In his interview with The Eastern Report, Padmashri Dr Nicholas Kazanas busts several myths on the Aryan Invasion Migration theory. We are reproducing his interview in two parts (Read Part 1 here).
Q: We want to know your thought about the Isoglosses diagram put forward by HH Hock which says how the movement of the language family has been so far.
Dr NK: Isoglosses are many and varied. There are similarities that appear in a group of languages. For example, the name of the sky god Daus appears in Greek as Zeus. This may be a chance but it appears in Hittite as Teshub and in Germanic as Teiwaz. This becomes an Isogloss, a similar element that appears in four Indo-European languages.
Na bhajati (doesn’t pray), na khadati (doesn’t eat) is an Isogloss with many Indo-European languages. Greek does not have this negative. There is another negative Ma. Sanskrit has both Na and Ma.
So, with Isoglosses, you get an idea of which language is more ancient and from which the others have departed because it has all the elements that other languages have. It has vocabulary, grammar, collocations, and others. Vedic is the richest of the lot. One must not forget Rigveda has only one thousand hymns and many of these hymns are repetitive which means its vocabulary is not enormous.
Whereas if you look at old Greek such as Homer, Illiad, and Odessey, the vocabulary is huge and it’s not at all repetitive. Yet, as far as Isoglosses are concerned Vedic has more Isoglosses than any other language in the Indo-European family.
Q: Why do western scholars fail to notice the parallel between India and Greece in terms of language and religion?
Dr NK: Greek has changed from ancient times just as Vedic has changed from old Vedic, there are more classical stuff and the language itself has changed to Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, and Gujarati among others. All these languages are derivatives of Sanskrit.
Now, somebody who knows Sanskrit would recognize some words but not necessarily know the language of, say, Punjabi. Greek has changed as well but pronunciation has changed radically too. We have lost certain sounds and if you don’t know this change you’ll not recognize it immediately. The spelling and writing form has also changed.
We (Greeks) have become Christians, we no longer worship Surya and do not worship Daus and Prithvi. We worship christ and Jehova and we don’t worship the old Greek pantheon. That’s finished now, so you will not find that either. The culture has changed very radically.
Those who have knowledge of Vedic culture, if they come to Greece today will not find temples to the sun god, sky god, or mother goddess. They’ll find churches dedicated to father god, christ, and the saints of the Greek Orthodox church. That’s why they don’t notice any similarities.
Q: How do you look at the notion of the religion of western writers, who say that religion originated due to the drug-induced family practices of ancient people, turn to hate when you analyze the Rigvedic text?
Dr Nicholas: Rigveda begins with the notion of the one; it has no gender, it’s not feminine, it’s not masculine, it exists alone before all creation, it breathes even though there is no air. It breathes without air by its own power. To my mind, it means it pushed out the creation and drew it back. From this one arises the world, arise all the gods who would create a different world, and so on.
Indians realise that everything in creation comes from that one option, so why not worship everything in creation? The tree, stone, sun, and sea all contain the absolute. All the gods who stand for the great powers of nature are in fact manifestations of the will and wisdom of the absolute.
Indians are strict in philosophy they tell you there is one and from the one comes everything. When you purify your mind and heart through certain processes like yoga and meditation and through ethical and moral living, you’ll get purified and realize this absolute oneness everywhere. People don’t want to do this, they want to enjoy life and amass things instead of getting rid of what they don’t need.
Q: A Western scholar tried to define religion and how religion originated. He said it originated due to the effect of Soma, i.e. a drug whereas Rigveda says self-realization is important. It doesn’t teach you to consume certain substances. What is your view on this kind of distorted view by eminent scholars?
Dr Nicholas: We are all born in different cultures. We all come from different environments and are brought up with certain values. Consequently, we view other cultures through the filter of our own culture.
Q: Coming to the politics of the Aryan Invasion theory, why are views of William Jones and Max Mueller being accepted in academic circles even today?
Dr Nicholas: Scientists get attached to their theories but if they are good scientists they will abandon their theories when new proofs come up and accept the new one. If they are not, then they’ll stick to their theories. Invasionists are very attached to their ideas. The names and reputations in the field of scholarship would collapse.
It is a great change that is happening slowly but it will take a few more years or possibly decades. If the new generation of Indians studies properly there is plenty of work and evidence for them to study and change their minds.
