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Q: How to bridge Modern Science and the Ancient Systems?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: In India, in olden days we used to say 'swastha' which means, one who is established in oneself, one whose actions matches what he says. Only such a person can be considered to be healthy. If someone spoke something else but did something else, people would not blame him, he was just considered unwell.
In our country we never blamed a culprit, we considered them unwell from either a physical or mental level and treated them with yoga and Ayurvedic remedies.
These provisions were created for this purpose, so that a person can be wholly and completely healthy. A person can be considered wholly and completely healthy when he has commitment and a good character. And when he wants for others what he wants for himself.A very pleasant and committed mind set is a sign of health. Fortunately they are recognizing this fact world over: that happiness is a factor of health. If you are not happy there is something wrong.
In past decades we used to think that science is very rigid, but it is not so. Science is also a growing subject, an ever growing subject. Science is never complete, it can never be complete. If it is completed then it is dead. Science is always in its youth. A sign of youth is that it grows, and science is ever growing. Unfortunately the field of science was plagued by prejudice for a very long time, of course now it's changing. A very pleasant and committed mind set is a sign of good health.
At the Ayurvedic conference, the Ayurvedic doctors had a discussion on turmeric. They said turmeric is an ayostapni, which means it arrests aging and is an antioxidant. Ayurvedic doctors said that turmeric is very important, while allopathic doctors would not agree. They believed it is a superstition and turmeric has no value. Today there is a research which says that turmeric is the best anti-depressant. It has the quality of 19 important life-saving drugs. A latest research shows all of this. Now, what those Ayurvedic doctors were saying has been proved correct.
At the same time spirituality cannot afford to maintain superstitions. It should be open to debate, and not blindly followed just because it is written in the scriptures. It is necessary to see whether it is applicable in today's day and age. We should think on the reasons behind what was written. Science cannot afford to have prejudices as its ever growing. At the same time spirituality cannot afford to maintain superstitions. It should be open to debate.
In the scriptures it says that water should be filtered through a cloth before drinking it, so in many Jain homes you will see a cloth tied over the taps. There are many flies and insects that come and sit on that cloth and that create many other problems. So even the good water which come out of the cloth become impure. It is said that we should eat with our hands, but we have not thought about how we should do it. It is important that we understand why it has been written in the scriptures to eat with hands.
The ancient systems should be open to scrutiny, and scientific examination. We should look at it with a scientific temperament. We should neither discard it with prejudice nor follow it blindly with superstition. Find a middle path where you take both the old and the new and move forward. Just like how the roots of a tree are always old while the branches and leaves are new, life is also like that.