Why Does John’s Gospel Quote The Hindu Rigveda? (John 1:1)

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prov1810

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I seriously doubt that John read the vedas. What is far more likely is that he happened to say something similar to something said before. There is nothing completely original in poetry or aphorisms.

"We come too late to say anything which has not been said already." (Jean de La Bruyère)

"Everything has been written, everything has been said, everything has been done." (Blaise Pascal)

But Christianity is about the unique historical reality of Christ, not a unique idea.
 
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Dusky Mouse

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From the article:
This will sound familiar.
“In the beginning was the word (Vak), and the word (Vak) was with Brahma, and the word (Vak) was Brahma” (Prajapati vai idam agra asit, Tasya vak dvitiya asit, Vag vai paramam Brahma)- Source: Krishna Yajurveda, Kathaka Samhita, 12.5, 27.1
Or translated differently, perhaps more loosely:
“In the beginning was God the Creator;
with Him was the Word,
and the Word was truly the Supreme Absolute.”
The gospel of “John” echoes:
“In the beginning was the Word (logos)
and the Word (logos) was with God (theos)
and the Word (logos) was God (theos)“. Source: John 1:1
 
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Dusky Mouse

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Sadly...you have fallen for a lie...there is no 12:anything in the Yajur Veda...you have been deceived...read them for yourself at sacred texts.com...the phrase "was with Brahma" does not even exist in the entire text...

Paul
I've not been deceived. I was asking a question due to lack of knowledge about the Veda. :)
The former Christian who turned skeptic/agnostic/atheist, whatever title they may wish to apply to themselves and formed the website wherein this information is posted is not only deceived, per your assertions about the lack of the actual text in the Veda, but they are hoping to deceive others in publishing this alleged false information.
 
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Dusky Mouse

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Quoted Source: Hindu Wisdom - Introduction
There is a verse in the Vedas as follows :

Prajapati vai idam agra asit
Tasya vak dvitiya asit
Vag vai paramam Brahma


"In the beginning was Prajapati (Bramh), with whom was the Vak or Word,
and the Word was verily the Supreme Bramh."
Vak is thus a Sakti or Power of the Bramh which is one with the Possessor of Power (Saktiman). This Sakti which was in Him is at the creation with Him, and evolves into the form of the Universe whilst still remaining what It is - the Supreme Sakti.
In the “beginning” there was Brahm and with It was Vak. In the Veda (Satapatha Brahmana VI 1—1-8) it is said, “this Being (Purusa) Prajapati willed ‘May I be many’, ‘May I be propagated. In the Kathaka it is said (XII-5 and XXVII-1) “Prajapati only was then this (Prajapatir vai idam asit. Vak was a second to Him (Tasya vag dvitiya asit).

(source: The Garland of Letters - By Sir John Woodroffe
p. 4 - 11 and The Pranava Om - The source of Creation - An extract from the book Art Of God Symbolism - By Swami Chinmayanand and Omkaar - The Source of Creation). For more refer to Internet Sacred Texts on Hinduism.
 
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St_Worm2

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I searched the word "beginning" through the Four Vedas, in a 1446 page English translation of the Vedas, and could not find the quote similar to John 1:1 that was posited by Dusky Mouse (not sure what I did wrong?). As I searched, I did take time to read some of it and found other interesting quotes however. Here is one of them:
[FONT=Book Antiqua,Bold][FONT=Book Antiqua,Bold]


Yajur Veda English Translation

[/FONT]
[/FONT]

[FONT=Book Antiqua,Bold][FONT=Book Antiqua,Bold]– [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Book Antiqua,Bold][FONT=Book Antiqua,Bold]AB Keith [/FONT][/FONT]pg. 1147

vii. 4. 2.
As are men, so were the gods in the beginning ...
That sounds absolutely LDS, don't you think?

--David
 
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ViaCrucis

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Okay, so after some digging this is what I feel is worth bringing up:

The quoted text is from the Krishna Yajurveda, specifically the Kathaka Brahamana found only in the Kathaka recension of the Krishna Yajurveda (there are several recensions, variations and versions of the text). This specific text is pretty rare. It tends to only be known in the West because of a book written which intentionally translated the Kathaka Brahmana to look like the standard English translation of John 1:1.

Here's the Kathaka Brahmana, "Prajapatir vai idam asit tasya vag dvitiya asit vag vai paramam brahma", a strait translation would be,

"Prajapati is truly abiding (eternal), and his companion Vac is also truly abiding (eternal), and so Vac surely is the supreme Brahman." (this rendering I found on a Hindu forum, so take from it what you will)

Vac/Vag/Vak means "utterance" or "sound", and as such she is the goddess of speech, and is the wife of Prajapati who created her.

The meaning is that since Prajapati is abiding/eternal, then his created wife Vac, is also, like her husband, brahman--supreme soul, all-soul, the monistic divine that is all things.

It's entirely possible to translate it to look a bit like John 1:1, but the meaning is quite different, the contexts different, and ultimately saying different things. There's simply no reason to believe that the Fourth Evangelist had any knowledge of the Kathaka Brahmana, let alone plagiarized it. Instead what we have is two texts, that can be translated into English to look pretty similar.

The blog that posted this information, if being honest, would acknowledge this; but that wouldn't fit the obvious agenda. People with an axe to grind aren't always terribly interested in research, reason, or critical thinking when it comes to their chosen enemy-other.

-CryptoLuthearn
 
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pshun2404

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I've not been deceived. I was asking a question due to lack of knowledge about the Veda. :)
The former Christian who turned skeptic/agnostic/atheist, whatever title they may wish to apply to themselves and formed the website wherein this information is posted is not only deceived, per your assertions about the lack of the actual text in the Veda, but they are hoping to deceive others in publishing this alleged false information.

My apology...but if you think this person may have any merit to their claim, read them (there is only 7 chapters)
 
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FireDragon76

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ViaCrucis is right...

In Hinduism, Shatki is the feminine immanence of God in contrast to the transcendent principle of God. This has more parallels to Jewish Kaballah than to the Christian Trinity.
 
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