28. Butchery By 'Biblical Men Of God', Benevolence By Vedic 'Rishis'
28
BUTCHERY BY ‘BIBLICAL MEN OF GOD’, BENEVOLENCE BY VEDIC ‘RISHIS’
1. BUTCHERY BY ‘BIBLICAL MEN OF GOD’
(i) Massacre by David
(a) David put the people under saws !
David, one of the towering figures of the Bible, assaulted on Ammonian cities, put the people under saws, harrows of iron, axes of iron and made them pass through the brick-kiln.
237. ‘31. And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln; and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.’
- II Samuel, 12/31
Joseph Lewis, president, Free Thinkers of America and editor of ‘The Age of Reason’ states :
_’Killing and murder are related with so little compunction that a continued reading of the Bible cannot help but make one callous of the value of human life. No wonder the Christian countries at war use the Bible as the basis of their national religion and give each soldier a copy while engaged in battle ‘_151
- Joseph Lewis
The butchery by ‘Biblical men of God’ exceedingly incited the fanatic Christians to kill the non-believers. James A. Haught narrates in his book ‘Holy Horros’ the heart-rending massacres of the so called ‘heretics’ by orthodox Christians as under
_’In the 1200s, a storm of heretic-hunting burst upon Europe. The first victims were the Albigenses, or Cathari, centered around Albi, France. They doubted the Biblical account of Creation, considered Jesus an angel instead of a god, rejected transubstantiation, and demanded strict celibacy .. In 1208, Pope Innocent III declared a major crusade to destroy the Albigenses. Some 20, 000 knights and peasants answered the call, forming an army that scourged southern France, smashing towns where the belief was strong. When the besieged city of Beziers fell, soldiers asked papal legate Arnald Amalric (or Arnaud Amaury) how they could distinguish the infidel from the faithful among the captives. He commanded: ‘Kill them all. God will know His own.’ Thousands were slaughtered - many first blinded, mutilated, dragged behind horses or used for target practice. The legate reported to the pope.. ‘God’s wrath has raged in wondrous wise against the city.’_152
- James A. Haught
(b) David butchered 200 men !
238. ‘27. Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; ’
-I Samuel, 18/27
(ii) Massacre by Jehu, the king and prophet
(a) Jehu, the king and prophet, slew all, leaving none as alive
239. ‘11. So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kins-folks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.’
- II Kings, 10/11
(iii) Massacre by Joshua
(a) Joshua, the successor of Moses, butchered all that breathed
Not a single soul was allowed to remain alive; all were massacred not at one place but many places. Read the following five verses :
240. ‘30. And the Lord delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; ’
- Joshua, 10/30
241. ‘32. And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.’
- Joshua, 10/32
242. ‘36. And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it:’
- Joshua, 10/36
243. ‘37. And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.’
- Joshua, 10/37
244. ‘40. So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings; he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded.’
- Joshua, 10/40
(iv) Massacre by Elijah, the prophet
(a) Elijah, the prophet, slew all 450 priests, spared none
Elijah, the prophet, ordered for slaughter of 450 priests just for differing from him in religious beliefs ! Here is the verse
245. ‘40. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.’
- I Kings, 18/40
(v) Massacre by Samuel, the prophet
(a) Samuel, the prophet, slew Agag in pieces
246. ‘33 And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.’
- I Samuel, 15/33
(vi) Massacre by Moses
(a) Moses slaughtered even innocent children
Moses, one of the towering figures in the Bible, massacred not only men and women, but also innocent children of all cities, because Sihon, the king of Heshbon did not allow him to pass through his land. Here is the text :
247. ‘34. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:’
- Deuteronomy, 2/34
(vii) Massacre by Elisha, the prophet
(a) Elisha, the prophet, butchered 42 little children
The prophet Elisha causes bears to tear 42 little children for laughing at his bald head.
248. ‘23. And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.’
- II Kings, 2/23
249. ‘24. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord, And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.’
- II Kings, 2/24
Charles Smith opines candidly
_’The Bible is the greatest hoax in all history. The leading characters of the Old Testament would today be in the penitentiary and those of the New would be under observation in psychopathic wards.’_153
- Charles Smith
Dean Farrar, the famous philosopher and theologian, who was the Dean of Canterbury, remarked fearlessly :
_’The Bible is a barbarous book, written in a barbarous age, for the barbarous people.’_154
- Dean Farrar
2. BENEVOLENCE BY VEDIC ‘RISHIS’
The world owes immensely to the four Vedic Rishis for their benevolence in transmitting the divine knowledge of Holy Vedas to all the people of the earth. On the banks of river Sindhu (Indus), the divine knowledge of Vedas dawned on four Rishis (hermits) named Agni, Vayu, Aditya and Angira, who transmitted the same to Brahma. Terminologically the word ‘Veda’ means knowledge, not an ordinary knowledge, subject to omission or commission. It is infallible, immortal and everlasting knowledge, which is flawless and fathomless.
Prof. Max Muller states in his Introduction of ‘Science and Religion’ as under :
“The Vedas are eternal and consequently perfect and infallible.’
- Prof. Max Muller
Holy Vedas propagate love, where there is hatred; preach truth, where there is untruth; create atmosphere of reconciliation, where there is revenge and retaliation; produce optimism, where there is pessimism; infuse enthusiasm, where there is dejection; generate faith, where there is doubt; spread light, where there is darkness; provide joy and jubilee, where there are sorrows and sufferings.
The whole race of mankind in the universe can assert her claim to Vedas. Vedic religion unites all men of the globe in common string of oneness by preaching about one God (0m), one religion (Vedic), one race (Arya), one scripture (Vedas), one method of worship (Sandhya), one language (Sanskrit), one culture (Vedic Culture) and one aim (to ennoble, enlighten, uplift and elevate man). The slogan of Vedic religion is
kRxNvaMtaao ivaEvamaaya-ma\ |
a Pgvaod 9o63o5Let us ennoble all men
Of the universe.
- Rig Veda 9/63/5
Vedic religion is constructive rather than destructive. It preaches propagation of noble thoughts :
Aa naao Bad
a: kxtavaao yantau ivaEvata: |
a yajauvao-d 25o14Let noble thoughts come to us
From all sides.
- Yajur Veda 25/14
Vedic devotees pray to Providence to dispel their vicious impulses and bestow on them noble thoughts
ivaEvaaina dova saivatadu-irtaaina para sauva |
yaBdd`M taÙa#Aa sauva ||
a yajauvao-d 30o3O Supreme Creator of the universe
Mayest Thou dispel our evil impulses,
May all noble thoughts come to us.
- Yajur Veda 30/3
====================================
‘In any movement, common people minutely observe the personal character of the worker in comparison to his actions. Hence the cloth-sheet of our life should be so clean that no body may find any stain on it, even after minute observation. We should create confidence among the people that our each action is without selfish motive. Our character should be so clean that other,-, may be attracted and enamoured to us.’
- Dr. K.B. Hedgewar
‘When self dominates instinct, disaster is ahead of us; when playing with the destinies of a nation one should endeavour to be as selfless as humanly possible.’
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
====================================
Footnotes: 151 Brahm Datt Bharti : ‘The Vedas and the Bible’, New Delhi, 1967, p. 46
152 James A. Haught : ‘Holy Horrors’, published by Prometheus Books, New York, 1990, pp. 54-56
153 Charles Smith : ‘The Bible In The Balance’, first published in Europe, reprinted by Hindu Writers’ Forum, New Delhi, p. 20
154 Ibid.