PURAN CHAND SHARMA
It is an admitted fact that Dharam and Science are not conflicting concepts but are perfectly compatible and complementary to each other. Science is fundamentally based on reasoning, experimentation and evidence whereas Dharam is basically rooted in trust and belief, science, of course is there but overshadowed by very powerful religious extinct, however, it never means obscurantism ,superfluous whims or false beliefs. They do co-exist in all types of circumstances confronting the human beings. As per one saintly opinion ” Religion is a very precise science of creating clarity, perceptiveness and transparency within your being, so that you can see things as they are, and the moment you see things as they are, you know what Godliness is. In the current times when the Science has dominant presence in every walk of life, some thorny and unpalatable issues are cropping up in absence of proper understanding and positive temperament which results into confusions and terrible conflicts creating undesirable hindrances in smooth conduct of the temporal world. It needs be properly analysed and understood. Let us sincerely endeavour to understand this riddle in the right perspective.
SCIENCE
We are well aware that this point of time, modern man across the world has been taking enormous strides in the field of science and Technology. Moon has been conquered, Mars is the next target and so on. There is no denying the fact that man has achieved innumerable mind boggling successes and the man has been able to control as well as manage countless problems of greater proportion. Having said that it is also being observed that excessive human adventures or misadventures in the realm of Science due to lack of needed harmony and coordination vis-a-vis Dharam because of its being treated as their adversary. However, Both of them together can be more productive, useful and beneficial for the whole world.
While navigating further we find that with the advancement of science and Technology some new kinds of crises have been cropping up such as, the monster of Environmental Pollution is increasing exponentially day in and day out, sources of energy are depleting at a very rapid pace, Age-old social order is slipping into awful disarray. Surge in technological advancement has been propping up a new kind of mindset, Self centred attitude and approach, monotonous and lifeless culture, Man finds himself in a very troubled, perilous and horrible state after having been caught up in the mechanical stranglehold of this neo culture. It appears as if the modern man has fallen prey to the predominant presence of machines in every walk of life. It shall be no exaggeration to say that being overwhelmed by the outstanding achievements of science, so called modern man has developed a tendency to treat Dharma as an adversary and grossly inimical to science and the Supreme being as non- existent entity. It is, therefore, significant to note that by doing so, man has tremendously lost that blissful spirit which kept him afloat during the most challenging and adverse times, sustaining his mental soundness and zest for life. Let us dive deep into the subject matter to embrace the truth.
DHARAM
Mind it pl, Dharam and Science are not sworn enemies but provide strength and perfection to each other. Dharama is a medium which facilitates self Realization which becomes possible by virtue of one’s meeting with Inner self’ (Atmasakshaatkar) . It also assists man in recognizing his own latent divine values and evolving them to perfection in order to cultivate a mellowed approach to society. Professor Abdus Salam, Nobel Prize recipient in physics believes that religion enriches Science with sanskar/culture. It is logically imperative that cultural values and traits in scientist impact his thought process and working.
Therefore, a scientist with a religious bent of mind would certainly desist from making of weapons of mass destruction like Neutron bomb. It is on record that neutron bomb can completely annihilate life on this planet with its lethal power without harming concrete structures and buildings. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the then president of Pakistan did request to Prof. Abdus Salam to make atom bomb for Pakistan but the latter being a religious person at heart not only refused but persuaded the President to drop the plan. Albert Einstein was initially associated with the first atomic bomb making project of the world but shortly he withdrew from it. Admittedly religion and science appear to be at loggerheads especially when religion exalts God as creator, Regulator and Supreme power and emphasises upon its followers to repose faith in His uniqueness. Even the core essence of religions which signify such notions as existence of heaven, hell and Avatar are not endorsed by the philosophy of science. Interestingly, reason for it is that it goes against the principle or religion of science itself. Science has its own religion which comprises intensive and experiment based study of every peculiar incidence or object in order to bring out the truth in a conclusive and comprehensive manner.
In the science based observation and opinion of EINSTEN there undoubtedly exists a supreme intellect in nature. It indicates once again the presence of some Godly or divine power. We also observe that Hindu spiritual thinkers have always believed Nature and the God are two sides of the same coin. GOETHE, a German writer, poet, statesman and also a scientist too stated that nature is pulsating with life and its expanse is from an unfamiliar centre. It is this unfamiliar centre which is considered as vague acknowledgement of existence of God in scientific terms. In fact, in 16th century, when new social order based on scientific knowledge was taking shape, there happened a split between science and religion on account of scientist’s lack of foresight and prudence with regard to the significance of cultural and moral values well cultivated in the scientists right from the early childhood. In consequence thereof, the progress achieved by virtue of scientific pursuits turned out to be not only very discouraging and impassive but also demonical to a greater extent.
CONCLUSION
The only remedial course for the distraught human race today is that we must draw inspiration from our scriptures like VEDAS and our Spiritual Scientists Bhardwaj, Augustya etc. along with scientist-thinkers like Goethe, Albert Einstein and Abdus Salam to impart Sanskars/ values to science for desired results.