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To Promote Religious Tourism In Pakistan, PM Imran Khan Meets High-Level Delegation Of Buddhist Monk

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Buddhism declined in Pakistan and Afghanistan due to Hindu and Zoroastrianism primarily. Muslims also persecuted Buddhists but Buddhism was already in a weak position when Muslims invaded these region.

Pakistan and Afghanistan especially Gandhara region was primarily Buddhist region. After the Mauryan empire and Kushan empire, the region was invaded by Zoroastrians from Iran, particularly the Sassanids and Parthians and by Hindus from India. By 7th century Gandhara was a Hindu colony ruled by Hindu Kabul Shahis. Hindu King Mihirkula also persecuted Buddhists. Afterwards during Muslim rule the last remaining Buddhists also disappeared.

Kashmir was also Buddhist majority region till 7th century when Hindu Shaivite rulers invaded Kashmir. Afterwards Hinduism became the religion of the majority in Kashmir. Muslim rulers like Sikander Butshikan also persecuted Buddhists.

So essentially modern day Hindu revisionists are re writing history when they claim ‘everyone’ in South Asia was once Hindu?

It is also therefore true that Hindu empires & rule wiped out Buddhist culture?
 
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Buddhism declined in Pakistan and Afghanistan due to Hindu and Zoroastrianism primarily. Muslims also persecuted Buddhists but Buddhism was already in a weak position when Muslims invaded these region.

Pakistan and Afghanistan especially Gandhara region was primarily Buddhist region. After the Mauryan empire and Kushan empire, the region was invaded by Zoroastrians from Iran, particularly the Sassanids and Parthians and by Hindus from India. By 7th century Gandhara was a Hindu colony ruled by Hindu Kabul Shahis. Hindu King Mihirkula also persecuted Buddhists. Afterwards during Muslim rule the last remaining Buddhists also disappeared.

Kashmir was also Buddhist majority region till 7th century when Hindu Shaivite rulers invaded Kashmir. Afterwards Hinduism became the religion of the majority in Kashmir. Muslim rulers like Sikander Butshikan also persecuted Buddhists.
 
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As to your question I think lot of this had to do with the hold of the brahmins. India was and is still a ocean of underclass with few Brahmins lording over them. In our region power was more diffuse and fractured. No one group dominated it and we were more susceptable to eqalatarian Islam.
The caste system in the Indus Region was overwhelmingly rejected, this is highlighted in a Brahmin's visit to the "land of the five rivers" (Aratta).

“that (region) where these five rivers, emerging from the mountains flow, this Aratta (country) is called Balhika where the Arya should not stay even for two days”.

"Having gone to the Bahlikas, I learnt the following. There, one first becomes a brahmana and then becomes a kshatriya. Thereafter, one becomes a vaishya, a shudra and finally a barber. Having become a barber, one once again becomes a brahmana. Having become a brahmana there, one is once again as a slave. In every family, there is only one virtuous brahmana. Everyone else follows one's desires. The Gandharas, the Madrakas and the Bahlikas possess limited intelligence."

"But on seeing the dharma practiced in the land of the five rivers, the grandfather cried, "Shame!". They are outcasts. They are born from servants. They are the performers of wicked deeds. That is the reason the grandfather condemned the dharma in the land of the five rivers. Though they followed their own dharma and that of their varna, he did not honour it."

Buddhist families converted to islam when islamic scholars arrived in Pakistan and Kashmir, where you state they were persecuted. Provide proof, Indian
Some Muslim rulers did in fact persecute Buddhists, though the target was non-Muslims in general.
 
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If you cannot understand my post please don't quote my posts.
every new religion was trying to eliminate old religions but Hinduism and Buddhism revelry did more more damage than Islam Buddhist revelry and Wikipedia is not reliable source at all because any body can edit Wikipedia
 
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Listen, if you cannot accept public opinion then I'm sorry. You are basically trying to force your perspective on me. In the age of Kings and empires there were conquests, bloody conquests. Every body suffered be it Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Christians.

By telling Muslims persecuted Buddhists I did not make any anti Muslim remark. Im just teaching you history.

In the US, children are taught about the history of 9-11 and how Al Qaeda destroyed the twin towers? Does that make American parents islamophobic?

@The Eagle

every new religion was trying to eliminate old religions but Hinduism and Buddhism revelry did more more damage than Islam Buddhist revelry and Wikipedia is not reliable source at all because any body can edit Wikipedia
Yes I was telling that. Also I did not say anything anti Islamic. I was recalling history. Some people simply cannot get it.

So essentially modern day Hindu revisionists are re writing history when they claim ‘everyone’ in South Asia was once Hindu?

It is also therefore true that Hindu empires & rule wiped out Buddhist culture?
Buddhism declined due to number of reasons. Persecution is just one reason. There are other reasons too like lack of royal patronage, migration, conversion to other religions, decline of Buddhist kingdoms etc.

So essentially modern day Hindu revisionists are re writing history when they claim ‘everyone’ in South Asia was once Hindu?

It is also therefore true that Hindu empires & rule wiped out Buddhist culture?
Hindus are correct when they said that everyone in South Asia was Hindu.

See, Hinduism is not the actual term. It is Sanatan Dharma which is the actual term. Hindu refers to worshippers of Sanatan dharma, Buddhists and Jains.

Just like Abrahamic faiths, Indian faiths also has common roots and religious Trinity.

Abdahamic faiths which are Islam, Christianity and Judaism is same

While Indian or Hindu religions like Sanatana Dharma, Buddhism and Jainism is same or has similar roots.
 
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Listen, if you cannot accept public opinion then I'm sorry. You are basically trying to force your perspective on me. In the age of Kings and empires there were conquests, bloody conquests. Every body suffered be it Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Christians.

By telling Muslims persecuted Buddhists I did not make any anti Muslim remark. Im just teaching you history.

In the US, children are taught about the history of 9-11 and how Al Qaeda destroyed the twin towers? Does that make American parents islamophobic?

@The Eagle


Yes I was telling that. Also I did not say anything anti Islamic. I was recalling history. Some people simply cannot get it.


Buddhism declined due to number of reasons. Persecution is just one reason. There are other reasons too like lack of royal patronage, migration, conversion to other religions, decline of Buddhist kingdoms etc.


Hindus are correct when they said that everyone in South Asia was Hindu.

See, Hinduism is not the actual term. It is Sanatan Dharma which is the actual term. Hindu refers to worshippers of Sanatan dharma, Buddhists and Jains.

Just like Abrahamic faiths, Indian faiths also has common roots and religious Trinity.

Abdahamic faiths which are Islam, Christianity and Judaism is same

While Indian or Hindu religions like Sanatana Dharma, Buddhism and Jainism is same or has similar roots.

But that’s not what they say or mean. The Hinduism practiced today, especially as they are trying to transform it into a unitary type faith modelled on Abrahamic religions, is nothing compared to the type of syncretic faith it was back thousands of years ago.

As others have said the region, had paganism, shamanism and local faiths also mixed in a melting pot. No way was everyone ‘Hindu’ as they like to deceive.
 
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But that’s not what they say or mean. The Hinduism practiced today, especially as they are trying to transform it into a unitary type faith modelled on Abrahamic religions, is nothing compared to the type of syncretic faith it was back thousands of years ago.

As others have said the region, had paganism, shamanism and local faiths also mixed in a melting pot. No way was everyone ‘Hindu’ as they like to deceive.
The current Sanatana Dharma which is Hinduism was never unitary in any sense. Buddhism and Jainism unlike Hinduism was always unitary.

The Hinduism practiced today was not the same some hundreds and thousands of years ago.

The early Hindus were agni pujaris and nature worshippers. It was the time of the Vedas, I mean the Vedic period.

Then after the 4th century BC, Upanishads, Manusmriti, Bhagwad Gita and Ramayana emerged and replaced Vedas as primary texts. During this time new gods also appeared like Shiva, Krishna, Rama etc. Also Lord Indra, who was the most powerful God according to the Vedas was made less influential and Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva, the trimurti, was made the heart of Hindu religion.

There is one theory which claims that the Vedas were followed by the original dwellers of India and there was a massive Aryan invasion in India from Iran at some point of time. The Aryans wiped out Vedas and instead made their own gods like Shiva, a part of Hinduism.

Afterwards different forms of Hinduism appeared and new gods began to emerge. After the 4th century AD, Hindu gurus like Adi Shankacharya and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also brought changes in Hinduism.

There are also many hindu festivals celebrated today which started very recently. Kali Puja, Durga puja etc started in the 12th century.
 
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The caste system in the Indus Region was overwhelmingly rejected, this is highlighted in a Brahmin's visit to the "land of the five rivers" (Aratta).

“that (region) where these five rivers, emerging from the mountains flow, this Aratta (country) is called Balhika where the Arya should not stay even for two days”.

"Having gone to the Bahlikas, I learnt the following. There, one first becomes a brahmana and then becomes a kshatriya. Thereafter, one becomes a vaishya, a shudra and finally a barber. Having become a barber, one once again becomes a brahmana. Having become a brahmana there, one is once again as a slave. In every family, there is only one virtuous brahmana. Everyone else follows one's desires. The Gandharas, the Madrakas and the Bahlikas possess limited intelligence."

"But on seeing the dharma practiced in the land of the five rivers, the grandfather cried, "Shame!". They are outcasts. They are born from servants. They are the performers of wicked deeds. That is the reason the grandfather condemned the dharma in the land of the five rivers. Though they followed their own dharma and that of their varna, he did not honour it."


Some Muslim rulers did in fact persecute Buddhists, though the target was non-Muslims in general.
Thank you for your valuable input.
 
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The caste system in the Indus Region was overwhelmingly rejected, this is highlighted in a Brahmin's visit to the "land of the five rivers" (Aratta).

“that (region) where these five rivers, emerging from the mountains flow, this Aratta (country) is called Balhika where the Arya should not stay even for two days”.

"Having gone to the Bahlikas, I learnt the following. There, one first becomes a brahmana and then becomes a kshatriya. Thereafter, one becomes a vaishya, a shudra and finally a barber. Having become a barber, one once again becomes a brahmana. Having become a brahmana there, one is once again as a slave. In every family, there is only one virtuous brahmana. Everyone else follows one's desires. The Gandharas, the Madrakas and the Bahlikas possess limited intelligence."

"But on seeing the dharma practiced in the land of the five rivers, the grandfather cried, "Shame!". They are outcasts. They are born from servants. They are the performers of wicked deeds. That is the reason the grandfather condemned the dharma in the land of the five rivers. Though they followed their own dharma and that of their varna, he did not honour it."


Some Muslim rulers did in fact persecute Buddhists, though the target was non-Muslims in general.


Something similiar is there in the Mahabharatas, but what is your source?

Even Mahabharata itself (400 BC-400 AD) said that the Indus basin region was not fit anymore for Vedic sacrifices because of intrusion of Mlecchas (Pahlavas,Sakas,Kushanas,Yavanas---That's Parthians,Greeks,Kushans and Scythians for you)


'There where forests of Pilus stand, and those five rivers flow, viz., the Satadru, the Vipasa, the Iravati, the Candrabhaga, and the Vitasa and which have the Sindhu for their sixth, there in those regions removed from the Himavat, are the countries called by the name of the Arattas. Those regions are without virtue and religion. No one should go thither. The gods, the pitris, and the brahmanas, never accept gifts from those that are fallen, or those that are begotten by Shudras on the girls of other castes, or the Vahikas who never perform sacrifices and are exceedingly irreligious.'

The Mahabharata, Book 8: Karna Parva: Section 44



Anyways never mind I found the source, seems to be from the same Mahabharata Volume 7 this time




If you guys are ever interested, I can post the religious persuasion of each and every pre-Islamic dynasty that ever ruled on the Indus Basin. Mind you there is a lot of changing back and forth between Buddhism,Hinduism,Zoroastrianism,Tengriism intra-dynasty itself
 
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Fantastic news. Not many people know but Buddhism in Korea can be traced from Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Pakistan in what was then the Gandhara region with Taxila as it's centre.
Oh wow I didn't know this. Can you tell me some reading material on this subject? I shall try a google search when I get home.
 
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What most of them posters here are missing that apart from the economic benefits of such decisions it will bring a lot of Influence of Pakistan and Pakistani's to the followers of the certain religion in any part of the world, take Sikhs as example we Let Sikhs visit their Mecca without a visa and with ease, and from NZ to USA the Sikhs are Praising Pakistan's efforts , reaching out to communities giving Pakistan much needed positive PR .
 
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This pertains only to the ruling dynasties till Mahmud Ghaznavi

Mauryans------------> Till Ashoka Hindu, then Buddhist and then from Dasaratha onwards Hindu
Indo-Greeks---------> Till Menander Ancient Greek religion,then Buddhist
Northern-Sakas------>Hindus
Indo-Parthians--------> Zoroastrians
Kushanas-------------->Till Kadphises,Central Asian Shamanism,then Hindu,Kanishka onwards Buddhist,Vasudeva onwards Hindu
Western Sakas------->Hindu
Hunas------------------>Central Asian Shamanism and then Mihirkula onwards Hindu
Hindu Shahis--------->Hindu
Chach of Alor---------->Hindu
Rai dynasty------------->Buddhist
Karkota dynasty-------->Hindu
 
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As others have said the region, had paganism, shamanism and local faiths also mixed in a melting pot. No way was everyone ‘Hindu’ as they like to deceive
Exactly. I'm not having these raving bhakts lay claim to my polytheistic ancient ancestors. The Hindutva narrative is dependent on rewriting history.

Hindus are correct when they said that everyone in South Asia was Hindu.

See, Hinduism is not the actual term. It is Sanatan Dharma which is the actual term. Hindu refers to worshippers of Sanatan dharma, Buddhists and Jains.
So by this, militant Hinduism claims all sorts of polytheists, ascetics and completely different religions as part and parcel of Hinduism. This is the b.s. mentality that drives Hindutva. I mean, it's still done today - Sikhs, Buddhists and even Muslims in India are constantly being brainwashed by this revisionism.

It's like forced conversion by just repeatedly saying "all you folks are Hindus and historically you always were".
 
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