Page 23 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

Introduction xxi

to the enormous mess man has landed himself and the
planet in. Traditional societies and values, once rejected
as primitive and useless, are again being reexamined, at
least by some.

People talk of going back to nature, not knowing that most
of the world never left it. For instance, if someone were
to drive a bullock cart into a city or town in America, he
would undoubtedly be featured in the local newspaper;
and he would almost certainly need police permission to
bring bulls into an urban area. Yet in most parts of India
bull-power is still as common as that nasty, noisy, only-
seemingly-better replacement called the tractor.

The original culture of India is based on Vedic wisdom,
subsuming a vast body of knowledge covering all
manner of subjects from astronomy and mathematics
to architecture, economics, and even the enlightened
application of warfare and sex. Vedic culture is based on
profound metaphysical philosophy, its essence being the
quest for freedom from birth and death, culminating in
highly developed love of God. In India religion was never
compartmentalized as merely one aspect of life. It was
life. And everything within life was ultimately directed
toward a transcendental goal. Although other parts of the
world are not without religious ethos, the degree to which
it has been developed in India is outstanding.

Unfortunately, over the past few centuries the Vedic legacy
has been infiltrated by many non-Vedic ideas. Gradually