Prof. Swami Jnanananda, the Saint and the Scientist D.Sc
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Prof. Swami Jnanananda, The Saint and The Scientist D.Sc. (Prague), Ph.D. (Liverpool), Fellow, Institute of Physics (London), Member, Sigma Xi (U.S.A.) Life, Writings and Teachings Compiled by DR. RAJU UMAPATHI DATLA Edited by DR. KESHAV DEV SHARMA Originally published in 1992 University Resources Press Washington, D.C. 200016, USA Now Available Electronically at www.Saint-Scientist.com CONTENTS PUBLISHERS' NOTE FOREWORD PREFACE INTRODUCTION PART I AUTOBIOGRAPHY: 1918 - 1927: Mount Abu & Himalaya 1927 - 1939: Germany, India & Czechoslovakia 1939 - 1944: England 1944 -1947: U.S.A. BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS: 1948 - 1954: Assistant Director, The National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi 1954 -1969: Professor of Nuclear Physics, Andhra University, Waltair CELEBRATIONS: The Sixtieth Birhday The Maharaja of Vijayanagaram's Bequest The Final Years Memoirs of eminent associates of Swami in education & research: Dr. M. R. Apparao Prof. V. Lakshminarayana PART II PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGS AND TEACHINGS 1. Purna Sutras 2. Transcendence 3. The Essence of Indian Philosophy 4. Science and Religion 5. Philosophical Religion I 6. Philosophical Religion II 7. The Philosophy of Yoga 8. The Concept of Space 9. Empiricism, Rationalism and Transcendentalism Scientific Publications of Swami Jnanananda Books 1. High-Vacuua, Principles, Production & Measurement, Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1947. 2. The Elements of Nuclear Physics, Andhra University Publication, 1962. 3. Nuclear Models, Andhra University, 1975. A partial list of scientific articles that he authored or coauthored: X-ray Physics 1. A precise method of determining the constants of crystal grating, Casopis pro pestovani mathematiky a fysiky, 65, 1936, issue 2, pp. 97-109. (with Prof. V. Dolejsek) 2. An application of the method wherein methods are combined for the determination of the grating constant. [ I ], Casopis pro pestovani mathematiky a fysiky, 65, 1936, issue 3, pp. 155-170. 3. An application of the method wherein methods are combined for the determination of the grating constant. [ II ], Casopis pro pestovani mathematiky a fysiky, 65, 1936, issue 4, pp. 226-244. 4. New and Precise method in the spectroscopy of X-radiations, Inaugural Dissertation, Spectroscopic Institute, Charles University, Prague, 1936. Nuclear Physics 1. Thick Magnetic Lens β-ray Spectrograph – Theory and Application, Dissertation, University of Liverpool, 1943. 2. The β-radiations of Uranium X1, Phy. Rev., 69, June 1946. 198 3. Radioactive Isotope of Gold, 79Au , and low energy range of its spectrum, Phy. Rev., 70, December 1946. 4. The β-radiations of Antimony124, Tantalum182, Tungsten185, Iridium192, Phy. Rev., 72, December 1947. 5. Energy spectrum of Tanatalum182, Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research (JSIR), 9, 1949. 6. Atomic Nuclear Models and β-decay, JSIR, 10, 1949. 7. Scalar units for counting pulses from G. M. Counters or Ion Chambers, JSIR, 12, 1949. 8. Long Magnetic Lens β-ray Spectrometers, Part 1, Theory, JSIR, 10, 1952. 9. Long Magnetic Lens β-ray Spectrometers, Part 2, Design and Construction, JSIR, 10, 1952. 10. Gamma-ray absorption coefficients for Cobalt60, JSIR, 8, 1957. 11. New Scheme in Decade Scalars, JSIR, 8, 1958. 12. Gamma-ray attenuation coefficients for cobalt60 in alloys, JSIR, 10, 1958. 13. Interaction of Gamma radiation with matter, JSIR, 20B, 1961. 14. Scattering cross sections of Gamma radiation, Proc. Phy. Soc. (London), 77, 1961. 15. Effective Atomic Numbers of Alloys and Compounds, JSIR, 1962. PUBLISHERS' NOTE In the far off ages the master seers and selfless sages of highest spiritual eminence from both eastern and western worlds revealed unto the posterity the nature of the universe and its laws and the nature of the Absolute-Divine by whose existence there is an existence of the relative laws that govern and the universe that is governed. Their life was a fitting vehicle of the Divine and their thought and action were in tune with the higher laws that manifest the Absolute-Divine. All this wisdom was unveiled and unfolded unto us in a fitting manner. But on account of added circumstances and occasionally cropped up causal conditions the unveiled knowledge and wisdom appears from time to time to be veiled to the view. It is in such periods that "the old order changes yielding place to new" and it is again then that there comes a necessity for readjustment and remodeling the presentation of the very same light, culture, knowledge and wisdom in a manner different from that of the old. There had been and there would be fitting personages endowed with clearness of vision, subtlety of thought and unfathomable depth of insight, who could and who would supply the said need. A person of this stature was Swami Jnanananda who lived in 20th century as the saint from the east and the scientist from the west. His writings and teachings are best suited to this age of scientific enquiry and rationalistic criticism. We take up the privilege of bringing out these invaluable writings and lectures together with his autobiography and biographical highlights. The foreword and the preface to this book are adopted from previous publications of Swami as they were so relevant to this book. May this book go forth on its mission of helping all aspirants to live the best of eastern and western cultures! FOREWORD Swami Jnanananda writes and speaks from a deeply digested experience. In so doing he is in the line of the great thinkers of India. Hinduism is not a founded religion. It does not center round any historical individuals. Its fundamental positions depend on the insights of individuals who wrestled with the ultimate problems. The Vedas record the visions or views of the ancient seers, which reveal the immortal destiny of human individuals. To know, possess and be the spirit even in this animal frame, to convert our obscure plodding mentality into clear spiritual illumination, to transform our emotions into the measure and status of the divine, to make our actions partake of the divine creation, is the end of human existence. The writings and teachings of this master of ancient Indian wisdom who is also familiar with modern scientific methods are based on such a view of human life, and will, I hope, be found useful to modern intellectuals. S. Radhakrishnan (Prof. S. Radhakrishnan was King George V Professor of Philosophy, University of Calcutta and Vice-Chancellor, the Andhra University when he wrote the above Fore-word to one of Swamis works in 1931. Later as a statesman he became the President of India and kept contact with Swami through the years. - Editor) PREFACE In the west the interest for the eastern culture and philosophy, especially for that of India, is growing day by day with increasing rapidity. We know that in India there are, and have always been, great treasures of supreme wisdom and knowledge, handed down to posterity, not so much through books, but from man to man, from teacher to student and thus from generation to generation. We have seen the Great War (World War I). There must be something wrong in a culture which was unable to avoid this catastrophe. Our western philosophy and culture and our so-called spiritual works have had their very foundations shattered and we find ourselves groping on the edge of an abyss. The sciences, the arts and even philosophical speculation, in fact, all that our civilization has been able to offer have failed to satisfy our wants. We need a new foundation. We turn our eyes to the East, where the sun rises, longing for wisdom that would bring our various tendencies to the unification of right mental attitude and that would thus tune our discordant diversities into harmonious Oneness. The difficulty of imbibing culture from other land directed by means of books is not easy to overcome. The author’s true meaning is often veiled: our times and circumstances, our standpoint and mode of life being so different from those of the ancient Masters of the East. Such being the conditions, the translators may often have unconsciously introduced their own interpretation into their translations from the original text. We are, therefore, very glad to hear the voice of an Indian master, Swami Jnanananda, who has won his knowledge of the various planes and of the abstract principles of the apparent life as well as of the Absolute Reality beyond, not so much by hearing precepts or by reading scriptural texts, but by viewing with insight, through renunciation, sacrifice and yogic meditation. What he tells us is not what he infers by intellectual speculation, but what is lived, and what kind of deep and abstract states of life can be gained by any person that follows the same means with the same patience, perseverance and equanimity of mind. It is very remarkable for us to see that this wisdom reveals unto us the means for beginning from the lower states and proceeding through the difference psychic planes and finally for achieving the realization of the Absolute. This system, unlike some of those in the West, never builds with the materials of merely formal logic, a blind system of hardest contradictions in the far off blue heavens, hopelessly losing contact and connection between the apparent and the Real, the finite and the Infinite. Could we but accept this from "Purna Sutras", that the way to spiritual life, to the realization of the Absolute, lies in facts and extends on from fact to fact, it would be a great achievement and most important help to each and all of us in choosing our own Path! Dr. Margaret Stegmann M.P.(from Dresden) German Republic (1928) (Dr. Margaret Stegman wrote this Preface to Swami's earlier work "Purna Sutras" in 1928.) INTRODUCTION From ancient times, the holy land of India (Bharat) had been the birth place for many enlightened seers.