No Conflict Between Science and Spirituality
bhattathiri | 16 July 2004, 11:37pmNo Conflict Between Science and Spirituality
http://www.newindpress.com/
July 11, 2004: An HPI reader sent us this article, but we have neither
the author nor the original URL, except that it appeared on the
Newindpress.com website.
Some educated Indians think that science is at loggerheads with
religion, relegating science to the laboratory and denigrating religion
to the level of superstition. The attempt to propagate this ideology
has far-reaching political and religious implications. It does a
disservice to all Indians, alienating them from the high respect for
the spiritual culture of India that is held by scientists and people of
all persuasions all over the world. Such ideologues are found to be
well informed neither about science, nor the Vedas. An American born
and educated seeker studied both science and Hinduism. He experienced
the experiments in American universities which attempted to bring arts
and humanities -- including religion -- together with science. In the
early seventies, he listened to Swami Chinmayananda, and discovered
Vedanta, then studying it under Swami Dayananda Sarawati for several
years. Four years ago, he moved to India, where the spiritual culture
further nurtured his wonder at this world. On finding the cynical, to
him deeply anti-Indian, ideology spread by some Indians, he culled some
interesting viewpoints from the world's leading scientists on the topic
of religion and science. For example:
Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901-1976), Nobel Laureate in physics "... one
cannot always distinguish between statements made by Eastern
metaphysics based on mystical insight, and the pronouncements of modern
physics based on observations, experiments and mathematical
calculations."
Dr. Carl Sagan, (1934-1996) astrophysicist, "The Hindu religion is the
only one of the world's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the
Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of
deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which the time scales
correspond to those of modern scientific cosmology. A millennium before
Europeans were willing to divest themselves of the Biblical idea that
the world was a few thousand years old, the Mayans were thinking of
millions and the Hindus billions."
Erwin Schroedinger (1887-1961), Nobel Laureate in physics wished to
see: "Some blood transfusion from the East to the West to save Western
science from spiritual anaemia."
Julius Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), the developer of the atomic
bomb, studied Sanskrit and called the Gita "the most beautiful
philosophical song existing in any known tongue . . what we shall find
(in modern physics) is an exemplification, an encouragement, and a
refinement of old wisdom."
The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Berkeley, California,
has involved over 120 distinguished senior scientists in its dialogues,
demonstrating that scientists of Nobel caliber can also be people of
faith, and that those who are not traditionally religious can offer
insights of great value to religion.
Secularist ideologues who seek to create a conflict between science and
religion project an imaginary world that is quite different from the
natural world that exists. Even if such a world were possible. Nobody
could live happily in it. All previous experiments of societies towards
that end have failed dismally. India's ancient wisdom has inspired the
world's scientific community, which contradicts this bleak secularist
ideology.
4. San Deigo Man Arrested For Theft From Hindu Temple
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20040715-1625-bailhike.html
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, July 15, 2004: Bail was increased from $100,000
to $500,000 today for a man accused of stealing $2 million in jewelry
and thousands of dollars from a temple, and now under investigation for
theft of an assault weapon. James Gilbert Richards, 27, is charged with
49 counts, including burglary, possession of forged checks, possession
of false identification and possession of marijuana, prosecutor John
Ristad said. At least 40 stolen checks, with a value of $7,000, from a
Hindu temple, and a fake ID for Coburn were found in Richards' 1990
Chrysler, Ristad said. The temple was not identified. The prosecutor
told the judge Richards is also accused of stealing $5,000 from the
temple, $3,000 of which is still missing.
Current Mood: Cheerful
Current Music: ok
Posted in General | Next | Previous | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)