Practical application of Vedic mathematics

Vedic mathematics has certain visual solutions which could be applied in problem solving

There are 16  known sutras or axioms in vedic mathematics, some of which  provide  ‘visual’  mathematical solutions or solutions using mental techniques. It is perhaps possible to make practical use of these sutras in certain situations. Particularly where data or information validation can be done by using the appearance of  'zero' or nil values in any data set. Situations, where data, information or records are destroyed or lost, by accident or fraud, provide a natural camouflage for all kinds of manipulations. Plenty of insurance claims are known to have  been inflated  by altering data. For example, in case of  an insurance claim for 'loss of profit' where a business has been disrupted by fire, the claimant will try and inflate past sales and profit figures to maximise his deemed profit for the claim. Further, in most of these cases, the claimant can always expresse his inability  to provide sufficient evidence to back his claim, using the 'destruction of records' as an excuse even though the evidence actually may not be  even partially destroyed. In these situations, sometimes unconventional or unknown researched techniques could prove more effective. Tests of 'reasonableness' using human judgement are the only tools which may be applied to ferret out inaccuracies and even deceptions. In such circumstances, perhaps Vedic mathematics might offer considerable assistance. Take the case of the following information given to an insurance company for a claim for 'loss of profits' on account of a fire and disruption of activities, where machines, stocks and several records were destroyed by fire. The company had two products in stock. Each product was packed and dispatched in boxes with standardised, precise weights. The claimant provided information of status of stocks and dispatches as given below in the two tables to support his claim for loss of profits:

Table A:  Statement of Inventories (boxes of  stocks  as  endorsed by third parties' confirmations:

On account of seasonal trends there was no production of A and B in the above period. Therefore all changes in figures related to sales and dispatches only. Accordingly sales  were as follows.

Table B: Statement of Sales Dispatches of Boxes  in the post verification periods per Table A

These dispatches were critical from the point of view of quantifying sales and determining profits claimed to have been lost because of the fire. The sales registers supported this statement also. However,  the surveyors requested an accountant who was also a certified fraud examiner to give his assessment.  The accountant reviewed the relevant data and found that these boxes were transported or shipped by professional container lorries.  These transporters furnished details of the number of boxes, destinations and the time and date of delivery. Using these lorry receipts, the accountant painstakingly totalled the  weights of all boxes transported during the two periods in table B above. He found that the total weights dispatched were 10.5 tonnes and 19.5 tonnes respectively. This is where he remembered vedic mathematics, the sutra ‘Anurupye Shunyam anayat’. In simple words, in simultaneous equations, if  the ratio of the co-efficients of one of the variables is in exact proportion as the constants, then the other variable is 0. Thus in the above case, if the weights of the boxes for products A and B were taken as x and y respectively, the dispatches, in terms of weight, could be represented as  the following simultaneous equations:

7x+13y=10.5

13x+15y=19.5

The ratio of the coefficients of  x is 7:13, proportionate to the ratio of the constants  10.5: 19.5 or 1.5*7:1.5*13 This implied that y=0, which further meant that dispatches of product y were of weight 0 or, in other words,  there were no dispatches of  product y.  The accountant then inquired into the actual weights of boxes from external sources and he found that the weights of the boxes were in fact standardised at 1.5 tonnes and 2 tonnes for products A and B which confirmed the result of the above equations. On launching an investigation it was found that the sales bills for product B were to sister concerns and in fact fictitious. Since product B had a high margin of profits, the claimant was tempted to inflate profits by showing sales of product B also, though there were none. The bankers stock statements showed lesser stocks because they counted only those which were hypothecated, as  they were concerned with the stocks required to cover their loan and margin requirements.  In fact it was also learnt that  the stock of product B was in a bad condition and unsaleable. The company was in a bad shape financially and therefore had resorted to such means of falsification. However, applying visual application of vedic mathematics it was possible to prove the claim false.

This illustration does not seek to establish that solutions cannot be found by other means. It emphasizes on the simplicity of the tenets of the sutras of vedic mathematics. Perhaps research and intensive study of vedic scriptures might reveal even more advanced applications. What is illustrated above is a very elementary application of the sutra. The depth and richness of the vedic knowledge is beyond description. Greater research and more teamwork in sharing of ideas and interpretation may provide revolutionary results.