Scientific Bases Of Hindu Beliefs

Sanatan Hindu Dharma is like a huge tree. Different kinds of assumptions have, merged into it from time immemorial. As human population grew and time changed, beliefs and faiths changed as a result of continuous thinking of scholars and growing maturity in their ideas. As a consequence,’ the branches and sub-branches of Hindu religion also grew. Is there any scientific basis of beliefs and faiths propagated in Hinduism? This question agitates the minds of intellectual readers again and again. Now, that time has come to an end, when you cited from the religious scriptures and said, “Baba vakya pramanam” (here is the statement from the author as evidence). Comprehensive thinking about religious beliefs has become the most essential call of the age today. First of all, the average reader has to understand what is science. The word ‘vigyan (science) is formed by prefixing ‘vi to ‘gyan’ (knowledge). ‘Vishishta gyanam iti vigyanam, ‘Vishesh gyanam iti vigyanam’, ‘Vishuddha gyanam iti vigyanam (Specific knowledge is science, Special knowledge is science, Pure knowledge is science), these definitions are clear in themselves. Science, in fact, is based upon cause and effect relationship. ‘Karya karan sarnbandh iti vigyanam’, ‘punah punah parikshanam prayoganch kritam’ (Science is cause and effect relationship. Experiment is made again and again). Where we come to know the cause and effect relationship, then that knowledge automatically passes into the category of science. True knowledge of an object, based on facts, is a part of science itself. ‘Punah punah nirikshit gyanam iti vigyanam,’ When the results are the same on repeated observations, then those facts become science. Ancient Rishis-Munis (seers and saints) formed some rules and principles under the cover of religion to civilize humanity. They offered the charms of heaven and fears of hell, so that, men adopted them in their conduct. Today, in the age of computer, no one accepts heaven or hell, piety or sin, religion or irreligion. It is a transition period. Innumerable questions are cropping up in the minds of the intellectuals. To clarify the scientific basis of Hindu beliefs has become a need of the day.

Sanatan Hindu Dharma (Perennial Hindu Religion) is like a huge banyan tree. Different kinds of faiths and beliefs have merged into it from time immemorial. As a consequence, the branches and sub-branches of Hindu religion also grew. Is there any scientific basis of the faith and values propagated in Hinduism? A very large section of people with faith in Hindu Sanatan Dharma wants that every faith and belief of this religion should not be subjected to scientific test. A man of faith is theist, while a scientific mind is atheist in nature. A harmony between the two may indicate a state of dilemma. Therefore, more discussion should take place on religious basis of beliefs prevalent in society so that we can know better the origin and religious thinking behind our beliefs. Internationally acclaimed Vaastu-shastri and Jyotishacharya, Dr. Bhojraj Dwivedi, is a rare signature of invincilbe time. More than 258 books on Astrology, Vaastu-shastra, Cheiromancy, Numerology, Figure Science, Yantra-Tantra-Mantra Science, Karmakand and priesthood written by Dr. Bhojraj Dwivedi, the founder of the International Vaastu Association, are read in many languages in India and abroad.

The doctrine of Sanatana Dharma acquired a tag, Hinduism during the passage of time, when or why, no one seems to be sure. The word Hinduism is a misnomer – the word Hindu is mentioned nowhere in the scriptures as is the term “Hindu mythology.” When comprehension became difficult, all that is inexplicable found refuge under the term mythology. Were the ascetics who lived in forests and mountains foolish enough to portray the picture of a God, who finds His perch on top of a serpent in an ocean of milk? Or a creator finding His work place atop a lotus that springs from the navel of Vishnu? Or that Lord Shiva should be polymorphic with the visage in one form, sporting all sorts of weird articles as ornaments, half feminine in another and a phallus in yet another form? If such descriptions defy comprehension, it only means the inability to understand allegory. The author has tried to unravel all these in layman’s logic and is not trying to masquerade in mysticism when confronted with the inexplicable. The book begins with the Pranava mantra and then it cruises through the Trimurthis, their significance, the mahavakyas and ends in the soul and the advaitha philosophy with an insight on how Science sees all these.

Its Impact on the Ancient and Modern Worlds To understand modern science as a coherent story, it is essential to recognize the accomplishments of the ancient Hindus. They invented our base-ten number system and zero that are now used globally, carefully mapped the sky and assigned motion to the Earth in their astronomy, developed a sophisticated system of medicine with its mind-body approach known as Ayurveda, mastered metallurgical methods of extraction and purification of metals, including the so-called Damascus blade and the Iron Pillar of New Delhi, and developed the science of self-improvement that is popularly known as yoga. In the modern era, thinkers and scientists as diverse as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Gottfried Herder, Carl Jung, Max Müller, Robert Oppenheimer, Erwin Schrödinger, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Henry David Thoreau have acknowledged their debt to ancient Hindu achievements in science, technology, and philosophy. Ancient Hindu Science is well documented with remarkable objectivity, proper citations, and a substantial bibliography. It highlights the achievements of this remarkable civilization through painstaking research of historical and scientific sources. The style of writing is lucid and elegant, making the book easy to read. This book is perfect for all students and others interested in the developments of science throughout history and among the ancient Hindus, in particular. ALOK KUMAR is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of physics at the State University of New York at Oswego. He was born and educated in India. He has been teaching in the American higher education for about four decades. He is a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany, and a NOVA/NASA fellow. Kumar is active in the fields of atomic physics, chemical physics, history of science, and science education.

Hinduism is a concise and readable survey of the history of Hinduism. Focusing particularly on the modern period, it provides a valuable introduction to contemporary Hindu beliefs and practices.

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