When the Europeans started “Krishna or Christ” assertions, Indians changed to “Christ and Krishna” surrenders! [2]

When the Europeans started “Krishna or Christ” assertions, Indians changed to “Christ and Krishna” surrenders! [2]

Christ and Krishna exhibition continued (Feb.2012): The exhibition organized on Christ and Krishna, an archaeological journey, held by the Indian Science Monitor, reportedly provided more enchanting information about the hidden secrets of a distant age, beyond the images of excavations of skeletons corresponding to the size of Goliath as per the Biblical account[1].  The expo showcased milestones in the arduous effort to find corroborative evidence to the narratives found in the Bible and the Mahabaratha[2]. He added further, “My exhibition CHRIST AND KRISHNA was well received in a number of places[3]. It was through this exhibition that we show the archaeological sites connected with both of them[4]. We should do this exhibition in Coimbatore too. It’s a pure archaeological exhibition and visitors can get to see the image of the Lord Krishna coin issued by Indo Greek ruler Agathocles (the coin was discovered through the Ai Khanoum excavations in Afghanistan). Dr. Nanditha Krishna of the C.P.R Foundation was all praise for this when it was exhibited at Chennai some years ago. The exhibition also includes a number of images of sites connected with Lord Jesus Christ alongside pictures of places like the Prema Sarovara in Vrindavan where Lord Krishna met Radharani. Nanita Krishna was commenting upon the work of Rajan[5]. Western scholars tried to establish a connection between Krishna and Christ, claiming that the former was derived from St Thomas’ teachings about the latter, but literature and archaeology have proved otherwise[6].

T.K.V. Rajan and Christology linking St.Thomas myth: The activities, speeches and attempts of  TKV Rajan have been intriguing.

1. He claimed, “My exhibition CHRIST AND KRISHNA was well received in a number of places[7].
2. It was through this exhibition that we show the archaeological sites connected with both of them[8], i.e, Christ and Krishna.
3. He claims that “Under the tutelage of Fr James at Loyola College, Chennai, TKV Rajan gathered biblical research.”
4. Between 2016 and 2019 I visited the USA and lectured on “Christ and Krishna -Archaeological Journey” at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society in Dallas.
5. He already appreciated that, “Archeologists in Europe have traced the precise spot of Jesus’s birth, St Peter’s house visited by Jesus, boats used during his time, his crucifix and even skeletons of giants who existed before the reign of King David. On the other hand, Hastinapur excavated in 1952, has not been touched again. There is so much to study in Kurukshetra and Mathura”.
6. Fr. B. Jeyaraj, S.J., Principal, Loyola College was invited to inaugurate his exhibition and he commented that One should live to the ideals of Bhagavat Gita, which was given to the humanity by Lord Krishna.
7. Nanditha Krishna of the C.P.R Foundation was all praise for this when it was exhibited at Chennai some years ago. The exhibition also includes a number of images of sites connected with Lord Jesus Christ alongside pictures of places like the Prema Sarovara in Vrindavan where Lord Krishna met Radharani. Nanita Krishna was commenting upon the work of Rajan[9]. Western scholars tried to establish a connection between Krishna and Christ, claiming that the former was derived from St Thomas’ teachings about the latter, but literature and archaeology have proved otherwise[10].
8. Thus, the whole affair becomes murky and doudy with raising a reasonable question as to why all these have been batting for St.Thomas, Christ, etc.

He goes to Vaishnavite mutt and poses as a Vaishnavite, but, also tries to equate “Christ and Krishna”! Note, he puts Christ always before Krishna in his exhibitions, talks and publicities. As an archaeologist and researcher, he must have known the chronology and then he could not have put cart before the horse. The expression, putting cart before the horse connotes, “The expression cart before the horse is an idiom or proverb used to suggest something is done contrary to a conventional or culturally expected order or relationship”. And he had done and perhaps doing.

Krishna or Christ, or Christ and Chrishna?: Here, I quote the following from K.V. Ramakrishna Rao about the issue[11]:

“In India, the Christian mind was terribly upset by the Puranic narratives of Flood, the Fish God saviour of the humanity, Narayana – the protecting and Saviour God, Christna, Chrishna or Krishna[12] and other related concepts.

From C.F.C. Volney[13] to J. M. Robertson[14], the “Krishna-Christ” binary archetypes baffled the Christologists. Therefore, after discussing and debating about the religious necessity of keeping one God for India with the choice between “Krishna” and “Christ”, the colonial theologians decided to impose the imported Christ replacing Krishna[15]……..John P. Jones[16] carried out his tirade against Krishna delivering lectures at the Andover, Hale, Harvard and other theological seminaries and at the Western Reserve University in 1902 and it was later published as a book entitled “India’s Problem Krishna or Christ”. His tirade against the Hindu religion had been acrimonious, vitrupous and blasphemous, couched with the missionary style of presentation.

1. ……….worship of Krishna and is given to the indulgence of poisonous and characterized by gross licentiousness[17].
2. …………….cult of Bhakti is connected with Krishnalatory which is the worship of the most unworthy and licentious god of Hindu pantheon[18].
3. There is no finality of blessing supposed…………………Krishna representing the worst type of sensuality and moral obliquity[19].

Thus, the nature of Krishna and Krishna worship are characterized as follows:

• The worship of Krishna is Krishnalatory
• It is given to the indulgence of poisonous.
• It is characterized by gross licentiousness.
• It is the most unworthy
• It is that of licentious god of Hindu pantheon.
• Krishna representing the worst type of sensuality
• Krishna representing the worst type ofmoral obliquity.

Therefore, the Christian hatred, acrimony and virulent attacks are revealing. The same language is only transformed to arrogant language as “…………………the church ignores nothing that is sacred on the earth……………..” (emphasis added), yet, the naïve, gullible, meek, mild and knave Hindus continued to be so, in spite of all onslaughts, inquisition and verbal terrorism. Thus, the elite Vaishnavites of Tamilnadu go on appreciate the comparative study of Christianity and Vaishnavism, Christ and Krishna, Mother Goddess and divine goddess etc., without knowing or understanding their minds. It is not that one Jesuit appreciates and another Jesuit depreciates or deprecates; glorifies and blasphemes; praises and denigrates…….but, the strategy, as practised a tactic by the trained Christian priests is pointed out. Having recorded explicitly[20] that, “……it would be sacrilege to compare the character of any one of them (Hindu Gods) with the wonderful incarnation of Jesus”, what is the fun of again and again to compare Jesus with Krishna or Christ with Krishna? Even today books are coming out making such comparisons[21]. When the Christians have already declared that it is “beyond compare”, what is the compromise made by writers to compare?”

Conclusion: Time and again, unfortunately, educated elite Hindus only fall prey to the sophisticated, well-trained and expertise Christians. Of course, they would be members of the Society of Jesus, but, the meek, mild naïve Hindus do not have such organizations. Many times, Hindus compromise for some benefits, foreign visit, an invitation for a talk, and such other thing, without understanding the nuances of “dialogue,” inter and intra religious dialogues and the processes of inculturation.  The case of TKV Rajan could not have been exceptional, as he has been a knowledgeable and well-aware of person. He goes to Vaishnaviite mutts, moves with Acharya donning traditional dress and sporting sandal paste on his forehead, but, gives lecture on the Christ and Bible with suit-boot-coat attire with books in his armpit, as if, going for a theological war. Therefore, it is unbelievable that he was not aware of the well-researched books written by Constantin-Volney, Charles Dupuis, David Friedrich Strauss, John Remsburg, Arthur Drews, William B. Smith, Paul-Louis Couchoud, J.M.Robertson, and others. Unless, he tells, one could know what happened to him. But, he has affected Hindus and Hindu religion , but compromising, collaborating and co-operating with such comparative studies.

© Vedaprakash

23-06-2020

[1] News.18 / Indian Express, Was Goliath for real?, LAST UPDATED: FEBRUARY 18, 2012, 8:48 AM IST

TKV Rajan, 09380554557

[2] https://www.news18.com/news/india/was-goliath-for-real-447719.html

[3] simpli-city, For assimilating history without bias – Lord Krishna and Jesus Christ on the same palette, Rajesh Govindarajulu, Dec 02, 2017 13:54:04.

[4] http://simpli-city.in/news-detail.php?nid=19598

[5] Vedakrishna.com, Krishna Archeology, Nanditha Krishna, nankrishna@vsnl.com;

[6] http://veda.krishna.com/encyclopedia/krishna-archeology.htm

[7] simpli-city, For assimilating history without bias – Lord Krishna and Jesus Christ on the same palette, Rajesh Govindarajulu, Dec 02, 2017 13:54:04.

[8] http://simpli-city.in/news-detail.php?nid=19598

[9] Vedakrishna.com, Krishna Archeology, Nanditha Krishna, nankrishna@vsnl.com;

[10] http://veda.krishna.com/encyclopedia/krishna-archeology.htm

[11] K.V.Ramakrisha Rao, A Critical analysis of “Christian-Vaishnavite Comparative Studies” in the context of “Inter-faith / religious dialogue” and “Inculturation”, it was supposed to appear in a book proposed by Sandhya Jain and others. For some reasons, it is yat to see the light.

[12]Christna, Chrishna, Cristna, Crishna are the words and expressions found recorded in the literature denoting to “Krishna”, the Hindu protecting and Saviour God.

[13]C. F. C. Volney, , The Ruins, or Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires and the Law of Nature, Truth Seeker Co., New York, 1890.

[14]J. M. Robertson, Hindu Mythology and Christianity, Swati Publications, New Delhi, 1989.

[15]John  P. Jones, India’s Problem: Krishna or Christ, Fleming H. Revell Company, London and Edinburgh, 1903.

[16] John  P. Jones, India’s Problem: Krishna or Christ, Fleming H. Revell Company, London and Edinburgh, 1903.

[17] Ibid, p.65.

[18] Ibid, p.76.

[19] Ibid, pp.95-96.

[20] Ibid, p.95.

[21]Steven J. Rosen, Christ and Krishna: Where the Jordan meets the Ganges, Rosen, USA, 2011.

“The Myth of St. Thomas in India” – the greatest historical fraud in the world

	“The Myth of St. Thomas in India” – the greatest historical fraud in the world
Published on November 25th, 2007 In Uncategorized, Blogging, Philosophy | Views 1095 <!– by Vedaprakash –>
“The myth of St. Thomas in India” has been the greatest historical fraud in India and the world also and the historians have been shameless even to question such myth. Instead, they go on promote such myth aiding and abetting, as is evident from appearing so-called “research papers” in the proceedings of South indian History Congress, Tamilnadu history congress, textboks etc. It is a blot on historians, whenever, that fraud is perpetuated, nurtured or quoted in the name of history. So I post the following article of K. P. Sunil appeared in 1987, which has bearing on the subject matter. Archbishop Arulappa Makes History 1 By K.P. Sunil Ganesh Iyer, Sri Rangam The case has been closed. And the dramatis personae prefer to maintain a studied silence. For fear that a post-mortem would reveal hidden cadavers in their cupboards. For even a superficial examination of the fraud that shook the foundations of the Catholic Church in Madras in the late seventies and early eighties indicates that a lot of embarrassing details have been swept under the mat. Reverend Dr. R. Arulappa, former archbishop of the Madras diocese, who claims to have been duped by one Acharya Paul, also known as Ganesh Iyer, is ill. Incapacitated by serious cardiac problems. In fact, it is his ill-health that forced him to retire from his post as head of the diocese. So the infamous scandal had to be pieced together from court records, police files and the ramblings of the main character-Ganesh Iyer. It all began in the early seventies. Ganesh Iyer, who had adopted the Christian faith and was a self-styled Bible preacher known as John Ganesh, went to Tiruchi in the course of his evangelical journeys and met a Catholic priest Father Michael of the Tamil Illakiya Kazhagam (Tamil Literary Society). He is reported to have presented himself to the priest as Dr. John Ganesh, professor of philosophy and comparative religions at the Banaras university, and recently returned from Jammu and Kashmir where he was involved in research on Christianity in India. Michael put him on to another priest, Father Mariadas of Sriviliputhur. John Ganesh impressed Mariadas with his mastery over Christian theology. He showed him copies of notices extolling him as a speaker. He reportedly produced letters written to him by various scholars in the fields of education and religion. He is also reported to have shown Mariadas photographs of palm leaf writings and copper plate inscriptions several centuries old. These documents, he reportedly claimed, traced the origins and development of the Christian faith in India. Since further research on the subject required money which John Ganesh claimed not to have, Mariadas took upon himself the task of locating funds for the project the successful completion of which, he felt, would provide a shot in the arm for Christianity in India. Mariadas gave John Ganesh something in the range of Rs. 22,000 toward the research. And as his own funds were depleted, he introduced the researcher to the head of the Catholic Church in Madras, R. Arulappa. thomas-myth-manufacturers-Ganesh Iyer etc Arulappa was a Tamil scholar who also had the reputation of being a researcher. He had translated the New Testament into Tamil and set to tune the Book of Psalms. He had also rendered in Tamil the life of Christ, Ulagin Uyir ( A The Life of the World ). He had learned Sanskrit and translated several Christian tenets into that language. He had also done extensive research on Tirukkural, the creation of the Tamil bard, Tiruvalluvar. Tiruvalluvar is known to modern generations through his immortal literature. The exact time of his existence is lost in the mists of the hoary past. Some historians believe Tiruvalluvar to be a product of the early Sangam period in Tamil literature, several centuries before Christ. The Tamil Nadu government bases its calendar on the year of his birth. For this purpose, it is assumed that Tiruvalluvar was born exactly 2018 years ago, i.e. in the first century before Christ. Some literary experts place Tiruvalluvar in the first century after Christ, others date him 300 years after. Just as little is known about Tiruvalluvar”s origins, his religious beliefs are also shrouded in some mystery. Attempts have been made, going by the precepts contained in his verse, to speculate about his religion. While he is widely believed to have been a Hindu and the Tirukkural considered a revered Hindu scripture, other religions too have staked a claim on him. Since the Tirukkural enshrines the ideals of ahimsa , dharma and asceticism, many experts consider Tiruvalluvar to have been considerably influenced by Jain thought. A recent paper presented by Dr. S. Padmanabhan makes Tiruvalluvar out to be a Hindu chieftain from the Kanyakumari district. Archbishop Arulappa felt that the Tirukkural was so profound and filled with compassionate sentiments that it must have been influenced by early Christian missionaries who came to South India in the first century after Christ, notably St. Thomas, one of the apostles of Christ. The Christian Church of India, considered to be amongst the oldest in the world, is believed to have been founded by St. Thomas in 52 A.D. Arulappa held the view that St. Thomas, before his martyrdom on a hill near Madras, now called St. Thomas Mount, met Tiruvalluvar and influenced the bard to the extent of converting him to the nascent faith. The theory had been propounded. What remained to be obtained was proof of such an occurrence. It was this that Ganesh Iyer, posing as John Ganesh, reportedly promised to unearth for the archbishop. Since this suited the archbishop”s scheme and since Arulappa was convinced that Ganesh was in a position to ferret out the evidence necessary to prove his pet theory, he engaged him to take up the research. The archbishop was apparently lulled into complacency by Ganesh”s mastery of Christian theology and his apparent sincerity of purpose. As if establishing a nexus between St. Thomas and Tiruvalluvar were not enough, John Ganesh also informed the archbishop that he could bring evidence that the three wise men from the East who prophesied the birth of Christ were none other than the epic Hindu sages, Vasistha, Viswamithra and Agasthya. In 1975-76, John Ganesh began his research. And the archbishop started funding the same. Ganesh produced photographs of palm leaf writings and copper plate inscriptions at periodic intervals. When the archbishop asked to see the originals, he was informed that they were stashed away in the safe custody of the archaeological departments and museums all over the country. It would therefore, not be possible to persuade these agencies to part with the priceless documents. He, however, promised to get his photographs authenticated by the respective agencies themselves. Thereafter, all photographs produced by Ganesh Iyer before the archbishop bore seals of the museums and departments from which he claimed to have obtained them. Using the funds provided by the archbishop, Ganesh Iyer made a pretence of travelling extensively. It was a well-orchestrated programme. He would first inform the archbishop that he was going to Kashmir in connection with his research. Next, the archbishop would receive letters from some Christian and Hindu religious heads in Kashmir informing him that they had come across Ganesh Iyer or, as he now called himself, Acharya Paul. The letters spoke in superlative terms about his sincerity of purpose and his noble research. Whatever doubts the archbishop may have entertained about his researcher vanished in the face of these letters from eminent personages. More money changed hands. Though he was quite poor when he first met the archbishop, by the time he was through, Iyer had his own house in Srirangam. He owned two cars. He had purchased considerable gold jewellery for his wife and daughters. He had substantial deposits in banks in his name. Most of the funds for the research had come from individuals and organisations abroad. If Iyer is to be believed, the archbishop even made out his personal car in Iyer”s name for a nominal Rs. 25,000. .i.Iyer;Iyer himself claims that he had not paid anything. Questions were being asked around this time about the large sums of money being given to Acharya Paul for his research. The sceptics demanded proof that something tangible, that would benefit Christianity in the long run, had indeed been achieved. Only the archbishop”s pre-eminence prevented a direct confrontation. Ganesh Iyer met Pope at Vatican In 1976, Iyer obtained a passport in the name of Acharya Paul. In 1977, accompanied by the archbishop, he went abroad. To the Vatican, among other places, where he had a lengthy audience with Pope Paul VI. The duo then visited several religious congregations and spoke about comparative religions. Everywhere he went, he spoke about the origins of Christianity in India and about his A monumental research while the archbishop displayed the evidence. Money was collected for funding further research. Ganesh Iyer met Pope at Vatican.Arulappa took him During their absence from India, individuals inimical to John Ganesh had organised themselves into a powerful force. Even as he was relaxing in his home in Srirangam after his return, the archbishop was pressurised to file a complaint with the police. That he had been duped by Ganesh Iyer who had claimed to be a bachelor, but was in reality a married man. That he had defrauded the archbishop to the tune of around Rs. 14 lakhs in the name of research into Christianity. Investigations into the sordid episode began. The police, led initially by Inspector Seshadri and later by Inspector Chandraya-perumal, searched Iyer”s residence. They unearthed the A originals of all the photographs produced by Iyer as proof of his research-writings on strips of brown paper cut to resemble medieval palm frond writings, pasted on sheets of white paper. The police learnt that the photographs had been taken at a studio in Tiruchi and this led to the seizure of all the relevant negatives. The police discovered how the photographs had been authenticated by various institutions-seals and rubber stamps of all the concerned institutions were lying in Iyer”s home. Letter-heads bearing the names of various Hindu and Christian scholars were recovered. The letters purported to have been received by Iyer from these personages, which he allegedly used to dupe Mariadas and later the archbishop, were declared to be clever forgeries by the state handwriting expert Srinivasan. The writing on these and the writing on the brown paper, though cleverly disguised, compared favourably with Iyer”s specimen. Account books showing details of amounts received from the archbishop and the amounts spent by him were recovered. Iyer”s antecendents were thoroughly investigated and it was proved that he was a middle school dropout, not having studied beyond standard seven. Further confirmation was obtained from the Banares university that they did not have Dr. John Ganesh on their staff either teaching or doing research into philosophy and comparative religions. The police case was complete. On April 29, 1980, Iyer was arrested and placed under remand, while prosecution proceedings were instituted under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 473 (making and possessing counterfeit seals with intent to commit forgery) of the Indian Penal Code and under section 12-B of the Indian Passports Act (obtaining a passport supplying false information). Archbishop Arulappa testified against Iyer before the court. Iyer initially pleaded innocence, but later admitted to the fraud on all counts. He prayed that in view of his advancing age and critical family circumstances, he be shown leniency. Arulappa vs Ganesh Iyer On February 6, 1986, P. Aruvudayappan, second metropolitan magistrate, Madras, delivered his judgment in case number 100087/82: A Taking advantage of the soft attitudes of public witnesses 2 and 3 (Father Mariadas and Father Arulappa), he averred, A the defendant (Ganesh Iyer) had taken from them about Rs. 13.5 lakhs between 1975 and 1980. This has been clearly established. Taking into consideration the nature of the offences, the defendant is being held guilty under various sections of the I.P.C. and has to undergo 10 months imprisonment and 5 month”s rigorous imprisonment under section 12-B of the Indian Passports Act. These sentences are to run concurrently. He had been arrested on April 29, 1980 and let off on bail on June 27, 1980. These 59 days of imprisonment are to be deducted from the total sentence as required under section 428 of the code of criminal procedure. The magistrate”s judgment notwithstanding, doubts still linger. Why were the archbishop”s suspicions not aroused until he had handed over a whopping Rs. 13,49,250 (according to records, though Iyer claims to have received far in excess of that sum) on a spurious research project? Why had the archbishop not bothered to verify the authenticity of the A documents produced by Iyer with the museums and other institutions concerned, directly? Why did he not bother to accompany Iyer to the actual site of his A research when he had found time to accompany him to Rome, the Vatican, Germany, France, Spain, the United States? With the archbishop still indisposed, answers to these questions are not forthcoming. What is even more curious is that even as criminal proceedings against Iyer were in progress in the magistrate”s court, a civil suit for a compromise had been filed in the Madras high court. The compromise decree was taken up immediately after the conclusion of the criminal case. Since Iyer had admitted the offence, his jail term was reduced to a mere two months imprisonment. And since he had already served 59 days of remand, this period was adjusted against the sentence. In other words, Iyer, who had defrauded the archbishop to the tune of about Rs. 14 lakhs, was let off without any further punishment. He was ordered to forfeit all claim on the money given to him by the archbishop. Accordingly, the ornaments and money seized from him by the police were returned to the archbishop. As part of the compromise, Iyer was allowed to retain the large bungalow he had purchased with the archbishop”s money. A I agreed to this compromise because there was nothing else I could do, says Iyer. His viewpoint in understandable. For, going by the lower court”s verdict, he would have not only had to serve 5 months of rigorous imprisonment, but would have automatically had to forfeit all his properties including the house. Why the archbishop agreed to the compromise is not understandable. Today Ganesh Iyer lives on the first floor of his house in Srirangam—the lower portion is let out on rent, enabling him to receive a monthly income. He is by no means affluent, but is certainly a far cry from the penury to which his family and he would have been consigned, if it were not for the compromise. Father Arulappa is convalescing, recovering from a major surgery. He has handed over the mantle of archbishop to Reverend G. Casimir on A health grounds . And the case, though officially closed, remains in many minds, an unsolved mystery. [1] Originally published under the title “Hoax!” in The Illustrated Weekly of India, April 26 – May 2, 1987, Bombay. VEDAPRAKASH 25-11-2007