Kaaba Is Not A Hindu Temple

Kaaba Is Not A Hindu Temple

Monday, 2 May 2016

The Hindu Dharma Shastras, ban taking a voyage by sea or visiting the lands beyond India.


The Hindu Dharma Shastras, or law books, ban taking a voyage by sea or visiting the lands beyond India. The ancient lawmakers reasoned that travelers could not maintain their daily ritual worship while traveling, and would be polluted by the influence of foreign religion and culture upon arrival at their destination.  Over the last two hundred years, each Hindu lineage which observed the travel restrictions--and not all of them did historically--has faced the question of keeping or changing a tradition dating back more than two thousand years. In our decentralized religion, the adaptation to a changed world has come about piecemeal--one denomination, teaching lineage or even single temple at a time. In the following story, we recount the difficulties faced within the Madhvacharaya denomination when one of their most prominent swamis "crossed the ocean" to minister to followers in Europe and America.


Crossing the ocean--

Why the ban?


Vivekananda Was Outcasted for His Travels to America

It is a little-known fact that Swami Vivekananda was "outcasted" by the Bengali orthodoxy upon his triumphant return from the Parliament of the World Religions in Chicago. The most dramatic consequence came in 1897, when he returned to Calcutta. The following is excerpted from A Comprehensive Biography of Swami Vivekananda by Shailendranath Dhar.
In the evening of march 21, 1897, Swami Vivekananda and the Maharaja of Khetri, accompanied by a large party, paid a visit to the temple of Kali at Dakshineswar which, as is well-known to our readers, had been the scene of Sri Ramakrishna's sadhanas and where the saint had lived for forty years.
In the reception given to Swamiji at Dakshineswar, as described above, there was a discordant note which did not reach his ears but which became loud soon afterwards and produced an unpleasant controversy in the press. Babu Trailokya Nath Biswas, the proprietor of the temple, who had been informed about the impending visit earlier in the day, had actually come to the temple and was present when the visit occurred but did not personally receive Swami and his party, which included a princely personage, viz., the Maharaja of Khetri.
"In an indirect way," wrote Trailokya to The Bangabashi newspaper, "Swami and his followers were driven away from the temple, but not in a direct way as stated by Babu Bholanath [in the same newspaper]. I never ordered anyone to welcome Swami and the raja, nor did I myself do it. I thought that I should not have any, the least, intercourse with a man who went to a foreign country and yet calls himself a Hindu. While Swami Vivekananda and his followers were leaving my temple, Babu Bholanath Mukherjee told them that they would have no interview with me.... Your account of the re-abhisheka of the Deity [i.e., the evening worship was repeated to purify the temple] is perfectly true."
A member of the family of Rani Rashmani protested in a letter which was published in The Indian Nation on April 12, 1897, against Trailokya's claim that the temple of Kali at Dakshineswar belonged to himself. He asserted that it belonged as much to him as to any other descendant of the late Rani Rashmani and that the recent scandal would not have taken place had it been under the management of any other member of the family.
Notwithstanding well-meant efforts to ease the situation, the story of Swamiji's alleged expulsion from the Kali temple gained ground. While The Bangabashi and other Bengali newspapers who opposed Swamiji kept it alive by continually writing on it, his old "friends," the Christian missionaries, had a new dart in their quiver for attacking him. Dr. Barrows who, as we know, had lately arrived in India and had turned against Swamiji [having originally supported him at the Parliament], took it as one more proof of the correctness of his theory that Swamiji was not a true Hindu and had not preached Hinduism in America.
It seems that, even for some time after he had heard about the row kicked up against him by the orthodox people, Swami Vivekananda took little notice of it. His attitude was even one of defiance of these critics, as we find it expressed in a letter dated May 30, 1897, "Our books tell us that the practice of religion is not for a sudra. If he discriminates about food, or refrains from foreign travel, it avails him nothing and it is all useless toil for him. I am a sudra and a mleccha (a non-Aryan, a barbarian)--why should I worry about observance of these rules? What matters it to me if I take the foods of the mlecchas and the untouchables of Hindu society?"'
 He wrote on the latter point to Mary Hale on July 9, 1897 as follows, "As if I had any caste to lose, being a sannyasin!" He added, "Not only no caste had been lost, but it has considerably shattered the opposition to sea-voyage--my going to the West. ... On the other hand, a leading Raja of the caste I belonged to before entering the order got up a banquet in my honor, at which were most of the big bugs of that caste ... It will suffice to say that the police were necessary to keep order if I ventured out into the street! That is outcasting indeed!"
When it's prohibited by Dharma Shastras to travel outside India and to the land of Forigners, the question of Hinduism existing outside the land of India during or after Vedic age does not exist!

Shiva is not a Vedic god !

Shiva is not a Vedic god !


Although many Vaishnavas or Shaivites here won't like to hear it, the truth is that Shiva is not mentioned in the Vedas as a god, but as a word meaning auspicious, but the deity for destruction - Rudra is mentioned. Many Vaishnava and Shaivite sects don't really teach the Vedas, but teach the Puranas, Itihasa and Agamas.

The 'main' God of the Vedas is actually Indra, who became a minor god later in Vaishnavite and Shaivite traditions. Some believe that not only Rudra but Indra also was combined into the Shiva of later Hinduism, as auspiciousness (shiva) is a quality of Indra.

“His  rise to a major position in the pantheon was facilitated by his identification with a host of Vedic deities,including PurushaRudraAgniIndraPrajāpatiVāyu, and others”

The difficulty arises when tries to identify Shiva with Iswara is the fact that Iswara means Personal God.This term Isvara appears for the first time in Patanjali’sYoga Sutra, where the meaning is Personal God.
It is in origin, The term ‘Shiva’ a nominalized adjective meaning “capable, able, being in control”, like īśa “owning, possessing” derived from a root īś- “to own, possess; rule over”, ultimately cognate with English own (Germanic *aigana-, PIE *aik-). The theological meaning “the Supreme Being” first arises in the Manu Smriti, while īśa is used as a name of Rudra somewhat earlier, in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad(c. 300 BCE), considered the first evidence of the development of that deity, the later Shiva, into a supreme, cosmological god.
According to Purans Shiva is different from Rudra, Rudra being an Amsa, Manifestation of a part of Shiva. Shiva has been given the following Prime Attributes in terms of functionality,
  1. Visweswara,
  2. Mahadeva,
  3. Triyambaka,
  4. Thripuraanthaka,
  5. (Thrikaakgni) Kaala,
  6. (Kallakgni) Rudra,
  7. Neelakanta,
  8. Mrthuyunjaya,
  9. Sarveswara,
  10. Sadashiva,

Rudra is one among and Chief of 11 Rudras, Ekadasa Rudras,
The Ramayana tells they are eleven of the 33 children of the sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi, along with the 12 Adityas, 8 Vasus and 2Ashvins, constituting the Thirty-three gods.
The Vamana Purana describes the Rudras as the sons of Kashyapa and Aditi.
While usually the Rudras are described to eleven, in one instance in the Mahabharata; they are said to be eleven thousand and surrounding Shiva.
The eleven groups of hundred are named: Ajaikapad, Ahi Budhnya, Pinakin, Rta, Pitrrupa, Tryamabaka, Maheshvara, Vrsakapi, Sambhu, Havana and Ishvara..
When Shiva is not mentioned in Vedas, and was not a Vedic god. How can his temple be Vedic ?

Temples did not exist in Vedic age!

Temples did not exist in Vedic age!

Unlike other organized religions, in Hinduism, it is not mandatory for a person to visit a temple. Since all Hindu home usually have a small shrine or ‘puja room’ for daily prayers, Hindus generally go to temples only on auspicious occasions or during religious festivals. Hindu temples also do not play a crucial role in marriages and funerals, but it is often the meeting place for religious discourses as well as ‘bhajans’ and ‘kirtans’ (devotional songs and chants).
History of Temples:
In the Vedic period there were no temples. Temples did not exist during the Vedic period (1500 - 500 BC). The remains of the earliest temple structure were discovered in Surkh Kotal, a place in Afghanistan by a French archaeologist in 1951. It was not dedicated to a god but to the imperial cult of King Kanishka (127 - 151 AD).  
During Vedic period, the main object of worship was fire that stood for God. This holy fire was lit on a platform in the open air under the sky, and oblations were offered to the fire. It is not certain when exactly the Indo-Aryans first started building temples for worship. The scheme of building temples was perhaps a concomitant of the idea of idol worship.
As the race progressed, temples became important because they served as a sacred meeting place for the community to congregate and revitalize their spiritual energies. Large temples were usually built at picturesque places, especially on river banks, on top of hills, and on the sea shore. Smaller temples or open-air shrines can crop up just about anywhere - by the roadside or even under the tree.


From the 1st century CE a new type of worship known as Bhakti or devotional Hinduism spread across the Indian sub-continent, and the old Vedic gods were replaced in importance by deities like ShivaVishnuKrishna,Brahma, and Devi. These gods would become the central figures of Hinduism and their worship required temples where the devoted could offer their thanks and reveal their hopes for a better life.

Buildings were constructed which could house a sacred symbol of a particular god, which could be decorated with sculptural figures of them so recalling episodes from their mythological adventures, and which provided a space for worshippers to leave offerings and perform rituals such as bathing and dancing by professional female dancers (devadasi). 

 The temple was considered the dwelling place of a particular god (devalaya). It was, therefore, a sacred place (tirtha) where heaven and earth meet and, as a god’s home, it must be a suitably splendid palace (prasada).  The needs of the god would, additionally, be supervised by a dedicated body of priests (pujaris) who attended the temple.

Hindus need not attend regular services, but an occasional walk around the temple interior (circumambulation), known aspradaksina and done in a clockwise direction, was considered auspicious. Further, they could say prayers, look at the god’s representation – a specific act of piety known as darsan – and leave offerings of food and flowers (puja). Temples, inevitably, became the very centre of a community and, accordingly, their upkeep was guaranteed by land grants and endowments from the ruling class, as indicated by inscriptions on many temples. 

The Earliest Hindu Temples


According to historian, Nirad C Chaudhuri, the earliest structures that indicate idol worship date back to the 4th or 5th century AD. There was a seminal development in temple architecture between the 6th and the 16th century.
This growth phase of Hindu temples charts its rise and fall alongside the fate of the various dynasties that reigned India during the period majorly contributing and influencing the building of temples, especially in South India. Hindus consider the building of temples an extremely pious act, bringing great religious merit. Hence kings and wealthy men were eager to sponsor the construction of temples, notes Swami Harshananda, and the various steps of building the shrines were performed as religious rites.

Temples of South India (6th - 18th Century AD)

The Pallavas (600 - 900 AD) sponsored the building of the rock-cut chariot-shaped temples of Mahabalipuram, including the famous shore temple, the Kailashnath and Vaikuntha Perumal temples in Kanchipuram in southern India. The Pallavas style further flourished - with the structures growing in stature and sculptures becoming more ornate and intricate - during the rule of the dynasties that followed, particularly the Cholas (900 - 1200 AD), the Pandyas temples (1216 - 1345 AD), the Vijayanagar kings (1350 - 1565 AD) and the Nayaks (1600 - 1750 AD).
The Chalukyas (543 - 753 AD) and the Rastrakutas (753 - 982 AD) also made major contributions to the development of temple architecture in Southern India. The Cave Temples of Badami, the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal, the Durga Temple at Aihole and the Kailasanatha temple at Ellora are standing examples of the grandeur of this era. Other important architectural marvels of this period are the sculptures of Elephanta Caves and the Kashivishvanatha temple.
During the Chola period the South Indian style of building temples reached its pinnacle, as exhibited by the imposing structures of the Tanjore temples. The Pandyas followed in the footsteps the Cholas and further improved on their Dravidian style as evident in the elaborate temple complexes of Madurai and Srirangam. After the Pandyas, the Vijayanagar kings continued the Dravidian tradition, as evident in the marvelous temples of Hampi. The Nayaks of Madurai, who followed the Vijayanagar kings, hugely contributed to architectural style of their temples, bringing in elaborate hundred or thousand-pillared corridors, and tall and ornate 'gopurams' or monumental structures that formed the gateway to the temples as evident in the temples of Madurai and Rameswaram.

Temples of East, West and Central India (8th - 13th Century AD)

In Eastern India, particularly in Orissa between 750-1250 AD and in Central India between 950-1050 AD many gorgeous temples were built. The temples of Lingaraja in Bhubaneswar, the Jagannath temple in Puri and the Surya temple in Konarak bear the stamp of Orissa's proud ancient heritage. The Khajuraho temples, known for its erotic sculptures, the temples of Modhera and Mt. Abu have their own style belonging to Central India. The terracotta architectural style of Bengal also lent itself to its temples, also notable for its gabled roof and eight-sided pyramid structure called the 'aath-chala'.

Temples of Southeast Asia (7th - 14th century AD)

Southeast Asian countries, many of which were ruled by Indian monarchs saw the construction of many marvelous temples in the region between 7th and 14th century AD that are popular tourist attractions till his day, the most famous amongst them being the Angkor Vat temples built by King Surya Varman II in the 12th century. Some of the major Hindu temples in Southeast Asia that are still extant include the Chen La temples of Cambodia (7th - 8th century), the Shiva temples at Dieng and Gdong Songo in Java (8th - 9th century), the Pranbanan temples of Java (9th - 10th century), the Banteay Srei temple at Angkor (10th century), the Gunung Kawi temples of Tampaksiring in Bali (11th century), and Panataran (Java) (14th century), and the Mother Temple of Besakih in Bali (14th century).


Influenced by early Buddhist structures such as the stupa, the first Hindu temples were built from rock-cut caves and repeated the idea of relief panels and the decorativegavaska window form. Then, with the arrival of Gupta architecture in the 4th to 5th century CE, the first free-standing Hindu temples were constructed with features such as towers and projecting niches.
The first materials used were wood and terracotta, but architects gradually moved on to brick and stone, especially sandstone, granite, schist, and marble. No mortar was used in the older temples and so precise cutting of dressed stones was required. Outstanding examples of influential cave temples include those at Udaigiri in Malwa and date to the 5th century CE. Early free-standing temples survive at Deogarh and include the 6th century CE Dasavatara temple dedicated to Vishnu.

How can Kaaba be a VEDIC Temple, when temples did not exist in Vedic age is the million dollar question ?