• Biology,  Cosmology,  Medicine

    Lessons of Ayurveda for Vedic Cosmology

    The previous post discussed the model of the human body in Ayurveda. If you haven’t noticed, the most surprising aspect of Ayurveda is that it remains silent on what modern medicine calls heart, lungs, intestines, brain, pancreas, spleen, etc. It is surprising because modern medical education begins with anatomy and memorizing anatomy is every student’s job in the first year of medical school. Of course, Ayurveda also has a branch called shalya-chikitsa or surgery which relies on anatomy. But for the most part, Ayurveda doesn’t dwell on anatomy because it uses a conceptual model of the body quite different from the perceptual model. This means that the gross body is…

  • Cosmology,  Philosophy,  Sociology

    Space as a Model of Society and Ecosystems

    In Vedic cosmology space is meant for living beings, because the material universe exists for the purposes of such beings. When space is the canvas on which we describe living phenomena, then macroscopic phenomena in the space constitute the evolution of society, while the microscopic phenomena indicate the evolution of the individual living entity. Sāńkhya is a detailed theory of the individual phenomena—i.e. a person’s perception, actions, and its consequences. Vedic cosmology, on the other hand, is a detailed description of the macroscopic phenomena—e.g. the tiers of society, the periodic creation and destruction of life forms, and the rise and fall of civilizations and cultures. This post discusses how space…

  • Cosmology,  Philosophy,  Religion

    Why the Controversy on Flat Earth is Misplaced

    It is not hard to find debates today between “flat” and “round” Earths. Many of these debates are founded on conspiracy theories, but discussing those conspiracy theories isn’t the intent of this post. This post discusses a completely different notion of flat Earth which is found in Vedic cosmology texts, where space itself is viewed differently than in modern science. How this flat Earth is different from what generally people call “flat” Earth is discussed. The post also discusses how the four ethers described in the previous post appear to have different dimensions.