Sameer Manekar
In 2008, when the world economy was facing breakdown, millions of people were losing their livelihoods, and thousands of entrepreneurs witnessing the decline of their dreams, one such young American entrepreneur has been directed towards the spiritual land of Bharat by his mentor. To reinvigorate his declining business, this 24-year-old American travelled to the temple in India that had quarter of century ago instilled hope, trust, and determination in his
mentor, the tech magnate, Steve Jobs. Mark Zuckerberg admits of experiencing the power of spirituality and meditation during his month-long trip to India. His reflections over the strong connections people had with spirituality in the temple helped him reinforce Facebook’s vision of connecting people with each other. It is needless to mention what has now become of Facebook since that rough patch during the end of the decade. Ironically, what demands mentioning is the existence of this deep spiritual powers in our country.
It is understandably difficult to comprehend, and more so to accept the theory that India, or more correctly Bharat, was once at the vanguard of scientific discoveries, technologies, and theories. But refuting its existence entirely from our glorious past would be cynical, and worshipping the western scientific community for being the sole source of innovations and inventions over the ages would be imprudent. Hence, with the objective of bringing into light the long-forgotten heritage of our profound saints and intellectuals, Vijnana Bharati (ViBha) has been organising numerous conferences across India. Thus, with the objective of merging the two sciences existing on different ends of the same spectrum, and with the purpose of being a vehicle to reach the masses and bridging the gap between scientific and non-scientific communities, Bharatiya Vigyan Sammelan is organised by ViBha every two years.
A dynamic science movement with a Swadeshi spirit, the 5th Bharatiya Vigyan Sammelan & Expo was held at Pune’s historic Fergusson College. Stretching from May 11 to 14, the Expo was a host to various artillery and weaponries developed indigenously, such as Bharat-52 and Garuda-105, developed by Bharat Forge, along with the advanced BrahMos missile and Pinaka rocket launcher. Citizens of Pune not only witnessed the grandeur and magnificence of the jewels that adorn the Indian army, but went home with a sense of national pride, a
confidence that cutting-edge armaments can be developed indigenously. The Expo also displayed various weapons, submarine missiles, which inspired many, largely youngsters, to join the leading defence organisation, DRDO. One of the other main points of
attraction was the deployment of DRDO Sarvatra, a mobile bridging system so as to bridge wet and dry gaps.
On May 13, western Maharashtra experienced Zero Shadow phenomenon, an annual occurrence when the Sun is exactly overhead and the shadow of a
vertical object will be right below it, giving an impression of “no-shadow”. Representatives of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune enlightened the visitors at the Expo with its demonstration, and succinctly explained the science behind its occurrence. Dr N Ratnashree, Director of the Nehru Planetorium, Delhi, presented the usage of astrolabe in determining the altitude of the Sun and determination of this phenomenon. Apart from DRDO and other presentations, the Expo also consisted of numerous kiosks precisely depicting the theme of the Sammelan. One such presentation was that of “Nadi Taringini”, an organisation converging the ancient wisdom of “nadi pariksha” with futuristic intelligence. They displayed their intelligent devices that study, analyse and display the nadi based on different parameters.
The Iron Pillar of Delhi apart from being a national monument is a constant subject of wonder of metallurgists all across the world. Built over 1600 years ago, the Pillar has displayed high resistance to corrosion. Punekars and visitors of this Expo were fortunate enough to witness the members of one such tribe that even today produces iron that is rust-proof, and was used in the manufacturing of marvelous pillar in the capital. Members of Agariya tribe, a community in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were present during the four-day expo, displaying their miraculous talent to the audience.
The Sammelan was also a host to various eminent speakers such as Prof MM Sharma (FRS), G Satheesh Reddy (SA to RM), and Dr Mayank Vahia, TIFR scientist, among others. In addition to professing the confluence of traditional and modern sciences for integral development of the society and nation, the lectures by such prominent speakers also exhibited strong substantiations of the presence of advanced and profound wisdom in the domain of science in ancient times. Dr Mayank Vahia talked about the presence of astronomical instruments and devices during the ancient times, and the testimonials of the foregone era of the greats like Aryabhatta. Prof KC Malhotra presented alterations in our culture about biodiversity conservation through the ages.
On May 14, the last day of the Sammelan, Chief Minister of Maharshtra state Devendra Fadnavis highlighted the great influential scientific heritage
our nation has acquired. “For 1500 years the great University of Takshshila enlightened students, scientists and intellectuals worldwide. Unlike the
western scientific ideology, our ancient intellectuals knew that the motive of Science is development, and not destruction.” Highlighting the need of such co fluences, CM also congratulated ViBha and all organisers for invoking curiosity and interest among youngsters about science, technology, and Indian Army.
While the Sammelan may have ended, its objective of bringing back into prominence our long-forgotten science and wisdom should inspire and motivate the masses in contributing to this revolutionary idea. In this age of radical innovations and developments when India aims to become the centre of technological developments in future, we must take the mantle, furnish our intellectual potential, enlighten the world with convergence of modern sciences with the traditional ones, and drive the Bharatiya scientific movement with our very own swadeshi spirituality. n
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