Science, God and the Soul

Prof I. V. Chalapathi Raotc "SCIENCE, GOD AND THE SOUL"

An anecdote appeared in the “Reader’s Digest” long ago. A distinguished scientist delivered a scholarly lecture on “The Beginning of the World”. In a patently atheistic approach he explained how eons ago the pounding of the pre-historic waves on the primeval crust of the earth had generated through physico-chemical reaction a pulsating scum from which there had come (though the Professor did not say how) the first primitive form of animation, the protoplasmic cell. After the lecture he sat down. A youngster stood up and asked: “Excuse me, Sir, You have explained how the big waves were beating upon the shore.  But how did all that water get there in the first place?” The professor sat in awkward silence. There-by hangs a tale. That can wait.

The truth is, in scientific investigations we do not find evidence to challenge the existence of God.  We find a Supreme Intelligence (whatever we may call it) in primordial creation, in motivation of the universe and the operation of the natural laws. Sometimes science appears to be stranger than fiction. The behaviour of the stars and the planets and the regularity with which they move in their spheres/orbits, the transit of the Sun, the Moon and the Earth and the occurrence of Eclipses should be watched with wonder.
The physical basis of life as Huxley terms it is, indeed, Protoplasm a substance which consists of four common elements, the three gases (Oxygen, Hydrogen and Nitrogen) and the nonmetallic solid carbon. But in its totality, the human body is a complex machine and a veritable wonder. In the language of Winston Churchill, it is “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”  In spite of cornea grafts, heart transplants and test tube babies, no scientist has yet evolved the formula of fabricating the human body and injecting life into it.

In Plato’s Dialogue, Crito, a disciple of Socrates asked him how he should be disposed of after death on the following day when he had to drink hemloc. He wanted him to specify whether he should be buried or cremated.  Socrates replied with a smile: “Just as you please, if only you catch me” Does it not confirm his belief that there was something in him which could be neither interred nor incinerated?  Plato said, “The soul of man is the destined meeting place of the knowledge that comes from the matter and the knowledge (wisdom) that comes by looking inward”. When he became blind, Milton said “My eyes are not lost; they have turned inwards”. True light is within!

Long long ago, in ancient India, Maharshi Uddalaka once called his son Swethakethu, who was well-versed in all Shastras and said; “Swethakethu, have you learnt that Shastra by learning which you can acquire the ability to understand anything?” When the reply was in the negative, he imparted to him the secret of self-realization and Brahma Jnana, which was the science of sciences. Krishna says in the Gita: “Thus has wisdom more secrets than all secrets been declared to thee by me. Reflect on it fully and act according to thy choice”.

It is wrong to think that pursuit of science and belief in God or the soul are incompatible. Roger Bacon, one of the scientists of the 13th century was put in prison for his so-called heretical views. The real prisoners of life were not the scientific thinkers whose bodies were fettered behind the iron bars but the dogmatists whose minds were manacled behind the bars of prejudice. Roger Bacon believed in God and pitied his jailors for the confinement of their souls! He said “May God release them from the shackles of their ignorance”. He wanted to strengthen his love of God by trying to unlock the secrets of His ways through science.

Copernicus, the great astronomer, desired to dedicate his life to the advancement of the word of God and to the contemplation of the works of God. He was persecuted like Galileo after him who declared that the Earth moved round the Sun and the Sun did not turn round the Earth. Galileo, who had to suffer for this at the hands of the Inquisitors, was a pious Christian and narrowly missed joining the religious order. His first scientific discovery was made when he knelt in the church to pray to God. A sacristan had just filled a hanging oil lamp and left it swinging in the air. Galileo’s prayer was interrupted by the tick-tack of the swinging lamp and started him on a trail of ideas which eventually led to the discovery of the rhythmic principle of nature which today is applied to the counting of the human pulse, the measurement of time on the clock, the eclipses of the Sun, and the movement of the stars. (Henry Thomas and Dana Lee Thomas)

Newton, one of our greatest scientists, rightly said, “The fact that the universe is so beautifully designed in accordance with such harmonious laws, must presuppose the existence of a Divine wisdom, the hand of a Divine creature”.  However, he did not like to be involved in any argument about the nature of God. He frankly admitted, “I cannot frame a hypothesis about the theological matters. I deal not with God but with His observable laws”.  No wonder, there is a beautiful couplet about him:

Nature and Nature’s laws lay hid in night
God said: “Let there be Newton”, and all was light.

Lavosier, the father of Chemistry who was guillotined in 1794 during the Reign of Terror in France following the French Revolution, was a staunch believer in God. His last letter to his wife read, “Take care of your health, my dear and remember that I finished my work. Thank God”.

Dalton too believed in God. One of his favourite ideas was: “God ordered all things by measure, number, weight”. In the course of his researches he found that in certain compounds of gaseous bodies the same elements are always combined in the same proportion. When Mr. Ransome, his friend drew his attention to the striking resemblance between him and Newton, and exclaimed: “What a miraculous resemblance!” Dalton said: “You see, my friend, it was the self-same mind that moulded the features for both of us”. (‘Living Biographies of Great Scientists’).

Even Darwin who was the most hated scientist for the religious fanatics or orthodox Christians for his scientific theory about the origin of man (as different from the biblical myth) was not an atheist.  He said: “I am not very certain of my belief in God. But I am quite certain about my belief in man - I believe that in the distant future man will be a far more perfect creature. The whole subject is beyond the scope of man’s intellect. But man can do his duty”. George Bernard Shaw humorously said that Darwin did not declare that all men were monkeys previously but that some monkeys do not have tails today.

Huxley did not deny the existence of God.  His favourite dictum was “Teach a child what is wise and beautiful - that is religion”. It is interesting to read his dialogue with a friend:

Friend: In this club most of us are atheists. We know there is no God.

Huxley: As for myself, I am merely an agnostic. I don’t know (about immortality of the soul).

On another occasion he said: “The philosophy of Carlyle has taught me that a deep sense of religion is quite compatible with the entire absence of theology”.

Natural scientists like poets (Kalidasa and Wordsworth) appreciated the beauty of nature as a reflection of God’s glory. Agassiz, the natural scientist was of the view that the order of nature was not mechanical but purposeful, not the accident of a blind force but the design of a Supreme intellect.  He regarded his scientific vocation as a priesthood. His own museum was his church. “It is the business of the prophets and the scientists alike to declare the glory of God”, he said. Mendel, the plant specialist who discovered the law of heredity, was elected the Abbot of the Monastery at Altbrunn. On festival days like the Corpus Christi Day and the day of St. Thomas, he used to feed and entertain the entire neighbourhood.

The great Einstein himself believed in Science and did not deny the existence of God.  If God is Truth, the scientist who pursues truth is His sincere devotee. There are always certain things which Science cannot explain. When we sit on the bed-side of a dying relative and almost hear the beating of the wings of inexorable Death, when we watch the miracle of birth and when we not unoften see the effects without causes, our rational ego will be deflated.

Goethe said: “It often seems to me as though an invisible genius was whispering something rhythmical to me so that on my walks always I keep step to it and at the same time fancy I hear soft tones accompanying some song (Life of Goethe written by Bielschowsty, translated by W.A. Coor). Schiller said: “With me conception has at first no definite or clear object. This comes later. A certain musical state of mind precedes it and this is then followed by the poetic idea”. (Schmitz, L.D. “Correspondence between Schiller and Goethe”). How can we disbelieve when it was claimed that God himself appeared before Pothana and Thyagaraja and induced them to write their immortal works? Can we dismiss them as men of vague inspiration or hallucinations, or “intellectual over-heating.” Our ancient Rishis were scientists of the Soul investigating the truth about life and death - a new area for research.  There are immense possibilities even now.

Meditation is more scientific than religious. It has beneficial effects on body and mind besides being a spiritual pursuit. Meditation is not the monopoly of sages and saints. It will unfold that infinite riches lying latent in the human mind and will foster a frictionless flow of creative intelligence in the practitioner. Scientists have described this state of “restful alertness” as a fourth major state of consciousness which is physiologically and psychologically different from “waking”, “sleeping” and “dreaming”. In this condition of greatly depleted metabolism along with the resultant “alert calmness of mind”, the body will carry out certain adjustment processes which are not possible during activity or less deep rest of sleep.

The result is freedom from tension, stress and fatigue. It also releases mental clarity and abundant energy. Fools take recourse to drinks and drugs to control the brain. Meditation does it in a marvellous manner. As Satya Sai Baba said from his illuminated consciousness “Peace flows out of a rhythmic breath and a steady heart beat through management of thoughts, breath and time”.

In Aparokshanubhuti (Direct Revelation), Sankaracharya says “The negation of the universe is the outgoing breath (Rechaka). The thought “I am Brahman” is the incoming breath (Puraka) and the steadiness of that thought may be called Kumbhaka (restraining the breath).” Then with a gentle show of pleasant humour he added, “This is the real course of Pranayama for the enlightened, whereas the ignorant only torture the nose”. Most of the Yoga aspirants torture their noses without realising that Yoga means “Yoking the mind to God”. This is the profound vision and not the meaningless gaze that it directed to the tip of the nose.

We should realise that spiritual values are also human values. According to the scriptures the attributes of God are synonymous with the attributes of the human soul. They are: (1) pure and unallayed joy (2) Everlastingness (3) perfect knowledge (Jnana) (4) Absolute liberty and (5) Complete suzerainty. According to Jagadguru Sankaracharya of Puri, this proves psycho-structural oneness of God and man. It is therefore natural that all human beings should strive to attain Godhead by seeking within themselves.