Life-after-death is ancient wisdom

I was reading this article on "near-death" experiment and its progressive evidence supporting the same. But what is astonishing and in fact narrow is how scientists simply dismiss previous literature on after-life as valid. The Bhagavad Gita has most lucid explanation of body, mind and soul (consciousness) there is and yet scientists reject it as something "religious". This, in my opinion, is foolish. Why would one want to reject knowledge in the name of "religion"? Knowledge is knowledge regardless of the label one gives. If the Gita can provide literary evidence to body-soul concept and now the scientists are able to prove it empirically...then why not accept the Gita as an authentic source of knowledge?

From this article, clearly, there is something that conventional wisdom has failed to reveal and yet modern science is so stubborn (I am sure due to political reasons) to acknowledge the ancient wisdom of the Gita. The entire Vedic knowledge is built on the fundamental aphorism that "we are not this material body". While a whole culture is formed based on this idea, yet, scientists are treating this "after-life" phenomenon as something no human being has studied before or encountered.

This biased neglect is hypocrisy. The last paragraph of the article says "The self, the soul, the psyche—throughout history, we've never managed to figure out what it is and how it relates to the body," he says. "This is very important for science and fascinating for humankind". This statement reveals the ignorance of the primary researcher Dr. Parnia. To say "we've never figured out throughout history" and generalize this fascination for all humankind is purely insular, ridiculous and hypocritical. It undermines all the great work great philosophers have done in the past. They may not have given statistical information but nevertheless they have shed immense knowledge on this subject.

The entire Vedic culture for the past 5000 years was based on the concept of body and soul. One can find remnants of this culture still present today in different parts of the world especially in the Indian sub-continent. This phenomenon is not new or fascinating. It is an age-old phenomenon which modern man is simply blind towards.

Unfortunately, from whatever I have read and heard, modern science and scientists simply represent a western world view and clearly this is neither scientific nor representing humankind.

The article can be read here.

Hare Krishna