We are St.Thomas Christian.The place where Shankaracharya is very near to my home.The tradition he left here is well seen throughout. We used to visit his shrines almost daily. His legacy is part of our culture.
Any discussion of Hindu origins and development, especially w.r.t. Kerala, would be quite inadequate without reference to Adi Sankara, the great reformer, teacher, scholar, and author. Sankaracharya flourished ca. 8th C C.E. or in the first century before or after the commencement of the Malayalam or Kollam Era in 825 C.E. The great sage was born at Kalady or at Veliyanadu on the opposite shore of the river in his mothers house. In either case he was born in the midst of a great christian population affiliated to churches established many centuries before his birth at nearby places like Malayattoor, Angamaly, Parur, Edappally &c. on the river banks or Churni or the Periyar. How far his life and thoughts have
been influenced by this strong christian presence around him remains to be explored in full. Sankara in his 64 Anacharams or code of conduct for Namboodiris or Malayalee Brahamins specify that only white dress must be worn by members of the community. Now it is well known that Brahmin women in S. India in Karnataka or Tamil Nadu or Andhra wear only dark coloured Chelas from Kancheepuram or elsewhere. The christian women of Kerala are well known for their white dress with the beautiful fan-like arrangement at the back called njori which adds to their beauty and testify their admirable modesty. By adopting the white dress and the njori the Brahmins of Kerala were trying to ensure their aristocracy. Sankara further enjoins his community to eschew all nasal ornaments: Nasabharanam Nishidham, although Brahmin women elsewhere in India are addicted to nasal ornaments. It is for the christian community of Kerala alone that Nasabharanam is Nishiddham and nasal ornaments still remain taboo to ancient christian women of Kerala and to the Antharjanams.
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I am not saying that Christian community did not exist at the time of Sankara. But their influence seems to almost negligible (even if they are present), as we see Sankara talked to various religious groups in trying to establish his arguments. All these are documented well. But never was there any mention of christian group.
ReplyDeleteAnd the saree thing, saree comes from Hindus. No where christians wear sarees except India. So christians adopted hindu sarees not the other way.
After the establishment of the Asiatic Society, William Jones, Colebrook, Wilson and other scholars produced manuscripts in Sanskrit by interpolating Western and Christian ideals into what was recited from memory by Brahmins employed by them for this purpose. Manu Smriti was produced by Jones and the layout of the Smriti was modeled on the Creation account in the Bible. Brahmins were instructed to recite from memory (which was invariably inaccurate after a lapse of several thousands of years) by Jones and others in Asiatic Society who would in turn add new points and it was by the process of conjecture, reasoning and guess they produced Sanskrit manuscripts of Hindu scriptures for the first time. Jones wanted to be knighted and he even produced fake manuscripts with the help of Brahmin priests. A Sanskrit teacher, Ramlochan, taught Sanskrit to Jones and had assisted him in producing Sanskrit manuscripts. Wilson was assisted by Babu Akshoy Kumar data, a Bengali writer. These Indians who were called ‘Pandits’ by the British were not at all reliable. As Kjariwal says: “Wilford admitted that he had been tricked by his pundit, and regretted that through him, William Jones was also deceived in the matter.” (O.P.Kejariwal, The Asiatic Society of Bengal, p.68). Wilson studied the mythological Hindu scriptures and elicited from them twenty schools of the Vaishnavas, nine schools of the Saivas, four schools of the Saktas and ten other miscellaneous sects including seven classes of the Nanak Shahis.” (Kejariwal, p. 130). That is how religio-philosophical thought emerged in Hinduism. Why these thoughts were not demonstrated or propagated during the Mughal rule or even in the Hindu Vijayanagar Empire?As Max Weber observes that all methodologies of apathetic ectasy, technologies of contemplation were based on the same theoretical principle the Quakers formulated, that ‘God only speaks in the soul when the creature is silent.’ Weber also points out that the spiritual exercises of Ignatius Loyola sprang from his methodical emotional asceticism. This accounts for the birth of meditation and yoga in the place of orgiastic-ecstatic and tantra rituals. Even before the coming of the British, Christian ideals were popular in South India. As Nehru tells his daughter in Glimpses of World History: “You may be surprised to learn that Christianity came to India long before it went to England or Western Europe, and when even in Rome it was a despised and proscribed sect.” Probably Shankara evolved his advaita concept from what he learnt from St. Thomas Christians living in his native village in Kerala. He introduced a new intellectual kind of Hinduism called Saivism and it was modeled on the Biblical concept of one God in the Old Testament. Shankara’s Saivism gradually evolved into monotheism within Hinduism. The Bible speaks about one God only and it is totally against idol worship. Shankara owes a debt to the Christian concept that nothing has substance, all being void. ‘Illusion, illusion and a chasing of the wind’. Eccles.4:16. In this illusiory world, God alone remains immortal.
ReplyDeleteAs poet Rawley wrote:
‘Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.’
These ideas were in the mind of Shankara when he evolved his advaita philosophy and his attack on idolatry. North Indian Brahmins called him a ‘Disguised Buddhist,’ for they were not aware of Christians in Kerala. In actual reality, Shankara was a ‘disguised Christian.’
ha ha laughable Advaita was renewed by Shankara it was not found by him. IT goes back to govinda bagavad pada and Gauda pada. FOr conversion you can call everything as born out of jesus. also Christians believe in one god but advaitha is not about one god please read understand it is about only one brahma which is god and the human and everything in the world. Concept of trinity is a shame to your one god concept. Is the father, the son or the holy spirit god?
DeleteTrinity as a concept came very late to Christianity.The ancient Christians of Kerala were not influenced by the concept in the timeline of Shankaracharya,it is very likely that Christians were present during the time of Shankaracharya,sometimes things seem implausible but when you dig deep you understand that we know very little
DeleteShankara’s birth in Kaladi, near Ernakulam, does not give Nambudiri status for Syrian Christians. Christianity was in Kerala long before Nambudiris came to this State. There were a few Christian immigrants from Persia and the Middle East. They were allowed to stay in Kerala by the Cheran rulers by giving them some privileges so that they would not be oppressed by higher castes, These privileges were given to all immigrants including Chinese and Arabs. The Zamorin of Calicut gave more privileges to Arabs than the Chera rulers gave to Christian immigrants. Christian immigrants married local untouchable women and settled in Kerala. Untouchable women married to Christian immigrants were exempted from cruel and harsh caste rules. Untouchables were not allowed to wear golden ornaments, slippers, to live in tiled houses or to hold umbrellas and had to wear clothes just to cover the genital area. They were also forced to do compulsory free work called oozhiyam. Untouchable men and women escaped from these cruel laws by becoming Christians. There was large scale conversion of untouchables such as mukkuvas (fishermen), Ezhavas, Parayas, slaves and carpenters. This led to sudden growth of Christian population in Kerala. These Christians had no Middle Eastern blood or higher caste blood. But these Christians propagated the ideals and ideas of Jesus. That is how Shankara came to know about Jesus and Christian ideals. The disciple of Nasrani's claim that wearing of white cloth does not give Nambudiri status to Christians. Probably white piece of cloth was cheaper instead of stitching a colored skirt and Christian women used it ,like the servant maids in Kerala use today. Beef eating and other food habits separate Christians from Nambudiris and this fact should not be overlooked.Prof. Isaac of CMS College points out in a Research paper that beef eating by Christians links them with Parays. Probably there would have been a largescale Paraya conversion in the early days of immigration from the Middle east.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you have a lot of hatred towards christians in kerala. you should look into all the so called contributions brought about in kerala by the upper caste hindus, please read Travancore manual and you will be enlightned beyond any measure.
DeleteBrahmins came to Kerala very late probably in the the 3rd to 4th century.Christians were present much before,initially the Jews followed Christ ,why I say that is because Christianity as a religion did not exist that early as the schism with Judaism was not complete.Shankaracharyas connection with the ancient christians,Jews is highly possible.
DeleteThis Ankita AShok clearly doesn't know anything but claims to know everything.The Christianity in Kerala is actually very ancient,recently I think 5 years back they found a monastery in Abu Dhabi ,the archaeologists are of the view that some of the priests migrated from there to India and China.Anyway since you know everything,I recommend you read a book history of the vellalars by a student of mgs narayan
DeleteI forgot to mention that Ankita is so preoccupied by her hatred for Christianity,that she forgot to mention that the caste system did not exist in Kerala previous to brahmins coming to kerala.It is a Brahmin invention,as for her hatred...may we never meet
DeleteIf christ was born before was there any mention of him by Adi Sankaracharya any where in the manuscripts?
ReplyDelete