This book is an abridged version of the books that form part of the Vedic Mathematics course written for schools, which covers the National Curriculum for England and Wales: "The Cosmic Calculator Course".
This shortened version is a response to a demand for some of the Vedic Mathematics content of the course to be made available in a single volume. Consequently it contains much of the material which is especially original, but it is not intended as a complete course. So, for example, there is no introduction to decimals or algebra here. The book covers a considerable range from simple addition and subtraction to quadratic equations. There are plenty of exercises to practice the easy Vedic methods and answers are included.
The original course is aimed at 11-14 year old pupils and is a complete course covering Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Statistics. It also includes, in the Teacher's Guides, hundreds of specially designed mental tests, about 45 extension sheets, teacher's notes, revision tests, games, worksheets etc. and a Unified Field Chart which shows the development of the parts of mathematics in relation to the whole.
Vedic mathematics was rediscovered from ancient Indian texts, called the Vedas, by Bharati Krsna Tirthaji (1884-1960) between 1911 and 1918. His book 'Vedic Mathematics', 1960, is currently available and the Cosmic Computer course has been developed over many years from this work.
Anyone familiar with the Vedic system will be aware of the remarkable techniques: 'difficult' problems or huge sums which can be solved immediately by the Vedic method. These striking and beautiful methods are part of a complete system of mathematics which is far more systematic than the modern 'system'. Vedic Mathematics brings out the coherent and unified structure of mathematics and the methods are complementary, direct and easy.
The simplicity of Vedic Mathematics means that calculations can be carried out mentally and this is very much encouraged in the course. The Vedic system develops creativity in the students partly through encouraging mental calculation; students like to devise their own methods. The Vedic system also cultivates intuition so that both hemispheres of the brain can work together- having a conscious proof or explanation of a method or result is not essential (although all methods shown in the course are fully explained). Students are shown general methods and also special methods which apply in special cases. This means they do not rigidly have to follow a certain procedure but have a choice and can invent their own methods. As in life every problem is unique and invites its own method of solution.
The use of the Vedic formulae or Sutras is a great help. They describe the various ways that the mind can be used (extending, reversing, combining ideas, generalizing etc.) and thereby help in developing these faculties. It is not necessary for the pupil or teacher to learn these- they become familiar after a while and seem quite natural.
The title of this book,The Cosmic Computer, is from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who said some years ago that the Sutras of Vedic Mathematics are the software for the Cosmic Computer: it is the Cosmic Computer that determines the outcome of every event in the universe, according to the laws of nature.
Vedic mathematics is being taught in some schools with great success. Pupils progress faster and very much enjoy their work under this system, which has rightly been called "Mathematics with Smiles".
