My extensive forays into Indian villages over the last fifteen years slowly revealed to me many more invaluable treasures than just the folk music I was seeking. It slowly dawned on me that village India, its rhythm, way of life, and, most importantly, its “world view” holds much of the medicine that the modern ‘scientific’, ‘developed’ urban world needs. I began to see a truth that escapes many modern, educated people. Village India is a very sophisticated mode of existence. In stark contrast to the Darwinian “dog eat dog” paradigm of the modern, scientific, materialistic, rationalistic, post industrial world, village India evolved to maximize spiritual and emotional growth, and loving connections between fellow humans. It did NOT evolve to maximize material wealth and comforts, though it welcomed these as pleasant side benefits. Most importantly, village India evolved to co-exist in harmony with the earth and nature. It never treated the earth as a resource for human consumption.
Over the last few years, I began to speak about these experiences and the realizations distilled from them, to visiting student groups (from Europe, U.S).
The key question which I have been asking (and am still researching) is “what can village India teach New Delhi, NY, London and Tokyo?”.
So now, in addition to giving music concerts, I am increasingly being called to speak, and the label I have given to my talks is “Spiritual Ecology”. These lectures are commissioned by academic institutions (such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences), Banaras Hindu Universtiy, and, on a regular basis, at the Finance Ministry of the Central Government of India. In the latter case, my audience consists of government officials from India and several other countries who have a say in Public Funds Management. These lectures, together with the way of life and the world view I personally follow, are my own small contribution to the gigantic group effort needed to steer mankind away from its present, ‘lemmings-like” march into a dark abyss worse than death.
The lectures consist of, to begin with, an outline of some of the major crises the human community is facing in the ecological, economic, political, social, family, and personal levels. Then, I address the question of whether we can find a common cause or a key contributing, seed factor for all these problems, which introduces us to the world view that we are all immersed in today. Then we look at some alternative world views and societies, of which village India is a living example. The faulty paradigm of modern technological societies has its roots in western science and its fruit..modern technology. This forces us to look at what was going on during the “scientific revolution” and specifically, what are the elements in modern scientific philosophy and practice that make it pathological, and how can these elements be removed? Finally, as a look towards the future and healing, how science can be infused with spirituality and love to make it whole and sane.
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विगत वीर वार को दूरदर्शन पर आप का साक्षात्कार देख कर यहाँ पहुँचा हूँ. मुझे एक बीमारी है, कि बहुत कम लोगों से प्रभावित होता हूँ. और डेस्पेरट्ली ऐसे लोगों की तलाश मे रहता हूँ, जिन से प्रभावित हो सकूँ……….. पुराने लोगों को रहने दें, आज के विचारकों मे ओशो और जॉयस मेयर के बाद आप की बातें मुझे प्रासंगिक लगती हैं. बहुत विरले लोग हैं जो अध्यात्म और विज्ञान के विरोधाभास को उतनी स्पष्टता के साथ समझा सकते हैं. आप को और अधिक सुनना , पढ़ना और समझना चाहता हूँ. बहुत अरसे के बाद कोई मिला है जिसे फॉलो करने का मन हुआ है. वैसे तो अंग्रेज़ी भी समझ लेता हूँ , लेकिन हिन्दी मे ज़्यादा कम्फर्ट महसूस करता हूँ. क्या आप हिन्दी मे भी उपलब्ध हैं ? हिंग्लिश हो तो और भी अच्छा है. मुझे एक और बीमारी है, कि कविता लिखता हूँ. हिमालय के एक दम भीतर लाहुलस्पिति के केलंग टाऊन मे रहता हूँ. यही के एक आदिवासी समुदाय से आता हूँ. यदि आप को सचमुच लगता है कि विलेज इंडिया के पास दिली और न्यूयर्क को देने के लिए कुछ है तो निश्चय ही मेरे पास भी आप को देने के लिए कुछ है. इसे मेरा दंभ नही, महज़ एक सूचना समझिए. मुझे प्रभावित करने के लिए धन्यवाद !
Dear Sir
i am really influenced n enlightened by your subject Spiritual ecology. I am a scientist working in ZSI which comes under Environment Ministry. In today’s scientific and materialistic world we are only working in materialistic science and turning our mind totally from our consciousness and the science involved in it. So naturally we are going away from our natural environment. Sir I think your subject Spiritual ecology will help the modern scientific world in establishing the relationship between Science and spiritualism which would benefit both the world immensely. There is a kind request sir i want to study your lectures on spiritual ecology, where i will get kindly inform me.
With regards
Swetapadma Dash
I was deeply touched by your interview on Aaj Savera. I can sense your love for music and deeply rooted love for rural India. I value both the concepts. I have started learning Hindustani classical music at a very late stage in life from Mrs Sudeshnaji, a student from Varanasi, in Hyderabad. She is an amazing lady with beliefs very close to your values which she imbibes in her students.
I would like to know more about your values and how you propose to change the scientific beliefs and improve the cause the rural scenario.
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