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Part 1: The Sarasvatī River and the Foundations of Vedic Civilization The Vedic culture of our current civilization is a continuation of an earlier Vedic culture. According to the testimony of the Vedas, this culture flourished in our time on the banks of seven rivers. The most famous of these was the Sarasvatī River. Sarasvatī means "flowing." The Ṛgveda praises Sarasvatī as the mother of rivers, the best mother and the best goddess. It describes her as flowing from the Himalayas all the way to the sea. However, this river dried up, leading many to believe it was merely a myth or fairy tale. Around the 1990s, its course was discovered via satellite imagery designed to locate lost rivers. I have prepared some pictures to show what that river looked like. This is the view from the satellites. You can see the sacred Sarasvatī from above, originating in the Himalayas. It was a very long river, approximately 1600 kilometers, and along its banks and bed, about 1000 archaeological sites have been uncovered, indicating a significant population. It was a mighty river; in the region of Pañjāb, it was as wide as 10 kilometers. West of Delhi, in the Delhi region, it was about seven kilometers wide. The river began to dry up around 3000 BCE, making it clear that the eternal Vedic culture must have existed long before that. Here again is the Sarasvatī River, quite long indeed. Above it is the Indus River; the yellow desert is the Thar Desert, which is actually Rajasthan, and the river flowed through Rajasthan as well. There we also see the Yamunā and the Gaṅgā. That river began to dry up around 3000 BCE. Recently, I read in 21st Century magazine about the discovery of a remaining crater from a meteorite impact between Madagascar and Australia. The impacting body must have been quite large, as the crater's diameter is 30 kilometers. It is possible this event was one of the causes of the disappearance of the Sarasvatī. In this diagram, we see concentric circles from the impact that also encompass India, which would have resulted in tsunamis and earthquakes. The Sarasvatī first spread out into lakes, not reaching the sea, and then gradually dried up until about 2000 years ago. The Vedas speak of the Sarasvatī, as do the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. For example, the Mahābhārata describes the path of Śrī Balarāma, the brother of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who traveled from the sea upstream along the Sarasvatī River to the field of Kurukṣetra. The rediscovery of the lost river Sarasvatī represents a major breakthrough in scientific thinking, especially for Western scientists. It became clear that the culture likely originated exactly as described in the Vedas, and that the cradle of the Vedas and Vedic culture was indeed the Sarasvatī River region. Another great surprise was the discovery of the Harappan culture, which is earlier. It is also called the Indus Valley Civilization, but it is actually a Vedic culture. We can look at the next picture. It is still of the Sarasvatī. The first discoveries were in the territory of Northern India and Pakistan. In 1921, the first research began at Mohenjo-daro. "Mohenjo-daro" means "the mound of the dead." The name originated around 200 CE when Buddhists built a stūpa at this place. While digging, they found many bones. The archaeological research in 1921 found not just bones but an entire city. Only about 100 hectares have been partially uncovered, which is quite a large city, and part of it remains under the alluvium of the Indus River. The city had two parts: western and eastern. The western part contained a citadel or small fortress, somewhat like an administrative section. The east was a residential city. In between was an uninhabited area of about 200 meters. There were about 600 wells there. It is interesting that Mohenjo-daro is the first place in the world known to have been built according to a plan, not elementally like other settlements. Mohenjo-daro at its peak, though the exact period is uncertain, had about 40,000 inhabitants. For comparison, Prague had the same number in the 14th century. In Mohenjo-daro, the architecture was highly developed. There were wide streets measuring 9 to 14 meters. Houses were built with no windows or doors facing the street, perhaps to keep out noise or smells. The streets were laid out at right angles, and people accessed houses from side alleys. I have another picture showing a side alley and a smaller one, as well as what appears to be a pool. Many such cities have been found since, with pools that perhaps had a ritual character. There is a wide, comfortable staircase and cabins on the right, a feature found at all the pools. Gradually, other cities were found. About 600 kilometers from Mohenjo-daro, Harappa was discovered, and many other cities as well. All these ancient cities are marked here by circles. The discovered civilization, as known up to this time, continues to be excavated and is unfolding over a much larger area than any other known ancient civilization. For example, the Sumerian empire was only half the size. Egypt was also far smaller in its civilizational reach. The area of this civilization, if imagined as a triangle, has one side 1000 kilometers long—for comparison, the distance from Prague to Brussels. This civilization was more advanced and the most advanced of all known ancient civilizations. The architecture was uniform across all cities. Houses sometimes had courtyards, similar to agricultural homesteads, with dwellings oriented towards the east. Streets ran north-south. This provides further proof of its Vedic nature, as it follows the exposition of Vāstu Śāstra, which recommends that the entrance to a house face east or north, in alignment with the Earth's magnetism. Houses contained bathrooms and toilets with a perfect flushing system. This system led into covered channels that could be opened for cleansing and were regularly purified. There appear to have been separate lines for hot and cold water, and water was divided into drinking and utility supplies. Throughout the entire realm, there existed uniform measures and weights. Here we have Harappa, and we can look at another image—a pool from Harappa with those cabins. Next, this is a typical well. Here is Lothal, a different city altogether. Then we have an image of how Lothal might have looked. The low buildings show a similar, perhaps identical, architecture to later Greek styles. It looks so inviting one would want to live there right away. That is the drainage system; everything was beautifully executed. Next, Kalibangan is another city. Here, for example, workshops for making seals were found; I will speak about them later. The city is 7,000 years old (from before our era), so actually 9,000 years old. It is a picture of a brick house. Svāmījī says that Śrī Rāma lived 10,000 years ago, which is the last era, and perhaps this is from such an era. This is in the region of modern-day Pakistan. In this region, you can find similar types of pottery and artifacts; buildings were constructed from unbaked bricks and later from baked ones. The dimensions of the bricks are the same as today’s, or very similar. Our modern architecture is similar in that we also build streets and houses at right angles, using fired bricks of consistent dimensions. In that Harappan culture, there was little evidence indicating wars. It appears to have been a very advanced and peaceful civilization. The Vedas occasionally mention some wars, but they were perhaps very few, followed by long periods of peace. This is also evidenced by the fact that those cities were not heavily fortified. No palaces or temples were found either. Perhaps those remnants have not been preserved, or perhaps in that scientific age, rituals were performed outdoors, so they did not use temples at all. In those distant times, kings lived in such a way that they were meant to serve the people. The purpose of engaging in politics was not to accumulate wealth but to serve. Thus, the life of a king likely did not differ materially as much from the lives of other people as we might think today. Throughout the entire community, there was a strong organization and good administration. Thousands of small seals have been found. They are beautiful and were likely connected with business, as similar seals have been found in Mesopotamia, apparently arriving there with traded goods. The seals measured about four by four centimeters. Experts have counted 398 different symbols on those seals, in two thousand variations. Considering this was probably for business, it reveals the immense diversity of that language. The script has not yet been successfully deciphered. Nothing more has been preserved except on these seals. This may be because in India, until quite recently, writings were done on birch bark or palm leaves, which do not preserve well. There was also a strong oral tradition for transmitting ancient wisdom and knowledge. There is a legend about the Sumerian empire: a king sent a messenger to Aratta with a long message. The journey was long, and the messenger forgot half of it. In Harappā, they asked him, "Why don't you write it down on a tablet?" The messenger returned to the king with this suggestion, and they began to write. It is possible that the Sumerian script originated based on the Harappan one. Perhaps the Vedic visitors knew that the Sumerian alphabet was developed before or prior to the last Harappan alphabet. Among those seals, we find further evidence of Vedic culture. In the Ṛgveda, for example, there is talk of various mythical animals, and we find images of these animals on those seals. Let’s look at the next one. Here we have Śiva, Paśupati. "Paśu" means cattle or animals, and "pati" means lord. This is actually the aspect of Śiva as the lord of animals. We see that he is sitting in a meditative posture, has horns, and today Śiva is depicted with the moon, which is like half of that horn. When we look at various pagan gods or deities from other cultures, they usually have horns. This figure is surrounded by animals. A comparison can be made with the Celtic god Cernunnos; here we see the same meditative pose, surrounded by animals, holding a cobra. In his right hand, it looks like he also has some kind of animal, like a cobra. He has horns. Then there is also a side-by-side comparison. The first image on the left, from the Harappan culture, is from around 4000 BCE. The second one was found in Europe about two hundred years BCE. Here we see a clear similarity, indicating a common cradle. Next. Yes, here. Recently, I came across a book about the myths of the ancient Czechs. I didn't read it all, but I looked at a picture that is on the right there. This is the conception of the universe according to Slavic myths, and it is actually wonderful how it is exactly the same as the Vedic conception. I wanted to find a picture but couldn't find the right one, so here is another. In the picture, you can see the earth, which represents the Earth. This is actually the God of the Year, the axis of our land. Beneath it are other worlds, and above it are other worlds. In the middle, we see a mountain. In the Vedic conception, it is Mount Meru that essentially holds it all together. These are the worlds above and the worlds below. In the Vedic perspective, the Pole Star is at the top, or at the beginning of that axis. Here in this Slavic picture, we have the North Star. The left side is written as belonging to the feminine energy; there is the moon. The right side belongs to the masculine energies; there is the sun. This is exactly the same in the Vedic conception of Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumṇā. The whole form beautifully resembles a Śivaliṅga. To the left, we have a modern concept of the universe, and that shape is actually very similar as well, also basically a Śivaliṅga. So here’s another one I included. Here is truly a Śivaliṅga that was found in Harappa. I have another one; there is Śrī Gaṇeśa. On the left is Śrī Gaṇeśa from Harappa, on the right is an older depiction of Śrī Gaṇeśa. In Ancient India, the elephant was held in great reverence. Elephant festivals were held, where the king gifted elephants to the brāhmaṇas—specifically to those who were well-versed in the Vedas and who knew the hastī sūtra, an encyclopedia of sūtras about elephants. They were revered by kings, ministers, generals—simply everyone. The Vedas say these rituals are important; if they are not organized, then the happiness and prosperity associated with the elephant, or that symbol, will disappear. It is believed that worshipping the elephant brings rain. Part 2: The Harappan Legacy and the Origins of Vedic Culture The elephant is a symbol of the cloud. Its worship is likely connected to the worship of Gaṇeśa, who indeed has an elephant face. This elephant face reminds us of Gaṇeśa. Gajana says that we should buy an elephant for Chetan. We have Gaṇeśa there. So, Śrī Gaṇeśa is essentially a symbol that brings goodness, making it important to continue with these rituals. Many other artifacts were found as well—daily necessities, toys, and small statues. We might return to that little mound later; it might be something like Hanumān. There is also the Prāṇā mudrā, a greeting. Here are beautiful statues; there is a cart over there, and here were two-wheeled stands on which one would stand. If you have watched films about the Mahābhārata, Rāmāyaṇa, or the Purāṇas like the Śiva Purāṇa, you will see that the chariot is exactly the same. They also stood on it. I have another similar cart made of wheels. Next, we also have a little cart there, and it even has some utensils. They are not considered toys at all, but we do not know whether they were toys or objects for some other purpose. Next is a beautiful statue. This is an example of pottery. Here is a bit of a comparison: on the right is the center, that is Harappan pottery, and the vessel is also Harappan. Again, some visitors, you see pottery from Harappa, ceramics from Harappa. This is Slavic pottery, so it looks very similar. Above is ancient Greek pottery, which is from various parts of the world. We will not specify further because it comes from very remote places—European, Slovak, Czech, Russian, Slovak. Then another one; there we also have some arm pottery, similar as well. I think that is everything. We actually have the sources here from which I drew for the PowerPoint. I will just add this now, since I have something to say about it, and then I will tell you more from that source. So now we will continue without the image. As I mentioned, the excavations do not actually suggest that there were any significant differences among the inhabitants, at least in the material sense. There was apparently great equality there. The culture also shows no significant traces of development or attempts at dilution. Perhaps it is because the culture they received was already perfect; there was no need to further cultivate it. Perhaps it is related to the fact that the people of Vedic times were not as outwardly focused as we are. They rather strived for that inner wealth. From the ancient history of India, we can learn, for example, from the Ṛg Veda. Clearly, the Vedas have multiple layers. Besides the spiritual layer, we also find traces of the era within them. The Ṛg Veda is apparently the best document from those ancient times. Later texts, for example, the Purāṇas, which arose much later, are more like narratives. The situation, or something that is stated in the Ṛgveda, is then expressed somewhat differently in the Purāṇas. Kings, who are importantly mentioned, are already so significant in the Purāṇas. It is said that the Ṛgveda was completed around the time when Śrī Rāma actually lived. The Purāṇas emerged during the period of the Mahābhārata, which is actually around three thousand years before our era, a period much more recent. It is the completion of the Ṛgveda, the craft from ten thousand years before our era, or from ten thousand years ago. If I were to say something more about the opinion of some European scientists on the origin of scientific culture: when European scholars became acquainted with the scientific culture, especially with Sanskrit, they were surprised, on the one hand, by the perfection of that speech and also by its similarity. European languages have a grammar more similar to Sanskrit, whereas in many languages it has already become more simplified. There are many common words. For example, in Czech we have about 250 words directly from Sanskrit. In verbose expressions, numerals are almost similar, or the names of relatives as well. So it is clear that the source must be one. At that time, it was believed that Europe and India shared common ancestors who lived somewhere in Russia, in the Steppes. When I heard about this theory, it seemed perfect to me. So we have those common ancestors. I once said this to Svāmījī in a moment of enthusiasm, as if it was a huge discovery, and Svāmījī said, "That’s what they think." It kept nagging at me, and only when I became acquainted with the discovery of the Harappan culture and the discovery of the Sarasvatī River did it actually dawn on me that the Vedic culture could not have originated somewhere in the Russian steppes, but it had to originate in India. In those ancient times, India was much larger than it is today. It was a vast empire, unified by Vedic culture. There were, for example, people who spoke different languages. They could have been people of various racial backgrounds. But according to Vedic culture, everyone was actually brothers and sisters. They were all essentially followers of that Vedic culture. The Vedas also reflect great knowledge about mountains and oceans. We would hardly find such references in the Russian steppes. There are also many references to the ocean in the Vedas. In the Vedas, there are multiple names for the ocean. That western ocean, which is by the Arabian Sea, is called Samudra, and in the east, where Bengal is, it is called Pariṣa. So it is clear that this is a profound knowledge of that very territory. The Vedas speak either of many oceans or of four oceans. If there were four, they would be the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal to the east of India, and in the north, perhaps the North Sea, the Caspian Sea, or some large lake. Many Vedic deities are also associated with the sea. Even Agni, the fire element. It is said that Agni’s oceanic form is a boat and his garment is the ocean. Or Varuṇa, the roar of the sea. In the Ṛgveda it is said: just as the Maruts move through the sky, Agni through the earth, and Vāyu through the atmosphere, similarly Varuṇa moves through the waters and oceans. The Ṛgveda also mentions the oceanic realms. For example, it is written that Varuṇa knows the place where the birds dwell, those who fly through the atmosphere. He knows the ships that sail across the ocean. It is said about the river Sarasvatī that it flows into the ocean. Such evidence truly shows that Vedic culture indeed originated in India. Perhaps I will mention one more example. In ancient times, there were two types of horses. One was a type from South and South Asia and an Arabian horse, and it has seventeen ribs. Then there is aśva from Western and Central Asia, and it has eighteen ribs. It is described in the Aśvamedha, the sacrifice of the horse. And here the kuṇḍalinī is described in detail, and it is described that it has seventeen ribs. So it is absolutely clear that it had to be the original, Indian kuṇḍalinī. According to the Ṛgveda, the horse was born from the ocean; it is therefore connected with the ocean. In the Yajurveda, the divine aśva is invoked, which has the father as its belly. This connection between horses and thread we also find in Greek mythology. The Upaniṣads connect day and night with two horses. One aśva originates from the western ocean, the other from the eastern. So it is clear that this notion does not correspond to that Russian theory. As I said, there is much evidence that the Vedas actually originated in India, and that we are descendants of the ancient heirs of the Vedic culture. Some people think that yoga and Vedic culture are foreign in Europe, but the opposite is true: what is original is actually the Vedic culture. When we came from India, or rather from what was once known as India, which was a great empire as we know now, we brought the Vedic culture with us. Perhaps that is also the reason why we should strive to get to know the Vedic culture better, to become familiar with it. Through that, we will also better understand our roots. Understanding our roots gives us even greater strength to grow and provides stabilization. That Vedic culture is something so incredible, and it is actually a remedy for today’s times. So it is definitely worth delving into. I would also like to show you the books I have drawn from. Here is primarily The Rig Veda and the History of India. This book is called The Rig Veda and the History of India, written by David Frawley. Then from the same author, Gods, Sages and Kings. The same author wrote this book called Gods, Sages, and Kings. Then The Myth of the Aryan Invasions of India, where it actually proves the falsity of this opinion here. I think they were already there, yes. Part of that myth also included the fact that Aryan, Ārya actually means "noble." And part of that myth was actually that the Āryas came here and essentially destroyed the indigenous culture and took it over. But once again, it turned out that it was not correct; no traces of any warfare were found. It is actually unlikely that some primitive tribe would come to a place where there was a great culture, destroy everything, but adopt the culture. Here then is in Czech The Question Marks of Ancient India by Doctor Zbavitel. Then here is the book with which we had that picture of the concept of the universe, by the Czech author Mítek. I haven’t had time to look into it yet; I only glanced at it a few times. It’s simply a culture of the masses, you know. Then the encyclopedia of Hinduism by Svāmī Hṛdayānanda, and here is another encyclopedia. This is the three-part one, which has 11 volumes of the encyclopedia of Hinduism. I have it from Svāmī Janēśpuru in Gayāpura. I think both encyclopedias are very good, in case you are interested in the ashram. One can find that there is a lot of information on the internet, but it is clearer from an encyclopedia that the source is reliable. This is more spiritual, and this is more educational, and this is just the letter A, to which half of the second part also belongs. So it is very detailed. And we are not about to fall before it. So that’s probably all for now about Harappan culture. It is said that there were no signs of war or conflict there. Then there is some image, which is known, of statues side by side in a cave, and they said it is like a depiction of an army. I think it is China, but it is China, I think it is the army. China. Figures of such. Statues, statues, sculptures. Does that mean it is the Chinese army? Yes, yes, that is China. Ah, so it probably refers to the image of that Chinese, that red clay army, so that is an image from China, not from Harappa. Now the question is about those battles, the Mahābhārata we read about, and the castes that are actually connected to it, and so on. This is how I understand it. I haven’t read the Ṛgveda myself, but I keep reading about the Ṛgveda. There are occasionally mentions of some wars, though not that many, and there are long periods of peace. Perhaps Vedic culture endures for a very long time. So it is possible that what was found was precisely from that time of peace. It is believed that the Harappan culture disappeared sometime in the second half of the second millennium. The Mahābhārata was approximately thirty centuries ago, as counted by the number of verses. So it is possible that it was a bit later. Another thing is that in ancient India, wars were fought only by the kṣatriyas. The kṣatriyas fought, and the other inhabitants did not. So perhaps those wars simply took place somewhere outside the city, and the city did not have to be destroyed because of them. The kṣatriyas were one of the castes that belonged there. But the Mahābhārata took place at Kurukṣetra, on the battlefield, and probably Harappa was not destroyed because of that. But I don’t know; well, I’m just sharing my opinion. The next question is about language. If they had those 388 characters there, how does that relate to Sanskrit, and was he speaking about it with Sanskrit, or? No, it’s hard to say. It’s hard to tell. You would probably like to remember your past lives, maybe from the meditation on previous lives. But that script, that Harappan script, was not deciphered because the alphabet itself was never deciphered or discovered. But as for Sanskrit, it is clear that it is essentially the foundation of the Indo-European languages. There is also a new scientific theory that languages which seem unrelated or appear to have nothing in common actually share a deeper connection. The deeper one goes, the more one actually reaches the original language. The Sanskrit we know today is actually the more modern form, an artificial form. Gaṇeśa says the very word Sanskrit means created or renewed. So the word itself means that the language is probably not original, that it is revived. But in fact, it connects to an older one. It is the continuation of the ancient language. The Vedas are not written in the modern language because even the Vedas are in an older form of Sanskrit. Perhaps it is also possible that the script on those seals was indeed once used for commercial transactions. Is it possible that, for example, the script used for commercial transactions was different from the one used for sacred matters? We do not know that. Now, all those images of how they pulled those carts, those wagons, reminded me of a little detail: the origin of the words sukha and duḥkha. In that word, kha means that axle, that shaft. So su-kha means a good yoke, a good shaft. And duḥ-kha means that the connecting rod is faulty. Imagine that you are sitting or standing on that cart, and those two cows are pulling you. If you have a good axle, then you travel well—it’s a good ride, it’s sukha. When that axle is off, then you keep swaying, and it’s duḥkha. It seems that these two words, sukha and duḥkha, originate from this source, which we translate as happiness and unhappiness. Do not ask me how I know this, but when I saw it just now, I remembered it. So you see, sometimes it is amusing or funny when you look at the very origin of those words. Sometimes you sit in meditation and feel that you have some discomfort somewhere, and it actually means that you are on the wrong cart, that you are in the wrong vehicle. And it is time to move into a good vehicle. Thank you.