In the previous article, we read how Bhagavatism, the religion centered on Krishna-Vaasudeva, promised people that if they took refuge in him, he would fulfill their desires (9:22) and liberate them from all evils of Brahmanism, namely doctrine of the Gunas of Prakriti (7:14), Law of Karma (9:28), and Shokam, Dwandwam and Samsara (arising from Karmaphalam). In other words, this Dharma’s goal was to end the elitist Brahmanism obsessed with Kamya Karma (corrupted Yajnas) and hierarchical Varna Dharma (class and caste system), and establish in its place Bhagavatism resting on ritual-free Bhaktiyoga (9:26) and equality of all classes based on the premise that the same god resided in everyone’s heart (10:20; 15:15). The essence of Bhagavata Dharma as well as its revolution to overthrow Brahmanism was stated in the form of a Sutra -the Secret Code of the Bhagavad Gita: 18:66: Abandon all Dharma and surrender unto me alone; I shall liberate you from all evil (aspects of Brahmanism). Do not grieve (for its demise).
In this article, we will study how Brahmins converted ‘The Manifesto Of The Revolution To Overthrow Brahmanism’ into ‘The Handbook Of Brahmanism’; and literally beat a petrified Krishna over his head with thoroughly corrupted form of Bhakti. Such is the genius of Brahmanism. Read the full story
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In the previous article, we studied how the Gita became the battlefield on which the Great Sectarian War took place for the Soul of Sanatana Dharma, and how after the wily Brahmins routed naïve Upanishadists once again the Bhagavatas entered the fray. Obviously the power of Super Man (Purushotthama, 15:18) and his “strong weapon” Buddhiyoga (15:3) were no match to the “firm-rooted eternal tree with its roots above and branches below” (15:1-3). A whole new God with terrifying appearance and awesome powers was needed to chop down this rotten tree. Read the full story
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In the previous article we studied how Upanishadists elevated Guru Krishna to the position of Lord of beings in order to protect their revolution and to reform corrupt Brahmins and Kshatriyas. In this article we will study the last stage of the Upanishadic revolution and how, shortly thereafter, the Gita became the battlefield on which Brahmins on one side and the Upanishadists and Bhagavathas on the other fought a great Sectarian War for the Soul of Sanatana Dharma (11:18). The story of that sectarian war, hidden in plain sight from the public thus far, is revealed in this article for the very first time in the history of the Bhagavad Gita. But first, let us briefly review the final stage of the Upanishadic revolution. Read the full story
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In the previous article, we read how Upanishadists launched a revolution to overthrow Brahmanism and establish Upanishadism in its place using Arjuna Vishada as the vehicle. In this article we will study how they consolidated their revolution.
Every revolution, whether military, political, social, religious or sectarian, is followed by two early preemptive measures: 1. Protecting the revolution from the attacks of well-entrenched vested interests. 2. Destroying, reforming or retiring the recalcitrant Old Guard. The stranglehold of the vested interests on Brahmanism was so strong that Upanishadists had to create a whole new god to accomplish these goals: Lord of beings (4:6). We read elsewhere the two main reasons why people create gods: fulfill their desires and for protection from evil. Presently Brahmanism’s upper classes were obsessed with fulfilling its desires by means of Kamya Karma, and Upanishadists were busy protecting their revolution from the evil of Brahmanism. It is important to note here that the new god’s mandate was only to protect and promote Upanishadism centered on Brahman and to destroy the evildoers (4:7-8). He was not the god of Upanishadism, but just its facilitator. He repeatedly identifies Brahman as the supreme divinity (5:21, 24-26; 6:27-28). Read the full story
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In the previous article we read how around mid 3rd century B. C. E. Brahmanism created the Original Gita consisting of Arjuna Vishada and inserted it into the ever-expanding Mahabharata epic to reverse the trend of Kshatriyas abandoning decadent Brahmanism and joining heterodox Dharmas such as Buddhism and Jainism. This hauntingly beautiful song, expounding merits of Varna Dharma, became the rallying point for Brahmanism in its struggle against the onslaught of heterodox Dharmas. Read the full story
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(Note: This is the 8th article in the series on the evolution of early religious thought in India, by Dr. Prabhakar Kamath. The previous article in the series can be accessed here. All Dr. Kamath’s previous articles can be accessed from this page where you can also sign up for Dr. Kamath’s RSS feed.)
We all know that Ashoka the Great gave Buddhism the gift of making it the dominant Dharma of India for a thousand years and one of the great World Religions to this day. However, few people know that he gave a wonderful gift to Brahmanism as well. He offered them his personal image of a renegade and fallen Kshatriya as the blueprint on which to base a parable in the form of a beautiful song, the Gita, by which Brahmins conquered back everything they had lost and more. A remorseful Ashoka overwhelmed by sorrow, self-doubt and the horror of war on the battlefield of Kalinga became the model for distraught Arjuna overwhelmed by sorrow, self-doubt and horror of war on the battlefield of Kurukshetra in the parable of Arjuna Vishada. This is a classic example of how Brahmanism used their adversaries themselves to beat them over the head. As we go along, we will study several more examples of such incredible feats by Brahmins in the defense and promotion of their archaic Dharma. Read the full story
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(Note: This is the 7th article in the series on the evolution of early religious thought in India, by Dr. Prabhakar Kamath. The previous article in the series can be accessed here. All Dr. Kamath’s previous articles can be accessed from this page where you can also sign up for Dr. Kamath’s RSS feed.)
Intellectual Ferment
By 600 B.C.E. a great intellectual ferment was brewing across the Indo-Gangetic plain the likes of which India has not seen since. Countless different Kshatriya-inspired philosophies sprang up from the agitated intellect of the Indo-Gangetic Civilization. During this period (900-500 B.C.E), thousands of wandering sophists, known as Parivrajaka, crisscrossed the country questioning anything and everything, including the doctrines of the Gunas and Karma, the Vedas, Vedic sacrificial rites, animal sacrifices, Varna Dharma, and supremacy of Brahmins. They engaged each other in robust public debates on every topic on earth. They challenged their adversaries to either win them over in debate or to follow them. These ‘argumentative Indians‘ came to be known as ‘ ‘Hair splitters’ or ‘Eel wigglers.’ The public halls all over Aryavarta were packed with curious people eager to learn and experiment with new ideas to cope with life’s vicissitudes. New Age Philosophies thrived everywhere. They were all sick and tired of Brahmanism’s remedy for every problem in the world: Perform sacrifices! Read the full story
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We read in the previous chapter how Brahmanism decayed due to the upper classes’ obsessive attachment to power, wealth and heaven, and compulsive performance of Kamya Karma to gain them. Not only did Brahmanism become irrelevant but also it was identified as the source of much social strife. The age of the Vedas ended and post-Vedic age of uncertainty, insecurity and disillusionment followed. These were the ominous times when the ancient tribes were breaking up; kings were being dethroned, and kingdoms were being swallowed up. The world, made up of various perishable forms of Prakriti and dubious Brahmanic elements, was seen as a miserable place to live (Maitrayani Up: 1:3-4). Rebellion hung in the air like the thick fog in the cool autumn dawn. Thousands of wandering sophists, known as Parivrajaka, crisscrossed the country challenging everyone to debate them or follow them. The first attempt to reform Brahmanism sprang up from within its own ranks. A section of Brahmanic society, mostly Kshatriya intellectuals, became disgusted with the decadence of Brahmanism and developed a whole new set of doctrines, which they propounded in treatises known as the Upanishads. The purpose of this brief article is not to expound the mindboggling and esoteric Upanishadic philosophy, but to expose its hidden intent. Read the full story
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In my previous article, we studied how Brahmanism originated and evolved to fulfill the desires of Arya people and protect them from evil of Dasyu. In this article we will study how in the course of next thousand years this Dharma decayed and itself became the evil that one needed protection from. We have witnessed this phenomenon of noble institutions decaying in the course of time even in our own lifetime. Congress Party, which was invented in the 19th century with the noble intention of winning independence from the British, itself became the ultimate symbol of corruption after India won independence in mid 20th century. Opposing political parties with lofty ideals, such as Bharatiya Janata Party, which were created to overthrow Congress Party, became even more corrupt and divisive -if that is possible- than Congress Party! Read the full story
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In my previous articles (1,2,3) I asserted that all religions came into being to solve some pressing societal problems. In the process, the problem solvers created gods to fulfill their own desires and to take refuge in them for protection from a specific evil. Let us now examine if we can apply these observations to Brahmanism. Around 3500 years ago, Northwest India saw waves of immigrants known as the Arya from north of the Himalayas. Their culture was remarkably distinct from that of the local people whom they disparagingly referred to as the Dasyu. The earliest Arya settlers in the region of the Punjab faced two major questions in their new land: 1. How are we going to cope with and harness the forces of Nature (Prakriti) such as rains, floods, famine, fires and storms? 2. How are we going to deal with the Dasyu who are hostile and evil? They experimented with many solutions over the years and finally came up with a brilliant solution. The result of their experimentation was Brahmanism. Read the full story
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