ABOUT INDIA AND INDIANS!

Amazing Facts about India and Indians!

1.      India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization.

2.      India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.

3.      India is the world's largest democracy.

4.      Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.

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

6.      The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. 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 was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

7.     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.

8.     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.

9.      India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.

10.   One of the largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways , employing over a million people.

11.   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. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth.

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

13.   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.

14.   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.

15.   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 106 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 Tera 10**12(10 to the power of 12).

16.   IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose and not Marconi.

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

18.   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.

19.   Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

20.   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 equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.

21.   Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.

22.   Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

23.   The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.

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

25.   The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.

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

27.   India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence.

28.   India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.

29.   India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.

30.   India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.

SOME MORE FACTS

1.    In the next three years, up to 25% of the world's new workers will be Indian.          Source: Indian Labour Report via The Hindu

2.    42% of the world's poor live in India.          That's over 450 million people living below the international poverty line of $1.25 a            day, according to the World Bank.

3.     India's GDP per capita will quadruple from 2007 to 2020, according to         Goldman Sachs.          Source:Goldman Sachs

4.     Property prices in Mumbai and Delhi have more than doubled in the past        18 months.          Source: Reuters

5.   India's tech capital, Bangalore, has increased its office supply by six times since 2006, and now has more Grade-A offices than Singapore.          Source: C B Richard Ellis via Business Standard

6.     Half the world’s outsourced IT services come from India, amounting to a $47 billion dollar industry.          Source: Sourcing Line

7.     Walmart alone outsources $1 billion in IT contracts to India.          Source: SupplyChain.cn

8.    India is the world's second largest importer of arms and has spent $50 billion on defense purchases in the last decade.          Source: Stockholm International Peace Institute via India Defence Online

9.     India grows 12 million tons of mangoes in a year, the weight equivalent          to 80,000 blue whales.          Source: National Horticulture Board

10.  India's Cherrapnuji is the wettest places on earth, receiving 425 inches of rain every year.         That's 6.3 times the rainfall of continental America's rainiest city, Mobile.           Source: BBC / Livescience.com

11.  A bigger movie market than America and Canada combined, India sold 3.2 billion tickets last year.          Source: Bloomberg Businessweek

12. The average Indian is nearly 20 years younger than the average  Japanese (26 vs 45).       Indians are also around ten years younger than rival China, which was limited in growth by its one-child policy.          Source: CIA Factbook

13.  In recent decades, 500,000 female births have gone missing each year due to (illegal) sex selection and abortion.          This estimate comes from The Lancet via The Boston Globe and is based on 1986-           2006.

14.   India has 568 million more registered voters than the US -- and a better turnout rate too.          Source: The International

15.   India used to account for 33% of the world's GDP; then fell to 3%; now may rise to 25%. India led the world in GDP before the industrial revolution, when population meant productivity, and India had the largest population. Following the industrial revolution, India entered a long period of economic stagnation. The future outlook comes from           Goldman Sachs, which sees India passing the U.S. economy in 2050, trailing only            China.          Source: goldman sachs

Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)

1.         Will Durant, American historian: "India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all".

2.         Mark Twain, American author: "India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only."

3.         Mark Twain: "India has two million gods, and worships them all. In religion all other countries are paupers; India is the only millionaire."

4.         Mark Twain: "So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked."

5.         Albert Einstein, American scientist: "We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made."

6.         Max Mueller, German scholar: 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.

7.         Romain Rolland, French scholar : "If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India."

8.         Henry David Thoreau, American Thinker & Author:Whenever I have read any part of the Vedas, I have felt that some unearthly and unknown light illuminated me. In the great teaching of the Vedas, there is no touch of sectarianism. It is of all ages, climbs, and nationalities and is the royal road for the attainment of the Great Knowledge. When I read it, I feel that I am under the spangled heavens of a summer night.

9.         R.W. Emerson, American Author: In the great books of India, an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence, which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the questions that exercise us.

10.      Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA: "India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border."

11.      Keith Bellows, National Geographic Society : "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."

12.      A Rough Guide to India: "It is impossible not to be astonished by India. Nowhere on Earth does humanity present itself in such a dizzying, creative burst of cultures and religions, races and tongues. Enriched by successive waves of migration and marauders from distant lands, every one of them left an indelible imprint which was absorbed into the Indian way of life. Every aspect of the country presents itself on a massive, exaggerated scale, worthy in comparison only to the superlative mountains that overshadow it. It is this variety which provides a breathtaking ensemble for experiences that is uniquely Indian. Perhaps the only thing more difficult than to be indifferent to India would be to describe or understand India completely. There are perhaps very few nations in the world with the enormous variety that India has to offer. Modern day India represents the largest democracy in the world with a seamless picture of unity in diversity unparalleled anywhere else."

13.      Will Durant, American Historian: "India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of mature mind, understanding spirit and a unifying, pacifying love for all human beings."

14.      William James, American Author: "From the Vedas we learn a practical art of surgery, medicine, music, house building under which mechanized art is included. They are encyclopedia of every aspect of life, culture, religion, science, ethics, law, cosmology and meteorology."

15.      Max Muller, German Scholar: "There is no book in the world that is so thrilling, stirring and inspiring as the Upanishads." ('Sacred Books of the East')

16.      Dr Arnold Toynbee, British Historian: "It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in the self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in history, the only way of salvation for mankind is the Indian way."

17.      Sir William Jones, British Orientalist: "The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity is of wonderful structure, more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin and more exquisitely refined than either."

18.      P. Johnstone: "Gravitation was known to the Hindus (Indians) before the birth of Newton. The system of blood circulation was discovered by them centuries before Harvey was heard of."

19.      Emmelin Plunret: "They were very advanced Hindu astronomers in 6000 BC. Vedas contain an account of the dimension of Earth, Sun, Moon, Planets and Galaxies." ('Calendars and Constellations')

20.      Sylvia Levi: "She (India) has left indelible imprints on one fourth of the human race in the course of a long succession of centuries. She has the right to reclaim ... her place amongst the great nations summarizing and symbolizing the spirit of humanity. From Persia to the Chinese sea, from the icy regions of Siberia to Islands of Java and Borneo, India has propagated her beliefs, her tales, and her civilization!"

21.      Schopenhauer: "Vedas are the most rewarding and the most elevating book which can be possible in the world." (Works VI p.427)

22.      Colonel James Todd: "Where can we look for sages like those whose systems of philosophy were prototypes of those of Greece: to whose works Plato, Thales and Pythagorus were disciples? Where do I find astronomers whose knowledge of planetary systems yet excites wonder in Europe as well as the architects and sculptors whose works claim our admiration, and the musicians who could make the mind oscillate from joy to sorrow, from tears to smile with the change of modes and varied intonation?"

23.      Lancelot Hogben: "There has been no more revolutionary contribution than the one which the Hindus (Indians) made when they invented ZERO." ('Mathematics for the Millions')

24.      Wheeler Wilcox: "India - The land of Vedas, the remarkable works contain not only religious ideas for a perfect life, but also facts which science has proved true. Electricity, radium, electronics, airship, all were known to the seers who founded the Vedas."

25.      W. Heisenberg, German Physicist: "After the conversations about Indian philosophy, some of the ideas of Quantum Physics that had seemed so crazy suddenly made much more sense."

26.      Sir W. Hunter, British Surgeon: "The surgery of the ancient Indian physicians was bold and skilful. A special branch of surgery was dedicated to rhinoplasty or operations for improving deformed ears, noses and forming new ones, which European surgeons have now borrowed."

27.      Sir John Woodroffe: "An examination of Indian Vedic doctrines shows that it is in tune with the most advanced scientific and philosophical thought of the West."

28.      B.G. Rele: "Our present knowledge of the nervous system fits in so accurately with the internal description of the human body given in the Vedas (5000 years ago). Then the question arises whether the Vedas are really religious books or books on anatomy of the nervous system and medicine." ('The Vedic Gods')

29.      Adolf Seilachar & P.K. Bose, scientists: "One Billion-Year-Old fossil prove life began in India: AFP Washington reports in Science Magazine that German Scientist Adolf Seilachar and Indian Scientist P.K. Bose have unearthed fossil in Churhat a town in Madhya Pradesh, India which is 1.1 billion years old and has rolled back the evolutionary clock by more than 500 million years."

30.      Will Durant, American Historian: "It is true that even across the Himalayan barrier India has sent to the west, such gifts as grammar and logic, philosophy and fables, hypnotism and chess, and above all numerals and the decimal system."

WHO IS A FOUNDER OF HINDUISM?

FOUNDER OF HINDUISM

Ø Question: Was there a specific founder of the religion Hinduism?

ü Reply:
Hinduism cannot be described as an organized religion. It is not founded by any individual. Hinduism is God centred and therefore one can call Hinduism as founded by God, because the answer to the question ‘Who is behind the eternal principles and who makes them work?’ will have to be ‘Cosmic power, Divine power, God’ (dharman tu sakshad bhagavat pranitam)

·      Swami Vivekananda wrote:

There are these eternal principles, which stand upon their own foundations without depending on any reasoning, even much less on the authority of sages however great, of Incarnations however brilliant they may have been. We may remark that as this is the unique position in India, our claim is that the Vedanta only can be the universal religion, that it is already the existing universal religion in the world, because it teaches principles and not persons.
[The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, III, Topic 'The Sages of India']

·      Swami Vivekananda wrote:

If you want to be religious, enter not the gate of any organised religion. They do a hundred times more evil than good, because they stop the growth of each one's individual development.... Religion is only between you and your God, and no third person must come between you. Think what these organised religions have done! What Napoleon was more terrible than those religious persecutions? If you and I organise, we begin to hate every person. It is better not to love, if loving only means hating others. That is no love. That is hell! If loving your own people means hating everybody else, it is the quintessence of selfishness and brutality, and the effect is that it will make you brutes.
[The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume I, Topic 'The Gita III'

·      Swami Vivekananda wrote:

Truth is of two kinds: (1) that which is cognisable by the five ordinary senses of man and by reasoning’s based thereon; (2) that which is cognisable by the subtle, super-sensuous power of Yoga.

Knowledge acquired by the first means is called science; and knowledge acquired by the second is called the Vedas.

The whole body of super sensuous truths, having no beginning or end, and called by the name of Vedas, is ever existent. The Creator Himself is creating, preserving and destroying the universe with the help of these truths.

The person in whom this super-sensuous power is manifested is called a Rishi, and the super-sensuous truths, which he realises by this power, are called the Vedas.

This Rishihood, this power of super-sensuous perception of the Vedas, is real religion. And so long as this does not develop in the life of an initiate, so long is religion a mere empty word to him, and it is to be understood that he has not taken yet the first step in religion.

The authority of the Vedas extends to all ages, climes and persons; that is to say, their application is not confined to any particular place, time and persons.

The Vedas are the only exponent of the universal religion.

Hinduism is God centred. Other religions are prophet centred.

Ø  Question: How did Hinduism start and when did it begin?

ü  Reply
Hinduism is God centred. Other religions are prophet centred. Hinduism is based upon Eternal Principles. Eternal principles apply to all human beings everywhere. The laws of physics exist and work all the time. The healing principle will get to work immediately the moment a little cut is sustained on a finger. No one can tell when this healing principle began or when it will end. It is there existing eternally, all pervading (available everywhere), omniscient (aware all the time and therefore healing principle gets to work when injury is sustained). (These simplified examples serve to understand God’s power: omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent).

Hinduism is based upon Eternal Principles. If a great scientist like Einstein discovered or realized laws of physics, Hinduism would call him a great Rishi (Maharshi or seer of truth.) Such seers of truth are not confined to any one age or country. Self-realized persons like Jesus Christ would be called Rishis (seers) and their teachings would be readily acceptable to those who properly understand the principles of ‘Hinduism’. From the ancient times, many great Rishis achieved self-realisation through such practices as meditation and austerities and they realised knowledge concerning Eternal Principles. Their knowledge, taught to disciples, and eventually made available in written form, is known as the Vedas (Ved = knowledge), the scriptures upon which Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) is based. Sanatan means eternal and Dharma means religion.

The word 'Hinduism’ does not appear anywhere in Hindu scriptures, the proper name for Hinduism is ‘Sanatan Dharma’      Sanatan = eternal Dharma = religion.

Hinduism is God centred whereas other religions are prophet centred. For this reason the whole of mankind has to abide by (or is affected by) the eternal principles. The question of acceptance or rejection of Hinduism by any individual simply does not arise, or is irrelevant. It is illogical to talk of conversion to Hinduism. It is like saying that the laws of physics (e.g. gravity) will apply to you only if you belong to an organization or organized religion.

[The ceremonies and rituals connected with Hinduism   (and other religions) are designed to cultivate increased spirituality. At advanced level of spirituality, rituals and ceremonies are dispensed with]

·      Sri Madhusudana Sarasvati Wrote:
(Commentary Gita Ch.3, Shloka 16)
But he who has realised the Supreme Entity and does not derive pleasure from the senses, he on account of being self-fulfilled, does not incur sin even by not performing the rites which are thus the cause of the movement of the Wheel of the World.

·      From Brahadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10:

Even the gods cannot prevail against him (he who has realised the Supreme Entity). There need be no performance of any action even in the form of worship of gods for averting obstacles

·      Gita Ch. 3 Shloka 17:

The Blessed Lord said: But that man who rejoices only in the Self and is satisfied (only) with the Self, and is contended only in the Self - for him there is no duty to perform.

·      Swami Vivekananda wrote:

[The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, III, Topic 'The Sages of India']

The very fountain-head of our religion is in the Vedas (Srutis) which are perfectly impersonal; the persons all come in the Smritis and Puranas- the great Avataras, Incarnations of God, Prophets, and so forth.

[Note: Srutis means revealed knowledge; Smriti means memory, history]

And this ought also to be observed that except our religion (Sanatan Dharma; Hinduism), every other religion in the world depends upon the lives of some personal founder or founders. Christianity is built upon the life of Jesus Christ, Mohammedanism (Islam) upon Mohammed, Buddhism upon Buddha, Jainism upon the Jinas, and so on. It naturally follows that there must be in all these religions a good deal of fight about what they call the historical evidences of these great personalities.

If at any time the historical evidences about the existence of these personages in ancient times become weak, the whole building of the religion tumbles down and is broken to pieces. We escaped this fate because our religion is not based upon persons but on principles. That you obey your religion is not because it came through the authority of a sage, no, not even of an Incarnation. Krishna is not the authority of the Vedas, but the Vedas are the authority of Krishna himself. His glory is that he is the greatest preacher of the Vedas that ever existed.

So with the other Incarnations; so with all our sages. Our first principle is that all that is necessary for the perfection of man and for attaining unto freedom is there in the Vedas. You cannot find anything new. You cannot go beyond a perfect unity, which is the goal of all knowledge; this has been already reached there, and it is impossible to go beyond the unity. Religious knowledge became complete when Tat Twam Asi (Thou art That) was discovered, and that was in the Vedas.

What remained was the guidance of people from time to time according to different times and places, according to different circumstances and environments. People had to be guided along the old, old path and for this these great teachers came, these great sages. Nothing can bear out more clearly this position than the celebrated saying of Sri Krishna in the Gita : "Whenever virtue subsides and irreligion prevails, I create Myself for the protection of the good; for the destruction of all immorality I am coming from time to time."

What follows? That on the one hand, there are these eternal principles, which stand upon their own foundations without depending on any reasoning, even much less on the authority of sages however great, of Incarnations however brilliant they may have been. We may remark that as this is the unique position in India, our claim is that the Vedanta only can be the universal religion, that it is already the existing universal religion in the world, because it teaches principles and not persons

No religion built upon a person can be taken up as a type by all the races of mankind. In our own country we find that there have been so many grand characters; even in a small city many persons are taken up as types by the different minds in that one city. How is it possible that one person as Mohammed, or Buddha or Christ, can be taken up as the one type for the whole world, nay, that the whole of morality, ethics, spirituality, and religion can be true only from the sanction of that one person, and one person alone?

Now the Vedantic religion does not require any such personal authority. Its sanction is the eternal nature of man, its ethics are based upon the eternal solidarity of man, already existing, already attained and not to be attained.

The Hindu can worship any sage and any saint from any country whatsoever, and as a fact we know that we go and worship many times in the churches of the Christians, and many times in the Mohammedan mosques and that is good. Why not? Ours, as I have said, is the universal religion. It is inclusive enough, it is broad enough to include all the ideals. All the ideals of religion that already exist in the world can be immediately included, and we can patiently wait for all the ideals that are to come in the future to be taken in the same fashion, embraced in the infinite arms of the religion of the Vedanta.

"Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions"
- Rig Veda [Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah]

Ø  Question: What is the most important part of the religion?

[Note: Different scholars may emphasize other aspects of the religion as the most important part]

ü  Reply:
The affirmative attitude of Hinduism toward life has been emphasized by its recognition of four legitimate and basic desires:

1.    Dharma or righteousness

2.    Artha or wealth

3.    Kama or sense pleasure

4.    Moksha or freedom through communion with God or the Infinite.

These four attainments of life are collectively known as Purushartha.

Ø  Question: Why?

ü  Reply:
[Note: Reply based upon the teachings of Swami Nikhilananda, Ramakrishna Math]
Of the four grand objects of human aspirations (Purushartha), viz., Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, Dharma is given the foremost rank in the scriptures. Dharma alone is the gateway to Moksha, to immortality, infinite bliss, supreme peace and highest knowledge. Dharma alone is the primary Purushartha. Dharma is the first and foremost Purushartha.

Dharma is the cementer and sustainer of social life. The rules of Dharma have been laid down for regulating the worldly affairs of men. Dharma brings as its consequence happiness, both in this world and in the next. Dharma is the means of preserving one’s self. If you transgress it, it will kill you. If you protect it, it will protect you. It is your sole companion after death. It is the sole refuge of humanity.

[Note: Dharma (roughly translated as righteousness or virtue, must be at the center and at the circumference are Artha (wealth), Kama (all kinds of desires or pleasures), and Moksha (liberation).  All activities in life must revolve around Dharma. Dharma must be kept in focus all the time and adhered to.]

Ø  Question: Do Hindus worship one god or many?

The following is from page 'Ideal behind the idol'
There is no polytheism in India
By Swami Vivekananda
The foremost disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa

ü  Reply:
Descend we now from the aspirations of philosophy to the religion of the ignorant. At the very outset, I may tell you that there is no polytheism in India. In every temple, if one stands by and listens, one will find the worshippers applying all the attributes of God, including omnipresence, to the images. It is not polytheism, nor would the name henotheism explain the situation. "The rose called by any other name would smell as sweet." Names are not explanations.

Ø  Question: Is the Caste System an eternal principle?

ü  Reply:
In the Mahabharata it is described as the ‘Four Orders of Human Beings’.
There is no country on earth where the four orders of human beings do not exist.

1.    Teachers (at schools, colleges and universities) and spiritual leaders (priests, Imams, Rabbi, Pandit) - (Brahmins).

2.    Government, judiciary, law-enforcement agencies and the defence force.
Ministers, civil servants, military, soldiers, police - (Kshatriyas)

3.    Food producers & Wealth producers. Farmers, industrialists, merchants, business people, professionals (doctors, lawyers, architects, engineers, etc) -(Vaisyas).

4.    Labourers - (Sudras)

"The four orders of human beings" refers to the whole of mankind and is not confined to any one country, or any one race group. We usually associate 'the four orders of human beings' with India (where it is generally known as the caste system, often misunderstood, misused or abused).

Consider for a moment an imaginary scenario where from the map of the world India is made invisible. Now apply the principle of 'the four orders of human beings' to all the countries in the world. Not one country will be found where this principle is not made applicable. Imagine again that in a given country, all the men, women and able-bodied youths decide to join the defence force of the country (claiming equality amongst all human beings). They are all sitting pretty with a rifle in hand waiting for the enemy to show up.

Who will do the cooking to feed this defence force? What about tilling the land to grow the food to feed this defence force, and who will wash the clothes? If during war situation the wounded have to be operated upon, who will teach how to perform surgery? The maintenance of general cleanliness, removal of garbage etc. will have to be done by whom? The young boys and girls will remain uneducated because the whole population is sitting pretty with a rifle in hand waiting for the enemy to show up. Who will run the schools?

There are no industries, no labour force, no business community, because there are no 'four orders of human beings'. Without the division of labour, there is no human progress. Witness the crippling results of any general strike, by the workers of any vital industry, when such strike is sustained over a lengthy period. Such action can cripple any country.

Let all the countries legislate that as from next month no human beings on this earth will perform the task of  labourers (claiming that it is beneath human dignity and that all human beings are equal). What is stopping any country from enacting such legislation?

If a labourer wins a lottery for ten million dollars, will he, thereafter, voluntarily remain a labourer? Labourers in this world are not labourers by choice.

Now the big question is: who can decide who is to be the labourer and who is to be the professor to teach at the medical college? Who will decide that? The division of labour, which broadly falls into 'the four orders of human beings' is based upon "guna and karma" of each individual. The word 'guna' in Vedanta means Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas (the three qualities born of Nature also known as "prakriti).

To say that we should abolish the four orders of human beings (the caste system) also amounts to saying that the authority of the scriptures is to be brushed aside and substituted by some modern day thinker who argues that "In this day and age" the eternal principles do not apply. Consider the following extracts from the Bhagavad Gita:

·      Bhagavad Gita, Ch.4, Verse 13: the Lord says:

"The fourfold caste has been created by Me according to the differentiation of Guna and Karma;"

·      Bhagavad Gita, Ch.18, verse 40 the Lord says:

"There is no being on earth, or again in heaven among the gods, that is liberated from the three qualities born of Nature."

·      Gita Ch.18, verse.41:

"Of Brahmanas, Kshtriyas and Vaishyas, as also the Sudras, O Arjuna, the duties are distributed according to the qualities born of their own nature."

If we look at newly born human babies, we can see their physical features. Can we see in them the potential of the future Beethoven, Michelangelo, Einstein, a great saint or a common criminal? One baby may be endowed by nature with artistic abilities and another with musical talent, and yet another may be devoid of both these attributes. These are qualities born of nature. Human efforts can complement these qualities or attributes as when a teacher guides and inspires a pupil to achieve greater heights in a chosen field.

When those babies grow up, their careers are distributed according to the qualities born of their own nature. The four orders of human beings are based upon "qualities born of their own nature.

In a maternity hospital, can we draw lots from a hat and fasten a tag on baby numbered one as the future labourer, the second baby as the future industrialist, the third baby as the future army commander, the fourth baby as the future college professor and the fifth baby as the future common criminal?   Obviously not. The situation or the station in life for the individual will be determined by "qualities born of their own nature". These fundamental principles apply to all without geographical boundaries.

The eternal principles apply to all . One does not have to subscribe to a system of belief or carry the banner of any religion to include or exclude the application of eternal principles.

Ø  Question: Is the use of images an universal practice?

ü  Reply: A hundred Dollar currency note is much smaller than the Sunday newspaper. The newspaper would be discarded within a few days. Why attach so much more importance to a much smaller piece of paper that is called a hundred Dollar note? After all both the newspaper and the currency note are pieces of paper. The image on the currency note makes it different. The image attaches to the paper (currency note) values, qualities, awe (if it is a million Dollar note), etc. Power of the human consciousness is transmitted to the currency note. An atheist who decries the use of images can empty his wallet of all the Dollar notes and send them to us.

I can pull out a handkerchief from my pocket, blow my nose into it and then ask an audience to salute my handkerchief. Why salute the flag of the nation and not my handkerchief? After all both the handkerchief and the flag are inanimate pieces of cloth! I can hear the patriot saying that he is prepared to lay down his life for his nation's flag. Why would he not do the same for my handkerchief? Power of the human consciousness is transmitted to the piece of cloth we call a national flag whereby the inanimate piece of cloth acquires qualities of patriotism, noble values, pride, loyalty, identity etc.

If a stranger were to spit on your mother's photo, why would you feel hurt? After all it is only a piece of paper with dots that are lighter or darker, giving an image or resemblance of the face of mother. This piece of paper has acquired the ability to make you angry or happy, or sad or fill you with memories and inspiration. An inanimate piece of paper infused with such powers!

My mother scribbled three or four lines on a piece of paper and sent it off to me. Another gentleman sent me a long discursive fifty page letter.   Now, which is more weighty?  But the feeling in my mother's few lines is beyond measure; it is sacred.  The other stuff cannot stand comparison with it. - Saint Vinoba Bhave

The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is revered by the Jewish community. Why kiss the wall and why does it invoke feelings of reverence? Inanimate stones or bricks! Power of human consciousness is attached to it. A photograph of the wall (image) would invoke reverence and respect for the piece of paper upon which it is printed.

Islam: Pilgrims to Mecca throw stones at the three pillars that are infused with the images of devils!

And why kiss the stone of Kaaba? And if someone were to spit upon this stone of Kaaba, why would it invoke and provoke angry reactions?   After all that is only a piece of stone! Muslim pilgrims visiting the Kaaba temple go around it seven times. Any pilgrim going to a place of pilgrimage does so with the utmost worshipful attitude of the mind. Why the display of reverence and the worshipful attitude towards the stone of Kaaba? After all the stone of Kaaba is an inanimate object.

A sacred fount exists near the Kaaba. Its water is held sacred because it has been traditionally regarded as sacred like the waters of the river Ganges since pre-Islamic times (Zam-Zam water). Even today, Muslim pilgrims who go to the Kaaba for Haj regard this Zam-Zam water with reverence and take some bottled water with them as sacred water.

Chemically speaking, water is water. What is the difference between this Zam-Zam water and the water that flows downstream from some nearby mountains?

Christianity: The Cross of Christianity is a piece of wood or metal or stone. Why do worshippers bow their heads before such image that is made of inanimate materials?

The qualifications at a university college are proudly hung on the wall for all to see. A piece of paper, framed and attracting such high esteem! If you think that the use of image is not universal then make sure you remove that inanimate piece of paper (certifications) and promptly consign that to the garbage can.

Source: www.hinduism.co.za