RE: [Y-Indology] 'Eurocentrism' etc

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color:black"> M S Chandramouli on Wednesday, May 09, 2001 5:42 PM:

“The Spirit of Science: From Experiment to Experience, Ed. David Lorimer, Floris

Books, 1998 is ostensibly a compendium of dialogues

between Scientists and Mystics (all from the Western world - yeah, both

Europeans and Americans). It

is 90% Indic, 20% acknowledged and 70% not so.”

 

COMMENT:

 

You are right. We were approached by David

Lorimer for help in some events. I reviewed the prior work and MADE IT CLEAR

THAT WE WERE DISSATISFIED WITH THE NON-ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF INDIC SOURCES. Rather

than getting defensive, he suggested we move forward in cooperation, which we

are now doing. As a matter of fact, there is an event by

his organization in UK this summer that we are co-sponsoring, and at which

THERE WILL BE SEVERAL INDIC SCHOLARS ON CONSCIOUSNESS THEORIES. These scholars are

very open in their acknowledgment of the source traditions. See:

http://www.infinityfoundation.com/brain.htm.

 

For instance, one speaker will be Alan

Wallace at UCSB, who has taught Science and Religion for 4 years as part of our

program there – his syllabus revolves around Madhyamika, Upanishads, William

James, and Quantum Mechanics. Not the typical big bang from the God. This is a

very different approach than the classical one. (This too happened because of

straight talk with  the Chair at UCSB,

that if they were to teach science and religion we didn’t want yet another Abrahamic

approach as all other places do. They liked the new approach and it has been

one of their most popular courses.) See our program there:

http://www.infinityfoundation.com/ucsb.htm.

 

Another participant will be Ram-Prasad

Chakravarti (Lancaster – Philosophy). We also have a separate project at his

university. See: http://www.infinityfoundation.com/Lancaster.htm.

 

Jonathan Shear will be there; he is also

involved in a separate and ambitious project with us to produce an edited

volume on the major meditation systems of the world – each chapter written by a

well-known scholar-practitioner in the specific tradition. The idea is to be

authentic to each tradition, to show the systems explained in a logical manner,

not just some wild claims. See: http://www.infinityfoundation.com/meditationbook.htm.

 

 Slowly

but surely, we are identifying top scholars who are unafraid to come out and be

genuine to the particular source traditions being described. It will be a few

more years before the expanding ‘science-religion-consciousness’ movement re-acknowledges

where 75% of its foundational ideas came from (India). One thing going for us

is that the superficial scholars of today do not know Sanskrit – hence someone

who knows their stuff can run circles around them. Also, they have reached

several cul de sacs after thinking rather arrogantly that they had already plucked

all the fruit there was from the Indic sources. This field has been a BIG

missed opportunity for Sanskritists.

 

So the moral is: have your facts, speak

up, and don’t be afraid of initial intimidation that is inevitable.

 

The biggest obstacles are NOT western

scholars. It is the Macaulayite Indians who denigrate their own tradition. To

change the next generation of Indians before they choose Macaulayism, we must

get help from western scholars: first, they have the rigor and expertise; and second,

the desis will listen to them.

 

Rajiv Malhotra

The Infinity Foundation

53 White Oak Drive

Princeton, NJ 08540

www.infinityfoundation.com