Are You Making This Mistake at the End of Your Meetings?

Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left? Five, because deciding is different than doing.”
Decisions are worthless … unless you turn them into commitments.

In a business conversation, your counterpart's decision states his intention, but a commitment holds him accountable. Although a commitment does not guarantee delivery, it’s far more reliable than a decision. More importantly, when managed properly, it allows you to handle breakdowns with effectiveness, trust and integrity.

Have you been in meetings where lots of decisions are made but nothing gets done andnobody is held accountable? Unless you finish the meeting with commitments about “who will do what by when,” you’ve just built 90% of a bridge.

Broken commitments damage tasks, relationships, and culture. They bring about inefficiencies, mistrust, and corruption. Coordination suffers, collaboration suffers, and cohesion suffers. You can avoid this suffering – if you finish every conversation with clear commitments.

Ask and You Shall Receive

Commitment conversations begin with a request: “Can you bring the financials to the meeting?” “Please ship the order to my new address.” Things can go off track at this early point, especially if you ask without really asking.

I once coached a production manager who was put on a performance-improvement plan for failing to meet a crucial deadline. Weeks before the date, my client figured he had to add a shift to finish the job on time. He needed approval from his boss for the overtime, but he didn’t want to ask. He had heard the plant manager complain that corporate was breathing down his neck about costs.

He decided to use a soft approach. During a staff meeting he mentioned that his project could really use a second shift. The plant manager acknowledged it was a tough deadline; he said he would see what he could do. The production manager believed he had gotten the much-needed help. He waited for his boss to call him after the meeting to implement the second shift, but to no avail. Disappointed, he assumed that a delay was better than a cost overrun. He finished the job late. Imagine his outrage when he got chewed out!

Like many of us, the production manager tried to ask without asking. His indirect approach avoided a confrontation, but it also prevented a frank discussion of the tradeoff between additional labor costs and the delay. As I described in my previous posts onschizorganization and discussing the un-discussable, it is impossible to preserve sanity at work without open communication.

The typical way to avoid making a clear request is to make a muddled one. Do you recognize any of these examples?
It would be great if…
Someone should…
Do we all agree to…?
Can you try to…?
The boss wants...

To make a clear request you must utter it in the first person, using direct language and addressing it to a specific person. You must specify observable conditions of satisfaction, including time. It helps if you explain your purpose for asking, and, if and when you arrive at an oral contract, always ask the other sign it.

Although there are many ways to ask, the most effective ones follow a common pattern:
In order to get A (a want or need),
I ask that you deliver B by C.
Can you commit to that?

It may sound odd to ask like this; you can adjust your language to suit your culture. For example, the production manager might have addressed the plant manager as follows: “I am running behind schedule. I don’t see how to catch up without some extra help. In order to finish the job I need some overtime. Can you authorize a second shift for the next three weeks?”

Time to Commit

A well-formed request demands a clear response. There are only three possible answers:
Yes, I commit.
No, I decline.
I can’t commit yet because,
a. I need clarification.
b. I need to check; I promise to respond by X.
c. I want to propose an alternative.
d. I can make it only if I get Y by Z.

Anything else is a weasel promise. Here are some interesting ways by which people often say, “No, I don’t commit.”
Yes, I’ll try.
OK, let me see what I can do.
Seems doable.
Let me check into it.
Someone will take care of it.

When you declare, “I commit,” you assume the responsibility to honor your wordunconditionally. You take on an obligation to deliver on your promise; or if you can’t, to do your best to take care of the requestor.

When you declare, “I decline,” you might still try to do what you were asked, but you don’t commit. You do not give the requestor the right to hold you accountable. It is much better to have a clear “no” than to get bogged down in a wishy-washy “I’ll do my best.”

There are many good reasons to decline. You may not have the resources; you may not have the skills; you may have a conflict with a previous commitment; you may anticipate problems; or you may just not want to do it.

When you are not ready to say “yes” or “no” right away, you may:
Ask for clarification if the request is unclear to you. For example, if I ask you to help me with a project, you might ask, “What kind of help do you need?” or, “When do you need my help?”
Promise to respond by a certain time if you need to check your resources, obtain commitments from others, or assess whether you can deliver to specifications. For example, if I ask you to prepare a report, you might answer, “Let me check if I have the information available. I’ll get back to you in an hour.”
Counteroffer with an alternative proposal to satisfy the need behind the request. For example, if I ask you to meet today, you might respond: “I am not available today. Could we meet tomorrow? Or if it’s urgent, we could speak by phone.”
Commit conditionally if your commitment depends on factors outside of your control. For example, if I ask you deliver a rush order, you can commit to do it only if I authorize overtime.

Clear commitments don’t mean that everything will work out. Life is unpredictable, so even the most impeccable commitments can break down. In my next post, I will explain how you can preserve effectiveness, trust, and integrity even when you can’t fulfill your promise.


Do or do not ... there is no try.” -- Yoda

11 Simple Concepts to Become a Better Leader

Being likeable will help you in your job, business, relationships, and life. I interviewed dozens of successful business leaders for my last book, to determine what made them so likeable and their companies so successful. All of the concepts are simple, and yet, perhaps in the name of revenues or the bottom line, we often lose sight of the simple things - things that not only make us human, but can actually help us become more successful. Below are the eleven most important principles to integrate to become a better leader:



1. Listening

"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." - Ernest Hemingway

Listening is the foundation of any good relationship. Great leaders listen to what their customers and prospects want and need, and they listen to the challenges those customers face. They listen to colleagues and are open to new ideas. They listen to shareholders, investors, and competitors. Here's why the best CEO's listen more.

2. Storytelling

"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today." -Robert McAfee Brown

After listening, leaders need to tell great stories in order to sell their products, but more important, in order to sell their ideas. Storytelling is what captivates people and drives them to take action. Whether you're telling a story to one prospect over lunch, a boardroom full of people, or thousands of people through an online video - storytelling wins customers.

3. Authenticity

"I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I've become. If I had, I'd have done it a lot earlier." -Oprah Winfrey

Great leaders are who they say they are, and they have integrity beyond compare. Vulnerability and humility are hallmarks of the authentic leader and create a positive, attractive energy. Customers, employees, and media all want to help an authentic person to succeed. There used to be a divide between one’s public self and private self, but the social internet has blurred that line. Tomorrow's leaders are transparent about who they are online, merging their personal and professional lives together.

4. Transparency

"As a small businessperson, you have no greater leverage than the truth." -John Whittier

There is nowhere to hide anymore, and businesspeople who attempt to keep secrets will eventually be exposed. Openness and honesty lead to happier staff and customers and colleagues. More important, transparency makes it a lot easier to sleep at night - unworried about what you said to whom, a happier leader is a more productive one.

5. Team Playing

"Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds." -SEAL Team Saying

No matter how small your organization, you interact with others every day. Letting others shine, encouraging innovative ideas, practicing humility, and following other rules for working in teams will help you become a more likeable leader. You’ll need a culture of success within your organization, one that includes out-of-the-box thinking.

6. Responsiveness

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." -Charles Swindoll

The best leaders are responsive to their customers, staff, investors, and prospects. Every stakeholder today is a potential viral sparkplug, for better or for worse, and the winning leader is one who recognizes this and insists upon a culture of responsiveness. Whether the communication is email, voice mail, a note or a tweet, responding shows you care and gives your customers and colleagues a say, allowing them to make a positive impact on the organization.

7. Adaptability

"When you're finished changing, you're finished." -Ben Franklin

There has never been a faster-changing marketplace than the one we live in today. Leaders must be flexible in managing changing opportunities and challenges and nimble enough to pivot at the right moment. Stubbornness is no longer desirable to most organizations. Instead, humility and the willingness to adapt mark a great leader.

8. Passion

"The only way to do great work is to love the work you do." -Steve Jobs

Those who love what they do don’t have to work a day in their lives. People who are able to bring passion to their business have a remarkable advantage, as that passion is contagious to customers and colleagues alike. Finding and increasing your passion will absolutely affect your bottom line.

9. Surprise and Delight

"A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless." -Charles de Gaulle

Most people like surprises in their day-to-day lives. Likeable leaders underpromise and overdeliver, assuring that customers and staff are surprised in a positive way. There are a plethora of ways to surprise without spending extra money - a smile, We all like to be delighted — surprise and delight create incredible word-of-mouth marketing opportunities.

10. Simplicity

"Less isn't more; just enough is more." -Milton Glaser

The world is more complex than ever before, and yet what customers often respond to best is simplicity — in design, form, and function. Taking complex projects, challenges, and ideas and distilling them to their simplest components allows customers, staff, and other stakeholders to better understand and buy into your vision. We humans all crave simplicity, and so today's leader must be focused and deliver simplicity.

11. Gratefulness

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." -Gilbert Chesterton

Likeable leaders are ever grateful for the people who contribute to their opportunities and success. Being appreciative and saying thank you to mentors, customers, colleagues, and other stakeholders keeps leaders humble, appreciated, and well received. It also makes you feel great! Donor's Choose studied the value of a hand-written thank-you note, and actually found donors were 38% more likely to give a 2nd time if they got a hand-written note!



The Golden Rule: Above all else, treat others as you’d like to be treated

By showing others the same courtesy you expect from them, you will gain more respect from coworkers, customers, and business partners. Holding others in high regard demonstrates your company’s likeability and motivates others to work with you. This seems so simple, as do so many of these principles — and yet many people, too concerned with making money or getting by, fail to truly adopt these key concepts.

The Six Deadly Sins of Leadership

By Jack and Suzy Welch

Being a leader is perhaps the hardest challenge any of us will ever face. No matter how long we work at it, practicing the right behaviors is a never-ending task. Knowing – and avoiding – the wrong ones is too. Thus, we offer the following six common leadership pitfalls:
1. Not Giving Self-Confidence its Due.

Self-confidence is the lifeblood of success. When people have it, they’re bold. They try new things, offer ideas, exude positive energy, and cooperate with their colleagues instead of surreptitiously attempting to bring them down. When they lack self-confidence, it’s just the opposite. People cower. They plod. And they spread negativity with every word and gesture.

But all too often leaders ignore (or neglect) this very basic fact of the human condition. Why is anyone’s guess. Perhaps they just don’t understand that it is part of their job to instill self-confidence in their people. It may even be said that it’s their first job. You cannot unleash the creative power of individuals who doubt themselves.

Fortunately, some people seem to be born with self-confidence. Others gain it from life and work experience and come to a company fully loaded. Regardless, leaders can never stop pouring self-confidence into their teams. The ways to do so are myriad. Make sure goals are challenging – but achievable. Give effusive positive feedback. Remind your direct reports of what they do right.

We’re not saying that leaders should blindly extol and exalt. People know when they’re being gamed. But good leaders work relentlessly to find ways to instill self-confidence in those around them. They know it’s the gift that never stops giving.

2. Muzzling Voice.

Perhaps the most frustrating way that leaders underperform is by over-talking. That is, they act like know-it-alls. They can tell you how the world works, what corporate is thinking, how it will backfire if you try this or that, and why you can’t possibly change the product one iota. Sometimes such blowhards get their swagger from a few positive experiences, but usually they’re just victims of their own destructive personalities.

Ultimately, the company ends up being a victim too, because know-it-alls aren’t just insufferable, they’re dangerous. They don’t listen, and that deafness makes it very hard for new ideas to get debated, expanded upon, or improved. No single person, no matter how smart, can take a business to its apex. For that, you need every voice to be heard.

3. Acting Phony.

Can you spot a phony? Of course you can – and so can your people. Indeed, if there is one widespread human capability, it is sniffing out someone who is putting on airs, pretending to be who they’re not, or just keeping their real self hidden. Yet too many leaders spend way too much time creating personas that put a wall between them and their employees. What a waste.

Because authenticity is what makes people love you. Visibly grappling with tough problems, sweating the details, laughing, and caring – those are the activities that make people respond and feel engaged with what you’re saying. Sure, some people will tell you that being mysterious grants you power as a leader. In reality, all it generates is fear. And who wants to motivate that way?

Now, obviously, authenticity is unattractive if it’s coupled with immaturity or an overdose of informality. And organizations generally don’t like people who are too emotionally unbounded – i.e. so real that all their feelings are exposed. They tend to tamp that kind of intensity down a bit. And that’s not a bad thing, as work is work and, more than at home, allows us to maintain some privacy.

But don’t let convention wring all the authenticity out of you, especially as you climb the ladder. In time, humanity always wins. Your team and bosses come to know who you are in your soul, what kind of people you attract and what kind of performance you want from everyone. Your realness will make you accessible; you will connect and you will inspire. You will lead.

4. Lacking the Guts to Differentiate.

You only have to be in business a few weeks to know that not all investment opportunities are created equal. But some leaders can’t face that reality, and so they sprinkle their resources like cheese on a pizza, a little bit everywhere.

As a result, promising growth opportunities too often don’t get the outsized infusions of cash and people they need. If they did, someone might get offended during the resource allocation process. Someone – as in the manager of a weak business or the sponsor of a dubious investment proposal.

But leaders who don’t differentiate do the most damage when it comes to people. Unwilling to deliver candid, rigorous performance reviews, they give every employee the same kind of bland, mushy, “nice job” sign-off. Then, when rewards are doled out, they give star performers little more than the laggards. Now, you can call this egalitarian approach kind, or fair – as these lousy leaders usually do – but it’s really just weakness. And when it comes to building a thriving organization where people have the chance to grow and succeed, weakness just doesn’t cut it.


5. Fixation on Results at the Expense of Values.

Everyone knows that leaders deliver. Oratory and inspiration without results equal…well, a whole lot of nothing. But leaders are committing a real dereliction of duties if all they care about are the numbers. They also have to care about how those numbers came to be. Were the right behaviors practiced? Was the company’s culture of integrity honored? Were people taken care of properly? Was the law obeyed, in both letter and spirit?

Values are a funny thing in business. Companies love to talk about them. They love to hang them up on plaques in the lobby and boast about them to potential hires and customers. But they’re meaningless if leaders don’t live and breathe them. Sometimes that can take courage. It can mean letting go of a top performer who’s a brute to his colleagues, or not promoting a star who doesn’t share her best ideas with the team. That’s hard.

And yet if you’re a leader, this is a sin you cannot squint away. When you nail your results, make sure you can also report back to a crowded room: We did this the right way, according to our values.

6. Skipping the Fun Part

What is it about celebrating that makes managers so nervous? Maybe throwing a party doesn’t seem professional, or it makes people worry that they won’t look serious to the powers that be, or that, if things get too happy in the office, people will stop working their tails off.

Whatever the reason, too many leaders don’t celebrate enough. To be clear here, we do not define celebrating as conducting one of those stilted little company-orchestrated events that everyone hates, in which the whole team is marched out to a local restaurant for an evening of forced merriment when they’d rather be home. We’re talking about sending a team to Disney World with their families, or giving each team member tickets to a show or a movie, or handing each member of the team a new iPod.

What a lost opportunity. Celebrating makes people feel like winners and creates an atmosphere of recognition and positive energy. Imagine a team winning the World Series without champagne spraying everywhere. You can’t! And yet companies win all the time and let it go without so much as a high-five.

Work is too much a part of life not to recognize the moments of achievement. Grab as many as you can. Make a big deal out of them.

That’s part of a leader’s job too – the fun part.


This content was originally presented as a lecture at the Jack Welch Management Institute.

Jack Welch is Founder and Distinguished Professor at the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University. Through its executive education and Welch Way management training programs, the Jack Welch Management Institute provides students and organizations with the proven methodologies, immediately actionable practices, and respected credentials needed to win in the most demanding global business environments.


Suzy Welch is a best-selling author, popular television commentator, and noted business journalist. Her New York Times bestselling book, 10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea, presents a powerful decision-making strategy for success at work and in parenting, love and friendship. Together with her husband Jack Welch, Suzy is also co-author of the #1 international bestseller Winning, and its companion volume, Winning: The Answers. Since 2005, they have written business columns for several publications, includingBusiness Week magazine, Thomson Reuters digital platforms, Fortune magazine, and theNew York Times syndicate.

When Buddha returns to his home after his enlightenment; his wife Yashodhara tells him

When Buddha returns to his home after his enlightenment; his wife Yashodhara tells him, ”For along time I have had only one question to ask of you. And now that you are here again I want to know if what you achieved in the jungle was not available right here?” Buddha finds it very difficult to answer her. If he says it was available in his home – and it is true, what is available in the vastness of a forest can also be available in one’s home – Yashodhara will remind him that she had told him so. And Yashodhara really had said it. It was for this reason that Buddha had left his house in the dead of night without informing her. If he accepts that truth is everywhere, Yashodhara will immediately say there was no point in renunciation, that it was sheer madness on his part. And it would be a falsehood to say that truth is not to be found in the home, that it is only to be found in the forest, because Buddha now knows for himself that what he found in the wilderness is available right in his own home, it is available all over.

Krishna is not for renunciation: he does not run away from anywhere, he does not give up any, thing. What Buddha comes to see at the last hour, Krishna sees at the very first. What is it that Buddha comes to know at the end of a long and arduous search? It is that only truth is, and that truth is everywhere. Krishna knows it from the beginning, that only truth is, and that it is everywhere.

ബുദ്ധമതം സ്വീകരിക്കാൻ പോകുന്ന മാന്ന്യന്മാർ ഇതിൽ ഏതിലാ ചേരുന്നത്? Different Groups of Buddhism.

Different Groups of Buddhism.

After the Second Buddhist Council , Buddhism had split into two parts: one orthodox (Theravada) and the other unorthodox (Mahayana). Then in the Third Buddhist Council, there were 18 different unorthodox schools. Although the Elder Tissa in the Third Buddhist Council compiled a book called "Points of Controversy" to refute the wrong views of the unorthodox schools, these schools still persisted in their corrupted doctrines.


Today we have many different Buddhism schools, and the major ones are Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, Pure Land, and Zen. Among these, Pure Land and Zen are sometimes considered Mahayana.

There are also new-born schools such as Japan's Nichiren Buddhism and Thailand's Dhammakaya Buddhism.

And the controversial thing about these Buddhism schools is that they all claim to be the true Buddha's Teaching, and they all claimed to have the "Direct Path to Enlightenment."

For example, Nichiren Buddhism claims that by chanting "Nam myoho renge kyo" alone can attain Enlightenment, and Dhammakaya Buddhism claims that by looking for the "Bright Crystal Ball," "Dhammakaya Buddha Form," or "Crystal Buddha Form" in one's own body, one can attain Enlightenment.

Therefore, the "Direct Path to Enlightenment" has become a cliché today, and people should be careful with it. The following is an example of what a false Buddha Dhamma is like.

New schools such as the Dhammakaya uses Pali Canon as its main scripture, but the method it teaches is nowhere to be found in the Canon. The Dhammakaya offers an explanation that its founder discovers it by himself:

"the scriptures did not describe what the Dhammakaya actually looked like. After his discovery, however, Luang Pu Wat Paknam described the Dhammakaya form as Buddha-like, clear as crystal, and perfect like an image of the great perfect man. "



However, one should wisely examine statements like the above and use one's own wisdom to tell between right and wrong.

Deva Premal OM Kumara (Innocence)

Gayatri Mantra

Maha Kalbhairav - Yam Yam Yam Yaksha Roopam

Shiva Tandava Stotram

Shiva's Flute - Meditation Music ♫ HD

Sadhguru Handles a King Cobra

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev: Majestic chaos

Sita Ram

Gurudeva Guru AUM

Govind Bolo Hari Gopal Bolo (remix)

Hare Krishna (Pop Style) - Ayush Attri Sharma

"The Hare Krishna Cult" - BBC London 1980

World coming to Hinduism- Amsterdam

Geographical Span of Ancient India - Aryavarth – Jambudveepe Bharathavarshe Bharathakhande

We know the geography of earth today as shown in the world maps. though it is actually incorrect in depicting the actual geographical area distribution. We today know the seven continents, the five oceans, the land mass or water bodies they span across and so on.

We also know that the ancient vedic civilization was an advanced one with great achievements in science and technology, and so one becomes curious to know what was the geographical distribution mentioned in the vedic texts like? What were the names given to different parts of our planet Earth in these vedic texts?

This article is an attempt to answer such questions. But before that let us understand a bit about an ancient vedic practice – The Sankalpa – which is practiced even today.

The Sankalpa Determination

In the vedic way of life, Sankalpa means somewhat on lines of free will, a determination, a resolution, a kind of oath which one takes. The veda says that the entire universe itself was created because of a Sankalpa by the Supreme Consciousness (Narayana or Vishnu).

By making a Sankalpa the person becomes committed to the goal. Sankalpa is an expression by the Saadhaka (doer) about his goals (Saadhana). The Sankalpa becomes the foundation for a person who is all set to achieve a specific goal.

When a person makes a Sankalpa, he is also supposed to mention the time of the day when the Sankalpa was made, the geographical location where the Sankalpa was made, the purpose of the Sankalpa, the mode of achieving the goal, the name of the person doing the Sankalpa and so on. This is called Sankalpa Shlokha.

The Geographical Element of a Sankalpa

In the Sankalpa Shlokha, when one talks about the geography of the location, it starts as follows

Jambudveepe Bharatha Varshe Bharata Khande and can go on to mention the specific location like

Mangalooru Nagare Svagrahe (meaning at my home which is in the City of Mangalore)

This is something that has been passed down for generations, being practised even today at the beginning of every vedic ritual. And in this article we talk about the the first three terms referring to geography which is Jambudvipa, Bharatha Varsha and Bharatha Khanda. People usually think that Bharatha Varsha and Bharatha Khanda mean the same, but they are not. The hierarchy in the Sankalpa Shlokha clearly says that Bharatha Khanda is inside Bharatha Varsha. So we shall see what they are. And we will also see what exactly is Jambudveepa.

Geography of the Ancient World

As per the ancient Indian Purana & Itihasa texts, in the very ancient times the entire landmass in the northern hemisphere was surrounded by ocean in all the directions. This giant land mass on earth was called Jambudvipa. Dvipa in Sanskrit means an Island. Jambudveepa consisted of modern Asia, Europe, Africa and North America.

This Jambudvipa was divided into nine varshas (geographical regions) of which one was Bharatha Varsha. The other eight varshas were Ketumula Varsha, Hari Varsha, Ilavrita Varsha, Kuru Varsha, Hiranyaka Varsha, Ramyaka Varsha, Kimpurusha Varsha, Bhadrasva Varsha.

Of these, Ilavrita Varsha was at the present North Pole (the Arctic Region)! More about this could be found in the fantastic research done by Lokamayna Bal Gangadhar Tilak in his book “The Arctic Home in the Vedas”

Approximate Geography of the Ancient World

Above is the Geographical Map of the very ancient times mentioned in the Vedic texts. We have an approximate depiction of Jambudvipa and the nava varshas here. North Pole was at the exact center of Ilavrita Varsha. To the west of Ilavrita varsha was said to be Ketumula Varsha most of which is today under Atlantic Ocean. To the east of Ilvarita Varsha was Bhadrasva Varsha which is today under Pacific Ocean. On one side of the Ilavrita Varsha were Hari Varsha, Kimpurusha Varsha and Bharatha Varsha. On the other side of the Ilavrita Varsha were Ramyaka, Hiranyaka and Kuru Varsha. Kuru Varsha was hence on the opposite side of Bharatha Varsha on the globe.

It can be observed that in those times, most of South American continent, southern half of African Continent and entire Australia were submerged under water. On the other hand most of modern day Atlantic ocean and Pacific ocean, and the entire Arctic ocean were above sea level.

NOTE: What we believe to be accurate world map today is not that accurate after all either. See Incorrect Geographical Area Distribution in Modern World Map

The Ancient Greater India – Bharathavarsha

In the Ancient Times India was called Bharathavarsha and it extended in the west including modern Egypt, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Iran, Sumeria upto Caspian Sea (which was called Kashyapa Samudra in those days). Bhratahvarsha was the Greater India while Bharatha Khanda referred to the Indian Subcontinent which lies at the heart of the Vedic Civilization and extended from Himalayas in the north to KanyaKumari in the South. So the aryan invasion theory of a migration of Aryans from Central Asia to modern northern India is a baseless theory, for the entire ancient aryan civilizational geography spanned across the above mentioned regions. The very term “arya” in Sanskrit refers not to any race, but actually means a “noble person”.

The Puranas and Ithihasas are full of historical developments in the Bharatha Varsha. The now dried up Saraswati river mentioned numerous times in the vedas is the heart of this vedic civilization, and it is from here the vedic civilization spread across the Bharatha Varsha during the vedic period. The “Out of India” theory talks about this. The Saraswati river dried up at the end of the Mahabharatha Period due to geological events in the region. It was around this time that the earlier lush green area of the present Rajasthan had got converted into a desert as we see it today.

During the ancient times Arabian sea did not exist, and the land mass stretched continuously from modern India to Africa. The mighty Saraswati river born in the Himalayas flowed for over 4500 miles into Africa before entering the Oceans. This was the largest and longest river in those days. This is the most mentioned and praised river in the Veda. Of the three Ganga Yamuna Saraswati – we know the existence of the first two rivers which flow even today, and Saraswati till recent times was thought to be a mythical river. But recent satellite photographs and geological data have proved the existence of an ancient mighty Saraswati river and its geographical span.

References 

The Origin of Human Past – Children of Immortal Bliss by V Lakshmikantham, Professor of Mathematics, Florida Institute of Technology, USA

Hinduism and the Total Number of Species or Life Forms on Planet Earth

Modern biologists today can list and name around 1.3 million species of life forms on planet earth. But modern biologists also agree that this number is a significant underestimate of the actual total number of species on this planet, so millions of species and life forms are yet to be identified, named, listed and studied. Even today every year around 15,000 new species and life forms are discovered which keeps adding to the number of known species mentioned above. For centuries Taxonomists around the world have been trying to get an approximate definitive figure about the total number of species on Earth and to list them all.  Now let us see what the ancient Hindu scriptures have to say about the total number of species on planet Earth.

Ancient Hindu Texts on Total Number of Life Forms

Bhagavadgita – 5000 year old text

The ancient Hindu text Bhagavadgita which which is atleast 5000 years old and dates back to the times of Mahabharatha says in (2.22) that just as one gives up an old shirt to put on a new one, the soul gives up an old body to acquire a new kind of a body (vasāmsi jirnāni yathā vihāya). And that a soul can be born as any of the 8.4 million species on this planet one of which is humans, the greatest of all life forms. Since being born as a human is such a rare opportunity, one should make complete use of this human life, and devout one’s lifetime to do good things, earn knowledge, help others, serve the society and try to attain moksha (salvation).

What is quite obviously hidden in this message is a statement which says that there are 8.4 million different life forms on this planet!

Padma Purana – 5000 year old text

Another ancient Hindu text Padma Purana which is also a contemporary of  Bhagavadgita not only says that there are 8.4 million different species on Earth, but also goes a step ahead and categorizes or classifies them as follows.

Jalaja (Water based life forms) – 0.9 million
Sthavara (Immobile implying plants and  trees) – 2.0 million
Krimayo (Reptiles) – 1.1 million
Pakshinam (Birds) – 1.0 million
Pashavah (terrestrial animals) – 3.0 million
Manavah (human-like animals) – 0.4 million

8.4 million life forms in all! The actual Sanskrit verse from the Padma Purana explaining the above numbers is as follows

jalaja nava lakshani, sthavara laksha-vimshati, krimayo rudra-sankhyakah, pakshinam dasha-lakshanam, trinshal-lakshani pashavah, chatur lakshani manavah

In other words these 5000 year old texts are not only suggesting that there are 8.4 million species or 8.4 million different life forms on earth, but have also categorized them!

Total Number of Life Forms estimated by Modern Science

As late as Aug 2011, a detailed study “estimated” (not discovered them all, but only calculated using a detailed mathematical analysis) the total number of species on planet earth to be around 8.7 million, plus or minus 1.3 million. Read this article on The New York Times, How Many Species? A Study Says 8.7 Million, but It’s Tricky.  What this means is that around 7 million species or life forms are yet to be discovered and cataloged! Also please note that it doesn’t have to be exactly 8.4 million species even today, because biodiversity on earth has changed in the past few thousand years with climate change, mass extinction, etc. Irrespective of whether the final number ends up near 8.4 million or not, this gives us a lot of insight into the scientific and analytic capabilities of our ancestors and proves that the ancients were as equally scientific tempered as the scientists of our age. Please note that the numbers quoted above are from texts which are atleast 5000 years old, a period which modern science says belongs to “Stone Age” !?

Look at the striking resemblance of the number 8.4 million life forms mentioned in the ancient Hindu scriptures, and the new number “8.7 million, plus or minus 1.3 million” arrived at using modern scientific analysis and decide for yourself. Be careful the next time you chose to ignore a number or a statement in an ancient text as myth or irrelevant.

Remember these lines from the 500 year old kannada dasara pada?
“ಎಂಭತ್ತ್ನಾಲ್ಕು ಲಕ್ಷ ಜೀವ ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ದಾಟಿ ಬಂದ ಈ ಶರೀರ…” which means that our human body evolved out of 8.4 million species.

Who said there is no science in spirituality, and who said that the ancients knew no science. They knew better than us, ain’t it?