Indian thought and Western Science

The main difference in the two IMO is that Indian philosophies developed on an abstract basis versus the exact nature of the Western rationale (which has it's roots in Aristotle and Greek science). Consider the view of nature of the two - The Western thought says everything is divisible. You break a substance into atoms and molecules, they are further divisible into electrons, protons etc, which are further divisble. Everything can be studied by dissecting it infinitely. This thought, although changed a little bit with particle physics and quantum theory still forms the basis of Western science.
On the other hand, Indian or more correctly Eastern thought believes in the essential unity of things. If you want to study and object, do not break it, rather see its interaction with others, and most importantly study the system as a whole, rather than its parts. To state a simple example compare Ayurveda and Western medicine. Antibiotics are full of side effects,as any doctor should tell you. On the other hand, Ayurvedic medicines are such that the "whole body" is considered, hence curing a burn does not affect any other organ. The whole body is treated rather than the individual parts. With a little thought, one can get this stark difference in thoughts in Eastern and Western philosophies easily in almost all of their aspects.


The same happens when one deals with the question of evolution. With their characteristic experimentation, Western scientists came up with classic explanations of the phenomena. Microbes to aquatic animals to amphibians to terrestrials to apes to humans. One can see the evolutionary tree in any biology book.
The Indians, on the other hand do not give as much attention to the detail. They base their theories on abstract concepts. They realize that everything starts small, as a seed. Be it a plant, an animal or a work or a thought, it needs a seed. Thhe seed, when nourished completely results in a plant. Like Tukaram says:
'Aadhi beej ekale, beej ankurale rop vadhale'
or there was but one seed, the seed germinates and the plant grows.
The Indians realize this inevitable process in all processes. The seed germinates, grows and dies. This is the inescapable law of nature. Similarly, there cannot be something as complicated as a man ad hoc. It (the life) has to start with something small, simple, but has all the potential to fully grow. But what was in the small is also in the magnification, hence the equal importance given to all life-forms in Indian scriptures. The basic knowledge that life started with simpler creatures and then became more and more complicated is present in the Indian thought, however there are no details filled in like the Western thought. A classic example (and proof) of this is the Nasadiya Sukta or Creation hymn in Rig Veda. It says there was a ‘source of power’, and nothing else. From ‘It’ came everything else. This is the highest generalization about the nature of the process, without any details. The stress again is on knowing the essential nature, and not the details.

With this striking difference in methodology, the one striking similarity is that they both are intensely rigorous. When one says that mind has a material nature and depends on external input (like food, water) just like the body, the rishis have studied the mind carefully to discern that. In Indian thought, the entire stress is on experience, no logic, words or explanations, only experience proves the truth. There is not a shred of blind belief; all realities described as ‘truth’ are open to questioning and have stood the test of repeatability. The same can be said of Western science, with one major difference. The difference being that science still admits there is no ‘Theory of everything’, in other words, science is still not in a position to explain everything. On the other hand, Indian rishis claim to have found the truth and simply describe it as ‘indescribable’. Although they say the truth cannot be conveyed in words, they prescribe the ‘yoga’ for finding out the truth for oneself. This is perhaps the only thing to suggest that Western thought is on its way, while the Indian philosophy has reached the goal in deciphering the truth, and hence is able to grasp the underlying unity in all the things.

To sum up, it is wrong to say one system of thought is superior to another or vice versa. Rather, both are not only complementary but also useful for the human race. While the spiritual thought process (Indian/ancient Vedic for our discussion) is required for a basic sense of understanding of our own Self (no matter what degree the understanding is at), the Western science and technology is required for the daily sustenance and wellbeing of the race. A combination of both, and an intense study of both is required for the advancement of the human race!