Globalization and indigenous cultures: Homogenization or differentiation?

There is much debate about whether with globalization human society will become culturally homogenized or further differentiated. Intercultural researchers have yet to contribute to this dialogue, and in this paper these issues are examined in light of the need for and value of indigenous research. A model of knowledge creation from cultural insights is presented as a methodology for pursuing and enriching indigenous research. Using this methodology two models derived from the Bhagavad-Gita are presented in the context of the development of psychological thoughts in India as examples of how indigenous cultural insights can be used to create knowledge for the global village. To highlight the value of these models for global community psychology, their implications are examined in some depth. Finally, the paper ends with a discussion of the need for multi-paradigmatic research, and is concluded with a discussion of how it is critical to nurture indigenous knowledge creation for preserving the necessary requisite variety without which diversity cannot flourish in the global village. It is clear from the models presented in this paper that there is much to gain from synthesizing the varied cultural heritage rather than forcing homogeneity.