What do you think of Hindu Cosmology as per Carl Sagan?
399085
Yes,What you have read is right.Only Hindu religion gives a strong base and evidence in the cosmology.The position and movement of the planets,stars,comets and other celestial bodies influences each and every matter in the earth.Even earth influence the other bodies also.You can refer Vedas,and other religious books of Hindus which tells about cosmology.I really appreciate for your interest in Hindu religion Cosmology.Good Luck
855059
Yes Hinduism believes there are many planets which have life somewhere lower and somewhere higher than earth.\n\nHinduism also believes there are many Universes...our is not the only one\n\nIn Bhagvat and Yoga Vashishta they explain other planets and universe...in Bhagavat when Brahmaa goes to see little Krishna...he sees there are hundereds of Brahmaas each one chief creator of his universe are waiting to see krishna\n\nA year before i saw on Discovery Channel a programme about some temples (in south America) which are 1000s of years old and are geometrically at exact ratio distance as Sun and other planets. The local people insist aliens came and made those temples.  Scientifically it is not possible to make such exact replica of solar system, without seeing it from the sky...and 1000s of years ago this was scientifically not possible...hence we have to believe the locals
941183
That is not logically consistant.\n\nBesides, nature is Hindu.
581030
Very Insightful. Seriously I loved the series. Check out his book "God and the Evolving Universe" another great one. I forget who co-wrote it with him. I try to live with what I learn from reading different concepts and other peoples truths. This set of books has given me so many good lessons. The main thing I took away from it was a totally new way to interact with my children. I see them more as equals now than before. They have taught me many things that have made my life better. I think if people can use what they read in these books then it would be a really good thing for the world. \nLove & Light\nOne Planet = One People
1093250
the religion of the universe
29339
Yes, it gets as close as possible. \nGo to amazon.com and buy a book called "Chariots of God" \nNext, to know more on Hindu philosophy, go to blog of Harshad Joshi at agneya2.blogspot.com to know about Hinduism. It contains mysterious hymns from ancient Indian culture.
896335
I remember when this series first came out...it took a love for Astronomy and Science that I already had and actually magnified it.  Considering it's now over 25 years old, there isn't very much in it that wouldn't still be relevent today.  Sagan's knack for explaining advanced concepts in a way anyone could understand is probably his single most important contribution to the field...and he had MANY.  There's part of me that had always hoped that if extraterrestrial life was ever proven to exist beyond earth, that it would happen while Sagan was still alive...his input would have been priceless.  His death was one of the few times a famous person's demise made this grown man cry.
983050
Hello there. Funny you mention this because, as a boy, the first truly inspiring text I read was the Tao Te Ching. I still find myself reading it, at least in part, once a week. This text is so simple yet profound it put me on a path to seek out even more esoteric knowledge. I have also studied the writings of Confucius, the Vedic texts  of India, Buddhism,  Zen, Shinto, Suffic Islam, etc. All in all, the Tao really opened my eyes to a deeper understanding of things. I can read about Quantum Mechanics and sub-atomic physics and find the spiritual parallels within the science. I wish more westerners could be exposed to this. My email is viewable in profile.
368130
I'm pretty sure he's referring to 11 main planets in our solar system, not as a whole.\n\nBelieve it or not, many of the predictions made by the Koran have turned out to be true, or at least to a certain extent. It does say that the big bang did happen, it predicts the existance of certain nebulae by their description, and Islamic astronomers were considered to be the best way before the times of of Kepler, for example.\n\nA lot of religions, especially Islam, make predictions based on science. Islam literally loves science and it says that there can be a unity between science and the belief in Allah/God without altering data.\n\nSo yeah, it's entirely possible that there are 11 planets in our solar system. Did we not just discover one hiding around Pluto? \n\nWe always focus on things really far away when sometimes we should stick to our own turf. But yeah, I think the Koran is correct. Right now we're totally sure of 9, I wouldn't be amazed if we found two more hiding around.
139713
Carl Sagan made billions and billions.
623725
I know that the creationism push is led by the christian movement, and they will bitterly oppose anything but the bible's creation as intelligent design.  Hindu's don't desire science they are much more into thier spiritual development and that is a good thing, but even with all the proof in the world you will never get anyone to acept another's religion.  Therefore keep religion out of the schools
533104
carl sagan said it first
364991
I cant beleive the ppl this is drawing - I wish I had been in time to answer Deepak Chopra's question :)\n\nI missed Tom's question - but hes a little odd now - I might not have even answered LOLOL..
114172
Actually I believe Carl Sagan might best be described as a publicist of Astronomy and extra terrestrial life. And of course he was an astronomer of some note. However, his fame comes principly from three sources. 1) his Cosmos series on PBS, which was an outstanding presentation of cosmology for the masses. 2) his association with SETI (search of estraterrestrial intellegence). 3)He was one of the first to propose global warming.  I am not sure that one could call him an inventive scientist in that he did not invent things.  However, many of his insites into planitary astronomy later proved correct. \n\n  On the other hand Asimov is a noted writer of science fiction. My favorite being The Gods Themselves. I do not think that the two are comparable. \n\nVelikovsky wrote a book that drew a lot of popular interest based on its hypothesis.  It is not really based on science and it is not science fiction either.
370362
I've been studying these issues alot more in the past year or two, and I find them incredibly compelling. \n\nWhen you look at the massive size of the universe, to assume that we are alone is, if only mathematically, ignorant to some degree. \n\nThe more I study history and astronomy, the more I think these two topics are combined. \n\nI may sound like some wackjob, but, I think that there is life elsewhere, that they have traveled here, and perhaps have had a hand in certain events in history. \n\nI don't believe in coincidences, and there are entirely too many questions in our past without answers that can be provided which point towards humans. \n\nWho knows - maybe I am a wackjob, but in the big picture, you can never question everything enough. \n\nIts a big, big universe. We all get wrapped up in our tiny lives, in our tiny houses, in our tiny countries, and forget about the stars, the galaxies that are out there. \n\nSome day I believe we'll find the truth, unfortunately I believe that this 'someday' will be thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years in the future.
860656
In India the first references to astronomy are to be found in the Rig Veda which is dated around 2000 B.C. Vedic Aryans in fact deified the Sun, Stars and Comets. Astronomy was then interwoven with astrology and since ancient times Indians have involved the planets (called Grahas) with the determination of human fortunes. The planets Shani, i.e. Saturn and Mangal i.e. Mars were considered inauspicious. \n\nIn the working out of horoscopes (called Janmakundali), the position of the Navagrahas, nine planets plus Rahu and Ketu (mythical demons, evil forces) was considered. The Janmakundali was a complex mixture of science and dogma. But the concept was born out of astronomical observations and perception based on astronomical phenomenon. In ancient times personalities like Aryabhatta and Varahamihira were associated with Indian astronomy. \n\nIt would be surprising for us to know today that this science had advanced to such an extent in ancient India that ancient Indian astronomers had recognized that stars are same as the sun, that the sun is center of the universe (solar system) and that the circumference of the earth is 5000 Yojanas. One Yojana being 7.2 kms., the ancient Indian estimates came close to the actual figure. \n\nIn Indian languages, the science of Astronomy is today called Khagola-shastra. The word Khagola perhaps is derived from the famous astronomical observatory at the University of Nalanda which was called Khagola. It was at Khagola that the famous 5th century Indian Astronomer Aryabhatta studied and extended the subject. \n\nAryabhatta is said to have been born in 476 A.D. at a town called Ashmaka in today's Indian state of Kerala. When he was still a young boy he had been sent to the University of Nalanda to study astronomy. He made significant contributions to the field of astronomy. He also propounded the Heliocentric theory of gravitation, thus predating Copernicus by almost one thousand years. \n\nAryabhatta's Magnum Opus, the Aryabhattiya was translated into Latin in the 13th century. Through this translation, European mathematicians got to know methods for calculating the areas of triangles, volumes of spheres as well as square and cube root. Aryabhatta's ideas about eclipses and the sun being the source of moonlight may not have caused much of an impression on European astronomers as by then they had come to know of these facts through the observations of Copernicus and Galileo. \n\nBut considering that Aryabhatta discovered these facts 1500 years ago, and 1000 years before Copernicus and Galileo makes him a pioneer in this area too. Aryabhatta's methods of astronomical calculations expounded in his Aryabhatta-Siddhatha were reliable for practical purposes of fixing the Panchanga (Hindu calendar). Thus in ancient India, eclipses were also forecast and their true nature was perceived at least by the astronomers. \n\nThe lack of a telescope hindered further advancement of ancient Indian astronomy. Though it should be admitted that with their unaided observations with crude instruments, the astronomers in ancient India were able to arrive at near perfect measurement of astronomical movements and predict eclipses. \n\nIndian astronomers also propounded the theory that the earth was a sphere. Aryabhatta was the first one to have propounded this theory in the 5th century. Another Indian astronomer, Brahmagupta estimated in the 7th century that the circumference of the earth was 5000 yojanas. A yojana is around 7.2 kms. Calculating on this basis we see that the estimate of 36,000 kms as the earth's circumference comes quite close to the actual circumference known today. \n\nThere is an old Sanskrit Sloka (couplet) which is as follows: \n\n"Sarva Dishanaam, Suryaha, Suryaha, Suryaha." \n\nThis couplet means that there are suns in all directions. This couplet which describes the night sky as full of suns, indicates that in ancient times Indian astronomers had arrived at the import
90736
Hindu Beliefs\nThe beliefs of hindu thought are wide and varied, and have been expounded upon by saints and writers throughout the centuries. Some of the salient elements of hindu beliefs are presented below (from an article in Hinduism Today, April 1993). The two articles Duty to masses and Why we differ, also provide tremendous insights into hindu beliefs. Enjoy! \nOn Creation: \nThe universe exists in endless cycles of creation, preservation and destruction. There is no absolute end to the world. \nOn The True God: \nThere is but one true and absolute Self, Supreme Being. God is pure Love. \nOn Paths to God: \nMan is free to choose his form of worship, for all paths lead ultimately to God. Sin is only of the mind; Soul is pure. \nOn Man's Plight: \nMan's suffering is but his soul's immaturity. He is on a progressive path which leads from ignorance to knowledge, from death to immortality. \nOn Evil: \nThere is no intrinsic evil. All is good. All is God. \nOn Virtue and Salvation: \nVirtuous conduct and light belief are the foundation of religious life. Liberation requires knowledge and personal attainment. \nOn Doctrines: \nDoctrines tend to be subtle, complex and even paradoxical. Freedom to worship and to believe in a variety of ways is predominant. \nOn Enlightenment: \nThe goals of enlightenment and liberation are to be found in this life, within man himself. \nOn Sainthood: \nThe path to saintliness is through self-discipline, purification, concentration, and contemplation. Value is placed on ascetic ideals, individual sadhana, and yoga. \nOn Worship: \nWorship is individualistic, highly ritualistic and meditative, centering around the temple and home shrine all days of the week