We Can’t Keep Waiting For Science to Provide All Answers

Where Science Fails to Provide Answer, Spirituality Can Fill the Gap

“Who am I?”

“Does consciousness cause the collapse of the wave function?”

“Is our essence eternal?”

These are the few questions whose answers are not yet satisfactorily provided by science and at least I cannot keep waiting for science to provide answers to them. When such questions are not answered, it keeps our mind uneasy and restricts it from going deeper thus making us live a shallow life. If we are physicists then this uneasiness can act as a propelling force to keep us focused on our work but for the rest of us, this feeling of uneasiness will hamper our concentration in work and will negatively impact our personal life as well.

Science does not always give the correct explanation

We cannot always trust science. Science has also been proven wrong in many instances. Some instances are as follows:

• Science earlier considered that time always moves forward at a constant rate but with Einstein’s theory of relativity it was proven false and now we know that time dilation is possible.
• Science earlier considered ‘matter’ as solid but with the advent of quantum physics it was proved that matter at its fundamental level is just energy. It is only in the presence of an observer that it becomes solid.
• Science earlier (at the time of Newton) considered Gravity as a force but later it was considered not a force but a consequence of the curvature of spacetime caused by the uneven distribution of mass.
• Science earlier denied the existence of consciousness but with the dilemma arising out of what causes the collapse of the wave function, there are many scientists who believe in the presence of consciousness.

Likewise, there are many more examples where we see that theories in science keep changing with time. Thus we cannot consider, whatever is provided by science to be the absolute truth.

Reasons for the existence of religion

Religion existed for satisfying various needs of the people:

• Various religions of the world have tried to answer the fundamental questions regarding existence so that people have some answers to them and hence can focus on their day to day activities.
• Religion also provides ‘reasons’ to have so-called moral behaviors and actions. The reasons vary from religion to religion but it mainly involves providing some form of punishment if one does not follow a moral path.
• Religion provides a sense of purpose to the people. People spend a lot of their energy doing things to please God, directly or indirectly. By directly, I mean doing work like building temples, doing religious ceremonies, etc. One indirectly pleases God by doing community service etc.

Religion also does not give a correct explanation

Religion has given the answers to all major questions of people but there are many aspects of religion that are also incorrect. e.g.

• The universe was not created in 7 days.
• Human beings are here on the planet as a result of evolution and not just created in one day.

Atheism is also not an answer

I consider atheists to be people who are simply against religion instead of following their own ideology. They normally are full of hatred against religion and will not leave any opportunity to bash religious beliefs.

“Hatred of any form is a sign of weakness and will definitely not make a person happy”

Atheists also are blind followers of science even though, as explained earlier, science can be wrong and also in many cases does not have a satisfactory answer to major existential questions. Thus atheists lead a very shallow life.

Spirituality can fill the gap

What we actually want are beliefs that would provide happiness to us. Blindly following religion and science have their own drawbacks.

• Religion has many do’s and don’ts which may have been ok when they were first formulated but are mostly outdated in the current world.
• Science may not provide answers to the basic questions like — are our essence eternal? Etc and may give a feeling that our existence is just an accident and downplays giving any real meaning to leading life.

Spirituality, on the other hand, need not be associated with any religion and thankfully most of its claims are now being verified by science. But whether or not its claim gets the approval of science some of the beliefs of spirituality will enable us to lead our current life with enthusiasm and free of fear.

• Our essence is consciousness: We are not just made of earth but there is an awareness that makes us alive. This awareness is called consciousness. Holding this belief can provide more meaning to our life.
• Consciousness is eternal: We are a part of the universal consciousness and ultimately shall merge into it so there should not be any fear. One of the most pervasive fears is the fear of death but believing that we are eternal shall remove this fear as well. It will thus make us more free and happy.
• Belief in the law of Karma: Sometimes we do not know why we are the ones who face all the troubles and may get dejected and depressed. If we are religious then we may start blaming God. In such situations, belief in the law of karma might help. We are the ones responsible for whatever, good or bad, is happening to us. Thus it gives more control to us and also gives reasons for following the righteous paths even when we are frustrated.

The analogy to a movie

In the movie “Life is Beautiful”, father and son were taken to a concentration camp. The father hid this fact from his son and told him that the camp is a complicated game in which one must perform tasks. Each of the tasks will earn them points and whoever gets to one thousand points shall win. He told that quiet boys who hide from the camp guards shall win extra points while those who cry or say that he is hungry, etc shall lose points.

The son believed in his father and went through the whole experience of the concentration camp without any feelings of fear. He actually enjoyed his stay in the concentration camp.

Similarly, we can go through our life (which may be like a concentration camp) with ease if we believe in spiritual truths.

This analogy may not be perfect as it would give a meaning that spiritual truths are fantasy. Actually spiritual truths may be the actual reality. But even if someone does consider it a fantasy, it is still ok. At least believing in it will make the person happier and that’s what one wants.

Conclusion

Both science and the do’s and don’ts of religion have their own drawbacks. By just believing in science, one may not get the real motivation to lead life and by blindly following religious preachings, one may have feelings of guilt and shame. I personally follow science more than religious beliefs but where science does not provide answers, I internalize the spiritual beliefs. These spiritual beliefs fill the void created by unanswered questions by science. I have certain reasons to believe that spiritual truths are actually the ‘truths’ but one may choose not to believe it. But one cannot deny that spiritual truths provide a sense of purpose and would relieve the person of all major fears in life. One will become happier and at peace with oneself and that’s what a person needs.