The Vedic Middle-Earth : How Tolkien’s World Echoes Hindu Cosmology!

 J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion share striking parallels with Hindu philosophy, especially regarding creation and the cosmic order. His legendarium beautifully echoes the structure of Hindu cosmology in a way that feels both familiar and profound.

At the heart of it all is Eru Ilúvatar, the supreme creator, like ParaBrahman, the absolute, formless divine source from which all existence flows. From Eru arise the Ainur, the holy ones, who resemble the Trimurti—Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Maheshwara (Shiva, the Transformer). Just as the Trimurti shape the universe through their divine will, the Ainur sing reality into existence under Eru’s guidance.

Descending from the Ainur, we have the Valar, each governing a force of nature—sky, sea, earth, death—similar to the Devas of Hinduism, like Indra, Agni, and Varuna, who maintain cosmic balance. Melkor, the rebel Ainur who turns against Eru, can be compared to Asuric forces like Hiranyakashipu or Ravana—mighty but led astray by pride.

Then come the Elves, the firstborn of Eru, luminous and wise, much like the celestial beings (Devas, Gandharvas, or Rishis) of Hindu texts. They possess great knowledge and a deep connection with the divine but are destined to fade from earth as the time moves forward. Humans are the later-born, caught in the web of karma and free will, shaping their own destiny in an ever-changing world.

Valinor

The ages of Tolkien’s Middle-earth also bear resemblance to Hindu time cycles:

• The First Age mirrors Satya Yuga, the age of purity, where the Valar still walk among the world, and heroes perform godlike feats.
• The Second Age, like Treta Yuga, sees the rise of great civilizations, akin to Ayodhya or Lanka, and their eventual fall due to ego and ambition (Numenor’s downfall).
• The Third Age, resembling Dwapara Yuga, is an age of decline where divine presence is rare, chaos reigns and good unites to face evil or adharma as in the fellowship against the mighty army of Sauron,  akin to the Mahabharata war.
• Finally, the Fourth Age, the Age of Men, reflects Kali Yuga, where magic wanes, gods withdraw, and men rule with more uncertainty than wisdom.

High Elves war with Morgoth

Both cosmologies feature different realms of existence (lokas in Hinduism; Arda, Valinor, Halls of Mandos, etc., in Tolkien)

The creation of the world through music in Tolkien's Ainulindalë has been compared to the cosmic vibration concept (Nada Brahma) in Hindu philosophy

The One Ring is an objective echo of Maya (illusion) in Hindu thought—an object of immense power that blinds beings with desire and corrupts even the noblest hearts, much like how attachment to the material world entraps the soul.

What is particularly noteworthy is that Tolkien’s mythology does not mirror Christianity’s idea of creation or original sin. There is no Adam and Eve, no concept of inherited sin, and no singular moment of divine judgment. Instead, Tolkien’s world follows a more cyclical and evolving structure, much like Hindu cosmology, where time flows in vast ages, and the divine is ever-present yet distant, shaping destiny without direct interference.

Tolkien’s world isn’t just a fantasy epic—it’s a grand, spiritual tapestry, woven with deep mythic truths. While it wasn’t directly inspired by Hindu philosophy, its essence resonates beautifully with the cycles, deities, and cosmic struggle that Hinduism describes. Perhaps, in some forgotten song of the Ainur, the wisdom of the Vedas still lingers.

The Mystical lines between Reality and Fantasy

“…And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend, legend became myth.” 

: Galadriel - "Lord of the Rings "

Aladdin’s lamp, the magic carpet, the staff of Ulysses, Jason’s Golden fleece, Solomon’s diamond, the philosophers stone..

Did human imagination give birth to these ‘fantasies’?

Or

Did the reality of these artifacts, lost in the mystical past, trigger human imagination?

As children we embrace these stories and wished we had the lamp or the flying carpet. When we grow and become ‘wise’ we reject them firmly, as if we have mastered time and space so completely that we can judge with authority what is true and what is not, even if the subject in question may have existed thousands of years before our times. 

Is it wise to measure all of history based on the lives we live and understand today? Perhaps our progress in science is what influences our audaciousness. So we ask ‘where is the proof?’

But absence of proof is not proof of absence. 

We live under the notion that life thus far has flown in a linear progression, and so the current times we live in are the most modern and sophisticated life mankind has ever known. 

Most scriptures however, defy this notion and tell us of times in the past, where mankind has existed in greater understanding of life around him. These were referred to as the Golden ages, and humanity has known many such Golden ages each a unique and magical expression of nature, life and human ingenuity. And so from a spiritual perspective, life goes not in linear progression but in an ebb and flow mode, much like the waves. We rise and we fall. Just like the Lumerians, Atlanteans, even the glorious Vedic times in the ancient India highlighted during the Ramayana and Mahabharata periods.

I was always interested in the Mahabharata. The great heroes, their skills and weapons fascinated me. Yet my science-oriented mind wondered how it would be possible for an archer to slay his enemy 2 kilometers away with a speeding arrow? How divine weapons were wielded? If the Brahmastra (the weapon of Brahma) was more powerful then our nuclear bomb? How Arjuna could fight for the Gods?

Men in those days were known to be much larger and stronger than the forms we currently don. Uprooting trees, fighting non-stop for a length of 10-15 days (Arjuna's fight with Shiva), wielding heavy weapons etc was a routine task for heroes. From a scientific point of view it stands to reason that if the Mahabharata period existed, there should be some proof of the same left behind, isn’t it?
Not necessarily!

I have passionately followed this line of thought and received understanding by and by. 

You see if I wish to go into space it will not be possible for me to go in this human form. I will have to wear a space suit to help me deal with the new environment. Similarly even on earth different periods of time have humans in different varieties in their body constitution. 

A few years back I was watching a documentary about age-old weapons on BBC. The British host went to a museum and took up an 11th century sword. He found it difficult to lift even with both his hands. Yet back in the 11th century, the soldiers would hold this sword in one hand and an even heavier shield in the other as they fought their battles. The host said that back then people were much larger and stronger as compared to us. And this is only 10 centuries back. So should we be surprised if heroes 5000 years ago could perform magical feats in the battlefield?

Vedic science tells us about the 4 ages that life on earth goes through – The Golden age or Sat yuga, Silver or Treta age, Bronze of Dwapara age and Kali the dark age. The constitution of the human body and the abilities of the human mind drastically vary in each age. Today we have a flesh and bone – calcified body which when buried will not disintegrate fully into the elements, but will leave bones and teeth behind. But in times prior to this dark age where humanity lived in higher understanding and more ‘light’, their bodies were known to be more crystalline in nature. Such bodies were capable of holding more light and perform many feats which we consider miraculous today. The light bodies were complimented with a refined mind dwelling in higher consciousness giving these humans abilities much greater then our own. These bodies merged very well with the elements given the preference of vedic people to use fire to dispose human form upon death and that is why science has no bones of such bodies to conclude as proof of that age. 

I have since understood that to use the laws of science as a yardstick to ascertain validity or proof of bygone mysteries is, well.. limiting. We are governed by highly intelligent Nature, which is fully capable of masking the truths of one age from the other no matter how smartly we do our investigations and excavations. Only men with pure, one-pointed and keen understanding stand a chance to be exposed to such masked truths.

Sciences of the Past :

There are men of realisation, even in this day and age, who are well aware of how things worked in the past. A Master may now and then reveal truths that most people of the world may never have access to otherwise. A great Master in southern India once explained that the sciences in the past were not mechanical, chemical or electronic in nature. They were mystical or metaphysical. 

A Vimana

A flying chariot called Pushpa Vimana in the Ramayana did actually fly but not through mechanical or electronic science but through the deeper and subtle science of sound - through Mantras! Divine weapons of various potencies were wielded by heroes in the Mahabharata war through mantras. The royal class, through the grace of their learned preceptors, were known to be aware of mantras that enabled then to do superhuman tasks with ease. A blade of grass could be made a weapon through mantras, potent enough to destroy not just the earth but our whole solar system.

Naturally many will be keen to know these mantras or mystic formulas, but they cannot be effectively used by just any person. Just as a rare seed of an exotic variety of fruit cannot be expected to grow when put in barren or rocky or sandy dry ground, similarly a higher mantra cannot be put to use by anyone just knowing the formula. Only men of deep spiritual understanding and practice were able to use such formulas. 

The culture of infusing our equipment with potent divine energy is still carried on today in India, when on certain days farmers and other people bring out their equipments and vehicles to be worship divinely recharged. 

So coming back to Alladin’s lamp – what about it is truly magical? The lamp itself is of not much value except that by rubbing it, it brings out the Genie that can almost do anything for you. 

Is that really unbelievable?

One of the most outstanding and popular books of the 20^th century The Autobiography of a Yogi mentions of a certain fakir by the name of Afzal Khan who had control over a genie, an astral being by the name Hazrat, who could fulfill any wish put forward by his master. In the 80’s there was another fakir known popularly as Barielly ke Baba as he hailed from Barielly. This fakir also had control of astral entities that would do anything at his bidding. Such was the popularity of this fakir that the filmstar of the 80’s Shatrughan Sinha had incorporated the name of this fakir, who he believed in, in his movie dialogues. The fakir openly declared that he could make any doubting Thomas see the astral entities face to face provided they had the spine in them. Some who attempted to take on the challenge ran out of the room in sheer terror.

One could investigate further and find many books, even people existing today, who have the ability to put non terrestrial entities to use. So Aladdin's lamp could very well have existed wherein a knowledgeable fakir could have programmed the formula of invoking an entity to a simple rub of some lamp.

Philosophers Stone

The Philosophers stone: Frankly I find no appeal in such a fantastic object. The Philosophers stone could turn any base metal into Gold. In my opinion rather then making one rich, it would simply bring the value of gold crashing down. 

If you think about it, the possibility of a Philosophers stone existing is very possible. We know when iron kept close to magnet for a certain period of time, becomes magnetic. The Philosophers stone could have a more potent property which could transform any metal to gold instantly.

Though I do not know of anything akin to such a stone; I do know of something even more fantastic to exist. In the Mahabharata, the Sun god gave Yudhishtir a vessel which would always supply them food once a day. This divine vessel was called the Akshaya Patra.

Akshaya Vibhuti box

I know for a fact certain yogis dwelling in the Himalayas near the Nar-Narayana cave who have been blessed with such an Akshaya Patra by Sri Sathya Sai Baba, which will provide for all their needs while they focus on their sadhana (spiritual practices). I have met one of those yogis too. Furthermore I know of around 3 people to whom Sri Sathya Sai have given an Akshaya patra vibhuti box from which inexhaustible supply of vibhuti comes forth no matter how many times you empty it. Most of these people are doctors who use this vibhuti for healing purpose.

The Magic carpet : If I went 10 centuries back and told people then that some day soon humans would not only fly in the air to travel from one place to another, but would even eat, sleep and be entertained while flying – I would be thrown in prison for being a lunatic. Yet we know this to be true.. why then shud be doubt the possibility of a magic carpet to exist.. just because we cannot fathom how an assumedly woolen carpet would have the mechanics to fly!


Why just artifacts..  various fabled creatures like the Unicorn, fairies, leprechauns, dwarfs, yetis, mermaids etc are known to exist on slightly higher dimensions then us. There are many humans who have encountered them but keep their silence in view of the misunderstanding world.

I am of the belief that if humanity is strong enough to let go of their binding doubts and pursue knowledge with open heart and mind, humility, faith and sincerity, then nature will willingly reveal to us secrets which we never thought could exist. Already there are many souls who have been awakened by the masters and made to realize the magical possibilities that await us in the very near future; A future where the many self-made walls of doubts and disbeliefs will collapse revealing before us new life in a truly magical Paradise.

Sounds like a fantasy.. dosent it?

:)

©2012

I vs We : 4 Heros from the Mahabharata.

Recently at a retreat a monk spoke about living a Balanced life. Althrough the days of the retreat, he had spoken to many sincere souls who wanted to do sadhana but did not have the time to do it owing to their busy lives in Mumbai. The monk thought it apt to touch upon this subject.

While mentioning the various aspects of life we need to balance, he touched upon a particular aspect : Balancing personal goals vs collective goals or goals for the higher good of a community. To express his point he cited 4 characters from the Mahabharata in whose lives the balance of this particular aspect played a deciding role. I found his observation extremely interesting since I love the Mahabharata and its characters.

Bhishma :

This venerable and revered old warrior, the grandsire of the two sides at war, found himself in an odd
position. His sympathies were with the Pandavas but he fought on the side of Kauravas owing to his pledge to serve Hastinapur.

However Bhishma when seen from the spiritual perspective represents the Spiritual ego - One which never dies on its own, one which is hard to kill, one which wishes to serve good but unknown to it, ends up serving the bad.

From spiritual perspective, Bhishma fought neither for the Pandavas nor for the Kauravas. He fought for Himself and His personal pledge. Had he been fighting for the kauravas whole heartedly, he could have easily killed some of the key pandav brothers upon confrontation, but he was loathe to doing so and moved on focusing on the rest of the army.

The monk mentioned that this was a typical case of serving the personal goal as against doing that which was for the higher good.  Bhishma knew that even if his side won, it wouldn’t be in the best interest of Hastinapur. Yet he kept going just to uphold his pledge that he had taken even at the cost of the pandavas who he knew were righteous and the kingdom who he was suppose to serve.

Yudhishtir :

The error of Bhishma can be better understood by comparing him to this noble character. Yudhishtir was called Dharamaraja – the upholder of Dharma or righteousness. He was said to be loved by all and had no enemies. Even Duryodhana held nothing personally against him. His love for truth was such that his was the only chariot in the whole battlefield which was levitating 4 inches above the ground owing to his righteous character.  To serve Dharma was Yudhishtir's highest personal goal.

During the battle as Acharya Drona was wreaking havoc by slaying the Pandav army by the 1000’s, Sri Krishna observed that it was impossible to stop the acharya except by killing him even by unrighteous means. Drona's love for his son was well known.  Sri Krishna plotted that a certain elephant by the same name as his son be slayed and word be spread in the battlefield that Ashwathama his son has been killed.

The battle of Mahabharata had over 4 million soldiers fighting over several kilometers of space. In the din of battle it was difficult to ascertain any news. When the news of Ashwathama's death was declared by Bhima ( who had slayed the elephant ) Drona couldn’t believe it , simply because his son too was a matchless warrior. Yet his heart sank. The only way to confirm the news was to ask the righteous Yudhishtir, who as King would be informed of the truth and Yudhishtir would never lie. Sri Krishna was counting on this.

Thus it was that Yudhistir found himself between a decision of his personal love for truth and a lie which would serve the higher good of the righteous side.  Yudhistir choose the latter. He choose to lie and take upon himself the burden of untruth and in doing so knowing that he was serving the good of the Righteous.

Many may have differing opinions over the above two cases.. but then such is the beauty of the Mahabharata that each perspective is valid and wisdom-giving in its own way.

Karna :

The wronged warrior, the tragic hero, the underdog.

Karna is a character very easy to love and sympathies with. Born in a royal family, off a divine source yet he lived his life fighting for himself and upholding his respect.  Given up by his mother, cursed by his Guru; Karna spend his whole life wanting to prove himself. And the only way he could do that was to be given an opportunity to fight the famed Pandav archer Arjuna.

He found an ally in Duryodhana , who offered Karna his friendship knowing well that here was the answer to Arjunas prowess should there ever be a war. Karna was a matchless archer born with Divine armor that made him invincible.

Yet Karna in many ways was a mixture of opposites. For all the good he had in him – his friendship, valour, generosity .. yet he was at fault of siding the wrong in view of his indebtedness to Duryodhana. Karna knew well that it was purely upon his strength that Duryodhana dared the faultless pandavs. It was in his presence that the pure and faultless Draupadi was dragged into and stripped in the court, yet Karna choose to hold on to his personal vow of loyalty as against speaking upto his friend and showing him the right way.

But there are other surprising factors. Karna's loyalty to Duryodhan is also questioned by the wise. Knowing well that the Indra had come to take away his armor in alms that would severely weaken him in the battle and despite the warning of his father the Sun God, Karna gave away his armor choosing to again uphold his personal vow of charity as against the good of the army and friend who were depending on his invincibility. He also disregarded this loyalty by promising his mother that he would not kill any Pandav other than Arjun.

Further spiritual scholars say that in a way the war began with Karna and could have also ended with him, on 2 occasions. Firstly when Sri Krishna revealed to Him his origins as the eldest pandav, Karna could have reveled the same to Duryodhana who he knew would be delighted, but he also knew that in his indebtedness he would offer the pandav kingdom, now his as the eldest pandav, to Duryodhana and that would be unfair to the pandavs because he too knew that the pandavs were fighting for the right cause.

Secondly during the battle, Karna had the opportunity of finishing the war once and for all. Having defeated  Yudhistir in a personal fight, he could have done what Drona had been wanting all along – to take Yudhistir hostage as that would end the war immediately. However Karna let go and deprived his friend Duryodhana of victory and also gave himself a chance to fulfill his lifelong dream of fighting Arjuna and proving once and for all that he was a better warrior. This dream was fulfilled when he fought Arjuna and despite his death, King Shalya who witnessed the fight declared Karna to be a better warrior of the two.

Sri Krishna –

Lord Krishna  was an ideal example of some one who gave preference to the good for all as against His own good. Despite taking a personal vow of not wielding weapons during the war, Sri Krishna almost broke the vow twice to personally slay Bhishma who was proving unstoppable and in order to inspire Arjuna.  He singlehandedly bore the brunt and infamy of all the war wrongs committed from the Pandav side in form of the 2 curses he received after the war. Yet Sri Krishna ever gave preference to what was good for all even at the cost of His own good.

Little wonder that Bhishma and Karna found themselves in the wrong and losing side and Sri Krishna and Yudhishtir found them selves in the winning side.