I saw a recent thread about everyone's thought on Chinese people. I would like to learn what is the general perception of the world community about people from India.

They have the same basic needs as all human beings. They are the only ones who can talk about their culture. Apart from that anything else would be a generalization since they are all different and special in their own way. Many good mathematicians. India must be one of the most beautiful places.

I would put here some facts about India rather than Indians,

5,000 year old ancient civilization
325 languages spoken- 1652 dialects
18 official languages
29 states, 5 union territories
3.28 million sq. kilometers - area
7516 kilometers - coastline

Parliamentary form of gov.
Largest democracy
3rd largest standing armed force
2nd largest pool of scientists and engineers.

Science of Yoga
the science of yoga was born in an age when mankind as a whole was more enlightened, and could easily grasp truths for which our most advanced thinkers are still grasping.
Today the word yoga is much used and much mis-understood these days, reduced from its on the control of the conscious to that of the control of the body.

The only society in history which has never known slavery.
Never invaded other country in last 10,000 years of history.

Robert Clive's personal wealth amassed from the blunder of bengal during 1750's was estimated to around 401,102 pounds

Amount of treasure that British looted from India had reached 1,000,000,000 by 1901. Taking in to consideration interest rates and inflation this would come around $1,000,000,000,000 in real terms.

Vedic philosophy:
The vedic philosophy are the oldest written text on the planet today. They date back to the begining of Indian civilization.
Veda means knowledge in Sanskrit.

Rig Veda- Knowledge of Hymens, 10,859 verses
"There is only one truth, only men describe it in differnt ways"

Yujur Veda- knowledge of Liturgy,3.988 verses.
Sama veda- Knowledge of classical Music, 1549 verses.
Ayur Veda- Knowledge of Medicine, over 100,000 verses

Four Kinetic ideas behind Hindu Vedic spirituality:

Karma- The law of universal causality, which connects man with Cosmos and condemns him to transmigrate

Maya- The world is not simply whatit seems to the human senses. Absolute reality, situated somewhere beyond the cosmic illusion woven by Maya and beyond human experience as conditioned by Karma.

Nirvana- The state of absolute blessedness, characterised by release from cycle of re-incarnation; freedom from the pain and care of the external world;bliss

Yoga- Implies integration; bringing all the faculties of the psyche under controle of the self.


Upanishads:
Jyotisha- astrology and astronomy
Kalpa- Rituals and legal matters
Siksha- Phonetics
Aiterya- Creation of the universe, man and evolution.
Chandyoga- Reincarnation , soul
Kaushitaki- Karma
Kena- Austerity, work and restraint.
Dhanur Veda- Science of archery and war
Mundaka- discipline, faith and warning of ignorance.

Sulba sutra- knowldge of mathematics and counting
yoga sutra- knowledge of meditation
Kama sutra - knowledge of love and sex.

Famous Books and Epics:
Surya Sindhanta- A textbook on astronomy of ancient India, last compiled in 1000 BC, believed to be handed down from 3000 BC by aid of complex mnemonic recital methods still known today.
Showed Earth's diameter to be 7,840 miloes,
compared to modern measurment of 7,926.7 miles.
Showed the distance between earth and moon to be 253,000 miles,
compared to modern measurment of 252,710 miles.

Ramayana : The first epic consisting of 24,000 verses divided into 7 books, composed about 6500 years.

Mahabharata : Longest Epic in world literature with 100,000 two-lined stanzas, first composed about 5000 years ago.
*****************************************************************************

Words of Lord Krishna in Bhagvad Gita:

After many Births the wise seek refuse in me , seeing me evrywhere and in everything. Such great souls are very rare.

Your very nature will drive you to fight, the only choice is what to fight against.

On action be your interest, Never on its fruits. Let not the fruits of action be your motive, Nor be thy attachment to inaction.

This is how actions are done by the ancient seekers of freedom, follow their example, act, surrendering the fruits of action.

For certain is death for the born, and certain is birth for the dead; Therefore over the imevitable you should not grieve. (Remember Movie Matrixx?)

For the uncontrolled there is no wisdom. For the uncontrolled there is no concentration, and for him without concentration, there is no peace. And for the unpeaceful how can there be happiness?
When a man dwells on the object of sense, he creates an attraction for them, attraction develops into desire , and desire breeds anger.

*****************************************************************************
Reference- http://www.stephen-knapp.com
http://www.atributetohinduism.com
http://www.iskcon.com/icj/6_1/6_1klostermaier.html
http://shourie.bharatvani.org/articles/20030815.htm

Jules Michelet (1798 -1874) French writer and the greatest historian of the Romantic school said:

"At its starting point in India, the birthplace of races and religions, the womb of the world."

While seeking for the wisdom of ages, he cried at the commencement of his work, “The Bible of Humanity”: “The year 1863 will remain dear and blessed to me.” Why? Because he had read India’s sacred poem, the Ramayana.

"Divine poem, ocean of milk!"

cried Michelet on discovering this ancient Scripture.

In what moving terms he then wrote about India. We can but transcribe his burning words:

“Each year, it is necessary to respire, to take breath again, to revive ourselves at the great living sources that forever keep their eternal freshness. Where can we find them if not at the cradle of our race, on the sacred summits from where descend the Indus and the Ganges....?

(source: The Fragrance of India : landmarks for the world of tomorrow - By Louis Revel p. 16 Kitabistan Allahabad 1946).

This is what Michelet said of the Ramayana:

"Whoever has done or willed too much let him drink from this deep cup a long draught of life and youth........Everything is narrow in the West - Greece is small and I stifle; Judea is dry and I pant. Let me look toward lofty Asia, and the profound East for a little while. There lies my great poem, as vast as the Indian ocean, blessed, gilded with the sun, the book of divine harmony wherein is no dissonance. A serene peace reigns there, and in the midst of conflict an infinite sweetness, a boundless fraternity, which spreads over all living things, an ocean (without bottom or bound) of love, of pity, of clemency."

Such was the first and enduring impression made on Michelet by the Ramayana.

(source: Philosophy of Hinduism - An Introduction - An Introduction By T. C. Galav Universal Science-Religion. p 149. The Fragrance of India : landmarks for the world of tomorrow - By Louis Revel p. 16 Kitabistan Allahabad 1946).

" From India comes to us a torrent of light, a river of Right and Reason" ......

(source: Arise O' India - By Francois Gautier ISBN 81-241-0518-9 Har-Anand Publications 2000. p. 25 ).

" Whereas, in our Occident, the most dry and sterile minds brag in front of Nature, the Indian genius, the most rich and fecund of all, knows neither small nor big and has generously embraced universal fraternity, even the identity of all souls."

(source: La Bible de l'Humanite in OEuvres - By Louis Michelet (Paris : Larousse, 1930, vol. 5, p. 119.).