Ancient
Hindu Science- It’s
impact on the
ancient and modern
worlds
Author-
Prof. Alok Kumar
A review
by Madhavi Girish Kunte
In
this book, the author, Prof. Alok Kumar highlights the contributions of the
ancient Hindus in the field of science. He presents a bird’s eye view, and yet he manages to focus on
various disciplines of science in depth.
This book is not the first work of its
kind. There is a flood of information on the internet these days but many
times, it is difficult to ascertain the validity of the content. This book
seems very well researched. With many citations from renowned authors in the
various disciplines of science, Prof. Alok Kumar manages to convince the
readers that the scientific knowledge was quite advanced even in ancient India
and it predates the documented discoveries made by the western scientists. He
presents facts and figures which date back to as early as 800 BCE.
It might become a daunting task for
anyone to go to the source and read the original texts, which in most of the
cases are recorded in Sanskrit. Reading the summaries and translations is an equally
tedious task. In his book, the author provides a crisp and concise version in a
very simple manner to make it easier to understand.
It is enlightening to read about the
vast reservoir of knowledge our ancestors had and the extent of their foresight
and the intellect they possessed, centuries ago. Many discoveries are
attributed to the western scholars of a later time origin. The author has
presented convincing data using citations that explain why the scholars from
countries like India, Egypt and Persia were acknowledged only in the later era.
For example, hardened steel, though invented in India, is popularly known as
Damascus steel. The Europeans learned the process from Damascus where in fact
it is called “Steel of India”.
The book is interesting and is able to
hold the attention of any curious reader who is interested in knowing about the
Indian civilization and also the one who wants to know the history and evolution
of science. For the more serious readers and the ones pursuing academic
research on the topics, it points to the right sources for further research.
The author highlights the cross-cultural
perspectives and compares India with other countries and religions of those
times. He portrays a coherent picture of the scientific contributions of the
ancient Hindus. It is gratifying to note that science and technology were
established without the aid of religious prophets in India. It is well
documented that there was a time in history when a deep chasm existed between
science and religion in other civilizations across the world. On the contrary,
we find documented evidence that Hindu civilization was always in the pursuit
of self-awareness and seeking the ultimate truth. The author states numerous
examples where Hindu tradition allowed divergent opinions to coexist and thus
gave way to ‘investigation
through reasoning’, aiding the scientific advance of knowledge.
The author covers most branches of modern
science and the substantial contributions that the ancient Hindus made in the
field of science. The author states that according to one of the most
celebrated American scholars, Henry David Thoreau; our religious books describe
the first inquisitive and contemplative access to God.
The author proves that the ancient Hindu theory of
creation corresponds to the modern theory of creation (the big bang theory).
Not only that, he beautifully illustrates the significance of ‘zero’
and the similitude it has with the Nirguna Rupa (the non- manifested form)
of the God Almighty. It is now widely known and accepted by the world that ‘zero’
was a gift to science by the Hindus.
The author dwells on the healing process of human
body and mind by means of yoga practices and meditation. He states it is the ‘key
developed by ancient Hindus to achieve optimum or holistic health’.
The sheer amount of progress that the Hindus had made
in the field of medicine is amazing! Surgery, plastic surgery, cataract
surgery, suturing, leech therapy; the author presents well documented facts
that the first ever case in every field was undertaken by the luminaries of our
ancient civilization.
I wonder how the world of science would have shaped,
if the libraries of the intellectual centres like Takshashila, Nalanda,
Kanchipuram, Vikramsila, Varanasi and Valabhi had survived the destructions
brought about by foreign invaders.
The author states and I quote, “No
culture or civilization has prospered to greater heights without knowing and
preserving their historic and existing knowledge base. This book is written to
preserve the knowledge of ancient Hindus and to recognize their rightful place
in world history.”
The author has done his job
well. It is up to us now, to understand and follow what our forefathers have
left behind for us.
Comments
Post a Comment