A Practical Indian Philosophy

 

 

 

 

Contents

Appendix

World Leadership of the Indian Subcontinent

The ancient Indian rishis discovered Advaita of Vedanta or the oneness of our reality with God in His substance, nature,  capacity and power. They also discovered that the limitless power that flows from this oneness in us could be received by a purified mind. The rishis secured purification through disciplines. Disciplines comprised the control of the five senses and six passions and living in the divinity of love for all as love for oneself, all being one in reality with the self. The minimum form of this love in our thought, word and deed is, hurt none and help all selflessly. Many in succeeding generations of rishis and their disciples and the bulk of people who emulated them observed these simple disciplines. Some examples of achievements by the mind purified and so empowered by these disciplines are given here.

FACTS ABOUT INDIA published in a German Magazine, which deals with WORLD HISTORY.

a. India never invaded any country in her last 10,000 years of history. [A pure mind has the power to make itself self-sufficient and needs nothing from others or elsewhere.]

b. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

c. The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700BC (in North West of India). More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects.  The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC [in Bihar] was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

d. Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.

e. 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.

 f. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country  on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century.

g. The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.

h. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years beforethe astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.

i. 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 by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 10**6 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10**53 (10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is 10**12 (10 to the power of 12).

k. According to the Gemological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the  world.

l. USA based IEEE has proved 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.

m. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.

n. According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 CE, a beautiful lake called 'Sudarshana' was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya's time.

o. Chess (Shataranja or Ashta Pada) was invented in India.

p. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic 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 also found in many texts.

q. When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).
(Parenthesis Author's)

r. The place value system, the decimal system, was developed in India in 100 BC.

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s. Natwar Jha and Navaratna Rajaram in their classic study.  'The Deciphered Indus Script,’ have established conclusively that  Indus Script was the Mother of All Alphabetic Scripts even a millennium before Brahmi Phoenician script.

 

     (The FACTS ABOUT INDIA above from a to r were supplied on the Internet by the Hindu University, Florida. [SMTP:103655.2733@compuserve.com).

For

"Sanaatana Heritage in India Today,"
please see Appendix 2

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Dedication

Reviews

An Appeal

Author's Note

Arrangement of Book

Hindi Spellings

Table of Contents

Tribute to Gandhi

Introduction

The Raama Story

Philosophy

Baalakaandda

Ayodhyakaandda

Aranyakaandda

Kishkindhaakaandda

Sundarakaandda

Lankaakaandda

Uttarakaandda

Index

Glossary

Proper Names

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Appendices

Ghazal

A-D

E-H

I-O

P-Z

A-L

M-Z

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4