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.
(Cross posted at Accidental Blogger)
4 responses to “It’s All In The Vedas”
Saha had a good sense of humor. But it does appear that BCE-era Indians were pretty good in computational math, including perhaps examples like this. Math achievements of the mid-first-millennium CE Gupta-era were likely built upon this substrate of math acumen, echoed too in the ancient Indian penchant for all manner of classifications of life and mind (6 ways to argue logically, 9 paths to salvation, 24 ways of making love standing up on a wall, etc. — I’m making up the examples to illustrate the point).
Here is an excerpt from AL Basham’s quite excellent editorial compilation, Cultural History of India.
Most treatments of ancient Hinduism on the Web (and likely also Vedic math) are unfortunately of poor quality — too many Hindu chauvinists out there. For them, this is above all a matter of voluptuous pride. One of my Indian professors in grad school (US) turned out to be one, devoting his post-tenure life in Electrical Engineering to debunking the “myth” of the Aryan invasion in support for an “out of India” theory.
I had a brilliant physicist uncle (the last person I would have expected) who went the same way as your prof towards the end of his life. He grew roses and delved into the wisdom of the Hindu sages. But from all he said, I always got the feeling that it was he who was interpreting things according his own knowledge of modern physics, rather than what was really present in the texts.
Vedic era computational math probably has more to it than Vedic physics and astrophysics as some claim. But I looked at some of the tutorials. I don’t see a whole lot of advantage over conventional computation using multiplication tables – especially in the multiplication of larger numbers.
24 ways to make love standing up? Wow! I know you made that up. But if you have the time, do plow through the pages of the ancient texts. The manual may well be buried somewhere in there. Now that would be a tutorial worth setting up. You could give up your day job without the slightest trepidation.
“Vedic era computational math probably has more to it than Vedic physics and astrophysics as some claim…”
Indeed. And Vedic math is probably not more advantageous on the whole (I’m not certain). I see it as an alternate way to bell the cat, a veritable intellectual feat for its time — something to make all humans proud.
About the 24 ways, the Gupta-era folks saw the market opportunity long ago. Vatsayana documented many and the sculptors illustrated them on temple exteriors — I’m 1,500 years too late (I can only take pictures of their tutorials!). Of course, most Indians today are so scandalized by any insinuation of bawdiness in the ancient texts (or on temple walls) that I better keep my day job for now. 🙂
Vatsayana I know. 24 ways, I do not. And did you ever get the feeling that Dr. V. had a good laugh after prescribing numerous impossible contortions of carnal delight which he surely knew would leave the average mortal either with severely pulled muscles or a dreadfully red face?