Hinduism, one of the living ancient religions of the world has a rich cultural heritage spanning past four thousand years or more. In this long epoch starting from the Vedic times and its evolution through Epic and Puranic periods in a multi ethnic and multi linguistic setting, the religion has absorbed many changes and modifications to blossom into modern Hinduism. In the course of this cultural saga it has generated many scriptures, some highly conceptual treatises like Upanishads and more corporeal literature of mythological stories and episodes such as Ramayana, Mahabharata and many Puranas. Since the advent of writing many thinkers had written commentaries and interpretations on the esoteric Vedic literature at different times to suit the contemporary level of conceptualisation. Many scholars have given Vedanthic and spiritual meanings to the allegorical mythology and rituals. Popular belief in rebirth and its ramifications have given credibility to the spiritual explanations of mythology and rituals resulting in written moral codes within the gambit of Hindu religion. These conceptual refining of ideas in different streams spanning between most spiritual and mundane had resulted in the early Christian era in compilation of Bhagavad-Gita encapsulating all these streams of thought. If we come out of the bonds of the mind-set generated by these religious codes for a moment and approach these texts with some rationality we may get a glimpse of the social evolution evident in the thought process incorporated in the theories, stories and practices. We may also perceive some brilliant correspondence to some of the themes to modern philosophy of science.

Such orientations will not be explicit or clear in the first look but with some allowance to postulation we can see the possibility of a rational explanation. Just like we cannot avoid speculation in spiritual reasoning we cannot avoid conjectures in rational approaches concerning human mind. This book is such an attempt to glean out connectivity between scriptural thoughts and scientific thoughts. The first chapter lays a foundation to this thought process by explaining the concept of God in India from ancient times through the evolution of changing pattern of Hindu religion and philosophy and their interplay. Other chapters deal with and analyse Hindu mythological stories, episodes, concepts, rituals and practices, festivals and their patterns of observance and the evolution of iconography of different god heads etc., with a view to find some sociological meaning in them. In this book I have tried to bring out the conceptual core ideas of mythological episodes and compared them with scientific ideas. The mythological episodes per se may not be scientific but in its pattern, sequence and context some scientific idea can be perceived. I have tried to find the roots of social changes that have given rise to certain religious rituals and social festivals and celebrations. I have tried to keep clear from superstitions and tried to explain why superstitions occur.

My purpose of writing this book is to induce the modern minds soaked in science and technology of the times to find some meaning in the Hindu way of living, to ponder over the possible history to some of the religious practices they observe today in the midst of their secular activities. It is not intended to aggrandise Hinduism against other religions or to propagate the idea of superiority of Hindu culture over others but to present a line of thought that is different from the conventional explanations to Hindu ideas based on spirituality. There is a subtle difference between believing that all religious scriptures are scientific as some pride seekers want us to believe, and the theme of this book. The theme of this book treats both science and religion as expressions of human mind and tries to find some latent mental images linking these two thought processes. One set of ancient thought culminated in provable and repeatable theories of science and the other remained obscure and esoteric postulations. Nevertheless they both had a common ground of ancient collective thinking which was refined in subsequent quests to explain earlier literature.

The book highlights in its chapters these lingering ancient thoughts, concepts, developments in today's practices of religion, social festivities and marriage and other household festivities and in cultural expressions of music and temple culture. Idol worship in Hinduism has provided a useful platform for expression of human desires, art appreciation and promotion, satisfying entertainment to our perennial novelty-seeking minds. I sincerely hope that readers of this book find it interesting as well as thought provoking as they compare different ideas expressed to their individual experience in life.

Contact Author: