profits and increasing their resources for their capitalist friends.
All these allegations are almost the same as in any other democracy of the world, the opposition party always keep accusing the ruling party no matter what.

What did Mahatma Gandhi gain from the BIG WALK ?

The most famous BIG WALK (padyatra) of Mahatma Gandhi was the Dandi march.
Mahatma Gandhi completed the journey of about 400 kilometers from Ahmedabad to Dandi in 24 days.

This trip had two purposes
@symbolic purpose
@ real purpose


Symbolic Purpose: Gandhiji broke the salt law of the British Government.
Actual purpose: – There were also some long term objectives of this Big walk . Some of these are mentioned below:-

  1. Mahatma Gandhi had become a well-known name in every house in India by the 1920’s, he knew that the media around the world would cover his Big walk and there was a possibility of creating an atmosphere against British imperialism infront of the whole nation.
  2. Mahatma Gandhi was also successful in giving a new fresh start to the independent movements all over India.

Congress party will get some benefit from Rahul Gandhi’s padyatra, it seems to be getting some success in connecting with the young voters of the nation, but whether this yatra will be able to leave any noticeable impact in the elections is rather doubtful.

Rahul Gandhi is travelling like a true Hindu to almost all the major temples falling on the route and is also trying to remove the label of Muslim appeasement on himself and the party, while promising the welfare of minorities to woo Muslim voters.

Mahatma Gandhi was completely successful in attracting the attention of the media of the whole world with his Big walk , while the Congress seems to be more or less unsuccessful in attracting the attention of the country as well as the media, the news regarding the Bharat Jodo Yatra rarely come in the headlines. The discussion of Padyatra seems to be limited only to social media.

Mahatma became a well known name of India during his Padyatra while Rahul Gandhi is facing challenges even within his party. Rahul can never be free from familyism, this is both his biggest weakness and strength.

My own belief is that if Rahul Gandhi had done this long walk 10 years ago, he could have achieved better results, it seems likely that Rahul will neither get any advantages from this walk nor will Congress be able to achieve something notice worthy.

Unfortunately, social media has artificialized mass movements in the present times. It is a polemical truth that politics has been simplified by modern technology, but this doesn’t mean one would foolishly expect miracles to happen.
Mahatma Gandhi’s movement was successful because it stood on Gandhi’s strong ideas, there was a unique harmony between Gandhi’s ideas and the ideas of the public, until Rahul succeeds in achieving this harmony, his success will remain questionable.

Bharat Jodo Yatra was organized by the Congress party in all the major cities of the country. One such event happened in Varanasi also, so I decided to have a closer look at the event.

BHARAT JODO YATRA OR CARNIVAL OF SENIOR CITIZENS

After closely watching the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress in Varanasi and being a part of this yatra for about 5 kms, I can say one thing for sure, that is, that the Congress party has completely lost its mass base among the youth.

I have seen many political rallies, but nowhere have I seen such a tiny number of young people’s presence. The youth was surprisingly absent in the entire rally. I did see few of them but they had come with their fathers and grandfathers, the whole rally seemed like a carnival of senior citizens, this sign is no less than an alarm bell for the Congress, Congress needs to make concerted efforts to extend its reach to the young supporters or Congress will be seen struggling for its existence after a couple more elections.

Why did Buddha choose Kashi(Varanasi) to deliver his first sermon?

“NOW WE HAVE A REAL COMMUNITY ,WHICH WE CALL OUR SANGHA . THE SANGHA IS THE COMMUNITY OF THOSE WHO LIVE IN HARMONY AND AWARENESS. WE MUST TAKE THE SEEDS OF AWAKENING AND SOW THEM IN ALL PLACES.”

Lord Buddha attained enlightenment after years of rigorous meditation under a Peepal tree on the banks of the Niranjana River. Immediately after attaining enlightenment he came to Kashi to deliver his first sermon.

@ Why did Lord Buddha come to Kashi immediately after attaining enlightenment?

@ Why did Lord Buddha choose Kashi to deliver his first sermon?

Some of the principal reasons why Buddha chose Kashi, are as follows.

@ Buddha had come to Kashi many times before and he was well aware of the nature of the people of Kashi.

Kashi was never an unknown city to Buddha.

Even before Gautam Buddha incarnated on Earth, Kashi was a very important city on social, economic and cultural backgrounds.

Many changes in the Hindu religion started from Kashi.
New practices were started by many Chakravarti kings (The title of Chakravarti Samrat was given to those kings who brought epoch-making changes in the society).only after performing Yagya in Kashi, King Prithu is one of the examples of such kings.

According to Hindu beliefs, Prithu was the first king of India and he performed many yagyas in the Sarnath region of Kashi. It is notable that Buddha’s first sermon is also known as Dharma Chakra Parivartan and Buddha was a prince before leaving home.

BUDDHA DIDN’T FIND A ‘NEW RELIGION’, BUDDHISM WAS INSTEAD A MOVEMENT .

Buddha never said that he was the founder of a different religion named Buddhism.

He is never even portrayed as the father of Buddhism in Buddhist literature.

It becomes quite clear from these facts that Buddha was not laying the foundation of any new religion, but was leading a movement against the evil practices of Hinduism. Buddhism was actually a movement against religious evils.

Buddha tried to remove as many evils as he possibly could from Hinduism which had developed along with time in Hinduism.

Preaching Buddha-5th century CE-Sandstone-Sarnath

The only goal of Buddha was the welfare of as many people as possible. About 600 years before the birth of Christ, Buddha had developed these wonderful ideas of everyone’s well being and dedicated his whole life for public welfare.

This was probably the world’s first movement to remove social inequality and injustice.

Buddhism is also considered to be the first missionary religion which was based on the teachings of Buddha and not in opposition to any other religion.

In the past, many movements inspired by the betterment of Hindu religion and the spirit of public welfare, efforts for religious reform had already taken place in Kashi before, and so this might be one of the reason why Buddha chose Kashi for giving his sermon.

CAPITAL OF ALL KNOWLEDGE

SARV VIDYA KI RAJDHANI

Kashi has always been a city of learning. Since ancient times, it has been considered the capital of all knowledge.

Even before the advent of Buddha, some new places of learning had developed or were developing in India and were posing a challenge to Kashi, but still the people of Kashi didn’t lose their love for knowledge and were open to new ideas. This is another reason why Buddha chose Kashi to sow the seeds of his thoughts.

CULTURAL CAPITAL OF INDIA

Kashi is a sacred place for all Hindu cults, Shaiva, Vaishnava, Snake worship, Nag worship, Gandharva worship, Prakriti worship etc. and for this reason people from all places of the country used to gather here in Kashi.
Buddha could have quickly and easily propagated his teachings to all parts of the country through the people who came to Kashi from different parts of the country if he delivered his sermon here . This is another good reason why Buddha chose Kashi for TURNING THE WHEEL OF DHARMA.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF KASHI

In ancient India, almost all the major routes of North India used to pass through Kashi, not only this, almost all the major cities of India were settled on the banks of the rivers, due to which Kashi was well connected with all means of transport.
When Buddha urged Buddhist monks to go far for the propagation of his teachings, Kashi’s better transportation facility helped Buddhist monks a lot in spreading Buddha’s teachings.

VARANASI AS THE FINANCIAL CAPITAL OF INDIA

The advanced trade of Kashi is mentioned in almost all the literature available before Buddha. All the businesses of that period were flourishing in Kashi. Kashi’s textile business had no match.

Cotton was produced very well in the rural areas of Kashi and the muslin of Kashi was world-famous.

The clothes in which Egyptian mummies were wrapped were made in India only and it is quite possible that they were made right here in Kashi itself.

RAJGHAT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE( archaeological remains dating as old as 800 BCE to 18 century CE.)

A large number of foreign coins and seals have been found in Rajghat, the oldest area of ​​Varanasi. Such a large number of foreign coins is a strong indication that even before Buddha, a large number of foreign traders used to reside in Kashi.

The message of Buddha soon spread beyond the country’s borders through these merchants. The first sermon given to Buddha’s first five disciples in Kashi soon spread to almost entire Asia including China, and Japan.

Foreign traders must have also made a huge contribution in the propagation of the teachings of Buddha. Taking into account all of these facts it becomes quite clear that Kashi was rather an ideal choice for Buddha to deliver his sermon.

CHAUKHANDI STUPA(SQUARE EDIFICE) SARNATH VARANASI

CHAUKHANDI STUPA WAS BUILT TO MARK THE SITE WHERE BUDDHA MET HIS FIRST FIVE DISCIPLES WHILE TRAVELLING FROM GAYA TO SARNATH.

DHARMA IS NOT THE RESULT OF THINKING. IT IS THE FRUIT OF DIRECT EXPERIENCE.

It was at this place that Buddha met his first five disciples and informed them all about his enlightenment and inspired them to follow the path of truth.

Later these five disciples of Buddha~1. Assaji 2. Bhaddiya 3.Kondanna 4. Mahanama 5,Vappa were called Panchvargiya.

Chaukhandi Stupa can be divided into two parts.

1.Ancient stupa (Chaukhandi stupa)

2. Humayun Burj

CHAUKHANDI STUPA

The stupa is square in shape. Because of its four-armed plan structure, it is called Chaukhandi Stupa. It is made of solid bricks placed on three floors.

Like other major Buddhist buildings in Sarnath, this stupa was also built during the reign of Emperor Ashoka (250 BC). Later this stupa was given a grand form during the Gupta period (500CE).

During the excavation, a statue of Buddha and some other statues were found. The famous Chinese traveler XUANZANG also described this stupa. Xuanzang came to Sarnath in 637 AD.

The archaeological excavations conducted in 1835 and 1904-05 brought light to this 93 feet high, brick stupa laid in mud mortar having three diminishing square terraces each about 12feet High and 12ft broad, each terrace is supported by an outer and inner wall with a number of cross walls to strengthen the structure. The outer walls of the terraces are ornamented with a series of niches separated by pilasters.

There is a deep hole, about 5 feet in diameter on the topmost part of Chaukhandi Stupa (which is, also the floor of the Humayun Burj). The hole extends, vertically coming down to the ground. It looks like a tunnel when viewed from above.
This hole was dug by the archaeologist JOHN MARSHAL (1835 AD) during the excavation of Chaukhandi Stupa to see it from inside.

A clear impression of the buildings of the Gupta period can be seen at the base of the stupa.

Humayun Burj

The top part of the Chaukhandi Stupa, known as Humayun Burj was built during the Mughal period. Information regarding the construction of this octagonal building is written on the square stone plate on it’s Northern Doorway. This stone plate can be seen at top in this picture.

There is an octagonal structure(Humayun Burj) on top of the Chaukhandi Stupa, its height is about 23 feet. It was built during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. There is an inscription written in Persian language regarding the construction of Humayun Burj. Which says–

To commemorate the stay of Humayun at the Chaukhandi Stupa, Govardhan, son of Raja Todar Mall, built this octagonal building in 1588 CE during the reign of Akbar.

One such another octagonal building is located near Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi which is known as Sabz Burj.

When Humayun had conquered the fort of Chunar, he had camped in Banaras for a few days, perhaps then only he might have come here.

In the documents of Mughal era, this place has been mentioned as Humayun Burj.

A painting for Mr. Colin Mackenzie in 1814 by a painter named Sheikh Abdullah.

In this painting Humayun Burj, the top of Chaukhandi Stupa can be seen at some distance from Dhamekh Stupa. DHAMEKH STUPA: The larger stupa in the image is the Dhamekh Stupa. Dhamekh Stupa was built on the sacred spot where Buddha delivered his first sermon.

During that time there was no information regarding the history of Chaukhandi Stupa. The structure built in the Gupta period was completely buried under layers of soil for centuries and only the octagonal building built in the Mughal period was visible at its top.

In 1835, to understand the history related to this building, and to get some important articles related to Buddhism, John Marshall dug a vertical hole in this building as I had already mentioned above.

Mr. F.O.Oertel gets the credit for introducing the world to the grand form of the Chaukhandi Stupa hidden in the mud under the octagonal Mughal building.
It is quite clear from the above painting that the actual Chaukhandi Stupa was completely hidden under the soil .

The memories related to Sarnath and Buddha’s teachings remained in the minds of the people of Banaras till the fourteenth century, but after that they were forgotten under Islamic rule. The pre-Islamic history of India was shrouded in ignorance and darkness for a long time.

At the end of the seventeenth century a sense of interest and curiosity about the pre-Islamic history of India aroused within some Britishers . Soon many British intellectuals, including people of all kinds, orientalists, linguists, archaeologists, historians, engineers, started doing serious work on the pre-Islamic period of the Indian subcontinent.

Soon, by the end of the eighteenth century, the ancient history of India appeared before the world in a gleaming form. The discovery of this glorious past later became the backbone of India’s nationalist movement.

Whisper of History

In 2019, Chaukhandi Stupa was accorded the status of a monument of national importance.

Presently it is a well preserved building. Chaukhandi Stupa is situated in a very beautiful garden. At a distance of about 800 meters from the main Sarnath complex , tourists also rarely come here. The serene atmosphere here is made on sight. If you are interested in ancient Indian history, then this place is no less than a jewel for you.

Even if you do not want to look at Chaukhandi Stupa from the subtle point of view of history, you can sit here comfortably for some time, which is no less than a boon in today’s run-of-the-mill life.
The Chaukhandi Stupa is flanked by rows of large trees where meditating is undoubtedly a supernatural experience.
While meditating in this calm environment under the sunlight filtered through the leaves of trees, it seems that the old times want to tell their history to by whispering it in your ears.

SARNATH : TURNING THE WHEEL OF DHARMA .

BUDDHA DID NOT ATTACK CASTE DIRECTLY , YET IN HIS OWN ORDER HE DID NOT RECOGNIZE IT , AND THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT HIS WHOLE ATTITUDE AND ACTIVITY WEAKENED THE CASTE SYSTEM .

Most of the historical buildings in the world were built in the memory of monumental events.

One of the most important event in the history of India was the incarnation of Lord Buddha as a human being on Earth.

Buddha’s first teachings also came to be known as Dharmachakra Parivartan which means change of time i.e. an epochal change i.e. acceptance of new beliefs in place of old beliefs.

Buddha’s sermons, which were given two and a half thousand years ago, were based on experience and showed the middle path as the way to attain knowledge and salvation, his teachings were inspired by the spirit of public welfare, which talked about Bahujan Hitaya-Bahujan Sukhaya, “For the happiness of the many, for the welfare of the many.”

The people soon attained self-realization and a new age of knowledge was ushered in.

After attaining enlightenment under a Peepal tree on the banks of the Niranjana River (now Falgu River) in Gaya, Lord Buddha proceeded to Varanasi (Kashi)where he spent a long time, he gave his first sermon, founded the Sangha. Sarnath witnessed many important events during Buddha’s stay at Sarnath.

Years later, Emperor Ashoka(250 BC) built grand stupas, temples, pillars at places that were witness to important events. Fortunately, some of these buildings are still present even after seeing many ups and downs in history.

CHAUKHANDI STUPA

The place in Sarnath where Buddha had his first meeting with his first five disciples. In memory of this important event, a grand stupa was built here by Emperor Ashoka.(250 BC) the stupa was given a more grand form in the Gupta period (from approximately 319 to 467 CE.

TURNING THE WHEEL OF DHARMA

According to Buddhist literature:-

Assaji was sitting meditating in Sarnath, when he saw a monk coming towards him, when he came closer Assaji realized that the monk was none other than Buddha. Assaji immediately informed his four other friends about Buddha’s arrival at Sarnath.

Bhaddiya reminded all the friends that Siddhartha had left the path of enlightenment. Bhaddiya told friends that Siddhartha ate rice, drank milk and spent time with the children of the village in Bodh Gaya, he really let us down so we all should not even greet him formally. Everyone agreed with Bhaddiya.

But when Buddha came closer towards them something magical happened!!!!!
The radiance of his face and the sign of enlightenment overwhelmed everyone.

Kondanna ran and took his alms bowl from the Buddha.

Mahamana gave a vessel full of water to Buddha so that he could wash his hands and feet and get rid of the fatigue of the journey.
Bhaddiya moved a stool towards him and requested Buddha to sit on that stool.

Vappa fanned Buddha with a fan made of palm leaves.

Assaji stood to one side ,not knowing what to do .

Buddha washed his hands and feet, Assaji gave him another vessel full of cold water.

Buddha said with a slight smile on his face.

“I have found the path of liberation and I will show the path of liberation to all of you brothers”.

The five looked at each other with suspicious hearts. Assaji said Gautam you left the path of knowledge midway, like a normal human being you ate rice, drank milk and spent time with village children then how come you were able to attain knowledge? Buddha briefly narrated the incident of his enlightenment.

Soon the Buddha and his five disciples went to a flat plain of land a little further from the place they met as they found that area suitable for discussion.

On that piece of flat land Buddha gave his first sermon to his five disciples, a huge stupa was built on that piece of land by Emperor Ashoka in the memory of Lord Buddha’s first sermon, this stupa came to be known as Dhamekh Stupa and it is still present in Sarnath.

DHAMEKH STUPA

The first sermon was given by Lord Buddha to his first five disciples at this place. This Sermon is known as Dharma Chakra Pravartan. In memory of this great event, a huge stupa was built by Emperor Ashoka (250 BC)at this place, which is today known as Dhamekh Stupa.

” There are two extremes that a person on the path should avoid. One is to plunge oneself into sensual pleasures, and the other is to practice austerities which deprive the body of its needs. Both of these extremes lead to failure.”

MIDDLE PATH

The path which avoids both extremes and has the capacity to lead one to understanding, liberation, and peace is the Noble Eightfold Path.

1. right understanding

2.right thought

3.right speech

4.right action

5. right livelihood

6. right effort

7.right mindfulness

8.right concentration.

FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

1.Existence of suffering .

2.Cause of suffering.

3.Cessation of suffering.

4.Path which leads to the cessation of suffering.

EXISTENCE OF SUFFERING

The first is the existence of suffering. Birth, old age, sickness, and death are suffering. Sadness, anger, jealousy, worry, anxiety, fear, and despair are suffering. Separation from loved ones is suffering. Association with those you hate is suffering. Desire, attachment, and clinging to the five aggregates are suffering.

CAUSE OF SUFFERING

Because of ignorance, people cannot see the truth about life, and they become caught in the flames of desire, anger, jealousy, grief, worry, fear, and despair.

CESSATION OF SUFFERING

Understanding the truth of life brings about the cessation of every grief and sorrow and gives rise to peace and joy.

PATH WHICH LEADS TO THE CESSATION OF SUFFERING .

The fourth truth is the path which leads to the cessation of suffering.

MULGANDH KUTI VIHAR

MULGANDH KUTI VIHAR (MAIN SHRIEN)

A grand temple was built by Emperor Ashoka(250BC) at the place where Lord Buddha used to meditate during his stay in Sarnath, later the Muslim invaders looted the property of the temple which was decorated with golden idols and destroyed the temple.(1194CE) Now only the remains of this temple are left.

This is the place where Buddha met Yash for the first time.
Once a young man named Yash came to meet Buddha. Introducing himself to Buddha, Yash told that he is the son of the richest businessman of the city. Yash told his problem to Buddha that till date he had spent his life in fun and enjoyment but he didn’t get mental peace.

Buddha explained to Yash that “Life is full of sorrows, both mind and body are doomed to be destroyed by being immersed in lust. If you give up lust and lead a simple life, you will attain mental piece.”

Yash was deeply impressed by the magical words of Buddha and charismatic personality, he soon became a disciple of Buddha. Soon many prominent and wealthy families of Varanasi converted to Buddhism. Impressed by the simplicity of Buddhism, from the king to the poor, from the violent bandit to the common man, everyone started accepting the teachings of Buddhism.

REFERENCE BOOKS

  1. OLD PATH WHITE CLOUDS
  2. BUDDHACHARIT