1. If all of the world´s cultural heritage was
contained in a time capsule, what would
you include to demonstrate the legacy of
your country?
Vedanta
Ancient Indian scriptures on philosophy and
spirituality
Divy Malik
IE Application

2. Why include Vedanta in the time capsule?
Across the world, India is best known for three things…
Taj Mahal
▪
▪
Architectural
masterpiece, one of the
seven wonders of the
world
Limited sustainable
value add to human life
Indian food
▪
One of the most artistic
and sophisticated
cuisines
▪
Everyone can‟t handle
spicy food 
▪
Limited sustainable
value add to human life
SOURCE: Wikipedia; The Roots of Vedanta (translated by Sudhakshina Rangaswami)
Focus of discussion
Spirituality
▪
Morality and spirituality
becoming important in
wake of recent events
(civil wars, corruption,
excesses by bankers)
▪
Vedanta, bedrock of
Indian spirituality, offers
a sustainable way of life
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3. What is Vedanta?
▪
Vedas, dating back to ~1700-1100 BCE (around the beginning of Iron age in India), are
a collection of prayers and hymns which continue to be part of the current Hindu
religious practices
▪
Vedanta literally means the end or the appendix (anta) of the Vedas which contain the
philosophical goals of Vedas
▪
Vedanta comprises of three main scriptures: Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and
Bhagavad Gita. It‟s moral teachings are also explained through analogies in the great
Indian epics: Ramayana and Mahabharata. They are the foundation of the Indian
philosophy of life
Rig Veda
Sama Veda
Essence
of Vedas
Vedanta
Yajur Veda
Atharva
Veda
SOURCE: Wikipedia; The Roots of Vedanta (translated by Sudhakshina Rangaswami)
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4. Why only Vedanta?
1 It complements science
There are several
similarities between
modern physics and
Vedanta
2 It connects science,
philosophy and
practice
Vedanta goes beyond
laws of physical world
and lays down some
universal philosophies
for leading a
sustainable life e.g.,
belief in action and
consequences rather
than wrong or right
actions
“I find a solace in the Bhagavadgītā...when disappointment stares me in the
face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back (to it)...find a verse…I
immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies”
Mahatma
Gandhi
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5. 1 Vedanta complements science
Vedanta and classical physics
Vedanta
Scientific theories
▪
▪
Newton’s third law: Every action has
an equal and opposite reaction
▪
Law of conservation of energy:
Energy can neither be created nor
destroyed but can only be
transformed from one form to another
Law of Karma: Karma means an
action or a deed. Simply put, the law
states that, the world is a cycle of
cause and effect. One has to face the
consequences of one‟s actions, in one
form or the other
SOURCE: Wikipedia; Bhagavad Gita
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6. 1 Vedanta complements science
Vedanta, Einstein and quantum mechanics
Vedanta
Scientific theories
▪
▪
e=mc2: Einstein‟s famous equation which
says that equates matter with energy
▪
Schrodinger’s cat: a thought experiment
that explains quantum mechanics‟
principle of superimposition, i.e., the act
of observation of an object is
independent of the reality of the object
(cat is both alive and dead until we
observe the box and determine its state)
▪
The material world is Maya, an
energy field created from perception
due to nescience
Maya’s existence depends on the
observer. The observer is key to what
is being observed (Maya), observer‟s
nescience is the cause of Maya but
for the wise, Maya does not exist.
E.g., amount of money is real but
value of money is Maya, i.e., value of
money depends on the observer
“Schrodinger and
Heisenberg and their
followers created a universe
based on super-imposed
inseparable waves of
probability amplitudes. This
new view would be entirely
consistent with the Vedantic
concept of All in One”
- Walter J. Moore
SOURCE: Wikipedia; The Roots of Vedanta (translated by Sudhakshina Rangaswami); Speech by Swami Jitatmananda
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7. 1 Vedanta complements science
Vedanta and unified field theory
Vedanta
Scientific theories
▪
Non-dual nature of world:
“praanaave satyam”, the world is
made of a single form of energy called
„Prana‟
▪
▪
There is no duality in object and
subject, everything is part of Brahman
(absolute reality which is nirguna i.e.,
without any characteristics)
Earlier, modern scientists believed in
5 fundamental forces: electric,
magnetic, gravitational, strong nuclear
and weak nuclear. Later, Maxwell
discovered that Electric and magnetic
forces interact with each other which
left 4 fundamental forces
▪
In 1970s, Abdus Salam, Sheldon Lee
Glashow and Steven Weinberg
combined electromagnetic and weak
nuclear forces and brought us to 3
fundamental forces
▪
Scientists continue to work on a
unified field theory to combine
electromagnetic, strong nuclear and
gravitational forces
SOURCE: Wikipedia; The Roots of Vedanta (translated by Sudhakshina Rangaswami); Speech by Swami Jitatmananda
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8. 2 Vedanta goes beyond science and connects it to philosophy of leading
a sustainable life
From science…
Karma theory
Material
world is Maya
(energy field)
Non-dual
nature of
world
… to philosophy…
… to practice
 Karma in itself is not good or
bad, its characteristics are
determined by the context and
the intentions; Selfless karma
is superior to selfish karma
 Belief in karma makes nonviolence a virtue of life which
includes non-violence
towards animals and
environment
 Maya or the material world
 Equating materialism with
comes from nescience and the
nescience has built a society
only way to realize the absolute
which promotes intellectual
truth (Brahman) is through
enquiry and spiritualism
knowledge that helps you look
beyond the material world
 Since world is considered to be  Seeing unity in multiplicity
made of a single form of
has kept Indian society
energy, there is god in
united in such diversity of
everything and everyone
beliefs, cultures and
behaviors
Vedantic
philosophy is
universal
SOURCE: Wikipedia; The Roots of Vedanta (translated by Sudhakshina Rangaswami)
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9. From the thousands of verses overwhelmed with wisdom, for me, the most
important verse from Vedanta is…
“ You are what your deep driving desire is
As your desire, so is your will
As your will, so is your deed
As your deed, so is your destiny”
… Brihadaranyaka IV.4.5
SOURCE: The Upanishads (translated by Eknath Easwaran)
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