It's All In The Vedas

Once after giving a talk on a seminal piece of work, the brilliant Indian physicist Meghnad Saha was told by an elderly member in the audience, "There is nothing new here. It's all in the Vedas."  From then on, whenever Saha came across a new or intriguing development in physics, he is said to have quipped, "But it's all in the Vedas!" He of course was being sarcastic and dismissive of the claims by some Hindu purists that the answer to pretty much anything pertaining to mathematics, physics, metaphysics, ethics, morality and the universe was discovered, understood and transcribed in the Vedas millennia ago by the ancient sages of a burgeoning philosophy which came to constitute the foundations of Hinduism.

Now, I am no Vedic scholar. I have only a vague and incomplete understanding of the original philosophical / ritualistic texts although I am quite familiar with the Puranas which constitute the mythological literature deriving from that line. My own fractured understanding leads me to believe (perhaps erroneously) that the Vedas do touch upon many aspects of the real and imaginary forces governing the universe but much of that, except guidelines to ritual worship and mantras, is vague and open to multiple interpretations in light of subsequent latter day knowledge. Even though the sages speculated on physical laws, I am not sure how much actual verifiable data are present in the ancient texts. Does a rich and rational imagination qualify as knowledge?  If one fantasizes about flying, is that proof that one formulated Bernoulli's principle ?  Does pondering over the nature of matter automatically point to a grasp of the structure of the atom? Should beautiful mythology filled with awesome weapons of mass destruction lead the reader to conclude that the bards were alluding to nuclear fission and fusion? I am not referring to the classical Indian scholars of the early middle ages like Aryabhata , his disciples and their substantial contributions to mathematics, but to the more ancient era - a few thousand years B.C. and earlier. How many of the modern mathematical concepts had been refined during early Vedic times? What exactly is Vedic math? I found an article that mentions it but doesn't explain much except to say that the Vedic system makes computation simpler and liberates the student from an over dependence on calculators. Well, whatever it may be, Houston students can now benefit from Vedic math.

Imported wisdom
Delhi engineers and Houston school children both gain from Indian math traditions

''One more than before," the ancient text advises. In the original Sanskrit, this centuries-old wisdom wasn't meant as a fast track into the global economy.

But for a new generation of Indian technology students, these formulas based on Hindu scriptures offer remarkable shortcuts for success in math. It makes sense for Houston schoolchildren to adopt some of these habits and learning techniques that make many Indians such good mathematicians.

According to a story by Chronicle writer Purva Patel, a local Indian-American businessman, Rajesh Parikh, has founded a tutoring school that teaches so-called "Vedic math" — traditional formulas that make computing problems from basic math to algebra and differential equations almost magically simple.

For example, to calculate the square of 45, or any two-digit number that ends in 5, simply find the number to the left of the 5, which is 4, and multiply it by the next higher number, which is 5. This gives you 20. Now tack on the number 25 to that result for the answer: 2,025.

The math school's growing success reflects Houston students' increased use of tutoring programs and, of course, the city's entrepreneurial spirit. But it also shows how the traditions of Houston's immigrants are among the city's greatest assets. Indian children often grow up learning these techniques in households where math proficiency is strongly encouraged.

Recently, starting with a Florida franchise, more American students are learning Vedic Math. Its appeal is in the speed at which students can compute in their head — and the confidence and fun that come with success. It's easy to see how in Texas this could translate onto better test scores and more interest in careers in math, science and engineering. While Houston entrepreneur Parikh found success with his Vedic math tutoring business, several other sources — including an online study group run by Florida expert Rick Blum — can teach these skills for free.

In the quest to keep youngsters in school and competitive with their often better-prepared peers in Asia, Houston-area schools should explore using the ancient techniques of Vedic math. Their students stand to reap new rewards as they benefit from the wisdom of the immigrants who make this city strong.

Comments

[razib]

re: vedist fundamentalism, i am struck by the anti-modern reaction to the scientific zeitgeist which emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century. xtian, islamic and hindu (even buddhist) fundamentalism arose at about the same time. basically, they're attempts by religion to co-opt science and other empirical scholarly fields by stealing their thunder. now, this vedic science may seem theoretical, but the problem is that once you scientize religion you then start conducting experiments based on religion (the magical properties of cow dung?) and those don't turn out so hot....

[Sujatha]

Here's a long list of 101 uses for cow dung.
Now, a large multinational corporation can fund a few million dollars of research to isolate the main ingredient behind these miracles, patent and sell miracle drugs based on it and make a gazillion dollars. Then you can pay through the nose for the Bovicin (TM) capsules that you need to treat the disease du jour.

Or, you could just take a grandma's word for its miraculous properties and benefit from its use, if you could find a 'Suitable Cow';)

Funnily, other types of dung are supposed to have healing properties as well.My mom used to tell me funny stories of how the kids would run behind the temple elephant doing the rounds of the neighborhood for baksheesh, in hope of stepping in fresh elephant dung!

[Amit]

My take on Vedic philosophy falls somewhere in the middle of the dismissive (communists/modern science/"rationalists") and the die-hard fans (hindutva). I do think that it deserves an open-minded scrutiny, and the proof is in the pudding. I also tend to go with the experiential in conjunction with the scientific evidence. My interest in it is from the health, environment and sustainable living angle, and how it can inform us today and tomorrow, rather than being used as a weapon in ideological wars, or to glorify the past.

Sujatha, good point. :)
Reminds me of issues with neem and turmeric.

[Ruchira]

Amit:
Regarding the Vedas, agree completely with you as long as their use is limited along the boundaries that you specify. The problem as always is reining in the enthusiastic ideologues.

And thanks for the good wishes on our birthday.

[Amit]

The problem as always is reining in the enthusiastic ideologues.
Exactly - both red and saffron types ;)

[kochuthresiamma P. J.]

interesting piece, particularly since i witnessed it's all in the vedas situation once. it was a seminar on postmodern theory where a research scholar presented a paper on the sabda-artha theory , and in conclusion stated that saussure's signifier-signified theory can be traced back to this, pointing out that saussure was a sanskrit scholar.
what shocked me was the response of the so called post modern specialists. they literally tore the paper apart ridiculing him for his it's all in the vedas attitude.
my knowlede of indian aethetics is less than sketchy but i do remeber when i first came across the sabda artha theory, i couldnt help noticing the echo of saussure's sign theory. of course i didnt dare to open my mouth in support of the paper presenter. it's funny, how, these seminars are always hijacked by decibels