Hinduism as
we know of today is an evolved or I should say is a simplified version of Sanatan
Dharma. Sanatan is a Sanskrit word which means which is Anadi (beginingless)
and Anant (endless) and does not cease to be, that which is eternal and
everlasting. Therefore, we can ascertain from this meaning that this religion
has always been trying to locate that is invisible, grab that is without form
and know what is unknown, much like the Modern Science.
The
recorded history of Hinduism or in correct terms Sanatan Dharma starts from the
Vedic period when the Hymns of Rig Veda were created by our great Maharishis. The
texts of this religion may contain hymns, rituals, meditation, magic etc, but
it is the most scientific religion world may have ever known. Our beliefs, the
knowledge in our religious texts is full of scientific ideas that Modern
science has explored in recent past and some of the knowledge is still out of
bounds to Modern Science.
Let me
start from the concept of Energy. The
discovery of the concept of energy is one of the most important works of Modern
Science as this discovery explains how every system in this world works. The scientific
definition of energy is “the capability of an object or system to do work on
another system or object.” And the properties of energy are as follows:
- · Energy can neither be created nor destroyed
- · Energy can be converted from one form to another
- · Energy comes in multiple forms
- · Energy can be transferred from one object or system to another through interaction of forces between objects
Now, what
comes across as the most important concept of Sanatan Dharma? It is the concept
of “Atma.” How is Atma described in our scriptures and texts? Atma is describes
as something that neither takes birth nor dies (i.e. can neither be created nor
destroyed.) Atma changes bodies just like we change clothes. There is no fixed
form for Atma; it is formless like water or air. And Atma is transferred from
one form to another when forces of life and death act upon a body.
The definitions
of Atma and Energy bring to light two important points. First, the concept of
energy was always known to our Vadic scholars and second the Atma as well as
Parmatma as mentioned in all our scriptures and texts is nothing but energy; in
its purest form. All of us; Human Beings, Animals, Plants, Insects and even
Rocks are just energy in different forms. The entire cosmos is a big block of
energy and we are just a part of it and our ultimate fate is to get dissolved
into this block.
The next
important achievement of Modern Science that I would like to explore is the
Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Darwin argued that all organisms evolve,
or change very slowly over time. The changes are adaptations that allow a species
to survive in its environment. When I read this theory the first image that
came to my mind was the story of Matsya Avatar in Vishnupurana. How a fish that
fits in the hand of a sage called Manu evolves overtime before a great flood
and turns into a giant fish that is so big that it rows a big ship carrying
Manu and all species of animals and plants to safety though that flood. If this
story does not explains Theory of Evolution then what does?
Now let us
direct our attention towards our Puranas. Puranas are the ancient scriptures
that are full of stories and helped the common man understand the difficult
concepts of Vedas. These stories made use of complex human relationships,
emotions, social laws and miracles to present a picture of God in front of
common man so that the essence of vedic knowledge reaches him. However, these
pauranic tales also give us a glimpse into some of the scientific knowledge
that our modern scientists have achieved after a lot of struggle and some
knowledge that still eludes them.
Today the
benchmark of being a superpower is Nuclear Weapon stock pile of a country.
Scientists worked day and night to create weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear Bombs,
Hydrogen Bombs, Bio-Chemical weapons are all capable of erasing human life form
from the face of earth. Now let’s travel back in time and through the window of
Puranas and peek into the stories of Ramayana, Mahabharata and other divine
tales. There we would find mention of Bhramastra, Narayanastra which had the
power to annihilate the entire world. There is mention of Pashupatastra, a
weapon with the power of all the plants and animals. These are the first
written records of Nuclear, Hydrogen and Bio-Chemical Weapons. An important
point to note here is that all these stories were written way before any
scientist even thought of developing an Atomic Bomb.
When we
hear the stories about cities of Indraprastha in Mahabharata and Lanka in
Ramayana, it gives an insight into the advancement in architectural brilliance
of that era. Pushpak Viman diverts our attention towards Aeronautical
Engineering. The stories of Charaka, the
first surgeon, the story of Lakshmana recovering from a fatal wound through
Sanjivini and ability of Bhishma to live as long as he desired, give us a
glimpse into advancement in the field of Medicine.
The above
mentioned ideas are the examples of achievements that Modern Science has also
accomplished. But there are some ideas which the modern science still has not
been able to decipher. One of these ideas is that of Teleportation, i.e.
transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the
physical space between them. However, when we go through the stories of
Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Pauranic Tales, we see examples of sages and
Gods appearing and disappearing from one place to another in a matter of
seconds. This is a perfect example of Teleportation. Even if it may not have
been possible at that time, but it still shows that our Sages were thinking
about this idea even during Vedic era.
So these
were some of the scientific ideas which form the basis of Sanatan Dharma. These
ideas were recorded hundreds of years before Modern Science could even think
about them. Hence, it would not be wrong for me to say here that Sanatan Dharma
is the world’s first and only Scientific Religion in the world. The idea of science
and Sanatan Dharma are two sides of same coin.
But this is
not all that this religion has to offer to the world. Apart from science,
Sanatan Dharma contributed in a variety of fields. Through the stories of Ramayana
and Mahabharata, we get the understanding about how to and how not to govern a
kingdom. Ramayana teaches us that even a king is not above law of the land and
a perfect society is one where even the word of a washer man is given
importance. Also it teaches us that a King should never keep his personal
interests above the welfare of his subjects, because failure in doing so would
result in the destruction of entire kingdom.
On the
other side Mahabharata teaches us that the selection of a king should depend
upon the merit and not on the birth. Also if rules of social justice are broken,
it could result into the annihilation of entire clan.
The Varna
system, the modified version of which has become a curse for our nation today,
was one of the best systems designed to ensure a balance in the society. This
system was created to ensure that a person is assigned a job based upon his
abilities and not birth (which it turned out to be later because of greed of wealthy.)
This was a society where there was no inefficiency and everyone was a master of
his work and that ensured job satisfaction and developed society.
The masterclass
of politics has been taught to the world by masters like Krishna, Vidur and
even Shakuni. We can learn from Mahabharata different strategies adopted by
these different masters to ensure victory for their group. The stories of
Chakravyuh, and strategic killing of Bhishma, Drona and Karna give an insight
into tactics of warfare.
Therefore,
Sanatan Dharma should not be seen just as a religion but as an institute where
the subject of life is taught and explained. And we should approach it as a student
with an open mind and with a mind full of questions, because whatever our
questions are an answer would be mentioned somewhere in the texts of Vedas,
Puranas, Upanishads, Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and all other texts and
Scriptures. Most of what our Modern Scientists have achieved and are trying to
achieve is already there in Sanatan Dharma. The essence and concepts of a perfect
society is mentioned in these texts. All one has to do is to look for them.
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