The Conference was organized by 'World Association for Vedic Studies, Inc' (WAVES), at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, MA, USA. This was the fourth biennial international conference of WAVES. The three previous ones were held at Atlanta (GA) in 1996, Los Angeles (CA) in 1998, and Hoboken (NJ) in 2000.

The Conference received an enthusiastic response from world scholars. For the first time there were four scholars from China speaking on influence of Vedanta, Nagarjuna's contributions to Chinese thoughts, Buddhism, Chinese culture, Zen, and Islam Sufism.

About 200 papers were accepted for presentation and their abstracts were circulated. Persons from 11 different countries - Belgium, Canada, China, France, India, Japan, Nepal, Netherlands, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and USA - participated in the conference. In all there were 42 sessions and 139 presentations by the authors themselves made. There was a good mix of persons of Indian and non-Indian scholars.

The inaugural session had three distinguished speakers -
1. Dr. S. Kalyanraman (Member Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Prkalp, and of Aklila Bharateeya Itihasa Sankalana Yojna, author of 1200 page book 'Sarasvati', compiler of 6 volumes of 'Encyclopaedia on Sarasvati', and of 'Dictionary - Indian Lexicon of over 25 ancient languages', 'Indian Alchemy: Soma in the Veda', ): On "Sarasvati Civilization".

2. Professor Hope Fitz (Professor of Philosophy, Eastern Connecticut State University): On "Ahimsa, Gandhi's Thoughts and the Modern World".

3. Professor T. S. Rukmani (Chair of Hindu Studies, Concordia Uni., Canada): On "Dynamics of Being and Becoming in Hindu Thoughts".

There were two keynote speakers -
1. Professor V. D. Misra, Professor of Sociology, Lucknow University, and
2. Professor Francis X. Clooney, an ordained Catholic priest, Professor of Comparative Theology at Boston College and Visiting Academic Director of the Center for Vaisnava and Hindu Studies at Oxford University, whose research has focused on Hindu philosophical and theological traditions - Sanskrit and Tamil - and particularly on the Purva Mimamsa, Vedanta, and Srivaisnavism. His most recent book is Hindu God, Christian God, Oxford University Press, 2001, and who is currently writing a book on Hindu goddesses and Christian theology. He was also the first president of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies.

Other plenary speakers were:
1. Dr. Cromwell Crawford, Professor of Religion, Uni. of Hawaii
2. Yogi Amrit Desai
3. Dr. Koenraad Elst, Belgium
4. Mr. Francois Gautier, French Journalist
5. Professor Xinchuan Huang, Chinese Academy of Social Sci, Beijing, China
6. Dr. David Frawley, Vedic Institute, NM, USA
7. Dr. Vasant Lad, Ayurvedic Inst., NM, USA
8. Mr. Rajiv Malhotra, Indic Foundation, USA
9. Dr. June McDaniel, Professor of Philosophy, SC, USA
10. Dr. Bhupendra K. Modi, President, Indian Council of Religious Leaders
11. Professor Chhaya Rai, Professor of Philosophy, Jabalpur, India
12. Professor K.L. Seshagiri Rao, Chief Editor, Encyclopedia of Hinduism, SC, USA
13. Professor BhuDev Sharma, President, Hindu Uni. of America
14. Dr. Klaus G. Witz, Uni. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

There were numerous other experts and scholars that included university professors, Vice-Chancellors, authors, researches, journalist, intellectuals and practitioners who presented papers and participated in discussions.

Amongst other highlights were symposia on 'Ahimsa in the Past and the Present', 'Hinduism, Pluralism & Interfaith Dialogue', 'Indian Theories on Consciousness', 'Ayurveda & Health', Gita, & Mahabharata, as also panel discussion on 'Current Global Influences of Vedic thoughts & Hindu Practices.'

Ayurveda and Health, and Consciousness sessions attracted the most delegates. Several presentations emphasized the scientific nature of Ayurveda, and the opportunity for an enormous market for Ayurvedic medicine in the west. Consciousness studies are becoming popular in Psychology departments on most US universities. According to Don Salmon of Salem, South Carolina, said that "when compared to Indian Philosophy/Psychology, the western psychology, neuroscience, and consciousness studies combined do not correspond to even significant fraction".

On Sunday July 14, was held a two-hour special workshop with Dr. Vasant Lad for interested participants on the basic principles of Ayurveda. Dr. Koenraad Elst of Belgium presented a lecture entitled "Hindu Influence on Christianity" outlining some of the philosophical elements of Christianity that have their roots in Vedic/Buddhist traditions.

The conference succeeded in recounting major contributions of India in the fields of spirituality, science & mathematics, religion & philosophy, governance & administration, peace & harmony amongst men, pluralism & multi-culturism, ethics & human values, literature and linguistics. There were scholars and academics of the East and the West from the fields of Vedas, Upanishads, Epics, Shastras, religion and philosophy, as also persons of public standing to share views on several matters in an environment charged with understanding and curiosity. In the concluding sessions, many participants spoke and greatly appreciated the efforts of the organizers.

In the 'Panel discussion' on 'Current Global Influences of Vedic Thoughts and Hindu Practices', panelists Dr. Deen B. Chandora (Atlanta), Dr. Koenraad Elst (Belgium), Mr. Francois Gautier (French Journalist), Mr. Rajiv Malhotra (Princeton), Professor BhuDev Sharma (Orlando, Moderator) and Professor Bal Ram Singh (Umass, Dartmouth) and several attendees brought out many points of current Indian contributions and influences. Apart from the significant role of immigrant Indians in USA, UK and other countries in the field of several professions - education, medicine, technology, information technology, hospitality industry, etc., these included rising influence and appreciation of Yoga, vegetarianism, belief in theory of karma and rebirth, multi-culturism and respect for diversity of faiths & religious practices. It was pointed out that scientists are searching Indian/Vedic literature for scientific study of consciousness, as also for ideas on ecology.

One of the non-academic, nevertheless an attractive items of the conference was featured on Saturday July 13th evening in the Main Auditorium of UMass Dartmouth. Wearing gleaming garments that resembled flower petals, as well as bangles, anklets, and jewelry that adorned even their hair, professional dancers performed in sequences that lasted anywhere from two to twenty minutes. This cultural program of dance recitals was open and free to public. Mrs. Ranjani Saigal, Director of Eastern Rhythms School of Dance, organized and presented this program.

A general theme running throughout the conference reflected on the deep scientific and systematic nature of life of Vedic tradition people, and the culture of celebrated diversity commonly visible even in today's India.

The Proceedings of the conference, carrying edited papers shall be published as was done for earlier conferences. The organizers have invitations for holding next conference in Canada, Netherlands, Nepal and a couple of places in USA.

Professor BhuDev Sharma, President of the WAVES', the overall coordinator of the conference organized the academic program. Professor Bal Ram Singh, Director of the Center for Indic Studies, UMassD along with his colleagues, Dr. Sukalyan Sengupta and Dr. T. K. Roy of CIS at UMass Dartmouth worked tirelessly for local arrangements. Mr. Ishwar Patel, Mr. Mahesh Patel, and their families and friends provided for food, etc. The conference was sponsored by Center for Indic Studies, UmassD, Hindu University of America, Orlando and CASC, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center.

The Conference received a very enthusiastic response from world scholars of Indian/Vedic Studies. For the first time there came four scholars from Bali, Indonesia. According to the Treasurer of WAVES, Mr. Dhirendra Shah, the conference had over 450 participants.

Over 200 papers were accepted for presentation and their abstracts, printed in the Conference Souvenir, were circulated to the participants. Persons from several different countries, including those from Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Nepal, and USA - participated in this successful conference.

In all there were 47 sessions and 152 presentations made. There was a good mix of persons of Indian and non-Indian scholars.

Amongst other highlights were symposia on 'Vedas and Consciousness', 'Philosophy', 'Academic Study of Indian Religion in US', 'Indian Diaspora Experience', 'Gita in 21st Century', 'Hinduism and Clash of Civilizations', 'Ayurveda in Public Health Care Systems in Western Countries', 'Ayurveda: The Art & Science of Healthy Living', 'Yoga and Meditation', 'Youth & Dharma', 'On Some Western Writers on India.'

There were sessions on 'Ramayana', 'Mahabharat', 'Peace and Universal Vedic Messages', 'Vedic Mathematics & Sciences', 'Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants', etc.

Sessions on 'Hinduism & Clash of Cultures', which brought a good discussion on current state of terrorism and its effects, 'On Some Western Writers on India', whose writings provoked allegations of distortions and misrepresentations of Hindu gods and heroes from many scholars worldwide, as also 'Consciousness' and those discussing 'Indians & Influence of India in the World', drew quite some attention. An important feature this year was participation of IndiaDiaspora group, and youth group.

Plenary panel discussion on 'Directions for Healthy Academic Study of Vedic Traditions', with six panelists representing academics, journalists, educationists and public leaders was another highlight of the conference. Panelists and participants greatly appreciated the work of WAVES and gave several suggestions for undertaking further.

A general theme running throughout the conference reflected on the deep intellectual traditions in the life of Vedic people, and the culture of celebrated diversity commonly visible in today's India.

Professor BhuDev Sharma, President of the WAVES', was the overall coordinator of the conference and he organized the academic program, helped by organizers of various symposia - Professor Hope Fitz, Professor June McDaniel, Professor Jagdish Srivastava, Professor TRN Rao, Professor Madan Goel, Prof Rahul Peter Das, Professor Shri Mishra, Dr. Vishnu Purohit & Dr. Kaushik Shastri, Dr. K. Sadananda & Satya P. Agarwal, and Sanjay Garg.

During the Conference, on the evening of July 9, was organized a culturally rich entertainment program featuring Sitar-vaadan, Kuchipudi style Bharat Natyam, a play, a folk dance, and a dance-drama on ten-incarnations of Vishnu. Dr. (Mrs.) Anita Dubey organized and presented this program, with brief appearance of Patti Tripathi, former Anchor Person of CNN and Director, ANN.

World Association of Vedic Studies (WAVES) is a multidisciplinary academic society. WAVES is not confined to study related to Vedas alone or to India alone. WAVES explores worldwide traditions commonly called Vedic - past, present and future. It brings together academics from universities and institutions of higher learning and knowledgeable other persons on its platform to share their views and researches. It is a forum for all scholarly activities and views on any area of 'Vedic Studies' popularly called as Indian Studies or Indology. It is open for membership and for participation to all persons irrespective of their color, creed, ethnicity, and country of origin or any other kind of persuasion.

WAVES has on its Governing Council persons from USA, India, China, and Europe. Its next India Conference will be held at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Dec 31-Jan 2, 2004-2004. There are plans to hold conferences in China, Netherlands, Germany and Bali (Indonesia), in coming years. Also, the Society has announced book-awards, scholarships for higher studies and research and is building a 'Speakers Bureau' for widely and authentically educating and informing people world wide of about India and Indians in all its fields, past and present.

Organizers thank numerous participants for conveying their overwhelming compliments for organizing a conference with grand success. For additional Information, please contact:

Professor Bhu Dev Sharma,
President, World Assn. for Vedic Studies (WAVES),
www.umassd.edu/indic/waves
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Prof. of Math, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta
Director, Hindu Uni. of America, Orlando
Address (Res.): 2495 D Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
Phones: 404-248-9494 (Home), 404-880-6912 (O); Fax 404-880-8109

The Intellectual Freedom
Because of this freedom of thought, the inquirers were able to grapplee with the misty currents of doubts and skepticism and overcome them opening the greater vistas of knowledge. It was through critical and logical means a strong philosophical foundation was established in India. Through the intellectual process of arguments and counter arguments light was shed from different angles on several topics that deal with the nature of human existence and destiny. It was in such a historical context there emerged the six systems of philosophical quest known as the Shad-darshanas. This enabled critical philosophy to gain depth, clarity of thought and precision in definitions. This process of intellectualization has ever been continuing to explain the insights of the ancient Rishis in the prevailing intellectual climate of every age. Because of this intellectual basis of India's heritage, this process is continuing through our modern times too.

The very name, 'Nyaya', one of the Shad-darshanas, means 'argument and conclusion'. It is also called the Tharkashashtra, the science of right argument. Nyaya is a system of logical realism and its main emphasis is on the sources of gaining knowledge viz. the four pramanas -- perception, inference, comparison and verbal testimony. Knowledge is derived by the intellectual assessment of objects. This knowledge may be valid or invalid. Valid knowledge is the right apprehension of the real nature of an object. Vaiseshika, another system of intellectual enquiry of the Shad-darshanas, seeks to gain knowledge through particularization and analysis. This system deals at length on the basis of Nature, the creation of the material world, its destiny, the possible comprehension of Reality and the way of finding fulfillment in human life. This school of intellectual inquiry is based on the philosophy of sage Kanada. Those who follow Dharma, according to sage Kanada, attain material prosperity (abhyudaya) as well as the highest good (nishreyasa). This bears clear testimony to the fact that India never neglected social values and material progress along with spiritual evolution. History reveals that whenever the Indian atmosphere was filled with lofty spiritual ideas there was material prosperity as well as flowering of her great culture.

How this Freedom Influenced to Evolve A Refined Culture
Some Western writers and their followers in India often try to impress the world with the wrong idea that Indian philosophy is otherworldly and impracticable. They say this is the cause of India's backwardness. They conveniently neglect the fact that it was the unfortunate foreign domination that had along with it brought this backwardness and in the past India was rich in every respect, which brought people from all over the world to her soil. In fact, because of this highly intellectual tradition, unlike many other countries, India could ever maintain a refined, civilized, and humane culture. Let me quote here the views of the eminent historian, A. L. Basham, from his book "The Wonder That Was India". He points out that in spite of the internecine wars, flood and plagues that often brought havoc to the country from time to time, a cultural unity gave India a distinctive character. Basham says: "Yet our overall impression is that in no other part of the ancient world were the relations of man and man, and of man and the state, so fair and humane. In no other early civilization were slaves so few in number, and in no other ancient law book are their rights so well protected as in the Arthashastra. No other ancient lawgiver proclaimed such noble ideals of fair play in battle as did Manu. In all her history of warfare, Hindu India has few tales to tell of cities put to the sword or of the massacre of non-combatants. The ghastly sadism of the kings of Assyria, who flayed their captives alive, is completely without parallel in ancient India. There was sporadic cruelty and oppression no doubt, but, in comparison with conditions in other early cultures, it was mild. To us the most striking feature of ancient Indian civilization is its humanity."

Basham further observes: "The European student who concentrates on religious texts of a certain type may well gain the impression that ancient India was a land of 'life-negating' ascetics, imposing their gloomy and sterile ideas upon the trusting millions who were their lay followers.... India was a cheerful land, whose people, each finding a niche in a complex and slowly evolving social system, reached a higher level of kindliness and gentleness in their mutual relationships than any other nation of antiquity."

When we enquire about the reason of such mellowness and culture India has acquired through the millenniums, we will find that the Puranas had an important role in this respect influencing the masses. Puranas are not mere compendiums of legends and stories as some people try to make others believe. One will be marveled at the tenor of intellectual discussions on various topics in the Puraanas, educating the masses on various aspects of life and the universe. It is nothing but a wondrous feat how the authors array the points and counterpoints with commendable ease enabling people to arrive at creative conclusions. There is no dearth of scathing criticism even against some topics of spirituality, which the reader may feel quite justified at first. And when he reads the calm and considered answers in the same texts he finds himself furnished with new knowledge and reaching an elevated realm of deeper understanding.

The Vast Range of Knowledge
It is nothing but a wonder to the many modern investigators to find that there are in the ancient Sanskrit language many words indicating that the ancients possessed the knowledge of modern psychology that discusses conscious, sub-conscious, unconscious realms of the mind. It is indeed a food for thought for the most modern scientific intellect that the great Rishis of yore symbolized the Dance of Shiva to reveal the origin of time, evolution and dissolution of the phenomenal universe. The Rishis bestowed an order to the unimaginable span of time by calculating the staggering number of years of the Kalpas, Manvantharas, Yugas, etc., while very short span of time, 1/50th of a second was given the name: pratatpara. In fact, those people who discovered these, of course, were mighty intellectuals. The difference between them and the present-day intellectuals was that the ancient intellects did not give much attention to make the artifacts that added to the temporary luxuries of life or to invent weapons of mass annihilation. Their goal was to know deeper about life and the universe so that the knowledge can contribute to the greater evolution of mankind.

It is the evolutionary view of life that is another important attribute of India's spiritual heritage to the world of intellectual thought. At the stage of man, evolution of life bestows life a certain individuality, which expresses itself a personality, which is ruled by the law of Karma. According to the natural impressions gathered in the lifetime personalized existence continues through one after another reincarnation till the human soul harmonizes itself through appropriate Karmas and liberates itself in being one with the Supreme Self.

The quest for truth and the spirit of free inquiry have been the hallmark of Indian culture. There was no unquestioning acceptance of authority. While in the West such an attitude often paid the penalty in torture and death, in India one was encouraged to ask questions and advised to accept the teaching only after critical examination.

The intellectual quest in India is aimed at higher objectives. This objective was to pierce the veil of ignorance that hides the truth and to know the mystery of existence and how to make existence itself an experience of freedom. Swami Vivekananda says in his lecture on 'Religion and Science' ("Complete Works" Vol. VI): "Experience is the only source of knowledge. In the world, religion is the only science where there is no survey, because it is not taught as a science of experience. This should not be. There is always, however, a small group of men who teach religion from experience. They are called mystics and these mystics in every religion speak the same tongue and teach the same truth. This is the real science of religion. As mathematics in every part of the world does not differ, so the mystics do not differ. They are all similarly constituted and similarly situated. Their experience is the same, and this becomes law."

Thus, the aim of intellectual knowledge in India ever has been the search of the greater facts and to evolve the human life to the higher dimensions of existence. It can be done only by exploring deep into the internal world. Again let me quote Swami Vivekananda ("Complete Works" Vol. II):"There are two worlds: the microcosm and the macrocosm, the internal and the external. We get truth from both these by means of experience. The truth gathered from internal experience is psychology, metaphysics, and religion; from external experience, the physical sciences. Now a perfect truth should be in harmony with experience in both these worlds. The microcosm must bear testimony to the macrocosm and the macrocosm to the microcosm; physical truth must have its counterpart in the internal world, and internal world must have its verification outside."

Therefore, we must today have a better grasp of the direction towards which the Indian intellectual thought has been trying to carry man ahead. As pointed out earlier, it is not to make artifacts of physical luxury or making weapons of mass annihilation but to convey man to greater realms of existence. This has to be achieved by altering his consciousness itself. It is here that India's intellectual thought and worldview can show the path to the modern world. The well-coordinated reasoning and intellectual thought beubg in the background, India's spiritual concepts can show the modern world how to achieve this radically altered state of human consciousness to evolve a greater humanity. Mind, intellect and Spirit or Self, according to Indian philosophy, are the constituents of man and India's traditional quest gives prime importance to attune the mind and intellect to the Self. Reasoning should be the means to convince the human mind to train itself to express the faculty of intuition and intuition should eventually help man to experience the Self.

The Distinctive Character of India's Intellectual Pursuit that can Help Evolve A New Line of Thought in the Modern World.

To highlight this distinctive character of India's intellectual pursuits the following illuminating observation of Mr. R. G. H. Siu, the Chinese scientist at M. I. T., U.S.A., in his "Tao of Science", would serve very much:

"Rational knowledge is rational only because it is obtainable through reason. The others obtainable through means other than reason are not irrational; they are extra-rational....

"Broadly speaking, intellectual progress is an advancement in concepts which man has formulated and handed down. But let us dissect the statement further. We should contrast rational knowledge and intuitive knowledge. The role of discovery is quite different in these two forms. In rational knowledge, it plays a promotional part. This is where science has contributed greatly. In intuitive knowledge, discovery, of the patent office variety, plays a minor role. Science has not accelerated human development in this area. If anything, she may have dulled man's sensibilities to intuitive riches by passive and, in some instances, antagonistic attitudes. All that is intuitively known has been recognized by persons living before, in other settings perhaps, but practiced to equal perfection.... The silent and formless depth of life had passed many ties before the mind of man in its full sweep. This type of knowledge is not enkindled by mathematical formulae and scientific treatises....

"Logicians deprecate the fuzziness of intuition; the intuitionists decry the strictures of logic. Actually, there is no exclusiveness of one over the other. Discursive reasoning is not possible without intuition.

"Yet, even intuitive knowledge itself is not the ultimate search. Sooner or later, we hesitate at the limits of rational and intuitive knowledge. Our faltering mind must then seek repose and cure in what it cannot know. At this point, the concept of Sage-knowledge or no-knowledge is introduced by the Taoists. This is really not knowledge in the ordinary sense. Knowledge, as we understood in the West, involves the selection of a certain event or quality as the object of its knowledge. Sage-knowledge does not do so. It concerns an understanding of what the East calls 'Wu' (in Chinese language) or non-being. The 'Wu' transcends events and qualities, it has no shape, no time. As a result, it cannot be the object of ordinary knowledge. At the highest level of cognizance, the sage forgets distinction between things. He lives in the silence of what remains in the undifferentiable whole."

Now, Dr. Siu differentiates between ignorance and 'no-knowledge'. He says: "An important difference exists between 'having-no' knowledge and having 'no-knowledge'. The former is merely a state of ignorance; the latter is one of ultimate enlightenment and universal sensibilities. To the confirmed rationalist, 'no-knowledge' may appear to be the hugger-muggery of the mystagogue. Nevertheless, it is precisely its ineffability that lends force to its reality. The mysteries of nature appear to be mysterious only to those who refuse to participate in them....

"With rational knowledge, the scientist is a spectator of nature. With 'no-knowledge', he becomes a participant in nature. There is a communion of understanding....

"To plumb the depths of no-knowledge, one must relay on his own ineffable awareness of the ineffable....

"There has also been much groping in the West for the concept of no-knowledge. It is unfortunate, however, that considerable effort has been wasted in rationalizing no-knowledge or opposing it competitively with rational knowledge....

"With rational knowledge, one is in tune with the scientific man; with intuitive knowledge added, one is in tune with the total man; with 'no-knowledge' added, one is in tune with nature."

What a remarkable insight these observations of Dr. Siu contains regarding intellectual and 'sage-knowledge'. In Indian culture the pursuit of intellectual knowledge, in fact, was considered as the means to reach 'sage-knowledge'. Dr. Siu says that rational knowledge makes one in tune with the scientific man. But, the scientific man, unless he is also a spiritual man, as we can well assume, may become a disadvantage to humanity, as he may assist the dictates of the negative trends of the human mind that bring havoc to mankind. When intuitive knowledge is added to scientific knowledge, one becomes a man of culture with a sense of commitment to his fellow beings and nature and reaches near to perfection. This should be the goal of the common people. Then human society will evolve into a greater dimension of existence.

This is India's intellectual and spiritual message to the world. In the present context of the world, this message assumes a great relevance. With the above-mentioned essential concepts in mind, we should make the best use of the great fund of intellectual and spiritual knowledge India has for the benefit of humanity. Our Puranas and other ancient texts are great compendiums of such knowledge mostly camouflaged in story forms, which some may mistake as mere legends. In the unconscious areas of the human mind there are many hidden facts about life and universe and these legends, in fact, are the means to bring us in contact with these facts.

The Organized Attempts to Denigrate a Great Culture
Several books that present us these legends are available. But we should not confine to such presentation alone, as in the modern age people are in quest of the inner significance of these legends. In the olden times these legends served to inculcate values among the masses while they conveyed spiritual knowledge to the common folk without much intellectual exertion on their part. However, the present day situation is different. The masses are educated today and to convince them these are to be intellectually interpreted to them. The hidden meaning should be conveyed to them. It is necessary that research efforts should emerge in this direction. People with the sensibility to understand the Puranas and the spiritual symbols should come forward for this essential work and they should be encouraged and supported. Such efforts can make people aware of the practical, social and moral application of the great fund of knowledge in our ancient texts. Such efforts will be able to convey the profound knowledge and wisdom that can console and give a positive direction to today's humanity, which is disturbed by anxiety and boredom without knowing the goal and meaning of human life in these very uncertain times. We are very much neglecting this essential intellectual need of our times.

If such an effort is not made in right earnestness, there is the danger of gross misinterpretation of these ancient texts. For instance, we all know today in what a detestable and vulgar manner Prof. Paul Courtright of the Emory University has presented the rich philosophical contents of the Ganesha legends in his book in the pretext of a 'Freudian interpretation' and 'academic freedom' hurting the religious sentiments of the millions! It is nothing but abject absurdity to subject to the outmoded Freudian interpretation such a highly spiritual theme and present the interpretation as 'scientific'! It is evident from that the professor had done it with scant knowledge of Freud and no knowledge of the legends. And it is said that the fabricated and obscene interpretation is circulated in schools, colleges, etc., claiming it is a 'learned and scientific' interpretation. It is pathetic that some journalists of Indian origin (in the U.S.A.), who are expected to know better, are also writing articles presenting this profane and bleak interpretation as 'scientific', of course, revealing their own ignorance of science and Indian philosophy.

Let me quote here Carl Gustev Jung, who was a colleague of Freud and the renowned psychologist, about the inapplicability of Freudian studies to matters of spirituality. Carl Jung says: "It is not the children of the flesh, but the 'children of God' who know freedom...That is what Freud would never learn and what all those who share his outlook forbid themselves to learn. At least, they never find the key to this knowledge.... We moderns are faced with the necessity of rediscovering the life of the Spirit; we must experience it anew ourselves. It is the only way in which we can break the spell that binds us to the cycle of biological events."

What a wrong key Prof. Courtright offers to open a treasure house of spiritual wisdom and misleads humanity through his books. We find the sorry spectacle of even some journalists getting misled by his 'scientific' interpretation!

Several books are available in different languages containing the legends and other details relating to Sri Ganesha. But, we seldom find major efforts to present the rationale of the legends. In this context, I am glad to have come across a book "SRI GANESHA", (third revised edition) written by Srikant, the author of a well-known book: "Power in Temples: A Modern Perspective". This book on Sri Ganesha is published by Integral Books (Web site <www.integralbooks.com> E-mail: <[email protected]>) as a volume of their series called "Alphabet of Reality -- The Significance of Divine Forms". The book gives the inner meaning of several Ganesha legends. The legend of Sri Ganesha's birth, which Prof. Courtright interprets in a nauseatingly obscene manner, is presented in Srikant's book very convincingly as a highly symbolic story of the emergence of life from matter, its evolution from different stages and its ultimate unfolding as the Divine Consciousness. The book also exposes the bleakness and fallacies of Courtright's interpretation and presents a powerful refutation of his misleading views.

Of course, the expression of our emotional outbursts and protests against such gross injustice to a great culture has its relevance. However, more than that our times call for efforts to present afresh the rationale of many such symbolic facts in logical and intellectual terms. Otherwise, books containing such misinterpretations will only be available to the people, which will mislead them beyond repair, as they will find a niche in their subconscious mind.

The Need to Promote a New Awareness
The whole mankind is facing a very challenging situation today. Science and technology are advancing and along with them human uncertainty and anxiety are also increasing. The protagonists of science believed that the rational approach of science would curtail the irrational trends of religion, which has done great havoc to humanity in the past. But science did not offer any alternative for man to have a mooring in the deeper Reality. In the recess of his mind, man knows that there is something deeper in him and in the universe and contact with it alone can give him peace and lasting sense of fulfillment. The present stage of science and technology with its partial knowledge is unable to give him any such contact with his higher being. Therefore, the mind-narrowing religious dogmas that have nothing to do with the life-expanding spirituality still exert much hold on him. Under their dictates as we see today many are engaged in the most irrational and cruelest acts of terrorism in the name of a 'merciful God' they worship! How true are the words of an eminent intellectual (I forget his name): "There has been lot of progress during my lifetime. But I am afraid it's heading in the wrong direction."

In such a context where can mankind find hope? The situation calls for all efforts for the promotion of a global rethinking in terms of a blending of material and spiritual progress. Certainly, both science and spirituality can go hand in hand for achieving this. But for this very essential need for effecting such a bridging, there should be effort to convince the scientists the scientific nature of spirituality. Here is the global relevance of India's intellectual tradition, which has always been in the background of India's spiritual vision and wisdom. Every branch of knowledge that developed in India has an intellectual background but we have to remove the dross that has gathered through the passage of time and present the thought in its pristine glory. The modern intellectuals are duty bound to do this for the greater benefit of humanity.

The traditional sciences and the philosophical concepts of India are pregnant with profound vistas of knowledge about the human phenomenon and Nature. For example, the direct experience of thousands keeps the traditional science of astrology alive, even in our highly technological age, though it eludes a convincing explanation in terms of modern science. This shows the existing gap between ancient insights and modern scientific perspectives. It points out that the ancient explorers had wrested out some keys from Nature to open some of the mystery boxes of human life and Nature.

Today we must pool all the human experiences derived through spiritual striving and scientific explorations and evolve an active philosophy of humanity instead of frittering our energies in petty squabbles, clinging to mind-narrowing dogmas or enclosing ourselves in the dry shell-bound intellectualism. Man's inspired inner strivings and experiments through millenniums have accumulated considerable knowledge on the deeper nature of universe which remains beyond the bounds of modern science. Yet, instead of blindly rejecting the ancient knowledge, scientists have the responsibility to examine them and separate the real content from the chaff. With the unbiased mind we must collect information, study them with discrimination and imbibe all that broaden our vision and expand our lives.

There are indications that a new scientific thinking is also veering round the ancient perspective that the universe is both mental and material. The trends indicate that the emerging new science will be taking a more balanced view of the two aspects of Reality -- mind and matter. Sir Roger Penrose, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and a renowned scientist, in an interview, revealed that what prompted him to write the book "The Emperor's New Mind" was the reaction against people making rather outrageous statements about the capacities of computers assuming that all we were doing with our minds was computation. The emergence of the new science calls for a deeper comprehension of the nature of mind. In this context, the following observation of Sir Roger Penrose in the interview assumes much significance: "Whatever that future science is -- and we can point to the direction it may take -- it will have quite a different character from the science of today. What we have today cannot come to terms with what mentality is."

In the evolution of this new science, the critical research of the ancient knowledge which gives much emphasis to consciousness is likely to contribute a great deal for a better understanding about ourselves and the universe. The trend is very clear and for the evolution of this new science, India's age-old intellectual thought can contribute very much. But for this purpose modern intellectuals have to shed some of their inhibitions and take to an intensive study of India's traditional sciences and philosophy. Much can be discovered by them, which would help the integrated development of this new science.

India's Intellectual wisdom, which is thus oriented to evolve and develop the inner resources of man, can help emerge a practical science of human management through an integrated approach of modern psychology and the spiritual insights in the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads.