The Spiritual Life of the Father of Vedic Mathematics

Vedic mathematics has been quite the hype in recent years. Research has been dedicated to this new (old) way of solving mathematical problems. A good number of schools are also incorporating these techniques into their curriculum. All of this began with Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha’s first book on Vedic mathematics. Who was Swamiji and what was his life all about?

Swami Bharati Krishna Tirthaji, Source: Vedicmathschool

Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha shot into fame among commoners after he rediscovered the principles of Vedic mathematics. But that was not his only contribution to humanity, nor was it the goal of his life. Swamiji was a brilliant monk who dedicated his life to preaching worldly brotherhood and the soul’s end aim based on the Vedantic philosophy.

Tirunelveli Junction, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Late in the 19th century, in a district called Tirunelveli, which is about 600 km from Chennai, was born a genius of a man, named Venkataraman Shashtri. Even as a child, he exuded brilliance and confidence all along, so much so that his professors at his school were often astonished at the level of questions that he asked them. And some of them may even have disliked the young boy, for he often pointed out mistakes in their ways of solving problems in the classroom.

Needless to say, he stood out in all of his academic accomplishments. At the age of 16, he had already mastered Sanskrit like no other and was conferred the title “Saraswati.” By the age of 20, he received his MA degree, with honours in seven subjects!

Sringeri Math in Mysore, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Being such a prodigy, his educational career certainly started on a high note. He was made the Principal of the National College at Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. He diligently taught bright young minds in the college for three years, but life had other plans.

He sought the spiritual life and got the first taste of it at the Sringeri Math in Mysore. He quit his high-flying educational career to dedicate his life to the study of scriptures and the quest for the ultimate divine reality. He came in close contact with highly realized souls at the Sringeri Math for nearly a decade and plunged into the deep study of Vedanta.

Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, Source: Wikimedia Commons

As his spiritual quest deepened, he got initiated into the Shankaracharya order of monks. And that is how he got the name of Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha. Swamiji later attained the title of Shankaracharya, which typically denotes the head of a Math. It was around this time that he began heading the Sringeri Math, where he first found the bliss of the spiritual path.

Another title soon came his way in the form of “Jagadguru.” From here onwards, his life was all about spreading the word of Vedanta, both in India and the West.

Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self-Realization Foundation in the United States funded his lectures and stay in the United States of America during the later part of his life. Swamiji’s vision of worldwide brotherhood culminated in the founding of the Vishwa Punarnirmana Sangha at Nagpur.

A Page from the Atharva Veda, Source: Wikimedia Commons

He blended the study of Vedic mathematics effortlessly with his spiritual way of living. During the early years of his adult life, Swamiji is claimed to have rediscovered 16 mathematical sutras from the Atharva Veda. He even began writing books based on these sutras. The manuscripts of these books, unfortunately, got lost in a fire before the publishers could even take a look.

Over time, as Swamiji got more involved in his spiritual life, the Vedic math portion of his mind took a backseat until much later, with his eyesight and health failing, he managed to rewrite the first book from sheer memory and with the help of an assistant. That is his only book published, named “Vedic Mathematics,” following which, he was named “Father of Vedic Mathematics.”

An Example of Problem-Solving Using Vedic Mathematics, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Although his only posthumously published book did enough to raise interest in the Vedic sutras within the contemporary academic world, both in India and abroad, it earned him some criticism as well. Since the first publication, researchers have started digging deep into the source of the sutras mentioned by Swamiji and some of them have found discrepancies as well.

The most common controversy surrounding the book is that the 16 sutras were never part of the Vedas but were created by Swamiji himself and referred to as the appendix of the Atharva Veda. Regardless of the truth in these allegations, no one in the academic world has ever denied that the simplicity of the mathematical processes outlined by Swamiji in his book opens a world of opportunities in improving the learning capacity of students.