“The Force has Left us, Young Skywalker.”

Over the weekend, my son and I checked out the latest Star Wars offering, “The Rise of Skywalker.” Patrons of all ages lined up at the ticket counter, the theater was crowded and many buckets of popcorn were sold. It promised to be an entertaining way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The sheer success of the Star Wars movies is hard to comprehend. The original Star Wars movie, “A New Hope,” came out in 1977. Since then, the franchise, with twelve releases, has collected over an astounding ten billion dollars worldwide.

We enjoyed the movie but, truth be told, it was nothing special. The undeniable excitement that greeted the first several releases, decades ago, was missing. Perhaps the brand has run its course. Understandably, keeping the momentum going is a hard task, and for the scriptwriters, an unenviable task.

For me, “The Revenge of the Sith,” released in 2005, was the last and best of the series. In it, we learned of Anakin Skywalker’s shocking betrayal of the Jedi, his turn to the dark side, the death of his wife Padme and the dispersal of their twin babies. Every release after that has felt shallow, unable to capture the emotional heart of the saga again.

Thus, the reviews for “The Rise of Skywalker,” were decidedly mixed. Rotten Tomatoes, the well-known review site gave it a 53% rating, saying that it “suffers from a frustrating lack of imagination, but concludes this beloved saga with fan-focused devotion.”  Roger Stone, the movie critic, writes that, having to bear the weight of all the previous plots, it doesn’t have “an identity of its own.”

Joseph Campbell

In a way, it had to happen. The original trilogy was a cultural phenomenon. Set in the distant future but rooted firmly in ancient human mythology, it captured everyone’s imagination. Based on the writings of Joseph Campbell, erstwhile professor at Sarah Lawrence College, who worked in comparative mythology and religion, it captured the imaginations of people around the world. Some say that Star Wars is based on the ancient Hindu epic the Ramayana, which relates the tale of a search, by a hero and his monkey friend, for a princess captured by an evil king.

There are rumors that the latest is the last of the franchise. But given the financial returns, it seems difficult to believe. Another or, maybe, a few more episodes will be produced. If so, the saga will slowly die away, ending only when movie-goers lose interest. Yet, few will forget the magic of the early releases. I certainly won’t.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy and "Karma Nation," a literary romance (www.mohanashtakala.com). He is published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)

India and Ancient America

One of the epics of India, the Ramayana, contains a chapter which tells of a remarkable journey through the centre of the earth.

Ancient Hanuman coin

During the battle against Ravana, the King of Lanka, Lord Rama and his brother Lakshman, two of the main protagonists of the tale, are captured by Mahiravana, the step-brother of the evil king. Guardian of a tunnel to Patala-loka (Patala – below the feet; and loka – abode or kingdom.) 

Mahiravana carried the brothers down into the bowels of the earth for a distance of 90,000 yoganas (a yogana equals approximately 12 kilometers or seven and a half miles.)

According to the legend, the tunnel went in a direct line, starting at the tip of peninsular India, through the center of the earth, and re-emerged at the other side, which would place it somewhere in South or Central America, possibly in the land of the Aztecs or the Inca. Indeed, in the epic, the land where they ended up is described as covered with gold. In the end, Hanuman rescues the brothers, they return to India, and continue their battle against Ravana.

This tale is just one of many that inspires writers to hypothesize about civilizational connections between India and ancient America.

For example, ancient Mexican Aztec doctrine of the World's Ages—the universe being destroyed four consecutive times—is reminiscent of the Indian Yugas. The Yuga system postulates that the time is divided into four repeating ages that differ in terms of spiritual qualities. Even the reputed colors of these mythical four ages, white, yellow, red and black are identical with and in the same order as one of the two versions of the Indian Yugas.

The Decimal system 

Another interesting similarity is the use of zero. The Mayas of Yucatan were the first people, besides the Indians, to use a zero sign and represent number values by the position of basic symbols. The similarity between the Indian zero and the Mayan zero is indeed striking. The decimal system and the use of zero was reputedly invented (and used first) by the Indian mathematician Brahmagupta. In 773, zero reached Baghdad where it became part of the Arabic number system, and later on, introduced to Europe by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci (c. 1170–1250), who grew up in North Africa.

Mayan numerals - 1 to 19

So far as the logical principle is concerned, the Indian and Mayan mathematical system and representation of zero are identical, but its expression is not. While the Indian system of notation is decimal (based on ten), the Mayan is on based on units of twenty. Consequently, their 100 stood for 400, while 1000 stood for 8000. Disputes about the common origin of these two numeric systems continue amongst scholars, in the absence of conclusive evidence. As chronological evidence stands today, the Mayan zero appears to be anterior by several centuries to its Hindu counterpart.

Mayan Numerals 20 to 29

Many other similarities exist, such as mythologies, rituals such as the use of fire, and even in temple architecture. 

Did a connection between India and America exist in the past? No one knows, but it does make for interesting discussion!

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," published by Books We Love.

www.yogazapper.com

www.bwlpublishing.ca