Proof of Vedic Culture - Greek

Greece

By Stephen Knapp

In looking at the Greek culture, we find many connections between it and the Vedic civilization. Many people and scholars tend to view Greece as a source of western civilization. However, it is seldom realized that the original Greek culture was itself Vedic. This is not to say that no one has recognized the similarities. Even as far back as 1830, we can find on pages 61-2 from Volume II of Narrative of a Journey Overland From England to India, by Mrs. Colonel Elwood, where she sees the Vedic influence in Greece. “The striking analogy between some of the Hindoo fables with those of the Greeks would induce us to believe that the Greeks and Hindoos must, at an early age, have had much intercourse, and possibly Pythagoras, with the doctrine of the Metempsychosis, may have imported some of the adventures of the Indian Gods and ascribed them to the Greek deities.

“Indra whirling his thunderbolt appears to be the same with Jupiter. Chrisn [Krishna] and his nine Gopis are evidently Apollo and the Muses. The beautiful Camadeva is a more interesting being even than the Greecian Cupid, while the lovely Maya, the Goddess of beauty, the Venus, sprang from the bosom of the ocean, Surya and Arjuna resemble Phoebus and Aurora, and the twin sons Aswinau, Aswini-cum-arau, or the Daul, Castor, and Pollux; Lachshemi crowned with ears of corn appears to be Ceres; Kali, Hecate or Proserpine; and Narad, the eloquent messenger of the Gods, is Mercury. Sir William Jones identifies Ganesh with Janus, whilst Hanuman and his monkey attendants, resemble Pan and his Sylvan deities.”

The fact that Krishna was the God of Greece is shown by the silver coins made by Agathaclose, a Greek ruler of the 2nd century BCE. These coins bear the imprint of Lord Krishna and His brother Balarama and are on display in several museums. Furthermore, a large mosaic of a young Krishna playing the flute, standing cross-legged under a tree while grazing cows, hangs in the museum in Corinth. This was obviously salvaged from a local Krishna temple which proves this city was once a center of Vedic culture with temples to Krishna.

We can recognize that as the Vedic culture moved from India to Egypt to Greece, etc., much of the philosophy stayed the same, although the names and artistic characteristics of the gods changed with time. The features of the deities would change because as they moved west the esthetic standards would be adjusted since the priests would emphasize certain aspects of the images according to regional and cultural preference. The early Greek sculptures seem to have been carved by the priests for the temples. In other words, they were the temple deities and were probably dressed rather than left naked, and then worshiped in the temples. Many of the early forms were almost always carved as a boy of 15 to 17 years of age with long hair like Krishna. Furthermore, Zeus, Jupiter, and Amon were all blue-bodied, not because they were sky-gods like some say, but because they are related to the image of Krishna who is blue, which signifies His spiritual nature.

More examples of Vedic deities in Greece include Helios who was the sun-god or Greek form of Ravi or Hari, and Helios contains the name of Eli, which is the name of the Jewish form of God the Father. The Sanskrit name Hari is linguistically related to the name Eli, and Elohim is the plural form of Eli which refers to the demigods or lesser representatives of the Supreme Deity.

One of the most important of the Greek gods is Zeus, the god of the heavens and earth (the Vedic Indra). Hades is the god of the underworld (similar to Lord Shiva). Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, refers to Pati dhana in Sanskrit, which is a by-name of Seshanaga. Dhana means the support or the one who holds up the universe. The Greek Prometheus comes from the word Pramathes, which is a name for Lord Shiva. The Greek name of Patar Ouranos, which is translated into “Heavenly Father” in the New Testament, refers to Pitar Varuna, the Vedic demigod Varuna.

Greek writers like Pliny referred to Hari Krishna as Heracles. This is traced back to the way the early Greek writers who visited India said that the city they called Klessleboro (Mathura) was the capital of Krishna worship. The Greeks pronounced the name Krishna as klessle, and Hare or Hari as hera. Thus came the name of Heraklessle, or Heracles and Hercules, who is the muscular man who played prominent roles in the Greek myths. Interestingly, Krishna is also known for His mighty deeds, such as lifting Govardhana Hill with the little finger of His left hand while still a young boy.

The Greeks recorded that Heracles, Krishna, had lived 138 generations before Alexander, whose time was around 325 BCE. Therefore, if you calculate 20 years or more for each generation back from the time of 325 BCE, it would take us to somewhere around 3085 BCE.

Let us remember that the Age of Kali started when Lord Krishna left this planet, which is accepted to be in the year 3102 BCE. So, this is quite close to that time. This means that the Greek records are in accord with the Vedic standard and shows their connection with the Vedic culture.

Further information about the Greek deities and linguistic similarities is related on page 776 of World Vedic Heritage. Mr. Oak explains, “The Greek name Bacchus is the truncated Sanskrit name Tryambachesh (the three-eyed Lord) of Lord Shiva. In European usage, the first syllable ‘Tryam’ got dropped off while the remainder continued to be spelled as Bacchus. And curiously enough, just as some wayward persons in India smoke and consume intoxicants (such as Bhaang) in the name of Lord Shiva, the Greeks too regarded Shiva as the deity presiding over drinking parties. This again shows how the Greeks were wayward Hindus.

“Mount Olympus of the Greeks is supposed to be the heavenly abode of their Gods. Eliminating the last syllable ‘pus’ one may notice that the first syllable ‘olym’ is the Sanskrit word Alayam, meaning ‘abode’ as in Granthalayam (abode of books, i.e. library) and Devalayam (abode of Gods). The Greek Mount Olympus is a regional substitute for the Vedic tradition which considers the Himalayan peaks such as Mount Kailas as the abode of its deities.”

Other linguistic similarities can be found. For example, the word paradise in English is related to paradisio in Greek, which is related to pardes in Hebrew (meaning the garden beyond), which is related to paradesha in Sanskrit, meaning the far away place of Para or Vishnu. The Greek word propheto referred to the Egyptian high priest at the sacrifice. This was derived from the Sanskrit word purohito, which is the name of the high priest officiating at the fire sacrifice or Deity worship in the Vaishnava tradition. This is the origin of the English word prophet. There is also a linguistic similarity between the Christian word Amen and the Sanskrit Om, and Abraham and the Sanskrit words brahmana and Brahma.

You could say that practically the language of ancient Greece was Sanskrit or a derivative of it. Later, after the disruption of the Mahabharata War, the universal Vedic educational system broke down and local mannerisms led to changes in pronunciation to form what we now call the Greek language. However, we can still see many of the similarities between Greek and Sanskrit in the following examples: (In the picture)

The Greek greeting “Hari Tutay,” also means “May Hari bless you” and refers to Lord Krishna as Hari. It is equivalent to the Hindu greeting of “Rama Rama” or “Hare Krishna.” The name Hercules also means Hari-cul-eesh in Sanskrit and refers to the Lord in the lineage of Hari, Lord Krishna. The legendary feats of Hercules is patterned after the activities of Lord Krishna, such as slaying the Demon King Kamsa and lifting Govardhan mountain when Krishna was a child. Thus, the Greeks simply plagiarized the story. This means that the Greek civilization, along with its traditions and culture, is of Vedic origin.

Lord Shiva was also given high regard in Greece. The name of the city Cyprus is an Arabic mispronunciation and shortened version of the Sanskrit name Shivaprastha, signifying a center of Shiva worship. Sun-worship was also prominent in Greece, in regard to which the name Heliopolis is derived from the Sanskrit Suryapuras, meaning the city of the sun. Changing the “S” to “H”, and the “R” to “L,” which is often the case when changing from Eastern to Western pronunciations, Suryapura becomes Huryapulus, and then Heliopolis.

Even in nearby Turkey, there was the lake known as Ramsar. The name is from the Sanskrit Ramasagar, which signifies Rama Lake or Lake of Lord Rama.

Additional evidence of the Vedic influence in Greece can be recognized in the ancient Vedic records, which relate that Greece was the area of the Yavanas. This word can be broken into the Sanskrit meaning in this way: Vana means forest, and Ya means departed. So, thousands of years ago this region was for those who had departed from following the Vedic principles.

However, it had been administered by Vedic rulers, and much of Vedic culture still remained in ancient Greece.

This is described by E. Pococke on pages 9 to 12 in his book India in Greece. He relates that there was perfection in the arts and the abundance of gold with elegant workmanship. There was beauty in textiles and ornaments. There were social refinement and comforts, and magnificent palaces of Alcinous and Menelaus. There also was the constant use of the war chariot. He concludes that “The whole of this state of society, civil and military, must strike anyone as eminently Asiatic; much of it specifically Indian. Such it undoubtedly is… this evidence was but the attendant tokens of Indian colonization with its corresponding religion and language… the whole of Greece, from the era of the supposed godships of Poseidon and Zeus, down to the close of the Trojan war (was) Indian in language, sentiment and religion, and in the arts of peace and war.”

Even though Mr. Pococke feels Greece was Indian in so many ways, there are others who feel that India was far superior to Greece. In Bharat (India) As Seen and Known by Foreigners by Babasaheb Deshandey, he explains that “In respect of philosophy, the Hindus were far in advance of the philosophy of Greece and Rome, who considered the immortality of the soul as problematical… the Egyptians derived their religion, mythology, and philosophy from the Hindus and the Greek philosophy too was indebted almost wholly to the Hindu philosophy…. the resemblance between (them) is too close to be accidental. The Hindus being far more advanced must have been the teachers, and the Greeks the disciples…”

Another point about Greek philosophy is that many people think Pythagoras was one of the most noteworthy philosophers that came from that country. However, evidence shows that Pythagoras himself was a product of the worldwide Vedic culture. For example, his name comes from the Sanskrit Peeth Guru, which signifies a guru working at a peeth, or an educational establishment. And his system of mathematics that he is most noted for had already been in existence in India. His system of teaching and his standard for living was the same as found in the Vedic culture.

In light of this, considering the strong influence of Greek philosophy on western culture, we should also look briefly at the philosophers of Greek civilization. Many of them had ideas on life that were very similar to the Vedic view. Pythagoras (582-507 BCE), one of the earliest Greek philosophers, taught that the soul wandered through many lives in this material creation, living even within the bodies of plants and animals. Thus, the goal of the soul, according to Pythagoras, was to attain freedom from the cycles of reincarnation through the performance of virtuous acts. These would attune the soul to God and bring deliverance. This philosophy is parallel to the Vedic knowledge of the soul and law of karma. Even the many mathematical theories that Pythagoras taught had already been known in the older Vedic times of India.

To help people purify themselves spiritually, Pythagoras set up communities that had laws similar to those of India and stressed vegetarianism and the wearing of simple clothes. He also taught that a person’s life should be divided into four divisions, which were the same as the four ashramas in the Vedic plan of life. India no doubt had a great influence on Pythagoras. In fact, it has been said that in the travels of Pythagoras, India was one of the places he visited. And it was noted by his followers that he had been initiated into Vedic philosophy while studying in Ellora, India. It was no doubt while he was in India that he got many of his ideas on mathematics.

Socrates (469-400 BCE) was the next great philosopher of Greece. From the Memorabilia written by Xenophon, we get a picture of Socrates as a man wandering the streets of Athens talking to anyone about various aspects of life. There is every possibility that men from India had reached Athens by this time for purposes of trading spices and metals. Trade between India and the Tigris-Euphrates region goes back to ancient times. This was done by using land routes or by crossing the Indian Ocean and sailing up the Red Sea. Babylon was a center where those of the West and East would meet to trade their goods. It is here that Greeks and Indians may have discussed not only prices of goods, but also philosophies of life. And if there were any intellectual Indians in Athens, surely Socrates would have met them and engaged in lengthy discussions. In fact, Eusebius writes in his Praeparatio Evangelica (XI.3), written in 315 CE, about an account told by Aristoxenus, one of Aristotle’s pupils, of a meeting between Socrates and a group of Indian Brahmins. Such a meeting surely would have influenced Socrates’ philosophical views.

Socrates’ pupil, Plato (428-347 BCE), had a philosophy of the soul that was also very similar to the Vedic conception. Plato believed in an immortal soul and a universal or Supersoul as well as a God or Supreme Creator of the physical world. He believed that God was the perfect being and, therefore, changeless. The unfortunate thing is that the philosophers of this era had a habit of not acknowledging their sources of information, which may give a reason as to why Plato never mentions India in his writings. However, Plato must have been aware of India because Plato’s pupil Aristotle did mention India in his writings, signifying he knew where it was.

Aristotle (384-322 BCE) also had strong spiritual beliefs which were very similar to the teachings of the Vedic texts. Aristotle believed that God was the being who directed the world and that God’s existence could be proven. His analysis was that every moment or “now” implied that there had to be a “before.” In other words, everything that makes up the present was caused by what happened previous to that moment. Thus, time and motion, in respect to past, present, and future, must be eternal. Therefore, absolute reality is eternal without a creation. So, if the change is a constant factor, there must be an eternal cause of change which implies, according to Aristotle, that there is a prime mover who would be the cause (cause of all causes as the Vedic literature describes) that imparts motion or the effects of time without himself being moved or affected. This would be the absolutely perfect Supreme Being who moves the world through love.

Aristotle’s conception of the soul was that the soul is divided into two parts. One part was the rational aspect or the intellect, while the other part is the irrational aspect where are the desires. This would correspond to the Vedic analysis of the difference between rational intelligence and the irrational mind, which is the center of the senses and sensual desires. Aristotle concluded that the intellect could control the desires through developing reasoning and moral discipline. Such development leads a person to wisdom and understanding. Aristotle, by stressing this kind of progress, viewed self-realization as the purpose of life. This, of course, was also the ultimate goal of Vedic philosophy by which the Greek philosophers seemed to be strongly influenced.

Another point that shows Greek civilization was influenced by India is the use of animals in the Greek fables by Aesop. Such fables with animal characters are easily found in India in books like the Panchatantra, Hitopadesa, and Jatakas. The Panchatantra was written in the second century BCE, but the stories are much older, having appeared in earlier Sanskrit texts written many years before Aesop’s time. Thus, some scholars, such as Max Muller, believed that renditions of these fables came to Greece from India. The reason for this opinion is that many of the characters in these fables are animals like the lion, jackal, elephant, peacock, tiger, monkey, and crocodile, which are found in India but not in Greece.

Furthermore, many of the fairy tales that are told in different countries and in different periods are so similar that they show they must have, at some distant time, originated with a common source, in one culture. But, as with spiritual knowledge, these stories must have undergone change as the people divided and moved and carried these tales to new localities. However, these legends of ancient heroes and stories that preserved and elaborated on spiritual truths that were clearly understood in the Aryan culture of India gradually became transformed into supernatural and unintelligible myths as they traveled through Persia, Greece, Italy, and then up through Germany and into Scandinavia. In other words, by comparison, we can see how the original Aryan culture and its legends became more and more distorted as each region changed the stories as well as the names and activities of the characters within them and the traditions that were described.

There is also undeniable archeological evidence that signifies that the Greeks were impressed with the Vedic culture as far back as 200 BCE. We can see this evidence in what is called the Heliodorus column which was erected by the Greek ambassador to India in 113 BCE at Besnagar in central India. The inscription on the column, as published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, says:

This Garuda column of Vasudeva (Vishnu), the god of gods, was erected here by Heliodorus, a worshiper of Vishnu, the son of Dion, and an inhabitant of Taxila, who came as Greek ambassador from the Great King Antialkidas to King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior, then reigning prosperously in the fourteenth year of his kingship. Three important precepts when practiced lead to heaven: self-restraint, charity, conscientiousness.

This shows that Heliodorus had become a worshiper of Vishnu and was well versed in the texts and ways pertaining to this religion. It can only be guessed how many other Greeks became converted to Vaishnava Hinduism if such a notable ambassador did. This conclusively shows the Greek appreciation for India and its philosophy.

The column also establishes archeological proof that knowledge of Krishna and the Vaishnava tradition antedated Christianity by at least 200 years. This disproved claims of the Christians and British that the stories of Krishna in the Puranas were modern and merely taken as adaptations from the stories of Jesus.

All of the above evidence bears witness to the fact that Greece was but a part of Vedic culture and repeated what it and its philosophers had learned from the Vedic sages rather than being a source of the higher levels of philosophy as some people think. In other words, without its connection with the Vedic knowledge, it would not have been considered as important to Western thought as it is for which it is presently given credit.