Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled

The first thought I have when pondering the author's latest published work is her feature on a recent radio interview when she asserted that more objective and mythicist oriented studies on world religion, especially Christianity, thinned out after World War II. This would comport with sociological inquiry that concludes that after the deprivations of the great depression and the horrors of a violent global conflagration, Americans were of a mind to settle into traditional and pseudo-nostalgic norms and behaviors: all the conveniences of urban accessibility blended with the pristine simplicities of rural endeavors to create our current suburban artifices; the aspiration for independence via transportation-on-demand realized by 2 cars in the garage; a strict definition of a nuclear family within a house and property self owned, surrounded by the proverbial white-picket fence; and, of course, worship in an unassuming local church or synagogue, supervised unquestioningly by a pastor or rabbi of scrupulous theological training.When cracks in the facade of social perfection were first pointed out in the late 50s, all the glaring contradictions and hypocrisies were a jolt of adrenaline to the civil rights movement. The xenophobic tribal inclination to fear the ubiquitous "other", from both within and without, manifested in the post-war "red scare", led to an examination of the species-threatening technological advancements of war-making and the hubristic consolidation of power by the military-industrial complex. These critical reexaminations were an inspiration to the anti-nuclear and an anti-war movements of political dissent. A conspicuously absent component of social and political dissent from the late 50s through the 70s was a critique of mainstream established religion as well as spreading evangelical offshoots. Rather, the beat generation intellectuals embraced a home-grown version of Buddhism and eastern mysticism compatible with their counter cultural milieu, much as Hon. Elijah Muhammad fashioned a form of Muslim worship that bolstered African-American pride and self sufficiency. In fact, as alienation and institutional dissatisfaction among American youth proliferated, the ranks of Protestant evangelicals actually increased. Northwestern University professor Gary Wills laments in a recent New York Times column that more Americans believe in the virgin birth than evolution. The UK's leading zoologist, Richard Dawkins declares "among things that science does know, evolution is about as certain as anything." And yet, a recent survey demonstrates 55% of Americans accept "intelligent design" over evolution. If universal critique of institutional religion and its populist outgrowths surfaced at the time of the other developments of social alternatives, we can only speculate whether there would now be wider acceptance of conclusions based on scientific inquiry than the mythic supernatural staples of organized religion.Better late than never. The nearly simultaneous events of the Jim Jones Christian community mass suicide in Guyana and the hostage crisis in Iran, prompted by Islamist zealots, jolted western civilization from its complacency about the potential dangers fostered by the closed minds of religious exclusivist dogmatists. The intellectual and civic advancement of free thinking, objective, and unintimidated pursuits are desperately needed to counter the theocratic and autocratic aims of American Christian Dominionist (or reconstructionist) movements so meticulously noted by Katherine Yurica, Maureen Farrell, Rick Perlstein, and other eminent writers. The neocons, from a generally secular power-aggrandizing standpoint seek to politically mobilize religious absolutists to advance their ambitious and aggressive geo-political strategic aims. The neocons' mentor is a late University of Chicago professor in political science. According to Shadia Drury in her book "Leo Strauss and the American Right", she asserts that Strauss believed that a leader had to perpetually deceive the citizens he ruled. "Secular society...is the worst possible thing," because it leads to individualism, liberalism, and relativism, all of which encourage dissent and rebellion. As Drury sums it up: "You want a crowd that you can manipulate like putty." And so it seems we should accede and even be party to a constantly escalating and spiraling cycle of international violence between two major insistently absolutist global religionist bulwarks, in part to advance the ulterior motives of a powerful Machiavellian elite.How do we, as readers, do our part to break through our latest threat to species survival under the guise of "war on terror" and foment a rejuvenated effort for peace and international understanding? For starters, we can educate ourselves on the ageless and anthropological foundations of our current predicament. To this effort, the recent publication of the latest book by Acharya S arrives not a moment too soon. She is criticized for an editorializing tone as she was for her prior book, "the Christ Conspiracy". This scholastic fault can be transformed into an informative plus in light of the dire international situation I outline in this review. Her scope of research into the commonality of religious tradition from India to Ireland and beyond is engrossing, heavily documented, and utterly convincing. This is perhaps the most significant as well as popularly accessible tome on the origins of comparative religion and mythology dating back to at least the early work of Joseph Campbell. Partly as a response to the criticisms of her earlier work, the author cuts through the theological elitism that has for decades sought to emphasize the differences in world religions, enabling her to weave a fabric that displays a mutually syncretized interrelationship.This is must reading for those among us who are curious about the doctrines based on supernatural mythological paradigms that so absorb and captivate a large measure of world humanity. So much of what she reveals to us needs to be inculcated into education at all levels to counter the theocratic dogmas Dominionists and other evangelical absolutists who would insistently indoctrinate the general population. Objective inquiry into the social criticism of religious institutions and behavior is now in ascendancy. If the proponents of theocracy and enemies of constitutional tradition are to be stalemated, the efforts of these truth seekers among a variety of backgrounds and educations will be necessary. Count Acharya S as a player.

Close your eyes. Got 'em closed? Picture the love child of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, an adventurer-archaeologist, translator of several languages, intellectual marvel, consummate historian, linguistics expert, respected mythologist, and passionate human being, trotting the globe in the service of modern-day society and uncovering evidence of ancient civilizations so that we may come to understand the truth about our past.Except for being able to claim a lineage from fictional characters, this fantastical personage is made flesh in Acharya S. Having studied with the giants of her academic field and having prostrated herself to well-respected altars of knowledge (not the least of which a 125-year-old, highly exclusive Athens institute which houses tens of thousands of the world's most coveted academic volumes and ancient texts), living an adventurous life of academic discovery most of us can only dream of, Acharya S travels the literary world over in search of archaeological and anthropological evidence.Her finds are real; you can touch them. Her evidences are sound; you can corroborate them. Well researched and well documented, saliently savvy and playfully punchy, Acharya S's "Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha, and Christ Unveiled" offers a continuance of the wildly successful "Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold." Nearly 600 pages of accessible archaeology and hands-on history are linked for the layperson in this newest volume, replete with brilliant insight and impeccably documented facts and evidences for an adventurous romp through the ancient past. Political posturing and rusty rhetoric are left out; science and fact reign here.It has been interesting to follow the Christian apologists' attempts to refute Acharya's work. "The Christ Conspiracy" was pounced upon rather fervently, though nearly every single point raised by the apologists lacked import or content and rather belonged to a spurious "nitpick" category that failed to speak to, let alone refute, the arguments of the narrative. Undaunted, the author launched into countless hours of further professional and scholarly study over the next six years. "Suns of God" answers the Christian apologists with the unwavering, booming voice of reason, logic, and hard scientific fact, leaving them speechless and fumbling through pages and pages of unorganized and contrived rhetoric. Says Acharya S: "The arguments against Christ as a myth by modern apologists are not original but the same as the rants of the early Church fathers, which have been dealt with repeatedly for centuries. In every age are found individuals who ridicule and otherwise `counter' with sophistry and circular argumentation common-sense assertions by astute writers firmly pointing to the emperor's transparent nakedness" ("Suns of God," Conclusion, p. 564)."Suns of God" is truly a magnificent volume. A myriad of striking revelations ensue from page 1, all affirming the astrotheological roots of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and its tributaries through adamantine arguments weaved from well-researched and -documented facts and observable evidence uncovered from the earth itself. Its significance is undeniable. It is nothing less than a window into our very future. A phoenix wave of enlightened sentiment was propagated at the dawning of the Renaissance over 600 years ago, rising steadily out of the ashes of the Dark Ages. It has grown by leaps and bounds throughout our intervening history and now crashes upon the shores of our minds with a great tidal force. Its hallmarks are reason and logic, and they do not shrink in battle against blind faith and holy fear. Today, organized church membership continues to fall in the industrialized nations, while the accessibility of unrevised history, empirical data, and scientific information has spread like wildfire among the world's citizenry. In writing "Suns of God," Acharya S presses this advantage, presenting thought-provoking arguments which lay waste to the languid conviction of blind faith and correcting errant criticisms of otherwise venerable historians, researchers and authors upon whose shoulders she now stands tall.Acharya S deserves an audience with all who call themselves Hindu, Buddhist, Christian or atheist, or who call themselves beloved of God or born of evolution. She deserves an audience with all who call themselves Human.Let us begin to be honest with ourselves, then with each other. Let us close the battleground dialogue between theists and atheists and open the middle-ground dialogue. Let us agree to use true academic scholarship to keep the dialogue open. Let us teach one another how to open our minds to each other. Let us never forget that truth has to be worked for, and that minds are not changed overnight. Let us accept the challenge to refrain from making claims beyond their merit, from passing off opinion as fact, and from letting ends justify means. Let us never tire of reasoning truth out with our own minds and senses and sharing what we've learned with our middle-ground compatriots. Let us, as Thomas Jefferson implored, "fix reason firmly in her seat and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion." Acharya S writes, "In this day and age, as the world becomes smaller than ever before, there is an increasing need for investigation and education in religion, as it is one of the most important and volatile of all human issues" ("Suns of God," Introduction, p. 3). The consequences of carrying on in battle with each other may be more than our world and civilization can take. Let us educate ourselves.Give "Suns of God" an honest read with a truly open, objective mind. I dare you. If your beliefs are worthy of you, then they can surely stand up to the scrutiny.

four stars, just because i am not a bit interested in the Buddah or Krishna, but only Jesus. and i'm not really interested in the astr theology thing.. acharya's other book; the christ conspiracy is more of my sort of read, as an ex fundy christian, and now a gnostic, still interested in Jesus, and the bible.

Great research delivered in a most engaging & readable work.

Beyond the smoke and mirrors of cultural superstitions and beyond so called revealed religions, there is a reality that defies our imaginations.This book, like all the author's others, has been extremely well researched and is a must read for those who honestly want to know how and why the religious and cultural differences that divide us arose.The shame is that the religious among us, will not read this book but, will continue to pathologically blinded by their childhood orientations.

I must say that this book has been very enlightening.For some time now I have found it hard to accept various religious here-say.This book however is based around actual evidence and fact, rather than superstition and blind faith.One would need to read it themselves to make up there own mind.Knowledge is power. This power is accepting the fact that not everything we read or see is truth.More reading is a most nessasary tool in the modern world.If one watches more TV than they read, it stands to reason that one would rather be told what to do as apposed to making up ones own mind.

It seems from reading this book that most religions are hoaxes - spirituality is a confidence trick - and that almost none of the great Sages ever physically existed. And why? Because religions have borrowed archetypal mythological metaphors from every other religion. This is brilliantly outlined by the author. Yet people have stolen each others ideas - built over old sacred sites - copied powerful symbolic, artistic and cultural themes since the dawn of time - and will continue to do. I have known since 1971 that the Jesus story contained elements of the Osirus theme - that the image of Mary and Jesus was based on the statues of Isis and Horus in Rome, etc. etc. However, I have never thought that it meant Jesus did not exist! From my own study and research I have come to think that Jesus could have belonged to the Essenes. He was probably very surprised to see the religion that was formed in his name and I fully understand the author's anger at the torture and brutality that was practised by his so-called followers.Not all the Great Sages could be described only as Sun Gods (no matter how beautiful a metaphor this is). Lao Tsu of China, his later disciple Chuang Tsu and all the Zen Masters in Japan would chuckle at the suggestion. I have actually met a person very similar to a Zen Master and the direct experience of his enlightened mind was not just life-changing, but personally transforming, resulting in my own work for the past forty years. From this unforgettable experience, I have concuded that the teachings of Lao Tsu and Jesus are so similar because they were both so humble, enlightened and full of unconditional love, that they automatically merged into the same universal reality.Why are athiests just as dogmatic as fundamentalists? Give me the Middle Way every time. For example, Chuang Tsu intimated that spirit and matter are simply like water and ice, everything being relative and containing both: "Tao [the Oneness of all Life] is obscured when we understand onlyone of a pair of opposites, or concentrate only on a partial aspect of Being.""Can one cling only to Heaven [the more-spiritual]And know nothing of Earth [the more-material]?They are correlative; to know one, is to know the other.To refuse one, is to refuse both."(The Way of Chuang Tzu, Thomas Merton. pp 42 & 88)Life can be so simple and so much more fun when we let go of extremes. Yet paradoxically, simplicity is the hardest lesson we all have to learn. It has taken me almost a whole life-time and I haven't got there yet!