why should we be proud of india?

Facts About Ancient India:

• It is the only society in the world which has never known slavery.

• India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.

• 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(later destroyed by mogul emperors and we lost most of the scientific knowledge we had) built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

• Sanskrit is considered the mother of all higher languages. Sanskrit is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for 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. It is the only system which takes the holistic view of the person being treated.

• 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 and was looking for route to India when he discovered American continent by mistake.

• 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'.

• 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 10*53(10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BC during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).

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

• The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra. According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 BC a beautiful lake aptly called 'Sudarshana' was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya's time.

• Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was reportedly invented in India.

• 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. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.

• When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in the Sindhu Valley Civilization.

• The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.

• The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.

• The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola

• India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old).

• The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time, the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

• The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

• India has the most post offices in the world !

• The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.

• The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.

• There is no religion as Hinduism, there was this vedic system of life and people had freedom to choose their own god. This vedic system or sanatana dharma was just a way of life and the name hindu came from the sindhu river, which means people who live beyond river sindhu, so anyone living in India is literally hindu, but now this does not hold any value. We have divided our system to a great extent to be repaired.

• The real name of India(as in satyuga) is Bharat or Bharatvarsha.

And there is the story(was forwarded through emails some 2 yrs back) of Mr.Vaidyaraj an alleged descendant of krishnadevaraya found a couple of diamonds, each one 4600 carats, and is supposedly kept in swiss bank and was taken under cover for security reasons. The worst thing is the cost of this single diamond is way higher than the GDP of America and UK.

A single diamond of it equals 10 times the wealth of bill gates at the time of its discovery (somewhere in 2005 and at that time the property of bill gates valued approximately 95 billion dollars)

This diamond can buy 7 developing nations or a single diamond can clear the debts of Indian debts in world bank three times. Even the world bank has not enough money to buy these diamonds.

The problem with this mail I got is that there is no verifiable data, except that it mentioned that Star tv aired a 115 min documentary about this diamond and hindu had a half page article about this, and since after the news it was classified, surely there is no way to check the authenticity of the news.

Infact India is richer than what meets the eye, there is enough money in the swiss banks under the accounts of indian nationals to provide job for all Indians and raise them above poverty line.

This is a really long list of why should we be proud of being Indians, and many things not added for that would only add to the length of the post and nothing more.

India has a rich past, but what is the use? This past does not help us to curb the poverty or stop the trend of farmer suicides. The Indians feel proud of their heritage and language.. but how many scholars do we have in Sanskrit?

Why are we trying to prove that we were rich and knowledged?

Do we feel inferior to the western culture and their advancement in science and economics?

Yes we do, we feel that we were a great nation and now we were robbed of the greatness, when the Kohinoor was taken away, people were furious, but why? What difference does that makes. Even if we had Kohinoor, we will never sell it and it will have no monetary value.

Now since we are not developed enough in the period of 60yrs of independence, we blame the foreigners, the politicians.

I think its time for us to stop being proud of India and make India proud.

take care

blessed be

Monk who lives after death

We all have heard about mummification, the process of ceasing the decay of a corpse by covering it with some paste and cloth. This is prominent in the ancient Egyptian culture, they used to mummify their Pharaoh’s corpse, believing that they will come to life after 3000yrs(yes, most of the mummies are 3000yrs old… (this is the reason the movies mummies were made during this period… it was based on the ‘Egyptian book of dead’), but is it possible to self mummify? That is to stop your body from decaying after your death??

Its seems to be possible…..

Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov

Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov was born in 1852 and began his religious education at the age of 16. He studied in Anninsky Datsan (a Buddhist university in Buryatia now in ruins) and earned degrees in medicine and philosophy. In 1911, he was appointed the 12th Pandito Khambo Lama , the head of Buddhism in Russia.

Service

Itigilov remained an influential figure after stepping down from his post as Khambo Lama in 1917. During the First World War, Itigelov founded the organization of “Buryat Brothers" that helped the army with money, meals, clothes and medication. He also built a set of hospitals with lama doctors helping wounded soldiers. For this he received the St. Anna Award.

Premonition of death

In 1926, Itigilov warned his students about the coming terror of the "red teaching" and advised them to flee to Tibet. He remained in Siberia, and in 1927 he announced it was time for his passing. He asked the lamas to join him in meditation and begin funeral rites, and he died while meditating in the lotus position at the age of 75. In accordance with his will, the Khambo Lama's body was buried in a wooden box sitting upright in the lotus position.

Amazing Feat

The body of Itigilov in lotus position

Interestingly, Itigilov's testament also requested that monks exhume his body after a period of some years. This was done once in 1955 and again in 1973, after some difficulty in locating the body. Both times they found the body perfectly preserved and still sitting upright (which a dead body cannot normally do for more than two weeks). The monks did not publicize the astonishing phenomena due to the anti-religion policies of the Communist government.

Unveiled to Public

The body of Dasha-Dorzho Itigilov was transferred to Ivolginksy Datsan and publicly unveiled for the first time in September 2002, 75 years after his death in 1927. His body has decayed slightly since its exhumation but still remains in a state of preservation that baffles scientists and draws believers by the thousands.

Reincarnation

Buddhists believe the 12th Khambo Lama was the reincarnation of the Lama Damba Dorja Zayayev, the first Khambo Lama, who was born in 1702. Lama Damba Dorja Zayayev lived to be 75. And 75 years after his death, Lama Itigelov was born, who also lived to be 75. Buddhists believe that the condition of Lama Itigelov's body, understood to be like no other in history, is evidence that he reached the state of emptiness. He has thus become a source of inspiration to many lamas and novices following the spiritual path and others of the Buddhist faith.

Nirvana

Although Itigilov's body was never embalmed or mummified, it is said that his corpse still bleeds if punctured. The Buddhist monks approach him as a living person and shake hands with him. Some devotees even claim that Itigilov is still alive, only immersed in a hibernation- or Nirvana-like state. "Buddhists say that only the most advanced masters can fall into some particular condition before death and purify themselves so that his dead body could not decay". Some scientists explain the state of Itigilov's body by abnormal quantities of bromine discovered in tissues and muscles.

Healing power

Many locals also believe Itigelov's body to have healing powers, and pilgrims flock to Ivolginksy to press their foreheads to the Lama's scarf. Wheelchairs and crutches are often left near the body as a sign of healing.

Sokushinbutsu

Sokushinbutsu were Buddhist monks or priests who allegedly caused their own deaths in a way that resulted in their being mummified. This practice reportedly took place almost exclusively in northern Japan around the Yamagata Prefecture. Between 16 and 24 such mummifications have been discovered.

For three years the priests would eat a special diet consisting only of nuts and seeds, while taking part in a regimen of rigorous physical activity that stripped them of their body fat. They then ate only bark and roots for another three years and began drinking a poisonous tea made from the sap of the Urushi tree, normally used to lacquer bowls. This caused vomiting and a rapid loss of bodily fluids, and most importantly, it killed off any maggots that might cause the body to decay after death. Finally, a self-mummifying monk would lock himself in a stone tomb barely larger than his body, where he would not move from the lotus position. His only connection to the outside world was an air tube and a bell. Each day he rang a bell to let those outside know that he was still alive. When the bell stopped ringing, the tube was removed and the tomb sealed. So was Itigelov was one of the Sokushinbutsu?

The world around us always seems to amaze us, will you call this science or metaphysics. We might not know… I believe it is not even necessary. Certain things in this world needs no analysis, but faith, for it’s the faith keeps the world moving and makes all miracles happen on this planet of selfish mortal humans.

Test your psychic ability

When we talk about Telepathy or for that matter any psychic phenomenon, there comes this question, can we do this? Well there are many methods suggested and available online. You may try them. Here I am going to provide you with one such experiment, which can be done among your friends.

.

Zener cards were created by Karl Zener to use in ESP experiments. He was working with J.B.Rhine, one of the greatest psychologist. This is a collection of five different shapes on cards. The five symbols are circle, star, waves, cross ,square. The sender (as in telepathy) sends the image of one of this symbols mentally to the receiver. The receiver is supposed to tell which symbol was chosen.

The circle

The cross

The square

The star


The waves

These are the five shapes. Once you are ready to test your or your friend’s psychic ability, save this pictures to your computer, then take print out of them. Make five copies of each symbol. Then paste it on some cards, and now you are ready completely to take the test.

Each of you sit down in such a manner that the receiver(the one who is to receive the ESP signals) shud not be able to see what card the other person is holding. The sender should chose a card from the deck of 25 cards in random and focus on the image and try to send the signals(visualize sending the signals) through ether (or air) to the other person. The other person should listen to what comes to their mind. And most of the time the first thought which comes to mind is the shape chosen.

And in a 25 trial game, 5 correct cards are expected by chance.. the value will be significant if and only if the correct predictions are more than 9 cards.

As ususal, try meditating before trying this experiment. And if you feel that you are biased to the shapes.. do it at some other time… it is not at all necessary to complete the 25 trials all at the same time. So take your own time and test your psychic ability.

And if you are too lazy to do all those things, then of course there is another method to test your psychic ability, try some online test…

http://www.mdani.demon.co.uk/para/esp1.htm

http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~zener/cgi-bin/zener.cgi

http://owens4.com/funstuff/esptest.html