Bharatiya drishti is a perspective of any subject based on Vedic wisdom at the core of bharatiya samskriti. It is not the same as bharatiya vijnanam or knowledge as enunciated in its literature coming from millennia. Drishti refers to the thought process that gave rise to bharatiya vijnanam, the rationale behind its shaastras.
The context for which various bharatiya customs, practices and shaastras were devised is not the same as the modern context. A lot has changed in our environment, living conditions, resources, lifestyle and attitudes than what our shaastras assume. Hence, their recommendations are nearly impossible to follow literally by a majority of today's society.
Does it mean that the wisdom contained in them is obsolete? No. Because shaastric prescriptions are based on a deep and comprehensive tattvic understanding of Nature and ourselves, but applied to a different context. If we can unearth that thought process or drishti, then we can apply the wisdom and derive new prescriptions for a different context.
Changed Context
Today, our water comes from underground and pipes, not from Sun-exposed water bodies. We live in apartments, not on the ground. Our employment timings are not conducive to recommended dinacharya of ayurveda. Our professions are not inline with our prakriti but driven by economic survival considerations. Our marriages and married life are not inline with shaastra. Our society isn't conducive to executing pancha maha yajnas daily. Our food is pesticide-laden and not fresh. We have a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. We are surrounded with technology unavailable before. Our communication is predominantly remote.
We need to reexamine the applicability of ancient knowledge in such a drastically changed context. Going back to the old context is not an option.
When we say reviving bharatiya knowledge, it must really mean reviving the drishti, so the shaastras can be remade for the current context. BKS education must focus on extracting and inculcating the bharatiya drishti.
Target Audience
Bharatiya drishti is needed not just for Bharatiyas, but the entire humanity. This is because it offers a novel approach to addressing situations and solving problems that the entire humanity is facing regardless of locale. It is especially relevant in disciplines of humanities which involve understanding human nature and its relation to Universal Nature. Humanity needs Ayurveda drishti to handle wellness, Jyotisha drishti to address behavioral patterns, Arthashastra drishti to handle the world's governance issues etc.
Recovering Bharatiya Drishti
How to extract the author's drishti from the grantha? By pondering on the why behind a grantha's prescriptions, and how they are connected to the root bharatiya tattva. Only when we get back to the tattva can we recontextualize a shaastra.
A practical way to achieve this is to examine the prayojana / purpose of a shaastra and the taattvic roots on which it stands. Modern pedagogy of bharatiya vidyas must adopt this approach without contradicting their conclusions but interpreting them in their native context.
Fundamental vs. Derived Concepts
Naturally, a majority of the discussion in our puranas and itihasas is on applied Vedic knowledge. We need to distinguish between fundamental and derived concepts. Fundamental concepts are a few, but give the rationale for a lot of derived concepts. Our literature is full of derived concepts, but don't often mention the core fundamentals behind them.
For instance, ethics is a derived concept. Oneness, joy and beauty are its fundamentals. A majority of what is said in the Bhagavad Gita is derived concepts. Saama, daana, bheda, danda are derived concepts. Many of the leadership and political insights in the Mahabharata are derived.
The need of the hour is to get back to the few fundamental concepts from which a myriad concepts appropriate for today's context can be derived, not just regurgitate what has been said in our literature as is. That is what we mean by Bharatiya Drishti as opposed to Bharatiya Vijnanam. Only then can we contribute to the world.
This foundational first-principles thinking is integral to bharatiya shaastras. Every shaastra starts with srishTi krama, which is its perspective of how the one derives many.
