When Abrahamic Religions are threatened by Science –
Hinduism Embraces New Discoveries – understanding and excerpts from editorial
of Prabuddha Bharata published in November 2011.
In almost all civilizations people looked at the world
outside, wondered, pondered, and produced their conception of God and gods and
goddesses. This approach gave them beautiful ideas of religion with an
accompanying mythology and rituals. But the conception of soul was woefully absent,
or if present, it was very crude. The mysterious mind was invariably taken as
spirit or soul.
In India, from the earliest times, the social structure and
Vedic way of life, with its culture, language, and so on, was conceived as a
reflection of Virat, the Cosmic Person.
The uniqueness of this civilization was the approach it took
to discover this truth: it commenced the search for Reality from within. Thus,
the most sublime and infinite ideas of the Atman were developed, which resulted
in superb infinite conceptions of Brahman. This particular feature was rarely understood,
and even now the Upanishadic declaration ‘sarvam hy-etat brahma, ayam-atma brahma’;
all this is surely Brahman, this Atman is Brahman’ is considered blasphemy by
some. But for many, to see and live this view involves a whole paradigm shift,
a new way of thinking.
 |
| Sahastrabahu Temple Located East of Gwalior Fort |
This new way of thinking, which was almost impossible in the
past and resulted in unnecessary pugnacity, is made possible in modern times thanks
to the sciences attempting to understand the world and the cosmos from the
inside. The laws governing the world are now being applied to understand the
cosmos, and this method has proved to be extremely refined. The same is true with
psychology and other branches of knowledge.
Where some religious systems have felt threatened by new
discoveries, Vedanta has embraced them seriously.
The recent foray of science into the field of consciousness
has been welcomed by Vedanta, as this is the bedrock of Indian civilization, which
through these discoveries has been vindicated to the world and will now become stronger.
Science may destroy erroneous conceptions of the world, heavens, and God, but it
cannot destroy consciousness — rather, it helps unravel its dimensions. Vedanta
and science have taken a similar path; one earlier and the other later, only
their terminology differs.
Inner forms of religion are difficult and need much
discipline. The same is true with rigorous scientific disciplines. Nowadays
many discerning minds are opening to this inner path, which is attested by the
growing popularity of eastern religions and philosophies.
There was a time when people believed that the earth was the
centre of the universe. It needed a massive paradigm shift to understand that
earth was a tiny planet in an insignificant solar system with the sun at its
centre. Nothing changed in the universe, but there was a quantum leap in our
perception and knowledge in comprehending the universe of mind-boggling dimensions,
with billions of stars in each galaxy, and galaxies also numbering in billions.
All this was possible through the human mind.
The continuing scientific study of the cosmos is, as it
were, enlivening the cosmos through human consciousness, and the vast universe
is becoming self-aware; apart from changing history and making humans feel more
and more as members of one civilization. This leap in our perception and
knowledge has released human potential and raised humanity to a higher level.
This is the new religion of the age, or to put it correctly, the new religious
form of the ancient doctrines of Vedanta that were tirelessly preached by Swami
Vivekananda while he travelled around the world. Swamiji says: ‘What vain gods
shall we go after and yet cannot worship the god that we see all round us, the
Virat?’