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My
brother asked me yesterday to read up on
“Mithraism” and I guess I found something
interesting which I would like to share.
Ever thought your son who you affectionately
named Mihir, our humble rosogoolla and
maach-bhaat eating Mitra Dada and the makke ki
roti and sarson ka saag eating Mehraji, Mehrs,
Mehrotras and Malhotras etc had something in
common? Let us do some exploring.
Mithraism began in Persia where originally a
multitude of gods were worshipped. Mithras was
known throughout Europe and Asia by the names
Mithra, Mitra, Meitros, Mihr, Mehr, and Meher.
The veneration of this God began about 4000
years ago in Persia, where it was soon imbedded
with Babylonian doctrines. Remains of Mithraic
temples can be found throughout the Roman
Empire, from Palestine across north of Africa,
and across central Europe to northern England.
One of the largest Mithraic temples built in
Italy now lies under the present site of the
Church of St. Clemente, near the Coliseum in
Rome.
The name Mithras was the Persian word for
'contract'. As 'God of Truth and Integrity',
Mithras was invoked in solemn oaths to pledge
the fulfillment of contracts and punish liars.
He was believed to maintain peace, wisdom,
honour, prosperity, and cause harmony to reign
among all his worshippers. The divine duty of
Mithras was to ensure general prosperity through
good contractual relations between men. It was
believed that misfortune would befall the entire
land if a contract was ever broken.
Mithraism was worshipped as guardian of arms,
and patron of soldiers and armies. The handshake
was developed by those who worshipped him as a
token of friendship and as a gesture to show
that you were unarmed. When Mithras later became
the Roman god of contracts, the handshake
gesture was imported throughout the
Mediterranean and Europe by Roman soldiers.
The faith spread east through India to China,
and reached west throughout the entire length of
the Roman frontier ... from Scotland to the
Sahara Desert, from Spain to the Black Sea.
Sites of Mithraic worship have been found in
Britain, Italy, Romania, Germany, Hungary,
Bulgaria, Turkey, Persia, Armenia, Syria,
Israel, and North Africa.
Mithra is an Indo-Iranian sun god. In Hinduism
he is praised as the binomial Mitra-Varuna. A
hymn is also dedicated to him alone in Rig Veda.
He is the Lord of Heavenly light, protector of
truth, and is invoked when a contract or oath is
taken. So the worshippers of Mithras who came to
India were actually Sun worshippers. As they
spread across India they built Sun Temples, some
of which we see today. These people brought
various festivals with them and perhaps the
modern day festival Chhath has its origin there.
Iran has a major festival that is similar to our
Chhath.
So now do you see the possible link between
Mihir, Mitra Dada and the Mehraji, Mehrs,
Mehrotras and Malhotras?
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