Saturday, September 16, 2006
General characteristics of Indo-European Religion
A) Indo-european religion is polytheistic, consisting of a
multiplicity of rites proper to various social groups and
localities, and pagan, i.e. peasant, reflecting the diversity of the
people and not the unity of a state cult, nor of an established
church.
B) Being pluralistic and diversified, this religion is naturally
tolerant; far from indulging in proselitism, each group jealously
guards its own gods, rites and formulae. In this sense it may be
called esoteric and initiatory. It possesses myths and symbols, but
is devoid of dogma. C) It is a religion of works and not of faith,
lived out rather than thought about. The performnce of the
traditional rites and of one¹s state are essential to it.
D) Being a political religion by reason of its framework (that of
the various ethnic units) and in view of the greater part of its
pantheon, as we shall see, a religion of leaders and not of priests,
it is without fanaticism. The poet may be an inspired being seized
from time to time by the divine frenzy, but the celebrant is a grave
and worthy magistrate. "Superstition" and foreign (or archaic)
ecstatic cults are viewed with disapproval, and sorcery is repressed
with severity. However the private practice of magic is widely
attested, viz. The Old Indian Atharvaveda, the Hittite rituals, many
examples in the classical world, among the Celts and Germans.
E) Character and appellations of the Indo-European gods
The gods are thought of as personal beings. Their nature cannot be
described with greater precision, but it is more or less close to
human nature according to the people and the period concerned. In
this context their appellations, four types of which occur, are
interesting:
a) common nouns denoting phenomena (fire, dawn), celestial bodies
(sun, moon) or abstract concepts (contract, oath);
b) derived or compound common nouns with possessive value denoting
the "master" of the corresponding phenomenon, being or social fact
(Lat. Silva-nus "forest-master", Ved. Brhaspàti- "master of the brh-
" i.e. "power-master");
c) personal nouns, non-motivated (Ved. Indra-) or motivated, for the
most part agent-nouns (Av. Vrthra-ghna- "he who breaks down
resistance");
d) syntagmata expressing a kindred relationship ("daughter of the
Sun").
Groups (b), (c) and (d) apply explicitly and group (a) implicitly to
personal beings: although their original nature is not lost sight
of, and poets constantly play on the ambivalence, Mitra/Contract and
Agni/Fire are just as personal as Indra in the Veda. We are not,
then, dealing with a lack of precision or a nature ("force")
intermediate between the thing or action and the god *dyew- "day-
sky" has the title *pHter- "father" tacked on to it from the very
beginning. Very few names have been reconstructed in Indo-European;
all of them denote former gods of the universe.
F) The two poles of sacrality
Benveniste (1969 II: 179 ff.) has clarified the dual nature of the
Indo-Europeans' idea of sacrality as evidenced by their vocabulary:
that which is "charged with divine power" is "positively sacred"
(Av. spenta-, Germanic *hailaz, Lat. Sanctus, Gr. Hieròs); that
which "contact is forbidden for man" (Av. yaozdata-, Germanic
*wihaz, Lat. Sacer, Gr. Hàgios) is "negatively sacred". A
corresponding duality is found in the terms for religious
observance, expressed on the one hand by verbs denoting either "to
cause to grow, to strengthen" or one of the sacrifical operations,
and on the other by those denoting religious attitude: the fear of
offending a god, even involuntarly, but at the same time confidence
in and even familiarity with the gods, especially in the case of
some of them. In Vedic India the bonds of Varuna/Oath are held in
awe, but Indra is treated as a "comrade" (yùj-). Indo-European
religion contains strict prohibitions, but is a religion of freemen
(Neckel 1920: 134; Höfler 1971: 371 ff.)
The gods of the universe
Sky, earth, important heavenly bodies and atmospheric phenomena have
become divine, but the constant tendency is to link nature with
politics by means of cosmic symbolism.
1. The heavens and the earth
A) The Indo-European gods are called *deywòs "those of the day-sky"
(Haudry 1987 b: 28 f.), a term whose origins go back to a period in
which the Day-sky, *dyéw-pHtér-, was the first among the gods.
Hittite Sius "Sun god" is his most archaic reflex, which retains his
temporal character, the limitation of the day. He lost this primacy
in those cases where he remained the sky (so the Vedic Dyaùh),
whereas his name passed to the sovereign god in the case of the
Greeks (Zeùs) and the Romans (Jupiter). To the *deywos of day who
inhabit the heavens are opposed the demons whose habitat is the
Night-sky or Hell. This theology, initially linked with the
revolving-sky-cosmology, is perpetrated in the various dualism which
place gods and demons in opposition to one another, such as the
Mazdaism of the Iranians. The earth-mother is, in the last state of
this theology, the consort of the ³sky², but in more ancient times
she was the consort of a black Night-sky who was succeeded by the
white Day-sky after the brief reign of a red Dawn- or Dusk-sky.
B) The Veda and Baltic folklore preserve traces of a demoniac Dawn
from whose clutches the sun had to be snatched. But in a more recent
state of the myth, Dawn, "daughter of the Day-sky" (Schmitt 1967: §
333 ff.) is on the latter¹s side in his daily combat with darkness.
As Dumézil has shown (1974: 66 f.), this is the meaning of the
curious Roman ritual of the Mater Matuta, in which matrons pamper
their nephews and drive out a servant-girl, in the image of the good
Dawn who guides the first steps of her sister Night¹s son, the sun,
after driving out demonic Darkness. We shall see below that it is
here a question not of daily but of annual Dawn. Daily Dawn is at
the base of only a part of the mythology surrounding the various
Dawn-goddesses, especially those who bear another name, such as the
Greek Aphrodite and her corresponding heroin Helen. Many goddesses
and heroins of the insular Celts, bound to the fairy Other World,
such as Etain, Fand, Brigit, Boand, Mòrrigan, are to be interpreted
as reflexes of Indo-European Dawn. We retain the Irish tale of the
birth of the Sun (Angus Mac Oc), conceived by Diurnal Sky (Dagda)
and Dawn (Eithne or Boand) without the knowing of Elcmar (Ogme), who
in the story plays the part of the Indo-European Nocturnal Sky
(Jouet 1993).
C) The Divine Twins "Sons of the Day-Sky" (O.Ind. divò nàpata,
attribute of the Asvin, the Greek diòskouroi; the Baltic Sons of
*Deivas; O. Icel. dags synir "Sons of Day" Sd 3) must be, on account
of their designation, cosmic entities, like their sister Dawn (B).
But their identification is debated: Twilight (Myriantheus 1896) or
rather Morning and Evening Star (Mannhardt 1875). Their most
important parts are the courting of rescue of Dawn or Sun¹s
Daughter, whom they marry jointly, or whom they give away to Moon.
D) Two bodies of evidence in aggreement with one another show that
the Sun, together with the Day-sky, was the great god of Indo-
European religion in its oldest form. The traditional formulary
preserves no less than five expressions applied to him or to his
attributes (Schmitt 1967: § 314 ff.), and, alonside his ordinary
name *sHuel-, a parallel poetic form has been reconstructed from
Sanscr. Ravi-: Armenian arew. Again, the iconography of
archaeological sites which can with certainty be attributed to Indo-
European peoples abounds with solar emblems. Worship of the sun
lives on more in popular worship and subsequently in folklore than
in the "political religion" into which the sun, though in a modest
role, was incorporated. He belongs to the third function by reason
of his beneficient character (this is the meaning of svastika-, the
Indian name for the solar emblem), and on the other hand
as "universal watchman", "eye", he becomes more or less the
sovereign god¹s police chief.
E) The Moon (*meH1-n-s/ot (Beekees 1982)) is both the unfaithful
husband of the Sun goddess, whose punishment is the lunar cycle, and
a warrior-god who fights against the fiends of Night-sky.
2. The elements
A) Fire
As the terrestrial form of an element represented in the sky by the
sun and in the intervening space by lightning, fire is one of the
most ancient of Indo-European gods. In the historical period, it is
found in its original unified form only in the Aryan world: the
Vedic Agni is at one and the same time the element of fire and a
trifunctional god, a priest-god above all, but also a warrior-god
and a "young" god, possessing and bestowing vital force. These
various finctions are elsewhere shared out among separates "fire-
gods" or "fire-masters" whose names are not identical with that of
the element.
B) Water
Fire and water are linked in the curious image "fire, grandson of
the waters" (Schmitt 1967: § 577) viz. Gold (Haudry, to appear, c).
Water, or the waters, which themselves belong to three different
worlds, were deified, often in the form of a great goddess,
celestial source of the waters of earth, who in political religion
becomes a trifunctional entity like the Avestic Ardvi Sura
Anahita "she who is wet, heroic, immaculate" or a third-function
divinity.
C) Air
Winds in the historical period are minor genii. However, the former
importance of this element shows through in the name of the great
Aryan warrior-god Vayu "the wind": he derives this warrior-role from
the fact that the intermediate world through which he blows is the
arena in which the gods of the day-sky and the demons of the night-
sky confront one another.
D) We have seen how these ancient gods were incorporated into
political religion; on the other hand, they survived in popular
religion. For this reason it will not do reject, a priori, evidence
such as that provided by Caesar for the Germanic tribes who,
according to him, "consider as gods only those which they see, the
sun, Vulcan (fire) and the moon" (B.G. 6. 21).
E) These ancient gods are the only ones whose Indo-European names
can be reestablished with reasonable plausibility: apart from those
of Day-sky the Father, Dawn, the Sun and Fire (a) type appellation,
above, the names of a "fire-master" *wlkà-no- (Volcanus, Zeus
Welchanos, Ossetian Wærgon, and Smith Wayland, Schröder 1977);
a "grandson of the waters" *nepto/u-no- (Dumézil 1986c: 18 f.;
Puhvel 1987: 227 f.); a "hitter", lightning-god, derived from *per-
k/g- "to hit" and associated with the oak, and a "swell-master",
*pHus-H1en- (O.Ind. Pusàn, Gr. Pàn, Schulze 1909) have been
reconstructed.
3. Gods of the individual
These ancient deities are those who are closest to man, the most
reliable succour for the lonely. For an orphan-girl alone in the
world, runs a Lithuanian song, (Senn 1957: 40) "Sun is the mother
who piles up her dowry for her, Moon is the father who gives her
share in the inheritance, the star is a sister who weaves her crown
and the Pleiads a brother to take her for walks in the country". In
the same way, the Hattic-Hittite Sun god Istanu most particularly
has compassion on mankind, on the downtrodden and
defenceless: "Istanu, father and mother of the oppressed and lonely
person you (are) you restore the claims of the lonely and oppressed
person" (Cf. Istanu¹s epithet "Sheperd of the lands/of mankind")
(Justus 1983: 78).
From the book The Indo-Europeans, Lyon, Institut d'Etudes Indo-
Européennes, 1994.
Jean Haudry
Friday, September 15, 2006
An European Pagan and Non Western Perspective
Christopher Gerand is the publisher of "Antaios" magazine and the following speech was given by him in India at 2000.
An European Pagan and Non Western Perspective
Dear Hindu Brothers and Sisters,
To begin with, I would like to pay tribute to Ram Swarup, a man of great importance to our Indian brothers as a sage of the Vedic renaissance, but also to me personally as a young European whom he welcomed so kindly.
To our Indian brethren I have nothing to teach about this remarkable man who played such an essential part in defending and explaining the Tradition. His friends have paid tribute to him with reverence: Sita Ram Goel (the courageous publisher of Voice of India, who ensured that the sage, who was ostracised for a time, could express his thought despite the censorship, hostility and indifference he faced), and David Frawley in his superb preface to the posthumously published work of Ram Swarup On Hinduism.(1) Your Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee rightly said that he was "a representative of India?s rishi tradition in the modern age".
As for me, I can never adequately express my debt to Ram Swarup whom I first met three years ago. We had corresponded before I came to India, and I had published a long interview with him (and Sita Ram Goel and K.R. Malkani) on Hindutva, which was undoubtedly the first special issue published in French with the participation of intellectuals of the Vedic renaissance (2). Ram Swarup approved of the approach of my journal Antaios, which deals with the awakening of the native Pagan - religions of Europe, and with freedom from the dogma of the Semitic religions and materialism. The first thing he did when he saw me was to put his hand on my shoulder as a father would and say, his eyes sparkling with kindness: "Ah, you are young, so you will be able to fight for a long time". This remark, coming from the old combattant that he was, who had actively fought the major deceptions of the century (colonialism, Marxism, anti-Hindu secularism, Christian missions, islamophilia, etc.), was a compliment. He seemed to trust the young foreigner who had come to meet him. It was above all a call to lucidity, a call to battle. Not a battle to be waged exclusively with the outside world, but also a battle against the enemy within, for the old sage knew that our worst enemy is within us and that our internal enemy is the most difficult to conquer. In the course of our long subsequent discussions, I came to appreciate the immense breadth of his culture, his generosity, and also his sense of humour. To have met a man of such human value is a privilege for which I cannot thank the Gods enough. It was Ram Swarup who gave me my first lessons in Sanatana Dharma. He encouraged me on the difficult path of rediscovering my identity which had been repressed first by the imprint of centuries of Christianity then with the stamp of materialism. It was he who, on the last occasion we met and when the time came to say goodbye, was able to find the right words to encourage and advise me to practice mental yoga so as to face up to a hostile or at the least an indifferent world. His friendship was both deep and dispassionate, and for this his influence was all the more striking. I have dwelt on these very personal considerations to show you how important this man was and remains for all those who strive for the restoration of the Dharma. Ram Swarup is an example to be followed, a true spiritual guide.
As a result of the contacts we had with Ram Swarup, Sita Ram Goel and so many other Hindu friends, our European group came to understand that we were not alone, and that our work found its echo at the other end of the continent. Let us now make a brief overview of the work of the Polytheistic journal Antaios that I have been directing since 1993. Mircea Eliade, a specialist on India, founded the review in 1959. In the 1920s, he had been a disciple of Surendranath Dasgupta, the well-known historian of Indian philosophy, and the German writer Ernst Junger (a disciple of Nietzsche among others) who said in 1959: "a free world can only be a spiritual world". The periodical was published in German until 1971. Its objective was to combat Western nihilism by a return to classical sources. In 1993, a small group of us revived Antaios with the blessing of the venerable German writer Junger, who remained interested in our work until his death in 1998 at the age of 103. He was our oldest reader. We are also followers of another great example : Alain Danielou, the French indologist, initiated to traditional Shaivism in Kashi where he lived more than 15 years. Danielou devoted his entire life to the defense of Hindu Dharma. He was himself a follower of Swami Karpatriji. He worked with Karpatriji, translated some of his texts in several languages (and also translated in Hindi texts of Rene Guenon, for instance in Karpatriji?s journal Siddhanta). In his passionate autobiography The way of the Labyrinth, Danielou wrote these lines : " I tried to offer an insight into the profound values of this extraordinary civilisation, the only one of all the great civilisations of the ancient world that has survived, whose contribution, were it better known, could revolutionize modern thinking and bring a new Renaissance. This was probably why people are so afraid of it " (3). When I red these lines fifteen years ago, it was a sort of revelation. Since then , I have never forgotten Danielou?s fundamental message.
From its beginnings, the orientation of Antaios has been clearly pagan: to restore in Europe and on other continents the polytheist and non-dualist wisdom of the eternal tradition, which you refer to as Sanatana Dharma. This is not a new philosophical direction in Europe. Since Antiquity, and despite the censorship of Christianity, there have always been more or less hidden dissidents. Today, the Church has lost the total power it previously possessed, and thus it has become possible to challenge secular cultural and spiritual self alienation and to reaffirm, finally, after centuries of being in hiding, Paganism - that is to say the restoration of non conversion-based beliefs, non dogmatic approach, self- and God-realization, and wisdom such as Vidya, the way of knowledge. All this, which still exists in India despite Muslim, Christian and materialistic aggressions, also existed in Europe. But in Europe, the work of the missionaries has been successfully achieved: temples have been burnt or converted to other uses; holy books have been consigned to the flames; priests (our ³Brahmins²) have been killed, and our beliefs have been ridiculed. In summary, a veritable spiritual genocide, like all the initiatives in favour of conversion on the five continents by the protagonists of the one and only deity, i.e. the jealous God of the Monotheists.
How was pagan thought able to survive the catastrophe caused by the christianisation of Europe? To reinforce its hold over the minds of the people, the Church needed the help of the stalwarts of pagan thought and rituals. Thus, it appropriated for its own use often superficially - the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle and Plotinus, the old festivals, rituals and symbols. Despite this, scholarly Christian priests were fascinated by the very pagan wisdom that they had persecuted, but which lived on in their memories (and their libraries) as a living reproach.
For serious students of Greek philosophy, particularly of the Pre-Socratic philosophers (Pythagorus, Empedocles), the link with Brahmanic thought is obvious: transmigration of the soul, concept of eternal return, importance of harmonics and primordial sounds, ascetic way of life, vegetarianism, etc. As our beloved Ram Swarup reminds us so well in his spiritual legacy "the Greece of Pythagoras, Plato and Plotinus has more in common with Hindu India than with Christian Europe" (On Hinduism, p. 98). Books have been written about the links between Greece and India : for instance R.Baine Harris ed., Neoplatonism and Indian thought (Delhi 1992). Greece and India, and also the Celtic world (the Celtic Druids are the cousins of the Brahmins) may be distant in space but they are close in spirit. Their origins are identical, since the brilliant Vedic and Hellenic civilisations go back to a common pre-Vedic and pre-Hellenic source. This was probably a polar source, as Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak has capably demonstrated in his book which should be essential reading (and was partly written in prison because of his involvement in the Indian liberation movement) The Arctic Home of the Vedas (1903). The polar source explains the common structure of the Indo-European languages, from Lithuanian to Sanskrit, as well as obvious relationships between the indo-european mythologies, and between the archaic roman religion and the Vedic religion. For example, the sacrifice of the horse, which took place in Rome each October in honour of the god Mars, corresponds to the Vedic asvamedha in honour of Indra. A similar ritual of the sacrifice of a horse can be found in pagan Ireland. Let us be clear; this does not represent an Indian influence over Rome or Ireland, or a Roman or Irish influence over India, but a relationship due to a common origin, and one which dates back in time to when our common Indo-European (the term ³Aryan² is awkward to use in Europe because of its nazi connotations) ancestors still formed a single tribe (4).
In his famous book Shiva and Dionysus, Danielou demonstrates that between Lord Shiva and the Greek Dionysus, the pre-aryan gods of ecstasy and ways to harmony with nature and cosmos, there is a common link, a 6000 years old way to unity with the divine (5).
Among the ordinary folk, the old traditions survived with a very thin veneer of Christianity. Christianity (mainly Catholicism, more than Protestantism) has retained many pre-Christian traditions (6). Good examples are the feasts of the Nativity and that of St John, which correspond to the winter and summer solstices respectively. The title of "pope" comes from the liturgy of the mysteries of Mithra, an indo-iranian God honoured by the armies of Rome. There are many similar examples, which demonstrate that Europe is not fundamentally Christian any more than India is fundamentally Muslim or China fundamentally Marxist. All these alien ideologies have been imposed from the outside, and as such their trace will be washed away with time, like a bad painting on the hull of a ship.
If ancient India and ancient Europe both have common roots, so modern India and modern Europe are both faced with common threats. Threats to the ecosystem, climate changes, and other threats that mankind must face up to. But there is another threat, which springs from the Judeo-Christian way of thinking and is thus alien to our not-dogmatic, non-proselytising and tolerant tradition: the phenomenon of conversions. Conversion to the single model, be it the one God, the single party system or the single market, or the supremacy of any socio-political institution over the entire society.
Conversion to the one God, in the tradition of the religions of Abraham. Conversions that Christian missionaries want to impose on Indians crudely or by more subtle means. To some, the advantages of egalitarianism, more preached than practiced by Christians, are extolled. For others the civilizing character of conversion and the possibility to forget their ancestral inheritance (thus betraying their ancestors) is put forward. Manipulation by suspect persons such as Mother Theresa, all the devices of systematic anti-Hindu propaganda, have managed to make a considerable number of Hindus, who for long have but weakly defended their traditions against these deceptions, feel guilty. Fortunately, this period of alienation seems to have ended with the coming to power of people prepared to defend Hinduism (7). Let us hope that the harmful role of the Christian missionaries will soon be neutralised, both in India and elsewhere. Besides, our group is following with interest the work of the Hindu Vivek Kendra to defend Hindu traditions against missionary aggression and hate-propaganda (8).
Today in Europe, the danger no longer comes from the Catholic Church, for it has run out of steam.
Since the Council of Vatican II in the sixties, the Church has openly proved its decline : the sacred language Latin (our " perfect " language)- has been neglected and all the old mantras disappeared from the Catholic pujas. The Catholic priests now turn their back to their God, i.e. to the East, looking to the assistance (i.e. to the West), which is complete inversion. Christianity is an historical religion with a beginning and thus an end. For us, followers of Sanatana Dharma, Eternal Tradition, this is absurdS but their conception of time is linear, not cyclic. So it is logic to say that the Christain reign will finish one day, as it started 2000 years ago. This cycle is slowly but firmly closing. This does not mean that the Church is not a danger anymore : it is still (politically, financially) powerfull. The declarations of the Pope about the so-called conversion (i.e. spiritual agression) of India can be interpreted as a political error (he was invited by " uggly " Hindu fundamentalists and insulted the whole Indian people. Can we imagine an Indian President urging the Italians to become followers of Shiva or Vishnu ?) but also as a sort of escape, out of reality for in the West, churches are getting unoccupied, day after day. The Church is now unable to find priests and must import African priests, often ignorant. Contemporary Christians are really ignorant : most of them believe in reincarnation, astrology, ignore hell and paradise, in a word they ignore everything about theology but are fascinated by Pagan heritage. Rather the main danger comes from the colonisation of our countries by immigrant Muslim North-African populations. One of our friends, the writer and sociologist G. Faye published a controversial book on this phenomenon. It has already caused considerable scandal in France, although this has been kept from te readers by the ³right-thinking² press. The phenomenon is that of massive immigration into the country by populations from Africa and the Maghreb (coming from the lower levels of the social hierarchy) and through births in the immigrant population. This is combined with an assault on Europe by an aggressive form of Islam, supported by foreign powers such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan (9). Our proximity to North Africa, where there is a rapid population increase, whilst in Europe the population is in decline, and the serious imbalance between the two sides of the Mediterranean, constitute serious threats and undermine Europe?s cultural and ethnic homogeneity. Islamisation, particularly in France but also in Great Britain and Germany, goes hand in hand with this invasive immigration and criticism of it is forbidden for fear of being accused of "racism" (a good example of cultural and political auto-alienation). Faye., who is also a Pagan, reminds us in his "shocking" book that Islam is "absolute and proselytising universalism with an imperative vocation to conquer the entire world". He is right. Islam, a religion born of the desert, is above all a religion that creates new mental, psychic and spiritual deserts; it is ethnically and politically imperialistic; and one which believes in universal conquest through violence, assisted by its ethics of exclusion and intolerance. We have seen this in IndiaS. But Europeans are not interested in the history of real India, Hindu India. Dazzled by Christian or Marxist ways of thinking, they prefer the fascination of Muslim India. A revealing example: the most popular French tourist guide to Delhi provides full information on the mosques in the capital, but practically nothing on the temples! Faye also reminds us that the Koran is above all a manual of subversive warfare, which nobody reads. Those who have read it know that the book justifies conquest in three stages:
1) Dar al Sulh: in this stage the Muslim community is a minority community and momentarily adopts a peaceful attitude all the better to dupe the infidel, who thus naively allows his soil to be proselytised. (According to Le Monde of 9.12.99, 50,000 French people have converted to Islam up till now). This is the position in Europe today.
2) Dar al Harb: the territory of the infidel becomes a war zone. Perhaps there is resistance to Islam, or perhaps the Muslim population has reached a critical mass. In Europe, we now see the first signs of a low-intensity civil war: ethnic disturbances (which are not reported in the press), and widespread rioting by the younger generations of North Africans (who foray out from their no-go areas).
3) Dar al Islam: Muslims dominate the population and infidels are at best tolerated (as dhimmis: " protected" and required to pay a special tax) and at worst expelled or massacred. This was visible in Algeria and Morocco following independence. And I will not insult you with an explanation on the situation in Pakistan and Bangladesh after partition and also the forcefull mass-conversion of defeated Hindus during 10th to 16th centuries in India.
Some imams have quite plainly stated that the objective, according to God?s will, was to transform Europe into Dar al Islam. In all evidence, the coming century will see a second wave of Muslim expansion in the West. The first was successfully repulsed from the 8th century onwards. But to make such a statement in Europe today makes one liable to prosecution (and Faye has just been indicted). Politically correct dogma requires peaceful coexistence between cultures; this is an utopic view that a basic study of history (for example that of India) will destroy. A few months ago I had the pleasure of meeting a very brave man, Ibn Warraq, in Paris, on the occasion of the publication of the French version of his book: Why I am not a Muslim. The book is the first criticism of substance of Islam. The author confirmed the facts to me. Another author, Pierre Gallois, a French Air Force General, instigator of the French nuclear deterrent and a specialist of military strategy, has just published a book with an evocating title: Le soleil d?Allah aveugle l?Occident (The West is blinded by the sun of Allah) (10). These authors warn us against the utopia of pacifism, and of the danger of remaining totally blind to Islam as a deadly threat to secular traditions.
Another friend of ours, a political scientist and a specialist in geopolitics, and a follower of General Gallois, has published a book which also created a furor among ³right-minded thinkers² (11). His name is A. del Valle and his book demonstrates in a highly credible fashion that, in Islam, faith is indissociable from political theocracy. He further states that agressive Islamism is not "heretical" for it represents an application of the dogma of jihad, a traditional and perfectly legitimate dogma for Muslims. Moreover, del Valle proves that Islam, aggressive and expanding from Europe to India, has found an ally as formidable as it is surprising: the United States. For, ever since the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, the Americans have armed and trained often with the help of their Saudi ally the toughest Islamic movements. Our friend also shows that Muslim fundamentalism cohabits perfectly with the most ferocious capitalism. In the scenario of a confrontation between civilisations predicted by a Pentagon analyst, S. Huntington, the USA would arm Islam against Europe, Russia and India. As a result of the Gulf War, the USA has total control over the oilwells of this strategic region. To justify their support to the state of Israel, they support for example the Muslims against the orthodox Slav block (Serbian war) in the Balkans. They approve the indiscriminate immigration of Muslims to Europe. They support the Turkish (neo-Ottoman) designs in Central Asia (against Moscow) and support Turkey in its bid to join the European Union. I will not lecture you on the role played by the Americans against Delhi in Pakistan, which America considers as one of its colonies: the aim, as in the case of Europe and Russia, is to weaken an emerging power, in this case India.
Conversion to the single party system, for example Marxism. The collapse of the USSR in recent history has clearly shown the limits of Marxism as a totalitarian doctrine, which cannot understand any other civilisation than its own. And yet, despite the human failures, the spiritual disasters, and the economic catastrophe it brought about, there are still many firm believers in Marxism whose theories continue to influence many people even in Europe. For instance, too many journalist or scholars are still infected with marxist dogmatism and intolerance. Marxism is clearly linked to Christianity : same premises (linear conception of time, refuge in outer worlds : celestial Jerusalem or communist paradise, totalitarian egalitarianism which condemns differences, inquisition and physicall elimination of any opposition, etc). Christian and marxist propaganda agree to demonize the old cast system, which preserved during centuries the identity of India against all exterior agressions. Due to this intellectual terrorism, it is now difficult to tell the truth about casts, which are an important part of India?s genius. Authors like Danielou or Dumont (in his book Homo hierarchicus) dare to say the truth : casts are inherent in human nature.
In today?s context, the third form of conversion is, in my opinion, the most dangerous. It is the conversion to the single market which the media, as the agents of consumer propaganda, refer to as globalisation. Globalisation is not unavoidable, a sort of inevitable progress, which will bring peace and prosperity throughout the world as liberal propaganda maintains. Behind the concept of globalisation lies the United States of America?s ambition to dominate the world economically, militarily and culturally. This is not "globalisation", but imperialism to colonise the world by any means. So-called "globalisation" means making the planet American. There is no such thing as "globalisation", which some represent as progress, others as fate, but an all-out offensive campaign run from Washington to impose North American models, which are but are universally-formatted specific characteristics, on the whole planet.
The mask of capitalism, today in full expansion, is what I would call humanitarian materialism. It dominates people?s minds thanks to a gigantic mass violation of them. The media has become a propaganda machine using a clever mixture of stick and carrot to ³jam² the mind, and its purpose is to gain the acceptance in the mentally confused masses of the official credo: market democracy. As the American linguist Noam Chomsky describes it so well: "propaganda is to democracy what force is to a dictatorship, in effect its essence". And yet, there really is confrontation between different imaginary worlds; the North American realm of fancy against the other imaginary realms. This confrontation creates other tensions of a political and economic nature.
In this war of colonisation, Europe in the midst of political and economic unification, India in full expansion, and Russia in full decline, all constitute obstacles to America?s hegemonistic strategy. In its overall strategy to weaken its opponents and gain overall control, Washington uses all available means: financial weapons (competition in the banking sector, rigged neotiations in the framework of the WTO), food resources (OGM), military pressure (Balkan War), espionage (Echelon network), cultural weapons (television, CNN, destabilising advertising: Coca Cola is more dangerous than the 6th Fleet). Humanitarian materialism postulates a necessary but fatal "freedom" of the individual from all his affiliations (race, class, profession, religion, and even sex with the exaltation of homosexuality) and turn him into a conditioned consumer, slave to the worst of masters, a faceless master: the market (12).
These three main threats, conquest by Islam, Christian missions and humanitarian materialism are all occurring simultaneously, and they are self-reinforcing. Protestant missions, whether in India or in South America or in Russia, prepare the coming of the American traders. Islamic networks are supported by Washington indirectly through its Sunni Saudi or Pakistani allies. The example of the oil kingdoms shows clearlyl that Muslim or Protestant fundamentalism is compatible with consumerism, as these ideologies postulate the tabula rasa or clean slate and consider all ancestral traditions as obstacles to be pushed aside.
What to do?
It would be silly to give up in despair, for the very fragile system described above - one based on illusion Maya - (typical of the great dissolution of Kali Yuga), will only last for a short time. One of our masters, Rene Guenon, a traditionalist thinker, already said in 1927, in his famous The Crisis of the modern world : " confusion, error and darkness can win the day only apparently and in purely ephemeral wayS and nothing can ultimately prevail against the power of truth ". (13) Oscar Wilde once said that the United States had passed directly from a state of savagery to a state of decadence. For the successors of the great civilisations such as India and classical Europe, it is clear that our potential destiny of becoming an annex of the American market (Bible and Business) is unacceptable. Our work, and it is a noble task, is to restore the Dharma, each according to his own traditions.
In Belgium, Antaios is modestly working towards this end, as does Voice of India in Delhi and so many others (Hindu Vivek Kendra in Mumbai for instance). We have founded the Society of Polytheistic Studies to raise funds, support our journal Antaios and organise meetings. Our last meeting was in Paris with a lecture given by prof. Maffesoli, one of the most influent French sociologistS who is a Polytheist ! For the moment, we are just a minority, slowly growing, sometimes demonised or ignored by the press and the University (but in England there are some Pagan scholars). I myself plan to publish a Pagan manifesto in october : Parcours paien (Pagan Itinerary) (Ed. L?Age d?Homme, Lausanne) in the same publishing house than Ibn Warraq?s book Why I am not a Muslim.
In Lithuania, the World Congree of Ethnic Religions has been created : it would be nice that Hindus become members of this association devoted to the defense of Paganism. WCER organises an annual meeting with people coming from Poland, Iceland, Russia, Belgium, France, etc. (www.wcer.org)
In France, a more radical movement (closer to RSS style) has started to be spoken about: Terre et Peuple. Its president, a professor of medieval history and a well-known indophile, has recently published a manifesto in which he calls upon Europeans to rid themselves of consumerism and nihilism, to rediscover their pagan origin (14), and to combat the development of Islam on the continent. These constitute the modest signs of a reaction to the deep crisis. There are others, much more important. The Seattle demonstrations; the coming to power, in the world?s biggest democracy, of a party which openly dares to defend the Dharma; the still embryonic renaissance of native religions; and the interest in the environment worldwide: all these are signs of a reply to the disorder engendered by liberalism.
In the battle we find the same ennemy, our worse ennemy : our own weakness, our own ignorance and divisions.
We Resistance fighters all over the eurasiatic continent, from Ireland to India, need a large alliance against chaos and destruction, for the defense of Dharma, the noblest task for our generation.
Europeans can warn you against dangers of modernity and we can find in India an ally able to assist us in a return to our native culture ³out of the ruins of the West². Europe has to free itself from the West and re-discover its true identity, true to the Dharma. In this endeavour, the rediscovery of India and the ancient relatonship between the Vedic civilisation and the ancient Greek and Celtic civilisations will, for example, be of great assistance. As the philosopher Nietzsche said: "the man of the future will be the man with the longest memory". Ram Swarup, sage of the Vedic renaissance, says the same thing in his spiritual legacy. I shall quote it as my concluding remark: "The Ramayana and the Mahabharata can help in restoring this lost dimension". Let us follow in his footsteps and re-read the pre-Socratic Greek philosophers and the Upanishads of India to obtain our self-rediscovery.
We know that as we say in Latin " Vincit omnia veritas ". In your sacred language, you would say " Satyam eva jayate ". (15)
Thank you for your attention.
Christopher Gerand
The lecture was organised by Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra, held in Constitution Club, New Delhi, with prof L. Chandra and K.R. Malkani.
References:
(1) Ram Swarup, On Hinduism. Reviews and Reflections, Voice of India, Delhi 2000.
(2) Antaios X, Hindutva, Interviews with Ram Swarup and Sita Ram Goel (in French), Brussels 1996.
(3) A. Danielou, The way of the Labyrint. Memories of East and West, New Directions Paperbook, New York 1987. First edition in 1981, in French.
(4) J. Haudry, The Indo-Europeans, Institut d?Etudes Indo-Europeennes, Lyon 1994. See also B. Oguibenine, Essays on Vedic and Indo-European Culture, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1998.
(5) A. Danielou, Shiva and Dionysus, Inner Traditions Intern., New York 1984
(6) R. Fletcher, The Conversion of Europe. From Paganism to Christianity 371-1386 AD, Harper Collins, London 1997. And the remarkable work of two Pagan scholars: P. Jones & N. Pennick, A History of Pagan Europe, Routledge, London 1995.
(7) K. Elst, Psychology of Prophetism. A Secular Look at the Bible, Voice of India, Delhi 1993. See also Sita Ram Goel, Jesus Christ. An Artifice for Aggression, Voice of India, Delhi 1994 and, Defense of Hindu Society, Voice of India, Delhi 1994.
(8) A.V. Chowgule, Christianity in India. The Hindutva Perspective, Hindu Vivek Kendra, Mumbai 1999.
(9) G. Faye, La Colonisation de l?Europe. Discours vrai sur l?immigration et l?islam, Aencre, Paris 2000.
(10) Ibn Warraq, Pourquoi je ne suis pas Musulman, L?Age d?Homme, Lausanne 1999. See also P.M. Gallois, Le soleil d?Allah aveugle l?Occident, Age d?Homme, Lausanne 1998.
(11) A. del Valle, Islamisme et Etats-Unis. Une alliance contre l?Europe, Age d?Homme, Lausanne 1997.
(12) See Le Monde diplomatique, mai 2000: " L?Amerique dans les tetes ".
(13) R. Guenon, The Crisis of the Modern World, Indica Books, Benares 1999.
(14) P. Vial, Une Terre, un peuple, Ed. Terre et Peuple, Lyon 2000 email: terrepeuple@hotmail.com ).
(15) R. Guenon, The Crisis of the Modern World, op. cit., p. 142.
[Public speech held in July 2000 in India, taken from SYNERGON, 10th September 2000]
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Η αναβίωση του Παρθενώνος στο Tennessee
Δεν σας γελούν τα μάτια σας. Το σύμβολο της Αθήνας του Περικλή, το άφταστο αρχιτεκτονικό δημιούργημα του Ικτίνου και του Καλλικράτη μαζί με όλες τις εμπνεύσεις του Φειδία, στις ακριβείς του διαστάσεις, βρίσκεται ως ακριβές αντίγραφο στην πόλη του Nashville στο Tennessee των Ηνωμένων Πολιτείων. Ο δωρικός ναός της Αθηνάς κοσμεί το "Πάρκο της Εκατονταετίας" στο Nashville στεγάζοντας το Μουσείο Τέχνης της Πόλης.
Η ανέγερσή του ξεκίνησε το 1897 κατά τον εορτασμό των 100 ετών ζωής του Tennesse και από τότε έγιναν πληθώρα αλλαγών και προσθηκών ώστε να ομοιάζει με τη μεγαλύτερη δυνατή ακρίβεια στον αυθεντικό Παρθενώνα. Τα υλικά που έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί φυσικά δεν βασίζονται στο Πεντελικό μάρμαρο αλλά είναι ένας συνδυασμός πέτρας, τούβλων, τσιμέντου και γύψου.
Το ομοίωμα διατηρεί εκείνα τα στοιχεία που κάνουν τον Παρθενώνα ξεχωριστό. Ενδεικτικά αναφέρουμε:
- Όλα τα οριζόντια αρχιτεκτονικά στοιχεία διατηρούν μια ελαφρά αψιδωτή κλίση στο κέντρο τους, πράγμα που τον ζωντανεύουν κατά την παρατήρηση ακόμα περισσότερο.
- Όλοι οι εξωτερικοί κίονες κλίνουν ελαφρώς προς τα μέσα και οι γωνιακοί διαγωνίως. Αυτό δημιουργεί την αίσθηση ενός επιβλητικότερου και υψηλότερου κτίσματος από ό,τι είναι στην πραγματικότητα.
- Όλοι οι κίονες διαφέρουν στη διάμετρο από τους διπλανούς τους και το κενό ανάμεσά τους είναι ελαφρώς διαφορετικό.
- Όλοι οι κίονες έχουν τη χαρακτηριστική ελαφρά πεπλάτυνση στο μέση τους, τη λεγόμενη "ένταση".
Ο Παρθενών του Nasvhille εκτός από έκθεση έργων τέχνης (κυρίως αμερικανικής Ζωγραφικής) χρησιμοποιείται κατά καιρούς και για ποικίλες καλλιτεχνικές εκδηλώσεις.
Αναλογιζόμενος κανείς ότι οι εργασίες συντήρησης και μερικής αναστήλωσης του αυθεντικού Παρθενώνα βρίσκονται σε εξέλιξη από το 1975, καθώς και τις πρόσφατες διαμαρτυρίες όσων εργάζονται για την αναστήλωση αυτή για ελλείψεις χρηματοδότησης από το ελληνικό κράτος, μόνο σε μελαγχολία κάποιος θα μπορούσε να βυθιστεί.
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Rusalka
In Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a lake. She was considered a being of the unclean force or нечистая сила (nechistaya sila). The ghostly version is the soul of a young woman who had died in or near a lake (many of these rusalki had been murdered by lovers) and came to haunt that lake; this undead rusalka is not invariably malevolent, and will be allowed to die in peace if her death is avenged. In most versions, the rusalka is an unquiet dead being. According to Zelenin, people who die violently and before their time, such as young women who commit suicide because they have been jilted by their lovers, or unmarried women who are pregnant out of wedlock, must live out their designated time on earth (срок, srok) as a spirit. Another theory is that rusalki are the female spirits of the unclean dead; this includes suicides, unbaptized babies, and those who die without last rites. (Under this theory male unclean dead were said to become vodianoi)
Rusalki can also come from unbaptized children, often those who were born out of wedlock and drowned by their mothers for that reason. Baby rusalki supposedly wander the forest begging to be baptized so that they can have peace. They are not necessarily innocent, however, and can attack a human foolish enough to approach them.
While her primary dwelling place was the body of water in which she died, the rusalka could come out of the water at night, climb a tree, and sit there singing songs, sit on a dock and comb her hair, or join other rusalki in circle dances (хороводы, khorovody) in the field. Though in some versions of the myth, the eyes shine like green fire, others describe them as extremely pale, with no visible pupils, such as in the famous Ivan Bilibin drawing. Her hair is sometimes depicted as green, and often perpetually wet. According to some legends, should the rusalka's hair dry out, she will die.
Rusalki like to seduce men. They can do so by enticing men with their singing and then drowning them. Men seduced by the rusalka could die in her arms, and in some versions her laugh could also cause death (compare with the Irish bansee). She corresponds to the Scandinavian and German Nix.
In Polish mythology, rusalki dwell in the waters from fall to spring; in some traditions, they reside in the waters from summer to fall. In other tales, they become Sky women when they return from the waters. They are called "Queen of Fairies", and it is said that only witches dare to swim with rusalki. Rusalki brought moisture to field and forest.
Another Polish tradition considers rusalki tree spirits which could be found on nights when there was a new moon, dancing in open places in the forests of Poland.
In Ukraine rusalki were fish-women, who lived at the bottom of rivers. In the middle of the night, they would walk out to the bank and dance in meadows. If they saw beautiful men, they would fascinate them with songs & dancing, mesmirise them, then lead the person away to the river floor, to live with them.
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Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Anglo-Saxon Heathen Calendar
The only description we have of the Anglo-Saxon Heathen calendar comes from De Temporum Ratione, which was written by the Venerable Bede in eighth century England. The fact that he recorded the calendar has given us an awful lot of information about Anglo-Saxon Heathen culture and their year, that would otherwise be lost to us. Like the names of the months, the reason for the month names, the celebration of Heathen festivals, the worship of gods and goddesses and insights into how astronomical observances dictated and ruled the year. The Anglo-Saxon Heathen month names with our modern English ones are as follows:
Solmonath = February
Hrethmonath = March
Eostremonath = April
Thrimilci = May
(Ærra) Litha = June
(Æfterra) Litha = July
Weodmonath = August
Haligmonath = September
Winterfylleth = October
Blotmonath = November
(Ærra) Geola = December
The calendar itself was solar-lunar, which, like us today began at the New Year, but unlike us, their New Year was said to start on what would today be Christmas Eve. The night that followed the New Year was called Modra Niht by Bede, which when translated into modern English means Mothers Night, or night of the mother's. The mother's in question were goddesses, who like the matrons of continental Germania, were venerated so as to bring protection to one's tribe or people. Both the New Year and Mother's Night fell within a period of time known as Geola, which is the Old English form of the modern Yule.
The word Geola is still today seen as being of an obscure origin, but it is believed by many to mean, or be related to, the word wheel. And when given thought this makes perfect sense, because the wheel in question would be the wheel of the year, and as the Heathen New Year begins within Geola, then this is the perfect time for the yearly wheel to start turning.
Geola was a period of time that could possibly have started about the time of the Winter Solstice and ending twelve days later. And because Geola fell in-between two months, the two months either side became known as (Ærra) Geola, which means before Yule, and (Æfterra) Geola, which means after Yule. This must have been an incredibly sacred time to the Anglo-Saxon Heathens as there seems to have been much celebration in a very short period of time. The next month was called Solmonath, which is said to mean Mud Month, but Bede believed the name of the month came about as a result of the cakes the Anglo-Saxons offered to their gods.
Some scholars believe Bede got the name of the month wrong as there is no Old English word sol meaning cakes. It is possible that he got the name wrong, but his statement that the Heathens offered cakes to their gods in that month is more than likely true, because surviving Anglo-Saxon Charms give first hand evidence of such a custom amongst Heathen farmers.
It has been pointed out that sol could be a word meaning sun, and that the cakes offered to their gods may have been called something like sun cakes. After Solmonath we have Hrethmonath, or the month of Hretha, which Bede says got it's name from the custom of celebrating the goddess
Hretha during this month. This was the last month of winter, and it is likely, since Hretha's name means glory, that she was seen by the Heathens as a goddess who battles winter and brings, for a while at least, it's demise. The first month of summer was known as Eostremonath, which like Hrethmonath, got it's name from the goddess that was celebrated during the month, in this case Eostre.
The goddess Eostre represented the re-birth of summer and life after the demise of winter. The next month was called Thrimilci, which simply means three milkings, due to the fact that cows could be milked three times during in a similar fashion to the two Yule months, whereas they were called Ærra and Æfterra Geola, these were called Ærra and Æfterra Litha, and just as Geola was the time that contained the Winter Solstice, Litha was the time that contained the Summer Solstice. Also like the word Geola, Litha is obscure, but it's quite possible that it's a word meaning moon. The next month was called Weod-monath, which simply means,
month of weeds. After that we have Halig-monath, which means
Holymonth, Bede also called it the month of offerings. There is no doubt that the festival that would have been celebrated during this month to give it the name Holymonth would have been a Heathen harvest festival. Thanks would have been given to the Earth Mother for blessing them with a good harvest. October was known as Winterfylleth, which is a term that is said to mean Winter-full-moon. Winterfylleth signalled the end of summer and the start of winter. As the name of the month means Winter-full-moon, it's likely that winter was judged to start on the sighting of the first full moon of that month. The name for November amongst the Heathens was Blotmonath, which means either Blood or Sacrifice month. In this month livestock was sacrificed in honour of the gods, and the meat stored for winter consumption. And this of course brings us back around to the Geola months and the return of the New Year, ready for the yearly wheel to start turning again.
The year in Heathen days only contained two seasons, those being winter and summer. Summer beginning with Eostremonath and ending with the start of winter at Winterfylleth. This means that there could be considered six summer months and six winter months both split by the solstices, as follows:
Eostremonath
Thrimilci
(Ærra) Litha
Winter Months
Winterfylleth
Blotmonath
(Ærra) Geola
Summer Solstice
(Æfterra) Litha
Weodmonath
Haligmonath
Winter Solstice
(Æfterra) Geola
Solmonath
Hrethmonath
Each new month was more than likely seen to begin with the observence of the new moon, roughly every twenty-nine days. This can be seen in the very word month, which is related to the word moon. The Heathen year was one of observence, celebration, worship and hard work, to them the earth was their mother and the sky their father, the sun and moon dictated the year, nothing was done for the sake of it, and everything had a practical or religious reason.
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Monday, September 11, 2006
Νερων: Ο Συκοφαντημενος Αυτοκρατορας
Αυτη η δημοσιευση αποτελει συνοψη σε μορφη αρθρου μιας πολυ ενδιαφερουσας κουβεντας στην "Αγορα" του Υ.Σ.Ε.Ε. για την αποκατασταση αυτης της παρεξηγημενης ιστορικης προσωπικοτητας.
ΝΕΡΩΝ: Ο ΚΑΤΑΣΥΚΟΦΑΝΤΗΜΕΝΟΣ
"Εσείς όλοι, Έλληνες, που κατοικείτε την Αχαία, ονομαζόμενη ως τώρα Πελοπόννησο, δεχθείτε μαζί με την απαλλαγή από τους φόρους, την ελευθερία που στις πιο ευτυχισμένες μέρες της ιστορίας σας δεν κατείχατε ποτέ όλοι μαζί, σεις που υπήρξατε σκάβοι ή ξένων ή οι μεν των δε.Αχ, να μη ζούσα στους χρόνους ακμής της Ελλάδας, να 'δινα αυτό το διέξοδο στις διαθέσεις μου για να απολαύσω έναν μεγαλύτερο αριθμό ανθρώπων!Δε συγχωρώ το χρόνο που ελάττωσε το μεγαλείο ενός τέτοιου αγαθού...Αλλά προσπέφτω στους Θεούς που πάντα με προστάτεψαν στη γη και τη θάλασσα, να μου δώσουν παρ' όλα αυτά την ευκαιρία να το πραγματοποιήσω.Άλλοι πρίγκηπες έδωσαν σε πόλειςτην ελευθερία τους...Ο Νέρων, την αποδίδει σε μία ολόκληρη επαρχία."
Ο λόγος (ή απόσπασμά του) του Νέρωνα που διακυρήττει την ανεξαρτησία της Αχαίας!
Ήταν ο Νέρων ο παρανοικός αυτοκράτορας που έχουμε διδαχθεί ή είναι μια απο τις πιο συκοφαντημένες, αδικημένες και σκυλευμένες προσωπικότητες στην παγκόσμια ιστορία.? Ήταν αυτουργός της μεγάλης πυρκαγιάς που κατέκαψε τη Ρώμη ή απλά ο άνθρωπος που είχε την ατυχία επί της αυτοκρατορικής του θητείας, να λάβει χώρα ο μεγάλος εμπρησμός της Ρώμης από συνομώτες με εκτελεστικά όργανα τους χριστιανούς του Σαούλ? Έγκληματιας ή ο άνθρωπος στον οποίο μεταγενέστερα φόρτωσαν οι χριστιανοι ένα σωρό ανιστόρητες κατηγορίες για εγκλήματα?
Το μόνο ίσως έγκλημα του Νέρωνα ήταν η ανεκτικότητα και ανεξικακία του, που χάρις αυτην γλύτωσε ο Σαούλ-Παυλος και την πληρώνει από το σημείο εκείνο και μετά όλη η ανθρωπότητα. Το κομβικο σημείο της διακυβέρνησης του Νέρωνα ειναι το 63 μ.α.χ.χ., έτος της μεγάλης πυρκαγιάς που ισοπέδωσε τη Ρώμη. Ποιος ήταν ο Νέρων μεχρι τότε? Μερικά στοιχεία σχετικά με την πολιτική που ακολούθησε ως Καίσαρ:
1) Καταργεί τους έμμεσους φόρους.Όσοι γνωρίζουν στοιχειωδώς έστω από οικονομικά, γνωρίζουν την αντιλαικότητα τως έμμεσων φόρων μιας και είναι αναλογικοί στη φύση τους κι όχι προοδευτικοί όπως οι άμεσοι.
2) Αφαιρεί από τους "αφέντες" το δικαίωμα ζωής και θανάτου που ως τότε είχαν για τους δούλους.Νομοθετεί το δικαίωμα των δούλων να κάνουν αγωγή κατά των αφεντικών τους όταν αυτοί τους κακομεταχειρίζονται.
3) Απαγορεύει τη θανάτωση κατά τη διάρκεια των μονομαχιών ακόμη και γι΄αυούς που είχαν εις βάρος τους θανατική καταδίκη.
4) Ενισχύει το θεσμό των απελεύθερων, τους καλύτερους δε πρώην σκλάβους, τους επιλέγει ο ίδιος και τους απονέμει προσωπικά την ελευθερία τους.Πολλούς δε από αυτούς, τους "προσλαμβάνει" ο ίδιος ως έμπιστούς του και συμβούλους του στο παλάτι.
5) Θεσμοθετεί τη δωρεάν διανομή λαχνών προς το λαό, με σημαντικότατα επάθλα, όπως ζώα, αγροτεμάχια, πλοία και πολύτιμους λίθους.
6) Θεσμοθετεί νέα μέτρα που περόριζαν την κρατική σπατάλη και περιόριζαν την πολυτέλεια, ώστε να εξοικονομούνται χρήματα και να διανέμονται περισσότερα τρόφιμα κι άλλα αγαθά πρώτης ανάγκης για το λαό.
7) Η στάση του κατά τη διάρκεια και μετά τον εμπρησμό της Ρώμης, είναι υποδειγματική.Διατάσσει να κτιστούν άμεσα καταφύγια για όσους έχασαν τα σπίτια τους στην πυρκαγιά.Συμμετέχει αυτοπροσώπως στο συντονισμό του έργου αντιμετώπισης της κατάστασης και δημιουργεί αντιπυρικές ζώνες για να περισωθεί ότι είναι δυνατόν.Κινητοποιεί άμεσα τον κρατικό μηχανισμό προς αναζήτησιν τροφίμων ώστε να τραφούν οι πληγέντες από την πυρκαγιά.Ανοίγει ακόμη και τις πόρτες των ανακτόρων για να προσφέρει καταφύγιο σε όσους έχασαν τα σπίτια τους.Μετά την πυρκαγιά, εκπονεί καινούριο σχέδιο πόλης, επιβάλλει δια νόμου το σοβάντισμα των εωτερικών τοίχων ώστε να μη πιάνουν φωτιά, ορίζει σαφείς αποστάσεις που πρέπει να έχει το ένα σπίτι από το άλλο ώστε η όποια φωτιά να μην μπορεί να εξαπλωθεί.
8) Είναι ο ορισμός του προσηνούς ανθρώπου, αφού γνωρίζει πάρα πολλούς προσωπικά και τους χαιρετά στο δρόμο με τα ονόματά τους.
9) Η Σύγκλητος ήταν εχθρικά διακείμενη στο Νέρωνα, (αντέδρασε π.χ. λυσσαλέα στην κατάργηση των έμμεσων φόρων) μιας κι ο Νέρων κοινώς κόμιζε νέα ήθη με τη δημοκρατικότητα την ανεξικακία και τη φιλολαικότητά του. Επιπλέον, η κατηγορία που του προσήπταν για δειλία επειδή διόλου τον απασχολούσαν οι πόλεμοι και το στρατιωτικό μεγαλείο της Ρώμης, τον καθιστούσαν "ένοχο" μιας και δεν ταίριαζε στο προφίλ ενός πανίσχυρου κράτους όπως ήταν η Ρωμαική αυτοκρατορία. Δεν υπάρχει ένας επεκτατικός πόλεμος ή έστω σχέδιο πολέμου επί Νέρωνος! Επρεπε λοιπόν να βγει από τη μέση για να αποκατασταθεί η εικόνα της και να περάσει δια παντός το μήνυμα ότι Καίσαρ=πάνω απ' όλα ατρόμητος στρατηλάτης...
10)Επειδή η υστεροφημία κάποιου δείχνει και το ποιόν του, για πολλά χρόνια μετάτο θάνατο του, Ρωμαίοι πολίτες προσέρχονταν και εναπόθεταν άνθη σον τάφο του.Στη δε κηδεία του, έγινε πραγματικός χαμός και με μία κουβέντα θρηνήθηκε περισσότερο από κάθε άλλον καίσαρα.Σύντομα μάλιστα κυκλοφόρησαν θρύλοι περί αναστηθέντος Νέρωνα, ή ότι το πνεύμα του εμφανιζονταν σε διάφορους τόπους δείγμα της πραγματικής λατρείας του Ρωμαικού λαού.Τουλάχιστον τέσσερις "σωσίες του εμφανίστηκαν μετά το θάνατό του ξεσηκώνοντας το λαό, κι οι αρχές είδαν κι έπαθαν να τους μαζέψουν!
11) Σε οτι αφορά την προσωπική του ζωή, δεν υπάρχει κανένα απολύτως ίχνος ακολασιών έως το 63 μαχχ, έτος της μοιραίας πυρκαγιάς.Έκτοτε μόνο και συντετριμμένος από την αποκάλυψη της συνομωσίας που εξυφαίνετο εις βάρος του με τη συμμετοχή μάλιστα του δάσκαλού του του Σενέκα τον οποίο υπεραγαπούσε σαν πατέρα, γίνεται υπέρμετρα καχύποπτος και αλλάζει συμπεριφορά...
Εχθρός λοιπον ο Νέρων των συγκλητικών λογω της φιλολαικής του πολιτικης. Άρα εχθρός του Τάκιτου και τιυ Σουητώνιου, δηλαδη των πρωτογενών πηγών του βίου του Νέρωνα, που είναι από εμπαθείς, έως απόλυτα συκοφανικοί όταν γράφουν για εκείνον! (Ο Σουητώνιος μάλιστα, γίνεται συχνότατα και κοινός συκοφάντης.) Είναι δεδηλωμένοι αριστοκρατικοί και άρα αντινερωνικοί εκ προοιμίου.
Εχθρος και των χριστιανων ο Νερων. Λέγεται από σοβαρότατους μελετητές της ρωμαϊκής ιστορίας ότι ο Νέρων έχει συκοφαντηθεί, γιατί έπρεπε να προσωποποιηθεί η δίωξη και η σφαγή των 11.000.000 (sic) χριστιανών που καταμέτρησαν οι σύγχρονοι χριστιανοί. (Μια παρατήρηση εδώ: Να μας εξηγήσουν οι σύγχρονοι χριστιανοί πως κατέληξαν στον εξωφρενικό αυτόν αριθμό! Που παρεμπιπτόντως, δεν παραμένει σταθερός, οι μάρτυρες του Ιεχωβά μιλούν για...14 εκ., κάποιοι ορθόδοξοι (ΟΟΔΕ) για 13 εκ. μετά πέσαμε ατ 11 εκ. ενώ οι ντεμέκ ακριβείς υπολογισμοί μιλούν για 10,8 εκ! Πως λοιπόν διενεργήθη η απογραφή?
Μετριοπαθείς ιστορικοί αναφέρουν ότι σε όλη τη διάρκεια του "μεγάλου" (και στην πραγματικοτητα μοναδικου) διωγμόυ του Γαλέριου στις ανατολικές επαρχίες της αυτοκρατορίας υπηρχαν μολις 280 θάνατοι' υπολογιζονται περιπου στα 1000 σε ολη την λεγομενη "περιοδο των διωγμων". Αντίθετα, τα θύματα των χριστιανών σε ολο τον κόσμο μέχρι την τελική τους επικράτηση υπολογίζονται σε αρκετα εκατομυρρια.) Φαίνεται ότι μεταγενέστερα του φόρτωσαν τον εμπρησμό της Ρώμης οι χριστιανοί μαζί με ένα σωρό άλλες παντελώς ανιστόρητες κατηγορίες για εγκλήματα. Ήταν απαραίτητο για τους χριστιανούς τα ύστερα χρόνια να τον δυσφημήσουν μιας και ύστερα από την πυρκαγιά ξεκίνησαν διωγμοί σε βάρος των χριστιανών. (Η μεγάλη πυρκαγιά πράγματι ξεκίνησε από τα Εθνικά ιερά και οι πρωτοι Χριστιανοί δεν ήταν και τόσο φιλήσυχοι όσο τους θέλει το Χόλλιγουντ και η χριστιανική προπαγάνδα.) Ο Σαούλ κλείστηκε στη φυλακή και θανατώθηκε.
Πριν την πυρκαγια ουδεποτε ο Νέρων δίωξε χριστιανούς. Αντιθετα ειχε αθωώσει τον Σαουλ δυο φορες, το 58 και το 60μαχχ ,όταν ο Σαούλ προσήχθη στη Ρώμη για να δικαστεί για υπόσκαψη της κεντρικής ρωμαικής εξούσιας.
Αυτο δεν εμποδισε τους χριστιανους πουμε καμπαλιστικές αλχημείες, υποστήριξαν κάποιους αιώνες μετά ότι ο Νέρων ήταν ο...Αντίχριστος της αποκάλυψης! Πως το κατασκεύασαν αυτό? Το "ΝΕΡΩΝ ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡ" αν αναλυθεί αριθμολογικά σύμφωνα με την Εβραική καμπάλα, βγάζει άθροισμα 676! Θα πει κανείς ότι θα έπρεπε να βγάζει 666.Έλα ομως που οι Εβραίοι αφαιρούν το 10 από όποια λέξη ή όνομα συνδέεται με κάτι που είναι ενάντια στο Γιαχβέ, ή ασεβές προς τη θρησκεία τους! Επειδή λοιπόν το 10 στην καμπάλα είναι ο αριθμός που συμβολίζει τον Θεό, αφαιρείται στην περίπτωση του Νέρωνα από το 676 και θαύμα, 666!
Εκείνες τις εποχές η απερίγραπτη αυτή γελοιότητα έκανε καλά τη δουλεία της στη χειραγώγηση των μαζών!
Για την περίοδο μετά την συνομωσιά κατα του Νέρωνα εως και τον θάνατο του εχουν γραφτεί και ειπώθει πολλα εναντίον του. Λεγεται οτι οταν πήρε μέρος στους ολυμπιακούς αγώνες δωροδοκησε τους κριτες στον λυρικο διαγωνισμο που συμμετειχε για να βγει πρωτος, ενω ειχε κουβαλησει ολοκληρο τσουρμο χειροκροτητων. Ακομη κι αν ειναι αληθεια, η ματαιοδοξία και η μεγαλομανία είναι πταίσματα μπροστά στην όλη φυσιογνωμία και πολιτική του.
Λεγεται επισης οτι υπήρξε μητροκτόνος και συζηγοκτόνος. Αληθεια, ποσοι γνωρίζουν οτι ο "Μεγας" (γιατι μεγας?) Κωνσταντίνος- ο οποίος φυσικά, σε αντίθεση με τον Νέρωνα, δεν είχε ίχνος παιδείας, αίσθησης του καλού και του ωραίου- δολοφονησε τη συζηγο του Φαουστα και τον γιο τους, υστερα απο υποδειξη της μητερας του "Αγιας" Ελενης? Υπαρχει μια σημαντικη διαφορα ωστοσο μεταξυ τους. Ο μεν ηταν με το μερος των ηττημενων, ο δε με αυτο των νικητων.
Ο Νερων υπηρξε και μεγαλος φιλελληνας. Εκδήλωνε αγάπη για την Ελλάδα, εδωσε αυτονομια σε ολες τις ελληνικες πολεις, ήθελε να ανοίξει τη διώρυγα της Κορίνθου, πήρε μέρος σε ολυμπιακούς αγώνες, έφτιαξε και ιερά στην Ολυμπία και αλλού.
Ο Νερωνας υπηρξε μια παρεξηγημενη προσωπικοτητα που ειχε την ατυχια να ηττηθει και η ιστορια του να γραφει απο τους νικητες εχθρους του, αριστοκρατικους και χριστιανους. Ας ελπισουμε οτι οι ιστορικοι του μελλοντος, απαλλαγμενοι απο την κρατουσα ιδεολογια, θα τον κρινουν με μεγαλυτερη αντικειμενικοτητα και επιεικεια:
«…. Ο μητροκτόνος και συζυγοκτόνος Νέρων, που χαρίζει τη ζωή στους άτακτους δούλους και στους εγκληματίες από επιείκεια και μόνο. Ο τύρανος που προστατεύει την ελευθερία, απ΄ τις επιβουλές των δημοκρατικών(συγκλητικών). Ο τρελός και διεφθαρμένος αυτοκράτορας, που ασκεί την ευσπλαχνία και φιλανθρωπία, πριν απ’ τους αγίους του χριστιανισμού. Αυτός που προσφέρει νερό στους διψασμένους, τροφή στους πεινασμένους και ρούχα στους γυμνούς. Το ιστορικό αυτό πρόσωπο, μας αποδείχνει τέλεια, πόσο ατυχής θα ήταν κάθε απόπειρα να τον εκτιμήσουμε με τα κριτήρια της δικιά μας (χριστιανικής) ηθικής».
Πηγες
Υπάρχουν αρκετές και σκόρπιες πηγές, καθώς και βιβλία που εμπεριέχουν ικανοποιητικές συνόψεις πηγών.
Η Αντιγνώση της αείμνηστης Λιλής Ζωγράφου έχει σημαντικές αναφορές. Υπάρχει επίσης ο Ambelain, ενώ και από την Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους μπορεί κανείς να αντλησει πληροφορίες. Πολυ σημαντικο το βιβλίο του Νίκου Βεργίδη – ΝΕΡΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ – ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ ΑRΚΑDIA , απο'που και το τελευταιο αποσπασμα του αρθρου.
Από πρωτογενείς τώρα πηγές, υπάρχει ο Σουητώνιος που έγραψε τους βίους αρκετών Καισάρων και μαθαίνουμε-παρά την απροκάλυπτη εμπάθεια του προς το Νέρωνα- αρκετά πράγματα κυρίως για το νομοθετικό έργο του Νέρωνα. Υπάρχει βεβαίως και ο Τάκιτος, μόνο που το "ANALLES" δυστυχώς δεν κυκλοφορεί μεταφρασμένο στα Ελληνικά.
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Sunday, September 10, 2006
More on Mari people and the persecution of their pagan national rites
Russian Federation:
Mari National Activists Prosecuted for Exercising Freedom of Expression
Vienna/Moscow 1 September 2006.
The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) are concerned that two Mari national activists have been prosecuted merely for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression in the Russian Republic of Mari El, where the Finno-Ugric Mari people constitutes the titular nationality.
A Mari religious leader, Vitaly Tanakov, who earlier this year published a brochure about the peculiarities of the Mari people and its religious beliefs, has been charged with “incitement to ethnic, racial or religious enmity” and “abasement of human dignity on the basis of religion, national or racial affiliation” under article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code.
Another Mari activist, Nina Maksimova, who chairs the organization Mari Ushem, faces similar charges for helping to distribute the brochure at concerts and other cultural events. If the two activists are found guilty, they could be sentenced to heavy fines or up to four years’ of imprisonment.
The IHF and the MHG believe that the two criminal cases are politically motivated and represent an attempt to punish Tanakov and Maksimova for their involvement in the Mari national movement of Mari El.
In recent years, members of this movement have faced growing harassment because of their efforts to promote the rights and the interests of the Mari people and to communicate their concerns about official minority policies. Members of the movement have, inter alia, been ridiculed and denigrated in state-controlled media and subject to intimidation, arrest, prosecution, dismissal and violent attacks.(1)
Legal experts from the local human rights organizations Man and Law and AGORA, who carefully analyzed the brochure authored by Tanakov, unequivocally concluded that there is nothing in the publication that would justify prosecution under Criminal Code article 282.
Thus, the criminal charges brought against Tanakov and Maksimova are in apparent violation of international human rights standards protecting the right to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority.(2) The IHF and the MHG are also concerned that the cases against the two activists are part of a broader trend in Russia of abusing anti-incitement legislation to persecute civil society activists, journalists and others considered politically threatening.(3)
A hearing in the two cases was initially scheduled for 30 August 2006 but has been postponed until 7 September 2006 following an appeal from the defendants to be permitted to use the services of legal counsel of their own choosing instead of those of state-appointed lawyers.
The IHF and the MHG call on the authorities of the Republic of Mari El to immediately drop the charges against Vitaly Tanakov and Nina Maksimova and to respect their right to promote the culture and traditions of the Mari people in peaceful and legitimate ways, including by exercising their internationally protected right to freedom of expression.
If the legal proceedings against Tanakov and Maksimova are continued, the two activists should be granted an open and fair trial and granted an effective opportunity to challenge the charges against them.
For more information:
Vienna: Henriette Schroeder, IHF Press Officer, +43-1-408 88 22, +43-676-725 4829
Moscow: Irina Sergeeva, MHG Project Coordinator, +7-495-207 0769
A press release published by Man and Law on 28 August 2006 (in Russian) is attached.
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1) For more information, see the joint IHF and Moscow Helsinki Group report, The Human Rights Situation of the Mari Minority of the Republic of Mari El from February 2006.
The report is available in English and Russian at
http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_...id=3&d_id=4185.
A Finnish summary can also be found at the IHF website.
2) Compare article 10 of the European Convention for Human Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant for Political and Civil Rights. The Russian Federation is a party to both of these treaties.
3) For example, in February 2006, a Nizhny Novgorod court applied article 282 of the Criminal Code to convict a human rights activist involved in efforts to highlight human rights violations committed in the context of the conflict in Chechnya.
The activist, Stanislav Dmitrievsky, who is executive director of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, was given a two-year suspended prison sentence. For more information about this case, see the chapter on the Russian Federation in IHF, Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Report 2006 (Events of 2005), at
http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_...id=3&d_id=4255