Indus/Sarasvati Civilization and Culture
An Introduction
The Indus/Saravati cities had been long forgotten but were rediscovered the 1920�s with the large sites of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Now hundreds of cities and sites have been mapped as well as the original course of the Vedic Sarasvati River. the Saravati river is the most sacred river of the Vedas on a scale with the modern popularity and holiness of the Ganges to Hindus. Many European scholars refused to ever entertain the idea that these cites were continuous with indigenous Vedic culture. Fortunately, evidence now shows the Aryan invasion theory of India does not correspond with an historical or geographical evidence presented by the Indus/Sarasvati civilization.
The Indus/Sarasvati culture is characterized by central organization, planning and control of construction. Each city had a lower portion and a citadel. Street were laid out on rectangular grids. This culture had the oldest system know to the world of indoor plumbing and running water as well. The cites also house large bathing tanks which were probably used for similar ritual today as the many bathing tanks associated with temples are.
The spiritual culture of the Indus/Sarasvati culture also corresponds with later Hinduism. Both Gods and Goddesses were worshiped. Polished stone Shiva lingas (phallic symbols) have been found as well. There is also evidence of a widespread female fertility cults that flourished at popular levels. many small terracotta figures have been found of Goddesses, some of the indicating pregnancy. Ritual bathing and yoga postures recorded on clay seal also allude to practices of yoga asanas, purification techniques, and meditation. Many clay seals also featured animals or men and women wearing horned headdresses. This is another link with Yoga practices and it predecessor Shamanism. One of the most famous seal depicts Pasupati (Shiva as Lord of the Animals), seated in a yogic lotus pose wearing a horned headdress surrounded by animals. Fire altars have where the inhabitants practiced rituals similar to those in the Vedas and the fire rituals practiced by other European cultures such as that of the Celts.
Unfortunately, Hinduism is still taught in many and college courses to be of foreign origin to Indian and the influence of �Aryan� invaders from various parts of Europe. There is no archaeological evidence in India for such an invasion ever occurring. The information does support a migration of Indian Vedic culture outward from India to other parts of the world.
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