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January 23, 1995 - Image 8

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Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1995-01-23

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8-The Michigan Daily - Mondayy, January 26, 1995

I

\N U
ERl7-AGE

Hindu Heritage Week

Contribution of Hinduism to .,WorlCu(ture *

Education
The world's first university was established at
Takshashila (northwest region of India) in
approximately 100 BCE. The campus
accommodated 10,500 students and offered over
sixty different courses in various fields, such as
science, mathematics, medicine, politics, warfare,
astrology, astronomy, music, religion, and
philosophy.... Students from as far as Babylonia,
Greece, Syria, Arabia, and China came to study.
Mathematics
Ancient Hindus provided the concept of zero
to the world. In early Sanskrit texts and in Pangala's
Chandra Sutra (200 AD), "zero" is called Shunya.
Later, Bhaskaracharya (400-500 AD) showed that
any number divided by zero becomes infinity and
infinity divided by any number remains infinity. The
first inscription of zero dated 585-586 AD was
found on the Sankheda Copper Plate in Gujarat,
India.
In addition, to the concept of zero, the decimal
system was developed in India as early as 100 BCE.
Ancient Hindus had also developed prefixes for
raising ten to powers a high as fifty-three....The
base-10 system allows problems to be worked out
simply by hand or in the mind.

Science
In Surya Siddhanta, dated 400-500 AD, the
ancient Hindu astronomer Bhaskaracharya states,
"Objects fall on the earth due to a force of attraction
by the earth. Therefore, the earth, planets.,
constellations, moon, and sun are held in orbit due
to this force." Approximately 1200 years later
(1687 AD), Sir Isaac Newton rediscovered this
phenomenon and called it the Law of Gravity.
According to modern calculations, the time
taken by the earth to orbit the sun is 365.2596 days.
In Surya Siddhanta, dated 400-500 AD,
Bhaskaracharya calculated this time as
365.258756484 days.
Medicine
The Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377
BCE) is honored as the father of medicine.
However, well before Hippocrates, Maharshi
Charaka had already written the Charaka Samhita
("Handbook of a Physician") in 500 BCE. In this
handbook Maharshi Charaka includes the anatomy
of the human body, listing of natural herbs to cure
diseases, and methods of diagnosis and treatment of
diseases.
The earliest known work relating to human
surgery is Shushruta Samhita, written in

approximately 600 BCE by the Hindu surgeon
Shushruta, who performed plastic surgery as early a
600 BCE. Shushruta Samhita mentions over 120
surgical instruments in use at that time, and
describes over three hundred surgical procedures.
Language and Literature
Sanskrit (meaning "cultured"), the classical language
of Hinduism, is the oldest and the most systematic
language in the world. The vastness, versatility, and
power of expression of Sanskrit can be appreciated
by the fact that this language has 65 words to
describe various forms of earth, 67 words for water,
and over 250 words to describe various types of
rainfall. According to Forbes magazine (July, 1987),
"Sanskrit is the most convenient language for
computer software programming."
Religion and Philosophy
Hinduism has given the world the wisdom of the
Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita.
Free from any kind of dogma, Hindu scriptures
teach universal harmony, self-dignity, and
reverence for all forms of life. "All mankind is
one family," is the slogan of Hindu sages.
* Bansi Pandits "The Hindu Mind", chapter 38

0

Hindu Ieritage WeekActivities

I, ,:

Tuegk January 24: Bhajan
Wolverine Room - Michigan Union

Sunday, January 22:

Inaugural Ceremony

Pendleton Room - Michigan Union

KA) pm

Bhajan Session (traditional chanting)

1:00 pm Opening

1:10 pm

Inaugural puja performed by Shri Rani(i Joshi

1:30 pm Importance of Rituals
* Shri Ramesh Joshi (Honorary minister)

°4

ednsdvLaanuary 25 scussion
t. nd - Michigan Union
8.0 Discussion on Great Hindu Achievements &
Cori b ons to the World
Thursday, Janua 6: Movie Presentation

.'C

1:50 pm
2:20 pm
2:30 pm
3:00 pm
3:30 pm

Symbolism in Hinduism
z Swami Tadatmananda (Arsha Vidya Gurukulum)
Session BreakT

Preserving Hindu Heritage
34 Dr. Gayatri Garg (Honorary chairperson)

4 . :

n :,
:'.:

_,:> ;.
'n.
...

Application of Hinduism in t Young Professional's Life
S Kanchan Banerjee (HSverall coordinator)
Poster, art, and essay exhibit (Break)
Pond Room - Michigan Union

NN R Lecture Hall 2
7:30 pm Gandhi
J ary 27: Mehndi/Dance/Music Workshop
Andersonoom C & D - Michigan Union
6:00 pm Demonstration oqfMehndi (cultural handprinting), Indian music,
and IndianDa including raas, garba, and bhangra
steps). Audience participation welcomed.

4:00 pm

Award presentation

*

Saturday, January28 Celebration Dance

[ if\C;"CT

4:30 Pm tClosing
Monday, January 23: Yoga and Meditation Session
Pond Room - Michigan Union

. . V.

;4 .. /
't~y
...~

9:00 P

Pendleton Rooms Michigan Union
pr Raas/Garba/Bhangra (traditional dances)
Tickets available at the Union Ticketmaster
or any HSC member

8:00 pm
9:00 pm

Swami Tadatmananda (Arsha Vidya Gurukulum)
Ema Stefanova - Mudita (Yoga Instructor)

::

' a nk ou for your contribution and support.

Ankur Agarwal
Dewesh Agrawal
Sannidh Amberkar
Chandan Bandopadhyay
Kanchan & Haimanti
Banerjee
Deepak Bhakta
Sreekanth Chandrupatla
Chandan Devireddy

Dr. Ram & Pushpa Goswami
Maneesh Gulati
Rashmi Gupta
April Hilger
Lekha Hota
Siva Hota
Nina Jain
Rahul Kohli
Srikant Kondapaneni

Drs. Marigowda & Renuka
Nagaraju
Sridhar Palanisamy
Anand Parekh
Drs. Kamlesh & Deepika
Parekh
Deepa Prahalad
Vipul Parikh
Viraj V. Parikh

Anita Saluja
Pramod Sanghi
Dr. Ajay Shah
Jagat Shah
Sheetal Shah
Shradha Shah
Preya Sharma
Jaishanker V. Singanallur
Raj Vardhan Singh

Sponsored by:
1Hindu Students Council
University offMic 4an, Ann Arbor Chapter
Supporting Organizations:
Arsha Vidya Gurukulum

I

11

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