AGTSP!!
PAMHO!!
Hare krsna Maharaja there'is one Russian devotee who lives in Mayapur en she is working on a Russian magazine so ,she has some questions for you in regard to the link between sudamerican culture and vedic culture here goes she posted and some questions thanks a lot ys Ananta Gouranga das
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I can say only that I'm doing seva in one Russian vaisnava magazine that is called "Golden Age".
There we're preaching some general things like pure life (vegeterianism etc); good family relationship; including spirituality in our ordinary lives; sattvic art; healthy food and life style habits... Also we tell about Vedic system of knowledge, about reincarnation, we give large quotes from Bhagavatam and from lectures on these topics.
We consider our audience as from teenagers to the 50-years old people, our magazine is for family reading and for putting it on the shelf and coming back to it again and again, not single-use reading. Our edition is distributed by sankirtana on the streets, in trays with free newspapers and among bhakti-vriksa members to introduce Vedic knowledge to their relatives and friends.
So this our material will be dedicated to the connection between Latin America and Vedic culture - as many Russian young people are very interested in some things from South America like tzolkin, ayahuaska and all the shamaniac stuff popular through the books of Huan Karlos Kastaneda. We'll give some parallel quotes from his books and from "Bhagavad Gita as it is" - because there are really many common things.
And what we need is some coherent story about some obvious traces of Vedic culture in Latin America that are left in the language, toponyms and names, in some traditions, in architecture...
I've heard something about pujas with garlands, insences and conches, some fire yajnas which are still held in some remoted places of South America.
And there is information that near Arisona was found a big ancient city built with the principles of varnasrama, that breaks the impression of ancient Indians like the society of hunters and collectors.
Also I heard about some Hanuman temples and swastica symbols somewhere in Brazil. Even about a Sanskrit name of some village lost in the Amasonia jungles.
Moreover there is a story in Puranas about a tunnel through the Earth from Lanka to Brazil by which Kumbakarna imported the gold for his brother Ravana. If it's possible to quote it, it'll be perfect!
Usually there's no documentary proof of such information and no photos - and they would be the priceless material, like sensation for our western minds! In Russia people are used to think that our language has roots from the Sanskrit, and we never think that previously all the Earth had one language.
Also there are some questions more.
- How do the well-known Mayan calendar that "has finished" in 2012 correlate with the Vedic calpas?
- How it could turn that the ancient Vedic civilization with its highest moral standarts (vegeterianism, respect to all the living entities, ahimsa) turned into so cruel traditions right up to the human sacrifices? What influence did ancient American Indians have?
- And one of the most interesting questions: did it happen by the pure accident that aboriginal pop of America became known as Indians? What did Columbus want in India when he started his travelling? And why did he decide that he'd reached his goal inspite of, seemingly, the total difference between India and South America?
HpS - Jaya! AGTSP. We have one book done by a South Indian Brahman when he visited India about 6-years ago. It is the most rigourous that we have seen. Other than that we do not have much specific knowledge about this. We know that there is a "Vedic" ambience in Peru and that attracts, allows, people to appreciate our ideas and benefit from them. The book is in our locker in Lima and we are in Australia. But maybe others have copies. According to one map in the 5th canto everyting below the equator is Patala, no? Then it is not surprising there were human sacrifices for subtle effect. Jarasandha was doing these.
Good luck. Of course, we try to continue to help with news to Ananta gauranga Das, and hope to hear any of this news you have. Arisona is Arizona and is in USA.