Western Greats on INDIA

              With the beginning of the new millennium we are witnessing more frequent and dramatic instances of Nature’s destructive power; the severe earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan being the most recent. For many of us these natural catastrophes, as well as manmade disasters, have caused deep reflection on the age-old questions of life. If tens of thousands of lives can be wiped out in an instant, without warning, what does it all mean? Life, as we know it, is so fleeting—why are we even here? Is there anything permanent we can latch onto in this world?

           These events bring home the value and relevance of the great mystical teachings, particularly the Vedanta philosophy of India as set down in the Upanishads and The Bhagavad Gita. In an impermanent world they speak uncompromisingly of that permanent reality we are all seeking (consciously or not). In Vedanta that Reality is called Brahman and is defined as eternal, immortal, unchanging, indivisible, beyond the pairs of opposites and, according to mystics from all traditions, can be directly experienced by us. Moreover, the purpose of life is to realize our identity with that Divine Reality.

          The Vedantic principles speak of the unity of all existence, the universality of spiritual truth (that each religion is a path to God), and a God that is not distant at all. Although transcendent, It is also immanent—is the indwelling Presence that gives life. These basic truths are becoming more and more part of our thinking. Evidence of this can be seen in the works of great Western philosophers, scientists and writers. ‘Great minds on India’  by Salil Gewali provides an extensive compilation of what these influential, world-renowned individuals have said about India’s contribution to science and spirituality. The wisdom of these teachings also permeates the works of many modern spiritual writers and thinkers such as Eckhart Tolle, Thomas Merton, and Don Miguel Ruiz. The influence of these ancient Vedantic teachings of India started early in American history and can be seen in the works of such great writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain and TS Eliot.

           With technology fostering a global consciousness and change in our worldview, we have a newfound sense of interconnectedness. Can it be a coincidence that the Vedantic scriptures of ancient India, which speak of the oneness of all life, are now available to us? It would appear that humanity on a larger scale then ever before is ready to hear these crucial ideas. Fritjof Capra’s world famous ‘The Tao of Physics’  is a successful attempt to validate the ancient wisdom. He says ‘The two foundations of twentieth-century physics - Quantum theory and Relativity theory both force us to see the WORLD very much in the way a Hindu sees it.

           The urgency of our times makes the dissemination of these teachings of oneness, universality, and acceptance of other paths imperative for our future existence. A great thinker Arthur Schopenhauer exclaims  ‘Upanishads have been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death. They are the product of highest wisdom.’ 

          India, the country shaped like a heart, is the mystical heart of the world. It is the great reservoir of spirituality for humanity to dip into whenever it tires of the aridity of secular life and materialism, of doctrines and sensuality. Since its precious teachings have been translated and given away to the rest of the world over the last two centuries, perhaps it isn’t as necessary now to go to India to discover them: India is a spiritual territory, a spiritual direction, not geography. So in this text we will try to capture the spirit of India—the India of the sages, of lofty thoughts, of the highest mysticism—and the essence of that is called Vedanta. The author’s hope and prayer is that the ideas, insights, and promising message of these marvelous scriptures of India will inspire and encourage the reader to personally test the validity of these universal truths. Thus Salil’s compilation “Great minds on INDIA” will be a most worthwhile gift to all of us.

Anna Hourihan
Redding, California, USA   

My Discovery of INDIA

My Discovery of INDIA

How I got down to this research and compilation of "Great minds on INDIA"

You Indians are fortunate to inherit such knowledge. I envy you.

While Greece is the country of my birth, India is the country of my soul. 

-by: Queen Fredricka

                Firstly, it’s my great love for the country. Secondly, I learned much about the Indian wisdom when I was introduced to the works of Swami Vivekananda by my father from early age. Frankly speaking, Vivekananda, Sri Aurovindo and Mahatma Gandhi  were my initial eye-openers and inspirations. Their works embedded deeply in my heart inspired me to read more and explore more.

Here let me narrate how the seed of inspiration sown and how it germinated which now has taken root to grow into a tall standing tree.

             It was a winter day in 1988, when I was travelling to Delhi I had bought a book “The Discovery of India” by Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru from a newsstand in Guwahati Railway station. I had heard a lot about this work of Pundit Nehru. It contained the wealth of knowledge/information as to the country and about the significance of her ancient heritage.

I read it very attentively throughout my journey of over 56 hours. What amazed me most was a few of the quotes in the book by the world-famous western scholars and philosophers. Those quotes were in deep appreciation of Indian ancient wisdom, its language and culture. For months together I felt much haunted by those words of western luminaries.

            The second book that fascinated me again was “Autobiography of a Yogi”  by Paramhansa Yogananda. Here even I had come across such profound opinions by great thinkers like Ralph Emersion and Schopenhauer  who were close to my heart. These quotes had left deep imprints ---- both in my inner mind and heart. I have begun to realize that this country is far more than what we have known or made to be known as.

             But the turning point happened when I read a book entitled ‘We are not the first’ by an UFO scientist Tomas Andrew where I encountered incredible facts. I clearly saw that great many discoveries of modern times had already mentioned in the ancient scriptures of India. I got the vivid references and precise theoretical illustration of atomic structures and the time scales which are far inconceivable to the scientists of even the early 19th century.

                    I strongly felt then, these western scientists would not have applauded and approved of those ancient wisdom and knowledge had there not been any scientific validity and significance. I gradually got to know that scientists like Schrodinger, Julius Oppenheimer, David Bohm, Heisenberg, David Josephson, etc had sufficiently got the ideas relative to Quantum Physics from Upanishads and Vedas. It dawned upon me that the ancient treatises had greatly emboldened those scientists to plunge deeper into the atom, moreover into the inner core of the Quantum Mechanics. Here are the words of approval by Werner Heisenberg – ‘After the conversations about Indian philosophy, some of the ideas of Quantum Physics that had seemed so crazy suddenly made much more sense.’ All these facts consequently strengthened my conviction about the infallibility of ancient literary archives.

                    I kept reading, peering through the pages. I was constantly on the lookout where I might stumble upon the great words of great minds. I rummaged through the pages of probably over 100 more such books on ancient philosophy. The works on linguistic, astronomy, astrology, spiritualism, Ayurvedas, mostly written by the western scholars also captivated me, intrigued me. Well, the books like ‘The Tao of Physics’  by a fomous American physicist Fritzof Capra, ‘Indian and the world Civilization’   by D P Singhal, Hinduism Invades America, by Wendell Thomas , ‘Mathematics for Million'  by Thomas Hogben, ‘The Secret'  by Maurice Maeterlinck and so on and so forth added to firming up my determination to do something unprecedented and substantial for the country. I saw this great country being much neglected and also underestimated and undervalued by her own children. With the time I grew more inquisitive and felt that I should know my Mother before I develop kinship with others mothers. 

                  The thing that pricked my conscience incessantly was one question. Why in my over 16 years of academic studies in several prestigious institutions I could not find even the sporadic references to these amazing facts. Why have these proud truths about ancient knowledge of the country never been taught to our Indian students while their minds are stuffed with rather controversial information that only leave behind negative impression about the country and her ancient heritage? I startled to know that Pythagoras from Greece came to India to learn geometry and spiritualism, not from any of my textbooks but from the work of one of the greatest thinkers of all time Francois Voltaire.

               Perhaps the majority of our literate folks have heard about Ralph Emerson. But barely a few know this world-renowned poet had written a solemn poem ‘Brahma’ inspired by ancient wisdom. I sense many things amiss in the country. Yes we in India swell our chest to quote TS Eliot  but hardly anyone take their cue from his world famous poem ‘The waste land’ that ends in Sanskrit word ‘Shanti, Shanti Shanti’ , and finally speaks of cardinal truths as expounded in Brihaddaranyaka Upanishad. One wonders why Indians never get to learn such higher facts about the country and her rich heritage from the prescribed academic books. It’s bewildering, such profoundly lofty data are missing from the textbooks. So, it’s no strange now our children grown to have less respect for our own heritage and values.

                  Well, to me nothing would be more intriguing than to know that Erwin Schrodinger (the Nobel laureate, the father Quantum Mechanics), David Josephson and Robert Julius Oppenheimer (father of Atomic Bomb), Jack Sarfatti --- who held the Indian literature in the highest esteemed, had studied Upanishads, besides Bhagavad Gita thoroughly and had drawn lots of ideas relative to Modern physics and other research works.  Schrodinger had even supported his theory in his revolutionary work on Quantum Physics by the phrases of Upanishads. He boldly pointed out in his famous work ‘My view of the World’ – “ In all world there is no kind of framework within which we can find CONCIOUSNESS in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction.... The only solution to this conflict in so far as any is available to us at all lies in the ancient wisdom of the UPANISHADS.” Thanks to the works of Ravindranath Tagore whose Vedantic wisdom spellbound even Albert Einstein, while Vivekananda's speeches bewitched  Nicholas Tesla, Romain Rolland.

                 Of course I started casually collecting such quotes about 22 years ago. But making a book occurred to me while reading the world famous book – ‘The Tao of Physics’ and ‘Uncommon Wisdom’ by Frijtof Capra for the second time in 1995. Yes, it really put me in the most pensive mood and got me lost in the depth of thoughts for years together when I had come upon Oppenheimer’s bombshell-like quote -- 'What we shall find in Modern Physics is an exemplification, an encouragement and a refinement of old Hindu wisdom.' This statement so deeply touched me wherein I clearly saw great messages by the ‘father of Atomic Bomb’ --- not only for the modern scientists but for the whole mankind. I deeply felt that this must be spread among every citizen of India who is less aware of the higher truths about the ancient treasure troves. At least to make the citizens aware, who otherwise tend to dismiss the ancient literature as a load of myths and superstition or irrelevant to the modern time, as often depicted --- as being scientific, universal and secular to the core.

                The years 1996-98 saw me frantically preoccupied. I exhaustively work for this compilation. I would regularly visit a number of libraries like State Central library, RK Mission library, St. Anthony Library, NEHU library and the like. Because, I didn't have enough money to buy books.  I can’t miss to mention here, apart from our own bookstall, how I frequented the junk yard – a popular second hand  market just near our shop in Shillong. This was my preferred rendezvous. I had come across a rare collection of books here. I got to read the works of great intellectuals -- like the translated works of, Voltaire, Gottfried Herder, Sir William Jones, Fredrick Hegel, Max Muller, Henry David Thoreau from a few shops in this shabby market of Bara Bazar, Shillong.

                  Life is not always a bed of roses. The dreams one cherishes often meet with stumbling block of adversaries. No matter however I tried I could not save enough money to publish the book for many years though the compilation was ready in 1998 itself. Family responsibilities had begun to weigh heavily on me. Thank God, however, my weary and dreary wait of over 11 years brought a sunny light of hope. Yes, with a little improvement in my economy I could see my treasured dream fulfilled. At last I published the book in glossy format in 2009. I was delighted, the book was instantly gloried, --- so appreciated that Governor of Meghalaya heartily consented to release it in the most fitting manner.

              I have reasons to feel blessed. The work immediately caught the attention of the scholars from across the world. A shower of compliments began to pour in. To my immense delight I received phone-calls even from great many eminent scholars, writers throughout the world. I was too thrilled when Prof. A. V. Murali, an eminent NASA scientist, called me to express his gratitude for the work. He remarked –

"This compilation is simply outstanding! I never knew that such a compilation exists and we all should be thankful to the reseacher! These great quotes should be embossed on plaques and displayed on the walls of our Parliament, State Assembly Halls, and at all our educational institutions. Most importantly, the material should be made a compulsory reading for all the school students (elaborating more on ‘ who is who’ and the monumental contributions of these intellectual giants)."

Prof. A. V. Murali, Ph. D, Former NASA scientist, Houston, Texas

  

                   Lastly my prayer -- may this ancient wisdom of the country evoke awe and reverence among intellectuals. Let no children of the country speak ill of the mother whose womb gave birth to those mystic rishis whose works mesmerized even the great minds like Voltaire, Hegel, Goethe, Einstein.

---Salil Gewali,

Shillong, Meghalaya,

Email: sgewali@gmail.com