Religious Scholar

It’s sad to see science and religion still pitted against each other as though enemies. Each makes sense only when complemented with the other. Think of the taiji symbol, two perfectly balanced drops each nested in the crook of the other’s arm, each containing the seed of the other.

Or, to bring the metaphor into the 21^st century, think of the “layers” function in the computer software, Photoshop. Layers in this program replicate transparent sheets of acetate, one overlaid on the other. The layers can be viewed individually but make most sense—make a complete picture, in fact—only when seen together as one unit.

Science deals with the material world and its processes. Religion deals with the immaterial, with matters of spirit and soul. It won’t do, Science, to crow that soul does not exist, cannot be measured and classified. As Religion declares (in the Hindu Upanishads), “When I see, who is it that sees? When I hear, who is it that hears?” The answers to such questions are the province of religion, the mechanical processes and organs the estate of science.

Together they work amazingly well. Apart, they are incomplete. Why can’t we accept that each has a role to play in our understanding and happiness?