Origins of civilization - INDIA - The Empire of the Spirit Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTFsleGIa4A Part 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zSrSiJwRqw Part 3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPiKBfVZa-o Part 4 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEXcoyBy1oY Part 5 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P33F5jWWII8 Part 6 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4QQdQwTguM

Legacy: The Origins of Civilization - India, The Empire of the Spirit (1991) This series of programs examines cultures that have lost their former power, yet have a legacy that continues to influence their descendants. In Legacy: The Origins of C...ivilization - India, The Empire of the Spirit, host and historian Michael Wood goes to India in search of the civilization that has left behind tantalizing glimpses of its grandeur. Historian Michael Wood stands in the Iraqi desert amid crumbling ruins and dry desolation. He describes a once-thriving metropolis, where merchants brought their goods into the city over a network of lush canals. All that remains is a sea of golden sand, the once-large population drifted away, the complex society vanished. As the world approaches the 21st century, this new series reminds us that other nations and cultures prospered for hundreds or even thousands of years. Now all that remains is the legacy of their civilizations, present and influential in our own. Shot on location on four continents, Legacy takes a different viewpoint from other series that concentrate primarily on the Western view of history. Visiting China, India, Egypt, the Middle East, Greece and Meso-America, this series traces the rise of both Asian and western civilization. This series results from an international effort, a co-production of Maryland Public Television and Central Independent Television, U.K. in association with NHK, Japan and the British Museum. Source : http://www.mazalien.com/legacy-the-origins-of-civilization-india-the-empire-of-the-spirit.html

Legacy: The Origins of Civilization (1991) "We humans have been on the Earth for more than a million years, but civilization – life in cities – has come about only in the last 5,000. Through history civilizations have rose and fell, carved out of... nature, dependent on nature, in the end – nature took them back. But in the past few hundred years, one form of civilization – that of the West – has changed the balance of nature forever. And now it is civilization itself that has become the central problem of our planet. To understand why, we must look afresh at how we see history. Host Michael Wood traces the rise of both Asian and Western civilization in one global perspective in these thought-provoking videos. From the crumbling ruins in the Iraqi desert to those of Greece and Rome, viewers contemplate thriving cities and complex societies that have vanished, a reminder that other nations prospered for thousands of years. Now all that remains is their legacy."

Next installment, cultures that have lost their former power, have a legacy that continues to influence their descendants, and are gaining power again.

Days of eclipse are over.. Let the lost glory return !!

... I agree with you entirely Mr ' Heroes of Historic India' !!! ... I'm all in favour of a return to the global status quo circa 1895 ~ huzzah !!! .... (* please note the satirical disclaimer)....

Michael Wood reads into the Rig Veda an "histroical" account of an "invasion" by Aryans. This is problematic and doesn't stand any more today for want of archaeological proofs. Furthermore, the Saraswati river (praised in the Rig Veda as the mightiest of all rivers) is not taken into account. By 1800 BC, it had dried up, well before the supposed arrival date of the invading Aryans (1500 BC). Why praise a dried up river? The Sapta Sindhu or Seven Rivers are mentioned in the Rig Veda from East to the West, from the heartland to the marches, very unlikely in the case of an eastbound invading people. In his latest opus (the Story of India), Wood reiterates but is less affirmative about the invasion... Apart from Vedic History, his approach of India is always stimulating and quite respectful.