The Kushana Empire was founded by Mahārājādhirāja Kujula Kadphises, a Shaivite Hindu convert from his ancestral Steppe religion of the Yüeh-chih. He was not a Buddhist, as popularly believed.

A thread on the Hindu Emperors of the Kushana Dynasty.

According to Sanatana Dharma, all men are somatic descendants of The Gods (via the lineage of our forefather Manu Vaivasvata, descendant of God Vivasvant [Surya])

It is because of this lineage, our ultimate ancestors are The Gods & we fulfill this relationship with their worship

Mankind very literally is divine born, descendant of The Gods in the lineage of our all-father Manu.

Therefore, the Mahabharata says

मार्तण्डस्य मनुर्धीमानजायत सुतः प्रभुः
मनोर्वंशो मानवानां ततोऽयं प्रथितोऽभवत्

Translation..+

"To Lord Vivasvant was born a son Yama. To Lord Yama was born Mārtaṇḍa. The wise father Manu was born to Lord Mārtaṇḍa. The race [vaṃshaj] born from Manu is the Mānavas . It is this clan that became famous as the clan of mankind."

Then the Mbh says,

ब्रह्मक्षत्रादयस्तस्मान्मनोर्जातास्तु मानवाः

"Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas, Shūdras - all these were descended from Manu. Therefore they are Mānavas."

In India, Manu was also the foremost divine lawgiver of mankind. In Greece, King Minos of Crete (Son of Zeus & Europa) was the divine lawgiver to mankind who received the law from Zeus.

Plato says this in

Navayana (The religion founded by BR Ambedkar) rejected all the core doctrines of Buddhism

- Rejected law of karma, rebirth in a new life, the concept of samsara, the 4 noble truths

How is this religion still called “Buddhism”? It rejects every core tenent Buddhism believes in.

To give an example - this is like a man who rejects the soul, rejects the law of karma, rejects transmigration of the soul, rejects the doctrine of mokṣa call himself a “Hindu”

It is an internal inconsistency that makes no sense.

Hinduism and Buddhism both believe in karma & rebirth. They also believe in liberation from samsara. The chief disagreement is whether the soul exists or not.

I’d say Hinduism & Buddhism are much closer to each other than Navayana is to any Buddhism.

Thread on best books + readers to learn Sanskrit. I will list only books I have read & their pros and cons.

1. Samskrita Bharati (4 Part Series)

This is by far the best structured english course to learn to read, speak & write Sanskrit. The material is well-structured.

... and grammar is introduced at apt phases. There is enough Sanskrit text to immerse yourself & best part is they have accompanying online/in-person courses entirely in Sanskrit. This is the best method to learn spoken Sanskrit.

2. Svayam Sanskrit Shikshak (Hindi)

This is the second best immersive-learning series. There are 2 parts and progression is gradual. The advantage is it is entirely in Hindi, so the 1:1 syntax + vocab connect for native speakers is instant, Hindi being a daughter of Sanskrit.

this however is also it's only disadvantange. It's language restricted & not suitable for say a Telugu with poor Hindi or for an American or European learner. There is enough reading material here to "learn" Sanskrit.

3. The Sanskrit Language – Walter H Maurer

This is an amazing course. The best to learn Sanskrit for Americans/Europeans & an excellent one for Indians to use to learn the western grammar terminology. Best part about it? It is extremley long & has at least 100 pages of Sanskrit.

In Sundarakāṇḍa (38) a celestial crow (son of Indradeva) in Chitrakūṭa eats the flesh of the Goddess Sītā & torments her. This son of Indra is spared from certain death despite the rage of Bhagavān Rāma on him.

But the demon king Rāvaṇa is killed.

Why? A thread..+

To summarize the event. This incident happens on the Chitrakūṭa mountain. The crow is a celestial son of Indradeva. He does not leave Sītā alone despite her numerous attempts to ward him away. He eats the flesh of her bossom, pierces them with his sharp claws...+

Lord Rāma (whose lap Sītā was sleeping on) wakes up and sees the the torn bossom of Sītā. Upon finding the crow was guilty, he releases a brahmāstra on him. The crow tries to seek shelter but all the devas turn him away. He comes back to Rāma & falls on his feet..+

..he is spared by the lord but he has to loose one eye because a brahmāstra once casted cannot be taken back. (मोघम् कर्तुम् न शक्यम् तु ब्राह्मम् अस्त्रम्).

Now, why was this? Let us see the exegesis of Achārya Parāśara Bhaṭṭa of this incident.

Both the celestial crow & rāvaṇa transgressed against the Goddess. But the crow's transgression was unique because it was in the presence of the divine couple of Rāma-Sītā together. Due to the mere sannidhi (proximity) of the divine mother - Bhagavān bestowed his grace.

Dr. BR Ambedkar says that the doctrine of equality is glaringly fallacious. Men can never be equal. They are born with different genetics, education etc. However, he says adopting the idea of equality is the only way a statesman can proceed in politics. (Realpolitik)

Dr. BR Ambedkar says he has wondered for long the SC/STs never rebelled, never spoke up or raised their voice for millenia. He says this question troubled him a lot. He says the lower castes were completely broken & accepted servitude as their only fate in life.

He says legislation or moral advice to "inter-dine" wont do anything to remove caste. The Hindus are a deeply religious people he says. Caste has divine sanction. To annihilate caste, you must annihilate the authority of the shāstra, the veda & destroy the Hindu religion.

Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar says "The wall built around caste is impregnable. Inside this wall stands the army of Brahmins, Brahmins who are there not as mercenaries but as an army fighting for its homeland. Breaching the wall of caste is well-nigh impossible."

Dr. Ambedkar says that secular Brahmins & priestly Brahmins are kith & kin. It is useless to make any distinction between them. Ideology of a Brahmin is irrelevant. They are joined by birth & will never fight against the existence of the other. They are two arms of the same body.

Post Independence, Army wanted to select the most experienced Indian commander as Army chief. But Nehru without consulting anyone appointed Gen Rob Lockhart, a senior British Army officer as the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Army.

Most people were shocked to know that Nehru selected a British Man after fighting for independence for over 200 years! Major Gen A A ‘Jick’ Rudra of the Indian Army was completely upset with the decision.

One day Lockhart met Nehru with a strategic plan and proposed many government directive defence policies for the country. He placed it on the table and explained the point to PM Nehru. After a while Lockhart walked out of the room and met AA Jick Rudra,+

Lockhart looked shell shocked and stunned. When asked what happened he said “The PM took one look at my paper and blew his top. Rubbish! Total rubbish! We don’t need a defence plan. Our policy is ahimsa (non-violence). We foresee no military threats. Scrap the army!”

One year after the incident the Kashmir crisis had increased and Gen Lockhart used to exchange ideas with the Gen Douglas Gracey who was commander in chief of Pakistan Army.There were many infiltrations along the border which Lockhart knew and took no action. But Lt Gen Cariappa+

A thread on Wallelign Mekonnen’s 1969 essay “On the Question of Nationalities in Ethiopia” - which catalyzed the student movement that overthrew Ethiopia’s Solomonic dynasty in 1974 (Wallelign was killed in 1972 while hijacking an Ethiopian airlines plane) https://t.co/Ol0ElagLJq

Wallelign wrote that, while some call the question of nationalities "tribalism" - it is in fact "nationalism." Ethiopia is not one nation, he wrote, “it is made up of a dozen nationalities with their own languages, ways of dressing, social organization and territorial entity.”

Culture is nothing more than the superstructure of an economic basis that presupposes subjugation of the peasantry and proletariat. To be a “genuine Ethiopian” one has to speak Amharic and adhere to their culture. One must “wear an Amhara mask”- to use Frantz Fanon's terminology.

A common refute to the Neftegna system, whereby Abyssinian elites took lands from southern peoples, was that there are Amhara and Tigray masses in poverty. Another centred on representational politics. In reality, the feudal system oppressed all, but some groups more than others.

While Abyssinians are not dominant because of inherent imperialist tendencies, this is no excuse to perpetuate this situation. The only way forward is a state where every nationality is given equal opportunity to preserve and develop its language, culture and self-administration.

Thread:

On this day, Jat pride Veer Gokula Singh attained veergati fighting Aurangzeb Forces.

He was the landlord of Tilpat (Faridabad)

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Gokula's father Madu Singh and his uncle Uday Singh was a rebellion who fought against Shahjahan in the support of Nandaram Jat. Shahjahan appoint many commanders against them.

1650, Madu Singh was mortally wounded fighting Mughal forces led by Raja Jai Singh (Jaipur).

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Then Madu Singh was successed by his song Sindhuraj who also died in 1651 fighting Mughals. then Uncle Uday Singh took command of the family

And Nandaram's rebellion also ended by 1660 and after that Aurangzeb appoint Abul Nabi (Ghazi) as Fauzdar of Mathura and Agra.

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1660, Abul Nabi's prime duty is to demolish temples and lay the foundation of mosque on the site of destroyed temples as he was a Ghazi.

In 1966 he target the famous krishna temple Keshav Rai and another one is Giriraj temple

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After 1660 almost all revolutionary activities were stopped in Koil but some rebels were active in Agra, sarkar.

The pargana (Sadabad) become the core centre of revolt and the whole command was taken by Gokula Jat.

The revolt took extreme after 1666 under Gokula.

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Do u know about the Diamond known as The Eye of Brahma?

The Eye of Brahma also known as Black Orlov is 7th largest black diamond in the world of Indian origin. It weighs 67.50carats(13.500 g).The diamond was originally 195carats(39.0g)&was discovered in early 19th century India.

The Black Orlov featured as one of the eyes in a statue of the Hindu god Brahma in Puducherry. One night a European Jesuit priest who asked for refuge inside the temple, took advantage of the generosity, plucked and looted the diamond out of the idol's eyes.

It is said after this incident the diamond became cursed.

In 1932, diamond dealer J. W. Paris reportedly took the diamond to the United States, and soon after committed suicide by jumping from a skyscraper in New York City.

Later owners of the diamond included two Russian princesses, Leonila Galitsine-Bariatinsky and Nadia Vygin-Orlov (after whom the diamond is named). Both women allegedly jumped to their deaths in the 1940s.

The diamond was later bought by Charles F. Winson, and cut into three pieces in an attempt to break the curse; the 67.5-carat Black Orlov was set into a brooch of 108 diamonds, suspended from a necklace of 124 diamonds.

#BlackHistoryMonth In the Navy, I was fortunate to serve at Commander Cruiser Destroyer Group 2(CCDG2). I reported to duty in 1981 as Radioman Seaman Apprentice(RMSA), and served through 1985 in the communications division achieving the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class(RM2/SW) /1

This was my first duty assignment. But my first is not important as the first African-American who served as CCDG2's Commanding Officer prior to my arrival, Rear Admiral Samuel L. Gravely, Jr. He was a trailblazer. He was commissioned an Ensign on November 14, 1944. /2

He enlisted and then became one of the first commissioned African-American officers in the US Navy. He was denied housing and even jailed for impersonating an officer. He withstood a cavalcade of abuse and racism and still managed to rise through the ranks of the Navy. /3

He became the first to serve under combat conditions during WW2. He served during the Korean & Vietnam War. He was the first to command a fighting vessel, and commander of the 3rd fleet. He served as Communications officer on the USS IOWA BB-61 /4

He served as the first African-American to command (USS Theodore E. Chandler (DD 717)); command a major warship (USS Jouett (DLG 29)) - and was the first African-American to achieve the rank of Captain in 1967. /5