Need for Integral Education…

Manjul Bhargava became one of the youngest fulltime professors at Princeton University when he was 28. At 40 he is again one of the youngest mathematician to have won the prestigious ‘Fields Medal’ the Nobel equivalent for Mathematics. His work extends the work of classical mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. His parents, especially his mother Mira Bhargava, herself a mathematician and grandparents interested him in Sanskrit literature. Bhargava sees his work as a continuation of the legacy of Brahmagupta. The young cheerful professor of mathematics said thus in a recent interview:

Growing up, I had a chance to read some of the works of the masters: the great linguists/poets such as Panini, Pingala, and Hemachandra, as well as the great mathematicians Aryabhata, Bhaskara, and of course Brahmagupta.  Their works contain incredible mathematical discoveries, and were very inspirational to me as a young mathematician. The classic works of Pingala, Hemachandra, and Brahmagupta have been particularly influential in my own work. … While growing up, I learned from my grandfather how much incredible mathematics was discovered in ancient times by scholars who considered themselves not mathematicians, but poets (or linguists).  Linguists such as Panini, Pingala, Hemachandra, and Narayana discovered some wonderful and deep mathematical concepts while studying poetry.  The stories that my grandfather told me about them were very inspirational to me.

Yuva Bharathi congratulates the young mathematician on this achievement wishing him all the best in his exploration into the fascinating realm of numbers.

This is not the first time the Indic heritage has provided a basis for Indian achievement in modern science. Eminent Neurologist V.S.Ramachandran has provided neurological basis for Advaitic experiences and their relation to the formulation of ethics. Theoretical physicist E.C.George Sudarshan has pointed out how Vaishesika conceptualization of atom is closer to the modern quantum mechanics than the Greek model of atom developed by Democritus. Prof. G.N.Ramachandran employed Syaad Nyaaya of Jain tradition to evolve a new formulation of sentential logic. He created a matrix for the identification of possible molecular structures of complicated bio-molecules. Prof. Subash Kak works on integrating some basic aspects of quantum phenomena and the problem of consciousness. He acknowledges the influence and guidance of Indic knowledge tradition. 

Yet these are exceptions. The understanding of the philosophical heritage of Indic knowledge systems came to each of these individuals either through their family milieu or through their individual efforts. There is no system in Indian education to make the students familiarize themselves with the approaches of Indic systems to the basic questions of Existence. The relevance of Panini to linguistics and that of Patanjali to neurology of religion remain largely untouched by Indian researchers. The West has already started systematizing these knowledge realms.    

Let us consider the following. It is impossible for a serious student of modern physics in the West to get her PhD without knowing Plato, Pythagoras, Aristotle and Democritus. Yet it is perfectly natural in India for a physics research scholar to remain ignorant of Ganatha and Kapila. The way pre-Christian Greek philosophical traditions have influenced the development of modern physics in the West cannot be overstated. Werner Heisenberg, one of the principal architects of quantum mechanics points out the continuity:

With regard to this question modern physics takes a definite stand against the materialism of Democritus and for Plato and the Pythagoreans. ... But the resemblance of the modern views to those of Plato and the Pythagoreans can be carried somewhat further. The elementary particles in Plato's Timaeus are finally not substances but mathematical forms.  (Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy, p.71)

Interestingly in a confident understanding of the worldview revealed by the modern physics, Heisenberg was helped by Indian philosophical systems. Physicist Fritjof Capra records:

In  1929  Heisenberg  spent  some  time  in  India  as  the  guest of  the  celebrated  Indian  poet  Rabindranath  Tagore,  with  whom he  had  long  conversations  about  science  and  Indian  philosophy. This  introduction  to  Indian  thought  brought  Heisenberg  great comfort,  he  told  me.  He  began to  see  that  the  recognition  of  relativity,  interconnectedness,  and  impermanence  as  fundamental aspects  of  physical  reality,  which  had  been  so  difficult  for  himself  and  his  fellow  physicists,  was  the  very  basis  of  the  Indian spiritual  traditions.  "After  these  conversations  with  Tagore,"  he said,  "some  of  the  ideas  that  had  seemed  so  crazy  suddenly made much more sense.  That was a great help for me." (Capra, ‘Uncommon Wisdom’, 1988, p.43)

What these show is that with the artificial removal of Indian metaphysics from the curriculum the educational system is absolutely wasting its scientific human resource by denying them exposure to Indic knowledge systems. This artificial divorce between Indic tradition and educational curriculum effected during the Nehruvian regime has cost us heavily. It has alienated the Indian mind from the pursuit of science. The result is that though India produces the highest number of science graduates in the world, the same graduates are among the least innovative.

We need to integrate the philosophical systems of India with the modern curriculum. It is neither false glorification of past nor inventing science in ancient scriptures. In fact it is not about beliefs but inducing the human mind to fearlessly explore the mysteries of existence with rootedness. This should not definitely be the juvenile attempt to read the new discoveries of science in religious scriptures as done by some fundamentalists. On the contrary this demands hard work on the part of curriculum framers. They have to thoroughly grasp the Indic philosophical traditions, their relevance in providing epistemological tools in exploring the deeper questions of science (e.g. the hard problem of consciousness).  Then the curriculum framers have to design modules to suit the different grades in schools and different streams in the colleges.

Workshops on consciousness studies by both scientists and scholars of Indian philosophy conducted by Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Culture, is a welcome step in this direction at the level of research.  The textbook 'The Systems View of Life: A unifying vision' by Fritjof Capra and biochemist Pier Luigi Luisi (Cambridge University Press, 2014) is another important book in this respect.  Here the autopoietic networks of cognition replacing the mechanistic deterministic models defining life at the basic level. Again Eastern wisdom traditions from Vedanta to Buddhism have much to offer in providing philosophical substratum for such scientific explorations. This has implications for biological, ecological, psychological and social sciences, particularly for developing societies like India.

The Government of India today is committed to the rejuvenation of the nation. For this pedagogic systems integrating Indic philosophical traditions with modern education need to be created. So while Yuva Bharathi with rightful pride congratulates Prof. Manjul Bhargava, we also emphasize the need to work hard to create the integral educational system that will make more Bhargavas flower in our campuses as a routine rather than as exceptions. 

         

S. Aravindan Neelakandan

YB-ET.

Charaiveti . . . Charaiveti ...

Charaiveti Suktam (From Aitareya Brahmana)

नानाश्रान्ताय श्रीरस्तीति रोहित शुश्रुम। पापो नृषद्वरो जन इन्द्र इच्चरत: सखा॥
Nanashrantha sreerastheethi rohitha shushruma
Paapo nrushadwaaro jana indra ichaarathah sakhaa
Charaiveti  Charaiveti                                     7-15-7

This particular Sukta is known as 'Charaiveti Sukta'. It is part of'Aitareya Brahmans' and consists of five Mantras. Vedic Mantras give a clear indication ofthe life and philosophy lived and preached by our ancient Rishis who are men of high spiritual realisation. They are known as Mantra Drishtas. Their sole objective was to guide humanity in the right direction with a view to enable them to achieve total fulfilment of life. These Mantras are not only prayers addressed to the Supreme God under various names, butthey are also meant to enlighten the path for the fulfilment of all round prosperity in this world, here and now. They clearly express a positive and optimistic view of life, affirmative and all embracing; they are a mine of inexhaustible and dynamic practical wisdom. 'Charaiveti sukta' which consists of five Mantras are glowing example of what has been stated above.

These suktas exhort us to wake up, be dynamic and keep moving forward. Charaiveti means move forward and still forward, because only those who wake up and move forward achieve success in life. Human life must be successful and the way to success is to constantly move forward in the right direction. It figuratively speaks about the temperament of different types of men by relating them to the fourYugas. When a man is inert, idle and virtually sleeping (though he may be literally awake), he is in the Kaliyuga. When he wakes up and become alert it is Dwapara Yuga for him.

When the same person stands up, with his senses alert he enters Treta Yuga. When the same person sets his foot forward and starts walking Krita Yuga begins. Each Yuga is seen in the same person during these different stages.' Krita Yuga' means Yuga created by his own effort. We can together create Krita Yuga, also known as Satya Yuga by our own effort. For that we have to wake up and keep constantly moving ahead. You are the Master of your own Destiny; you can make it or mar it. If you only sit down your fortunes also stagnate. When you stand up there is an up rise in your fortune. When you sleep your fortune will also sleep. Only one who goes about seeking gets the sweet fruit in life. They alone can show the paths to prosperity who move forward constantly.

Sun is the source of inspiration and energy for all because he never sits idle, takes rest or sleeps. Make sun your ideal and not only you will succeed in life you will also bring light and dynamism to all others. All the five Mantras give us a positive energy to achieve success not only individually but for the whole society.

Vivekananda Kendra after two years of totally dedicated and country-wide hard work as mark of the 150th anniversary celebration of Swamiji is now entering upon the next phase.ln this context it is useful to remember that we never conducted a concluding function of the celebrations. It was a deliberate decision because we felt that Swamiji's work never concludes. It continues. It should continue. It should continue till Swamiji's vision of divinising humanity is achieved. He gave us the Mantra. 'Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached'. Is it not the same as the vedic suktas Charaiveti?

Swami Vivekananda was an ancient Rishi reborn as a modern Sanyasin to preach the same message. Only the idiom changes because the times have changed and the people understand the same fundamental Truth when expressed in the modern idioms. Swamiji was the tallest Rishi, who brought about a tremendous historic renaissance. He also wanted more and more Rishis to come up from the sacred soil of Bharat and preach the ancient Truth in the modem medium all over the world. He was confident that many more Rishis will come up to carry out this mission. He exhorted us 'Each one of you will have to become a Rishi to enlighten the world'. Eknath Ranade was a stalwart among such modern Rishis. During the centenary celebration of Swami Vivekananda he took up as life mission to establish the wonderful Rock Memorial to Swamiji and setting up Vivekananda Kendra as an efficient machinery to carry on the work forward. He gave us the motivation to work hard, move forward and achieve total success, 'Charaiveti,' 'Charaiveti'. Exceptthe Ultimate Reality everything else is on constant move. Movement is the law of life. The  river keeps on flowing, so it remains pure. If it stops moving, it becomes a pool of muddy water. The wind moves on, so the air we breathe is pure. The seed breaksoutofthe shell to become a plant. It grows and emerges out and gives us fruit. Man is no exception. From the time, the baby is bam, he grows and undergoes various stages of development and ultimately dies. But that is not the end. It is the beginning of a new life. The same is true of organisations too. Every organisation must remain a movement. Otherwise it stagnates. Movement means emerging into life. There is constant self renewal in life going on all over. If the process of self renewal stops, then it becomes fossilised .. Fossilisation is death-the end of the life. According to Sanathana dharma there are three concepts- Satya, Ritam ( ~ ), and Dharma. Satya is the absolute Truth, changeless and eternal. That is the seed from which all that exists comes into being. The entire cosmos with all its forms and names, all level of existence, past, present and the future are the expressions of Satya. The cosmic existence is relative. It is a mighty movement governed by the Ritam which is the cosmic law. The sun and moon, the stars and the planets, everything keeps on moving, strictly within the orbit, because ofthe Ritam governing them. 

Dharma is the manifestation of Satya, Ritam sustains all beings, living and non-living. Dharma is what sustains the world. It operates spontaneously in the animal world. The operation is instinctive to them. In the level of humanity it is conscious application. Dharma is consciously applied. So long as Dharma is observed, society keeps on functioning in a healthy way. If there is a lapse in the application of Dharma, society degenerates. lfthis goes unchecked society degenerates and may ultimately destroys itself. Then again the Divine intervention comes in the form of an Avatar and the movement goes on leading to the progress of the society. The wheels of Dharma are again set in motion. This is called 'Dharma Chakra Pravarthana'. All the renaissance movements that have occurred in our national life are initiated by Avatars as promised by Lord Krishna in Gita. Sri Ramakrishna was such an Avatar and Swami Vivekananda took up his vision which is now expressing itself in multifarious forms and ways. Vivekananda Kendra is part of this mighty, multilevel renaissance movement.

The story of Vivekananda Kendra is an excellent illustration of how the Vedic mantra can work wonders. After Swami Vivekananda visited Kanyakumari and sat in meditation on the rock, it was in deep slumber till the centenary celebrations started and Sree Devi was keeping vigil over it. Suddenly the sleep was disturbed and gradual awakening started creating a stir all around. The local people felt the stir. They started to move but it was slow and when hostile forces started opposing they felt helpless. Some even thought that Swamiji would not have swam and sat on the rock and a nominal memorial on the main land is sufficientto commemorate Swamiji's visit. Butthe stir within and the voice all around made them restless. A committee was formed to erect a memorial on the rock. One did not know how to go about the work. After that divine forces intervened and Man. Eknathji rushed to the spot with his rousing call to the people. People got up and sat to plan the future campaign with Man. Eknathji taking a bold initiative to achieve what seemed unachievable. People all over the country came forward with whole hearted support to the move. This was followed by the entire people standing up ready to take up the challenge, face all hurdles on the way and fulfil the objective. Thus came up the present magnificent Memorial with Swami Vivekananda symbolically standing up to his full stature setting the right foot forward and the movement began. After the earlier three stages or Yugas, the Satya Yuga was ushered in followed by a powerful movement in the name of Vivekananda Kendra.

The hostile forces have been thoroughly defeated. All the divine forces have come together. Next phase is Dharma samsthapana, an ideal state of society with spirituality as its central core, with the society well ordered on the basis of Sanathana Dharma-well organised, socially and economically strong, powerful and progressive, spreading the message of spirituality all around starting from Bharatto the world. Nothing less and nothing else is the mission entrusted to Vivekananda Kendra.

The workers of the Kendra could feel not only proud but also responsible to move further forward carrying the society with them and gradually establish the dream of Swami Vivekananda and Man. Eknathji in actual national life. Till that, there is no looking back, no rest midway. 'Charaiveti', is our mantra. 'Arise awake and stop nottill the goal is reached' is the call. Let us move forward.

P. Parameswaran

President

Vivekananda Kendra

When Mother Kanyakumari spoke in Facebook….

Recently Sahitya Academy award winning novelist Joe D Cruz announced in facebook his support to a Prime Ministerial candidate of a political party. This led to a huge outcry. A publishing firm which markets itself as the publishing house for the downtrodden and marginalized, had taken up the translation of his novel, declared that it had decided to kill the book even before publishing. Condemnations came from the usual leftwing brigade – attacking the writer as fascist. Ironically earlier many of the leading leftwing eminences have signed a declaration forcefully asking people not to vote for the very same candidate Joe D Cruz had endorsed.

The incident had brought out a veritable can of worms. One of the members of the Sahitya Academy award selection committee admitted that after awarding Joe the national literary prize, when she came to know that Joe had leanings towards 'Hindutva' ideology, she in a typical inquisitor manner profiled him for his political beliefs. Other 'eminent intellectuals' were less charitable. They attacked him and abused him saying that he had sold himself to 'fascist forces'.  How a literary person can take a political stand other than the official leftwing stand, they ask. Making themselves laughable caricature of Stalinist commissars, they try to intimidate any lone brave voice that defies their dictates.

Joe D Cruz had answered each of these answers elaborately. It is important that every patriotic Indian understand the importance of his answer to these charges from the leftwing charlatans. First, he says that he is not only a novelist, but also the soul voice of a marginalized community. He had repeatedly pointed out that the coastal communities throughout India form an organic whole and they have strong cultural relations not only among themselves but also with the inland water body communities. Thus these communities have contributed to both Indian culture and spirituality in an immense way which has not been properly recorded by both British and modern Indian historians. The coastal communities have a great stake in a united India.

There are forces which work overnight to weaken, hide and sever these connections not without significant success, which is dangerous to the well being of the entire nation. Hence, a voice that asserts these priceless relations and the contributions of the coastal communities in the formation and evolution of Indian culture is a must. Those who are aiming to create conflicts rather than harmony and those who have vested interest in conflicts rather than unity, try to suppress that voice.  There has been only one platform which has recognized the importance of this voice, the writer from the coastal community contends.    

Secondly Joe D Cruz points out that it is no secret that China, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been busy creating a naval barricade around India in Indian Ocean. Indian navy which once had supremacy in these waters has been highly controlled in its movements today. This is a dangerous situation. There is a constant violation of the human rights of Indian fishermen at these waters by the navies of these countries. While China has not yet attacked explicitly, it had boosted the aggressiveness of both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. More than 800 Indian fishermen have been killed by Sri Lankan navy in the last few years. Nehruvian policy makers sitting in the air-conditioned rooms of Delhi who share both chicken and a callous indifference to the loss of human lives with the aggressors have pitifully let down our fishermen. When a fisherman dies shot dead by an alien army, India looses a citizen who has a vast and intimate knowledge of the water frontier of India. Joe states emotionally when at last the China-Sri Lanka-Pakistan axis decides to attack India it will be the Indian fisherman from Rameshwaram who would face the first bullet in his chest. Our fishermen are the unpaid yet traditional coast guards of Mother India. So he wants a strong central government that can raise its voice against the brutal sustained inhuman killing of our fishermen. There is only one leader who has spoken explicitly for the plight of Indian fishermen drawing attention to the crimes Sri Lanka and Pakistan are committing against our fishermen, Joe D Cruz points out.

Thirdly, there is a disconnecting void between the growing technological needs as well as the infrastructural needs of the coastal community and the policy making as well as R & D. Starting from the use of satellite technology to identify the fish movements to the storage facility, to the prevention of sea erosion in the coastal villages to good roads connecting the coastal villages and the inland trade centers to effective sustainable practices for maintaining the fishing population – this is a vast area which has been left uncared for decades by policy makers except very occasional actions. Once again there is only one voice in the entire political spectrum that is speaking about these issues. When Swami Vivekananda spoke of new India arising from the humble huts of the hard working Indian population he spoke of the huts of fishermen and iron smiths and also small sideway  food vendors, he meant that the new India that arises should feel for the pain and striving of the marginalized and the downtrodden. Amidst rampant corruption, abject anarchy and degenerate dynasty rule there is only one choice for a person who himself has come up in life from a very humble beginnings – facing all sorts of barriers and humiliations. So such a leader who has evolved from poor beginnings to a world-noticing statesman naturally appeals as the best choice says Joe D Cruz.

Finally the reactions of the elite club of leftwing AC-room based seminar-sustained media-bred warriors of the proletariat have revealed their own real Stalinist fangs beneath their liberal masks. In facebook a fellow fisherman community leader reacted in an emotionally surcharged way to the statement of Joe D Cruz that captures the essence of it all: 'Coastal folks! Rejoice that time has dawned to reclaim our heritage whose roots go back to Bharatha himself … and it has been declared through the voice of Joe D Cruz… Celebrate boys and break a coconut for Mother Kanyakumari!'    

The morning Joe D Cruz decided to write on his facebook wall he feels he was but an instrument of a higher calling. It was the voice of Mother Kumari – the embodiment of Divine Feminine-long suppressed by alien power structures and vested political interests, which manifested in that facebook status. Now it is the duty of every patriotic Indian to heed to that voice and beyond electoral politics, build cultural, socio-economic and spiritual bridges with the long neglected coastal communities all over India. 

Aravindan Neelakandan
YB-ET

Yuva bharati : Youth Icon : May 2014