Freeindia > Contributions
"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, grandmother of legend, and great grand mother of tradition. our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only." - Mark Twain Freeindia > Contributions
This presentation is an attempt to inform the world about India's pivotal role in the formation and growth of our modern civilization. A proper understanding, recognition and appreciation of India's historical presence in all of us is attempted here by touching on its cultural, educational, scientific and philosophical contributions. Freeindia > Contributions
India, the largest democracy is a land of matchless majesty, as large as Europe and home of 1/6th of the world population. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of the British in the early 17th century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by her wealth. Freeindia > Contributions
Historian Elphinstone said: The Hindu kingdoms overthrown by Muslims were so wealthy that the historians tire of telling of the immense loot of jewels and coins captured by the invaders." Numerous countries have plundered the wealth of India. Freeindia > Contributions
It is not just the material wealth that makes India rich. The achievements, history, culture and geography all are part of this richness. People throughout the ages admired the richness of India. Freeindia > Contributions
French scholar Romain Rolland said: "If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India." Freeindia > Contributions
Even though much of India's material wealth was striped away, its cultural wealth and her eternal universal wisdom enrich the world to this day. Hindu culture is based on Dharma or the eternal principles of life. Search for truth and expression of that has reflected in all Hindu activities. The closest Sanskrit word for `culture' is `samskriti': which means constant process of change and perfection for the growth and harmony amongst people, nature and the entire creation. Freeindia > Contributions
What is this great culture? How did it influence the ancient world? How is it still influencing the world today? Soon we will explore and try to find answers to these questions. Freeindia > Contributions
India, throughout her long history, has influenced the life and culture of the world. Italian Scholar Sylvian Levi said: "She has the right to reclaim her place amongst the great nations summarizing and symbolizing the spirit of humanity. From Persia to the Chinese sea, from the icy regions of Siberia to the Islands of Java and Borneo, from Oceania to Socotra, India has propagated her beliefs, her tales, and her civilization." Freeindia > Contributions
The old fabricated `Aryan Invasion' theory is fast being rejected by the scholars of the world due to lack of evidence. Recent evidence points to the fact that it is the Hindus who influenced the world with their culture, not the other way around. Freeindia > Contributions
According to some scholars, in the pre-Mahabharat War period around 3000 years BCE, there was a Vedic or Aryan culture throughout the world. Many believe that Vedic traditions were common in all pre-Christian cultures including Europe, Egypt and the Americas. The word Arya denotes no race but `noble' and the word `Veda' denotes knowledge. Noble and wise is the nature of this great ancient culture. Freeindia > Contributions
Hindus believe in `Vasudhaiva kutumbakam' - the entire world is one big family. Perhaps that is why most recent historical and archaeological evidence shows that Indian civilization was never contained within its boundaries. People of India traveled to far away lands since very ancient times. An early example is indicated in certain inscriptions discovered in Iraq dated 1400 BCE. The most prominent Hindu deity, Ganesha can be found in almost all Asian countries including China, Cambodia, Afghanistan and even in Mexico. Emissaries from India went to Egypt, Iran, Africa and Greece. Freeindia > Contributions
Ancient India's borders extended to present-day Tibet and Bhutan in the north, Afghanistan in the west and Burma in the East. Evidence of Hindu presence in far away countries like Russia, Siberia, Ukraine and Mongolia are abundant. Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Srilanka and Afghanistan have been the cultural compatriots of India. Modern Kandahar in Afganishtan is Gandhar, from where Gandhari, mother of the Kauravas in the Mahabharata came. Freeindia > Contributions
Indian thought gradually spread to all South Asian countries after the 4th century, where it expressed itself in art, literature, monuments, inscriptions and social institutions formed on Indian patterns. Sage Agastya, the first compiler of Tamil grammar, visited many countries in South-East Asia. Indonesia or Indian Asia was called `Dipantara Bharat' by the puranas. Freeindia > Contributions
The spread of Indian thought happened by the spread of Sanskrit through translations and adaptations of Sanskrit works along with local works. These are found in Mongolian, Manchurian, Korean and Japanese culture. Sanskrit works have been preserved in Tibetan and Chinese translations. The suffix `stan' used in many countries' names such as Pakistan, Tazakisthan, is originally from the Sanskrit word `Sthan' meaning place or land. Freeindia > Contributions
Myanmar, formerly referred to as Burma felt the impact of Indian thought as early as the 1st century. Burma, originally known as Brahma-desh or the land of Brahma had embraced Budhism and other Hindu paths such as Shaivism and Vaishnavism. Freeindia > Contributions
Thailand or Siam, originally known in Sanskrit as Shyamdesh had cities named after many Indian cities such as Gandhara, Ayodhya, Sukhodaya. There are many Hindu Buddhist monuments and scripts written in the Pali language. Freeindia > Contributions
Hu Shih, a former Ambassador of China to USA said: "India conquered and dominated China culturally for twenty centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border. This cultural conquest was never imposed by India on her neighbors. It was all the result of voluntary searching, voluntary learning, voluntary pilgrimage and voluntary acceptance on the part of China." Freeindia > Contributions
The first Buddhist saint, Acharya Adho came to Korea in the year 372 of CE. Soon after the advent of Hindu Dharma and culture in Korea, Indian Architecture, sculpture, painting, wood craft, metal craft, reading, writing, philosophical thought and literature enriched the country. The benefits of Dharma in its manifestations of religion, arts, crafts and literature soon spread to Japan. Freeindia > Contributions
Prof. H. Nakamura of Japan remarked: "India is culturally the Mother of Japan. For centuries it has, in her own characteristic way, been exercising her influence on the thought and culture of Japan." Freeindia > Contributions
Today's scholars find a close connection between African and Hindu traditions. Many scholars also strongly believe that the native Indians in North and South America are originally from the Indian subcontinent. Resemblance of rituals and lifestyles also connect Hawaiians with the people of India. Some scholars suggest that many aboriginal tribes of Australia have a strong affinity with Hindu traditions. Freeindia > Contributions
Indian trade and travel was made possible by Indian ships, sailing up and down the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and far beyond. Her master mariners led the way in navigation. Use of the magnet and compass, known as "maccha yantra" , was an Indian invention. Freeindia > Contributions
Historian R.K. Mookherjee stated: " The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAV Gatih." The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit `Nou'. Freeindia > Contributions
The 7000 year old ancient ruins of the harbor and dockyard in Lothal Gujrat speaks volumes about Indian naval capabilities, architecture and technology. According to anthropologists Geldern and Ekholm; "one thousand years before the birth of Columbus, Indian ships were far superior to any made in Europe up to the 18th century." Freeindia > Contributions
India's educational contributions extend from science to mathematics to philosophy. The traditional history of science gives us a notion that only Greece, Egypt, Arabia and China are the main contributors in the development of science & technology. However recent findings show that in most cases, the history of science began in India. Freeindia > Contributions
Carl Sagan once said in an interview: Hindu cosmology gives a time-scale for the Earth and the universe -- a time-scale which is consonant with that of modern scientific cosmology. The many billion year time-scale of Hindu cosmology is not the entire history of the universe, but just the day and night of Brahma, and there is the idea of an infinite cycle of births and deaths and an infinite number of universes, each with its own gods." Freeindia > Contributions
Procedures and data for the determination and predictions of natural phenomenon such as eclipses, tides and so on were known by the Hindus many centuries before Europe. Freeindia > Contributions
Muslim historian Yaqubi talked about Varahamihir's Suryasidhanta, written in 6th century which dealt with values of sine tables, cosine functions, meridians, equinoxes and solstices. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun:

Bhaskaracharya (5th century) 65.258756484 days
Astronomer Smart 365.2564 days Freeindia > Contributions
Bhaskara also advanced the concept of algebra, he dealt on algorithm, zero and its use, unknown quantities and infinity, surds, the pulverizer and of certain equations of the third and the fourth degree. Precise methods and units for the measurement of time are contributions of India. For instance, The concept of 60 second, 60 minute comes from India. The word "hour" is derived from `hora" and "day" from divas. The concept of leap year was also discovered by Indian astronomers. Freeindia > Contributions
When did humans first start counting? It is unknown to us. But, do you know that zero was invented by the Indians and that the entire number system you use today is from India as well? Freeindia > Contributions
Albert Einstein once said: "We owe a lot to Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made." Freeindia > Contributions
The sulva-sutras of Baudhayana of 7th century BCE dealt with various geometrical propositions. Measuring tools, units, concepts and theorems on geometrical figures were vividly discussed in these sutras. And the values of square root and cube root were already defined soon after. The value of pi was calculated by Budhayana as early as 6th century BCE. Baudhayana also explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem today. Freeindia > Contributions
Arithmetic progression, permutations and combinations, the summation of series and fractions, the value of p to 4 decimal places, the binomial theorem of positive integers, all were discovered in India in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians. Euler presented his renowned theorem without any reference to Brahmagupta, who 1000 years earlier introduced it, and who also solved the indeterminate equations of the first degree. Freeindia > Contributions
The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 10 6 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10 53 with specific names as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10 12. Freeindia > Contributions
The Arabs learned mathematics from the Hindus. They named mathematics `Hindse' which means `from India'. The Indian base 10 notation and the decimal system was brought to Western Europe via Arabs only in the 12th century when the abacus was widely used for counting. It faced some resistance in the beginning of the 13th century. Fibonacci propounded this system in Italy and by the end of 13th century, the Indian decimal system became universal. Freeindia > Contributions
Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also come from India. Quadratic equations were propounded by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. Bhaskara the II is credited with the greatest invention on the theory of numbers in the 12th century, which is the cyclic method of solving the indeterminate quadratic equations much before Lagrange. He also hit upon the root idea of differential calculus. Freeindia > Contributions
If we look at Indian architecture, one is amazed to find that the engineers and designers of these marvels must have been mathematical geniuses as well! Freeindia > Contributions
LaPlace the great mathematician said: "It is India that gave us the ingenious method of expressing all numbers by ten symbols.the great ease it has lent to all computations, puts our arithmetic in the first rank of useful inventions; and we should appreciate the grandeur of these achievements the more when we remember that it escaped the genius of Archemedes and Apollonius" Freeindia > Contributions
In the field of medicine too, India paved the way. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Hindus not only developed a full fledged `science of life' but they have exercised profound influence on the medical knowledge in other cultures. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization. Freeindia > Contributions
Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataracts, artificial legs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastics surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipments were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is found in various texts. Classification of plants and various chemicals and their effect on the human body was well established at this time. Freeindia > Contributions
King Emperor Ashoka sent medical missionaries around the world including five Hellenistic States of Europe fully equipped with humanitarian service of relief for both people and animals. This is found in Asoka's rock Edicts of 260 BCE. Perhaps that's why there are direct references in the Hippocratic Collection to the borrowing of some Indian drugs and medical formulas by the Greeks. Plato's Timaeus borrowed heavily from the Ayurvedic concept of Tridosa. Hindu health & medical science greatly influenced Tibetan, Chinese, Arabic and many South East Asian countries. The medical symbol of snakes, caduceus came from India. Freeindia > Contributions
Botany, the study of plant life can also be traced to the Vedic period in India. The Rg Veda classified the plants on morphological characteristics. Sage Parashara can be called the father of botany. His classification of flowering plants is equivalent to modern classifications. Freeindia > Contributions
Indologist William Jones said: "had only Linnaeus (who is regarded as father of modern taxonomy) knew Sanskrit he would have vastly improved his own system of nomenclature." Classification of various plants based on sizes and description of parts of a plant and even the concept of a plant cell was described by Parashara long before Robert Hook's discovery in 1665. Brihat Samhita of Varahamihira of 500 CE described. Freeindia > Contributions
Kanad, the pre-Buddhist sage who lived around the 6th century BCE, dealt with a number of physical concepts in his Vaisiseka philosophical ideas, such as those concerning substance, the five basic elements, motion, and attributes of space, time and atomism. Kanad propounded the first atomic theory in the world. He proposed the undulatory theory for the propagation of sound and made the speculation that light and sound waves are only different manifestations of the same energy. It is not unlikely that Kanad's ideas with its systematic formulations attracted the attention of people from far and wide including Greek philosopher Aristotle. Freeindia > Contributions
There is a stunning similarity between the laws of motion of Newton and the concepts of motion of body in ancient texts of 5th and 6th century especially the padartha-dharma-sangraha. Freeindia > Contributions
The confluence of modern physics and the idea of Vedanta is an important field of study in modern times. An increasing number of thinkers, including Nobel-laureates, are turning their attention towards ancient Hindu wisdom hidden in the Vedas and Upanishads for better understanding of both the macrocosm and the microcosm. Freeindia > Contributions
Nobel Physicist Erwin Schrodinger says that the dualism of mind and matter can never be resolved on the material plane but only on the psychic plane, which according to him is the only eternally existing substratum of the universe. He echoed Max Plank's thoughts which is the same as the Vedantic principle that consciousness creates matter, and not vice versa.

He further said: "The only solution to this conflict, in so far as any is available to us at all, lies in the ancient wisdom of the Upanishad." Freeindia > Contributions
The youngest Nobel Laureate Prof. Brian David Josephson said: "The Vedanta and the Sankhya hold the key to the laws of mind and thought process which are co-related to the Quantum Field, i.e. the operation and distribution of particles at atomic and molecular levels." Freeindia > Contributions
Science today, paving the way to the Vedantic vision of Oneness; Relativity theory, Quantum Mechanics and Chaos - each one is the next logical step to the door of Vedanta. Relativity theory tells us that we influence our reality, Quantum Mechanics tells us that we create reality and Chaos leads us to assert that we are one with reality! Freeindia > Contributions
Nagarjun of post-Buddhist period was a pioneer chemist and could be called the father of Chemistry. Varruchi was another famous personality of chemistry in the ancient world. Freeindia > Contributions
The Agastya Samhita talks about electricity and describes methods of making dry battery cells called rasakumbha, lenses and telescopes. Ancient texts such as Shilpa Samhita mentions many different branches of sciences, including making vehicles and building structures. Sage Vachaspati described light as composed of minute particles emitted by substances and striking the eye. Ancient texts also described various weapons of war and methods of making them. Freeindia > Contributions
The sciences were used to further the civilization through metal working and irrigation. Five to seven thousand years ago, the craftspeople of the Indus-Harappan civilization had intimate knowledge of the processing and properties of minerals and the art and science of pottery-making and metal working. In very ancient time there was a flourishing trade in metals and metallic ores between India and neighboring countries like Iran and Iraq. Freeindia > Contributions
During the Gupta period, centuries before the common era, India was looked upon, even by imperial Rome, as the most skilled of the nations in such industries as dyeing, tanning, soap-making, and glass making. By the 6th century the Hindus were far ahead of Europe in industrial chemistry. They were masters of calcination, distillation, sublimation, steaming, fixation, the production of light without heat, the mixing of anesthetic and soporific powders, and the preparation of metallic salts, compounds and alloys. The Muslims took much of the science of tempering of steel to Near East and Europe. Freeindia > Contributions
More than 7000 years ago, the people of Mohenjodaro mined Gold and made gold ornaments. Copper, tin and bronze are thought to be used here first. Around 1000 BCE there was extensive use of iron in India. It is recorded that the sword given to Alexander by King Puru in 320 BCE was made of steel and weighed 30 pounds. The marvelous 1600 years old iron pillar in the courtyard of a temple built by king Anangpal in Delhi is testimony of knowledge of metallurgy and technological advancement of the Hindus. The pillar is 24 feet high, weighs over six tons and is made of wrought iron - 99.72% pure and even today, it stands as a marvel of art and engineering, braving the elements without a trace of rust. A copper statue of Buddha over 7.5 feet tall and weighing over a ton is also a testimony of the superior knowledge of meallurgy of the times. Freeindia > Contributions
7000 years old Harappan and Mohenjodaro cities had bigger roads than many cities today. They had acquired the technology of a plumbing system and had running water and swimming pools. Freeindia > Contributions
India during the period of Asoka made many contributions in engineering, town planning and art. The design of the town of Pataliputra is a wonderful example of this. Freeindia > Contributions
The Asoka pillars stand out as other noteworthy examples of ancient Indian art and architecture. The size and artistry is truly amazing, as is the lumionous polish. The polish was so bright and blazing, that some said it was cast metal, some described it as a pillar of brass, and some said it was marble! According to Marshall, they were "masterpieces of both style and technique, examples of finest carving." Freeindia > Contributions
The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurastra. According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 CE a beautiful lake aptly called `Sudarsana' was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya's time. It was a piece of enduring construction, and lasted for more than 7 centuries after the time of Asoka. The lake was equipped with supplemental channels for distribution of water impounded in the reservoir for irrigation in the down country. Freeindia > Contributions
Cotton is also an Indian discovery and the knowledge of its use went to other parts of the world. Cotton is called Karpas in Sanskrit - kapas in Hebrew- and Carpasos in Greek & Latin. Freeindia > Contributions
Indian silk and muslin, the world's finest textile, was known world-wide. A whole forty yard piece could pass through a single ring of finger size. Egyptian mummies were wrapped in Indian muslin. There was a great rage of Indian muslin in Rome also. Freeindia > Contributions
Various Dharma-sutras and Dharma-sastras, religious and social laws, were written between 800 BCE and 300 BCE. For example the written Smritis written by Manu. Another notable example is the Arthashastra of Kautilya, a book of economics and politics, unparalleled in the depth and vision of the subject. It described duties of kings and citizens, theories of nationhood and even how to control the price of consumer goods in the market. The World today is searching for alternatives to existing systems; many scholars around the world are studying the Hindu idea of integral humanism for possible solutions to our economic and social problems. Freeindia > Contributions
Rigveda, the earliest literary work of humankind, contains the oldest conception of democracy and gives expressions to it in appropriate institutions called sabha and samiti. Starting from the RgVeda there are many references to public institutions, peoples' representation and greatest benefits for all. Goddess Saraswati also is the goddess of Democracy Her name is Samjnana, meaning `the collective consciousness of people'. Freeindia > Contributions
The foundation of India's progress lays in its educational prowess, as seen in its philosophy and literature. The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BCE. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century CE was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education. It was a post-graduate university for advanced research and study. Students from Korea, Mongolia, Japan, China, Tibet and Sri Lanka attended here. According to Yuan Chawang, the Chinese traveler, there were more than 10000 students and 1500 teachers. Teachers delivered as many as 100 discourses on that many different subjects each day. Admission was very strict. Nalanda, in its 800 years of existence became the clearing house of truth in that era. Takshila and Nalanda were destroyed by barbarian invaders resulting in a loss of the great treasure houses of knowledge. Freeindia > Contributions
To the Hindus, education is neither a mere collection of information in the brain nor simple practical knowledge. It is much more. Education is a process to fulfill the potential of a human being in the path of evolution. The Hindu cultural system is formulated along these lines. The World is slowly making its way towards it. Sanskrit is not only one of the oldest languages in the world, it is a living language with great potential to enrich the world of tomorrow in a great way. Sanskrit is also considered to be the most scientific natural languages. Freeindia > Contributions
Today we know that most Indian languages and many European languages find their roots in Sanskrit. There are many English words which can still be easily identified with their Sanskrit roots. Here are some key words at the base of our civilization: relations: Mother - Matri, father - Pitri, brother-bhratri, daughter- duhitar, Name - naam, I am - Aham, me - mai,

relations: divine - deva, Sant - Saint, Organs: hasta - hand, pada- pedal, nasika - nose, heart - hrit, Mind - mana, dental - dant,

Others sarpa -serpent, man - manava, ignition - agni, sugar - sharkar, path - path, hetha - here, tatha - there, Hora - hour, Nava - New,

And the numbers: Numbers: mono, di, tri, tetra, penta. Freeindia > Contributions
The literary contributions of India are many. The oldest human composition is the Rg Veda which according to many is at least 10,000 years old. Other Vedas, innumerable Upanishads and puranas are testimonies of utmost human philosophical and literary achievements. The Ramayan and Mahabharat are the largest and most exquisite epics as well as history books `in the world. Freeindia > Contributions
Works of one of the greatest poet laureate and dramatist in the world, Kalidas of 5th century and many other Sanskrit poets and authors are also unique in India. German scholar Schillar wrote to Von Humbolt: "There is no poetical presentation of womanhood or of more beautiful a life in the whole Greek antiquity that might reach the Sakuntala (of Kalidas) even from a distance." Freeindia > Contributions
Humbolt said about Bhagvat Geeta: "This episode of Mahabharat is the most beautiful, nay perhaps the only true philosophical poem which we can find in all the literature known to us.It is perhaps the deepest and loftiest thing the world has to show." Freeindia > Contributions
Grammar constitutes one of India's greatest contributions to Western philology. Panini, the Sanskrit grammarian, lived between 750 and 500 BCE composed his Astadhyai or Sabdanusasana. He was the first to compose formal grammar with unbelievable theoretical insight. His Ashtadhyayi deals with complex and complicated issues about language, thought, relationship of form and meaning, and logic. During various ages, many other Hindu scholars have done extensive work on grammar. Freeindia > Contributions
Many of the worlds classical stories find roots in India. Ernest Rhys remarks: "We have to admit that the beast-fable did not begin with Aesop, or in Greece at all. We have in fact to go East and look to India and burrow in the `tales within tales' of Hotopedsa to get the idea of how old the antiquity of the fable actually is". Freeindia > Contributions
According to Lin Yutang: "India inspired Boccaccio, Goethe, Schopenhauer and Emerson." Emerson said: "In the great books of India, an Empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the questions that exercise us." India's artistic contributions have had far reaching effects. Among various forms of arts, only few paintings escaped the wrath of time in India. The oldest surviving paintings are probably those of the Jogimara Caves in Madhya Pradesh from 2nd century BCE. The most famous ones are in the Caves of Ajanta which were painted between the 1st and 7th centuries. The paintings of Ajanta and various Buddhist forms of arts influenced all societies in Asia and other continents, including the paintings on the walls of Horyuji temple in Japan. Freeindia > Contributions
Indian art forms have emphasized more on internalization and visualization than the external color and grandeur. These sculptures convey an inner message of cosmic spirit. Freeindia > Contributions
Western classical music has some remote connection with Indian classical music. The Natya Shastra of the post-Vedic Bharat Muni have been a great contribution to the world of music, dance and theater. This is the first human text composed ever on these subjects. Music and dance was developed in India as a science by itself, which took into consideration of the science of spirit, sound, mathematics, finest aesthetics and yoga. Freeindia > Contributions
Modern psychology, as admitted by many psychologists around the world, has only been able to scratch the surface of the substance called `mind'. Hindu sages developed Yoga, or connecting and communicating with the inner self, to research the inner world of the mind. Patanjali compiled his Yoga theories which are also known to cure mental and physical ailments. Patanjali is the father of psychology. Today, people world over are getting the benefits of the yogic systems. Freeindia > Contributions
William Gates, the computer industry giant, recently echoed what Vedantist Swami Vivekananda said, "Deep down in our subconscious mind are stored up all the thoughts and acts of the past, not only of this life, but of all other lives we have lived...... these thoughts, the stored-up energy, we take for natural desires, talent, etc. The inner environment of man where the subconscious exists is the springhead of all human creativity and activities of higher end." Bharat's gift to this world is a system of what Julian Huxley called: `a science of human possibilities', which will lead the world onto the way to supramentalization, human after human, that which is above mind. Freeindia > Contributions
Professor Heeren's Historical Researches state: "India is the source from which not only the rest of Asia but the whole Western World derived their knowledge and their religion." Freeindia > Contributions
To the Hindus, religion is a particular path suited for some individuals. Therefore there must be many paths to realize the reality and truth of the world. One does not even have to believe in an external God. India has established what is called the science of self, or the science of spirit. Hindus did not bind people to any particular prophet or book or path or ideas for the realization of the truth. Freeindia > Contributions
India gave shelter to the persecuted Jews, the Zoroastrians and the Persians. Many of the oldest churches, mosques and synagogues are still intact in India. India openly entertained almost every idea & thought of the world because her message is: "Ekam Sat Biprah Bahudha Vadanti: Truth is one, the paths are many or truth is one, wise call it by various names." Freeindia > Contributions
Various religions of the world are slowly opening up to realize the universal messages of Hindu discoveries. Freeindia > Contributions
American Philosopher Henry David Thoreau said: "What extracts from the Vedas I have read fall on me like the light of a higher and purer luminary which describes a loftier course through a purer stratum - free from particulars, simple, universal." Freeindia > Contributions
To the Hindus, truth is a realization, not a subject of intellectual debate. That's why they have called these realizations `Darshan', meaning `Vision of truth'. Our modern world needs to get out of the limitation of intellect towards this higher realm of consciousness or vision. Freeindia > Contributions
The word `know' finds its root in Sanskrit `Jnana', which means becoming one with the reality. More and more scientists are confirming that consciousness is the ultimate reality and that it is not mere intellectual deductive methods but a system of intuition which is the main factor behind various major discoveries of the world. Freeindia > Contributions
The concept of Karma, the law of action and result is now well accepted in the world today. The related concept of reincarnation is present in all cultures and more and more thinkers are accepting its validity and usefulness. Freeindia > Contributions
Greek scholars like Plato, Pythagorus, and Socrates were highly influenced by Indian thoughts, and might have visited India. Freeindia > Contributions
Colonel James Tod's Annals of Rajasthan states, "Where can we look for sages like those whose systems of philosophy were prototypes of those of Greece: to whose works Plato, Thales & Pythagorus were disciples? Where do I find astronomers whose knowledge of planetary systems yet excites wonder in Europe as well as the architects and sculptors whose works claim our admiration, and the musicians who could make the mind oscillate from joy to sorrow, from tears to smile with the change of modes and varied intonation?" Freeindia > Contributions
Muslim scholar Al Idrishi said "The Hindus are by nature inclined to justice and never depart from it in their actions. Their good faith, honesty, faithfulness to their promises are well known and they are famous for these qualities that people flock their country from every side." Freeindia > Contributions
Today's world is slowly giving up the old way of fragmented and compartmentalized thoughts and dividing off science from humanity, spirituality and arts. World today is slowly realizing the Hindu ideas of Dharma, Artha, Kama & Mokhsa. Freeindia > Contributions
Will Durant, prominent American historian and philosopher said: "India was the mother of our race and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages. She was the mother of our philosophy, mother through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics, mother through Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity, mother through village communities of self government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all." Freeindia > Contributions
Swami Vivekananda said: "The debt which the world owes to our motherland is immense. Taking country after country, there is not one race on earth to which the world owes so much as to the patient Hindu, the mild Hindu". Freeindia > Contributions
India is yet to recover from her economical and cultural invasions and onslaughts of over 1000 years. Since the 7th century India has gone through turmoils, holocausts and destructions. But India continues to offer her gifts to the world. Earlier this century Jagdish Bose invented the radio before Marconi, but he did not get this recognition because India was under British rule. Mathematician genius Ramanujan has made major contribution and the impact of his work is yet to be fully evaluated. People of India are living in all parts of the world. They are contributing immensely in the various human achievements of science, technology and thoughts. From the early sixties Hindus came to USA and Canada, although they had to go through hardships and humiliation, they have been contributing richly to the growth of science and technology today. Hindus in have received the lion's share of many patents in America and other countries. Freeindia > Contributions
People of Indian origin have contributed enormously by making thousands of breakthroughs in the fields of micro electronics, physics, genetic engineering, chemistry, biology, bio-chemistry and computer science. A large number of NASA scientists are Indians. C.V. Raman, Satyendra Nath Bose, Dr. S. Chadrasekhar, Meghnad Saha, Subba Rao and Hargovind Khurana are some great scientists of our time. Sir Charles Elliot, a British scholar remarked: "Scant justice is done to India's position in the world by those European histories which recount the exploits of her invader and leave the impression that her own people were feeble dreamy folk, sundered from the rest of mankind by their seas and mountain frontiers. Such a picture takes no account of the intellectual conquests of the Hindus." Freeindia > Contributions
No matter how much our civilization has progressed in terms of science and technology, poverty, hunger, violence and animal behavior among various races and people is still prominent. All kinds of violence starting from family problems, drugs, pollution, destruction of environmental harmony are prominent features in the world today.India called this earth "mother" thousands of years ago. India gave a message to the world: Oh children of the immortal, make the world nobler and bring noble thoughts from all over towards the higher evolution of human kind. Freeindia > Contributions
Thus Arnold Toyenbee, thinker and historian said: "Today we are still living in a transitional chapter of the world's history, but it is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in the self-destruction of the race." A new era has begun; India is going to make major contributions in the development of our new Global Village with her ancient wisdom of peace and evolution of humankind and with her immense modern technological expertise and manpower. Freeindia > Contributions
"Our fathers by their words broke the strong and stubborn places.shattered the great mountain rock with their cry; they made in us a path to the great heaven, they discovered the Day and the Sun-World.They found the treasure of Heaven hidden in the secret cavern.The well of honey covered by the rock." - Rg Veda Freeindia > Contributions
Swami Vivekananda once said: "In ancient and modern times, wonderful ideas have been carried forward from one race to another...But mark you, my friends, it has been always with the blast of war trumpets and the march of embattled cohorts. Each idea had to be soaked in a deluge of blood.....

Copyright © by FreeIndia.Org - India Site dedicated to freedom movement, education, culture, All Right Reserved.

Published on: 2003-01-28 (61930 reads)