Facts about Science & Spirituality
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| science & spirituality |
Larry culliford written in his book
"When I was at school, people often asked, “Are you an artist or a scientist?” This was the 1960’s. “Why restrict oneself?” I always thought. “Galileo and Da Vinci were both artists and scientists, so, why not both?” Likewise science and spirituality need not be thought of as separate for, it seems to me, they are also highly compatible. They are complementary, needing each other to make something whole, something bigger than either of them alone. Properly integrated, they permit a level of understanding that amounts to much more than their sum.
What do I mean by ‘properly integrated’? I’m suggesting a truly deep and intimate engagement between human beings and science, both at the individual level and at the communal level of society. To illustrate, here is a quote from science writer and particle physicist, Jeff Forshaw: “I am struck by the astonishing beauty of the central equations in physics, which seem to reveal something remarkable about our universe… the natural world operates according to some beautiful rules… We are discovering something at the heart of things… It feels like a personal thing – like we are relating to something very special”.
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| Difference between science & spirituality |
What is Difference Between Science & Spirituality ?
Central to both science and spirituality is the seeking of truth and grasping the essential nature of reality. The goal of science is a complete understanding of the fundamental principles underlying the physical universe in all its diverse forms. Spirituality is the awakening of wisdom concerning how we effectively relate to each other and to the world. Science seeks to enlighten our minds, while spirituality seeks to awaken our hearts. Each is necessary for a full fruition of the other. Although some may consider science to be antagonistic or contradictory to their religion and spirituality, the truth is that compulsive attachment to particular doctrines and dogmas are inimical to both science and to a deeper realization of spirituality.
Things are different in the sense that the religious and spiritual communities are much more open to information and evidence that help us to understand the true nature of reality. Many religious and spiritual teachings are actually being confirmed by science, and that is evident by the list below. Take, for example, the Dalai Lama. He’s never been a stranger to science, and throughout his leadership he’s constantly advocated for the collusion of science and Eastern philosophy.
"This intersection of interests was manifest in the diversity of His audience, which was comprised of roughly 150 Tibetan bhikkhus, academics, and students who had piled into the conference center at Jawaharlal Nehru University to listen to the Dalai Lama and a panel of physicists and monastic scholars discuss the intersection of quantum physics and Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophy."
modern day science is in fact catching up to this ancient knowledge. Personally, I believe science can take us far, but only so far, as we are burdened today by scientific dogmas and an industry plagued by corruption.
“Despite the unrivaled empirical success of quantum theory, the very suggestion that it may be literally true as a description of nature is still greeted with cynicism, incomprehension and even anger.”
– T. Folger, “Quantum Shmantum”; Discover 22:37-43, 2001
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| science seek truth |
Science seeks truth, but can never say that absolute Truth has been attained. Scientific theories are models of reality, and must always be considered essentially tentative. Science makes a fundamental distinction between a theory, and the reality the theory is attempting to describe. There are no facts in Science, just observations and theories. A theory is an attempt to explain the observations, and to predict phenomena as yet unobserved. Theories are models of reality, not reality itself. Although theories can never be proved, all it takes is one (repeatable) observation to disprove a theory! The biggest impediment to the evolution of Science has always been scientists themselves (or others) being too attached to their old and inadequate theories. To be true to Science, a scientist should be willing to sacrifice her pet theory at the drop of a hat (should that hat’s dropping in some way contradict the theory). As soon as the old theory is thrown on the theoretical scrap heap, it’s time for scientists to have fun creating a new theory that’s consistent with all the observations at hand. Throwing out an outdated theory should be a time of exaltation and celebration,
Non-material science began to emerge at the turn of the nineteenth century when physicists started to explore the relationship between energy and the structure of matter. When they did this, the belief that a physical, Newtonian material universe was at the very heart of scientific knowledge was abandoned, and the realization that matter is nothing but an illusion replaced it. The very make-up of an atom is comprised of what we believe to be empty space. At this point, scientists began to recognize that everything in the universe is made out of energy, and this has been known in the scientific community for more than one hundred years.
“Some materialistically inclined scientists and philosophers refuse to acknowledge these phenomena because they are not consistent with their exclusive conception of the world. Rejection of post-materialist investigation of nature or refusal to publish strong science findings supporting a post-materialist framework are antithetical to the true spirit of scientific inquiry, which is that empirical data must always be adequately dealt with. Data which do not fit favored theories and beliefs cannot be dismissed a priori. Such dismissal is the realm of ideology, not science.”
– Dr. Gary Schwartz, professor of psychology, medicine, neurology, psychiatry and surgery at the University of Arizona
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| science & religion |
Science with heart will be the religion of the future. Science uncovers the abstract principles underlying nature, and spirituality informs us of the proper way to regard all this – with vast love and awe. Although in English the word for mind is distinct from the word for heart, in Chinese the word xin translates into English as heart/mind. And indeed, heart and mind are not really separate. One can’t have one without the other, and every great scientific discovery was an epiphany not only for the scientist originally discovering it, but also for those who later come to understand it. Despite the common misapprehension of science as a dispassionate endeavor, it’s actually a very passionate endeavor. As Einstein noted,
"The most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religion."
As far as spirituality is concerned, the idea that you can control your thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and use them to manifest your reality, is commonplace. The existence of “Chi” or “Prana” from ancient Eastern traditions both acknowledge this non-material world. Also known to some as the “Akash” or “Aether,” or that from which all comes. The primary source of creation in these realms is non-physical forces that our senses cannot identify, but modern day scientific methods can.
“The aakaash is not destructible, it is the primordial absolute substratum that creates cosmic matter and hence the properties of aakash are not found in the material properties that are in a sense relative. The aakaash is the eternally existent, superfluid reality, for which creation and destruction are inapplicable.”
– Paramahamsa Tewari, engineer, physicist and inventor
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Of course, this same feeling is also at the very heart of science. Science hones and clarifies our spiritual realizations, even as our spiritual epiphanies inspire the evolution of science. Thus will be forged a great cosmic religion of the future
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