Friends, till date, one of the most famous scientific equations of Dr. Albert Einstein, E = MC2 has been showing the pathway to the world community at large in understanding the most Scientific Principles and Laws of Mother Nature and Life. However, now, the above mentioned equation › = E = MC2 is found to be much more revealing and further, it is certainly going to give an appropriate understanding and insight about the Role of Science and Spiritual / Religious Components of Life.

India is a land of saints, sages and seers and is known as a spiritually oriented country based on the philosophies propounded by these great men of virtue and vision, whose sole aim has been the welfare and wellbeing of the entire mankind and all the living beings at large. They have given the world some of the greatest attributes, which include spirituality, yoga, AUM, Non-duality and so many others. Until recently these concepts were considered to be as religious dogmas with no scientific basis, though this is far from the truth. The concepts involved in all these, have been put forth in a simple manner by these great saints.

In fact, the very equation › = E = MC2 truly reflects the manifestation of consciousness – the invisible energy or force, which binds the entire universe together and naturally it symbolizes the Ultimate Reality, the Ultimate Truth – Almighty, the God. This clearly shows that Science and Spirituality / Religion go together to reveal the True Nature of the Universe. This particular concept was very assertively propounded by the great philosopher saint of India, Saint Shri Dnyaneshwara, nearly 720 years back in the very first verse of his famous scripture - Dnyaneshwari,

ॐ नमोजी आद्या । वेद प्रतिपाद्या ॥ जय जय स्वसंवेद्या ॥ आत्मरूपा ॥

This verse very distinctly speaks about Philosopher Saint Shri Dnyaneshwara's own purpose of writing this treatise on Geeta i.e. Dnyaneshwari, and says that he wants to clearly know and understand the "Ultimate Truth" – "The Ultimate Reality" – "The Ultimate State of Matter" as enunciated in the Vedas. He further states that the "Ultimate Truth" is nothing but pure intelligence / consciousness, the knowledge divine, the true nature of the Soul – Atman.

It is highly revealing that one of the greatest scientists of the world, Dr. Albert Einstein expresses exactly the same thoughts when he says –

“I believe in God – who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of the Universe. I believe that intelligence is manifested throughout Mother Nature. The basis of scientific work is the conviction that the world is an ordered and comprehensible entity and not a thing of chance”. On the same lines, another famous Philosopher Saint from Maharashtra, India Jagadguru Shri Tukaram Maharaj has said:

अणु रेणु तोकडा, तुका आकाशा एवढा

This verse explains the very basic theory of particle physics. Here, he says, ‘I am the smallest of the smallest of the small particles of the universe, smaller even than the sub-atomic particles, which can occupy the entire universe', which we can possibly term today as the "God Particle". It makes me wonder how a person with no formal education like Saint Shree Tukaram could even conceive of such a scientific thought, when some of our most learned scientists took years of research to discover this smallest of the small particles of the universe.

Friends, I sincerely hope and feel confident that the learned scholars, scientists, thinkers, philosophers, who have gathered here for this historic conference on Aum = MC2 – a unique revelation of Scientific Truth, will certainly appreciate that the above mentioned words of wisdom of Swami Vivekananda, Philosopher Saint Shri Dnyaneshwara, Philosopher Saint Shri Tukaram Maharaj, which are enunciated in other words by Dr. Albert Einstein, adequately describe and reveal "The Role of Science and Spiritual components of life", which is very much essential to promote a Harmonious and Peaceful co-existence of the entire Humanity.

Science and Spirituality are the two sides of the same coin. They in fact strengthen the concept of NON-DUALITY as enunciated above by the great Philosophers, Saint Shri Dnyaneshwara and Saint Tukaram and the great scientist Dr. Albert Einstein. The very word “Aum”, symbolizing the Ultimate Truth, and the most scientific concept of “Non-duality” are possibly the greatest Gifts to Humanity from India.

“AUM” – A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION BY INDIA TO THE ENTIRE WORLD.

Friends, the very word “Aum” universally symbolizes and represents the Ultimate Truth – Almighty God. India is one such country wherein, from time immemorial, the great visionary saints, sages, seers and even the great scientists have always worshipped the KNOWLEDGE DIVINE and searched for the ULTIMATE TRUTH.

As said by Swami Vivekananda, “In making a sound, we use the larynx and the palate as a sounding board. Is there any material sound of which all other sounds must be manifestations, one which is the most natural sound ? “Aum” is such a sound, the basis of all sounds. The First letter “A’ is the root sound, the key, pronounced without touching any part of the tongue or palate; “M” represents the last sound in the series, being produced by the closed lips, and “U” rolls from the very root to the end of sounding board of the mouth. Thus “AUM” represents the whole phenomena of sound-producing. As such, it must be the natural symbol, the matrix of all the various sounds. It denotes the whole range and the possibility of all the words that can be made.”

“Around this word “Aum” are centered all the different religious ideas in India and different religious ideas of the vedas have gathered themselves around this word “Aum”. This word has been retained at every stage of religious growth of India and it reflects all the various ideas of Almighty God. “Aum” has become the one symbol for the religious aspirations of the vast majority of human beings. This word “Aum” has around it all the various significances as such is universally accepted.

As you may be all aware, there are nearly 6912 languages spoken all over the world and as such in every language, there is a different word or a sound to indicate or explain a certain idea / thought and naturally, as the Ultimate Truth or Almighty God being the only one reality, we need to have a universal word or a sound to symbolize or indicate the same. Now, it is high time that, all the scholars, thinkers, philosophers, scientists and all other academicians and intellectuals of the world to think and review afresh what the very words i.e. “AUM (›), NON-DUALITY / SPIRITUALITY / RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY truly mean and convey the same to the society at large to understand the concept behind them and then to take up the right path towards establishing PEACE LOVING HOLISTIC GLOBAL SOCIETY AT LARGE.

I sincerely hope and feel confident that the emergence of the new equation like › = E = MC2 and the concept of Non-Duality as the True Philosophy behind Science, are going to prove what Swamy Vivekananda had said that “21st century will be the century of KNOWLEDGE BASED SOCIETY”.

NEED TO TRANSFORM PILGRIM CENTERS OF THE WORLD INTO DIVINE KNOWLEDGE CENTERS OF THE WORLD

Friends, we often speak about "Positive Energies" but wherefrom do the positive energies flow? It is because of positive thoughts. It is the mindset, which is the sum total of thought process. Obviously, unless the thought process is pure and unpolluted, such a positive thinking mindset is not possible. Here comes the role of divine knowledge centers, which is the result of fusion of "Science and Spirituality – NON DUALITY."

Friends, I sincerely feel that there is a need to give right direction to the thinking process, so that positive energies flowing from it will lead to some constructive work for the welfare of the mankind. One such positive step is "Transforming the Pilgrim/Spiritual Centers of the World into the Divine Knowledge Centers of the World," to help us develop the Peace-Loving Holistic Global Society.

Friends, Don't Discard "True Faith and Belief" in the name of Blind Faith and Superstition! All the great saints, sages and seers of the world, because of their renunciation, sacrifice, devotion and dedication to understand the Ultimate Reality / Truth of the Universe, while worshipping the knowledge divine, could develop positive energies and achieve the highest status. The places where these great visionary saints and sages worshipped the Knowledge Divine in quest of the ultimate truth, achieved Divine Status as Pilgrim or Spiritual Centers, which in the modern times are perceived as "Positive Energy/Divine Centers."

Unfortunately, the world over, these Pilgrim Centers are considered to be the places of rituals, worship and at times are called places of 'blind faith', fostering superstition. With the passage of time, the actual relevance of these places gets lost. It is necessary to ensure that these "Pilgrim Centers" do not become mere places of worship, rituals and superstition. This can be made possible if these Pilgrim Centers become "Divine Knowledge Centers" for the Welfare of the Society and still retain their sanctity, which attracts large number of visitors / pilgrims.

If these places of worshipping the Knowledge Divine, which are recognized as holy pilgrim centers, are truly understood as the Divine Knowledge Centers, these will definitely help in educating and training the people at large in understanding the very Role of Science and Spirituality in achieving and leading a Happy contended Life.

I would like to put it on record that the newly emerging equation i.e. › = MC2 is really going to show the appropriate pathway to the confused minds in understanding, the Role of Science and Spirituality / Religion.

Current Role of Universities: On the background of the present day scientific and technological developments the world over, the Universities are taken to be the Information-cum-Data Collection Centers leading to be the Knowledge Centers. Similarly, these pilgrim centers can also serve as the Divine Knowledge Centers for the Welfare of the Society. Hence, there is an urgent need to eradicate the misleading and wrong concepts about the Pilgrim Centers and Transform these Pilgrim Centers into True Divine Knowledge Centers to educate the Society at large, so as to help in establishing a Holistic, Harmonious Peace Loving Society.

World Peace Centre (Alandi), Pune, India, firmly believes that these divine knowledge centers, if appropriately developed on the proper understanding of the concepts of Science and Spirituality / Religion and projected not as centres of practicing blind faith and excessive rituals etc., will certainly show the pathway of Harmony and Peace to the entire mankind.

In keeping with this objective World Peace Centre, MAEER’s MIT, Pune, India, under the UNESCO Chair Programme, has taken the lead in this enormous task of enlightening the people by creating awareness in the society about Interfaith dialogue, Human Rights, Democratic Values, Health, Hygiene, Cleanliness, Sustainability Issues and the Role of Science and Spirituality in promoting Human Welfare thereby spearheading the Mission of UNESCO, Paris.

World Peace Centre (Alandi), MAEER's MIT, Pune, India has taken up the unique project of "Transforming Pilgrim Centers of India into Divine Knowledge Centers of India", so as to carry out a fusion of "Science and Spirituality for the Welfare of the Mankind." The first such project has already come up on the banks of Indrayani River at Alandi near Pune for Mass Education. As a part of it, a huge Multi-Media Coliseum has been erected, which can accommodate thousands of people on the banks of the river Indrayani. The project has been undertaken under the able guidance of eminent scientists like Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar and world known computer scientist Dr. Vijay P. Bhatkar.

This multi-media coliseum project is playing an extremely important role in TRANSFORMING PILGRIM CENTERS OF INDIA INTO DIVINE KNOWLEDGE PILGRIM CENTERS OF INDIA. IN THE NEAR FUTURE, IT WILL CERTAINLY HELP IN ENHANCING THE ROLE OF THESE HOLY PLACES TO BECOME THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE CENTERS FOR THE ENTIRE HUMANITY.

Friends, I urge all the learned Scholars, Scientists, Philosophers and Social Thinkers gathered over here, to be a part of such a unique project in their respective areas, which can be undertaken for the establishment of a Peaceful Holistic Society and be the TRUE MESSENGERS OF PEACE, if they are truly convinced about our Mission and the very spirit behind my appeal. Our efforts towards establishment of Global Peace would be strengthened further, if there is a networking of all such projects not only in India but the World over.

At the end, once again, I would like to put it on record that this very equation › = MC2 is definitely going to enlighten all the scientists, scholars, thinkers, philosophers, men of religion/spirituality and even the common man. Here, I would like to quote the following verse from Atharva Veda, which in very simple words illustrates the concept of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – The World as one family – Global Village :-

Revered Prof. Dr. Vishwanath D. Karad

President, MIT World Peace University

President & UNESCO Chair Holder

World Peace Centre, MAEER’s MIT, Pune, India