Numbers - Brahman is Complete or Limitless

From my Guru Sh. AB Shukla Ji
We knew it before (Numbers)
It is said that India gave only one numeral among ten numbers from zero to nine. That number is zero. This is a misconception and let me try to wipe out this myth. Our sages not only knew numerals from zero to nine but also beyond and that is infinite. They knew the method of counting and used them freely in their life. The Vedas, Upanishads, Gita and other age old scriptures have used numerals and numbers in their texts with ease whether for expressing Anant or Akoham or Chaturvidha or Chaatur maas or dwadasa rasis or uses of sahastra yojana or laksha vahini etc. Various basic astrological principles given by them use these numbers and mathematical properties.
This article discusses the origin of the numbers to depict their presence in Vedic period and attempts to prove that our forefathers had knowledge of the entire number system that is available today.
Let’s start this journey.
1. Infinite: Our ancestors first realized the presence of Brahman and its vastness like space/sky. They accepted this supreme power as omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient etc.

 The vastness of controller of universe was expressed as:

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णश्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥

Meaning: Brahman is complete or Anant or Limitless, this completeness comes out of Anant. If completeness is subtracted from Anant, still Anant is left.
The meaning of the most representative word for Brahman is "Purna" which means complete or infinite or limitless. The word purna or Anant (limitless) describes the Brahman.
This is the first number invented i.e. Infinite representing Brahman.
2. Zero: Next number which invented was zero, a number which was also complete. It was observed that everything in this universe, in order to attain stability becomes round e.g. drop of water, shape of heavenly bodies (Sun and other planets), their path around Sun etc. Further, it was observed that most of the phenomenons that are occurring in nature are repetitive. This lead to the shape of a circle i.e. ‘Zero’ which has property of reaching back to the point of beginning and repeating thereafter.
This number was also equated with ‘Maya’ or the illusion that covers the Brahman and depicts the properties of Brahman. Brahman is the only truth, whereas Maya is appearance of that truth but not the real truth. Since Maya is true only for now and not forever. Hence Maya is a cover on Brahman and makes Brahman appear to an individual the way he thinks and hides the reality.
Further, they also understood that anything divided by infinite (if that infinite or Brahman is covered or removed), zero (Maya) is left. Similarly anything divided by zero is infinity i.e. absence of Maya is Brahman.

I will continue from this later in next post.

Posted by Sh. Navneet Kaushik in Facebook ICAS Examination wing Group on 21 Feb 2013, for Comments click here