Reply #55: The Hindu Invention of Zero.....Zero was initially used as a Philosophical tool

[Vehl]

Zero (Derived from the Sanskrit word Sunya) was a Philosophical concept/tool used to explain the non-dual Brahman("not-twoness") of Hinduism (Especially of the Advaita Vedanta Schools of though). Advaita Vedanta posits that everything in this universe(s) is but one (beyond even "god(s)") that is hard for humans to comprehend (unless the being is enlightened) because we are totally fooled by the illusory environment that confuses us with notions of duality (I and other..while there is no "I" or "other).

The Ancient Hindus used Sunya(Zero) to signify Brahman. It was at once valueless and the most valuable.
Zero by itself has no value, however, when set alongside a number it increases the value by tenfold. The Brahman is not a subset of anything...same as the zero..nothing can be divided by zero. The physical laws of the universe do not apply to zero, the same way they do not apply to Brahman, because both transcend definition. We can only say zero/Brahman is "not this", "not that"..but we cannot define it. It simply IS.

Later on this concept was used by the sages/yogis who conceived of it as a philosophical concept in the Hindu numeral system, a system of 10 number which was taken up by the Arabs and popularized in Europe(earning the erroneous term "Arabic numerals....at long last the math textbooks are finally setting the record straight).

In this regard, yes...At least one essential invention has been the result of religion. however one has to remember that Hinduism/Buddhism are more of a 'way of life' than a religion in the Abrahamic sense...for example..most Advaita Vedantins are Atheist..as they seek to transcend god(s).