Chief Editor Report
Meeting with Scholars in India December 2004

During December 2004, I met with scholars in Amritsar (International Conference on Granth Sahib, December 9-10, '04), Delhi (Vedic Sciences and Modern Life, Decembr 12, '04), Bangalore (World Association of Vedic Studies, December 31 - January 2), etc. Presentations on EH were made in all these conferences. In Bangalore, Dr. Sridhar joined in making presentations on the project. A number of participants in these conferences are also contributors of articles to the EH. These scholars made use of the opportunities for constructive discussion and giving feed-back, in the final stage of the project.

Lists of scholars, who are willing to cooperate in the completion of EH work, were prepared and they have been handed over to Mr. Mohan Singh in Rishikesh. Discussions centered on the quality of the entire manuscript and the resource requirements for completing the same. There was unanimity on one thing: no matter some delay in the matter of publication, no matter how much resources are required to bring the whole manuscript to the international standards, the quality of the work cannot be compromised. The EH will be a source of authentic information and knowledge for a long time to come, maybe for centuries. As such, it is better to take the required time to be correct and valid, than to rush to the press with any shortcomings.

The Tsunami disaster is a national calamity. I am glad that IHRF has organized a group from Rishikesh, under the guidance of Pujya Swamiji to work in the area around Chennai to alleviate the sufferings of the victims of the tidal wave. Such services are needed, and they deserve appreciation and priority. However, this has also meant delays and changes to EH plans, which have affected the EH work. For instance, I was not able to fly to Vizag to attend the International Conference on Vedanta (during Jan. 3-5, '05) where I was to make a presentation on the EH and enlist the cooperation of those scholars also in the completion of the project. Due to the disaster, all small planes in India were drafted and diverted to Andaman and Nicobar to help the shattered islands and the tsunami victims there. Consequently, Bangalore to Hyderabad and Hyderabad to Vizag flights were cancelled. I was therefore unable to attend the conference and came back directly to Delhi.

I had arranged a workshop in Rishikesh of a group of scholars on Jan. 8-9, '05, to discuss the plans to speed up the completion of the EH project. Among the scholars involved in this work are Dr. Satish Kapoor, Dr. Ratna Lahiri, Dr. Subbarayappa, Prof. Lalit Lal, Dr. Sashi Tiwari, Dr. Sridhar, etc. Other scholars ready to be involved are Prof. Godavari Misra (subject area 05), and Prof. Narasimhachari (subject area 07). The whole point was to introduce these scholars to Pujya Swamiji in Rishikesh, and coordinate the total work. But this could not happen. There is no question that the feeding and helping tsunami victims deserve priority. Although I was told on the phone that the Rishikesh disaster assistance group would return to Paramartniketan on Jan 7, '05, this was evidently not possible. When I called Pujya Swamiji from Delhi, he told me that there was no possibility of their returning to Rishikesh before Jan. 15, '05. I had, therefore, to call the scholars and cancel the meeting.

I am glad that Prof. Hal French is in contact with Pujya Swamiji through email. We all agree that interested and insightful Western scholars should be involved in their continued cooperation with the academic project.

We express our deep appreciation and thanks to Prof. Carl Evans, Chair, Department of Religious Studies and the University of South Carolina for their continued support of the EH project.

I wish to record with sadness that the respected and pious wife of Prof. Vidya Niwas Misra passed away in the last week of December, 2004. We have sent our heart-felt condolences to Misraji. May her soul rest in peace! In the next BOT meeting, we should pass a condolence resolution, and send the same to him.