All World
Gayatri Pariwar

  There is a general belief that science and spirituality are against each other, and that no harmony is possible between the two, as one gives prominence to material aspect and the other to subtle aspect of reality. But this confusion is the result of assessing objects/events at their face value. Today the scientists as well as the spiritualists are gradually coming to a conclusion that both of them complement each other. Scholars like Sir James Jeans and Max Planck have opined that science needs the support of spiritual discipline and spirituality needs scientific attitude. In its absence spirituality shrinks to mere philosophy expounding the noble sayings without any support of facts, logic or proper scientific explanation. On the other hand, science without spiritual values nourishes only atheism and may lead to total destruction of all life forms – children of Mother Earth.

Scientific attitude nourishes the growth of knowledge. Such an attitude forces a person to search for logic, facts and conduct proper inquiry before accepting any doctrine - whether it is scientific or spiritual in nature. This kind of outlook influences the analysis of all individual, social or universal problems and finds most appropriate solutions to them. Similarly spiritual attitude inspires a person to search for the mystic and noble aspect of happenings/events around him. In fact spirituality means belief in the supreme ideals and imbibing them in real life situations. The scientific outlook in spirituality increases the depth of insight. A person with such an attitude is no longer tied to the past traditions, superstitions or dogmas.

Thus in order to achieve the goal of truth, there are only two highways – one starts from science and ends in achieving a noble goal and the other starts from spirituality and ends in scientific outlook. This two-way road may be named scientific spirituality. Science and spirituality may be called the two sides of the same coin: ‘scientific spirituality’. None of them are complete in themselves; they need to work harmoniously together for mutual fulfillment.

The essence of scientific spirituality is – imbibing the virtue of inquisitiveness. The mentality, which inspires one to ask questions like - What? How? and Why? - on encountering a situation, incident or miracles, is the heart of scientific spirituality. In this process, one gets a fundamental right to question any doctrines, traditions, customs or social values. With a scientific outlook, it will be easier to find the rationality or otherwise of religious rituals and social customs; and to refine them to suit the present era. It is well known that the growth of knowledge and the realization of truth had always been possible by discarding old theories and beliefs; and establishing new principles and laws. History is witness to this kind of gradual growth of science where very often the old theories have been replaced by the new ones. Any theory is valid till the new one occupies its place.

It is seen that the discoveries or theories for which the scientists get awards are refuted after a few years by their own disciples; and in turn they are seen to get awards for their theories. The fields like, physics, chemistry, medicine, etc, where the research is a continuous process, the old theories are replaced by the new ones continuously. This is scientific method. When this method is applied to the field of spirituality, whatever be the aim – realization of self, the research of occult or the scientific explanation of spiritual values – there is only one idea at the root and that is logical approach supported by personal expreince; i.e. scientific outlook.

After this much of clarification, the point of discussion again arrives at the same point: what is spirituality in its pure form and what is science in its original form? Spirituality tries to search the ways and means to uplift and realize the inner-self. On the other hand, science tries to investigate the external aspects of life – the material world. For this kind of research, science possesses several resources and costly laboratories. Spirituality employs the process of Sadhana in the laboratory of human personality and attempts to investigate the mysteries of inner-consciousness and that of super-consciousness. In fact, it is also not possible to know the ways of the Supreme Being through visible means. The points of view of both are different but the goal is same. Both have to use the physical means to some extent but a point comes when they have to take recourse to the doctrine, logic and some facts to achieve the objective. This is also a scientific technique.

If both science and spirituality become adamant on insisting that only their principles are correct and they don’t need the support of the other, then human progress would stop. This would be called the conservative or prejudiced attitude. In fact both have to apply the process of quality control so that they guarantee their safe use for the highest good of the individual and the society at large.

The reality is that both the branches of knowledge are progressing in their respective fields, but the link connecting them is missing. There is dire need of fusion of the two. The great scientist Einstein once said “The volunteers working dedicatedly only in the field of science should be considered fully spiritual”. Similarly the great saint Swami Vivekanand used to say – “The science is essentially the reflection of spiritual sentiments because it attempts honestly to realize the truth”. In the context of new scientific outlook, is it not possible to bring science and spirituality together to eradicate the suffering of humanity and usher in the bright future of universal peace and harmony?