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The Vedas are the basic scriptures of the Sanatana Dharma; they are also the most important interpreters of the Sanatana Dharma. The Sanatana Dharma always calls upon man to realize and assimilate the real knowledge dedicated to the established order –the eternal Truth. In response to the call of the voice of conscience, it expects man to attain the Satya –truth by being dutiful on the strength of wisdom. Eventually, the attainment of the Satya –truth is the purpose of life. The goal of science is also to reach the state of truth. That is why; the Vedas, the basic texts of the Sanatana Dharma themselves are the original source of true knowledge –science.      

Agnividya (knowledge of fire: physical and universal), rise of Agni, its power (waves, communication etc.), forms –energy and heat etc., the source of revelation of fire –Agnishakti (power of fire), Agnisakshi (with fire as witness) including its types, uses, preservation, importance and inventions have been found first of all in the Vedas. These subjects are related to physics or the basis of physics. 

The Mantras of the First Sukta of the First Mandala of the Rigveda, the jewel of the Vedic philosophy, are dedicated to Agni, the symbolic of the universal truth –the Supreme Being. Many other Mantras of the Rigveda, (of about two hundred Suktas) as well as many hymns of the Yajurveda and the Atharvaveda, and the Shlokas of the Upanishads, inextricably linked with the Vedas, especially the Isha, Katha and Mandukya Upanishads reveal the eternal and supreme importance of Agni. The Verse (17) of the Ishopanishad, the jewel of Upanishads, along with reflecting the status and importance of Prana and Vayu (spirit and air) in life, eventually reveals the supreme importance of Agni, “वायुरानिलामृतमथेदं भस्मान्तं शरीरम्/ क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मर क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मर// –Vaayuraanilaamritamathedam Bhasmaantam Shariiram/ Krato Smara Kritam Smara Krato Smara Kritam Smara//”

Through these mentions of the Vedas and the Upanishads, there is a call to realize the truth of the entire universe within oneself, to become one with all the movable-immovable and visible-invisible present in it and to behave accordingly. Keeping this at the centre, there is a strong expectation from a human being to reach the Satya on the basis of thought and action. This is, in fact, the basic spirit of spirituality. True spiritual knowledge is the acceptance of the reality of the unity of life. This is eventually the true spirituality.

In the Ramayana, the Shrimadbhagavadgita and many other Vedic scriptures, the status and importance of fire is mentioned with addresses like ‘Light of Knowledge” and the ‘Sacred Element’. The Shloka of the Shrimadbhagavadgita (4: 24), is noteworthy here in this regard, “ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्महविर्ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम्। ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना।। Brahmaarpanam Brahmahavirbrahmaagnau Brahmanaa Hutam/ Brahmaiva Tena Gantavyam Brahmakarmasamaadhinaa.”

The Mantras related to air, water, space, nature and environment are there in the Vedas. The references in the Rigveda and the Atharvaveda regarding the quality, importance and source of water are of all-time importance and the discussion on these subjects can take a very detailed form here as well. The Second Sukta of the First Mandal of the Rigveda itself in relation to air and atmosphere, and more especially the ‘Prithvi Sukta’ of the Twelfth Kanda of the Atharvaveda with its sixty-three Mantras, expects human beings to acquire knowledge about the state of rivers and mountains, vegetation, trees and crops (the basis of botany), medicines and places, and to make their proper use for the welfare of all living beings –for the greater good of one and all. The Vedic texts, as the basic source of knowledge about the basic elements water (the basis of chemistry), light, air and sky, are undoubtedly the fundamental source of science as well. Not only this, but these are the basic sources of other branches of science–agronomy, zoology, and even engineering and architecture.

As per the demand and need of time and circumstances, the above-mentioned references call man for ‘नित-नूतन –Nit-Nutana’ –continuous research and exploration and with complete detachment from the one-sidedness of results, to make their use for the benefit of the entire humanity as well as all living beings.

We know that the source of the Ayurveda is the Rigveda. Ayurvedic medical system is very ancient and effective. The Yayurvijyan is also connected to this, and the aim of this is to keep life disease-free and to provide longevity to it. The Vedas and the Vedic scriptures remained the source of the unmatched works and research of the great ancient physician and surgery expert Sushruta, Acharya Patanjali, the composer of the ‘Yoga Sutra’ and also a great Acharya of chemistry, metallurgy and iron science, Charaka himself, Maharishi Vishwamitra, the inventor of missile system, Maharishi Bharadwaj, the inventor of Aeroplan, Rishi Gargamuni, the inventor of astronomy, Rishi Kanada or Kashyapa, the inventor of atomic theory, Rishi Kanva, an Acharya of air science, Varahamihira, a disciple of Aryabhata, who discovered groundwater source and revealed the method of its use, and astronomer Bhaskaracharya, who described the law of gravity, etc.

The Vedas are, undoubtedly, the eternal source of knowledge and in this regard Raman’s statement that “the Vedas are the root of knowledge” is true. The Vedas, the source of science, which are the confessors of the only truth of the Indivisible Totality, call upon man to perform his duties while keeping the reality of Universal Unity at the centre of his Karmas. This means that the feeling of the welfare of one and all should be the basis of human acts. This is the goal of life –the pathway to attain the Truth. This is the basic spirit of spirituality itself. It is the call of the inner self, our elemental life purpose, which is present within.

Thus, science and spirituality are interconnected with the Vedic philosophy, which is chiefly based on the Vedic Richas, and pave the way for the meaningfulness of human life. 

— A Padma Shri and Sardar Patel National Awardee Indologist Dr. Ravindra Kumar is a Former Vice Chancellor of CCS University, Meerut; he is, currently the Ombudsman of Swami Vivekananda Subharati University, Meerut (India).