AI is simply a tool. For good or for worse, it now has an important place in human progress and hence India cannot afford to fall behind. Lord Rama was taught the art of the most deadly weapons by Rishi Viswamitra as well as Vasistha. We need Shashtra as well as Shaastra, Philosophy as well as technology, Science as well as Spirituality and both must be used for the good of the world. This is where the role of India comes. It must not abandon AI but teach the world how to use it for the good and welfare of mankind, as King Prithu did. And for this, first we must discard the false division created in our mind between the Spiritual and the material. The material is the instrument, spirituality is the force and the wisdom, the guiding principle behind using things. If India must become the Vishwa guru, it must teach humanity, among other things, how to live a true and beautiful and divine life using rightly and for divine purposes all the resources and riches of the world. It is only a misunderstanding or a limited understanding that emphasises on the antagonism between material progress and spirituality. The spirituality of tomorrow will teach us how to use everything, including science and material forces, as instruments of a higher divine purpose.Β
Affectionately,
Alok Da
