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India's Contribution to Modern Civilization
17th Nov 1998 sudheer birodkar @yahoo.com
Extract from the site: http://india.coolatlanta.com/GreatPages/sudheer/ Dear Visitor, Here goes a Sloka (couplet) from the Atharva Veda (one of the 4 Vedas - treatises on knowledge from ancient India) which embodies the true spirit of humanness expressed, not today, but four thousand years ago. We are the birds of the same nest, We may wear different skins, We may speak different languages, We may believe in different religions, We may belong to different cultures, Yet we share the same home - OUR EARTH. It is this spirit of humanness that has been the undercurrent of existence in a part of the world known by many names like Aryavarta, Jambudwipa, Bharatvarsha, Hindustan or India. This spirit has also prevailed in many other parts of the world where the right thinking of humankind has prevailed. In India, this spirit has found expression in the philosophy of non-violence, religious tolerance, renunciation - in non-temporal matters. In temporal matters, which is the subject of this book, it has found expression in achievements in all areas of science and technology. Achievements which did not remain limited to India alone, but were transmitted to many corners of our globe. These achievements are not just a matter of pride for Indians alone. They represent the triumph of the human mind and hence are a matter of pride for the human species irrespective of nationality. But over a period of one thousand years of a dark age, this spirit of humanness was dormant in India; eclipsed as it was under influences which came from the deep recesses of the malevolence in the human mind. That these influences were embodied in invaders from other parts of the globe is only incidental. This setback could have as well been caused by internal upheavals that could have brought about malevolent influences to the fore as in imaginary cases if the Kauravas had triumphed over the Pandavas in the Mahabharat war or if Kansa had slayed Krishna at Mathura. These possibilities are hypothetical but what happened when the spirit of humanness was trampled under the feet of invaders who brought in intolerance, persecution, forced conversions of people, destruction of places of worship, penal taxes, and a general political tyranny; could have as well taken place in some altered pattern under domestic malevolent factors embodied in say Duryodhana or Kansa. So rather than grieving in the fact that these malevolent influences came from beyond India’s geographic boundaries, we need to rejoice in the fact that even in these compelling circumstances, the spirit of humanness was only dormant but did not become extinct. As Arthur Basham, the famous Australian Historian says, "The ancient civilisation of India differs from those of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, in that its traditions have been preserved without breakdown to the present day". Today after a gap of one thousand years, the spirit of humanness can again breathe freely and it is about time that we recollect it and the successes it propelled the human mind to achieve. The human mind embodied in the ancient sages, rishis, munis and sanyasis - scientists in modern parlance. We need to remember our past clearly and vividly, lest we forget, our capability to contribute to the repository of human knowledge, lest we forget our capability to activate the indomitable human mind residing within us, lest we forget our humane instincts that gave us a sagacious and charitable view of life along with progress - economic, technological and material. All that which goes under the term CIVILIZATION. The human spirit in Ancient India has given to the world, the values of non-violence, religious tolerance, renunciation alongwith many elements of knowledge in fields like production technology, mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, navigation, architecture, civil engineering, medical science, physics, chemistry, logic, astronomy, mathematics and so on. The following link will take you into the various fields where this indomitable spirit had exercised itself, in what is geographically today India, to leave behind a legacy which belongs not to Indians alone but to all humans. A legacy that can help human beings in all corners of our globe to rejuvenate our spirit not to conquer one another, but to conquer oneself; not to destroy, but to build; not to hate, but to love; not to isolate oneself, but to integrate everyone into one global society and to achieve much more in the future to enrich human civilisation to result in: "The maximum welfare of the maximum number" You can get more info on this topic at the site: http://india.coolatlanta.com/GreatPages/sudheer/index.html
