Hindu Perspectives On Evolution

Providing new insights into the contemporary creationist-evolution debates, this book looks at the Hindu cultural-religious traditions of India, the Hindu Dharma traditions. By focusing on the interaction of religion and science in a Hindu context, it offers a global context for understanding contemporary creationist-evolution conflicts and tensions utilizing a critical analysis of Hindu perspectives on these issues. The cultural and political as well as theological nature of these conflicts is illustrated by drawing attention to parallels with contemporary Islamic and Buddhist responses to modern science and Darwinism. The book explores various ancient and classical Hindu models to explain the origin of the universe encompassing creationist as well as evolutionary—but non-Darwinian—interpretations of how we came to be. Complex schemes of cosmic evolution were developed, alongside creationist proofs for the existence of God utilizing distinctly Hindu versions of the design argument. After examining diverse elements of the Hindu Dharmic traditions that laid the groundwork for an ambivalent response to Darwinism when it first became known in India, the book highlights the significance of the colonial context. Analysing critically the question of compatibility between traditional Dharmic theories of knowledge and the epistemological assumptions underlying contemporary scientific methodology, the book raises broad questions regarding the frequently alleged harmony of Hinduism, the eternal Dharma, with modern science, and with Darwinian evolution in particular.

Providing new insights into the contemporary creationist-evolution debates, this book looks at the Hindu cultural-religious traditions of India, the Hindu Dharma traditions. By focusing on the interaction of religion and science in a Hindu context, it offers a global context for understanding contemporary creationist-evolution conflicts and tensions utilizing a critical analysis of Hindu perspectives on these issues. The cultural and political as well as theological nature of these conflicts is illustrated by drawing attention to parallels with contemporary Islamic and Buddhist responses to modern science and Darwinism. The book explores various ancient and classical Hindu models to explain the origin of the universe encompassing creationist as well as evolutionary—but non-Darwinian—interpretations of how we came to be. Complex schemes of cosmic evolution were developed, alongside creationist proofs for the existence of God utilizing distinctly Hindu versions of the design argument. After examining diverse elements of the Hindu Dharmic traditions that laid the groundwork for an ambivalent response to Darwinism when it first became known in India, the book highlights the significance of the colonial context. Analysing critically the question of compatibility between traditional Dharmic theories of knowledge and the epistemological assumptions underlying contemporary scientific methodology, the book raises broad questions regarding the frequently alleged harmony of Hinduism, the eternal Dharma, with modern science, and with Darwinian evolution in particular.

This volume brings together diverse Asian religious perspectives to address critical issues in the encounter between tradition and modern western evolutionary thought. Such thought encompasses the biological theories of Charles Darwin, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Earnest Haeckel, Thomas Huxley, and later “neo-Darwinians,” as well as the more sociological evolutionary theories of thinkers such as Herbert Spencer, Pyotr Kropotkin, and Henri Bergson. The essays in this volume cover responses from Hindu, Jain, Buddhist (Chinese, Japanese, and Indo-Tibetan), Confucian, Daoist, and Muslim traditions. These responses come from the decades immediately after publication of The Origin of Species up to the present, with attention being paid to earlier perspectives and teachings within a tradition that have affected responses to Darwinism and western evolutionary thought in general. The book focuses on three critical issues: the struggle for survival and the moral implications read into it; genetic variation and its seeming randomness as related to the problems of meaning and purpose; and the nature of humankind and human exceptionalism. Each essay deals with one or more of the three issues within the context of a specific tradition.

Evolution in general means a process of change or transformation. Evolution commonly used to refer to biological, genetic or organic evolution. Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generation. History of evolutionary theory refers to Overview, Renaissance, Before Darwin, Darwin, Origin of Species, Before synthesis, Modern synthesis, Molecular evolution, Evo-devo, Current research, History of speciation, History of paleontology, etc. Modern synthesis theory of evolution shed light on population genetics, genetic variation, natural selection, eclipse of Darwinism and non-Darwinian theories of evolution. Malthusian completion and variation lead to Natural selection.Mutation lead to Genetic variation and Mendelian inheritance. All these together ended in Modern synthesis. Vedic evolution refers to the philosophy and science of evolution according to Vedas. Hinduism sheds light of the Origin of life, creation and evolution based on Vedas, Brahmanas and Puranas. The Rigveda mentions the Hiranyagarbha ("golden embryo") as the source of the Personal and Impersonal Universe, similar to the "world egg" motif found in the creation myths of many other civilizations. Hindus find support for evolution in scriptures. Dashavatara has similarities to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The Shatapatha Brahmana states that the current human generation descends from Manu, the only man who survived is comparable to the other flood legends, such as the story of the Noah's Ark mentioned in the Bible and the Quran. Hindu Dharma believes in the evolution and involution of forms of lives according to Karma of individuals. In every form of species exists the soul that stands as eternal witness of thoughts of mind that becomes actions. Author of this book, exhibits his findings of serious research about "Evolution according to Vedas, in relation to that of contemporary modern synthesis theory of evolution, that the origin of man is time immemorial. The end of man is the climax of human evolution i.e., Suddha Prajne, i.e., Pure Consciousness, which is the embodiment of "Sat Chit Ananda i.e, . Eternal Truth - Eternal Knowledge - Eternal Bliss." The book "Vedic Evolution: Its Philosophy and Science" may become a source book for finding solutions to Global Harmony, Happiness and Peace. Human life lead naturally leads to Pure Consciousness.Vedic Evolution is the evolution of human life from: "Falsity to Truth; from Ignorance to Wisdom; from Death to Immortality." Vedic message to humanity is: "O Man, you have to live hundred years, evolving healthily-happily and spiritually, until you become one with THAT SUPREME PURE CONSCIOUSNESS WHICH IS ALL PERVASIVE, BOTH IN THE SEEN AND UNSEEN COSMIC EGG OR BRAHMANADA."

Excerpt from The Evolution of Ancient Hinduism It has long been my opinion, that a short history of the evolution of ancient Hinduism, from its primitive form up to its highest development, namely, Buddhism, would prove an interesting study to those who are fond of probing the mysteries and tracing the progress of the human mind. I have therefore taken the labour upon myself, and shall endeavour to point out, as accurately as I can, the main features of this evolutionary process. To attain my object I need not necessarily enter into any details of religious ceremonials, or legends of the gods, because these subjects, however interesting to those who make mythology their special study, are quite subsidiary to the main principles or philosophy of the Hindu religion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.