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India's Glory
Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians,
who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have
been made.
Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and
dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier
across her border.
Alexander Duff, British historian of India: "Many advances in the
sciences that we consider today to have been made in Europe were in fact made in India
centuries ago
Sir William Hunter, said India," has even contributed to modern
medical science by the discovery of various chemicals and by teaching you how to reform
misshapen ears and noses. Even more it has done in mathematics, for algebra, geometry,
astronomy, and the triumph of modern science -- mixed mathematics -- were all invented in
India, just so much as the ten numerals, the very cornerstone of all present
civilization,
were discovered in India, and are in reality, Sanskrit words.
In philosophy we are even
now head and shoulders above any other nation, as Schopenhauer, the great German
philosopher, has confessed.
In Music, India gave to the world her system of notation, with the seven cardinal notes
and the diatonic scale, all of which we enjoyed as early as 350 B.C., while it came to
Europe only in the eleventh century.
In philology, our Sanskrit language is now universally
acknowledged to be the foundation of all European languages, which, in fact, are nothing
but jargonized Sanskrit.
`In literature, our epics and poems and dramas rank as high as those of any language; our
Shakuntala was summarized by Germany's greatest poet, as `heaven and earth united'.... In
manufacture, India was the first to make cotton and purple (dye), it was proficient in all
works of jewelry, and the very word `sugar', as well as the article itself, is the
product of India. Lastly she has invented the game of chess and the cards and the dice. So
great, in fact, was the superiority of India in every respect that it drew to her borders
the hungry cohorts of Europe, and thereby indirectly brought about the discovery of
America."
Facts about India:
India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
An important Mathematics book prescribed by the New York State Education Department
acknowledges the debt in the following words:
" The Western world owes a great deal to India for a simple
invention. It was developed by an unknown Indian more than 1500 years ago. Without most of
the great discoveries and inventions (including computers) of western civilization would
never have come about. This invention was the decimal system of numerals - nine digits and
a zero. The science and technology of today (including the computers) could not have
developed if we had only the Roman system of numerals. That system is too clumsy to be
used as a scientific too. Today we take the decimal system for granted. We don't think
about how brilliant the man who invented zero must have been. Yet without zero we could
not assign a place value to the digits. That ancient mathematician, whoever, he was,
deserves much honor."
Indians also made advances in other areas of mathematics. Very early in their history they
developed a simple system of geometry. This system was used to plan outdoor sites for
hindu religious ceremonies. Indians also added to our knowledge of even more complicated
branches of mathematics such as trigonometry and calculus. They studied these branches of
mathematics in order to apply them to astronomy."
The World's first university was
established in Takshila in 700 BC. 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.
Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable
language for the computer software - a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of
medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its
rightful place in our civilization.
Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the
richest country on earth until the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher
Columbus was attracted by her wealth.
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'.
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: (5th century)
365.258756484 days.
The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is
known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the
European mathematicians.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were propounded by
Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used
were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 1053 with specific names as early as 5000
BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 1012.
According to the
Gemological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to
the world. USA based IEEE proves what has been a century old suspicion in the world
scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdeesh Bose
and not Marconi.
The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra. According to Saka
King Rudradaman I of 150 CE a beautiful lake aptly called 'Sudarshana' was constructed on
the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya's time.
Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time
conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, contracts, artificial legs, fractures,
urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well
known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment's were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy
physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also
found in many texts.
When Europeans were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established
Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization) The place value system, the
decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.All of us who wear cotton cloth, enjoy
taste of chicken, do yoga, seek peace of mind or tranquility through meditation, are
indebted to India.
Iron Pillar -The forging of wrought iron seems to have
reached its zenith in India in the first millennium AD. The earliest large forging is the
iron pillar at New Delhi dated by inscription to the Gupta period of the 3rd c. AD at a
height of over 7 m and weight of about 6 tons. The pillar is believed to have been made by
forging together a series of disc-shaped iron blooms. Apart from the dimensions another
remarkable aspect of the iron pillar is the absence of corrosion which has been linked to
the composition, the high purity of the wrought iron and the phosphorus content and the
distribution of slag. Town Planning and Great Baths of Indus Valley Urban planning is
evident in the neat arrangement of the major buildings contained in the citadel, including
the placement of a large granary and water tank or bath at right angles to one another.
The lower city, which was tightly packed with residential units, was also constructed on a
grid pattern consisting of a number of blocks separated by major cross streets.
Baked-brick houses faced the street, and domestic life was centered around an enclosed
courtyard.
The cities had an elaborate public drainage system, Sanitation was provided through an
extensive system of covered drains running the length of the main streets and connected by
chutes with most residences.
The statue of Nataraja (dance pose of Lord Shiva) is a
well known example for the artistic, scientific and philosophical significance of
Hinduism. The late scientist Carl Sagan, asserts that the dance of Nataraja signifies the
cycle of evolution and destruction of the cosmic universe (Big Bang Theory). "It is
the clearest image of the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of."
Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest
in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but also
the very essence of inorganic matter. For modern physicists, then, Shiva's dance is the
dance of subatomic matter. Hundreds of years ago, Indian artist created visual images of
dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. Today, physicist have used the most
advanced technology to portray the pattern of the cosmic dance. Thus, the metaphor of the
cosmic dance unifies, ancient religious art and modern physics. Fables such as
Panchantantra, Arabian nights,
Grammar: Panini's Sanskrit grammar, produced in about 300 B.C.E. is the shortest and the
fullest grammar in the world. Ideas of natural selection, atomic polarity and
evolution. This is what Manu said, perhaps 10,000 years before the birth of Christ:The
first germ of life was developed by water and heat.
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