Science and Spirituality (The Ultimate Reality) - 1

Like any other child, my journey began with a belief in Almighty God as a mere fulfiller of wishes - a mysterious and alien entity surrounded by superstition. As I grew older, a sequence of events led me to atheism, where I found reasoning for past, present, and future events in the principles of science. This shift in perspective allowed me to engage with religious individuals and illustrate that today, much of what we achieve is not due to religious beliefs/practices but the advancements in science - spanning human evolution and intellect, medicine and the cure for diseases, genetic engineering, natural disaster prediction and mitigation, advancements in communication, and more.

This perspective influenced my decision to pursue Physics as a major in my career. However, life unfolded in unexpected ways, leading me to recognize that there are phenomena beyond the scope of scientific explanation. This realization rekindled a sense of spirituality within me, and I found myself turning back to religion, although with a lingering perception of God as an alien entity. As I reflected on my journey and connected the dots, I arrived at a profound realization: nature, human evolution, science, and spirituality are interconnected and share a common objective – progress and upliftment. I now firmly believe, with a reasoned conviction, that scientific inquiry and spiritual exploration are two different paths to understanding the same truth: the supreme source of energy or supreme intelligence or supreme creator, which we often refer to as Almighty God.

The thoughts I share are a result of my quest to understand this supreme source of energy, or supreme intelligence that orchestrates the universe. While I understand the challenge of convincing others about the connection between science and spirituality/religion, I hope to explore these parallels in this blog series. This introductory post sets the stage for a deeper exploration in subsequent blogs.

Science - encompassing physical, life, and earth sciences - seeks to explain the phenomena of the universe through observation, experimentation, and reasoning. It uncovers the mechanisms behind everything, from the vast cosmos to the minutest subatomic particles within living and non-living things. In essence, ‘science’ examines the ‘external reality’, perceived through our five senses and/or enhanced through instrumentation. Science is ever-evolving, a work in progress, documented through the theories and experiments of numerous profound ‘scientists’.

Spirituality, on the other hand, explores the quest for purpose, interconnectedness, and the understanding of the self in relation to the universe. Unlike science, ‘spirituality’ delves into the ‘internal reality’, an experience not fully accessible through the five senses or by any known instrumentation. Instead, spirituality is realized through inner contemplation and states of heightened awareness, often achieved via meditation under the guidance of ‘spiritual teachers’ who have experienced such states.

In essence, the contrast between science and spirituality can be summarized by their fundamental questions: science asks ‘how?’, while spirituality explores ‘why?’. Despite their differences, both stem from the same fundamental human desire for inquiry: to understand the universe and our place within it. Together, they represent complementary approaches to uncovering the truth about existence.

In my next blog, I will delve into the composition of the universe and explore the possible reasons behind its vast existence.