51–60 of 98 posts
You may have picked up on the author's not-so-subtle self-congratulation in the use of the phrase: "our great culture". There is a lot of wonderful material to be absorbed in the ancient texts of India, but the text of that page has a strong Hindu religious nationalist tone (which in Indian languages is called "Hindutva", or "Hindu-ness"). The vast (in time and space), and diverse Indian culture that produced these w…
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The 'problem' with Indian math was the general aversion (or ignorance) of the importance of the method of proof. The more well known works of Greek mathematics were great in emphasizing the importance of the concept of mathematical proof. Yet, Greek mathematics, with the exception of Archimedes and Diophantus had an aversion for arithmetic (especially the concept of infinity and infinitesimals) and algebra and an ove…
> vastu shastra, which is astrological woo. I'd give you that in its current marketed form it is astrological bullshit, but originally Vastu Shastra was a formal form of science [1] grounded on engineering principles and urban design. All persevering to obtain a 'calm' for the dweller. One can still infer from the high precision N-S-E-W positioning of fairly huge ancient Hindu temples, historical remains of homes and…
Numerology is just as likely of a root.
Interesting collection. Disappointed to see the typical Hindu apologist, revivalist nonsense in the description though. Edit: What I mean by typical: http://youtu.be/RSHFzZmQPj0
Agreed - why dig up ancient books that did not stand the test time? Just go forward with what is present and focus on future.
The answer is simple. "Human Thirst for knowledge never ends" and nobody really knows for sure where they are headed.
"The present" which we feel really proud of, will be called ancient and worthless in the future. Because, the knowledge of humans increases with time (or understanding of nature increases with generations, some become dumb over time as well)
"The future" few people have envisioned it (saints in ancient form - who didn't expect anything from anybody but wanted to spread the knowledge, "visionaries" in the current business world - who want to rule the world with money, etc)
"stand the test time" just because they are not accessible doesn't mean they didnt' stand the test time. We keep discovering the same things whichever has been told in the past and the same things will happen in future as well. Its just that we love to call it with different names.
Someone has to connect the dots. Nobody has time in the current world. Everyone just moves on.
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> vastu shastra, which is astrological woo. I'd give you that in its current marketed form it is astrological bullshit, but originally Vastu Shastra was a formal form of science [1] grounded on engineering principles and urban design. All persevering to obtain a 'calm' for the dweller. One can still infer from the high precision N-S-E-W positioning of fairly huge ancient Hindu temples, historical remains of homes and…
>Math has to be at the root of it. Numerology is just as likely of a root.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qzhiolzuxsw/UK0HEPH7x4I/AAAAAAAAH8...
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a7UIHnAfmH0/UK0Ga-RmigI/AAAAAAAAH5...
http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/chand-baori.html
http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/chand-baori.html
This is just an example. What do you think has higher probability of being used to build this?
1. Math and calculations or 2. Numerology?
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>Math has to be at the root of it. Numerology is just as likely of a root.
All right, scepticism taken. Look at these images: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qzhiolzuxsw/UK0HEPH7x4I/AAAAAAAAH8... http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a7UIHnAfmH0/UK0Ga-RmigI/AAAAAAAAH5... http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/chand-baori.html http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/chand-baori.html This is just an example. What do you think has higher probability of being used to build this? 1. Math and calculations or 2. Numerol…
"Root" makes it sound like the purpose of building the very nice step well is to prove a mathemathical point. I'd venture to say its primary purpose had something to do with water.
Patterns and repetition is what I see beyond that, which are fairly prevalent in art and architecture exactly because you can get to them by simple experimentation.
I'm really confused by the comments that say the tone of this site is "Hindu nationalist". I see no mention of the word "Hindu" in the entire page. In fact, it's as far from politicized text as possible. Not everything on the web has some hidden meaning or subtext.
The site has a page on "Vimanika shastra"[1] ("Science of Flying Machines"), which is known to be a bullshit text from the 20th century[2]. Definitely a Hindutva site. [1] https://sites.google.com/site/ancientbharat/aeronautics [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaim%C4%81nika_Sh%C4%81stra
And, your point is?
That site also has collections about works of legit ancient Indian mathematicians, Vedas etc. So, you are going to disregard them because they're Hindus?
If somebody mentions about these things, then they're said to be peddling this so called Hindu propaganda. Now, THAT'S a real propaganda.
Yep ... I know that eye glasses and cataract surgery were done there first (the ruined lens was poked out of place with a copper wire, then a pair of glasses became the primary lens and the cornea became the secondary lens). And obviously you needed to be able to produce glass to make eye glasses. There was also early production of stainless steel. I'm not as well-versed in Indian history as I should be ... with that…
It seems like technoliterate civilizations are eventually replaced by fundamentalism then animism, perhaps?
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All right, scepticism taken. Look at these images: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qzhiolzuxsw/UK0HEPH7x4I/AAAAAAAAH8... http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a7UIHnAfmH0/UK0Ga-RmigI/AAAAAAAAH5... http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/chand-baori.html http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/chand-baori.html This is just an example. What do you think has higher probability of being used to build this? 1. Math and calculations or 2. Numerol…
Numerology doesn't exclude calculations. "Root" makes it sound like the purpose of building the very nice step well is to prove a mathemathical point. I'd venture to say its primary purpose had something to do with water. Patterns and repetition is what I see beyond that, which are fairly prevalent in art and architecture exactly because you can get to them by simple experimentation.
Got it. I volunteer to move out of this discussion because you could have as well said that primary purpose of stairs had something to do with going up or down?
Most architecture around the world from Eiffel tower to Pyramids to Angkorvat has something to do with proving a point. Usually the point is that 'we have achieved this engineering marvel, we have the capability to build this'.
By your logic people possibly got to Eiffel tower or Golden gate by simple pattern and repetition, even experimentation, devoid of any math. That's just plain stupid.
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The site has a page on "Vimanika shastra"[1] ("Science of Flying Machines"), which is known to be a bullshit text from the 20th century[2]. Definitely a Hindutva site. [1] https://sites.google.com/site/ancientbharat/aeronautics [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaim%C4%81nika_Sh%C4%81stra
>>> Definitely a Hindutva site. And, your point is? That site also has collections about works of legit ancient Indian mathematicians, Vedas etc. So, you are going to disregard them because they're Hindus? If somebody mentions about these things, then they're said to be peddling this so called Hindu propaganda. Now, THAT'S a real propaganda.
Propaganda: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
Veer Savarkar's pamphlet on which modern notions of hindutva are based on can be read at [1]
Sarvakar includes all Indian religions in the term "Hinduism" and outlines his vision of a "Hindu Rashtra" (Hindu Nation) as "Akhand Bharat" (United India), stretching across the entire Indian subcontinent.
Hindu in the context of hindutva is not religious. It speaks about a common identity for a united nation. Savarkar's writing need to be read in the context of the period that they were written, English oppression and the fight for independence, before the idea of a muslim state, Pakistan were first proposed. During this time, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh were one nation commonly know not as India, but Hindustan. Hindustan represented not a Hindu state, but a country where people who shared the hindu ethos reside.
At the level of practice, the Hindutva or Hindu ethos, outlook boils down to upholding righteousness (Sat-guna) and fighting ignoble attitudes (Dur-guna).
Quoting Savarkar, "We Hindus are bound together not only by the tie of the love we bear to a common fatherland and by the common blood that courses through our veins and keeps our hearts throbbing and our affections warm, but also by the tie of the common homage we pay to our great civilization - our Hindu culture"
Modern India was founded at independence on the same beliefs, in the quote above replace hindus by India and hindu culture by Indian culture.
Please read the literature on the subject and not what is simply presented on modern pop culture.
[1] http://www.savarkar.org/content/pdfs/en/essentials_of_hindut...
