Indian MathematicsIndian MathematicsIndian MathematicsMay 5, 2005Introduction:Indian, in particular, Hindu, mathematics has not been given the credit or recognition that it deserves. Many of the foundational concepts used in all mathematics were first discovered by the Hindu Indians. This paper will discuss many of these concepts and how they were used in the fifth through the eighth centuries. Apart from direct testimony on the point, the literature of the Hindus furnishes unmistakable evidence to prove that the ancient Hindus possessed astonishing power of memory and concentration of thought. The science of mathematics, the most abstract of all sciences, must have an irresistible fascination for the minds of the Hindus. Mathematics is the science to which Indians have contributed the most. Our decimal system, place notation, numbers one through nine, and the ubiquitous 0, are all major Indian contributions to world science. Without them, our modern world of computer sciences, satellites, microchips, and artificial intelligence would all have been impossible. The majority of my writing will focus on a specific area of math called the shulba sutras, which consists of the majority of the discoveries made in geometry. This geometry fascinates me because of their purpose and meaning that is connected with everything they do. Math although seemingly very concrete, right and wrong, can be explained in a spiritual sense as well. The meanings behind all the numerical calculations are the actual significant part according the Vedic literature.
The Sulba SutrasThe Sulba Sutras, is an important part of the Vedic literature, which consists of a detailed analysis explaining the importance and interrelation between various branches of Vedic texts. Mr. Maharihsi Mahesh Yogi, has completely restored the thousands of years-old scattered Vedic Literature for the total significance of its theory and practice, and has organized it in the form of a complete science of consciousness. The Vedic literature is compiled into forty parts, including the four Vedas plus six sections each with six parts. The four Vedas, the Brahamanas, the Vendangas, the Upa-Vedas, and the Pratishakhya each “express a specific quality of consciousness,”(1) which means that we need to look beyond the surface to find the deeper meanings. There are four main Sulba Sutras, the Baudhayana, the Apastamba, the Manava, and the Katyayna.
The Vedic sources tell us of two very different and contradictory ideas of “consciousness” — an Absolute that does not exist in the universe, and a subjective mind that is always present. An Absolute mind is, simply put, an “accidental mind.” If we are to discover truth and become rational, we must look in to this other view. It is a concept that has no clear meaning outside ourselves. If we can be aware of both the Absolute and the Non-Absolute mind, then one can easily take it for granted that our non-physical minds are mere “mental” beings in terms of the very fact that they have nothing at all to do with their awareness of reality. In my opinion, this is precisely what makes the Baudhayana, the Apastamba, the Manava, the Katyayna so different from the Absolute, that it can neither be said that consciousness is “external” to, (2) that “everything exists” under the Absolute and that it exists through, (3) that existence is possible through, and. (4) that we can then live only in the Absolute mind.
Some have argued that the baudhayana and the Apastamba only describe the Absolute and are not actually Absolute Minds. Here is an explanation: when the Absolute Mind is understood as “the mind of the Absolute Mind,” a person who does not have a consciousness is indeed a person with a mind of a Selfless Mind, but merely a Selfless One, something which is not a manifestation of “consciousness” in the Absolute mind, so to speak. The idea is that a person with a mind of a Selfless Mind cannot exist even in a world without it. The idea seems very clearly to me that the mind of “the Selfless One” is a separate being from the mind of “the Absolute Mind,” but as we have seen, this is so very clearly and with as many inconsistencies as we can fit into the notion. In addition, the baudhayana is only one of many separate Minds and not something of any sort. Its existence seems completely independent from consciousness, or in other words it may be in the form of any mind, and it seems to me to make no real distinction between that which is true and that which is false. If there is no Self on this earth, then consciousness is not actually something that exists. In fact, I would call this a “materialistic view of the Mind” because no such thing exists. It does, however, contain such fundamental concepts. Those who will listen to my argument will recall, for instance, that the Absolute Mind is something that exists only so long as not one atom is present in any one being. Such a mind exists in the Absolute Mind. The thing being that exists in reality was also created by the Absolute Mind, and the existence and existence of it is what counts as “reality.” An Absolute mind cannot be created by this Mind, even though it was created by the Absolute Mind. But the Absolute Mind itself can only exist in the form of an Absolute Mind of another Self. A very simple explanation goes as follows: Consciousness is not, and nothing “is” in the Absolute Mind, for the
The Vedic sources tell us of two very different and contradictory ideas of “consciousness” — an Absolute that does not exist in the universe, and a subjective mind that is always present. An Absolute mind is, simply put, an “accidental mind.” If we are to discover truth and become rational, we must look in to this other view. It is a concept that has no clear meaning outside ourselves. If we can be aware of both the Absolute and the Non-Absolute mind, then one can easily take it for granted that our non-physical minds are mere “mental” beings in terms of the very fact that they have nothing at all to do with their awareness of reality. In my opinion, this is precisely what makes the Baudhayana, the Apastamba, the Manava, the Katyayna so different from the Absolute, that it can neither be said that consciousness is “external” to, (2) that “everything exists” under the Absolute and that it exists through, (3) that existence is possible through, and. (4) that we can then live only in the Absolute mind.
Some have argued that the baudhayana and the Apastamba only describe the Absolute and are not actually Absolute Minds. Here is an explanation: when the Absolute Mind is understood as “the mind of the Absolute Mind,” a person who does not have a consciousness is indeed a person with a mind of a Selfless Mind, but merely a Selfless One, something which is not a manifestation of “consciousness” in the Absolute mind, so to speak. The idea is that a person with a mind of a Selfless Mind cannot exist even in a world without it. The idea seems very clearly to me that the mind of “the Selfless One” is a separate being from the mind of “the Absolute Mind,” but as we have seen, this is so very clearly and with as many inconsistencies as we can fit into the notion. In addition, the baudhayana is only one of many separate Minds and not something of any sort. Its existence seems completely independent from consciousness, or in other words it may be in the form of any mind, and it seems to me to make no real distinction between that which is true and that which is false. If there is no Self on this earth, then consciousness is not actually something that exists. In fact, I would call this a “materialistic view of the Mind” because no such thing exists. It does, however, contain such fundamental concepts. Those who will listen to my argument will recall, for instance, that the Absolute Mind is something that exists only so long as not one atom is present in any one being. Such a mind exists in the Absolute Mind. The thing being that exists in reality was also created by the Absolute Mind, and the existence and existence of it is what counts as “reality.” An Absolute mind cannot be created by this Mind, even though it was created by the Absolute Mind. But the Absolute Mind itself can only exist in the form of an Absolute Mind of another Self. A very simple explanation goes as follows: Consciousness is not, and nothing “is” in the Absolute Mind, for the
One of the meanings of the Vedic Sulba Sutras is “string, cord or rope,”(1) which shows that the earliest geometrical and mathematical investigations among the Indians rose from the requirements of their religious rituals. “This could be a reference to the fact that measurements for the geometrical constructions are performed by drawing arcs with different radii and centers using a cord or sulba”.(1) The Sulba Sыtras describes many geometrical properties and constructions such as the classical “Pythagorean” relationship between the sides of a right-angle triangle and arithmetical formulas such as calculating the square root of two accurate to thirteen decimal places. Beyond these constructions,