HINDUISM and SCIENCE ********************************************************************************************* 1. Hinduism’s teachings regarding science Synopsis: In Hinduism, science, philosophy, theology and religion all co-exist and are considered complementary to each other. The pursuit of Truth is deemed essential, and therefore encouraged. Pursuit of truth, wherever it may lead, is necessary for progression of human kind. Thus, scientific endeavours are encouraged, guided by the framework provided by all aspects of Hinduism mentioned above. Vedanta explains that there is no conflict between science and religion; the two are complementary. In Hinduism there are two categories of knowledge – (i) para vidya – the spiritual knowledge, which includes knowledge of God, life and our purpose in life; and (ii) apara vidya – material knowledge, which includes scientific knowledge. Science is concerned with the welfare of physical existence. Religion is concerned with the wellbeing of the soul, including morality and ethics of life. Hindu scriptures say that Paramatma, the “superconsciousness aspect of God which guides all living and non-living entities in the Universe”, is the source of inspiration in all human actions and the source of scientific discoveries, artistic ability, poetic works, etc. Scientific inquiry without spiritual knowledge is one-sided. A physicist should inquire: what is the real source of the laws of nature? A chemist can inquire: who is the Supreme Chemist behind all the wonderful molecules, DNA, proteins, etc.? Vedanta explains that if we do research far enough, we will find that the ultimate source is God. Thus, Vedanta cautions that intelligent people should not be mislead by the temporary and incomplete pronouncements of atheistic scientists who try to remove God from everything. Because of the limitations of human senses, scientific knowledge based on human intellect and sense perception alone is incomplete; spiritual knowledge provides the deeper knowledge about Absolute Truth and God. According to Vedanta, knowledge gained directly with the help of the senses is known as pratyaksa. The gross senses are the eyes (vision), ears (sound), nose (smell), skin (touch) and tongue (taste). In addition, mind is regarded as the subtle and sixth sense and one can also acquire knowledge with the help of the mind. The role of pratyaksa is certainly important in acquiring knowledge in Vedantic approach. However, because of the physical limitations of the senses, knowledge gained through pratyaksa may not be complete. Although the sense capability of human beings is limited, the quest for scientific knowledge in Vedantic tradition is to know the absolute reality which is beyond the domain of material senses. Acquisition of knowledge through inference (Anumana) is also necessary. Anumana means inference about an unknown object based on its relationship with another object that is conceivable through the senses. For example, a stream of alpha particles which have electric charge would leave a trail of ions as it passes through the gas in a cloud chamber. When water vapor condenses on these ions, the track of alpha particle becomes visible as a line of water droplets. Thus, although we can not see the alpha particles, we can infer their existence from the trail of water droplets condensed on the ions. Anumana involves logic. Logic constitutes the development of a set of arguments that can represent an observed phenomenon in nature. Since our sense perception is limited, logic, therefore, also has limitations and cannot be referred to be the absolute answer for an observed phenomenon. Scientific knowledge will always remain incomplete and cannot fathom the depths of Ultimate Reality or God. Hence, we should seriously consider the role of metaphysical conception beyond logic and sense perception in understanding transcendental knowledge and God. 2. Influence of beliefs on science in Hindu history Ancient Hindu civilization flourished from 4000 BC to 1700 BC, in the Indus valley region of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, and later along rivers Saraswati and Ganga (Ganges). Because Hinduism gives equal importance to science and religion (spirituality), science, technology, statecraft and trade were quite advanced in ancient Hindu civilization. Scientific and spiritual advances continued to occur between 1700 BC and 1000 AD, with financial support from rulers of the state. Financial (capital) support has been essential to scientific and technological advancements in any country. State support for science evaporated subsequent to invasion and occupation of India by Muslim rulers from the North East, and was non-existent subsequently throughout British occupation. Some of the greatest contributions to human knowledge made by Hindu civilization from 4000 BC to 1000 AD are presented below. Most of these had been neglected and/or dismissed by Western historians, scientists and philosophers, until the 1980’s. Even Science magazine’s “inventions timeline” in 2000 ignored most of the Hindu contributions. 2.1 Mathematics and Business Computation Early Hindu civilization developed sophisticated mathematics in algebra, geometry, logarithms, trigonometry, and an early form of calculus. Zero is the greatest contribution of ancient Hindus to civilization. The decimal system and the place value system were developed in ancient India. Zero was considered an “infidel” number in Europe in medieval times, yet Italian merchants kept secret books for business calculations in those days, because Roman numerals did not have a zero. These secret books, banned by Church authorities in Padua and Florence, used the gobar or Gwalior numerals from India. Pythagoras theorem. Ancient Hindus used “Pythagorean triplets” to determine right angles when constructing buildings. Pythagorean triplets are sets of three numbers which describes the sides of a right triangle. Eg. 3:4:5 (32 + 42 = 52) Sulbasutra (800 BC to 600 BC) describes Pythagorean theorem, methods for constructing buildings, and gives the square root of 2 as 1.414215 (modern value is 1.414213). Knowledge of geometry and trigonometry is evident in these writings. The Bakhshali manuscript from 400 AD covers mathematical topics such as fractions, square roots, profit and loss and interest calculations, simultaneous equations, quadratic equations, arithmetic and geometric progressions. Sriyantra, an ancient Hindu geometric drawing, incorporates various special numbers such as pi, and the irrational number known as the golden ratio whose value is 1.61803. (The golden ratio is found in the pyramids in Egypt and in Parthenon in Greece). 2.2 Physics (Classical & Quantum): Modern ideas in physics regarding atoms, quantum physics, energy and matter, are surprisingly similar to ancient Hindu ideas on these subjects. Chandogya Upanishad (7th century BC) and Samkhya system (6th and 5th century BC) make the following assertions, and contain detailed, logical discourses on the following ideas: (1) Matter is composed of atoms, the smallest unit of matter. Hindu scholar Kanada’s Nyaya-Vaisesika school further developed the most comprehensive atomic theories of matter. In 600 BC, Kanada asserted that light and heat are two forms of the same entity. He also explained the wave-particle duality of light. In the Western world, this concept evolved only in the 20th century AD ! (Kanada’s Vaisesika-sutra eventually got publicized in 5th century AD). (2) Prashna Upanishad states that Energy and Matter are fundamentally different forms of the same thing. Prashna Upanishad details the Hindu concept of the evolution of the physical world as follows: Energy (Prana) and Matter (Rayi) are at the two ends of the cosmic scale. Energy is dormant in pure Matter and vice versa. Transformation of Energy into Matter occurs in four stages. Transformation of Matter into Energy traces this path backwards. The Universe itself is a result of the interaction of Energy and Matter. The difference between Energy and Matter is only perceptional; in other words, Energy and Matter are fundamentally the same. [The Western world began to understand this only after Einstein proposed his theory in the twentieth century!] 2.3 Astronomy and Geophysics: Twenty-four centuries before Isaac Newton, Rig Veda asserted that gravitation (gurutvaakarshan) held the universe together (though the arguments were not as rigorous as Newton’s; the lack of rigor in the Vedas has led some Western historians to question these ideas as scientific). Ancient Hindus believed in a spherical earth, while the Greeks, Egyptians and Mesopotamians believed in a flat one. Siddhantas, written during 400 – 500 AD are quite rigorous, and use trigonometric calculations to determine astronomical events. The sophisticated Indian thinker Aryabhatta (5th century AD) summarized Hindu astronomy, algebra, trigonometry, arithmetic, etc. up to his time. He developed and presented revolutionary new ideas (backed by calculations) on: axial rotation of the earth, lunar eclipse, length of the year (365 days, 6 hours, 12 minutes, 30 seconds), elliptic motion of the planets around the sun (Kepler came to this conclusion a thousand years later). Varahamihira and Brahmagupta are two other sophisticated thinkers of the sixth and seventh century AD, who contributed greatly to Indian astronomy. Varahamihira’s (AD 499 – 587) extensive treatise Brahatsamhita covers geography, meteorology, botany, agriculture, the calendar, gemology, geology, earthquakes, etc. The works of all three were subsequently translated by European and Arabic mathematicians, and became the basis for further research. A few of the ancient astronomical writings and calculations of India, though, have been traced to Babylonian origins. For example, the water clock of fifth century BC, determining planetary motions, was influenced by earlier Babylonian developments. Fifth century AD Hindus calculated the age of the earth as 4.3 billion years. (Current scientific estimate is 4.6 billion years). British scientists, as recently as the nineteenth century, were convinced the earth was only 100 million years old. 2.4 Cosmology: In spite of Big Bang theory, COBE satellite data, inflationary universe theory, etc. modern cosmology is full of many unanswered questions and puzzles (such as “dark matter”) even to this day. Scientists even to this day are puzzled by the many “coincidences” in the evolution of the universe (and therefore do not dismiss “God” easily). Hindu scriptures say that this universe lasts 310 trillion years, then disappears for 310 trillion years. This cycle repeats indefinitely. Present day cosmologists speculate that the universe is caught in an infinite cycle of expansion and collapse. Note the similarity to ancient Hindu thought. (The current estimate of the age of the universe is 13 to 15 billion years). By ancient Hindu estimate, age of the universe at present is 155 trillion years. Hindu scriptures also speak of multiple universes bridged by eternal time, a concept just now coming to the fore as “multiverse (multiple universes) theory”. [At the end of a Brahma century, all seven universes collapse/dissolve into the “rootless root of the universe”.] Hindu scriptures speak of the formation of matter from energy in the evolution of the universe. This parallels the current theory that formation of matter (from energy) in the universe proceeded from the lightest elements to the heaviest elements. 2.5 Time and Space The concept of time and space is extremely important in both science and Vedanta. In Vedanta, Kala, time is eternal - it is the impersonal aspect of God. It is unchangeable, has no limit, and it functions as the instrument of God for His manifest activities in the material creation. When the living entity comes in contact with material nature and under the control of eternal time, many different activities called Karma are created. Real time is measured in terms of its covering a certain space of atoms, and space is calculated in terms of atoms. Thus time and space are closely connected in Vedantic cosmology and Kala – time is the root cause of all events and drives all activities in the material universe. Srila Prabhupada (founder of ISKCON) describes time as follows in his commentary of the Srimad Bhagavatam: “Metaphysically, time is distinguished as absolute and real. Absolute time is continuous and is unaffected by the speed or the slowness of material things. Real time is astronomically and mathematically calculated in relation to speed, change and life of a particular object. Factually, however, time has nothing to do with the relativities of things; rather, everything is shaped and calculated in terms of facility offered by time. Time is the basic measurement of the activity of our senses, by which we calculate past, present and future; but in factual calculation, time has no beginning and no end.” 2.6 Technology and Engineering: Archaeologists have discovered buildings, public baths, hidden drainage and sewer systems (similar to those in present day cities) that were built in Mohenjo-Daro 5000 years ago. The weights and measures prescribed at that time continued to be in use for over a thousand years. Developments in food crops, minerals and metals have also been discovered. Terra cotta ceramics fired at very high temperatures in ancient India were re-invented in China many centuries later. In the first millennium AD, textile technology developed in India was so superior to that from other parts of the world, that Indian textiles were exported to many countries. In addition to spinning and weaving, the colouring processes were unique. The fabrics were extremely fine yet strong. Britain could not reproduce the quality of Indian fabrics during the industrial revolution and even as late as the end of 19th century, so the British Raj banned Indian cottage industries from producing textiles, forcing India to buy lower quality British textiles. [Mahatma Gandhi galvanized hand spinning and manual weaving in India in protest, because the British policy had put millions of Indians out of work and deprived them of their livelihood.] Many enormous monuments, temples and structures were built in India in the first millennium AD. Some examples are: (1) the 13th century Sun temple in Konarak, (2) Khajuraho temples (950 AD – 1050 AD), (3) Brihadeeshwara temple in Tanjavur (1000 AD) with its monolithic 80 ton granite dome, and (4) Ellora cave temples (600 – 900 AD) whose enormous granite overhangs are civil engineering feats which have stood the test of time over centuries. 2.7 Medicine Ancient Indian civilization’s contributions in the field of medicine, Ayurveda is well known. Final Note: Ancient Indian civilization’s contributions in the field of medicine, chemistry and other sciences, as well as the very sophisticated contributions to statecraft, justice, ethics and culture, will be left to a future article. References : 1. Dick Teresi. Lost Discoveries (The Ancient Roots of Modern Science – from the Babylonians to the Maya). Simon & Schuster, 2003. 2. Singh, T. D. Hinduism and Science. Paper presented at “Science and Religion: Global Perspectives”, Metanexus Institute, June, 2005. Philadelphia, USA. 3. Brief overview of ancient Hindu scholars’ contributions to science can be found at dharma.indviews/hinduism_science.htm 4. Anthology edited by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya. Studies in the History of Science in India. 5. Anthology edited by G. Kuppuram and K. Kumudamani. History of Science and technology in India.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 06:01:05 +0000
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