Hindu Dharma is pro-science from an early age. Many revered sages of ancient Hinduism were not only spiritual figures but also accomplished scientists. For instance, Sage Agastya is credited with inventing a dry battery thousand of years ago.
The ancient Rishis, who were themselves, scientists, intertwined these traditions with concepts of God and religion, ensuring that people could derive maximum benefits from them.
Below are a few amazing scientific concepts mentioned in various scriptures of Hindu Dharma like Vedas and Puranas.
The concept of Multiverse or MWI
Every universe is covered by seven layers — earth, water, fire, air, sky, the total energy and false ego — each ten times greater than the previous one. There are innumerable universes besides this one, and although they are unlimitedly large, they move about like atoms in You. Therefore, you are called unlimited
Bhagavata Purana 6.16.37
Many believe that a parallel universe exists somewhere in the universe, at the same time and space as ours. This concept is known as the multiverse or “Many World Interpretation,” according to quantum mechanics. This theory removes many randomnesses, and actions are far from quantum theory and thus from all physics.
What am I, a small creature measuring seven spans of my own hand? I am enclosed in a potlike universe composed of material nature, the total material energy, false ego, ether, air, water and earth. And what is Your glory? Unlimited universes pass through the pores of Your body just as particles of dust pass through the openings of a screened window.
Bhagavata Purana 10.14.11
Time Dilation
Time Dilation is a difference between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from a gravitational mass or masses. This has already been seen in the Puranas.
King Kakudmi, the father of Revati, took her to Bramaloka to ask God’s advice about finding a suitable one for her because he thought that no human is good enough for her. Kakudmi presented his own shortlist of candidates to Lord Brahma. Brahma laughed loudly at that proposition and explained how time runs different planes of existence.
Lord Brahma tells him that when Kakudmi and Revati were in Brahmaloka, 27 Chatur Yugas had already passed on ‘Prithvi, the Earth, and those candidates he presented had already passed away. He explains that his relatives, including his friends, ministers, servants, wives, armies, and treasures, have vanished and that he is no longer the king and wealthy. So, he should soon bestow his daughter to someone else.
Grandiose Time Scales
In the Vishnu Purana, the predicted age of the earth is 4.32 billion years, which is quite near to the current scientific estimation of 4.5 billion years. Hindu cosmology, thus, involves large numbers. Carl Sagan, who was very skeptical about mythology and creation, mentions in his Cosmos series:
“It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, no doubt, by accident, to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma 8.64 billion years long. Longer than the age of the earth or the sun and about half of the time since the big bang. And there are much longer time scales still.”
But many other numbers are wrong when comparing the numbers from Hindu cosmology with the current estimate of science. The estimated age of the Universe is 13.7 billion years, whereas according to Hindu cosmology, it is 155 trillion years. If we take a look at the start of “the Mahayuga,” it was estimated at around 12 million years, which is nowhere closer to the age of the Universe. Of those numbers, only the age of the Earth is closer to what science holds.
Big Bang, Big Crunch Hypothesis and Endless cycle of destruction, and creation of the universe
Big Crunch is known to be the ultimate fate of the universe. It says that the expansion of the universe, which is currently in progress, will one day reverse. The whole universe will collapse, resulting in a black hole singularity or reformation of the universe with another big bang.
In Hindu Dharma, it is quite evident how it talks about an infinite number of deaths and rebirths of the universe and the elements of the universe itself.