Historicity of Vedic and Ramayan Eras: Scientific Evidences from the Depths of Oceans to the Heights of Skies (2012).

“I am indeed delighted to participate in the inauguration of the Seminar on Scientific Dating of Ancient Events Before 2000 BC at New Delhi. My greetings to all of you. Friends, I am happy that all of you are engaged in the mission of establishing synergy between the scientific wisdom of ancient India and modern scientific inventions in various areas such as agriculture, energy, medicine, weapon systems and metallurgy. I am sure this type of study will enable us to utilize the scientific techniques used by our ancestors and lead towards an eco-friendly planet Earth for the present and future. When I am here with all of you, I would like to share my thoughts on the topic "Past meets the Present leading to a Better Future".

Friends, when you are all working on the scientific dating of epics, particularly Ramayan, I would like to share with you my personal experience. I was born in British India in Rameshwaram and grew up there for 16 years when India emerged. My life is completely interconnected in a lovely way because during various phases of my life, sea waves were giving me beautiful songs, songs of freedom and songs of development. The entire Rameshwaram Island is known to me with great detail every part of it, because as a young boy I used to travel all parts of the Island to deliver the newspaper daily to various houses.

In my eyes, Gandhamadan Parvatham appears from where Rama is supposed to have seen Sri Lanka. In front of me appears the famous Kodanda Ram Temple of Rameshwaram. I can also see the Rama Teertham, Lakshmana Teertham and Jatayu Teertham in different areas of Rameshwaram. The central point is the Ramanatha Swamy Temple where we find the Siva Linga, which Lord Rama had worshipped. Today being the new moon day of Adi month, a minimum of 3 Lakh pilgrims from different parts of the country will be converging at Rameshwaram for a sea bath. On this day, Lord Rama is supposed to have taken a bath in the Rameshwaram Sea after returning from the war to remove the Doshas of killing Ravana. Thousands of pilgrims visit the Island every day and enjoy its beauty and spirituality. I will be the happiest fellow if, through scientific dimensions, we establish the places from where Lord Ram, Lakshman, Hanuman, Sugreeva and the Vanara Sena created a base before launching the war on Sri Lanka and determine the approximate period when these were built. Really, I have a profound interest in the scientific dating of the Ramayan.

Dating of events leads to transforming mythology into history -

Vedic and post-Vedic literature has a tremendous amount of scientific knowledge which will be extremely beneficial to humanity. For creating a faith in these documents, there is a need to establish the date of occurrence of Vedas and Upanishads which are contained in our mythology, so that they are transformed into historical events and not imaginary mythological events. I am happy that this is what the researchers in astronomy, ecology, theology, archaeology, anthropology and space science assembled here have carried out and are in the process of demonstrating to the modern scientific world.

If we look at the study on the Scientific dating of Ramayana, the important aspect of the Ramayana is that when Valmiki wrote the epic, he made it with many proofs. He packed so much information about the various planetary positions of those days, the geography of the areas mentioned in the epic, the seasonal events, and about the genealogy of various kings that it is virtually a no-brainer to establish the dates on which those events occurred.

Genealogical links and archaeological findings provide clues to the dating of the Ramayana era. According to writer B.R. Haran, in no other nation and no other religion in the world, true history is so meticulously documented, supported by many evidences. Any ancient history is supported with evidences of architecture and literature. The Sangam literature is the documented evidence for the existence and ruling of Tamil kings, and similarly, Ramayana and Mahabharata are the documented evidence for Rama and Krishna.

Archaeological and literary methods can only provide approximate datelines. For determining the precise time of the Ramayana events, scientists use astronomical calculations. Several of India's leading astronomers and nuclear scientists have come together to establish the dates of India's ancient history.

So how is astronomical dating done? Says eminent historian Dr P.V. Vartak: "Sage Valmiki has recorded the dates of events in detail, albeit by describing the positions of stars and planets. To decipher the astronomical encodings has not been a trivial task, and not many have attempted to do so. It should be noted that the ancient Indians had a perfect method of time measurement. They recorded the 'tithis', days according to the nakshatra on which the moon prevailed, the months, the seasons and even the different solstices. By noting a particular arrangement of the astronomical bodies, which occurs once in many thousand years, the dates of the events can be calculated."

Dr. Vartak has taken hundreds of illustrated passages from the epic to establish dates. Valmiki records the birth of Rama as ChaitraShuddhaNavami (9th), on Punarvasu Nakshatra and five planets were exalted then; Sun in Mesha up to 10 deg., Mars in Capricorn at 28 deg., Jupiter in Cancer at 5 deg., Venus in Pisces at 27 deg. and Saturn in Libra at 20 deg. (Bala Kanda.18/Shloka 8,9). December 4, 7323 B.C. therefore is the date of birth of Rama, when the four planets exalted. Ramayana occurred over 9300 years ago.

For example, Rigveda talks about an advanced civilized predominantly urban and maritime society which has used variety of ships, boats and 75 different types of houses which includes hutments and palaces. Vedic literature reveals that Indians had very advanced knowledge of mathematics and were possessing extraordinary knowledge of astronomy. Takshila University was established in 700 BC where more than 10,000 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. Similarly, Nalandauniversity was in existence in 3rd century BC which had housed more than 90 lakh books. Maharishi Atreya was the first Guru of internal medicine, Shri Dhanvantri of Surgery and Kashyapa was the first Guru of Gynaecology and pediatrics. ShushrutaSamhita describes more than 40 types of surgical instruments and Ayurveda talks about holistic treatments.

Astronomical calculation making use of planetarium software have proved that events narrated in Valamiki Ramayana actually occurred around 7000 years back and they can be sequentially dated. Ramasetu is found submerged at the same location as is described in Valamiki Ramayana and the city of Dwarka has been explored by marine archeology wing of Govt of India.

As per the estimate made by the Inter-Governmental panel on Climate Change (NASA, Global Change Master Directory), the rise in the sea level during the last 7000 years has been about 2.8 meters which roughly corresponds to 9.3 feet. The remains of Rama Sethu are found submerged nearly at a depth of 9-10 feet. Thus, obviously this bridge was capable of being used as a land route 7000 years back. This is the only existing evidence on manmade bridge a few thousand years back. It is essential that our researchers launch a mission-oriented programme in an integrated way by earth science, geological science, remote sensing and space scientists, oceanography and climate change teams and the people who are engaged in construction under the sea.

Here I request the researchers to launch research on India's epics with at least 100 Ph.Ds with the highly talented historical, geological, astronomical and space scientists to ascertain the veracity of history and date of events in our epics. Science always has multiple sources of research information to verify the conclusion. It should be true to all our research on epics and their dating.

Let me now discuss the work of Prof Tobias on human evolution.

Human Evolution

Dr Kalam said, “I was studying the work of Prof. Tobias on Paleo-anthropology and discovery of archaeological sites and I thought of recalling the advances made in the research on human evolution. Traditionally, there have been two distinct and different approaches to understanding human evolution. First is the archaeological evidence. The lessons that we have learnt in India from Mohan-jo-Daro and Harappa and many more similar excavations.”

Prof. Tobias has made a significant impact in this area, particularly emanating from land, which is said to be the cradle of human evolution. The second and more recent approach is propelled by advances in our understanding of the human genome. While the major part of the human genome sequence is common between human beings and even with mice, the small portions that differ, control and contribute to the diversity that we find in the evolution of humans.

I am happy that through such genomic studies, it has been found that the Harappan civilization was not of mysterious people of unknown biological origins, or migrants from centres of high culture in western Asia, but they were descendants of a population identified with pre-Harappan cultures of the North Western sector of the sub-continent. Gene flow between Mesopotamia and the Indus domains, perhaps along trade routes, accounts for the higher incidents of some phenotypic features along this east-west axis than what is apparent across the north-south axis penetrating peninsular India.

But migrant theory need not be invoked to explain various patterns. This makes research in genetic engineering, using human genome sequences to understand the evolution of humans, very fascinating for scientists. The scientific dating of our epics has also to co-relate genealogies mentioned therein with human genome sequences, and the evidence that we found in the form of fossils.

Prof. Tobias is one of the pioneers in the area of genetics. From his vast experience in genetics and Paleo-anthropology, Prof. Tobias has been able to present to the world, in an understandable capsule form, the whole process of human evolution over 600 million years. The simplicity of the outcome of his complex research has also stimulated many scientists the world over to look at the challenges posed in our understanding of human evolution. Today, the world talks about the convergence of many technologies. Prof. Tobias and others have shown us that all our origins converge to a single point both in space and time. The evolution of human origins put forth by Prof Tobias should be related to events of Indian epics. After all, every Indian epic deals with human history, their conflicts and their civilization. Hence, it has to be related to the evolution of human origin.

Origins of Life

Ancient human history has been revealed beautifully by Palaeo-anthropology. Life originated 600 million years ago and continental drift occurred 200 million years ago creating five continents. Mammals evolved 140 million years ago, Hominids that is the human type, evolved 26 million years ago but modern man only arrived on the scene some 200,000 years ago. He migrated and colonized the world only in the last 50,000 years. The spoken language is some 10,000 years old while writing evolved only a few thousand years ago. All this phenomenal progress has been achieved only within the short span of 200 to 400 generations that is in just 10,000 to 5,000 years.

The spoken language period as per Prof. Tobias is around 10000 years old and the birth of Rama based on the 9th tithi of Chaitra Shukla month dates to 10th January in 5114 BC, which is 7117 years back. We need to establish the relationship between the birth of spoken language and the evolution of Valmiki Ramayana.

New DNA technologies

Newer DNA technologies have given us better insight in retracing the history of man. The DNA of a human being is the history book ever written! Nowadays, intelligence, cognizance, drug response, behavioural problems, everything, is related to genes: disease gene mapping is progressing at a faster pace with new-age DNA technology. It is probably during the 30,000-50,000 years of co-existence that societies have evolved adopting newer innovations and cultures.

Thus the 'Nature - Nurture' philosophy holds good even in this Genomic Era. Genes that we inherit from our parents are the basis; a beautiful 'building' is built over it, be it Einstein or certain unique creations, the environment plays a crucial role in shaping the destiny of the individual and leading to excellence. It is just the opportunity that makes Man. All children when they are born are equally poised to become great scholars. The nervous system, and for that matter any of our systems, should cooperate with an individual in his or her progress.

Origin of civilization in the Indian subcontinent

I am happy that through the use of modern technology, the perception of Indian Archaeology has changed and has been facilitated by researchers to prove an indigenous origin of civilization in the Indian Subcontinent. This is an important factor which should work as an integrator of the entire nation since all of us have come into this land from the same ancestors and roots. While discussing this issue, I am reminded of a conversation with one of my cardiothoracic surgeon friends. He said, "When I perform an open-heart surgery on different patients, after opening, I find the blood of the patient is same in colour, hence I cannot discriminate amongst patients and provide differing attention and care." This thought process has to be embedded scientifically and culturally amongst all Indians so that we can see that nation is bigger than any individual and all of us have to contribute to the accelerated progress and development of the nation. Now, let me talk about certain applications of knowledge derived from the Scientific Dating of Ancient Events.

Agriculture in Ancient India

The dating studies have found that the farmers in the Vedic period used natural manures for their agriculture. They have found 12 types of soil and determined the associated organic manure compatible with the soil types. They did not make use of pesticides or any poisonous elements in the agro sector. This has resulted in reduced atmospheric pollution and also provided quality food for humankind. We have to learn a lot from this experience. Today, we have to ensure that we use eco-friendly fertilizers, pesticides and plant systems in our overall agricultural development taking the cue from ancient civilizations that will make a big contribution to the green agriculture goal of the 21st century. We need to integrate our past civilizational heritage in forms of agriculture or other forms of systems which provide earning capacity with reference to modern technologies. The induction of modern technology definitely adds value to our ancestor database of civilizational heritage.

For the mission for scientific dating of our epics, I have the following suggestions:

1. Launching research on India's epics with at least 100 PhDs with highly talented historical, geological, and astronomical experts and space scientists to ascertain the veracity of history and dates of events in our epics.
2. The scientific dating of our epics has also to be related to Genealogy with human genome sequences, with the evidence that we found in the form of fossils.
3. The evolution of human origin put forth by Prof Tobias should be related to events of Indian epics. After all, every Indian epic deals with human history, their conflicts and their civilization. Hence, it has to be related to the evolution of human origin over 600 million years ago, which is scientifically proven.
4. The spoken language period as per Prof. Tobias is around 10000 years old and the birth of Rama based on the 9th tithi of Chaitra month dates to 10th January in 5114 BC, that is 7116 years back. We need to establish the relationship between the birth of spoken language and the evolution of Valmiki Ramayana.

Conclusion

I have discussed a few areas which can benefit from the dating of our ancient events. I am sure the scientists and technologists assembled here will be presenting several areas in which dating can be beneficial. To disseminate the findings of these studies to a large population, we will require intensive documentation and the application potential of each one of the findings. I would suggest that the teams assembled here can work out areas which need to become part of the learning process of our youth. This will enable the seminar to make specific recommendations on vital areas of our ancient culture in the primary, middle and secondary school textbooks. In addition, the seminar should attempt networking of people and ideas belonging to different specialities like agricultural scientists, doctors, engineers, archaeologists, geologists and environmental experts so that the benefits of lessons arising from earlier civilization and their lifestyle make a change to our thinking and lead towards the development of an eco-friendly human habitat. The research on scientific dating may have partners, who can provide scientific, astronomical, anthropological geological and genetic data to ascertain the veracity of the historical events.

With these words, I inaugurate the Seminar on Scientific Dating of Ancient Events before 2000 BC. My best wishes to all the participants for success in the mission of connecting the past to the present leading to a better future.

May God bless you!”

Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
30.07.2011