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Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Guest:
It is a great honour for me to be here today. I am proud to be present among leading philosophers and such distinguished guests.
It may seem strange for a businessman to address a group of philosophers and scientists, but I believe that business is also philosophy in action and
our family has always admired philosophers and scientists. We have been concerned about the conflicts between science and religion, between technology and individual expression, between theory and practice and how
people may best fulfil their potential and destiny.
Moreover, our philosophy and practical approach to business have been derived from my father’s belief that "Dharma (that is: law of life) is to
work so that I can give". My brothers, Gopichand, Prakash who is present here, and Ashok and myself follow this proven dictumof the ancient Indian truth of Vedic knowledge.
We therefore aim to promote business and humanitarian activities in India and abroad. Our aim is to help build bridges between the past and the
present, between India and the world and between the generations that are yet to come.
The theme of today’s conference is Science, Religion and Ethics in the 21st century and in the next millennium. For too long a time, at least in the West, science and religion have developed along separate, sometimes hostile tracks. This is slowly changing. It must change because we wrongly believe that explained knowledge belongs only to science and what cannot be explained belongs to religion. For example: a doctor operates two patients. One operation is successful and the doctor takes full credit. The second one goes wrong and the patient dies. The doctor still takes the credit saying I did my best but his time was up and it was the will of God.
It is essential that science and religion work together as it has been stated in the Rigveda: "Let us walk together, let us talk together, let us
live in harmony."
I am proud that this message grew out of ancient India’s Indus Valley, a civilisation to which my family belongs. Over 5000 years ago, this
civilisation gave the world the Vedas, a body of knowledge that applies to life and serves mankind in many ways, from healing the body and uplifting the spirit to resolving conflicts and making nature fruitful.
The positive, optimistic vision of the Vedas helps me overcome the pessimism, greed and cynicism that life can bring, especially to the businessman.
For example, the Vedas say it is nor wrong to earn wealth as long as it is not out of greed for power and that one acts as a trustee and not as a proprietor. They also say that competition is a healthy way of
achieving excellence so long as it does not consist of destruction and envy.
The Vedic vision says that science and religion can work together giving strength to human beings. It gives me hope.
We can add that between the two fields of religion and science is the field of ethics. One misconception about ethics is that there is only one ethics,
that there is only one uniform and universal set of rules. In my view, ethics is a matter of orientation and not a matter of sets and rules.
Religion and science are incomplete without ethics, although it can also be said that ethics is both lame and blind without religion and science.
Conflicts often arise out of the wrong interpretation of terms of words. Take for example the words Dharma and Karma. Both get confused with the word
religion. Dharma and Karma are related to the law of life and law of development. They are independent of religion. They are also independent of the concept of the God. This concept of Dharma and Karma may be
applied by all cultures, traditions and faiths to resolve differences and conflicts.
To my mind, there are three key interconnected issues: multicultural understanding, environment and healthcare and welfare. We need therefore to
concentrate on these issues and prevent problems arising from them.
Politicians and other leaders often talk about these issues as a top priority. But the root cause of today’s problems is in our internal environment or
"inner space". We are not dealing with this problem correctly.
How can a person think or suggest measures to deal with external environment if his own inner space is confused or out of balance.
An example: A couple of years ago, I had a meeting with some leading brain scientists in Stockholm in connection with the purchase of Gamma Knife for
our Hinduja National Hospital in India. During the presentation in on Brain, they referred to "mind" and "consciousness" quite often. I asked them why there was no reference to the
"soul". The answer was, "We are doubtful about the soul because it is invisible." I asked them how they then could refer to mind and consciousness which are also not visible. During the
presentation, I was also told that our actions are being directed by the brain cells. My second question to them was "Who directs the brain cells?"
Scientists have acknowledged that there is an energy force which is received by the brain which could possibly be directing the brain. This energy
force was never being accepted in the past because it was not measurable. Scientists have now been able to measure it in the same way as they measure the light through protons. They are now classifying this message
to brain as subjective knowledge rather than objective knowledge which can be stored.
Another theory is that the brain is not affected by the mind but by universal consciousness.
The question now is how we deal with internal environment? As we share a common knowledge of the elements that make up air, space, fire, water and
earth; similarly, we should emphasise the commonality of the human race rather than the differences, when there are none. A study of theology reveals that religions champion the same virtues and reject the same
evils. A study of science reveals the common building blocks that make up the physical world.
We should guard against further divisiveness for personal greed and power. Sometimes solutions to problems are regarded as new religions and the
solvers are regarded as new prophets. Shared values are overlooked. We add on new faiths and doctrines, stressing differences and encouraging dispute. All of us, in our various fields of science, religion, business,
medicine, etc., can work realising the shared bonds and heritage we benefit from.
To help achieve this multicultural understanding, our Hinduja Foundation has established three Dharam Hinduja Indic Research Centres at Columbia
University in America, at Cambridge University in the UK, and in New Delhi in India. They were developed in memory of my son Dharam Hinduja.
They are now in their fifth year of operation and have productively impacted on the international academic community and on the societies where they
are situated. Networking scholars around the globe, holding workshops and conferences, researching the Indic heritage for developing practical applications. They have focussed on the priority issues I mentioned
earlier: multicultural understanding and co-operation, environmental sustainability, and holistic health care and welfare.
They have directly helped scholars and practitioners. Columbia president George Rupp, for example, has said that the centre at Columbia fully matches
the priorities of his university and greatly strengthens its entire international programme.
Our Indic research centres will be glad to offer any assistance for the benefit of human race. As we approach the next millennium, we see around us,
both in the developed as well as developing world, violence and conflict among followers of different faith. At a time when science has placed in the hand of mankind weapons of mass destruction, sufficient to
annihilate the entire human race, we must work to resolve our differences. A new awareness of our common humanity focusing on commonality rather than our differences is needed when there are none. This would indeed
be a remedy to the kind of bloodshed that we recently witnessed in Bosnia, Kashmir and Ireland. It will also be an answer to the conflict between the North and the South, between the developed and developing world.
Thank you.
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