India’s ancient knowledge traditions must be examined through modern research and fresh questions rather than preserved merely as historical inheritance, Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta said on Monday. He urged universities to become centres of new ideas and intellectual inquiry.
Addressing scholars and students at South Asian University, Gupta said the future of India’s intellectual heritage would depend on the questions asked by younger generations. He was speaking at the inauguration of the university’s Auditorium 2 and the launch of Major General GD Bakshi’s book, Vedas: Language of Life: From Sacred Sound to DNA-RNA.
Gupta said educational institutions should not limit themselves to passing on established knowledge. They must also create opportunities for research, debate and the development of new ideas. He stressed that India’s ancient intellectual traditions needed to be studied with an open mind and explored through contemporary perspectives. Referring to Bakshi’s book, the Speaker said the Vedas contained a wide range of knowledge covering philosophy, language, poetry, mathematics, the cosmos, nature and questions about life. He said the book attempted to examine possible connections between Vedic language and modern scientific concepts. Its subjects include DNA and RNA, mathematical language, information, biological development, Vedic poetry and literature.
Gupta said the work offered readers an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between India’s traditional knowledge systems and contemporary scientific thought. He congratulated Bakshi on the publication and appreciated his efforts to bring together subjects from different fields of study.
The Speaker also referred to Bakshi’s 37 years of service in the Indian Army, including his participation in the 1971 war. He spoke about the author’s association with his spiritual guide, Swami Pranavananda Saraswati, and said meditation and spiritual reflection had opened new avenues of thought and self-discovery in his life.
The event was attended by South Asian University president Prof KK Aggarwal, Major General Bakshi, author Rajiv Malhotra, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Media and Design Prof Ramesh Chandra Gaur, and other officials and academics.