A
Mystical wind blows over the world today crossing all boundaries of religions
and cultures. Sensitivity to the ultimate mystery is awakened even in
scientists, philosophers and artists….The crisis felt in the traditional
circles of Christianity is a pointer to the call of the spirit to explore the
deeper dimensions of faith.[1]The rising restlessness within human hearts, ever increasing longing for something new every time and the growing global consciousness of deep interdependence in the one world, hints at the relentless search human is in, today.
The
reality around us is multi faceted and mysterious. The more one explores, the
more he/she is revealed of the hidden mysteries of life and of the universe.
The inbuilt longing or search or restlessness very subtly connects human back
to the mysterious reality of which he/she is part and parcel of. Human more
than ever is in search of his roots and the purpose of his existence today and
the advances in science and technology is one of the expressions of this
relentless search. Science, in simple terms a systematic study of the reality.
People
often tend to think that science and religion are at cold war with each other.
I believe this is nothing but an exaggerated statement, which carries little
weight. Religion as we see aims at an inner quiet journey, to the deeper
reality. Science is an active search for the hidden mysteries and an attempt to
understand the reality. On the periphery they might come across, as
contradicting each other, but analyzing deeply we come to realize that they
complement each other.
Let
us explore this through the example of big-bang theory, for our better
understanding. (What I am presenting here is a very superficial analysis, which
needs to be reflected more deeply) The existential question that haunts humans
often is –Where did I come from? This leads me to speak about the creation of
our universe. Science comes up with the idea of Big Bang. A mighty explosion, that
happened at some point in time when all the mass of the universe was together.
The immensely dense mass or atom, that exploded led to the present structure of
the(ever expanding) universe. In simple words it’s a process of contraction and
expansion. Logically arguing, the expanded universe, someday, bound to come
back to its original state again or contract again as before.
Reflecting
on the big bang we come to understand that everything came from the same atom
or has a common origin. Thus the reality around, the cosmos, the heavenly
bodies, the trees, the mountains, the animals and birds, the stars and
everything in the universe share common elements. They share common origin and
common destiny (coming together again or contraction). Without getting into
details, I would just like to state that we find similar teachings in Vatican
II documents too.
The
inner restlessness or the inbuilt urge to interconnect could well be understood
in terms of the deeper relationship human beings have with the rest of the
universe.
At
this point it would be apt to note that even the world class scientists are not
fully sure of what exactly led to big-bang. The Religion responds with the idea
of uncaused cause, whom it names – GOD or creator.
Dwelling
on the point of expanded universe is bound to contract again, leads us to the
understanding of gathering of all things together again. St Paul in his letter
to Eph: 1,10 “as the plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in
him, things in heaven and things on earth”. Thus can we call the ongoing
scientific and technological advances, a step towards the gathering of all
creation?
Yet
another point we need to keep in mind from the big-bang theory is the aspect of
universal brotherhood. If all of us came from the same source, there is nothing
or no one called, ‘the other’. This leads
to the understanding of universal family. Isn’t this the deeper message of
every religion?
The
conflict arises, when the institutionalized religions of today, try to project
that they possess all answers and all truth in them. The recent record breaking
controversial Hindi Movie – PK challenges the organized institutional structure
of religion. There is an interesting argument in the movie in the temple
scenario between a shopkeeper and PK(an alien trying to understand religion and
God). Having bought the statue of a god,
PK realizes that it’s not functioning and rushes to return it to the
shopkeeper, saying, “God is not working. His battery must be down.” Perplexed
shopkeeper tries to convince PK saying, that “there is nothing wrong. I myself
created it with my own hands…” PK, not able to understand the logic behind asks
a further question, “Did you create God or God created you?”
I
believe people today are desperately trying to protect God (which is their own
creation) which is the biggest lacuna of our times. I would put such highly
institutionalized religious attitude as mere socio-political approach, which
gives little room to the spirit. But these irrational
practices shouldn’t hinder us from reading the signs of our times, for as
Christians we believe in a God, who writes straight even on crooked lines.
The
occasional conflict between science and religion needs to be seen as a reminder
for you and for me to explore the deeper dimensions of faith. The authentic
search in science and religion, invite us to glance at a RELIGION which is
beyond religions and at a GOD who is beyond gods. They also very subtly convey
us that there is an awakening to the ultimate mystery, in human.
As
I conclude, I improvise on what I said earlier, that a genuine search in
science and religion complement each other, leading to the deeper shores of
faith, where one feels secure and restful. In the understanding of St
Augustine, that will be a point when the creation meets its creator or
according to St Paul, a moment, when all things are gathered in HIM.
Let’s
be genuine seekers.
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