Cecelia Ahern Maeve Friel Lawrie Sanchez - verbalon

6
Verbal Magazine Issue 15
The Ancient Affinity
In the first part of a three part essay, Indian journalist, writer, and recent immigrant to
Northern Ireland, K. S. Vijay Elangova, discusses the parallels and differences between his
native Indian and adopted Irish cultures...
The Celtic and Vedic people share
more parallels than any of the
ancient cultures on earth. There is
an innate bondage running between
them. There is a remarkable
likeness in their myths, gods,
goddesses and fairytales. The
foremost of these parallels can
be drawn to the Druids and the
Brahmins, who were the priestphilosophers
of their respective
cultures. They were much sought
after for their wisdom by the kings
and the warriors. They were the
seers and teachers and they were
free to wander anywhere. According
to Caesar, ‘The public had a great
esteem for the Druids’.
There is also an etymological
connection to the word ‘Druid’. It
is believed by some that the word
could have originated in the East
and Middle East. Pliny the Elder
refers the first syllable of the word
‘Druid’ to the Greek word for the
Oak as ‘drus’ whose root is ‘dr’
which can be traced to many Aryan
languages. The second syllable ‘vid’
is thought to have come from the
Sanskrit term ‘vid’ meaning Tree
of Knowledge. It is also the root
for the word ‘Vedas’ in Sanskrit.
The oak tree was closely related
to knowledge and wisdom in Celtic
myths.
The Druids wore simple white robes
just like the Brahmins. The only
difference was the hood which the
Druids may have worn for the cold.
The Brahmins bathing in the rivers
at sun rise is a mirror image of the
Druids taking baths in rivers. The
Greek historian Tacitus wrote on the
surprising similarity of the bathing
of the Druids as “so emblematic of
the Brahmins”. Taking the morning
bath in rivers is one of the daily
chores of the Brahmins up to this
day.
The Brahmins and Druids were
placed alike in their social status of
their mutual cultures. They formed
the intellectual and spiritual elite of
their societies. Indian Kings (Rajas
in Sanskrit) consulted the Brahmins
on important matters of the
country as did Celtic kings (Righs
in Old Irish: sounding the same as
the Sanskrit term) have counsel
with the Druids. Vedic and Celtic
societies shared almost similar
structures in hierarchy. There
were three divisions for the Celtic
hierarchy: the Druids, the ruling
and warrior division and producers
who included hunters, merchants
and later farmers. The same was
found in the Vedic society in India
for several thousands of years.
The ‘caste system’ is distinguished
by four divisions. The Brahmins were the
uppermost and highly respected class. The
military or warrior class (kshatriyas) came
second, the merchants and farmers (vaishiyas)
third and the labour class (the shudras) last.
The ‘varna’ or class system existed throughout
the Vedic ages and until when the Indian
Constitution in 1947 (CE), Article 17, abolished
the practice of untouchability in any form.
There were many parallels on state and law
matters which could be found in the laws of
Manu in the Vedic system and in the old Irish
system, the laws of Fenechus. In the early
Vedic age, the Brahmins did not belong to
a hereditary class. A child from any division
could be initiated into Brahminism after a
12-year preparation. This was also possible in
Celtic culture - a child from any class could be
initiated into Druidism and received 19 years
of education based on the lunar cycle calendar
known as the Meton cycle.
Druids and Brahmins were the ones, because
of their prolonged and extensive education,
who could perform any rites and sacrifices.
It can be found in Diodorus Siculus’s
writings. “Do not sacrifice or ask
favours from the gods without
a Druid present”. The
Celtic people had a great
respect for Druids and
their teachings. They
were consulted by the
young and the old on
almost all matters.
Rebirth was also
widely believed by
the Celtic people, as
recorded in the Roman
and Greek myths and
writings. There were also
references in Rig Veda to
reincarnation or rebirth, “For thou at
first producest for the holy Gods the noblest
of all portions, immortality: Thereafter as a
gift to men, O Savitar, thou openest existence,
life succeeding life” (book 4, 54:2)”. The
Upanishads clearly discuss the rebirth. The
term ‘atman’ (soul) in Vedic literature is similar
to the Celtic word for soul ‘anam’.
The biggest difference between the two
religious cultures was probably the fact that
women were not initiated into priesthood
in Brahminism, whereas the women were
included in the Druidic religious order. The
Vedic culture was patriarchal. There were
many women Druids in the Celtic order. It is a
known fact that the Celtic women also fought
in battle and are recorded as being “strong
and fierce as men”. Due to the demise of
Druids, we have lost a repository of great
knowledge and wisdom since they were part
of the oral tradition like the teaching of the
Brahmins in the Vedic ages which were only
passed on from one memory to another.
The pantheon of Gods and Goddesses
The Celts had a huge pantheon of Gods and
Goddesses of which we have the knowledge
of around 300 names, mostly found inscribed
on altars and objects. Many of these gods
and goddesses are local variations of the
pan-Celtic ones. This draws an interesting
parallel to the Vedic gods and goddesses. The
Vedic pantheon also had local titles which
corresponded to their pan-Vedic names.
Another interesting parallel is the Celtic term
for God, ‘Deuos’ and the Vedic word for God
‘Devos’. Both words mean ‘Shining Ones’.
Another notable parallel is the Goddess Danu.
She appears both in the Vedic and Celtic
mythologies. She is a Goddess of River in the
Celtic myth. She appears in the Vedic myth
as the mother of seven Danavas, meaning
‘the dark ones of the sea’. The battle seems
to have been contiguous to both mythologies
– a macrocosmic war between the light and
dark, good and evil. Many rivers in Europe owe
their names to Goddess Danu, including the
Danube, (ancient Danuvius) the longest river
in Europe. Both the Vedic and Celtic people
worshipped rivers and people from both
cultures placed their offerings on rivers. In the
Puranas (myths) of India the River Goddess
Ganga fell from heaven from the head of Lord
Shiva. (He released her to the earth
afterwards.) Just like Danu
and Ganga, Sarasvathi and
Cauvery were a Goddess
and a river.
Dolmen structures
also draw a close
parallel between
Celts and Indians. A
Dolmen is a hollow
chamber containing
thin, high stones and
a flat stone on top as
a roof. They are found
throughout Europe and
India. They have a small hole
at their back which could mean
both birth and death. Researchers
have speculated that these structures were
created by a tribe of Megalithic people before
the Celtic tribes, who might have had contacts
with India. It’s one explanation why these
structures are found in both the cultures.
Another common factor between the Celtic
and Vedic cultures was fairies. There were
evil fairies and fairies that did good. While the
Celtic fairies were called Sidhes, the fairies in
Vedic culture were called Yaksas. Both Sidhe
and Yaksa knew magic and fought battles.
These affinities show that there were striking
parallels between both the cultures in Vedic
times. The Celtic and Vedic people could be
one and the same, migrating originally from
central Europe and sharing similar beliefs,
practising similar rituals and worshipping
similar pantheons of gods and goddesses.
K.S. Vijay Elangova is an Indian journalist,
writer, poet and translator who has written
and translated nine books in English. They
include Moments and Memories and Adyias:
Renaissance of a People. He is currently writing
a book of poems on Derry to be published shortly,
and a novel.