How do they do it?

CONTROVERSIES IN  HINDU HISTORY

"LIE WELL STRUCT IS AS GOOD AS TRUTH"

II

Vedic Mathematics

“  'Vedic Mathematics',  originated with a book of the same name by a former Sankracharya of Puri (the late Jagadguru Swami Shri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaj) published posthumously in 1965. Tirthaji emerged claiming to have deciphered 16 fundamental mathematical sūtras in the Vedas, which today have become the foundation of Vedic mathematics.  According to Tirthaji, the sūtras cover every branch of mathematics, from arithmetic to spherical conics, and that “there is no mathematics beyond their jurisdiction”

http://www.bolokids.com/2008/0612.htm

In For Cutting Edge Competence in Maths, Go Back to the Vedas
 Madhusree Chatterjee says:

“Ancient Indian civilization gave the world the zero on which rests modern-day calculations. And also the ancient system of Vedic mathematics, which is on a revival path after several thousand years and is being used by students the world over to crack complicated equations.
The system, as explained in Atharva Veda, the last of the four ancient Vedic scriptures, is broadly based on 16 sutras (formulas) and 13 sub-sutras (smaller theorems or formulas) and is cheaper, faster and paperless…..

Vedic math was interpreted in the modern context in the 1960s in a book "Vedic Mathematics" by Seer Bharati Krisna Thirthaji Maharaja, a learned Brahmin teacher from Tamil Nadu in southern India.
The scholar uses 16 sutras and 13 sub-sutras to tackle the entire gamut of mathematical problems mentally in less than one-tenth of the time taken to solve them through conventional methods.”

http://hinduism.about.com/od/vedicmaths/a/what_is_vedic_math.htm claims the following:

“What is Vedic Math? The Magic of Vedic Maths
Subhamoy Das, About.com

“What does mathematics have to do with Hinduism? Well, just as the basic principles of Hinduism lie in the Vedas, so do the roots of mathematics. The Vedas, written around 1500-900 BCE, are ancient Indian texts containing a record of human experience and knowledge. Thousands of years ago, Vedic mathematicians authored various theses and dissertations on mathematics. It is now commonly believed and widely accepted that these treatises laid down the foundations of algebra, algorithm, square roots, cube roots, various methods of calculation, and the concept of zero.

'Vedic Mathematics' is the name given to the ancient system of mathematics, or, to be precise, a unique technique of calculations based on simple rules and principles, with which any mathematical problem - be it arithmetic, algebra, geometry or trigonometry - can be solved, hold your breath, orally!”

It is on the web today dated September 2009. Tall claim indeed.

Vedic mathematics is claimed as part of the fourth Veda, Atharva-veda. Atharva-veda contains hymns, spells and magical incantations. Atharva-veda, which appeared later than the other Vedas, was not always considered authoritative because of it magical occult connotations.

In Vedic Mathematics: Ancient Indian Knowledge
Dr. Abhijit Das declares 

“Indian civilization has surprised academicians time and again with simple age old techniques for solving complex problems. Vedic Mathematics, derived from the Ganita Sutra in the Vedas is one such technique….

 Extracts:From the Preface by the author Jagadguru
Swami Sri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji Maharaj

We may however, at this point draw the earnest attention of every one concerned to the following salient items thereof:

1.  The Sutras (aphorisms) apply to and cover each and every part of each and every chapter of each and every branch of mathematics (including Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry – plane and solid, Trigonometry – plane and spherical, Conics – geometrical and analytical, Astronomy, Calculus – differential and integral etc.) In fact, there is no part of mathematics, pure or applied, that is beyond their jurisdiction…..

7. And we were agreeably astonished and intensely gratified to find that exceedingly tough mathematical problems (which the mathematically most advanced present day Western scientific world had spent huge amount of time, energy, and money on and which even now it solves with the utmost difficulty and that also after vast labour involving large numbers of difficult, tedious and cumbersome ‘steps’ of working) can be easily and readily solved with the help of these ultra-easy Vedic Sutras (or mathematical aphorisms) contained in the Parisista (the appendix portion) of the Atharvaveda in a few simple steps and by methods that can be conscientiously described as mere ‘mental arithmetic’.”

From the Foreward by Swami Pratyagatmananda Saraswati Varanasi, 22-03-1965
“With the late Shankaracharya we belong to a race, now fast becoming extinct, of diehard believers who think that the Vedas represent an inexhaustible mine of profoundest wisdom in matters of both spiritual and temporal; and that this store of wisdom was not, as regards its assets of fundamental validity and value at least, gathered by the laborious inductive and deductive methods of ordinary systemic enquiry, but was direct gift of revelation to seers and sages who in their higher reaches of Yogic realisation were competent to receive it from a source, perfect and immaculate”

Bharati Krsna wrote sixteen volumes expounding the Vedic system but these were unaccountably lost and when the loss was confirmed in his final years he wrote a single book - Vedic Mathematics. It was published in 1965, five years after his death.
According to his research all of mathematics is based on sixteen  Sutras, or word – formulae”.

The claim is repeated by many hindu scholars and teachers in the hope it will be henceforth considered as truth.

“According to his research all of mathematics is based on 16 Sutras or aphorisms.”
  ^{http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/2008/08/essence-of-vedic-mathematics-by-divya-alok/}

“When Maharishi Mahesh Yogi began to explain the significance and marvelous qualities of Vedic Mathematics in 1988, Maharishi Schools around the world began to teach it. At the school in Skelmersdale, Lancashire a full course was written and trialled for 11 to 14 year old pupils, called The Cosmic Computer. (Maharishi had said that the Sutras of Vedic Mathematics are the software for the cosmic computer- the cosmic computer runs the entire universe on every level and in every detail). This course was published in March 1998”

http://www.maharishi.co.uk/acatalog/Vedic_Mathematics_.html

Incidentaly, Trachtenberg system of mathematics which was similar to the so called Vedic Mathematics, was developed while Trachenberg, a jew, was a political prisoner in Hilter's concentration camp during the second world War. To keep his sanity he immersed himself in the  world of mathematics and calculations without any help from the Vedas.  When he was released from the prison   Trachtenberg started teaching his system of mathematics. It was called “Trachtenberg Speed System”.  In 1950 he founded the Mathematical Institute in Zurich.  I came across this soon after and was surprised when I came across the “Vedic Mathematics” a few years later because of their identical approaches.

However the educational personals were not easily fooled.  Here are some comments from the Matheamtics world

Vedic mathematics’ is neither Vedic nor mathematics. States http://www.iias.nl/nl/32/IIAS_NL32_0607.pdf

‘Vedic mathematics’ is neither Vedic nor mathematics. It is not Vedic because Vedic mathematics consisted of geometry, in many respects similar to the ancient Greek variety.  His Holiness claimed that his book, called Vedic Mathematics, was based upon an appendix of the Atharvaveda that no one had seen or heard of. “

It was not difficult for honest students  to discover the truth.  Here is a comment on Vedic Math.  http://avaxhome.ws/ebooks/vedic_mathematics.html

“Posted By: CesarAKG Date: 08 Aug 2007 03:11:07

Trouble is, the "Vedic Math" is not Vedic nor math. You can get to make some fast calculations, but math is more than doing fast calculations. It's a relatively modern work of an indian guru (1800-something), and it's only relation to the venerable Vedas is in it's name”

 Many honest Hindus were actually embarrassed and confessed the error.  In VEDIC MATHEMATICS - ‘VEDIC’ OR ‘MATHEMATICS’: A FUZZY & NEUTROSOPHIC ANALYSIS  W. B. Vasantha Kandasamy makes the direct disowning as “Now having known that even the 16 sutras are the Jagadguru Sankaracharya’s invention….”

Again as the then Hidutava government tried to smuggle in this so called “Vedic Mathematics” an uproar arose with the educators which is seen in the few quotes below.

http://www.sacw.net/DC/CommunalismCollection/ArticlesArchive/NoVedic.html   gives the proper reply to this vedic forgery from the educational point of view

Neither Vedic Nor Mathematics

 …. As is pointed out even in the foreword to the book by the General Editor, Dr. A.S. Agarwala, the aphorisms in Sanskrit to be found in the book have nothing to do with the Vedas. Nor are these aphorisms to be found in the genuine Vedic literature.

The term "Vedic mathematics'' is therefore entirely misleading and factually incorrect. Further, it is clear from the notation used in the arithmetical tricks in the book that the methods used in this text have   

We are concerned that the essential thrust behind the campaign to introduce the so-called 'Vedic mathematics' has more to do with promoting a particular brand of religious majoritarianism and associated obscurantist ideas rather than any serious and meaningful development of mathematics teaching in India.  

This is signed by eminent professors from India

 Hence a new twist was given – “they are not found in the Atharva veda, but reconstructed from them”

http://www.hinduism.co.za/vedic.htm states:

“Guruji used to say that he had reconstructed the sixteen mathematical formulae from the Atharvaveda after assiduous research and ‘Tapas’ (austerity) for about eight years in the forests surrounding Sringeri. Obviously these formulae are not to be found in the present recensions of Atharvaveda. They were actually reconstructed, on the basis of intuitive revelation, from materials scattered here and there in the Atharvaveda.”

Evidently one can develop the whole of Newtonian mechanics from the Shakespear as well.

“A closer look shows however that neither the so called sutras nor the procedures described in their name have anything to do with the ancient Vedas. The “system” is in essence a loose compilation of some tips which can help expedite computations in certain special situations. It is being bloated far beyond its actual significance, by passing it off as some mysterious wisdom from the ancient past, and exploiting the weakness of the popular mind for such things.

“The Vedas have been well-documented and their contents have been studied assiduously by many scholars, both foreign and Indian, and the science and mathematics involved in them has been thoroughly discussed for well over a century now. There is nothing akin to VM in the genuine Vedic literature.”   Vedic Maths’ : Facts and Myths S.G. Dani

A hundred years ago, such a claim would have gone unchallenged and the Vedic Mathematics stunt would have succeded and a new branch of Vedas with Mathematics as subject area would have been now a taken for granted part of Vedas.  Clearly it was a subtle attempt to smuggle in something external into the Vedas and to make it what it really was not.  They have done that in the ages past as is evident from the following extract from   the Preface by the author Jagadguru  Swami Sri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji Maharaj

“8. It is thus in the fitness of things that the Vedas include 1. Ayurveda (anatomy, physiology, hygiene, sanitary science, medical science, surgery etc.), not for the purpose of achieving perfect health and strength in the after-death future but in order to attain them here and now in our present physical bodies. 2.Dhanurveda (archery and other military sciences), not for fighting with one another after our transportation to heaven but in order to quell and subdue all invaders from abroad and all insurgents from within. 3. Gandharva Veda (the science of art and music) and  4. Sthapatya Veda (engineering, architecture etc. and all branches of mathematics in general). All these subjects, be it noted, are inherent parts of the Vedas i.e., are reckoned as ‘spiritual’ studies and catered for as such therein.

9. Similar is the case with Vedangas (i.e., grammar, prosody, astronomy, lexicography etc.) which according to the Indian cultural conceptions, are also inherent parts and subjects of Vedic (i.e. religious) study.”

Unfortunately in this era Vedas are available to everyone  and one can see what is in it.  You can now see the error of allowing the Vedas to be read by non-Brahmins.  If the shudra intentionally listens for committing to memory the veda, then his ears should be filled with (molten) lead and lac; if he utters the veda, then his tongue should be cut off; if he has mastered the veda his body should be cut to pieces..(Manu XII. 4.)  This tendency is seen all through the history in making Hinduism, its doctrines, its scriptures, its traditions, its sciences and its entire non-existent history .  This is a concerted effort and the Vedic Mathematics is only one failed attempt.  Yet if we look through the internet you will see it is still asserted and peddled on as the “Vedic Mathematics”.  I quote a few among hundreds just to get the feel:

http://www.sanalnair.org/articles/index-ved.htm

“What is an ancient system of mathematics that is being taught in some of the most prestigious institutions in England and Europe and not in India? It is Vedic mathematics-a long forgotten technique for mathematical calculations! It is amazing how with the help of 16 sutras and 16 upa-sutras you will be able to solve/calculate complex mathematical problems-mentally! The basic roots of Vedic mathematics lie in Vedas jus as basic roots of Hinduism. Vedic Maths form part of Jyothisha which is one of the six Vedangas. To many Indians Vedic and Sanskrit slokas/manthras are relevant only for religious purposes/occasions. But Vedas (written around 1500-900 BCE) in fact are a treasure house of knowledge and human experience-both secular and spiritual. Here you will will get an idea about the power of Vedic Mathematics.”

http://www.indiadivine.org/articles/957/1/Vedic-Mathematics-Ancient-Indian-Knowledge/Page1.html

“Indian civilization has surprised academicians time and again with simple age old techniques for solving complex problems. Vedic Mathematics, derived from the Ganita Sutra in the Vedas is one such technique.

Vedic Mathematics is the name given to the ancient system of Mathematics which was rediscovered from the Vedas between 1911 and 1918 by Sri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji (1884 - 1960).’

http://hubpages.com/hub/Vedic-Mathematics

 “Vedic Mathematics is an ancient system for calculating large and complex equations mentally. It was discovered in the sacred Hindu scripts, the Vedas. The Vedas, written around 1500 - 900 BCE, are an ancient Indian text containing a record of human experience and knowledge. Included in the Vedas was an ancient system of mathematics devised to enable arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry to be solved mentally”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Bharati_Krishna_Tirtha's_Vedic_mathematics

“Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha's Vedic mathematics is a system of mathematics consisting of a list of 16 basic sūtras, or aphorisms. They were presented by a Hindu scholar and mathematician, Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja, during the early part of the 20th century^[1]. Tirthaji claims that he found the sūtras after years of studying the Vedas, a set of sacred ancient Hindu texts^”

We should expect this hype from Wiki since it is an open encyclopedia at the mercy of the interested parties.

http://www.hinduism.co.za/vedic.htm
“Revered Guruji used to say that he had reconstructed the sixteen mathematical formulae from the Atharvaveda after assiduous research and ‘Tapas’ (austerity) for about eight years in the forests surrounding Sringeri. Obviously these formulae are not to be found in the present recensions of Atharvaveda. They were actually reconstructed, on the basis of intuitive revelation, from materials scattered here and there in the Atharvaveda.”

http://hinduism.about.com/od/vedicmaths/a/what_is_vedic_math.htm

What does mathematics have to do with Hinduism? Well, just as the basic principles of Hinduism lie in the Vedas, so do the roots of mathematics. The Vedas, written around 1500-900 BCE, are ancient Indian texts containing a record of human experience and knowledge. Thousands of years ago, Vedic mathematicians authored various theses and dissertations on mathematics. It is now commonly believed and widely accepted that these treatises laid down the foundations of algebra, algorithm, square roots, cube roots, various methods of calculation, and the concept of zero.

Now here is the claim: Notice the dates of the Puranas and Sutras (Only that Upanishads and Sanskrit language in which they are written did not exist before 3^rd c AD.)
 http://india_resource.tripod.com/mathematics.htm

“Arithmetic operations (Ganit) such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, squares, cubes and roots are enumerated in the Narad Vishnu Purana attributed to Ved Vyas (pre-1000 BC). Examples of geometric knowledge (rekha-ganit) are to be found in the Sulva-Sutras of Baudhayana (800 BC) and Apasthmaba (600 BC) which describe techniques for the construction of ritual altars in use during the Vedic era. It is likely that these texts tapped geometric knowledge that may have been acquired much earlier, possibly in the Harappan period. Baudhayana's Sutra displays an understanding of basic geometric shapes and techniques of converting one geometric shape (such as a rectangle) to another of equivalent (or multiple, or fractional) area (such as a square). While some of the formulations are approximations, others are accurate and reveal a certain degree of practical ingenuity as well as some theoretical understanding of basic geometric principles. Modern methods of multiplication and addition probably emerged from the techniques described in the Sulva-Sutras”.

“Pythagoras - the Greek mathematician and philosopher who lived in the 6th C B.C was familiar with the Upanishads and learnt his basic geometry from the Sulva Sutras.” ??