Atman Brahman - The ONE Self

The concept of Atman Brahman in Hinduism stems from Bhagavad Gita... the foremost of all sacred scriptures existing on mother Earth. Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism defines Brahman as the core of all things cosmic. Brahman of Hinduism is termed God Almighty in English. Brahman in Hinduism is also termed Parmatman, Karta, Sanatana Purusha, God, Ishwara and Bhagwan.

As per Bhagavad-Gita of Hinduism Brahman is one and only one! The definition of Brahman as per Bhagavad-Gita of Hinduism is the collective power of all purified atmans souls in the cosmos at a given point of time. If a grain of sand is an independent atman soul... the whole mound Brahman... God Almighty! The essence of an atman is not distinct from Brahman.

If an individual piece of puzzle is an independent soul Atman... the whole mound Brahman... God Almighty! In absence of Brahman and Atman... the whole cosmic system simply could not exist! As per Bhagavad-Gita only when Brahman explodes self with a big bang... the whole cosmos creates... never otherwise!.

Brahman... Atman... the big bang theory... all is interrelated! One simply cannot exist in absence of another. Viewed from limited power of senses... the concept of Brahman, atman, the big bang theory... all seems unreal... beyond the conceptualization of human senses... the human intellect! But viewed from cosmic point of view... Brahman and Atman are the only real truths of life.

Photo courtesy of: https://www.facebook.com/hinduismthereligion

The concept of Brahman Atman is not debatable. Why? Our existence as a human being solely depends upon the existence of atmans souls in the cosmos. It is only existence of a consciousness within human beings... particularly all living beings that makes life possible in the cosmic system. The presence of an Atman soul within our heart is the only essence of life.

Brahman termed God Almighty exists within every human being in minuscule form as our Atman soul! It is only when an atman soul manifests the human body... life comes into existence in the cosmic system! In absence of an Atman soul.

It is the presence of a consciousness within our heart that results in formation of life on mother Earth. In absence of an atman soul... every living body is but inert matter that would just decay and die! Every atman soul manifests the human body to work out its karma... remove the dross impurities within!.

No sooner Brahman explodes self with a big bang... all purified souls atmans in the cosmos hurtled down their cosmic journey at unimaginable speeds... in the melee all atmans souls gather impurities similar as a rolling ball gathers moss! To cleanse self of all dross impurities within... to purify itself... to regain its lost original pure prime pristine form every atman soul manifests life!.

Right from the first manifestation as an amoeba (single cell formation) by the atman soul... the goal of every atman soul remains rejoining Brahman (termed God Almighty) at the earliest! It is through the complex process of karma every Atman soul completes its cosmic journey of 8.4 million manifestations... an earthly life cycle of 96.4 million years.

The moment the atman soul reached the stage of enlightenment (kaivalya jnana)... the journey of every atman soul comes to an end! The enlightened one finally takes salvation (moksha) and the liberated Atman soul enters the kingdom of God (termed Vaikuntha in Hinduism)... a point of no return! Once purified... the liberated soul Atman remains in Vaikuntha for eternity!.

Brahman (termed God Almighty) is the only truth of life... around which rotates the whole cosmic system! Manifestation in human form is the most pleasant experience for every atman soul. It is only in human form every Atman soul regains its original pure prime pristine form... which was not possible otherwise!

The human form is the highest manifest stage in cosmic life cycle! The prime reason why traveling the path of spirituality... gaining enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha) is termed highest of all spiritual pursuits available on mother Earth... and even the most difficult!.

Science may refute existence of atman soul or even Brahman (termed God Almighty) but spirituality as detailed in sacred Bhagavad-Gita of Hinduism is absolutely clear about the concept of atman Brahman! Science has its limitations... It demands proofs! In the domain of Brahman God... it is absolute faith in Brahman (God Almighty) that paves way for reaching the stage of enlightenment!.

Science still disputes big bang theory but in sacred Bhagavad-Gita of Hinduism... occurrence of big bang... Brahman exploding self with a big bang is an absolute truth of life. The cosmic truths detailed in Bhagavad-Gita can never be understood literally... one needs reading in between the lines!.

The concept of atman Brahman is explicit for a serious traveler of spirituality! Unless one believes in concept of atman Brahman... the spiritual path can never be seriously traveled! For reaching the stage of enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha)... traveling the spiritual path is a necessity!.

One who has full faith in Brahman (termed God Almighty)... one who can travel the spiritual path unflinchingly covers the spiritual journey without much hindrance. In simpler words one cannot view the whole of the ground unless he stands on a higher ground like mountain top! For a serious seeker of spirituality... having absolute faith in Brahman is a must!

Most human beings on Mother Earth start spiritual travel with ifs and buts... Never realizing that the spiritual path is the most formidable of all journeys one ever travels in life. The spiritual path demands highest level of perfection that can ever be practiced by human beings. Practicing patience, persistence and perseverance at its level best... one finally crosses the ocean of samsara (worldly life).

For reaching Atman soul... for reaching the spirit within... for reaching our real self... our inner self... one needs indulging in yoga meditation that leads one directly to the abode of God (termed Vaikuntha in Hinduism). Realizing our real self... for reaching the stage of self realization... absolute control over five senses and mind is an absolute must.

The journey of spirituality... the journey to our inner self can never be covered halfheartedly! It is only by traveling the spiritual path with all sincerity one can finally realized Self. He then realises the Self is Brahman and Brahman is God.

V.S. Ramachandran: The Neurons That Shaped Civilization.

SPEAKER VILAYANUR RAMACHANDRAN: The Brain expert

Interactive Transcript:

I'd like to talk to you today about the human brain, which is what we do research on at the University of California. Just think about this problem for a second. Here is a lump of flesh, about three pounds, which you can hold in the palm of your hand. But it can contemplate the vastness of interstellar space. It can contemplate the meaning of infinity, ask questions about the meaning of its own existence, about the nature of God.

And this is truly the most amazing thing in the world. It's the greatest mystery confronting human beings: How does this all come about? Well, the brain, as you know, is made up of neurons. We're looking at neurons here. There are 100 billion neurons in the adult human brain. And each neuron makes something like 1,000 to 10,000 contacts with other neurons in the brain. And based on this, people have calculated that the number of permutations and combinations of brain activity exceeds the number of elementary particles in the universe.

So, how do you go about studying the brain? One approach is to look at patients who had lesions in different part of the brain, and study changes in their behavior. This is what I spoke about in the last TED. Today I'll talk about a different approach which is to put electrodes in different parts of the brain, and actually record the activity of individual nerve cells in the brain. Sort of eavesdrop on the activity of nerve cells in the brain.

Now, one recent discovery that has been made by researchers in Italy, in Parma, by Giacomo Rizzolatti and his colleagues, is a group of neurons called mirror neurons, which are on the front of the brain in the frontal lobes. Now, it turns out there are neurons which are called ordinary motor command neurons in the front of the brain, which have been known for over 50 years. These neurons will fire when a person performs a specific action. For example, if I do that, and reach and grab an apple, a motor command neuron in the front of my brain will fire. If I reach out and pull an object, another neuron will fire, commanding me to pull that object. These are called motor command neurons that have been known for a long time.

But what Rizzolatti found was a subset of these neurons, maybe about 20 percent of them, will also fire when I'm looking at somebody else performing the same action. So, here is a neuron that fires when I reach and grab something, but it also fires when I watch Joe reaching and grabbing something. And this is truly astonishing. Because it's as though this neuron is adopting the other person's point of view. It's almost as though it's performing a virtual reality simulation of the other person's action.

Now, what is the significance of these mirror neurons? For one thing they must be involved in things like imitation and emulation. Because to imitate a complex act requires my brain to adopt the other person's point of view. So, this is important of imitation and emulation. Well, why is that important? Well, let's take a look at the next slide. So, how do you do imitation? Why is imitation important? Mirror neurons and imitation, emulation.

Now, let's look at culture, the phenomenon of human culture. If you go back in time about [75,000] to 100,000 years ago, let's look at human evolution, it turns out that something very important happened around 75,000 years ago. And that is, there is a sudden emergence and rapid spread of a number of skills that are unique to human beings like tool use, the use of fire, the use of shelters, and, of course, language, and the ability to read somebody else's mind and interpret that person's behavior. All of that happened relatively quickly.

Even though the human brain had achieved its present size almost three or four hundred thousand years ago, 100,000 years ago all of this happened very very quickly. And I claim that what happened was the sudden emergence of a sophisticated mirror neuron system, which allowed you to emulate and imitate other people's actions. So that when there was a sudden accidental discovery by one member of the group, say the use of fire, or a particular type of tool, instead of dying out this spread rapidly, horizontally across the population, or was transmitted vertically, down the generations.

So, this made evolution suddenly Lamarckian, instead of Darwinian. Darwinian evolution is slow; it takes hundreds of thousands of years. A polar bear, to evolve a coat, will take thousands of generations, maybe 100,000 years. A human being, a child, can just watch its parent kill another polar bear, and skin it and put the skin on its body, fur on the body, and learn it in one step. What the polar bear took 100,000 years to learn, it can learn in five minutes, maybe 10 minutes. And then once it's learned this it spreads in geometric proportion across a population.

This is the basis. The imitation of complex skills is what we call culture and is the basis of civilization. Now there is another kind of mirror neuron, which is involved in something quite different. And that is, there are mirror neurons, just as there are mirror neurons for action, there are mirror neurons for touch. In other words, if somebody touches me, my hand, neuron in the somatosensory cortex in the sensory region of the brain fires. But the same neuron, in some cases will fire when I simply watch another person being touched. So, it's empathizing the other person being touched.

So, most of them will fire when I'm touched in different locations. Different neurons for different locations. But a subset of them will fire even when I watch somebody else being touched in the same location. So, here again you have neurons which are enrolled in empathy. Now, the question then arises: If I simply watch another person being touched, why do I not get confused and literally feel that touch sensation merely by watching somebody being touched? I mean, I empathize with that person but I don't literally feel the touch. Well, that's because you've got receptors in your skin, touch and pain receptors, going back into your brain and saying "Don't worry, you're not being touched. So, empathize, by all means, with the other person, but do not actually experience the touch otherwise you'll get confused and muddled." .

Okay, so there is a feedback signal that vetos the signal of the mirror neuron preventing you from consciously experiencing that touch. But if you remove the arm, you simply anesthetize my arm, so you put an injection into my arm, anesthetize the brachial plexus, so the arm is numb, and there is no sensations coming in, if I now watch you being touched, I literally feel it in my hand. In other words, you have dissolved the barrier between you and other human beings. So, I call them Gandhi neurons, or empathy neurons.

And this is not in some abstract metaphorical sense, all that's separating you from him, from the other person, is your skin. Remove the skin, you experience that person's touch in your mind. You've dissolved the barrier between you and other human beings. And this, of course is the basis of much of Eastern philosophy, And that is there is no real independent self, aloof from other human beings, inspecting the world, inspecting other people. You are in fact, connected not just via Facebook, and Internet, you're actually quite literally connected by your neurons. And there is whole chains of neurons around this room, talking to each other. And there is no real distinctiveness of your consciousness from somebody else's consciousness.

And this is not mumbo-jumbo philosophy. It emerges from our understanding of basic neuroscience. So, you have a patient with a phantom limb. If the arm has been removed and you have a phantom, and you watch somebody else being touched, you feel it in your phantom. Now the astonishing thing is, if you have pain in your phantom limb, you squeeze the other person's hand, massage the other person's hand, that relieves the pain in your phantom hand, almost as though the neuron were obtaining relief from merely watching somebody else being massaged.

So, here you have my last slide. For the longest time people have regarded science and humanities as being distinct. C.P. Snow spoke of the two cultures: science on the one hand, humanities on the other; never the twain shall meet. So, I'm saying the mirror neuron system underlies the interface allowing you to rethink about issues like consciousness, representation of self, what separates you from other human beings, what allows you to empathize with other human beings, and also even things like the emergence of culture and civilization, which is unique to human beings. Thank you.

About V.S. Ramachandran

V.S. Ramachandran is a mesmerizing speaker, able to concretely and simply describe the most complicated inner workings of the brain. His investigations into phantom limb pain, synesthesia and other brain disorders allow him to explore (and begin to answer) the most basic philosophical questions about the nature of self and human consciousness.

Ramachandran is the director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, and an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute. He is the author of Phantoms in the Brain (the basis for a Nova special), A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness and The Man with the Phantom Twin: Adventures in the Neuroscience of the Human Brain.

"Ramachandran is a latter-day Marco Polo, journeying the silk road of science to strange and exotic Cathays of the mind. He returns laden with phenomenological treasures...which, in his subtle and expert telling, yield more satisfying riches of scientific understanding."

- Richard Dawkins.

NASA Shares The Images of HAND OF GOD Nebula

 

Can you see the shape of a hand in this image? The hand might look like Maha Vishnu's hand holding the Sudarshan Chakra, but it is actually a cloud of material ejected from a star that exploded. NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has imaged the structure in high-energy X-rays for the first time, shown in blue. Lower-energy X-ray light previously detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is shown in green and red.

Nicknamed the "Hand of God," this object is called a pulsar wind nebula. It's powered by the leftover, dense core of a star that blew up in a supernova explosion. The stellar corpse, called PSR B1509-58, or B1509 for short, is a pulsar: it rapidly spins around, seven times per second, firing out a particle wind into the material around it -- material that was ejected in the star's explosion. These particles are interacting with magnetic fields around the material, causing it to glow with X-rays. The result is a cloud that, in previous images, looked like an open hand. The pulsar itself can't be seen in this picture, but is located near the bright white spot.

One of the big mysteries of this object is whether the pulsar particles are interacting with the material in a specific way to make it look like a hand, or if the material is in fact shaped like a hand.

NuSTAR's view is providing new clues to the puzzle. The hand actually shrinks in the NuSTAR image, looking more like a fist, as indicated by the blue color. The northern region, where the fingers are located, shrinks more than the southern part, where a jet lies, implying the two areas are physically different.

The red cloud at the end of the finger region is a different structure, called RCW 89. Astronomers think the pulsar's wind is heating the cloud, causing it to glow with lower-energy X-ray light.

In this image, X-ray light seen by Chandra with energy ranges of 0.5 to 2 kiloelectron volts (keV) and 2 to 4 keV is shown in red and green, respectively, while X-ray light detected by NuSTAR in the higher-energy range of 7 to 25 keV is blue.

Mural of Lord Rama in Iraq

Amazing discovery: 

Images of Lord Rama Found on the High Mountains of Iraq

Lord Rama is worshiped in the country of India. There is immense faith in India about Lord Rama. The Indian delegation to Iraq this year got to see a mural dating back to 2000 years ago. The Ayodhya research institute claims to have the image of Lord Rama. This mural was found in the Darband-e-Berula rock on the route from the narrow pass through the Horen Sherwan region of Iraq. Ayodhya Research Institute director Yogendra Pratap Singh says that this is the image of Hanuman. He said that the king and monkey made in the picture are Lord Ram and Hanuman.

In June this year, a delegation led by Indian Ambassador Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit went to Iraq. For this, the Ayodhya Research Institute under the Department of Culture requested. The delegation also included an Indian diplomat at the Abril Consulate, Chandramouli Karan, the historian of the University of Sulaimaniya and the Iraqi governor of Kurdistan. The Iraqi archaeologists and historians are denying it to be the image of Lord Rama. Iraqi scholars state that the mural depicts Tadurni, the chief of the hill tribe. He said that the missing link needed to be found to prove it.

Among the murals found by the Archaeological Department, a king with a bare chest is shown. A bow and a sword are placed in the belt of his waist, which is armed with arrows on the bow. Not only this, in addition to this image, a second image is also seen with the palms. Ayodhya research institute director Yogendra Pratap Singh claimed that the mark of God in Baitullah Pass is a clear proof that Rama is not just in stories. This delegation has collected pictorial evidence to make a detailed study of the relationship between Indian Mesopotamian cultures.

Singh claimed that this was the first official attempt to establish links between the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia's civilizations. Citing various references, he stated that Lower Mesopotamia was ruled by Sumeria between 4500 and 1900 BCE. Evidence that it came from India and was genetically associated with the Indus Valley Civilization. It is proposed that murals of different places will be brought under one roof in Ayodhya. The director of the institute said that the mark of Ram is in different parts of the world. The culture department of UP has also prepared a proposal to get a replica of the same mural made in Ayodhya.

It is vital to understand the similarities between the Yazidis of Iraq and the Hindus of India to accept the impact of Hinduism in the region. You can find the list of the similarities here:

The similarities between Hindus and Yezidi culture (Courtesy of Times Of India)

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4 Verse 8

Chapter 4: Transcendental Knowledge

VERSE 8

Paritranaya Sadhunam

Vinasaya Ca Duskrtam

Dharma-Samsthapanarthaya

Sambhavami Yuge Yuge

TRANSLATIONS

                                  Paritranaya - for the deliverance;
                                  Sadhunam - of the devotees;
                                  Vinasaya - for the annihilation;
                                  Ca - also;
                                  Duskrtam - of the miscreants;
                                  Dharma - principles of religion;
                                  Samsthapana-arthaya - to re-establish;
                                  Sambhavami - I do appear;
                                  Yuge Yuge - millennium after millennium.

TRANSLATION

In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants,

as well as to re-establish the principles of religion,

I advent Myself millennium after millennium.

PURPORT

According to Bhagavad-gita, a sadhu (holyman) is a man in Krsna consciousness. A person may appear to be irreligious, but if he has the qualifications of Krsna consciousness wholly and fully, he is to be understood to be a sadhu. 

Duskrtam applies to one who doesn't care for Krsna consciousness. Such miscreants, or Duskrtam, are described as foolish and the lowest of mankind, even though they may be decorated with mundane education; whereas another person, who is one hundred percent engaged in Krsna consciousness, is accepted as sadhu, even though such a person may neither be learned nor well cultured.

As far as the atheistic are concerned, it is not necessary for the Supreme Lord to appear only to destroy them, as He did with the demons Ravana and Kamsa. The Lord has many agents who are quite competent to vanquish demons. The Lord also descends to appease His devotees, who are always harassed by the demons. The demon harasses the devotee, even though the latter may happen to be his kin. Although Prahlada Maharaja was the son of Hiranyakasipu, he was nonetheless persecuted by his father; although Devaki, the mother of Krsna, was the sister of Kamsa, she and her husband Vasudeva were persecuted only because Krsna was to be born of them. So Lord Krsna appeared primarily to deliver Devaki, rather than kill Kamsa, but both were performed simultaneously. Therefore it is said here that to deliver the devotee and vanquish the demon miscreants, the Lord appears in different incarnations.

History of India

Underwater Temple Garden, Pemuteran, Bali

Recently the whole world was shocked with claims that a Vishnu temple was found submerged under water in Bali. And that the temple was built 5000 years ago. It then later submerged  due to volcano eruption and the rising of sea water. Many Indian and Hindu based organisations and individuals start making videos and claims about this without any evidence at all.

So how true is this Submerged Vishnu Temple?
After a thorough online research, one will understand that this claim is actually a hoax. The “temple” was actually constructed recently as part of an artificial reef creation project. Coral and other sea life can anchor onto vertical structures placed on the sea floor, creating important marine habitat.

The temple or more precisely a "Garden" was built in 2005 in Bali to act as stimulus for coral breeding and also as tourist attraction.
It was not built 5000 years ago as claimed and definitely not a theme park as claimed by some foreign medias.

Sea Rovers Dive Center has constructed several artificial reefs with funding from the Australian Agency for International Development. They named the site temple “Taman Pura” or temple garden. This is perhaps the most interesting man-made reef to dive on in the area.

The place is known as Underwater Temple Garden, is located Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia also houses the statues of Buddha, Laxmi, Saraswati under its waters. Despite being the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesians love respect their ancient beliefs and make sure the belief system of their ancestors lives on. There are so many ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples found in Indonesia every year but this is not one of them.

The initial project was created 29 meters below the ocean surface. This it just slightly below the limits of recreational diving depths, but close enough to descend for a good look. A second site at only 15 meters has been created nearby so that less experienced divers can enjoy the amazing experience of diving to view ancient-looking Hindu and Buddhist statues. The first site has around a dozen large stone statues sitting on the ocean floor and a 4 meter tall temple gateway. You can see more statues at the second site.

In addition to Taman Pura, there are many other dive sites in the clear blue waters off the coast of Bali. Pulau Menjangan, Amed, and Padangbai all have shallow dive sites that are suitable for beginners. Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Candidasa’s dive sites are generally deeper or have more current, making them more suitable for experienced divers.

This site is a definite "MUST VISIT" site that one should never miss when visiting Bali.

Narakasuran - The Story of Deepavali

Naraka Chaturdasi is always associated with the Deepavali celebrations. It is celebrated to commemorate the killing of demon Naraka

Unlike in North India, where it is observed a day before, in South India, Naraka Chaturdasi is observed on the Deepavali day itself. Naraka Chaturdasi day celebrates the victory of Lord Krishna over Demon Naraka (Naraka Asuran or Narakasuran).

Legend has it that Demon Naraka, the son of Bhuma Devi and Vishnu's Varaha avatar, with the help of a boon from Brahma became very powerful. The boon was that he could only be killed by his mother Bhuma Devi (one of Lakshmi's avatar). With such immense power Naraka lost his self control and his ego took over him. He started harassing people and demi-gods. He also forcibly took away the earrings of Aditi, the mother of devas.

Artist impression of the demon King Naraka

Finally, the task of annihilating Naraka fell on Krishna. As he could not ask a mother to kill her own son, Lord Krishna asked his wife Satyabhama, (another avatar of Lakshmi), to accompany him to the battle against Naraka and to be his charioteer.

Before he can battle Narakasuran, Lord Krishna had to defeat Narakasuran's general, the 5 headed Mura with his Sudarshan Chakra. Then he continued his battle with Narakasuran.

The battle between Narakasuran and Krishna shook the entire world. During the battle, an arrow hits Krishna and he acts being unconscious. Seeing this, Satyabhama became furious and took the bow and arrow of Krishna and killed Demon Naraka.

It is said that before dying, Narakasuran realized his mistakes and requested for a festival in his name to remind people on what will happen if they are consumed by false ego.

Naraka Chaturdasi thus indicates that good and evil rises from the same root. It also suggests that personal relationships do not matter when it comes to the good of the society. Victory of good over evil always prevails.

According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, Narakasura or Naraka is the asura son of the earth goddess Bhuma Devi and Varaha (third avatar of Vishnu). He is said to have grown to be a demon through association with Banasura. He established the kingdom of Pragjyotisha after overthrowing the last of the Danava king, Ghatakasura.

After it was foretold that he would be destroyed by a later incarnation of Vishnu, his mother, Bhuma Devi, sought a boon from Vishnu. that her son should have a long life, and be all powerful and can only be killed if she wanted to. Vishnu granted these boons.

Narakasura is cited as the progenitor of many dynasties that ruled Kamarupa in historical times. Kamarupa is located in modern day Assam, a place in North East India.

The ruins of Pragjyotisha can still be found in Kamarupa, Assam, India

Even though Narakasuran was born to Lord Varaha, Himself, he became evil due to his association with another Asura known as Banasura. Since he knew he cannot be killed by anybody else, he was engulfed with ego and became very disrespectful to the devas. After conquering the Earth, he attacked the Heaven and Indra (the king of heaven). Unable to win, Indra pleaded to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu agreed but as to fulfill his promise to Bhooma Devi, he must let Narakasuran live a very long time. Soon, Lord Vishnu took the avatar of Lord Krishna and His wife Lakshmi took the avatar of Satyabama. 

Since Indra left the heaven, Narakasuran went to Aditi (the heavenly mother goddess) and forcefully ripped her earring off her ear. He also kidnapped 16,100 women after that. Aditi is the cousin of Satyabama went to her and pleaded for help. Satyabama sees that Narakasuran has no respect for women and asked Lord Krishna to restore order by killing him.

When the time was right, Lord Krishna brought Satyabama and together killed Narakasuran and bestowed order to the worlds. Since the 16,100 women no longer have any place to go, he took them in as his wives by creating multiple personalities of himself for each of them.

Satyabama kills Narakasuran

Happy Krishna Jayanthi!!

The Kelings in History

Recently there were many disputes among Tamil communities of Malaysia, Singapore and even Indonesia when they are referred as Keling. Many take this as a derogatory remarks hurled at them. A few people had tried to give some explanation on the history of such words. But some other disputes their claims. So in this post, I'll try to put forth as many as historical accounts I can find on the origin of the word.

Keling is a Malay word which referred to the Indian in Malaysia and it has been received in a derogatory manner amongst the Indian in Malaysia at the beginning of twentieth century. However, the Malay consciousness of keling is not new and it happened since the existence of Malay Sultanate in Malacca in 15th century.

It has been used widely in many classical Malay books such as Sulalat al-Salatin, Hikayat Hang Tuah and Hikayat Raja Pasai. According to the 17th century Malay epic Sulalat al-Salatin, “Keling” played a very important role to help the administration of the Malacca Malay Empire. Generally, the word “Keling” has been used mostly with a positive connotation. In Sulalat al-Salatin, the word “Keling” was used 66 times in different contexts.

The book also associates 2 prominent characters with the word keling namely; Mani Purindam and Raja Mundeliar and how they had been assimilated in the Malay society and accepted as part of the high rank officials in the Malacca Empire.

In the modern Malay dictionary, the word “Keling” is used to describe merchants coming from the South Indian subcontinent including Kalinga and Telingana to the Malay Peninsula as early as 3rd century. The Malay dictionary mentioned that this word, especially in the Northern area of Malay Peninsula, refers to the Indians who are Muslims.

The story about “Keling” appeared before the existence of Malacca Empire. It was about Raja Suran, who was the King from India, came to the Malay Peninsula in his military expedition with his soldiers. His army, together with large numbers of elephants and horses, fought hard with the military from Siam and finally, the King succeeded to kill Raja Chulan. Later, Raja Suran married with Prince Onang Kiu, the daughter of Raja Chulan, and the army marched towards Temasik, or known today as Singapore. It has been described that they were skillful fighters from the great Kingdom in India and were involved in the process of colonization and expansion of Indian Empire until it reached Southeast Asia. The armed forces were formidable in both land and sea warfare and won against the Kingdom of Gangga Nagara in Perak, Langgiu in Johore and Temasik.

There are many locations in south-east Asian countries Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia named after the word "Keling". This proves that Kelings has been a big factor in the history in those areas. In Medan, Sumatra Utara, Indonesia, there is a place named as 'Kampung Keling' until now the Indians are referred to as Kelings without any offence. In fact recently when the local government attempted to change the town name to Kampung Madras, Tamils living in the village protested and preferred to be called as Keling.

KAMPUNG KELING, MEDAN, SUMATERA UTARA, INDONESIA - A SMALL TOWN MOSTLY INHABITED BY TAMIL COMMUNITY

William Girdlestone Shellabear (1862–1948), the founder of MPH Group, a publication house that was founded on 1890 referred the word “Keling” in his dictionary in the early 20th century as “the native of the eastern coast of British India, especially the Telugus and Tamils”. And R. O. Winstedt of Malay-English Dictionary, added that this word has been taken from the old kingdom of Kalinga in India.

The Dutch "Dagregister" referred to Indian inhabitants of Melaka as "Clings" or "Klingers". One must remember that the Dutch ruled Melaka long before the British landed on this part of the world.

Munshi Abdullah an Indian descendant himself used the word "Keling" in his many literatures especially in his book "Sejarah Melayu". In the 2nd chapter, he narrated that the Chinese emperor referred the Chola King as "Raja Keling". This can be cross referenced in the Chinese literatures as well like in the compilation of the Chinese history book, "China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization" edited by The Editorial Committee of Chinese Civilization. Under the chapter, "Maritime Transportation and Trade in the Tang Dynasty", page 603 referring the Indian subcontinent as "The State of Keling". This book gives the earliest recorded dates as A.D.813.

In the "100th volume of Tang Hui Yao" in the 8th year of Yuanhe (813), The Keling State offered "two Sengzhi maids"

In his book, "A Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya", Nicholas Belfield Dennys mentioned as follows:

Inscription, Indian - An ancient inscription, supposed to date from the thirteenth century, was extant on a sandstone rock at the entrance of Singapore river, on the spot now occupied by the Harbour Master's Offices. Col. Low [J. I. A., Vol. I, p. 89] gives the following account of it:—" The inscription, a fragment of which I possess, was only legible in few places, the character appertaining to the Peninsula of India, and probably it may be described in the Malayan annals in these terms: ' Rajah Suran of Amdan Nagara, after conquering the State of Johore with his Kling troops [Kling is the term applied to the people of Coromandel coast], proceeded to Tamsak. When he returned to his country of Kling or Bejaneegar, he left a stone monument of his victories, on which was an inscription in the language of Hindustan. Tamsak is also called Singhapura.' This was about A.D, 1201. Singhapura. observes Mr. Crawfued, was first settled in A.D, 1160 by Sri Sura Bawana." [See J. I A., Vol. I. p. 89. and M. P. I. C, Vol. I, p. 219 et acq.]

This proves that the word Keling was already in use around A.D, 1201. He continues...

Mr. Maxwell states that at the foot of Bukit Mertajam, Province Wellesley, on the south side, there is a block of granite on which some rude characters hare been traced. The Malays call it batu surat, the rock of the writing. " I believe," he says, " that the inscription has never been deciphered, and that the character has not been identified. When I saw it last (in 1874), it was difficult in places to detect the ancient inscription on the rugged face of the rock, its faint lines contrasting strangely with the deeply-cut initials of Col. Low on the same boulder."

He also gives a lengthy description on the word itself:-

Kling - The name given by the Malays (J. I. A.. Vol. II., p. 10) to the Telinga nation of Southern India, and which appears to be a corruption or abbreviation of the genuine name of the country of this people—Kalinga. So many have settled in Malaya that they form an appreciable portion of the population. Being the only Indian nation familiarly known to the nations of the Archipelago, the word is used by them as a general term for all the people of Hindustan, and for the country itself. The trade and intercourse of the Telingas with the Archipelago is of great but unascertained antiquity, and still goes on. Many Telingas have, from time to time, settled more particularly in the western parts of Malaya, as in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, and their mixed descendants are tolerably numerous. In Singapore, for example, the Telingas form about one-tenth of the population, and in Penang they are eyen more numerous. It was this people that, in all probability, introduced the Hindu religion, and they seem also to have contributed materially to the spread of Mahommedanism, the majority of the settlers being at present of this persuasion. In the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Portuguese found them carrying on trade at Malacca, and Barbosa, who calls them Chetijs (obviously the "Chitties" of to-day), describes them as " wealthy merchants of Coromandel, who traded in large ships."

A propos of this subject, two interesting communications appeared in the Penang Gazzette under date of 16th September, 1887, the greater portions of which we quote hereunder. Vilayat writes :—

In my edition of Elphinstone's "History of India," p. 242, the following passage occurs:—

"Another branch of the tribe of Chalukya * * * ruled over Calinga, which is the eastern portion of Telingana, extending along the sea from Dravida to Orissa."

"Garrett, in his * Classical Dictionary of India,' says: Kalinga is the name of the sea-coast west of the mouth of the Ganges with the upper part of the Coromandel Coast. The inhabitants are called Kalingas."

"Forbes, in his 'Hindustani Dictionary,' says : Kaling, the name of a country, especially applied to a district on the Coromandel Coast between Cuttack and Madras."

When I first heard the name Kling, I considered it a misnomer, but have changed my opinion for various reasons:—

1. The people we speak of as Klings cannot properly be called Hindus, as the majority in the Straits will, I believe, be found to be Mahommcdans. This disposes of the religious name.
2. They cannot be called Tamils, as very many, if not most of them, are Telugus (Telingana) ; thus language fails to meet the difficulty.
3. Coromandels might be used, but this word is only known as a geographical expression by the Europeans. Natives of India do not use it, that I am aware of.
4. Dravidians might meet the want of a common name (one in common I mean), but philologists would be horror-struck at the desecration of one of their pet words. Nor is it a word in common use among natives of India.

We are thus compelled to fall back upon the despised word Kling, which, I think, may be satisfactorily accounted for on the following suppositions:—

1. Penang was originally a part of the Bengal Presidency, or rather was ruled from Bengal.
2. Officials from Bengal must have brought Bengali servants with them.
3. These, when the first importations of natives of the south-east coast of India were brought over, would class them as Kaling ; that is, as people coming from the districts known to them as Kaling, south of Bengal.
4. The next step would be easy— Kaling has a short " a " ; omit it altogether (there are many similar instances in philology), the result is Kling, applied to all natives south of Bengal.

The above appears to me the probable derivation of the name as used here. It should be observed that Forbes gives the word as Kaling and not Kalinga, as spelt by other authors from whom I have quoted.

He also continues by adding...

"Scabeboeus" adds the following remarks:—The word is a most interesting one, and points to a connection between the Straits and India reaching nearly as far back as the time of Alexander the Great, and the only trace of which remains in its continued application to natives of Southern India. It is not used only in the Straits, but all over the Dutch and Portuguese possessions in the East Indies, and its universal application in these parts points to a large trade having been carried on between Southern India and the Eastern Seas. It is erroneously derived from Telinga or Telingapatam, once a port on the Madras Coast, from which the sea has receded, and which is now an inland town about 2 miles from the shore. The name of this port signifies that there was a community or nation bearing the name of Talingas or Kalingas, and it is from the name of this people that our word is derived. Indian archaeologists are well aware of the existence of a large nation in Southern India who worshipped Siva, and who called themselves Kalingas. Some record of this nation is found in the oldest of known Indian inscriptions— those at Khalsi—which are probably the moat interesting in the East, as demonstrating the connection of India and Greece, by their mention of the names of Ptolemy and Alexander.

Evidences of this connection are abundant in Greek literature ; but these are the only clear ones on the Indian side. The country that this nation inhabited is now known as Northern Circars—the Telugu Coast of the Bay of Bengal. No doubt emigration and trade from this part of India was then more extensive than any other, and the word Kalinga was applied in general to all emigrants from India. In the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, in an article on the Sijara Malayu—a. collection of Malay legends—it ia stated the word Kaling is used generally for India. The Klings of the Straits do not come so much from the Northern Circars as from districts about Tanjore, and from purely Tamil districts; and the classes who take domestic service in the Straits—Hindus or Lubbais—are never known to serve Europeans in India.

Two quotations which I have found with reference to the word are of great interest; one is from the translation of Mr. Senart of the Khalsi inscription, and is as follows;—" Great is Kalinga, conquered by King Pujadasi, beloved of Devas. Hundreds of thouaanda have been carried off. Immediately the King, on learning of the conquest of Kalinga, turned to religion, &c." This dates about 250 B.C..

The other is from a French translation of a narrative of a Chinese traveller, Huen Tsiang (Polerins Bouddistes); it runs:— "After having travelled 1,500 li, he arrived at the Kingdom of Kalinga, In ancient times the Kingdom of Kalinga possessed a dense population; insomuch that in the streets shoulders rubbed and waggon wheels jostled; if the passengers but lifted their sleeves an awning of immense extent was formed . . . ." The narrative of these travels was written by the traveller about 640 of our era, and though travellers' tales are proverbially liable to being taken at something less than par value, this ancient Chinese traveller seems, in the opinion of his French translator. to have been not only a prince among pioneers, but an observant and truthful narrator of what he saw.

In the book; A History of Classical Malay Literature, the author Liaw Yock Fang described the Hindu influences in Indonesia where itis known as Serat Rama Keling in Jawa, Madura and Yogyakarta.

Kenneth R. Hall in his book A History of Early Southeast Asia describes a group of merchants of Bandar Hilir as "Another group, hailing from Tuban, Japara, Sunda and Lampug, lived in the Upeh quarter with chief Utimuti Raja, though apart from the Keling, Chinese, and Gujarati residential enclaves..."

In Asiatic Researches or Transactions of the Society Instituted in Bengal - Volume 10, which was published in London in 1811, and describes the classical Malay dramas, you may find stories of 5 Pandava brothers. Here the Indian drama is said to be translated from the Keling culture and known as the history of a Keling Rajah.

There are a huge number of reference points in the historical books available to show that the word Keling had been used loosely to identify Indians in general throughout this region and not limited to Malaysia.

NAMES OF PLACES

Various place names in Malaysia contain the word keling for historical reasons, e.g. Tanjong Keling., Kampong Keling, and Bukit Keling, etc.

In Penang, the Kapitan Keling Mosque, situated on the corner of Buckingham Street and Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (Pitt Street), is one of the oldest mosques in George Town.

In Singapore, there is a road in Jurong Industrial Estate called Tanjong Kling Road which was derived from the word 'Keling'.

In Jepara Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, there is a subdistrict called Keling. Locals link the location with the historical 6th century Kalingga Kingdom.

In Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, there's a place called Pacar Keling. It's an area in the subdistrict Tambaksari, Surabaya. Phrase 'Pacar' itself means 'Lover' in Bahasa Indonesia.

In Philippines, there is a district in the North Luzon by the name of Kalinga.

Apart from these locations, there are literally hundreds of locations, villages and structures  throughout South East Asia that carry the name of Kalinga in various forms such as Keling and Kling.

DEROGATORY

The word “keling” in Malaysia has become a socially undesirable term and it has a derogatory connotation for Malaysians of Indian origin. Though the word existed in the Malay vocabulary since 15th century, there was an attempt to remove it from the Malay dictionary due to its negative connotations.

Many attempts have been made over the years to erase it from the Malay vocabulary. One was by a group of Indian Muslim community in Malaysia to remove the word “keling” from the third edition of Kamus Dewan, a Malay dictionary which was published by the Malaysian government agency, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP). It happened in July 30th 2003 when the chairman of Angkatan Pelopor India Muslim Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan (APIM), filed the summons in High Court against Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and five others over the use of the term “keling” which, according to them, was offensive and humiliating to Malaysians Indians. He said that the word was in conflict to the Federal Constitution, National Principles (Rukun Negara) and the Publication and Printing Presses Act 1984 (Amended 1987).

This phenomenon is not only happened in Malaysia, but also happened in Singapore. On 1st August 1921, The Straits Times, one of the newspapers in Singapore carried out a notice from Municipal Office entitled “Kling Street - Change of Name”. In the advertisement, it was announced that the name of the Kling Street will be changed to Chulia Street starting from 1st January 1922. It was believed that the name had been changed due to the suggestion by the Indian Association of Singapore.

There were many incidents of Indian migrations. The latest migrations of Indians happened during the British reign in early 1800's. The British brought in many workers to work in Malaya in many industries mainly in rubber plantations. At the same time they also had brought in criminals and Indian freedom fighters to break the movement. This workers group of Indians do not know the local history and assumed that the word was derived from the sound of chains of criminal's feet. They failed to understand that the term was used to all early Indians who came from the Indian subcontinent.

Some argued that it refers only to those who came from the Kalinga city and should not be used to the general Indians. Till today the term is still considered derogatory by the Indian communities in this region.

I truly believe that if we learn the history of the word "Keling" and how it had affected the local community in the past, it will boost the morale of the present day Indians.

References:

• A Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya, Nicholas Belfield Dennys - http://www.archive.org/details/adescriptivedic00denngoog
• Indo-Portuguese History: Old Issues, New Questions
• The Role of the Keling during the 15th Century Malacca Sultanate, - Abdur-Rahman Mohamed Amin and Ahmad Murad Merican
• A Historical Perspective on the Word "Keling" - http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/keling.htm
• The Penang Gazette, 16th September 1887
• International Journal of Social Science and Humanity
• China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization
• W. G. Shellabear, Malay-English Vocabulary, Singapore
• Singapore Infopedia - http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_156_2005-01-26.html
• The Keling in Malay Discourses: The Study of Narratives in Selected Classical Malay Prose Epics

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Recently certain churches in USA had claimed that the early Christian churches had a mistake when translating the 10 Commandments into English. Their main concern was the 6th Commandment which says ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill.’

According to the churches, it should be translated as ‘Thou shalt not murder.’ They say its OK to kill any animal or even human being (as soldiers or police in the line of duty) but not murder (illegal killing).

Please refer to the links provided at the bottom of this page

We are here not to question their opinion. This post has nothing to do with this claim but to honor cows for the recent "Maattu Ponggal" festival. Hindus respect cows as mother. The best explanation on why Hindus are abstained from eating cow (beef) was given by Jagad Guru Srila Prabhupada to Cardinal Jean Danielou at a monastic retreat near Paris, in July of 1973.

The transcript below was prepared by ISKCON based on the entire conversation.

Srila Prabhupada:

Jesus Christ said, “Thou shalt not kill.” So why is it that the Christian people are engaged in animal killing?

Cardinal Danielou:

Certainly in Christianity it is forbidden to kill, but we believe that there is a difference between the life of a human being and the life of the beasts. The life of a human being is sacred because man is made in the image of God; therefore, to kill a human being is forbidden.

Srila Prabhupada:

But the Bible does not simply say, “Do not kill the human being.” It says broadly, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Cardinal Danielou:

We believe that only human life is sacred.

Srila Prabhupada:

That is your interpretation. The commandment is “Thou shalt not kill.”

Cardinal Danielou:

It is necessary for man to kill animals in order to have food to eat.

Srila Prabhupada:

No. Man can eat grains, vegetables, fruits, and milk.

Cardinal Danielou:

No flesh?

Srila Prabhupada:

No. Human beings are meant to eat vegetarian food. The tiger does not come to eat your fruits. His prescribed food is animal flesh. But man’s food is vegetables, fruits, grains, and milk products. So how can you say that animal killing is not a sin?

Cardinal Danielou:

We believe it is a question of motivation. If the killing of an animal is for giving food to the hungry, then it is justified.

Srila Prabhupada:

But consider the cow: we drink her milk; therefore, she is our mother. Do you agree?

Cardinal Danielou:

Yes, surely.

Srila Prabhupada:

So if the cow is your mother, how can you support killing her? You take the milk from her, and when she’s old and cannot give you milk, you cut her throat. Is that a very humane proposal? In India those who are meat-eaters are advised to kill some lower animals like goats, pigs, or even buffalo. But cow killing is the greatest sin. In preaching Krishna consciousness we ask people not to eat any kind of meat, and my disciples strictly follow this principle. But if, under certain circumstances, others are obliged to eat meat, then they should eat the flesh of some lower animal. Don’t kill cows. It is the greatest sin. And as long as a man is sinful, he cannot understand God. The human being’s main business is to understand God and to love Him. But if you remain sinful, you will never be able to understand God—what to speak of loving Him.

Cardinal Danielou:

I think that perhaps this is not an essential point. The important thing is to love God. The practical commandments can vary from one religion to the next.

Srila Prabhupada:

So, in the Bible God’s practical commandment is that you cannot kill; therefore killing cows is a sin for you.

Cardinal Danielou:

God says to the Indians that killing is not good, and he says to the Jews that…

Srila Prabhupada:

No, no. Jesus Christ taught, “Thou shalt not kill.” Why do you interpret this to suit your own convenience?

Cardinal Danielou:

But Jesus allowed the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb.

Srila Prabhupada:

But he never maintained a slaughterhouse.

Cardinal Danielou:

[Laughs.] No, but he did eat meat.

Srila Prabhupada:

When there is no other food, someone may eat meat in order to keep from starving. That is another thing. But it is most sinful to regularly maintain slaughterhouses just to satisfy your tongue. Actually, you will not even have a human society until this cruel practice of maintaining slaughterhouses is stopped. And although animal killing may sometimes be necessary for survival, at least the mother animal, the cow, should not be killed. That is simply human decency. In the Krishna consciousness movement our practice is that we don’t allow the killing of any animals. Krishna says, patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati: “Vegetables, fruits, milk, and grains should be offered to Me in devotion.” (Bhagavad-Gita 9.26) We take only the remnants of Krishna’s food (prasadam). The trees offer us many varieties of fruits, but the trees are not killed. Of course, one living entity is food for another living entity, but that does not mean you can kill your mother for food. Cows are innocent; they give us milk. You take their milk—and then kill them in the slaughterhouse. This is sinful.

Student:

Srila Prabhupada, Christianity’s sanction of meat-eating is based on the view that lower species of life do not have a soul like the human being’s.

Srila Prabhupada:

That is foolishness. First of all, we have to understand the evidence of the soul’s presence within the body. Then we can see whether the human being has a soul and the cow does not. What are the different characteristics of the cow and the man? If we find a difference in characteristics, then we can say that in the animal there is no soul. But if we see that the animal and the human being have the same characteristics, then how can you say that the animal has no soul? The general symptoms are that the animal eats, you eat; the animal sleeps, you sleep; the animal mates, you mate; the animal defends, and you defend. Where is the difference?

Cardinal Danielou:

We admit that in the animal there may be the same type of biological existence as in men, but there is no soul. We believe that the soul is a human soul.

Srila Prabhupada:

Our Bhagavad-Gita says sarva-yonisu, “In all species of life the soul exists.” The body is like a suit of clothes. You have black clothes; I am dressed in saffron clothes. But within the dress you are a human being, and I am also a human being. Similarly, the bodies of the different species are just like different types of dress. There are soul, a part and parcel of God. Suppose a man has two sons, not equally meritorious. One may be a Supreme Court judge and the other may be a common laborer, but the father claims both as his sons. He does not make the distinction that the son who is a judge is very important and the worker-son is not important. And if the judge-son says, “My dear father, your other son is useless; let me cut him up and eat him,” will the father allow this?

Cardinal Danielou:

Certainly not, but the idea that all life is part of the life of God is difficult for us to admit. There is a great difference between human life and animal life.

Srila Prabhupada:

That difference is due to the development of consciousness. In the human body there is developed consciousness. Even a tree has a soul, but a tree’s consciousness is not very developed. If you cut a tree it does not resist. Actually, it does resist, but only to a very small degree. There is a scientist named Jagadish Chandra Bose who has made a machine which shows that trees and plants are able to feel pain when they are cut. And we can see directly that when someone comes to kill an animal, it resists, it cries, it makes a horrible sound. So it is a matter of the development of consciousness. But the soul is there within all living beings.

Cardinal Danielou:

But metaphysically, the life of man is sacred. Human beings think on a higher platform than the animals do.

Srila Prabhupada:

What is that higher platform? The animal eats to maintain his body, and you also eat in order to maintain your body. The cow eats grass in the field, and the human being eats meat from a huge slaughterhouse full of modern machines. But just because you have big machines and a ghastly scene, while the animal simply eats grass, this does not mean that you are so advanced that only within your body is there a soul and that there is not a soul within the body of the animal. That is illogical. We can see that the basic characteristics are the same in the animal and the human being.

Cardinal Danielou:

But only in human beings do we find a metaphysical search for the meaning of life.

Srila Prabhupada:

Yes. So metaphysically search out why you believe that there is no soul within the animal—that is metaphysics. If you are thinking metaphysically, that’s all right. But if you are thinking like an animal, then what is the use of your metaphysical study? Metaphysical means “above the physical” or, in other words, “spiritual.” In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna says, sarva-yonisu kaunteya: [Bg. 14.4] “In every living being there is a spirit soul.” That is metaphysical understanding. Now either you accept Krishna’s teachings as metaphysical, or you’ll have to take a third-class fool’s opinion as metaphysical. Which do you accept?

Cardinal Danielou:

But why does God create some animals who eat other animals? There is a fault in the creation, it seems.

Srila Prabhupada:

It is not a fault. God is very kind. If you want to eat animals, then He’ll give you full facility. God will give you the body of a tiger in your next life so that you can eat flesh very freely. “Why are you maintaining slaughterhouses? I’ll give you fangs and claws. Now eat.” So the meat-eaters are awaiting such punishment. The animal-eaters become tigers, wolves, cats, and dogs in their next life—to get more facility.

Transcript courtesy of: ~ ISKCON

"http://forward.com/articles/6091/on-language/".

"http://www.gotquestions.org/you-shall-not-murder.html".