[KrishnaShripad]

> I know almost nothing about the history of India, so it's been a fun educational journey.

As another commenter pointed out, if you want to know the history of India, there is no better scripture than the Mahabharata. Indians learn through stories about our Ancient Epics. That is the only thread that binds us to everything in the Civilization. Mahabharata is the core of it. As a kid, I was fascinated by the Mahabharata serial (old 1990s serial which is an abridged version of the actual scripture). It has English subtitles as well: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa6CHPhFNfadNcnVZRXa6...

I have a feeling you'll enjoy it. :)

Once you know Mahabharata, you'll get really familiar with the lingo/jargon/terms that are commonly used in Dharmic scriptures. Then it becomes really easy to connect with the rest of your study of the Ancient Indian Civilization.

[lioeters]

Oh joy, I started watching the Mahabharata series you recommended.

Already I love the music, sitar and singing; how the title is in Sanskrit, English, and Arabic scripts; and how it starts with Time itself telling the story.

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In another comment you mentioned Hiraṇyagarbha, or Brahmanda. What a beautiful concept that is. I've heard about the Cosmic Egg in other cultures, particularly in the Greek Orphic tradition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_egg#Greek/Orphic_mytholo...

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What started my journey of curiosity about Greek and Indian cultural exchange, is that I grew up in Japan (it's literally my motherland) - and in Japanese temples, at the entrance are commonly seen two lions (stone statues) guarding the sacred space. I read that this symbolism came from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, via India to China and reached Japan.

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8B%9B%E7%8A%AC

The lions are named "A" and "Un", corresponding to Aum, अहूँ.

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By the way, would you mind if I wrote you an email? I'm enjoying our conversation, and have some philosophical questions. I didn't want to post my address here, to connect this account with my real-life identity, so I won't ask for yours - but maybe there's a temporary way to exchange info and get in touch, or a private way to give you my email (or vice versa)?

One thing I was curious to ask, about your thoughts on the differences and similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism. I imagine that's a big topic, haha.

[KrishnaShripad]

> By the way, would you mind if I wrote you an email? I'm enjoying our conversation, and have some philosophical questions. I didn't want to post my address here, to connect this account with my real-life identity, so I won't ask for yours - but maybe there's a temporary way to exchange info and get in touch, or a private way to give you my email (or vice versa)?

I won't mind at all. You can contact me at [e-mail]

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> Already I love the music, sitar and singing; how the title is in Sanskrit, English, and Arabic scripts; and how it starts with Time itself telling the story.

That's great :) Yes the story is an emotional rollercoaster. The main storyline ends with Episode 94 (all Episodes after that are side stories that happened in the same timeline). This is the only show that captures the essence of Mahabharata. Still nothing can beat the actual scripture itself as it is more detailed (the show is abridged due to paucity of Time). Kisar Mohan Ganguli's Mahabharata is a decent translation (https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm) which you can read once you finish the show.

> One thing I was curious to ask, about your thoughts on the differences and similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism. I imagine that's a big topic, haha.

It definitely is a big topic haha! More importantly, Hinduism is itself not the right word to describe the Religion. It is "Sanatan Dharma".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San%C4%81tana_Dharma

Within it is Vedanta (also called Uttara Mimamsa) which has multiple schools. The closest school of Vedanta that shares a lot of overlapping concepts with Buddhism is Advaita Vedanta. The other schools (like Vishishtadvaita and Tattvavada/Dvaita) deviate significantly.

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> What started my journey of curiosity about Greek and Indian cultural exchange, is that I grew up in Japan (it's literally my motherland) - and in Japanese temples, at the entrance are commonly seen two lions (stone statues) guarding the sacred space. I read that this symbolism came from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, via India to China and reached Japan.

Yes that is right. In fact, a lot of the iconography and idols (especially in old Temples) in Japan has direct correlation with Dharmic deities. This page contains all comparisons:

http://hssjapan.org/hindu-gods-in-japan/

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> In another comment you mentioned Hiraṇyagarbha, or Brahmanda. What a beautiful concept that is. I've heard about the Cosmic Egg in other cultures, particularly in the Greek Orphic tradition.

Yes all Ancient Civilizations had this concept permeated into their scriptures in one way or the other. You'll find a lot of similarities. One striking similarity is that of Noah's Ark and Lord Vishnu's "Matsya Avatar".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsya

Both have pretty much the same story line except that in Matsya Avatar God himself incarnates to rescue the species on Earth.

[lioeters]

Thanks! Just to let you know, I wrote you at the given address. Looking forward to talking with you further.

[KrishnaShripad]

Thanks! I replied back from my personal address. Just took some extra time to formulate my thoughts. Hope you received it!