Dr. L . S. Kothari
Most of us normally associate science with what science
does for society. We regard rockets, satellites, aeroplanes, T. V., telephones or
cellular phones, railways, motor cars....... as gifts of science. One could also talk of nuclear bombs, fire
arms, pollution, drugs, ... as contribution of science. However, if one were to talk to scientists. they
would consider these as unimportant consequences of their study. To scientists,
as it should be with us, science is the study of Nature, pursued without any profit motive and with an open mind. It
is search for truth about Nature.
There are many branches of science like astronomy,
cosmology, high energy particle physics, etc., which are pursued with great
devotion and on which enormous amount of money is spent, that have no possible applications, as far as one can see. There
have been people who have spent their entire life observing stars at night or
watching birds or living in jungles observing wild animals in their natural surroundings. This total commitment to a chosen
task is not peculiar to men of science. We find this in saints and in all great
artists, musicians, writers and other creative persons.
Science is a creative activity. When one obtains a new
insight into the working of Nature one is as much thrilled as say a painter or a
sculptor when he creates a masterpiece. However there is one major difference between science and the arts. Scientific
effort is cumulative and co-operative, whereas each artistic creation is
complete in itself. In science, every newly established fact, however
insignificant it may appear to be at the time, and every new idea,
however small, is sooner or later,. bound to contribute to major advances in our
understanding of Nature. Even such a great physicist as Newton wrote, "If I can see a little farther it is by standing on
the shoulders of giants. "
Pursuit of science is one of the most selfless human
activities. In this respect too it is similar to the activities of saints or
great heroes or artists. One cannot define their motivation - in some sense it is service to God. As Einstein put it, "The state of the
mind that enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of the religious
worshipper or the lover, the daily effort comes form no deliberate intention or programme, but straight from the heart. "
Study of nature is capable of transforming individuals.
When one looks at Nature a little closely, one is wonder-struck by the apparent
simplicity of the basic structures and the complexity of the universe around us. Newton felt the presence of a
cosmic mind in the harmony of the motion of planets round the sun. Pascal trembled at the thought of
man's minuteness between the two infinites the immensity of the whole and the complexity of each part.
He said, "These infinite spaces frighten me." In more recent times Einstein
said, "This firm belief, a belief bound up with deep feeling, in a superior
mind that reveals itself in the world of experience........."
Technology is the application of science. How science is
applied is not a part of science. Rockets, satellites, aeroplanes, ... are
examples of technology, as are nuclear bombs, RDX, fire arms, poisonous gases, drugs, and so on. Where to apply science
is often decided by the Government of the country.
We are now celebrating the 50th anniversary of our
independence. If we look back, we find that before independence Indian
physicists made very significant contributions to world science. To mention a few: we had C. V. Raman, who was awarded Nobel
Prize in 1930 for his work on scattering of light. Raman effect is still
extensively used to study molecules. We had M. N. Saha, who was the first person to correctly decode the messages from the
stars - by analyzing star light one could identify the elements present in a
star and their states of ionization. Then we had S. N. Bose. All particles in Nature are grouped into two types - one called
fermions after the great Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, and the other bosons
after Bose.
Now we often boast of having the second largest scientific
manpower in the world. In spite of this and much large Government support, our
contribution to world science after independence is negligible. On the technology front too we can hardly claim
any new development. All our technological advances have been based on imported
technology. We can hardly claim to have developed a 'new' product on our own which is accepted internationally.
To come out of this sorry state of affairs all that we have
to do is to open our eyes to 'the light that has illumined this country for
these many, many years will illumine this country for many more years and a thousand years later that light will still be
seen in this country and the world will see it and it will give solace to
innumerable hearts. For that light represented something more than the immediate present; it represented the living, the eternal truths,
reminding us of the right path, drawing us from error taking this ancient country to freedom."
We have a huge population, and have
got used to putting all blame for our tardy progress on this one factor.
Population is something given, and it cannot be wished away. We have to learn to
use it as an asset rather than treat it as a handicap. It can be an asset
provided it is properly educated and trained. And this training has to start
very early in life from the primary stage. As Gandhi puts it, "I
am a firm believer in the principle of free and compulsory
Primary Education for India .I also hold that we shall realize this only by
teaching the children a useful vocation and utilizing it as a means for cultivating their mental, physical and
spiritual faculties." We observe that Gandhi placed equal emphasis on mental, physical and
spiritual education. This is extremely important and has been advocated by most modem educationists around the world. For
example, Robert Fulgham in his book, All I I really need to know I learnt in Kindergarten (IVY
Book. NewYork.1988) writes: "All I really need to know about how to live and
what to do and how to be I learnt in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there the sand pile at Sunday School. These are the things I learnt:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Don't take things that aren't Yours.
Say sorry when you hurt somebody....
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little sea in the
Styrofoam cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows
how or why, but we all like that
Professor Frank Press, former President of the U. S.
National Science Academy writes, "We must begin early by providing children
with a challenging and stimulating introduction to science in the elementary grades - a hands - on experience that will
give them a taste of real science and build our appetite for more." The well
known biologist and statistician, Prof. J.B.S. Haldane had the following to say, "The most important part of science, in my opinion, is
not knowledge, but method. Scientific method cannot be explained but only
demonstrated."
We see that almost every educationist and scientist is -
stressing the great importance of training children mentally, physically and
spiritually from a very early age. Unfortunately, in our country we have neglected primary education and the results
are before us.
Compulsory and proper early education helps to identify
and nurture talent. One does not know how many Ramanujans are lost to the
country because of lack of proper elementary education and our inability to identify talent.
Let us look at the list of subjects that Gandhi advocated
which should be taught at the primary stage: Mother tongue, Arithmetic, Natural
Science, Social Science, Geography and History, Manual and Polytechnical Work, Physical Culture, Art and
Music and Hindustani. Though not specifically mentioned, Gandhi laid great
emphasis on moral education as well.
We notice that there is no mention of English in the
subjects for primary schools. Gandhi advocated mother-tongue as the medium of
instruction. This is an important point. One of the reasons for the poor quality of scientific research in our country
at present is the fact that a foreign language, English, is used as the medium
of instruction at college and university levels. Many of the current scientific concepts require deep thought, and are far
removed from daily experience. To be able to understand and appreciate these
concepts, a thorough knowledge of the language is essential. If science is taught along with the language, it can happen
that the teaching of language lags behind that of science, and then the students
will tend to memorize the results rather than understand them.
It is not uncommon to find students who have done very well
at the examinations but whose understanding of the subject is very poor. We would do well,
following Gandhi's advice to switch over from English to mother-tongue as the
medium of instruction both at school and college/university levels.
We now consider a little different question. One cannot
deny the existence of two distinct realities; the 'external world' we see around
us and the 'internal world' of the mind of the self. Science deals with the external world of space and time, matter and
energy. Religion or dharma deals with the internal world, the world of values.
Science is the basis of technology while religion is the basis of ethics. They represent two great systems of human thought.
In India there has never been a big divide between science and dharma, and the west has also gradually
come round to realize this. Planck, one of the founders of modem physics saw no contradiction
between religion and science. Indeed, he believed the two to be perfectly
compatible. Einstein, one of the greatest physicists of the world, said, " ... Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of
science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe - a spirit vastly
superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers
must feel humble. In this way, the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite
different from the religiosity of someone more naive. "Let us compare
statements of the scientists with what Lord Buddha said: "believe nothing merely because you have peen told it or because it is
traditional or because you yourself have imagined it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you
merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatever after due examination and
analysis you find to be conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings, that doctrine
believe and cling to
and take it as your guide." Could one have defined the scientific spirit in a
better way?
Gandhi too exemplified the true scientific spirit. He
called his autobiography, 'The Story of My Experiments with Truth'. He considered
Truth as God. He never gave advice to others without trying it out himself first and there are many stories to
illustrate this. Besides this, he knew and understood the country and its people
intimately - as few before or after him can claim. It is therefore only proper that for the progress of the people, we should
very seriously heed the advice he gave.
In India, we have been working on problems of world wide
interest, both in science and technology. We have spent lot of money on
super-conductivity, nuclear energy, space research, ... without much tangible
results. A recent newspaper report states that we spend more money on much talked about diseases like cancer and heart diseases and
far less on the more common and widely prevalent diseases in India.
There are innumerable problems. crying for solution, which
concern the common man : water distribution and utilization, safer and comfortable public
transport (three wheelers and cycle rickshaws), pollution, proper roads, use of wind power, ... But
hardly any attention is being paid to these at resent. All that we have to do, if we are interested in
the welfare of our people, is to seriously head Gandhi's Talisman:
"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt or
when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test: Recall the
face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going
to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a
control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to Swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving
millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melting away. "
If we fail in this then Gandhi warned: "It is we, the
English-knowing Indians, that have enslaved India. The curse of the nation will
rest not upon the English but upon us."
Source: International Seminar on Gandhi And The Twenty
First Century (January 30-February 4, 1998) New Delhi- Wardha.
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