Modern Science in Everyday Hindu Life Pattern

Traditional Hindu way of life is based on very sound science principles. These principles were laid in the remote past. Modern science is trying to uncover these principles. Some aspects of Hindu life for which scientific corroboration is available are discussed here.
1. Roots of ecology disaster and mechanics of harmonious living with nature as per Hindu Scriptures
We are witnessing the greatest ever technological revolution. Technology has reshaped living conditions through different kinds of technical devices. Appliances for routine day-to-day living business, communication, administration, entertainment, education, publishing, etc. have undergone total transformations. Presence of computers is being felt in different walks of life. Present day medical science has made significant advances towards the eradication of human diseases. Mapping of complete genetic code of living beings has been done. This will lead to treatment of diseases by mere gene manipulation.
The cost of these technological changes in terms of consumption of natural resources and degradation has been enormous. Man is adding, everyday, a new source of environmental pollution. (A new form of pollution was reported in world famous U. S. SCIENCE Journal. Mexico city dwellers faced a veil of brown smog. This smog caused stinging of eyes and burning sensation of the throat. For over a decade this smog was attributed to the emissions from automobiles and factories. 1t has, now, been discovered that this smog was primarily due to the leakage of the liquefied petroleum gas from tanks and cylinders. It is a common knowledge that this gas is commonly used in homes for cooking and heating)
In order to understand the cause of this horrible situation we shall have to go back to the beginnings of industrial revolution. This industrial revolution can be related to the result of one invention: the invention of the Carnot cycle of thermodynamics. 1t is not the bicycle but a theoretical sequence of events arranged in a cyclic order. The related events executed in order are: process of induction of working fluid; process of compression of working fluid; process of expansion of the working fluid; and the process of the expulsion of used working fluid. Processes of compression and expansion take place inside a hypothetical engine. During the induction process the working fluid is drawn into the cylinder from outside and during the process of exhaust the used working fluid is emptied into the “SINK”. This sink is the atmosphere. SadiCarnot, the inventor of the Carnot cycle, assumed this sink to be of infinite size. It is this sink into which all exhausts are emptied. As the industrial revolution picked up momentum, this concept of infinite sink gained universal acceptance in all techno1ogica1 deve1opments. Thereafter man started using all types of natura1 places like rivers, waste1ands, oceans and what not as infinite sink. It is on1y, now, that the man has started realizing that the assumed “INFINITE SINK” is in reality a “FINITE SINK”. It is this single concept of infinite sink that has been responsible for the pollution of our environment. With the passage of time the rate of increase of pollution has witnessed an exponential growth resulting in the present day havoc on earth.
Man possesses an insatiable desire to lead a perfectly comfortable living environment. Technology provided means to achieve this state. We have coolers and air-conditioners; heaters and heating systems; automatic kitchen appliances; furnishings for all kinds of situations and for all places; a myriad of entertainment gadgets; various communication systems; a wide variety of modes of transport; enormous variety of dwelling places with all kinds of internal amenities etc. To get these set of things, it is necessary to use natural products and to put them to various kinds of transformations. Since the requirements are enormous, therefore, the demand on natural products is also enormous. To meet these requirements natural resources have been exploited to the maximum possible extent. The result is extreme kind of shortages of natural products. This has led to the development of synthetic products. All along this process, extraordinarily large quantity of waste is being exhausted into the natural environment. The 'Infinite sink' is gradually becoming 'finite' and the effects are visible in various forms of problems being faced by man. The entire science and techno1ogica1 community of the wor1d is worried at this alarming1y deteriorating situation. The science and techno1ogy which aimed at providing comfort through the exploitation of nature will have to revise its philosophy and will have to relearn the method of harmonious living with nature. A solution to this vexed problem is available in the Hindu Darshan of harmonious 1iving with nature. One such vidya and its projections for ecological harmony is outlined below.
To ancient Indian seers there was no idle philosophy. No philosophy had any claim to recognition unless it had some bearing on life. The philosophy must provide 'Darshan' to an ordinary mortal. Students were required to chant vedic mantras daily. Seers discouraged it as a mechanical process and instead encouraged some reflection in the form of meditational upasna. One such upasna called panchagni-vidya (or the meditation on the five fires) is worth consideration in regard to achieving a harmonious living with nature. According to this PANCHAGNI-VIDYA the whole world, sentient and insentient, is considered to be a homogeneous group of factors in a cosmic sacrifice involving five successive fires arranged in the order of their subtleness. They are all knit together through a spirit of SELF SACRIF1CE, so that a new creation may emerge, new life may come into existence, at every stage. The ancients looked on all things and processes from a higher intellectual and spiritual plane. To them all things were agents in a sacrifice bringing new life into existence. IT IS THE SPIRIT OF SACRIFICE AS AN AGENT IN CREATION AND NOT AS A HOMOSAPIEN, THE ENJOYER OF NATURE which lies at the root of this panchagni vidya.
Hindus daily worship and practice harmony with the Cosmos and nature ¼izd`fr½. One such vedic mantra is given below:
¬द्यौः शान्तिरन्तरिक्षं शान्तिः पृथ्वी शान्तिरापः शान्तिरोषधयः शान्तिः।
बनस्पतयः शान्तिर्विश्वेदेवाः शान्तिर्र् ह्म शान्तिः सर्वं शान्तिः
शान्तरेव शान्तिः सा मा शान्तिरे वि ।। (यजुर्वेद अ.36, मं.17)
Above mentioned Mantra, when followed in letter and spirit will enable a pollution free world.
2. On the science of fasts

Hindu Dharma places great emphasis on the observance of fasts. 1t is required to observe fasts for any sadhna to bear fruits. This practice has been debated in different forums for finding the scientific truth behind these prescriptions. It appears that some scintillating revelations are now available with the scientists. We bring here some of the most important discoveries in this regard.
1t is a common prescription for all those who observe fast is that they must not have a high caloric diet during this period and instead should consume lots of fruits and vegetables. The rationale of this prescription has been scientifically vindicated. This prescription helps prevention of many degenerative diseases like cancer, cardio-vascular diseases, cataract and immuno dysfunction. A study in this regard was carried out by the Center for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad. The report gives the following findings: It has been established that all human beings have pre-cancer cells in their bodies and under suitable conditions they divide fast and establish contact with new blood vessels through which they get nourishment and grow in the form of tumors. Fasting could prevent cancers by inhibiting the growth of pre-cancer cells. Austrian scientist Gass-Karupp (1994) said that the rate of growth and division of pre-cancerous cells was minimized during fasting. A recent study made in U.S.A. shows that the consumption of adequate quantities of fruits and vegetables leads to lower risks of degenerative diseases. The folic acid present in fruits and vegetables helped in checking these disorders. Low intake of folic acid is associated with the breaking of chromosomes and increased the incidence of tumors in some cases. Dietary fiber obtained from plant food alone showed lowering of the risks of colon cancer. Cooked food also contains a wide variety of chemicals which on testing showed that they caused tumors. Animal fats and red meat might increase the risk of the cancer of the breast colon and prostrate. It has been found that high levels of homocysteine in the blood can injure blood vessels leading to heart attacks and strokes. Folic acid is shown to reduce amount of homocysteine in the blood.

3. Temporal Hindu worship and chrono-therapy

It is one of the simplest facts of life that the living body shows signs of malfunctioning through various diseases. A diseased body cannot act as a vehicle for integration with the
cosmos. It is said that शरीरमाद्यम् खलु धर्म साधनम् Our rishis evolved a methodology of keeping one’s body vehicle in a fit condition through the observance of certain temporal actions. This methodology in modern day terminology is called chrono-therapy. Before we discuss the provisions of that” great old science of India let us discuss modern variants through the terminology of chrono-biology.
The science of rhythmic temporal biological phenomenon in living being is known as chronobiology. It is related to rhythmic temporal patterns of living systems. This phenomenon has been studied for over two centuries. It has been found that various physiological activities show variations during the day time. Some of these variations are listed below:
Daily pattern of sleep and activity is one of the most obvious cyclic patterns of living. One’s pulse rate and blood pressure rise sharply early in the morning. Body temperatures rise during day time and fall off sharply at night. The secretion of countless hormones essential for the control of 1ife’s processes ebbs and flows with faithfu1 circadian regularity. The number of white blood cells in the immune system also fluctuates regularly with a normal variation of as much as 50% in a day. Why do all living organisms do virtually everything cyclically?
Daily cycles of life as well as seasonal and monthly ones arise because life evolved on this planet. The waxing and waning of light, heat and electromagnetic and gravitational forces cause rhythmic changes both in the availability of and in the physical medium in which the evolution was unfolding. It is very important to realize that the rhythmic organization of temporal processes maximizes the stability of living things and ensures that they not waste precious energy. For a stable life it is absolutely necessary that there is a continuous readjustment of internal and external dynamic requirements. This adjustment is cyclical, viz. a phase of production followed by an assessment of stability; then a mid course correction based on feedback and then a return to the beginning of the cycle. The breakdown of this cyclical temporal ordering has lethal consequences for the organism.
One of the most important practical applications of the understanding of the role of cycles in biology is the treatment of diseases. The treatment of diseases according to daily rhythms is referred to as CHRONO-THERAPY. Scientists, the world over have tried to unravel the mystery of nature with respect to temporal response of drugs in the cure of ailments. Let us consider the case of a cardiovascular disease called myocardial ischemia. It is a disease which is caused due to partial blockage of coronary arteries. It means that some part of the heart muscle does not get enough blood supply. Several large scale studies have shown that ischemia is severe during the first four to six hours after people arise in the morning than it is at other times of the day. It is mainly influenced by circadian rhythms in pulse rate, blood pressure and interactions with the nervous system controlling involuntary functions. Many studies have shown that heart attacks strike twice as often in the morning as they do during the rest of the day. The severe heart attacks also result from a lack of blood supply to the heart muscle. Blood pressure is strongly circadian. The damage of the blood vessels is caused by severe shear stresses caused by the forces exerted on them through the flow of blood cells. The most pronounced increase in shear stress takes place when one gets up in the morning. Both the shear stresses and the blood pressure are responsible for the damage of blood vessels. To-day we know that the cardiovascular diseases are amongst very important sources of premature deaths of adults. Medical experts have realized that in the morning the heart’s need of oxygen should be decreased. They have been trying to solve this problem through, the administration of different kinds of drugs.
Throughout the world, very intensive and extensive research studies are being pursued to control cardiovascular diseases. But there appears to be no stable solution. Hindu saints long back having realized the importance of the cyclical variations of various (internal and external) body functions evolved a methodology using which occurrence of these ailments could be prevented-this course of prevention is contained in the method of worship. Our saints devised a method of slowing down the pulse rate and blood pressure coupled with the control of involuntary nervous system. Our system functions through YOGIC PRACTICE and that too during very early hours of the day. This set of actions performed during the early hours of the morning, the time of most probable onset of heart attacks virtually eliminates the chances of failure of cardiovascular system and ensures longevity. Discussion on the technology of all this is not possible here. This hint is suggestive of the enormous potential available for handling various kinds of ills (physical and psychological) through the methodologies of Hindu worship.