Are you proud of your country?

All of us have grown up have grown up with an undeniable nationalistic fervor.
But here is my question to you, do you know WHY you should be proud of your country?
Before you answer that question, tell me this: When was the last time you asked someone from a small country who wasn't "proud of their country"?
Have we stopped and asked our selves why we are proud of our individual countries? What is it that makes us/our country special?
Lets talk about today:
Do we have the tallest peaks? Do we have the most fertile land? Do we have the most intelligent species ( is there any evidence to it?) Do we have the strongest army? Do we have the most advanced technology in the world? Do we have the highest number of Nobel Laureates in the world? Do we have the happiest people in the world? Do we have the good standard of living for at least 51% of our population? Are our women the safest in our nation? Are we the best in world sports? Do we have the strongest warriors in the world?
What? Why are you proud of your nation? What do we have that the world has no answers for? Do we have any today? I am sorry, but as far as I see it we have NOTHING to be proud of today.
In general every country might have its reasons. But knowing what I know today, I can tell you this:
India stands apart from the rest of the world for reasons no other country can claim. No other country in the world EVER in its history can be proud of.
( I will surely blog about why America someday and why she is the only country I truly feel deserves to be proud of herself, it is a country that reminded the rest of the world, something India had in its genes through its compassionate cultures the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of Happyness).
But how many of us know these reasons for our "country"? Don't we need a reason to be proud?
Well I do. I need reason for practically everything. And I have my reasons.
But before I give you these reasons, a lesson in history which as I understand it is somewhat foggy to a lot of people, people don't like to acknowledge, that India in its current political form NEVER existed in its history, neither officially nor unofficially as its own independent nation.
But there is one underlying commonality that this nation can track as far back as history can go and beyond, and that is its foundation in the Vedas. And everything I list below, ties back to these endless and timeless "books", whose source no one knows, whose beginning no one knows, neither their end. The source of everything "Indian" that makes it special in all possible metrics that matter.
So I am going to talk about this country called Bharat, whose very back bone has been the vedas inspired cultures, traditions, people and civilization that was far more advanced that anyone can really fathom today as far back as at least 32000 years according to the latest archaeological findings. And if you were to believe us (vedic apologists) our history goes much much much farther back. But for now, lets stick to 32000 years.

I will try to give you a few glimpses of what I have learnt, and this is just the beginning and not even the complete list:
Math and Science--Way of life that enabled the development of advanced language, traditions, civilizations, science

1. Math

• Numerals: we invented the modern numerals based on which the whole world functions, including the Zero without which the current world is an impossibility;
• Calculus predates newton in India by at least 250 years,
• Geometry: it has been documented in various places that even Pythogrus learnt geometry from India and the Phythogrus theorm he learnt on the banks of the Ganga,
• trigonometry was invented in India
• And many more I cannot even count here … you just have to research

2. Physics

• Nature of reality more than anything else as physics is just recently coming to terms with.
• Concept of Multiple universes
• And endless cycle of creation
• Atomic structure
• Nuclear fission
• Concepts of Space Time
• Time Travel
• Blackholes
• Time warps
• and the list goes on

3. Medicine

• Where do I begin? We have a school called Ayurveda that was so advanced that we were conducting plastic surgeries at least 4000 years before modern medicine leveraged what it learnt from us and advanced it further.
• Yoga, health, well being.
• Holistic Healing
• Is it any wonder that while the rest of the world essentially almost wiped themselves out twice in the past 1000 years due to bubonic plagues, NOTHING of that sort happened in India EVER, in spite of India being denser than the rest of the world for the known part of history.
• Hygiene: We are the country that taught the world about hygiene. Not until the 13th century did the west know that it’s a good idea to take shower more than once a year. IT was upto two polish travellers that travlled to the Vijayanagara Empire, saw the people of the city, their way of life, which included taking a shower first thing in the morning and go teach the west the same. (Source: Lost temples of India, History Channel)

4. Astronomy

• Age of the earth,
• Age of the universe,
• Planets, the solar system , the solar cycle, the lunar cycle
• twin stars,
• differences between twin stars

5. Geography

• Earth is actually spherical
• The seven continents
• The seven oceans

6. Chemistry

• The Ashoka Pillar is made of 98% wrought Iron, and its been standing unrusted, un broken for 2600 years now. And modern science is still only guessing how that is possible.

(the above list is hardly the beginning of what we knew before the west even woke up from its dark ages, where they lived no more than tribes and learnt everything through the persians through stolen books, from us (coz Persians basically translated everything from us)

Social structure, anthropology: In my view this is one topic that can fill a whole library on its contribution to the very continuation of this ancient civilization almost un touched while the rest of the ancient civilizations of the worlds have been wiped out. Its no magic. You just haven’t thought about how brilliant our ancients were in devising the rules, the Dharma sastras, of our society that enabled this continuation that is the longest known to mankind. Ours is a civilization and a culture that withstood the shocks the ever raging conquering outsiders have given us, without losing its very heritage like the rest of the world that was conquered. Just look at South America.

Genetics, environment and sustainable societies (they are all connected): Ours is the only country/culture to have taught that every living being has an element of the divine and thus needs to be respected. We knew all life was connected to each other before recorded history, and hence devised a sustainable civilization based on dharma sastras, which as far as I can think translates in to "the greater good and the lesser evil" for every given context/scenario. A term to which no other culture/civilization has devised a word for yet.

Indianizataion of EVERY culture that made it to India, sufi saints, mary matha, this country being the refuge for the parsi's who were persecuted by Islam and thrown out of their countries of origin, the Jewish diaspora, and every minor sect that has been driven out of their lands of origins. India and its people enabled not just their survival, but they thrive in India.

Economy and Wealth: The largest economy in the world till late 16th century (25% of it) from as far back as history can track. Every invader in its history has had its eyes on India more than any other land owing to its riches like no other land in the world.

The philosophies of the country that were born out of this land taught the world that NOTHING in this universe is binary. Let alone the laws, let alone commandments. Everything is contextual.

Music: Crucible of a civilization that had music so advanced even before the rest of the world knew how to breath having its roots in the Samaveda. The Carnatic Music.

Great Thinkers of history:Almost every great man of the world has been touched by the spark of India. From Nikolas tesla, who was profoundly surprised by clarity with which the concepts of energy are explained in the Sankhya school of thought from India. Albery Einstein has given definitive statements thanks Indians for their contributions to science without which the world would've gone no where. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the Atom Bomb read the Bhagvat Gita everyday and even quotes from it with tears in his eyes on the day he sees its enormous power. The very aspect of quantum physics, that has enabled the modern life, has its foundation in Heisenberg being inspired from the guru's of India. And the list of great men of the east and the west alike who have commented admirably on India and its contributions is countless.
You can find stuff to your heart's content here:
Http://www.hinduwisdom.info/quotes1_20.htm

The world's oldest known university, where the world came to learn from. Everything that the west knows, the foundations of EVERY PIECE of knowledge came after the crusades when along with all the loot, the west also go the books from the Persians. But these books were mere translations of the very knowledge India has been producing before the middle east and the west were even nomadic tribes. ( watch the Crusades, documentary by History Channel/national geographic)

Respect for Women: This is the country that prays to the mother Goddess and through out its history has taught the world the greatness and importance of a woman in society. India is the country that taught world that the power of a pativrta surpasses that of any sage or a Rishi who has done penance for thousands of years. India is the country that celebrates a mother every day and never designated one day of a year. India is the country where Sita Devi comes from, from where Jhansi ki Rani comes from, from where The Goddess of Wealth is Laxmi, the Godess of Education and Talent is Saraswati. The ultimate source of all power is Kali.
India is the country where a God's form is incomplete without his consort, Rama is never Rama without his Sree, Sita-Rama, Shiva is always rudra without Parvati. ardha Nareeshwara.



But How long can I write this post?

May be a whole book. But that is besides the point. The point is, know what makes India special. It is not what you can compare it to any other in the world.
But, I still don’t think that list even begins to talk about what makes this land special, beyond all that, the following makes Bharat an incomparable nation for eternity:


1. The Way of life that has produced greats like Mahatma Gandhi, Ramana Maharishi,RamaKrishna Paramahansa, Shirdi Sai Baba, Sufi Saints, the guru’s as documented in books like “A search in Secret India”, the life of a Yogi, Living with the Himalayan masters, the Guru’s you can find TODAY at the MahaKumbh Mela. No other place in the world has produces super humans like these in numbers like these. The world might have seen many conquerors that might have conquered and looted lands, only to die in regret, but India is the only country that has produced timeless souls that have conquered the within. Which if you test it, is infinitely more difficult than conquering the outside.

2. The Way of life that has produced the most mind boggling books starting from the vedas, vedangas, Upanishads the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavatam, Bhagvad gita, All the Puranas which in turn essentially lead to all the above great things I mention above. It is this open minded quest that the way of life that this land has an enigmatically enabled through its people no matter how badly the world shook it.

3. The Way of Life: Whose essential meaning is in the very aspects that America is reteaching the world: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, but ours is with a twist of a spiritial pursuit. Coz our folks understand, that true, ever lasting happiness was never in materialism, but in spiritualism.

This is why I am proud of my country. Not the political entity of India. But the cultural entity called India. The people of India. Its history.

And THAT cultural entity is what I intend to protect. And America has opened that door for me to understand about my country, more than my own country, the crappy political entity that it has become today, has not enabled me with. The text books and the knowledge found in our text books in the name of secularism has avoided teaching its kids enough about everything I wrote about effectively. And the service to my nation, will be education of the very things I learn.

This blog is just the beginning of my struggle to teach the truth to Indian kids, in India and world wide. Today I lack the resources, the time and support structure to bring my vision to fruition. But I will be prepared if and when destiny takes me there.

Yes, I stand by my oath I took in school:

As the pupil of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Solemnly I pledge myself, to the selfless service, of my motherland and her culture, we shall consider no sacrifice, too great, for the protection of my country and for the preservation of all that it stands for.

I am proud of Bharatvarsh.

भारत माता की जय! भारत मेरी माँ है, और अमेरिका मेरी माशॊक. माशूका के पास जाकर मैं माँ की रक्षा करना, या उसका आदर करना नहीं भूला। तुम देश में रहते हुए भी भूल रहे हो और माशूका को अपने माँ के गोद में गले लगा रहे हो.
मैं अपनी माँ की रक्षा केलिए अपने मरते दम तक आदर करूंगा और रक्षा करने की कोशिश करूंगा।
तुम कब यह शपथ लोगे? तुम कब बदलोगे? तुम कब सही में अपनी माँ के बारे में गर्व से दुनिया को बताओगे? बताने की बात थो दूर, तुम कब बतापाने की क्षमता पाओगे? अरे सीखना थो शुरू करो कभी।


In the view of all that was, where are we today? What are we proud of today? of INDIA?
It is time. If not now, when? If not you, who?
Think.