The Global Perspectives on Science and Spirituality program completed its first international tour at the end of February. Jumping off from Paris, Pranab Das, Principal Investigator and Program Director, and Tom Mackenzie, Program Manager, made a three-week tour of seven cities in India. The trip was designed to introduce the program’s fellowship opportunities to a wide range of intellectual opinion leaders throughout the country.
The team met with and made presentations to over 30 groups. “We met federal ministers and a state governor, heads of universities that teach almost a million students and internationally-known figures in the sciences, economic development and Indic philosophy” Das says.
Initial proposals for funded research range from the foundations of science to the social impact of technological development. “We heard from world-class physicists interested in the philosophical interpretations of quantum mechanics, neuroscientists researching the impact of chanting mantras and even a metallurgist exploring the history of bell-making and the construction of sacred spaces,” says Das. “On the other hand, we were welcomed by experts in sustainable development looking at social and individual spiritual practices in light of economic and technological development. In between, we heard from dancers, archeologists and marketers, doctors, law-school professors and Sanskrit scholars. The range, breadth and quality of thought that we encountered was stunningly impressive!”
The GPSS team will launch a trip to Europe later this month capped by major presentations at two international conferences. In coming months, various team members will travel to Vietnam, China, Korea, Japan, Poland, Russia and the Baltic states.
Preliminary applications are now being welcomed on the GPSS website at www.uip.edu/gpss where detailed program information is available. Das asks the Elon community to please help pass the word to interested scholars worldwide.