PRESENTS YOU the rationale of India's spiritual heritage, integrating the ancient insights and the modern scientific perspective, as the emerging questions of Science veer towards the spiritual wisdom. Humanity is at a critical juncture , as the eminent historian points out, when a threatening self-destruction looms like the Damocles’ sword, as never faced in history. The time demands integrated wisdom of Science and Spirituality for the very survival and evolution of a superior human civilization.

Vast arenas of the heritage, which can guide to realize the higher possibilities of life, remain neglected taking them as mere religious lore. Here the thoughtful views of Prof. Alexander Spirkin, of the erstwhile USSR Academy of Sciences, become relevant:

"They [the sages of ancient India] knew much that even today is beyond the ken of European scientific thought, or that it ignores, often trying to conceal its helplessness by asserting that oriental wisdom is mere mysticism and thus showing its inability to distinguish the rational but not yet fully understandable essence from various figments of imagination…." He concludes his two-page comment of the Indian heritage thus: "Does it not go to show an astonishingly high level of culture that should arouse our admiration, gratitude and desire to study!" ( from the book Dialectical Materialism, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1983).

Research is essential to inspire the upcoming generations, who are getting alienated from this profound heritage due to educational apathy, for in-depth study. They have to be given clues to link the inherited treasures with the current scientific trends to foster a creative understanding of life for its meaningful fulfillment.

Sir John C. Eccles, the Nobel laureate for medicine and physiology reminds the scientists: "If the value of research is to be measured in relation to the intrinsic value to man, the brain research must rank as incomparably more important than space research, which commands a very much greater financial support."

Evidently, the veteran scientist means by 'brain research' an in-depth study of the strategically structured nature of the human brain, which the eminent neuro-scientist V.S. Ramachandran points out is equipped with profound potentials from its very early inception that cannot be explained through Darwin’s theory of natural selection alone.

Bridging the gap between India's spiritual vision and the modern scientific perspective would help develop universal awareness to transcend the boundaries of nationalities, religions, economic variations, etc., to realize the dream of evolving to be a superior humanity, 'One World', which is reflected in the ancient Vedic motto, Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam, the whole world is one family.