Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Doing mathematics in Belur Math

I have not been doing mathematics for a while but while visiting a friend in Kolkata, I arranged to stay in Belur Math where one of the monks is is a very good mathematician. He wanted me to explain some theory which Peter Scott and I developed a few years ago and he thought that it would be useful in a problem that he has been thinking for over an year. That turned out to be the case. After a life time in mathematics, it does not seem to be hard to get back in to it even after a long gap.
In the beginning I was afraid that this may be religious place and difficult to stay for agnostics like me. But there is very little talk of religion. The Ramakrishna Mission seems to be more about service than religion. I understand that there are some some moslem and christian monks. In Bengal, apart from educational activities, they seem to be in to extensive rural development activities, running dispensaries and hospitals essentially doing what the government should be doing. I hope that similar activities spread to other states. In any case, this seems to a good place of meditation for an agnostic.

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