Page 11 - Work - Joy - Evolution_Demo_FLB

representing the knowledge and means of extracting the main
messages represented are significantly different between the
Indian Knowledge Systems and the Contemporary Knowledge
System (originating in the West, and of which, almost all the
Indians today are the final products).

The fallout of this change is evident today. One of the exponents
of ancient Indian wisdom, whose legacy in the mastery of the
ancient texts we can see to this day was Sayanācārya. He had
the uncanny ability to provide references to ancient texts in
areas including science, mathematics and so on. He was able to
pursue, comment upon and establish core scientific concepts
from Vedic literature. Today, however, his erudition is missed
greatly since contemporary scholars have a very different
approach to knowledge and education. With this, nothing has
perhaps suffered more than the study of ancient Indian wisdom.

Current Challenges in Understanding Ancient
Indian Wisdom

Under these circumstances, it is quite obvious that serious
challenges exist in understanding the contemporary relevance
of ancient Indian wisdom. Let’s highlight some of these.

Missing Domain Knowledge: The reality today is that it is
difficult to find scholars who have the requisite domain
knowledge for a true depiction and understanding of ancient
Indian wisdom in any given context. For example, let us take the
domain of Management. Domain knowledge constitutes
mastery over the ancient texts, mastery over the Sanskrit
language and finally a mature awareness of modern-day
management principles and practices that are the reflection of
prevalent educational and societal norms today. The difficulty
of finding all these three elements of the requisite domain
knowledge in one individual constitutes a significant barrier to
the accurate treatment of ancient Indian wisdom. Modern
scholars are oblivious to the contributions of our ancestors in
the domain of management. They also do not have any expertise
in the Sanskrit language. On the other hand, traditional Sanskrit
Pandits are seldom connected to the contemporary education
scheme, thus ignorant of the current-day management

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