Authors’ Background: Dr. Vipul Mankad is the author of the book titled “When Science Meets the Soul, A Doctor’s Quest for Deeper Healing”.
Dr. Mankad is a physician specializing in treating children with cancer and blood diseases. He is an internationally recognized biomedical scientist, a former endowed professor and chair of pediatrics, and a past advisor to the U.S. Senate (2003-2005). As a critical thinker rooted in both ancient Indian and Western philosophical traditions, he is also a meditation expert. He explores life’s fundamental questions and enjoys sharing stories that illustrate their answers.
At the age of 23, with a medical degree in hand and a few dollars in his pocket, he emigrated from India to the United States. Even on the first day of his international journey, he began to question his identity and contemplated the promises he had made to his parents. He completed his residency training at Cook County Hospital, New York University, and Cornell University Medical Centers in the U.S., as well as at Guy’s Hospital in London, England. Throughout his early career, he faced significant discrimination. Nevertheless, by leveraging the American meritocratic system, he secured NIH funding for his research (equivalent to $60 million in today’s dollars), published 150 scientific papers and three medical books, chaired a pediatric department, and founded a Children’s Hospital. He has traveled to over 35 countries, presented his work internationally, and gained work experience in India, England, Brazil, and Japan, in addition to the U.S. He is internationally recognized for his work in pediatrics, pediatric hematology, oncology, biomedical sciences, and health policy.
Despite these accomplishments, Dr. Mankad encountered the proverbial “glass ceiling” in his quest for leadership roles. He cared for children battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The emotional difficulties inherent in his field and the discriminatory environment compelled him to draw on his philosophical and spiritual background to maintain mental equilibrium. In this book, he offers strategies for staying balanced in our turbulent world. He employs several time-tested approaches, illustrates these approaches through his life experiences, and offers practical tools for readers.
QUESTIONNAIRE –
The Literature Times: What inspired you to write When Science Meets the Soul, and when did you first realize that this book needed to be written?
Vipul Mankad, M.D.: A major event, such as a migration to a distant land, the death of a dear friend or family member, or experiencing a significant success or failure may trigger deep reflection on who we truly are. I started asking these questions when I moved to the United States and encountered a very different value system. For example, on my first evening in the U.S., I saw young men and women kissing in public — something rarely seen in India. As I cared for seriously ill children with cancer, questions about my role and responsibilities also came to mind. The contrast between India and the U.S. raised many questions about the purpose of our lives.
Questions such as “Who am I?”, “Who might you be?”, “What is the stuff of which the Universe is made of?” or “What is my relationship to everything around me?” are age-old questions. I was well-versed in Sanskrit, Upanishadic philosophy, and Bharatiya (Indian) values, but now I was pursuing science as a way of finding the truth. At each critical point in my life, I contemplated these questions. Now, after a lifelong pursuit of the real truth, I feel compelled to share practical approaches to keeping mental balance, which is the true meaning of yoga and living a good life.
The reason I believe this work is relevant to readers is that I am, like most of them, a working professional with a family trying to navigate life in a turbulent world. I am not a monk with a long beard—if I wanted to grow one, I couldn’t; it would look terrible on me. I meditate, but not in a cave; I practiced medicine. I believe the value systems and philosophies that India has given me are useful to Indians, Westerners, and others worldwide.
The Literature Times: Your book beautifully blends personal memories, science, and spirituality. How did you find the balance between these three elements while writing?
Vipul Mankad, M.D.: Science is not just a collection of facts but a systematic way of examining information, that is, data, and moving closer to the truth. We no longer believe that the Earth is flat or that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Similarly, if a scripture claims a thousand-headed serpent supports the Earth, we have satellite evidence orbiting the Earth showing that such a belief is false. Science has provided us with ways to combat diseases and live longer. However, science depends on measurements, and some aspects of life are not measurable. We cannot measure love, deep feelings and emotions, or consciousness and its energy (which we call Chetna or Chiti Shakti or Atman or Brahman). Therefore, the pursuit of truth requires both science and spirituality, measurement and meditation. I have pursued both hardcore science and four yogic paths: bhakti yoga, karma yoga, jnana yoga, and dhyana yoga.
In addition to medicine and biomedical science, I also studied Bharatiya (Indian) and Western philosophy. However, simply discussing philosophical ideas or presenting complex scientific analyses would be irrelevant to a general audience without practical applications. Personal anecdotes and memories help make these difficult concepts easy to understand.
How did I learn to present complex subjects simply? It relates to my profession. When I worked with children who had cancer, I had to explain to a six-year-old what leukemia is or why a tough treatment could help the child get better. I believe everything that seems complicated can be explained in simple terms. That’s what I try to do in this book.
