Scientific advancement - Sanatana Dharma contd

The vedic science has always regarded earth as being spherical. It has been denoted as a globe and Lord Varaha (an avatar of Lord Vishnu) is shown to hold the globe on his head in many sculptures and paintings. I came upon the following text while reading the book ``Foundations of Vedantic Physics`` by D.N.Srivastava.

 from the Yajur Veda the following text attests to the fact that Earth was considered to be spherical and to the fact that the Vedic people believed in the heliocentric theory.

`This spherical mother earth, with all the villages and things rigidly fixed on it, goes systematically around the fatherly sun in the space.`

They also knew about the Earth`s power of attraction; the following text by Bhaskaracharya proves this.`

`The Earth has power of attraction, and by the power any thing which has weight is drawn towards it, and the thing is seen to fall. But if the earth itself is surrounded by uniform space on all sides, then where can it fall.``

The vedas also support the Big Bang Theory and supports the fact that our universe is expanding.  The universe expanded from a point called Vishnu nabhi and will withdraw into the point when it contracts. The vedic scriptures also talk about multiple universe.

Scientific advancement - Sanatana Dharma contd

The ancient astronomical calculations took into account precession of earth’s axis. Precessional movement can be compared to the wobble experienced by a spinning top when it’s angle of tilt of the axis of rotation is altered. Precession causes a slow change in the zodiac that occurs during the spring/autumn equinoxes as well as the summer and winter solstice. At present spring equinox occurs when the sun rises between the constellations of Pisces and Aquarius. We are slowly moving towards the age of Aquarius when the sun will rise when Aquarius is in the background on the day of the spring equinox. All the twelve constellations get a chance to house the sun during the spring equinox. If the celestial sky is thought to be a circle with the 12 constellations equally distributed around it, each constellation would occupy 30 degrees of the 360 degree circle. It would take 72 years for the earth’s axis to move through 1 degree.  It takes the earth’s axis 2160 years to move through 1 constellation to the other.  This slow change  is accounted for while preparing the  horoscope birth charts. Recently there has been news about change in people’s zodiac sign.  The west had always used tropical year calculations for horoscopes which do not take into account the precesional movement of earth’s axis. They have noticed only now that the alignment of earth’s axis is in a different position and have gone ahead to modify the zodiac dates. It is amazing to note that the vedic priest who did my birth chart as soon as I was born had me down as a Capricorn when the west had me as an Aquarius; the recent change in zodiac dates supports the chart prepared by the vedic priest. Isn’t it amazing that he with the help of the vedic knowledge was aware of the change in the earth’s axis and had meticulously prepared my birth chart correctly by hand without the help of computers and sophisticated software!

To be continued.

Scientific advancement - Sanatana Dharma contd

Metallurgy was at its peak. Most metals and their alloys were mass produced. The famous iron pillar at New Delhi is a sophisticated alloy. Scientists are still unable to find out it’s composition. The pillar has been exposed to the elements for hundreds of years and yet it has not corroded.

The Mahabharata, Ramayana and many of the Puranas describe  many sophisticated weapons. The Brahmastra is the modern day atom bomb. It was taught only to those students who could control it and to those who wouldn’t use it unless it was absolutely necessary. The aftereffects of a Brahmastra described in the Mahabharata chillingly resemble a modern day description of nuclear attack. The Mahabharata also describes weapons that could alter the weather to produce severe storms and tornadoes (see Saubha-Parva). Weapons that produced illusions which were used as to divert the attacking army.

The vasthu shastra deals in detail with architecture. Remnant of the Vedic architecture can still be seen in many temples especially in South India . There were multi story buildings. The cities were well planned as seen from the excavations of Mohenjadaro and Harappa . The Mahabharata mentions that many illusory tricks were incorporated while constructing the palace of the Pandavas. There were many floors that looked like ponds with blooming lotuses and lilies and actual ponds that looked like an ordinary floor.

To be continued

Scientific advancement - Sanatana Dharma contd

 When we think about the Vedic Society we imagine a primitive society nurtured in the bosom of mother nature but contrary to popular beliefs, the Vedic Society was technologically advanced. They had very sophisticated technology but at the same time were spiritually developed. They carried out sustainable development and took good care of mother nature.

Many modern day technologies are mentioned in the ithihasas Ramayana & Mahabharata. The word “ithihasa” means history and the Ramayana and Mahabharata are historical records of events that happened during the Treta & Dwapara yugas. In the Sundara Kanda , book 5 of Ramayana we read that Ravana’s mansion had air conditioners that maintained the building temperature at a preset temperature irrespective of the outside temperature. We also read about his aircraft “ Pushpaka Vimana”. The Mahabharata also gives account of aerial warfare when Salva attacks the city of Dwaraka . The aircraft used was a stealth aircraft that became invisible at times. The vaimanika shastra gives details about different types of aircraft, their uses, the types of fuel to be used and specifies inflight training for the pilots. The arthashashtra of Kautilya includes pilots in his list of tradesmen.. Some of the other manuscripts that mention about aircraft and the air routes are the samarangana sutradhara, Yuktikalpataru of Bhoja and the Vedas. According to the Ramayana King Dasahratha was named so because he could maneuver his chariot in ten directions including up and down. This wouldn’t have been possible unless the chariot is an aircraft. Many puranas also talk about kings making interplanetary trips. In The Mahabharata, Arjuna makes a trip to Indraloka on one spacecraft.

to be continued.

Scientific advancement - Sanatana Dharma

The concept of body, mind and soul was integrated even into technological developments. Scientific studies incorporated the concept of “atman” as well.  Harnessing of natural resources was considered to be a privilege and not a right. Unlike modern day society where we sacrifice the environment in order to pursue technological advancements, the ancients pursued to seek a balance between environment, technology and the major teachings of Sanatana Dharma. Theology and scientific studies go hand in hand. They do not contradict each other. It has always been believed that the sun is the centre of the solar system. In Navagraha temples the sun with the nine planets are worshiped; the sun is placed in the centre and the other planets are positioned around the sun.

The Vedic mathematicians were familiar with “0”, negative numbers & even multivariable calculus. Complicated calculations are used to publish the panchangam which is the Hindu calendar. The panchangam predicts the exact time & date of occurrences of major events such as the eclipses; it even foretells the locations from where the eclipse will be visible. The Vedic Mathematicians didn’t use calculators or computers. All computations were performed by hand.

To be continued tomorrow

Conservation of wildlife and forest - Sanatana Dharma

Sanatana Dharma teaches its followers to respect nature. Trees, mountains, animals, rivers, lakes and ocean are revered and respected. Animals and plant life forms are jeevatmas and are considered to be equal to human beings. Conservation of wild life and forests was praised in ancient vedic societies. Trees belonging to certain species could not be cut down. If a person cuts down a tree, that person has to plant seven saplings belonging to the same species. Cutting down a gooseberry tree is equal to killing a Brahmin. A person has to apologize to the plant before plucking fruit or flower from it. Any flower plucked without apologizing to the plant and requesting it’s permission will not be accepted by God when the flower is offered to him. Flowers and fruits should not be plucked from the plant using sharp instruments or by pinching them with finger nails. They must be gently plucked using only the fleshy portion of the index finger and thumb.

Many animals are considered to be the vehicle of transport for the Devas. Deer is the transport for Varuna who is in charge of rain, peacock is the vehicle of Kartikeya the commander of the celestial army, elephants remind us of Lord Ganesha, peacock reminds us of Lord Krishna (an avatara of Vishnu) since he sports a peacock feather in his locks, cobra reminds us of Adishesha as Lord Vishnu lies down on Adisesha, a lion reminds us of Lord Narasimha (an avatar of Lord Vishnu), lions and tigers are also revered as they are the vehicle of Goddess Durga, cows in general are revered as they give us milk; they are treated as our mother, monkeys remind us of Lord Hanuman and so on. As every animal has a connection to divinity they are respected and people think twice before killing them. Hunting was allowed only for kings and soldiers for the purposes of target practice. Even kings and soldiers were not allowed to hunt during certain months.

All rivers were worshiped as goddesses and people treat rivers with respect. Littering and polluting areas near a river was prohibited. The very earth we walk on is Goddess Bhumi the consort of Lord Vishnu. Every day before stepping down from the bed in the morning one has to request permission from Bhumi to walk on her.

The entire world along with the Universe is pervaded by paramatma Lord Vishnu and hence everything is treated with respect since he is found in every living or non-living entity. Sometimes when it becomes necessary to kill an animal or cut down a tree, the person requests God to pardon the misdeeds and takes corrective measures like planting seven trees to take the place of the tree that had been cut.

Polytheism in Sanatana Dharma? conclusion

To conclude followers of Sanatana Dharma believe in one God with many names. He has many forms and people choose the form that suits them the best. Sanatana Dharma promotes unity in diversity. God is not limited to being formless as he has the powers to take on any form to please his devotees. We do not have the right to say that he cannot exist in a beautiful form with auspicious attributes. He has the power to take on any number of forms and above all his grace and endless love for his devotees causes him to take on a beautiful form so that it is easy for his devotees to meditate on him. He knows that it is impossible for most people to comprehend his Universal Form.  

 Every major religion agrees that he is omnipresent. If he is omnipresent and is present inside all objects why will he not exist in a consecrated idol? As he has many names, Hindus even accept that the followers of other major religion worship the same God and that the name they use to identify him is one of the many names he has. There are no “false” Gods per Sanatana Dharma. Everyone has the freedom to choose any one of the many forms of God to worship. This promotes a high level of religious tolerance amongst the followers of Sanatana Dharma. They respect other religions and their places of worship. As a result Hindus do not force followers of other religion to convert to Hinduism.

Polytheism in Sanatana Dharma? contd

There are also nine types of relationship between paramatma and jeevatamas. They are as follows. The relationship between father and the son, the relationship between the Saviour and the Saved, the bond between and owner and the thing owned, the relationship between the Knower and the object of Knowledge, the relationship between the Property and Proprietor, the relationship of the Self to the Body, the relationship between the Supporter and the Supported and finally the relationship between the Enjoyer and the Enjoyed. Paramatma fulfills all the relationships. If a person is looking for a friend, that person can worship paramatma as a friend. If a person does not have any children, that person can worship Paramatma as baby Krishna to fulfill the void in their life. Similarly any relationship can be fulfilled by Paramatma. Arjuna worshiped Lord Krishna as a friend, Sugreeva worshiped Lord Rama as a friend, Meera worshiped Lord Krishna as her husband, to Yashoda he was her child and so on. Many people also worship Paramatma along with Goddess Lakshmi as their parent.

To conclude followers of Sanatana Dharma believe in one God with many names. He has many forms and people choose the form that suits them the best.