The Different Routes of Modern Science and Indian Ancient Science - III

Physics

The Indian ancient view classifies the visible world into five elements: space, light or fire, and three states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas) represented by earth, water, and air. They are related to five senses and their five subtle forms called Tanmatra through a process called Panchikaran. Everything, irrespective of size and shape, has besides its physical body, a subtle body which is a bundle of abstract qualities and exists conceptually in the non-physical space called Chittakash. The subtle body in the Chittakash behaves like mind, and is free from many limitations of the physical space.

It is obvious to see many conceptual analogies in the two views of matter at the fundamental level. In quantum mechanics, the dynamics of a system is conceived in the abstract Hilbert space; in ancient India, it was conceived in the abstract Chittakash. Near the limit of fineness, inferences of the horizontal route (space-light-matter) and the vertical route (time-sound-mind) come very close to each other. Some experimental investigation into the interrelation of consciousness, mind, matter and light have been reported from Princeton University, Standford University (California), and University of Denver (Colorado).

Chemistry

The science of chemistry in India has been a great sufferer due to the destruction of the Indian ancient literature. The long heavy iron pillar near the Kutub Minar at Delhi, standing in the sunshine and rain for more than about 2000 years without getting rusted, is ample proof that chemistry and metallurgy were sufficiently advanced in ancient India. Similarly, the long and heavy statue of Buddha in the lying pose at Kushinagar near Gorakhpur, which still shines like gold in spite of remaining buried for many centuries, is a challenge to metallurgy. Similarly, many other monuments also hide great chemical secrets.

Much of the chemical knowledge is empirical rather then deductive. This is true of modern chemistry as well. Hence simply knowing a few basic principles is not enough to arrive at the process of producing the desired material. The actual method has to be either rediscovered, or may possibly be found in some hidden literature after extensive and minute survey.

Military Science

The biggest loss of ancient skills have been in the field of military science. The main reason for this loss was perhaps the Mahabharata war. There was so much loss of life in that war that people became allergic to things related to war. A large number of warriors were killed. Those who survived were demoralized. Almost the entire war skills, which needed regular practice and refinement, died out. Now we can get only very superficial descriptions of those weapons from Ramayana and Mahabharat which are basically literary works, and not scientific.

The weapons of ancient India can be put up into three broad categories. First is that of conventional weapons like swords, spears, bows and arrows, etc. Being simple, they survive to this age. The second were explosive based, delivered either through some projective system, or other means. They were called Agniban. The third were super weapons called Brahmastra, etc. Brahmastra was a sure hit weapon from which there was no escape. It had to be used in the rarest of the rare circumstances.

Brahma means creator of the universe. In the context of the war, it indicates a weapon designed through the knowledge of the creation of matter. According to Yogashashtra and some other writings, every particle of a block of matter is being incessantly created and dissolved. In between two occasions of creation, it remains momentarily in Chittakash in its subtle form. There its properties are more mind-like. Hence it can be acted upon by the mind of an aspirant provided it can go to that subtle state at which the matter particle has reached.

In any lump of inorganic matter, the creation and annihilation of particles is random. By mental command, they can be brought into coherence. The coherent lump can behave as a single quantum particle. With the coherence, all the constituent particles of the lump are created or annihilated simultaneously. They go to the Chittakash, and appear in the physical space, collectively. When they are in the mental form in Chittakash, they can be induced to have their next appearance in the physical space at the desired location, may be the body of an enemy. This travelling of the lump of matter is through non-physical space, so physical obstructions of walls and bunkers or long distances are no protection against this weapon.

Quantum teleportation recently reported by some physicists, is the nearest analogue to the working of Brahmastra. It is speculated by physicists that perhaps quantum teleportation may be the ultimate process in the control of dynamics of matter. However, so far the technique of quantum teleportation has reached the level of transmitting only states of photon. But even that has generated much excitement among physicists and has become a hot topic of research. It is anticipated to have applications in developing extremely fast computers, and communication of secured information making eaves dropping almost impossible.

In ancient India, some similar process seems to have been realised to the level of transmitting bigger masses through the phenomena of matter coherence. Just as coherence of electromagnetic waves produces very powerful laser light with unusual properties, in the same way coherence of matter can produce objects with unusual properties.