Veda - The Manual of Life
In our day-to-day life, we have an experience of buying so many appliances, gadgets etc. One thing is in common with all these appliances - a document called The User Manual or User Guide.
Though at times, we tend to ignore it, User Manual has its own importance. User Manual (prepared by the manufacturers) provides important information on ‘how to use a product’ to end-users. With proper use of a device there is much less risk of bringing the device out-of-order unintentionally and even reduces the risk of running into accidents.
If these small, insignificant man-made devices come with a manual or a guide, how come the magnificent devices (like our body, the micro-world – the molecular & atomic – subatomic structure, the macro-world – like the superbly harmonious planetary system, both in & beyond our Solar Systems) come without any user – manual? Just like, manufacturing companies, provide these manuals or guide, The Manufacture of the Gigantic & Microscopic System (which we tend to take-for-granted) also provides a User-Manual.
These manuals guide us in every aspects of our life social, political, religious, economic, military, mechanical, chemical, physical, metaphysical, medical and other subjects matter and above all specific directs for spiritual realization.
These manuals are known as Scriptures. Just like our day-to-day life, we tend to ignore these Manuals & at times, if not often, tend to risk our self into unpleasant situations or accidents.
If these small, insignificant man-made devices come with a manual or a guide, how come the magnificent devices (like our body, the micro-world – the molecular & atomic – subatomic structure, the macro-world – like the superbly harmonious planetary system, both in & beyond our Solar Systems) come without any user – manual? Just like, manufacturing companies, provide these manuals or guide, The Manufacture of the Gigantic & Microscopic System (which we tend to take-for-granted) also provides a User-Manual.
These manuals guide us in every aspects of our life social, political, religious, economic, military, mechanical, chemical, physical, metaphysical, medical and other subjects matter and above all specific directs for spiritual realization.
These manuals are known as Scriptures. Just like our day-to-day life, we tend to ignore these Manuals & at times, if not often, tend to risk our self into unpleasant situations or accidents.
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Who wrote the Vedas?
[Krishna – Bhagavad Gita 15.15]
By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.
Veda was originally spoken by Krishna to Brahma, who is the first living entity of this creation. Brahma shared this Knowledge to Narada. From Narada Srila Veda Vyasa was enlightened. So this knowledge is Sanatana (eternal). In the earlier ages this knowledge was passed from one person to other by Guru-Shishya-Parampara (literally, a chain of teachers and students, one coming after the other).
The humans of previous ages – Satya , Treta & Dwapar were much intelligent than us. They had capability of remembering what they have heard for their entire life. Hence the Knowledge was passed from one-ear-to-another. Thus it was called the – Sruti [which in Sanskrit means "that which is heard"].
Srila Veda Vyasa, literary incarnation of Krishna, knew the pitiable condition of upcoming age - The Kaliyug, where people would slowly “tend to be greedy, ill-behaved and merciless, and they fight one another without good reason. Unfortunate and obsessed with material desires, the people of Kali-yuga are almost all sudras and barbarians” [Srimad Bhagvatham 12.3.25]. Hence he compiled the Veda into books or scripture, logically dividing it into four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda.
Each Veda has been sub classified into four major text types
• the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions)
• the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices)
• the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices) and
• the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).
Apart from these, there are 18 major Puranas (compiled as per modes of Goodness, Passion and Ignorance).
So unlike the common misconception, Veda or Vedic Literature is not merely the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda, it actually contains all the 108 Upanishads and 18 Puranans.
The entire gamut of Vedic literature, at a very conservative estimate, contains Thousand Million verses (10,000,000,000). Of these major portion has been destroyed by the Mughals & British. Even of what is remaining, it is certainly impossible for one individual to say that he can understand all of them in their entirety. So what does one do?
We should rely on the texts which can summarize the entire Vedic information. That text is The Bhagavad Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam) which is considered the most important – as it contains the essence of all Vedic Texts.
The Vishnu Purana (Book 3, Ch 3) says:
In every Dwápara (or third) age, Vishńu, in the person of Vyása, in order to promote the good of mankind, divides the Veda, which is properly but one, into many portions: observing the limited perseverance, energy, and application of mortals, he makes the Veda fourfold, to adapt it to their capacities; and the bodily form which he assumes, in order to effect that classification, is known by the name of Veda-vyása. Of the different Vyásas in the present Manwantara 1, and the branches which they have taught, you shall have an account.
Twenty-eight times have the Vedas been arranged by the great Rishis in the Vaivaswata Manwantara in the Dwápara age, and consequently eight and twenty Vyásas have passed away; by whom, in their respective periods, the Veda has been divided into four. In the first Dwápara age the distribution was made by Swayambhu (Brahmá) himself; in the second, the arranger of the Veda (Veda-vyása) was Prajápati (or Manu); in the third, Uśanas; in the fourth, Vrihaspati; in the fifth, Savitri; in the sixth, Mrityu (Death, or Yama); in the seventh, Indra; in the eighth, Vaśisht́ha; in the ninth, Sáraswata; in the tenth, Tridháman; in the eleventh, Trivrishan; in the twelfth, Bharadwája; in the thirteenth, Antaríksha; in the fourteenth, Vapra; in the fifteenth, Trayyáruńa 2; in the sixteenth, Dhananjaya; in the seventeenth, Kritanjaya; in the eighteenth, Rińa; in the nineteenth, Bharadwája; in the twentieth, Gotama; in the twenty-first, Uttama, also called Haryátmá; in the twenty-second, Veńa, who is likewise named Rájaśravas; in the twenty-third, Somaśushmápańa, also Trińavindu; in the twenty-fourth, Riksha, the descendant of Bhrigu, who is known also by the name Válmíki; in the twenty-fifth, my father Śakti was the Vyása; I was the Vyása of the twenty-sixth Dwápara, and was succeeded by Jaratkáru; the Vyása of the twenty-eighth, who followed him, was Krishńa Dwaipáyana. These are the twenty-eight elder Vyásas, by whom, in the preceding Dwápara ages, the Veda has been divided into four. In the next Dwápara, Drauńi (the son of Drońa) will be the Vyása, when my son, the Muni Krishńa Dwaipáyana, who is the actual Vyása, shall cease to be (in that character)
***
Having said that Veda are word of God, or the User Manual of Life, why should we – the educated class of people, tend to believe in these ancient pre-historic texts.
Let us see some evidences of these knowledge which he (had) used in our day-to-day life without knowing.
I. Spherical Earth.
Pythagoras (6th century BC) was among those said to have originated the idea.
But is it true?
What is the Sanskrit word for Geography? Isn’t it “Bhugol” (Bhu – Bhumi, Earth ; Gol – Round or Spherical) !! Our ancestors never called it “Bhu-Chapta”
And this name was well before Pythagoras appeared on this planet.
II. Earth’s Motion
Philolaus (470-385 BCE), was Perhaps the first who believed in the rotation of the earth
Again is it True?
What is the Sanskrit synonym word for Earth? Isn’t it “Jagat” (Jagat in Sankrit means – moving, movable, locomotive). Is it not strange??!!
III. Height of Astronomy!!
We even knew a star in the ‘Big Bear Constellation’ is not a single star but a 'star-couple' or 'twin stars'. We knew stars ‘Mizor-Alcor’ (modern names) or ‘Arundhati-Vashistha’ (Indian astronomical names) are twin stars thousands of years ago.
And when most twin stars revolve keeping one at center, we knew that Arundhati Vashistha rotate around each other like shown below
IV. Metallurgy
The most famous one is in Delhi, in front of the Qutub Minar!It was built a thousand years ago and is still rust free, contrary to the fact that Delhi is the world’s most polluted city!
Another rust free pillar in Kollur, Bengaluru is even more fascinating! It was built 2400 years ago by tribal people in a city that receives 750 cms of rainfall for 6-8 months in a year. This shows that even the local people were aware of the latest techniques.
V. Zinc Extraction
India was the only country to know how to extract zinc from zinc ore until 1543!
Indians used inverted distillation technique to extract zinc from zinc ores, which is not at all an easy process.
(Zinc melts at 997 degree Celsius and vaporizes at 1000 degree Celsius, which means that there’s only a gap of 3 degrees to extract zinc and not only Indians did it first in the world but kept the method a secret for 4000 years till 1543)
Deep drive into Scriptures
VI. PREDICTIONS
1) Lord Gautam Buddha’s appearance was predicted in Srimad Bhadvatham 1.3.24.
2) Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance was predicted in Srimad Bhadvatham 11.5.32 & Mahabharata 127.92.75
3) Chanakya’s appearance was predicted in Srimad Bhadvatham 12.1.11.
4) Chandragupta & Ashoka’s appearance was predicted in Srimad Bhadvatham 12.1.12.
5) Jesus & Mohammed’s appearance was predicted in Bhavishya Puran, Atharva Veda, Kanda 20, Shukta 127, 1-3 .
VII. ATOMIC SCIENCE
Was John Dalton really the first person to discover the concept of atoms???
Srimad Bhagvatham, Canto – 3, Chapter 11 describes regarding the atom, atomic time thousands of years back!!
VIII. ASTRONOMY
1) Motion of Earth
“This earth is devoid of hands and legs, yet it moves ahead. All the objects over the earth also move with it. It moves around the sun.”
[Rig Veda 10.22.14]
2) Gravitational Force
“O Indra! by putting forth your mighty rays, which possess the qualities of gravitation and attraction-illumination and motion – keep up the entire universe in order through the Power of your attraction.”
[Rig Veda 8.12.28]
“O God, You have created this Sun. You possess infinite power. You are upholding the sun and other spheres and render them steadfast by your power of attraction.
[Rig Veda 1.6.5, Rig Veda 8.12.30]
“The sun moves in its own orbit in space taking along with itself the mortal bodies like earth through force of attraction.”
[Yajur Veda 33.43]
“The sun moves in its own orbit but holding earth and other heavenly bodies in a manner that they do not collide with each other through force of attraction.
[Rig Veda 1.35.9]
“Sun moves in its orbit which itself is moving. Earth and other bodies move around sun due to force of attraction, because sun is heavier than them.
[Rig Veda 1.164.13]
“The sun has held the earth and other planets”
[Atharva Veda 4.11.1]
3) Light of Moon
“The moving moon always receives a ray of light from sun”
[Rig Veda 1.84.15]
“Moon decided to marry. Day and Night attended its wedding. And sun gifted his daughter “Sun ray” to Moon.”
[Rig Veda 10.85.9]
4) Eclipse
“O Sun! When you are blocked by the one whom you gifted your own light (moon), then earth gets scared by sudden darkness.”
[Rig Veda 5.40.5]
5) The Speed of Light
This might not be exactly from the Vedas, but a Vedic scholar, by the name of Sayana, discovered the speed of light in the 14th century AD.
His quote - "With deep respect, I bow to the sun, who travels 2,202 yojanas in half a nimesha."
A yojana is approximately 9 miles; a nimesha is 16/75 of a second. Therefore: 2,202 yojanas x 9 miles x 75/8 nimeshas = 185,794 miles per second.
For a 14th century Vedic scholar, this discovery is absolutely astonishing. Nobody knows how he did it, but his source of information must have been the Vedas, which further validates its cosmologic credibility.
IX. MATHEMATICS
1) Pythagorean theorem
The Baudhāyana Śulbasûtra is noted for containing several early mathematical results, including an approximation of the square root of 2 and the statement of a version of the Pythagorean theorem.
दीर्घचतुरश्रस्याक्ष्णया रज्जु: पार्श्र्वमानी तिर्यग् मानी च यत् पृथग् भूते कुरूतस्तदुभयं करोति ॥
dīrghachatursrasyākṣaṇayā rajjuḥ pārśvamānī, tiryagmānī,
cha yatpṛthagbhūte kurutastadubhayāṅ karoti.
A rope stretched along the length of the diagonal produces an area which the vertical and horizontal sides make together
2) Square root of 2
Baudhāyana i.61-2 (elaborated in Āpastamba Sulbasūtra i.6) gives the length of the diagonal of a square in terms of its sides, which is equivalent to a formula for the square root of 2
samasya dvikaraṇī. pramāṇaṃ tṛtīyena vardhayet
tac caturthenātmacatustriṃśonena saviśeṣaḥThe diagonal [lit. "doubler"] of a square. The measure is to be increased by a third and by a fourth decreased by the 34th. That is its diagonal approximately
3) Surya Siddhanta
Surya Siddhanta (c. 400) contains the roots of modern trigonometry.
This ancient text uses the following as trigonometric functions for the first time:
• Sine (Jya).
• Cosine (Kojya).
• Inverse sine (Otkram jya).
It also contains the earliest uses of:
• Tangent.
• Secant.
4) Aryabhata I
Aryabhata (476–550) wrote the Aryabhatiya. He described the important fundamental principles of mathematics in 332 shlokas. The treatise contained:
• Quadratic equations
• Trigonometry
• The value of π, correct to 4 decimal places.
Aryabhata also wrote the Arya Siddhanta, which is now lost. Aryabhata's contributions include:
Trigonometry:
• Defined the sine (jya) as the modern relationship between half an angle and half a chord.
• Defined the cosine (kojya).
• Defined the versine (utkrama-jya).
• Defined the inverse sine (otkram jya).
• Gave methods of calculating their approximate numerical values.
• Contains the earliest tables of sine, cosine and versine values, in 3.75° intervals from 0° to 90°, to 4 decimal places of accuracy.
• Contains the trigonometric formula sin(n + 1)x − sin nx = sin nx − sin(n − 1)x − (1/225)sin nx.
• Spherical trigonometry.
Arithmetic:
• Continued fractions.
Algebra:
• Solutions of simultaneous quadratic equations.
• Whole number solutions of linear equations by a method equivalent to the modern method.
• General solution of the indeterminate linear equation.
Mathematical astronomy:
• Accurate calculations for astronomical constants, such as the: Solar eclipse.
• Lunar eclipse.
• The formula for the sum of the cubes, which was an important step in the development of integral calculus.
For further information please visit - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_mathematics
It is really difficult to list everything in a single article.
This is the beauty of Vedas & Vedic Literature. Vedas and Science are never in contradiction. In fact the foundation of Vedic religion lies in the principle that “True Science and True Religion can never contradict.”
If Vedas are not words of God, how can they contain the advanced scientific knowledge? How can they predict appearance of future personalities?
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The answer is hidden in the below letter of Thomas Babington Macaulay.
I feel... that it is impossible for us, with our limited means, to attempt to educate the body of the people. We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, - a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to refine the vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects with terms of science borrowed from the Western nomenclature, and to render them by degrees fit vehicles for conveying knowledge to the great mass of the population.
British have strategically, attacked our wealth of Vedic Knowledge, made us feel ashamed of our past, and in due course of time, we have indeed become “Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes”.
It is really time for each one of us to understand, realize, wake up and embrace what we had neglected and rejected for all these years.
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