India’s contribution to world wisdom
India’s contribution to world wisdom
Introduction
The modern base of today’s world is formed on the ancient ideas of traditional India. The ideas are old but the messages are touched with the innovative appeal. India has contributed significantly in world’s wisdom. It can be experienced in the words of Max Mueller, German scholar, who stated:
“If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India.”
India has significantly contributed in the various spheres of life. The contribution has gone a long way to enhance the lifestyle of mankind. They are visible in the field of mathematics, the formulae of medicine, the vibrant art, literature and the list goes on.
The doctrine of Upanishads
Max Muller, German Scholar, stated one more quote on India which goes as:
"There is no book in the world that is so thrilling, stirring and inspiring as the Upanishads."
Yes, he stated right. People always are confused with the mysterious questions like what will be there after death, what is the real form of heaven, what is after-life and so on. The answers to all these questions are found in the Indian philosophies. The books of literature provide a lightning way to the confused generation. One of the most famous philosophies followed by the world is the doctrine of the Upanishads.
The Upanishads can be defined as a complete philosophy of life. It is the excellent form of work of the human mind. It is not a simple form of poetry but the divine presentation of the spiritual thoughts. It translates the abstract truth into actions in the practical life.
Art and culture
India is known for its unmatchable history of art and culture. India has shown its excellence with the splendid works of literature. There sculptures, the ancient paintings, the varied dance forms and the other form of literature have ruled the hearts of people. The affection and respect for the Indian art and culture is visible in the words of Keith Bellows, National Geographic
Society who stated:
"There are some parts of the world that, once visited, get into your heart and won't go. For me, India is such a place. When I first visited, I was stunned by the richness of the land, by its lush beauty and exotic architecture, by its ability to overload the senses with the pure, concentrated intensity of its colors, smells, tastes, and sounds... I had been seeing the world in black & white and, when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything re-rendered in brilliant technicolor."
Vedas
The power of Vedas is not hidden from anyone. The people with great minds have stated Vedas as an illumination source full with no touch of sectarianism. It is the way to attain the true knowledge. It reflects the pure form of rich Sanskrit language. It contains the ancient scriptures conveying the divine message in the purest form.
Mathematics
The intellectual personalities of India have given the world the most significant concepts of Mathematics. They were the ones to come up with the principles of decimal number system. The Arabic numerals can still be discovered on the rock edicts of Ashoka. The place value, Algebra, Algorithm and Geometry all made their way into the world of Mathematics from India. The world cannot overrule the importance of zero. It was discovered by the famous Indian Astronomer Aryabhatta. India has remained two steps ahead from the West in Mathematics as well as in Science. The knowledge is disseminated all over the world and has become the base of many new concepts. The concept of solar system, the earth’s circumference, eclipse occurrences and many others are the outcome of India’s wisdom.
Medicine
India has given the world with the different forms of medicines. Ayurveda is one of the medicinal forms generated in India. It is the form of medicine that uses herbs to treat various forms of diseases. The other form is the Homeopathy. Both the forms of medicines can treat the complex diseases without any side effects. The cost of medicines is low and can be afforded by everyone.
Conclusion
India is a rare country with great human minds from different culture. The world has got the wisdom in the various fields from India. Apart from it, the one message that is sent to the world from India is of love. India is a land of different religions, castes and culture. Still, it preaches the message of oneness and love. It proves the concept of unity in diversity and embraces people from all over the world.
Discussion
- RE: India’s contribution to world wisdom -srijabandla (07/09/15)
- all children should know moral values
- RE: India’s contribution to world wisdom -Hemant Sharma (08/15/14)
- India’s contribution to the world wisdom goes a long way back. India is the world’s most ancient civilization. The heritage and culture remains the same as it was centuries ago. British invasion did leave a mark on India but our country survived every invasion with courage and strong will. Thanks to the Indic civilization we use a decimal system without which the current technological age would crumble.
We are the land of Aryabhattas, Jawahar Lal Nehrus, Mahatma Gandhis, few of the wisest men the world has ever known. India played a huge hand in the development of science and philosophy only to see the western countries taking the credit for it. In ancient times, the kings of European countries referred to the Indians as the king of wisdom due to the knowledge in all the branches of sciences. We were considered as the people with great skills, sublime pensiveness, universal apologues and rare inventors.
Not only in science, Indians have made a breakthrough in the study of mathematics and geometry. With their knowledge in mathematics they have had great success in the field of astronomy. Even after such advancement, India has been a peaceful country. We have never invaded any country in our whole history. Our country has witnessed some great names doing some great work in the field of science and mathematics.
India invented the number system a few centuries ago with Aryabhatta giving the world its most vital contribution, by inventing the number Zero. Even Albert Einstein had said “We owe a lot the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.” Many great scholars have been born in India. The World’s first university was also established in India itself. Sanskrit is the mother of all languages giving birth to almost all the other languages in the world. It was the great pundits and scholars in India who discovered Sanskrit.
India have done immensely well in the field of medicine. Ayurveda as we know it today is the most ancient method of treatment known to man, which was consolidated by the Father of Medicine, Charaka. Ayurveda is being recognized by the whole world in the recent times. There is no denial that India was the richest country in the whole world before the British invasion demolished the Golden Bird. There are various English words which are derived from Sanskrit, such as "bratha" became brother, “Mathar” became Mother, and many more.
Bhaskaracharya, the famous mathematician and astronomer is the sole reason we know about the time taken by earth to orbit the sun. The value of “Pi”, the term in the very commonly used Pythagoras Theorem was discovered by Budhayana way before the European mathematicians. The disciplines such as Algebra, Trigonometry, calculus, etc all came from our Indian mathematicians. The greatest game of all time, Chess was the invention of India.
We have produced some very great surgeons and scientists for the world to see and appreciate. India has always been a rich land for various talents. We have the most diversified culture in the world. It won’t be wrong to say that the world owe us a lot for the wisdom we have provided to it. Still we remain humble in our actions and keep contributing to the world’s wisdom.
