Scientists on Hinduism

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Intellectuals , Philosophers andScientists of the world onHinduismRom ain rolland (1866-1944) French Nobellaureate, professor of the history of music at theSorbonne and thinker.

If there is one place on the face of the earth where all thedreams of living men have found a home from the very earliestdays when man began the dream of existence, it is India....Formore than 30 centuries, the tree of vision, with all its thousand

branches and their millions of twigs, has sprung from this torridland, the burning womb of the Gods. It renews itself tirelessly showing no signs of decay.Let us return to our eagle's nest in the Himalayas. It is waitingfor us, for it is ours, eaglets of Europe, we need not renounceany part of our real nature...whence we formerly took our flight.Religious faith in the case of the Hindus has never been allowedto run counter to scientific laws, moreover the former is nevermade a condition for the knowledge they teach, but there arealways scrupulously careful to take into consideration thepossibility that by reason both the agnostic and atheist may attain truth in their own way. Such tolerance may be surprisingto religious believers in the West, but it is an integral part of

Vedantic belief.The true Vedantic spirit does not start out with a system of preconceived ideas. It possesses absolute liberty and unrivalledcourage among religions with regard to the facts to be observedand the diverse hypotheses it has laid down for theircoordination. Never having been hampered by a priestly order,each man has been entirely free to search wherever he pleasedfor the spiritual explanation of the spectacle of the universe.The greatest human ideal is the great cause of bringing togetherthe thoughts of Europe and Asia; the great soul of India willtopple our world.The vast and tranquil metaphysics of India is unfolded; herconception of the universe, her social organization, perfect in itsday and still capable of adaptation to the demands of moderntimes; the solution which she offers for the feminist problem,for the problems of the family, of love, of marriage; and lastly,

lectuals, Philosopher and Scientists on Hinduism - SciForums.com http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=51665

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the magnificent revelation of her art. The whole vast soul of India proclaims from end to end of its crowded and well orderededifice the same domination of a sovereign synthesis." There isno negation. All is harmonized. All the forces of life are groupedlike a forest, whose thousand waving arms are led by Nataraja,the master of the Dance. Everything has its place, every beinghas its function, and all take part in the divine concert, theirdifferent voices, and their very dissonances, creating, in thephrase of Heraclitus, a most beautiful harmony. Whereas in the

West, cold, hard logic isolates the unusual, shutting it off fromthe rest of life into a definite and distinct compartment of thespirit. India, ever mindful of the natural differences in souls andin philosophies, endeavors to blend them into each other, so asto recreate in its fullest perfection the complete unity. Thematching of opposites produces the true rhythm of life.Of course, this entire fabric of Indian life stands solidly on faith,that is to say, on a slender and emotional hypothesis. But amidall the beliefs of Europe, and of Asia, that of the IndianBrahmins seems to me infinitely the most alluring. And thereason why I love the Brahmin more than the other schools of

Asiatic thought is because it seems to me to contain them all.Greater than all European philosophies, it is even capable of adjusting itself to the vast hypotheses of modern science. OurChristian religions have tried in vain, when there were no otherchoice open to them, to adapt themselves to the progress of science. But after having allowed myself to be swept away by thepowerful rhythm of Brahmin thought, along the curve or life,

with its movement of alternating ascent and return, I come back to my own century, and while finding therein the immenseprojections of a new cosmogony, offspring of the genius of Einstein, or deriving freely from the discoveries, I yet do not feelthat I enter a strange land. I yet can hear resounding still thecosmic symphony of all those planets which forever succeed

each other, are extinguished and once more illumined, withtheir living souls, their humanities, their gods – according to thelaws of the eternal To Become, the Brahmin Samsara – I hearSiva dancing, dancing in the heart of the world, in my own heart.In the great philosophy of Brahma, such violent turns of thescale are quite unknown. It embraces vast stretches of time,cycles of human ages, whose successive lives gravitate inconcentric circles, and travel ever slowly towards the center...."

Erwin Schroedinger (1887--1961) Austriantheoretical physicist, was a professor at severaluniversities in Europe. He was awarded the Nobelprize Quantum Mechanics, in 1933. During the Hitlerera he was dismissed from his position for hisopposition to the Nazi ideas and he fled to England.He was the author of Meine Weltansicht

This life of yours which you are living is not merely apiece of this entire existence, but in a certain sense the whole; only this

whole is not so constituted that it can be surveyed in one singleglance. This, as we know, is what the Brahmins express in thatsacred, mystic formula which is yet really so simple and so clear;tat tvam asi, this is you. Or, again, in such words as “I am in theeast and the west, I am above and below, I am this entire world.The unity and continuity of Vedanta are reflected in the unity and continuity of wave mechanics. In 1925, the world view of physics was a model of a great machine composed of separable


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interacting material particles. During the next few years,Schrodinger and Heisenberg and their followers created auniverse based on super imposed inseparable waves of probability amplitudes. This new view would be entirely consistent with the Vedantic concept of All in One.

Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happeningsare played out in one universal consciousness and there is nomultiplicity of selves.Nirvana is a state of pure blissful knowledge.. It has nothing todo with individual. The ego or its separation is an illusion. Thegoal of man is to preserve his Karma and to develop it further –

when man dies his karma lives and creates for itself anothercarrier.There is no kind of framework within which we can findconsciousness in the plural; this is simply something weconstruct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but itis a false construction....The only solution to this conflict insofaras any is available to us at all lies in the ancient wisdom of theUpanishad.The multiplicity is only apparent. This is the doctrine of theUpanishads. And not of the Upanishads only. The mysticalexperience of the union with God regularly leads to this view,unless strong prejudices stand in the West.

Mahatama Gandhi (1869 - 1948) was anadvocate and pioneer of nonviolence.

I am a proud staunch Sanatani Hindu.Hinduism has made marvelous discoveries in things of religion,of the spirit, of the soul. We have no eye for these great and finediscoveries. We are dazzled by the material progress that

Western science has made. Ancient India has survived becauseHinduism was not developed along material but spiritual lines.Hinduism is a relentless pursuit of Truth. "Truth is God" and if today it has become moribund, inactive, irresponsive to growth,it is because we are fatigued; and as soon as the fatigue is over,Hinduism will burst upon the world with a brilliance perhapsunknown before.I believe that the civilization India has evolved is not to be

beaten in the world. Nothing can equal the seeds sown by ourancestry. Rome went; Greece shared the same fate; the might of the Pharaohs was broken; Japan has become westernized; of China nothing can be said; but India is still, somehow or other,sound at the foundation.

The Geeta is the universal mother. I find a solace in theBhagavadgeeta that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount.

When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I seenot one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavad Gita. I find a versehere and a verse there , and I immediately begin to smile in themidst of overwhelming tragedies - and my life has been full of external tragedies - and if they have left no visible or indeliblescar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of Bhagavadgeeta.Hinduism is a living organism liable to growth and decay subjectto the laws of Nature. One and indivisible at the root, it hasgrown into a vast tree with innumerable branches. The changesin the season affect it. It has its autumn and its summer, its

winter and its spring. It is, and is not, based on scriptures. Itdoes not derive its authority from one book. Non violence hasfound the highest expression and application in Hinduism.I think I have understood Hinduism correctly when I say that it


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is eternal, all-embracing and flexible enough to suit allsituations.I am a Hindu because it is Hinduism which makes the world

worth living. I am a Hindu hence I Love not only human beings, but all living beings.Hinduism is a living organism. One and indivisible at the root, ithas grown into a vast tree with innumerable branches.Knowledge is limitless and so also the application of truth.Everyday we add to our knowledge of the power of Atman (soul)and we shall keep on doing so.I am unable to identify with orthodox Christianity. I must tell

you in all humility that Hinduism, as I know it, entirely satisfiesmy soul, fills my whole being, and I find solace in the BhagavadGita and the Upanishads that I miss even in the Sermon on theMount....I must confess to you that when doubts haunt me,

when disappointments stare me in the face, and when I see notone ray of light on the horizon I turn to the Bhagavad Gita, andfind a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile inthe midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of external tragedies and if they have not left any visible andindelible effect on me, I owe it to the teachings of the BhagavadGita.I have no other wish in this world but to find light and joy andpeace through Hinduism.Hinduism insists on the brotherhood of not only all mankind

but of all that lives.Hinduism is l ike the Ganga,, pure and unsullied at its source buttaking in its course the impurities in the way. Even like theGanga it is beneficent in its total effect. It takes a provincialform in every province, but the inner substance is retainedeverywhere.On examination, I have found it to be the most tolerant of allreligions known to me. Its freedom from dogma makes a

forcible appeal to me inasmuch as it gives the votary the largestscope for self-expression.Hindu Dharma is like a boundless ocean teeming with pricelessgems. The deeper you dive the more treasures you find.Hinduism is l ike Ganges, pure and unsullied at its source, buttaking in its course the impurities in the way.It is impossible for me to reconcile myself to the idea of conversion after the style that goes on in India and elsewheretoday. It is an error which is perhaps the greatest impediment tothe world’s progress toward peace … Why should a Christian

want to convert a Hindu to Christianity? Why should he not besatisfied if the Hindu is a good or godly man?

Dr. Carl Sagen , (1934-1996) famous astrophysicist.The Hindu religion is the only one of the world's great faithsdedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes animmense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. Itis the only religion in which the time scales correspond, to thoseof modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma, 8.64 billion yearslong. Longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the Big Bang. And there are much longer timescales still.The most elegant and sublime of these is a representation of thecreation of the universe at the beginning of each cosmic cycle, amotif known as the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva. The god, calledin this manifestation Nataraja, the Dance King. In the upper


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right hand is a drum whose sound is the sound of creation. Inthe upper left hand is a tongue of flame, a reminder that theuniverse, now newly created, with billions of years from now

will be utterly destroyed. A millennium before Europeans were wiling to divestthemselves of the Biblical idea that the world was a few thousand years old, the Mayans were thinking of millions andthe Hindus billions.

Count Hermann Ke yserling (1880-1946)philosopher, author, public speaker. He is the first Western thinker to conceive and promote a planetary culture, beyond nationalism and culturalethnocentrism, based on recognition of the equal value and validity of non-western cultures andphilosophies.Hinduism at its best has spoken the only relevant truth aboutthe way to self-realization in the full sense of the word.

Hinduism has produced the profoundest metaphysics that weknow of.The absolute superiority of India over the West in philosophy;poetry from the Mahabharata, containing the Bhagavad-Gita,“perhaps the most beautiful work of the literature of the world".Benares is holy. Europe, grown superficial, hardly understandssuch truths anymore.....I feel nearer here than I have ever doneto the heart of the world; here I feel everyday as if soon, perhapseven today, I would receive the grace of supremerevelation...The atmosphere of devotion which hangs above theriver is improbable in strength; stronger than in any church thatI have ever visited. Every would be Christian priest would do

well to sacrifice a year of his theological studies in order tospend his time on the Ganges; here he would discover whatpiety means.

Mark Tawin (1835-1910) also known as SamuelClemens, one of the most widely loved and celebrated American writers since his first books were releasedin the late 1860s.Land of religions, cradle of human race, birthplace of humanspeech, grandmother of legend, great grandmother of tradition.The land that all men desire to see and having seen once even by

a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of the restof the globe combined.India had the start of the whole world in the beginning of things.She had the first civilization; she had the first accumulation of material wealth; she was populous with deep thinkers andsubtle intellects; she had mines, and woods, and a fruitful soul.Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India.The one land that all men desire to see, and having once seen, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.

Dr. Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889-1975) the greatBritish historian. His massive research was publishedin 12 volumes between 1934 and 1961 as `A Study of


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History'. Author of several books, includingChristianity: Among the Religions of the World andOne World and India. Toynbee was a majorinterpreter of human civilization in the 20th century.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 inself-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerousmoment in human history , the only way of salvation is theancient Hindu way. Here we have the attitude and spirit that canmake it possible for the human race to grow together in to asingle family.So now we turn to India. This spiritual gift, that makes a manhuman, is still alive in Indian souls. Go on giving the worldIndian examples of it. Nothing else can do so much to helpmankind to save itself from destruction.There may or may not be only one single absolute truth and only one single ultimate way of salvation. We do not know. But we doknow that there are more approaches to truth than one, andmore means of salvation than one.’’‘‘This is a hard saying foradherents of the higher religions of the Judaic family (Judaism,

Christianity, and Islam), but it is a truism for Hindus. The spiritof mutual good-will, esteem, and veritable love ... is thetraditional spirit of the religions of the Indian family. This is oneof India’s gifts to the world.

At the close of this century, the world would be dominated by the West, but that in the 21st century "India will conquer herconquerors."

Julius Robert Opp enheimer (1904-1967)Scientist, philosopher, bohemian, and radical. A theoretical physicist and the Supervising Scientist forthe Manhattan Project, the developer of the atomic bomb. Graduating from Harvard University, hetraveled to Cambridge University to study at theCavendish Laboratory.

Access to the Vedas is the greatest privilege this century may claim over all previous centuries.The general notions about human understanding… which areillustrated by discoveries in atomic physics are not in the natureof things wholly unfamiliar, wholly unheard of or new. Even inour own culture they have a history, and in Buddhist and Hinduthought a more considerable and central place. What we shall

find [in modern physics] is an exemplification, anencouragement, and a refinement of old wisdom.The juxtaposition of Western civilization's most terrifyingscientific achievement with the most dazzling description of themystical experience given to us by the Bhagavad Gita, India'sgreatest literary monumen

Sir Char les Eliot (1862-1931), British diplomat andcolonial administrator, a famous scholar and linguistof Oxford.Let me confess that I cannot share the confidence in the

superiority of Europeans and their ways which is prevalent inthe West. European civilization is not satisfying and Asia canstill offer something more attractive to many who are far from

Asiatic in spirit.


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I do not think that Christianity will ever make much progress in Asia, for what is commonly known by that name is not theteaching of Christ but a rearrangement of it made in Europe andlike most European institutions practical rather than thoughtful.

And as for the teaching of Christ himself, the Indian finds itexcellent but not ample or satisfying. There is little in it whichcannot be found in some of the many scriptures of Hinduism..."The claim of India to the attention of the world is that she, morethan any other nation since history began, has devoted herself tocontemplating the ultimate mysteries of existence and, in my eyes, the fact that Indian thought diverges widely from our ownpopular thought is a positive merit.Hinduism has not been made, but has grown. It is a jungle, not a

building. It is a living example of a great national paganism suchas might have existed in Europe if Christianity had not becomethe state religion of the Roman Empire, if there had remainedan incongruous jumble of old local superstitions, Greek philosophy, and oriental cults such as the worship of Sarapis orMitras.Compared to Islam and Christianity, Hinduism’s doctrines areextraordinarily fluid, and multiform. India deals in images andmetaphors. Restless, subtle and argumentative as Hinduthought is, it is less prone than European theology to the vice of distorting transcendental ideas by too stringent definition. Itadumbrates the indescribable by metaphors and figures. It is notafraid of inconsistencies which may illustrate different aspectsof the infinite, but it rarely tries to cramp the divine within thelimits of a logical phrase.The Hindu has an extraordinary power of combining dogma andfree thought, uniformity, and variety. Utmost latitude of interpretation is allowed. In all ages Hindus have beenpassionately devoted to speculation. It is also to point out thatfrom the Upanishads down to the writings of Tagore in the

present day literature from time to time enunciates the idea thatthe whole universe is the manifestation of some exuberant forcegiving expression to itself in joyous movement.

Niels Hen rik David Bohr (1885-1962) Danishnuclear physicist who developed the Bohr model of the atom. His received the Nobel Prize in physics in1922, for his theory of atomic structureI go into the Upanishads to ask questions.

Sri Sri Ravi Shan ker founder of the Bangalore based Art of Living an International Foundation. Herecently addressed the UN Peace Summit on Aug 28.Hinduism is not a religion; it is just a way of life that thousandsof Rishis have written about. It is such a democratic religion

where everybody has the freedom to think, write or say whatever they want. We have no opposition for any otherphilosophy coming into us. We have no opposition for the Bibleto be part of our own study. Nobody here will say, 'If you readthe Bible, you will go to hell'. It is an inclusive way of looking atlife, and that is what we need in the world today. We have noobjection taking food from every part of the world, listening tomusic from every part of the world. So we need to globalize

wisdom too.Indian astronomers had calculated that life started 1 billion, 955


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million, 818 thousand and 501 years ago and that 28 cycles of yugas have already happened. The ancient sages knew thesefacts. This is why they devised the mala (necklace) with 108

beads, which stand for the 12 constellations and the nine planetsand the 108 different permutations which affect one's life."Everything is this universe is interconnected.

Annie w ood Besant (1847-1933) was an activesocialist on the executive committee of the FabianSociety along with George Bernard Shaw.

After a study of some forty years and more of the great religionsof the world, I find none so perfect , none so scientific, none sophilosophical and none so spiritual that the great religionknown by the name of Hinduism. Make no mistake, withoutHinduism, India has no future. Hinduism is the soil in to whichIndia's roots are stuck and torn out of that she will inevitably

wither as a tree torn out from its place. And if Hindus do notmaintain Hinduism who shall save it? If India's own children donot cling to her faith who shall guard it. India alone can save

India and India and Hinduism are one.This is the India of which I speak - the India which, as I said, isto me the Holy Land. For those who, though born for this life ina Western land and clad in a Western body, can yet look back toearlier incarnations in which they drank the milk of spiritual

wisdom from the breast of their true mother - they must feelever the magic of her immemorial past, must dwell ever underthe spell of her deathless fascination; for they are bound toIndia by all the sacred memories of their past; and with her, too,are bound up all the radiant hopes of their future, a future

which they know they will share with her who is their truemother in the soul-life.India is the mother of religion. In her are combined science andreligion in perfect harmony, and that is the Hindu religion, andit is India that shall be again the spiritual mother of the world.During the early life of a Nation, religion is an essential for the

binding together of the individuals who make the nation. India was born, as it were, in the womb of Hinduism, and her body was for long shaped by that religion. Religion is a binding force,and India has had a longer binding together by religion than any other Nation in the world, as she is the oldest of the livingNations.Based on knowledge it need not fear any advance in knowledge;profound in spirituality, the depths of the spirit find in it deepsanswering into deep, it has nothing to dread, everything to hope,

from growth in intellect, from increasing sway of reason.

Alfred B. Ford grandson of Henry Ford (founder of the Ford Motor), and Trustee member of Ford MotorCompany.For me the most important thing is to spread the Hinduknowledge about the soul. This is more important than any other knowledge and is my main priority.

Sir Vididdhar Su rajprasad Naipaul [/b] (1932 - )

Nobel LaureateThe key Hindu concept of dharma - the right way, thesanctioned way, which all men must follow, according to theirnatures - is an elastic concept. At its noblest it combines


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self-fulfillment and truth to the self with the ideas of action asduty, action as its own spiritual reward, man as a holy vessel .India was trampled over, fought over. You had the invasions and

you had the absence of a response to them. There was anabsence even of the idea of a people, of a nation defending itself.Only now are people beginning to understand that there has

been a great vandalizing of India. The movement is now from below. It has to be dealt with. It is not enough to abuse these youths or use that fashionable word from Europe, 'fascism',There is a big, historical development going on in India. What ishappening in India is a new historical awakening....Indianintellectuals, who want to be secure in their liberal beliefs, may not understand what is going on. But every other Indian knowsprecisely what is happening: deep down he knows that a largerresponse is emerging even if at times this response appears inhis eyes to be threatening.Indian intellectuals have a responsibility to the state and shouldstart a debate on the Muslim psyche, To speak of Hindufundamentalism, is a contradiction in terms, it does not exist.Hinduism is not this kind of religion. You know, there are nolaws in Hinduism.I think when you see so many Hindu temples of the tenthcentury or earlier time disfigured, defaced, you know that they

were not just defaced for fun: that something terrible happened.I feel that the civilization of that closed world was mortally

wounded by those invasions. And I would like people, as it were,to be more reverential towards the past, to try to understand it;to preserve it; instead of living in its ruins. The Old World isdestroyed. That has to be understood. The ancient Hindu India

was destroyed.The older I get, the more Hindu I become.

Alber t Einste in , (1879-1955) physicist. In 1905 Hepublished his theory of Relativity.

When I read the Bhagavad Gita and reflect about how Godcreated this universe everything else seems so superfluous.

We owe a lot to Indians who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.

Octovio Paz (1914-1998) was awarded the NobelPrize for Literature in 1990.The Hindu genius is a love for abstraction and, at the same time,a passion for the concrete image. At times it is rich, at othersprolix. It has created the most lucid and the most instinctive art.It is abstract and realistic, sexual and intellectual, pedantic andsublime. It lives between extremes, it embraces the extremes,rooted in the earth and drawn to an invisible beyond.

Klaus L. Klostermaier professor of ReligiousStudies at the University of Manitoba.Hinduism has proven much more open than any other religionto new ideas, scientific thought, and social experimentation.Many concepts like reincarnation, meditation, yoga and othershave found worldwide acceptance. It would not be surprising tofind Hinduism the dominant religion of the twenty-first century.It would be a religion that doctrinally is less clear-cut thanmainstream Christianity, politically less determined than Islam,


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ethically less heroic than Buddhism, but it would offersomething to everybody. It will appear idealistic to those wholook for idealism, pragmatic to the pragmatists, spiritual to theseekers, sensual to the here-and-now generation. Hinduism, by

virtue of its lack of an ideology and its reliance on intuition, willappear to be more plausible than those religions whose doctrinalpositions petrified a thousand years ago.

George Bernard Shaw, (1856-1950) a vegetarianand Nobel Laureate in Literature.The Indian way of life provides the vision of the natural, real

way of life. We veil ourselves with unnatural masks. On the faceof India are the tender expressions which carry the mark of theCreators hand.The apparent multiplication of gods is bewildering at the f irstglance, but you soon discover that they are the same GOD.There is always one uttermost God who defies personification.This makes Hinduism the most tolerant religion in the world,

because its one transcendent God includes all possible gods. In

fact Hinduism is so elastic and so subtle that the most profoundMethodist, and crudest idolater, are equally at home with it.

Alexande r H amilton (1757-1804) aide-de-camp toGeorge Washington and first secretary of theTreasury, epitomized this attitude in these words:"When we read in the valuable production of those greatOriental scholars...those of a Jones, a Wilkings, a Colebrooke, ora Halhed, - we uniformly discover in the Hindus a nation, whosepolished manners are the result of a mild disposition and anextensive benevolence."

Christopher W . B. Isherw ood (1904-1986)Translator, biographer, novelist, and playwright."I believe the Gita to be one of the major religious documents of the world. If its teachings did not seem to me to agree withthose of the other gospels and scriptures, then my own systemof values would be thrown into confusion, and I should feelcompletely bewildered. The Gita is not simply a sermon, but aphilosophical treatise."

David Frawley."The Hindu mind represents humanity's oldest and mostcontinuous stream of conscious intell igence on the planet.Hindu sages, seers, saints, yogis and jnanis have maintained anunbroken current of awareness linking humanity with theDivine since the dawn of history, and as carried over fromearlier cycles of civilization in previous humanities unknown toour present spiritually limited culture."

"The Hindu mind has a vision of eternity and infinity. It is awareof the vast cycles of creation and destruction that govern themany universes and innumerable creatures within them.".

Muham mad Dara Shikoh (1627-1658 AD) thefavorite Sufi son of Moghul emperor, Shah Jehan."After gradual research; I have come to the conclusion that long


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before all heavenly books, God had revealed to the Hindus,through the Rishis of yore, of whom Brahma was the Chief, Hisfour books of knowledge, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama

Veda and the Atharva Veda."

"The Quran itself made veiled references to the Upanishads asthe first heavenly book and the fountainhead of the ocean of monotheism."

Klaus L. Klostermaier , Professer Religious Studiesat the University of Manitoba.Hinduism has proven much more open than any other religionto new ideas, scientific thought, and social experimentation.Many concepts like reincarnation, meditation, yoga and othershave found worldwide acceptance. It would not be surprising tofind Hinduism the dominant religion of the twenty-first century.It would be a religion that doctrinally is less clear-cut thanmainstream Christianity, politically less determined than Islam,

ethically less heroic than Buddhism, but it would offersomething to everybody. It will appear idealistic to those wholook for idealism, pragmatic to the pragmatists, spiritual to theseekers, sensual to the here-and-now generation. Hinduism, by

virtue of its lack of an ideology and its reliance on intuition, willappear to be more plausible than those religions whose doctrinalpositions petrified a thousand years ago.

Sylvain Levi (1863-1935) French scholar, Orientalist who wrote on Eastern religion, literature, and history.

"From Persia to the Chinese Sea, 'from the icy regions of Siberiato the islands of Java and Borneo, from Oceania to Socotra,India has propagated her beliefs, her tales and her civilization.""She has left indelible imprints on one fourth of the human racein the course of a long succession of centuries. She has the rightto reclaim in universal history the rank that ignorance hasrefused her for a long time and to hold her place amongst thegreat nations summarizing and symbolizing the spirit of humanity."

Solange Lem aitre author of several books,including Le Mystère de la mort dans les religionsd'Asie and Râmakrishna et la vitalité de l 'hindouism"The civilization of India, at root purely religious, is only now

becoming known in Europe; and as the mystery surrounding itis unveiled it emerges as one of the highest achievement in thehistory of mankind. By the very breadth of the outlook it affordson to the destiny of man the Vedic religion offers in abundancethe spiritual experience that has inspired the Indian peoplesince the dawn of their history. The vocation of India is toproclaim to the world the efficacy of religious experience."

Stephen Cross , in his book on Hinduism, pg 1, says,"It is no secret that we in the West live in a time of spiritual


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crisis. Western civilization has been guided by Christianity. Now it appears that this period is drawing to a close. Both religiousinstitutions and social structures are in disarray. A great many things that were considered basic assumptions of westernthought are being challenged. The reality of the external world,the soul, the linear nature of time.

W . J. Grant"India indeed has a preciousness which a materialistic age is indanger of missing. Some day the fragrance of her thought will

win the hearts of men. This grim chase after our own tails whichmarks the present age cannot continue for ever. The futurecontains a new human urge towards the real beauty andholiness of life. When it comes Hinduism will be searched by loving eyes and defended by knightly hands."

Robert R. C. Zaehner (1913-1974) British historianof religion.

"In the family of religions, Hinduism is the wise old all-knowingmother. Its sacred books, the Vedas, claim, 'Truth is one, butsages call it by different names.' If only Islam, and all the rest of the monotheistic 'book' religions, had learned that lesson, all thehorror of history's religious wars could have been avoided.

Which other religion has its God say, as Krishna does in theBhagavad Gita, 'All paths lead to me.'

"If only the Church had the sense to allow so many different andseemingly contradictory approaches to God, how much saner itshistory would have been!"

"It was the sublime ancient tolerance of Hinduism that he oftenstressed, that was the true proof of the wisdom and maturedignity of the Hindu tradition."

Vecente Avelino who was the Consul General for Brazil in Indiain 1930 ."India is the only country which has known God and if anyone

wants to know God he must know India."

B B Lal (1921- ) On joining the Archaeological Survey in January 1946, he held charge of the ExcavationsBranch and participated with Sir Mortimer Wheelerin the excavations at Harappa, now in Pakistan. In1951 he was deputed for advanced studies at theInstitute of Archaeology, London. In 1961, under aUNESCO project, he conducted excavations in Nubia,Egypt, and brought to light valuable evidence relatingto prehistoric and protohistoric periods of thatcountry."The great civilization of the Indian subcontinent, has had itsroots deep in antiquity, some seven to eight thousand years ago,

and its flowering in the third millennium B.C. still lives on. Incontrast, when we look round the world we are surprised by thefact that the Egyptian and Mesopotamia civilizations thatflourished alongside this Indic Civilization have all disappeared,


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leaving hardly any trace behind. Why? The Indian psyche hasindeed been pondering over this great cultural phenomenon of 'livingness', and this quest.."

" What is that ‘something’, some inherent strength? Doubtless itlies in the liberal character of the Indian civilization, whichallows for cross-fertilization with other cultures, without losingits own identity. Even time (kala), the great devourer, has stoodtestimony to the fact that the deep foundations of Indian culturecould not be shaken either by internal upheavals, however greatmay have been their magnitude...." " the soul of India lives on!"

General Joseph Davey Cunn ingham (1812-1851)author of A history of the Sikhs, from the origin of thenation to the battles of the Sutlej says:"Mathematical science was so perfect and astronomicalobservations so complete that the paths of the sun and themoon were accurately measured. The philosophy of the learnedfew was perhaps for the first time, firmly allied with the

theology of the believing many, and Brahmanism laid down asarticles of faith the unity of God, the creation of the world, theimmortality of the soul, and the responsibility of man. Theremote dwellers upon the Ganges distinctly made known thatfuture life about which Moses is silent or obscure, and thatunity and Omnipotence of the Creator which were unknown tothe polytheism of the Greek and Roman multitude, and to thedualism of Mithraic legislators, while Vyasa perhaps surpassedPlato in keeping the people tremblingly alive to the punishment

which awaited evil deeds."

Alan W atts( 1915-1973) a professor, graduate schooldean and research fellow of Harvard University:"To the philosophers of India, however, Relativity is no new discovery, just as the concept of light years is no matter forastonishment to people used to thinking of time in millions of kalpas, (A kalpa is about 4,320,000 years). The fact that the wisemen of India have not been concerned with technologicalapplications of this knowledge arises from the circumstance thattechnology is but one of innumerable ways of applying it."

"It is, indeed, a remarkable circumstance that when Westerncivilization discovers Relativity it applies it to the manufactureof atom-bombs, whereas this Oriental civilization applies it tothe development of new states of consciousness."

Professor Arthur Holmes (1895-1965) geologist,professor at the University of Durham. He writesregarding the age of the earth in his great book, The Age of Earth (1913) as follows:"Long before it became a scientific aspiration to estimate the ageof the earth, many elaborate systems of the world chronology had been devised by the sages of antiquity. The most remarkableof these occult time-scales is that of the ancient Hindus, whoseastonishing concept of the Earth's duration has been traced back

to Manusmriti, a sacred book."

When the Hindu calculation of the present age of the earth andthe expanding universe could make Professor Holmes so


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Mosheh ThezionRegistered Senior User (2,650 posts)

astonished, the precision with which the Hindu calculationregarding the age of the entire Universe was made would makeany man spellbound.

Count M aurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) was aBelgian writer of poetry, a wide variety of essays. He

won the 1911 Nobel Prize for literature. In his book Mountain Paths, says:"he falls back upon the earliest and greatest of Revelations,those of the Sacred Books of India with a Cosmogony which noEuropean conception has ever surpassed."

Huston Sm ith born in China to Methodistmissionaries, a philosopher, most eloquent writer, world-famous religion scholar who practices Hatha

Yoga. He has said in Hinduism:“The invisible excludes nothing, the invisible that excludesnothing is the infinite – the soul of India is the infinite.”

“Philosophers tell us that the Indians were the first ones toconceive of a true infinite from which nothing is excluded. The

West shied away from this notion. The West likes form, boundaries that distinguish and demarcate. The trouble is that boundaries also imprison – they restrict and confine.”

“India saw this clearly and turned her face to that which has no boundary or whatever.” “India anchored her soul in the infiniteseeing the things of the world as masks of the infinite assumes– there can be no end to these masks, of course. If they expressa true infinity.” And It is here that India’s mind boggling variety links up to her infinite soul.”

“India includes so much because her soul being infinite excludesnothing.” It goes without saying that the universe that India saw emerging from the infinite was stupendous.”

"While the West was still thinking, perhaps, of 6,000 years olduniverse – India was already envisioning ages and eons andgalaxies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. The Universeso vast that modern astronomy slips into its folds without aripple.”

Last edited by rahul_sharma; 01-22-06 at 06:55 AM ..

01-22-06, 04:11 PM # 2

can you summarise all of that???

-MT


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genepRegistered User (460 posts)

kmguruModerator (11,028 posts)

UltiTruthIn pursui t... (533 posts)

02-03-06, 10:24 AM # 3

“ Originally Posted by Mosheh Thezioncan you summarise all of that???

-MT”

NO, Heaven will:It all boils down to the “Hindu” Advaita that has been telling usfor over 5000 years that Heaven, Samadhi, is all there is. Thereis no other, there is no "doer."

And 5000 years later physics tells us the EXACT same story: I AM, YOU ARE and ALL IS this Heaven.

And this Heaven is so Untouchable, Complete and Content thatit needs gods, gurus, scriptures, wisdoms and geniuses like youneed fleas.

-- UV-gap

02-05-06, 04:55 PM # 4

How could we miss him?

Joseph Campbell : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell

http://www.jcf.org/index2.php

And what about me?

02-22-06, 12:22 PM # 5


f 21 10/15/2010 8:55 A



rahul_sharmaRegistered Senior User (80 posts)

spidergoatmuff cabbage (34,303 posts)

duendyRegistered Senior User (6,589 posts)

“ Originally Posted by kmguru And what about me?

”

That was about intellectuals, kmguru!...kidding.

Rahul,Can you tell the source, this seems a must-have!

03-13-06, 10:28 AM # 6

“ Originally Posted by UltiTruth

That was about intellectuals, kmguru!...kidding.

Rahul,Can you tell the source, this seems a must-have!

”

What i have posted here is not even 10% of Quotes by Scientistsand Philosphers of the world about Hinduism.

You can read all here:http://www.atributetohinduism.com/quotes1_20.htm

03-13-06, 11:11 AM # 7

Yes, India has a rich history of religous thought. If Jesus hadpreached in India, he wouldn't have been crucified, just thoughtof as another guru. Hinduism isn't the only religious product of India, though.

03-13-06, 11:47 AM # 8

“ Originally Posted by genepNO, Heaven will:It all boils down to the “Hindu” Advaita that has been telling us for over 5000 years that Heaven,

Samadhi, is all there is. There is no other, there isno "doer." And 5000 years later physics tells us the EXACTsame story: I AM, YOU ARE and ALL IS thisHeaven. ”


f 21 10/15/2010 8:55 A



spidergoatmuff cabbage (34,303 posts)

ArcaneRegistered Senior User (114 posts)

ConfutatisRegistered User (133 posts)

MuslimImmortal (2,498 posts)

And this Heaven is so Untouchable, Complete andContent that it needs gods, gurus, scriptures, wisdoms and geniuses like you need fleas.

-- UV-gap

go tell tha twaddle to the REAL 'untouchables' in India, to theghetto dwellers in the West, to the starving millions of this

worrld...!!!

03-14-06, 12:04 PM # 9

That's tempting but I'm kinda seeing someone already, thanks.

04-28-06, 09:30 AM # 10

This is great! Indian thought has been some of the mostadvanced in the history on human thinking. I read a book onthis topic, it was called "The Tao of Physics", it deals with thestriking coincidenses and parallels between ancient easternmysticism and modern physics.

The Yin and Yang is compared to particle-wave dualities, andthat's just the beginning.

Thanks a lot Rahul for this great info.

Arcamilus

05-10-06, 12:01 PM # 11

I strongly suspect this cheerful enthusiasm for a foreign religiononly exists as long as the religion remains foreign. Let the wholeof Western civilization embrace Hinduism, and suddenly you

will see it being blamed for all evils of the world.

Intellectuals always have this love of the exotic. It's easy toadmire that which you do not have to bother with.

05-27-06, 06:09 PM # 12


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ZephyrHumans are ONE (3,370 posts)

VitalOneBanned (2,717 posts)

According to Hinduism, god Shiva's head is the source of theriver Ganges and his head is also the place where the moon islocated. (If this was really a fact then why should America sendastronaut Neil Armstrong 240,000 miles away to the moon).

According to Puranans, goddess Parvathi, wife of god Shiva,sought Shiva's permission to have a baby. When Shiva refused,Parvathi took dirt from her body and created Lord Ganesh. (The

late E.V.R. Periar used to call this god a "bundle of dirt").

Later God Shiva mistakenly chopped off his own son's head.How could a "god make such a foolish mistake? Would such agod solve your problems or make them more complicated?

To rectify his error, Shiva severed the head of a baby elephantand transplanted it onto his son who then became known as theElephant-headed god. His statues are usually found nearriver-sides where he is said to be looking for a bride resemblinghis mother! (There is a different version to this story which, fordecency's sake, cannot be posted here).

This is what Hinduisam is -

Last edited by James R; 05-28-06 at 08:33 PM ..

05-27-06, 06:46 PM # 13

“ Originally Posted by ConfutatisI strongly suspect this cheerful enthusiasm for aforeign religion only exists as long as the religionremains foreign. Let the whole of Westerncivilization embrace Hinduism, and suddenly you will see it being blamed for all evils of the world.

Intellectuals always have th is love of the exotic. It'seasy to admire that which you do not have to bother with.

”

Well, Terry Pratchett had the idea that wisdom always seems wiser when it comes from far away ... then again, that's mostly aknee-jerk from the days when everything far away was thoughtto be inferior. Maybe someday we'll find a middle ground.

Muslim, do you have to shout?

05-27-06, 07:02 PM # 14

Muslim,

That isn't what Hinduism is about. Hindus didn't believe themoon was physically located on Shiva's head, the SuryaSiddantha has very accurate astronomical calculations regarding


f 21 10/15/2010 8:55 A






the moon and other celestial bodies. Also Shiva is a "deva" whichis usually translated as "god", however devas are basically justlike humans except with a greater karmic influence.

Hinduism isn't about this, Hindu philosophy is much more deepand complex than these mythological stories.

I'm sure if I said that Mohommad marrying a 9 year-old is whatIslam is you would disagree, now wouldn't you?

Last edited by James R; 05-28-06 at 08:35 PM ..

05-27-06, 10:57 PM # 15

“ Originally Posted by VitalOneHinduism isn't about this, Hindu philosophy ismuch more deep and complex than thesemythological stories.

”

Hinduism do es need those metaph or stories to explainscience, technology and ph ilosophy to idiots.. .and someidiots take it literally...

05-27-06, 11:08 PM # 16

“ Originally Posted by VitalOneI'm sure if I said that Mohommad marrying a 9 year-old is what Islam is you would disagree, now wouldn't you?

”

Hindus would say that Mohammed dreamed up (Angel Gabriel!)

his religion, while Moses saw God in his own eyes. Who knows what is true! and if such things are possible that Parvati takingher own cells and making a baby? Genetic manipulation is heretoday. But....God? Angels?

05-28-06, 02:01 AM # 17

Hey Muslim, this is blasphemy of Islam- How could youassimilate so much of Hindu stuff being a muslim!!!


f 21 10/15/2010 8:55 A






Grow up, man.

Last edited by UltiTruth; 05-28-06 at 02:11 AM ..

05-28-06, 02:09 AM # 18

“ Originally Posted by Muslim[size=6]According to Hinduism, god Shiva's head isthe source of the river Ganges and his head is alsothe place where the moon is located. (If this wasreally a fact then why should America sendastronaut Neil Armstrong 240,000 miles away tothe moon).

”

And you took it literally!!!!?

05-28-06, 07:57 AM # 19

OK, wait....

Lord Krishna was very fond of looking at naked young girls.

Once upon a time Krishna, in order to get a full view of some bathing virgin girls, went to the extent of hiding their clothes onthe tree tops just to get a panaromic view. Does behave divineimmunity from looking at a naked woman?

The Gita, a Holy Book of the Hindus, quotes that when these bathing low caste girls begged for the return of their clothes.Lord Krishna demanded that they come out of the water withtheir hands raised instead of covering their bodies. Oh my innocent Hindu brethren! Can this action be attributed to a god?Is this god capable of indulging in such ungodly acts? Surely, if their deity is "divine," then it should be able to easily restrain itspassions.I actually made a topic about it, I would like to see you Hindusexplain to me, how your god fled into the ass of a cow - and how

your god can make mistakes? I suppose I am taking thislaterally. Lol do you guys just take something from yourscriptures and say well hmmmm.... this verse is saying this? youguys are rapping scientific theorys to suit your own agenda.

Last edited by Muslim; 05-28-06 at 08:07 AM ..

05-28-06, 08:02 AM # 20


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Digg del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Google

“ Originally Posted by kmguruHindu s would say tha t Mohamm eddreamed u p (Angel Gabriel!) his religion, while Moses saw God in his own eyes. Who knows what is true! and if such things are possible thatParvati taking her own cells and making a baby?Genetic manipulation is here today. But....God? Angels?

”

That would mean everything in Hinduism is dreamed up. This was in intense meditation that the Angle Gabrieal appeared andrevealed to holy Qu'ran to Mohamed. Actually, Hindus are noteven actually polytheists, they are monists. And that verse is nottalking about Genetic manipulation, it clearly states from the"dirt" so stop lying even on your own scriptures.

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