tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317076886542151033.post-4644918123217880822007-10-01T21:03:00.000+05:302007-10-01T21:38:00.550+05:30- The name Hindu is very, very old. When the Hindus spread all over India, this entire country came to be known as Hindusthan. This Hindusthan has been the birthplace of many saints, many sages, many prophets. Through scores of centuries it has been prominently a land of religion. Its hills, mountains, rivers, lakes, seas and cities have been made holy by the touch of religion. These holy places spread all over have made Hindusthan really a holy land. Through the ages myriad of pilgrims have been rushing to and fro from different corners of Hindusthan to visit these holy places. And religion has all along been the main-spring of the life of its people.<br /><br />- It was their religion that gave birth to the glorious culture of the Hindus. Even in the very ancient days the Hindus produced high class painting, sculpture, architechture, music and poetry. They wrote learned treatises on various subjects such as Grammar, Philology, Logic, Philosophy, Politics , Astronomy (Jyotisha), Medicine and Surgery (Ayurveda). They put in valuable research work in Chemistry and have left behind sure proofs of their amazing skill in Engineering, Irrigation, Ship-building and in many other arts and crafts. And all these had their roots in religion; the ideas and ideals behind these were inspired mostly by Hindu Saints.<br /><br />- In course of time, out of the great religion of the Hindus came two major offshoots, namely Jainism and Buddhism. Hinduism together with its branch Buddhism spread even beyond the borders of Hindusthan. Countries like Ceylon, Burma, Cambodia, Malaya, Java, Bali, Sumatra, China, Korea, Japan, Afghanistan and Turkestan came under the sway of one or both of these religions. Even in far off Mexico in North America, scholars have detected traces of Hindu civilization. The people of these foreign lands hailed with delight the superior culture of the Hindus.GC Sarmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12186318744430919035noreply@blogger.com