Vedic maths

IT is all very well to be proud of our traditions; but before succumbing to the temptation one must first take the trouble to find out what those traditions were.

Take for instance the claims: that the Indian astronomers Aryabhatta and Bhaskaracharya were "quite familiar" with the gravitational force long before Newton; that electricity, magnetism, sound and ether were all well defined in Vedic times; even the concept of nuclear fusion was known; that the Egyptians built their pyramids by means of Indian arithmetic.

So far as the first two of these are concerned, all I can say is that, if true, it proves that we (some of us) were then far ahead of their times. But it must be remembered at the same time that being far ahead of your times is both painful and unproductive.

Because you would not have at your disposal the means required to elaborate on, and test, your discoveries; leave alone the means to convert others to your view; or science into technology. As for the pyramids, all I can say is that someone has got his history very mixed up; or his geography.

But let me not pursue these points further; I do not have with me the material on the basis of which such claims are being made. I am, however, in a position to say something about "Vedic Mathematics".

Someone sent me some clippings about this so that I could see for myself, and then attempt to convince others, what a wonderful thing it was. The clippings turned out to contain a number of clever ideas; but I did not find in them anything resembling a system, or a well worked out body of ideas.

When I pointed this out, promptly, by return of post, I was sent three books; two of them authored by James T. Glover, "head of mathematics at St. James Independent Schools in London" (Vedic Mathematics for Schools, Books I and II) and prefaced by Dr. L. M. Singhvi, former High Commissioner for India in the UK.

I enjoyed the books; they do indeed make many sorts of calculation simpler; and they do constitute a system. Since Mr. Glover's books took "their inspiration from the pioneering work of the late Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja", a former Shankaracharya of Puri, I next turned my attention to the third book on Vedic Mathematics that had been sent to me; the book by the Shankaracharya himself.

This book too made fascinating reading. But, it is incorrect to call this "Vedic Mathematics". For two reasons; one, as stated in the preface to this book itself, its material is not to be found in the Vedas. Second, mathematics in ancient India, trigonometry for instance, must have progressed far beyond this level; otherwise it would not have been possible for them to delve so deeply into, say, astronomy.

That brings us around full circle. Clearly, the pioneers of ancient India were far ahead of their times. But, oddly enough, those who seek to lead the renaissance today, those who point to the glorious past with the greatest insistence; how does it happen, that they themselves have got left so very far behind.

SUDHANSHU RANADE

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