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M S Swaminathan is an agriculture scientist, popularly known as the Father of the Green Revolution

What does spirituality mean to you?
Something beyond comprehension.
I am a scientist and I am used to try and analyze issues with my intellect. But there are certain issues you simply cannot understand by analyzing them only. This to me is the realm of spirituality. It acts as a guiding force indicating which path to take in life, like a guiding light or a guiding star.
And what it tells me, what is right for me, will not necessarily be right for someone else. It is a very personal approach, which cannot be transplanted easily or automatically to others.
On the overall, it is a profound and humbling experience, something beyond you, something you do not understand. Why were you born in this family, why did you take this path more than another… All those things are a mystery. So more than principles, spirituality is an experience, which cannot be put in words.

Yet, two ideas are essential to me.
I believe in the philosophy of advaita, or non duality. It gave me an understanding of the unity of life, which is actually now clearly sanctified by modern-day genetics, with the discovery of DNA as the basis of all life.
Also, spirituality of the right kind leads you to a spirit of non-violence --- to nature, to others, starting from your own immediate surroundings. Hinduism is unique in many respects, as it teaches and insists so much on respecting the living and non-living alike.
If you come to South India, there is a day when everybody worships his or her work instrument, thanking it for serving them well. The surgeon worships his knife, the taxi driver his car etc. There is also a day when all farm animals are worshipped, and so on. So one aspect of spirituality is an understanding of the unity and diversity of nature. This prompting and understanding to live in harmony, is actually a very enriching one. You experience and enjoy life completely differently. You see a neem tree for instance, understanding all that it gives you, and relate to it differently.
It is now Darwin’s bicentenary and one thing is sure: there can be selection only if there is diversity. Yet intolerance to diversity is growing everywhere. To me it all comes from a lack of spiritual experience. Because spirituality makes you humble. Ego is the biggest enemy of growth. If I think I know everything, I can’t ever grow and I miss an important part of life. I have closed my mind to important issues and to new teachings. Tagore said that a candle that is not lit cannot bring light to others. A teacher who does not constantly learn cannot teach others. Ego puts a stop to our learning. If you are an ego-less person, you enjoy life more, and others love you more. They don’t feel you think of yourself as superior.
So spirituality is the foundation of a meaningful and purposeful life.

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