"We do not appreciate what we have" - It is a very true psychological fact. It applies to all facets of life and the same rule holds good for our knowledge and wisdom too. In this simple post, I have tried to compile the views of scholars around the World about our ancient scriptures and wisdom. I have not provided a "quick view" because of the nature of this post. Instead I have presented this only with picture quotes and website links for further references.
Erwin Schrodinger (1887-1961) - Nobel prize winning Austrian Physicist :
By The original uploader was Bletchley at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
There is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction..... The only solution to this conflict insofar as any is available to us at all lies in the ancient wisdom of the Upanishad.
Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happenings are played out in one universal consciousness and there is no multiplicity of selves.
ARTHUR HOLMES (1890-1965) - BRITISH GEOLOGIST :
See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Long before it became a scientific aspiration to estimate the age of the earth, many elaborate systems of the world chronology had been devised by the sages of antiquity. The most remarkable of these occult time-scales is that of the ancient Hindus, whose astonishing concept of the earth's duration has been traced back to manusmriti, a sacred book.
When the Hindu calculation of the present age of the earth and the expanding universe is so astonishing, the precision with which the hindu calculation regarding the age of the entire universe was made would make any man spellbound.
Religion and food are interconnected!!! Is this statement true? Well.... when you see it from "Hinduism" perspective, is definitely yes! We have an extensive definition of food here.... We have rules for what to eat, what not to eat and also how and when to eat and how and when not to eat. I am really not sure if any other culture/tradition gives this much emphasis and importance to food but we have always considered food as God (Annapurni) which nourishes not only the body but also the soul.
In modern days, it is the job of the nutrition and dietitian experts to study and analyze the qualities of food and its impact on the body. But as far as Hinduism is concerned, it goes beyond and touches every part of life including this food science. It doesn't stop with showing the way for spiritual enrichment but also gives simple prescriptions that are needed for everyday life and which can be followed by a common man. This kind of multi-dimension is its unique specialty.
QUICK VIEW :
Key concept
Food in Hinduism
Food science
Characterization of food according to their Gunas, Ayurveda and its medicinal aspects, Balance of doshas, Correct way of eating food.
Food rituals
Mindful cooking, Offering to God, Sharing with Guests and Food ethics
Other details in connection to food
Types of food for each Guna and Dosha, Vegetarian food, Fasting
The Three Gunas :
First, let us see the classification of food (Bhojana) in spiritual perception. Human beings do have three Gunas (character) and each one has its own properties. They are Sathva, Rajasa and Tamasa respectively.
Food that we eat are closely connected in enhancement of these Gunas and hence food is also divided into Sathvik food, Rajas food and Tamas food.
Sathvik Food :
The food which nourishes, gives happiness, strength, purifies and enhances health is called Sathvik food. Such foods are sweet, juicy, fleshy and palatable.
Rajas food :
The food which creates aggression, pain, distress and causes disease comes under this category. Such foods are too spicy, salty, sour, bitter, dry and hot.
Tamas food :
The food which drives you into darkness, ignorance and sluggishness is Tamas in nature. Examples are food which is stale, unclean, decomposed, cooked more than three hours ago etc.
Ayurveda and Food :
Ayurveda is a pure scientific concept of food. It is a discipline of the "Upaveda" or "auxiliary knowledge" of Vedic tradition and its origins are traced back to Atharva Veda. Contemporary Ayurveda emphasizes in attaining vitality by building a healthy metabolic system and maintaining good digestion and excretion. Hence diet forms a major part of Ayurveda. Ayurveda classifies human body into three types namely Vatha, Pitha and Kapha (the three doshas). It also emphasizes on the six tastes (Arusuvai).
Ayurvedic diet focuses on complete balance between the above three doshas called vatha pitha and kapha.
For more details about Ayurvedic diet, please go to the following links :
In Sanathan Dharma (Hinduism), nothing is a compulsion. It does not compel any one for anything. While it emphasizes the importance of vegetarian food, it does not keep it as common for all. It does allow non vegetarian food but gently tells to avoid on certain auspicious days. Vegan food is mainly prescribed for Brahmins and there is a scientific and psychological reason for this. Brahmins are required to mainly do spiritual activities only and hence do not have any physical labor or strain. Eating non vegetarian food would add excess calories to the body which they would not be able to burn due to the nature of their work. Others who do physical labor like kshathriyas etc.. are permitted to eat Non vegetarian food. This is the scientific reason. Eating non vegetarian foods will contribute to the enhancement of Rajas and Tamas Gunas and hence will hinder the spiritual progress. More over killing is against the Ahimsa Dharma and hence the restriction. These are the psychological reasons. Many people think that proteins are compensated in vegetarian meal and it is not so. Lentils do provide excellent protein.
According to the ADA (American Dietetic Association) Vegetarians are at lower risk for developing :
It is a pure psychology that our thoughts influence food. We can experience this in our everyday cooking. Our mood really reflects on our cooking. That is why our scriptures mention to do cooking with mindfulness. It is an important ritual to offer food to God before eating. (I have given a separate list called "Food Ethics" later in this article). The process of producing food (farming) involves activities like plowing which contribute to the killing of many tiny organisms. Hence it is advised to do the entire cooking process by chanting the name of God (Manthras). Not only does this nullify the sins associated with the food production and preparation (like cutting vegetables and herbs) but also keeps our mood in control and without distraction. Food cooked in such a way offers real nourishment to both body and soul. Cleanliness is also very much emphasized. Taking bath before starting the cooking process is highly encouraged.
Okay... now its time to eat. But how do we eat? This is a very basic question but we do have extensive answers for it.
How many times do we need to eat?
A person who eats once a day is Yogi, twice a day is Bhogi (pleasure seeker) and thrice a day is Rogi (invites deceases).
Offering and sharing food :
Cooked food is first offered to God, then to Guests (Adithi) and then it is finally shared with the family members. Elders and Children eat first and finally the house holder along with his wife. Prayer is always offered to God before eating the food.
Sitting posture :
Indian way of eating is to sit down in the floor and eat (though we do not follow it much these days). When we sit on floor, we normally sit with crossed legs - which is an asana called Sukhasana or Half Padhmasana. These poses aid in proper digestion. Sitting in floor requires constant bending to reach for food and going back while eating. These frequent to and fro movements causes abdominal muscles to be activated thereby leading to increased secretion of stomach acids which promote better digestion. It also has significant weight loss benefits. In this position, we cannot overeat as compared to normal table meals.
Eating with hands :
According to Ayurveda, each finger is an extension of one of the five elements. Each finger aids in the transformation of food before the digestion stage. Gathering the finger tips to touch the food stimulates the five elements.The person who is eating becomes more conscious about the texture, taste and smell of food and promotes mindful eating.
Fasting :
As eating is considered as a sacred ritual, fasting is also another kind of ritual which is meant for the purification of both body and mind. From the spiritual perspective, it is a kind of detachment and denial of sensory pleasure. From the scientific view point, fasting cleans the toxic substances accumulated in the body. Digestive systems get rest and body mechanics are corrected.
Food Ethics :
Hinduism diet is traditionally governed by Manu dharmasasthra. Here I summarize few ethics laid down by this scripture.....
Never consume the food which is not offered with respect
Must not eat food which has hair or insects on it or which stood overnight
Must not eat food which is left out by somebody else or by a bird
One who cooks only for himself (not sharing with others) goes to hell
Astrology - Who doesn't love to know the future? Who is not curious about what stars and planets are holding for us? Almost everyone Isn't it? But there are certain things that we should know about astrology in order to get better understanding about it and how and why it came into existence.
QUICK VIEW :
Key concept
Astrology
Scientific perspective
Since it is based on the movements of Planets and stars.
Macrocosm has definitely has its impact on Microcosm.
Main purpose of Astrology
To estimate the best time to perform Yagna, Homam and such Vedic rituals and also to determine the auspicious time for rituals in Human life from birth to death including naming ceremony, wedding ceremony etc.
When and how does this change into superstition?
When mixed with sentiments and personal emotions like selfishness, greed, insecurity and failure to realize that destiny can never be changed. Explained with examples from the two Epics.
Astrology, is in fact a vast ocean and its history dates back way in the past. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events. Indians, Chinese and Mayans developed elaborate systems to predict terrestrial events from celestial observations. Alexander the Great's conquest of Asia allowed astrology to spread to ancient Greece and Rome. Ancient Egyptians had a system called Decanic Astrology where Decans are 36 groups of stars which rise consecutively on the horizon throughout each Earth rotation.
It is quite impossible to discuss about the astrological concepts of all the cultures as this post will never end then. Hence let us proceed with only our traditional "Jyotisha" and see how it impacts our lives today. Those who are interested to know about different variations in astrology, please refer the following links.
Jyotisha, also known as Indian Astrology and Vedic Astrology, is the traditional Hindu system of Astronomy and Astrology. Vedanga Jyotisha is one of the earliest texts about Astronomy within the Vedas. There are three main branches of this Jyotisha.
Siddantha - Indian Astronomy
Samhitha - Predicting important events related to countries such as war, earthquakes, political events, house and construction related matters (Vastu) etc
Hora - Predictive astrology in detail
Each one of the above branches have many sub categories. Considering the length of this article, let us only see the "Hora" branch now. This contains various aspects and it deals with the finer prints of predictive astrology. Given below are some of the sub divisions of this branch....
Jataka Shastra (Natal Astrology) - It deals with the horoscopes of individuals.
Muhurtha (Electional Astrology) - election of best time to initiate an activity to get the maximum benefit from it.
Nadi Shastra - The part of astrology which can reveal the past, present and future of individuals based on the palm leaf manuscripts compiled by Sages.
Hastha Rekha (Palmistry) - Predictions based on palm analysis.
Shakuna (Omens) - Predictions based on omens
Swapna Vidya - Interpretation of dreams
Akriti Vidya (Physiognomy) - Predictions based on structure and moles on the body
Prashna (Horary Astrology) - Predictions based on the time when a question is asked by the querist
Ankjyotish/Kabala (Numerology) - Branch of Astrology based on numbers.
Streejataka (Female Astrology) - A special branch which deals with female nativities.
Scientific Aspect :
Our traditional Astrology, is based on Astronomy with respect to 27 Stars and 9 Planets (NavaGraha) Here is what Sankaracharya says about Astrology.
"The conditions of man corresponds to the changes in the position of the nine Grahas. A human being does not enjoy happiness all the time nor does he always suffer hardships. That is he experiences a mixture of happiness and sorrow. While he may be pushed to a higher position today, he may be thrust down to the depths tomorrow. It is not man alone that is subject to changes of fortune. Establishments too have their ups and downs, so also Nations. The Sages saw a relationship between the position and movements of the Planets and the destiny of man, the sorrow and happiness experienced by him. There is a branch of astrology called Hora-Skandha. If our horoscope is cast on the basis of the configuration of the Planets at the time of our birth, our fortunes over the entire period of our life can be predicted."
Since Astrology predictions are based on Astronomy (alignment of Planets and Stars) we can consider it to be scientifically relevant. But we should know the real reason behind Astrology. Our ancestors have taken great care to study the movements of Planets and Stars and have made tremendous contribution to the field of Astronomy. The real reason behind Astrology is only to know the right time to do the spiritual activities like Yagna, Homam etc and to fix the auspicious time for certain rituals including naming ceremony, upanayanam, wedding ceremony etc. In this sense, we can consider Astrology as a pure science as the auspicious time is fixed on the basis of cosmic alignment. The underlying fact is that Astrology is only pure prediction and it can never change or will change the fate. What is destined to happen will certainly happen no matter what we do.
Transformation into a Superstition :
Okay. Here is the interesting part now. This is our exact situation in modern world. We have very much deviated from the very basic ideology of Astrology (to find the auspicious time for the vedic rituals) and mixed our sentiments a lot into it. Sentiments here mean our personal emotions like insecurity, selfishness, greed, curiosity, thirst for success and fame, relationship issues just to name a few. This made us to run behind Astrologers (who are minting a lot of money in today's world) with various questions about future, career, finance, personal issues and what not...... Most astrologers either scare us by telling that our life will encounter more problems thereby suggesting remedies or try to please us by saying that we will get a tremendous fortune and for that we should make some measures to destroy the obstacles which prevent us from getting that fortune. For those who believe that astrology can solve their problems (Remember - it can predict not solve) please go through the following examples which I have taken from two instances from our two great Epics.
Example from Ramayana :
All set for the ceremony of "Pattabishekha". The whole city was overwhelmed about their favorite Rama to be crowned as the king of Ayodhya. Auspicious time (astrology as science) was fixed for the ceremony and the day had come. But what really happened? Was Rama got crowned as king that day? No. Instead he went to forest along with Sita and Lakshmana as per his father Dasaratha's wish. His incarnation itself was a predetermined one and so his life happenings (again Astrology as a prediction). Even though he was an incarnation (Godly) he accepted his destiny and was bound by human law when he lived in this Earth. He never went to any Astrologer to consult about his destiny and to find solutions or ways to solve his worries. He accepted the pain and lead a noble life in spite of his sorrow.
Example from Mahabaratha :
The great war began and the whole kshathriya clan was in trouble. No one could really escape the hard grip of death. There stood Krishna as the charioteer of Arjuna, silent and peaceful. The day had come for the death of Abhimanyu, his beloved nephew. (his sister Subathra's son). Was Krishna behind an Astrologer??? No. He accepted the destiny, predetermined fate of Abhimanyu and quietly did his duty. Same principle applied when he got the curse from Gandhari after the completion of the war and stood peaceful when his own city, Dwaraka was immersed in water. Again, he never tried to change anything even though he was an incarnation of Maha Vishnu.
The Bottom line :
Astrology is scientific with respect to its ability to judge the best time to perform certain rituals. It is also true that it can predict the life events of an individual based on the time of birth and planetary arrangements during that time. It is a good science when we approach Astrology without selfishness. But the moment we start mixing our selfishness, greed and such emotions into it, it becomes a superstition. Why because we run behind astrologers, trust everyone and blindly follow their prescriptions like "Parikaram" etc. Ultimately we want to change our fate and luck. we all want to experience only pleasure in life. Not pain. For even a small and minute problem, we start referring to Astrology and try to figure out what went wrong with our Stars. We never realize that fate and destiny can never be changed. This attitude is the one which makes this amazing science a crazy superstition. Yes... our sentiments change this science into a superstition.
Just thought of creating a new label called "Manthras and Meanings" in my blog, with an intention to learn/know the meanings of the verses. that we use either in our everyday life or during Pooja and Rituals. Often we use them without knowing their meanings at all. Understanding the meanings will really be thought-provoking. It will aid in better reasoning by creating a deeper insight about the Manthras. So here we go with our first Manthra, the Gayathri Manthra.
QUICK VIEW :
About Gayathri Manthra, its importance and meaning.
Introduction :
This Manthra is a verse from the hymn of Rig Veda (3.62.10) and is dedicated to "Savitur" - The source behind all creations, that which gives birth. (connotatively, the Sun God). Hence it is also called the Savitri Manthra. Gayathri is the name of the "vedic meter" in which the verse is composed. Studying vedic meter is called Chandas and it is one of the six vedanga disciplines. Gayatri is a vedic meter which has 3 padas of 8 syllables containing 24 syllables in each stanza. In this sense, it is personified as the Goddess Gayatri. Several ancient classical texts like Manusmrithi, Harivamsa and the Bhagavad Gita praises this Manthra. The greatness of this Manthra is revealed by the saying of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. He says, "Of all the hymns, I am the Gayathri".
The Manthra :
"Aum Bhur Bhuvah Svaha Tat Savitur Varenyum
Bhargo Dhevasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayath"
Meaning :
Translations by Scholars :
"We meditate on the adorable glory of the radiant Sun. May he inspire our minds" - S.Radhakrishnan.
"We meditate on the glory of that being who has produced this Universe. May he enlighten our minds. - Swami Vivekananda.
"Let us adore the supremacy of that divine Sun, the god-head who illuminates all, who recreates all, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, whom we invoke to direct our understandings aright in our progress towards his holy seat." - Sir William Jones
"May we attain the excellent glory of Savitar the God. So may he stimulate our prayers." - Ralph T.H. Griffith
Detailed Meaning :
Aum, Bhur, Bhuva, Svaha : The Terrestrial (Bhoo), The Celestial (Svah) and The World connecting the Terrestrial and Celestial (Bhuvar). These are the names of the first three (from the lower order) of the seven higher worlds in the Hindu Cosmology. From the meditation point of view, these syllables are interpreted as the three degrees of meditation, Conscious, Semi-Conscious and Unconscious.
These three words, Bhur, Bhuva and Svaha are collectively called the "mahavyahrti". The prefixing of this Manthra is described in Taittriya Aranyaka, which states the scriptural recitations should always begin with "Aum" followed by the three vyahrtis and then the Gayathri verse.
Tat Savitur Varenyum : That (Tat) which is the source of all creation, supreme reality, divine illumination (Savitur) all inspiring and the one fit to be worshiped (Varenyum).
That all inspiring supreme reality which is the source of all creation and the one which is fit to be worshiped.
Bhargo Dhevasya Dhimahi : Self luminous, radiant, one who illuminates all (Bhargo) divine, godly, virtuous and joyous (Dhevasya) We meditate upon thee (Dhimahi).
I meditate upon you, the divine power who is radiant and self luminous.
Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayath : Intellect, activities and properties, reasoning faculty which is the tool for attaining higher wisdom (Dhiyo), one who/which is being prayed, (Yo), our, us (Nah), stimulate, inspire, drive towards the higher reality (Prachodayath).
You, the intellect, stimulate my mind and enlighten me.
I wanted to publish a quick post for today and hence I chose this topic "Gravity". In this post, I will briefly summarize the law of gravitation as given in modern science as well as what our ancient scriptures say about it.
Going forward, I will be adding an ultra short version called as "Quick View" in all my posts. It is for those people who do not have time to read the entire post. This is based on the feed back of few readers. Many thanks to them for suggesting this idea....
QUICK VIEW :
Key concept
Law of Gravitation
Modern scientific version
Sir Isaac Newton
References from ancient scriptures
Rig Veda, Prasnopanishad,
Surya Siddantha, Works of
Brahmagupta and Varahamihira
We all know the famous law of gravitation as given by Sir.Isaac Newton. His law states that "any two bodies in the Universe attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two bodies". There is a popular story which states that Newton was sitting under an apple tree and when he saw an apple falling from the tree, he got a thought about the law of gravitation. In layman's understanding, law of gravity is nothing but the pull force of Earth. The one which goes up, comes down due to this pull. But this is not limited to Earth alone. It is actually gravity which holds the Moon in orbit around the Earth, Earth around the Sun and Sun in its place in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Since we already know about this scientific version of gravity, let us move on to the theories as per our scriptures now...... The Sanskrit term for gravity/attraction is Gurutvaakarshan, (Guru + tva + aakarshan) which means to be attracted by something big (Guru = Master)
Meaning - The Sun has tied Earth and other Planets through attraction and moves them around itself as if a trainer moves newly trained horses around holding their reins"
Prasnopanishad (3.8)
"Adityo ha vai bahyah prana udayatyesa hyenam caksusam pranamanugrhnanah prthivyam ya devata saisa purusasyapanama vastabhyantara yadakasah sa samano, vayur-vyanah"
Adi Sankara's commentary about the above - "Aakarshana Sakthi is the power of drawing or pulling something, The breath called Prana (which we inhale) goes up (in the body) and Apana (which we exhale) pulls it down (out of the body). The force which pulls something down is Apana. Earth has Apana sakthi. The deity of the Earth inspires the human body with Apana."
Meaning - In the midst of Universe, the spherical Earth stands firm in its space without falling away, because of the Dharanatmika Sakthi"
"Akrsta saktisca mahi taya yat svastham guru svabhimukham svasaktya akrsyate tatpatativa bhati same samantat kva patatviyam khe"
Meaning - Objects fall on Earth due to a force of attraction by Earth. Earth, Planets, Constelations, Moon and Sun are held in Orbit due to this force.
The energy within the ball of Earth is Aakrushti sakthi (attraction). Because of this, Earth pulls a piece of anything in/on her (svastham) towards herself and this power is her own and natural to her. Because of this pull, every object on this Earth appears to be falling down.
This is a text written by Brahmagupta (a mathematician) in 628 C E. He states that "Bodies fall towards the Earth as it is in the nature of the Earth to attract bodies, just as it is in the nature of water to flow".
Varahamihira - an astronomer of 6th Century A D "
The ball of the Earth which is made up of five fundamental elements, is placed in the center of a cage
which is made up of the Stars of the Galaxy and hence it is hanging in the sky, like an iron ball in the center of a cage of magnetic balls.
It is no wonder that Dick Teresi, an American writer, wrote in his book "Lost Discoveries - The Ancient Roots of Modern Science" as follows :
The Indians came closest to the modern ideas of atomism, quantum physics and other current theories.
Two thousand years before Pythagoras, philosophers in India had understood that gravitation held the Solar System together, and that therefore the Sun, the most massive object had to be at its center. Twenty-four centuries before Isaac Newton, The Hindu Rig-Veda asserted that gravitation held the Universe together. The Sanskrit speaking Aryans subscribed to the idea of a Spherical Earth in an era when the Greeks believed in a flat one. The Indians of the fifth century A.D. calculated the age of Earth as 4.3 billion years where Scientists in 19th Century England were convinced it was 100 million years.
This is one of my favorite topics. I have been searching for resources all the way to add validity to the subject matter, "Is Kurukshethra war a nuclear one?" and finally have some details to share with you. The posts I write in this blog are primarily to establish a connection between mythology and science. In that perspective, this particular post will really make you think about our mythology in a very different way.
Basically, there are few different ways to look into mythological stories. To believe everything told in them is one way. This is what our ancestors did till couple of generations ago. This view made them morally good but they were not able to provide logical reasoning . Hearing the stories but treating them just as fiction is the second way. This view deteriorates the moral perspective also. Why because, mind believes that they are not real and just a fiction. We generally do not follow what we do not believe, Isn't it? The third view is trying to analyse the stories with questions.... why are they told in this way? Are there any reason behind them? This is the perception needed to interpret them correctly. This kind of approach will clearly make you understand the many good reasons viz... ethical, moral, scientific, health, environmental, political etc etc... behind such stories. My approach is always the third one and I like to basically raise questions till I am completely convinced. One such question is about the Mahabaratha war.
I always had a passion for this particular epic, compared to Ramayana. When we measure in terms of aggressiveness, Mahabaratha weighs more than that of Ramayana. It has almost touched all dimensions of life, possession, greed, sacrifice, cheating, bravery, cowardness, trust, suspicion, anger, jealousy, vengeance, patience, dedication, friendship, relationship.... and the list goes on. No wonder it still creates an impression even today. But approaching this epic with technology point of view is somewhat rare but it has many such aspects in the technology perspective too. I have mentioned a few in my introduction (first) post but will quickly summarize them here for a better understanding.
The birth of Dhuryothana and his brothers - In-vitro fertilization/test tube baby
Sanjaya narrating the story of warfield to Drithirashtra - Live telecasting
The asthras used in the war - missiles or nuclear weapons (not everything -will explain)
For this post, let us take the Kurukshethra war and analyze the feasibility of it being a nuclear war. As told before, not all the weapons (asthras) were nuclear in nature. When you recollect the Epic, you can note that only few people were allowed or eligible to get such weapons. The Guru (teacher) also did not grant the techniques (using the weapons) to all the students. The secrets were passed on only to those who had the mind maturity to use them judiciously. This is the reason why Drona selected only Arjuna among all his disciples to grant the knowledge of such great weapons. Karna, on the other hand, learnt the same from Parasurama, but due to his association with ill-natured Duryothana, was not allowed to launch those weapons. The story states that he got a curse from Parasurama that Karna will forget the launching of weapons at the most needed/right time. (selective amnesia, may be). We can take it in this way. Parasurama might have had a foresight that Karna will associate with Duryodhana in future and hence cursed him like that. Aswathama, the son of Drona, also had knowledge about such techniques. But he served as a good example of why such techniques should not be taught to everyone as he used it for destruction even when advised not to do so.... Aswathama, on the death of his father, got so very angry and launched this weapon against the Pandavas. For the sake of stopping the weapon, Arjuna also launched the same weapon. But due to the catastrophic effects, they both were advised to pull back the weapons. Arjuna knew the technique to do so and hence did the same. But Aswathama did not know the secret of getting it back. The nature of this weapon is that if there is no target, it will demolish the person who launched it. Aswathama, forced by the situation, quickly pointed another target for the weapon by asking it to destroy all the babies in womb in the Pandavas' and their sons' wive. Krishna requested not to destroy Uthara's baby but he did not listen and hence got a curse from him. That baby who was protected in the womb by Krishna was named as Parikshit and became the next king after the Pandavas.
Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) was a supervising scientist of the Manhattan Project and a developer of the atomic bomb. He quoted Mahabaratha and Bagavat Gita in his lecture seven years later the first atom bomb explosion. I encourage you to watch this history channel video fully before analyzing further :
Now back to the topic, there were many kinds of asthras in the Mahabaratha war. But the one we consider for discussion here is the Brahmasthra. It is mentioned many times in the Mahabaratha war. Please take a look into the description of this weapon as given in wikipedia.
Could Brahmastra be a Nuclear Weapon? or something even more than that?
This question is debatable. As usual, there are many controversies going around. Some agree to the concept and some others dis agree. I have briefly summarized the arguments from both sides and here they are....
The arguments of those who agree are the following :
1. The description of Brahmasthra and the way it was not allowed to be used by everybody, proves that it was of some deadly destructive weapon.
2. Once Mahabaratha itself was believed to be a fiction. But later many evidences came to prove that it actually happened in the past like archaeologists finding the submerged city Dwaraka, identification of Saraswathi river etc.
3. Many other mythological concepts related to other fields like astronomy, medicine etc are proved correct now. They were also once pin pointed as fiction and imagination only.
The arguments of those who do not agree are mainly the following :
1. The war used bow and arrow as the main weapon. Nuclear weapons need some sort of shooting technique and that was not possible with bow....
2. It is purely pseudoscience and hence not true.
3. Fiction stories like star wars also anticipate the future and advanced technologies. But can we take them as present happenings?
My perspective is quite simple here. Since we know something about modern day nuclear weapon, we are trying to equate Brahmasthra with that. But what if nuclear weapons were not invented at all? What would be our judgement about Brahmasthra in that case? We would have totally neglected the concept stating that it is highly mythical. But with the invention of nuclear weapons, we are able to find some similarities now. Like wise, in future, when science gets more and more advanced, we might get more clarity in such concepts. More over the technology prevailing now might not prevail after 5000 or 6000 years later because world is always changing. But if the future generation claim that the technology we are using now as pseudo science, will that be correct? When we foresee the present world so many years ahead in the future who knows what will be waiting for us there? Same applies to the past also. We are getting traces of history here and there with which we are trying to establish the past happenings. That is the limitation of science. It can only go to a certain extent before and after in time. But what is mentioned in mythology does not change at all. It is very clear in its calculations, time lines, events and happenings. There is no confusion behind it. Of course, there could be many manupulations due to the people trying to interpret them, but the very essence does not change at all. Hence, there is every reason to believe that Brahmasthra was an advanced destructive weapon which was once used.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
