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The Science of the Rishis: The Spiritual and Material Discoveries of the Ancient Sages of India
A complete introduction to Sanatana Dharma, the spiritual science of the Hindu sages
• Examines how many core concepts of Hinduism, including Brahman, Atman, bhakti, karma, and reincarnation, relate to modern science
• Explores the scientific discoveries of the rishis, ancient Vedic sages, and how they have only recently been rediscovered by Western scientists
• Reveals the concepts of quantum physics hidden within the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Puranas
Called “the scientists of Hinduism,” the rishis of ancient India were the scribes of the Vedas. They developed the spiritual science of Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, as their way of ensuring the constant renewal and progress of India’s spiritual tradition and culture. Sanatana Dharma permeates every aspect of Hindu culture, from religion to the arts to the sciences. Woven within its Vedic texts lie all of the essential concepts of quantum physics and other modern scientific discoveries.
Providing a complete introduction to the science of Sanatana Dharma, Vanamali reveals how the core concepts of Hinduism, including Brahman, Atman, bhakti, karma, and reincarnation, relate to modern science and how the scientific discoveries of the ancient rishis have been recently rediscovered by the West. She examines the scientific principles within the classic stories and texts of India, including the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Puranas. Within the teachings of the ancient Puranic sages and saints such as Valmiki and Vyasa and legendary physicians and mathematician-philosophers such as Aryabhatta and Varahamihir, the author reveals great scientific truths--not those believed by the ancient world, but truths still upheld by modern science, particularly quantum physics. She explores Desha and Kaala (Space and Time), Shankara and his philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, and the Hindu sciences of mathematics, astronomy, and Vedic astrology.
In illustrating the scientific basis of Hinduism and the discoveries of its sages, Vanamali provides a window into the depths of this most ancient spiritual way of life.
• Examines how many core concepts of Hinduism, including Brahman, Atman, bhakti, karma, and reincarnation, relate to modern science
• Explores the scientific discoveries of the rishis, ancient Vedic sages, and how they have only recently been rediscovered by Western scientists
• Reveals the concepts of quantum physics hidden within the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Puranas
Called “the scientists of Hinduism,” the rishis of ancient India were the scribes of the Vedas. They developed the spiritual science of Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, as their way of ensuring the constant renewal and progress of India’s spiritual tradition and culture. Sanatana Dharma permeates every aspect of Hindu culture, from religion to the arts to the sciences. Woven within its Vedic texts lie all of the essential concepts of quantum physics and other modern scientific discoveries.
Providing a complete introduction to the science of Sanatana Dharma, Vanamali reveals how the core concepts of Hinduism, including Brahman, Atman, bhakti, karma, and reincarnation, relate to modern science and how the scientific discoveries of the ancient rishis have been recently rediscovered by the West. She examines the scientific principles within the classic stories and texts of India, including the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Puranas. Within the teachings of the ancient Puranic sages and saints such as Valmiki and Vyasa and legendary physicians and mathematician-philosophers such as Aryabhatta and Varahamihir, the author reveals great scientific truths--not those believed by the ancient world, but truths still upheld by modern science, particularly quantum physics. She explores Desha and Kaala (Space and Time), Shankara and his philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, and the Hindu sciences of mathematics, astronomy, and Vedic astrology.
In illustrating the scientific basis of Hinduism and the discoveries of its sages, Vanamali provides a window into the depths of this most ancient spiritual way of life.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
31 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 11, 2022
Outstanding Read
Presents a thorough understanding of Hindu culture and spirituality. A
must read for anyone interested in the aforementioned topics. Recommended for non-Hindu as well as Hindu readers.
Presents a thorough understanding of Hindu culture and spirituality. A
must read for anyone interested in the aforementioned topics. Recommended for non-Hindu as well as Hindu readers.
December 21, 2018
Great read to understand and get enthralled by the scientific-philosophical wisdom of the Rishis of ancient India!
May 5, 2020
A blend of philosophy and science of Hindu cultural heritage. Though sometimes it feels like heavy dose, I found it very informative and thought provoking.
April 18, 2021
'The Science of the Rishis' by Vanamali is a good book if you want to know about ancient Hindu texts and the knowledge hidden in these texts. However, where the author fails, is in trying to weave a modern scientific story around it. Most of the book meanders along the realm of pseudoscience and metaphysics. While I am in no position to challenge the knowledge of the ancients ( I, for one, certainly believe the ancients had a vast amount of knowledge and possibly superior knowledge), I can certainly say that a lot of what is mentioned in the book isn't falsifiable as there is no emperical evidence apart from what is mentioned in the scriptures. However, the book does throw light on the immense amount of knowledge the ancient scriptures contain and certain truths which are indeed thought-provoking. There is no denying the fact the ancient Hindus had immense spiritual, mathematical, cosmological and scientific knowledge, but whether and how that marries to our view of the world today is something subject to the readers discretion.
February 17, 2025
Pardon me all Sanatana Dharma followers. I love, respect, and follow Satanan Dharma. Yet, I couldn’t stop myself from writing this review.
Book review:
Very bad writing! A right extremist book. I’m still being kind and gave a 1/5 instead of 0. Starting at the beginning, the context and flow is not set. Everything is the author’s opinion. Countless contradicting statements and within the same page too - literally in the next paragraph. Wonder if anyone proofread this. I was shocked to see the author calling himself a Vedantan! With absolute lack of clarity on anything. Bringing Einstein out of context, lol. Inserting scientific concepts in between with no understanding - just copy paste. Quantum physics, Heisenberg’s principle and what not!! Several baseless claims all throughout the book. Too mixed up and confusing. The book talks about Advaita concept multiple times that we are one with God, and then again brings the duality of a separate God and one should do this, that, etc. Seriously?!? It says the world in a Maya (illusion), we are all actors, and still clings to Hinduism offering crappy advice. Every other page made me laugh and more so angered me! These kind of people who have no clue what they are talking about shouldn’t be allowed to publish - as that only reduces the credibility of any other well-educated person writing on a similar topic with a lot of research. Unfair to those who don’t know to see/question these flaws and takes in the information as is. Honestly, I would have too before my Masters in US!
I am born a Hindu, though that’s not my only identity. I am not too religious, but I like performing rituals and celebrating festivals for the fun of it, connecting with people, and keeping the culture alive, passing it on to next generation. There is a difference between stating what one believes and calling it the absolute truth with confidence with no evidence. This is full of faff and random opinions everywhere with no backing! Zero research. And what!?? Sanskrit is the mother of all European language”. Author has no idea about history also. “Hinduism existed long before Harappan civilization and Vedic symbols were found there” - yeah he went and saw the proof 5000 years ago! Any layman can write better than this with some reading. We will get to know the topics better by Googling and understand better with the online resources. The purpose of a book is to present together concisely a rich content, which enriches the reader’s knowledge. This can’t be called a book. At best it can be a series of bad blogs! Tbh, total bs (sorry to be rude). Big time mess up. Highly disappointed. Wouldn’t recommend - unless you want to waste one of your weekends - may be as a comedy read when you are down to critic later.
Book review:
Very bad writing! A right extremist book. I’m still being kind and gave a 1/5 instead of 0. Starting at the beginning, the context and flow is not set. Everything is the author’s opinion. Countless contradicting statements and within the same page too - literally in the next paragraph. Wonder if anyone proofread this. I was shocked to see the author calling himself a Vedantan! With absolute lack of clarity on anything. Bringing Einstein out of context, lol. Inserting scientific concepts in between with no understanding - just copy paste. Quantum physics, Heisenberg’s principle and what not!! Several baseless claims all throughout the book. Too mixed up and confusing. The book talks about Advaita concept multiple times that we are one with God, and then again brings the duality of a separate God and one should do this, that, etc. Seriously?!? It says the world in a Maya (illusion), we are all actors, and still clings to Hinduism offering crappy advice. Every other page made me laugh and more so angered me! These kind of people who have no clue what they are talking about shouldn’t be allowed to publish - as that only reduces the credibility of any other well-educated person writing on a similar topic with a lot of research. Unfair to those who don’t know to see/question these flaws and takes in the information as is. Honestly, I would have too before my Masters in US!
I am born a Hindu, though that’s not my only identity. I am not too religious, but I like performing rituals and celebrating festivals for the fun of it, connecting with people, and keeping the culture alive, passing it on to next generation. There is a difference between stating what one believes and calling it the absolute truth with confidence with no evidence. This is full of faff and random opinions everywhere with no backing! Zero research. And what!?? Sanskrit is the mother of all European language”. Author has no idea about history also. “Hinduism existed long before Harappan civilization and Vedic symbols were found there” - yeah he went and saw the proof 5000 years ago! Any layman can write better than this with some reading. We will get to know the topics better by Googling and understand better with the online resources. The purpose of a book is to present together concisely a rich content, which enriches the reader’s knowledge. This can’t be called a book. At best it can be a series of bad blogs! Tbh, total bs (sorry to be rude). Big time mess up. Highly disappointed. Wouldn’t recommend - unless you want to waste one of your weekends - may be as a comedy read when you are down to critic later.
March 1, 2021
Enjoyed this brief and crisp insight. A book that I would love to read several times over.
September 25, 2017
An incredibly fascinating avenue of study- a novel that should've been a revelatory read. I was bitterly disappointed; the pseudoscientific overtones left this book bereft of the credibly it should've had.
December 4, 2021
The book is a crisp introduction to Sanatan Dharma. It touches most, if not all, of the major aspects of Hinduism. Be it scriptures(Vedas, Puranas, or Upanishads, etc.) or the spiritual (Brahman, Atman, Karma, etc.). It also talks about various sages of Ancient India whose scientific discoveries have contributed immensely to shaping modern India and the World.
The problem with the book is that the author tries to force-fit a lot of spiritual and philosophical concepts with the scientific concepts. "Water is the best conductor of spiritual vibrations", "Sound produced by planets, stars and galaxies is Aum"... There are many such conjectures mentioned in the book which lack empirical evidence and hence sound pseudo-scientific. The author indulges in a lot of a priori assumptions when talking about scientific concepts.
In short, the book is at its best when deals with "spiritual" content but overreaching when it tries to discuss scientific content.
The problem with the book is that the author tries to force-fit a lot of spiritual and philosophical concepts with the scientific concepts. "Water is the best conductor of spiritual vibrations", "Sound produced by planets, stars and galaxies is Aum"... There are many such conjectures mentioned in the book which lack empirical evidence and hence sound pseudo-scientific. The author indulges in a lot of a priori assumptions when talking about scientific concepts.
In short, the book is at its best when deals with "spiritual" content but overreaching when it tries to discuss scientific content.
April 6, 2024
Fantastic book. If you read this as a first Hindu introduction, you will have lots of doubts or many topics are hard to understand. If you have listened to Bhagavadgita and/or Vivekachudamani,you will appreciate the breadth of topics discussed here. I loved it. Great to have it in your library to constantly reference many things. The way author connected science and spirituality was amazing.
May 14, 2024
"The Science of the Rishis.." is a highly technical study Vedic Philosophy and practice for the scholar and practitioner but, also, for the casual reader. The book examines those integral concepts of Hinduism including brahman, atman, bhakti, karma, and their relation to modern science. Also discussed is the relation of quantum physics to Hindu philosophy
March 13, 2024
This is a great introduction Hinduism. The Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Itihasas are discussed as well as the rishis who wrote them. All major Vedic concepts are presented as well. A vast amount of information in a concise and engaging read.
September 8, 2021
Exceptional! how intelligent and developed those people were.
April 4, 2023
Links Vedic history and thoughts of the sciences today.
December 23, 2024
Fascinating history of India.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews