Hinduism is an ancient religion of India and the oldest religion in the world.
Hindus regard the Vedas which was composed around 1500 B.C. as central to the Hindu tradition.
Hinduism is like an ocean of the combined knowledge of various rishis, sages, and saints. It was they who gave the religion the depth and complexity for which it is known today
Hinduism is a way of life, there is no fixed name for Hinduism; some call it Sanatana Dharma, some call it Bhagawat Dharma, etc. There was no name “Hindu” in old scriptures but later invaders of India named people here as Hindu because they used to live on the banks of the river Sindhu.
Hinduism is broken into four key denominations, which are Saivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, as well as Smartism.
The Vedas Meaning “knowledge” in Sanskrit, the Vedas is the oldest and most authoritative texts of Hinduism. Composed around 1500 B.C.E., they are among the world’s oldest surviving.
Vedas consist of four parts. The Rig Veda contains verses of praise to the gods; the Yajur Veda discusses the requirements of ritual offerings; the Sama Veda, verses and chants for ritual offerings, and Atharva Veda, magical verses.
The Upanishads Among the principal texts of the Hindu tradition, the Upanishads are metaphysical treatises that are concerned with the origin and destiny of humanity and the universe.
The Hinduism calls for the belief in one Supreme Being, who stands for both the creator, as well as a reality.
Karma, which stands for the cause and effect of an individual’s choices and destiny, is another main belief of Hinduism. The thoughts, actions and words of an individual can affect their karma.
Ongoing cycles of Creation, Preservation and Dissolution within the universe are a main belief of Hinduism.
Hindus believe that the soul can be reincarnated, undergoing a cycle of rebirth. Hindus believe that a soul is able to undergo numerous lifetimes within a physical body. All of the past lives that you have led, contribute to the person you are today.
The Bhagavad-Gita A section of the immense epic known as the Mahabharata, believed to be about 2000 years old, it is set on the field of the climactic battle of the Mahabharata.
The Puranas The name purana means “ancient and these eighteen texts are a compendium of legends and histories dating from the fourth century B.C.E. to 1000 C.E. They address the creation of the universe, its destruction and renovation, the genealogy of gods and patriarchs, and the reigns of ancient rulers.
The science of Ayurveda, and the science of Yoga, was inspired and developed by the great masters and seers of ancient India. The origin of Ayurveda and Yoga are common to play a highly complimentary role in spiritual evolution and the maintenance of physical well-being and vitality.
There are three paths according to hindu believes, karmamarga – path of works and action, jnanamarga – path of knowledge or philosophy, bhaktimarga – path of devotion to God
Hindu believes There are four stages of life brahmacharga – school years – grow and learn, grhastha – marriage, family and career, vanaprastha – turn attention to spiritual things, sanrgasu – abandon world to seek spiritual things
The seven sacred cities of hindus are Ayodhya, Mathura, Gaya (Bodhgaya), Kasi (Varanasi, Benares), Kanci, Avantika (Ujjain), Dvaraka
The ten commitments in hindu dharma is Ahimsa – do no harm, Satya – do not lie, Asteya – do not steal, Brahmacharya – do not overindulge, Aparigraha – do not be greedy, Saucha – be clean, Santosha – be content, Tapas – be self-disciplined, Svadhyaya – study, Ishvara Pranidhana – surrender to God
India, along the ages, came to be home for every religion of the world. So, despite being essentially a Hindu nation, it embraced Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, as well as gave rise to off shoots of Hinduism.
In the history the beginning of one of the richest civilisation of the world dates back to the 3200-1600 BC of Indus Valley Civilization.
The name `India’ is derived from the Indus River civilisation known as the sindhu valleys which were the home of the earlier inhabitents of Indus valley.
Aryan Invaded India 1600-1500 BC, India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.
India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software.
Chess was invented in India.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.
The’ place value system’ and the ‘decimal system’ were developed in 100 BC in India.
The first six Mogul Emperor’s of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.
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 and built in just 5 years.
India is the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations of 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.
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 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 built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century.
The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word ‘Navigation’ is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nou’.
Christopher Columbus was attracted by India’s wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculation in 5th century was the time taken by earth to orbit the sun was 365.258756484 days.
The value of “pi” was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana in the 6th century, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem.
Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India.
Quadratic equations were used 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 (i.e 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).
India was the only source for diamonds to the world untill 1896
The Baily Bridge built by the Indian Army in August 1982 is the highest bridge in the world located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan Mountains.
Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
India celebrates the birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President and Vice-President and great statesman, as “Teachers’ Day”.
