Z for Zero!

Welcome to the "Believe it or Not- That's Incredible India!" series. India is home to some of the most astonishing wonders in the world. The rich culture, heritage, food, scriptures, architectural marvels and scores of known and unknown facts come together to create this multicolored melange that is India. Throughout this month, read about the various believe it or not facts about India and know what goes into the making of this incredible country!

                                                     ********************************

One of India’s most important contributions to the world was the invention of ‘Zero’. Aryabhatta, one of India’s and arguably, the world’s greatest mathematician and astronomer is credited with the invention and the concept of ‘shunya’ or zero. The concept of 'Shunya' meaning 'nothing' was in use in India as early as the 5^th century. Before ‘Zero was invented, the western world used the Roman Numerals. But expressing various terms as Roman Numerals was confusing and elaborate in the absence of ‘zero’. It is astonishing how a mere digit could change the entire way of looking at things! A tiny inconspicuous number could now mean nothing and everything!

Brahmagupta formed the rules for using ‘Zero’. He formulated that Zero added to or subtracted from any number would remain the same, but a number multiplied by zero would be zero.

Zero turned out to be the biggest invention in the history of mankind! Without the concept of Zero, defining many concepts would have been so difficult. We cannot imagine place value systems, decimals, or even binary system and computer technology in the absence of Zero.

A tiny number it is, but the place it occupies is immense! Love it or hate it but you cannot ignore it! That's India's amazing contribution to the world! 

Believe it or not - That's Incredible India!

source

Y for Yoga

Welcome to the "Believe it or Not- That's Incredible India!" series. India is home to some of the most astonishing wonders in the world. The rich culture, heritage, food, scriptures, architectural marvels and scores of known and unknown facts come together to create this multicolored melange that is India. Throughout this month, read about the various believe it or not facts about India and know what goes into the making of this incredible country!

                                                     ********************************

India gave the world the gift of Yoga. Yoga is not just about ‘asanas’ or poses; the Sanskrit meaning of Yoga is ‘Union’- therefore, Yoga is a holistic approach which connects the mind, body and the breath so that they are in perfect harmony with each other. The aim of Yoga is to bring about self-awakening.

The early propagators of Yoga-

Lord Shiva is said to be the Lord of Yoga. He imparted the knowledge of Yoga to the Sapta Rishis on ‘Guru Poornima’ day. He is therefore known as the Adi Yogi, ‘Adi’ meaning ‘the first’. He gave them 84 basic yoga poses or yoga asanas of which 32 asanas are practised today.  

Maharishi Patanjali who lived during the 2^nd century BCE is credited with teaching the world the Patanjali Yoga Sutra. To achieve the yogic state, the great sage formulated an eight-fold path, often called the Astanga (eight arms) Yoga –

Yama - following proper codes of conduct including non-violence, truthfulness, abstaining from stealing and possessiveness, and celibacy.

Niyama - self-purification which included hygiene, self-satisfaction, dedication, and endurance.

Asana - Posture or poses

Pranayama - proper breathing techniques

Pratyahara - control over the senses

Dharana- concentration

Dhyana – meditation

and Samadhi - the final goal of being one with the universe consciousness.

Asanas are therefore just one aspect of Yoga. Yoga practised in its entirety helps to bring about a physical, spiritual and mental awakening of a person. The Patanjali Yoga Sutra gives 196 Sutras or aphorisms.

Yoga was propagated in the Western world by Swami Vivekananda.

Kriya Yoga was made famous by Paramhansa Yogananda. His book ‘An Autobiography of a Yogi’ is one of his most famous works.

BKS Iyengar was the proponent of the modern form of Yoga in the world.  

               

21^st of June is now celebrated as the World Yoga Day. This day was chosen because 21^st June is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere, or the day of the Summer Solstice when the Earth is most inclined towards the Sun. This day marks the transition to Dakshinayana and is believed to be the time when the AdiYogi Lord Shiva imparted the Yogic science to the Sapta Rishis on the first full moon after the Summer Solstice. The human body is also believed to be ready for spiritual assimilation  at this time. 

Isn't it amazing that it was India that taught the world that true bliss lies in self-realisation and Yoga is such an integral part of achieving that!

Believe it or Not - That's Incredible India!

W for Wonders!

Welcome to the "Believe it or Not- That's Incredible India!" series. India is home to some of the most astonishing wonders in the world. The rich culture, heritage, food, scriptures, architectural marvels and scores of known and unknown facts come together to create this multicolored melange that is India. Throughout this month, read about the various believe it or not facts about India and know what goes into the making of this incredible country!

                                       *************************************

Travelling through the length and breadth of the country, one gets to marvel at the wonders of architectural marvels that adorn our places of culture and heritage. Huge free standing structures with elaborate carvings, painstakingly sculpted artifacts, symmetry in design and complexity of the structure is what makes these wonders stand apart.

Describing all of them will be impossible for paucity of space and time! So here are a few wonders that will leave you spellbound.

Ellora and Ajanta Caves-

The Ellora caves in Maharashtra are not natural caves but one of the most amazing wonders of what man can achieve. The mammoth 85 m long and 30 m high Kailashnath Temple is nestled in the caves and is arguably the most amazing creation here. This free standing structure is extremely complex and created from a single rock with utmost precision and planning. 

source

More than 200,000 tons of rock were cleared and carved to create this temple! Imagine the advanced technology that was in use thousands of years ago which helped in this large scale planning and execution of the project. The temple is said to have been built over a period of 18 years which means over 5 tonnes of rock were carved every day. Was this humanely possible? Many people believed that these caves could not have been built by man and it could have been the handiwork of aliens! Some even attribute this to some special powers held by our ancestors!

If the Ellora caves are stunning, the Ajanta caves are not far behind. These are 29 rock cut caves made in the 2^nd century BC. The incredible aspect of these caves is that there are cave hall arenas which are as large as basketball fields and have been standing completely unsupported for over 1500 years!   

Belur temple-

Belur in Karnataka is home to the temple of Lord Channakeshava. The Hoysala architecture in the temple is undoubtedly mind blowing but what’s astonishing is the Narasimha pillar inside the sanctum. This carved polygonal pillar with umpteen intricate carvings was once capable of rotating around its axis! Even today, a thin sheet of paper can easily pass through its base leaving you wondering what kind of unsurpassed talent the craftsmen of those times possessed!

Truly a wonder, isn’t it?

Believe it or Not – That’s Incredible India!

V for Vishnu's Dashavatar and Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

Welcome to the "Believe it or Not- That's Incredible India!" series. India is home to some of the most astonishing wonders in the world. The rich culture, heritage, food, scriptures, architectural marvels and scores of known and unknown facts come together to create this multicolored melange that is India. Throughout this month, read about the various believe it or not facts about India and know what goes into the making of this incredible country!

                                       *************************************

I guess, many of you are familiar with the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu. For the uninitiated, Lord Vishnu, one of the most important Hindu Gods, is believed to be born on earth whenever there is widespread destruction and mayhem and save the world from evil. Each time he is born, he takes on a distinct form or avatar. 

Mythology says, he has been born in nine of these avatars and will come back again in his tenth avatar as Kalki. These ten forms or avatars are called ‘the Dashavatars’ – Dasha meaning ten and Avatar meaning form.

But are these mythological stories just tales or are they true? We might never know for sure but here are some amazing facts that will blow your mind!

The nine avatars of Lord Vishnu that have taken place so far are-

Matsya  -the fish- who rescued the first man Manu from a great deluge.

Kurma –the turtle – who bore the mount Mandara on his back during the Samudra manthan

Varaha – the boar- who restored mother Earth after rescuing her from the demon Hiranyaksha

Narasimha – the half-man-half beast- who protected his devotee Prahalada from the demon king Hiranyakashyapu

Vamana – the dwarf - who destroyed the pride of King Mahabali

Parashurama – the man with an axe- who is one of the saptarishis

Rama – the human - who defeated the mighty Ravana

Krishna – the philosopher and teacher - who destroyed the evil Kamsa and many other evil doers.

Buddha – the one who attained Nirvana

The amazing aspect of this mythological Dashavatara story is its striking similarity to Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution!

The scientific theory states that life on earth began with single cellular organisms and aquatic animals were the first to come into existence. Vishnu’s first incarnation was a fish – the Matsya avatar!

According to Darwin, then came the amphibian, which we know as Vishnu’s second avatar- the tortoise or the Kurma avatar.

This was followed by the animal life on earth which is represented by the Boar or the Varaha Avatar.

Following this was the partly evolved man – half beast, half man or the Narasimha avatar.

This set off the evolution of man in a slow and dramatic manner. First came the dwarf man, the early homo sapiens.

Then came the fierce looking, axe wielding man, perhaps the stone age man – Parasurama avatar.

He then evolved into a man with a more human form and mind, whom the Dashavatara calls the Rama avatar.

Next came Krishna, the teacher and philosopher and then Gautam Buddha –the highest form of evolution of man, the avatar that taught us the path to enlightenment.

Yet to come is the Kalki Avatar. This incarnation is foretold to appear at the end of Kali Yuga and will be marked by a holocaust signalling the end of the world.

source

If the Dashavatara was just a figment of someone’s imagination, how did they get the entire evolutionary theory right in so much precision?  Does it not mean that our ancestors knew things that we are only discovering now? Imagine what a dense repository of knowledge ancient Indians had! Can you afford to underestimate the power of their theories?

Believe it or Not – That’s Incredible India!

U for University

Welcome to the "Believe it or Not- That's Incredible India!" series. India is home to some of the most astonishing wonders in the world. The rich culture, heritage, food, scriptures, architectural marvels and scores of known and unknown facts come together to create this multicolored melange that is India. Throughout this month, read about the various believe it or not facts about India and know what goes into the making of this incredible country!

                                       *************************************

Did you know that the world’s first University was established in India?

source

In as early as the 700 B.C. the ancient kingdom of Gandhara was home to a giant University – Takshashila. The University taught 68 subjects to as many as 10,500 students, from not only India but Babylon, Greece, Syria, and China. Well known scholars like Kautilya (Chanakya), Vishnu Sharma, Charaka, Prasenajit, Jotipala, Panini and Jivak taught diverse subjects like Vedas, languages, grammar, philosophy, medicine, surgery, archery, politics, warfare, astronomy, accounts, commerce, documentation, music, dance and other performing arts, futurology, the occult and mystical sciences, and complex mathematical calculations. The vastness and the diverseness of the subjects taught in Takshashila is mind boggling indeed!

source

Another well-known university of those times was the Nalanda University which functioned from 500 – 1300 AD. The University was so advanced that it had an observatory called the Ambudharaavlehi for astronomical research, a vast library, laboratories and a 300-seater lecture hall. The university boasted of a strength of 10000 students and more than 200 teachers. In his travelogue, the famous Chinese traveller Huen Tsang makes a mention of how tough it was to gain admission to Nalanda. Students had to write an entrance exam and just 3% of students managed to pass and gain admission! What high standards! 

Isn’t it amazing that Indians pioneered the concept of a University? Makes me proud to know that we not only accorded importance to schooling and college education but were well versed with the need of a University too!

Believe it or not - That's Incredible India!