The Shankaracharya Temple, also known as the Jyesteshwara temple or Pas-Pahar, It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The sacred temple of Shankaracharya occupies the top of the hill known as Takht-I-Sulaiman in the south-east of Srinagar. The site dates back to 250BC. The Saint Shankaracharya stayed at this place when he visited Kashmir ten centuries ago to revive Sanatan Dharma.

The temple was originally built by Sandiman, who reigned in Kashmir from 2629 to 2564 BC. It was repaired by King Gopaditya (426 – 365 BC) and by King Lalitaditya (697–734). Its roof was also repaired by Zain-ul-Abidin after an earthquake; later, its dome was repaired by Sheikh Ghulam Mohiuddin, a Sikh Governor (1841–1846).

The Catholic Church tradition about the death of Mother Mary is called "The Dormition" [The Sleep]

She went into a deep sleep from which she never woke. The location of her death is not known, and has variously been given as Jerusalem, Ephesus (Turkey) and France. Little mention is ever made of the grave on the Old Silk Road. Yet the evidence is mounting that this was the birthplace of Abraham Sarah, that Tocharians and Pashtuns are an integral part of Biblical history, and Kashmir was the Camelot of many Biblical Patriarchs.

Joseph the Patriarch's grave  near Palestine was destroyed in the summer of 2000. The grave of Yuz Asaf is in imminent danger of being wiped out through "remodeling". Each week in some large way or small, the world loses another great piece of history. It doesn't always happen with a big bang o Sometimes the destruction consists  of a few  small stolen  relics  to sell on E-Bay every few months What if there was just one chance in a million? Or one chance in a billion  this could be her final resting place? Surely we owe it ourselves, and to her, to find out. How hard would that be? A few archaeolo get to the truth in a matter of days. The site has already been twice attacked and bombed.  The grave of Joseph, , is a few miles away. legends connected with the popular tourist resort side of the Queen’s mountain; the word Mary means ‘Queen’. In recent years the name evolved from Mary de Astan (Resting place of Mary) to Mary, and now the town is known as Murree. was  covered in candle wax, and prayer flags were everywhere among the alpine wild flowers, flowi mountain often glowed with  strange auras of  light at night. People traveled from far and wide to  bring their sick here for healing, or sit quietly beside the grave. The site has been maintained and honored as far back as anyone can remember. Its importance can be judged from the fact that the surrounding country is named after the supposed gravesite.

According to an old legend, the name 'Murree' is derived from 'Marium' or Mary. Among locals it is know as Mai Mari da Asthan ("

Resting Place

of Mother Mary"). Indeed, when the British first arrived here in 1850s to establish a new hill-station in India, Murree was still known as Mari. The spelling was later changed to the present one in 1875.

The exact origin of the shrine has become obscured by the waves of time. Since an ancient period, Hindus had worshipped it, and the Muslims paid their homage on Thursdays by lighting earthen lamps filled with oil.
views over forest-clad hills into deep valleys, studded with villages and cultivated fields, with the snow-covered peaks of Commanding, as one book puts it, "magnificent Kashmir in the background" and overlooking the plains of Punjab, it stood naturally eligible to be selected by the British for defensive purposes, and they built a watchtower at the site.
According to old records, "in 1898, Richardson, the Garrison Engineer, wished to demolish the tomb at the time of the construction of the defense tower. Shortly afterwards he died in an accident, and the locals connect the incident with his evil intentions towards the tomb.
The grave was thereafter promptly repaired.

A little further down the ridge, the British built a convent and named it the Convent of Jesus and Mary. Today, it is one of the best girls’ boarding schools in Pakistan
More recently, in 1968, two towering antennas were added adjacent to one another on 'Pindi Point,' the new name given to the location. One of them arises from the same place where Mary is believed to rest.
A crude-looking cement structure marks the spot nowadays where the alleged grave exists. The area is closed to the general public due to security concerns for the safety of the television boosters. Barbed wire surrounds the antennas to prevent anyone from getting near, and civil guards keep a vigil on the installations night and day.
Various superstitions surround the story of the tomb. Local residents have reported occasional sightings of unexplained lights in the vicinity of the grave at night. Others describe rare encounters with a ball of light condensing into a fuzzy apparition of a veiled female form. Most of the eyewitnesses questioned, believed that the images were genuine and connected to the woman buried on the hilltop who many also regard as a saint.

It has been learned that a low-key investigation by a team of archaeology experts from Islamabad was carried out a few years ago to validate the tomb claim. However, their findings were never made public.
Skeptics from the field argue that regardless of the outcome of the team’s findings, it cannot be accepted as the final verdict on the issue. One authority figure, who did not wish to be named, stated: "While serious research of this nature requires extensive excavation, the visit by those archaeologists in the past was merely a superficial survey."
Among Christians, there is a group that believes in a post-Resurrection life of Jesus Christ. They insist that Christ traveled to Kashmir with his mother and died there. They believe that Mother Mary was also laid to rest in the same region.


 

Jesus in Kashmir: The Lost Tomb

Jesus survived the crucifixion, and lived and died in Kashmir many years later. The Bible cites twelve incidents after the crucifixion when Jesus was speaking with others, making a fire, and eating real food.

In AD 45, 12 years after the crucifixion, written records from the court of King Gonophores at Taxila (now in Pakistan)reveal the presence of the apostle Thomas with someone resembling Jesus. Mother Mary was with them on this journey and died along the way. Her grave is in Murree (Mari) Pakistan,near the grave of Jesus just across the border in Kashmir.

Was Jesus' resurrection actually resuscitation? Could it have been a recovery from a near-death experience? Would this change anything about him or his teachings? Christianity is the largest religion on the planet. Any changes in our perceptions will profoundly impact upon the entire world.

Jesus taught that life does not end after our bodies die.  He made this startling claim: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.” According to the eyewitnesses closest to him, Jesus then demonstrated his power over death by rising from the dead after being crucified and buried for three days. It is this belief that has given hope to Christians for nearly 2000 years.

Jesus’ followers wrote that he appeared alive to them after his crucifixion and burial. They claim not only to have seen him but also to have eaten with him, touched him, and spent 40 days with him.

The Science of Christmas: the First Noel

Virgin birth, the star over Bethlehem

Upon Christ’s birth, legend has it, a star appeared in the sky over Bethlehem, leading the three magi to the manger where Jesus lay. The question of whether it had a non-miraculous astronomical explanation - was there really an extra bright star that night? - has been debated for some time.

Two possible explanations are: a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, which would have taken place about 2BC, and would have appeared as a single bright star; and a supernova, which was recorded by Chinese astronomers in 5BC. Since it turns out that King Herod, in whose reign Christ was supposed to have been born, died in the spring of 4BC, we can probably rule out the planetary conjunction theory.So, you heard it here first: the Star of Bethlehem, if it really happened, was, probably, a supernova. Or a divine miracle, obviously.

Jesus's birthday

If the planetary-conjunction hypothesis is correct (we know we're suggesting it's not, but bear with us), we can put an exact date on Jesus's birth - 17 June, 2BC. Which would make Jesus a Gemini. Unfortunately, as we've seen, King Herod, who plays a significant part in the story, was almost certainly dead by then. The more plausible supernova hypothesis places Christ's birth in March or April 5BC, making Jesus either Pisces, Aries or Taurus.

Virgin birth (parthenogenesis)

The thing that needs explaining here is not a virgin giving birth. It’s the fact that it doesn’t happen more often. It’s the whole strange sexual reproduction business that’s confusing: various theories have been put forward to explain it, but none has been fully accepted. The most widely held seems to be that it is an advantage in the evolutionary arms race against parasites.

Direction, Space And Time

There are eight directions, of left-right, east-west, north-south and the intermediate directions, of up and down (zenith & nadir), are added to these. These 10 directions have been quoted in Shatpatha Brahmana.

Space denotes the area occupied by a material object. Following the conquest of space by mankind, the word ‘space’ has acquired a new, specific connotation. In this discussion, however, the word ‘space’ is being used in its older meaning of a continuous are or expanse. When we speak of space in relation to an object, we indicate its location.

The frontiers or limits of an object, we indicate its location. Directions – on one side is the east and on the other west, for example. Time is the period required for the existence, consumption or use of an object. The expression of a particular object existing within  specific boundaries and from one particular time onwards defines the interrelationship of time, space and direction.

When we see an object we become aware of the area it occupies and its form. Then we become aware of its properties, name, function and so on delineates the area of an object. But the sages tell us that this understanding has serious flaws. They assert that our eyes can never see the object we can touch and the object we see can never be touched by us. In other words, the visible universe is altogether different from the touchable universe.

We can see an object only if it remains at a certain distance away from our eyes. If the object were to touch our eyeballs, we would be unable to actually see it. At the other extreme, we know that when an object is taken too far away from our eyes, it becomes invisible to us. So an object can be seen only within the parameters of a given distance. Conversely, an object must be brought within the reach of our limbs for us to be able to touch it. Common sense tells us, therefore, that it should be possible to distinguish between visible and touchable objects.

Every object radiates a cluster of rays of supraphysical energy, or Prana (vital energy), in a kind of ‘case’ around the object. This ‘case’ causes the eyes to see the object. The cluster of vital energy emitted from the centre of heart of an object becomes smaller as we move away from this centre. This expains why an object looks smaller the further we travel away from it. This relative attribute of size merely confirms that the visible ‘case’  of an object is different from the mass of the object we touch.

The Stages of Evolution

According to ancient sages. The evolutionary stages of the physical universe are represented by the Sanskrit terms: Aakasa, Vaayu, Agni, Aapa and Prithvi. They are known as the Pancha-Bhootha-s. The term Pancha-Bhoota-s is usually translated as ‘five-elements’ and the above mentioned five stages as ether, air, fire, water and earth. They are not five separate materials but five causal evolutionary stages through which a boundless subtle energy field transforms itself as the manifested universe. The prescribed order of these pancha-bhootha-s from the subtlest to the grossest itself shows that they mean the evolutionary stages, not separate materials.

Aakaasha (sky), according to Indian philosophy, is not empty space, but the subtlest field of physical energy. (Causal to Aakaasha is Chittaakaasha, the mental space, which originates from Chidaakasha, the Space of Supreme Intelligence.) The almost static Aakaasha transforms itself as active energy and this stage is represented by the term Vaayu (Air). Here, this term does not signify the atmospheric air. An energy that shows the characteristics of consciousness. ‘Vaayu’ can be identified with the concept of Praana, the vital energy basis of the sub-atomic realm, which so far has not come to the awareness of modern atomic physics. The next evolutionary stage is represented by ‘aghni’ which is a stage of atomic forms, and molecular chemical combinations. It is at this stage the visible manifestation of the gross universe begins. The ‘Aapa’ represents the next stage where atoms combine into molecules, which are loosely united and have certain facility of movement as in fluids. The next stage ‘Prithvi’ represents the firm interlocking of molecules giving rise to solid materials. These are the salient evolutionary stages of the universe as conceived by the sages. Divine consciousness is latent in all these stages and expresses itself as organic life at the stage of solidity.

The ancient sage’s point out that this is a reversible scheme. As man has reached a highly evolved state he is capable through an evolutionary effort to untie his consciousness from the knot of the above mentioned stages and expand himself to supreme divine consciouness.

The Ancients know of the Global Flood

Hundreds of tribel legends narrate ancient accounts from Egypt, Babylone, and the Indus confirm the account of Noah’s Flood from the book of Genesis.

Since Noah’s Ark legend in the mountains of Ararat (the mountains rose at the close of the Flood). It is not surprising that Noah’s progeny migrated down the new Tigris River Valley from the mountains to found the earliest post-flood civilizations such as Sumer, Akkad, and Nimrud (Which later became Babylon), Haran, Jericho and the Euphrates Rivers were named after two of the Four pre-Flood Rivers mentioned in the Bible that flowed from the Gardon of Eden).

Ancient Babylonian legends speaks of a pre-flood series of ten kings, the ancient Hindus spoke about a series of Ten Pitris who ruled before the global Flood, and the ancient Egyptians described Ten Shining ones who ruled consecutively before the Deluge. Like the Bible also says, these pre-Flood patriarchs lived much longer than we do, and this was confirmed by the ancient historians Berosus, Nicolaus, Muchus, Hieronymus and Manetho.

The last of these kings in the afore mentioned lists was the hero who led seven others aboard a vessel in which they survived the global flood. In ancient Babylone, the Hero’s name was Zisudra who spear headed the survival on the Ark of seven other humans, the seven Apkaller. In ancient Egypt, the Flood Hero was Toth Deluge along with the seven sages. In ancient India, the Hero was Manu whu survived the global-flood “Pralaya” with the seven rishis. The odds are astronomically long that these supposedly distinct civilizations would have the same legend of a global Flood with eihgt people surviving from the pre-Flood population that was, led by a series of Ten Kings if it were not real history that happens to corroborate the Genesis account.

Many ancient cultures have their myths. The Manu caught a small fish and to his surprise the fish spoke to him and promised to protect him from the coming deluge, if he spared it. Manu put the fish in a small water filled with container and fed it. The fish grew by leaps and bounds and Manu kept transferring it to larger and larger containers. It grew to immerse size and warned him to build a big boat and tie it to to fin of the fish and sail towards the nothern mountain. The great flood came and it was relentless and fish which was Vishnu 1/2s Matsya Avatar saved humanity from extinction.

Reasonable explanations for the cause of the Ice-Age are not forth coming from old-earth-believing scientists because they do not realize that significantly warmer ocean-water (which caused dense cloud-cover from higher ocean-evaporation rates) must have been the cause of the Ice-Age, there is no other viable mechanism that could have resulted in the dense cloud –cover necessitated. When the post-Flood Ocean cooled sufficiently, the Ice-Age ended around 1500. B.C., which is confirmed by submerged megalithic structures of N.W.India, S.India, and S.W.Japan that were engulfed by the Sea when the Ice-Age Ice-Peak melted.

The great deluge occurred around 5000 B.C.E. when the mediterranean broke into Black Sea. This led to migration of the littoral inhabitants in various directions to Ukraine, Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia. These people carried with them the indelible memory of the flood and its myth.