Are you Scientific or Religious?

Introduction

We could do no better than mention what Ralph Waldo Trine has to say in his book “What All the World’s A-Seeking.” He is referring to the eternal quest for Truth.
Truth must be the basis of Science and Religion.


There is great confusion and violence in the world. There is every form of revolt and many explanations for these revolts. Then there are starving millions; there is suppression under great tyrannies and there is much social injustice. When one is aware of all this one is confused; uncertain as to what to do, what to think, what part to play.


Religions have failed us. In a sense, Religion means gathering all energies; gathering all energies in investigation leading to Truth. In the last 2000 years or more, the religions had a complete sway over humanity, but all they seem to have achieved is an irrevocable division of our society. Divisiveness dissipates the energies and more important, progress is thwarted. Much of the time is spent in internecine disputes between one religion and another or within the same religion between denominations. Many wars have been waged to impose one religion over other. Belief, dogma, tradition or rituals have gained domination. Hierarchical outlook has gained preponderance over investigation of Truth which should be the only pursuit of religion. Imagine a mighty flowing river. It rushes forth carrying any debris and other portable articles on the way. However, big boulders hold on firmly. The boulders are the various religions in the river called ‘Flow of Life’. The gushing waters dash against the boulders only to find an alternate passage so that they can continue their flow. Most of us are like the aquatic creatures in the flowing river. Some hang on to the boulders and spend their life on them and the rest wallow in the flow of the river. And what happens to those who escaped by clinging to the boulder. They get fossilized in due course. No matter what the failings of the religions are one thing is certain they inculcate a sense of discipline and abiding faith.


Consequently, there was a great sigh of relief when, about four hundred years ago the advent of science was noticed. Man felt that he was free from the oppression of the religions. He no more needed to exercise strong discipline and could do away with blind faith. People therefore took to science and developed a scientific bent of mind to deal with nature of existence. Accordingly, Science gave attention to investigate into the mysteries of nature and adventurous exploration of the outer space. Initially many discoveries took place and scientific progress was tremendous so much so, the scientists thought, at the beginning of the last century that they are about to reach the ultimate frontier of physics and there would be nothing more to know. And mind you, physics is the mother of all sciences! Alas, there could not have been a greater misjudgment! Not only that, today physics is on the cross roads not knowing which route to take. The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel appears to be a unification theory which is eluding the best brains.


It was Sir Charles Darwin who formally initiated the diversification of science from religion with his work “The Origin of the Species”. His discovery of ‘Selection by Natural Process’ was in direct conflict with the fundamental religious concept that there is a ‘Designer- the Almighty God.’ The controversy is still very much alive today, without any conclusion in sight. The matter is in the court of law awaiting judgment in US!


Be that as it may, Science itself has not acquitted well, notwithstanding the great discoveries in the last four centuries. There are two reasons that can be discerned.
Except in the field of Space exploration, scientists are concerned with explanations and more explanations on the mysteries of nature. Explanations lead us nowhere except perhaps, giving a mental satisfaction that we are progressing. Moreover, in their eagerness to please, a concept of ‘Applied Science’ has been initiated to find ways and means to canalize the scientific discoveries for the utility of man. At the same time almost, Economics happened. Adam Smith laid down the modern Economic Theory and Monetary System. This brought science into the economic sphere of wants and satisfaction of wants. There is no end to wants and so science has to constantly sub serve the satisfaction of wants. In the end the progress of scientific research has bogged down many a times by economic consideration alone. Also, because of free access, many times, the Scientific Research lands into the hands of unfit and evil persons and the results of research are used for nefarious activities. Matter and spirit go hand in hand and are inseparable. But attention was given to only Matter and Spirit was ignored. We shall examine in due course whether science was a product of last four to five hundred years labor or we were preempted by an earlier civilization in not only making, by and large, all the discoveries which has brought glory to our contemporary civilization but had secured more spectacular gains for population at that time. How they protected the scientific knowledge from falling into the wrong hands? And what happened to that civilization?


Take our previous example of the flowing river. In the course of the flow the beings in the water see Observatory Towers here and there. Why are they so placed? It is to study the depth of the river; the composition of the sediments and the river floor; the composition of the waters and what not. This is science for you. And you are given advisory as to what head gear to don; what jacket will be more comfortable; what goggles to wear; what leg gear would make the movement smooth and what fashion of dress will more suit a person in the thick of flow. And then the question how to entertain yourself and your family if they are with you is also addressed. But, alas, the inevitable cannot be avoided. Nor are we a wee bit near the Truth!


If religions have failed as we saw above, science has not done any better. By creating more and more wants and pandering to human greed and desire, science has created an appearance of prosperity, but deep down man is still animalistic and tribal. His miseries have multiplied by leaps and bounds. New diseases bedevil us. Depression is a modern malady. As tribal, man used crude instruments to deal with antagonists, but with so called advancement of civilization we have more and more sophisticated weapons to deal with adversaries. Violence still holds the sway.

History

Faith based religions made their appearance only 2000 years or so ago. We are talking of Judaism first, then Christianity and then Islam in the West. This initiated a bitter competition between them. The religions resorted to forced conversions and propaganda many times by-passing the Truth, the real purpose of religions. It is now a common knowledge that Hinduism is the mother of all religions. Perhaps, we would be more correct in saying that Indian religion (Even the word Indian in the label is extraneous, it should be Ancient Religion- Sanatana Dharma, there were no nations then) was the mother and Hinduism itself was an offshoot to confront the other competitive religions like Christianity and later Islam. Hinduism developed Bhakti Schools to face the challenge and hold its own sway. Idolism was already existent in a small way in India, but Adi Shankara gave a clear direction to it with his Shanmatha advocacy. It was an additional tool to fight competition for Hinduism. Fighting competitive religions was nothing new in the Indian sub-continent, however. Even at the time of Vedas when Ancient Religion- Sanatana Dharma was prevalent, much before the competing religions were born, there was opposition from both within and without. Vedas the books of knowledge were at that time universally accepted except for the fact that there were two schools of thought vying with each other. There was the school that subscribed to the philosophical and scientific contents therein. There was the other school that averred Vedas prescribed rituals and that is the only purpose for well being of man. The ritualistic interpretation of the Vedas gained considerable ground. From without, there was opposition from Jainism. They refused to accept the Vedas as books of knowledge and authority.


Much later, Buddhism made its advent to demolish the ritualistic religion that was in vogue. The Vedic schools had by then developed Upanishads and encountered the Buddhism onslaught effectively. Slowly the Buddhist influence waned in the sub-continent but grew by leaps and bounds in the Far East notably China and later in Japan, Cambodia and other countries. In China it replaced the then powerful existing religion there.


However, we are more concerned with the contents of Rig Veda as it has great relevance to the subject under study. Therein Science and Religion are entwined in such a beautiful way that it is difficult to separate one from the other! And yet, most of the ancient religion has denigrated into the ugly form that religion has assumed in the sub-continent today. Rig Veda does not appear to have suffered this denigration. Later, division of Vedas into four books faced the onslaught of time and change.


Reverting back to our example, Vedas posited that there was definitely a way out of the flowing river and man alone enjoys that capability!
The word ‘Science’ seems to have been coined with the current connotation some 700 years ago, though science really developed only in last four hundred years. That does not mean scientific activity was absent earlier. In the western hemisphere, and in far eastern countries like China, Japan, Australia and many other countries you can measure human development from cradle to maturity as of today. Strangely, this yardstick, however, is inappropriate in so far as Indian sub-continent is concerned, because there is a steady decline in progress from peak to almost the bottom! As a result, this regression undermines Darwin’s theory of linear progress when he talks about civilization. The decline of scientific progress was so complete and traceless that Carl Sagan in his book ‘Cosmos’ at page 154 states that science was still born in India. Could it be so? Should we allow it to pass unchallenged? Should science follow a rigid pattern to pass muster? Should there be no freedom of enquiry? From what he says in his book that freedom of enquiry was restrained or completely denied, in societies and monarchies that he was referring in this context, where slavery was rampant and what pleased the authority was only encouraged. Ancient India was always democratic, even under every kind of rulers because of the appeal of its science and religion! Even after other religions such as Jainism and Buddhism gained currency and sovereignty, there was never suppression in so far as advancement of knowledge is concerned to whatever religion the learned belonged. In fact the suppression started after the advent of Semitic religions such as Islam and Christianity into the country. Even the very concept of a ‘Nation’ seems to have been introduced by these new entrants. The scientific knowledge of the invaders (Islam and Christians) was limited in keeping with the progress of knowledge in their respective nations at that time. Instead of understanding the state of knowledge in the occupied nation, they dubbed Indians as barbarians and worshippers of nature and even punished them. There was another important reason. They were invariably interested in converting the locals into Islam or Christianity as the case maybe. This greatly paved the way for decline of Indian scientific knowledge. Even the western invader’s administrative methods and cultural ways discouraged scientific progress in the Indian idiom.

Geography

There is another issue at stake here. Darwin’s theory and rest of the scientific community that followed thereafter presume that there has been only one civilization of man and he had his origin in ape and evolved over millions of years without break. This is what is called linear progress. Whereas the ancient Indian society right from the time of Vedas maintains that there have been many civilizations which rose and fell. Jyotisha Shastra a branch of Vedic science has made a great astronomical calculation regarding the origin of man. The present life sequence consists of fourteen Manvantaras. Each Manvantara compromises of four Yugas. The Kaliyuga has 4, 32,000 years. The Dwaparayuga has twice that of Kaliyuga, 8, 64,000 years. Tretaayga has thrice, 12, 96,000 years and Kritayuga has four times, 17, 28,000 years. A total of 43, 20,000 years known as Mahayuga. 1000 Mahayugas make 14 Manvantaras. We are now in the seventh Manvantara. Manvantara means reign of Manu, therefore we are called manushya in Sanskrit and man in English, a derivative of the Sanskrit word. The figure of origin as per Indian Almanac is 195,58,85,109, calculated by ancient Indian astronomers is comparable to the date of origin of life in our planet earth as estimated by modern science as about 2 billion years.


The Vedic science does not stop with above calculation. It postulates that fourteen Manvantaras as mentioned above constitute but one day (which does not include night) of Brahma (Creator in Sanskrit). A similar period constitutes his night. And 365 such days constitute a year of Brahma. Brahma has a life-span of 100 years. This is the duration of this universe. Brahma will cease to exist and there will be a Maha Pralaya. Thereafter for duration of one Brahma’s life-span there will be no creation and only the inconceivable, the infinite, the Cosmic Core or Truth alone will subsist. In Sanskrit this Cosmic Core is also known as ‘Brahman’. Then another creation starts with another Brahma. It is interesting to speculate, as to who is this divinity Brahma? In his book ‘The trouble with physics’ Lee Smolin the author states that the myriad phenomena are governed by just four forces: 1) Electro-magnetism; 2) Gravity; 3) The strong nuclear force (that holds the atomic nuclei together); and 4) Weak nuclear force (responsible for radio-active decay). These forces are collectively known as Brahma.


Associated with ending of each Yuga mentioned above, there is a smaller Pralaya which will devastate only the earth unlike the Maha Pralaya which will destroy the whole universe. Pralaya in Sanskrit means a catastrophe. The catastrophe could be due to collision or collapse of stars or groups of stars; universal explosion; or in respect of planet earth, it could be in the form of deluge; conflagration; radiation and so on. That is the reason there would be no evidence available to study earlier civilizations of man and his achievements. As per Indian Almanac we are in the 5109th year of the last Yuga-Kaliyuga. Therefore in Kaliyuga we have only 426891 years to go before the smaller Pralaya devastates us, provided we able to escape man made devastation in the form of a nuclear war!


The disputed question is when the Veda was originally compiled? In the absence of hard evidence, western archaeologists have made a generous estimate, perhaps, based on Philology and set the most optimistic date for origin of Veda as not earlier than 6000 BCE. Whereas right from ancient times, the commentators on Veda have been claiming that it has no beginning and it is eternal. This claim is unacceptable to science, which is dependent on hard evidence, which in this case cannot be produced. Unfortunately, this is the cross road at which western science takes its own path and Veda continues its journey not withstanding the western disagreement.


Veda addresses the very pertinent question whether the Cosmic Core has an eternal life of its own? If you can see existence of life even in a very minute constituent of the cosmos, that is man, then it stands to reason that in its core it does breathe, like we humans do. Incidentally, the sign of existence is breath. Vedas argued that the Cosmic Core must be breathing so as to give life to other billions upon billions of galaxies, stars, planets, asteroids, atoms, particles, man and other life forms. This cosmic core was thought of as a Cosmic Personality- Veda Purusha and he breathes. That life breath, it was claimed by ancients, is Veda. The Sanskrit word mentioned in Brihadharanyaka Upanishad is Niswasitam (2.4.10).

Social Sciences and Literature

With a reason we have used the word Veda in singular hitherto. Originally there was only Rig Veda, a scientific document, no less! After passage of a many thousands of years, this Rig Veda was reclassified with three other Vedas viz., Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas by that great Rishi Krishna Dwaipaayana or Badaaraayana or simply Veda Vyasa. Vyasa means an editor. He also edited Braahmanas, Aaranyakas and Upanishads. The Rig Veda has 10552 hymns in its Samhita part. The other three Vedas also contain many hymns from Rig Veda. In fact, Sama Veda is almost wholly a repeat of Rig Veda in musical form, the source of classical music in India. However, what is common to all the later Vedas, Braahmanas and Aaranyakas is advocacy of Yagnas and rituals (fire worship). Upanishads delineated the philosophical contents of the Vedas. Then the eighteen Puranas followed. Puranas restated the contents of the Vedas in mythological perspective. They abound with many stories and anecdotes. Then followed the epic Mahabaratha which contains the now world famous Bhagwat Geeta. In the last 150 years or so the branch of science known as Behavioral science was developed. It is remarkable that Mahabharatha renders this whole science in the form of an epic story. The crest jewel of this Mahabharata is of course the Bhagawat Gita which lucidly advises the attitude a man should have in confronting life’s various challenges. In an earlier era, when Rig Veda had the sole sway, there was a great rishi called Valmiki who felt that the public at large could not grasp the mighty science and philosophy of the Rig Veda. He undertook the herculean task of converting the contents of Rig Veda into a story form called “Ramayana”. The results of that supreme effort can be seen even today world over.


Some times Vedic achievement stumps the western critics. It appears, acoustics was a greatly developed science at the time of Veda, because the scientists of Veda realized that the best way to preserve its treasure for the posterity was the spoken voice and not any other means considering the vicissitudes of life on this earth prone to deluge and other catastrophes (In Sanskrit Pralaya) which would destroy every trace or evidence of earlier civilizations. Since then to the present day the Veda is existent in its pristine glory both in words and intonation. Even by western calculation the oral tradition has been intact for 8000 years! An amazing
feat indeed, now available in written form in books, because the modern man is afraid it may otherwise be lost. Incidentally, the Vedic language Sanskrit and the grammar of the language have come under greater western scrutiny and the realization has dawned that they are also of an extremely high standard. Furthermore, it now transpires that Sanskrit is logically the most suitable language for computers. A great wonder indeed! The science of Philology has its roots in Benaras, India, where Englishmen visited the pundits to learn the Vedic science of Niruktam and Vyakarana. As anyone will realize these things could not have been achieved at the cradle of civilization!

Mathematics

Some of the Vedic rishis were also great mathematicians. You are able to use your computer and modern scientists are able to perform involved calculation only with the help of the ancient discovery. I am talking of ‘Zero’, the most important fundamental number in Mathematical science. There is a Vedic couplet in this connection:
“Om. Purnamadah purnamidam purnat purnamudacyate;
Purnasya purnamadaya purnamevasishyate”
This Sanskrit couplet means: It is whole; it is wholeness; the whole comes from the whole; if you take away the whole, what remains is also whole. To realize that this is represented by zero does not require much imagination! The Siddhanta-Skanda deals with arithmetic, trigonometry, geometry and algebra. The higher mathematics developed by the west in later centuries is already dealt with in ancient treatises some of which are even available today. In medieval times there were great mathematicians such as Bhaskaracarya and his daughter Lilavati; Varahamihira; and Aryabhata whose treatises on this subject are most relevant even today. In turn their knowledge is entirely based on Vedic sources.

Sciences

Western science began with study of Cosmology 400 years ago. The original belief that the world was flat and all planets go around the earth was displaced with the real facts that earth is almost round (actually pear shaped) and all the planets in this formation go around the sun. In the Veda this was already an established fact. The Sanskrit thus says ‘Brahmanda’ (great egg) for universe; ‘Andanda’ (egg of eggs or big egg) for earth and ‘Pindanda’ (the fleshy egg, perhaps because of biology) for human and other life forms. The science itself was called ‘Bhugola’ (the circular earth). The origin of the words is embedded in great antiquity. Veda itself concerns with cosmology, which is an eternal Truth. You cannot say the cosmos came into existence some trillion and trillions of years ago. It was always there, and it will continue to be there in its core, not withstanding gigantic explosions because of both internal as well as external causes and destruction of stars and groups of planets. Vedas insisted that the unveiling of this Truth ought to be the most important objective of man and true measure of human progress. Even today, Science recognizes this compelling urge in man and invests billions for placing man in space to reach higher and higher goals. It has even become a prestige issue between nations!


Veda mooted a class of men called ‘Brahmins’ to pursue this key objective of Vedas. Now a days we segregate a cosmonaut from the rest of the fold for developing basic knowledge of outer space; special endurance; understanding the terrain; and safety measures in case of mishaps. All his material needs will be taken care of by the respective governments of various nations in the race. Similarly it was ordained that a Brahmin will not worry about his means of livelihood. All his creature comforts will be taken care of by the society. A Brahmin will whole heartedly devote his entire life in learning Veda and in pursuing the Vedic goal whether married or single. The Vedas even chalked out his daily, monthly and annual regimen. It was hoped, that in due course, our world would consist of great many such men to guide the rest of the humanity with their superior knowledge. However, after the advent of the remaining three Vedas, the Brahmin class was divided as those dedicated to Rig Veda and the rest to the other three Vedas. The Brahmins belonging to the remaining three Vedas were trained to be adept at rituals. Alas, the course of history dictated a remorseless downward course for all Brahmins so much so that you see them as no different from rest of the humanity today. Let us have a peep into a Brahmin’s daily regimen. One of the most important activities was ‘Sandya Vandana’. The special prayer to be performed three times a day, at dawn; at mid-day; and dusk without fail.


The Vedic rishis realized that auto-suggestion plays an important role in a man’s life. We program ourselves to take whatever direction we want to take in life. This is a key factor for success or failure of man. At least for Dale Carnegie (author of Think and grow Rich) it was the greatest success factor! A great rishi, Vishwamitra (friend of the universe) had an inspiration and the famous Gayatri mantra resulted (Rigveda 3.62.10). With this mantra as the main component a final prayer was set for repetition three times a day by a Brahmin. We shall now consider this formula which is a like a standard model in modern science, of the cosmic reality. First the Sanskrit version: Aum Bhuh; Aum Bhuvaha; Aum Suvaha; Aum Mahaha; Aum Janaha; Aum Thapaha; Aum Satyam. Aum Thatsavithurvarenyam Bhargo Dhevasya Dheemahi Dheeyo Yonaha Prachodhaayat; Aum Apo Jyoti Raso Amritham Brahma Bhoorbhuvasuvarom; Aum, Aum, Aum. What does it mean? The word Aum we will consider last. Bhuh means this earth on which we stand, the material state; Bhuvaha means the intermediate atmosphere we enjoy- the sun, the rains, the winter, the fragrance, the fresh air, and the different sounds around us. Suvaha means the atmosphere above us that protects us from the cosmic rays; charged particles; ultraviolet rays and the like, which constantly bombard from outer space. Mahaha means the vast space beyond the atmosphere. Janaha means largely populated (by planetary and star systems). Tapaha means cauldron, the vast space in the universe where the largest collision of stars and planets take place. Then there is much vaster space known as Satyam which is the dark matter, In Sanskrit it is known as Hiranya Garba (the golden womb). This in short is our real world. All life forms and divinities live here. Beyond this is that Savitr, the Cosmic Reality. May we meditate on the Adorable Light of that Cosmic Reality; Generator that energizes our real world as above. He is waters, light, chemicals and immortality and he is the creation. He is denoted by Aum. At this point we should recall that this Gayatri mantra is generally considered as the quintessence of all the Vedas. Even the remaining part of the rituals revolves round this central concept delineated in Gayatri Mantra.


It is interesting to see how well the cosmological concept as indicated in the Gayatri Mantra corresponds with the findings of modern science. We could do no better than understand what Late Carl Sagan has to say in this connection. He was a member of the Viking Lander Imaging Flight Team that was created by USA for exploration of planet Mars. Later he became a writer of the world famous book ‘Cosmos’ and thereafter associated with the vastly popular TV serial by the same title. He says: Earth is a place. Perhaps he includes atmosphere as part of the earth. So straight away he jumps to Mahaha in our Mantra. Earth is by no means the only place. It is not even a typical place. The only typical place is within the vast, cold, universal vacuum, the everlasting night of intergalactic space. From an intergalactic location we would see innumerable faint, twinkling of light. These are the galaxies. To have this panoramic view we would have to be in the realm of the nebulae, crores of light-years from Earth. A galaxy is composed of gas and dust and stars, some crores of them. There are some 10,000 crores galaxies, each with, an average of 10,000 crores stars. In all the galaxies there are as many planets as stars, more than one lakh crore crores! Then we have what is known as nova and supernova phenomenon. When two giant stars are involved in an explosion which is induced by a hydrogen powered fusion, the explosion is a nova explosion and when a single star explosion occurs powered by silicon fusion it is supernova. The suicide rate among galaxies is very high. Tens or hundreds of crores of light year away, are powerful sources of X-ray, infrared radiation and radio waves. These sources have extremely luminous cores and fluctuate in brightness for weeks at a time. These galaxies are blowing themselves up. Black holes ranging from a crore to several thousand crores, some times more massive than the Sun are suspected in the cores of giant elliptical galaxies such as NGC 6251 and M87. Where is the center of Cosmos? Is there an edge to universe? What lies beyond that? In a two-dimensional universe, curved through a third dimension, there is no center—at least not on the surface of the sphere. The center of such a universe is not in that universe; it lies, inaccessible, in the third dimension, inside the sphere.


There is a significant divergence between Vedic science and modern science. Modern scientists hoped that they would be physically able to traverse the cosmic space and reach higher destinations in the quest for a) life forms elsewhere in the universe; b) whether human habitation is possible in any other planets; c) ultimate space destination and d) the exotic knowledge to be gathered by space travel. Till date we have not been able to establish life forms elsewhere in this universe. We seem to be totally isolated in the whole universe. We have also not been able to find a single habitable planet elsewhere in the universe. With the best of efforts we have been unable to go beyond moon, the earth’s satellite. Some effort is on to reach Mars our nearest planet. To travel beyond that seems to be very daunting and to reach distant stars and galaxies seems impossible. No doubt, we have gathered considerable knowledge.


This word ‘Rishi’ needs some explanation. He could be thought of as similar to a Scientist of today. What is the distinguishing feature of a great scientist or rishi? Take for example Albert Einstein. During his time he was a scientific nobody (as stated by Joanne Baker in her book, 50 Physics Ideas at page 163) definitely not the most brilliant scientist of his time, and yet he alone could achieve the break through with his theory of Relativity and thus establish a milestone for modern science. There are many more instances of this kind. How does it happen? At the critical moment there was a flash of insight unrelated to his achievements till then, a quantum jump, so to say! That is the Rishis of yore for you. In Sanskrit they are called ‘Mantra Drastas’ (Those who had a flash revelation of the inhering spirit). The spirit of the Vedic hymns flashed in their perception. There were some 400 such Rishis identified in Rig Veda out of whom 25 were women!


On the other hand, the Vedic scientists, the rishis, made another discovery. Nature had a unique feature, in that; whatever was in the macrocosm was replicated in microcosm also. Even modern science has realized this unique feature in exploration of atoms and other particles. Thus, Carl Sagan in ‘Cosmos’ raised the possibility that if you traveled downwards into an electron, you might find that it contained a universe of its own. ‘Within it, organized into local equivalent of galaxies and smaller structures, are immense number of others, much tinier particles, which are themselves universes at the next level and so on for ever’. Rishis argued that man is no exception to this replication process. The corollary to their argument was, what is not in man is no where in the universe! As naturally to be expected, with the above two propositions, the course of research of ancient rishis and modern science took different directions. Vedic scientists were aware that man cannot physically hope to traverse the vast outward distance because of time and space constraints. Therefore the best alternative was a journey inward into the roots of man. Naturally, this journey did not need any expensive vehicles or gear. What did they achieve? They were able to reach the final destination! They then chalked out the recipe for such a successful journey for posterity. That is the only religion!


The question naturally will arise, where are these great planets and stars to be found in man? Is it possible for such a gargantuan universe to be embedded in man? Incredible as it may appear, the Vedic rishis came up with a positive answer. The answer is clearly laid down in what is known as ‘Yogic’ science arising out of the Vedas. All the things that can possibly experienced by humans in the outward universe are scaled down so as to fit into a human being (In Genetics, modern science is discovering it now!). The word experience includes sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. These activities are coordinated and supervised by the mechanism of mind, which in turn is directed and controlled by memory and thought. Consequently, the whole universe is in you and me! If the mind can experience the outward universe as we see in modern science, it can be experienced inwardly also, so maintained the rishis. Which are the places to experience the different segments of the universe was the next question? Gayatri Mantra which we examined earlier has the answer to this question as well at a different level. There is what is known as vortices or ‘Chakras’ in Sanskrit in various places or junctions in the human body, where the entire universe is embedded. Currently, this subject is so popular world over that the job of explaining has been made easy. If you dissect man physically you will not find any of these subtle segments of universe in him at all. Though, Kirlian photography has shown aura around the Chakras. It requires a special and arduous training for experiencing the movement of energy through Chakras. As we well know, common man cannot delve into matter and come up with information of the atoms and particles present therein. Nor can the common man see a supernova, for example. It requires a special scientist to do the probing. Likewise adepts at yoga or ancient class of brahmins alone shared this secret of the inward treasure. The knowledge gives the yogi unimaginable powers! In the wrong hands it could cause great damage. Every man was competent, provided he is willing to undergo the rigors.


If you recapitulate the Gayatri mantra, Bhu represents Muladara Chakra in the Sacro-Coccygeal Plexus. Bhuvaha represents Swadhistana Chakra in the Prostatic Plexus. Suvaha represents Manipura Chakra in the Solar Plexus. Mahaha represents Anahata Chakra in Cadriac Plexus. Janaha represents Visshudha Chakra in (Pharyngeal) Laryngeal Plexusand Tapaha represents Ajna Chakra in Cavemous Plexus. Satya is the
region above Ajna Chakra which is Dark matter (known as Hiranya Garba). And Beyond that is Sahasrahara at the Pineal gland where one awakes to ‘Super Consciousness’. All the Chakras are obviously along the spinal chord. It is claimed that the great universal energy is coiled at Muladara Chakra and the practitioner awakens it to traverse through other Chakras so as to reach Sahasrahara. That is the state when he will have universal consciousness and the consciousness will be pushed to a distance of 12 angulas outside his body to be face-to-face with Truth. The journey is very treacherous and danger lurks at every step. An adept will have to be a guide at all times. A wrong step can deform a man for life.


In a way, modern Genetics confirms the ancient perception mentioned above. It appears no book on physics is complete without dealing with certain key aspects of genetics. Study of Genetics is still in a very early stage. No doubt, the medical science has been vastly enriched by genetics and the research is throwing up new wonders even today. Much needs to be researched in the area of genetics before we can have a clear grasp of the subject. Whatever little we have learnt is mind blowing. Bill Bryson in his book ‘A short history of nearly everything’ says that in the most literal and fundamental sense we are a family, every one of the humans on this earth. He shows this with a graphic description how we are so. Perhaps that is the same reason why, in the Vedas, humanity was labeled ‘Vishwa Kutumbakam’- the universal family. In this connection, Veda had developed a unique system which has withstood the test of time. Every Brahmin we mentioned above has to mention his lineage after a great rishi, the scientist in the prayers he makes thrice a day. That way, down the ages the lineage has been intact. Even today a Brahmin knows from which scientist he has descended. Rather which scientist’s genes predominate in his body! The growth and development of every living organism depends on the growth and multiplication of its constituent cells. The living cell is a regime as complex and beautiful as the realm of galaxies and stars. According to Margulis and Sagan as mentioned in their book ‘Micro cosmos’ there are some 10,000 trillion cells in our body. You may even say it is a country of 10,000 trillion citizens, each devoted in some intensively specific way to your well being. They will unhesitatingly die for you – billions of them do so daily. You have no secrets from your cells. They know far more about you than you do. Each one carries a complete genetic code--the instruction manual for your body so it knows how to do not only its own job but every job in your body too. There are some few hundred different types of cells in our body according to Belgian biochemist Christian de Duve. Ancients were not unaware of this aspect of science. It was indicated by rishis Agastya and Markhandaya in the Puranas we mentioned earlier. In keeping with observer centric science that was in vogue then, they clubbed all the cells as ‘Jagat Janani’—the creatrix (feminine for creator) of all that moves the life forms. Rishi Agastya was a renown sage in Rig Vedic times. In the prologue to ‘Lalitha Sahasranama’- thousand names to the sporting divinity, Rishi Agastya is informed by his mentor that Lalitha resides in the heart of all beings, and whatever occurs in the world, as thing or thought, is in reality her own sport. Rishi Agastya was informed by his mentor that there were crores and crores of Lalithas for every divinity in the assemblage (we call man) created by Brahma. Also, in the Markandaya Purana, Rishi Markandaya in expounding Devi Mahatmya—the greatness of Devi (Creatrix mentioned above) says all
the other divinities in the universe vested their powers in Devi so that she can fight dark forces which torment divinities and life forms during their existence. We shall clarify what is divinity later.


Inside the cell is a nucleus and inside each nucleus is the chromosomes. Chromosomes constitute the complete set of instruction necessary to make and maintain man and are made up of DNA ‘the most extraordinary molecule on Earth’. Without DNA you couldn’t live. It was a Canadian named Oswald Avery who proved that DNA was an active agent in heredity (Jatavadas in Sanskrit—knower of past). DNA, which knows what to do, and RNA, conveys the instruction issued by DNA to the rest of the cells. DNA molecules know how to make identical copies of themselves. They know extraordinarily much. The ancients named this DNA ‘Ganapathy’—the lord of the hoards. They identified RNA as ‘Karthikaya’ brother of Ganapathy. Perhaps, Chromosomes are represented by Sri Chakra, a diagrammatic representation of Devi with her citadel.


There is an interesting mythological story in the Puranas we mentioned earlier, in this connection. Mother Devi wanted to refresh herself. In the meantime she did not want anybody to enter here citadel. On her own she created the entity ‘Ganapathy’ for this express purpose. He has been acquitting himself most brilliantly ever since. When Devi’s consort ‘Shiva (Nothingness)’ approached the citadel, as Ganapathy did not know him (since he is Devi’s creation in the absence of Shiva) barred admission to him. In spite of best verbal and combative efforts Shiva could not gain admittance. Then what to say of lesser divinities? That is the strength of Ganapathy. He is knowledge personified. Most of the things related to him are foursome. Like DNA which has just four components called nucleotides.


Besides cosmology, science was preoccupied with investigation into Matter and its ramifications in the last 400 years. Brilliant results have been achieved, and the application of material science for benefit of humanity at large has produced ever more remarkable results. But, at the end of it all, today, science stands at the cross road not knowing which way to take. Science is in search of an elusive Unifying Force which will neatly fit into the Standard Model and validate many of the theoretical findings of sub-atomic particles and energy in different dimensions (not necessarily the only three dimensions plus time that we know of)!


Matter and Spirit go hand in hand; you cannot separate one from the other. Marion Woodman, in his lecture “Fabric of the Future” delivered at a conference in 1998 at Palo Alto, CA had said, “Matter without spirit is a corpse. Spirit without matter is a ghost.” Here the word ‘Spirit’ is used in the sense of animating or vital principle; immaterial part; the dominant tendency or character of anything. There are many kinds of Atoms and Particles in the universe each having its own characteristic and dominant tendency. Some of these have not even been seen but their effect felt. For example, consider the scientific fact that there is a wave associated with every particle. The reverse is also true. There is a particle associated with every wave. For example there is a particle associated with sound wave called phonon, traveling through a metal and is known as emergent particle. We have thus, Photons, and Gravitons which cannot be seen because they travel at the speed of light which do not have mass at all. And yet they interact with life!


Another poignant allegorical story is narrated in the Puranas mentioned earlier, on matter and spirit. There is this father Shiva, meaning ‘nothingness’ who has for his consort Shakti, the power that drives the universe. They had two sons Ganesha and Karthikaya. The very birth of these two children indicates that Karthikaya stands for material objectivity and Ganesha stands for spiritual grace or pure intelligence. A dispute arises in the family as to who is supreme, whether it is Ganesha or Karthikaya? When the matter was referred to father Shiva, he suggested that both of them should go around the universe. Who ever comes first will naturally be adjudged the supreme and a fruit will be rewarded. Karthikaya was very happy because he was confident that he possessed a vehicle, celestial Peacock, more like our modern space vehicle, which could take him around the universe the fastest. On the other hand his brother Ganesha had a puny mouse for his vehicle. By no stroke of imagination could such a mode of transport complete the trip around the vast universe, so thought Karthikaya. Taking leave of his parents he left for his journey around the universe. After quite some time, Ganesha got up, and went around his parents, not once but three times, came back in front of them; saluting them claimed the fruit. With a smile his parents gave him the fruit. Thereafter, he sat in a corner and was eating the fruit contentedly. Meanwhile, his brother Karthikaya returned after many days of hard riding, on the happy hope of claiming the fruit and establishing his supremacy. Lo! What did he see? His brother was already eating the fruit having completed his circumbulation of the universe! Shiva and Shakti together comprise the universe, of course! Modern science tells us that 99% of the universe is made up of ‘Nothingness’, the dark matter which is still eluding our best brains! The driving force of universe is also tied with it in some way which is even now under study by our scientists.


The ancient Vedic scientists-the Rishis made a count of 330 million of Atoms and Particles in the universe interacting with humans by creating, sustaining and protecting our life against all calamities. The rishis harnessed these atoms and particles as divinities for the benefit of man. In Sanskrit divinity is known as devatha, meaning luminary. These were considered as divinities because we were at their mercy and needed their grace to lead a trouble free life. It is interesting to note that the Veda is very clear that there is but one worshipful God-the Cosmic Core or Unifying Force as the modern science may wish to identify it, and all the rest of divinities are only praise worthy. Thus you will find much of the Rig-Veda Samhita containing poetry praising the divinities. All the millions of divinities have been reduced to a manageable handful like Agni, Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Maruts Shiva, Vishnu, and Saraswati and so on. Otherwise, all are collectively known as ‘Vishwadeeva’ meaning universal divinities.



Vedic rishis were having a holistic approach in their scientific investigation, in that they gave importance to both matter and spirit. To their great astonishment they found that the ‘Spirit’ extended great cooperation in their investigations of the mysteries of nature. All that they had to do was accord a form of praise to the spirits behind the matter comprising this universe. The spirits (divinities) responded. After all they are life givers and are intimately related to and interested in our living and well being! Accordingly, the rishis had no need to invent and posses expensive probing or other devises. Their own faculties developed super perception much beyond the wildest imagination of common man. It is these finding that they recorded in beautiful poetry forming the Rig Veda Samhita.


There is one other relationship entirely ignored by modern science in their research so far and the folly was recognized during studies of sub-atomic physics. It is a common experience that an experience consists of there constituents. There is the observer, the process of observation and the object under observation. Science hitherto was only concerned with the object of observation and the process of observation. The observer was hardly under consideration at all. It has now been established that, at least in the sub-atomic level, the object of observation and the observer react to each other (Copenhagen Interpretation- Niels Bohr). In science there is another theory called ‘Bootstrap’ theory. “The hypothesis implying that sub-atomic particles reflect the impossibility of separating scientific observation from observed phenomena, when pushed in the extreme, conveys to us that structure we observe in nature are only creations of our own mind.” The Veda did not make this mistake. The observer being man himself, the Vedic scientists had to give greater attention to the dynamics of human system. Accordingly, Vedic science was ‘Observer’ centric and modern science was ‘Object’ centric. The relevant question raised today in scientific circles is: Is matter really existent or is it an illusion after all? Karl Popper, whom Steven Weinberg (Dreams of Final Theory) has called ‘the dean of modern philosophers of science’ once even suggested that there may not in fact be an ultimate theory for physics- that, rather, every explanation may require a further explanation, producing an infinite ‘chain of more and more fundamental principles’. There is another paradox. In science, most of the time it is matter that is under observation. That is the reason, we call it material sciences. The observer is also matter in human form! Thus, matter observing matter is like looking at your own image on a mirror, it will lead nowhere even if scientists keep on doing the stupendous and impressive analysis for eternity!

Summing-up

Truth is. Truth is in the present to be eternal. It is always in the present. Past and future have no relevance to Truth. It is free of past and future. Because we have no knowledge of this Truth, we are most concerned with and burdened by past and future. What is past? Past is our experience, all our knowledge and tradition, however mighty it might be. Consider that you have a new experience. At that moment, in the split second, you are experiencing and you are in the present. you have no past, or future. The very next moment you want to compare with your past experience or knowledge. When the past so enters, the present is no more. Incidentally, you will realize that experience, knowledge and tradition are always past. Similarly, when you act on an idea or a future utopia, you again are not in the present. If you see your own life, most of the time you are burdened by either past or future. You are therefore not free.


Even today, there are many countries which are under the tyranny of the rulers. There is no freedom of expression, no freedom of movement, and no freedom to question including the rulers. There are other countries which do enjoy this freedom. What happens in those countries where such a freedom prevails? Man seeks more and more pleasure and more and more possessions. In such cases man gets burdened with commitments and forfeits his freedom anyway. Either way he is really not free.


What influences our mind is modern science in its application and the religions as we have it now. Unfortunately, both are bad influences. Modern science, as we saw, panders to human wants (desire). These wants were, in the first place created by the sciences by way of advertisements and make believe, such as dreams of opulence, more and more comforts and various pleasures. This bears down on the individual and for rest of his life he toils as a slave in the fulfillment of such future utopia. What about religions? The religious authorities tie you down with blind faith, dogma, rituals, meaningless procedures and engendering fear in the mind of man, which is hardly conducive for freedom.


Then what is the freedom we are talking about? Obviously, to enjoy freedom man has to be alert and not get burdened with a tradition which induces fear and a life free of all influences that promote desire in various ways. If the mind of a man says it cannot have such a freedom, then it has made itself incapable, it has distorted itself and is incapable of perception, of understanding, incapable of being completely silent, quiet; it is like a mind in the dark, groping for light and never finding it, and therefore inventing a light of words, concepts and theories and live a wasted life chasing what it cannot find. If you are able to so free yourself the heavens are open to you.




My contact: tathumoorthy@gmail.com/