LITERATURE- LIGHT AND DELIGHT. 73. PARALLEL KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS

LITERATURE-LIGHT AND DELIGHT

73.PARALLEL KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS

Parallel Economies

Most of us have heard of the expression 'parallel economy'. It refers to the activities financed by black or unaccounted money. Its size and significance are variously estimated- usually understated by the authorities, and exaggerated by the critics. But no one is sure about what exactly it is and its magnitude. It has been joked that economists are trying to measure something, without knowing what exactly they are measuring.

But there is a parallel economy we know. In any city in India, we have the regular, glittering shops, selling branded ware, usually at dollar prices. This is one market. Just a few yards away, you get shops selling local brands, at much cheaper prices. This is the second market. Then on the platforms and in small shops in the corners, you get unbranded, cheap stuff. In Bombay we had another layer. In the Fort  and Fountain areas, there were some good tailors with small shops. They stocked a limited range of good quality cloth from reputed mills. You choose the cloth, give your measurement  and model- they would stitch your shirt and pant exactly to your measurements on the same pattern. It would cost roughly half of the branded stuff. This was another layer. These also represent a type of parallel economy.

 Then we had some markets in some cities variously called Burma Bazaar, National Market , Singapore Shopping Centre,etc where you could get the 'phoren stuff' - whose authenticity no one could vouch for. This was another layer of the same phenomenon. Except the last one, all others were genuine, though quality varied.

While in Ahmedabad, I noticed another phenomenon. In the textile area, most mills had their own retail outlets. But most of the things there were stamped "seconds" or "sub-standard". I used to wonder. And shirting, suiting would be mostly in pieces cut to standard lengths , ready for stitching. Sarees would be in two pieces- selling at less than half the regular price. Later on, I came to know that these were the tricks of the trade, to tackle the usually corrupt excise dept.This is yet another layer of the parallel market.

And in Surat, I noticed another phenomenon. There were very good, big cine theatres, duly air-conditioned. But they usually exhibited old Hindi movies to thin houses. ( I saw Mother India, a 1957 movie, in one such theatre  in 1979) I came to know that this was a method of converting black money into white: show a full house, pay the entertainment tax, and the proceeds become white! When the rulers become unreasonable, victims become ingenius.This is better than revolution. Of course, it is an open secret that the cine industry, like real estate, thrives on black money. The link is organic.

Thus we know several layers of the parallel economy. Like in many other things, we can trace the origin to a venerable Rishi- Visvamitra, no less. Once he was snubbed by Indra who denied entry to Swarga to his protege in his physical body. Enraged, he started creating a parallel universe. Somehow things were sorted out, but the things he brought into existence still survive: garlic and palm fruit are the two prime examples. Our authorities should have known- if you provoke intelligent people or govern them in stupid ways, you risk parallel systems. In any country, the people are more intelligent than the rulers.

Parallel knowledge streams

Like in governance, so in education. The establishment is dominated by vested interests. They spread their wings everywhere, plant their people everywhere. They ensure that only the officially sanctioned books and ideas are accepted. In the Catholic church, any religious book on their doctrine must have the 'Imprimatur' stamp of the authorised representative of the Church. So is in the great educational establishments of the West, and following them in India. Harvard, Chicago, Princeton- each has its own distinct line. In India, the Delhi School of Economics is leftist, our History depts are leftist ,etc. 

But outside the universities, scholars debate  and generate new ideas. Evolution is the accepted official doctrine in the universities. While one line of opposition to it comes from the Christian religious groups ( called Creationism, based on the Bible), another line is equally scientific and explore and expose the gaps and deficiencies in the official Darwin line. But such scientists are considered outcasts. They are not allowed to hold positions in the universities dominated by the orthodoxy. They are not even allowed to participate in seminars and allowed to express their views freely.

Parallel Economics

The same system prevails  in economics too. Here the dominant official doctrines are either the so called market economics or the competing socialist economics. Both converge on  the same basic ideas: massive exploitation of non-renewable natural resources, military-industry nexus, ever-expanding consumption, manufacture for transience,etc. The only difference is in respect of whether the govt or pvt capital will control resources, and whether people will be allowed to retain their income and spend on their won, or the govt will tax them and take off their income for their own expenditure. Today, technology is such that socialist systems cannot survive.

These two streams represent the economic orthodoxy which has captured and which controls the commanding heights of the academic world, and through it the political systems. However, they have not exhausted the economic wisdom of the world.

These orthodoxies rose in the 18th century. They are based on mere theoretical works, without any scientific foundation. They uprooted all earlier insights and arrangements, riding on the wings of industrial revolution and imperialism. But perceptive thinkers were aware of the deficiencies and bad effects of the system. If Scottish moral philosopher Adam Smith inaugurated modern economics with his "Wealth of Nations" in 1776,  another Scottish philosopher and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) for instance called economics"the dismal science"! He said famously: "Teach a parrot the terms 'supply and demand', and you have got an economist."  Then John Ruskin (1819-1900) criticised the industrial capitalism and utilitarian theories and dissected the theories of Adam Smith,Ricardo, Mill- the rising science of political economy and pointed out how it adversely affected society's bonding. This resulted in a book of severe indictment, Unto This Last (1860) showing how this orthodox economics made large sections of the people suffer. This problem has not been solved yet! Mahatma Gandhi was greatly influenced by this book, and  this inspired his own Sarvodaya movement- the welfare of all! The British Labour Party acknowledged him ( and not Marx) as the source of the idea of the Welfare State! However such voices were drowned by the rising tide of expanding industrialism and colonialism.

Orthodox economics is based on materialism- called by Gandhi worship of mammon, and utilitarianism. Both these bases have been shown to be hollow and harmful in the 20 the century, especially in the later half. First great  philosophical and academic work was done by serious thinkers, and then great scientific work was done in several disciplines. It has been conclusively shown, on entirely scientific lines and bases, that indefinite growth based on non-renewable resources is impossible and an absurdity in a finite world. The disastrous ecological consequences have also been documented, not just speculated. The truly scientific minds now speak of sustainability, not growth as measured by fancy indices.

But it is the orthodoxy which still controls the establishment. The enormous amount of incontrovertible scientific work and impeccable philosophical-academic work is still treated as untouchable  in the official circles and there fore available only through alternative sources such as the Schumacher Institute or the Herman Daly foundation.

This is how free the free countries are, and how free their universities are! Our own Amartya Sen is their stooge! Orthodox economics is not only dismal-it is disastrous, and idiotic.

Eurocentric View of History

It is well known that the conquerors write history. That is, they distort things to suit their own interests.

When Christianity rose and spread, it started as a secret society, with a limited following and were persecuted. But when they converted the Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th century A.D, it became the state religion, Constantine's army even adopting the cross as its symbol. Christians then started not only persecuting but eliminating all other faiths of the ancient Romans, calling them Paganism.They rewrote history to suit them.

This has been the standard since then. Wherever Muslims went, they converted the local people, eliminated the local religions. When the Spaniards and Portuguese went to South America, they massacred the local Indians and converted the rest, and destroyed all historical records and monuments. Only the ruins are left. The other colonial power- English and their descendants in North America did the same. Wherever the English went, they consolidated politically and the work of conversion was left to the missionaries, while all the facilitating groundwork - such as administration, education, economic adjustments, etc was done by the colonial powers.

In India this took the form of fabricating our history. They did not understand our scripture or its language or its chronology. But they engaged half baked scholars like Max Muller - who did not understand spoken Sanskrit- to translate our sacred books, with the view to vilifying them. They then believed that the world was created by God at 10 AM on 23 October 4004 BC! So all our dates were fixed by them on that basis.

They then did one more atrocious thing. Without any archaeological, literary, historical etc evidence they propounded the theory of Aryan Invasion, and arbitrarily assigned to it 1500 BC. They could not say where they came from but they came from abroad! Since they controlled the educational system, this theory was taught as the official truth. The free Indian govt has shamelessly followed this fabricated falsehood as established wisdom.

Yet every subsequent piece of discovery in every field has been disproving this theory! It is now admitted by most historians that there was no evidence of invasion at all! The much tom-tomed Mohenjodaro-Harappan Civilisation has been shown to  be a remnant of the earlier,vaster Saraswati civilisation. The course of the Saraswati River, now dried up, has been photographed by satellites. Hundreds of ancient sites have been excavated on its banks! The causes of its disappearance have been determined to be geological and tectonic changes, resulting in the change in the courses of its tributaries- Jumna and Indus! The ancient and original city of Dwaraka has been discovered under the sea off the coast of Gujarat, and it has been established that it was submerged under sea by a tsunami-like phenomenon, exactly as written in Bhagavatam, Mahabharata and other traditional sources. The date, as determined by the marine archaeologists also tallies more or less with the traditional dates- around 3000 BC! Yet our govt, which has proclaimed SATYAMEVA JAYATE- TRUTH ALONe TRIUMPHS as the state motto does not dare to get these facts reflected in our history books but continues with the British lie and concoction! So this knowledge too is only available through parallel sources.!

The same position prevails in respect of religious studies- especially relating to Hindu religion.Every religion is interpreted by its own acknowledged, learned and trained scholars who are the actual followers. But in regard to Hinduism, there are any number of paper scholars who write about and interpret. Unfortunately, while many so called foreign 'scholars' at least know some Sanskrit, even if their knowledge is not complete or perfect, and their motive  is suspect, most Indian writers do not know Sanskrit at all, have not studied the original sources but only the translation by foreign scholars!

Compensatory and Complementary Education

In a country where education is controlled by the govt and people are enslaved to it by its linkage with employment, and where that system of education does not reflect latest truths and findings, the only practical course open to enlightened citizens is to explore alternatives of voluntary education- what i have been calling compensatory and complementary education.

It may be that there is as yet no consensus among scholars on many issues. This is not unusual- even in the established orthodoxy. For instance, though evolution is taught now, it is not as Darwin explained it all through. There have been many variations, additions, amendments. And yet there are gaps. Perhaps there is complete agreement only on one thing - the name evolution! And scientists know that IT IS STILL ONLY A THEORY, NOWHERE CONCLUSIVELY PROVED! 

In the same way, ARYAN INVASION WAS A THEORY WITHOUT PROOF! 

If we have been teaching theories so far, why can't we say so openly and allow alternative theories also to be mentioned? This is what happens in every discipline. Is sound wave or particle?  Are trade cycles due to psychology or sun spots? Both theories are found in economics! Is inflation caused by hoarding and speculation or are hoarding and speculation triggered by inflation?  Should budget be balanced? Should food subsidies cut or be continued? In every such matter no two economists will agree- in fact they do not agree on most things and all theories and possible explanations are taught. Then why is the govt afraid to adopt the same stand in respect of our own history? 

In determining our religious festivals we do not consult the govt. In tracing our true history from traditional sources why should we depend on the govt? In our Sankalpa for religious functions we recite our traditional history!

But we should do it professionally. This is where we fail. The orthodox circles use scientific jargon to promote and sustain untruth. We must adopt the same scientific jargon to establish truth. Mere sentiment or wish  or good will will not do.

At least those of us who are not in need of govt. employment should become free of govt schooling. We have to create parallel facilities. Has not Visvamitra shown the way?  Where is our new educational Visvamitra?

LITERATURE-LIGHT AND DELIGHT 65. INDIAN WRITERS

LITERATURE-LIGHT AND DELIGHT

65. INDIAN WRITERS

Friends have asked me why I always  refer to books by foreign authors, and do not mention any by Indian writers. The simple answer it that, there are not many (any?) Indian writers on subjects that interest me.

First, we are in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, and seek it from all corners. As the Veda says: Let there be no barrier to the flow of thoughts from everywhere!

There is an enormous amount of ancient lore in the Indian languages, especially Sanskrit. But how many of us can honestly claim that we can read  and understand them in the original? We need translation, comments, explanations in English. Do we have them? By competent Indian writers, in readable, idiomatic English? I have been buying books for 50 years. Apart from Sri Aurobindo and Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, very few have written  a scholarly, or even readable account of even our religious matters. N.Raghunathan, Chaturvedi Badrinath, Prema Nandakumar readily come to mind. There are some good books in the regional languages- I mean well-written, but usually badly published, with no professional editing, and lacking in the graces associated with decent publishing. Even the paper quality is usually not good.We buy them any way , simply because we have no choice. I can give many examples, but it would hurt people.

There have been exceptions in English. The books by Sri Aurobindo Ashram are superbly produced. But apart from the writings of Sri Aurobindo, what else is there? Every other book is only drawn from the writings of Sri Aurobindo. We can better read Sri Aurobindo himself! Amal Kiran (K.D.Sethna) is an exception.

There are any number of books from the stable of Sri Ramakrishna Math. But only two are original, and essential: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, and Sri Saradananda's detailed biography. While the former was rendered into excellent English in 1942 by Swami Nikhilananda ( but with great collaboration from Joseph Campbell, and Margaret Woodrow Wilson), we have had a readable translation of the latter book only recently, by Swami Chetanananda. I feel all other books are unnecessary, though some like the ones on the disciples by Christopher Isherwood are good. There too you will find that every other book is heavily drawn from the two original ones. The volumes of the collected works of Swami Vivekananda are a separate category- informative in a way, but not essential for real religion. (I am sorry if it offends some). If we are shipwrecked on an uninhabited island, The Gospel alone is enough company, and will save us! Their series on 'The Cultural Heritage of India' is good,and is now available in delightful new edition. But parts of it require urgent revision. They are still talking of the Aryan invasion. How silly!

The Ramanasramam has some nice publications: The Collected works of Ramana Maharshi - in the original Tamil and in translation by Arthur Osborne. Don't fear at the word 'collected' works: it is a slim volume, and if you can read Tamil, you do not absolutely need anything else. It can keep company with The Gospel. For those not knowing Tamil, and those needing clarification, the works of Osborne- all his writings, I mean- are essential. We need not look further.

There are so many translations , commentaries and editions of the Gita. If you ask me, only three are good: 1. By Swami Swarupananda, from Advaita Ashrama (RKMath). This is a hundred year old gem. 2. Translation and commentary by Sri Jayadayal Goyandka, of the Gita Press. It is good in any language. And Tamilians are lucky that we have an excellent rendering in Tamil by that savant, Swaminatha Atreya. 3. Commentary   by Swami Ram Sukh Das, also from the Gita Press. 

All the writings of Dr. Radhakrishnan are good. But all Indian editions and reprints are just bad- even those by reputed foreign publishers. I think they are just taking us for granted, or simply taking us for a ride!

What about other subjects? We had excellent books by authors of a previous generation on history, like S.R. Sharma, Radha Kumud Mukherjee. Those are not available now. The multi-volume history of India edited by R.C Majumdar (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) is indispensable reading. But the publication standards are poor, and parts of the volumes require revision.)The present writings are by the leftist fringe, and these are assiduously promoted by international names. I would not touch them.We had read books- had to- during college days, but they are not good. 

We have never had any good books by Indians on politics  ( political science) or economics. We had a one volume wonder : Substance of Politics by Dr.A.Appadorai- but it is not available or relevant now.

The point is that the modern developments in political science and economics, and numerous other branches like sociology, anthropology, psychology etc are entirely due to foreign scholars and researchers. Indians, even the ones like M.N.Srinivas, learned everything second hand or third hand. The same is the position in the hard or pure sciences. Indian writers are therefore competent neither in the subject nor language. If I sound harsh or uncharitable, so be it! When we have the whole world before us, why should we look to only half-baked Indian writers?

It does not mean that I agree with whatever the foreign writers write- no, not at all. I have already pointed out in earlier blogs how bad this is-especially in their interpretation of our history, religion, society, etc. But Indians sitting in India are unable to counter it effectively. The only effective refutation has come from Rajiv Malhotra, who can look the American in the eye, talk to them in their own idiom, and better! I really salute him.

When we come to our own literature, the situation is pathetic. Where are good translations and publications of Kalidasa, Valmiki, Vyasa? The exceptional ones are by Chaturvedi Badrinath, Chandra Rajan. But Chandra Rajan's translations of Kalidasa published by the Sahitya Academy are perennially out of print! I wonder if there is some conspiracy behind it. If the Academy cannot keep it in print, why cannot they franchise out the publication? Such works must be nationalised, so that those interested may publish them. See how the works of Tagore are easily available in reasonably good editions after they were nationalised! The same thing has happened to the works of Kalki , and Bharati in Tamil.

When our people cannot write on our own literature , how can they write about English or any other foreign literature? We had scholarly Indian writers a generation ago. Today, we have only imitators- mere pen (key) pushers, word merchants.

A generation ago, we had Indian economists writing about Indian economy with Indian interests and perspectives in mind- eg Dr.B.R.Shenoy, Dr.Brahmananda. Before that we had Gandhian economists like Kumarappas. Romesh Chandra Dutt's two volumes on Indian Economic History are fundamental reading.There are some others like those of Kanagasabapathy, Prof.R.Vaidhyanathan.
But most Indian writers write from the American or leftist perspective; that is, they are all promoting foreign agendas! India has lost its individuality as a nation. We are all colonies of America, via WTO, IMF, World Bank, the educational system. Our IITs, IIMs, and other institutions of 'higher' learning are producing cheap technicians to labour for America, or promote its interests and we are making India a paradise for foreign business and local bureaucrats and politicians. Be happy, we are all getting globalised.

What will we make in India, ever? Or, what will we make of India?

The real question is not whether the writer is Indian and foreign, but whether the perspective is Indian or foreign, the spirit is native or alien. We had a Will Durant defending India and the Orient in the very first volume of his monumental series on world civilisations. He wrote on greatness of Sanskrit, India's contribution to science and maths; on the brutality of the Muslim invasion. He wrote a separate volume on the necessity of Indian Independence. What  are our Ramachandra Guhas and Amartya Sens doing? Denigrating India and downplaying its greatness at every turn, with an eye on a chair in some foreign university! We know where their heart is!

Today, a lot of foreign economists, philosophers, thinkers and writers are critical about various aspects of western attitude to life. Take Michael Sandel of Harvard. Who talks more openly today about the lack of ethics in American public life than him? Can our Sens and Guhas hold a candle to him? Who writes more deeply about the philosophical crises of the West than Jacob Needleman? There are more American writers  critical of the American economy than foreigners. There are  more American academics critical of American education system and its consequences , than all the others in the rest of the world put together. They are really scholars without borders.There are surely bogus scholars like Wendy Doniger ( of whom our Sens and Guhas are chelas and admirers) but there are also great genuine scholars. There are more devotees of Hare Krishna in America than India. We have more pretenders than devotees.

Every great English poet or writer has a genuine take on life. Where they are inspired, they are universal in spirit. No really civilised person thinks in terms of 'you and me' or 'you v. me'. They think of we, us! A badly thinking Indian thinks he can have all the development, and somehow shift 'global warming' to other shores! But the truly international citizen is worried that the Ganga may  dry up by 2050 if global warming does not stop! Who is the friend of India, really? It seems Indians can only calculate; they cannot think!

See the hypocrisy we practise- or plain thoughtlessness. We worship the cow, but let it roam the streets, while merrily drinking buffalo milk. We worship the Ganga, but it is the Hindus who pollute it mainly. We eat by the roadside, just beside an open drain, while footwear is sold in Air-conditioned showrooms! We talk of secularism, while 400000 Hindus have been driven out of their ancestral home in Kashmir, and for 25 years they have been refugees in their own land, while no politician, or govt  has the courage to talk about them openly! A Muslim marrying three women is secular, while a Hindu begetting 4 children is not! Our secular govt will not touch the huge properties of churches and Mosques, but ask Hindu temples to declare their gold assets! Churches and mosques are free, while Hindu temples are under control of a 'secular' govt. If you talk of Hindu nationalism, it is not secular, while the whole Muslim population turning west, ignoring India, is secular! 

Our entire academic system is borrowed, and we think imitation is scholarship! Every nation and people studies, and interprets its own history. But for us a Max Muller, who did not understand spoken Sanskrit, or a Vincent Smith, who did not know our chronology are the authorities, decades later! In no branch of science is original research done in India. If you want to research the freedom movement, you have to go to the British library, like Dharam Pal did. If you want to research our economy in the 18th century, you have to go to some  library in a European country, as Claude Alvares did, or rely on the book of Angus Maddison, who proved that India contributed more than 30% of the world GDP for 18 centuries, up to mid-18th century, before the British plunder and loot made us poor. Yet our economic pundits will repeat that India has been poor for centuries, that it has been 'other worldly'. They will not read original Indian sources in the original Indian languages to understand original Indian thought, but depend on some colonial translation, and call that scholarship! The daughter of a colleague of mine, doing her PhD in some American varsity wanted to research some amendments to Indian Constitution, but she was not permitted access to our parliamentary library on security grounds! It is a different matter that she got all material in America!

 Which main line Indian economist  in service,has had the courage to appreciate the economic wisdom of Gandhi, like E.F.Schumacher did? Which Indian economist has, while in service, written a text book on 'humanistic' economics, based on Gandhian and other insights , like foreigners have done? Gandhi has more genuine admirers and followers abroad than  in India! 

What happened to those who followed Gandhian methods in India  by 'gandhi' govts here?- a Sunderlal Bahuguna, Medha Patkar, Anna Hazare?

There have been detractors of India among foreigners, as among Indians themselves! But there have been great defenders of India abroad , while Indian intellectuals are defensive while talking about India. How many will say:My country, right or wrong?

An Indian writer is not necessarily right about India, either because he is Indian, or because it is about India. And a foreign writer need not be wrong, because he is a foreigner! An Emerson or Thoreau was more Indian in spirit than are most educated Indians in India today! Indian spirit touched American souls, while it is only the American dollar that can touch Indian pockets, and stop there, because the soul is absent in such places! A true scholar seeks to be a citizen of the world, while most Indian 'scholars' seek to go to America which is their world! Or they would make an America of India!

LITERATURE-LIGHT AND DELIGHT. 42. JUDGING GOOD LITERATURE

LITERATURE -LIGHT AND DELIGHT

42. JUDGING GOOD LITERATURE

"All religions,arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it frm the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual toward freedom. It is no mere chance that our older universities  have developed from clerical schools. Both churches and universities - in so far as they live up to their true function- serve the ennoblement of the individual. They seek to fulfil this great task by spreading moral and cultural understanding, renouncing the use of  brute force."

Can one guess who could have said this? Some philospher? Some religious head? These are the words of Albert Einstein, the greatest scientist ever, uttered in 1937.These words capture for me the ideal of good literature: ENNOBLING MAN'S LIFE.

There can be no doubt 'ennobling' man's life is the basic function  and purpose of religion, though most organised religions have miserably failed in this. They pursue numbers instead. A person who is religiously enlightened is, again in the words of Einstein:

"liberated himself from the fetters of his selfish desires and is preoccupied with thoughts,feelings and aspirations to which he clings because of their superpersonal value...

In this sense religion is the age-old endeavour of mankind to become clearly and completely conscious of these values and goals and constantly to strengthen and extend their effect."

What then about science? Does it contradict religion in any way? Once again, let us turn to Einstein:

" But science can only be created by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration toward truth and understanding. This source of feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion." 

Can we say that today 'science' is this unalloyed search for truth and understanding- science which is propelled by the greedy corporates and the power-hungry military-industrial complex? Science has forgotten truth, as religion has given up 'ennoblement' of man, but is merely interested in enrolment of numbers.

I like to think that this ground is still free for literature to claim! It can link both and succeed where they have failed. 

Outwardly, literature has also been changing in content and method, purpose and value. So many books are published, in so many languages on so many subjects. There are so many awards, prizes, accolades. There is the system of 'bestsellers'- phenomenal bestsellers, sensational bestsellers, etc. No one has a clear idea of what is happening out there.

But it is we who read and we can constantly ask or remind ourselves why we want to read literature? With so much of exposure to general scientific ideas and views, no educated person today can deny that what we read or see or interact with has an effect on us! Read ten modern philosophers of the mainstream, your life becomes thoroughly meaningless. Read five top scientists ( ten is t-o-o many)- we lose all sense of  certainty in anything. But turn to poetry or novel- we still have something to cherish. Science has thorougly dehumanised us. Philosphy has made us senseless. It is still literature that connects with us as human beings.

I have been repeatedly saying that much of modern writing is frivolous. It captures the ephemeral, or sensational and often caters to the baser instincts of man. But it need not unduly disturb us. Such writing never lasts. And with all this great books get written.

As a rule, I have never believed in the cult of the bestseller. I wait for at least 10 years before I look at fiction  of bestseller category! Unless a friend whose judgement I trust makes a strong push. Reading in the non-fiction category is guided by my interests and reviews and notices in publications I trust. In the 60s there were series like 'Mind and Matter' by Arrow Books, London ( in which I first read Paul Brunton's "A Search In Secret India" and his other books. But most of the other books were not  good.) Later, in the 70s and 80s, there was the Bantam 'New Age Books'.My main interest then was economics, but Gandhian writers like Richard B.Gregg, J.C.Kumarappa, Bharatan Kumarappa had raised enough doubts about the validity-even sanity of conventional economics. The Club of Rome came with some disturbing findings in the 60s. Then came "Only One Earth" by Rene Dubois and Barbara Ward, on the occasion of the 1972 UN Conference on Environment. We had then Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring". Then came Schumacher with his "Small is Beautiful". His other books ' A Guide for the Perplexed' and 'Good Work' are also important. In this background, only a fool will still believe in conventional economics- a finding confirmed by others like David C.Korten ( See his: "When Corporations Rule the World."), Lester Brown, Herman Daly, etc. Though Fritjhof Capra became well-known for his Tao of Physics, his book "Turning Point" is very important to understand how all streams of conventional life- economics, governance, social arrangemnts etc are converging towards utter chaos. Society is proving to be ungovernable, just as vehicular traffic in Indian cities is proving to be unmanageable. In the 70s, William Rees-Mogg, the editor of Sunday Times wrote " The Reigning Error" , describing how modern govts were promoting inflation  in the name of growth , which was unsound; he diagnosed the basic problem as "INORDINACY"-  the absence of a self-limiting principle in economic and financial  organisation. It can indeed be extended to the whole sphere of human activity  on earth.

Modern science is tending toward a notion of the Universe which is basically incomprehensible.No body has the whole picture.Modern philosophy has made a mess of the very meaning of life. Modern religion has tended to be unspiritual. The very question of survival is assuming serious proportions for more than one third of the world population. But beyond that is the question of survival for the human race as a whole- ironically because of his achievement in science and technology. The scientists, economists, politicians, and other academics are amusing themselves with their petty theories, like children who are enjoying their fire-works during Diwali when the house itself is on fire! Nay, they are enjoying Diwali by setting fire to their dwelling! 

Amidst all this, it is only literature( so long as it is not science-fiction) which is still serving and saving us! May be, it is leading us to believe in an artificial atmosphere of our own creation, but just see: science and technology have reduced us to the status of automatons and morons, captives of the gadgets! It is still only literature which treats us as human beings and relates to us as such! To the extent it reminds us of our humanity, perhaps all literature has to be considered good! Let us recover our humanity, before we attempt to become noble- which is the ultimate purpose of all good literature!