Neelankavil, John, CMI

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal) Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln July 2005 Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library's Forest Environment John Neelankavil CMI Opp. Fatima College, Madurai, India Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac  Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Neelankavil, John CMI, "Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library's Forest Environment" (2005). Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 43. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/43 “Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 1Library Philosophy and Practice Vol. 5, No. 2 (Spring 2003)  (www.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/lppv5n2.htm) ISSN 1522-0222 Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI Deepaham Opp. Fatima College Pandian Theatre Road Meenakshi Nagar, Vilangudi Madurai - 625 018 India   Introduction  The lesson of G. K. Chesterton’s famous article, The Fallacy of Success (www.chesterton-library.net/success.txt) can be taken to heart by librarians. Chesterton pokes fun at the many books that promise a formula for “success,” by which they mean “material success,” which he sees as no more than greed. Librarians are participating in this fallacy by  bowing before the wealthy or mighty discipline Information Technology (IT).  We bow before it because of its power and its systematic nature. Borrowing the relevant elements from IT for our discipline (library science) is well and good, but there is still the opportunity and the obligation to develop this library science in an Indian way because India has a unique cultural tradition and a rich tradition of library science. In this article, I will introduce a number of concepts from Indian thought and culture, and tie them to an approach to library science that includes the idea of Bhodhivanam, a “forest environment” for the library and the reader. The father of Indian library science, Dr. S. R. Ranganathan has contributed a lot to the rich tradition of librarianship in India. During his studies abroad he became familiar with the western tradition of library science. At home in India, he helped develop a view and practice of librarianship that reflect Indian culture. Today we must continue his work. While we may learn from the West, we can contribute something that is uniquely Indian to this discipline of library and information science. Eastern (Indian) and Western (Scholastic) Approach to Reality (Vineeth, p.12)  Eastern (Indian) Western(Scholastic)  Interiorization  Exteriorization  Subjective  Objective Mystic (experience)  Scientific (experiment)Search Research “Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 2Contemplative Thinking Calculative Thinking Intuitive Rational Qualitative Quantitative Immanent Transcendent Reality and Knowledge According to an Indian Perspective The Indian approach to reality is to seek reality in one’s self. Reality is encountered in one’s own consciousness. Consciousness means awareness of the self. In the Indian tradition, the word atman or “self” can mean the individual self and the divine self. Reality is encountered through the consciousness of the individual self and of the eternal self in the individual self. The understanding, experiencing and interpreting of the self is called exteriorization.  The individual self (jivatman) which is centered in consciousness is in a body which again exists in the world. The individual self together with its body is called a microcosm (miniature universe). In contrast, the Divine Self (paramatman) together with its body is called macrocosm. The center of this macrocosm is the paramatman who is Brahman (the highest reality, the eternal), whereas the center of the microcosm is the jivatman. Since jivatman contains in itself the reflection of paramatman, in the last analysis Brahman is the ultimate center of the macro- and microcosm. This ultimate center of consciousness cannot be proved but is to be experienced slowly by way of listening, pondering and realizing (sravanam, mananam, nididhyasanam). In the depth of the experience we are taken from jivatman to paramatman. Man’s ultimate content is God’s own image. Image always indicates something original. Jivatman, when properly understood, leads man to the divine in himself. In short, understanding himself in depth, man understands God. The Changing universe rotates around the unchanging center, the ultimate reality, the supreme consciousness. And we reach this consciousness in quiet and silence in the same way as we dive and reach the still bottom of a turbulent sea. To achieve this we have to silence all our senses and thus be free from all emotional conflicts. With this process of silencing a yogi becomes capable of remaining unchanged in the changing life situations. As in the macrocosm the changing universe rotates around the unchanging Brahman, so in the microcosm all the outer layers of consciousness, which are rapidly changing, will be centered on and guided by the steady consciousness of the yogi. Human knowledge draws intelligibility from sensibility. This is done with a dynamic activity of the mind known as abstraction. Abstraction, as the word signifies, is a process of drawing from (Latin ab-trahere). It is drawing of the essence of a thing from its sensible data. Philosophically, abstraction is defined as the consideration of one aspect of reality or being, leaving other aspects unconsidered. Thus when one says ‘man is a rational animal’ one abstracts what is common in all human beings one has encountered, but leave aside the particularities of each of them. This kind of abstraction in which the totality of the essence of a species is drawn from different individuals is known as total abstraction. Both what is “Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 3abstracted and what is left aside is total. Total essence is abstracted; total individuality is left aside. Bhava and Anubhava are most important results of reading. “When knowledge is related to the being he encounters, it is called lower knowledge (apara-vidya) and can be objectified. When, on the contrary, knowledge is realizing the atman within, it is called higher knowledge (para-vidya) and refuses to be objectified. It is simply the experience of the atman as the knower” (Vineeth, p. 39) There are experiences and these experiences will change man. If we go back to Indian scriptures and sacred tradition there was no bibliography, no indexing, no key word search, no printed form, not even a written form. A communication and learning method called sruti and smriti allowed the enjoyment of the scripture in depth. The Past Has Given Way to the New Today our situation has undergone a great change from the past and the past has given way to the new. The present situation stands influenced by the west. Old Tradition Present State (Influenced by West) Scholars were seekers of wisdom. They are browsers of information They searched for truth. They search for key words.  Whenever one met with a ray of wisdom they meditated upon it. Whenever one comes across a piece of information, one looks for related terms They used sravana – manana – nitidhyasana. They use multimedia kits. Here we have to distinguish the meaning of terms, wisdom (jnanam), knowledge (vijnanam), and information (vivaram). Wisdom stands for the highest kind of knowledge and it is like the jnana of God. The knowledge, which is lower than wisdom can be attained by disciplined training (tapas). The information is at a still lower level. Information only shows the way and it is not the way or the destination in itself. Systematic Approach of West and Meditative Approach of East The systematic approach of the modern age has resulted in quantitative growth, and this in turn has resulted in an explosion of information. This is a western approach, and it emphasizes on quantity. The focus is on a macro level. At the same time, the eastern approach, and especially the Indian traditional approach to knowledge, is a meditative approach. This Indian approach emphasizes quality and the focus here is on a micro level development.                                                  “Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 4Method of Learning in the Cultural Heritage of India Education in ancient India was not merely an information process but a transformation process. It is not a coaching for a career, to be used as a means for the livelihood. It was a matter of the cultural discipline of a person who belonged to a group of enlightened people who lived and worked in a society with some common goal, such as welfare of the world (lokasamgraha).  Just as intellectual training involves achieving harmony with one’s own interior and exterior realms of being, so also it involves environmental harmony with Nature and its rhythms. Man learns many things from his natural environment. The universe is perhaps the greatest library filled with unwritten but powerfully eloquent sources of learning. The Creative Tension There is a point of tension for Indian librarians. We cannot totally deny the systematic or western approach, as it has its own advantages. The west has contributed a lot in the fields of systematization and processing of information. Nevertheless, we Indians have been slow to introduce or develop a program that uses a meditative approach to preserve eastern values. If easterners, the people of a great tradition, are idle, that will cause the decline of the universe of knowledge. In the future we will not be able to see knowledge and wisdom anywhere in the world because of over-emphasis on information. This is where the uniqueness of the Indian approach can contribute. Not Store Keepers But Promoters of Knowledge/Wisdom  Librarians are not storekeepers, but the promoters of knowledge and wisdom. We have to undertake this responsibility to give shape to the universe of knowledge. We must take it upon ourselves as an obligation to find out ways and means to improve the Indian approach to the universe of knowledge. Bhodhivanam: Innovative Ways and Complementary Thought from the Indian Tradition What is Bhodhivanam? Bhodhivanam is a forest environment for a library. The library has to provide a new kind of reading environment that is like a forest. It is a dream vision or concept. The seed of this concept can be seen in the writings of Ranganathan. “There should be an open air reading room for the cooler hours of the day.” (Ranganathan: 25) To execute this idea we have to plan cautiously, considering the security and discipline of the library. Here the reading is not just a browsing but Sravana (listen), Manana (ponder), Nitidhyasana (realize). It will lead the reader to anubhava (emotive identification or understanding). He will also be able to give bhavas (action) to his ideas with the help of this environment. This type of reading is recommended for the people with the spirit of meditative mind. At the same time it is more applicable for reading the sacred scriptures, interpretation of scriptures, poetical writings and classical works. “Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 5Process in the Bhodhivanam  A process of coding and decoding is happening there. Reading is a kind of decoding of original ideas of an author by the reader .To understands this decoding we have to have knowledge of the coding. Coding is nothing but articulation of an idea of an author using the medium of language. The language, its words and expressions are like codes. These codes contain the original thoughts and ideas of an author. The environment of the author is invisibly reflected in these codes. Decoding happens in the mind of the reader. Here the reading is not just a browsing. It is a kind of meditative reading. It is an action of Sravana (listening), Manana (pondering), and Nitidysana (realizing). The reader is reading the mind of author. The mind of the reader will become one with that of the author. This stage, we can say, is samanahredaya (empathy), and we can call this reader sahridayan (empathetic or aesthetic.) In this type of reading the environment has a great role to play. For example, a good reader who reads Geetanjali of Tagore in a library room will get one kind of experience. But he would get a better experience if he could read the same book under a big tree with flowers in a natural environment .The same is the case of most of the Indian classics. Many of the classical books of India have been written or coded in a forest or natural environment. To decode these books, therefore, the meditative reader requires a similar environment. The library must be able to satisfy this type of meditative reader by providing a more natural environment. The library can extend this type of environment into a garden library, cave library, and a rooftop library. Conclusion I have tried to unveil the depth and richness of some Indian concepts for the consideration of my fellow librarians. This is only a beginning and we have to go a long distance. Western scientists are ready to share what they have. Those with an Indian view of library science should be equally ready to share. I invite your ideas and suggestions for enriching this idea of Bhodhivanam. References Viet, V.F. Foundation of World Vision. Bangalore, Dharmaram Publications, 1985.  Ranganathan, S.R. Library Manual. Bombay, Asia Publishing House, 1966.  Krisha Gopal. Digiatal Libraries in Electronic Information Era. New Delhi, Authors Press, 2000.  Radhakrishnan, S., Ed. The Principal Upanishads.  London, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1969  “Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 6Saher, P.J. Eastern Wisdom and Western Thought: a Comparative Study in the Modern Philosophy of Religion. New York, Barnes and Noble Books, 1970  Vineeth V.F., Foundations of World Vision, Bangalore, Dharmaram Publications, 1985   Notes One who practices Yoga is yogi and Yoga is one of the spiritual disciplines of Acharya Patanjali.  Bhava = Mood of action  Anubhava= Emotive identification or understanding mananam = Pondering nididhyasanam = Realizing Sruti = What is heard, learning through hearing  smriti = What is remembered samanahredaya = Heart filled with the same aesthetic/emotions of author  sahridayan= The person one who has  samanahredaya (aesthetic heart) sravanam= Listening 

Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library\u27s Forest Environment

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal) Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
July 2005 
Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, 
the Library's Forest Environment 
John Neelankavil CMI 
Opp. Fatima College, Madurai, India 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac 
 Part of the Library and Information Science Commons 
Neelankavil, John CMI, "Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library's 
Forest Environment" (2005). Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 43. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/43 
“Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” 
Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 
1
Library Philosophy and Practice Vol. 5, No. 2 (Spring 2003)  
(www.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/lppv5n2.htm) 
ISSN 1522-0222 
Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: 
Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment 
Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI 
Deepaham 
Opp. Fatima College 
Pandian Theatre Road 
Meenakshi Nagar, Vilangudi 
Madurai - 625 018 India 
 
 
Introduction  
The lesson of G. K. Chesterton’s famous article, The Fallacy of Success 
(www.chesterton-library.net/success.txt) can be taken to heart by librarians. Chesterton pokes 
fun at the many books that promise a formula for “success,” by which they mean “material 
success,” which he sees as no more than greed. Librarians are participating in this fallacy 
by  bowing before the wealthy or mighty discipline Information Technology (IT).  We bow 
before it because of its power and its systematic nature. Borrowing the relevant elements 
from IT for our discipline (library science) is well and good, but there is still the opportunity 
and the obligation to develop this library science in an Indian way because India has a unique 
cultural tradition and a rich tradition of library science. In this article, I will introduce a 
number of concepts from Indian thought and culture, and tie them to an approach to library 
science that includes the idea of Bhodhivanam, a “forest environment” for the library and the 
reader. 
The father of Indian library science, Dr. S. R. Ranganathan has contributed a lot to 
the rich tradition of librarianship in India. During his studies abroad he became familiar with 
the western tradition of library science. At home in India, he helped develop a view and 
practice of librarianship that reflect Indian culture. Today we must continue his work. While 
we may learn from the West, we can contribute something that is uniquely Indian to this 
discipline of library and information science. 
Eastern (Indian) and Western (Scholastic) Approach to Reality (Vineeth, p.12)  
Eastern (Indian) Western(Scholastic)  
Interiorization  Exteriorization  
Subjective  Objective 
Mystic (experience)  Scientific (experiment)
Search Research 
“Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” 
Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 
2
Contemplative Thinking Calculative Thinking 
Intuitive Rational 
Qualitative Quantitative 
Immanent Transcendent 
Reality and Knowledge According to an Indian Perspective 
The Indian approach to reality is to seek reality in one’s self. Reality is encountered in 
one’s own consciousness. Consciousness means awareness of the self. In the Indian tradition, 
the word atman or “self” can mean the individual self and the divine self. Reality is 
encountered through the consciousness of the individual self and of the eternal self in the 
individual self. The understanding, experiencing and interpreting of the self is called 
exteriorization.  
The individual self (jivatman) which is centered in consciousness is in a body which 
again exists in the world. The individual self together with its body is called a microcosm 
(miniature universe). In contrast, the Divine Self (paramatman) together with its body is 
called macrocosm. The center of this macrocosm is the paramatman who is Brahman (the 
highest reality, the eternal), whereas the center of the microcosm is the jivatman. Since 
jivatman contains in itself the reflection of paramatman, in the last analysis Brahman is the 
ultimate center of the macro- and microcosm. 
This ultimate center of consciousness cannot be proved but is to be experienced 
slowly by way of listening, pondering and realizing (sravanam, mananam, nididhyasanam). 
In the depth of the experience we are taken from jivatman to paramatman. Man’s ultimate 
content is God’s own image. Image always indicates something original. Jivatman, when 
properly understood, leads man to the divine in himself. In short, understanding himself in 
depth, man understands God. 
The Changing universe rotates around the unchanging center, the ultimate reality, the 
supreme consciousness. And we reach this consciousness in quiet and silence in the same 
way as we dive and reach the still bottom of a turbulent sea. To achieve this we have to 
silence all our senses and thus be free from all emotional conflicts. With this process of 
silencing a yogi becomes capable of remaining unchanged in the changing life situations. As 
in the macrocosm the changing universe rotates around the unchanging Brahman, so in the 
microcosm all the outer layers of consciousness, which are rapidly changing, will be centered 
on and guided by the steady consciousness of the yogi. 
Human knowledge draws intelligibility from sensibility. This is done with a dynamic 
activity of the mind known as abstraction. Abstraction, as the word signifies, is a process of 
drawing from (Latin ab-trahere). It is drawing of the essence of a thing from its sensible 
data. Philosophically, abstraction is defined as the consideration of one aspect of reality or 
being, leaving other aspects unconsidered. Thus when one says ‘man is a rational animal’ one 
abstracts what is common in all human beings one has encountered, but leave aside the 
particularities of each of them. This kind of abstraction in which the totality of the essence of 
a species is drawn from different individuals is known as total abstraction. Both what is 
“Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” 
Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 
3
abstracted and what is left aside is total. Total essence is abstracted; total individuality is left 
aside. 
Bhava and Anubhava are most important results of reading. “When knowledge is 
related to the being he encounters, it is called lower knowledge (apara-vidya) and can be 
objectified. When, on the contrary, knowledge is realizing the atman within, it is called 
higher knowledge (para-vidya) and refuses to be objectified. It is simply the experience of 
the atman as the knower” (Vineeth, p. 39) There are experiences and these experiences will 
change man. If we go back to Indian scriptures and sacred tradition there was no 
bibliography, no indexing, no key word search, no printed form, not even a written form. A 
communication and learning method called sruti and smriti allowed the enjoyment of the 
scripture in depth. 
The Past Has Given Way to the New 
Today our situation has undergone a great change from the past and the past has 
given way to the new. The present situation stands influenced by the west. 
Old Tradition Present State (Influenced by West) 
Scholars were seekers of wisdom. They are browsers of information 
They searched for truth. They search for key words.  
Whenever one met with a ray of wisdom 
they meditated upon it. 
Whenever one comes across a piece of 
information, one looks for related terms 
They used sravana – manana – 
nitidhyasana. They use multimedia kits. 
Here we have to distinguish the meaning of terms, wisdom (jnanam), knowledge 
(vijnanam), and information (vivaram). Wisdom stands for the highest kind of knowledge 
and it is like the jnana of God. The knowledge, which is lower than wisdom can be attained 
by disciplined training (tapas). The information is at a still lower level. Information only 
shows the way and it is not the way or the destination in itself. 
Systematic Approach of West and Meditative Approach of East 
The systematic approach of the modern age has resulted in quantitative growth, and 
this in turn has resulted in an explosion of information. This is a western approach, and it 
emphasizes on quantity. The focus is on a macro level. 
At the same time, the eastern approach, and especially the Indian traditional approach 
to knowledge, is a meditative approach. This Indian approach emphasizes quality and the 
focus here is on a micro level development. 
                                               
 
 
“Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” 
Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 
4
Method of Learning in the Cultural Heritage of India 
Education in ancient India was not merely an information process but a 
transformation process. It is not a coaching for a career, to be used as a means for the 
livelihood. It was a matter of the cultural discipline of a person who belonged to a group of 
enlightened people who lived and worked in a society with some common goal, such as 
welfare of the world (lokasamgraha).  
Just as intellectual training involves achieving harmony with one’s own interior and 
exterior realms of being, so also it involves environmental harmony with Nature and its 
rhythms. Man learns many things from his natural environment. The universe is perhaps the 
greatest library filled with unwritten but powerfully eloquent sources of learning. 
The Creative Tension 
There is a point of tension for Indian librarians. We cannot totally deny the systematic 
or western approach, as it has its own advantages. The west has contributed a lot in the fields 
of systematization and processing of information. Nevertheless, we Indians have been slow 
to introduce or develop a program that uses a meditative approach to preserve eastern values. 
If easterners, the people of a great tradition, are idle, that will cause the decline of the 
universe of knowledge. In the future we will not be able to see knowledge and wisdom 
anywhere in the world because of over-emphasis on information. This is where the 
uniqueness of the Indian approach can contribute. 
Not Store Keepers But Promoters of Knowledge/Wisdom  
Librarians are not storekeepers, but the promoters of knowledge and wisdom. We 
have to undertake this responsibility to give shape to the universe of knowledge. We must 
take it upon ourselves as an obligation to find out ways and means to improve the Indian 
approach to the universe of knowledge. 
Bhodhivanam: Innovative Ways and Complementary Thought from the Indian 
Tradition 
What is Bhodhivanam? Bhodhivanam is a forest environment for a library. The 
library has to provide a new kind of reading environment that is like a forest. It is a dream 
vision or concept. The seed of this concept can be seen in the writings of Ranganathan. 
“There should be an open air reading room for the cooler hours of the day.” (Ranganathan: 
25) To execute this idea we have to plan cautiously, considering the security and discipline of 
the library. Here the reading is not just a browsing but Sravana (listen), Manana (ponder), 
Nitidhyasana (realize). It will lead the reader to anubhava (emotive identification or 
understanding). He will also be able to give bhavas (action) to his ideas with the help of this 
environment. This type of reading is recommended for the people with the spirit of 
meditative mind. At the same time it is more applicable for reading the sacred scriptures, 
interpretation of scriptures, poetical writings and classical works. 
“Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” 
Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 
5
Process in the Bhodhivanam  
A process of coding and decoding is happening there. Reading is a kind of decoding 
of original ideas of an author by the reader .To understands this decoding we have to have 
knowledge of the coding. Coding is nothing but articulation of an idea of an author using the 
medium of language. The language, its words and expressions are like codes. These codes 
contain the original thoughts and ideas of an author. The environment of the author is 
invisibly reflected in these codes. 
Decoding happens in the mind of the reader. Here the reading is not just a browsing. 
It is a kind of meditative reading. It is an action of Sravana (listening), Manana (pondering), 
and Nitidysana (realizing). The reader is reading the mind of author. The mind of the reader 
will become one with that of the author. This stage, we can say, is samanahredaya 
(empathy), and we can call this reader sahridayan (empathetic or aesthetic.) 
In this type of reading the environment has a great role to play. For example, a good 
reader who reads Geetanjali of Tagore in a library room will get one kind of experience. But 
he would get a better experience if he could read the same book under a big tree with flowers 
in a natural environment .The same is the case of most of the Indian classics. 
Many of the classical books of India have been written or coded in a forest or natural 
environment. To decode these books, therefore, the meditative reader requires a similar 
environment. The library must be able to satisfy this type of meditative reader by providing a 
more natural environment. The library can extend this type of environment into a garden 
library, cave library, and a rooftop library. 
Conclusion 
I have tried to unveil the depth and richness of some Indian concepts for the 
consideration of my fellow librarians. This is only a beginning and we have to go a long 
distance. Western scientists are ready to share what they have. Those with an Indian view of 
library science should be equally ready to share. I invite your ideas and suggestions for 
enriching this idea of Bhodhivanam. 
References 
Viet, V.F. Foundation of World Vision. Bangalore, Dharmaram Publications, 1985.  
Ranganathan, S.R. Library Manual. Bombay, Asia Publishing House, 1966.  
Krisha Gopal. Digiatal Libraries in Electronic Information Era. New Delhi, Authors Press, 
2000.  
Radhakrishnan, S., Ed. The Principal Upanishads.  London, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 
1969  
“Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library’s Forest Environment,” 
Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI. Library Philosophy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2003) 
6
Saher, P.J. Eastern Wisdom and Western Thought: a Comparative Study in the Modern 
Philosophy of Religion. New York, Barnes and Noble Books, 1970  
Vineeth V.F., Foundations of World Vision, Bangalore, Dharmaram Publications, 1985  
 
Notes 
One who practices Yoga is yogi and Yoga is one of the spiritual disciplines of Acharya 
Patanjali.  
Bhava = Mood of action  
Anubhava= Emotive identification or understanding 
mananam = Pondering 
nididhyasanam = Realizing 
Sruti = What is heard, learning through hearing  
smriti = What is remembered 
samanahredaya = Heart filled with the same aesthetic/emotions of author  
sahridayan= The person one who has  samanahredaya (aesthetic heart) 
sravanam= Listening 


https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&amp;context=libphilprac

Indian Innovative Ways Are More Than Digitization: Bhodhivanam, the Library\u27s Forest Environment

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

UNL | Libraries