Tedx Profile: Here to prove Vedic Maths is secular, says Tekriwal

The term Vedic Maths might sound daunting to a few. Add the fact that you need to learn sutras as part of this will probably double your phobia of mathematics, if you have one.  But Gaurav Tekriwal, founder of Vedic Maths India, believes that Vedic maths is India’s gift to the world and one that needs to be nurtured.

In an interaction with Firstpost, ahead of  the Tedx talk in Mumbai on Sunday (which we will be streaming live on the site) , Gaurav spoke to us about how he got the idea of promoting Vedic maths and what it entails.

First things first, Gaurav explained Vedic maths is: Simply put, it allows people to do complex calculations, such as multiplications, not the 2X2 ones but the considerably heavy duty ones, divisions, calculate square roots, etc in super fast speed.

Ask him whether one really needs Vedic maths in an age of  calculators and computers, he disagrees. “Calculators might help students, it’s not really good for them. With Vedic maths you get to exercise your mind muscles and then get to the solutions,” he says. He cites the example of UK where maths skills are so bad that most adults have the maths skills of an 11 year-old.

So when did he get introduced to Vedic maths? “It goes back to 1999, when I was preparing for my MBA entrance. I got into Vedic maths then and I started practising and sharing my skills with my friends. Not too many people knew about the concept then, so it seemed pretty cool at the time.  I slowly started teaching and one thing led to another and a passion for maths became a profession,” says Gaurav.

So yes, it’s never too late in life to pick Vedic maths. But why the need for Vedic maths? What’s wrong with the traditional system?

As Gaurav says, “The world has a phobia of maths. People get addition, subtraction but once you come to multiplication, students are forced to rely on their memory. Teachers become harsh on the students and maths becomes a phobia for the students.”

And how does Vedic maths differ from the traditional system? Gaurav emphasises that unlike the regular Western model of maths, Vedic maths is a mental system, meaning all calculations take place in your head. “It’s a one line arthimetic system. Say you have a sum 12 times 34. In Vedic maths you apply a Sutra and get the answer in one line. Sutras are word formulaes. You can apply the sutra and get your answer in split second,” he says.

Gaurav’s project is also doing well abroad. “We’ve partnered with the South African government and have implemented the Vedic maths system in 9000 schools in South Africa,” says Gaurav.

But what about starting a similar project in India schools, especially those that are run by the government and where quality of education is often poor. “In India it’s really difficult to partner with government schools, because people often think that Vedic maths is not secular. I’m here to debunk the myth that this is not secular. Anybody from anywhere can come practise this system which is open to all,” he says.

He adds that he would definitely want Vedic maths to be a part of schools in India, especially government schools so that students can take advantage of it.