The challenge for us, as students of Anandamurtiji, is to develop an alternative history according to what He taught us. As He boldly said, we must "rewrite history."

There is a simple reason why students of yoga today have become conditioned to believe in a Vedic bias in terms of the history of India in general and in terms of Tantra and yoga in particular. Simply because a few important scholars, including george Feuesrtsein, David Frawley, Deepak Chopra, and others have written the history of yoga and Tantra as per their Vedic bias. It is now our duty and challenge as students of Anandamurti to counter these biases.

The below excerpts, from a larger manuscript, are some attempts at that challenge. Some of the points I make are complementary to the fine writings of Ac. Vishvarupanandaji and brother Jinanenra, others may differ, and yet some may hopefully add new insights not covered by their writings.

Ramesh

Dispelling Some Myths About Indian History: A Brief Summary

In a number of popular history books on India, we are informed that this ancient country developed one of the world's first and most sophisticated urban civilizations, namely, the Harappa and Mohenjodaro civilizations in the Indus Valley. Largely inspired by Tantra and yoga, this Dravidian civilization, it is claimed, was invaded and destroyed by Vedic Aryan invaders around 1500 BCE. This mainstream version of Indian history has recently been challenged by a revisionist theory that claims there is no evidence the Aryan invasion occurred at this date. Moreover, these scholars also claim that the Indus Valley civilization was Vedic rather than Tantric. It appears these revisionist writers are correct in claiming there was no Aryan invasion around 1500 BCE, but are they correct in assuming it never happened at all? As you will learn in this chapter, genetic science, as well as Tantric traditional history, agrees that Vedic Aryan tribes did indeed migrate to India. But it occurred thousands of years earlier, at the time of Shiva, around 5000 BCE, when this so-called King of Yogis systematized the mystical science of Tantra Yoga. Moreover, the Indus Valley culture, which according to archaeologists is at least 6000 years old, was primarily a Tantra-based civilization. In this chapter, you will also learn that the practice of yoga and Ayurveda did not only originate with the Vedas and the Vedic rishis, as many contemporary scholars proclaim. Rather, all of these holistic sciences also have deep roots in the teachings of the illustrious Tantric sage Shiva and his wife Parvati, whom millions of Indians today worship in their homes and villages as a God and Goddess.

Trying to piece together a coherent map of ancient Indian history is no easy task. There is no archaeological evidence of Shiva's existence, for example. Hence, to better understand the life and time of Shiva, who lived in distant pre-history, 4,500 years before Buddha, we must rely on multiple sources, including an informed imagination. My own research is based on traditional and contemporary literature on Tantra, oral Tantric history as presented by the authoritative testimony of Shrii Anandamurti, scholars on ancient Indian history, including the eminent scholars Daniel Danielou and N. N. Bhattacharya, as well as numerous others. In addition, I have relied on archaeological and linguistics findings wherever possible, as well as the genetic science of Dr. Spencer Wells. Sometimes these divergent sources overlap beautifully, such as in the case of genetic science and traditional Tantric history about the time of the Vedic Aryan invasion. Anandamurti, as well as other scholars have claimed that the Vedic Aryans migrated into India around the time of Shiva. As you will learn in more detail soon, this traditional view of history has recently been corroborated by the genetic research of Dr. Wells. Most of the time lines and views on Tantra and yoga between Ananadmurti, Danileou and Bhattacharya are also compatible. The latter two scholars believed, however, that the Vedic Aryans arrived in India much later, a theory that has been contested fiercely by yoga writers such as Georg Feuerstein and David Frawley, who claim there was no such invasion and that ancient India was fundamentally a Vedic culture. If it ever occurred, they assert, it must have been much farther back in prehistoric time. Indeed, that is exactly what genetic science has proved, and thus it seems to have solved this mystery once and for all. The Vedic Aryans did indeed come from outside India, bringing with them the first portion of their vast scriptures, the Rig Veda. Hence, Indian culture eventually became a philosophical, spiritual and cultural confluence of those two mighty rivers of Tantra and Veda. To illustrate all this, as well as the historical and practical interconnection between Tantra and yoga, I also had to make certain educated guesses and hypothetical conclusions, which I hope you will find both inspiring and thought-provoking.

A Very Brief History of Tantra

In his award-winning book, A Brief History of India, Daniel Danielou outlines in broad, colorful strokes an ancient history of India that contrasts with the one presented to most Western yoga students. Danileou reminds us that yoga originated with the ancient sage Shiva and that these practices were "wholly unknown" to the early Vedas and their authors, the invading Aryans. (1) According to multiple sources-including ancient scriptures such as the Puranas and the writings of Danileou, Bhattacarya and Anandamurti-it was Shiva who taught the early Indians yogic spirituality, the arts and sciences. Moreover, Shiva's teachings remained the dominant culture and spiritual teachings in India, even though its adherents were often violently attacked by the early Vedic Aryans. The Tantric teachings of Shiva continued to be the religion of the people, Danielou asserts, and what we today have come to appreciate as Indian culture and religion was more influenced by Tantra than the Vedas. This assertion, which will be emphasized in this book, is contrary to what most modern yogis are taught about the history of their practice. Danielou's emphasis on the importance of Shiva Tantra in shaping yoga philosophy, culture and practice, seems to be correct. "It should be remembered," he writes, "that in Hindusim, Yoga is a discipline created by Shiva..." (2) But his historical time line, does conflict somewhat with Wells' genetic findings and what we can learn from traditional Tantric sources. According to traditional sources and the writings of Anandamurti, the Rig Vedic Aryans seem to have arrived not only after, but also before and during Shiva's time, a time-line that has been confirmed by Dr. Wells genetic findings. Their so-called invasion was more likely a series of migrations over a long period of time. The early portions of their Rig Veda may be as old as 10,000 BCE, and was composed outside India, while the three other Vedas-the Yajur, Sama and Atharva, originated in India. From early on, the culture and spiritual practices that originated with Shiva's Tantra also spread outside India, even as far as Europe. Writes Danielou: "Although-due to scarcity of documentation-the importance of this great fundamental religion in the formation of later religions has been largely under-estimated, it was almost universal." (3)

Tantra and Ayurveda

According to the oral history of the Tantric tradition, it was Shiva who systematized Tantra Yoga and who also enhanced Vaedyak Shastra, the ancient system of yogic or Tantric medicine, which is basically the same as what we today know as Ayurveda. In the book In Search of the Medicine Buddha, author David Crow quotes a contemporary Ayurvedic alchemist, practicing this ancient art and science in Nepal today, who says, "Lord Shiva was the first Ayurvedic physician." (5) It is common knowledge among Ayurvedic doctors in Nepal and India that there is a historical and spiritual interrelationship between Tantra and Ayurveda. Furthermore, when I was in India, I was taught that Shiva was the preceptor of the first group of Ayurvedacharyas, or the teachers of Ayurveda. When I studied Ayurveda at the California College of Ayurveda, a school that maintains that Ayurveda is a Vedic science only, I learned that Lord Dhanvantari was "the God of Ayurveda and of healing." Lord Dhanvantari is said to have been a high caste king of Benares, which during Shiva's time was called Kashi, and who taught an Ayurvedic form of surgery. From a Tantric perspective, it makes sense that Dhanvantari taught surgery because that was part of the science of Tantric Ayurveda. Dhanvantari could not have been a follower of the Vedas, however, since Vedic dogmas prohibited high caste Brahmins to touch people of a lower caste, and thus prohibited them from performing surgery. As it is said in the tradition of Tantra, it is more likely to conclude that Dhanvantari was a Tantric and also Shiva's first and main apprentice in Ayurveda. In other words, as Ananadmurti claims, Dhanvantari was most likely the worlds first Ayurvedacharya. Contemporary Ayurvedic writers, including Deepak Chopra, David Frawley and Vasant Lad, have, in their books, revealed some of the sublime wisdom found in Ayurvedic medical texts, including the famed Carakasamhita. Yet these writers wrongly inform us that this medieval Ayurvedic masterpiece is solely based on the Vedas, while, in fact, its ancient roots also trail back to Tantric teachings passed down through the ages since Shiva's time. "Indian medical science as revealed in the Carakasamhita and Susrutsamhita is basically Tantric," writes N. N. Bhattacarya in his acclaimed book History of the Tantric Religion. (6)

Tracing Tantra from the Roots

India is an enormous country with a long and culturally rich history. In the past, it has included Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Burma, and Sri Lanka. As one of the most ancient civilizations on the planet, India has an uncanny ability both to move beyond and embrace its past. And, more often than not, this multifaceted country mirrors the vastness, depth and history of humanity itself.

Indian civilization may not only be the planet's oldest continuous civilization, but also the one with the richest and most enduring spiritual legacy. As Anandamurti has explained, basic forms of Tantra existed even prior to Shiva's time, leaving a trail back to early shamanic cultures. In fact, he once directed some people to a cave in North Eastern India where they discovered depictions of the esoteric yogic chakra-system painted, in graphic detail, on the cave walls. These cave paintings, it is estimated, are nearly 9,000 years old. As you may know, many writers on Yoga today claim that Tantra had its early roots in the scriptures of the Vedas (ca.1500 BCE). However, it is more accurate to say that the Vedic and the Tantric traditions are two parallel streams of Indian history. The Vedic stream originated with the Rig-Veda, the oldest and one of four books of Vedic scriptures. Yoga scholar Georg Feuerstein writes that many Hindus "distinguish between Vedic and Tantric--vaidika and tantrika--currents of Hindu spirituality." (8) Anandamurti would agree with this assertion. He makes a clear distinction between Tantra and Veda. Tantric teachings represents, according to him, a predominantly yogic path, whereas the Vedas are more philosophical, mythological and ritualistic in orientation. Although the Tantric oral tradition is more than 7,000 years old, the first Tantric books, or Tantras, were not written before around 500 CE. Anandamurti's contribution to this historical and philosophical quandary is to trace many of the original Tantric teachings scattered throughout the Vedas and the Upanishads. By applying his exceptional spiritual vision and scholarly erudition, he has highlighted the timely validity and renewed significance of these ancient teachings. In India, I was taught that the earliest systematic Tantric teachings are formulated in the Agama and Nigama Tantras. These esoteric teachings are based on conversations between Shiva and his wife Parvati. The Nigama teachings constitute the philosophical teachings of Tantra, or the deeply inquisitive questions that Parvati posed to Shiva. The Agama teachings make up the practical aspects, or the answers that Shiva gave. The more I delved into Anandamurti's teachings, I realized how Tantra had influenced the Vedas. I found that the Atharva-Veda, for example, is marked by a distinct Tantric influence. The Nrimha Tapaniiya Shruti, in particular, clearly demonstrates Tantric rather than Vedic influences. (9) The Upanishads, which were written after the Vedas, also include many references to Tantric concepts, including the subtle life-force energies, or vayus, and the psychic energy vortexes today commonly known as chakras. "The Tantric esprit," writes Feuerstein, "continues to evolve through the period of the Brahmanas and Upanishads (ca. 2000 BCE), as well as the intellectually and spiritually fertile era of the Mahabharata, until it reached its typical form in the Tantras of the early common era." (10)

Dispelling Some Myths about Yoga and Tantra

The more I learned about the Tantras and the Vedas, the more I also learned about the many misconceptions about Tantra among yoga scholars and practitioners today. One of the most common misunderstandings people have is that the Vedas-as taught by the Rishis and the Brahman priests-are the original source of yogic philosophy and practice. This misunderstanding, I discovered, has in part arisen because many important Tantric texts were not written down before in the early Common Era. Like the Vedas, the oral teachings of Tantra were transmitted from guru to disciple for thousands of years before being written down. But the main source of this misunderstanding arise from the Vedic Brahmins themselves. Although many of them practiced Tantra, due to their own prejudices, they attempted to demonstrate the Vedic origin of Tantra and yoga. Therefore, writes N. N. Bhattacaryya, "they often twisted Vedic passages to suit their own purpose." (11) One may find an example of such misrepresentation in the Rudrayamala Tantra, where it is said that "The science which comes from the mouth of Lord Shiva, goes to the ears of Parvati, and is approved by Lord Krishna, is called Agama." As Anandamurti has pointed out, however, it is illogical that Krishna of the Mahabaratha era (1500 BCE) would approve something that Shiva said 3500 years earlier. This aphorism, Anandamurti asserts, "was cleverly included in the Rudrayamala Tantra by the protagonists of the Vedas." (12) Arthur Avalon (a.k.a. Sir John Woodroffe), the famous British writer on Tantra, spent half his life searching for secretly guarded Tantric texts in India. In his path-breaking book on the chakras and the kundalini, The Serpent Power, published in 1918, he also traced the origins of Tantra back to the Vedas. (13) Avalon, as well as many other eminent Western writers on Tantra and yoga today, vehemently proclaim the Vedic origins of Tantra. They do not care to explain, however, why Tantric spirituality in India has long been considered Vedabahya, an inferior path that belongs outside the Vedas. While you and I may excuse these Western writers for their imbalance and ignorance, history speaks for itself: for several millennia, the followers of Tantra have faced ridicule and suppression, its practices have been misunderstood, and its origin as the source of yoga either ignored or forgotten. Despite these misgivings, Avalon is unparalleled in his comprehensive understanding of Tantra. More importantly, for us on the spiritual path, Avalon reminds us that Tantric spirituality "has the supreme merit of accomplishing within a short time what other methods can hardly accomplish within a life." (14) Even Yoga Journal-undoubtedly the most popular magazine on yoga in the Western world today-perpetuates the myth that the history of yoga and Tantra started in the Vedic period. One of this magazine's regular contributors, Linda Sparrowe, writes that the history of Yoga started in the Vedic Period (1500 BCE), continued to grow in the Pre-classical period (800-500 BCE), was systematized by Patanjali in the Classical Period (200 BCE), and has continued to develop into our times.

She writes that "Tantra emerged early in the post-classical period, around the fourth century c.e., but didn't reach its full flowering until 500 to 600 years later." She concludes that, for most students of yoga today, Tantra "represents a rather radical departure for yoga philosophy." In the same esteemed journal, Maria Carrico writes that the Vedas, India's ancient religious texts, gave birth to both the literature and the technique of yoga. Thus, these writers perpetuate the Tantric myths prevalent among writers, teachers and students of yoga today. (15)

Tantra Outside India?

Of the eight practices of Patanjali's Asthanga Yoga, at least six had been systematized by Shiva almost 5,000 years earlier. In the insightful book, History of Mysticism, S. Abhayananda reveals the story of humanity's recurrent experience of enlightenment in various cultures throughout the ages. To him, it appears that the Dravidyan civilization was based on a "full-blown Shiva-Shakti mythology" and that we therefore may trace the Tantric and Yogic tradition back to pre-Aryan India. (16) As my guru repeatedly stated, all authentic yoga practice is based on Tantra. Shiva, according to Danielou, "is the Central figure of pre-Aryan Dravidyan religion in India and in all its branches in the Near East and around the Mediterranean, as far as pre-Celtic Europe." (17) Danielou further claims that Shiva Tantra at one point was "almost universal" and has maintained its original form in India until today. The widespread veneration of Shiva in prehistoric times-from the banks of the Ganges to the shores of Europe- may explain the legends and sculptures of Viking yogis, puts in perspective Shiva's seal found in a Bronze Age peat bog in Denmark, makes it possible that Shiva traveled all the way to the Alps, and might be the source for why the Greeks speak of India as the sacred homeland of Dionysus.

Genetic and Linguistic Science and Ancient Indian History

On a rainy evening in 2003, I sat glued to the television screen watching the PBS program, Journey of Man, by Dr. Spencer Wells. The main reason I was so captivated by this program was that Dr. Wells offered scientific evidence for what my guru and others had claimed for years-that the Aryan Vedic people migrated to India from Eastern Russia. Indeed, the genetic discoveries by Dr. Wells confirm the many stories I had heard from scholars and storytellers in India. Actually, his extensive research shows that India experienced four large migratory settlements over a period of nearly 55,000 years. By sampling DNA of people in a village close to Madurai in Tamil Nadu, he spotted a genetic mutation that had been passed on to aboriginal people in Australia--thus offering the first biological proof that African ancestors of the Australian natives passed through India on the way to their new home. His research also proved beyond a shadow of doubt that the people who later moved into India in the north were of Aryan stock. (5) A few days after I had seen this captivating PBS program, I continued my research and located an interview with Dr. Wells in the online Rediff magazine. There he states emphatically that there is genetic evidence that "the Aryans came from outside India." The Rig-Vedic Aryan peoples, he claims, emerged on the southern steppes of Russia and the Ukraine about 5-1,0000 years ago. From there, they migrated east and south through Central Asia toward India. He further emphasized that "there is clear evidence that there was a heavy migration from the steppes down toward India." Wells maintains that he does not agree with scholars David Frawley and Georg Feuerstein, who claim the Vedic Aryans were the "original inhabitants" of India. To Wells, there is clear genetic evidence that "the Aryans came later, after the Dravidians." In other words, Wells' genetic research clearly supported Anandamutiji's assertions.

The Vedic Aryans and the Tantric Dravidians-A Clash and Fusion of Civilizations

Sometimes when we study and practice Indian spirituality, Vedic and Tantric teachings will flow through us quite seamlessly, flow like a sacred river of spiritual wisdom. At other times, we will find the teachings to be distinctly different. Anandamurti often emphasized that the early parts of the Vedas, the Rig-Veda, were composed outside of India. This occurred both long before and during the time of Shiva, at a time when these fair-skinned Aryan composers migrated into India. Is there any proof of this? Authors like Bhattacharyya and Danielou have, for example, remarked on the lack of references to agriculture in the Rig-Veda. They think the main reason for this was that the early Aryans were pastoralists. In contrast, the Tantric Dravidians were rice-growing farmers. Moreover, you will not find any descriptions of the Indus Valley civilization in the Rig-Veda or even in the later Vedas. Nor will you find any references to the sophisticated grid pattern of streets. Nor will you find any mention of the careful engineering of the drainage systems, nor to granaries, warehouses and areas of intensive craft production, nor to the various seals found there. (9) As you may already know, some Vedic scholars and writers on yoga argue that the Indus Civilization was a purely Vedic civilization. Popular writers like David Frawley, Georg Feuerstein, and Deepak Chopra promote this view. This so-called cradle of human civilization, they affirm, had few or no traces of Tantra. But is this a correct assertion? Marshall, Bhattacharya, Danielou and other scholars point out that the various artifacts found in these ancient ruins are, in fact, yogic or Tantric in nature. These include proto-Tantric fertility symbols such a lingams and yonis, or Mother Goddess figurines. The yogi Shiva, in the form of the Pashupatinat seal, is one of the most common figures found in these ruins. Here archaeologists have also discovered a marble statue of a yogi with eyes fixed on the tip of his nose. These archaeological finds, according to many scholars, all point in one direction- that Tantra was widely practiced in the Indus Valley civilization. This does not mean, however, that all members of this society were meditating yogis. Much like in today's India, we can assume that only a minority of the people were practicing Tantric meditation and yoga. Like today, most people were worshipers of Tantric Gods and Goddesses, but not always practitioners of its advanced spiritual sciences. Archaeological digs have also unearthed fire pits used for Vedic rituals in these old ruins. Therefore, I think it is reasonable to conclude that the Aryan and Dravidian peoples and cultures coexisted in northern India for several millennia. Indeed, by the time of the Indus Valley civilization, they probably lived together much like people from various castes, cultural and spiritual traditions coexist in India today.

Harappa, Kashi and Mehrgarh-Ancient Cities of Tantra

The Tamil language of South India is considered one of the world's oldest living languages with its own script. An ancient Dravidian language, Tamil is more than 6,000 years old. In fact, an ancient form of Tamil, or Dravidian, is still spoken by the Brahui people today. These people's language and culture are indeed a living link back to the early dawn of Tantric history. When the first Vedic Aryans migrated to India through the Khyber and the Bolan Passes, and mingled with the local population of the north, the north Indian proto-Dravidian languages changed to a great extent. However, in the area where the Brahui people still live, the old Dravidian language has remained virtually unchanged for millennia. The language of the Brahuis of Baluchistan, an area in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has many linguistic similarities to the Dravidian languages still spoken by the Tamils in south India today. Scholars have noted similarities in the numerals, personal pronouns, syntax and other linguistic features between Brahui and Tamil. It is not only linguistics, however, that makes Baluchistan such an interesting historical area. This region, at the foot of the Bolan Pass, is also the site of Mehrgarh. Estimated to be more than 8,000 years old, it is regarded as the largest town of early antiquity. Covering an area of over 500 acres, Mehrgarh's population may have reached nearly 20,000 individuals. In comparison, the population of Egypt at the time was about 30,000. Living in brick houses, skilled in pottery making and the cultivation of rice, these ancient shamanic and proto-Tantric Dravidians were likely the first Indians encountered by the invading Aryans more than seven thousand years ago. Urban culture was thus already in existence in India at the time of Shiva. Indeed, Mehrgarh was more than one thousand years old when Shiva was born. There is thus evidence of a continuous urban culture from Mehrgarh around 7000 BCE to the Harappan and Mohenjodaro civilizations in the Indus Valley around 4000 BCE. The current consensus is that the primary language represented by the Harappan script is related to modern Dravidian. The archaeologist Marshall was the first scientist to suggest a linguistic link between the Harappans and Dravidians. As mentioned elsewhere, the complex and ancient Indus Valley civilization, which stretched from Afghanistan to the River Ganges, was a largely Tantra-oriented culture. In fact, the word "hara" refers to Shiva, and "appa" means father in the Dravidian language. The city of Harappa in the Indus Valley can thus be considered a place dedicated to Shiva, who by many today is considered the father of Indian civilization. Since Tantra existed in India before Shiva, it is very likely that the old Tantric civilization in India had its early roots in Mehrgarh, was systematized and refined during the time of Shiva, and continued to flourish for thousands of years in the Indus Valley civilizations of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. Most important, perhaps, Tantra remains alive and well in India and the rest of the world even today. While Mehrgarh is the oldest archaeological city in the world, Kashi (today known as Benares or Varanasi) is the world's oldest living city. In Indian mythology, Kashi is considered the "original ground" where Lord Shiva and Parvati stood at the beginning of time. Benares is the point in which the first jyotirlinga, the fiery pillar of light by which Shiva manifested his supremacy over other Gods, broke through the earth's crust and flared towards the heavens. More significant than the cremation-ghats, and even the holy river Ganges, the Shivalinga in the Golden temple remains, to millions of Shiva devotees, the devotional focus of Kashi. Once again, Indian mythology leads us to a deeper understanding of history; the historical Shiva did, according to traditional sources, spend many years in Kashi, especially during the cool winter months, when Kashi, or Benares-the "holiest" city in all of India today-was his favorite resting place. Shiva's and Tantra's immeasurable contribution to humanity urges us to correct the common misconception that Tantra and yoga are relatively recent expressions of Indian spirituality. Indeed, the Classical Yoga period did not actually start with the famed Yoga Sutras of the sage Patanjali, but rather with Shiva, almost 5000 years earlier. Most fundamental aspects of yoga-including many of the yoga exercises, breathing and meditation techniques used today-originated with the teachings of this great sage. What we today know as Hatha Yoga, was consequently developed by Tantric sages over thousands of years, most notably by the Natha sect around 1000 CE. Irrespective of caste or creed, Tantra is a practical, timeless and visceral path, which over time reveals the innate spiritual intelligence of all those who embrace its philosophy and yogic practices. Hence, for many of those seeking spiritual emancipation through meditation and yoga in the West today, the historical Shiva, the King of Yogis, is re-emerging as a genuine archetype of yogic Enlightenment.