Mythology Can Be True

Most people other than staunch believers in the book take take The Garden of Eden, Noah’s Ark and many other biblical stories as pure mythology or fable. However the when or if the The Garden of Eden existed has been a matter of conjecture for researchers. Up until recently, the church fathers who have controlled the historic narrative have loosely agreed that The Garden of Eden was probably in Babylon because Babylon is generally thought of as the cradle of civilisation, therefore it’s the logical place.

“How much do we really know about the story? For example, the devil and the apple, although well known, are not mentioned in the version of the story found in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

There is a second brief version of the Garden of Eden story in the Bible, which appears in the book of Ezekiel. It contains no reference to Eve and some scholars believe it was written before Genesis. It reveals a very different narrative in which a mighty king was thrown out of the garden for trading, violence and claiming to be like God.” BBC.

“The actual location of Eden is disputed amongst scholars, but a number of them have concluded that the garden is an extraterrestrial place – where the gods resided.” WH

The biblical Garden of Eden story (likely related to Nandanavana नन्दनवन or the divine grove of Indra) goes that Adam and Eve as the first two humans living in a Paradise on Earth ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge [of good and evil]. After eating the forbidden fruit they were expelled from Paradise. Many authors have added flavour and interpretations to this story and there are people who believe that some versions of the story are explicitly true. Those who believe fall into two camps as masters and slaves.

Although some societies are beginning to change, the carrot and the stick or fear and reward are the primary tools that governments use to retain control over populations in order to follow a particular economic or social program. Things have been this way for many thousands of years or at least beyond the record of Western history although not so much beyond the longer memory of Hindu or Indian history. The Hindu (being a geographical region and not the people) have a recorded history extending back beyond 10,000 years although such ancient works are somewhat difficult to decipher.

To understand where the Garden of Eden was we have to look at a multitude of factors.

Is there any probability of the Garden of Eden?

Firstly in the absence of evidence in the traditional narrative, there is no immediately rational incentive to say that there is yet we have learned throughout our history that there is often some truth behind the legend. This has been found true with regard to Grimm’s fairy tales and many other historic narratives although many truths are so mixed with fantasy, determining the truth is often impossible but not always as the light of wisdom shines more brightly.

    The story of the Golden fleece was thought of as a fantasy yet we often don’t take into account the actual climatic and geographic events taking place. With the melting of the great Northern icecap from about 10,000 BC through to perhaps about 6000 BC, there was a huge rise in sea level causing the Mediterranean Sea to overflow filling the Black Sea which in turn created a navigable waterway into the Caspian Sea. In turn a waterway existed into the Aral Sea which covered a large area of what is now Turkmenistan and and Uzbekistan forming a seaway along most of the length of what is now called the Amu Dayra River. This enabled ships to sail perhaps as far as or further than Termez in Uzbekistan up until the beginning of the common era. The Golden fleece of course was that sheepskins were and are still used as a sluice bed to collect fine gold, hence the ‘Golden fleece’ and Jason was seeking gold.

Secondly, the Garden of Eden story appears in the old Testament of the Bible and given that it is a collection of stories committed to paper from an oral tradition therefore is logical to think that there is a grain of truth though with repeated telling in a variety of languages it is probable the story has taken on a completely new meaning complete with some highly titillating incestuous embellishments that constitute the greater part of the story.

Thirdly, the original story of Adam & Eve is described as story of two birds in Mundakopanishad. The initial process of creation from two forces as explained in Prasnopanishad 1/4, written around 6000 BCE. Someone who was not conversant with the high philosophy, just took the stories from these Upanishads and rewrote them in his own way. Both the Prasna and Mundaka are the Upanishads of Atharva Veda believed to have been spread west by travellers.” ~ Booksfact

The Hindu narrative is much more interesting, they have in their records a cosmological 26,000 year cycle known by modern science as axial precession or the precession of the equinoxes referring to how the solar system moves through the signs of the astrological zodiac. How the people of India knew about this and astronomical information we take for granted today is still something of a mystery however: this period of time is referred to as a Yuga cycle and within this 26,000 years and there are various gravitational effects not exactly proven by modern science but accepted as probabilities that influence human behaviour. According to the Hindu narrative the last Golden age concluded some 15,000 years ago from which the human ability to live an idyllic life in Paradise declined.

Sat Yuga was a period of 10,368 years set in a time when it’s largely thought that the people were primitive hunter gatherers it seems highly probable they were laying the foundations for the people who would become us. The next Sat Yuga commences in about another 3953 years so if our species can endure for long, our forebears may enjoy such a golden age provided of course we don’t destroy ourselves in the interim.

Mount Kailash is the source of the four rivers of life;
the Indus, Brahmaputra, Sutlej and Karnali.It seems to me the Hindu narrative is more rational and logical especially since the timescale has been proven by modern scientific methods. The Hindu narrative of social history tells us we have come through the darkest age (of the Kali Yuga) and we are now ascending toward the end of the Dwapara Yuga. There is also no doubt that we are becoming smarter and technologically creative even though the fighting continues for global domination.

The location per common thought:

Many agree on Babylon in relation to the Tigress and Euphrates rivers yet India has four ancient river systems; the Ganga, the Indus, the Saraswati and the Brahmaputra. Near a source of carnelian most commonly found in India as well as Indonesia, Brazil, Russia (Siberia), and Germany.

The Garden of Eden was not in Babylon although Babylon may have been part of the Garden of Eden story. To understand this we again must turn to India were their historic narrative coupled with solid archaeological, linguistic and spiritual concepts found across the globe indicate that India was central to a great global civilisation before the commencement of the available historical records which continue to tell us very little.

The location per neglected evidence:

It is now evident that India has been continuously occupied for these past 2 million years and in the large part, the population of India is and has always been indigenous. Hindu iconography and evidence of trade exists across Eurasia proving India was central to all trade and communication since before the last Golden age, a time of paradise on earth as called the Garden of Eden by certain cults.

India diminished from the world stage in the past 1200 years due to occupation by the Moslems and Europeans although it was badly infected by the virus of patriarchal capitalism yet the legacy of the Garden of Eden continues to exist as isolated pockets within India. The forbidden fruit was the embracing of materialism and a rejection of the spiritual life. As I repeatedly point out in my articles, the only outcome of materialism is suffering while the outcome of embracing spirituality and identifying oneself as a soul facilitates the flow of joy and an inclusive state of consciousness.

8000 years ago the knowledgeable people of greater India understood the fall was taking place and as patriarchal capitalism began to take over, the Indus civilisation emerged, sea levels rose, the climate changed more rapidly and populations were forced to move off the continental shelves leaving legends of the great flood. Out of concern for the welfare of civilisation, Sanatana dharma was codified to guide the people through the rigours of the Kali yuga and a temple culture emerged. Within India this is marked as a celebration of life (praising God) whereas in the West it is marked as power over life (asking God for favours and blaming God when things go wrong).

So, in general terms the biblical narrative is in accord with the narrative within Vedanta yet the richness of Vedanta makes the biblical narrative a sad reflection of the truth. This story is not for you to believe, it’s for you to digest and perhaps guide your own research.

The Garden of Eden existed, it was across greater India and the fall was brought about by a highly significant but overlooked astrological phenomenon that caused people to lose their spiritual identity. This allowed for the rise of patriarchal capitalism which orchestrated the social inequity and suffering prevalent in the world today.

As intelligent beings we have the knowledge and the technology to recreate that paradise or heaven on earth, what we lack is the spiritual understanding and the will to be so boldly creative.

The Tree of Desire !
-Gems from the Mahabharata !!
Vyasa says:-
“There is a colourful tree of desire in the heart.
It is generated from the store of confusion.
Anger and insolence constitute its gigantic trunk.
Ignorance is its root and delusion sprinkles it with water.
Jealousy makes up the leaves.
Earlier acts provide the fertilizer.
Lack of judgement and lack of thought are the branches.
Sorrow makes up the terrible smaller branches.
The thirst that seduces are the creepers that surround it from all sides.
Those who are extremely greedy, desiring the fruit, worship that giant tree.”

From the Mahabharata Shanti Parva, Moksha Dharma.

References:
Nandanavana
Garden of Eden in other cultures
World History.
An analysis by Neeta Raina from Vedic Cafe

DISCLAIMER: The author is solely responsible for the views expressed in this article. The author carries the responsibility for citing and/or licensing of images utilized within the text.