Re: Acharya Kanad, The Indian Sage Who Developed Atomic Theory 2,600 Years Ago | Beyond Science TV

[S. Jayabarathan]

Thanks Vannan for sending the Atomic Theory of the Great Indian Sage, developed 2600 years ago.

Regards,

S. Jayabarahan

On Mon, Jan 6, 2020 at 3:12 AM vannan vannan <vanna...@gmail.com> wrote:

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From: Padmanabhan V <vpadm...@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2020 at 07:13
Subject: Acharya Kanad, The Indian Sage Who Developed Atomic Theory 2,600 Years Ago | Beyond Science TV
To: <jeev...@gmail.com>, <vanna...@gmail.com>

https://www.beyondsciencetv.com/2017/06/01/acharya-kanad-the-indian-sage-who-developed-atomic-theory-2600-years-ago/#

Acharya Kanad, The Indian Sage Who Developed Atomic Theory 2,600 Years Ago

June 1, 2017

According to what we learn in school these days, English chemist and physicist John Dalton – who was born in the late 18th century – is the man credited by modern science with the development of the atomic theory. However, it might be surprising for many people today to know that the concept of atoms was actually formulated by an Indian sage and philosopher nearly 600 years prior to the birth of Christ or 2,500 years before Dalton achieved this scientific breakthrough during his time.

This Indian sage and philosopher was known as Acharya Kanad, and some consider him as the “actual” father of Atomic theory.

Background on Acharya Kanad

Acharya Kanad was born around 600 BC or 800 BC in Prabhas Kshetra which is located near Dwaraka in present day Gujarat, India. His real name was actually Kashyap and was the son of a philosopher named Ulka.

Since childhood, Kashyap displayed a very keen sense of detail and was fascinated by the most minute things. When he was only a young boy, he once accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Prayaga. He noticed thousands of pilgrims in the town were littering the roads with the flowers and grains of rice they offered at the temples by the shore of the river Ganges.

The tiny particles attracted Kashyap’s attention and he began to collect the grains of rice from the ground while everybody else busied themselves with offering prayers or bathing in the Ganges. The crowd eventually noticed his peculiar behavior and wondered why he was so fascinated with the grains of rice.

When they asked him about it, Kashyap replied that though a single grain of rice may seem worthless on its own, a collection of hundreds of them could make up a person’s meal. This meant a collection of meals could feed a family and ultimately, mankind. For this reason alone, he believed that a single grain of rice was just as important as all the riches in the world.

After this incident, people started calling him “Kanad,” as “Kan” in Sanskrit means “the smallest particle.”

Kanad pursued his interest with the unseen world and dedicated his life to conceptualizing the idea of the smallest particle. He wrote down his views and eventually passed on his knowledge to others. People began to call him “Acharya” or  “the teacher,” hence the name Acharya Kanad – which means “the teacher of small particles.”

Kanad’s Conception of the “Anu” (Atom)

Atom Particle (SOURCE: Pinterest)

Acharya Kanad is believed by many to be the first to have realized the idea of an indestructible particle of matter.

The theory occurred to Kanad while he was walking with food in his hand and he was breaking it into small pieces. He nibbled at the food in his hand until he was no longer able to break it down into smaller pieces. It was then that he realized that he could not divide the food into further parts and conceptualized the idea of a particle that could not be divided any further. He called that indivisible particle “Parmanu,” or “Anu,” which literally means atom.

Acharya Kanad thought of the atom as minute objects that are invisible to the naked eye, and considered it indestructible and hence, eternal. He also theorized that a Parmanu has an inherent urge to combine with another Parmanu. He also explained that combining two Anu belonging to the same class would create a “Dwinuka” or a binary molecule. This binary molecule would contain similar properties to the two original Parmanu it was made of.

Kanad suggested further that it was the different combinations of Parmanu which produced various types of substances. He also brought forth the idea that atoms could be combined in a variety of ways to produce chemical changes while in the presence of other factors such as heat. He used the blackening of earthen pot as well as the ripening of fruit as examples of this phenomenon.

To teach his ideas about the atom and the nature of the universe, Acharya Kanad founded the Vaisheshika school of philosophy. He also wrote a book called “Vaisheshik Darshan,” which presented all of his research.

Acharya Kanad As the “Father of Atomic Theory”

SOURCE: Ancientpages

Several members of the academic community – particularly in India – recognize Acharya Kanad as among the sages of ancient times who made significant contributions to modern science. Some of them have even taken steps to have his name included in mainstream education.

However, recognition of Kanad’s “Anu” theory as the first plausible atomic theory over Dalton’s scientific approach remains controversial. While many recognize Kanad’s perspective on the physical structure of the universe as an impressive metaphysical philosophy, some vehemently maintain that it does not qualify as a scientific theory because it is not at all empirical.

Acharya Kanad’s idea of the atom was not attempting to rationally explain an empirical law. It did not carry an explanatory burden and was just a speculative thesis. Hence, many argue that it would be outrageous to place it in the same league with existing modern scientific theories about atoms.

SOURCE: messagetoeagle 

Though the widely-accepted atomic theory today is substantially different from the one Dalton posited, Dalton’s theory is still considered to be the first scientific theory of atoms because it was attempting to rationally explain an empirical law.

The atomic theory of Acharya Kanad may not be considered empirical, and while its official place in the field of modern science is still heavily debated, its philosophical and cultural merits cannot be disputed. Though his theory of the atom was abstract and leaned towards philosophy and logic than personal experience or experimentation, it is praised even in modern times as a brilliant and imaginative explanation of the physical structure of the world and for largely agreeing with the discoveries of modern physics.

—

Sources:

1. http://www.ancient-code.com/an-ancient-indian-sage-developed-the-atomic-theory-2600-years-ago/
2. http://ageac.org/en/news/an-indian-sage-developed-atomic-theory-2600-years-ago/
3. http://www.unitedindia.com/laws_of_atoms.htm
4. http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-technology/indian-sage-who-developed-atomic-theory-2600-years-ago-001399?nopaging=1
5. http://www.sanskritimagazine.com/vedic_science/acharya-kanada-father-atomic-theory/
6. https://thewire.in/115536/kanad-vaisheshik-msu-atom/
7. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/in-maharaja-sayajirao-university-diary-sages-behind-nuclear-technology-rockets-cosmetic-surgery-4561194/

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[Seshadri Sridharan]

மகரிஷி கண்நாடர் பற்றி மேலும். உங்கள் விருப்பம் படித்து மதிப்புரை தாருங்கள்.   இவர் ஆப்கானில் பிறந்தவர். கி.பி. 6-7ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் வாழ்ந்தவர்,

According to Maharśi Kańáda, the illustrious propounder of Vaesheśika philosophy, this universe is composed of innumerable atoms and molecules; these are, however, only material forces. In the absence of consciousness, they themselves cannot create anything original or do anything rational. If the responsibility of all the actions of this universe had been left to the atoms, molecules, protons, electrons, positrons, etc., then there would be clash at every moment; and in that case this vast, beautiful and harmonious universe where everything is moving according to a particular system, would not have existed at all.

According to Kańáda, those material forces are undoubtedly the primary causes, but they cannot control themselves; they are controlled by the Cognitive Force, the knowing faculty which is none other than Iishvara. Such a blind material force cannot create this vast, well-ordered universe. So in order to transcend the crudity of this material universe, there is no other way for human beings except the surrender to the Cognitive Principle, and the sooner the human beings thus surrender, the better it will be for the speed of their progress will be accelerated. Human beings are not simply living creatures with hands and feet: they are something far greater than that.

The human body which is material, is controlled by mind, and mind is controlled by unit consciousness, and unit consciousness is controlled by Parama Puruśa. Hence truly intelligent people should perform their mundane duties according to the will of Parama Puruśa.

by prabhat Ranjan sarkar alias Shrii shrii ananda murtii on 17 November 1971 DMC, Nagpur, Published in: Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell Part 11 [a compilation] chapter:  Parama_Purusa and His Creation

The theory of causality was founded by Maharshi Kanada. Kanada said, Kárańábhávat káryábhávah – “Where there is no [cause] there is no [effect].” The theory is correct, but a human can only find those causes which are within the scope of the mind – that which is beyond the scope of the mind cannot be found. That is, one's intellect is limited.

So a person gives a name to Parama Puruśa to the extent that he or she understands within the scope of time, space, and person. And when, while [repeating] that name, they reach the named, they find that the named is beyond relativities. Then the mind tries to catch Him by [transcending] the relativities, and when it goes beyond them, it is absorbed in samádhi. The samádhi is in Parama Puruśa, because the samádhi is beyond the relativity. This is the science of samádhi.

The language of humans and the capacity of that language is greatly limited. Whatever you feel in the mind cannot necessarily be expressed in language. If you are given hard candy, rasagollá, and peŕá, you will call them sweet. But are these sweets really similar? No. The sweetness of everything differs. But you do not have separate words in your dictionary for the separate kinds of sweetness. If you are pricked with a small pin, or a cut is made on your body somewhere with a knife, you will utter, “Uhhh!” in both cases. But it is difficult to understand which “Uhhh!” is indicative of which pain. Therefore language is more limited than bháva [feelings]. And bháva is very, very limited in comparison to mahábháva [eternal bliss]. And when people are established in mahábháva, they become bliss itself. How can this be expressed through language? So where there is less bliss, people will talk a lot, and where there is a maximum of it, people will be silent. Language has no place where there is a maximum of bliss, because it has no capacity there.

19 October 1971 DMC, Bombay, Published in: Supreme Expression Volume 1 [a compilation] chapter:  Nama and Namii

In this universe of ours, everything that comes within the scope of our organs or our mind is guided by the cause-and-effect theory. And amongst philosophers, the first philosopher who spoke regarding this cause-and-effect theory was Maharshi Kanada. He was a great scientist. His was the original atomic theory. Maharshi Kanada said, Kárańábhávát káryábhávah – “Where there is no causal factor there cannot be any effect factor.” Wherever we see something or experience something, that something must have a cause. Something cannot be created by nothing. Everything must have a cause. Kárańábhávát káryábhávah. But this cause-and-effect theory functions within the scope of three fundamental relativities: time, space, person. This cause-and-effect theory must have, must have, these three relative factors to function within. But these three factors – time, space, and person – are creations of the Cosmic Mind, that is, a psychic creation. And where there is mind, there is time, space, and person. Without mind, there cannot be time, space, and person.

 

21 October 1971 DMC, Ernakulam, Published in:  Supreme Expression Volume 1 [a compilation] Chapter: Unit Spirit and Cosmic Spirit.

Shiva in the Light of Philosophy (continued) (Discourse 18)
6 August 1982, Patna

3

Maharshi Kanada created a stir in the world of philosophy by propagating his school of Vaesheśika Darshana. It was indeed a great commotion in the world of thought of those days. He declared, Karańábhávát káryábhávah – “Where there is no cause, there is no effect.” That is, each and every effect has a cause, which we may or may not know. He explained that this Cosmic Mind which is manifested in the form of countless molecules, atoms, protons, neutrons, etc., must have a cause – to deny the cause is the height of intellectual folly. That Entity which controls the association of these particles is Iishvara. Thus Maharshi Kanada brought about a great revolution in the world of thought. This great scholar of Gándhárbhúmi (the present-day Afghanistan) was both a philosopher and a scientist.

There is no doubt that the theory of the law of causation was an extremely novel idea in the world of philosophy of those days, but it is also true that we must trace the source of the first effect, that is, trace the first cause, in the process of causation.

The Vaesheśika school of philosophy has accepted Iishvara in clear terms. So if one contends that the first effect or the first cause of the law of causation emanates from Iishvara, even then one pertinent question remains – how did this concept of Iishvara arise in philosophical analysis? And is this Iishvara a witnessing entity or a philosophical entity? Is it a causal entity or an instrumental entity? The Vaesheśika school of philosophy is not at all explicit on these points.

Moreover, some other points should also be clarified, such as: what is the relation between Iishvara and the molecules, atoms, neutrons and protons of the universe, and by what authority does Iishvara exercise His supervisory control over them? If this is not clearly explained, then the Vaesheśika school of philosophy becomes dualistic,(1) and no longer monistic at all. If it is dualistic, then how does one entity come in contact with another? So in the Vaesheśika school of philosophy, Shiva cannot be realized. The diffused light of the Vaesheśika philosophy creates only illusions, and those illusions become a confusing labyrinth that diverts people from their goal and misleads them to a dead end where they beat their heads on granite walls and moan, “O Lord, I cannot comprehend You by this metaphysics! I know You are the life of my life – but by this philosophy I have not been able to realize it. These theories have produced only a garland of tears in my silent heart. I have been blessed with a valuable human body, but shall I forever cry – ”

Páśáńa devatá pújiba baliyá
Bahudúr hate esechi caliyá
Dioná dioná carańe t́heliyá
Kapála amár manda.
Mánaver práńe kámaná apára
Bhaya nái Prabhu phiráio ná ár
Shudháiba shudhu kii doś ámár
Ghuce yábe dvidhádvandva.

[From afar I have come to worship a stone god;
Do not turn me away from Your feet –
How wretched is my fate!
Endless are the desires of the human heart;
I am not afraid, but Lord, do not disappoint me –
Tell me only, what is my fault?
How can I remove this confusion?]

A defective philosophy leads people along a defective path. I have already said this and, in connection with the Vaesheśika philosophy, I say it again.

4

Around the middle of this period of philosophy, the Miimáḿsá school arose. The propounders of this Miimáḿsá school took upon themselves the responsibility to detect and remove the defects and inconsistencies that had developed, due to the unevolved state of human intellect, in the explanation of the responsibility between the Creator and His creation. As there is no cessation in the flow of creation, similarly the Creator is without pause. Some philosophers fully accepted this truth, some partially accepted it, while others did not admit it at all. According to their respective intellects, they imposed various restrictions and limitations – some with cause and some without – on the limitlessness of the Creator.

Some philosophers propounded their doctrines merely for the satisfaction of their readers, while others painted their theories in glowing colours like a rainbow whose colourful rays appear suddenly in the firmament of logic to dazzle the eyes of the onlookers – and the next moment disappear behind the silver clouds.

But in one respect all the propounders of the Miimáḿsá school are the same – that is, in their verbosity and their skill in debate.

Of those philosophers of the Miimáḿsá school who attained special prominence as propounders of the Uttar Miimáḿsá philosophy, Ácárya Bádaráyań Vyása, Ácárya Gaoŕapáda, Ácárya Govindapáda and Shriimat Shankaracharya are the pioneers. Ácárya Jaemini became famous as the propounder of the Púrva Miimáḿsá philosophy.

The interpreters, commentators and annotators of the Uttar Miimáḿsá school held widely different views on most matters, but all of them accepted Brahma as the ultimate reality. Regarding the created world, some fully admitted it, some vaguely accepted it, some admitted it only reluctantly, while others did not accept it at all. According to them this creation is simply a procession of illusions. That the world appears to exist is in itself an illusion; the mind which considers the world as real is an illusion; and the person who possesses this illusory mind is also an illusion. Only Brahma exists, nothing else. The illusory entity called Máyá is creating all these illusory ideas. Máyá is false; She does not do anything in reality, only in appearance. Since Máyá is unreal, Her existence also is false. She is Aghat́ana ghat́ana pat́iiyasii – She is capable of making unreal things appear to be real. But she does not exist either. There exists only one entity, Brahma and nothing else

6 August 1982, Patna, Published in: Namah Shiváya Shántáya,  Chapter: Shiva in the Light of Philosophy continued Discourse 18

He is sourceless, He is non-causal. Everything in our universe is causal. Everything is guided by, controlled by, the theory of cause and effect. This theory of cause and effect was propounded by Maharshi Kanada long ago. As per this theory, the effect of a particular cause becomes the cause of the next stage; that is, an effect is the cause of the following stage, a cause is the effect of the previous stage. In this world, everything is causal. If we go to the root, if we can touch the rudimental entity, we get the cause, we get the subtler entity. The cause is generally subtler than the effect. And in this way we come to a particular point wherefrom we cannot go onwards, we cannot move onwards. We cannot get the still subtler entity, we cannot get the causal entity. Such a stage is reached where our mind becomes non-existent. From the cruder physical entities, if we go inwards, we get the subtler mind. If we go inner, we get still subtler mind, and so on. But when we reach the primordial stage of mind, we cannot move further inward, that is, we cannot get the causal entity. So if one tries to go beyond the seed of the mind, one cannot go, cannot move, because all these measurements are done by the mind. Actions are of the mind.

23 September 1979 morning, Kingston,  Published in: Neohumanism in a Nutshell Part 1 [a compilation]  Chapter : Dogma No More

[S. Jayabarathan]

Here is one good reason why Sanskrit Knowledge is essential for Indian Scholars and Tamil Scholars to learn about Indian  Astronomy, Astrology and Indian Atomic theory.

It is written in the Introduction of Samuel Glasstone to his book "Sourcebook on Atomic Energy" that the pioneers of Atomic Theory were the Indian Sages,who explained the Atoms even before the Greek philosopher Luecretius.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Atomic_Theory_of_Lucretius

n

S. Jayabarathan

+++++++++++++++++++++

Sourcebook on Atomic Energy 3rd Edition

by Samuel Glasstone  (Author)

4.7 out of 5 stars    4 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0882758985

ISBN-10: 0882758985

Why is ISBN important? 

Have one to sell?

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[S. Jayabarathan]