Our ancestors knew this. One of the Shanti Mantras in the Vedas affirms this knowledge: ‘‘Om dyauh shaantih, Antariksham shaantih, Prithivee shaantih, Aapah shaantih, Oshadhayah shaantih, Vanaspatayah shaantih, Vishvedevaah shaantih, Brahma shaantih, Sarvam shaantih, Shaantireva shaantih, Saamaa shaantiredhih, Om shaantih, shaantih, shaantih! (May peace radiate there in the whole sky as well as in the vast space everywhere. May peace reign all over this earth, in water and in all herbs, trees and creepers. May peace flow over the whole universe. May peace be in the Supreme Being Brahman. And may there always exist in all peace and peace alone.)’’

It is of course obvious that we in India have failed to live up to this enlightened affirmation. Nevertheless, an important insight our civilisation has developed is that man must know, feel secure in, and be at peace with his own inner space for him to be able to experience peace in the outer space. Man’s knowledge of, and mastery over, his outer reality has grown enormously in the past few centuries. However, this progress has happened along with regression in his knowledge of, and mastery over, his inner reality—his desires, emotions, aspirations, his relationship with fellow humans, and his knowledge of the purpose of his existence which can only come with inward-pointed contemplation.

Hence, in response to the suggestion that Hawking has made about the need to establish human settlements in outer space in order to ensure continued survival of the human race, one can only say that the same purpose would be more reliably served if man could learn to re-discover and inhabit his own inner space. Which means that all of us, belonging to all communities and all countries, should delve deep into the basics of our own religions, our spiritual and cultural heritages, and our ethical systems, and find resources that can help us live in peace, harmony, brotherhood and development of a sustainable and holistic kind. It so happens that Indian civilisation, which has been fertilised by all religions of the world, has more such remedial resources to offer to our troubled world—and to itself—than perhaps any other. Hence, our Rashtrapati’s confidence in it.