We have been told by revisionists that the word Abraham comes from the Sanskrit word Brahma {or Brahmā}, and Sarah comes from Sarasvatī.
There’s a possibility that the words are connected.
But I’d like to put forward a different idea.
First of all, the theory that Abraham-Sarah come from Brahma-Sarasvatī, is not a recent one, and not a concoction of Hindutva revisionists.
A French savant known as Charles-Francois Dupius wrote the exact same thing in the 19th century.
I haven’t been able to trace the exact location of said reference, but it’s a well-known fact in itself.
Alvin Boyd Kuhn wrote, in The Lost Light, in 1940:
“... the hidden sense of the name Abraham or Abram has escaped notice, and it is of great moment, as are all Bible names.
Scholars may protest, but it seems obvious that the word is simply A-Brahm, (Hindu), meaning “non-Brahm.”
Abraham, the Patriarch or oldest of the aeons or emanations, was not Brahm, the Absolute, but the first emanation from Brahm; the first ray, the first God, perhaps equivalent to Ishwara of the Hindus.
He was the first life that was not Absolute, yet from the Absolute.
He was to go forth into the realms of matter, divide and multiply, and fill the world with his fragmented units.
To return to Abraham’s bosom would be just to complete the cycle of outgoing and return, to rest in the bosom of the highest divinity close to the Absolute.
Also he came out of Ur, of the Chaldees (or Kasadim), which is another key word, since Ur is the Chaldean word for “fire”, the celestial empyrean, out of which all souls, as fiery sparks, are emanated.
Kasadim, or Kasdim, was a term given to the highest celestial spirits, who fathered the production of the divine sparks of soul.
It is practically equivalent to “Archangels”.”
These are Europeans who are revising, or trying to find the right interpretation of, ancient words, names, mythic figures, and tales of their own cultures– not Hindutva writers.
It isn’t necessary to come down on Hindu revisionists, who’re simply reiterating theories thought up by Europeans.
I’ll come to Madam Blavatsky sometime, who, through all the chaos of her expositions and tantalizing mystifications, does indicate the truth.
It is known that Abraham was first called Abram, and Sarah was called Sarai.
As it turns out, the word Abram is best explained by the division into Ab + Ram.
This has been interpreted as “Exalted Father”, i.e.
§ “ab” meaning “father”, &
§ “ram” – or rather, “rum” – meaning “exalted, high, important”.
But what if Ab-Ram is simply Father Ram, i.e. in Sanskrit terms, Father Rāma?
Rāma as in
§ Rāma-Candra, the 7th famous incarnation of Viṣṇu, the hero of the Rāmāyaṇa –
§ Parashu-rāma, the 6th incarnation of Viṣṇu, often called Rāma – and as in
§ Bala-rāma, the 9th incarnation of Viṣṇu, also often called Rāma.
It should be noted that the Semitic “ab” meaning “father”, is not exactly a “Semitic” word.
It is the same as the Tamil “appan”, which also means “father” – and both are reasonably related to the Sanskrit word “pa” & “pā” – which means “guarding, protecting, ruling”, from which we get words like pati & pāla.
These words do have a distinct biological connotation, but were perhaps never restricted to that particular dimension of meaning.
The Father has always been synonymous with the Guardian, the Protector, the one who Rules, Watches, Encloses, and Encompasses.
There’s also a strong possibility that the Semitic “ab” is linked to the Sanskrit “ap”, “āp”, “apas”, which are terms for “water”, but the genders are reversed {as they seem to be, in many instances}, since words like “ap” & “apas” are invariably used in the feminine sense, and are referred to as Mother-Goddesses.
What’s important is the sense of Protection & Guarding, which infact leads us to the Sanskrit word “avi”.
It means “protector, lord” as well as “favourable, kindly disposed” – and “a wall, enclosure”.
Now when we realize that Abraham was initially Av-ram, the link with Sanskrit becomes clearer.
The “av” element is undoubtedly related to the Sanskrit “avi”, and it has a distinct sense of one who is a Lord, one who guards & protects, or one who is gracious.
The Sanskrit “av” means “to guard, defend, protect, govern”.
So while the connotation of Father is implicit & understood, the primary meaning of the word “Av” or “Ab” may simply mean “Lord”.
Even the Pope is “Papa”.
Thus, Ab-Ram or Av-Ram becomes Father Ram or Lord Ram.
The idea of “ram” or “rum” being “high, elevated, lofty, important”, is slightly vague.
How does it relate to Abraham, except in a very broad sense of being a crucial figure in Biblical history?
The same would be applicable to Noah or Jacob or Joseph.
Is it possible that this Semitic “ram” or “rum” is connected to the Sanskrit “meru”?
Is it possible that Abraham = Ab + ram = Av + rum – is related to Meru?
This would tie in to Brahmā, who is said to reside atop the mountain Meru, and thus may be called the “Lord {avi, av, ab} of Meru {rum, ram}” – but not directly.
However, the linguistic connection is with the word “Meru”, not with the word “Brahmā”, which comes from the root bṛh.
In this post:
https://in-the-beginning-was-the-ecstasy.blogspot.com/2022/06/all-gods-heroes-myths-and-symbols-in.html
I posited a possible connection between the words “Rome”, “Romulus”, and “Remus” – and the Sanskrit, Indian word “Meru” {and the Egyptian word “Mer”}.
Basically, “Rome” is the inverted, mirror-word of “Meru”, or some form of the root-word “Mer” found both in Egypt, and in Indo-European languages.
The importance of Meru for India – for Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism – simply cannot be overstated.
It is the Centre of the Indian Universe.
But, as I noted in that blog-post, I’ve never come across any indigenous explanation or etymology of the word “Meru”.
We nevertheless noted that
· in Sanskrit, the word “maru” means “mountain, rock”,
· in Egyptian, “mer” & meru” mean “mountain”,
· in Egyptian, “mer” also means “pyramid”, which is a symbol of the mountain.
{https://in-the-beginning-was-the-ecstasy.blogspot.com/2022/05/osiris-and-resurrection-of-lazarus.html}
I have also connected these words with Mary, Marta, Mars, Amor, Remus, Rome, and Romulus.
There are 3 aspects to the consonantal-cluster “mr” under discussion:
1. the permutations of “mr” itself, like Mer, Mur, Mor, Mir, etc., and their variants.
2. the reverse, inverted, mirror-root-word, i.e “rm”,
3. derivative words from the basic consonantal cluster: for example,
in case of words like “Marta”, the suffix “t” – and
in case of words like “Romulus”, the adjectival-suffix “ur”, which means “great”, in Egyptian, the same as “uru” in Sanskrit.
{I connected “Romulus” i.e. “Rom-ul” to the Egyptian Bull-god “Mer-ur” i.e. “the Great Mer”, called Mnevis by the Greeks.
But the name can also be “Romu-ul” which can be rendered “Meru-ur” which’d mean “The Great Meru”, akin to “Sumeru”.
Rome is famously the city of 7 hills/mountains, like Jerusalem – Romulus, the same as Mars, being the King of the Mountain, or the Mountain itself.
This would, in a way, connect Av-Ram to Rome.
The importance of the city is unfathomably great in the psyche of the earlier Abrahamic creeds.
As pointed out, the word “Mary” is also simply the reverse of “Rome”.
The original Gods were emphatically either Mountains, or Mountain-destroyers.
Av-Ram is simply the Lord of the Mountain.
The same can apply to other gods – Brahmā is associated with Meru, Shiva with Kailāsh (sometimes Meru), and Isaiah says {2.2-3}:
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
Jehovah gives the commandments to Moses on the Mount Sinai, and visits the Mountain amidst thunder & lightning – in other words, Jehovah is a Mountain-God.
El-Shaddai infact means God of the Mountain.}.
For now, we need to concentrate on the reversed or inverted mirror-words.
“Rm” is the mirror-image of “Mr”.
They would mean the same thing.
Thus, “meru”, “mer”, “mar”, “maru” etc. which mean “mountain, rock, pyramid, tomb” etc. in Egyptian and Indian cultures – would become “rum” & “ram” in Semitic languages, meaning “high”, “lofty”, “raised up” etc.
In other words, “Av-Ram” is the same as “Av-Mar”.
“Av-Rum” would be the same as “Av-Meru”.
Ridiculous as it may seem to many, there is actually nothing ridiculous about this.
And yet, it’s not absolutely unnecessary to get to this Mar-Mer-Mary connection at all.
The name Av-Ram still has Sanskrit connections.
Here I’d like to venture upon the territory of the word “rahm”.
Abraham’s name was changed from Abram to Abraham, i.e. the “ram” was changed to “raham”.
This contains the necessary clue to the “rama” connection.
“raham” or “rahm” are Semitic words pertaining to compassion and mercy.
Ultimately, these are words traceable to the concepts of the womb or uterus.
Does this seem like a confirmation of Gerald Massey’s views of the primal, pre-historical Mother-Goddess worship?
Possibly.
But that would be another discussion altogether.
In the meanwhile, let me quote a rather strange & trying Anti-Catholic Scottish author from the 19th century, Alexander Hislop, who, in his cavalier invectives against the Roman Catholic Church, endeavoured to prove that Roman Catholicism was a carbon-copy of pagan beliefs & rites.
Though Hislop would not be taken seriously today, for his times, and his background, his scholarship is not impossibly pedestrian.
He engages in relentless Catholic-and-Pagan-bashing, but ultimately, he articulates the ideas of Gerald Massey, only in a different way.
What Massey does with much more detail, much more research, and affirmatively, Hislop does somewhat crudely, as a sectarian, and negatively.
A vexing, racist fanatic he may be, but nevertheless, a lot of his information is interesting, and reflects the beliefs of his times, & those before his.
He writes, in his most famous book, The Two Babylons, published in 1853:
“Nay, not merely had the ancient Hindoos exalted ideas of the natural perfections of God, but there is evidence that they were well aware of the gracious character of God, as revealed in His dealings with a lost and guilty world.
This is manifest from the very name Brahm, appropriated by them to the one infinite and eternal God.
There has been a great deal of unsatisfactory speculation in regard to the meaning of this name, but when the different statements in regard to Brahm are carefully considered, it becomes evident that the name Brahm is just the Hebrew Rahm, with the digamma prefixed, which is very frequent in Sanscrit words derived from Hebrew or Chaldee.
Rahm in Hebrew signifies “The merciful or compassionate one”.
But Rahm also signifies the WOMB or the bowels as the seat of compassion.
Now we find such language applied to Brahm, the one supreme God, as cannot be accounted for, except on the supposition that Brahm had the very same meaning as the Hebrew Rahm.”
One has to sift through all the sanctimonious vociferations of Hislop, to get to the core idea: the relation between the concept of the womb, and the concept of compassion.
On the one hand, one instinctively thinks that the concepts are related by way of maternity: mercy & compassion are instinctively & spontaneously associated with the Mother, who is always infinitely & ineffable protective, indulgent, forgiving and unconditionally loving, of her child(ren).
The other link, I think, comes from the concept of love itself: or rather, the evolution & progression of Love from sexual & biological love, from tribal & familial love, to the more abstract, spiritual forms of love like universal compassion and forgiveness.
Compassion & Mercy are forms of Love: highly developed & mature forms of Love.
They express, or come from, Love itself, i.e. from being an intrinsically loving person or being.
But Love begins with the attraction between the sexes, the biological connection between parent & child (especially mother & child), and the interdependence between members of family & tribe.
The earliest, most instinctive, most spontaneous, and biological forms of love are that of the sexes, and of the mother & child.
From there, it grows & ripens & mellows, with time, experience, maturity, and wisdom, to higher, most peaceful & patient, more impartial & universal, forms of Love.
There is less biological or/and sexual instinct, less calculation & survival-instinct, in the higher forms of Love.
It should not come as a surprise if the same term or word is used to denominate all these different forms or aspects of attraction, affection, attachment, need, and desire.
It should not come as a surprise if the same term or word is used to denominate the uterus, the male paramour, or an exalted mercy, or if the associated words are all related to each other
In making certain connections, Hislop is correct, except that the word ties, not to Brahm, but to Rāma:
“Thus, we find the God Crishna, in one of the Hindoo sacred books, when asserting his high dignity as a divinity and his identity with the Supreme, using the following words:
“The great Brahm is my WOMB, and in it I place my foetus, and from it is the procreation of all nature.
The great Brahm is the WOMB of all the various forms which are conceived in every natural womb.”
{This is from the Bhagavad Gītā.}
How could such language ever have been applied to “The supreme Brahm, the most holy, the most high God, the Divine being, before all other gods ; without birth, the mighty Lord, God of gods, the universal Lord” but from the connection between Rahm “the womb” and Rahm “the merciful”?
Here, then, we find that Brahm is just the same “Er-Rahman”, “The all-merciful one”; a title applied by the Turks to the Most High, and that the Hindoos, not withstanding their deep religious degradation now, had once known that “the most holy, most high God “The God of Mercy”, in other words, that he is a just God and a Saviour”.”
Hislop is wrong as well as right.
He has no suspicion whatsoever of the meaning of the Gītā verses, but that’s beyond the point.
We see that the root “rhm” is very important in Arabic, and in Islam, where one of the most important names of Allah is the beautiful name, “ar-Raḥmān” – The Beneficent, The All-Compassionate.
Related, is another lovely epithet, “ar-Raḥīm” – The Most Merciful/ Ever-Merciful/ Merciful/ Most Clement – from rahīm, which means “compassionate, merciful”.
This rahīm is rooted in the Arabic rḥm, which is a Semitic word.
As we see in Wikipedia,
· raḥ’mah (Arabic: رحمة), raḥamim (Hebrew: רחמים): “caring; cares, mercy”.
· raḥima: “be mild, care, have mercy”
· raḥḥama: “care for, feel sympathy for”
· R-m-h: “womb”
There is an entire Semitic cluster of words, which are ultimately traceable to the concept of the womb.
Thus, the Proto-Semitic raḥ(i)m or riḥm mean “womb”, and:
§ Akkadian: rēmu, rīmu ‘womb’
§ Eblaitic: rimuum , reḥmum, ‘uterus’
§ Phoenician: rḥm ‘breast’
§ Hebrew: räḥäm, raḥam ‘womb’
§ Aramaic: rḥm ‘womb’
§ Judaic Aramaic: raḥămā, raḥmā ‘orifice of the matrix, womb’
§ Syrian Aramaic: raḥmā ‘uterus’
§ Modern Aramaic:
« raḥmta ‘mercy, compassion;
« raḥme ‘grace ‘
« rahmi (pl.) ‘pity’;
« rehem ‘love’
§ Arabic: raḥim, riḥm ‘uterus’
§ Tigre: rǝḥm ‘womb, descent’.
§ Mehri: raḥhm ‘womb’;
§ Jibbali: raḥm ‘womb’; mǝrḥám ‘womb’
Also:
§ Akkadian rēmu, rīmu ‘mercy, pity’;
§ Ugaritic rḥm ‘compassionate, loving’;
§ Hbrew
« rḥm (ḳal, piʕ) ‘to love, to meet someone with love, to take pity on someone’,
« raḥămīm ‘a feeling of love, loving sensation, mercy’;
§ Aramaic:
è raḥămīn ‘mercy’,
è rhm ‘to love, to pity’;
§ Arabic rḥm ‘to be compassionate, to have pity’.
In my humble opinion, these are precisely the words which make up the names Ab-ram and Ab-raham.
The meaning of the two words is no different in essence.
But we see that the word may exist without the “h”, which is probably a later development.
Abraham, or Ib-rahim, thus, is The Father of Compassion.
Our job, then, is to connect the Semitic root “rhm” to the Sanskrit “rm”, and this is not difficult.
Sk. rama means
« “pleasing, delighting, rejoicing” {at the end of compounds},
« dear, beloved;
« joy;
« a lover, husband, spouse;
« Kāma-deva, the god of love.”
The fundamental connotation is that of Love, but specifically, as one who gives joy or bliss, or one who pleases.
The roots are, indeed, sexual, but are extended to the psychological-spiritual realm.
{It is possible to argue the other way round too, but that’s a different discussion altogether.}
The Sanskrit root-word, ram, has meanings such as:
« “to delight, make happy, enjoy carnally”,
« “to play or sport, dally, have sexual intercourse with”,
« “to couple (said of deer)”,
« “to gladden, delight, please, caress, enjoy carnally”, etc.
We can see that the Sk. ram is primarily & fundamentally a word relating to sexual intercourse, sexual desire, and above all, sexual pleasure.
Its derivatives, apart from rama above, are words like
« ramaṇa:
“pleasing, charming, delightful”,
“a lover, husband”,
“Kāma-deva, the god of love”,
“dalliance, amorous sport, sexual union, copulation”, and interestingly,
“a testicle”, as well as
“the hinder parts, pudenda”.
{Tie this in with the Semitic words related above, to the uterus, womb, and “orifice of the matrix”.}
« ramā:
“a wife, mistress”
“a name of Lakṣmī”, the consort of Viṣṇu,
“good luck, fortune, splendour, opulence”.
« ramya:
“to be enjoyed, enjoyable, pleasing, delightful, beautiful”
“semen virile”
In other words, the whole cluster of associated words pertains to intercourse, love, desire, pleasure, joyfulness, beauty, romance, and marriage.
Last but foremost, the Sk. rāma means:
« “pleasing, pleasant, charming, lovely, beautiful”
« “a lover” and
« “pleasure, joy, delight”.
Monier-Williams makes it a point to mention that it comes from the root “ram”, i.e. “rāma” means “causing rest” – but it is equally valid that the word means “causing pleasure, or delight”.
The giver of pleasure, joy, & bliss, is Rāma.
This bliss can be the bliss of Nirvāṇa, or the joy of Knowledge {Jñāna}.
However, the fundamental, original sense of the word is the sexual, virile, copulating male – the lover, the husband, the paramour.
Hence, Rama is a name for Kāma.
It is possible, that given the meanings above, the words fundamentally referred to the phallus, since one of the meanings of ramya is the male semen.
Yet, the conceptual roots probably refer to the reproductive organs as a whole, to intercourse or love-making, and to the pleasure derived therefrom.
Spouse, or sexual partner, or lover, is the more specific meaning, than either the male lover or the female.
Both genders & type reproductive organs are included.
Hence, ramaṇa means “the hinder parts, the pudenda”.
Hence, rāmā means “woman” – indeed, “a beautiful woman, any young and charming woman, mistress, wife, any woman”.
Sk. rāmā also means “red earth” which has the connotation of the menstrual or mother-blood.
From this cluster of “rm/rmn”, it’s the next step to arrive at the Semitic {and even African} cluster “rm/rhm”, which is rooted in the womb, the bowels, and the uterus – the feminine generative organs.
Thus, in the Somali language,
« “rimay” means “womb, uterus”,
« “riman” means “pregnant”.
From there, we are led to higher, spiritual concepts of compassion, mercy, & pity.
It is this “rm/rhm”, which is component of the word “Ab-ram” or “Ab-raham”.
The original sexual connotations may be traced in the older languages, such as the
ª Ugaritic, in which rḥm means ‘maid’;
ª Moabitic, in which rḥm means ‘prisoner of war, concubine’, and the
ª Hebrew, in which räḥäm means ‘slave girl’.
Here, the romantic, erotic or sexual-partner association of Sanskrit, is preserved.
“slave-girl” is evidently used in the sense of a slave who is used for sexual purposes.
The “rm” and “raham” of Ab-raham, thus, are traceable to the Indian ram, which basically imply love-making, intercourse, dalliance, amorous play, romance, sex, sexual delight, pleasure, the procreative organs, joy, and beauty.
Abraham is not only the Father of Compassion – he becomes the Lord of Love & Desire – the Lord of Joy & Beauty – or the Procreative, Generative, Prolific Father of All.
In a sense, Brahmā-Prajāpati.
The words are not at all unrelated, as we can see that Rama or Rāma mean He who gives joy, or pleasure, or bliss – He who gives rest, or peace, or tranquility, or sanctuary.
As the Progenitor, Av-Ram is the Father of all the Abrahamic creeds, and races.
He is the “Lord {“Av”} of the Womb {“Rahm”}” – that is, the Male Generator and All-Father.
That is why his name was invariably interpreted as “Father of Multitudes” – i.e. the Progenitor of a huge number of people – the fundamental sense being that of the prolific, virile, sexual male who engenders numerous progeny.
We read {Genesis 17.3-6}:
“Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you very fruitful;
I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.”
This seems to be the pivotal point, or at least one of the most important turning points, in the narrative of Abraham’s life, and his name would specifically refer to the numerousness of his “seed”.
He is like the Sanskrit Vṛṣabha – the word “Bull” used so often in the Ṛg Veda, for all Devas – which means the “Sprinkler”, the “Effuser”, the “Showerer” – all originally referring to the inseminating, vigorous, strong, potent, prolific male-beast – but which also means “the chief, most excellent or eminent, lord or best (among)”.
Fundamentally, originally, there seems to be no difference between “ram” and “raham”.
It is possible that the text is telling us that “Raham” infact means “womb” – i.e. Abraham is the Womb, or Source, or Origin, from which several nations will spring forth.
So much for Hislop’s sneering comments on Brahmā being the womb.
As it turns out, Abraham means the same thing.
“Womb” maybe used in the highest spiritual sense, of Abstract Space, from which the conceptual or mental universe evolves, or is projected forth.
In a sense, Brahmā is the womb of the universe.
Brahm, i.e. Para-Brahm, is the Source of Everything, of Existence.
Brahmā is called Hiraṇyagarbha – which maybe translated as “Golden Womb” – but the meaning is not sexual or biological or “terrestrial” – it is conceptual & metaphysical.
Amongst his 1,000 Names, Viṣṇu is called Viśva-Yoni {No.117}, which means the Source out of which the Universe, or the All {viśva} has come out.
Similarly, Abraham may be the Womb {i.e. Source} of many nations, or indeed, as Ab-Raham – the Father or Lord of the Womb – maybe the Masculine Progenitor and Source of “many nations”.
I will not stress on the probability that Av-Ram is directly derived from the Indian Rāma, i.e. the incarnation of Viṣṇu, and hero of the Rāmāyaṇa, and one of the most important deities of India.
All such statements should be eschewed.
But the linguistic and conceptual connections are undeniable.
The root concepts pertain to love-making, the generative organs, & sexual pleasure.
The only noticeable difference is that in India, the stress is on the masculine dimension, and in the Semitic world, on the feminine dimension.
Similarly, the Arabic “rahman” may be linked to Sanskrit words such as “ramaṇa”, in the more exalted sense of being “loving”.
One is compassionate out of love.
One is merciful & beneficent, because of love.
One who takes pity, and is full of compassion, is loving.
To be compassionate almost necessarily means to give joy, to give rest or relief, to grant calmness {freedom from fear, anxiety, agitation}, & hence, in a very definite sense, joy.
There is happiness in alleviation.
There is joyfulness in receiving mercy.
There is bliss in receiving compassion.
One who gives mercy is giving rest, peace, and happiness.
The compassionate man is a source of universal delight.
These are the exact sublimated meanings of the words rama & rāma.
This is how “The Giver of Joy” is essentially identical to “The Giver of Compassion”.
Is there a possibility that the words “Rahm”, “Raham”, “Rahman” etc. are related to the word “Lakṣmaṇa”?
There is, but the meanings would be considerably different.
It should be remembered that Rāma is Viṣṇu – and so is Lakshmaṇa.
“R” and “L” are interchangeable.
The word Lakshman can be rendered Rakshman.
Rakshman can abrade to Rakhman.
Rakhman abrades to Rahman or to Rahm.
Such transitions in ample in India, especially from Sanskrit to Pali.
The “r” often vanishes in Pali:
« “Arjuna” becomes “Ajjuna”
« “sūtra” {thread} becomes “sutta”
« “parvata” {mountain} becommes “pabbata”
« “karma” {work} becomes “kamma”.
The Sanskrit lakshaṇa becomes Pali lakkhana.
We see the same in Odiya, which often follows Pali more than Sanskrit: the “sha” disappears consistently from the “ksha”:
« Lakṣmī {Lakshmī} thus becomes Lakhmī {indeed, Lokhmī}
« Kshamā {forgiveness} becomes Khyamā {in spoken language, Khyomā}
« Akshaya {imperishable} becomes Akhyaya {i.e. Okhyoyo}, and similarly
« Lakshman becomes Lakhman.
{That’s how Rakshman can become Rakhman}
Indeed, there is a proper Sanskrit word Lakshma which may become Lakhma.
Lakhma would have variants such as Lakhama, Lakham, Rakham, etc. which then abrade to Lahm, Rahm etc.
{In Mesopotamia, we do find the god & goddess Lahmu & Lahamu – these seem to be associated with water, i.e. inverted, mirror-words of the consonantal-cluster mr.}
That may be a reason why there are words such as Av-rakham.
Of course, it’s possible that words like Abrakham reflect the same modification as seen in Brāhmaṇas being called “Brachmanes” by Europeans.
Just because there’s a “kh” in the European rendition, doesn’t mean it is the older or original form of the word.
For now, there is a faint possibility of Arabic-Hebrew words like Rahman & Rahm being connected to Lakshman and Lakshmī, i.e. Lakhman & Lakhmī, and I mentioned it for what it’s worth
If we dig further, we see that broadly speaking, all meanings associated with the Sanskrit consonantal-cluster rm, are present in the reversed, mirror-consonantal cluster, mr.
That is, the Sanskrit rm, the Semitic rm/rhm, and the Egyptian mr, all reflect each other.
Thus:
Sanskrit rāma: pleasing, pleasant, charming, beautiful; pleasure, joy, delight
Egyptian mār: to be happy
Sk. ram: to delight, make happy, enjoy carnally
Egyptian mer: to love, to desire, to wish for, to crave for, to will
Sk. rama, rāma: pleasing, charming, lovely, beautiful
Eg. mer-mer: lovely, amiable
Tamil rammiyam {from Sk. ramya}: that which is pleasant or agreeable; beauty
Sk. ram: to gladden, delight, please, caress, enjoy carnally
Eg. mer-t: gladness
Eg. mer-t: love, desire, wish, something loved, longed or wish for
Eg. merr: to wish for, to desire, to love
Sk. rama: God of Love
Eg. mer: love, desire
Sk. ram: to sport, to play, to rejoice, to enjoy
Eg. mer: a festival
Sk. rama: dear, beloved, lover, husband, spouse
Eg. merȧ: lover, friend
Eg. merriu: those who love, lovers, friends
Eg. meri: lover, loved one, something loved
Sk. ramati: a lover, a gallant, Love, the God of Love
Eg. meriti: beloved
Eg. merit: love
Eg. merut: love
The list doesn’t need to be extended too much.
This evidence is sufficient, though there is much more to it.
We have noted in the post on the Lazarus-Osiris connection, and prevalence of the word Mary, that all these words tie in to the names of the sisters Mary & Marta, as well as gods such as Mars & Amor {who can be Father & Son} – the Mary in question being Mary Magdalene, the Prostitute, the Lover, the Tower-Goddess.
To reinforce what has already been said, the fundamental concepts turn upon sexual desire & love, intercourse & love-making, sexual longing & pleasure, and the procreative organs – the liṅga, yoni, jaghana, & garbha – and thence, to broader, more abstract concepts of love, delight, bliss, serenity, friendship, compassion, and mercy.
Rama is one of the names of Kāma, the great God of Love, Desire, and Sex, of India – and one of the most important Gods of Ancient India.
This Rama is interchangeable with – the inverted, mirror-word of – Mar, Mer, Meri, Mary – thence, with Mars {the consort of the Goddess of Love} & Amor – and with Rome, Remus {by extension, with Romulus}, Rome etc.
Same applies to the variant Rāma, the hero of one of the two definitive epics of India – the Rāmāyaṇa – who is an incarnation of Viṣṇu, who may be said to be Viṣṇu Himself, and is also one of the most important romantic-warrior god-kings of India.
This ram-Rama-Rāma is also linked conceptually and linguistically with the Semitic rm/rhm, which go into the composition of the names Abram-Abraham.
That Av-Ram is connected to the Sanskrit ram-Rama-Rāma is reinforced by the name of his consort, Sarai.
Sarai-Sarah has been connected to Sarasvatī, the consort of Brahmā – and the word has even been rendered as Sarai-svatī.
This is unnecessary, since Abraham has been interpreted as A-Brahm, rather than Ab-Ram.
But if Av-Ram is a legitimate derivation, then the connection is with ram-Rama-Rāma, not with Brahmā.
And Sarai-Sarah is Śrī, not Sarasvatī.
Rāma being Viṣṇu, his consort Lakshmī is Śrī.
Viṣṇu is Rāma, Śrī is Ramā.
Thus, Ab-Rāma’s consort is Ramā = Śrī = Sarai, i.e. Lakshmī.
Last but not the least, Śrī is a name of Sarasvatī too, and ultimately, all Goddesses are one.
The peerless Lalitā Sahasranāma begins with the name Śrī-Mātā – Mother Śrī.
This Lakshmī is linguistically connected to Rahm, because “r” & “l” interchange, and in successive progression, lakshmi = rakshmi = rakhm = rahm.
Rāma & Lakshmaṇa both being {incarnations of, portions of} Viṣṇu, we may take Lakshmaṇa, or maybe a lost form such as Lakshma, to be a name for Viṣṇu, and the male counterpart of the feminine Lakshmī.
Lakshman-Lakshma become Rahman-Rahm in the Semitic world, whence the word Ab-Rahm.
There is absolutely nothing outlandish in all this.
These are normal linguistic permutations and variations.
Now Sarai is said to mean Princess.
It is said to come from the Hebrew sar which means: prince, captain, chief, ruler, guardian angel.
{If the reader refers to the blog-post on the Lazarus-Osiris connection, she/he will know that these are precisely meanings & connotations of the words {Egyp.} mer, mer-t, {Sk.} nara, nṛ etc.}
This immediately connects to the myriad meanings of the Sanskrit word Śrī:
« “light, lustre, radiance, splendour, glory, beauty, grace, loveliness”
« “prosperity, welfare, good fortune, success, auspiciousness, wealth, treasure, riches”,
and notably:
« “symbol or insignia of royalty”.
Monier-Williams adds a detailed note in his Dictionary:
“The word śrī is frequently used as an honorific prefix (= ‘sacred’, ‘holy’) to the names of deities (e.g. Śrī-Durgā, Śrī-Rāma), and may be repeated two, three, or even four times to express excessive veneration. (e.g. Śrī-śrī-Durgā &c.); it is also used as a respectful title (like ‘Reverend’) to the names of eminent persons as well as of celebrated works and sacred objects (e.g. Śrī-Jayadeva, Śrī Bhāgavata), and is often placed at the beginning or back of letters, manuscripts, important documents &c.; also before the words caraṇa and pāda ‘feet’, and even the end of personal names.”
According to the Shabda-Sāgar Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Śrī means:
« “majesty, royalty
« elevation, consequence
« superhuman power”
which all meanings dovetail in with the Hebrew sar & sarai.
In Arabic,
« sarīr means “royal dignity, royalty”
« sarw means “chief, prince”
« srwê means “generous & of a masculine character”.
In Sanskrit, we have
« śreyas:
· “most excellent, best, supreme, chief, ultimate”
· “auspicious, fortunate, conducive to welfare or prosperity”
· “propitious, well disposed to”
· “more splendid or beautiful, more excellent or distinguished, superior, preferable, better, better than”
However, there is a more important dimension to this.
In Hebrew, sarai is said to come from sar, and looking at the various meanings of sar we can say that the fundamental concept is that of the head.
And so does it mean, in Hindi, or Hindustani, till today.
Fact is, Sarai – which must have been written sr or sri – is the same as the Sanskrit words śira or śiras – both of which mean The Head.
The more intricate word is śīrsa, but it’s not necessary to examine that word.
Now, according to Monier-Williams, śiras itself might have originally been śaras.
śaras directly leads to sarah, because the “s” often interchanges with “h” {for example, the Vedic Sarasvatī becomes the Zoroastrian Haraivatī; the Vedic Soma becomes the Zoroastrian Haoma}.
Be that as it may, the Hebrew sar is, infact, identical to the Sanskrit śira/śiras which means:
« “the upper end or highest part of anything,
« “top, peak, summit, pinnacle, acme”
« “the forepart or van (of an army)”
« “the beginning (of a verse)”
« {at the end of compounds} “the head, leader, chief, foremost, first (of a class)”
The Shabda-Sāgar Sanskrit-English Dictionary more or less gives the same meanings as Monier-Williams, and we see that śira/śiras means:
« “Chief, principal, head
« The head
« The skull
« The top of a tree
« A summit, a peak
« The van of an army”
This ties-in perfectly with the Hebrew “sar” and its Semitic-African variants which means “Chief, Captain, King, Ruler” – as Head of the Tribe, Head of the Community, Head of the Army, Head of the Kingdom, Head of the State, Head of the House etc.
Head signifies the foremost, the uppermost, the most important, the most glorious, the most highest part, the summit.
In other words, śira/śiras.
In Egyptian,
« ser means “prince, chief, nobleman, elder”,
hence it is identical to the Hebrew sar & sarai,
« ser-t means “governorship, magistracy”.
In Hebrew, the denominative verb sarar means to be a chief.
In Amharic, särwe means leader.
In Ethiopian, sarwe means “army, troops; military leader; virile, robust”.
In East Ethiopic, särawit means “army”.
In Sanskrit, a cognate root śṝ means ‘to rend’ or ‘destroy’, which leads to words like:
« śara, which means “arrow, shaft” & “mischief, injury, hurt, a wound”, and
« śarva, which is one of the names of Rudra-Shiva, and means “N. of a god who kills people with arrows”.
All these words & concepts also tie in to the Sanskrit words sura, asura, śūra, sūri, svar, and sūrya.
I am deeply convinced, that the name of Abraham’s wife Sarai-Sarah is directly related to the Sanskrit words śrī, śira, and śiras – but when we examine further, we discover a huge number of interconnected words, especially the Egyptian ser.
Indeed, there is a more immediate connection with the Sanskrit sāra rather than sara, because the Sk. sāra means:
« “firmness, strength power, energy
« the substance or essence/marrow/cream/heart/
« best part, quintessence”
« epitome”
« a confederate prince, ally”.
The King, or Chief, or Leader, or Captain, or Princess, meaning or implying
the best,
the highest,
most important,
most significant,
the greatest or highest
– as in being the same with the concepts of essence, pith, crucial point, crest, etc.
I do not either completely ignore the relation of the word “Abraham” with the word “Brahma”, or the word “Sarai/Sarah” with the word “Sarasvatī”.
The words may be connected.
As of now, I am intrigued by the connection which I see between
« Ab-Ram/Ab-Rahm with Ram-Rama-Rāma, and
« Sarai/Sarah with Śrī & Śira.
The words and concepts may be further examined, but that might just make the post a little more tenacious than necessary.
Per se, there is not much to connect Abram with Rāma of the Rāmāyaṇa, and Sarai can only indirectly be connected with the goddess Śrī.
Rāma being Viṣṇu, his consort, Sītā is Śrī or Lakshmī.
Thus, Av-Rām’s consort is Śrī-Sarai.
There is also a possible connection between the words “Judea” and the word “Ayodhyā”.
In certain Eastern Indian languages, the “y” becomes “j” , and “Ayodhyā” is rendered “Ajodhyā”.
Possibly “Judea” does NOT come from “Yahuda” – and “Yahuda” may be linked to the Sanskrit “Yadu”.
We see:
§ Rāma is associated with the city Ayodhyā –
§ the city of Rāma is situated by the river Sarayu – and
§ Kṛṣṇa is associated with the clan of Yadu, i.e. the Yādavas.
Yahuda & Yahudi might be connected to the word Yādava
Judea might come from the Sanskrit “ayodhya” – “not to be warred against, irresistible” – too.
These are possible connections which I mention, so that an inquisitive reader has material to ponder over further.
All said & done, except Rāma’s abandonment of a pregnant Sītā in the wilderness and Abraham’s abandonment of Hagar with her young child Ishmael in a desert, there is nothing much to connect the two figures.
In a vague way, both men lose their wives temporarily to another man.
Rāma’s wife is abducted by Rāvaṇa.
Abraham’s wife is coveted by Pharaoh – indeed, by two men: Pharaoh of Egypt, and Abimelech, the King of Philistines.
Apart from this, there isn’t much relation between the two men.
Abraham is rather timid & scared, and almost gives away Sarah to the two Kings.
And though Rāma struggles & fights valiantly to retrieve his abducted wife, he not only abandons her after having won the battle against Rāvaṇa, but also a second time later, out of sheer fear – the fear of losing the impeccability of his kingly dignity before the world.
The resemblances are few & hazy, but they’re there.
Both are great warriors.
In the Bible, one of the sons of Noah is Kush.
The son of Kush is Rāma.
In the Rāmāyaṇa {and Indian mythology as such}, Rāma has a son Kush.
This has nothing to do with Abraham, but there seems to be some strange, lost, mysterious reflections out here, of the Indian legend.
Then there are Middle-Eastern connections, which indicate the universality of the names across cultures.
Gerald Massey gives some very interesting information in A Book of The Beginnings, though I don’t agree with all his interpretations {given elsewhere in the book}:
“Rem was an ancient epithet of the supreme deity.
Among the Phoenicians it was a title of Baal.
A Syrian god (Rimmon...) represented Adonis in his mourning phase.
Zechariah refers to the great mourning of Hadad-Rimmon.
Rem is compounded with Baal in Bal-Rem, a title of the Libyan Baal.
It was applied to Saturn as Baal by the Phoenicians.
The name appears as Ramas ... in Hesychius.
{In other words, Rem was an important Ancient Semitic name, like Rāma in India.
As pointed out previously, the word Bel/Baal is infact directly related to the word Mer/Mar, hence, Rem/Ram.
Rāma is, after all, an incarnation of the Supreme Deity, Viṣṇu.
In the Rāmāyaṇa, he is addressed as
« akṣara brahma {the eternal Brahma} &
« puruṣa {the supreme soul of the universe}, as
« parātpara {that which is above that which is beyond everything} &
« oṁkāra {the mystic syllable aum}
– Chapter 117, Section 6}
...
Rem (Eg.) is also the fish, one of the watertypes.
Baal-Rem is Sut, the son of the water-cow, or Remakh.
The name of Abram, according to Apollonius Molon, signified “the Father’s friend”. One name of the god Rimmon is Mermer (Akk), and in Egyptian Mer-Mer means the friend.
{We have noted such correspondences in a list above.
In Sanskrit, the reversed, mirror-word, rama, means “dear, beloved, husband, lover”.
It seems Ab-Ram has been broken up into
« “Ab” i.e. “Father” and
« “Ram” i.e. “Friend”
– hence, Ab-Ram means “the Father’s Friend”.
Apart from the obvious similarity of “friend” & “lover”, the Friend is one who gives love, joy, relief {from stress, anxiety, agitation, pain, loneliness, etc.} – the friend is one with whom you have fun & frolics, whom you sport or play with, etc.
Sk. rama also means “to sport, to play”.
We see the relation in the Sk. word jāra, which means both “lover” as well as “friend”.
The fluidity & interchangeability of words in the ancient world can’t be dismissed easily.
Similarly, Sk. priya means “lover” as well as “friend”.
The Sk. janya means both “bridegroom” & “friend of the bridegroom”.
The Sk. kam, which pertains to sexual desire & intercourse in Sanskrit, is related to Irish caomach, “friend or companion”.
Akin to the Akkadian god Mermer & Egyptian Mer-mer which means “Friend”, in Sanskrit Murmura is a name of Kāma, the God of Love, who is also called Rama.}
...
The Mahometan Arabs held Abram to be identical with Saturn, and represented him in the Kaaba as an old man with SEVEN arrows, or lots of destiny, in his hand.
The same figure with the seven arrows was worshipped by the Arabs under the name of Hobal, who was a form of Saturn.
This is important to the genealogy of Abram, because the Hebrew solar god as the father, was once the son of the mother whose earliest form was Sut, Bar-Sutekh, Saturn, Sut-Renn, or the Sabean Baal.”
Rāmah also is the name of a city which used to trade with Tyre, the great Phoenician city of sea-trade.
We’re told there was also an Israelite city by the name of Ramah.
These connections are relevant, when we are trying to find associations between the hitherto buried links between “Indo-European a.k.a. Aryan”, “Semitic”, “African”, and “Dravidian” cultures.
The words are neither typically Indian-Sanskrit nor Semitic.
The Syrian god Rimmon is also called Ramanu, interpreted “The Thunderer”.
Since he is the same as Baal, his name should mean exactly what Baal means: “Husband, Lord” – which is the meaning of Ramaṇa(n) in Sanskrit & Tamil.
{Strangely enough, we find a word close enough to the Syrian Ramanu “The Thunderer”
« in Sanskrit, i.e. rambha, which means “sounding, roaring, lowing”
« in Tamil, i.e. “urmu” which means “to thunder, to roar” – which
« in Telugu becomes “urumu, urum”, “thunder, roar”.
« In the Dravidian Maria Gondi, uram means “thunder”, &
« in Seoni Gondi, urum means “to lighten” {as in lightning}.
« In Semitic, ramāmu means “roar”.
The West-Chadic ramu which means “speak, say, tell” is akin to the Sanskrit rambh, which means “to sound, roar”.
Roaring & Thundering are cognate concepts.}
I think I won’t dig deeper into this issue right now.
Maybe in some later blog-posts.
An important point is the meaning of “ram” or “rum” as “elevated, height, high” etc.
Abraham as the “Exalted Father” may indeed be akin to Brahma, which means “that which is big, great, expanded, immense, infinite” – from bṛh,
§ “to be thick, grow great or strong, increase” &
§ “to make big or fat or strong, increase, expand, further, promote”
— but there are fundamental conceptual differences.
So far, my contention is that these Semitic words – such as:
« Ugaritic rm: “high, lofty, exalted; height”
« Syrian Aramaic rām: “be high”, etc.,
are at best related to the word “Meru” in India, as reversed or inverted mirror-consonant words.
This remains a very strong possibility.
That is, Ab-ram may be Ab-Mer – relating to Meri, Mary, Meru, Amor, Mars, etc.
We see, for instance, that the Hebrew name Abner may be rendered Abi-Ner or Ab-Nur.
As Abi-Ner, the word means “my Father is Ner”.
As Abi-Nur, the word means “Father of Light”.
Ab-Mer may well have been rooted in Avi-Meru – the Lord of Meru.
That would make him truly high & mighty & elevated – the Mount Meru obviously being the Universal Pivot, the Earth-Centre, and the World-Mountain in Indian cosmology.
The Lord of Meru is none other than Brahmā Himself, which would tie-in to the Abram-Abrahm connection.
There maybe other connotations & connections {between the Hebrew ram/rum and mountains} – somewhat distant & broad – but I will refrain from speculation right now.
As a mere clue, I would say that mountains were the loci of pagan fertility, orgiastic & sexual rites.
This is something that needs extended thought.
{“Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree.
And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.”
This is from the Book of Deuteronomy 12:2-3.
Italics mine.
“high” & “mountain” in the original are “rum” & “har”.
The “pagans” – or least some of them – used to worship on high mountains, on hills, in groves, and under trees {perhaps they worshipped the trees themselves, & maybe also the hills & mountains}.
The later “patriarchal” gods were also worshipped on mountains – but there seems to be a specific sexual, erotic, fertility & orgiastic connotation to these mountains & groves & trees.
We have seen in the previous post that words related to “garden, grove” etc. belong to the same consonantal-cluster of words meaning the human sexual organs of both genders – generally, birth, the birthplace, the womb, the yoni, the child, etc..
The Garden of Eden is the Garden of Pleasures – of sexual delights.
To say that the word “eden” comes from “the Akkadian edinnu, from a Sumerian word edin meaning ‘plain’ or ‘steppe’” is almost meaningless.
Eden is related to the Sanskrit adana, which means, eating, which euphemistically means enjoyment, and sexual enjoyment.
The fundamental etymologies of the word for “garden”, i.e. “gan” – point to the yoni, the womb, the phallus, fornication, & the birthplace.
Gan-Eden may well be a grove, a vana, a kānana, but placed on a mountain-top, also on the flat summit of a plateau.
The mountains & groves were not only places of leisure & amusement, but of the sexual, orgiastic rites.
“The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? She is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.”
– Jeremiah 3.6.
This is not mere “Abrahamic” slander – these rites did exist.
rum/ram which mean high, elevated, lofty, raised up etc. – might just mean mountain, highland, plateau, hill – or are words derived from words signifying mountain – like the Egyptian word meru & the Sanskrit maru & meru, as already pointed out, though they don’t seem to be used in this sense in Hebrew itself.
The point is the connection with the Sanskrit ram-rama etc.: these words specifically allude to sexual sports & amorous dalliances – a realm of eros, of beauty, of love-making, frolicking & riotous, rambunctious revelries.
The Garden of Eden is nothing but the realm of Saturn, a symbol of the proverbial the Golden Age of Saturn.
Nudity, sexual freedom, mass orgies, pederasty & sodomy were rife.
It makes perfect sense that Rem was a name of Saturn.
The “Garden” was on a mountain, or at least connected to mountains – if not the mountain itself.
Ab-Ram is simply derived from Saturn or Cupid or Kāma, in India also Rama, the God of Love, Lust & Desire, of Joy & Beauty – who ruled the Earth once.
Abraham is the new, reformed, or sublimated Saturn, the one who went against the Ancient Saturn.
In other words, “rum/rum” may be derived from the “high-places”, eminences, hills or mountains, where the Pre-Jehovaistic “pagans” used to conduct their orgiastic rites & festivals.}
As of now, I am quite convinced that
ª Av-Ram & Av-Rahm are undoubtedly related to the Sanskrit words ram-rama-Rāma, and
ª Sarai-Sarah are related to the Sanskrit Śrī, śira, śiras.
At a conceptual level, the Semitic rm as “high, elevated, lofty” etc. is related to the Sanskrit words Śrī, śira, śiras – because they all connote, or mean, the highest, the summit, the best, the most important, the first, the foremost etc..
The head {śiras} is the highest part of man’s body.
śiras is also the peak or summit of the mountain, which is its most elevated & lofty part.
The Sanskrit śrī itself means “high position, glory, majesty, royal dignity”, which is curiously related to the Hebrew rum, “to be high, be set on high; to be raised, be uplifted, be exalted”.
That which is uplifted {Heb. rum} has glory {Sk. śrī}.
– that which has been set on high {Heb. rum} enjoys a high position {Sk. śrī}.
– that which is exalted {Heb. rum}possesses majesty {Sk. śrī}.
– that which has been exalted & magnified {Heb. rum}, has excellence {Sk. śrī}, or vice versa.
I may also point out that śiras & śrī are related words, within Sanskrit itself.
The head is called śiras because all the śrī & rasa of the 7 ṛṣi-prāṇas is concentrated in it {Shatapatha Brāhmaṇa 6.1.1.4.}.
It’s not possible to get into the esoteric significance of those ideas, but let us understand for now that the words śiras & śrī lead to, & imply, each other.
Raham, Rahim, and Rahm are Compassion.
Rama-Rāma is Love.
As it turns out, from a linguistic point of view, & that of root-concepts stemming from the ancient mysteries, Rāma is Rahīm.