Vedic Mathematics Newsletter No. 131
A warm welcome to our new subscribers.
This issue’s article is by Kenneth Williams, and is titled “Validity of the Vedic Formulae”.
“ We show children how the world works and how their body works, but not how their mind works. The VM Sutras should be taught in schools: the rational meanings as well as the mathematical ones. Mathematics is the ideal subject in which to discuss with children about our common mental processes.”
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NEWS
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STRUCTURES IN THE VEDIC MATHEMATICS SUTRAS
The full paper on “Structures in the Vedic Mathematics Sutras” mentioned in the previous newsletter is now available here:
https://www.vedicmaths.org/resources/journal-of-vedic-mathematics
This shows that far from being an obscure collection of unconnected aphorisms the Sutras are structured in 4 groups of 4, describing sequential and natural mental processes which we habitually apply.
1st INTERNATIONAL VEDIC MATHEMATICS OLYMPIAD
This event took place on 11th September and there were about 600 participants. It was hugely successful, especially for the Philippines which accounted for 75% of the entries and 75% of the awards. Congratulations to all the winners.
ONLINE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 11, 12th SEPTEMBER, KERALA
The theme of the conference was ‘The Role of Vedic Mathematics in the Holistic Development of a Child’ and was convened by Mr P. Devaraj whose two daughters also presented. 10 papers were given and guest speakers K. Williams from the UK and Vera Stevens from Australia also gave presentations. These were well received and led to discussions about the introduction of Vedic Mathematics in schools and further research and conferences.
TUTORING TRADITIONAL AND VEDIC MATHS
It is an ongoing problem how to teach VM as a tutor without it clashing with school work. Here is one potential solution.
Teach online and teach the same topic twice, once with VM and once traditional. Call these (1) and (2).
Advise (2) for low ability children or those catching up.
Advise (1) for higher ability with the extra attraction that it is good for competitive exams.
Offer a discount to those who do both (1) and (2).
DO YOU TEACH VM ONLINE IN THE UK?
If so please contact us by replying to this newsletter. We have a UK tutor who would like advice.
IAVM HELPING WITH VM COURSES IN IRAQ
In November 2019, we [the IAVM] received an email from an educational company in Baghdad, Iraq to help them start Vedic Math program for the students [9-15 years].
IAVM team (James G. , Marianne F., Gowri R. and Swati D.) worked together to create the foundation level teacher resource book, worksheets, and assessments to help the educators deliver the course.
This book was then translated to Arabic.
With pandemic the commencement of the course was delayed. FINALLY, we have happy students learning the vedic way to approach math.
Heartiest Congratulations to all the educators and the students for pursuing the path, and starting the VM journey.
NEW IAVM WEBSITE
The new website is up and running. It has the same address as before: https://www.instavm.org/
“VEDIC MATHEMATICS MANTRAS TO EXCEL IN MATHEMATICS”
This new book by P DEVARAJ is recommended by us. You can see the details here:
https://www.vedicmaths.org/resources/books/recommended#cover-12
The book is useful for Students of any age; if you want to speed up your calculations and score high especially in competitive exams.
VEDIC MATHEMATICS ACADEMY COURSES
The next Teacher Training Course starts 10th January 2022.
For details of this and the several other courses offered by the VM Academy please see:
https://courses.vedicmaths.org/
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ARTICLE FOR NEWSLETTER 131
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VALIDITY OF THE VEDIC FORMULAE
The validity of Vedic Mathematics is often called into question by pointing out that the Sutras quoted by Tirthaji have never actually been located in the Vedic texts. In India this is a big problem as the name appears to be a misnomer.
Outside India that criticism holds little importance as the Vedic system stands on solid ground mathematically: all the Vedic methods have been proved. But the difficulty here is that the Vedic system uses these strange ‘Sutras’ and that is very off-putting to westerners who see them as unnecessary mumbo-jumbo and quasi-religious.
To Indians we must point out that, as Tirthaji explains in his book, ‘Veda’ means ‘knowledge’ and does not solely refer to the written texts known as the Vedas. Though this has been said many times before it does not seem to be understood by those who persist in throwing the same irrelevant argument.
But now we have an even better justification for the validity of the term Vedic Mathematics. My paper on the Structures in the Vedic Mathematics Sutras [1] shows that the Sutras are in fact mathematical expressions of mental functions which we use habitually and naturally. Each Sutra is related to the others in a beautiful and simple structure as explained there.
Whether the Sutras are located in the Vedic texts is therefore no longer significant as they are found to be operating within us all the time. What more convincing argument could there be? We do mathematics and create mathematics with these natural processes. The Sutras are not unnecessary, but vital to doing mathematics. They describe the processes of rational thought.
In fact there is little difference between Vedic mathematics and rational thinking. And this explains why the Vedic methods are so effective and so powerful. We show children how the world works and how their body works, but not how their mind works. The VM Sutras should be taught in schools: the rational meanings as well as the mathematical ones. Mathematics is the ideal subject in which to discuss with children about our common mental processes.
If you have any comments on this article or the paper referred to please let me know by replying to this email.
[1] https://www.vedicmaths.org/resources/journal-of-vedic-mathematics
Kenneth Williams
End of article.
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Editor: Kenneth Williams
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23rd September 2021
