[1] Field of operation: Many vital operating principles of religion pertain to the time period either before birth or after death. Thus you have religions telling you how you will be rewarded (or punished) in the next birth or in the post - death period depending upon how you lived your life in this birth. Good deeds get rewarded and bad ones result in pain and trouble. For obvious reasons, it is impossible to verify any of these things. Science on the other hand operates in the material world on the basis of either empirical data (observations without necessarily understanding why a certain thing happens in a certain manner) or hard evidence and educated predictions.
[2] New Discoveries: All progress in "science" can be attributed to the un- quenching thirst for more knowledge (research) without resting on ones' laurels and the innate wish to invent more efficient procedures & to establish hypotheses - not all of which may be 100% true (but which are statistically significantly true). To quote an example, we first had telephone instruments with rotary dialing - then with push button dialing - we then had cell phones and maybe we will soon have "thought - controlled - diallers" which will dial out a number by reading our mind. Internet is another example of how technology has given us a tool which appeared "magical" just a few decades ago. Religion on the other hand has primarily remained the same for thousands of years with no "inventions" or new ideas. It actually prides itself on being so "perfect" that no further developments are expected.
[3] Ability to provide cogent explanations: Religion discourages fundamental questioning while Science thrives on it. Imagine a 15 year old school boy questioning the theory propounded by a Nobel Laureate - the latter would be happy to convince the youngster about the efficacy of the theory without in any way feeling hurt about being challenged by a novice. Now imagine a religious pundit trying to answer seemingly obvious doubts that could creep into the mind of anyone about many things that religion strongly believes in (for example, how can a child be born of a virgin mother OR how could an elephants head be fitted on a human torso). The questioner will most likely be told that he is too "raw" to understand these things or met with "spiritual" anger about being blasphemous. Isn't this exactly how parents stonewall innocuous but embarrassing queries from toddlers?
[4] Loyalty: Most religions expect complete and blind loyalty from their followers. Rebels are encouraged to "leave the room". Religion generates such intense passions that it has been a direct or indirect cause of almost all wars fought in the history of mankind. Science on the other hand expects its followers to be guided by logic and evidence. It actually encourages "destabilization" of existing beliefs (theories) and welcomes rebels because that is how it has progressed all these years.
On all the parameters that we have examined till now, 'science' and 'religion' are diametrically opposite to each other. Are there no commonalities at all??
[5] Ability to generate commerce: Yes this is one ability common to both. Religion & Science both generate commerce on a huge scale. If people were to stop celebrating religious festivals, our GDP could come down to half of what it is - even the errant monsoons do not have such immense power over our financial future.
5 comments:
Will Science (That should be the right title to this note).
Whatever you have written, nothing could be farther from the truth. It has been fashionable to talk like this amongst people who have been misled or people who wish to call themselves rational and modern in outlook.
1. Religion & Science are old "enemies".
Religion does not look at science as an enemy. Religion is not about rituals and ceremonies, chants and worships. Religion is about peace, happiness, love, acceptance, inward viewing, unification with the universal energy and liberation from sorrow i.e. cycle of birth and death. How can science explain all this in terms of experiments and results? Religion does not expect it to.
2. If you go by the number of followers, the former is a clear winner.
Unhappiness and sorrow comes as a consequence of birth and death. Who would not want to break this link? But everybody is not a believer and people with true faith are even rare. Add to this problem the fact that to find a correct guide or teacher is extremely difficult. A lot of practices, some bordering on tasteless fear induced antics, are going on in society in the name of religion. Therefore I think that there are more true believers of science than of religion.
3. "Religion" expects its followers to slavishly & irrationally accept whatever is told to them.
True religion is open and does not believe in forced acceptance. For a person who experiences liberation, it hardly matters whether others accept his words or not. But for quacks, swindlers, and dhongi-babas, religion is a means to livelihood. However since they don’t have the values and understanding of saints, they seek their acceptance through force and threat.
4. Many vital operating principles of religion pertain to the time period either before birth or after death. ………….. For obvious reasons, it is impossible to verify any of these things.
Amongst the first scientific knowledge areas that man investigated was reason for his existence. The other areas could be which leaves and fruits are edible, how to bring down a huge beast easily, how to protect oneself, fire, wheel, and such like.
Death and rebirth, good and bad deeds, pain and sorrow, these are old hats. These are accepted in religion after experience and verification. Siddharth Gautam, the Buddha, who lived some 800 years before Jesus said, “Don’t accept anything I say without verifying and experiencing at your own personal level”. He preached for 40 long years. People from far away countries came to learn from him in an era without trains or air-planes. They heard, they experienced, were satisfied, went back home and sent others. Please don’t imagine that one man can fool people for 40 years and also don’t imagine that lakhs and lakhs of people from many different countries over two generations were fools to accept his words without verification.
5. All progress in "science" can be attributed to the un- quenching thirst for more knowledge (research) without resting, …………. Religion on the other hand has primarily remained the same for thousands of years with no "inventions" or new ideas.
Reincarnation and rebirth are ancient theories which the scientific world is accepting today. Religion is increasingly being used in the west today in hospitals and for medical treatment.
Religion focuses on what is essential for happiness. That which is permanent. Rest everything is subject to change and impermanent. Inspite of that then Religion has done tremendous research on the interconnectedness of mind and body, on energy, on thought and intent and such research is still in progress. Nobody funds such research, nor are the researchers interested in display. But interested persons find their way to such labs. One example is Vippassana Research Centre at Igatpuri where people from all over the world arrive.
6. Religion discourages fundamental questioning while Science thrives on it.
Absolutely false. Find the right teacher and ask him all the questions. Remember Vivekanada and his guru Ramkrishna Parmahams. There are many such evolved souls living on earth. They don’t show themselves because they don’t need to. A true seeker has to make the effort himself to locate them.
7. Most religions expect complete and blind loyalty from their followers.
When a man gets the real nectar, he does not bother about disloyalty. I have also heard of IITians and PhD holders from foreign Universities taking to sanyas under a able guru. But when religion becomes a livelihood, people have to be tied forcibly, by hook or crook, by threat and cajole. Where there is fear, there is force and anger. Where there is fear, there is no religion.
To Conclude
There is no competition between science and Religion. Science follows religion because while religion is all in the mind and heart, science wants verifiable proof. Sometimes this is not possible. For example, questions like, “why am I born in a third world country and not in the developed world?”, “why am I born to poor parents and not the upper class parents?”, cannot be answered by science. But religion has an answer. A is born in the UK while B is born in Somalia because there is a reason. Everything that happens to us is for a reason. When we look inside us we can understand that energy flows in and out, good thoughts, words and actions bring back good results. Energy gets transformed and is never destroyed. Science accepts this facts related to energy only.
U have mistaken blind practice for true religion. Every religion was founded on logic that prevailed in those times: Muslims had a good reason for four marriages and Sikhs for their turbans. Whatever dogma their is, it is because of the preachers and not religion itself.
Geeta goes to great lengths to explain the meaning of life but does not have many binding conditions.
Also, religions do evolve with time. The Vatican, albeit under pressure, now accepts Galileo's theory, the very theory for which he was stoned to death.
Sir, the diametric opposition of religion with science cannot be questioned. But when a question was asked to Swami Vivekananda that what is the benefit of religion as the whole mankind got hurt by it so many times in the form of riots and wars . He simply said "Religion is like a cow which has given many kicks to man but we still care for it because of its nourishing milk".
Although religion doesn't provide answers to every question but there is no special need to know those answers because those who believe in it they have accepted it without even an ounce of doubt on it and they do not ask anything. Religion is related to faith, different people have faiths in different things. It will be funny If someone is worshiping his television set or computer or even a book or a pen, but what is wrong in personifying the things and express the gratitude to them it gives a sense of relief and selflessness.
To me religion is the manifestation of the divinity that is already there in a man. Religion strengthens that divinity. It gives an ethical path to a not much intelligent man or a commonest man. There are not many people on this world that can control them to follow the ethical path without deviation so religion plays a very important role in such cases.
God does not exist we can prove it with the evidences. But it’s the faith of man which has given the enormous power to god. Religion never tells anyone to be fanatic about it. It just says be spiritual and get connected to god now the question comes where is god it lies with in, if we will have faith on ourselves we don't need any other medium of worship.
Now a day’s people don't understand the difference between the religion and spiritual. In my opinion religion separates people and spirituality brings them together.
Whatever the kick backs we have faced from this cow is due to the different interpretation done by people, but it was not there fault because on nature has divided the earth by the natural walls likes mountains and seas and ocean so different people originated from different soil caught different ways of religion. If Islam religion supports eating of animals or non-veg food it had a valid reason because Islam must have originated from the deserts and there may not be any other option available to survive so people must have started killing animals and started feeding themselves to survive. Now Hindu religion should keep this fact into their mind and accept the Islam religion with the equal love then they will tend to become spiritual.
There are two types of people on this world:
TYPE1- they don't need any external factor to motivate themselves to choose the correct path to live the life, they are self motivated and intelligent enough to distinguish between right or wrong values and principles even that class of intelligent people cannot deny the fact that faith plays a very important role in there life in the form of self-beliefs and self -confidence to achieve anything. Being spiritual is to realize the divinity which is already present within us, these people are intelligent enough to realize the immense potential which they possess that too without any external factor, But I am sure they must have believed in there parents and teachers without any doubt. Making our belief very strong and strong will turn it into faith.
TYPE-2: there is a class of people who are not intelligent enough to explore there potential without an external factor so they seek for it externally. If they can get an ethical to follow with the help of religion so there is nothing wrong in that. This faith will make them realize that god is sitting within them.
There is an interesting story about god and its place. "When god created man (suppose) he wanted to hide his identity otherwise man will not stop pester him about silly things so god thought I'll go to a place where man would not be able to find me. God thought to go to sky then realized that man is intelligent enough to reach there, then he thought to hide himself in the heights of mountains but he thought it is not a safest place, he thought to hide deep underneath the ocean but after an enough fathom god realized that there is only one unique place where man can not even think of and that is within the heart and soul of man himself".
Once we realize that we have to worship our potential our abilities and our thoughts then we can explore anything in this world without even the help of religion.
But if someone takes the help of god to explore this potential so there is nothing wrong in that, provided he does not preach that god to anyone and does not campaign his religion to anyone. But it has been found that anyhow preventing campaigning of religion is very difficult so to avoid this, the only path for the second type of people is "Spirituality" which is much different than a religion.
Example: Art of Living by H.H Sri Sri Ravishankar promotes spirituality it does not see anyone's religion while delivering the knowledge to the world and successfully transforming the lives of people through out the world.
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