Hindu Achievements | By an Indian King of the 19th Century

Below is an excerpt from a book named A short history of Aryan Medical Science. The writer is HH Sir Bhagwat Singh Jee [M.D, D.C.L, LL.D, F.R.C.P.E], Thakore Saheb of Gondal (Gujarat). The book was published in 1896 AD.

From the credentials of the writer, it is clear that he was a product of the English education system, a medical doctor, knighted by the British Crown, who existed more than 120 years ago. Yet, the below article will make it clear that how the Indian mind was back then, and will give us a chance to ponder upon how much we have become indoctrinated.

The history of Aryan Medicine forms an inseparable chapter of the history of Aryan civilisation. The word 'Aryan' is here used in what the Hindoos believe to be the original and only proper sense (Arya - Noble). It has been customary of late years to give it a much wider meaning, so as to make it denote the supposed original people, from whom, according to the Western Ethnologists, Celts and Teutons, Italians and Greeks, Persians and Hindoos, are all descended. The similarities which modern science has discovered between such outlying members of a supposed original stock as the Celts and the Hindoos, have led certain scholars to believe that the ancestors of these nations were first living together in the Caucasus, but afterwards separated, the Hindoos migrating into India, where they settled with their families after conquering the aboriginal tribes. This theory is European in its conception, and is not accepted by the Indians in general, who call themselves autochthonous. The Indian Savants (Sages) adduce internal and external evidence to show that, far from being outsiders, it was possible for the early Hindoos to have sent colonies beyond the frontiers. It is no part of our present purpose to attempt to compose this controversy. It is enough to note at starting that throughout these pages the term ' Aryan ' is used to designate the 'Hindoos,' to whom alone it is applied both in common parlance and in their sacred books. 

The Hindoos call their country 'Aryavarta' or the abode of the Aryans. Manu, the ancient law-giver, applies the name to the tract of land between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges (the land below was called as the Dravida desha), from the eastern to the western sea ; and teaches that the Brahmans born within that tract are suitable teachers of the several usages of men. Latterly the whole country from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin, and from the Irawaddy and the Bay of Bengal to the Indus and the Western sea, came to be recognised as Aryavarta. It is a beautiful country with natural boundaries. It enjoys the six seasons of the year, and the position of its mountains and its seas gives it a variety of climate, inasmuch as it possesses the hottest, coolest, and the most temperate places of resort. The country was a cradle of learning for the whole world, and history bears witness to the fact that many a nation that now walks with its head erect would have been nowhere had it not borrowed considerably from the intellectual storehouse of the ancient Hindoos. This country was at the pinnacle of glory when other nations were either not in existence or were wallowing in crass ignorance. Most of the sciences, which the present century boasts of so much, were not unknown to the ancient Hindoos ; and one has but to look into their writings to see whether the truths propounded by them some thousands of years ago do not still endure in their natural freshness. 

The Hindoos were the first to cultivate Astronomical Science (Jyotisha). All modern astronomers admit the great antiquity of their observations. Cassini, Bailly, and Playfair have stated that observations taken by Hindoo Astronomers upwards of 3000 years before Christ are still extant, and prove a considerable degree of progress already made at that period. The ancient Hindoos fixed the Calendar, observed and predicted the eclipses, and were acquainted with the phases of the moon and the motions of the several planets. According to Mr.Colebrooke, they were more correct than Ptolemy in their notions regarding the precession of the equinoxes. 

In Mathematics (Ganita) the Hindoos had attained a high degree of proficiency. They invented the decimal system, the differential, integral and infinitesimal calculi. The world owes to them the invention of numerical symbols. They also discovered Geometry (Bhoomiti) and Trigonometry (Triconamiti), in both which sciences they made great advances. Most of the credit given to Pythagoras for the discovery of mathematical truths properly belongs to the ancient Hindoos. 

Their knowledge of Chemistry was not meagre. They were familiar with the preparation of sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids ; the oxides of copper, iron, lead, tin, and zinc ; as well as many chlorides, nitrates, sulphates, and carbonates. 

The sage Panini was the first to teach the formative principles of words, and his system of Grammar, called Ashtadhyayi — the first in the world — is the admiration of Western and Eastern scholars. Lexicography was known to the Aryans long before its acquaintance was made by any other nation in the world. In the Vedic Literature it is treated under the head of Nighantu. 

Music appears to have been cultivated to the highest pitch of perfection by the Aryans, who were the first to invent the Gamut. Their music is systematic and refined. 

India is the home of architectural beauty. Domes, cupolas, minarets, and many ingenious works of architecture which have stood the tempest of time, testify to this fact in silent eloquence ; and the ancient Greeks, who are praised for their skill in this particular art, owed not a little to the Hindoos. Dr W. W. Hunter supposes that Alexander the Great left artists in India to copy the Indian style of architecture, who imported it into their mother country. 

Dhanur-Veda is an old science which treats of the art of war, and mentions different kinds of weapons classified under four heads : 

(1) Mukta (missive), as the discus, etc. 

(2) Amukta (non-missive), as the sword, etc. 

(3) Muktamukta (both missive and non-missive), as the javelin, etc.

(4) Yantra-mukta (machine- projectile), as the arrow, etc. 

The army consisted of infantry, cavalry, car-fighters and warriors fighting on elephants. They were known by the name of Padati, Ashvarudha, Ratharudha, and Gajarudha respectively. The Hindoos have had from a primeval period a fighting class called the Kshatriyas. 

Hindoo Law is as old as their religion. Manu is the oldest of Hindoo writers on Law ; and his book of Institutes still forms the basis of the Hindoo social fabric. It is an important record of Hindoo society at least three thousand years old. Other writers on Law, like Yajnavalkya, Parashara, etc., are also held in great reverence, and are still quoted as high authorities in deciding subtle points of dispute. 

India out-distances all the countries in the world in the domain of Philosophy. There are six systems of Indian Philosophy, called Darshanas, or 'Mirrors of Knowledge.' These are Nyaya or logical, Sankhya or discriminative, Vaisheshika or atomic, Yoga or contemplative, Mimansa or ritual, and Vedanta or the end of knowledge. The aim and object of these schools is to solve the problem of Creation. The Hindoos have a passion for philosophy, and have given their best energies to the better understanding of the subject. They were the first nation to distinguish between matter and spirit. While the world at large has been busy confining its attention to dead matter and its properties, the Hindoo from the very dawn of history has devoted himself staunchly to the study of the spirit. Professor Max Midler justly observes that the Indian Aryan lives this life with a full consciousness of his being a temporary sojourner, who has no permanent interest whatever in the things of this world. Being given to spiritual pursuits rather than to earthly comforts, he is by nature better fitted to solve the problem of existence which puzzles many a thinker and metaphysician of our age. 

All these branches of learning take their origin from the book of religion called the Veda (Knowledge), from Sanskrit vid (Latin, videre), to know. This the Indians believe to be the Knowledge of the Universal Spirit, as distinguished from the knowledge of an individual mortal. The Aryans believe that the creation has a maker, who is eternal and is without a cause, and who, as He has evolved the Universe out of His inner consciousness, is a Knowing Being, and, being Knowing and Eternal, is all Happiness which knows no diminution. The Veda is supposed to be His revealed knowledge. Knowledge, they believe, is acquired and not created. If knowledge could be created, instruction, they argue, would, as a rule, become futile. From time immemorial it is being handed down from father to son, from preceptor to disciple. The Indians therefore trace all knowledge under the Sun from the Supreme High, who is the fountain-head of learning, Ishanas sarvavidyanam (Yajur Ved), i.e., Lord of all kinds of knowledge, the source from which all knowledge flows. So they will never accept a statement unless it is supported by the testimony of what has been revealed to them in their Scriptures, or by the testimony of bygone ages. Their line of investigation thus essentially differs from that followed by the modern investigators, who are solely guided by their intelligence in establishing a truth, which must remain under trial until Science in its progressive course has reached its goal. 

Pranayama - From an Old Book

I came across this description of the procedure of Pranayama in an old book and found it worth reading and practicing. This isn't available in the text format on the internet, hence typed it down. I hope, dear reader, you will find some good insights from this article.

Pranayama

From The Vishnu Sahasranama Translated into English 

by R. Ananthakrishna Shastry
(1927)

From - http://www.yoga-manchester.co.uk/

The utility and importance of this fundamental Yoga practice have not been fully realised by us. Vyasa says in a hymn 'The Lord Vishnu himself is Yoga and the leader of all the Yogins(slo. 16), the Yogi and the Lord of the Yogins(slo. 104)'. The ancients have perfected it to a science, but it is lost to us to a considerable extent through our own folly. It is the sacred duty of every true Arya to revive it. The desire for material advancement has supplanted the yearning for spiritual progress. At present, the yearning for Swaraj has well nigh become universal; but the people have not yet realised that unless and until they are healthy - physically, mentally and morally - they can never hope to become a Nation and attain Swaraj. In ancient times, the Aryas were a very strong and powerful race, imbued with the highest of virtues, so the word Arya came to connote strength and Anarya, weakness. The Aryas attained and retained unto death their bodily and mental perfection by the simple but effective method of Pranayama. To them death had no horrors. Just as one throws off one's worn out garments, even so they cast off their body by their own free will by the power of Yoga. 

The Shastraic method is to get up at Brahma Muhurta i.e. before the breaking of the dawn, and finish the morning ablutions. After Achamana - sipping water -  perform the breathing exercises, the Pranayama, in a well ventilated place. Sit cross-legged facing east or north, with the back straight, chest well expanded and thrust forward and the head erect. First exhale(Rechaka) all the air slowly through one or both the nostrils, and then inhale(Puraka) slowly and deeply, and exhale as before. While exhaling and inhaling produce a low humming sound in the throat. Repeat the Rechaka and Puraka alternately for about ten minutes. Next, restraint of breath or Kumbhaka must be practiced. Inhale slowly, with the production of the humming sound in the throat as before, but retain the breath as long as possible without straining yourself and exhale completely all the air out. Again inhale slowly and deeply, restrain and exhale as before. Repeat this process for about five to ten minutes and gradually increase the duration of Kumbhaka.

While performing Rechaka, Puraka and Kumbhaka, it will be easy for beginners if they use one or more fingers to close up one or both the nostrils. When one has made some progress in Pranayama, then by merely willing, the air can be made to flow in or out through any nostril or it may be kept in Kumbhaka.

The third practice is Bhasra (bellow) and it is done for the next five or six minutes. Sitting erect as before and with the lips closed, blow out the air, with the hissing sound of a starting locomotive engine, rapidly. While blowing in this way the trunk of the body is steady, but the abdomen becomes concave and flat in quick succession, due to the alternate contraction and relaxation of the abdominal muscles. The naval region swings inward and out with maximum amplitude The Bhasra can also be practiced in the evening provided the stomach is empty. By this practice, the intestines get exercised, the digestive powers are greatly improved, the free circulation of blood is facilitated and the lungs are strengthened. The bowels also are kept in order by removing constipation.

Success in Pranayama can be attained only if the diet is a well regulated one. Any non-stimulating, simple and nutritious diet will do. It is well to remember and practice the Vedic ordinance 'Ekavaram Dvivaram Va' which enjoins only one meal a day or at the most two. Seven hours at least must elapse between the two meals.

This may be practiced by all persons irrespective of age or sex, excepting women in the family way, who should not attempt the Bhasra. But chronic patients afflicted with bowel or lung diseases should be carefully guided by a scientifically trained instructor.

It is very depressing to note that generally Indians and especially South Indians, have become physically degenerated; the more educated they are the more physically depressed they have become. The golden precept enjoining Brahmacharya(restraint) on a Grihasta by our Shastras, has been totally ignored. Excessive indulgence in stimulants, coffee, tea etc. and in matters pertaining to sex, irregular and hurried meals - meals noted for their flavor alone but not for their sustaining qualities -  and want of regular exercise for the body, have brought about this present condition. Systematic practice of Pranayama by our young men with a well regulated diet and observance of the principles laid down for the conduct of Brahmacharins and of the Grihastas will in a generation or two regenerate them into a virile people.

By the grace of the Divine Physician, 'Daivyah Bhishak', the Lord, all the incurable diseases are cured. May our degenerate young men take up these practices and become healthier, is the pious wish of the author!