Will Spirituality Be Taught in Schools in Future as Part of Science?

[Guest guest]

http://sunyaprajna.com/Advaita/Advaita_Math.pdf

 

 

I truly appreciate the various comments and questions raised in response to my

last posting.

 

Michael ji’s concern appears to be the potential for scientific evidence

conflicting with scriptural pronouncements. True, the potential for conflicts

can get higher as and when science gets more and more involved with

spirituality. But that fear is no reason for science to stay away from an

honest, unbiased enquiry into something as vital as spirituality. If conflicts

arise, they have to be dealt with on the merits of each case. I feel confident

that when we we apply ourselves singularly to truth without bias, there will be

a resolution to conflicts.

 

My faith in Advaita being what it is, it appears more likely to me that the most

relevant and basic of scriptural declarations will be in fact affirmed by

science. The benefit from such a positive outcome outweighs the cost of

potential conflicts. With the support of scientific evidence behind it,

spirituality can more easily gain the much needed entrance into public

education. A case in point is the research into yoga and meditation that I

alluded to in my posting. There was a story in TIME that some schools in

Colorado are introducing meditation even at the Primary class level. It is

doubtful this would have happened without the endorsement received from the

scientific community.

 

What is my view of evolution? My view is in fact noted in the footnote on Page

24. A subsequent question arising from this footnote might be: Why does Ishwara

take this difficult road to perfection, attended with all the drama of

evolution’s trial-and-error approach? Why not “intelligently design” the perfect

creature right away? Of course only Ishwara knows the answer to this question,

but we as jeevas can at least say this: The question presumes that Ishwara’s

purpose of creation is to create the perfect creature. In fact Advaitins tend

to view creation as a lila or sport of the Lord only where there is plenty of

room for imperfection. Besides, from the Absolute point of view, are we not

already Perfect?

 

The need for public education in spirituality has been very eloquently argued by

Prof VK ji in his latest posting, in response to a comment by Sunder ji. I

cannot agree more with VK ji’s views. Spirituality is not going to get “hard”

and become soul-less by contact with science; on the other hand science stands

to be “softened” by its acceptance of the reality of spirituality.

 

Sada ji’s statement that Advaita Vedanta does not rest on any axioms is

certainly reassuring. The difference may be in what one considers as an axiom

versus a self-evident principle. The euclidean axiom that there is one and only

one straight line connecting two points appears self-evident but is still viewed

as an axiom. Whatever one’s preferred choice of terms, it does not alter the

main point: That science on the whole should feel more at home with Advaita’s

approach to spirituality than with those of traditional religions.

 

The anecdote posted by Subrahmanian ji on Sringeri Acharya is amazing in its

details. I confess its significance is far more than what I can readily

apprehend. But it does illustrate vividly how time experienced depends on “how

much” is experienced. Authentic anecodotes of this kind are valuable data

points as we strive towards complete understanding of the spiritual realm. Hence

I for one will be happy to see more such postings. The interesting thing about

this anecdote is that it is an example of “time expansion” and not contraction.

What is only of the order of 3 to 4 minutes is experienced by the Acharya’s

disciple as an hour long expedition into a spiritual wonderland. Yogis with

mastery over mind can use that power to stay firmly absorbed in Self, nearly

shutting out all experiences and freezing time. They can also use their siddhi

for gaining themselves, or conferring on anyone they choose, extraordinary

experiences leading to a significantly altered experience of time. The very

rich and vivid details of the experiences undergone by the disciple can account

for his subjective time expansion. This is how at least I read it.

 

 

Hari Om!

 

Raju Chidambaram