> From: markodegard@...
>Subject: Hinduism as the 'true' IE religion.
>
>I've posted before that I think Hinduism can claim to be the true
>descendant of the PIE religion. Only the Parsees of India
>(Zoroastrianism) can make a similar claim. Everywhere else, it's a
>borrowed religion (Christianity mainly, but also Islam).
To be more precise, Hinduism has the claim to be the only IE religion to
survive relatively unscathed, despite being conquered by Muslims and then
Christians. Zoroastrians/Parsees have survived as well, but only as a small
remnant. Of course, there are also the other Indian religions that are
usually considered to have a separate identity from those that are within
Hinduism: Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism, all of which are well within the
sphere of IndoEuropean. However, Christianity and Islam did NOT destroy
completely the IE religions of Europe. Christianity, especially, absorbed
large amounts of our native religions, even including deities, in disguise
as saints and angels. And most importantly, there has been a definite
Reawakening of IE religions and cultures in a growing movement.
Unfortunately, much of the real work in this area is overshadowed by New
Agers and "Witches", who generally teach utter nonsense, without regard for
or knowledge of the wealth of information available through the work of such
scholars as the people on this list. Nevertheless, there is a strong core of
people who aim for true historical accuracy, taking into account all of the
best scholarship. Furthermore, a number of the organizations and individuals
at this level are in contact with and have the support of Hindu leaders.
Some are very isolationistic, but there is a movement for unity among all of
the IE religions, as well as a movement for unity among all surviving
traditional and tribal religions. In Iceland, the native religion of Asatru
has legal recognition, and is growing. In Brittany/Breizh, in 1936, a
historically accurate religious reawakening was founded by intellectuals and
scholars who had been members of the Neo-Druidical movement, but who had
decided to reject the romanticism and the Christian and Freemasonic elements
in "Neo-Druidry"... they are now known as the Kredenn Geltiek Hollvedel:
"Worldwide Celtic Faith", and it is indeed an international movement with
two affiliated organizations in North America, several in various European
countries, and growing ties with Hindus in and outside India. There is also
a strong reawakening of the Anglo-Saxon religion, including the formation of
tribes and the crowning of a sacral king in "Winland" (North America). The
religion of the Baltic regions is considered the last of the European
religions to have been subsumed by Christianity, and it was perhaps the
first to be reawakened, by the Lithuanian organization "Romuva".
Among all IndoEuropean religions, Hinduism retains a special pride of place
for having survived as the dominant religion in its homeland, despite all
the obstacles to this.
>From what I understand, one can describe Hinduism as a 'bottom-up'
>relgion, where whatever the folk believe is more or less 'orthodoxy',
>vs what you get with Christianity and Islam (and even Buddhism), and
>what we in the West see as mutual contradictions are just part of the
>system.
It is more complicated than that, but these comments are not untrue. More
precisely, there are many organizations, disciplic successions, and
traditions that each have their own orthodoxies, and they can and do have
intense sectarian struggles at times. But, on the other hand, there is no
such thing as any one all-Hindu orthodoxy, except that all agree on the
search for Truth. Unlike Christianity and Islam, this orthodoxy allows for
and even requires diversity rather than homogeneity in religious thought.
And many of the folk practice a simple form of the religion without much
thought for the orthodoxies debated among philosophers. It is worth noting
that with the exception of the "Hare Krishna" movement, Hindus as a general
rule do not engage in proselytism.
Along with the reawakening of IE religions and the desire for unity among
them, comes a desire to have and use a form of PIE for liturgical and
literary purposes. Needless to say, any scholars of PIE who would want to
help and advise would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to write to me if
any of you are interested.
~Mark DeFillo
Society of the Noble Path
(an organization dedicated to the Reawakening and unity of IndoEuropean
religion and culture)
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