Turbaned figures wearing large ear-rings and riding elephants (in America)?!
Columbus was right after all: the native
inhabitants
of America, though not Hindus, were close cousins. Close enough for the distinctions to be blurred… The Hindus (from South India) were great navigators and ship builders who crossed the oceans and established cultural colonies in Java, Bali, Sumatra, Malaya, Philipenes, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand between the first and twelfth centuries; long before Columbus was even born!
Amaravati – the most important city in South India during those days – was presumably the starting point of these migrations. The island chains in Polynesia became stepping stones for them, on the way to Mexico, Peru and Copan (Honduras).
But it is important to understand that the nature of Hindu influence was essentially social and cultural, the colonies were independent entities otherwise. To speak of colonisation would be incorrect, for that was neither the purpose nor the objective of these early migration of men. Otherwise, how would one explain the presence of Pachisi – the game of dice also known as Ludo – among the Mexican Indians? These cultural links date back some two thousand years… Though geographical isolation has given American Indian culture a unique character of its own, it bears the unmistakable stamp of Hinduism. This influence is felt in fields as diverse as art, architecture, religion, cosmology and mythology.
Even Peru’s epic poetry bears an uncanny resemblance to that found in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata! If conclusive evidence of the author’s thesis were required, it is provided by the large number of Sanskrit words present in the Quichua language. This can no longer be dismissed as mere coincidence. Coincidence, if it is so consistent and widespread, can no longer be regarded as chance occurrence! To conclude, what Columbus had discovered was not India itself, but the unmistakable cultural influence of India upon this hitherto undiscovered land! Therefore, the author calls for fresh appraisal – and fresh thinking on this controversial subject.
The (Buddhist) temples of Ceylon, South India and Java resemble those found in central America. The percepts of right living – and right thinking – also find an echo in these distant lands. Since many of the symbols of Hinduism and Buddhism (such as the Conch Shell and the Swastika) are similar, it is pointless to speculate whether the basic inspiration behind these epic voyages was Hindu or Buddhist. Buddhism was an integral part of Hindu or Indian culture; and it is meaningless to differentiate between the two, especially in those early times. If traces of Buddhism are to be found in Honduras, it is only because Buddhism would have spread along with Hindu culture (and vice versa).