Today is the same as yesterday. It is all in the Vedas.” This is what I have heard for years. I was a layman and was interested in the subject. Samskrita Bharati was my contact after I retired and landed in Bengaluru. It gave me some insight. The Vedas are a record of the spiritual and real experiences of the pre-Vedic period. They were preserved orally and handed down from generation to generation. It was amazing to discover that a Vedic school student can recite the same material for up to 240 hours per day. Literature on Engineering and Science was written on palm leaves. It was difficult to rewrite them on new leaves before they were lost. I have seen Pride of India and some publications of Sanskrit Research Academy Melkote (Karnataka). They cover everything from medicine to astronomy, metallurgy and even agriculture. Here is a little of what I learned and enjoyed. It is no surprise that science is an integral part.
Purusha sukta describes the production of hydroelectric energy. Many people sing this verse every day with devotion. They may not know what it is. This is because of a special encryption technique called Katapayadi Sankhya. Only people with experience splitting words and sentences differently (parsing) can understand them. This was probably done to protect intellectual property.
The verse Sri Rudram also contains important information about the DNA chain, which is crucial to our intelligence, growth, reproduction and health. The devotee prays using numbers to express his wish. He prays in numbers. First, he prays in odd numbers between 1 and 33. Then he prays in multiples of 4, from 4 to 48. These numbers are the nitrogenous base pairs in DNA. The 33000 pairs of mitochondrial base pairs are the first set. The second set represents the 48 million nuclear bases. Chanting this sloka is a way to pray for human survival and the continued evolution of human life.
Jyeshta is among the 27 stars mentioned in Indian Astrology. It is a term that means “elder or larger.” It appears very small in comparison to the Sun. Initial Western astronomers believed that the star had not been correctly named. They continued their research and discovered that the star is much larger than the Sun and brighter, but it seems very small due to its distance. That star was named “Antares.”
The Navagraha shrines show that the Sun and its planets are in their centre. Each is looking in a different direction. This indicates that the planets revolve around their axis while in orbit. This is evident in temples built over a thousand years ago. This is something that schools do not teach.
Vedic literature refers the Sun to be the “center of spheres” that are moving due to gravitational force. According to Vedic literature, suns are visible in every direction of the night sky. A thousand suns replace the Sun that has fallen below the western horizon. Aitareya Brahmana (3.44) states that the Sun does not rise or set. The moon orbits around the earth in the same way a child does. They orbit the Sun, the father. Day and night are created as the earth revolves around its axis. The rising of the Sun above the horizon in the east is called sunrise, and the setting of the Sun below the horizon west is sunset. Bhaskaracharya and Aryabhata later published treatises on Astronomy.
Sage Bharatwaja is believed to have written Vaimanika Shastra (Aeronautical Engineering) around 6000 years ago. It describes the structure of various flying machines, the special mechanism that can cope with turbulent weather, various weapons for fighters, and clothing and food for pilots. The gyroscope, a device that allows you to fly with the aid of mercury, and the method for doing so have been described. NASA has confirmed that the system works. NASA claims to have thousands of palm leaf information on the subject. They also have Sanskrit-speaking scientists. They have been seen coming to Samskrita Bharati, Bangalore, from time to time for further discussion.
Recent scientific research has revealed the reasons our ancestors behaved as they did. Fire rituals and fasting are two of the most notable examples. French researchers have done extensive research on the benefits of these rituals. They found that they not only enrich the air with Oxygen but also purify it from harmful bacteria. The anti-bacterial effect lasts for approximately a month, according to the researchers. In this context, I recall the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of December 2, 1984, in which thousands died due to poisonous gas leakage. According to reports, a family from the same region was not affected by the poisonous gas leakage because they performed Yagna (havan) regularly in the house.
Since ancient times, periodic fasting has been a part of our daily life. This practice has been proven to prevent diabetes, leading to the Nobel Prize. Another Nobel Prize discovery was that fasting for two weeks could help our bodies produce cancer-fighting cells. Another Nobel Prize was awarded to me for discovering that pranayama breathing, like Kapal Bhatti and Patrika, produces nitric dioxide in the paranasal cavities. This is a powerful way to kill bacteria and keep the lungs clean.
Let’s now look at how India has contributed to science. Quantum Physics studies the behaviour and properties of matter and energy at the subatomic and atomic levels, especially electrons and photons. The waves collapsed abruptly at one stage while they were researching electromagnetic radiation. They couldn’t explain their situation using the previous model of the universe. After long deliberations and studying Vedanta, they created a new model and superimposed it on the existing one. They then came up with the particle-wave idea. Now let us see how these scientists describe their experiences.
