Atheists claim, “Science and spirituality are contradictory because science is founded on facts; spirituality, on faith.”
Actually however, the bedrock of science is not facts, but faith. Science doesn’t progress merely by observing facts of the natural world. It progresses by first assuming on faith that these facts have an underlying order and then seeking to discover that order. Newton discovered gravity not just by observing the fact of the falling fruit, but by his faith that a rational order in nature had caused the fruit to fall. Noted physicist Paul Davies acknowledges, “Even the most atheistic scientist accepts as an act of faith the existence of a law-like order in nature.”
Spirituality just takes this scientific faith to its next level by identifying the person behind the order. That person, the Bhagavad-gita (09.10) declares, is God, Krishna.
Is such an inference to the divine unscientific?
No. To the contrary, science is increasingly substantiating it.
The more science fathoms the laws of nature, the more their intricacy and inter-relationship insists that they couldn’t have come by chance. The precision of the laws points to the prescience of the lawmaker. Many eminent scientists hold this inference to be not just reasonable but essential. Reputed Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan stated, “An equation for me has no meaning, unless it represents a thought of God.”
Accepting the role of the divine brings meaning not just to the natural order, but also to human affairs. The Gita (15.15) indicates that the same God who oversees insentient matter also guides human consciousness towards its ultimate evolution. If we harmonize with Krishna by practicing bhakti-yoga, we progressively realize our spiritual identity and relish lasting happiness. Discovering and delighting thus in the order that encompasses all of existence – matter and consciousness – is the culmination of science.
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