Swami Veda inaugurates a symposium in Delhi

The Indian capital’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University and Samvad India Foundation organized a Symposium on Information as Science and Spirituality on 18-19 March, 2007. It was held at the India Habitat Centre Amphitheatre – a beautiful venue by any standards. Swami Veda Bharati was invited to inaugurate this Symposium.

Professor Makarand Pranajpe, Chairperson, Centre for English Studies, Jawarharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, received Swamiji in the morning of 18^th March before he was led to the Amphitheatre of the famed Habitat Centre. Professor Makarand Pranajpe is also the Principal Investigator of the project “Indian Perspectives on Science and Spirituality”.

Amongst many distinguished dignitaries who greeted Swamiji on this occasion included Acharya Shrivasta Goswami, noted scholar and head pontiff, Radha Raman Temple, Vrindavan; and Satish Gupta, noted artist, sculptor, and author whose creation Kalyanasundara Shiva was on display at the Habitat Centre.

This symposium was actually aimed to provoke the responsible citizenry into rethinking the fact and idea of Information. What are the implications of this to our daily lives? We clearly note an obvious quantum jump in how the Information Technology (IT) has transformed the material conditions of our lives. Consider just one instance – communications technology. Cell phones, email, multi-channel television broadcasts, and satellite or cable connectivity – all have shrunk the world in unprecedented ways. With the spread of satellite and broadband technology it is possible to transfer data almost instantly to distant parts of the world. This has also resulted in greater economic and cultural integration, which is what globalization is all about. It is also possible that Information is the “missing link” between science and spirituality: two domains, which have been the drivers of human progress?