BRAHMA VIDYA OR ATMA VIDYA : THE SCIENCE OF INDIAN SPIRITUALITY

The science that is elaborated in Upanishads deals with God, world and man, the eternal curiosities of human mind. Upanishads (Vedānta) presented God as Sat-chit-Ānanda, pure existence or Truth, pure Consciousness and pure Bliss. That is, in other words, the infinite Brahman. All Upanishads emphasize only one aspect and they are all engaged in only one task: to prove that “Just as by the knowledge of one lump of clay we have the knowledge of all the clay (and its modifications) in the universe, so what is that knowledge knowing which we know everything in the universe?” The central theme of all Upanishads is the ‘spiritual unity and solidarity’ of all existence.

Although the fundamental theme of Upanishad doctrine is god-realization and thereby attaining the ultimate, everlasting liberation from all human miseries, certain ideas emerge as central to the teaching of almost all Upanishads. The most important of them are the value of knowledge (jñāna) and the need for complete detachment (vairāgya). To the great Ṡankara Bhagavatpada these two aspects represent ‘the two wings that are indispensable for the soul, if it should soar unrestricted to its eternal home of freedom and peace’ (Viveka chudāmani). Only when the significance and relevance of these two conceptions is explained in terms of spiritual aspirations of the seeker, one can really get to know the central teaching of the Upanishads.

 

VEDANTA AND HUMAN EVOLUTION

On a review of the evolutionary process, it is evident that with the emergence of the human species on the evolutionary firmament, the organic evolution in the strict biological sense lost its significance and relevance as to the direction of further progress in the evolutionary ladder for the human race. Structurally and functionally a superior human can conjure up wonders as demonstrated in his ability to think, discriminate, discover and create a knowledge bank in his memory. His achievements in science and technology, literature, philosophy and communication are mind-boggling. However, further evolution of human species should be in the psycho-social realms that too based on moral and ethical principles. The gist of the opinions of many right thinking personnel such as Sir Julian Huxley is that the world today is in need of a science that provides a methodology of human progress based on higher human values of love, compassion, tolerance and cooperation. In other words, such an evolutionary process should involve a change in the moral and ethical outlook of human beings leading to a total spiritual emancipation of the human soul: a methodology of progress that results in the release of human beings from the legacy of his animal ancestry, a release from the slavery of negative prospects and perceptions about life. Sir Julian Huxley termed such a program of the evolution of man as the ‘Science of Human Possibilities.’

In this regard it is worthwhile to recall what Bertrand Russel said, “Man has been disciplined hitherto by his subjection to nature. Having emancipated himself from this subjection, he is showing something of the defects of slave-turned-master. A new moral outlook is called for in which submission to the powers of nature is replaced by respect for what is best in man. It is where this respect is lacking that scientific technique is dangerous. So long as it is present, science, having delivered man from bondage to nature, can proceed to deliver him from bondage to the slavish part of himself” (The Scientific Outlook, pp.29 8-99 ). It is clear that without a moral and ethical emancipation of human mind, all scientific and technological progress may herald the death knell of human species.

Ancient sages of India, thousands of years ago, understood the potentialities of human beings to overcome negativities such as selfishness, hatred and enmity in order to evolve into morally, ethically and spiritually emancipated saints. Gautama Buddha, Sri Ṡankara, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Vivekānanda are but a few of such souls who realized the full potential of human life in their own lifetime. The science that the ancient sages realized through metaphysical intuition in super sensory perception is Vedānta, the science of human possibilities.

 REALITY

Philosophically the Real is the self which is identical with the Brahman revealing itself in all, becoming the permanent background of the world-process. Religiously it is envisaged as the Divine Self-consciousness, pregnant with the whole course of the world, with its evolution and involution. Throughout its long career the oneness of the ultimate Spirit has been the governing ideal of the Hindu religion. The Rig Veda tells us of One Supreme Reality of which the learned speak variously. The Upanishads make out that the one Brahman is called by many names, according to the spheres of reality in which it is seen to function. The conception of Trimurti arises in the epic period, and is well established by the age of the Puranas. The analogy of human consciousness, with its three fold activity of cognition, emotion, and will suggests the view of the Supreme as Sat, Chit, Ananda - reality, wisdom and joy. The three gunas Satva or equanimity , born of wisdom, Rajas or energy, which is the outcome of spirited feelings and Tamas or heaviness, due to lack of enlightenment and control, are aspects of all existence and even God is not considered  to be an exception to this law of the multiplicity of all being. The three functions of Srishti or creation, Sthiti or maintenance, and Laya or destruction are traced to the three gunas of Satva, Rajas and Tamas. Vishnu the preserver, of the universe is the Supreme Spirit dominated by the quality of Satva ; Brahma, the creator, of the universe is the Supreme dominated by the quality of Rajas; and Siva , the destroyer , of the universe is the Supreme dominated by the quality of Tamas. The three qualities of the Supreme are developed into three distinct personalities and each of these representations of the Supreme is said to function through its own respective Sakti or energy. Brahma, Vishnu and Siva have Saraswati, Lakshmi and Uma as their respective Saktis. Strictly speaking all three qualities and functions are so well balanced in one Supreme that it cannot be said to possess any quality at all. The one incomprehensible God who is Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent appears to different minds in different ways.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             VEDANTA  AND HUMAN NATURE

Science provides information which man can use or misuse. Man is unique among organisms in this world in that he has the discretionary power of choosing the right or wrong path of action. Science and technology are mere tools which man chooses for whatever end he likes to achieve. However to arrive at a conscientious  decision, human nature has to get civilized and man must know himself thoroughly.The wrong steps man takes are due only to the aberrations in human behavior , owing to a breakdown in the moral value system. Human nature and values are all out of step. Science is not responsible for such a state of affairs in society, but man himself is to be blamed. As Einstein stated "science can denature plutonium, but it cannot denature evil in the heart of man".

Ancient sages of India embarked on a mission to understand human nature, and the science they developed for the emancipation of human mind is Vedanta, the science of human possibilities. Vedanta is a system of philosophy, a religion and a science all three combined . As a philosophy it reveals the inner core of man as Atman, and paves the way for the realization or the experience of absolute Reality, Brahman. It gives a unified vision of the universe, at the same time revealing the relationship between individual beings and the absolute Reality. As a religion it provides the personal aspect of God or Iswara, for the ordinary mortal to love and worship. However, religion according to Vedanta, is the super sensual, transcendental knowledge of the Absolute. It is to be emphasized, at the same time, that this knowledge is not a supernatural revelation. As a science, Vedanta gives valuable insights into the phenomena of cosmology, creation, evolution and the facts of human nature and practical ways of further evolution of human species by the development of the positives and the degeneration of the negatives of human mind. Vedanta gives a practical methodology for the ethical and moral emancipation of the human species, Homo sapiens.

                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                               

THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUALITY

Brahma Vidyā or Ātma Vidyā: The science that is elaborated in Upanishads deals with God, world and man, the eternal curiosities of human mind. Upanishads (Vedānta) presented God as Sat-chit-Ānanda, pure existence or Truth, pure Consciousness and pure Bliss. That is, in other words, the infinite Brahman. All Upanishads emphasize only one aspect and they are all engaged in only one task: to prove that “Just as by the knowledge of one lump of clay we have the knowledge of all the clay (and its modifications) in the universe, so what is that knowledge knowing which we know everything in the universe?” The central theme of all Upanishads is the ‘spiritual unity and solidarity’ of all existence.Although the fundamental theme of Upanishad doctrine is god-realization and thereby attaining the ultimate, everlasting liberation from all human miseries, certain ideas emerge as central to the teaching of almost all Upanishads. The most important of them are the value of knowledge (jñāna) and the need for complete detachment (vairāgya). To the great Ṡankara Bhagavatpada these two aspects represent ‘the two wings that are indispensable for the soul, if it should soar unrestricted to its eternal home of freedom and peace’ (Viveka chudāmani). Only when the significance and relevance of these two conceptions is explained in terms of spiritual aspirations of the seeker, one can really get to know the central teaching of the Upanishads.

JNANA MUDRA

 Although the adaptation of grasping hand is a common primate feature as both monkeys and apes possess this quality, man is unique in the possession of the ability to oppose the thumb to his forefinger with all the other three fingers stretched out. In Indian Vedāntic and spiritual       circles   this gesture       is of deep significance. The thumb when opposed to the index finger with other fingers outstretched is a representation of yogic ‘knowledge pose’ (jñāna mudra) which is a remarkable sign of some profound psychic expression. As the mind is so is the body, hence our body postures have psychological counter parts. This one ability of human being is indicative of the uniqueness of human species as it expresses the level of development of the human brain as a rational thinking instrument, capable of acquiring a plethora of knowledge and skills. This human ‘knowledge pose’ represents the ability to search for immense, insatiable, knowledge. Scientifically, it has been discovered that the number of brain cells needed to manipulate these two fingers involved in ‘knowledge pose’ is the largest compared to those involved in manipulating all other fingers. “This ability to oppose the thumb to the forefinger is highly symbolic of human search for knowledge from the most ordinary to the most extraordinary levels.” (Swami  Ranganāthānanda, The Charm and Power of the Gita, page 52). At the level of human evolution this adaptation was the beginning of humanity’s technological progress, cultural evolution and spiritual emancipation. It is interesting to note that in all the iconography of India, of great saints, sages and incarnations and of the divine mother the particular pose of jnana mudra is depicted.

                                                                                           Glimpses  of Indian Scientific Heritage

                                                                        Puranas: An amalgam of science , spirituality and philosophy

The Puranas are the magnifying glasses of the Vedas as they enlarge small images of Vedic principles into big images. Vedic injunctions are often in the form of pithy statements. They are magnified or elaborated in the form of stories or anecdotes in the Puranas. When a brief exposition of an idea is presented as an interesting story or anecdote, it will make a lasting impact and stay in the mind. The Vedas merely say ‘ satyam vada’ that is speak the truth. When it is presented as a narration of the story of king Harischandra, the underlying glory of the Vedic injunction becomes clear and lasting. Thus the Vedic injunctions such as restraint, patience, compassion, charity etc. are illustrated through the life of men and women in Puranas.

Puranas are indeed history of ancient India. However, modern scholars do not accept anything as historical unless it happened after the advent of Christian era. Everything before that is mythology for them. Anything beyond the normal experience of the ordinary senses of the ordinary men is rejected as something outside the realm of truth.

Unlike modern history Puranas present only selected events in such a way to educate the people in right and wrong and make them follow the path of righteousness. Puranas also depict the theistic philosophy of ancient India and lead people to a religious life with devotion to the Almighty ( bhakti). They are also accounts of scientific and technological achievements of people of that time. Of course Puranas have resorted to fictional stories here and there. But they are not totally fictitious. They definitely take us nearer to god and bring peace of mind.

There are 18 Puranas and 18 sub-puranas. Each Purana keeps on a single deity as its main theme. Of these 18 mahapuranas  10 are said to be Saivite; rest of them extol Vishnu or Shakti.

By definition a Purana has to fulfil five requirements in the matter of what it should contain. They are: 1) Sarga, (original creation of the world); 2) Pratisarga ( the world after creation ): 3) Vamsa ( Genealogy, how the descendant came from one generation to the next); 4) Manvantara ( the history of 14 Manus from whom the mankind descended); 5) Vamsaanucharita ( the history of rulers of the country and dynastic details).

Thus it can be seen that Puranas are historical accounts of early human civilizations in ancient India. They abound with accounts of cosmology, evolution, human history, culture, religion, social sciences, secular sciences and theistic philosophy of Sanatana Dharma, the Vedic eternal religion.

 Science and Technology

Puranas as indicated earlier are compilations of ancient Indian history, social and political systems, philosophy of life and a host of other features of ancient Indian civilization. The entire Indian civilization is an edifice built on solid scientific foundations with bricks of ethical, moral and political norms, cemented by lofty spiritual ideals. Ancient Indian sages, unlike modern scientists, never differentiated or separated science from spirituality, philosophy and religion. Such compartmentalisation is a modern phenomenon started from the 16^th century C.E. All these disciplines were interwoven into a matrix of a way of life called Sanatana Dharma or eternal religion. Hence the modern investigator has to struggle hard to separate science and technology from highly symbolic mythology in the Puranas. Often one has to read in between the lines, go beyond imaginative discourses to understand the truth behind the symbolism as practised in the Puranas. One should have an unbiased and honest approach to unearth the truth.

The science and technology of the Puranas is an extension and elaboration of Vedic science, highly camouflaged in deep mythological and religious sentiments. Often one has to deduce meanings and motives from what is expressed in the stories of Puranas to understand the scientific principles which lie behind the mythology of the Puranas.

The Bhagavata Purana which is the most popular of all the Puranas is not only a Vaishnavite religious treatise but also a fundamental text of Vedantic philosophy, especially of the theistic Vedanta. It is also a goldmine for those who are searching for accounts of ancient Indian theories of cosmology and evolution. It also provides an insight into the Vedantic theories of the nature, origin, evolution and final destination of human life. This Purana contains valuable information that sheds light on the scientific bent of ancient Indian sages. This is true regarding most of other Puranas as well.