Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c11.s18.1

c11.s18.1

Pt. Vidya Niwas Mishra exhibited a remarkable capacity for entering into dialogue with nations and cultures. On one hand he advocates *varṇāśrama* system, on the other he has opposed the whole concept of racial purity. *From the Ganges to the Mediterranean* edited by Oscar Pujol Riembau comprises a series of discussions between Vidya Niwas Mishra and Rafael Dieste, a Spanish writer and philosopher. This kind of bilateral dialogue between intellectuals, each representing distinct culture and philosophy, happens on very rare occasions. The whole experiment incorporates the best of human intellect where both the discussants look into the inner recesses of the minds of each other, and they are able to look beyond as well. Oscar Pujol, himself a well-known scholar of Sanskrit and Indian philosophy, has taken up a unique initiative by the way of becoming instrumental in arranging the whole series of discourses and discussions. He has made genuine efforts for the realization of an idea which has immense possibilities and as he himself puts it, which could result into a dialogue between “a representative of critical modernity and a representative of genuine traditions”. This dialogue — very much revealing in itself — has led to the rediscovery of several traditions, and also a revisit to all that is known by the terms the East and the West; it has also resulted in creating bridges and better understandings. Mishra and Rafael have enlightened each other, have helped each other for introspections and investigations, and shunning all pretensions and prejudices, both have come out with admittances of strong and weak points of two distinct cultures. Mishra admits that a tendency towards “self-closure” has surfaced on occasions in the tradition of Indian culture, whereas Rafael’s deliberations lead to an understanding of the dilemmas and inner contradictions of the West; of the disasters and dangers that lie ahead in the race against time and nature. He is able to show how the abundance of technology is leading to an amnesia and erosion of values. The havoc created by colonization of the nature and colonization of human world, the futility of greed and desire for possession, and value of polyphony — find a convincing footing in Rafael’s discourse.