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Pre-Slavic Culture in Europe – Literature Study Pre-slavic Culture in Europe Literature Study Vénu Kft. HUNGARY International Society for Krishna Consciousness (IRL) Ltd. IRELAND ISKCON Kerkgenootschap THE NETHERLANDS Świątynia Międzynarodowego Towarzystwa Świadomości Kryszny POLAND Duhovno Društvo za Dušo SLOVENIA 2015 Source:http://www.theguardian.com/education/gallery/2015/jan/23/a-language-family-tree-in-pictures?CMP=share_btn_gp January February Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 2 3 4 1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 26 27 28 29 30 31 23 24 25 26 27 28 SVETOVID, an early Slavic deity with four heads. Svetovid: Slavic deity of war, fertility and abundance. Svetovid is often depicted with a sword or bow in one hand and a drinking horn in the other. Other important symbols included the white horse, which were kept in his temple and used in divination. Svetovid is associated with war and divination and depicted as a four-headed god with two heads looking forward and two back. A statue portraying the god shows him with four heads, each one looking in a separate direction, a symbolical representation of the four directions of the compass, and also perhaps the four seasons of the year. Each face had a specific colour. Boris Rybakov argued for identification of the faces with the gods Perun, Svarog, Lada and Mokosh. Joined together, they see all four sides of the world. This gave rise to a false etymology of the name of the god as “world-seer“ (svet=“world“, vid=“sight“; Svetovid=“worldseer“). However, the forms Sventevith and Zvantewith show that the name derives from the word svęto, meaning “saint, holy“. The second stem is sometimes reconstructed as vit=“lord, ruler, winner“. The name recorded in chronicles of con- temporary Christian monks is Svantevit, which, if we assume it was properly tran- scribed, could be an adjective meaning approx. „Dawning One“ (svantev, svitanje = „dawning, raising of the Sun in the morning“ + it, adjective suffix), implying either a connection with the „Morning Star“ or with the Sun itself. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetovid Picture source: 1. http://meettheslavs.com/svetovid-main-deity-baltic-slavs/ 2. https://www.superstock.com/stock-photography/Fertility%20god#id=11501163 (The Adoration of the god Svetovid by Bilibin, Ivan Yakovlevich (1876-1942)/ Private Collection/ 1934/ Russia/ Lithograph/ Book design/ Mythology, Allegory and Literature) 3. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PosagZeZbrucza.jpg March April Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 1 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 27 28 29 30 30 31 THE VEDIC PEOPLE OF LITHUANIA If you were to travel to Lithuania you might encounter some tradi- tional houses adorned with the motif of two horse heads. You might take this as a simple design but it is in fact a small clue to Lithuania’s deep and ancient Vedic past. Traditionally, the Vedic peoples of Lithuania worshipped the Ašvieniai, the divine horse twins, related to the goddess Ūsinis. They are said to pull the Sun Chariot through the sky. The Lithuanian people continue to adorn their roof tops with the symbol of the divine horse twins in order to receive protection for the household. Lithuanian is very archaic and has preserved linguistically a great deal from Sanskrit, the original Mother Language of Europe. Below are a few examples of the linguistic similarities: Asva (Lithuanian) = Ashva (Sanskrit) meaning ‘horse’ Dievas (Lithuanian) = Devas (Sanskrit) meaning ‘gods’, ‘the shining ones’; Dumas (Lithuanian) = Dhumas (Sanskrit) meaning ‘smoke’ Sunus (Lithuanian) = Sunus (Sanskrit) meaning ‘son’ Vyras (Lithuanian) = Viras (Sanskrit) meaning ‘man’ Padas (Lithuanian) = Padas (Sanskrit) meaning ‘sole of the foot’ Ugnis (Lithuanian) = Agnis (Sanskrit) meaning ‘fire’ Vilkas (Lithuanian) = Vrkas (Sanskrit) meaning ‘wolf’ Ratas (Lithuanian) = Rathas (Sanskrit) meaning ‘carriage’ Senis (Lithuanian) = Sanas (Sanskrit) meaning ‘old’ Dantis (Lithuanian) = Dantas (Sanskrit) meaning ‘teeth’ Naktis (Lithuanian) = Naktis (Sanskrit) meaning ‘night’ Source: http://www.indiadivine.org/the-vedic-people-of-lithuania/ Ašvieniai are divine twins in the Lithuanian mythology, identical to Latvian Dieva deli and the Baltic counterparts of Vedic Ashvins. [1] Both names derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root for the horse – *ek’w-.[2] Old Lithuanian ašva and Sanskrit ashva mean “horse”. Ašvieniai are represented as pulling a carriage of Saulė (the Sun) through the sky.[1] Ašvieniai, depicted as žirgeliai or little horses, are common motifs on Lithuanian rooftops,[1] placed for protection of the house.[3] Similar motifs can also be found on beehives, harnesses, bed frames, and other household objects.[4] Ašvieniai are related to Lithuanian Ūsinis and Latvian Ūsiņš (cf. Vedic Ushas), gods of horses.[5] Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ašvieniai Picture source: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ašvieniai#/media/ File:Nida_ThomasMann_cottage.jpg 2. https://ramanan50. wordpress.com/2014/08/26/narayana-mantra-by-asvinikumaras- for-fortune-health/ May June Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 29 30 Of all the European cultures, Ireland has preserved more links with In ancient Irish religion and mythology Tara was the sacred home the Vedic branch of the Indo-European culture than any other for the Ari (later the Ari-ish or Irish) who ranked below the Illi gods, western European people. The links between ancient Irish culture yet above the people. Ireland (Ari-Land) takes its name from the Aris and Sanskrit/Vedic culture have been commented on by scholars or Arians. Ireland is considered the Great Motherland of the Aryan since the 19th Century. race, otherwise known as Atlantis, Thule or Tula. Aryan or Ari-an is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘noble’. Peter Berresford Ellis (Source: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sumer_anunnaki/esp_sumer_ annunaki13.htm) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_of_Tara#/media/File:Stone_of_Destiny,_Hill_of_Tara.png July August Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 27 28 29 30 31 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 PEACOCK THE MEANING The peacock is a symbol of immortality because the OF THE PEACOCK MOTIF ancients believed that the peacock had flesh that did The peacock symbol has rich connotations in Hun- not decay after death. As such, early Christian paint- garian folk art. On the one hand, it appears as the ings and mosaics use peacock imagery, and peacock bird of freedom, bird of celestial light, bird of the feathers can be used during the Easter season as Sun, which explains its use as a Sun symbol on the church decorations. This symbol of immortality is façade of houses. also directly linked to Christ. On the other hand, it is a symbol of purity, love and The peacock naturally replaces his feathers annually; eternal loyalty, and as such it appears in ballads, as such, the peacock is also a symbol of renewal. folk songs, as well as the embroidered or woven details of a bride’s dowry. Songs of prisoners and Source: http://www.chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com/en/ soldiers about the peacock as liberator belong to index.php/What_Does_a_Peacock_Feather_Symbolize the most ancient pentatonic layer of Hungarian folk music, but the symbol of the peacock as a The peacock feather signifies the exuberance of redeemer of prisoners was truly immortalized in nature. Sri Krishna wears a peacock feather that re- Hungarian cultural history through a poem by minds us of his play with the gopas and gopis of Sri Endre Ady. Vrindavana. The male peacock especially has long been a symbol of romantic love, and the rasa-lila ep- Source: Magyar Örökség Washingtonban - Hungarian isode of Sri Krishna‘s life teaches us how this kind of Heritage: Roots to Revival love may be directed to God. Szerzô / Author: Fülemile Ágnes. Published by Balassi Source: http://coastalworld.net/why-krishna-wears-pea- Intézet. The Hungarian Program of the 2013 Smithsonian cock-feathers/ Folklife Festival, Washington, D.C. September October Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 28 29 30 26 27 28 29 30 31 DEITY WORSHIP is one of the central components of bhakti yoga, or devotional service. A deity is a physical representation of the Supreme Lord in the form of a statue, a figure, or even a picture.
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