SCIENCE AND RELIGION

As Swami Ramkrishnananda said, Science is the struggle of man in the outside world and religion is the struggle of man in the inner world.Religion begins where science ends. The Science is based on observation and experiment. There is always a substantial proof of science as we go by hypothesis. It is based on facts. When things get beyond science, we attribute it to supreme power. The outlook of science is rational. It always teaches us that nothing must be believed unless it is proven through experiment. Science says that nothing is absolutely true.What may be read as theory many textbooks today may be disproved some other day. Until the Einsteins theory of relativity came into picture, Newtons gravitational rule alone was followed. This shows great people cannot be right always. Science has the spirit of acceptance. When we felt the arrangement of elements based on atomic numbers better we replaced it with the Mendeleevs periodic table. Science keeps changing over the years. On the other hand religion and its theories will remain the same. It is based on ones faith. Religion in any form is lenient towards sentimentalism. Religion has two components theology and spirituality. The latter must be inculcated in every individual for promoting good life and welfare of the society must be kept in mind while pursuing the material life.. Now a days, we see many journals hold the headline Science and religion must go hand in hand for the progress of mankind. But this was not the case in the premedieval era in European countries. Long ago, before the renaissance, there had been stories of scientists who were burnt to stake for going against the church. For instance, Nicholaus Copernicus was scared to publicise his findings (that the earth revolves round the sun)for the fear of being punished by the church which considered the geocentric model of plato and Aristotle to bethe foundation for bible and also formed the basis of astrological predictions. Giordano Bruno who wanted to prove that the universe was infinite and supported the Coppernican model was executed for causing a blaspheme by disobeying the bible. The same happened to Galileo whom we consider one of the greatest astronomers . But in ancient India science and religion were always interlinked. Science formed the basis of religion and vice versa. In Hinduism,evidence of microscopic and macroscopic bodies and microscopic bodies formed the essence of Vedas. The molecular theory were discussed in mahabharta through conversations between sage Aruni and his son Shwetaketu. The evidence of nanotechnology dates back to the

yagna performed by King Janaka and son of Varuna. There had been lot of advancements in the field of medicine during the Guptas rule like cosmetic surgery. The nuclear weapons were in existence even during the time of Mahabharata but they were not used because people took extreme care not to exploit human race in the name of science.

As science seems more convincing and has an inquisitive and rationalistic approach, people have gradually lost faith in religion and are less sentimental and as a result lack moral values which are essential for the development of an individual. We have people speaking about intelligence quotient and emotional quotient but not the spiritual quotient. Younger generations must cultivate spiritualism. It is lot of difference between spirualism and religious fanaticism.Both should not be confused. While the former is a healthy approach, one must not fanaticize religion as it is dangerous for man kind. Religious Fanaticism has misused science by distorting its dimensions. Atom bombs, missiles and nuclear weapons which were intended for development is being used for destructive purposes like terrorism, extremism, communal violence, etc. causing bloodshed and massacre.

We must embrace science and religion taking the spiritual aspects of the former and confirm science to development alone and not destruction- as it is the motto of every religion. This would pave way to ideal development of the nation and peaceful coexistence.