SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 (PAGE 3) SACRED SPACE BOOK REVIEW Power of Prayer India's Emerging Future and Disruptive Innovations Dr Vishal Gupta ego, and increases our faith. In due course, energy. These resultant positive energies can Ashok Ogra used for a variety of difference applications creating 'superhumans' or producing tailor regular prayers can help to pacify our shat- be channelised for healing from any disease leading to immersive learning." made babies." Prayer is generally recognised in both tered soul and provide access to the supreme or any emotional distress. Prayers by induc- Is the future all about flying cars, robots, Providing a clue to the 'Classrooms of the Conferred with Padma Shri, Kiran Karnik ancient and modern period as a true supernat- soul. It is also a valuable way of arousing our ing optimistic feelings in us can activate the space odyssey and cyborgs? What about the future,' Kiran predicts movement of educa- describes himself a 'public un-intellectual'- a ural intervention for alleviating illness and divine emotion (bhav) and getting pleasure good genes to fight against any deadly dis- ethical questions that bionic beings and tion from the gurushikshya mode to corpora- non-academic with a strong interest in public promoting good health. All the religions, such from spiritual union with God and the Bliss ease. immortality are bound to throw up? If in the tized entities as exemplified by Byju's. policy and strategy. He has worked in various as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism (Anand) that results from it. It is usually observed that the people who future technology is going to mediate most of He envisages a different technological fields over the last few decades, including the use prayer as a means to communicate with a In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna gives suffered from some life-threatening illness, our interactions, will it lead to depersonaliza- scenario - a revolutionary, rather than evolu- India's space programme and the television god or deity. Every religion believes in prayer us the promise that the people, who are accident or some kind of emotional turmoil tion and, ultimately, to dehumanization. tionary one: a memory and learning chip industry. He was Managing Director of for healing and cleansing the mind. Prayer as engrossed in God consciousness, are freed in their life often turn towards spirituality. The prevailing pandemic has given fresh implanted into humans, which would not Discovery Channel, India and also served as an act or practice may vary but in crisis all reli- eternally from the attachments of worldly When the life gets difficult and mysteries due ammunition to those who believe that there only provide existing information and knowl- President of NASSCOM. gions use it as remedy to their source of life. Prayers bring into line our hearts and to the uncertainties of future, even the most are limits to what science and technology can edge on a subject, but ensure continuous He also discusses the role of technology in authority. In the Christian church, for exam- minds with the uppermost purpose of our atheistic people started praying heavily. At do - particularly in meeting health related learning based on AI. bettering governance and how it is affecting challenges, arising from environmental dis- ple, prayers of intercession are part of the serv- lives, which is salvation or self-realization. All some stage of life, every person is likely to In the chapter 'Dr. Google's Clinic', the democracy. "It is possible that the context aster we have invited upon ourselves. ice with the congregation praying for the the spiritual gurus assure that there is no pass through extreme emotions of family author elaborates on the internet and tech- determines the impact of technology. In a cli- However, there are those who ascribe the issues, relationship issues, job issues and ulti- nology transforming health care: "the con- mate of ultra-nationalism and heightened huge progress human civilization has made mately has to move towards spirituality for vergence of electronics, computers and soft- cultural and religious schisms, technology in the last two centuries or so to major scien- ware, with the broad discipline of medicine, seems to aid alienation and a sense of 'other- wellbeing and revival. Sometimes an individ- tific discoveries and technological break- ual doesn't even require a major setback to has resulted in a host of new devices that are ness.' In a more benign context, it may well throughs. radically altering healthcare. First generation promote better communication and under- shift his focus towards God. Like, kids and What we need to acknowledge, however, teens doesn't get so much fascinated towards standing.'' is that human history is replete with exam- Is it then an amplifier, with the role of visiting holy places, but with the increase in ples of major health, ecological etc. crisis fol- age, they slowly but surely move to read holy accelerating and widening the dominant ten- lowed by major discoveries. In the words of dency? It is not Kiran's fault that he does not scriptures and spend time praying. the noted historian of present times, Yuval We should not live out spirituality as a fash- pause to address this important question in Noah Harari, 'it's always been this way. greater detail. He is honest to admit that it ion and thereby add more complications to it. Humans face problems, they find solutions to We should not fear to pray. The two main pre- may be too early to reach a definitive conclu- these problems, but the solutions create new sion, which would require more data over a requisites for true prayers are faith and problems, often worse than the original ones. Surrender. Most of people pray passionately at longer period. The technologies we have developed in the Invariably, most books that deal with their religious places and to their God for the modern age have enabled us to eradicate the technologies having implications for the soci- eradication of problems, yet they always incidence of famine, plague and war - but ety tend to be beyond the comprehension of a remain restless and bothered about the prob- these very same technologies now threaten to common reader. But this book is devoid of lems. Instead of this, a person should pray with disrupt the ecology, restrain human freedom, health of someone who is sick or hospitalized. scientific jargon and makes for easy reading. problem that cannot be solved by prayer, no paramount faith. To build our faith in God, We and perhaps make humans themselves The author manages to present a visual map Muslims attend the mosque for worship and misery that cannot be allayed by prayer, no should offer gratitude and calculate our bless- redundant.' ask the Imam to say a special prayer for a per- of how culture, communication and ideas complexity that cannot be overcome by ing or things given by God. For instance: One can argue with Harari that not all influence the way technology is used and how son who is ill, with the congregation affirming prayer and no evil that cannot be conquered "Thank God for blessing the oxygen, the food- solutions delivered by scientific discoveries the prayer. Hindus pray for good health at the societies in turn absorb and benefit from by prayer. There is no supremacy in the stuff, the sweet water and the sunshine." have had negative fallout, and that in most these new interventions. He provides fasci- temple or in shrines or gathering for worship world except the power of prayer that can When faced with horror of the some mys- cases the positives outweigh the negatives! at their homes. In Hinduism we have rhythmi- nating insights into the interplay of science, take us so close to God in ways which we can- terious thing, turning to an all knowing and All the inventions have not been destructive. technology and society. cal prayers in the form of stotras and Aartis to not even visualise. We can transform our all-pervading God is a good place to start. The electric light is a case in point. In fact, one worship the God. In Sikhism, Prayer or Ardaas In the last chapter 'India's Tech lives and our fortunes, via the power of Research studies in modern times showed of the most brilliant knowledge advances of Triumphs', the author sounds optimist that (prayer in the form of request) is one of the prayers. Even the most complicated prob- that prayer trims down worry and despair. A the twentieth century - as great as computer, three basics of Sikh religious thought, along ECG and ultrasound equipment is being sup- India will be able to enter the 'fourth industri- lems can be solved with coolness when we reduction in anxiety makes people to deal as great as abolition of racial inferiority and al revolution' with greater confidence - with Faith and Grace. plemented and sometimes even replaced by mingle the spiritual power of our prayers and react to outer events with a more obser- the growing awareness of the spaceship cheaper and better products, including thanks to new tech companies that are gener- The word prayer or prarthana (in with the power of our intent. vant rather than emotional manner. More earth- has been the conquest of infectious portable and low-cost ECG and ultrasound ating new products and services. However, Sanskrit) is derivative from two words 'pra' True prayer is all about sincere spirituali- than ever, under the present circumstances diseases. devices… Digital X-rays and software driven he cautions that there are two major possibil- and 'artha', meaning demanding zealously. ty and it is free from all rituals.