Bharatheeyam : ( 08/11/2012. )

Veda Vyasa  Maharishi : Veda Vyasa is perhaps the most revered of all the sages in India and is considered by Hindus as a partila incarnation of Lord Narayana. Also known by the names "Badarayana", "Krishna Dwaipayana". Because he classified the unorganised vedic lore into four distinct vedas, he was popularly known as Veda Vyasa.  The life history of Ved Vyas is an interesting one. The author of the great epic Mahabharata, Ved Vyas was the first and greatest acharya of Sanatan Dharma. He is responsible for classifying the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas and recited the great Mahabharata. In fact, the Mahabharata is often called as the fifth Veda. The most important and the most glorified section is the Bhagawad Geeta, the lesson recited to Arjuna by Lord Krishna on the battlefield. The biography of Ved Vyas is very vivid and makes an interesting read.  Around some 5000 years ago, he was born on an island on the holy river Yamuna. His father was Parashar...

As the global community becomes increasingly capitalistic, the quest for spirituality grows in urgency.  Bharatham, its people, its infrastructure, and indeed its very soil, encourage and breed Spiritualism, allowing religions to thrive, flourish and prosper. Bharatham boasts the presence of every major religion in the world, as well many of their off-shoots and facets, all being supported, nourished, and living in comparative harmony. Many of these religions were conceived in Bharatham, and others have come to Bharatham seeking a safe haven from persecution after being created in their own lands. The age-old environment has always supported such freedom of belief. We will thus find Judaism, Islam, The Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism amongst the major religions being practiced in India, together with a variety of The Lesser Known Religions. Since religion is the most enduring preservative of social customs, architecture...

1. India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history. 2. When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization) 3. The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus. 4. Chess was invented in India. 5. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which originated in India. 6. The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C. The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in ju...

PHILOSOPHY The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi 1. Neither Saint Nor Sinner : I THINK that the word 'saint' should be ruled out of present life. It is too sacred a word to be lightly applied to anybody, much less to one like myself who claims only to be a humble searcher after Truth, knows his limitations, makes mistakes, never hesitates to admit them when he makes them, and frankly confesses that he, like a scientist, is making experiments about some 'of the eternal verities' of life, but cannot even claim to be a scientist because he can show no tangible proof of scientific accuracy in his methods or such tangible results of his experiments as modern science demands. (YI, 12-5-1920, p2) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To clothe me with sainthood is too early even if it is possible. I myself do not feel a saint in any shape or form. But I do feel I am a votary of Truth in spite of all my errors of unconscious o...

PHILOSOPHY : THOUGHTS OF MAHATMA GANDHI ON VARIOUS IMPORTANT SUBJECTS IN HIS OWN WORDS  These selections are from his speeches and writings will give the reader some idea of the working of Gandhi's mind, the growth of his thoughts and the practical techniques which he adopted 1. Women’s Problems: ------------------------------- a) Women and India’s Future - ........................................ 790. I am firmly of opinion that India’s salvation depends on the sacrifice and enlightenment of her women.-H,27-6-36,i53.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 791.I had flattered myself that my contribution to the women’s cause definitely began with the discovery of satyagraha. But the writer of the letter is of opinion that the fair sex requires treatment different from men. It is so, I do not think any man will find the correct solution. No matter how much he tries, he must fail because nature ha...

PHILOSOPHY The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi : Truth Is God : God Is -  THERE IS an indefinable mysterious Power that pervades everything. I feel it, though I do not see it. It is this unseen Power which makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses. But it is possible to reason out the existence of God to a limited extent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I do dimly perceive that whilst everything around me is ever changing, ever-dying, there is underlying all that change a Living Power that is changeless, that holds all together, that creates, dissolves, and recreates. That informing Power or Spirit is God. And since nothing else I see merely through the senses can or will persist, He alone is.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And is this Power benevolent or malevolent? I see...

                                                                  M. K. Gandhi : Kashmir Issue - M. K. Gandhi : (Speech at the Prayer Meeting on 4th January 1948)   Today there is talk of war everywhere. Everyone fears a war breaking out between the two countries. If that happens it will be a calamity both for India and for Pakistan. India has written to the U.N. because whenever there is a fear of conflict anywhere the U.N. is asked to promote a settlement and to stop fighting from breaking out. India therefore wrote to the U. N. O. however trivial the issue may appear to be, it could lead to a war between the two countries. It is a long memorandum and it has been cabled. Pakistan’s leaders Zafrullah Khan and Liaquat Ali Khan have since issued long statements. I would take leave to say that their argumen...