MATH or MAGIC!

The entire voluminous body of Vedic literature spanning diverse fields of knowledge, both material and spiritual, can be classified into two broad categories: shruti or direct word of God; and smriti, elaborations on the shruti by God-conscious sages and transmitted down the line of guru parampara (disciplic succession). Since the knowledge is linked to Divinity and transmitted by spiritually elevated teachers, it follows that any system of Vedic origin will be superior to its mundane, conventional counterpart.

The original system of Jyotisha (Vedic Astronomy/Astrology) belongs to this category although the major part of the science is lost today. The same can be said for other Vedic sciences like Ayurveda (medicine), Dhanurveda (military science), Sthapatyaveda (building and engineering science). What is left today is basically the precious remnants of a lost science. But even the remnants, when resurrected together, have proven to be beneficial to a good extent. This explains the growing popularity of ancient sciences like Vedic Astrology, Vastu, Ayurveda, Yoga worldwide.

Likewise Ganita, popularly called Vedic mathematics, is the current rage in the leading schools and colleges in India and elsewhere. Even if some of its detractors disclaim its Vedic origin, they cannot deny that this system offers vastly superior techniques compared to the conventional system of learning and teaching mathematics. That so many students and scholars are trying to learn the ancient system of mathematics just to get a competitive advantage in modern examinations is a telling statement on the comparative differences between the two systems. Superior techniques translate into speed gains which translate into more questions answered and double-checked within the given time.