India and its contribution to the World

                                           India and its contribution to world

The theory of the Aryan migration into India from somewhere has been so often repeated by western scholars that it has become an article of faith even with Indian scholars! It is only after sir Marshall excavated Indus valley relics in 1920 that Indian civilization had a quantum jump from a few hundred to 3000BC. Since then many scholars with more finds and satellite photographs have come to conclusion that India had significant past and a distinct culture of its own. Continued religious practices added credence to its glorious past. Now more and more people believe that Aryans were Indian people who later migrated to Iran and Europe. There are now scholars who believe Indus valley civilization is post Vedic civilization. Sahoo, Metspalu etal state that concept of people, language and agriculture arriving in India through North West corridor does not hold to scrutiny. Frawley and Stephen Knapp also disagree with Aryan invasion theory and so are many others.

Professor Winternitz says period of Vedic culture goes back to 2000BC---2500BC. It is important to note while dating these Vedic scriptures one has to keep in mind age in which they were written and distance in time and thought that separates them from us.

Ancient India started as amalgam of Aryans, Dravidians and aboriginals tribes. Ancient Vedic literature has enormous number of statements and materials that can be shown to agree with modern scientific findings.

We will below list contribution of India towards human development and civilization:--

                                                        Vedic  Civilization

Once disputed but now accepted civilization. Its dates are a subject of debate with scholars. Vedic culture either was precursor to Indus valley civilization or early contributor to its culture. Vedas were given by people of India who had been living in India for thousands of years. In India writing came very late so literature carried orally for long. West labelled Puranas myth as its write up did not match up to western thinking of India. Dates suggested by some western scholars ignore ancient historical events, Puranic descriptions of ruling dynasties and divorcing Vedic write up from Puranic text. Instead we should read Vedic texts along Puranic texts, take cognizance of ancient historical events to arrive at firm conclusions.

Rajaram puts beginning of Vedic culture, no later than 3500BC. Frawley gives 6500BC—3100BC for early Vedic civilization and for late Vedic period 1900BC—1000BC. Some other dates suggested are:--

Aggarwal----Rigveda 7000BC—4000BC. End of Vedic age—3750BC.

Winternitz---From 2500BC to 4900BC [   Rigveda].  Tilak goes further down in time line.

Rigveda mentions mighty Saraswati River 60 times in its narrative. This river totally dried up by 1900BC.  This river is also mentioned in Mahabharata.  Existence of this river has been proved by Satellite photography. Implication of this is that Rigveda must have been written before 3000BC and MAHABHARATA war must have occurred before 1900BC. This once again proves western dates of Mahabharata war 1400BC is pure fabrication.

Biggest achievement of Vedic civilization has been its literature. There are four Vedas:-- Rigveda ,Samveda ,Atharveda and Ayurveda. They are not historical books, at times some rulers [kings] are mentioned and discussed in their narrative. It is in Puranas we have details of Kings and ruling dynasties. Puranas also deal with Creation, gods, demons etc. Heroes in Puranas are deified and their achievements exaggerated to immortalize them but attempt always has been to stick to basic story. This gives them authenticity to be of historical importance.

Vedic civilization evolved over a period of time and gave birth to a philosophy called Sanatan Dharma, now called Hinduism. This religion did not come on particular day, does not have single founder, nor has single book to follow. Its teachings are nonsectarian unlike other religions on planet. Vedas contain divine knowledge. They are earliest document of human mind. They encompass human life and reflect all aspects of Existence. Vedas are laconic in form, hardly intelligible without interpretation. These books are products of man’s contemplation and God’s revelation .No dogma is allowed to come in way unlike all Abrahamic religions.

Vedas have four parts:-- Brahmanas ,, Samhitas----They deal with rites and rituals.

                                               Aranyakas:-- --             -----Spiritual interpretation of rituals and rites ,                                                                                               ceremonies explained.

                                              Upanishads:-                ---Constitutes knowledge[ Gyan] of Brahaman                                                                                                 ,  the Creator.

Upanishads are concluding part of Vedas. They are in form of dialogue. They contain inspiring knowledge that deals with Creator [Brahaman] , ATMAN ,After life and Moksha[Salvation].Main message of all Upanishads is to get awareness of Atman. Atman [soul] is real, immortal and is veiled by one’s karma. By knowledge one can transcend this physical world and death. Goal of person should be to know Truth [Brahman]. By attaining knowledge of Brahman man gets liberated from life and death cycle. There are four ways to achieve this goal:--Bhakti—Surrender to God ,Dhyan yoga---knowing through intellect ,Raja yoga---- by meditation and Karma yoga---dedicating actions  in spiritual frame of mind ,free from desire and attachment.

Vedas are hardly read nowadays but they form bedrock of Hinduism. Hinduism is only religion which promotes self-realization. It says man is microcosm so knowing about self will lead us to know supreme self-[God]. There is no role of conversion as all humans are same. Difference lies in their perception of Truth [Brahman] and our job should be to make this man aware of this fundamental Truth.

                                             Indus Valley Civilization

This civilization should really be called Indo-Saraswat Civilization as this civilization flourished around two rivers namely Indus river and Saraswati river[ now dried up]. This civilization is dated 2600BC-1900BC. This civilization either was contemporary to Egypt and Mesopotamia civilizations or preceded them by couple of hundred years. This civilization extended from present day Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat into West Pakistan, an area of over one million sq. meters. This civilization was far bigger than Sumerian civilization. It is also called Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa civilization. People of Mohenjo-Daro/Harappa did not built big monuments, nor did they bury their rich in gold tombs. When other people spent money on rich and supernatural, Indus people spent it on common man. They were peaceful people which is evident from the fact that no weapons have been unearthed. More than 1000 sites have been excavated and studied by now. Indus people were an organized society, buildings were constructed on elevated grounds. They had network of streets and bathing areas. Cleanliness was hallmark of this civilization.  Presence of clay figurine of goddess attests to their belief in some religion. They domesticated Cow .Goat. Mode of transport was bull cart, were traders and used barter system. They build dams, Harvested rain water, had Dockyard, Granaries, ware house and a good sewerage system. They cultivated some crops.  Presence of Pottery and Textiles attests to their artisanship. They had trade links with Mesopotamia who called them Meluha. They had high technical achievements in Town planning, Metallurgy and Crafts. They did not glorify their rulers. Presence of Swastika means they were peace lovers. There is enough evidence available that climatic catastrophe finished this great civilization.

            India is only country in this world to have given two civilizations to mankind. Two epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata speak volumes about Vedic people, geography and their life.

                Mark Twain:--“India is cradle of human race, birth place of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and great grandmother of tradition”.

                                         Science and Technology

West today is claiming that they are founding fathers of science but this claim ill founded.

 Grant Duff, British historian said,  “ Most of the advances in science that we consider to have been made in Europe in fact were made in India centuries ago”.

In fact science and Math originated in India at a time when West was lurking in dark ages.

Atomic theory:-- 

Modern science gives credit to Dalton for   atomic theory. Instead father of this theory  is Rishi Kashyapa also called Kanada. Kashyapa lived around 600BC. He was first to  tell that Atom is indestructible and also gave theory of Gravity [Gurutva] long before  Isaac Newton. He also said all living beings are made of 5 elements [water, fire,  earth, ether, air]. Details of his work can be got from Vaisheshika sutra. He further said atoms can be in two states: -- rest,  in motion. This theory of atoms is enmeshed In philosophy.

Medicine:-- 

Two seers Charaka and Sushrata did pioneering work in this field long before present medical science. Charaka who lived around 600 BC [some say 300BC] wrote treatises on human embryology, diseases of heart, Diabetes, T.B. He also wrote on hundreds of herbs, their medicinal value. Many of the herbs mentioned in Charak 

Samhita are in use even today .Samhita also deals in physiology, Embryology, concepts of digestion, metabolism and immunity. Sushrata, who lived around same period, wrote on nearly 300 surgical procedures like Caesarean, Cataract, Urinary stones, Rhinoplasty  etc. His work on Rhinoplasty is being quoted by plastic surgeons even today. He also 

Wrote on various suture materials and surgical instruments. He used horse hair as  Suturing material. 

Aviation Technology:-

Saint Bhardawaja, who reportedly lived around 800BC not only wrote Atharveda  but also wrote on Aviation science, flying machines, and space science in Yantra  Sarvasva. One can easily say that ancient people living in India were aware of flying machines. In his book, saint discusses various types of Flying machines. Sage mentions in his book that 500 types of vimanas can be made. In 1895AD Shiv Kumar Talpade was first person in world to fly a Plane, long before Wright brothers.

Creation:-- 

Saint Kapila can easily be labeled as father of cosmology. He said Prakriti with  Inspiration from Purusha forms this Universe. He gave Samkhya philosophy  detailing how this world that we see was formed. This philosophy is also quoted in  Holy Bhagavat Gita. HE wrote in great detail on Primal matter and process of  Creation long before Big Bang theory was proposed by modern science. Kapila is  reported to have lived around 3000BC.

Planetaty System

 Bhaskara in his book Siddhant Shiroman talks of planetary positions, Eclipses, 

Cosmography and Gravity. He lived in 12th century. Varahimira [499AD-587AD] 

Writes in Surya Siddhanta about constellations, geography. He also wrote on animal science. Aryabhata [476AD] wrote first time that Earth is round, rotates on its axis, orbits Sun, and 1000 years before Copernicus. He also gave Trigonometry, Decimal system, calculating Pi up to 4 decimals, Zero , Algebra, quadratic equation to name a few out 

Of his wide contribution to science of mathematics. He said circumference of Earth is 

4967 Yojanas and diameter 1581 I/24 Yojanas. Since 1 Yojanas=5 miles, it gave 

Circumference of Earth as 24835 miles [24902 miles is accepted by science today]. 

He also said orbits of planets are ellipses. Copernicus and Galileo came much later  Who west thinks are founders of Astronomy. It was Aryabhata who fixed seven days  for a week. Besides zero Aryabhata gave numerals also. Binomial theorem also given  by Aryabhata . It is interesting to know here that West learnt about numerals from  Arabs but Arabs themselves called these numerals as Indian and called Indian math as  Indian Art.  West does not acknowledge this. This shows amount of prejudice west had against India. Decimal and  place value system also given by Aryabhata. Without Zero binary system, computer application would have been impossible.

. Great Einstein said about India, “We owe a lot to the Indians who taught us how to  Count without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.” 

•       Nagarjuna [100AD] discusses Subject of and Metallurgy and chemistry.

•               Patanjali[200BC] developed science of Yoga, wrote a treatise on Kundalini Shakti and how to  awaken it. He asserted that control of breath will lead to control of mind and senses. 

•       Panini in 600 BC gave grammar for Sanskrit language. Sanskrit is only language 

            Which is computer compatible. It has over 100 million words, highest for any language. English on other hand has only  1 million words.

•       Vatsayana who lived in Gupta empire time wrote Kama sutra giving 64 ways of love   making for husband and wife. 

•       Budhyana in 1500BC gave concept of what goes by name of Pythagoras theorem nowa days.

•       Art of Navigation was known to   Indus –Saraswat people way back in 2500BC. Indus People were first to construct dams and build water reservoirs way back in 2000BC. 

•       Integral calculus was invented by Madhvachaya and differential calculus by 

Baskaracharya.His book “leelavati” discusses Vedic math. Vedic math has 17 sutras. 

All calculations and mathematical problems can be solved by knowing these sutras. Surya siddhanta by Bhaskaracharya gives us smallest measure of time ,34000th ,a second [Kranti] and largest measure of time -4.32billion years[kalpa].

•       Brahmgupta gave addition, subtraction, multiplication and division concepts. 

•       Ice making was known to Indians as early as 600AD, time of king Harsh. 

•       Paper making from grass and making of battery. 

•       Coins were made by Indus valley people way back in 2000BC 

•       Zinc making was known in India in 1300AD. Charak Samhita tells us about mercury. 

•       Steel making technology was available in 1795AD. 

First University in world was in Takshilla in700BC, Followed by Nalanda in  400BC.Students came also from neighboring countries. Nearly 10,000 students were  reading in theses Universities. Subjects taught were Vedas, Languages, Grammar,  Medicine, Surgery, Politics, Astronomy, Commerce, Math, Mystic science etc.  Chinese traveler Hien Tsang mentions in his book that Nalanda University had 200  Professors and had 10,000 students on roll. 

•       Till 1896, India only country which was source of Diamonds. 

•       Chess board and cards invented in India. 

•       God particle [Higgs boson].Bose was first to predict God particle followed by Higgs. Bose is also known for Bose--Einstein statistics and Bose-Einstein condensate. It is interesting to note that there are people who got noble prize for works related to Bose-Einstein statistics and Bose-Einstein condensate but prime inventor Bose did not get noble prize. It shows bias of noble committee towards Asian scientists.

---Saint Aitareya gave us science of Yajna--A process of conversion of Consciousness into matter and vice versa through vital force. This is comparable to what Einstein said ,"Matter and Energy inter convertible", also known by E=MC2.

•       90% of world’s computers run on a chip invented by Indian –Vinod Dham 

•       Crescograph:--To measure growth in plants invented by j. Bose in early 20th century. 

•       Dockyard was used by Indus people in 3000BC. They were first to make buttons  from sea shells and used them. Rulers were made from ivory. Dentistry was known to  Indus valley civilization. 

•       Indian ink, bow drill to drill gem stones known since 400BC. 

•       World famous Damascus sword from Syria used in wars had steel got from India. 

•       Sanskrit: --- Sanskrit is mother of all languages. Forbes magazine reported years

Charak Samhita tells us about Mercury and its usage. CIVIL engineering found its manifestation in construction of Temples, Palaces and Fortes. Science of ship building and navigation was known. Maccha yantra [Fish machine] was used as compass by mariners.

     Cosmology

Science tells us 13.7 billion years back there was a big bang and from nothing came something. In fact there was no bang but expansion which is continuing till today. From subtle this whole universe evolved over a period of time. Earth is just 4.5 billion old. Modern man came around 200,000 years back. It also tells us that different particles which we observe are just manifestation of basic String. This whole universe is made of strings which vibrate in different directions. Resonance of these strings produced first manifestation. This universe is multidimensional.

Now see what Rishi’s said thousands of years back on this issue. According to them this whole universe we see is superimposition on BRAHMAN [GOD] . It is vibration [spand] in Nirgun Brahman which leads to manifestation. First manifestation was sound----OM.This universe we see evolves and dissolves. Each evolution/devolution constitute one Brahma day/night. Each Brahma day is--4,320,000,000 years. Each Brahma day has 1000 cycles and each cycle has 71 divisions. There are many worlds [universes]. Time is subtle energy. Even there is discussion on time dilation etc. One has to read Bhagwat Puran to know about details of time and its significance.

A question comes how did Rishi’s come to this conclusion when they had no laboratory/gadgets to assist? One can see lot of similarities between modern concept of universe and its making and Rishi’s vision. This forced Carl Sagan, Astrophysicist to say, “The Hindu religion is the only one of the great faiths dedicated to idea that the Cosmos itself under goes an immense, indeed number of deaths and births. It is only religion in which time scales correspond to the modern cosmology”.

     It is quite obvious from above that Indian people in ancient times were quite ahead of times. They not only developed a full-fledged civilization but continued their research for Truth both in outer world and inner world and had a reasonable success too. They had sound knowledge of science especially of Math. And Astronomy. Their pursuit for Truth, without any dogmas led to evolution of various Hindu philosophies.

Indian culture and nature

Indian culture did not spread by colonization, genocide but by its appeal. There was no single ruler or authority which helped in its spread. In fact its two epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata were biggest source of integration of Vedic culture and Country. Dense network of Tirths and holy sites created a sacred geography, resulting in cultural dissemination. Local adaptation of two epics also helped in spread of Vedic wisdom and integration of country. While local adaptations helped in preserving local/ aboriginal traditions, main story of epics was kept unchanged. In this Vedic culture there is reverence for nature and its sacredness. That is why rivers like Ganga and Yamuna were deified and worshipped. Even plants were worshipped. There is a book, Vriksh Ayurveda which deals with medicines for plants. Sacredness of nature and its interconnectedness was stressed. LIFE was simple and was full of love. It was stressed that Water, Space, Hills and Forests were our defenses. This speaks volumes about ECO-- friendliness. They would even say Heaven is our Father and Earth our Mother. Whole nature was viewed with divinity. There was respect for life, be it human, animal or Plant.

This culture encompassed present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangla desh, Srilanka and many countries in South East Asia. BUDDHIST culture reached China, Mongolia etc. This culture is showing its impact in West after India shed its slavery in 1947. This modern spread to West again is by peaceful means.

It is widely believed Greece is father of democracy.  Democracy has been tried in ancient India in various phases. Despite there being Kings/Janapadas in ancient India, there has been no dictatorship. King was to rule by dharmic principles and welfare of common man was aim of good kingship. King had advisors who were well versed in VEDIC teachings. A Brahmin [knowledgeable in Vedas] would guide king in administration. For administration to help there were Gram sabhas [village committees]. For a candidate to qualify to be member of such committees certain rules were laid:-

              1. He should have ownership of tax paying land and of house.

              2. Knowledge of some Vedic texts.

              3. AGE---35---70 YEARS.

              4. Has honest record                5. Was not member of any other committee.

           Even a relative of member could not be candidate. One wishes such criteria’s are laid in free India for MLAS/MPS. Such was the political scenario of ancient India. Spiritual freedom and plurism was bane of Vedic culture. On contrary in present India there is a intellectual bankruptcy. So called intellectuals are west orientated, highly materialistic and have no faith in Vedic teachings. When West lately has started seeing merit in Vedic wisdom and are trying to know about it, our intellectuals are just mute spectators to the political/cultural debacle India is facing. Instead they are contributory to down slide of India and its cultural heritage.

“India not only has democratized mysticism but also gave us higher vision of what we are and can become”.

Finally it is often said that Spirituality and science cannot go together. A dancing “statue” has been installed at Cern[ SWITZERLAND] symbolizing dance of SIVA with dance of Subatomic matter. This alone shows how much science respects Vedic wisdom now.