Scientific Spirituality: The Religion of the Future - 2

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

 

Science can be legitimately credited for the current progress and

prosperity, but it is incapable of differentiating between use and abuse.

The only way to control its misuse is to incorporate wisdom based on

foresightedness and the nobilities associated with human glory. This is the

essence of spirituality.

Spirituality<http://www.akhandjyoti.org/?Akhand-Jyoti/2003/Jan-Feb/ScientificSpi\

rituality/>means,

" centred and established on the soul " , that is, activities in life

are designed keeping the awakening of the soul as the aim. The soul is the

individualized

consciousness<http://www.akhandjyoti.org/?Akhand-Jyoti/2003/Mar-Apr/Consciousnes\

sForceInHuman/>present

in the human body.

 

Consciousness is more powerful than matter. As discussed earlier, it is the

miracle of

consciousness<http://www.akhandjyoti.org/?Akhand-Jyoti/2003/Mar-Apr/Consciousnes\

sForceInHuman/>that

organises matter in an orderly way. However, unrestrained

consciousness<http://www.akhandjyoti.org/?Akhand-Jyoti/2003/Mar-Apr/Consciousnes\

sForceInHuman/>has

drawbacks too. For example, it is easy to find faults in others, but

does anyone try to observe his own self for their own faults? Usually, an

individual is biased towards his shortcomings and considers him self the

best. A person trying to prove him self right will present several arguments

in his favour. This distorts the reality and generates undesirable thoughts.

 

 

The dual accomplishment of the righteous use of science and the refinement

of

consciousness<http://www.akhandjyoti.org/?Akhand-Jyoti/2003/Mar-Apr/Consciousnes\

sForceInHuman/>is

possible only through spirituality.

 

*The great divide:*

 

Since the 17th century, when modern science made its first appearance, it

has clashed with religion/spirituality. At the root of the clash lie two

streams of beliefs. Science believes everything is made up of matter and

therefore ought to be demonstrable through experiments.

 

A spiritualist insists that pure Spirit is reality, not matter. The great

Indian seer-sage Sri Aurobindo has termed the scientific viewpoint as " the

materialist denial " and the spiritual viewpoint as " the refusal of the

ascetic " in his magnum opus The Life Divine. Discussing these issues

further, Sri Aurobindo says the premise of science is that the physical

senses are our only means of obtaining knowledge. Therefore, reason cannot

transcend the reach of the senses and so, says Sri Aurobindo, " it must deal

always and solely with the facts which they [the senses] provide or

suggest. " 2 Science says that we cannot go beyond our senses and cannot use

them " as a bridge leading us into a domain where more powerful and less

limited faculties come into play¡­ " 3 In other words, science denies the

existence of anything that is supernatural, supraphysical or extrasensory.

In doing so, science assumes Nature to be an unintelligent substance or

energy and uses this excuse to refuse, in the words of Sri Aurobindo, " to

extend the limits of inquiry " . However, science has come to a stage where

prominent scientists accept that there are several phenomena, backed by

compelling evidences, which cannot be explained by the current formulations

of scientific theories and laws, but only by the presence of an unthinkable,

omniscient Intelligence. Examples include: the behaviour of Earth as a

single living organism, telepathy, precognition, the presence of a Universal

Mind, etc.

 

Sri Aurobindo says the spiritualist believes that pure Spirit is a reality

because there are supraphysical realities that are beyond the grasp of the

senses, based on principles other than those that govern gross matter.

Therefore, it is not justifiable to reject them as " false positives " . For a

spiritualist,

consciousness<http://www.akhandjyoti.org/?Akhand-Jyoti/2003/Mar-Apr/Consciousnes\

sForceInHuman/>is

the unifying factor in the universe, which Sri Aurobindo calls " the

universal witness for whom the world is a field " , while " the senses are

[its] mere instruments " . The spiritualist considers the material universe as

unreal.

 

What are the consequences of these two streams of beliefs? Both are

seriously flawed, according to Sri Aurobindo. A mixture of matter and

consciousness<http://www.akhandjyoti.org/?Akhand-Jyoti/2003/Mar-Apr/Consciousnes\

sForceInHuman/>gives

a meaningful functionality. If we adopt a purely materialistic view,

Sri Aurobido says we arrive at a m¨¡y¨¡ " that is [present] and yet is not

[present] " . We see the physical aspects of the universe and so m¨¡y¨¡ is

present and compelling, leading us to believe what we see is the only

reality. Yet, m¨¡y¨¡ " is not " , because it is transitory. Transformation is the

principle of the universe. On the other hand, the refusal of material

existence leads, in Sri Aurobindo's view, to the development of ego and the

purposelessness of the human existence.

 

Source : www.awgp.org www.dsvv.org Author : Pt Shriram Sharma Acharya