Spirituality in India - A Cultural Perspective/Roots of Indian spirituality

The roots of Indian spirituality and religion stretch back into the stone age. As early as the Paleolithic, we find traces of it in forms that still resonate on the Indian subcontinent today. During the Upper Paleolithic, from 10,000 to 20,000 years before present (BP), there was fire worship and mother goddess worhsip.World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India Ali Javid 2008 Algora 9780875864846 18 http://books.google.co.in/books?id=54XBlIF9LFgC&lpg=PP1&vq=bhimbekta&dq=worship%20india%20stone%20age&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q=mother%20goddess%20worship&f=false 2 April 2014 At Baghor, in Madhya Pradesh, the feminine was worship 11,000 years BP using a triangle as a representation. A triangular stone was found incised with triangles, marked in red ochre, at an altar for a goddess. This practice continues even today in villages of the area, where similar stones, smeared in red and incised with triangles are offered to village deities.Archaeology and World Religion Insoll Timothy 2002 Taylor & Francis 9780203463673 14 Across the rest of India too, the triangular shape is the basis for creating yantras,http://blog.ishafoundation.org/lifestyle/navaratri-2013-flowering-feminine/ Navaratri Celebrations 2013 – Flowering of the Feminine 7 October 2013 Isha Blog 2 April 2014 which are used for the worship of various deities. Archaeologists who excavated the site state that when the area's villagers saw the excavation, they told the archaeologists, “That’s one of our shrines. You must look after it properly.” After the archaeologists left, the villagers began worshipping at the shrine again.An Archaeologist at Work in African Prehistory and Early Human Studies: Teamwork and Insight Clark Desmond 2002 University of California Press 248 http://texts.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt3f59n89f;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=d0e11490&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e11202&brand=calisphere 2 April 2014 At the Harappan civilization (also sometimes called the Indus Valley civilization), more defined modes of worship turn up. Worship of the mother goddess is present alongside phallic worship and worship of a male god. One particular seal, termed the Pashupati seal by archaeologists is of interest. It depicts a horned figure, seated in what seems to be a yogic posture or asana, surrounded by an elephant, a buffalo, a tiger and a rhino. It is accepted by some scholar but disputed by others that this horned figure represents a "proto-Shiva", an early representation of Shiva, the Hindu God.A Handbook of Ancient Religions Hinnells 2008 Cambridge University Press 9781139461986 436-457 http://books.google.co.in/books?id=FIYiil96ZXAC&lpg=PA435&dq=indus%20phallic%20worship&pg=PA436#v=onepage&q&f=false 2 April 2014 Even today, in yogic lore, Shiva is considered the lord of yoga, and the first yogi and guru.http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/history-of-yoga/who-is-shiva-meaning/ Who Is Shiva: Man, Myth or Divine? 6 February 2014 Isha Blog 2 April 2014 Shaktism is also found in Harappa, as is the symbol of the swastika, another predominant presence in Hinduism today. References