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Gleanings from Rig Veda: When Science was Religion
Rig Veda is the oldest book of knowledge in the whole world. How many thousands of years ago it was compiled is still a matter of surmise. It is compiled in Sanskrit, a language which is considered as highly refined even by modern standards. The contents of Rig Veda was an enigma for scholars from the time of the original compilation till today. Astonishingly, modern science throws considerable light on the contents of Rig Veda, so much so that we may safely draw the conclusion that the book dealt with scientific issues in a very original way. Perhaps, for the first time I am exploring Rig book wholly from this angle.
- GenresPhilosophy
396 pages, Paperback
First published November 2, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 8, 2019
If you're starting out on a spiritual journey, this is the book you need to start with! Beautifully written, includes the original texts and the translations are scientifically complete. An absolute must read!
June 26, 2022
First impression:
The foreword and the vision of the author look appealing. It is a nice initiative to attract the current generation toward ancient Indian philosophy. My two-star rating for this book is solely dedicated to this vision.
After reading a few chapters:
Technical issues: The narration lacks depth, and goes in cycles. The content is incomprehensible at times, probably because the English edit/translation is not the best. The author did not well research the facts that he quotes. For example, the 'Bhugola' reference says the west recognized the Earth as a sphere only in the 16th century. However, Aristotle wrote in his book, as early as 240BC about the Earth being a sphere. Instead, it was the myth that Earth is not the centre of the universe that got busted in the 16th century. There are various other hyperboles like, 'we know that Earth is the only inhabitable planet in the universe'. Again, not true, we just haven't explored enough.
Also, there is no clarity as to how the author drew parallels between the elements of Physics and those in the Rig Veda. He just says bluntly that reference X to the god Y symbolises a reference to element Z in modern Physics. There is no clear methodology for this deduction.
Philosophical issues:
The author does not clearly recognise the difference between philosophy and science. Vedas have a place in history and probably have greater relevance and role to play in the future. However, this urge in the ancient knowledge seekers to draw parallels between science and everything philosophy is not the appropriate way to approach this. The more disturbing part of this narrative is that science is labelled as 'western' in such a context and this is not healthy. One should realise that western society used the scientific revolution to advance at a rapid pace and while the others who treated it as a foreign object have been at the receiving end. Yes, the west developed it, but no one owns it because knowledge is no one's property. Overall, the author is stretched between showing Vedas as parallels to modern Science and also putting forward that Vedas are superior, and then unnecessary India vs the west writeups. The two can and shall coexist, without the need for validation from each other.
My recommendation to people reading this book is to better spend time reading the Vedas themselves. There are some good translations from Indian authors. More importantly, please do not mix up philosophy and science. They may converge but not always.
The foreword and the vision of the author look appealing. It is a nice initiative to attract the current generation toward ancient Indian philosophy. My two-star rating for this book is solely dedicated to this vision.
After reading a few chapters:
Technical issues: The narration lacks depth, and goes in cycles. The content is incomprehensible at times, probably because the English edit/translation is not the best. The author did not well research the facts that he quotes. For example, the 'Bhugola' reference says the west recognized the Earth as a sphere only in the 16th century. However, Aristotle wrote in his book, as early as 240BC about the Earth being a sphere. Instead, it was the myth that Earth is not the centre of the universe that got busted in the 16th century. There are various other hyperboles like, 'we know that Earth is the only inhabitable planet in the universe'. Again, not true, we just haven't explored enough.
Also, there is no clarity as to how the author drew parallels between the elements of Physics and those in the Rig Veda. He just says bluntly that reference X to the god Y symbolises a reference to element Z in modern Physics. There is no clear methodology for this deduction.
Philosophical issues:
The author does not clearly recognise the difference between philosophy and science. Vedas have a place in history and probably have greater relevance and role to play in the future. However, this urge in the ancient knowledge seekers to draw parallels between science and everything philosophy is not the appropriate way to approach this. The more disturbing part of this narrative is that science is labelled as 'western' in such a context and this is not healthy. One should realise that western society used the scientific revolution to advance at a rapid pace and while the others who treated it as a foreign object have been at the receiving end. Yes, the west developed it, but no one owns it because knowledge is no one's property. Overall, the author is stretched between showing Vedas as parallels to modern Science and also putting forward that Vedas are superior, and then unnecessary India vs the west writeups. The two can and shall coexist, without the need for validation from each other.
My recommendation to people reading this book is to better spend time reading the Vedas themselves. There are some good translations from Indian authors. More importantly, please do not mix up philosophy and science. They may converge but not always.
June 12, 2025
Abraham (of Jews) was born ~1500-2000 BCE. And Rig Veda was written in 1500-1000 BCE - considered the oldest collection knowledge in the world. Contains teachings from Angirasa rishis who had achieved Universal Consciousness. Angirasa being a combo of Ang (fire) and rasa (essence) - or essence of fire, i.e., consciousness. Rig veda states that there is only one goal in life: merge individual consciousness with universal consciousness. Universal consciousness being the consciousness of all humanity. Example given is that very much like individual fingers or limbs are controlled by the body and perform a function required by the body similarly all the humans individually have a consciousness which is part of the universal consciousness. It highlights three pillars of existence:
Spirit of consciousness
Spirit of yajna or sacrifice
Spirit of soma or love
Ganapathi (gana + pathi): Gana means countable which is us humans. Pathi is leader, i.e., leader of the countable. Who himself has to be uncountable else he will be one of us
Didn’t complete. Too dense
Spirit of consciousness
Spirit of yajna or sacrifice
Spirit of soma or love
Ganapathi (gana + pathi): Gana means countable which is us humans. Pathi is leader, i.e., leader of the countable. Who himself has to be uncountable else he will be one of us
Didn’t complete. Too dense
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews