For a long time (and also from what Dan Brown tells us in his Robert Langdon series), it is said that science and religion are two completely different aspects of life. The initiative to put them together in harmony would bear no fruit. The constant debate of which is better has conditioned our minds to think of them as enemies of each other; the truth is that science and religion complement each other in ways we never imagined.
The truth is spoken by none other than our Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, who stated that ancient Hindu texts like Mahabharata and the Vedas contain proofs of modern medical and scientific procedures. Some of which are brought to you by Religious Kart:
- He talked about Karna, a character from Mahabharata not born from his mother’s womb which shows that genetic science was relevant since the ancient times.
Source: Internet
- Dhritrashtra and Gandhari had 101 children by putting 101 embryos in a pot that had all the characteristics of a mother’s womb, but not Gandhari’s womb itself. This is a clear indication that Mahabharata speaks of modern day IVF (In-vitro fertilization) process which allows a couple (who are unable to conceive a child through natural process) become pregnant.
- Ganesha’s head replaced with that of an elephant head hints at the future of organ replacement, more specifically, brain transplant.
- Though Albert Einstein’s popularity is credited to his Theory of Relativity, its mention can be found in the Puranic texts. Einstein’s experiment known as the “twin paradox” hypothesizes that if one of a pair of twins travels to outer space at high speed, while the other remains on earth, the space travelling twin will be younger than its earthly sibling. We can see this hypothesis in the movie Interstellar. The following passage from the Bhagavat Purana communicates the relativity of time: “… One’s life endures for only one hundred years, in terms of the times in the different planets… Eternal time is certainly the controller of different dimensions, from that of the atom up to the super-divisions of the duration of Brahmā’s life; but, nevertheless, it is controlled by the Supreme. Time can control only those who are body conscious, even up to the Satyaloka or the other higher planets of the universe.”
- Before the scientist could figure out our galaxy was oval in shape, Yajur Veda did.“Brahmaanda vyapta deha bhasitha himaruja…” describes Shiva as the one who is spread out in Brahmaanda, an omnipresent power. Anda means an egg depicting the shape of the galaxy.
- For a long time, middle-eastern Europeans and Greeks wrongly believed that the Earth was flat. Turns out Indians were immune to the fear of falling off the edge of the Earth. Hindu texts since long have always known that it was spherical. In many scriptures, the word Bhoogola is used, Gola meaning round.
- The discovery of atoms and sub atomic particles like electrons, protons etc was the discovery of a lifetime. Its find was credited to the scientists of the west who have coined these words and theories in the early 17th or 18th century. They weren’t as quick as our rishis and munis, though. An excerpt from Lalitha Sahasranama text, told by Hayagreeva to Agasthyamuni, dating back to the distant ages of the past, describes the Goddess as the super consciousness/Brahman that pervades even the sub atomic particles within matter.“Paranjyotih parandhamah paramanuh paratpara”The word “anuvu” means atom in Sanskrit. Paramanu is a sub-atomic particle, finer than the finest of atom, meaning electrons and the others.
Source: Internet
- Modern science tells that universe began around some 13 billion years ago, expanding in directions where there was nothing before big bang. It bloomed out from absolute zero and gave birth to the concept of time. But apparently the Hindu Cosmology knew about the endless loop of life way before than science did.Hindu’s Cosmology says that there is repetitive cycle of Big Bang, followed by Big Crunch which is particularly for one universe. While you are reading this there are universes experiencing their own Big Bangs and Big Crunches somewhere in Hyperspace. So our universe is one of those universes which had had a Big Bang and will terminate by a Big Crunch, with repeated endless cycles… It is extremely fascinating and somewhat comforting to know that all this knowledge about the universe, or should we say multiverse, has already been inked in the brittle parchments of one of the most vivid religions in the world – Hinduism.
Religion and Science are constantly at war because of extremists who have taken either sides of the same coin. A religious scientist or a scientific religious leader is looked down upon with bewildered eyes. It is of paramount importance that religion invokes faith and science promotes reason and when faith and reason are combined, one can achieve the absolute truth of life.
Graphics by: Akshay
Image Sources: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
