Author: David Frawley
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass
Year: 1999
Language: English
Pages: 396
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8120816242
Description
This book is based upon new interpretation of the ancient Vedic teachings of India, and brings out many new insights from this unique source often neglected and misinterpreted in the West.
This book presents a remarkable accumulation of evidence pointing to the existence of a common spiritual culture in the ancient world from which present civilization may be more of a decline than an advance.
This book reveals the geography of the ancient Vedic world, including the sacred Himalayan lands of the Soma. It shows the lineage of the Vedic Kings and the realms that they ruled. It deciphers the ancient Vedic Calendar and its sophisticated system of astronomy going back to before 4000BC and uncovers the yogic practices of the ancient Vedic seers that appear to be behind all the religions of the world.
This work suggests that all the peoples of ancient world may be related to the Vedic culture including those of Sumeria, Egypt, China and the Americas. The book challenges the accepted views of the origins of civilization in a profound way and thus causes the reader to re-examine what it means to be a human being.
COMMENTS:
There is no doubt that this a landmark book for our understanding of India. Much of the book is a remarkable brilliant piece of scholarship and fills a major void in our understanding of ancient world history. It helps us gain a radical shift in our perception of ancient Indian History. It gives us a totally different picture of Vedic civilization than we are traditionally taught in history books.
Contents
Foreword by Vyaas Houston
Preface
Introduction
Ancient History from the Vision of the Seers
PART I
THE VEDIC WORLD
CHAPTER I
The Image of the Ocean
The Maritime Nature of Vedic Culture
CHAPTER II
The Saraswati River
The Homeland of Vedic Civilization
CHAPTER III
The Land of the Seven Rivers
The Greater Vedic Land
PART II
THE THRONE OF INDRA STORIES OF VEDIC KINGS
CHAPTER I
From the Rig Veda
CHAPTER II
From the Brabmanas and Puranas
PART III
VEDIC ASTRONOMY THE TESTIMONY OF THE STARS
CHAPTER I
Hindu Astronomy
The Knowledge of Precession
CHAPTER II
Breaking Through the Barrior of Time
Astronomical References in the Rig Veda
PART IV
VEDIC RELIGION
Vedic Religion
The Yogic Basis of Civilization
PART V
PEOPLES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
THE FALL FROM GRACE
CHAPTER I
Ancient Aryan Culture
CHAPTER II
The Peoples of the Middle East
CHAPTER III
The Greater World Culture
APPENDICES
A. BACKGROUND MATERIAL
1. Vedic Cosmology
2. Vedic Civilization
3. The Yuga Theory of Sri Yukteswar
B. ADDENDUM
1. The Lunar Constellations, Nakshatras
2. Glossary of Terms
3. Footnotes
4. Sanskrit Quotes
5. Bibliography
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
1. The Saraswati River : at the Time of Vedic Culture (c. 4000 BC)
2. Indian at the Time of Vedic Culture (c. 4000 BC)
3. The Movement of the Precession
4. The Saraswati River : at the Time of the Indus Culture (C. 2500 BC)
5. The Three Lands of Ila : The Source Lands of Ancient Civilization