Conceiving the Inconceivable
An Absolute Paradigm Shifter
Almost every attempt to understand Vedic Scriptures (or for that matter any other religion), that I’ve seen, takes to be true most of what science has to say about the nature of reality while trying to point out holes at the frontier of currrent understanding and claiming that is where we need “God”. These attempts are perhaps rightly dismissed as “God of the Gaps” arguments.
But this is starkly different from such an approach. The author is clearly a polymath who has mastery of many different subjects. He starts from the foundations of logic and set theory (which is the bedrock of modern math) and points out where we have gone astray at each and every level. He doesn’t simply show the deficiencies but also provides better alternatives from the Vedic worldview. In the end, he convincingly demonstrates why this new semantic paradigm must be taken seriously.
I would recommend this book to many kinds of readers – scientists who seek a challenge or ideas “out of the box”; people interested in spirituality who have had experiences of “supernatural phenomena” that current science dismisses as woo, you can find an understanding of the reality that made those experiences possible; everyone else who feels about our current understanding of the universe- “this can’t be it, there has to be more”. (Amazon Review, Read it all)
A scientific and philosophical breakthrough!
Historically, commentaries of Vedanta Sutras marked, initiated and led cultural, scientific and philosophical revolutions. For eg., the commentaries of Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva. I am not qualified to declare that this commentary stands as a new beacon signalling another such breakthrough but every bit of sixth sense or intuition that I have screams that it does.
I have been following Ashish’s work for a few years now and I have still not gotten used to the high density of new ideas and solutions to longstanding problems that his writings provide. I have not read this book fully yet, but I jumped to a particular section which I was interested in and it provided resolution to a problem that I had been actively searching for an answer to for half a decade (not exagerating here). I could not find the answer in my reading of books and talking to well recognised teachers of Vedanta tradition. I didn’t realize the answer lay so bare and explicit in the Vedanta Sutra. But I could never have seen it without the help of Ashish’s penetratingly clear explanations. I am immensely grateful and am now going to read the rest of this book and all his other books. Thank you Ashish. (Amazon Review, Read it all)
The Balanced Organization
Competition needs cooperation, hence “balanced”.
Another book in a series explaining our familiar world from a Vedic perspective, this time tackling business administration. Be rest assured, he is not peppering it with words like “karma” at every turn – the author is not a guru offering market tips or cashing on fascination with Orientalism, but he demonstrates how the same erstwhile forces of nature operate in business environment, once again showing that the world is fractal – the same formulas govern all aspects of our existence, only the fields are different. (Amazon Review, Read it all).
The Yellow Pill
Strong arguments for a social organization inspired by Vedic thought
The Yellow Pill brings into the social, economical and political discussion fascinating ideas from ancient Vedic philosophy on how to organize society to achieve a better, less conflictual world. The author talks about the merits (and especially the demerits) of current systems, showing their problems and brings in refreshing solutions that are neither left-wing, nor right-wing, but which have the benefit of both mainstream ideologies. I like the focus on long-term stability, localization of goods and globalization of ideas and the general idea that meritorious organisation is superior to hypocritical equalization. (Mihai, Amazon Review, Read it all).
Cosmic Theogony
A Primer on Comparative Religion
I recommend this book to everyone who is not satisfied with taking uninformed, misinformed or piecemeal ideological positions on religion. In explaining the vast and rational philosophical basis of Vedic religions and how it might have caused the spawning of other religions, this book can come as a shock, or as answers to many hitherto unanswered questions, including esoteric and/or deviant aspects of religious practices. The author exhibits erudition and astute understanding of both philosophy and religion, and also manages to show to the reader light at the end of the tunnel in terms of peace, happiness, knowledge and reconciliation as worthy pursuits and distinct possibilities. This, by no measure, is a trivial achievement. I particularly revelled in the last chapter. (Pravin Singhania, Amazon Review, Read it all).
Continue the Path to a Better Understanding of Reality
Ashish Dalela is an authority on the nature of reality and continues to be one of our most profound and prolific living authors. In this book Ashish examines the personal aspects of the universe as they relate to Vedic teaching, in a quest to combine both modern science and Vedic knowledge into a holistic unity of understanding. This will continue the reader on the path of Bhakti yoga. This book fits into the more ‘devotional’ area of the spectrum for this author, but he employs the exact same methodical approach as all his other work to ensure that this subject too holds up to the intense scrutiny of a scientist. (Adam Batchelor, Amazon Review, Read it all).
A delight to read
A very ambitious book on comparative religion, rooted in the vast and deep philosophy of the Vedas. Monotheism, polytheism and monism all have their place in the grand scheme of religious diversity. (Mihai, Amazon Review, Read it all).
A rare find. A truly profound book.
Basing his science on the Vedic knowledge (ancient Sanskrit literatures), Dalela brings his considerable skills in logic, philosophy and commonsense to show how the universe is properly understood as a place resting on personality and moral ordering. If you have an open mind, and you can sense the folly of materialism and voidism, you really should read this book. (Austin Gordon, Amazon Review, Read it all).
A beautiful, comprehensive, practical guide to reality as the Vedas describe it.
I’m so happy to have _Cosmic Theogony_. While reading it, I often thought it was my favorite book, although several other books that helped me understand this one are also favorites. I’ve read almost all of Ashish Dalela’s books, and most of them focus on specific core flaws in scientific epistemology and physical theories and explain how the approach in the Vedas overcomes these problems. Studying his writing has given me deep confidence in his knowledge, which made reading this book a great pleasure.
_Cosmic Theogony_ is a broad overview of reality as described in the Vedas, in which nature is simply a hierarchy of persons whose positions are determined by their behaviors, and of course each of us is one of these persons. It is a refreshing alternative to the impersonal conception of nature that I spent so many years learning in school. My experience of reading _Cosmic Theogony_ was like being on a guided tour of reality, given by someone who sees it clearly. (Leslie Howard, Amazon Review, Read it all).
Emotion
Intellectually stimulating revelation
I did not expect a book on emotion to be so rational. Many, many revelations while reading. I have a new, rich image of what the soul might be and how to use Indian philosophy to understand myself. (Mihai, Amazon Review, Read it all)
A Guru for Engineers, or The Lord’s Scientist?
The work of Ashish Dalela is the absolute true as handed down through the course of disciplic succession from the ascended masters. In this piece Ashish explores the foundational principles of emotions and how they are related to sat chit ananda (awareness, knowledge, bliss). Emotions are related to higher energies and bodies and beings and much can be explored by traversing the ladder of awareness. (Adam Batchelor, Amazon Review, Read it all).
Mystic Universe
Absolutely wonderful piece of work
The author has gone deep in explaining matter and consciousness, as described in Vedic scriptures before discussing Vedic Cosmology. I think this approach has worked really well, it develops the background needed to even begin to relate the Vedic description of the Cosmos. The book is organized in the form of short essays on different topics, which are then grouped into chapters. Although the total number of pages in the book is relatively large, the essay style discussion on topics helps the reader to keep focus all through the book and also relish it. It is easy to read a little every day, meditate on the subject matter and come back to make further progress. (Venkatesh C., Amazon Review, Read it all)
Fundamentally changing how I understand the universe.
Reading this often makes me laugh with pleasure from feeling the fundamental questions about reality that I’ve been pondering for decades being not only competently answered but also explained so I can understand. (Leslie Howard, Amazon Review, Read it all)
A paradigm shift for the inclined
If you have chanced upon this book, and have the requisite width, curiosity and tenacity, the journey will beat any past adventure that you might have experienced. As such it is not an easy read; no such journeys are. That this kind of work requires exemplary scholarship of both worlds is not in doubt. Connecting the dots and pointing to the chasms, and exactly they may be bridged is what Dalela has achieved. (Pravin Singhania, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Science / Magic : Perceptional Clarity
Still reading…thus far this book expounds on established Vedic precepts and modern science education. What is amazing is that correlations and non-correlations are defined with easy analogies. Am not an erudite scientist and some of the terminologies are still a bit stilted for me, regardless, if modern empirical science and ancient rational science are able to come together on mutual concepts of this World and Universe, education will become most profound. (Chas D Lind, Amazon Review, Read it all)
This book is must for anyone who wants to understand Universe in profound way
I started reading this book after watching a presentation based on this book. This book gives explanation to the answers for most difficult questions such as how is this universe constituted, how to make sense of night sky that we see and we do not see, psychological phenomena, Why are we here etc in such a manner that any one educated in modern science can understand. Very very happy to read this work, highly recommend to everyone. (Vedic Seeker, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Is The Apple Really Red?
It helped me understand the philosophy behind yoga
I am a recent fan of yoga and Hindu thinking. Recently I bought the Bhagavad Gita and I am still struggling to finish it because it has too much newness and exoticism for me. So, in a way, in this mood I got this book, promising a connection with Western thinking to which I am more familiar. I am glad I did because now I can go back to the Bhagavad Gita with fresh eyes. I am a technical and logical type of person and I related with the step by step process of argumentation which the writer does in every essay in the book. Even if some essays do have lots of Sanskrit terms, the majority of the book is written in a Western friendly language. (Ana Ioneanu, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Laudable effort to bring Eastern insights into science and religion debates
I came to this book after reading two other books from the author (about quantum physics and mathematics). I am not a religious person (but I’m open to Eastern ideas) so I was already a bit apprehensive about the title. At the same time, I was curious to see where Mr. Dalela gets his inspiration. I must give some kudos to him for managing to write about science and religion in a matter-of-factly way treating them as two related fields. (MBS, Amazon Review, Read it all)
A revelation
What I liked the most about this book was its methodical, logical articulation of a number of diverse ideas. What stuck with me the most was the theory of semantic space which seems to be the overarching explanation for why matter can represent ideas in the first place. The idea of the whole appearing inside the whole as its own representation and the point made about religious symbolism were fascinating. (KA1903, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Six Causes
An exciting tour of Vedic philosophy
Vedic philosophy is composed of Vedas, tihasas, puranas, upanishads, tantras and then commentaries on all these. It can be bewildering to understand the different opinions. This book seeks to link Vedic philosophy with a western explanation of action and creation. (A.Sethi, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Stunning
If you’re coming at things from a Westerners view of the world, be prepared to re-think most what you think you know, be it scientific or creationist, in terms of how everything is. Vedic philosophy (and, dare I say, scientific thought) provides a equitable balance between the Big Bang and Creationism; why can’t both be part of the truth? This is a giant of a book, but every page brings a new rationale which is both provocative and at the same time strangely reassuring. (Hypnotist 101, Amazon Review, Read it all)
A peak behind the curtain of Vedic creation
It took me a while to go through this book, but the process was pleasurable because of the many new (and surprising) things which I learned about Hinduism — well, the author uses the term Vedic philosophy, to be more exact). It is written in a systematic style, with regular references to Westerners like Plato, Aristotle, Berkeley, Kant, Hegel, Jung, Freud and others. (Ana Ioneanu, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Must for anyone interested in understanding evolution of matter from Consciousness
This book systematically covers all aspects of the creation through the lenses of Sāńkhya Philosophy. Thanks to the author the subject matter is presented in clear, concise and straightforward way. It helped me tremendously to understand the mysteries of how matter and Consciousness is linked through a linkage of six causes. This book is educative for everyone. Highly recommend it. (Pradeep P, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Sāñkhya and Science
Most impressive
A work of remarkable insight into the Sāńkhya explanation of consciousness and matter. The book not only reveals the failings of the current scientific efforts to comprehensively explain reality, but, more uniquely, lays out in fascinating detail an alternative view far richer, more encompassing, and entirely resonant with personal human experience. If you have any interest in this topic, this book is a must-read. (Austin, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Wonderful synthesis of Western science and Eastern philosophy
I am currently pursuing a masters in yoga studies and a topic of interest I have is time perception. This book develops ideas supported by modern physics and incorporates Sāńkhya philosophy (a branch of yoga philosophy) to support the explanations. This book is great for academics, Buddhists, or anyone with an interest in philosophy, science, or both. (Allison, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Original
I might say many things about this book but what defines it in my view is its originality. I was already familiar with the idea of science impeding its own progress by casting out the conscious observer. Or relegating it to the outskirts of science — and focusing mostly on objects while ignoring that we must use minds and consciousness in order to do science in the first place. But the new ideas Dalela imported from Hindu philosophy and used them to speak about science in a new way felt very refreshing. (Amazon Review, KA1903, Read it all)
Quantum Meaning
Quantum Semiotics?
The basic thesis of this book is that we should think of quantum systems as symbol systems which are meaningfully connected like letters and words in a book to create a meaningful story. Dalela contrasts this “Semantic Interpretation” of quantum systems with the view that quantum systems can be understood as describing independent physical objects that move through space and time. Dalela attempts to demonstrate that his Semantic Interpretation (SI) can explain some of the mysteries of quantum mechanics that on the surface seem to separate it from so-called classical physics. Namely, Dalela believes that SI can shed new light on quantum superposition, a state were quantum systems seem to be in superposed classical physical states. (A. Luther, Amazon Review, Read it all)
I recommend it for the open-minded
Captivating interpretation that avoids the current problems in interpretations of quantum theory; combination of everyday and technical language made it accessible but still, you need to be quite focused to understand; lots of new ideas delivered in a fast pace; atoms as symbols and the multiple examples (nature as a text of a book to be read and not simply measured statistically was a very interesting premise); educational value (all the principal interpretations are described with their pros and cons – author did his homework) (Constantin Ioan Begu, Amazon Review, Read it all)
A novel perspective making a lot of sense
The same meaning can be expressed in many ways (for instance in different languages containing different words, grammar rules etc etc). If I got it right, in Dalela’s semantic interpretation of quantum physics, an object (“macroscopic”) is like a meaning which – depending on the experimental context – can be described in different ways via different distributions of subatomic particles. The book functions also as a step-by-step guide to understanding the big problems of quantum physics and their interpretations — Copenhagen and ensemble interpretations are discussed the most and are contrasted the most with the semantic interpretation. (Ana Ioneanu, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Gödel’s Mistake
A good philosophical read
Not an easy read but well thought out and coherent. Ashish provides his argument grounded in background information and examples. Are mathematics and language even allowed to marry? Read the book and form your own opinion. (Robert Pope, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Thought-provoking and entertaining for a book about math
I appreciated the multidisciplinary approach of Mr Dalela, connecting math with computing and semantics (total surprise for me there!). Indeed, the problems in math and computing, relevant for the field of AI are deep problems. The theory proposed in the book is bold to say the least and if it proves to be true it will probably deconstruct all fields of science that depend on math. It all boils down to what numbers are. (MBS, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Profound work on the essence of mathematics with a nice flow
Gödel’s Mistake was for me a totally new and enlightening experience because despite the fact that I’m “numbers person” working in the Economics field, I never took the time to try and understand what mathematics was really about. And, after reading this book, I felt enriched with some behind-the-scenes information, although I could not understand everything. (Ana Ioneanu, Amazon Review, Read it all)
The foundation for a deeper understanding of numbers
This was the first book of his I read, three years ago. Now I’m determined to read all of his books, which has proved to be a real challenge because he has such extraordinary knowledge and seems to write faster than I know how to learn. Nonetheless I hope Mr. Dalela continues to write more books about numbers and their properties.
Almost three decades ago I sat in a university chemistry lab tasked with identifying the given chemical and realized what I really wanted to understand was what everything really is, and it led me into studying teachings from the Vedas, which I found compelling. My knowledge of scientific theories conflicted with what I was finding in the Vedas, and I lived with this cognitive dissonance until _Gödel’s Mistake_ resolved the problem for me by digging up its root and laying it on the table to clearly see. Thanks to Ashish Dalela’s books, I believe I’ve learned the answer to that question I contemplated in chemistry lab, which is awesome and super satisfying. (Leslie Howard, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Uncommon Wisdom
Fresh view on an old debate
In science-religion debates the discussion quickly turns to reason versus faith. In this book the author presents a point of view in which both reason and faith are used in both religion and in science. Reason in science is used to discover the truth, while in religion it’s used to check the truth (author compares this process with figuring out the password to a computer versus checking an already existing password to see if it works). Also, faith are used in both religion and science in the same way – at the beginning of learning anything (a spiritual practice or a scientific practice) one has to accept some assumption on faith. If you don’t try to then verify the knowledge yourself then you are being dogmatic, no matter if you are a scientist or a spiritualist. (Claudia Guidea, Amazon Review, Read it all)
A step-by-step exercise in deconstructing assumptions of materialism
The book is refreshing. A pleasure to read, despite the “menacing” theme. The author has a nice process of presenting an position (for instance materialism) and then taking it to its logical conclusions. Then the author presents a counter-argument, after which he comes back and questions the counter-argument etc etc. I felt it was a good way to understand the concepts in the book as some of them were quite abstract. Good examples though! (Ana Ioneanu, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Bold
Atheism and religion analysed from an original perspective — Indian philosophy has a lot to say on the science-religion debates. I especially enjoyed the last two chapters (Problems in Atheism and Religion and Dharma). Good job! (Mihai, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Signs of Life
Surprising
I was taken by surprise by these arguments. As a computer guy myself, I enjoyed reading the applications of computing and game theory to the theory of evolution. Well done. (Mihai, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Five Stars
Considering the size and life span of humans, we tend to underestimate the expanse and continuity of existence. (A Seeker, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Amazing analysis of the scientific evidence
Often evolutionary theory is portrayed as scientifically indisputable, but _Signs of Life_ presents an analysis of evidence that shows evolutionary theory relies on contradictory claims from other scientific theories. It does not stop there though, offering an alternative theory of evolution that avoids these conflicts. This book should be read by anyone interested in the debate about evolutionary theory and other possible explanations for speciation. (Leslie Howard, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Moral Materialism
A heavy journey through free will and morality (with original solutions)
The book contains nice revolutionary ideas. I’m already familiar with Dalela’s previous works but this one is a further development — the idea of a clash between reality and the many theories about reality which somehow must be present somewhere inside reality is mind-bending. I got that in the end, it is we (“observers”) who are having the theories of reality and the closer we get to truth, the less moral consequences we experience. The end of our search for truth is the end of morality. (Ana Ioneanu, Amazon Review, Read it all)
Western Questions, Eastern Answers
A real delight…nothing like it
In a brilliant contribution to modern science and philosophy, Western Questions Eastern Answers is a range of essays centered on the ancient Vedic description of nature, known as Sāńkhya. WQEA presents a view of the world at odds with today’s dominant scientific notions about who we are and the constitution of the world around us; and in light of the numerous shortcomings and contradictions of modern science (such as any substantial explanation of mind or consciousness), it stands as a most welcome and rewarding alternative. For readers with an open mind on such profound topics, I would suggest the Vedic explanations, presented through the deep insights of Dalela, will be both convincing and inspiring. (Austin, Amazon Review, Read it all)