How Scientific is Hinduism?

Nithya Tikoo

The bridge between scientific theory and principles, and religion is a fine line, but the bridge also provides a connection between the two. Fact and belief is very difficult to distinctly tell apart but what if there can be a compromise of the two? Hinduism is often said to be the oldest and most advanced religion, but if it is that old, how are the principles surrounding this faith so scientifically intuitive for their times? A few years back, traditions in Hinduism were considered superstitions, but with the advancement of science, it is becoming increasingly evident that these traditions are based on scientific knowledge and transferred throughout generations. The Bhagavad-Gita is already considered the source of many modern scientific explanations and postulations and the Slokas written in the Vedic scriptures are sources of modern mathematics. 

The biology in hinduism 

Hinduism proposes some very scientifically advanced postulates that have been proved to be effective lifestyle choices by modern science. One example of this is the recent recommendation to adhere to a vegetarian diet. Vegetarianism is a dietary ideal within many core scriptures and teachings. An indirect reference to vegetarian ideal diet is within the vedas. Slaughtering animals for meat is considered a form of broken ahimsa. “Ahimsa paramo dharmaha” from the sacred vedas means that the greatest value a hindu can embrace is that of pure non-violence. Modern science also suggests eating meat is not the best dietary decision, albeit for different reasons. 

There are also many dietary customs that are deemed beneficial for the body in modern times, such as the fact that turmeric is extremely good for health and it was a staple throughout a hindu’s typical diet. 

Physics in hinduism 

Ancient thinkers got to a very interesting statement that it is the nature of reality to show itself both as unity and diversity. Maharshi Kanada propounded Vaisesika Darsana. Vaisesika philosophy developed Paramanu Veda (Atomic theory) based on the normal scientific views of ancient Indians. Atomic theory is now the basis of many different branches of science such as nuclear physics and chemistry. 

Hindus were also the first to discover and believe that the sun is stationary. This is seen in the Aitareya Brahmanas which could date back to the 6th century B.C.E. 

 A verse from Aitreya Brahmanas (2.7) is as follows: 

“The [sun] never really sets or rises. In that they think of him ‘He is setting,’ having reached the end of the day, he inverts himself; thus he makes evening below, day above. Again in that, they think of him ‘He is rising in the morning,’ having reached the end of the night he inverts himself; thus he makes day below, night above. he never sets; indeed he never sets.” 

Revelations of numbers that have scientific significance: 

A popular hindu myth is that the human body is acquired after the soul passes through 8,400,000 species. However, with the development of science it is assumed that there are around 8,400,000 species on the earth. This number is a scientifically and religiously significant figure. 

According to Vedic cosmology, 108 is the basis of creation, representing the universe and all our existence. This number is also noticed to be significant in astronomy, for example, 108 is the distance from the sun to the earth in 108x the Sun’s diameter. The distance from the earth to the moon is 108 times the moon’s diameter. Finally, 108 is also a Harshad number, meaning it is an integer divisible by the sum of its digits. In Sanskrit, harsa means “joy” and da means “give”. Thus, Harshad translates to “joy giver.” All hindu mantras are supposed to be recited 108 times for maximum efficacy. This provides a divine yet earthly connection of hinduism with science. 

In conclusion, taking into account 2 incredibly important branches of modern science and mathematics, the queen of all sciences, we can see that a large part of this great religion is based on scientific theory and facts that were proven by others in the world much later on and some are still considered myths, the exactitude of which only time will tell. A myriad of hindu religious texts are littered with mathematical, medical and scientific facts that this article will not be able to do justice to.