Editorial

Abstract

Every time through  our Journal we try to present a collection of research papers and studies that bring to  light  new  ambit  of  interdisciplinary research. With a similar aim, another  attempt has been made to  bring  you  an  assortment of  some  interesting works in this 8th volume of the Dev Sanskriti International Interdisciplinary Journal.

This  issue  caters  to  a  wide  spectrum of interdisciplinary fields  and topics ranging  from environmental issues to theology,  from economics to  music,   education  and  visions   of  saints   like Swami  Vivekananda and Pandit  Sriram  Sharma Acharya,  to a  description of river  Gauja.  All  of these trying to integrating science and spirituality at their own level.

For   instance, drawing   from  the   Vedas, Prof. Sharma  and Mr. Sehgal  throw a light on the efficient  system of water management prevalent in the  ancient  Vedic  period  in  order  to  remind  and inspire  the  current  generation of  its  importance, need, and ways of conservation.

In  a  unique  attempt,   another  interesting paper  by Rai  et al., further  strengthens the  belief about  the universal presence  of the symbol "Om" through  evidence from  morphological and microscopical studies of the Rudraksha  beads.

Economic development and growth  is the main aim of every nation. In his stimulating paper, Awanish  Kumar  brings  a fresh  perspective  on the subject  matter  by discussing the  economic views of Swami Vivekananda, one ofthe most influential personalities of India and the modern  world, with special  emphasis on his vision  about  the methods of  agriculture, village  industries, adoption  of science   and  technology, and  material  prosperity with spirituality, which  seems  to be very  relevant even in the contemporary world.

On  a  separate   note,  Ms.  Charu   Handa takes us on a melodious journey of Indian music highlighting  and establishing its scientific significance  as  described  in  our   ancient   Vedic texts,   with  a  pertinent   reminder for  its  further development and advancement.

India  has   been  described   as  a  virtuous nation since centuries and its foundation seemed to be in its education system  based on the Vedas. In this  context,  Preeti  Wadhwani attempts  to  reveal the relative  importance of rational, emotional, and the  spiritual   dimensions  of  thinking   with   their relation  to  the  different  values  in  teachers.  She also discusses the implications of such findings for India to reach its goal of'Samarth Bharat'.

In   another    promising    empirical  study, K.R. Chakradhari and Dr. V.K. Singh have shown a  positive  impact  of  a  yogic  intervention on  the emotional  intelligence  of  blind   students   which extends  a ray of faith for them.

From  our  International comer  this  time, Anne  Ness  et al., from  USA  present  a phenomenological study  describing the perception of spirituality in Yoga in Minnesota, wherein  they also  share  their  concerns   regarding   the  various barriers  to teaching  and learning  of the traditional spirituality of Yoga,  implying  the  need  for  more awareness regarding the benefits  of  the  spiritual aspects of Yoga and its practice.

In  another  reference  to  Swami Vivekananda, Prijma Jhare shares her vision on education  system,   defining   its  goal  to  be contribution towards  the  holistic  development of students  which  could  be  achieved  through spirituality based  education.  In a philosophical expedition aimed  at  human  development, Rakesh Verma discusses the power of thoughts and the importance of thought revolution  for social change through     'Satsankalp'   or    solemn    pledges    as proposed  by a proficient visionary Pandit  Sriram Sharma Acharya.

In  our  guest  article   by  Rita   Araja,  she beautifully illustrates the mystical  nature,  history, importance, and uniqueness of river  Gauja  with a hope that  the sacredness of  this  river of  Latvia would be known all over the globe.

We would like to whole-heartedly congratulate and thank all the contributors and reviewers who made this issue of DSIIJ possible. We  hope  this  issue  will  inspire  and  generate interest   among   researchers,   educators,   policy makers and professionals to understand the significance   of   indigenous   knowledge   in   the present era. We would also like to thank all our readers and request them to send us their valuable feedback to make this journal a more effective vehicle of indigenous knowledge in the future.