OBSCENE EPISODES IN BIBLE, MORAL CODE OF CONDUCT IN VEDAS 1. OBSCENE EPISODES IN BIBLE (i) Noah drank wine and remained naked The Holy Bible states that Noah, the hero of righteousness, drank wine, and was so much intoxicated that he made himself naked in his tent. Ham, the son of Noah, saw the nakedness of his father and informed his two brothers Shem and Japheth, who took a garment and covered the nakedness of their father. Here is the text : 66. “20. And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.”(ii) Reuben’s sexual intercourse with his father’s concubine (iii) Onan’s sexual intercourse with his brother’s wife Holy Bible mentions that Judah instructed his son Onan to marry (have sexual intercourse with) his elder brother’s widow Tamar and produce children in the name of his brother (not in his name). Onan did not like that the children produced by his sperm might be called the progeny of his brother; hence he slept with his brother’s widow, had sexual intercourse with her, but spilled his sperm (semen) on the ground, because he did not want to produce children out of his sperm for his brother. This action on the part of Onan displeased Biblical God, and the Lord killed him. Here is the text :
Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, the famous orator and statesman of U.S.A., who popularised the criticism of the Bible on the basis of a humanistic philosophy and scientific rationalism, observes : (iv) Judah’s sexual intercourse with his widowed daughter-in-law The Holy Bible states that when Tamar, the widowed daughter-in-law of Judah came to know that her father-in-law was to go to Timnath to shear his sheep, she put off her widow’s garment, wrapped herself in veil and sat on the way to Timnath. When Judah saw her, he, not knowing that she was his widowed daughter-in-law, requested her to allow him to have sexual intercourse with her. She said to him. “What will you give me for having intercourse with you ?” Judah replied, “I shall send one kid out of flock of my goats.” She said, “Till you send the kid to me, you may keep with me your tokens like signet (seal), bracelets and your staff (stick) which is in your hand.” Judah gave these things to her and had sexual intercourse with her, and she conceived by him. Read the Biblical text : 76. “13. And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.”(v) Biblical God caused his prophet Isaiah to walk stark naked for three years Holy Bible narrates that God caused his prophet Isaiah to walk stark naked for three years. The Lord said that it was a sign for the people of Egypt and Ethiopia, and the king of Assyria will heap the same type of shame upon Egypt by displaying the Egyptian and Ethiopian prisoners, young and old, naked and barefooted, even with their buttocks uncovered. Read the following three verses : Count Tolstoy, the renowned Russian writer and thinker, opines unambiguously :
On February 22, 1901, Leo Tolstoy was proclaimed an enemy of the Church and was ex-communicated62 on account of his candid statements about Christianity. He wrote : “With me, life makes religion, religion does not make life.”63(vi) Castration recommended by Jesus Christ
The early Christians faithfully carried out the afore-mentioned divine injunction. A Christian sect in Russia long practised castration as an act of obedience to Christ’s command.64 Origen, (c. 185-c. 254), the most influential theologian of the early Greek church, castrated himself so as to work freely in instructing female catechumens.65 (vii) The daughters’ sexual intercourse with their father The two daughters of Lot, who was the nephew of prophet Abraham, made their father drink wine at night, slept with him, had sexual intercourse with him and gave birth to two male children by their father. The elder daughter gave birth to a son named Moab. He is called the father of Moabites till today. The younger daughter gave birth to a son by her father. He was named Benammi. He is called the father of the children of Ammon till today. Here is the full text consisting of seven verses :
If the readers peruse chapter 19 of Genesis fully, they will come to know that Lot was not one of those whom Biblical God abhorred. He was dearer and nearer to God. That is why God, being merciful to him, saved him by bringing him and his family out of the city through two angels, before the city was destroyed by God. Here some questions arise : Do the educated Christians of modern civilized era approve of and believe in the afore-mentioned verses which narrate sexual intercourse of daughters with their father ? If they don’t, why do they not raise voice against the said immorality and incest and compel the Pope to delete this text from the Holy Bible ? Why do they not openly profess that they dislike the said text ? Why do they say that each verse of Bible is holy and true ? How do they claim that Bible contains all the answers to all the problems of life ? They call the non-Christians as infidels, but actually an infidel is he who pretends to believe in what he does not actually believe. Thomas Paine, the famous thinker and innovator, expresses the same idea. He says :
Ronald Reagon, the President of the United States, who had power to control the weapons that could obliterate all life on earth, once remarked about Holy Bible as under :
Almost all educated persons, who read the above verses regarding sexual intercourse of the two daughters with their father, will surely scoff at Ronald Reagan’s above remark. (viii) Lot offers his two daughters to a riotous mob of sodomites Lot, the nephew of prophet Abraham, offers his two daughters to a riotous mob of homosexuals in order to save two angels who visited him. (ix) The prophet Abram’s illicit connection with maid servant Holy Bible states that Abram’s wife Sarai was barren. So she gave her Egyptian maid, Hagar, to her husband Abram to be his wife. When the Egyptian maid conceived, Sarai felt that she was despised in the eyes of her maid, so she (Sarai) drove her to wilderness with the consent of Abram. Hagar gave birth to a son named Ishmael. At that time Abram was 86 years old. Read the following five verses :
Is it morality that Abram, the prophet, debauches his maidservant and later on drives her along with the child produced by her of him, to wilderness ? Count Tolstoy, the renowned Russian writer and thinker, remarks : (x) The prophet Abram marries his sister The Holy Bible states that Abimelech, the king of Gerar, took away Sarai, the wife of the prophet Abram, and kept her in his palace. Abram, the prophet, himself admitted to king Abimelech that Sarai, his wife, was his sister, the daughter of his father. Read the following verse : (xi) Abram, the prophet, barters his wife’s honour Holy Bible mentions that when Abram, the prophet, along with his wife Sarai went to Egypt, he said to his wife, “You look beautiful; when the Egyptians will see you, they will kill me and will allow you to remain alive, hence you may announce that you are my sister. In this way I shall be saved.” Here is the text
When the princes (officers) of Pharaoh saw Sarai, they commanded her before the king Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharao’s palace. The king Pharaoh kept Sarai in his palace and pleased Abram by giving him gifts of sheep, oxen, asses, camels, male servants and maidservants. Thus the prophet Abram passed on his beautiful wife Sarai, calling her as his sister, to Pharaoh and allowed her to remain in his royal palace by receiving in return the afore-mentioned gifts. The readers are advised to peruse the last ten verses of chapter 12 of Genesis to understand this episode fully. However for the sake of brevity, here two verses are cited :
The Holy Bible continues saying that when God plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues, he (Pharaoh) sent her back to her husband, Abram, who, however did not seem to have returned the gifts which he had received from the king. The prophet Abram played the same trick with Abimelech, the king of Gerar, and received from him the gifts of sheep, oxen, male-servants, maidservants and one thousand pieces of silver. Here is the Biblical text Joseph Lewis, the president of Free Thinkers of America and the editor of ‘The Age of Reason’, writes : (xii) Abandonment of women was a covenant with God! The Holy Bible mentions abandonment of women and their children, and it is called a covenant with God ! Will the feminists of the world like it ? Will women of the globe approve of it ? Here is the verse : (xiii) David locked up ten concubines (xiv) Moses : Keep alive virgins for your enjoyment and kill non-virgins The Holy Bible states that Moses, one of the towering figures in Bible, instructed his soldiers to kill all boys and all those girls who had lost their virginity by sleeping with males, but to keep alive for their enjoyment those virgins, who did not have sexual intercourse with males. Read the following five verses :
The afore-mentioned verses indicate that thirty two thousand virgins were captured as booty and distributed among the congregation and the Lord. Mark Twain, the great American humorous writer, throws light on the above passage as under : While commenting upon the afore-mentioned five verses, Thomas Paine, the great thinker of America, remarks : Charles Smith, the editor of ‘The Truth-Seeker’, states wrathfully : (xv) Sale of daughters for sexual gratification Will the members of Human Rights Commission approve of sale of daughters as mentioned in the following verses of Holy Bible ?
One must question to Christian missionaries : Is woman like a toy ? As long as you enjoy sexual satisfaction, you may keep her with you, but when she ceases to satisfy you sexually, you may throw her ! Is it morality ? No civilized states would tolerate such infamy. The Britishers often boasted that they were the civilized nation for centuries. Will they dare deny that sale of daughters was practised in England for seven hundred years, after the introduction of Christianity ? Ms. Matilda Joslyn Gage, renowned American writer, corroborates the above statement as under (xvi) Killing male enemies, and marrying their females Holy Bible allows and justifies killing of male enemies, then marrying their beautiful females from among the captives, and abandoning them later on if such captive wives do not give sexual satisfaction. Here are five Biblical verses in this connection :
Can it be called marriage or rape ? No civilized man will approve of marrying captive women by force and throwing them away when they cease to give sexual satisfaction. Here is another passage in Holy Bible, which allows and justifies killing all male enemies, and taking away their women folk for sexual gratification
Note : ‘Spoil of war’ means plundering of the possessions (including women and children) of enemies in war after they are killed. With all this, the Christian missionaries claim that only the religion of Christ and Holy Bible will lead men and women to moral progress. The readers, after having read the afore-mentioned instances, will themselves judge whether the religion of Christ and Holy Bible will lead men and women to moral progress or retrogress. In this connection the remark of Bertrand Russell, the renowned philosopher, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1950, is worth quoting. He says : Thomas Paine, one of the founders of the U.S.A., opines :
Holy Vedas consist of complete moral code of conduct for men and women of the world. It is not possible to cite here all instances. If the readers want to acquire Vedic knowledge in toto, they are advised to go through my book ‘Philosophy of Vedas’ authored by me in 1982. Holy Vedas, being practical guide to mankind, emphasise upon pure and pious life full of pure and pious deeds. Sauwa: pautaa Bavata yai&ayaasa: | Purity is the key of spiritual treasure. It elevates and exalts man. Prayer without purity is as useless as body without soul. Not only purity of body, but that of mind is required. He who is pure and pious in thoughts, words and deeds, can alone tread on path of spiritualism. Those who are pure within and without, hold the passport to enter the kingdom of God. Vedas emphasise upon piety and purity. Hence man should pray to Providence not for personal power, position and prestige, but for purity and piety. jaatavaod: paunaIih maa | Vedic message is divine message which inspires and elevates man, exalts and uplifts him, invigorates and ennobles him, infuses and enthuses him to soar high to achieve immortal bliss. Vedic philosophy admonishes us never to descend but to ascend and ascend to sublime thoughts and deeds. Holy Vedas precept us to live with dignity {VanaM tao paur]Ya naavayaanaM jaIvatauM tao dXataaitaM kRxNaaoima |Prof. Emerson, the American essayist and poet, states :
Prof. Pall Thema, the great thinker of the West, appreciates Holy Vedas in the following words :
Holy Vedas condemn and criticise lustful life in the form of unrestrained looseness in sex. To indulge in sexual conjugation with wife of another person is nothing but immorality and intemperance, debasement and debauchery, lewdness and lechery. The lewd and lecherous man as well as woman is not entitled to participate in yajna according to Rig Veda : maa iSaEnadovaa Aipa gauP-taM na: | He who indulges in debauchery loses his energy and strength, vision and vitality, memory and manliness, dignity and decorum. His age is tremendously reduced. Shri Manu corroborates the statement as under nahIdRSamanaayauYyaM laaokox Bavaita ikMxcana | Vedas therefore emphasise upon purity and piety, chastity and sanctity of body and mind which enables us to lead healthy life full of healthy thoughts and healthy deeds to serve God and guide, father and mother, saints and seers, country and community. This is the only way to enjoy life and gain admiration and immortality. Bad`M kxNao-iBa: EaRNauyaama dovaa Bad`M paSyaomaaXaiBaya-ja~aa: | Holy Vedas emphasise on upliftment and elevation of all beings. The good of an individual lies in cumulative progress of all persons. That is why Vedic religion precepts man to purify not only himself but also others. vaOEvadovaIM vaca-sa Aa rBaQvaM Sauwa Bavantau: Saucaya: paavakxa: | ====================================
- Pandit Deendayal
Upadhyaya
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Footnotes: 61 (i) Count Tolstoy : ‘What is Religion ?’ (ii) Brahm Datt Bharti : ‘The Vedas and the Bible’, New Delhi, 1967, p. 41 62 Victor Shklovsky : ‘Lev Tolstoy’, translated by Olga Shartse, Raduga Publishers, Moscow, 1988, pp. 572-573 63 Ibid., p. 406 64 W.P. Ball and G.W. Foote : ‘The Bible Handbook’, Revised Edition, 1986, U.S.A., p. 245 65 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 16, U.S.A., 1967, p. 1094 66 Thowas Paine : ‘The Age of Reason’, published by Watts and Co., London, 1796, p. 1 67 ‘Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio’, dated November 5, 1984 68. (i) Count Tolstoy : ‘What is Religion ?’ (ii) Brahm Datt Bharti : ‘Max Muller - A Lifelong Masquerade’, 1992, p. 218 69 Brahm Datt Bharti : ‘The Vedas and the Bible’, New Delhi, 1967, p. 45 70 Colin Maine : ‘The Bible : What It says ?’, reprinted by Voice of India., New Delhi, p. 15 Mark Twain died in 1910, but the letters were suppressed by his daughter, Clara Clemens Samossoud, for a long time for their irreverent tone. They were published half a century later by Harper and Row, New York 71 Thomas Paine : ‘The Age of Reason’, published by Watts and Co., London, 1796, p. 42 72 Charles Smith : ‘The Bible In the Balance’, first published in Europe, reprinted by Hindu Writers’ Forum, New Delhi, p. 20 73 Matilda Joslyn Gage : ‘Woman, Church and State’, New York, 1893, reprinted by Voice of India, New Delhi, 1997, p. 301 74 Bertrand Russell : ‘Why I am not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion’, latest seventh edition, 1996, London, p. 25 75 Thomas Paine : ‘The Age of Reason’, published by Watts and Co., London, 1796, pp. 7-8 |