Book Reviews   
Nature of Human Thought
A Review

In this book, Nature of Human Thought, Anil K. Rajvanshi explores the Nature of Human Thought. He hopes to add to the already existing enormous amount of knowledge on this exciting subject. He believes that remarkable phenomena occur due to the interaction of human thought and material surroundings. He argues that since human thought is produced by physical brain, it must be physical in nature. Therefore, he comes to the rather uncommon conclusion that human thought is controlled by scientific laws. What are these scientific laws? Finding an answer to this significant question is the avowed purpose of writing this book. An ingenious conceptual framework is proposed by the author to show the intimate relation between deep thought, space, time, matter and Universal consciousness. He makes use of the latest brain research and cosmology. He admits that his ideas are conjectural. He is not deterred by this since he believes "The black magic of today is often the science of tomorrow".

The author has arranged his essays into three sections, namely: Basic theme, Deep thought and More, and spirituality, Technology and sustainability. The Basic theme contains the philosophy of human thought and its interaction with matter, and also the interrelationship of time, space and universal consciousness. It deals with the concept of death and reincarnation as well, which never fails to arouse the intense curiosity of people. The second section deals with the fruition of deep thought, while the third with spirituality and technology, which are considered to be effective tools of sustainability. The first section consists of five interrelated essays, while the second and third sections consist of seven essays each, which take up certain individual issues.

The author bases his experiments with thoughts on Patanjali's Yoga Darshan, which he considers to be a definitive and scientific writing on the control of human thought.
The author has his own definition of spirituality. He says: "Spirituality is nothing else but understanding ourselves and the laws of universe through the tools of science and technology". (Pg.59). I have serious difficulties in accepting this 'scientific' definition of spirituality. It seems to me to be completely one-sided, ignoring deliberately the crucial religious dimension of spirituality.

The topics of the book are not only interesting, but also contemporary. This book is extremely readable. It is written in simple and straightforward style. He sometimes writes in a chatty way. The Sanskrit words and scientific terms are made understandable by giving their meanings in English and simple explanations. The drawings go a long way in making one understand complicated scientific notions. Notes and references are elaborate and very useful. The author's sense of honesty and integrity is exhibited clearly, when he talks about himself with candour in 'Some personal experiences'. Some of his experiences seem to be surreal. He has a wonderful gift for telling stories. His careful observations, recommendations to school children, suggestions and conclusions are worth considering, especially his recommendation to the students of professional courses. He says very insightfully : "There is a general tendency among students of professional courses to give a step-motherly treatment to humanities but I believe study of such subjects gives one a well-rounded education. Hence I feel that humanities subjects should form a compulsory part of curriculum in all professional colleges" (Pg.85). The author tries to practice what he preaches. There is a certain charm and directness about this book.

Anil K.Rajvanshi has a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT, Kanpur and a Ph.D from University of Florida, Gainesville, U.S.A. He has been doing excellent research in the areas of renewable energy, rural and sustainable development and spirituality It is no wonder that he has been attracted strongly by Mahatma Gandhi and "His experiments with truth" since he was a devoted adherent of sustainable living. His essay on "Mahatma Gandhi, A votary of sustainable living" is worth reading for its clarity, strength and conviction.

The author ends his preface to the book by wishing "Happy reading and thinking". I wish the same for the future readers of this book. I hope that many such readable and knowledgeable books would come out from the 'stable' of this young scientific thinker of modern era. This book is available from Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute, Phaltan-Lonand Road, P.O. Box 44, Phaltan-415523, Maharastra, India.

–  Dr. S.C. Daniel
May 29, 2005

Dr. S.C. Daniel was teaching philosophy for a very long time in North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya (India). He successfully supervised 7 M.Phil. theses and 12 Ph.D. theses. He has published three books and many articles in regional, national and international journals. He also has been reviewing books.

Nature of Human Thought – Essays on Mind, Matter, Spirituality and Technology
By Anil K. Rajvanshi. Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute, Rs.100/-

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