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The generic definition of a science is the investigation of the facts and the nature of objects and entities in the external world. When we find that repetition of a certain set of inputs results in the same outputs under the same conditions, we call it a “law.”

Indeed all investigation of science as such, must be in the context of an integral view of the total existential reality covering all fields – material, mental, and spiritual – which may be experienced by humans through their external and internal faculties. Hence, the reductionist approach of Western science leaves apart the infinite existential reality, especially regarding the real nature of human being, his inner Self which is the source of all knowledge and is the real knower and experiencer.

Considering metaphysics, the 13th chapter of Bhagavad Gita explains the knowledge of the external object and the subjective knowledge of the internal field which is considered to be true and complete knowledge.

Let us consider Verse 2:

"idam shariram kounteya kshetramitya bidhiyate
etadyo vetti tam prahuh kshertrajna iti tadvidah"

idam: this
shariram: body
kaunteya: Oh Arjuna!
kshetra: kshetra (field)
iti: such
bidhiyate: known as

This body, Oh Arjuna ! Is termed as the sages call kshetra, the field and he who knows it, kshetrajna.

A man regards birds, animals as different from himself but he identifies himself with the body. The gross physical body consists of five elements - earth, water, fire, air, and ether. It is made of mother`s menstrual excretion and father`s semen. It is also called “annamaya kosa,” which literally means storehouse of grain because it depends on grain. It is known as idam (this) because it is known by senses.

As the seeds sown in a field, yield the corresponding crop in course of time, even so the seeds of action, which a man performs by the feelings of egoism and attachment, yield their fruit at the appointed time and thus he is born a god, a bird, or a beast. So it is called "kshetra" or field of action.

etat: this
yo: who
vetti: knows
tam: he is known as knower of kshetra

In the first half of this verse the body has been mentioned by the term "idam" while in the second half of it has been mentioned by the term “eta” which denotes nearness to the term “idam.”
The soul is called "kshetrajna" because it assumes its identity with the body otherwsie it is the Supreme soul or “Paramatma.”

In the 5th verse, the Lord says

"mahabhutanyamkaro buddhir avyaktameva cha
indriyani dashaikancha pancha cheindriyagochara"

The five great elements, the ego, the intellect, Primordial Matter, the ten senses, the mind, and five object of senses. This is kshetra which consists of 24 elements.

mahabhutani: the five elements: ether, air, fire, water, and earth
ahankar: the comsic ego
budhhi: cosmic intelligence - It is Prakriti as it gives birth to ego and being the evolute of Primordial Nature it is “vritti.”
avyaktameva: Primordial Matter - Primordial Nature being the cause of cosmic intelligence and being the evolute of none is Prakriti
indrayani dashaikam: There are ten senses

1. Tongue
2. Hands
3. Feet
4. The procreative organ
5. The organ of defecation
6. Hearing
7. Touch
8. Sight
9. Taste
10. Smell

pancha cheindriyagochara: sound, touch, colour, taste, and smell – the objects of the 5 senses of perception being the effects not the cause are modification

Rational enquiry is re-investigated through Brahma Sutras - a collection of philosophical works based on Upanishads. Commenting on this important work, Acharya Shankara, the eminent Vedantist says that there are 2 types of view regarding an entity:

1. purusa-tantra or views based upon the opinions of persons
2. vastu-tantra, or the view based on the nature of the thing in itself, arrived at after investigation

Acharya says: "With regard to an existing entity different views such as “it is not thus,” “it is there,” “it is not there,” and so on cannot be true knowledge, such differences being based on personal opinions. But the true knowledge of an existing entity, as it is in itself, does not depend on such differing opinions, which are false or wrong knowledge.

Acharya further points out “…thus the valid proof (pramana) of existing entity is “vaastu tantra.” It being so, the knowledge in regard to Brahman, which is an existing entity (bhuta-vastu), is vastu tantra and does not depend upon our opinions. Hence it must be investigated and realized, as it is not merely speculated upon. The knowledge of Brahman (brahma-jnana) culminates in its experiental realization since brahma-jnana relates to an existent entity.

Vedanta is an open system like modern science and was ever modifying its empirical viewpoints with progress in other sciences as well as within its own field, to harmonize the total knowledge.

Prof. Capra points out in his Tao of Physics:

"The basic elements of the Eastern world view are also those of the world view emerging from modern physics. Eastern thought and more general mystical thought provide a consistent and relevant philosophical background to the theories of contemporary science.

Atomic physics provided scientists with the first glimpses of the essential nature of things. Like the mystics, physicists were now dealing with a non-sensory experience of reality and like the mystics; they had to face the paradoxical aspects of this experience. From then on, therefore, the models and images of modern physics became akin to those of Eastern philosophy.

Thus the mystic and the physicist arrive at the same conclusion, one starting from the inner realm, the other from the outer world. The harmony between their views confirms the ancient Indian wisdom that Brahman, the ultimate reality without, is identical to Atman, the reality within.

As science and experiments are based on hypothesis and deduction, so is the science of Advaita Vedanta. Shankaracharya, the greatest exponent of Advaita Vedanta, stated that each “pramana” or a valid proof of knowledge has its own sphere of operation. For example in the sphere of sight, the eyes are the authority and in the sphere of sound, ears are the supreme authority. There is no contradiction between the knowledge given by the ears and the knowledge given by the eyes. Similarly, a person gains different experience in material and spiritual sphere through different faculties like sense, intellect, and mind. Hence, for knowledge in each field one has to go through the related methodologies of that specific field and get the valid “pramana.”

The eminent scientist Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bose, addressing the Royal Society of London, said:

“I have shown you this evening autographic records of the history of stress and strain in living and the non-living. How similar are the writings; so similar that you cannot tell one apart from another ... It was when I came upon the mute witness of these self-made records and perceived in them one phase of pervading unity that bears within all these things...it was then that I understood for the first time a little of the message proclaimed by my ancestors on the banks of the Ganges, thirty centuries ago: `They who see but One, in all the changing, manifestations of the universe - unto them belongs eternal peace - unto none else !”

Accepting Vedanta as a science or not depends upon the individual perspective of looking at it. It cannot be argued that physical sciences, or astrophysics can win over its judgments or comments over Vedanta, because, each are valid in its own way. They both constitute the wholesome aspect of the knowledge gained by man.

I would like to conclude, by quoting the following lines from The Times of London:

"While we in England were still steeped in the rude empirics of barbaric life, the subtle Easterner had swept the universe into a synthesis and had seen the One in all its changing manifestations."

Shounak Bhattacharya

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