Hinduism: What Really Happenned in India (PDF) - Oration

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Hinduism: What Really Happened in India – M. M. Ninan 147 Taxila, which played an important part in shaping the religious history of India. It was Gondophorus who summoned St.Thomas into India through his Merchant Ambassador Habban (Probably from Andhra Pradesh area – of Pandya Kingdom) who arrived in the Malabar Coast in AD 52. This story of St.Thomas is given in the book “Acta Thomae” – the Acts of Thomas. This document is preserved to us with some variations both in Greek and in Syriac. It is unmistakably a Gnostic writing, the significance of which will be apparent as we reach the end of the study. It was most probably written by Bardesanes the Syrian Gnostic or, more correctly, a Syrian poet, astrologist, and philosopher, (154- 222AD) of Edessa. He became a Christian at the age of 25, later left the church, and became a Gnostic. In this book, Bardenasenes portrays Thomas as a Gnostic. The story uses the mythical embellishments typical of Hinduism and Gnosticism. The book was written around 220 AD. The historical kernel of the story was corroborated when a large amount of coins depicting the Indo-Parthian King Gondaphoras whose brother’s name was indeed Gad turned up. It clearly states, “Maharaja- rajarajasamahata-dramia-devavrata Gundapharasa.” The Takth-I-Bahi stone which turned up in Peshawar establishes the period Gondaphoras in the same time as that of the Apostle Thomas’ Period - around 40 - 60 AD. There are other historical evidences apart from the oral and literary traditions of Kerala that corroborates the arrival of Thomas in India written by several early church fathers in the sub-Apostolic Period. Doctrine of the Apostles written in Edesa AD 250, Ephraim (AD 363- 373), St. Gregory of Nazianzea (AD 329-390), St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 333-397), St.Jerome (AD 342-420), St.Gaudentius of Brescia ( ---- AD 410), St. Paulinus of Nola (AD 353-431) and a dozen other early church fathers attest to Thomas being the Apostle to India. St. Thomas’ route of evangelization can be traced from the Acts of Thomas. The map gives the approximate route. The route into Taxila is not certain. But Acta Thoma makes the later missionary journey almost precise. This route is also confirmed by the tradition of the Malankara Nazranies of Kerala, which are crystallized in the festival songs called
Hinduism: What Really Happened in India – M. M. Ninan 148 “Mappila Pattu” and other story telling arts like “Villadichan Pattu”, “Margam Kali”, “Ramban Paattu”, etc. Acta Thomae describes a highly successful evangelization tour for Thomas, which culminated in his martyrdom in Mylapore. Though Christian Church inheriting the St.Thomas tradition is today concentrated only in Kerala, there are ample evidence to show that powerful Christian Churches existed all over India. What happened to these churches? How did it disappear? What was its influence on the religions of India? If Thomas was successful in Malankara (Kerala), he must have been successful in other parts of India as well. Just like other Churches in the rest of the world, St.Thomas formed the Indian Catholic Church, which when translated will be Hindu Sanadhana Dharma. However, theological development of these churches took a different turn because of the influence of Persian Gnosticism, which changed the basic doctrines into philosophical systems, with elaborate mythologies and dropped the historical Jesus of Nazareth – Isa.
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