Vedantic wisdom has no boundaries!

Indian Deities Worshipped in Japan (Documentary; 2015)

Director: Benoy K Behl

If we look around us, we will find an unsatiable attempt to divide and sub-divide people. Human beings are often 'boxed-up' to be made seem different. Individuals placed in these 'boxes' feel exclusivity, and members of this association do things that convince themselves that they are indeed unique and their activities are centred around trying to satisfy their internal quagmire. Unfortunately, it does not lead to world peace as nobody wants to neglect their belief to bow to others' domination. Cognitive dissonance comes in the way. Everybody else can see the world tear apart except themselves. Paradoxically, all claim to descend in peace.

The Greeks with their Platonic and Aristotelian teachings,  Hindus with their Vedantic leanings and many of the ancient belief systems must have got it right all along. They endeavoured to connect the dots and try to find commonalities between ideologies to attempt to answer the mysterious meaning of the journey of life. Sadly, believers with self-interest have hijacked the whole exercise for their political power. Now we are just like like corn seeds popping out of the hot pan.

Japanese equivalent of Saraswati, Benzaiten

On the other hand, however, attempts are made to find similarities between cultures from different parts of the world. Modi's recent visit to Israel paved a path towards this end. The Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India produced this short film to find common grounds between the Japanese and Hindu practices, from the religious aspect.

This documentary was nominated at 2016 Milan International Film Festival for Best Short Documentary.

Just like how one can make out the veiled similarities between the three female Hindu deities of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati with the Arabian pagan deities of Al-Uzza, Manat and Al-Lat respectively, many Japanese deities bear an uncanny resemblance to the Hindu gods.

More than a thousand shrines had been built over the years to honour Benzaiten who mirrors Goddess Saraswati with Veena, lotus and water motifs. Benzaiten holds a traditional Japanese lute, biwa, instead. She is portrayed in two form; one with eight arms, each carrying various paraphernalia and the other with two. She is an essential feature of Japanese culture denoting things that flow like water, time, words, speech, eloquence, music and by extension, knowledge. Her temples usually have flowing water as a theme, probably referring to the river in India where human civilisation is supposed to have started.

Benzaiten (Sarasvati), Kangiten(Ganesha) and Bishamonten (Kubera)
Wikipedia

More forgotten Hindu deities like Kubera, Varuna, Vayu and Surya are preserved here. Kaali, Lakshmi, Ganesha, Shiva and many more are nipponised. Many ancient 6th century Sanskrit scripts are used in many rituals and recitals. Specific obviously Hindu practices like fire sacrifice (havan or homam) must have got its root from Buddhist priests who were explicitly invited from India who also made a stopover at the Champa kingdom in Indochina.

The wisdom from these ancient Vedantic traditions has seeped so much into the practices of the Land of the Rising Sun that it has become sine none qua with everything Japanese culture, Shinto and  Mahayana Buddhism. 

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/54493/Indian-Deities-Worshipped-in-Japan