Vedas – some facts

The root  word of  Veda is  ' vid '  meaning, ‘to know’.  Vedas are endless ocean of knowledge. Krishna dvaipayana  ( Veda Vyasa) knew  all the  1186 sakhas(recensions) of the Vedas revealed to the world by around 200 sages. He divided  them into 4 vedas and subdivided each into sakhas.

1. Rig veda is Absolute knowledge (jnana kandam). This tells about mind, body, family,society,nation and human race.

2. Yajur veda is oriented towards  Performance(Karma kandam). This is classified into Krishna and Shukla Yajur vedas.

3. Sama veda is for arts and music (Sama ganam).This is the base of Karnatic and Hindustani music.

4. Adharva veda gives message connected with common man’s life. This Veda gives information about medicines(Ayurveda) , plants etc.

Unfortunately

Out of 25 sakhas of Rig veda only 4 are available now!

Out of 108 sakhas of  Yajur veda only 20 are available now!

Out of 1001 sakhas of Sama veda only 10 are available now!

Out of 52 sakhas of Adharva veda only 4 or 5 are available now!

Courtesy: Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan, Director  IISH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLEgJqB31HY

Some facts about Ravana , Brahma Deva and Brahmastram

It is said that Ravana has ten heads. The ten heads really is a symbolic representation of his knowledge. Ten heads means Ravana had mastered 4 vedas (Rig veda, Sama veda, Yagur veda and Adharva veda) and 6 vedangas (Shiksha - phonology, Kalpa –rituals, Vyakarana – grammar, Nirukta – etymology, Candas –meter and Jyothisa – astronomy). To learn each of these takes entire human life. But Ravana learned all in his life. So he is called Dashamugha.

It is said that Brahma has four faces. This means the x axis, y axis, z axis and time axis. All these axes are for Srushti(Production).

Brahmastra is the astra or celestial weapon created by Lord Brahma and has the power to destroy entire world at once. The inner meaning is that Brahmastra is brahmanjanam (reaches supreme lord) and once a person attains that knowledge, all the duality disappears and he sees the entire universe as one.

Inner meaning of characters in Bhagavath Geetha

In  Mahabharatham ,  Bhagavath Geetha is the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in Kurukshetra battle field.

It has   symbolic meaning.  Lord Krisha is the Self (Athma) , Arjuna is the mind , the chariot is the body,Kauravas are the evil (Demon nature) , Pandavas are truth (Divine  nature) ,the horses are our five senses and the Kurukshetra  is the battle of mind.

Characters(Spiritual) in Ramayana

“Om  Sita Laxmana Bharatha Shathrukhana Hanumath sametha SriRamachandra parabhrahmane  namaha”

In Ramayana Rama represents our soul (self) , Sita represents mind  (maya) , Laxmana represents renunciation (thapas) , Bharatha represents discrimination , Shathrukhana  represents thoughts and Hanuman for intelligence  (budhi). King Dasharatha   is  one who conquered all the ten indriyas and Ravana (Dashamugha) the realm of pure materialism.

Waves and the Ocean

Tat tvam asi

That is what you are

The waves each come to think that they have individual existence, forgetting that their true nature is that of ocean.

These waves are like that of human beings. The Self  or  Atma gradually comes to remember that its true nature is that of the Absolute Reality, Brahmam.

Binary Number System

Binary Number System, along with many number systems were founded by Indian scholars.

Details are given below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_numeral_system

Rishi:  Pingala
Shastra: Chandaḥśāstra

Swami Vivekananda Speech

A great speech by one of the great spokespersons of humanity and sanatana dharma

Follow these links below in You tube
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Nmvbm4WYM
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvxF4gGRKAY

Read his biography in Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Vivekananda

Bhagavad githa- Sankya Yoga

uddhared atmanatmanam
na atmanam avasadayet
atmaiva hy atmano bandhur
atmaiva ripur atmanah

SYNONYMS

uddharet--one must deliver; atmana--by the mind; atmanam--the conditioned soul; na--never; atmanam--the conditioned soul;avasadayet--put into degradation; atma--mind; eva--certainly; hi--indeed; atmanah--of the conditioned soul; bandhuh--friend; atma--mind;eva--certainly; ripuh--enemy; atmanah--of the conditioned soul.

TRANSLATION

A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.


This, like many other slokas, has a meaning in all the three levels of life (physical, mental and spiritual aspects). If we try to meditate on it, we can understand more about it.

Some facts about India (Bharath)

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. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest countryon earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth.
10. The art of Navigation was bornin 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'.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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).
14. 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.
15. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
16. 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.
17. Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
18. 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.
19. When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).
20. The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
21. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.
22. India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence.
23. India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.
24. India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.
25. India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.

Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)

• Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
• Mark Twain said: 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.
• French scholar Romain Rolland said: 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.
• Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.

Modern day teachers of Sanatan dharma

Dr N Gopalakrishnan


Biography:



Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan is a well known public speaker from Kerala, India. He, along with a few others founded Indian Institute of Scientific Heritage in 1999.


Dr. N.Gopalakrishnan is a scientist and Hon. Director of Indian Institute of Scientific Heritage, having M.Sc. (Pharm. Chem); M.Sc. (Appl. Chem); M.A., (Soc.); Ph.D. (Biochem); D.Litt. (Science in Sanskrit).


He has 28 years of research experience, 50 scientific research papers in national and international scientific journals, 7 patents, 6 awards for scientific research, 9 science popularization awards from India and abroad, two fellowships, 60 books, (MP3) 200CDs, 50 VCDs, more than 6000 lectures and 200 hrs of speeches Television media in India and abroad, to his credit. He has visited US, Canada, UK, middle east countries many times and delivered a series of lectures in Indian and foreign universities. He was a fellow of University of Alberta, Canada.


He delivers lectures to the executives, managers and professors for many companies, universities, training institutes and professional colleges.
He is the founder Director of Indian Institute of Scientific Heritage, Thiruvananthapuram, India (695 018) and devoting full time for establishing the National Heritage Center for learning and teaching the Indian Scientific heritage. He is the only scientist who has been awarded D.Litt for his research and studies in Sanskrit.

Links
http://www.iishglobal.org/ 
http://www.archive.org/details/LecturesOfDr.N.GopalakrishnanIndianInstituteOfScientificHeritage

Spiritual Facts

"Om purnamadah purnamidam purnaat purnamudachyate,

purnasya purnamadaya purnamevaavashishyate"

In  Isa Upanishad

When body goes to nature that gets perfection (fullness)  and  soul gets perfection(fullness) when it reaches God. This fullness (nature) has been projected from that fullness(God). When this fullness merges in that fullness, all that remains is fullness.