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 The Aryan Invasion Theory as Myth March 14, 2001
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although Steven Knapp's 'Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence' has some very real weaknesses, it would be unwise to dismiss the whole of his thesis out of hand. In particular, he certainly seems to be on to something when he points out that there is little if any evidence to support the received view of an 'Aryan Invasion of India.'
It would seem that this THEORY - which is all it is - is a MYTH propagated by Western Scholars who wished, for politically motivated reasons, to devalue the achievements of Ancient India. As such it becomes not unlike certain other current myths which have been planted in the common mind and that work to prevent a true understanding of the past.
Those who may be interested in pursuing this matter should try to find a copy of David Frawley's 'Gods, Sages and Kings : Vedic Secrets of Ancient Civilization.' His article, 'The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India' which appeared in "The India Times", can be found through Google and is available at: http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/aryan/aryan_link.html
On another note, although I'm not a linguist it's my understanding that language tends to evolve from an older and earlier complexity of grammar towards a later simplicity, and if we look at Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, Latin and English what we find is that Sanskrit is more complex than Ancient Greek, Ancient Greek is more complex than Latin, and Latin is more complex than English. The movement from complexity to relative simplicity has been from East to West, and not West to East.
Better insight into what really happened in History March 11, 2001
19 out of 27 found this review helpful
History remains the most abused subject of education throughout the world. This is true even in India. As claimed by Stephen Knapp, not only the people outside India lost touch with their Vedic roots but also Indians themselves. With centuries of assault, humiliation, molestation the present day history of Vedic culture as depicted in the classroom books presents a contradictory picture of what was really happened. Very few blessed people have had the chance of going through this sacred knowledge and associated training in India. But the truth especially in the matters of religion can be appreciated only when one comes out of reasoning. One has to be completely open to understand sensitive matters like religion and ancestoral links which are very personal to everyone. Even for a devout follower of Sanatana Dharma, there are many things in his/her spiritual life which do not hold up to real life terms. But deep in heart persons who had gone through these know that their experiences are simply beautiful and true. It is hard to explain all such incidents unless one goes through them. I guess Stephen wants to bring this point forth by establishing the truth that this culture has spread over the globe and has influence over all the regions. Whether one belives in what is explained in this book or not, Stephen Knapp has done an excellent job in trying to throw light on a broad and yet complex issue that makes it worth reading.
 no case for knapp's linguistic equations, in particular February 6, 2001
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
This book adopts the non-standard view that Sanskrit was in India much earlier than is thought by most linguists. This view is almost certainly mistaken, but there is an argument of sorts to be had about it. Knapp, however, goes well beyond this in claiming that Indo-European actually originated in India, as early Sanskrit, and spread westwards, and indeed he proclaims that Sanskrit is the ancestor of all languages! These more extreme positions, especially this last, simply do not hold up.
Knapp's ideas historical linguistic reasoning is straight out of the 18th Century, before historical linguistics became a serious discipline. He identifies superficial similarities between Sanskrit words on the one hand and words in English and other languages on the other, and deduces that these words have a common origin. Because of his main theory, this amounts to claiming that the non-Sanskrit words are derived from the Sanskrit words. Most of these links are simply asserted as facts, with no supporting evidence.
As we now know, such cases are in fact much more complex and uncertain. One cannot rely on superficial resemblances of form, even when accompanied by similarity of meaning, in establishing etymologies. It can be established that words are cognates (ie, that they descend from a common ancestor word in a common ancestor language) - only if they display systematic correspondences in their pronunciation, repeated over large numbers of word-sets.
Isolated superficial similarities prove nothing. ANY pair of languages will display some such pairs, simply by chance. The likelihood can be calculated and it is often quite high.
In some of Knapp's examples, the Indo-European roots from which a complex English word is derived do appear in Sanskrit. But in most such cases the English word is clearly derived from Indo-European via Germanic, or else from the Latin or Greek forms - not from the Sanskrit forms.
But many of the equations given by Knapp are altogether illusory. A high percentage of them are actually known to be invalid; the words in question have separate, established etymologies and are clearly unrelated. In some other cases, we simply cannot be sure whether words are cognates or not; there is insufficient evidence. But in most of these cases there is no particular reason to believe Knapp. And in many of them his equations are implausible on other grounds, eg historical.
One fairly typical case involves the name Australia, which is a modern coining transparently derived from Latin, where it would mean 'southern' (land, etc). On p 76 Knapp states that it is from Sanskrit Astralaya, meaning 'land of missiles'; he suggests that the pilots of vimanas practised firing their missiles in Australia, thus creating the deserts! This is just not true.
Knapp places a great deal of emphasis on linguistic equations, and I am sure he is sincere; but he apparently does not know linguistics well enough to use linguistic examples persuasively. If he did, I think he would realise that there is no linguistic basis for his claims.
It should be added that Knapp's historical expertise is also suspect, and that even if his story were true that would not imply that Vedic religious beliefs are themselves true.
Book Review by THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW December 27, 2000
13 out of 22 found this review helpful
PROOF OF VEDIC CULTURE'S GLOBAL EXISTENCE is a remarkable and informative historical survey of Vedic civilization and its enduring cultural and spiritual contributions that are to be found in the cultures, religions, and spiritual movements of today. Informative, challenging, occasionally startling, PROOF OF VEDIC CULTURE'S GLOBAL EXISTENCE is very highly recommended reading for students of religion, spirituality, metaphysics, and ancient history.
 The better understanding of history October 25, 2000
18 out of 26 found this review helpful
This book provides you with a better understanding of human history. How we western people lost connection to the culture and religion of our forefathers, how the world became disunited due to later cultures and religions, how this later cultures and religions took over or demonized the teachings, holy places and temples of the original culture and religion. If we want the world to become a better place, we have to look at it when it was a better place: 5000 years ago, when the culture of our forefathers united the whole world. We have to revive this original culture of us all - at least in our minds and hearts.
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