by Harvey Kraft
75 In Homer’s Hymn to Apollo the Cretan priests arrived there on the back of dolphins (i.e., Delphi).
76 Sages of Naturalism considered the elements of Water, Fire, Earth, Air and at times Aether (i.e., an undetectable element) to be descriptive of all substances, but among intuitive shamans these five were also premised to be energies.
77 Cyrus Cylinder.
78 Book of Ezra.
79 Makran coastline (ancient kingdom of Magan) ran from today’s Bandar Abbas in Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz through Gwadar, Pakistan on the Arabian Sea to Karachi, India, then to Hyderabad near the mouth of the Indus River.
80 History of the Wars Book III: The Vandalic War by Procopius equated the Massagetae with the Huns of a later era.
81 The Akitu Festival: Religious Continuity and Royal Legitimation in Mesopotamia by Julye Bidmead.
82 Enuma Elis.
83 Philosopher-King is a concept articulated by Plato (427-347 BCE) in his book The Republic, written in 380 BCE, approximately 100 years after the passing of Siddhar-tha Gautama.
84 The Histories by Herodotus.
85 The Histories by Herodotus.
86 The “confession” inscribed on the Bisutun stones in Persia appears to have been a lie or an exaggeration.
87 A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire By M. A. Dandamaev, Chapter: Coup D’Etat in Iran.
88 Avesta Yasna 28 (Ahunavaiti Gathas).
89 Avesta Yasna 53 (Vahishtoishti Gatha).
90 In the Achaemenid period, the invocation of Ahuramazda appeared on royal inscriptions of Achaemenid Emperors and in images of an empty chariot drawn by white horses for the God to ride into battle with Persian forces.
91 Per Ernst Hertzfeld (1923), leading Persian Empire archeologist. But in “Zoroaster: Politican or Witch-Doctor?” Walter B. Henning disagrees with Hertzfeld’s rendition of Zoroaster.
92 The Zoroastrian religion served as a precursor to Islam. It outlived the Achaemenid Dynasty (549-330 BCE). It underwent continuous adaptation over time evolving into a teachings compiled in the Avesta scriptures. Achaemenid Persia fell to the Arascid Empire (220 BCE-227CE) and then the country became known as Eran (later Iran). Zoroastrianism continued under the rule of the Sassanid Empire (220-651 CE) until their defeat by Arab Muslims. Applying many Zoroastrian principles that had become enured in the culture over its millennium of practice, such as moral piety and a demanding devotion to God, Muhammad, the Arabian Prophet, offered similar dictates in consideration of Allah as recorded in the Quran. Under Islamic rule, the Zoroastrian dream of a religious Kingdom on Earth had been co-opted; as Islam spread east, Zoroastrian adherents were severely oppressed, forced to convert, or flee Iran.
93 The Zoroastrian “Manyu” appears to be a derogatory reflection on the Vedic first man, Manu, first king and savior of humankind from the Great Flood (Laws of Manu). “Manu” meant original, or “one and only.” It is the root word for “man” or “mankind.” “Angra Manyu” could mean “angry man” or “devil.”
94 Assara Mazas was the proto Elamite solar God of “Wise Spirit”; Assara transliterated into the term Assura (deity) in the Assyrian pantheon, and Assara Mazda evolved into Ahura Mazda, the Persian name for the Supreme God in the Zoroastrian religion (Hommel via Oldenburg in Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 22).
95 A History of Zoroastrianism by Mary Boyce and Frantz Grenet (1991) cited this practice in the Vendidad XIV.5-6.
96 Soma was a hallucinogenic liquid mixed with milk to make a golden hue potion. Its essence was derived from a psychoactive mushroom plant found on mountainsides and gathered by moonlight. Hemp was also used.
97 Zoroastrians considered the Vedic elixir of immortality (Soma) to be an evil potion, but their version of it, Haoma, was an approved or “blessed” psychoactive drink for use in Zoroastrian fire ceremonies or reformulated into a benign milky liquid.
98 A "Vara" in Zoroastrian, "Varta" in Vedism, and "Vihara" in Buddhism refer to a sacred underground shelter.
99 The Zoroastrian rescue is an echo of the Noah and the Ark story in the Hebrew Bible, Genesis.
100 The subterranean city of Derinkuyu in the Cappadocia underground complex (estimated date of 8000 BCE) was capable of housing some 3,000 people and pro visions on five levels. The location may have been built during a Great Freeze near the end of the last Ice Age (i.e., Younger Dryas from 10000-8000 BCE or so).
101 Vi-Daeva-datta, fargard 18: As protection from the seduction of demonic urges compelling believers to participate in sexual acts, it was incumbent upon all Zoro-astrian believers—male and female—to wear the Kusti (a chastity girdle) from age fifteen. Not wearing one would result in communal ostracizing, meaning the withholding from them of bread and water by everyone in the community, as it was the responsibility of the entire community to prevent immoral sexual acts.
102 Younger Dryas was an age characteristic of a severe late glacial climate in the Black Sea and northern Aegean regions.
103 Catal Huyuk beehive city (dated 7500 to 5700 BCE).
104 Among the mystical and apocryphal visions and prophesies in the Book of Enoch is The Watchers, Vol. 1, Chap. 7, wherein Enoch, tells of the demonic Nephilim. This book was not accepted as part of the Bible’s canon but has been adopted into the scriptures of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Church.
105 Bible Genesis 6:1.
106 Weighing of the soul by Mitra was a mythic duplicate of the underworld judge Anubis (Egyptian) and Yarna (Vedic).
107 Echo of the Vedic Naraka - hells where souls are sent to expiate sins, also described in the Upanisads as darkness.
108 Hymn to Indra, Rig Veda.
109 Rig Veda, Chapter 9.
110 Brhadaranyaka Upanisad.
111 Laws of Manu, Vedic discourse on organizing society by class, according to Manu, a mythic figure described as the Messenger of Heaven who saved humanity from the Great Flood (aka, Atra-Hassis, Utnapishtim and Noah) and first king on Earth. Moreover, Zoroaster’s model for Yami, savior of humanity and first king, may have been derivative of Manu.
112 In the Upanisads, Brahma emerged from the Primordial Waters to supplant the Vedic Prajpati “Creator of Creatures.“ Brahma is the premier immortal God of the world and lives in Heaven at the summit of the Cosmic Mountain. His self, essence, soul, the Brahman, is the absolute—the unchanging reality of everything.
113 Yoga meditation was used to mount, discipline, and direct the higher mind, much as a farmer would do by placing a “yoke” on an ox prior to tilling a field. It prevented the mind from “bucking” and allowed for control of a trance vision.
114 Buddhacarita (Act of the Buddha or Life of Buddha), Book 12 (Visit to Arada). This mythic biography of the Buddha was written more than 500 years after his lifetime. Its author, Asvaghosa, poet-playwright, himself born in northern India in the 1st entury CE described in Classical Sanskrit the lifetime, enlightenment, experiences and travels of the Buddha entirely in the area of India he was familiar with.
115 Buddhacarita, Book 1: Birth of the Holy One, translation by Edward B. Cowell.
116 Buddhacarita, Book 5, line 84 (Flight).
117 Daevadatta (Demon Exorcist) is an amalgam for Zoroaster and Darius. The name mirrored Zoroaster’s scripture, the Vi-Daeva-datta (Guide to Exorcising Demons). As a fictional namesake in Buddhist literature, Devadatta (God’s Messenger), a mythologized former student of the Buddha, broke away taking 500 followers with him. He wanted to eliminate the Buddha and take his place. Devadatta sent assassins to make several attempts on the Buddha’s life.
118 Mandukya Upanisad.
119 Flower Garland Sutra.
120 Kala – A serpent deity (See Buddhacarita – Book 12, Visit to Arada, Passage 113) personified as Time or Fate. As the destroyer o£ Time, the Timekeeper (Kala) devours memories as they pass on. In the Buddhist view o£ Nature as divine forces, Kala is merged with the Vedic Yama, Lord of Darkness, judge of the dead, who determines the destination of one’s r
ebirth—from underworlds to heavens. In Hindu literature, Kala was the basis for the God Kali.
121 Mythic origin of the name Maya, the Saka kingdom’s “queen-mother” and Prince Siddhartha Gautama’s mother, was the Vedic Maya Devi, the Queen of Heaven.
122 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Volume 1, Section 1: The Wonderful Adornments of the Leaders of the World.
123 The Wheel symbolized the cyclical Laws of All-Existence (Dharma). Turning the wheel meant putting the teachings into motion. This initial Wheel was composed of the 8-spokes of the Noble Path.
124 Skt. Nirvana. With the liberation of their spirit (Skt. Moksha - liberation), Sramana (ascetics) would achieve this transcendent state of blissful peace, a state of being free of suffering, the Nirvana of Perfect Peace. A more advanced state called the Nirvana of Non-Birth (Skt. Parinirvana) denoted retirement from the cycle of mortal rebirth.
125 The word Sangha is of Sumerian origin where it referred to a chief priest-king representing the heart of the community.
126 Bhiksus – mendicants who depend on the charity of civil community to support their religious pursuits.
127 Dharma-Wheel Sutra.
128 Dharma-Wheel Sutra.
129 In Sanskrit Vairochana literally means: “One Who Appears As The Sun,” as his light shines forth forever and everywhere. Universal Radiance personified the blossoming of a Universe made of Buddhas.
130 Ten directions—refers to the 4 cardinal points, plus 4 ordinal points, plus zenith and nadir as rendered from the center of a four-quadrant sphere thereby representing innumerable lines emerging in every possible direction.
131 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Volume 1, Section 1: The Wonderful Adornments of the Leaders of the World.
132 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Volume 1, Section 1: The Wonderful Adornments of the Leaders of the World.
133 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Vol. 1.1: The Wonderful Adornments o£ the Leaders o£ the World
134 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Vol. 1.1: The Wonderful Adornments o£ the Leaders o£ the World.
135 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Vol. 1.1: The Wonderful Adornments o£ the Leaders o£ the World.
136 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Vol. 1.1: The Wonderful Adornments o£ the Leaders o£ the World.
137 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Vol. 1.1: The Wonderful Adornments o£ the Leaders o£ the World.
138 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Vol. 7, Book 4: The Coming into Being of Worlds.
139 The Ten Directions are a metaphor for all directions emanating from the center point inside a sphere to every point on its surface.
140 This image of a pair of Bodhisattvas flanking a Buddha was later used as the model for archangels, a word derived from the Greek for Arche angels (messengers of Universal Truth).
141 Seal of Sedda the Sramana (Persepolis Seal PFS 79), courtesy of Oriental Institute, Chicago. Based on information gathered from a number of other seals the name refers to Sedda Arta (Siddhartha), i.e., Siddha (Liberator of) and Arta (Universal Truth). The reference to Sramana refers to a Lion-Sun shaman. Credit: Dr. Ranajit Pal for interpreting the seal.
142 Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka), Vol. 7, Book 4: The Coming into Being of Worlds.
143 A major eon (Skt. kalpa) covered billions of years.
144 The Seven Precious Treasures were all related to heavenly illuminations. The seventh jewel, Amber (Grk. Elektron), meant the Heaven “formed by the sun.”
145 “Buddhist Remains from Haryana” by Devendra Handa.
146 The name Brahma may be an echo of Abraham. Indic history suggests that the biblical patriarch may have originated from an Arya tribe. During the Epic Drought he may have led his clan to Babylonia. Is it possible that India’s transcendent Creator God, Brahma, may be his legacy?
147 YHWH (pronounced Yahweh) is a Tetragrammaton (in Greek meaning “four letters”). During the Iron Age the religions of Judea and Israel regarded the sound as the unspoken name of God (aka El or Elohim).
148 Linguistic note: Emet in Hebrew appears related to Egyptian Ma’at —both are related to the undeniable Truth of “death.”
149 Suddhodana Gautama, Siddhartha’s father, had been identified in the Persepolis Inscriptions as Sudda-Yauda-Sramana, wherein the Yauda moniker may have referred to a tribal lineage among the Saka. Sramana literally means “distributor,” which had a secular application as a high official in charge of food distribution, as well as a religious designation for one who delivered blessings. Source: Mithras Reader III: The Dawn of Religions in Afghanistan-Seistan-Gandhara and the Personal Seals of Gotama Buddha and Zoroaster by Dr. Ranajit Pal. Author’s note: The later replacement of the Yauda designation with the suffix dana in Suddhodana may have refected the Yauda lineage in regards to a relationship with Daniel and the Magi tradition.
150 Eight hot suffering states in Buddhism . . . each housing 16 subsidiary sufferings for a total of 108 realms of suffering.
151 The three unconscious hells of regret: (1) Regeneration (repeatedly reliving the moment when one had harmed others); (2) Black Ropes (feeling bound inside like a prisoner with memories of stealing); and, (3) Crushing (crushed by the guilt of hurting innocent people or killing animals) . . .
152 Two screaming sufferings: (4) Wailing (the screams of terror caused by intoxicating delusions); (5) Great Wailing (the screams of one who is discovered and humiliated due to lying and loses the trust of others). . .
153 Two distorted sufferings: (6) Burning Heat (a sense that one’s mind is burning due to holding false views); and, (7) Great Burning Heat (the loss of one’s mind as if one burned away the ability to tell right from wrong) . . .
154 One caused perpetual suffering by injuring the Buddha or Sangha, or murdering wise men or their parents.
155 Incessant suffering: (8) The Hell of No Intervals (Skt. Avici) represented the pain of perpetual abortion of life, repeated death during pregnancy or childbirth.
156 Eight cold sufferings (according to the Nirvana Sutra)—They include 4 screaming cold realms of being locked away: (1) Hahava; (2) Atata; (3) Alala; 4) Ababa [four sounds named for the cries that sufferers utter in total loneliness]; and the 4 sufferings of being cut open: 5) blue; 6) blood-red; 7) scarlet; 8) white [describing the color of the flesh when the cold causes it to split open like the petals of a blossoming lotus].
157 Source: Kuru Dhamma Jataka.
158 These Kuru period teachings (Pali Suttas; Skt. Sutras) were recorded in the Pali Canon, which also included several illustrations regarding the adoption of the Four Noble Truths: Magandiya Sutta, Ratthapala Sutta, Sammasa Sutta.
159 The Seven Skills for Achieving Consciousness of Enlightenment: Mindfulness, Investigation (of Universal Truth), Energy, Joyful Receptivity, Quiescence, Concentration, and Equilibrium.
160 The Twelve Link-Chain for Causation of Perpetual Suffering (Skt. Nidanas), the cyclical process that from birth produces and reinforces the creation of a conditional self-identity. It explaines how and why human beings are invariably caught up in sorrows: (1) Ignorance begot (2) Free Will begot (3) Ability to Separate Falsehoods from Truths begot (4) Consciousness of Material Body and Spiritual Self begot (5) Consciousness of Forms begot (6) Consciousness of Senses begot the (7) Making of Contact begot the (8) Feeling of Sensations begot the (9) Experiencing of Cravings begot the (10) Experiencing of Clinging begot (11) the Arising of Manifestations into Existence as Form, Formlessness and Desire begot the (12) Transformation of Self through the states of birth, aging, and death, which causes renewal, or rebirth into (1) Ignorance. Emancipation from this cycle requires gaining consciousness of it. Consciousness of this process can be used to interrupt the automatic return of the cycle to Ignorance (1).
161 The pains of Hell are found in the ritual Brahmin text, the Satapatha Brahmana, containing a version of the Great Flood myth and its Vedic hero Manu (i.e., Noah, etc.), and the Manu Smriti names 21 Hell realms.
162 Manu was the etymologic
al origin of the word “Man.” In Sumer Anu or Anum was the primordial God of Heaven. In Egypt Manu was the western peak where the Sun set in the Cosmic Mountain. In the Vedic Sanskrit, the Paramanu was an infinite particle and the Anu was the atom. The word “atom” was derived from Adam, the frst Man in the biblical Genesis.
163 Five Signs of Heavenly Decay: Their divine clothes begin to soil, flowers on their head wither, their body starts to smell and becomes dirty, sweat appears in their armpits, and they are no longer happy wherever they may be.
164 Eight Mortal Sufferings: Birth, aging, sickness, death, pain of parting from loved ones, pain of encountering those whom they hate, pain of failing to obtain what they desire, and exposed to the pain that arises from the Five Components of Body and Mind (form, perception, conception, volition and consciousness).
165 Sahasra cosmology (1,000 x 1,000 x 1,000 = 1,000,000,000 world-systems).
166 Padhana Sutta.
167 Etymological origin for Maitreya may be Mitra, originally a Vedic God (Skt. Adi-tyas) in the Rig Veda. He represented the Guardian of Society by way of gatherings and agreements. Mitra partnered with Va r u n a , protector of the Rta, order of the Universe.
168 The Rig Veda listed 33 Shining Divine Spirits (Skt. male Deva; female Devi) led by Indra, and another God, Prajapati, Lord of Creatures. In the Upanisads, the Devas were reorganized into 31 Nature deities, as follows: 8 elemental deities of Nature (Skt. Va su s ), 11 deities of wind (Skt. Rudra) and 12 solar deities (Skt. Adityas).
169 Bisutun inscription §§31–32.
170 Quote from the Achaemenid/Zoroastrian “Daiva Inscriptions” at Persepolis, Persia.
171 To honor their predecessors in charting the stars the New Babylonians officially appointed the ancient trinity of the Sumer/Akkad Gods as regents of three star groupings: Enlil ruled 33 stars, Anum 23, Enki 15— refecting the importance they placed on celestial divination.
172 Towards a Global Model of the Zodiacal Cloud by Espy, Dermott and Kehoe, Pub: Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38 (2006).
173 The World Axis as an Atmospheric Phenomenon by Marinus Anthony Van der Sluijs. Pub: All-Round Publications, 2011.
