Barbelith Underground > Conversation

quote:Originally posted by gozer the destructor:
and would appreciate any ideas, different takes or alternative viewpoints that anyone has,

As far as learning something new about the Devil and Satan, then you really can't go wrong with
this article.

I'll quote a few intriguing tidbits:

"VIEWZONE.COM comment: "An interesting but shocking look at the ancient origins of the devil. Not for the faint of heart!""

[Comment: Satan Was Really a Saintly Indian King. In Chapter II, I explained that Satana was in reality a Gujarati city-state that lost a war to the Seunas or Zionists. The name of this city was probably derived from that of a Jaina king and founder of a small Jaina sect. We are wrongly taught that a holy man named Mahavira founded Jainism. He was in reality a later reformer. Jainism itself existed millenniums before Mahavira was born. No one really knows exactly when Mahavira lived. I believe that he achieved his enlightenment around 1000 B.C. Some years after his death, a pious Jaina king named Satan-ikas (Satan of Kasi?) began expounding his own version of Jainism. He succeeded in getting only 11 converts. They distinguished themselves from other Jainists by wearing blood-red robes and occasionally bull-horn headresses. Because the sect was (and still is) so very small, it was probably rejected by Jainists as demoniacal and heretical. In those days, the different Indian sects often fought one another, as, indeed, their non-Indian descendants do even today. Over the centuries, this saint and his red clothing evolved to the red-colored monster that the TV preachers use to scare fanatical Christian fundamentalists and convince them to unload their bank accounts and wallets.

The following are the "evil" teachings that this "Satan" used to ensnare innocent victims:

1. The senses are not the seat of wisdom.
2. The Law of Karma (the effect of our past deeds, whether good or bad) is a reality.
3. The world and the beings in it are realities; not illusions.
4. The spiritual dimension is also real.
5. No one should kill animals.
6. We must endure patiently the life conditons that we cannot change.
7. Do not mortify the body.
8. Always be truthful, sincere, and pure of conduct.
9. Do not steal.
10. Do not be unfaithful to your spouse. Control all earthly desires.

If Satan-ikas were to return to see what he has become in the minds of Baptist preachers and Jehovah's Witnesses, he'd truly be saddened to learn that he is remembered as The Great Tempter - the man that everyone loves to hate. The preachers need not worry overmuch. Very few people have ever fallen into the clutches of Satan-ikas.
"The Sanskrit/Kashmiri word for "devil" is exactly as in English: dev-il (condition of being a devil). The amazing similarities between English and Sanskrit prompted Indian historian A. K. Mazumdar to write, ".English is essentially Rig-Vedic Sanskrit in disguise." (The Hindu History; p. 349.) For more information about this anomaly, see my book India Once Ruled the World."

Comment: My guess is that the orthodox Jains regarded Satan-ikas as a heretic and demonized him and his followers. Somehow, he became the Devil for the rest of the world.

Gene D. Matlock]

SATAN