SPIRITUALITY & SCIENCE IN INDIA
Swami Tattvavidananda

Introduction
The culture of India has always nurtured and encouraged the spirit of enquiry in religion and philosophy. Hinduism has readily embraced and celebrated healthy debates in these fields, and both the proponents and opponents of any idea or belief have enjoyed the right to champion and pursue their convictions. This has encouraged many philosophers and saints, like the Buddha, to live in peace and spread their wisdom, even if their teachings and beliefs have not been in keeping with the traditions espoused by incumbent rulers and priests. As a result, many different beliefs and diverse traditions have blossomed and coexisted in India through the ages, like nowhere else in the world.

In the West, religious beliefs and practices have historically been dictated by centralized authorities, such as the Vatican, which wittingly or unwittingly constrained and even penalized any thinking that countered Church orthodoxy. As a result, both philosophical and scientific thought were stifled. However, as the power of the Church waned, people increasingly enjoyed the freedom to think or exercise individual choices, resulting in the highly evolved, open, and unconstrained societies of the West today. Even Swami Vivekananda, the great Vedantic philosopher, marveled at the social and personal freedom in America, in contrast to the restricted, stratified, and hierarchical social system of India.

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