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The Rediff Special/ Dr Murli Manohar Joshi

In the coming millennium let India show the light

During the past two centuries, rapid advancement of science and technology has played a very crucial role in transforming human society. Since the beginning of the twentieth century researches in the domain of atomic and sub-atomic world, nuclear power, space, lasers, superconductivity, biotechnology and genetic engineering, medicine, cybernetics, information system, communication systems etc have been successfully used for producing mind boggling affluence and unprecedented levels of consumption.

But, despite this success story, in the last decade of the twentieth century, human society finds itself engulfed in a multi-dimensional crisis. It is a crisis which encompasses all aspects of human life -- social, political, techno-economic, cultural and spiritual.

The Scenario

The growth of an industrial society in the West in the early decades of this century and the rapid transformation of some of the nation-states from the debris of the Second World War into powerful and affluent societies generated a sense of optimism and enthusiasm for adopting technology to resolve many of the problems confronting modern societies.

Is the present model of unlimited growth in a limited environment adopted by the western nations the right answer to the complex of the world problematique?

Every year about 18 million to 20 million people die of hunger and starvation, that is each day nearly 50,000 people, most of them children, lose their lives for want of food. Throughout the world nearly one billion suffer from the pangs of hunger and are chronically undernourished. Ironically this is happening when the world claims to possess the technological, financial and agricultural resources to eradicate hunger.

Today half of the world lives without adequate medical assistance and that too when medical men are performing miracles and astounding discoveries in the field of genetic engineering.

Mechanistic World View

The scientific thought dominating the western mind for the past three centuries evolved as a result of the worlds of Galieleo Galilei, Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes and Issac Newton. The foundations of scientific rationalism were laid when Galileo, for the first time, combined experiments with mathematics. Bacon propounded a clear theory of inductive procedure and Descartes declared, 'all science is certain and evident knowledge'.

Descartes also constructed an entirely new system in which events were mathematically described. His statement Cogitoergo Sum (I exist because I think) resulted in a fragmented human personality with 'mind' separated from the 'body' and functioning as a controlling authority of the body. Descartes with his analytical skill portrayed the Universe and all the objects which constituted it as automata. Descartes also extended the mechanical view of matter to living organisms. His method consisted of breaking up thoughts and problems in to fragments and then arranging them in their logical sequence. Cartesian approach thus produces a fragmentary world view. Like Bacon, Descartes himself believed that the aim of science was the domination of nature affirming that scientific knowledge could be used to render ourselves the masters and possessors of nature.

Some of the philosophical consequences of the Cartesian-Newtonian approach or in other words of scientific rationalism can be summed up as under:

a. That the universe or nature is a giant machine and is governed by certain universal laws which can be discovered through experiments and rational understanding.

b. That there is an external world which exists independent of us, that 'I' as an observer exists 'in here' and 'out there' exists the external world to be 'observed'. This external world is impersonal and the observer can strive for 'Absolute Objectivity' ie measuring the external world without disturbing it.

c. That phenomena and problems can be understood by reducing them to fragments and then rearranging them to their logical order. In other words 'whole' is merely a sum of its 'parts'.

d. That with persistent refinement of the experimental techniques and mathematical methods the scientist would one day observe the ultimate reality of the universe, nature would be forced to reveal all its secrets. Scientists would then become complete masters and possessors of nature with full liberty to exploit it. Seeds of an exploitative techno-economic system are clearly visible in this approach.

The mechanistic view and the reductionist approach had influenced the western mind so much that the model was extended not only to chemistry and biological sciences but also to social sciences. In the late seventeenth century the well-known philosopher John Locke had published his work which was deeply impressed by the Newtonian model. This had tremendous influence on the eighteenth century thinkers.

Locke's ideas provided a new value system and had a deep impression on the evolution of the Western political and economic thought during the eighteenth century. Application of Locke's philosophy resulted in the development of a socio-economic system based on individualism, property rights, free market economy. Based on these ideas a capitalist system and an industrial society emerged on the western horizon.

The predicament which mankind faces today is, how can we change this course of development and restore the dignity of an individual, his inner calm and peace, equilibrium and harmony in human society?

The need to have an alternative world view capable of resolving various modern conflicts was never so urgent as it is today. Intellectuals must define their goals and life values clearly and take a bold initiative to transform the society they live in. It is here that India and her philosophy and culture have a crucial role to play.

The Holistic World View

The development and growth policies hitherto advanced and pursued are a legacy of the mechanistic model of the universe. Their main assumptions have been derived from a world view based on 'Cartesian Divide' or 'Cartesian Partition' between matter and spirit, between body and mind. Any alternative to the present socio-economic thought deeply rooted in a particular comprehension of the world, the cosmos or the physical reality will have to be derived from an alternative world view. The new paradigm must emerge from a new and fuller understanding or the nature of universe and life and the interrelationship between man, his environment and the physical world.

David Bohm suggested that quantum physics demands a new paradigm, a new world view. "Instead of starting with parts and showing how they work together we start with the whole." Thus, there is a new notion of unbroken wholeness which is quite distinct from the Cartesian world view of the universe as a machine.

Gary Zukov argues that because of the deep rooted Greek notions in the western mind it is difficult for it to comprehend this new paradigm which is holistic. The Greeks believed that only 'Being' is and 'Non Being' is not. In the new paradigm Nonbeing also 'is'. Both Being and Nonbeing are 'that which is.' Bohm says matter is a form of the implicate order as the vortex is the form of the water. Particles may be discontinuous in space but they are continuous in the implicate order. The question is the implicate order of? And Gary Zukov answers implicate order of that which is. Bohm's theories have striking parallelism in eastern thought in the Upanishadic statements.

The Chandogya Upanishada gives a dialogue between Svetaketu and his father. When Svetaketu returned home after learning the Vedas for twelve years, his father asked him: 'Svetaketu, have you asked for the knowledge by which we hear the unbearable, by which we perceive the unperceivable, by which we know the unknownable.' What is that knowledge asked Svetaketu? His father Uddalaka said, 'That knowledge is knowing that which we know all.' And further explaining the father pronounced, 'In the beginning there was existence, one only, without a second. Some say that in the beginning there was non-existence only, and that out of that the universe was born.

But the question is how could existence be born of non-existence? In my opinion in the beginning there was existence alone -- one only. He the one thought to himself: Let me be many, let me growforth. Thus out of Himself he projected the universe, and having projected out of Himself, the universe, He entered into every being. All that is had itself in Him alone. Of all things he is the subtle essence. He is the truth. He is the self. And that, Svetaketu That Art Thou.'

The quintessence of the Upanishadic thought is given by the following: Brahman alone exists without a second Atma itself is Brahman
All this is Brahman, I am Brahman, so art thou, and
that which is in microcosm is also in the macrocosm
Brahman is all pervading, it is subtler
than the subtlest and larger than the largest.

Some of the philosophical consequences of the holistic world view can be summarised as under:

1. All objects and events in the physical world are interdependent and inseparable 'parts' of the 'Cosmic whole'. The 'whole' and its parts are constantly and mutually interacting.

2. Consciousness is the essential aspect of the universe.

3. Each 'part' in some sense contains the 'whole' and the physical world is so structured that whole is enfolded in each of its parts. In other words that which is in macrocosm is also in the microcosm.

4. The whole is primary and the properties of the 'parts' can only be derived in terms of the dynamics of the 'whole.'

5. The 'whole' is not comprehended merely as the sum of its 'parts', it is something more, the relationship between the 'whole' and the 'parts' is organic.

6. The Cartesian view that all science is certain, evident knowledge is untenable. The concept that external world can be observed without disturbing it is also invalid. It is a participatory universe.

7. The Cartesian Divide of the world into inner and outer worlds, matter and mind, body and soul, subject and object is unacceptable.

8. The holistic approach prohibits the domination or torture of nature, since man and his environment are inseparable. Humankind must learn to live in peace and harmony with nature.

Since the very dawn of human civilisation, the Indian mind has reflected on the true nature of the universe and man and other interrelationship. The depth and profundity of their enquiry in this regard is revealed in various schools of philosophy developed in India. The ancient Indian genius had discovered the fundamental unity of all Cosmic phenomena and the earliest clear and unequivocal enunciation of the holistic world view if found in the Upanishads.

New Paradigm

The holistic world view offers a new paradigm for building a socio-economic system free from exploitation and also resolving the dilemma which mankind is presently facing. It demands attitudinal changes with regard to the relationship between human society and the eco-system, consumption levels and growth rates with consequent changes in the value system of the Cartesian world.

As a natural corollary of the integral approach there is an 'unbroken wholeness' between man and the ecosystem. Different constituents of the ecosystem are interdependent and their relationship is symbiotic each sustaining the other. No human problem can be solved without taking into account its interaction with social and natural environment. Since each part contains the whole the exploitation of the part/whole by the whole/part or of one part by the other is ruled out. Exploitation of any part in ultimate analysis is the exploitation of the whole. Degradation of environment in its turn degrades human life. The integral approach demands that for the survival of humankind the dynamic balance between man and nature must not be disturbed beyond repair.

In a sense man is the child of mother nature, he can have a breast feed but cannot be allowed to make the mother bleed to death. Violence against nature is totally repugnant to the holistic view because violence against nature is violence against mankind as well. Integral approach, therefore, means the establishment of a non-exploitative socio-economic order.

The integral approach is neither anti-growth nor anti-technology. It emphasises the need to have a balanced growth which does not mean only material development at the cost of moral and spiritual development. Technology must not serve the rich and affluent alone, it should not become a tool for exploitation or dehumanisation.

All technologies have side-effects. The effect of technology on value systems has also to be clearly understood before integrating a technology in the production system. The holistic paradigm demands a technology with a human face, as an instrument to serve both man and nature. There is no blind rejection of growth or technology but there is no acceptance of blind technology and growth. The core question today is not sustainable development but sustainable consumption.

India is at the moment at a crucial juncture of her history. Dark clouds of a multi-dimensional global crisis are hovering over it. It is a moment in its history when self-evaluation has become necessary. The model based on Cartesian Divide has failed. It will not be desirable to pursue another model based on the same approach. The present crisis is, in fact, a civilisational crisis. There are moments when the direction which a society should take for its development gets lost.

India has to rediscover its worldview and redefine its path for its future. As Dharmpal has rightly said, 'Once we seriously get down to the task, it may not turn out to be too difficult to find a new direction for the Indian civilisation...' For every civilisation there comes a time when the people of that civilisation have to remind themselves of their fundamental civilisational consciousness and their understanding of the universe and time. From that recollection of the past, they then define the path for their future... we need to undertake such an exploration into ourselves once again.

India's understanding of the universe and time has been well defined by its seers and philosophers. Only on this recognition of its past it can chart out its path for reconstruction and future progress. When India rediscovers its holistic world view it will recognise its original self. It will be the awakening of India which will not only resolve its civilisational crisis but will also show new light to mankind. The world today is in search of a new paradigm. In the coming millennium let India show the light.

These view form part of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture 1999 which Minister for Human Resource Development Dr Murli Manohar Joshi delivered in New Delhi recently.

The Rediff Specials

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