There are huge similarities between the Ancient Egyptian religion and Hinduism. The temples of Luxor and Karnak remind me of Indian temples. Of course the Egyptian temples are at least 2000 years older than the oldest surviving Indian temple, and are built on a much grander scale than any existing Indian temple.
And then there are the other similarities - especially the startling parallels in the various forms God is depicted in the ancient Egyptian religion, and in Hinduism. In fact there are so many similarities between the 2 religions, that it is not possible to cover all the similarities in a small blog post.
What puzzles me is : How did a religion that existed for more than 3000 years simply suddenly disappear by the 2nd century AD? The Egyptian civilization was supposed to be the most powerful and wealthiest - but it just crumbled away suddenly, and not a living trace exists of it now. Only a few of the temples survived thanks largely due to being buried under the sands for thousands of years, before being re-discovered recently.
I checked with our very knowledgeable Egyptologist guide - but he could not come up with any convincing reason. The only explanation he could come up with was that the ancient Egyptian religion was not a religion, but was a degenerate civilization which crumbled in the face of a superior monotheistic religion (Christianity - which was largely supplanted by Islam later.)
To me this does not seem like a convincing explanation for the sudden death of the ancient Egypt religion/civilisation. If that is indeed the explanation, then how come Hinduism still survives as a vibrant way of life despite its exposure to Islam and Christianity over a thousand years ago when Hinduism was in an advanced state of decline? Is it because Hinduism has a strong philosophical under-pinning (e.g. the Bhagwat Geeta and the Vedas)? But then possibly even the Egyptian religion too might have had it in the ancient times - though no evidence exists. Or is it Hinduism's famed flexibility to adapt to existential challenges, and to be re-born in new avatars that is responsible for its survival e.g. the famous 13th century revival movement (the Bhakthi movement) which cleaned up many of the ills plaguing Hindu society?
Anyway this is not a discussion on India. For me the puzzle is about why a religion which flourished for 3000 years just completely vanished abruptly in a matter of less than 100 years. So far I have not found any convincing reasons for its demise anywhere on the net. My own personal hypothesis is that the ancient Egypt religion had - just before it vanished - degenerated into a personality cult for the kings - and that the temples were just a means to propagate their own divinity. And as with any personality cult, when the personality dies, the cult too dies, and a new thought/belief system rushes in to fill the vacuum.
There is a lesson to be learnt here.
Anyway, I hope one day I will know the real answer.
What puzzles me is : How did a religion that existed for more than 3000 years simply suddenly disappear by the 2nd century AD? The Egyptian civilization was supposed to be the most powerful and wealthiest - but it just crumbled away suddenly, and not a living trace exists of it now. Only a few of the temples survived thanks largely due to being buried under the sands for thousands of years, before being re-discovered recently.
I checked with our very knowledgeable Egyptologist guide - but he could not come up with any convincing reason. The only explanation he could come up with was that the ancient Egyptian religion was not a religion, but was a degenerate civilization which crumbled in the face of a superior monotheistic religion (Christianity - which was largely supplanted by Islam later.)
To me this does not seem like a convincing explanation for the sudden death of the ancient Egypt religion/civilisation. If that is indeed the explanation, then how come Hinduism still survives as a vibrant way of life despite its exposure to Islam and Christianity over a thousand years ago when Hinduism was in an advanced state of decline? Is it because Hinduism has a strong philosophical under-pinning (e.g. the Bhagwat Geeta and the Vedas)? But then possibly even the Egyptian religion too might have had it in the ancient times - though no evidence exists. Or is it Hinduism's famed flexibility to adapt to existential challenges, and to be re-born in new avatars that is responsible for its survival e.g. the famous 13th century revival movement (the Bhakthi movement) which cleaned up many of the ills plaguing Hindu society?
Anyway this is not a discussion on India. For me the puzzle is about why a religion which flourished for 3000 years just completely vanished abruptly in a matter of less than 100 years. So far I have not found any convincing reasons for its demise anywhere on the net. My own personal hypothesis is that the ancient Egypt religion had - just before it vanished - degenerated into a personality cult for the kings - and that the temples were just a means to propagate their own divinity. And as with any personality cult, when the personality dies, the cult too dies, and a new thought/belief system rushes in to fill the vacuum.
There is a lesson to be learnt here.
Anyway, I hope one day I will know the real answer.
3 comments:
what is so puzzling to me is that, not only the people have vanished, the history, the teachings, we are left with stones and our imagination.
I am baffled by this myself.. The ancient Egyptian civilization amazes me.. I love Egyptology and I love reading about the ancient Egyptian civilization..
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