NUMBER CRUNCHING THE VEDIC WAY...

Vedic Mathematics is the name given to an ancient system
of Mathematics which was rediscovered from the ancient
Indian Scriptures called Vedas meaning ‘knowledge’ between
1911 and 1918 by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji (1884 - 1960)
who was the Sankaracharya of Govardhan Matha Puri.

In the beginning of the twentieth century, when there was
great interest in the Sanskrit texts in Europe, some scholars
ridiculed certain texts which were headed Ganita Sutra which
means mathematic formulas. They could not decipher any
mathematics in the translations and therefore dismissed the
texts as rubbish.

Bharati Krishna, who himself was a scholar of Sanskrit,
Mathematics, History and Philosophy, studied these texts and
after lengthyand careful investigation was able to reconstruct
the mathematics of the Vedas in 1918.

Bharati Krishna wrote sixteen volumes expounding the Vedic
system but these were unaccountably lost and when the loss
was confirmed in his final years he wrote a single book - Vedic Mathematics.
It was published in 1965, five years after his death.

According to his research all of mathematics is based on
sixteen Sutras, or word - formulae.

For example, ‘Vertically and Crosswise’ is one of these Sutras.
These formulae describe the way the mind works naturally
and are therefore a great help in directing the student to the
appropriate method of solution. They are intuitive and fun to work with.

In the Vedic system difficult problems or huge sums
canoften be solved immediately by the Vedic method.
These striking and beautiful methods are just a part of a
complete system of mathematics which is far more systematic
than the modern system. Vedic mathematics manifests the
coherent and unified structure of mathematics and the methods
are complimentary, direct and easy.

The simplicity of Vedic Mathematics means that calculations
can be carried out mentally (though the methods can be written down).
There are many advantages in using a flexible, mental system.
Pupils can invent their own methods;they are not limited to the
one correct method. This leads to morecreative,interested and
interesting pupils.

But the real beauty and effectiveness of Vedic Mathematics can not
be fully appreciated without actually practising the system.
One can then see that it is perhaps the most refined and efficient
mathematical system possible. Source - Gaurav Tekriwal http://www.vedicmathsindia.org/