“This article is not just a simple comparison, or just a pile of facts on science and spirituality, rather it’s a journey in itself, it’s a dive into the spiritual life, and scientific life, separately and then the link between both will begin to build in itself. So just wear the seatbelts, we are having a gear to jump into a new dimension, I hope you will enjoy it.”
Introduction
- Since the dawn of the early 17th century when the great atheist movement of protestants started in Europe, that led to a new era of Scepticism. Now the questioning started, all religious beliefs were being questioned, ethics and rationality were now started to be assessed, and the mere belief on the religious texts was challenged.
- The revolution by Max Muller, changed the thinking of society and now, because of questions on day to day life, a new subject started emerging in itself, called science.
- Science emerged as a question to know “what is there”? and “what is not there”? Just these simple inquiries lead all great scientists to think, about everything, what is happening? Why is it happening? And observe what is there! and what is not there? This led to the discoveries and eventually inventions on them.
- But you know the Same thing happened almost 10,000 years ago, like above the west started developing this inquest around 15 to 17th century A.D, the East was having this inquiry and questions so many years before. But they used different methods to find their solutions, they observed one thing that yes, “moving inside” is the solution.
- So they decided to find solace and found the ways to move inwards, these were called meditations. And while moving to the inner world they discovered many facts and secrets about the universe, and these were called Vedas. They found that there is something more than this gross body, that is the spirit. And the inquiry into this spirit is known as spirituality.
- Science and Spirituality always move hand in hand. This is because fundamentally both are having a similar origin, i.e., lets see what’s there, lets know, what’s there. And that is why the Vedas reveal the same facts which are still being discovered by the scientists today.
- Now for understanding why they both are related we have to move into a journey and dive into spiritualism first. If we know about spirituality, role of spirituality, purpose of spirituality, what is meant by being spiritual and what are the spiritual practices, then only we will be able to understand the relationship between science and spirituality properly.
- What is Spirituality?
- If we see the Oxford definition, “the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul.” Or rather, we can say that spirituality is an inquiry into the spirit!
- Now, to understand this spirit, let us see how the seekers of spirituality and the legendary spiritual people have been describing this, according to them,
- “First let’s look into the body, it’s a complex machine of so many systems, and observing this body is the first step. When you observe the body you now start feeling your breath, it’s coming in and out. Observe this breath now you see so many thoughts you have, either good, or bad, but yes they are present, this is called mind, but beyond mind, there is something which is there. We don’t know what is it? But it’s something which is even more subtle and we can observe this”.
- Inception!!Don’t worry! Just the last line of the above, that apart from mind also, there’s something which is there, it is mentioned as spirit, it is considered as a whole, but it is also subdivided in itself.
- So In short, a further inquiry to this which is called spirit is spirituality.
- Connection between science and spirituality.
- In Bhagwad Geeta, its first chapter starts with lamentation of Arjuna. Life is miserable, when one starts thinking that he knows, but in reality he doesn’t know! Same happened in Europe in the Dark Ages, the churches claimed they were the only truth, only source of knowledge, there were no discoveries, no inventions in either science or spirituality.
- When we realise, we don’t know, and whatever we know is very limited, and probably not true. In the search of this truth, a quest arised, one for the outer world and one for the inner world.
- The quest for the inner world to find the truth became spirituality, and the quest for the outer world, in the outer realms became science.
- When we think we know it all, we never grow in life, neither in science nor in spirituality, to grow in both dimensions, the first important thing is, “I don’t know”, “Let’s try to find it out”.
- This inner feeling of inquest that, let’s find what is there, what is truth, is the actual connection between science and spirituality, and thus we say that yes the science and spirituality are connected to one another.
- What is the importance of spirituality in modern life along with science?
- To make one connect to its own dimension, and fill the life with fullness is the role of spirituality, and that helps one to get relaxed and know more about the outer world.
- Throughout life we seek and search for something, money, appreciation, status and even our own family also don’t give us the joy which we are seeking. Spirituality makes one feel that inner joy.
- This inner joy brings satisfaction, more one is satisfied, can connect to the reality better, and thus can contemplate and know the reality. This is only what we call a scientific aptitude. Spirituality develops it.
- It’s not that spirituality is for those who are aged and old, or for those who take renunciation in himalayas, it is for everyone and has different roles in different people.
- ROLE OF SCIENCE & SPIRITUALITY IN STUDENT LIFE:
- Better focus
- Clarity of Mind
- Purity in heart
- Sincerity in actions
- Eliminates loneliness
- Makes strong character
- Learns to embrace opposite situations
- Being committed to higher goal
- Makes one a true explorer.
- Makes one aware of the reality of the world.
- Makes life free from ignorance, of both inner and outer world.
- Makes one utilise the resources better.
- The universe in perspective of science and spirituality.