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to pull the world out of the present predicament and avert the looming apocalypse. The course of social change is fraught with imponderable value choices. We have to be unambiguously clear as to what democratically legitimated and consensually validated social design and ideological scenario we have in mind when we talk of social change. When faced with false dichotomies and pseudo ideal types, Indian genius has never opted for an “either or” solution; rather it has evolved a synthesis through transcendence. The question of having vs. being, East vs. West, tradition vs. modernity, material vs. spiritual, progress vs. perfection, technology vs. value, science vs. religion, success vs. significance, man vs. nature, et al has never bothered the Indian perspective. At this critical juncture, we have to exercise our options with great circumspection. Instead of succumbing to the transient and tempting marvels of modernity, we should go in for something more fundamental, elevating and enduring.
III
When we come to science, we again come across a multiple dilemma. Science as a mode of consciousness has no immutable diacritical marks. What is abiding and universal about science is its spirit/temper and not its field, methodology or conclusions. The sine qua non of science is its free spirit of inquiry untrammeled by any ostensible or ulterior motive. It is one of the highest expressions of man's creative nature and sublime adventure. Uninterrupted and undeterred pursuit of truth, freedom from dogmatism and orthodoxy, dynamic and incredulous mindset, non-acceptance without solid proof, experimental verification and falsification are some of the hallmarks of a scientific temper. It is the pervasive cultivation and dissemination of these traits in society and human personality that would accelerate the pace of social change and pave the way for a genuine and authentic development. There is no gainsaying the fact that the bulk of our populace is bogged down in a mystique of antiquated notions. Unless people are liberated from these psychological constraints and inhibitions through the spread of scientific culture they cannot become the engine of social change.
Science like other creative endeavours of the human mind - religion, philosophy, art and literature - has come to stay and has to co
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Jain Education International
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| SR No. | 524605 |
| Book Title | Tulsi Prajna 2000 10 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Shanta Jain, Jagatram Bhattacharya |
| Publisher | Jain Vishva Bharati |
| Publication Year | 2000 |
| Total Pages | 128 |
| Language | Hindi |
| Classification | Magazine, India_Tulsi Prajna, & India |
| File Size | 6 MB |