' THE NEED FOR A NEW INDIC SCHOOL OF THOUGHT During the Eurocolonial period, Indian history and

civilization were distorted to fit European perceptions. A new school of thought is need that will see Asian history and tradition with Asian eyes and thought, beginning with India. David Frawley (Vamadeva Shas ri!

"a#$%r&'(d) Clash &* Civili+a i&(s A clash of civilizations is occurring throughout in the world today, a war of cultures at various levels in both our personal and public lives. This clash is partly due to rising historical and cultural awareness on the part of newly independent countries, beginning with India. One civilization, the Western-European-A erican is currently predo inant and is strongly, if not rudely, trying to eli inate or subordinate the rest. !et western civilization is spreading itself not so uch by force, as in the colonial era, but by subtle new for s of social ercial ar"ets, continued anipulation. These include control of the edia and news infor ation networ"s, control of the entertain ent issionary aggressiveness by western

industry, do ination of co curriculu s worldwide.

religions, and # as i portant but so eti es overloo"ed # control of educational institutions and This control of education has resulted in a Western-European-A erican view of history and culture in te$tboo"s and infor ation sources in ost countries, including India. %aturally, their native people educated according to western values will function as part of western culture, whatever ay be the actual country of their birth. They will e$perience an alienation fro westernization of their culture, which also co culture that they have not really been raised in. They easily beco e a fifth colu n for the eans its denigration or, at best, its ercialization. An authentic Indian or Indic perspective, a worldview co ing out of the

culture of India and its particular values and perceptions, is hardly to be found, even in India. The western school of thought is taught in India, not any Indic or Indian school of thought. I(di# S#h&&l &* Th&'%h What is the Indic school of thought, one ight as"& It is not at all so ething new or un"nown. It is the great spiritual, philosophical, scientific, artistic and cultural traditions of the subcontinent that are a ong the largest and oldest in the world. It is the e phasis on dhar a, on

6 "ar a, on pluralis ancient sages fro and synthesis, on yoga sadhana and o"sha. It is not only the tradition of odern

the (edas and )panishads to *uddhist and !oga traditions but also

teachers li"e +ri Aurobindo and +wa i (ive"ananda. It is not only the vast literature of +ans"rit but also that of the regional languages and dialects of the subcontinent, literary traditions than the languages of Europe li"e English. All a,or cultural debates are now fra ed according to western values and perceptions, and so they will naturally serve to uphold the . The i portant issues of Indic civilization today are fra ed according to the principles or biases of the western school of thought. These include what Indian civilization is, when India as a nation first arose, what the real history of India is, how to refor Indian society, and how India should develop in order to have its rightful place in the future world. As the debate is defined according to the approach and values of western civilization, India does not always fare well, and India as its own independent source of civilization is seldo wrong. The western school of thought has denigrated or overloo"ed the Indic school, particularly in the Indian conte$t. .or e$a ple, the Indic school has its own history sources through the (edas, /uranas and various historical te$ts 0Itihasas1 that are 2uite these any place. They are dis issed as at best ainly fro the west, fro assive, detailed and have uch internal consistency, but in writing the history of India, the western school does not give ythology and at worst fraud. Instead, it defines ore affinity with, which the history of India according to outside influences, as a series of invasions and borrowings cultures the West "nows better and has a"es India see dependent upon the West in order to advance its civilization again today. ac"nowledged. India is ,udged as if it should be li"e another )+A, *ritain a"es Indians feel inferior or or -er any, which it can never be, nor should be. This only ost of which have older

The western school of thought negates the relevance of the traditions of India. This is not si ply because the Indic tradition is wrong, unsophisticated or irrelevant. It is because western civilization is hege onic, if not predatory in nature, and such ideas help pro ote its spread. Its infor ation about India contains a built in poison. It is appear to be. When India as a nation arose is defined by the western school as '345, the year of independence. It founders were %ehru and -andhi, who inherited a united region fro the eant to under ine the culture of the odern its approach ay region and subordinate it to the West, however ob,ective, scientific or

? *ritish, before which India was ,ust a confused ass of local "ingdo s with no national ain characteristic of

consistency. On the other hand, according to the Indic school, India or *harat as a country arose in the (edic era as the type of dhar ic7yogic culture that has been the of all the regions of India fro fol" songs of all regions. Wes er( Dis &r i&(s a(d I(dia( Res,&(se In the western school of thought, an Aryan invasion or igration is used to deter ine how ancient (edic civilization too" root in India, as if it were an alien force of intruding barbarians. In the Indic school of thought, the whole idea of an Aryan Invasion79igration is a sign of ignorance. The Indic tradition arose fro the rishi tradition of the (edic-+arasvati culture the (edas to the and related cultures, reflected in the continuity of (edic literature fro peoples and dynasties of "ings. In these current cultural debates, therefore, an overriding greater debate is ignored; that between the western and the Indic schools of thought. The western style edia and acade ia tries to see what is authentic in Indian civilization and finds it to be wanting, reducing it to little ore than caste or superstition. This is not surprising as the Indic tradition has a different focus and values than does the western tradition. +i ilarly, fro we the standpoint of the Indic tradition, ust 2uestion western civilization itself. Is the western school of thought enlightened& Is it The Indic school itself is often highly critical of the western school. .or e$a ple, when as"ed what he thought about western civilization, 9ahat a -andhi replied, =It would be a good idea.> What he eant was, fro the standpoint of the spiritual traditions of India, western was not highly evolved. +ri civilization with its aterialis , aggression and dog atis Indian civilization through history. This spiritual or yogic orientation can be found in the cultures Ta il %adu to the 8i alayas, pervading even in the fol" art and

9ahabharata, *uddhist and :ain literature, and the /uranas which all reflect the sa e principles,

appropriate for India& <an it understand the uni2ue civilization of the subcontinent&

Aurobindo wrote on the li itations of western civilization, while appreciating it in certain areas. -Se#'lar .issi&(aries/ The West si ilarly tries to control any debate on cultural ethics, under slogans of de ocracy and hu an rights, which are only used to inti idate wea" nations and conveniently

4 ignored relative to stronger or wealthier nations li"e <hina or +audi Arabia. Organizations operating under the cover of hu an rights are a ong the today. They function li"e @secular ost aggressively alienating influences li"e the 8indus, issionaries@, ignoring victi s of terroris

while defending the @rights@ of terrorist organizations against security forces that are forced to ta"e action against the . 9eanwhile, it is the West that is selling the weapons and profiting terroris and civil strife throughout the world, and any terrorist groups were originally trained by the West, as in Afghanistan. +uch groups highlight social ine2ualities in India, while ignoring the colonial history of both genocide and cultural destruction. The sa e charges of cultural bac"wardness have been used throughout the colonial era to under ine the native traditions of Africa, Asia and A erica, and to ,ustify religious conversion and political do ination, which is their real ai . +o eti es native intellectuals are ta"en in by these western approaches to social issues, not realizing that they are ,ust pro oting the colonial agenda of world do ination in a New R'les &* De0a e Therefore, it is not enough to si ply debate issues of culture, politics, or history in the e$isting foru s in order to pro ote a ore Indian or 8indu view. We ust 2uestion the very process itself, the perspective or values behind the school of thought in which the debate occurs. What India needs is the creation of a new Indic school of thought that is dyna ic and assertive in the odern global conte$t, that can challenge western civilization not erely in regard to the details of history or culture, but relative to funda ental principles of life, hu anity and consciousness. This re2uires a revival or renaissance in the Indic tradition and its great spiritual syste s of !oga, (edanta, *uddhis , and :ainis , and also in its political, artistic and scientific traditions. 9odern science and technology can arguably be greed. The world today needs a criti2ue of civilization fro view on capitalis , socialis , co older, deeper and closer to the spirit in both transcends dog atis or e$clusivis . an Indic or Ahar ic perspective, a fro a tradition that is uch unis , <hristianity and Isla ore hu anely e ployed according or its co ercial to Indic or Ahar ic values, than according to western religious e$clusivis ore covert for .

an and nature. These western ideologies are failing

to address the spiritual needs of hu anity and are incapable of creating a world order that

Those of us who are part of the Indic school of thought should e phasize such a greater debate and not get caught in the details of issues already for ulated according to the biases of western civilization. This debate should e$a ine the right structure for society and the real forward direction for history and evolution. We western ust raise funda ental 2uestions. Is the current aterialistic view of history valid at all, or are there spiritual forces at wor" in the world ore intuitive view re2uired

that go beyond all these& <an we understand our history through outer approaches li"e archaeology, linguistics or genetics, or is a higher consciousness or donBt agree with our views& The real issue of the (edas, IndiaBs oldest tradition, is not how these te$ts the current develop ent of civilization through outer fro ight fit into odel of history as pro oted by the western school of thought, tracing the aterial advances. It is how the e$istence of such an as well& Are the records of our ancient sages to be re,ected so lightly, whenever we thin" they

ancient tradition of rishis, "nowers of cos ic consciousness, shows a higher spiritual hu anity which we have arisen and whose legacy we can reclai .

Need *&r a New S#h&&l &* Th&'%h India needs a different type of scholarship, an Indic school of thought that has its own values, traditions and conclusions. Those of us who follow Indian civilization should develop this Indic school in its own right, and not erely try to ,ustify our views in ter s of the western or European school of thought, which has a hostile and alien foundation and history. I recently raised a call for an intellectual Cshatriya in India # a new class of warrior intellectuals to defend India and its great pluralistic traditions fro the onslaught of western e$clusivist approaches, whether religious, econo ic or political. This call re2uires further and ore funda entally the creation of such a new Indic school of thought. +uch a new Indic school of thought is not ,ust philosophies of liberation or yoga, but Indic, 8indu and Ahar ic approaches to ecology, to the global religious freedo , in short to all the ar"etplace, to health, to science, to the status of wo en, to ain issues in society today. And it should also loo" beyond

these issues, which are often the issues of the western school, to yet broader concerns. 8ow can we integrate hu anity with nature and its underlying cos ic intelligence& 8ow can we reclai our spiritual heritage as a species that the great yogis have pointed out for us&

G +uch a new Indic school of thought re2uires new institutions to pro ote and e body it, new (edic schools. This will arise not through Indology depart ents in western styled universities but through a new type of institution with its own funding and curriculu , free fro anipulation by the vested interested and ideologies of the western school and its religious, co ercial and political biases.

New 1i(ds &* I(s i ' i&(s The proble is that Indian acade ic institutions were created by the western school and eaning 8indus are atte pting, ay be a helpful side strategy but reflect its values. To try to gain credibility for Indic thought in the conte$t of European institutions, li"e so e well isses this the ain point. Western universities have their own agendas that they will not readily ore @sy pathetic@ picture of India and her

give up. They will not change si ply because a few well intentioned people and groups give oney and sponsor positions to pro,ect a to confor civilization. Ei"e a sea that salts every river that flows into it, e$isting trends and interests will force the people co ing into the to the do inant Eurocentric values that pervade these institutions. Otherwise, they cannot survive acade ically. The western school is inherently incapable of grasping the Indic school, or even the Indic way of loo"ing at issues. It is not on single issues that we need to a"e headway but on ere side sub,ect ust loo" bac" to pro oting the Indic tradition as a co plete school of thought in itself, not as a of Indological study in the conte$t of current western defined acade ia. We such Indic to the -uru"ula approach and its ore inti ate and spiritual for of learning.

odels as %ai isha, Ta"shashila, %alanda or 9ithila, not only to institutions but also

I urge the young people and the scholars of India to ta"e up this cause. Ao not try to define India in the conte$t of civilization as defined by the West. Father loo" to the great traditions of India that have their own deeper roots and use it to criti2ue western civilization and discover its li itations. Father than see"ing to define and control India according to western perspectives, the West should loo" to India for guidance on the deeper issues of culture and spirituality. Indians in turn should assert their own greater traditions and not si ply i itate the West or see" to ,ustify Indian civilization fro a western perspective. True scholars of the Indic tradition need not go to 8arvard or O$ford see"ing credibility, rather these institutions should

5 co e to the . That is little ore than see"ing to pander to the tastes of the old colonial asters,

which is not about to end servility or restore ones prideH