Gleanings From Rig Veda (When Science was Religion)

When Science was Religion Modern Science has only recently stumbled upon the truth that the underlying cause for existence is the realisation of Universal Consciousness. Whether it is the contribution of physics, biology, medicine, neurobiology, psychology or other branches of science, the ongoing efforts are entirely an attempt to understand this universal consciousness.

However, these ideas are not new: and they have their roots in the Rig Veda, the world, first book. It deals with Consciousness in entirety. Compiled by the Angirasa Rishis, the Rig Veda is an exposition of the route one can follow to successfully merge the Individual Consciousness and the Universal Consciousness.

Gleanings from Rig Veda are an attempt to cull our these transmits understandings from centuries ago.

Mr. C.S. Moorthy was both In the year 1938 in Kanchipuram Tamil Midi, India. He grew, in Mumbai where he did his, school He was elected as Associate Member of Chartered Institute, of Management Accountants, UK in May 1978. He was conferred' Master’s, Degree in English by Mysore University in February 1981. He retired, as Chief Manager Finance of southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation in December 1998.

He came in close emaciation with Swami Chinmayananda and became ardent follower between the yeah 1959 and 1991. He wasmentored by Swami Chinmaynanda’s then principle disciple Sri brahmachari Natarajan encouraged Sri C.S. Moorthy to real Sri Jiddu Krishnamurti’s books. In the Years 1970 Sri C.S.Moorthy had a chane to attend the Public lecture by Mr. J. Krishnamurti, This lecture inspired Sri. C.s. Moorthy and he became a greate admirer.

After the demise of Mr. J.Krishnamurti in 1986, Mr. C.S. Moorthy commenced his independent research on scientific and spiritual aspects of ancient scriptures. He worte many essays on diverse subjects, Gleanings of Rig Veda is his first books, a concentrated extract of many years of avid thoughts, reading and his deep understanding of sacred scriptures written by Rishis.

The great Adi Shankara had observed that Jnana Yoga (Knowledge as a means of convergence) was superior to other yogas such as Karma, Bhakti and Raja yogas. Knowledge (Jnana) has apparently taken giant strides since Shankara's time. Today, the knowledge that an average educated person has, aided by science and its modern gadgetry, appears to create a chasm between our current knowledge level and the knowledge level at the time of Shankara. Accordingly, most educated young men look down on ancient wisdom with disdain, claiming that it is out of touch with reality as observed scientifically. As a result, spiritually inclined parents are compromised. There is, therefore, a great need to correlate ancient wisdom with modern science, to show that after all, modern science is also speaking of the same ancient wisdom and nothing more! Therefore, we are embarking on a journey of reconciliation.

What led to the misconception in the young and educated minds that the knowledge revealed by the Vedas was not in touch with reality as witnessed today? This issue is nowhere more eloquent than in the doctrine of Pancha Bhutas, elaborated in the Vedanta. The Vedanta recognizes only 5 phenomena in nature as formative material of the objects we see in the universe. Western society was thus, Inclined until about the 16. Century AD.

The 5 Bhutas are: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and open Sky "originally considered Ether). When modern science took root after the 16. Century, this doctrine had to be expanded to include Atoms, Electromagnetic Force, Gravitational Force, Strong and Weak Nuclear Force. To be fair, the Rig Veda, at that point in time, did include these other forces in addition to 2 more forces that are not yet fully recognized by modern science. Thus, lndra (Atom) occupies almost 25% of the Rig Veda in its present form; another 15% is taken up by Soma and Ashwin twins (Strong and Weak Nuclear Force). Another force is Vibration/Sound (Shakti), or the underlying spirit of all Mantras. Some significant Mantras provide us a clear indicator that Vishnu is Electromagnetic Force and Rudra/Shiva is Gravitational Force. The last 3 forces mentioned above were elevated to Godhood in Vedanta and followed up by Bhakti Schools thereafter. This elevation eclipsed the total vision as envisaged by Veda from being completely scientific.

The Rig Veda is all about consciousness and its manifestation as different energies, phenomena and forces in the universe. Angirasa Rishis, the compilers of the Rig Veda, were constantly conscious. Their thinking process was focused on the visualization of this Truth. They were only concerned with facts.

There was no room for thought-based analysis and opinion with respect to their discoveries at that point of time. Subsequently, and down the ages, right up to the time of Sayanacharya (1315-1387), the understanding of the Rig Veda was thought-based. It is thus, that the erudite scholars introduced the concept of 3 approaches in understanding the Rig Veda, namely, Adhi Yajna (Foremost as Ritualistic), Adhi-Daivata (Foremost as Godly) and Adhyatma (Foremost as Spiritualistic), which at best, was divisive and led us nowhere near understanding the Rig Veda. In the last 400 years, when Western Society opted for a Scientific Approach in understanding the phenomenal world, they stumbled upon the Rig Vedic process of approaching the Truth, with a difference. The Western process is tentative and subject to constant modification. It is based on mathematical formulations, which are completely thought-based. Therefore, the unification of different scientific discoveries under a single model (Advaita), which Albert Einstein cherished in the last 30 years of his fruitful life and followed up by many eminent scientists thereafter, is still eIuding man's ingenuity. Even today, this unity of entities is number one problem of physics. Consciousness as the possible solution to the problem is gaining momentum.

**Contents and Sample Pages**