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S. N. Bhavasar and R. W. Boyer
SAMBODHI
ous knowledge system of holistic Vedic science that directly accesses that unity. It is only in recent decades that the light of modern science has illumined nature deeply enough to be able see the heretofore hidden and overlooked linkage with this most ancient continuous knowledge tradition. Previously thought to be at variance with modern scientific accounts, ancient Vedic science has been corroborated by contemporary formulations that provide similar descriptions of an infinitely selfinteracting unified field, Atma, at the very basis of nature. Until modern science arrived at a rational theory of a unified field of all of nature, the correspondence with ancient Vedic science for the most part was not recognized. The most parsimonious explanation for this correspondence is that the two traditions of knowledge converge on the same unified field (1, 2, 3). Logically, there is only one completely unified field.
However, modern scientific progress toward the ultimate unity has been only theoretical—an intellectual wholeness or appreciation of unity from a conceptual and mathematical perspective. Though the progress is commendable, it has not yet included empirical validation of that unity, the central focus and contribution of ancient Vedic science. This calls for deeper investigation into research methodologies in ancient Vedic science, how they are compatible with and complement modern science, and how direct empirical validation of unity can be systematically attained. ntegrating objective and subjective means of gaining knowledge
Modern science has focused intently on objective investigation of the natural world from the outer, objective, third-person perspective. From this perspective, ancient Vedic science had been placed in the context of Indian philosophy or even religious faith, rather than an empirically-based scientific approach to knowledge. It had been mistakenly thrown into the category of unreliable, subjective, firstperson approaches considered not useful for establishing consensually validated knowledge according to the tenets and methodology of objective modern science. But now there is growing appreciation of the unique contribution of ancient Vedic science with respect to its methodological principles and technologies. The gap between modern science and ancient Vedic science is closing, toward a grand unification of these historically divergent knowledge traditions.
One major step toward this grand unification is modern scientific progress in recognizing the role of the conscious observer in the process of measurement.
