science and spirituality - binstitutecourses.binstitute.org/data/pdf/onlinecourseprospectus.pdf ·...

i

Bhaktivedanta Institute

Kolkata

Short Term Online Course on

SCIENCE and SPIRITUALITY

Online Course Prospectus

iii

Contents

S. No. Head Page No.

1 From the Desk of the Short Term Course Development Team 1

2 Views of Eminent Personalities with respect to Science-Spirituality Synthesis 5

3 Preamble 7

4 Inspiration and Motivation 9

5 Eligibility 10

6 Course Duration 10

7 Course Fees 11

8 Syllabi and Reference Books 12

9 Course Calendar 13

10 Salient Features of the Online Course Learning Management System (LMS) 14

11 Frequently asked questions 15

12 Course Benefits 20

13 How to Register for the Online Course 21

14 About the Institute 21

15 Founder Acharya of the Institute 22

16 Founding Director of the Institute 23

Short Term Online Course on Science and Spirituality

1 Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata

1. From the Desk of the Short Term Course Curriculum Development Team...

Welcome to Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata. Please accept our warm greetings from the institute.

The past three centuries witnessed rapid advances in science and technology. Presently, human creative and

philosophical abilities in scientific pursuits are racing to resolve challenging mysteries of Life, Cosmos and

Consciousness. With these continuous developments in science and technology, knowledge acquisition and

development of new knowledge domains underwent substantial reform and renaissance. The early scientific

thought processes propagated reductionism to a significant extent. Influenced by these, empiricism in the form of

cause and effect, reasoning and rationality became an indispensable component in knowledge domains. However,

it is well known that science and technology alone does not enjoy an absolute and exclusive jurisdiction in

knowledge domains. Subjective knowledge domains such as philosophy, social and spiritual sciences, do have

their relevance and significance in knowledge acquisition, application and propagation of newer knowledge of the

reality. Furthermore, recent developments in sciences such as quantum physics, biological sciences and

consciousness studies have all inferred upon the equivocal indispensability of subjective knowledge domains.

Needless to convey, the younger generation of the 21st century is all excited to master the smartness of doing any

activity (a subjective component of knowledge framework) along with the desired outcome of any activity (objective

component of the knowledge framework).

In summary, applied sciences that promote objective knowledge acquisition have taken the driver’s seat in modern

education. The student community with the horse blinkers of objective knowledge tend to grow with a strong belief

that the application of empirical principles alone needs to be emphasized in due course of their life and ignore

philosophical and spiritual foundations that are the very basis of existence. On the other hand, there are numerous

curricula in the modern education that advocate upon foundations of philosophy, humanities and social sciences.

These are often not adequately integrated into scientific and technological education, even though there has been

growing emphasis on including subjects such as psychology, philosophy and languages in higher scientific and

technical education. The global educational scenarios indicate a significant integration of subjective and objective

knowledge domains and education in India is attempting to take such holism into account to foster a realization

based knowledge domain along with reason based education. Few glimpses of the non-integrated format of

modern technological and scientific education in Indian scenario are presented below:

a) Despite doing the English language course, higher technical education does not stress upon the

relevance of functional English for oral and written communication, which is a very important element of

modern career profiles.

b) Psychology is often taught without correlating with one’s own mind-set and how psychology can be used

as an instrument to improve one’s ability to face life’s challenges.

c) Philosophy is taught without relevance to conventional problems and complex issues of life that everone

has to face in day to day life.

While the global educational systems advocate upon formal integration of subjective and objective knowledge

domains, they do also get confined towards specific thrust areas which do not consider a mature integration of the

self (person doing the activity) with the activity itself. Thus, while global educational system encourages

philosophical insights, the convergence of philosophical domains through holistic integration is not advocated upon.

Such integration must consider the study of one’s own self in every possible way to contribute positively for a just

and meaningful society.



We, the course development team in Bhaktivedanta Institute, firmly believe that the root cause of such disparity in

the study of subjective and objective realities is due to lack of understanding of philosophical and spiritual

foundations of Life, its meaning and purpose.

An analytical study of ancient educational domains gives an insight into holistic learning and due to balanced

emphasis on science, philosophy and moral education in those domains, one is able to steer oneself towards

spirituality, the ultimate goal of Human life. Ancient educational domains advocated upon transformation of an

individual through adequate understanding and application of knowledge in day to day activity of life. Among such

domains, Vedanta had a special role in contributing towards the holistic evolution of a person in all fields of life

including empiricism, philosophy and spirituality. In today’s world, due to continued dominance of empiricism in the

educational, social political, legal and administrative circles, the finer balance between learning and its application

that existed previously got jeopardized. This enormously contributed towards the erosion of Life’s values:

consequently, a deeper understanding of the reality, consideration of activities in human life as a subjective

experience that foster transformation, passion and enthusiasm to life sustenance activity as an art but not for

monetary and worldly achievements and natural interests based skill development are very much missing in the

education curriculum.

Hence, despite having numerous short courses, certificate programs, diploma programs, graduation and

postgraduate curriculums, in today’s educational scenario of the world, the effective integration of subjective and

objective domains with a primary goal of individual’s inner transformation through realizations still remains

unattended. Curricula advocating upon science exclusively target empiricism, and curricula advocating upon

humanities and social sciences exclusively target subjective engagement. Holistic integration of empiricism, deeper

thinking for conflict resolution and mystical resolutions of toughest puzzles have not been taken as the knowledge

domains and are not advocated in the modern educational systems. Philosophical and spiritual foundations of life

encourage moral values and ethics. They essentially encourage deeper contemplation on topics that are otherwise

difficult to understand through logic and reasoning aptitude. Spirituality or the deeper study of the reality through

religion and theology can be considered to be uniquely positioned and can be considered as the all-embracing

science and philosophy. This is due to its unique ability to penetrate into the deepest regions of subjective

engagement and transformation where logic and reasoning fails. It enables one to develop and nurture the art of

doing tasks in most efficient and effective way by accommodating dimensions that were ignored in empirically

dominant approaches. Mutual respect, care, universal brotherhood, crisis management through active detachment

and renunciation are all mature reflections of spirituality and these subjective features are highly difficult to cultivate

through logical reasoning and rationality.

Due to this reason, those who are spiritual, they are essentially philosophers too and such philosophers also accept

scientific pursuits and reasoning, given the fact that science took birth from philosophical enquiry into the nature

and natural phenomena. Similarly, the converse is also true i.e., scientists do have personal realizations that

cannot be proven physically and hence they are philosophers to some extent and since some of the great scientists

also have mystical revelations such as first hand proof or existence of God, such scientists also have a spiritual

dimension of life. Now, for the same case, educational frameworks may target two alternate aspects of learning:

a) Studying science without studying the realizations of a scientist: Such a person would be held up in the

small well of limited knowledge that cannot extend towards the vast ocean of philosophy and spirituality.

b) Studying science and realizations of scientist together: Such a person will have broad minded thoughts

due to the person’s integrated approach towards the knowledge domains of science, philosophy and

spirituality.



Educational domains that essentially orient towards empiricism attempt to follow the former learning approach.

Therefore, subjective issues that are significantly contributed by philosophy and spirituality are ignored. With a

rational dominance that leads to ignorance of the subjective aspects of the reality, an educational system is very

likely to offer similar foundations and principles for students in a classroom. Glimpses of serious questions due to

absence of such philosophical and spiritual culture in the younger generation are presented as follows:

a. Art of continuous engagement: Fundamental urge to do research/activity is being surpassed by

monetary and worldly achievements in due course of engagement. While walking into a laboratory/activity

zone, one does not have such thought process. This is due to the fact that the person gets absorbed into

the activity and forgets himself in due course of engagement. How this can be resolved and how can one

be always enthused and encouraged for continuous engagement?

b. Persistent Positive thinking: There is difficulty to obtain a satisfying job despite having multiple degrees

with accolades and desired competence. Persistent difficulties in life’s journey are bound to encourage

negative thinking and pessimistic view of life. Why are our efforts to achieve a job driving pessimistic and

negative thinking?

c. Optimizing Work-life balance: Working hard in office environment without work-life balance deteriorates

health and induces stress. School and College education have taught us to work very hard and apply

ourselves sincerely to understand and solve puzzles. However, they did not teach us on the art of

managing our self at work without inducing stress. While education system may not change significantly,

individual persons need to cope up with growing emphasis on excellence and simultaneously manage

stress. What are the essential elements of such art of smart living in which one works very sincerely but

does not feel stress and unhealthy?

d. Holistic Satisfaction in Life’s activity: Despite working very hard in a lucrative and rewarding career,

people become depressed at some stage in their life and attempt to take unwanted steps. Almost every

day our newspapers present numerous cases of suicide attempts and suicides. What is the necessity of

such hard work in life, when it shakes the foundation of one’s own existence?

e. Ethics and Values: Intolerance, aggression, achieving things by hook or crook, malpractices, corruption

have become common and accepted norms of our society. In the same society, people celebrate festivals

with mass participation in religious events. In other words, did religion become a cultural event with no

role to foster and preserve one’s ethical and value system?

f. Art of Crisis and Anxiety Management: There has been inadequate training in the education system

for a person to resolve smaller crises to not escalate into bigger crises and to potentially tackle anxiety in

due course of stiffest activities in one’s life. Can God be effective to do wonders in the art of crisis and

anxiety management?

g. Philosophy and Spirituality based customized solutions: Science and technology have practical

applications. However, practical applications of philosophy, religion and spirituality are missing in life.

Therefore, are these fields applicable for the advancement of human civilization or they are mythologies

with no proofs?

h. Ultimate happiness and goal of Life: There are people who have achieved everything they desired in

their life but are still unhappy. How can life’s activity be streamlined towards ever-lasting

happiness/satisfaction, which is the ultimate goal of Life? What is the role of God in such life’s activity?

The root cause for all these perplexities in our life is that we have neglected the philosophical and spiritual

foundations of life, which are very important constituents of wholistic living and lifestyle. Without understanding the

existing state of knowledge associated to the reality, there is a system fed strong conviction in our younger

generation that empiricism based modern science and technology can resolve everything in life. Such pessimistic

thought processes are further integrated by atheistic domains to persistently drive negative thinking and ignore

addressing deeper questions upon the goal, meaning and purpose of life along with feasible pathways to achieve



the same. Leave alone inquiring upon higher reality such as God, the existing state of thought process is highly

detrimental to one’s own survival in the society with poor ethical and personal value system.

A question that we often ignore in our misdirected consciousness due to the above mentioned perplexities is that,

how our age old generations lead their life comfortably and peacefully despite not being exposed to the rapid

advances and applications of science and technology for one’s comfort. There have been numerous instances in

the past history of India in which devotion to God has been proven through experience to be a master solver of

every puzzle let it be small, medium and big. The onset of such introspections will drive a harmonious integration

of science, philosophy and spirituality for the betterment of personal and professional performance traits in life.

Thus, there is an imminent need for introducing philosophical and spiritual foundations of life along with its

appropriate application. Such application would foster wholistic thought processes, living and habitat. The short

term course on Science and Spirituality being offered by the Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata is a humble effort to

consolidate systematic understanding of science, philosophy and spirituality and their integration followed by

training leading to self-realization. The short term course attempts to proximate the boundaries of various

knowledge acquisition systems such as sciences, philosophies, religions and spirituality. In due course of such

learning, the course advocates upon the integration of science, philosophy and spirituality of life. The science of

life attempts to provide relevant solutions to life’s puzzles through cause and effect scenarios. The philosophy of

life attempts to provide solutions to life’s riddles through deeper thinking which is otherwise not visible through

normal thought process. Finally, spirituality of life refers to adopting all those practices that are recommended in

the Holy Scriptures and practiced by seers to resolve life’s puzzles in a smart and effective way. We hope that

since integration of all three fields (science, philosophy and spirituality) are involved, sustaining interests of various

subjects to maintain good physical and mental health will be surely possible. Hence, holistic achievement of vitality,

longevity, satisfaction and happiness will be an easy exercise.

Advocating upon such formalisms, the short term online course on Science and Spirituality has been carefully

planned for a delegate to learn and apply the holistic integration of science, philosophy and spirituality (theism in

the format of complete devotion to God). The online course attempts to understand the science of living in the

younger generation to face stiffer and tougher challenges in life. This subject existed in the age old tradition of

India with rich combinations of theistic spirituality and philosophy. A important element of such subject is that it

does not engage one to be away from existing engagement in worldly affairs and activities. This wholistic thought

and lifestyle includes God, whose presence as an integral component in the conventional rhythm of life would do

wonders for a dynamic, continuous, vibrant and confident life style engagement.

The online course content is being offered through a learning management system (LMS) that hosts the course

learning content (text, video and audio files) for the restricted access to all registered delegates (through a secure

login and password) for a maximum span of one year. Owing to science-spirituality interface being a relatively new

topic that is not taught in the conventional curriculum and extremely busy schedule of the student/ professional

community in their day to day duties associated to education/profession, the course encourages flexible

engagement to complete the course. The course content has been duly arranged into two sessions namely pre-

mid and post-mid tenure that elaborates upon the foundations/concepts and practical applications of science-

spirituality synthesis respectively.

Through active engagement in the online short term course on science and spirituality, we are very confident that

with your personal experience and realization, you would inspire others to take and apply science-spirituality

synthesis for better management of one’s lifestyle by mastering the science of living provided by the spiritual

wisdom of the oriental sages and seers of India. We wish you all success to create and be a part of the just and

meaningful society.



Please refer to preamble section in this prospectus for further insights into the short term course on science-

spirituality. We also look forward for your feedback and suggestions to improve the curriculum of the online short

term course. Good luck!

With warm regards

Curriculum Development Team


2. Views of Eminent Personalities with respect to Science-Spirituality

Synthesis

Dr. T. D. Singh

Founding Director Bhaktivedanta Institute

If spirituality is included within the academic curricula, then education could be more

meaningful in reaching the desired goal of happiness.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Founder Acharya Bhaktivedanta Institute

There is department of teaching medical science, there is department of teaching

engineering, there is department of educating—so many other departments of

knowledge. Unfortunately, there is no department for distributing knowledge in the

science of the soul. But that is the important, most important thing, because the soul

is the mainstay, is the background of all our movements.

Dr. A. P. J. Kalam

His Excellency Former President of India

The evolution of enlightened human beings is indeed a big challenge for the world

community. There are three components to that. The first component is education

with value system, second is religions graduating into spiritual forces to bring

universal brotherhood and the third is poverty eradication by attaining economic

prosperity through a national vision.



Gouverneur Morris Founding Father of United

States

Religion is the solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the

precepts of religion, and the duties of man toward God.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Pioneer of Modern Architecture

True education is concerned not only with practical goals but also with values. Our

aims assure us of our material life, our values make possible our spiritual life.

Albert Einstein

Founding Father in Physics

Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong:

it is character.

Werner Heisenberg

Founding Father of Quantum Physics

The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the

bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.



3. Preamble

Human intellect is developed for advancement of learning in art, science, philosophy, physics, chemistry,

psychology, economics, politics etc. The human society, with the culture of such knowledge, can attain perfection

of life.

Today, we are in the era of science and technology. Knowingly or unknowingly, even a moment of our life does

not pass away without applying science and technology. Thus, the contributions of science and technology have

to be acknowledged and appreciated in all spheres of life. Needless to convey, scientific reasoning and aptitude

have percolated into the highest accolades of modern education. It is a fact that scientific discoveries in the early

19th century witnessed rapid advances in quantum and cosmological physics of matter and the 20th century

involved deeper explorations of biology and living beings. The 21st and 22nd centuries can be termed to be

millennium bridges in the history of science for racing towards scientific studies on consciousness in living beings.

A critical insight into various scientific paradigms in the bright and brilliant history of modern science indicates that

the early scientific inventions were firmly grounded in classical and cosmological physics in which the role of

observer has been found to be not influencing the experimental findings on the behavior of matter. However, later

discoveries in quantum mechanics encouraged integration of subjective (observer) and objective (observed)

worlds. Thus, modern science evolved from a purely objective framework to a synthesis of objective and subjective

frameworks. In other words, from early 20th century, the dawn of a glorious era is visible that formally the

amalgamation of empiricism or reductionism, philosophical insights and non-reductionistic spiritual and mystical

experiences.

Despite pedagogy undergoing such significant variation due to rapid advances in science, the associated paradigm

shift has not been accommodated in the educational curriculum frameworks. Even today, modern higher education

is strongly grounded in objective science/empiricism and does not equivocally stress upon the philosophical and

spiritual foundations of life and their subsequent integration with the ongoing scientific research on life, matter and

their interactions. However, few developments in the western communities that exceedingly include objective

science based pedagogy are encouraging for the inclusion of new scientific domain in modern education and

research. In several western countries, subjective sciences such as Yoga and Meditation have been included in

the classroom education with emphasis upon their scientific and psychological validity. Also, integrated medicine

that involves the optimal combinations of diagnosis based medication, dietary modifications and lifestyle

modifications is gradually becoming popular in the Western countries. All these irrevocably convey upon the need

to enhance philosophical and spiritual foundations in the modern educational curriculum and enhance training and

applications of subjective sciences such as humanities, social sciences and spiritual sciences.

For a curious person who wishes to integrate the diverse fields of science, philosophy and spirituality, it is important

to understand that philosophy can be seen to be a bridge connecting empiricism and mystical spiritual realizations.

Epistemology and Ontology which are regarded to be two important branches of philosophy are very useful to

streamline the development of a new approach that advocates upon the synthesis of modern science, philosophy

and spirituality. While epistemology attempts to target a knowledge based analysis of scientific or philosophical

theories, the ontological approach formalizes insights into the elements of the reality that can be inferred from the

most foundational postulates or assumptions of the scientific/philosophical theory. In other words, both these tools

uniquely enable rational analysis of alternate scientific and philosophical theories/axioms, which are otherwise

omitted in objectification based methodologies. The methodologies based on objectification superficially target

knowledge but not provide a qualitative and meaningful interpretation of knowledge to understand deeper aspects

associated to the reality.



Let us try to understand the pedagogy of the science and spirituality synthesis with the case of a hard working

scientist in his/her laboratory. The activities and thoughts of the scientist reflect holistic integration of scientific,

philosophical and spiritual epistemologies and ontologies. A sincerely seeking scientist who is deeply absorbed

into discovering the most fundamental laws associated with a natural phenomenon is in a totally different world

compared to his other intellectual counterparts. For such a scientist, whose conscience is firmly grounded in a

world of deepest contemplation on the nature of the reality associated to the chosen problem, highly mystical

realizations do exist, in which, the origins of his discoveries are not known despite posing all sorts of questions

based on cause and effect scenarios or philosophical intuition. The entire process of discovering a new scientific

law involves profound integration of empiricism, philosophical views and mystical revelations. A careful analysis of

this entire process will convey that there are three distinct knowledge domains in the realization process of a

modern scientific law, namely; Sensory Perception (termed Pratyaksha in Vedanta), Inference (termed Anumana

in Vedanta) and Mystical Revelations associated to foundational laws (termed Shabda in Vedanta). A scientist may

not analyze his own thoughts and consciousness that catalyzed and crystallized scientific discovery of the laws at

the very moment of discovering a scientific law, due to being absorbed in discovering the foundational laws.

However, a closer look at the thoughts of many founding fathers of modern science on their discoveries till date

will convey the existence of such valid paradigms - especially mystical revelation in science (Shabda). In this

regard, the famous quote of renowned Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein is welcoming: ‘The most beautiful thing we

can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.’

It is a fact that the general populace might be interested only in the end result (discovery of the scientific law) but

not the very process involved in the end result, which can be analyzed to be the science of human consciousness

that possesses creative, philosophical and mystical capabilities. Thus, the earlier and present pedagogies in

science education have advocated only upon the end result (objective science) but not the very process of

philosophical and mystical revelations (subjective science). In simpler terms, studying Newton’s laws of motion

but not his experiences and mystical revelations convey only an insignificant portion of the knowledge. This is due

to the very fact that Newton’s Laws of motion being empirical in nature, cannot convey philosophical and spiritual

views of Newton, which are beyond the jurisdiction of science grounded in the logic of cause and effect. However,

these views are very important and scientific boundaries should be extended to include them to have a mature

understanding of natural phenomena. Therefore, an alternate approach is required in the context of the true spirit

of science. The approach will pave the way to further understand the mysteries associated to the origins of scientific

laws and would offer practical methodologies to enhance creativity and foster solutions to most complex problems

of human intellect.

The synthesis framework for science and spirituality that entails upon integration of both objective and subjective

sciences is highly challenging due to diverse epistemologies and ontologies of both approaches. There have been

several attempts in the recent past to enhance the synthesis of science, philosophy and spirituality. However,

confined epistemological and ontological analyses could only encourage philosophical extensions that did not

translate into practical realizations. In this regard, it is important to recall that the ontology of science-spirituality

synthesis has been wonderfully presented in the Vedanta, the age old wisdom of Indian spiritual tradition in terms

of Para (Transcendental) and Apara (Empirical) Vidya (knowledge), their synthesis and practical realizations.

However, the Vedantic science needs to accommodate the dynamic needs and requirements of the society and

hence the short term online course is required that considers the contextual application of broader epistemological

and ontological approaches for the synthesis of science, philosophy, and spirituality.

The application of such a science will provide deeper understanding of the meaning and purpose of life in the

context of personal, professional and social challenges of modern world. These are stress management, persistent

positive thinking, enhanced communication skills, continuous career success and growth, analytical, research and

creative aptitude, holistic management, ethics and values and social harmony.



The online course on science and spirituality is epistemologically and ontologically grounded in theistic Sankhya

philosophy presented in Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. This will encourage the delegates to gain deeper

insights into the integration of objective and subjective knowledge frameworks. The science-spirituality synthesis

methodology caters towards the dynamic application of theistic philosophical and spiritual ontologies for the needs

of the modern society.

The online course curriculum for science and spirituality short course has been carefully prepared with three

decades of experience and realizations of the founding Director (Dr. T. D. Singh) and other practicing members of

the Bhaktivedanta Institute. The ultimate goal of the course is to enable the student to excel in his/her endeavors

in academic, social and spiritual life and finally achieve distinction in his human life. Notable among such distinctive

abilities include (a) Nurturing and maximizing the creative abilities through extensive training and realizations (b)

practical application and realization of spirituality based on the Bhaktivedanta school of tradition to take up stiffest

challenges in personal life (stress management, crisis management etc.) through applied spirituality (c) enhance

confidence levels driven with spiritual practices and realizations and (d) practical application of spirituality at

profession to script success stories in career, management, administration etc.

After completing the online course on science and spirituality, students and professionals are expected to be

individually thoughtful and develop finer qualities to guide self and society towards higher goals. Thereupon,

imbibed with wholistic thought processes and lifestyle, they are expected to be role model personalities in the

society.

Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, a prominent visionary in modern India once said:

‘The evolution of enlightened human beings is indeed a big challenge for the world community. There are three

components to that. The first component is education with value system, second is religions graduating into spiritual

forces to bring universal brotherhood and the third is poverty eradication by attaining economic prosperity through

a national vision.’

We seek your collaboration and participation in our institutes’ humble effort to educate the global citizens with

higher knowledge to make a difference, and to guide the future generations to a meaningful and harmonious

society.

4. Motivation and Inspiration

Higher education curriculum and corporate world expects a student or a professional to master the art of doing

things without deliberating much upon the constitution of human consciousness that enables such excellence and

distinction. The subjective evolution of human abilities is an important issue that is often targeted in

transformational seminars and workshops. However, such efforts are not instrumental due to discontinuity in lack

of cultivation of such transformations. Transforming the self does take time and demands continued cultivation in

terms of discussion, debate, practice and realization. On the other hand, rapid advances in science and technology

are increasingly making life complex to quickly switch over from paper based evaluation to real world challenges

involving highly subjective complexities. Therefore, there is an immediate necessity to address the issue on a more

fundamental and foundational level to evaluate the transformational indices of the person. A useful analysis in this

regard is to reflect upon the very foundations of the knowledge and a quest in this direction converges towards

science, philosophy and spirituality for any activity grounded in human consciousness. In other words, deeper

understanding of the reality is very important to target unconventional and amazing solutions to complex problems,

issues and puzzles of life.



The online short term course on science and spirituality is the right and unique medium to drive transformations

for the excellence and distinction of human life through participatory learning and knowledge systems associated

to the amalgamation of science, philosophy and spirituality. Equivalent to the certificate course on science and

spirituality, this 1st ever online short term course being offered by the Bhaktivedanta Institute is to benefit one and

all in the context of doing things better with a peaceful, sublime and smarter perspectives. For every delegate

needs, the online course development team took care of every small or big issue in the online course be it learning

content (activity charts, slides pdf, handouts, pre-recorded videos and audios), evaluation system, feedback and

participatory learning etc., Depending on the delegate’s free learning time, a time frame of 51 weeks (almost an

year) has been provided to gradually motivate and transform the performance indices of a person in terms of

vibrant spiritual (SQ) and intellectual (IQ) quotients. A right and just transformation of the self through the cultivation

of integrative knowledge remains the central objective of the course to be forever smart in personal, professional

and social spheres of life. Enormous benefits can be reaped by completing the online short term course on science

and spirituality. Upon successful completion, all qualified delegates receive a certificate for completing the

‘Certificate Course on Science and Spirituality’. The certificate reflects the extra-curricular skill or competence of

the delegate in due course of career and professional endeavours.

5. Eligibility

10+2 in Science along with a strong interest/inclination towards Vedanta, Philosophy and Indian Scriptures.

Sophomore students and Graduates in Science/Engineering/Technology and Professionals with above eligibility

criteria are also welcome to join for the course, as they would find the content highly applicable to their profile.

The short term online course on science and spirituality has content that focusses towards the following categories

of prospective delegates:

Meritorious students in Science/Engineering/ Technology/Management

Graduates/Graduate students with major interests in Philosophy/Vedanta and relevant subjects in

Humanities and Social Sciences

Faculty interested to teach Holistic/value Education

Professionals with ambitious career growth and success plan

Life Counsellor/Coach

6. Course Duration

The duration of the online short term course on science and spirituality has been kept highly flexible. Owing to

science-spirituality interface being relatively new topic and extremely busy schedule of the student and professional

community in their day to day duties associated to education/profession, the course encourages flexible

engagement to complete the course. Hence, the maximum duration of the online course on science and spirituality

has been set to be 1 year (52 weeks). Those who dedicate themselves extensively towards the course can

complete the course in not more than 2 months duration. The overall course duration along with taught themes are

presented as follows:

The course content has been conveniently arranged in 18 primary subjects that have been arranged into

two sections namely Foundations and Concepts (Upto Midterm) and Practical Applications of Science-

Spirituality Synthesis (Post Midterm). Inclusive of the duration of study and evaluation,the Midterm and

PostMid tenure of the course has been set to a maximum duration of 25 and 26 weeks respectively.



The pre-midterm course content facilitates mastering the foundations and concepts associated to the core

competence of the science-spirituality interface. These include mastering the first eight primary subjects

(Course Overview, Science, Spirituality, Synthesis of Science and Spirituality, Cosmology, Life,

Consciousness and Theistic Sankhya). For each subject, a Quiz is being arranged to evaluate the

competence of the delegate in understanding and applying the knowledge gained in each subject. The

mid-term tenure ends for each delegate after completing the activity of a mid-exam with multiple choice

questions.

The post-mid-term tenure facilitates application of the foundations and concepts associated to science-

spirituality synthesis in various fields of human activity. The course content in this phase covers over 11

primary subjects to foster practical applications of science-spirituality synthesis. These are Overview of

Practical Applications, Positive Thinking and Holistic Life Skills, Science of God, Career Success and

Growth, Holistic Management, Holistic Communication Skills, Values and Ethics, Analytical, Research

and Creative Aptitude, Holistic Stress Management, Ultimate Meaning and Purpose of Life and Course

Summary/Conclusion. Each of these subjects have a quiz that needs to be taken to evaluate effective

learning. The course tenure ends for each delegate after completing the activity of a mid-exam with

multiple choice questions.

After completing the course, each delegate receives a certificate. Those who satisfy the minimum criteria

of 45% marks in all subjects would be awarded an online certificate that indicates successful completion

of the short term course on science and spirituality.

Please refer to course calendar for further details with respect to the maximum duration of each subject and time

duration provided to prepare for mid and end exams.

7. Course Fees

Category Amount

Indian Student Rs. 3000

Indian Professional Rs. 5000

Abroad Student $ 50

Abroad Professional $ 100

The fees is to be paid online through Credit/Debit card. The modest fees is inclusive of all costs associated to

unrestricted access to the Learning Management System (LMS) during the course duration for Course learning

materials, online evaluation, administrative support, feedback and participatory learning facilitated through the LMS

interface.



8. Syllabi & Reference Books

Phases &

Time

Duration

Lectures Tutorials

Phase 1

(01 - 05

weeks)

Foundations and Concepts

Epistemological and Ontological Analysis of

Science; Spirituality - Exploration from

Vedanta and Modern Science; Elements of

Science-Spirituality Synthesis; Cosmology

– Scientific and Spiritual Perspectives;

Origin and Evolution of Life – Scientific and

Spiritual Perspectives; Consciousness-

Epistemological and Ontological

Perspectives; Sankhya and Theism.

Demos on Foundations and Concepts

Cosmological Constant - Epistemological and

Ontological Perspectives; Practical benefits of

Spirituality; Rational Analysis of Science - Fine

Tuning, Intelligent Design; Empirical Vedanta and

its Coherence with Modern Science; Common

foundations for subjective (scientific) and objective

(spiritual) knowledge sciences; Theistic Big Vision

Model of Vedanta - Proofs; Life’s Origin and

Evolution research: Synthesis based Road Map;

Consciousness - Quantum’s Black Box; Supersoul

& Universal Consciousness - Inferential Proofs and

Theistic Sankhya - Inferential & Experiential Proofs.

Phase 2

(06 - 10

weeks)

Practical Applications of Science-

Spirituality Synthesis

Positive Thinking; Science of God;

Synthesis for Career Success and Growth;

Holistic Management; Synthesis based

Enhanced Communication Skills; Science-

Spirituality synthesis based Values and

Ethics; Synthesis for Enhanced Analytical,

Research and Creative Aptitude; Holistic

Stress Management; Synthesis based

Ultimate Meaning and Purpose of Life

Demos on Practical Applications of Science-


Spirituality driven Life Skills; God Realization

Process; Sva-dharma and Career; Case Studies in

Wholistic Management; Case Studies in Synthesis

based Values and Ethics; Case Studies in

Synthesis based Analytical, Research and Creative

Aptitude; Case studies in Holistic Stress

Management; Alternate Views on the Ultimate

Meaning and Purpose of Life.

References (to be purchased from bookstore of Bhaktivedanta Institute’s website)

1. Singh T. D. (2004). Life and Origin of the Universe, Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata.

2. Singh T. D., (2005). Life, Matter and their Interactions, Kolkata.

3. Singh T. D., (2006). Reality of God’s existence, Vedanta and Science Series, Bhaktivedanta Institute,

Kolkata.

4. Singh T. D. and Ghosh S., (2018). Scientific exploration for God, Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata.

5. Singh T. D., (2011). Man and Nature - Scientific and Vedantic Perspectives, Vedanta and Science Series,

Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata.

6. Singh T. D., (2012). Consciousness - Scientific and Vedantic Perspectives, Vedanta and Science Series,

Bhaktivedanta Institute, Kolkata.

7. Bhaktivedanta Swami A. C. (1986). Bhagavad Gita as it is, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Mumbai.



9. Course Calendar

Pre-Mid (Maximum duration – 25 weeks)

Science and Spirituality: Foundations and Concepts

S.

No.

Subject Name Audio-visual materials

(Videos and Audios)

Documents (Summary

and Learning

Objectives/outcomes

also provided for each

subject)

Quiz

No.

Maximum

Duration

to study

(Week(s))

1 Preamble Promo

BI summary

Interview

BI summary 1

2 Course Orientation &

Overview

Course Overview

Review 0

Preamble

Course overview

1 2

3 Scientific Methods –

Epistemological and

Ontological Analysis

Session I

Demo I

Review I

Session I

Demo I

Hand out 01

2 2

4 Spirituality – Exploration from

Vedanta and Modern Science

Session II

Demo II

Review II

Session II

Demo II

Summary of important

verses of Bhagavad Gita

Hand out 02

3 3

5 Elements of Science-


Session III

Demo IIIa-d

Review III

Session III

Demo IIIa-d

Hand out 03

4 3

6 Cosmology – Scientific and

Vedantic (Spiritual)

Perspectives

Session IV

Demo IV

Review IV

Session IV

Demo IV

Hand out 04

5 2

7 Origin and Evolution of Life –

Scientific and Spiritual

Perspectives

Session V

Demo V

Review V

Session V

Demo V

Hand out 05

6 3

8 Consciousness –

Epistemological and

Ontological Perspectives

Session VI &VII

Demo VI

Review VI & VII

Session VI &VII

Handout 06

7 3

9 Samkhya & Theism Session VIII

Demo VIIIa&b

Review VIII

Session VIII

Demo VIIIa&b

Handout 07

8 3

Science and Spirituality: Foundations and Concepts

(Subjects 1 – 9)

Mid

Exam

3

Note: Learning is sequential. i.e., without finishing the quiz/exam activity in the existing subject, future subjects will

not be allowed by the Course LMS.



Post-Mid (Maximum duration – 26 weeks)

Practical Applications of Science-Spirituality Synthesis

S. No.

Subject Name Audio-visual materials (Videos

and Audios)

Documents (Summary and Learning Objectives/outcomes also provided for each subject)

Quiz No.

Maximum Duration to study (Week(s))

10 Overview of Practical Applications Session IX Demo IX

Session IX 9 2

11 Positive Thinking & Holistic Life Skills

Session X Demo X

Session X Demo X Handout 08

10 2

12 Science of God Session XI Demo XI

Session XI Demo XI Handout 09

11 2

13 Synthesis based Career Success and Growth

Session XII Demo XII

Session XII Demo XII Handout 10

12 2

14 Holistic Management Session XIII Demo XIII

Session XIII Demo XIII Handout 11

13 3

15 Synthesis based Communication Skills

Session XIV Demo XIV

Session XIV Demo XIV Handout 12

14 2

16 Synthesis based Values and Ethics

Session XV Demo XV

Session XV Demo XV Handout 13

15 2

17 Enhanced Analytical, Research and Creative Aptitude

Session XVI Demo XVI

Session XVI Demo XVI Handout 14

16 2

18 Holistic Stress Management Session XVII Demo XVII

Session XVII Demo XVII Handout 15

17 2

19 Ultimate Meaning and Purpose of Life

Session XVIII Demo XVIII

Session XVIII Demo XVIII Handout 16

2

20 Overall Course summary Course Conclusion Handout 17 18 2

Science and Spirituality Synthesis: Practical Applications (Subjects 10 – 20)

Final Exam

3

Note: Learning is sequential. i.e., without finishing the quiz/exam activity in the existing subject, future subjects will

not be allowed by the Course LMS.

10. Salient features of the Online Course Learning Management System (LMS)

Secure login and password for unrestricted access to all learning content, online evaluation, forum

for feedback and participatory learning etc.,

Web (internet) interface easily accessible through PCs or smart phones (with android operating

system)

Text learning content: Activity Charts, Slides pdf, Handouts

Audio-visual Materials: Videos and Audios of Lectures and Demos

Multiple-choice question (MCQ) based Quiz for each subject (Open notes)

Multiple-choice question (MCQ) based Quiz for Mid and End exam (Open notes)



Forum for Feedback and Participatory Learning

Round the clock Administrative support for the course duration (1 year)

11. Frequently Asked Questions

A. Why Science-Spirituality Synthesis?

Propounded by Francis Bacon, the objective and empiricism oriented conventional science is entering a new and

critical phase due to continued emphasis on holistic understanding of life, matter and interactions. Empirical

pedagogy in various sciences is encouraging exploration of huge volumes of data in diverse fields of physics,

mathematics, biology, pyschology, philosophy etc., Rapid advances and ongoing trends in sciences attempt to

foster grand unification of science. Interestingly, it is important to note that further scientific exploration of life and

matter would provide even greater challenges for grand unification due to growing diversity of additional and huge

volume of data. Therefore, grand unification of science requires a paradigm shift in the objective pedagogy of

conventional scientific methodologies. Since empiricism was grounded in philosophy, an analysis of scientific

methodologies and pertinent outcomes with branches of philosophy such as Epistemology and Ontology can serve

as ideal foundations for such paradigm shift.

The Founder Acharya of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, envisioned the

institute’s functionality for presenting the finest aspects of spiritual science to the scientific and academic

community. He entrusted the job to several scientist-students. Dr T.D Singh, the founding Director of the

Bhaktivedanta Institute, later on became a monk and steered the institute’s vision to fulfill this unique and glorious

vision of the Founder Acharya of the Bhaktivedanta Institute. He interacted with the top most scientists in the world

with diverse disciplines and catalyzed a unique dialogue that integrated the thoughts of such eminent personalities

for the synthesis of science and spirituality to better understand Life, its meaning and purpose. Dr. T. D. Singh

(His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami) presented such noble interactions in various books and journals

of Bhaktivedanta Institute. Also, he rigorously trained the practicing members of Bhaktivedanta Institute on various

aspects of science-spirituality interface. For the past four decades, the highly qualified members of the

Bhaktivedanta Institute (consisting of professors and research scholars from elite universities across the world)

have been pursuing the vision of the Institute and have researched further on this topic. The outcome of such a

research conveys that a grand unification of various sciences requires pedagogical integration of subjective

aspects (including divinity) with objective sciences for a mature integration or synthesis of empirical science with

humanities, social and spiritual sciences. Thus, the synthesis is required urgently to encourage holism in thought

processes, living and thereby promote holistic habitat for the resolution of stiffest challenges in personal,

professional and social spheres of life. The age-old history of India conveys that India has always been an epicenter

of scientific and paradigm shifts in the history of modern science.

We hope that the science-spirituality synthesis pedagogy presented in this short course will be able to drive such

paradigm shift from the objective science to the subjective science and finally to an all-inclusive Science.

B. What is this “Science-Spirituality Synthesis”? In what way it is different from ‘existing science’?

Conventional approaches in scientific methodology involve application of empirical approaches and is one sided.

The science-spirituality synthesis approach integrates epistemological and ontological aspects in scientific study

and attempts to include non-empirical/non-reductionistic components of the reality (such as intuition, deductive

and divinity inspired mystic revelations) in scientific methodology to target:



a. Highest realms of creative abilities par excellence to foster enhanced engagement of subjects and

subjective research in scientific and objective pedagogy. Thereby, it fosters pedagogy of both subjective and

objective sciences and their integration.

b. Divinity inspired sustained positive thinking for the optimistic resolution of toughest problems in scientific

research (such as origin of life, consciousness riddle, mind-body problem).

c. Holistic integration of subject’s natural interests (philosophy, curiosity, creativity, divinity (if any)) with

subject’s empirical and analytical aptitude.

d. Training in the formal integration of diverse, non-convergent platforms for a prosperous, purposeful and

peaceful co-existence.

e. Translational and transformational knowledge domains and platforms to envision a renaissance in the

modern scientific and technical education.

C. The science-spirituality synthesis appears to integrate ‘philosophy’ and ‘divinity’ which have

alternative paradigms and numerous possible versions of subjectivity integrated objective

science. These could be like alternate scientific theories without valid proofs as scientific laws. In

other words, they could be speculations without formal proof. Therefore, it is to be asserted that

the ‘science-spirituality synthesis’ is not a speculation and has empirical validity, logical basis

and experiential proof. Kindly elaborate.

The science-spirituality synthesis involves a holistic integration of experimental (objective/empirical approach) and

experiential (subjective/spiritual) frameworks for gaining knowledge of the reality. Subjective or spiritual

frameworks may involve numerous alternate paradigms all of which need validity from experiential domain. For

example, advertising that one has expertise to prepare tasty delicacies is not equivalent to certification given after

tasting the delicacies. Therefore, apart from empirical and philosophical synergy, subjective science requires

experiential conclusion. Considering the ambiguity in variations of subjective realms and to foster convergence,

the short course development team conducted exclusive research into Vedanta, which is considered to be the age

old wisdom of ancient India. The founding father of Vedanta, Srila Vyasadeva compiled Srimad Bhagavatam after

maturing in transcendental realization. Similarly, Bhagavad Gita, the song of God can be regarded to be absolute,

for being delivered by God himself, who is beyond duality. Incidentally, the conclusions drawn from both Srimad

Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita are fully coherent with one another and advocate upon theistic basis of Sankhya

science presented in the vast knowledge repository of Vedanta. Therefore, the synthesis of science and spirituality

presented in the short term course is firmly rooted in the theistic Sankhya science of the Vedanta that has been

axiomatized in Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita. The theistic Sankhya explores finest integration of modern

science and Vedantic theology. Having subjective elements with mystical divine origins, the science-spirituality

synthesis has personal experience, philosophical convergence as valid proofs in addition to empirical validity.

Consciousness is the final word in conventional science but is the starting phrase in the science-spirituality

synthesis which being grounded in theistic Sankhya converges to theistic interpretation and realization of empirical,

philosophical and experiential knowledge seeking platforms.

D. Does the science-spirituality synthesis model have variegatedness? If so how is it variegated?

Empiricism, philosophy, divinity and spirituality have variegated axiomatic representations of life, matter and their

interactions. The synthesis model advocates upon integrated frameworks of subjective and objective spheres of

knowledge. Hence, it will have maximum variegatedness which is driven with a combination or synthesis of

empiricism, philosophy and divinity. Each of these themselves have countless variations and hence their synthesis

is bound to offer numerous variegated scenarios/perspectives for a curious researcher in the interface of science-

spirituality. All these variations confirm towards the consciousness based paradigm that is advocated in the

science-spirituality synthesis vision of Dr. T. D. Singh.



E. To what extent subjective and objective pedagogies are integrated in the science-spirituality

short term course?

The science-spirituality synthesis course with a rich combination of objective and subjective pedagogies would

have a three layered structural approach:

a. Subjective inclusive and Objective dominant pedagogies: The instructional and training material

would encourage unleashing newer frontiers in objectively driven pedagogies with the inclusion of subjective

components. For example, improvising scientific research, communication skills, analytical aptitude is objectively

driven, but subjective inclusion of philosophical and spiritual foundations could enrich these fields. Ex: Tranquility

and serenity achieved by determined and focussed spiritual practices such as meditation can enhance

concentration and focus on chosen activity in worldly pursuits and this in turn facilitates newer dimensions of

success in scientific research or communication skills or analytical aptitude.

b. Balanced integration of subjective and objective pedagogies: Many application fields in the broad

themes of management and health require a balanced integration of subjective and objective pedagogies. For

such disciplines, balanced integration is to be targeted and will be advocated in dedicated sessions. Ex: Spirituality

integrated manager could enhance task, material resource, human resource and time management due to

detachment, appreciation of other’s contributions by visualizing them as a divine element in nature, enhanced

concentration and focus. Same is the case with health.

c. Subjectivity dominant pedagogies: Understanding nature of the reality through spiritual and

philosophical foundations is dominant with subjective pedagogies. Hence, for such disciplines, objective

pedagogies would be considered to be supplementing the dominance of subjective learning frameworks. Ex:

Meaning and purpose of life cannot be understood through scientific and philosophical endeavours and requires

the support of theology based spiritual foundations.

F. The science-spirituality synthesis model appears to have a faith based paradigm that eventually

crystallizes into a realization. How is it to be believed that the synthesis based realization is

eventually culminating into transcendence and does not have the pitfalls of conventional

approaches such as speculation and limited domain applicability?

Science, philosophy and logic are representations of human experience based realizations. The science-spirituality

synthesis based realization will involve ever increasing confidence and happiness (driven with detachment from

the results of one’s actions) and thereby fosters positive thinking in the midst of persistent failures set to achieve

stringent goals. These features themselves are active ingredients to justify one’s experiences to be practical and

not dogmatic. The fitness of one’s realizations with those presented in the Sruti (Vedic Scriptures presenting

revealed knowledge) is another proof for one’s progress towards transcendence. The ultimate test for the science-

spirituality synthesis based realization comes during pressing moments of life (for example acute suffering invoked

before, during and after critical surgery). Based on both personal experience and realizations, the curriculum

development team of the science and spirituality short term course infer that theistic sciences will foster towards a

convergent, brighter, prosperous conscious experience that are very likely to be mystical and beyond the scope of

one’s prior experience in science-spirituality synthesis.

G. In few sections of the prospectus, wholistic living and lifestyle has been mentioned. Now a days,

so many philanthropic institutions offer courses and programs in wholistic living. In what way,

the wholistic living concept presented in the short term course is different from those advocated

by the philanthropic institutions?

The wholistic living advocated by the Bhaktivedanta Institute is unique in the sense that it encourages greater

integration of spirituality in one’s thought process and lifestyle to reap its enormous benefits. The synthesis model

of Dr. T. D. Singh encourages a balanced scientific temper and spiritual wisdom. Other philanthropic institutions

may advocate upon spirituality through Yoga, Meditation etc., However, the uniqueness of the approach laid down



in the course is to encourage inclusion of theistic Vedanta/Sankhya into one’s lifestyle, and seek practical solutions

for the betterment of one’s living and habitiat. Since, scientific temper, philosophical insights have been included,

existing constraints in personal, professional and social spheres of life would be valued and customized solutions

can be encouraged through the potential synthesis vision of Dr. T. D. Singh, that advocates upon balanced

integration of scientific temper, philosophical insights and spiritual wisdom of Vedanta. Bhagavad Gita remains a

central repository for the demonstrated methodology throughout the course.

H. There was some discussion related to science, philosophy and spirituality of Life. Its quite

confusing. Can you please elaborate upon the same?

Even before the advent of modern science, logical reasoning can be seen to be a hall mark of advanced human

creative and philosophical capabilities. Science and technology are outcomes of advanced philosophical thoughts

that attempt to correlate with the physical aspects of the reality. With the advent of modern science, human thought

processes are increasingly channelled towards empiricism. The science, philosophy and spirituality of Life concept

advocated in the short term course draws parallels with the existing characteristic features of a hard working

scientist. Such a scientist has realizations that can be broadly characterized into three categories namely (a) those

that can correlate to physical reality and hence have a basis for logical reasoning and determinism (b) those that

cannot correlate to physical reality with a logical outcome and therefore require philosophical insights guided by

deeper thinking and contemplation and (c) those that convey mystical revelations guiding scientific discoveries.

These three aspects refer to scientific, philosophical and spiritual aspects of realization. Scientific realizations

encourage correlation of logical reasoning with deterministic outcome. Philosophical insights encourage possible

avenues for non-deterministic outcomes of logical reasoning. Spiritual wisdom encourages further insights into the

mystical origins of revelations of Life that cannot be explained through scientific and philosophical approaches. In

summary, Life can be seen to be an amalgamation of scientific, philosophical and spiritual aspects. In the early

stages of infancy, with a little advanced intellect, one may get habituated to the deterministic outcome based

approach of life’s activities. However, as life’s journey progresses, human beings increasingly attempt to invite

philosophical insights to understand fundamental issues in life. Despite doing so, certain questions may remain

unsolved and these could be answered through the spiritual dimension of life that is actively guided through

meditation and detached action.

Thus, the scientific, philosophical and spiritual aspects of Life have always existed and the nomenclature has been

provided based on the existing trends of learning in the modern society. In other words, science of Life does not

essentially refer to having correlation with physical reality in a precisely modern scientific context. The science of

Life thought process is analogous with the modern scientific approach that attempts to deterministically correlate

logical reasoning to understand the reality. Similarly, philosophy and spirituality of Life also have analogies in

referring to limitations of speculation and divinity based guidance in resolution Life’s challenges. Since modern

science has all three facets of empiricism, philosophical insight and mysticism, modern science has been used as

a potential tool to obtain greater insights into systematization and customization of human thought processes to

understand the reality. Thus, any life’s activity that has reasoning and repetitive proof in life’s experience can be

termed as ‘science of life’, any life’s activity that encourages solutions from philosophical insights and deeper

thinking can be termed as ‘philosophy of life’ and any life’s activity that steers one from all difficulties from a divine

inspiration and guidance can be termed as ‘spirituality of life’. Since life is continuous, life can be seen to be an

integration of all these three. Their utility will be based on one’s realizations with respect to resolving issues through

either one or all of the approaches.

I. Can we join any time to register for the course?

Yes, the short term course is fully online and fully flexible to cater to your needs. Accordingly, you can join any

time to register for the course. The course registration is open 365 days an year and 24 h a day for registration.



J. Do you offer online course for the Short Course in Science and Spirituality?

Yes, the short course on science and spirituality is being offered online. This is being indicated in the title itself of

the course.

K. Can Course Notes & Video Lectures be allowed to download for personal reference and

enhanced learning?

No. However, unrestricted access to the Video lectures and audio extract of the lectures and text of the course is

available at the course learning management system (LMS). In addition, to support your learning and reference

needs, we recommend you to visit the store of Bhaktivedanta Institute to purchase relevant reference books

suggested in the syllabi of the course.

L. The course title suggests short term course and spans over for a maximum duration of one year.

One year duration is not short term tenure!

We partially agree with your intentions. The overall course can be completed within a duration of 2 months,

provided the delegate takes the course activity on a daily basis. However, with other busy engagements, we

presume that weekend activity is probably the best way most students and professionals would engage themselves

for the course. The course duration is flexible to accommodate the needs of such busy students/professionals and

hence has been set to a maximum duration of 51 weeks.

M. We have several doubts on the course content and require significant revision/discussion from

the Course instructor. Can this be arranged?

Yes, the learning management system (LMS) of the course encourages feedback and participatory learning

approach. Accordingly, all questions would be addressed by the Course Instructor to improve learning of the

course. Additional audio visual materials, slides and handouts in pdf format would be presented as supplementary

material if necessary to clarify doubts.

N. The course fees is marginally high and I cannot afford for the same. Can I get some discount?

The course fees is not very high. For a maximum duration of 1 year and with unlimited access to course content

including videos and audios at the LMS interface, the charged fees is bare minimum and has been offered only

without any intention to make a profit of the same. For an online certificate course in any subject of delegate

interest, the fee charged in this course of science-spirituality is bare minimum. The fees is being charged to take

care of the costs associated to the LMS, administrative support and feedback and participatory learning related

engagement of the Course instructors. Therefore, the fee amount is justified.

Discounts are only facilitated for those who are highly meritorious and belong to economically weaker sections of

India. Relevant documentation needs to be appended to the registration form to indicate the same. The decision

of Honorary Director (Distance Education) is final with respect to awarding any such discounts (to the tune of 20%

and 30% for Students and Professionals). Course registration is not pending with respect to discount related

decisions by the course team. For those who are not allowed to avail discounts, they need to pay additional amount

through a NEFT transfer to the course account and intimate the same to course email id within one month time

from the date of filling the online registration form. Otherwise, unconditional access to the course LMS environment

would be hampered.



O. I understand that the course is on science and spirituality. However, the course also has content

related to stress management or God realization. How does science or scientific method exist in

a domain that is not in the domain of the science itself?

We appreciate your concern. Through the systematic study of science, the course advocates on philosophy of

science and thereafter philosophy of life. The scientific method involving the study of matter can be extended

towards scientific study of social subjects and hence can be termed as social sciences. Similarly, the scientific

study of matter can be extended towards the philosophical aspects of life based on the wider study of

consciousness paradigm. With such conceptualization and contexutality, the science-spirituality synthesis vision

of Dr. T. D. Singh has been extended towards all subjects of interest for the excellence and distinction in personal,

professional and social spheres of life.

P. I am a student of Psychology. The syllabi of science-spirituality does not teach much about the

psychology. Am I correct? If so, how the course can be useful for a graduate with a major in

psychology?

The course on science and spirituality advocates upon a consciousness paradigm, which is far superior to the

reductionist and philosophical paradigms of the reality. Thereby, psychology which has a reductionist and

philosophical framework to elaborate upon the reality needs to be extended towards the consciousness paradigm.

The short term course on science-spirituality provides the just and meaningful foundations and concepts to

understand these aspects and thereby paves the way to master the art of holistic integration of scientific,

philosophical and spiritual perspectives of the reality in any field of study.

12. Course Benefits

a. Nurture and maximize systematic, deeper, broader and creative thinking through extensive training

and realizations in science-spirituality synthesis.

b. New dimensions that provide out of the box upgradation strategies in modern scientific research

and analytical aptitude due to holistic integration of subjective and objective pedagogies.

c. Practical application of spirituality at profession to script success stories in career through persistent

positive thinking, communication skills, holistic management/administration, stress management and

crisis management.,

d. Practical application and realization of divinity/ spirituality based on the Bhaktivedanta school of tradition

to resolve stiffest challenges in personal, professional and social spheres of life through applied spirituality.

e. Enhanced confidence driven with spiritual realization of divinity/ God to take up with ease most toughest

circumstances in life including crises, critical illnesses and suffering.

f. Enhancement of Human values such as Universal brotherhood, Values & Ethics, and sublime Tranquillity

to drive social harmony.

g. Balanced application of scientific temper, philosophical insights and spiritual wisdom for encouraging and

realizing wholistic thought processes, living and habitat.

After completing the short course on science-spirituality, the delegates are expected to be individually thoughtful

with higher level of intelligence to guide and drive the society towards higher goals.



13. How to Register for the Online Course

The following procedure is to be followed for the registration of the short term online course:

a) Visit course website at [http://courses.binstitute.org] and go to Registration page.

b) Please choose whether you wish to avail any discounts for the course. If you wish to do so, you need to

submit relevant enclosures in addition to the other mandatory entries in the registration form.

c) Fill up the Online Course Registration Form along with relevant enclosures if any (Merit Certificate and

Economic status Certificate duly obtained from authentic sources).

d) Accordingly, pay the required fees (discounted if you wish to do so) using Debit/Credit card and

complete the relevant online financial transactions.

e) Submit the online registration form.

f) Receive login and password from Online Course Manager within a span of 4 days from

[email protected]

g) Once you receive the login and password, the registration is regarded complete and you have a

maximum duration of 1 year to complete the course.

Note: The decision to allow discounts would be taken by the Honorary Director (Distance Education) and if not

allowed, the trainee shall pay the additional amount within one month through a NEFT transfer to the course

account and send details to the course email id (ccss[at]binstitute.org). Failure to pay such additional amount for

the case of not allowing discounts would hamper learning due to restrictions on the allocated login at the course

LMS.

14. About the Institute

Founded in 1974, the Bhaktivedanta Institute is a center for Advanced Studies in modern Science and Vedanta.

As a non-profit organization, it is dedicated to facilitate communication between scientific and religious communities

on a wide range of issues that affect people individually and collectively. It explores foundational questions related

to life's origin, the nature of humanity, problems related to the body, mind, and society at large, as well as many

other philosophical and ethical concerns. The Bhaktivedanta Institute aims to provide comprehensive solutions to

these issues through a consciousness-based paradigm. This is a new approach that will have profound significance

for broadening our understanding of science, spirituality, and their synthesis. One of the primary objectives of the

Bhaktivedanta Institute is to present this paradigm for the critical attention of serious scholars and thinkers

throughout the world. As such, the institute supports a closer examination of existing scientific paradigms in

cosmology, evolution, physics, biology, genetics, neurosciences, environmental science and other sciences.

The Bhaktivedanta Institute also promotes scientific and philosophical dialogues among scientists, scholars and

theologians of the world. These dialogues cover various common conceptual grounds and promote a better

understanding amongst different scientific and faith-based communities. They also address issues that emerge

due to technological developments and scientific discoveries. The Bhaktivedanta Institute has also collaborated

with other organizations such as the URI (United Religious Initiative), Templeton Foundation, Metanexus Institute

and many other organizations around the world to address issues of common interests. To fulfill its objectives, the

Institute supports the exchange of ideas through conferences, seminars and publications. Mature reflections of

these broader exchanges have been compiled by the members of the institute to serve as short courses and

workshops.

The Vision and Mission of the Institute are as follows:

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Our goal is to have spiritual reality accepted and incorporated into scientific research and advancements

and to have scientific principles and methods integrated into the practice of spirituality

To develop a center for advanced studies in science and spirituality focusing on a consciousness based

paradigm of Vedanta to resolve the mind-body problems, the questions of evolution, origin of life and the

universe and many other philosophical, ethical and moral human concerns.

To promote scientific, philosophical and religious dialogues among scientists, scholars and religionists of

the world.

To provide an opportunity for scientists and religious scholars to learn from each other and thereby

broaden their respective world-view

15. Founder Acharya of the Institute

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupāda (1896 –1977), Founder-Ācārya of the

Bhaktivedanta Institute was one of the most prominent spiritual and cultural ambassadors of the 20th century. He

belongs to the monotheistic Gaudiya Vaishnava Vedanta tradition of India which upholds the three stages of

realization of the Absolute Truth namely, Impersonal Brahman, Super Soul and finally Supreme Personality of

Godhead as revealed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the natural commentary on the Vedantasutra, and various other

spiritual traditions of the World. He had a profound notion of the many facets of science and religion. He strongly

felt that scientific knowledge would remain incomplete if we ignore consciousness based paradigms offered by

religions of the world in their search for the deeper meaning of our existence. He felt that a synthesis of science

and spirituality would only be possible through the joint efforts and open discussions by the deep thinkers of the

world. He promoted the concept that "Life comes from Life" indicating a non-material origin of life, and was hopeful

that scientists across the world would be open to scientific exploration of this alternative paradigm.

Śrīla Prabhupāda authored over 70 volumes on the Vaiṣṇava tradition, which are highly respected by scholars for

their authority, depth, fidelity to the tradition, and clarity. Several of his works are used as textbooks in numerous

college courses and reference materials for religionists and scholars. His writings have been translated into 76

languages.

Śrīla Prabhupāda formed the Bhaktivedanta Institute in 1974. He formed the Bhaktivedanta Institute with a vision

to encourage humanity to inquire about the nature of the Absolute Truth, the nature of reality, and the nature of

our existence. He provided the vision and mission for the Bhaktivedanta Institute, which was implemented by its

Director Dr. T. D. Singh and other members. In 1977, just a month before his departure from the mortal world, Śrīla

Prabhupāda oversaw the Bhaktivedanta Institute's first international conference entitled "Life comes from Life".

Śrīla Prabhupāda also envisioned that there would be lasting peace and harmony in society at large if the modern

sciences and arts were used in the glorification of God rather than for selfish and exploitative objectives.In one of

his commentaries to the ancient Indian text Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.22, he wrote "When advancement of

knowledge is applied in the service of the Lord, the whole process becomes absolute...therefore, all the sages and

devotees of the Lord have recommended that the subject matter of art, science, philosophy, physics, chemistry,

psychology and all other branches of knowledge should be wholly and solely applied in the service of the

Lord...Advanced people are eager to understand the Absolute Truth through the medium of science, and therefore

a great scientist should endeavor to prove the existence of the Lord on a scientific basis." Srila Prabhupāda's

writings continue to be an inspiration for the scientists and scholars associated with the Bhaktivedanta Institute.



16. Founding Director of the Institute

Dr. Thoudam Damodara Singh (1937-2006), also known as His Holiness Bhaktisvarūpa Dāmodara Swami is the

founding director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute. He was one of the world’s pioneer exponents of science-spirituality

dialogue and inter-faith peace initiatives. He identified the cause of many of the problems in the world today such

as terrorism, environmental issues, and social and religious conflict to be due to a lack of understanding between

the fields of empirical science and religion. As the International Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, he wrote

more than thirty books, gave hundreds of talks and seminars, and organized numerous scholarly discussions and

international conferences on topics related to the science and spirituality nexus.

His tireless efforts were revolutionary and brought together some of the best minds in the world - Nobel Laureates,

scientists, spiritualists, and world leaders - to a common platform of constructive dialogue and action for a more

peaceful world. While traveling extensively around the world, he built bridges between communities, cultures and

ideologies. Everywhere he went, he sought to cultivate the human spirit of inquiry, love and peace. Primarily, he

emphasized the need for a new paradigm of life beyond the mechanistic model of atoms and molecules, to include

that of consciousness, meaning and purpose.

Dr. Singh launched “Savijnanam – Scientific Exploration for Spiritual Paradigm” journal, which is distinctive in its

theme with rich philosophical and academic inputs on the exuberant subject matter of science-spirituality. Many

other projects of Dr. T. D. Singh have rich academic flair and competence. He was also instrumental to launch

“Tattvajijnasa” magazine for the upliftment of philosophical and spiritual foundation in the younger

generation. Some of his other unique projects that foster science-spirituality synthesis include AISSQ (All India

Students’ Conference on Science and Spiritual Quest) conference series, mobile academy providing glimpses of

science-spirituality synthesis based on rigorous outreach. Today, his sincere followers and well-wishers are

continuing his legacy of science-spirituality synthesis.

The short term online course project in science and spirituality under the distance education portal of the institute

is one among many such endeavours to realize the relevance and uniqueness of science-spirituality synthesis of

Dr. T. D. Singh for the betterment of mankind and promotion of peace, prosperity and selfless purpose.