Soolaba's Blog

Astounding Truths Only Possible Because Sri HARI/KRISHNA is the ORIGINAL GODHEAD OF ALL HUMANITY

I am happy to re-post on my blog the wonderful research of Bhakti Ananda Goswami, that have been uploaded by his associate Brannon Parker, on their blog: “Collected Works of Sri Bhakti Ananda Goswami – The Primal Revelation At The Heart Of Civilization”

by HH Bhakti Ananda Goswami:

The best Egyptology Experts, who put together the Pharaohs of the Sun Museum Exhibit that we did my Lecture Tour of, confirmed in the official Literature that accompanied their Exhibit that Akhenaten was a REVIVALIST of the much more ancient Heliopolitan Tradition of HERU the ‘Elder’. This is what I have said since the late 1960s! HERU IS THE AFRICAN SUPREME FATHER GOD OLU AND THE INDIC HARI. It is this Supreme God HERU Who was also the Supreme GOD ELI (ALI, ARI, ORI, URI) OF THE BIBLICAL SEMITES and the HELIOS OF THE GREEKS OF THE MONOTHEISTIC CULTUS OF RHODES. He was SOLE to the Romans and HVARE to the Persians. To the Sumerians He was ILU. Thus He was the original, primal and Supreme Lord of the Africans, the Indo-Europeans and the Semites!!!

Factually He can be identified in Indigenous Religions of the Far East, Oceana and the Western Hemisphere too! How is it possible? This astounding truth is only possible because Sri HARI / KRISHNA is the ORIGINAL, SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD OF ALL HUMANITY! In His Bhagavad-gita As It IS, Sri Krishna says that He IS Dharma/Yama, Kubera, Indra, Surya, Brahma, Senapati/Skanda, etc. and in the Mediterranean Heliopolitan Tradition HERU IS respectively Anubis(Dharmaraja), Kephra (Kubera), Zeus Fulgar (Indra), the ‘Solar Helios’ (Surya Narayana), Helios Phanes (Brahma) and Ares-Mars (Skanda) etc.

The Holy Names of God and Their Common Usages Throughout the Ancient World – part 1

The Holy Names of God and Their Common Usages Throughout the Ancient World – part 2

The ‘Lila Avataras’ and Incarnations of Krishna-Vishnu are also found in the Rhodian Heliopolitan Tradition. Helios Delphinos is Matsya Avatara. Helios Kelemos is Kurma Avatara. Helios / ELI-YAHU as the Leontocephalos (Lion-Headed) Lord of Time and Eternity is the Vaishnava Nara-Hari (Haryeh) as KALAH, the Shaivite Kalah-Bairava, the Buddhist Kalah-Bairab, the Jewish ARE-YAHU and ARI-EL, the Persian Zervan, Eli-Yahu Tzabaoth as the slave-delivering Lord of the Exodus, Zeus Chronos, Jupiter Saturnus and the Afro-Egyptian Lion-Headed Form of HERU-AMUN-RA. He was worshiped in KUSH and at NAGA MEROE Africa as the Lion-Headed Supreme Lord APADEMAK.

The Tradition of Parasurama pervaded the ancient Mediterranean and Europe as the legendary Cadmus-Danae-Europa Cycle of City-Foundation Stories. The Story of Sita-Rama was at the core of the Mysteries of KORE and DEMETER. The Divine Love of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna was at the historical and theological revelatory HEART of the Bridal Mysticism Rhodian Tradition of RHODA and MEGHISTOS KOUROS HELIOS. The Tradition of BALADEVA as VASUDEVA or VISHNU, and as the Second Self of Sri HARI / KRISHNA was contained in the Afro-Helleno-Semitic Rhodian Tradition of AUSU / YAHU / WASU-THEOS / VASUDEVA as OSIRIS-Dionysos.

The Tradition of the Self-Sacrificed Rig Vedic Cosmic Purusha was at the core of all of the ancient sacrificial systems as that of the PER (Egyptian), YIR (Biblical Hebrew), or POL (Greek) of the POLIEUS / PURUSHA, Whose Sacramental Social Body was the original basis of all Theo-centric High Civilization. The NAZAREAN BAPTISM CULTUS of the Egyptian NHL (NILE) MZRYM and Semitic NZRYN / NAHARAIM was the Holy River of Baptism (Ganga) Cultus of NARAYANA (Jupiter MARIMUS). The Cultus of the All-Healing and Cosmos-Saving Great Physician Asclepios IASAS / JESUS was the Tradition of Lord Baladeva as the Ayur Vedic related Great Physician Ananta-Charaka. The PTAH Cultus of Helios / HERU-AUSU of Memphis was the Tradition of HERU that became Pure Land BUDDHISM (BUDH = PTAH).

Even the Adversaries of the Supreme Lord HARI were the same! In Egypt PP / Apep was SIN the enemy of the soul and the Supreme Lord HERU. PP ‘Apep’ is clearly the Sanskrit PAPA / SIN. SETU the Cosmic Enemy of HERU was KETU as EVIL, the Cosmic Enemy of HARI and the Devas. Compare Hebrew CHAT(U) and RA-AH RAHU as evil. Compare KETU and SETU as Cosmic CATABOLISM and CATASTROPHE etc. Compare the Indic Tradition RAHUS who cause demonic possession, disease and death with the ‘demons’ crushed under foot by HERU-AUSU and cast-out by Jesus!

The deeply meaningful historical and profound theological / revelatory connections between these most ancient and GLOBAL Great Bhakti Traditions are endless, and they are ALL going to be revived and re-connected in the future through the non-sectarian HARI NAMA SANKIRTAN MOVEMENT OF SRI SRI GAURA-NITAI!

Srimati Radha Rani is the Original Shekinah/Shakti-Source of ALL of the Korae (Gopis) and Goddesses of the Primal Divine Love Tradition

The Mystical Rose / Rhoda Mystica Nama-Rupa Name-Form of Srimati Radha Rajani / Regina (Rani, Queen) was often held to be so Sacred in the Ancient World that Her Name and Form were not openly said or depicted. Instead Her Hierogyph or ideogram or an-iconic Form of a ROSE or RED or Pink Flower, often a Lotus, was used to invoke Her Name and Form. Thus Her RED Rhodon (‘Rose’) or Lotus (Nymphia) represented HER throughout the ancient World, and the color RED (or pink) was a ‘pictorial pun’ for Her Most Holy Name, Rhoda / Radha. This is why She was traditionally depicted in Her full Iconographic Form as wearing RED clothing and/or holding or sitting/standing in or on a RED FLOWER or LOTUS. Icons of the Lord, NYMPHOS / KOUROS / RHODOS standing or sitting in a Lotus or holding a Lotus or Red Flower depict His inseparable connection to the Primal Divine Love Devotional Tradition of Rhoda / Radha Rajani/ Regina. As Mary Rhoda Mystica, the cCatholic’s Mary-Mariam (Nari-Narayani) wears a RED inner Dress and a BLUE / NILA (DURGA) outer Mantle or Veil! This reveals Her Inner Mysteries as the Ever-Virgin Rhoda, and Her Outer Mysteries as the Supreme Mother Nila or DURGA. The wide-spread Hiero-Gamos Mysteries Tradition practice still exists of dressing a bride in Rhoda’s / Radha’s sacred RED on her wedding day! Please see my Facebook Album about Rhoda’s / Radha’s (and Rhodos) Sacred RED as a Traditional Wedding Color from Africa, Europe, the Levant and India to the Orient!

However Some have attempted to classify Radharani as a myth. I completely reject this entire approach to the subject of Srimati Radha Rani, which is only made possible because of the historical and theological myopia and ‘spiritual pride’ of the ‘Hindus’ or Vaishnavas whose Hindu-centric prejudice utterly blinds them to the vast reality of Radha Rani’s worship outside of geographical India and their racist Aryanist concept of ‘Hinduism’.

In the Mediterranean Region and the Near East, the ‘Bridal Mysticism’ Hierogamos Divine Love Devotional Tradition of Radha and Krishna, known there as Rhoda and Helios Meghistos Kouros of Rhodes, was at the religious CORE / HEART of the first High Civilizations of Egypt, Europe, the Levant and Mesopotamia. The Religion of Rhoda-Kore and Rhodos-Kouros of Rhodes was PRE-HISTORIC and the Foundation Story of the first City of Heliopolis in Egypt always tied the Founding of Heliopolis to the prior Rhodian worship of Rhoda and Kouros! Even to today there are lingering Foundation Stories about a ‘Son’ or ‘RAY’ of Rhoda and Kouros named Actis (RAY) founding the first Egyptian City of Heliopolis, in honor-of his Divine Parents, Rhoda and Kouros.

Later the City of Heliopolis BAALBEK also carried-on the related Religious Tradition of the worship of RHODA and HELIOS OF RHODES. JERU-SALEM was called HIERO-SOLYM by the Greeks, and it was another Capital of Rhoda-Kouros / Radha-Krishna Worship. The Song of Songs in the Bible celebrated the Divine Love Affair of the DODANIM / RHODANIM of the Sacred Wedding ‘Hierogamos Mystery School’ of Rhoda and Rhodos of Rhodes. Later the Great Jewish Reformer King Josiah made the RHODON EMBLEM OF RHODES THE OFFICIAL SYMBOL OF HIS REIGN!!!

In every one of the Afro-Helleno-Semitic Divine Love Traditions of the Rhodian-related Mysteries, RHODA-KORE / RADHA was the Supreme HEKATE / HEXAD / SEKHET / SHEKINAH / SHAKTI of RHODOS-KOUROS / KRISHNA. As Meghistos Kouros / Krishna was the ORIGIN of all of the Rhodian Bucolic Paradise Cowherd KOUROI BOYS, and the Afro-Helleno-Semitic ‘Gods’ of the Heliopolitan High Civilizations, RHODA-KORE was the Origin of all of the Milkmaid KORAE Girls and the Afro-Helleno-Semitic ‘Goddesses’ of all of the Afro-Helleno-Semitic High Civilizations.

In Their Mystery Schools, Rhoda and Kouros / Radha and Krishna were worshiped as the Original Divine Lovers, in Their Bucolic / GOKULA Paradise. In fact Their CAROLING SACRED CIRCLE DANCE RITES took place in Their BOUKOLION, Their Garden of Paradise. However, in all of Their Royal Places of worship (as the Greek Polieus and Tyche etc.), the ever-JUVENile NAVA-YAUVANA Rhoda-Kore and Helios Rhodos-Kouros were worshiped in awe and reverence as PRAKRITI and PURUSHA / PER-AUSU / POLIEUS, as the Universal Mother and Father of ALL, the Sacred Queen and King. Baladeva as BL-YAHU / Dionysos was the Second Person of the Godhead of HERU-AUSU-ATUM / ELI-YAHU-ADON / HARI-VASU-ATMAN. He was the Original Spiritual Master and the Initiator into the Mysteries of the Supreme Kore and Kouros. Factually the Bhagavad-gita and Bhagavatam Traditions of Radha-Krishna and Balarama worship can be identified as the original and long-dominant devotional Religious Traditions of ancient Humanity, if one just dares to look for them outside of India and ‘Hinduism’.

Ancient Greek Rhoda-Kourai Deities. Originally these were painted with a red dress with the symbol of the red rose or lotus in hand or carved/painted upon her dress. Both the ‘Indic’ Radha and the Mediterranean ‘Rhoda’ are symbolized by the red rose or lotus and both are dressed in red s well. Mother Mary also continues to be recognized with the same rose symbol in all Catholic Churches to this very day.

All of my above assertions are based on solid verifiable facts. It is a sad truth that due to prejudice and the “party spirit” of sectarian pride and anti-Abrahamic (Anti-Semitic) Racist Aryanism, that Hindus and Vaishnavas refuse to look for, or to look at, the evidence for Radha-Krishna and Baladeva worship, or for Hari-Vasu-ParamAtman worship outside of India, ‘Hinduism’ and their racist interpretation of Vedic ‘Aryanism’. The fact is that the Supreme Shekinah Rhoda of Rhodes, was also known by Her countless other ‘Virginal’ or Eternal Maiden Holy Names such as KORE or Halia (HARE), Nymphia (Padme, Lotus), Asteria (Tara), Juventa (Yauvani) and also by Her ‘expansion’ Names as Mother and Crone (Grandmother, Wise Woman of the Universe). Thus She was worshiped as Radha, Laxmi or Durga, and Kali, the Original and Supreme Maiden, Mother and Crone throughout the ancient World. Mari-Miriam Marina (Nari-Narayani), Hekate Sekhet Shekinah (Shakti), Coronis (Harini), Regina (Rajani, Rani ‘Queen’), ‘Lady Luck’ Fortuna-Lucretia-Moneta (Laxmi), Basilea (Vasudevi) the Sacred Labiatae Ocimum Sanctum (Tulasi) were all Forms of Hers. The Korae Milkmaids of the Sacred Circle Dance of Kouros and Kore were Her Expansions, as well as the Hours, Horae / Seasons, Nymphs, Nyads, all of the ‘Goddesses’ of the Afro-Helleno-Semitic Rhodes-related Heliopolitan Asyla Federations, Sarah-Chokmah-Sophia ‘Holy Wisdom’ (Sarasvati) and the Muses of all of the Sacred Arts and Sciences. Thus She was the Original Great Goddess of all of Humanity, and Her Ever-Virginal Maiden Form as Rhoda-Kore was Her ‘Original’ Form, from which ALL of Her Other Forms as Korae, Goddesses, Supreme Mother and Crone etc. Emanated. An in-depth study of the Afro-Helleno-Semitic Mediterranean regional Maiden-Mother-Crone Great Goddess Tradition reveals that it was the RHODA-KORE or JUNO-JUVENTA JUVENILE / RADHA Nava-YAUVANI Maiden (Nymphia Ever-Virginal) Form of the ‘Great Goddess’ that was Her ORIGINAL FORM. This is why there has always been such an emphasis on MARY as RHODA MYSTICA, the ‘MYSTICAL ROSE’ being EVER VIRGIN. In Her Highest ‘Bridal Mysticism’ Form, Mary-Mariam / Nari-Narayani is the Ever-Virginal Rhoda-Kore!

While it is certainly possible for a soul to ascend to the greatest heights of Divine Love without knowing anything about the worship of Srimati Radha Rani outside of their own Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya Lineage, denying that other souls have also worshiped HER in other lineages will not promote greater understanding and mutual recognition and respect among Her Devotees World-wide. Even in India, the Alvar Saint related Devotees of Perumal and Pannai have been disrespected by Gaudiya Vaishnavas. In my talks with South Indian Devotee Scholars, they confirmed to me that Pannai was definitely Srimati Radharani, and how it pained them that they could not have any inspiring communication about HER with certain other Vaishnavas, because of the sectarian prejudice involved. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur said that “The party spirit is the enemy of truth”.

HARI: A Most Essential Revealed Name of the One True God
HARI is one of the most essential Revealed Names of the One True God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This Holy Name can be found throughout the World in cognate forms such as in the African Niger related Languages OLU, the Egyptian HERU, Roman SOLE, Greek HELI, KYRIE and KOUROS etc., Biblical Hebrew ELI, ALI, ARI, ORI, URI etc., Persian HVARE, Sumerian ILU and Indic HARI, HARA, SURA etc. HARI is the Lord’s Name as Rasa Raja the Lord of the HEART, GOD-WHO-IS-LOVE! Even the words HEART, CORE and CARDIO (KARDIA) are derived from the Lord’s HR / KR / CR Holy Name as the LOVER and CHARISMAtic / KRISHNA ATTRACTOR of all souls!
The HEART is the Throne-room or Seat of HARI, the King of all Rasa flavors of Divine Love (Lobha). Thus the Heart is the HARI-DAYA or DIAS / DIVAN (Throne) of HARI, the Raja / Regent/ Rex (Hebrew RAZAN) KING of LOVE. HRI-DAYA / KARDIA / CARDIO is a contraction of HARI-DAYA, and HRID / HEART is another contraction of HRIDAYA. So these HEART words are all related to the primal Revelation that HARI the LORD of LOVE is the Lord Who is seated in every affective loving HEART and in the creative and moral Heart of all of the Cosmos! CHARISMA (KRISHNA ‘Attractive’), KOUROS (Greek ‘Youth’) and CORE (the heart or center of anything) are also related words/names. There are also many ‘Love’ related derivative and associative meanings to the primal HR Holy Name of GOD! I once wrote a detailed explanation of this for one of my Columns in the online Hare Krishna World ‘newspaper’.

The Holy Name of Jesus is usually explained as derived from the Hebrew compound Theophoric Name of the promised Messiah, Yahu-Shua. This Name is a compound of the TWO DEITY NAMES YAHU and SHU (SHUA). SHU is a Name of the Lord as the SAVior of the whole World / Cosmos. This Holy Name appears in the Afro-Egyptian Tradition, the Greek and Biblical Hebrew Traditions of the Rhodian School Worshipers of Helios (HERU, ELI, HARI) and Dionysos (AUSU-BL, YAHU-BAL, BALADEVA). Jesus is the Universal SAVior / SOter, SHU, SHUA (SV=SU Save, Shua) see the SHU, SHUD purifying manumission words and names in Sanskrit related to sacrificial sanctification and REDEMPTION! Lord Baladeva is SHU the Redeemer! He is SUKLA or SHUKRA BALA, the Purifier and Sanctifier of ALL. In Egypt He is both SHU and SKR ‘SOKAR’ the Lord of SACRI-fice, all that is SACRED, all SACRAments! Thus as SUKRA-BALA, Lord Baladeva is all-powerful to REDEEM and SAVE the entire cosmos! He alone makes all things and persons pure or SACRED via His Once and All-sufficient Self-Sacrifice as the Original Rig Vedic Cosmic Purusha!

Lord Baladeva is also called VISHNU or VASU-DEVA. VISH and VAS are the same root Name of God and are definitely the HEBREW HOLY NAME YISH or YAHU, meaning TO BE, TO EXIST, WHO IS WAS and WILL BE! See the Hebrew Theophoric Names YESHI-YAHU, YISHMA / VISHNU and TOBA-YAHU / DEVA-VASU VASU-DEVA! YAHU is the Afro-Egyptian AUSU of Heliopolis, and AUSU was called WASU in Theban Tradition. WASU-THEOS is again VASU-DEVA. The Greeks called HIM (AUSU) OUSIOS or OSIRIS and identified Him with DIONYSOS, ASCLEPIOS-IASAS and the YAHU-BL of the Biblical Semites! In the centuries just before the Appearance of Jesus Christ, the Greeks’ World-Saving Great Physician ASCLEPIOS IASAS (YAHU-SHUA,YASHAS, JESUS) was worshiped as SERAPIS by the Egyptians and ESHMUN by some Semites, Aesculapius by the Romans and under many other Names throughout the World. In the East He was worshiped at the great Ayur Vedic Indo-Buddhist Vedic-Vaishnava related Universities as ANANTA-CHARAKA, LORD BALADEVA in His ‘Hidden Incarnation’ as the World-Saving ‘Wandering Mendicant Healer’ the Great Physician Charaka!
So if A=B and B=C, then A=C! Thus Baladeva as VASU-DEVA and SUKRA-Bala (the Sacred World-Saving Great Physician, Whose primal Rig Vedic Self-SACRifice ‘takes away the sins of the World’) IS WASU THEOS / AUSU DIOS / TOBA-YAHU, SERAPIS, ASCLEPIOS-IASAS etc., YAHU-SHUA (JESUS) and ANANTA-BALARAMA (BALADEVA) as the All-Saving Redeeming (Purifying SHU, SOter, SHUD etc.) Great Physician CHARAKA.
Egyptian SERAPIS = Greek ASCLEPIOS-IASAS (JESUS) = Biblical YAHU-SHUA (JESUS) = BALADEVA (Vasu-Deva, Vishnu YASHAS) as ANANTA-CHARAKA the Cosmos-Saving Rig Vedic Purusha and Great Physician. One of the Names of the last Incarnation of Vishnu in the Kali Yuga is Vishnu YASHAS. YA is a mystical NAME OF PURUSHA and SHA, SHAS is from the root SHU as in SUKLA meaning to purify by SACRIfice, to REDEEM or MOKSHA / RELEASE from condemnation! Thus one rendering of the Sanskrit Holy Name YA-SHAS is identical to that of the Biblical Hebrew Holy Name YAHU-SHUA…YA / YAHU REDEEMS, YA / YAHU is Salvation, YA / YAHU / VASU-Deva / VISHNU PURUSHA Saves!
HARI / HERU / OLU / ELI etc.and YAHU-SHUA / IASAS / JESUS / YASHAS etc. ARE HOLY NAMES OF GOD, IN WHICH ALL OF THE ANCIENT AFRICAN, INDO-EUROPEAN AND SEMITIC TRIBES OF HUMANITY WERE UNITED, AND THESE PRIMAL HOLY NAMES WERE ALSO IN THE ANCIENT OCEANIC AND WESTERN HEMISPHERE LANGUAGES AND RELIGIONS TOO!

I was especially interested in how the third century BC Jewish translators of the SEPTUAGINT (Alexandrian Egyptian Jewish Scriptures) translated the religious Hebrew of their day into Greek, and why this was done at the great Alexandrian Temple of SERAPIS (HERU-HAP / ELI-HABHA). Hebrew, Israelite, Jewish and other West Semitic city names identified the YIR / IR / PER cities of the ELI-YAHU / BAAL Deity. It became immediately apparent to me that these theocentric cities and city-states of the Semites were related to the sacred PER cities of the Afro-Egyptians and the POL cities of the Greeks. In fact it appeared that the Semites’ sacred IR cities and the Africans’ PER and Greeks’ POL cities were often members of the same Monotheistic HELIOPOLITAN ASYLA FEDERATIONS or TEMPLE ALLIANCES. This certainly implied that the Supreme Deity HERU-ASU of the Egyptians, HELI-US of the Greeks and ELI-YAHU of the Semites was all the same Deity! Tracing these connections further West showed connections to the Roman Deity SOLEUS, and to the East there were connections to the Sumerian Supreme Deities ILU and Babylonian EA, and the Vedic, Vaishnava and Shaivite Supreme Deities SURA / HARI (Krishna-Vishnu) and HARA (Shiva). Eventually I traced these connections further, to the worship of Amida HRIH in Japanese (and related) Pure Land Buddhism, and OLU and His Expansions in the Yoruban Tradition. Thus there was obviously a single salvific emanational and incarnational monotheism shared by the African, European and Eastern branches of the human family. Why didn’t everyone know about these connections ?

The Supreme Father God

OLU Niger-Kordofanian Language Family

HERU Nilo-Saharan Language Family

HELI Greek

SOLE Roman

ELI West Semitic (ALI as in Allah is related)

URI ARI, ORI Semitic variants

HURRI SERRI Hurrian and Hittite variants

ILU Sumerian

ZER HVARE Persian variants

SURA same as HARI, compare SURIH, SUREH, HARIH, HAREH, SURYA, HARYA etc.

HARI HARA Vaishnava and Shaivite Sanskrit forms

HRIH Buddhist Sanskrit

So above we have the SAME FATHER GOD of the Yoruban religious family, the Egyptian religious family, monotheistic (Platonic Heliopolitan related) ‘pagan’ Europe, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Persian traditions including the still extant Zoroastrianism or Parseeism, the earliest Sumero-Tamil / Dravidian religion, and the Great Eastern Salvific Bhakti Traditions of Krishna-Vishnu (and Rama etc.), Shiva and the Pure Land Buddhist Amitabha / Amida (Father Heaven / Yang to Mother Kuan Yin in China).

His Sacred Cities Were Called:

PER Egyptian

POL Greek

BUR Northern European

YIR, PER Semitic (KUR is a variant)

UUR Sumerian

PUR Sanskrit

Greek POLIEUS = Egyptian PERASU / PHARAOH = PURUSHA

POLIEUS was always worshiped with His feminine TYCHE called SEKHET in Egypt, SHEKINAH in Israel and SHAKTI in the East. The Romans called her Tyche-Fortuna. She was the Place or Hladini Shakti of the Supreme Lord. Juno was both Marina (Of the Sacred Waters = Narayani) and Luck or Fortune Fortuna/Lucretia Lucre Money (Laxmi). Juno as the Queen of Heaven was called Basilea (Vasudevi) and Regina (Rajani) but Her original Form was Youthful Juvenile Juventas (Radha as Yauvani), and on Her sacred Rose or Lotus Dvipa/Island of Rhodes She was called Rhoda (Radha), Kore (Hare, Feminine of Kouros), Asteria (Star, Tara) and Nymphia (Virgin-Lotus Padme). So, even superficially between the Greek and Roman Heliopolitan Traditions alone, we can account for the related worship of Radha-Rajani (Radha-Rani) being the Origin of all of the Goddesses, including Basilea/Vasu-devi (also a name for Ocimum Sanctum “Sacred Basil” Tulasi), Nava-Yauvani, Laxmi, Hladini Shakti, Narayani, Hare, Tara/Astraya, and Padma!

Some Shekinah / Shakti Names

(Mediterranean Asyla Federation Name-Forms and related Sanskrit Name-Forms)

Mary the “Mystical Rose” ROSA MYSTICA = RHODA (Greek) / RADHA

ISIS (Egyptian), ISHISH (Hebrew) / ISHI, ISHVARI

MARINA (Roman), MARIAM (Hebrew) / NARAYANI see Mary = Nari

Youth virgin-maiden JUVENTAS (Roman) / YAUVANI

BASILEA (Greco-Roman) / VASUDEVI

ASTARIA (Greek) / ASTRAYA, TARA

NYMPHIA (Greek LOTUS) / PADME

KORE (Greek) / HARE

LUCRE (compare Latin LUCRUM ‘gain’, a Name of Roman FORTUNA MONETA) / LAKSHMI

BA (Egyptian), H’EVE (Hebrew) / JIVA

The antiquity of this unified monotheism can be traced as far back as the Mediterranean Isle of Rhodes, at the dawn of the Historic Period. There, according the earliest extant traditions, HELIOS KOUROS AND RHODA WERE WORSHIPED BY AFRICANS, GREEKS AND SEMITES AS THE PRIMORDIAL DIVINE FATHER AND MOTHER OF THE WHOLE HUMAN FAMILY.

The Bridal Mysticism of this Rhoda-Kouros worship was at the core of the great Heliopolitan Civilization of Earliest Dynastic Egypt. According to legend, the Egyptian Capital of Heliopolis was founded by an actual son (Actis) or ‘ray’ of Rhoda and Helios Kouros. Tracing all of the interdisciplinary connections to Rhoda and Kouros worship led me back to the Biblical Bridal Mysticism Tradition in the Song of Songs, where the Divine Lovers DODA are clearly related to RHODA and RHODOS, on their sacred LOTUS ISLE of Rhodes. Thus the Bible calls the Rhodanim DODANIM. Of course RHODA and RHODOS KOUROS are the East’s RADHA and KRISHNA! Their Hierophant and Master of Mysteries is BAL-YAHU Dionysos, Who in the East is BALA-VASUDEVA (compare VASUDEVA and Hebrew TOBA-YAHU). Baladeva in His Multi-Form as DIONYSOS POLIEUS is the Descending Savior of all worlds (MESSIAH / NYASA ), the DEVA NYASAS of GOD (ELI/ HARI) WHO ANOINTS / INITIATES, AND WHO IS HIMSELF ANOINTED. Investigating these astounding connections further, I found interdisciplinary evidence of the entire salvific tradition of Radha, Krishna and Baladeva-Vishnu in the Mediterranean thousands of years before the Christian Era. This tradition was clearly related to Pure Land Buddhism, and thus confirmed it as the earliest and most authentic form of Buddhism. When the evidence was so clear, why were these connections not commonly known? Had people for some reason not been looking at, or able to see this evidence?

Bhakti Ananda Goswami: “Here is an Excel spreadsheet prepared by Bhakta Jan of the online Vedic Encyclopedia from my work, but I have not had the facility to make corrections to it. The spreadsheet outlines the many inter-cultural uses of the same Divine Names”: Original Connections

The Truth About Our Unity Was Obscured By Racist Aryanism, Which Dominated Western Academia
As I began my research, I could find no other studies with the scope that I intended to explore. Why was this? As I encountered academic resistance to my enquiries, it soon became evident to me that my non-ethnocentric search was violating some unwritten law forbidding the comparison of so-called Indo-European words to Semitic and Afro-Egyptian words. Soon I learned about the influence of ‘white’ racist Aryanism in the European Humanities. Since the 19th century the Euro-Aryanists had made it an unforgivable scholastic sin to compare their imagined ‘Aryan’ race-related Indo-European words to Semitic and African words. In all of the European and American related humanities, not just linguistics, for a hundred years Aryanist racism had dominated, and still continued to dominate Euro-centric scholarship. Thus I encountered impediments to my interdisciplinary work at every step. When I tried to interest other scholars in my work, I was ridiculed by the academic Aryanists, and my discoveries were suppressed. This was not done by ‘white’ Euro-Aryanist racists alone. I also was opposed by fanatical religionists who did not want me showing evidence that their Supreme God also belonged historically to peoples that they had long hated and opposed. Perhaps surprisingly, some of the worst opposition to my connecting the Biblical Deity to Krishna-Vishnu and Shiva came from Hindus who hate the Judeo-Christian or so-called ‘Abrahamic’ Traditions. Some racist high-caste Hindus, who consider themselves to be racial ‘Aryans’, have especially opposed my work, because the evidence that I am presenting shows clearly that the term ‘Arya’ was originally a religious term, not a racial term !

Who Were The Aryans?
The Expansions or Forms of the supreme Godhead HARI / ELI (see list above) were identified by His Name. Thus in the East we see the SURA GANA who are associated with the SOLAR GAYATRI FORM OF HARI SITUATED WITHIN THE HEART OF THE SUN PLANET. The worshipers of HARI were also called the SURA SENOI. Compare HARI-JANA and HARYANA to SURA GANA. The suffix YM or YN in Hebrew and Egyptian means the SAME AS THE SANSKRIT YN, JN or GN. In Egypt the hieroglyphic ‘determinatives’ for the Forms of HERI, or His expansions, His Agents and His people were often the same symbols. For example Heri’s astra the DISCUS and His Vehicle the GARUTMAN HAWK or Eagle, were used to identify HERI and anyone related to Him or representing Him. Since Heri (ELI / HARI) or Wasu-Theos (VASUDEVA) was worshiped by those religious persons in the SATTVIC mode of goodness, His people were called the SATTVATAS, and other Theophoric Names such as SURA-GANA. Now compare the Hebrew Name for the Biblical Forms of God and Manifestations or representatives of God / Eli. ‘ELOHIM’ is used frequently for the Persons of the GODHEAD (over 1000 times), but the same word is also used for ‘gods’ 240 times, and occasionally for judges.

Thus in many cultures, the Forms of God, the ‘gods’ as His representatives, and the anointed leaders or ‘nobility’ were designated by a term cognate with ARYA. The meaning of ‘ARYA’ as ‘Noble’ is an associative meaning. The actual root of the ELOHIM (ELHYM) related words IS THE HOLY NAME OF THE SUPREME FATHER GOD. The ‘gods’ and people of HERI in Africa, like the HELLENES, HURRIANS, Jewish ELOHIM and the ARYANS were not ‘white’ (from the Sanskrit root, as in the name ARJUNA meaning ‘white’. Rather they were persons of-from-or-related-to (suffix YN, JN, GN, etc.) the Deity HERI, HARI, ARI, HELI, ELI, ALI, HURRI, HVARE, SOLE, SURA, OLU, ILA, etc. By looking at the global evidence, ARYA is contexted as a common theophoric designation FOR ANY TENDING-TOWARDS-SATTVIC PEOPLE WORSHIPING THE SUPREME FATHER GOD. When I first asserted this over 30 years ago, because of the lingering influence of racist Aryanism, my work was ignored. However, much has changed in the last thirty years, and the entire fields of Helleno-Semitica (see Cyrus Gordon) , Black Studies (see Martin Bernal’s Black Athena), Superlinguistics ( see Nostratic and Austric, etc., Superfamilies) and DNA tracing (see mitochondria) have opened up, providing a vast amount of new interdisciplinary data, which completely supports my findings.

Along with the global diffusion of humanity (as evidenced by DNA, new archaeological evidence, computer-assisted Superlinguistics and evidence from other disciplines), the worship of the aboriginal Divine Father and Mother and their Hero-Savior spread. Thus this worship can be found at the BHAKTI HEART or core, in the oldest strata of beliefs in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Thus it is my joy as a Vaishnava and a Catholic to salute you all as my dear sisters and brothers and others in THE ONE FAITH OF SAVING GRACE, with the lovely Lakota Tribal Address MITAKUYE OYASIN ! ALL MY RELATIONS!

Praying for the reconciliation and unity of all persons of good-will, your brother and aspiring servant, Bhakti Ananda Goswami

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(1)-(3) Keel, Othmar and Christoph Uehlinger, 1998, Gods, Goddesses and Images of God in Ancient Israel. Translated by Thomas H. Trapp. Philadelphia: Fortress. Hardback, xiii + 466 pp. ISBN 0-8006-2789-X.

(4) All of these are familiar symbols and associations with BALADEVA, Who is also called by various BAL names, such as BALA BHADRA, BALA RAMA, SUKLA BALA. The very ancient city of Jericho was Bal’s City and its symbol, which later also represented Jerusalem and Israel, was Bal-Yahu’s Palm. In Vaishnavism, BALADEVA IS THE SECOND PERSON OF THE GODHEAD AND SOURCE OF VISHNU AND ALL VISHNU AND SHIVA MANIFESTATIONS.

A Few West and East Names and Symbols of Baal-Toba-Yahu / Baladeva-Vasudeva
Hebrew AZAR, Sanskrit ASURA ( a Vedic Name of Purusha)

Hebrew YISHMA, Sanskrit VISHNU

English VALOROUS, Roman root of VAL (see CHIVALRY), Semitic BALU, BAAL, BEL, ‘LORD’, ‘MASTER’, to BE STRONG, MIGHTY or BRAVE

Roman ARATOR, Sanskrit HALADHARA ‘PLOW HOLDER’

Hebrew TOBA-YAHU, Sanskrit VASUDEVA (reversed)

In Egypt SKR-BAAL-ASAR (SUKRA-BALA-ASURA / PURUSHA) is the OLDER BROTHER of the Supreme Deity HERI!

BAAL’s Distinctive Helmet Crown can be seen on Balarama as Vishnu

The Egyptian White Plume (feather) identifies the Son or Expansion of God as SHU or SHUA, SALVATION PERSONIFIED. Baladeva always wears a White Plume, unless He has a Helmet Crown or Turban on. SHU also (as in SUKLA / SUKRA) means white as in PURE or SINLESS.

The TURBAN of DIONYSOS, Who is the alter-Form of HELIOS KOUROS, identifies Dionysos with the Oriental Mysteries. Like His alter-Form Asclepius, Dionysos was mysteriously ‘older’ than His own Source, Helios Kouros. Baladeva is the ‘Older Brother’ of Krishna!

Like Helios Kouros (Krishna) the unbearded KOUROS Forms of Baladeva and Dionysos have long uncut hair (revealing Their eternal YOUTH).

The ‘Lunar’ Savior, and Brother of the ‘Solar’ Deity is WHITE or PURE and wears the ‘Royal Blue’ reserved for the Anointed Messiah King. His sacred instrument is the HORN. His precious metal is electrum or silver. He has auspicious marks on His hands and feet. White animals are especially sacred to Him, like the white cows and horses of Helios.

His ‘Stick’, in Egypt, was actually His YAHU or WASU SCEPTRE, which SAID HIS NAME WASU-THEOS / VASU DEVA!

The Palm Tree or Palm Frond of Jericho, Jerusalem and the Jewish States of Israel and Judah is the common symbol of Baladeva. It can be seen on Baladeva’s Palm-Blazoned Flag.

The CLUB is the weapon of BAAL, the Savior (Messiah) of EL. This is the GADA / CLUB of Baladeva.

MANY MORE EXAMPLES COULD BE GIVEN.

(5) Bal-Dionysos was associated with the Jews’ Yahu, and in Egypt with ASU (the Greeks’ and Romans’ OSIRIS) in the North, and WASU in the South. Yahu means the same as VASU in Sanskrit, and is the root of the Vedic Name of Vishnu as PURUSHA or ASURA the Supreme BEING WHO IS. Compare the meanings of English IS, Latin Esse, Greek OUSIOS, Egyptian ASU / WASU, Hebrew YAHU and YESHI, Sanskrit ASU / VASU and YA (a Mystical Name of Purusha! Here are some of the related Deity Names and words associated with His all-pervasiveness and Multi-Form as POLIEUS or PURUSHA-ASURA:

ELI-AZAR Hebrew

ASAR-YAHU Hebrew

ASAR Egyptian

OSIRIS Greek (masculine ‘being’ appears as ‘-OS’ on the end of Theophoric Names

ASSHUR Assyrian

AHURA Persian

ASURA Vedic Sanskrit (NOT A-SURA)

ASARU Name of Marduk at Babylon

From the ASU or AHU root (to be, exist, dwell) some Names and words are PUR-USHA, VASU-DEVA, YAHU, YESHI-YAHU, VISHNU, YISHMA (Hebrew), WASU, ASAR, etc., OUSIOS (Greek), ESSE (Latin), IS (English).

WHO’S KRISHNA ? WHO’S BUDDHA ? WHO’S JESUS ?
What About Southern or Voidest Buddhism, Isn’t It The Oldest / Original Form of Buddhism ?

Recently I was asked if The Buddha taught atheism. I could not give a simple answer, because there is an erroneous presupposition in the question. Mahayana Buddhism teaches the existance of infinite Buddhas, or incarnations of Lokesvara or the Adi Buddha, who preach the Dharma according to time and circumstance. The Buddha of Theravadin (T) Buddhism is not the same as the Buddha of Mahayana (M) Buddhism. The Gautama, Sakyamuni, or Siddhartha Buddha of the Theravadin (Southern or ‘Hinayana’) Buddhists has been considered by them to be an ‘awakened’ man, the only Buddha, unique in world history to his time. This Sakya Buddha OF THE THERAVADINS definitely taught not only atheism, but voidism.. However, the SAKYAMUNI Buddha of the Mahayana Buddhists was originally considered to be the latest of infinite salvific incarnations of Vishnu (Lokesvara). Not only did He teach a transcendental theism, but He was always considered to be an incarnation of the Adi Purusha, Bhagavan, HRIH / Amitabha the Dharma Kaya, Adi Purusha, the ADI BUDDHA Himself. These M Buddhists (Sakyamuni worshipers) were indistinguishable from Vaishnavas throughout the range of Vaishnavism, and only became perceived as belonging to a separate religion (Buddhism) as their traditions spread outside of India.

Is There Any Traditional Explanation For The Mahayana versus Hinayana / Theravadin Differences ?

According to Mahayana Tradition, when the Lord descended as Sakyamuni Buddha, he preached to the humble faithful and to the proud atheists both. Even in mixed assemblies, the atheists could not understand His Divinity and theistic revelations due to their offensive mentality. Those hearers who lacked the BODHI HEART OF COMPASSION could not hear / receive the revelation of the ADI BUDDHA’S GRACE MEDIATED THROUGH HIS SECOND PERSON’S INFINITE BODHISATTVA MANIFESTATIONS AND BUDDHA INCARNATIONS (INCLUDING SAKYAMUNI). The proud intellectual elitists brought their jnana / gnosis to the assemblies, and thus they took away with them the atheistic conception of Sakyamuni and His teachings which they had brought with them. They could not experiance His divinity, or even hear His theistic, bhakti / grace teachings about the infinite Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas and their infinite spirit-realms, the Adi Buddha (HRIH) and His spiritual Lotus Dvipa PURE LAND (hence PURE LAND BUDDHISM) . So it is that the Mahayanists explain why their canon of scripture and oral traditions contain some entirely different teachings than those of the Theravadins. Unfortunately, over time, the pure transcendental theism of Mahayana Buddhism became corrupted with ‘esoteric’ and then explicit voidism, creeping into it from the T Tradition. I will explain more on one of the mechanisms (foreign pilgrims in India) of this corruption later below. As a form of elitist gnosticism or jnana, the corruption of M Buddhism with atheism is analogous to the way that gnostic ‘esoteric wisdom’ teachings have introduced voidism and ‘extreme apophatic’ impersonalist teachings into Judaism and Christianity in the West.

The Theravadins have always claimed that theirs’ is the original form of Buddhism, and this view has been adopted and promulgated widely in both the East and West, despite vast evidence to the contrary (more on this below). Sri Lanka has long been considered the ancient homeland of Theravadin Buddhism, from which it spread throughout South East Asia. There are vast differences between Theravadin (‘Southern Buddhism’) and Mahayana , or ‘Northern Buddhism’, which is closely related to Krishna-centric Vaishnavism. The Theravadins claim that the Mahayana Tradition is a later corruption of Theravada by Hinduism. Western academia has generally adopted this view. However, if we study the antecedents of Mahayana Buddhism in the PTAH CULTUS OF HELIOS IN EGYPT, it is clear that the PURE LAND BUDDHIST CORE OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM GOES BACK AT LEAST AS FAR AS THE DOMINANT TRADITION OF HERU-ASAR-PTAH AT MEMPHIS CIRCA 3000 BC IN EGYPT. The ancient Eastern Hemisphere range of Northern Buddhism in fact pre-dated Sakyamuni Buddha by centuries to millinia, and included S.E. Asia, India north and east to Japan, and west to Europe and Egypt. There is also evidence of its presence among the Amerindians of the Western Hemisphere (several other volumes at least.)

Having long studied the Mahayana- Vaishnava connections and M. versus T. differences, on my Asian Independent Study through Marylhurst College in 1982, i visited ancient Buddhist sites, present temples and monasteries, lay and ordained practitioners, scholars, museum and private collections of sacred art and artifacts, libraries etc. collecting texts and icons, sketching and photographing them, and discussing them with experts and murti / icon makers from Japan, to Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, India and Nepal. As the Mainland USA Delegate to the academic 1982 World Hindu Conference, sponsored by the Governments of Tamil Nadu India, and Sri Lanka, i was a guest of the Sri Lankan Government, and given a tour of the most important ancient Buddhist and Hindu sites in Sri Lanka. Every one of the oldest TB sites had either and / or Jaya and Vijaya (Vishnu’s heavenly temple gate-keepers) or a Devali shrine (with the stupa) clearly depicting Vishnu (Lokesvara ) descending to take His birth as Sakyamuni Buddha. The ancient and contemporary T Buddhist places of worship were pervaded with the rich iconography and symbolism of Vaishnavism, in spite of the fact that T Buddhism is militantly voidest and iconoclastic. When i asked the TB masters and monks why their holy places were full of such ‘idols’ and symbols, and why the masses were worshiping the mere ‘awakened man’ Sakyamuni with traditional Vaishnava-style pujas etc., they all disdainfully responded that the sentimentality of Hinduism had corrupted everything, and that it was very difficult for the common masses to understand the sublime teaching / truth of anatta / no self. Only the elite Arhants and their disciples could realize their non-being, and thus escape the cycle of samsara. As a aside here i would like to mention that when i asked about Krishna and Balarama, these same T Buddhists responded with a similar teaching to the one i encountered among some Jains in India. They considered Krishna (or Vasudeva) and Baladeva to be demons. The only elaboration on this that i could elicit, was that They caused a great war (the Battle of Kuruksetra), and (as with some Jains) They, or Krishna were in a hell for their sins in this conflict.

In spite of Sri Lanka’s status as a kind of captital of Buddhist atheism / voidism, i only saw ancient evidence there of MAHAYANA Buddhism. Moreover, M B was still pervading the popular worship of the so-called ‘Theravadin’ masses. For instance, on Wesak, the thrice holy day of Sakyamuni’s birth, enlightenment and ‘nirvana’, in the public places and temples i visited, everyone was chanting Mahayana Buddha’s-births stories, which included references to his previous salvific appearances. His enlightenment and ‘death’ stories were also from the Northern canon / tradition, and full of so-called ‘mythical’ and transcendent elements. I could not find a single ‘Theravadin’ temple where lay buddhists were NOT worshiping Sakyamuni according to Mahayana Traditions. The TB priests disdainfully tolerated it and dutifully collected the ‘Hinduized’ faithfuls’ offerings. After my studies in Sri Lanka, the purported ancient center and regional diffusion point for TB, i am convinced that Southern, or ‘atheistic / voidest Buddhism’ in the S. Eastern range is and was predominantly POPULARLY Mahayana, but treated as a low-class corruption by the elitist religious, who were the ‘brahmin’ class, patronised and made powerful by various dynasties. I conclude that the voidests have always been in denial regarding their true historical position in relationship to Mahayana Tradition.

In S.E. Asia, theistic Buddhist dynasties / rulers (Jayavaram etc.) were popular with the masses, and presided over the great ‘Buddhist’ works that have survived to today. Thus it is clear that the ‘ Buddhism’ of Angkor Wat in Cambodia was Vishnu worship, and similar ‘Buddhist’ Vishnu temples can be found throughout S. East Asia, Austranesia and the Pacific Islands. It is this popular devotional (Bhakti) Buddhism which we find spread over enormous territories throughout the ancient world. Thus we can compare HERU-ASAR- PTAH iconography and symbolism from Egypt to Buddhist iconography and symbolism throughout the East, finding truely amazing consistancies and parallels. A wide range of other evidence connects the Eastern and Mediterranean forms of ‘Buddhism’. For example, Memphite rock-cut temple and Necropolis techniques are found in the great Buddhist Ajanta Caves, and textual scholars have long noted the similarities between the Egyptian and Tibetan so-called ‘Book Of The Dead’.

Just as the Elite Mayavadi Brahmins of India have used their influence to distort the world perception of India’s religions, in the same way the powerful Theravadins have distorted the world view of Buddhism. The vast majority of so-called ‘Hindus’ are Vaishnavas. The next largest numerical groups are the Shaivites, and then the Devi worshipers. These are all bhakti, or devotional theistic traditions. The Atheistic and iconoclastic Mayavadi Brahmins have never been more than a tiny fraction of the population.,but because of their elite / privileged / powerful position, they have defined ‘Hinduism’ to the non-’Hindu’ world. Thus practically any western textbook entry on ‘Hinduism’ will describe a popular exoteric ‘polytheism’ of thousands of gods, with prominent ones like Vishnu, Shiva, etc., and a ‘higher’ or ‘esoteric’ tradition of pantheism or monism, which ultimately denies the transcendant reality of the ‘gods’ in favour of an impersonal absolute…the energy field or ground of impersonal existance called Brahman. The parallel in Buddhism is that the Mahayana ‘Great Vehicle / Way’ has always been the dominant tradition, with countless believers throughout the East. It was once the main religion of China, Korea and Japan. The Hinayana, or ‘Small Vehicle / Way ‘ was again mainly an elitest tradition of the few, and admittedly originally mostly confined to S.E. Asia. Still the Theravadins / Hinayanas have managed to define ‘Buddhism’ for the world.

The most outrageous example of this obscuration of the reality and importance of Mahayana, and especially PURE LAND Buddhism that i have personally encountered, was when i was working on my BA degree. At the end of an entire course on the history and thought of Buddhism, in which the Mahayana Tradition had never been mentioned a single time, and Tibetan Buddhism was re-interpreted in purely Theravadin terms, I asked the instructor / professor before the entire class about this indefensible ommision and distortion. Her response was predictible, that it was her class and she had the right to present what she thought was “significant” and “relevant”about Buddhism to her students ! I said that the class should have been identified as a Theravadin Buddhist class, and she should have at least acknowledged the existance of MB at the outset. I noted that as recently as the pre-communist era in China, that MAHAYANA BUDDHISM was the dominant Religion there. The Chinese atheists targeted Chinese MB as their # ONE religious object for destruction. Seeing MB for the theistic devotional tradition that it was, the militant atheists ruthlessly sought to root it out of the hearts, minds and lives of the Chinese people. As in Tibet, the Communists’ wholesale slaughter of priests, monks and nuns, and destruction of their temples and monasteries, was followed by a cruel ‘re-education’ campaign to ‘break the masses of their superstitions’. Then some of the remnant of Buddhism left in China was appropriated by the Communists to teach Theravadin Voidism, which is in every way compatible with Communist atheism. Of course, this is what they have attempted to do to Tibetan Buddhism, by trying to appoint or control its High Lamas.

The Communists have revised history to fit their world-view and serve their political agenda, but here in America, it was shocking to see how the history of Buddhism at my college was being re-written to edit-out the reality of the dominant MB Tradition ! I later found out that the course instructor and her husband were Theravadin ‘Masters’ who regularly taught their form of atheistic Buddhism at their ‘yoga studio’ in the area. After receiving all ‘A’s from her throughout the course, she gave me a final grade of ‘B’ for daring to raise the issue of Mahayana Buddhism in her Buddhism Class ! I had waited to the very end to hear one single word of acknowlegement that the majority MB tradition had ever existed, and my grade was lowered for daring to bring it up ! This was the only ‘B’ I received in my whole college career ! I was an expert on Buddhism taking the course because I needed the credits. The rest of the students could not detect her bias. It was apalling to see what she was getting away with in the name of objective education. I watched her indoctrinate that class in Theravadin teachings, and totally ignore the greater historical reality of ‘Northern Buddhism’. As tragic as this is, it is typical of the state of knowledge regarding ‘Hinduism’ and ‘Buddhism’ in western academia today. Hinduism courses are being taught that do not even recognize Vaishnavism as the dominant Tradition, or even as a separate Tradition from Mayavadi Brahminism or Shaivism ! Krishna in the GITA is most often presented as a teacher of atheistic Advaita Vedanta ! Thus we must always consider the sourse, and ask WHO IS KRISHNA ? WHO IS BUDDHA ?

Many Have Said That Mahayana Buddhism Is Related To Hinduism, Why Do You Claim It Is Specifically Krishna-Centric Vaishnavism That It Is Most Closely Connected To ?

I have made an interdisciplinary study of Mahayana Buddhism, specifically focusing on its core, which is the Pure Land Tradition. In this study, i have sought the oldest sources in each region, comparing texts and inscriptions with icons and symbols, related architecture, rites and prayers etc. While the scriptures of TB are in Pali, the original forms of the MB scriptures, Litanies of HRIH-Lokesvara and Tara / Kuan Yin, rituals and prayers are in Sanskrit. Because of my Vaishnava studies, i have been able to recognize the Vaishnava Names of God and Shakti, and specific Vaishnava related terms throughout the MB Sanskrit sources. Despite the corruption of MB theism with TB esoteric atheism / voidism, it is still very easy to recognize the Vaishnava basis of M Buddhism. Any Krishna-centric Vaishnava with a rudimentary familiarty with Sanskrit would recognize connections to their own tradition in the Sanskrit Pure Land sources like the SADDHARMA PUNDARIKA or the SUKHAVATI VYUHA. Throughout MB Sanskrit has been retained in much prayer an ritual. For instance, for Tibetan Ritual, the original Sanskrit forms have been preserved, and these retain their Vaishnava content, including some names of Vishnu, like Bhagavan. THE CULT OF TARA by Stephen Beyer is the authorised English presentation of Tara-Lokesvara’s Tibetan Ritual, which gives the full Sanskrit in English transliteration. Sanskrit narratives from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, like the rites and thangkas etc. of Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhism, all contain Vaishnava Deity Names and Forms. Although there are differences in emphasis between the various Northern MB schools in ancient India, Afganistan, Tibet, China, Korea and Japan, there is also a fundamental consistancy in the core of the MB Pure Land teachings, iconography and rites etc. For over 100 years, western scholars have commented on apparent connections between MB and Vaishnavism, but Vaishnavas have not been studying the historical and theological core / heart the the Pure Land Tradition in relationship to Krishna-centric Vaishnavism. At present, the general ‘Hindu’ perception of ‘Buddhism’ is that it is all voidest. I will have to address this in another paper. This perception has biased especially Vaishnava scholars against studying Buddhism. The western scholars have lacked the necessary familiarty with Krishna-centric Vaishvaism to recognize the detailed MB corrospondances on every level. Their observation that Sakyamuni in the Saddharma Pundarika is probably Vishnu is superficial and not pursued to its historical or theological conclusion. This is why it is essential for some Krishna Vaishnava scholars to take up the study of Pure Land Buddhism and explore these obvious connections to their lmits. The following are some of these connections. Since we are on the topic of Tibetan Buddhism , i will begin with MB in Nepal and Tibet.

OM MANI PADME HUM
Who Is The Jewel / Mani in the Lotus / Padme ?

Although Buddhism is considered to have arrived rather late in Tibet, it certainly existed at an early time in Nepal and Afganistan etc. Tibetan Buddhism is identical to Nepalese Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhists fleeing the Chinese easily integrated into the MB worship communities of Nepal. Despite ‘mother tongue’ language differences, the Tibetan and Newarese etc. priests shared the same doctrines, icons, symbols, rites, and Sanskrit as an ancient liturgical language. In fact, Tibetan and Nepalese Buddhism are so similar to, and compatible with Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism in Nepal, that i frequently saw the same devotees worshiping at Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and Buddhist temples and/or shrines, sometimes all in the same day. The devotees clearly grasped that these were versions of the same tradition, but the Buddhist priests i interviewed invariably insisted that Vishnu was NOT lokesvara, Mahadeva was NOT Shiva and Tara was NOT Tara the consort of Vishnu ! When i went to the hereditary guild murti (icon) makers and asked for specific forms of Vishnu, they unhesitatingly handed me the corrosponding forms of the Buddhist Lokesvara ! Then i would say (in deference to the exclusivistic sectarian insistance of the Buddhist priests) “No. I don’t want Buddha-Lokesvara, I want VISHNU” At this they would get perturbed with me and explain that ‘everyone knows there is no difference…we only make one form of these murtis, and they are used by both the Buddhists and the Vaishnavas. We do not have separate forms of Vishnu to sell to you’. I visited over a hundred murti makers, dealers, collections and places of worship in Nepal, viewing approximately 5000 murtis…all with the same result. The ‘canon’ of Nepalese Buddhist iconography is fundamentally Vaishnava. Below i will explain how art historians associate this phenomenon with Buddhist iconography originating IN THE VRINDAVAN-MATHURA AREA OF INDIA.

So Who IS ‘the Jewel in the Lotus’ ? OM MANI PADME HUM is one of the main mantras of Nepalese and Tibetan M Buddhism. It is Sanskrit. It invokes ‘the Jewel in the Lotus’. Mani means ‘jewel’ or ‘pearl’ and Padme means ‘lotus’. These words do not refere to a mundane pearl in a lotus, or to mundane tantric intercourse as has been promoted by the late ‘Tantrists’. The Mani refered to is the Dharma Kaya or Original Form of the Adi Buddha. He is called AMITABHA in Sanskrit, and Chen Rei Zei in Tibetan….thus the Mani Padme Mantra is sometimes refered to as the Mantra for Chen Rei Zei. Chen Rei Zei’s highest unity with His Feminine Shakti is not depicted in full realistic detail, as with the multi-form of Tara and Lokesvara. Instead, the ‘Original’ or Dharma Kaya Form of Amitabha / Chen Rei Zei is depicted standing or sitting on His Shakti in Her Form as His Hladini Shakti Lotus-abode. Since secular scholars have long considered Amitabha to be in the class of ‘supreme solar deities’, it amazes me that there have not been any major studies ( that i know of anyway) comparing Helios of Rhodes (in the Minoan Era Mediterranean), with the Mani Padme Tradition of Amitabha. On ancient Rhodes, Helios Kouros (Krishna) was worshiped with His Beloved Rhoda. They were consideed to be the Transcendant Origin of all the gods and godesses. One of Rhoda-Kore’s names on Rhodes was Nymphia. Nymphia means both Maid / Bride / Virgin and LOTUS. Rhoda means Red, Rose, or any Red or Pink Flower. Another by-name of Rhoda-Nymhpia was ASTERIA meaning Star. TARA means STAR. Asteria’s symbol was the HEXAD, a pictorial pun on another one of Her numerous by-names HEKATE. The Hexad is the STAR, ROSE or LOTUS SYMBOL used for Shekinah & Eli-Yahu Bridal Mysticism in the Judeo-Catholic Traditions, and for the unity of Shiva & Shakti, Vishnu & Shakti and Lokesvara & Shakti. When the Star, Lotus or Rose / Red Flower has a Jewel, Bija, Circle, Pearl, Vajra or other Purusha / Masculine Deity symbol in it, this is an iconographic short-hand for depicting the unity of Krishna and Radha, Kouros and Rhoda, Eli-Yahu and Shekinah, Shiva and Shakti, Vishnu and Padme / Sri Laxmi, Lokesvara and Tara, and Their Dharma Kaya Forms as ‘the Jewel in the Lotus’. From ancient Greco-Egyptian and related Jewish CIRCLE-LOTUS symbols, all the way to modern Tibetan and Japanese Pure Land Buddhist CIRCLE-LOTUS and related icons, the Original / ADI PURUSHA and PRAKRITI have been worshiped as ‘the Jewel in the Lotus’. Two of the most important Pure Land Mahayana Buddhist texts, the ‘LOTUS SUTRA’ or SADDHARMA PUNDARIKA and the SUKHAVATI VYUHA both refere to this tradition. Sakyamuni Buddha reveals the TRI KAYA and Transcendent Buddha Realms, Salvation by Grace etc. in His LOTUS SUTRA. In the SUKHAVATI VYUHA, just as in the Vaishnava Tradition, the supernal Buddha Realms are Lotus island-lokas / planets in the spiritual sky where there is no material birth death disease or old age. The supreme Lotus Abode is that of Amitabha. In fact, He has created the entire PURE LAND of the Spiritual Sky, in unity with His Supreme Shakti / Padme. If we doubt Padme-Tara’s association with Radha / Rhoda, then there are numerous ways to confirm it. All red or pink flowers are sacred to Tara ! These are offered to Her, and to step on or defile a red or pink flower is an offence to Tara. In ancient areas where the lotus or rose was not common, other red or pink flowers subsituted. For instance, the PINK RHODAdendron (ROSE-tree) was sacred to SITA in SRI LANKA and NEPAL. The red Chrysanthemum became associated with Mother Kuan Yin (Tara) in the Orient.

In the ancient Vaishnava Scripture the BRAHMA SAMHITA, Krishna is worshiped AS THE SUPREME WISH-FULLFILLING MANI (JEWEL) IN THE SUPREME LOTUS-ABODE OF GOLOKA VRINDAVAN ! His abode is called CHINTAMANI DHAM. In studying hundreds of icons of Amitabha / Chen Rei Zei i saw scores of variations on His Original Form. Like Krishna, He is a beautiful beardless, long haired youth, two armed, three-curved, dressed and ornemented exactly like Krishna, often blue in color, always on / in a lotus, often with a peacock feather…in all respects as the Dharma Kaya in this Form, He is the same as Krishna. He is often depicted on His Lotus in a mandala like the western mandorla or ‘almond’ shaped radiance. This usually represents His Feminine Shakti as Shekinah / Energy or Power, and is related to Hekate (Egyptian SEKHET) as CORONIS (Sanskrit HARINI). I saw dozens of murtis of CHINTAMANI LOKESVARA on His Lotus Abode with a KALPA VRIKSHA TREE, Which He holds, revealing Himself to be the wish-fulfiller of Chintamani Dham.! So Who is the ‘Jewel in the Lotus ‘ and Who is the Lotus of Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhism ? All the interdisciplinary evidence related to the above confirms that the JEWEL-LOTUS IS THE SUPREME FATHER-MOTHER GOD/ESS WORSHIPED AT THE CORE OF INDO-EUROPEAN, SEMITIC, AFRICAN AND ASIAN DEVOTIONAL TRADITIONS, AND KNOWN TO KRISHNA-CENTRIC VAISHNAVAS AS KRISHNA AND RADHA.

©2010 David M. Sherman (Bhakti Ananda Goswami)