SCIENCE AND HINDU SCRIPTURES.

 

By K P PASWAN.

This article is confined to Hindus and their holy scriptures in India with greater emphasis on Hindu festivals.

Indian civilization is very ancient and Indian society is highly polarized. Hindu as we know today is the religion of the majority and like Israel Hindus with different names  are the original inhabitants in India and in case of ethnic cleansing in other countries where Hindus have migrated for different purposes, Hindus will have to return to India. There is no way out. Hinduism is a way of life and there is no centralized authority to control and issue guidance for regularization of social customs of Hindus. Like other respected religions no body introduced Hinduism, however certain learned persons devoted their times to understand the nature of universe and the reasons for the presence of universe are given in different scriptures. Their findings are found in Upanishads which have inspired the leading minds of the world irrespective of their religion. Popularly known as Vedic or Santana religion, we find various sects like Shaivism, followers of which worship Lord Shiv, than we have Vaishnavism who worship Lord Vishnu. There are numerous subsects, but they are bounded by a common thread. In South India we find different type of customs and traditions. Except in Kerala where Hindus are most probably not in majority all other states in South India are dominated by Hindus

Kali puja is a festival and a famous temple dedicated to Goddess Kali in Kolkata in West Bengal. Goddess Kali has tremendous power of destruction and reconstruction. Is there any scientific basis for worshipping a deity known for destructive power? ( true Story) In 1998 a nuclear physicist from India was given an audience by Stephen Hawking, the legendary Cosmologist of the present time.  He was wheeled Chaired from an early age as he suffered from Motor Neuron Disease. The doctors in London gave him only three to five years but he died after attaining 74 years of age. Now coming to conversation between the Indian Nuclear Physicist, the Indian scientist asked Hawking if goddess represent the Blackhole which is known for deadly destructive power. Hawking was not taken aback. After sometimes he remarked that Hindu long ago conceived this idea. The conversation was published in leading journals in UK. The Indian scientist after three days boarded a Tristar British airway, came to Kolkata with his family, purchased a particular type of flowers in large quantity and submitted to the Deity in the famous Kali temple in Kolkata. This Indian Physicist in his early forty studied with me in High School. We are not friends, he simply recognized me in an embassy and recognized by face. He narrowly missed F.R.S If he becomes a F.R.S. than he may be second Indian to become F.R.S at a young age after J H Bhabha who become FRS at an age of 35 or 38 Dirac was the youngest F R S (Fellow of the Royal Society).

In fact, major Hindu festival speak for natural forces. My mentor and not teacher in US happen to be a Nobel laureate in Physics, a devout Quaker he has excellent knowledge of Upanishad. Another Nobel in Physics who happens to be a friend of my mentor is also a borne again Christian with wonderful knowledge of holy Vedas. Nearly three years ago I heard him saying in a seminar that “The verses of Rigveda are the flows of time”. As per Stephen Hawking cosmological time is bounded in the past. For cosmological time there is no difference between past and future.  We remember Robert Oppenheimer for his knowledge of holy Geeta. He was father of American atom bomb. But we forget t Werner Heisenberg, His Uncertainty Principles removes the presence of an omnipotent and omniscient deity. He was awarded Nobel in physics for his theory, He  avoided his assassination as he was trying to manufacture atom bomb for Hitler. He was awarded Nobel in physics. Uncertainty principles convulsed Albert Einstein who reluctantly accepted it. But why we remember Heisenberg because of his profound knowledge of holy scriptures of the Hindus, he was trying to know the nature of cosmological time . He tells us that entire Buddhism is based upon a particular Upanishad, Reasons are obvious. Buddhism is the only religion of the world which postulates Death with time in time. This is not Mind boggling. In Buddhism man dies along with his Soul but dead Soul again is reborn. This is also message of the GEETA. In fact it is this nature of time that certain particular physicists contemplates a Deity  with time in different dimension and this concept does not violate the theory of Relativity.

ATEISM AND THE VEDAS

 We all know about S Chandrashekar the Nobel laureate in Physics. He narrowly missed Black Hole  S Chandrashekar‘s theory postulates that beyond certain point a massive star shrinks to zero. His theory was vehemently opposed by Einstein. Any way Chandra shaker was a South Indian Brahmin, a cast much hated in South India just Paswan is the most hated caste in Hindi belt. Chandrasekhar used to call himself a Nastic (Atheist) Hindu but he observed rigorous Vedic  rituals in US and when he died his last rites were performed as per rigorous Hindu rituals. Why he called himself an Atheist Hindu is beyond the scope of this blog.

 COSMIC DANCE OF LORD SHIVA. This is ridiculed by a section or group of incompetent intellectuals. But we have Carlo Rivoli, the most famous Nuclear physicist of France with excellent knowledge of every Veda and the Upanishads. Every year he is missing Nobel in Physics. In the book titled ‘’ The ORDER of Time “he declares The things of the world interweaves dances made no difference rhythms. If the world is held by a dancing Shiva, then there must be ten thousand such dancing Shivas, like the dancing figures painted in the holy scriptures of the Hindus. Echoing the understanding of my mentor Carlo Rivoli declares it is the hymn of Vedas that is itself the flowering of time.

 Once I met a South Indian Brahmin in Texas, out of curiosity pertaining to creation myth and the Vedas, I asked him a particular question. He remained silent and left, his behavior was very friendly. As stated earlier Paswan is the most hated Dalit in the Hindi belt, so I did not expect positive response. After three months we met again in a park. He recognized and called me.  He told me that the Holy Vedas was silent about creation, I already knew it but he confirmed the creation myth.  Once again I had an opportunity to listen to the best brains in a seminar attended by some philosophers with excellent knowledge of physics and some body mentioned the term Manifestation which is the fundamental of Upanishad in other words manifestation is the central theme and not the creation.

 FINAL THOUGHT. If manifestation is central theme of the Universe than what is the Free Will?  ( He was playing and laughing in the morning but he is not seen in the evening , it is because nobody can fight TIME-- SWETASWATRA) than free will has no relevance or is an illusion simply because Predestation is certain.