Kolkata – A book launch in Kolkata last Sunday brought together a galaxy of eminent personalities from India and abroad.
Chief among them was the 9th successor of Don Bosco, Fr. Paschal Chavez from Rome, Kolkata Salesian Provincial Dr Nirmol Gomes, Principal of Salesian College Sonada-Siliguri Dr. George Thadathil and a host of others.
The occasion was launch of the book THE CLASH – of Transcendental Meditation and Counselling Psychology, by former Principal of Salesian College Dr. Peter Lourdes, SDB.
The program was held at Salesian provincial house in Tengra, 30 October 2016.
Speaking at the book launch the nonagenarian psychotherapist Dr Lourdes was eloquent in pointing out how the book does not ‘only talk about Transcendentalism,’ practised by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an international ‘guru’ or teacher, but how it also talks about the TM (Transcendental Meditation) phenomenon, that has wide-ranging implications in both the indigenous narratives and among western practitioners, with regard to physiognomic, as well as psychosomatic effects.
He further added how he has plummeted deeper into the communities of all those practitioners who were part of the ‘Transcendental’ phenomenon, and how there has always been a ‘clash’ between the actual imperatives that guide the phenomenon, and the possibilities of therapeutic outcomes in the wider medical fields.
Dr. Lourdes talked at intervals about the finer subtleties involved in the transcendental phenomenon and how it affects creative intelligence and in overall human development and performance.
He pointed out the theories and techniques of the TM phenomenon, where cultural variances and assumptions play a prominent role in allowing an individual to perceive phenomenon at a much deeper level. Terms like ‘activity modality’ in the western culture, and the curious ideas of ‘being’, ‘becoming’, and ‘existence’ are explained in a much lucid manner in this book.
Professor of Philosophy Dr. George Thadathil went a step further and added that in this seminal piece of writing, Dr. Lourdes has really been analytic, and he has brought into focus the entire process of creative intelligence and the growth of the conscious individual.
Dr. Thadathil’s insights into the latest trends of brain-mapping and cognitive measurement further corroborated the points put forward by Father Lourdes in his book.
Dr. Lourdes concluded his speech by referring to how the techniques used in Transcendental phenomenon can be applied to govern educational curriculum and institutions (he mentioned about Salesian College, for instance), and how it can harness the full potential of the administrators, the teachers, and the students.