Finding Zero Read Online Free PDF Page B

system”—it was not one that survived the test of time. 2 Encountering it, however, rekindled my passion to search for theorigins of our versatile base-10 numbers and the first zero in the East—the ten numerals that became the basis for the all-powerful system that controls our modern world.

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    Over the next year—energized by learning about the Mayan numbers—I worked hard to solve the great mystery that had intrigued me my entire life: Where do numbers— our numbers, the nine familiar digits, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, plus the all-important 0—come from?
    I knew from Laci and from my university courses and extensive reading and research I had done that the nine digits we use today were believed to have originated in India. I also knew that at some point in the past, the Indians learned to use a place-holding zero. But there were no absolutely known facts about the origins of the numerals and the birthplace of the zero and no details. Was all this true? Books and articles all pointed me in one direction: East. My experiences with Laci on the ship gave me a deep, lifelong desire to find things out for myself, to see the actual evidence, to witness history.
    So I began to plan a trip to India, hoping to find some answers there. I spent much time learning about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. I read books about the East and the cultures of Asia, about customs, philosophy, and mathematics. I sensed that Easternreligions were the key to knowledge about Asian societies, and I felt that perhaps the origin of the numerals was embedded in these religious traditions.
    And here is what I learned about these fascinating religions, which until then were almost completely foreign to me. Brahmanism, more commonly known as the precursor of modern Hinduism, began in India and has three main gods: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Each god has a feminine aspect called his Shakti, or consort. Parvati is Shiva’s Shakti; she is also called Uma or Durga. Lakshmi is Vishnu’s Shakti. She emerges radiant from the Sea of Milk, seated on a floating lotus and holding a budding lotus flower in each hand. She is the bearer of good fortune. Brahma is the creator of the worlds, but he is born from a lotus flower on Vishnu’s stomach once Lakshmi wakes him up by massaging his legs as he lies in eternal slumber on top of the sea serpent, Ananta—which means infinity. Here we already see that at the very point these gods were conceived, the key mathematical idea of infinity makes its debut in the form of an infinite quantity or extent, as embodied by Ananta, and in the form of an infinite past: eternity until Vishnu is awakened.
    Now, Vishnu is the maintainer of the worlds, and Shiva is their destroyer. In keeping with this powerful image, Shiva is often portrayed as holding a trident; at times he is represented by a stylized phallus. For a dangerous god he seems rather benevolent: His chief interest, as evident from much of the art in which he appears, seems to be sex.
    Vishnu has four (or sometimes eight) arms. His four arms carry symbols representing the four elements of the cosmos: earth,wind, fire, and water. These are surprisingly similar to the Greek elements of the universe, which are also earth, wind, fire, and water, but which include a fifth essence called just that: quintessence, from which we get the word quintessential.
    Shiva is almost always portrayed as having a third, vertical eye on his forehead. And Brahma has four faces, one for each of the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. These gods seem to capture much symbolism about life and nature. Together, the three gods form the Trimurti—reminiscent of the trinity. And in fact Vishnu and Shiva are sometimes depicted as a single amalgamation: a statue with four arms and a third eye, representing a god named Harihara (Vishnu is Hari, and Shiva is Hara). Together, the two gods, or three when Brahma is included, are seen as