Nalanda University



                         The vast universities of Eastern India had hundreds of teachers and students who came from across India and from the many countries of Asia that had embraced Buddhist philosophy. The greatest of these was at Nalanda. Here there was a spirit of vibrant intellectual thought, a climate of discussion and debate. The scholars of Nalanda made outstanding contributions to numerous fields of study. The many acharyas or great masters at Nalanda, authored hundreds of treatise in various fields; on philosophy, metaphysics, psychology, logic, medicine, astrology, arts, literature and other subjects. In the words of Dr. Jeffrey Durham : “One of the most important universities in the world was developed not in the medieval west, but right here in India. And here I am referring to the university consortium of Nalanda, Vikramshila, Somapura, Odantpuri – all of these universities were instrumental in producing people who are capable of understanding and articulating what it means to have universal knowledge, knowledge that applicable, across cultures and in across times.” 




                The study at Nalanda was of life itself and what is reality. It was based not upon faith but on unshakable logic and pursuit of the truth. The study was of our minds, are perceptions and what is knowledge itself? The intellectuals here analyzed the qualities which led to Enlightenment and sought to create a logical path which could lead us to Buddhahood. A path which would work for all. According to some historians, there was no written script in Tibet till the 7th century. The acceptance of the Buddhist faith entailed the understanding of subtle philosophic concepts and profound commentaries. This transfer of knowledge would not have been possible without translating and writing it down. A very sophisticated language and a script capable of preserving this knowledge had to be formulated.

The best known Buddhist universities, Nalanda, Vikramasila and Odantpuri, were in Eastern India, in the region of present-day Bihar. In fact, Bihar derives its name from the many Viharas which flourished here. The greatest of these monastic centres was at Nalanda. It was a hub of learning where pilgrims and scholars came from all corners of Asia.

Nalanda was visited by the Buddha himself. In the 3 rd century BC, Emperor Ashoka is believed to have made offerings to the chaitya of Sariputra and erected a temple here. However, the origins of the university itself are obscured in the mists of time. The medieval Tibetan historian Taranatha mentions that the great Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna who was born the middle of the 2 nd century AD taught here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Putin, trump and modi shaping world's future

Putin  trump and modi shaping world's future Trump's policy During his first year in office, US president Donald Trump, signed an order to stop illegal immigrations from other countries. He said keep the Americans first in America. Though it looked like a fair point but it was very crucial and very sensual topic across the world. As most of the people dream to go to US. The immigration ban was mainly targeted on the Muslim majority countries like, Chad, Iran, Syria, Lydia, Somalia and Yemen. In short the American Civil Liberties Union has called upon a ban on Muslim ban, which can have a great consequences 150 million people, and the majority belongs to Muslim. Putin's policy Valdimir Putin, clearly one of the most powerful man in the world. It was Putin who brought and hold up the Russia together for several years. The whole of Europe needs the Russian gas. Russia has good relations with most the powerful countries in the world. Though their relation with the Uni...
Read more

all blogs by rehan shaikh (BAIJ 1st Year)

Image
    Jeffrey C. Hall                 Jeff Hall was born in Brooklyn, New York, but spent most of his childhood years in the suburbs of Washington, DC. He was an undergraduate at Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he began to study genetic phenomena in  Drosophila.  He continued in this vein as a graduate student at the University of Washington (Seattle). When he subsequently became a postdoctoral researcher at the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, California), he made a lateral move into neurogenetic studies of  Drosophila  (just as a duck might make a lateral move  à l'orange ). greatly influenced him especially by encouraging Hall to stay updated on recent events in the daily newspaper. As a good high school student, Hall planned to pursue a career in medicine. Hall began pursuing a bachelor's degree at Amherst College in 1963. However, during his time as an undergraduate s...
Read more

Indian Food Industry

                    Indian Food Industry         India is one of the key food producers in  the world, with the second largest pure land area. It is the largest producer of milk, pulses, sugarcane and tea in the world. a nd the second largest producer of wheat, rice, fruits  and vegetables.  India’s Food Processing industry is one of the largest  industries in the country - it is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected growth.  The Indian food industry is estimated to be worth over US 200 billion and is expected to grow to US 310 billion by 2015. India is one of the world’s major food producers. but accounts for only 1.7 per cent of The Indian food processing industry is estimated at  US 70 billion. It contributed 6.3 per cent to India’s GDP in 2003 and had a share of 6 per cent in the total industrial Production The industry employs 1.6...
Read more