This piece was written by Ram, Chief, Samanvaya as a response to the discussions in THINNAI during the Bharat Gyan session in July 2004
Indian Knowledge Systems and Processes
In India for millennia knowledge has flourished. Knowledge systems mean
institutionalising of some of this knowledge through written material
or institutionalised practice. Much of this institution was attached
to either temples or palaces as these two were the major public infrastructure
that were used for knowledge transfer, except in the cases of large
university such as Nalanda. However, most of the knowledge was taught
from father to son or within a community of people. Many such communities
possessing unique knowledge became practitioners of that knowledge and
even came to be known by that knowledge.
Since the plunder of India started, there has been a gradual decrease
in space for such knowledge to be practiced in public places, palaces
and temples have been destroyed along with large centres of learning.
As mere survival strategy some of the knowledge transfer would have
been integrated into the ritual of the temple, its festivals and gatherings.
The Indian way of interpreting nature was based on a conceptual understanding
and a utilitarian value without compromising on certain fundamental
principles which perhaps were driven by supreme wisdom.
However, the destroying of the bases of knowledge institutions and the
lack of any fixed indoctrination for the principles has resulted in
a mix-up of many localised and scenario based traditions transmitted
far and wide and being adopted by others in other locations and situations
as blind faith, without understanding the real reasons for the same.
Beginning of Modern Science
Modern science is another way of understanding nature rooted in the
philosophy of the 16th century Europe. All principled and values that
shaped the emergence of this science was rooted in the culture, values
and wisdom of the european civilisation.
Due to the domination of the European
forces across the world, and its subjugation of most part of the world
in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the modern science
and its derivative technology started spreading rapidly. This knowledge
was used to enslave and relegate other civilizations and societies across
the world by the European powers.
The perpetuation of this knowledge
in non-European countries so as to ensure that they remain backward
was one of the European tactics applied in the 19th century. The school
and university across many countries in the world including India were
made delivery houses which would present the euro-centric scientific
knowledge as the ONLY interpretation of nature. All other societies
were soon either declared barbarian or un-civilized for practicing any
other system of knowledge. Any other knowledge system could only be
validated through the modern science and other forms of validation were
rendered 'un-scientific' hence unacceptable. Modern Science and scientific
knowledge perhaps created immortal shackles on all forms of native knowledge
everywhere across the world.
The backwardness felt by the newly
educated societies forced two things:
1. The more brilliant people in such societies would migrate and express
themselves in the language of the euro-centric modern science
2. The rest of them would strive to catch-up with the European and its
later derivative - American societies for their scientific knowledge
and technological excellence.
The entire American society of scientists
today consist of migrant labourers from other countries and societies,
mostly european, but, also from Asia.
Confrontation of Scientific Knowledge and Indian Tradition
India possess a large population
of people educated in the euro-centric science. In the middle of the
19th century, the scientific knowledge was considered an important achievement
among young Indians. Many youngsters started to look at the Indian tradition
through the newly acquired glasses of scientific knowledge. The rationality
of some of the traditional processes appealed to them and a school of
thought came about which propounded that every Indian traditional system
and practice has to be validated through modern scientific knowledge.
Swami Vivekananda was one of the early supporters of this theory. However,
he saw this as only a temporary phenomena as this would infuse strength
and faith on the Indian systems amongst the youth of those days which
he saw was getting debased and destroyed completely.
Since the middle of the 20th century
it has been known that the euro-centric science has its limitations,
in fact, some very fundamental and blatant limitations in its understanding
of nature and its interpretation through theories and laws. They have
been repeatedly voiced through the scientific bodies. However, the 20th
century truly saw the commercialisation of the scientific knowledge
and also the political and social power shift from the governments to
the corporate. Any fundamental change in understanding of the scientific
'facts' that would hinder the profit generation of the corporate houses
has been summarily rejected, its promoters defamed if not destroyed.
Hence, the voice of dissent is today prominently missing in the scientific
scene across the world.
Rational knowledge often rejects certain type of traditional Indian
customs which could have been mis-placed adaptations that have lost
their relevance in time and context. This is correct, such mis-placed
emphasis would disappear with time in a functional society. However,
to blindly follow the euro-centric science as the absolute interpretation
of truth and use it as the scale to legitimise or in certain cases to
even accept is foolishness in the 21st century context.
The european and american society are imprisoned by their own genie
- scientific knowledge today driven by commerce and power derived from
such commerce. India does not have to follow the same. We know that
traditional wisdom in India and the principles borne out of it make
more sense as the destructive side of modern science and technology
unfolds. The systems of knowledge and its processes and whatever remaining
institutions have to be thoroughly analysed and understood, all aberrations
removed. Yet, they have to be done from the view of the philosophy of
India, of the Indian people and not handed down by the European historians
as either theirs or as that of India's - this was another body of knowledge
created by the Europeans systematically since 18th century, re-writing
of the native history for them.
Unless, much time is spent (I remember Dr. N.V.C. Swami, ex-Director
of IIT-M who once told us that as it takes about 20 years of education
to understand the true value of the Theory of Relativity, we should
at least spend half the time before questioning the Indian scriptures
and the knowledge they propound), understanding the philosophy governing
the Indian knowledge systems and in their light the various streams
of knowledge are interpreted, we would either continue to look at them
in awe whenever the traditional form of knowledge seems to co-relate
to what is currently considered 'scientific achievement' or we would
ridicule those that cannot be scientifically legitimised. Either way,
our interpretation would be incorrect and not promote understanding
of tradition or rejuvenation of knowledge.