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Vedic Science

Some of the leading voices in science studies argue that modern science reflects the dominant social interests and cultural values of Western society. From this logic, postmodern scholars have urged non-Western societies to develop their own "alternative sciences" as a step toward "mental decolonization." These critiques of modern science have enabling Hindu ideologues to propagate religious myths in the guise of science and secularism.

Vedic means knowledge. The core foundation of Hindu belief is that Vedas contain source of all knowledge – physical or metaphysical. However in last 100 odd years, this belief has come under scrutiny due to the advances that modern science claims to make. Vedic science theorists claim that Hindu spirituality is scientific, that it is a rational and empirically adequate way of making sense of the natural world was well as the spiritual world. The "Vedic Science" movement originated in the Hindu reform movements in the late 19th century. The full conservative Hindu reaction was marked by an effort to fall back on Vedic authority for a pure Theism, where there was to be but one formless abstract God worshipped by prayer and devotion, with the four "Vedas" as primary, and later Vedic writings as secondary, authorities in all matters of moral conduct. The writings of Swami Dayananda Sarasvati and Swami Vivekananda were particularly influential.

Since the earliest period of Indian history is called Vedic, this is suggestive of the importance of knowledge and science, as a means of acquiring that knowledge, to that period of Indian history. For quite some time scholars believed that this knowledge amounted to no more than speculations regarding the self. Adherents of modern Vedic Science hold that "New insights in archaeology, astronomy, history of science and Vedic scholarship have shown that such a view is wrong. We now know that Vedic knowledge embraced physics, mathematics, astronomy, logic, cognition and other disciplines. We ?nd that Vedic science is the earliest science that has come down to us. This has signi?cant implications in our understanding of the history of ideas and the evolution of early civilizations.... To place Vedic science in context it is necessary to have a proper understanding of the chronology of the Vedic literature. There are astronomical references in the Vedas which recall events in the third or the fourth millennium B.C.E. and earlier."

"The discovery of the astronomical code in the organization of the Rgveda has forced a re-examination of the astronomical evidence in the texts that points to epochs as early as the fourth or the ?fth millennium B.C. .... New linguistic analysis has revealed fundamental structural connections between the Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages and it is being theorized that these languages belong to a larger family called the Nostratic. The epochs for the dispersal of the speakers of the Indo-European languages are being pushed back to periods as early as 7000 B.C. and the Vedic civilization is being seen as one where different ethnic groups participated; the term Aryan itself is seen as denoting a “cultured” person without any racial connotation ..."

Some proponents contend that "nuclear weapons were used in Mahabharata war. Science and technology during Mahabharata period was far in advance. A careful examination of Mahabharata shows that different types of offensive and defensive weapons were used in Mahabharata war. Their operation was fully under control of the operator. The operator was equipped with such capabilities as could withdraw the operated weapon if the need be. The missiles generally returned to their point of operation after successfully hitting the target. Mantrika operation was generally preferred instead of Yantrika or mechanical operation. Similarly scientific advancement in the field of, space research, astronomy, medical sciences and engineering was at its pinnacle. "

Some proponents contend that "There is the popular notion that science and technology has developed largely due to the Western world. In contrast, the development of science in India dates back to the origin of the Rig Veda, prior to 3100 BC. As Vedic science evolved, milestones in mathematics, astronomy, cosmology and medicine were reached. From the concept of the zero to geometry, algebra and algorithms, Ancient India was the hub of scientific and technological innovations, especially in the field of mathematics. "

The Indian scientific scene saw some excitement as the Government pushed for Vedic science to be elevated to the status of being taught in the university curriculum. According to the Skeptical Inquirer, ‘India’s University Grants Commission (UGC) has recommended [the] teaching of astrology and ancient Vedic sciences at the under- graduate and postgraduate levels. This is in keeping with the revamped UGC’s striking policy resolutions that are more often than not dictated by the Human Resource De- velopment Ministry of the central government’. In May 2001, several distinguished members of one of the Academies of Sciences in India signed an open letter in The Hindu (Chennai edition) in protest.