The Vedas are the most ancient texts in the world whose origin is still under speculation. There is no doubt that they have been in practice for over four millennia, if not more. For the very same reason, it is obvious to think that they are simply old religious texts, even more so overrated. After all, the Vedas talk about mystic divine beings and sacrifices that would please them to yield material benefits. Thus a question arises as to whether one should take Vedas seriously into consideration. In other words, what use is the Vedas to the modern world, where the latter seems to have a solution for everything through science and technology?
When literally translated, the Vedas does seem to just be a praise of the deities and gives an impression of superstitious practices. But, there are many hidden treasures in the Vedas that trigger a second thought. Here are a few instances where Vedas prove to be far more advanced than they seem.
Languages and Religions:
The phonetics used in the Vedic Sanskrit has fundamentally contributed to comparative philology. From its vocabulary, and by analyzing the root words and their usage, it has been accepted that the language used in the Vedas, namely the Proto-Indo-Iranian language as addressed by the western schools is the root of the vast majority of the modern languages of the present-day [*][*]. For instance, let us take the Vedic name for teeth, Danta (दन्त). There are three syllables used here, da, n, and ta. The word is named so because the pronunciation of this purely depends on the usage of the teeth, and without teeth, this cannot be pronounced right. The word in English, Dental, has its root in the Vedic word Danta. Similarly, the words 'mother' from mātṛ, 'father' from pitṛ, 'brother' from bhrā́tṛ, and 'daughter' from Duhitṛ have evolved thus. Not only in English but also all other European and Iranian languages have this connection to the Vedic Sanskrit. Another instance is the word 'know', which has to be pronounced as 'nō', and not as 'k-nō'. This is because the word is derived from the Sanskrit root word Jñāna (ज्ञान, IPA:ɡjɑ́ː.n̪ɐ) which means knowledge.
It is quite common in most of the Western languages to have the letter 'j' in words and have that silent. For instance, the word 'Jesus' is pronounced 'hay-soos' in Spanish. The Siksha Śāstras allow the Śukla Yajur Veda to interchangeably use ja (ज) and ya (य). It can also be seen people use the name of the river Yamuna and Jamuna interchangeably. 'Jehovah' (also pronounced 'Yehowah'/ 'Yahweh') is the name of the God mentioned in the Old Testament. Interestingly the Vedas mention a deity called Yahvan. Similarly, a deity named Dyau-Pitar (Dyāvā-Prithivi) is morphed into 'Yau-Pitar' and becomes 'Jupiter'. Few more similarities of the Vedas with other world religions were discussed in an earlier post. It is quite fascinating to see how the Vedas have been widely in practice in ancient times, and how it has influenced modern languages and religions [1].
Logical thinking:
Vedas are not merely grandiose poems. There is a significant portion of them emphasizing the importance of logic and thinking. Nyāya and Tarka Sāstras deal with a systematic development of the theory of logic, methodology, and treatises on epistemology. The epistemology accepts four Pramānas (means of knowledge) – Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference), Upamāṇa (comparison and analogy) and Śabda (testimony of past or present reliable experts) [*].
Apart from this, in Rg Veda hymn 1.24, there are many questions posed, such as "these stars, which are set on high, and appear at night, whither do they go in the daytime?" and hymn 10.88 wonders, "how many fires are there, how many suns, how many dawns, how many waters? I am not posing an awkward question for you fathers; I ask you, poets, only to find out?". The Vedas present a diversity of thoughts to answer these open-ended questions [*].
Moral and Universal Peace:
The primary purpose of the Vedas is to bring harmony to society. Vedas present fundamental ethical rules called the Yamas [*]. There are ten Yamas specified in Shāndilya Upanishad [*]. They are, Ahiṃsā (Nonviolence), Satya (Truthfulness), Asteya (Not stealing), Brahmacharya (Chastity/sexual restraint), Aparigraha (Non-avarice), Kṣamā (Forgiveness), Dhrti (Perseverance with the aim to reach the goal), Dayā (Compassion), Ārjava (Non-hypocrisy), and Mitāhāra (Measured diet).
The Upanishads have several Shānti mantras that pray for universal peace [*]. Other than this there are several mantras that emphasize universal oneness. The Gāyatrī mantra of the Rg Veda, which is one of the highly revered mantras pray to the Deity of Wisdom, Savitṛ - the Sun deity, is used in meditation. Even though the mantra is meant to be meditated by an individual, the meaning of the mantra is to bring enlightenment in the plural form [*].
Medicine:
Ayurveda is one of the most popular medical schools that were prevalent in ancient India [*]. Ayurveda is considered as an upa-Veda, which means it is a supplementary subject. The roots of Ayurveda goes to the much older Atharva Veda, one of the four primary Vedas. There are hymns in Atharva Veda bestowing longevity through specific herbs. It also mentions about physicians and elaborate pharmacopeia for treating the diseases. There is a hymn that praises the physician, Atharvan par excellence, superior to all medicines prescribed by other physicians, which implies the existence of at least one other parallel system of medicine [2].
Astronomy:
Cosmological concepts such as the movement of heavenly bodies and the course of the year have been discussed in the Vedas. Mathematical models to calculate the position of the stars, the day of the year, the phase of the moon with high precision were used to perform the Vedic rituals [*].
Quite a few scientific observations have been touched upon by the Vedas. For instance, there is a commentary of Sāyana on the Rg Veda, where he puts forth that the sun (light) traverses 2,202 yojanas in half a nimesha. The great epic Mahabharata defines 1 nimesha to be equal to 16/75.3 seconds, and 1 yojana to be about 9 miles. Substituting in Sayana’s statement we get 186,536 miles per second, as compared against the modern science's estimate of 186,282 miles per second (in a vacuum) [*]. Unsurprisingly, western skepticism has struck yet again, quickly taking them down by calling these as mere guesses and coincidences [*].
Mathematics:
The religious texts of the Vedic Period provide evidence on the use of large numbers. In Yajur Veda, numbers as high as 1012 were being included in the texts. Solution to partial fractions is mentioned in Rg Veda (Purusha Sukta - RV 10.90.4). The Satapatha Brahmana and Sulba Sutras contain rules for geometric constructions. Sulba Sutras, in fact, mention Pythagorean theorem, and Pythagorean triplets, in addition to the formulas for computing squares and square roots. Vedas also mention constructing Pascal's triangle (Meru prastāra lit. the staircase to Mount Meru), binomial coefficients, and even Fibonacci numbers (called Mātrāmeru)[*].
It must also be noted that different scales of metrics were used for the measurement of length, mass, temperature, and time. For instance, the smallest unit of time, Truti is as small as 33,750th fraction of a second, and the largest unit of time is Maha Kalpa or Brahma Āyu (Lifespan of Lord Brahma), which equals 311,040,000,000,000 (Three hundred trillion, and forty billion) solar years were in practice [*].
The creation and the age of the universe:
The most popular creation theory in the Vedas is the one mentioned in the Rg Veda, where it is said that Hiranyagarbha - a Golden Womb is the source of the creation of the Universe, from which everything else sprang[*][*]. There are yet other references to the creation in different contexts mentioned in the Vedas. One such instance is mentioned in the second chapter of Taittrīya Upanishad [*], namely Brahmānandavalli, which is quite interesting.
Here it defines Atma as "The Truth, The Knowledge, and The Infinite". "From this Atma came space. From space came the gases, from gases came the waters, from waters came the earth (land). Then the plants, and in turn, the food came into being, The food is transformed into individual beings". The chronology of the evolution in the creation mentioned in these verses is aptly in accordance with the accepted theories of modern science.
The second part is the age of the universe. Until a few centuries ago, the rest of the world believed that the world, and thus the universe was only a few thousand years old. In sharp contrast, the Vedas had always stated the universe has no absolute start point, and that it is ever-existent and cyclic[*]. The cycles include creation, sustenance, and annihilation at multiple scales. And each cycle lasts billions of years. Modern science acknowledged the much older age of the Universe through the Big Bang and pulsating/cyclic theories in the early 20th Century CE [*][*][*].
The concept of parallel worlds and relativity of time and space:
Vedas mention multiple planes of parallel worlds, which was briefly mentioned in an earlier post. According to the Vedas, there are fourteen worlds, six heavenly worlds, seven underworlds, and our material world (Earth) in between [*]. These worlds exist parallelly but in a different plane of existence. It has been mentioned how time and space relatively varies between these worlds. For instance, a Kalpa is one day in Brahma/Satya Loka (The topmost heavenly world), which equals 4.32 billion years on Earth [*].
Matter and Energy:
A little over a century ago, it was widely believed by science that there are 72 fundamental elements that constitute the Universe in various forms. Also, it was believed these elements were distinctly different from one another. Later advancements in Science and Technology led to the discovery of atoms and sub-atomic particles. According to the present-day modern science (quantum mechanics), even these sub-atomic particles are just different states of energy, and that energy is what pervades the entire universe. In other words, the matter is fundamentally not different from energy. And that the entire Universe is just energy in different forms [*].
The Vedas conclude the same stating that the material world we see as distinct objects is in fact not distinct, but the all-pervading Brahman. It is due to the Māya Shakti (illusory energy) which co-exists with the Brahman, causes the world to appear real and distinct [*] [3].
Life:
There is currently no consensus regarding the definition of life as per modern science [*]. In many parts of the Vedas, it has been implied that life is everywhere and is interconnected. For instance, Taittirīya Upanishad asserts that everything and everyone is connected and deeply inter-related to everything and everyone else. It goes on explaining this by stating that everything is (metaphorically) just food (of energy, of material, of knowledge) [*].
Self:
The epitome of the Vedas is the philosophy of the Self. That is, simply answering the question "Who am I?". This is explored in-depth and in detail by the principal Upanishads [*]. The reasoning employed in discussing the philosophies is unparalleled even to this day. Ultimately, they all conclude that Self is the only Real Entity.
*****
It must be emphasized here that, even by the most conservative estimates, the Vedas were practiced at least 4500 years ago, an age without any technological advancements of the present day. The recorded facts in various fields discussed above are simply astounding, and cannot be ignored. We can agree with the skeptics that the Vedas are definitely not science textbooks, and also were not meant to be. However, many of the observations mentioned in them cannot be simply discarded as mere coincidences or wild guesses. One who is familiar with the Vedas and the ancient Indian traditions would readily confirm that the Vedas are not contradictory to modern science but in fact complementary to it. Undoubtedly, the Vedas which holds the secrets to many unanswered questions, beyond the scientific discoveries, and the nature of the Self, deserve all due respect.
May all of us benefit from that knowledge repository!
References:
[1] Deivathin Kural (Voice of God) Volume 2, Compiled by R.Ganapathy, Vanathi Pathippakam
[2] Narayana, A. "Medical science in ancient Indian culture with special reference to Atharvaveda." Bulletin of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine Hyderabad 25.1-2 (1995): 100-110.
[3] Deivathin Kural (Voice of God) Volume 1, Compiled by R.Ganapathy, Vanathi Pathippakam
