Vedanta - Faith Goes with Reason
ANURAG
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A little girl was to undergo an operation. The surgeon told her, “Before we can make you well, we must put you to sleep for a little while.“ She looked up and smiled, “Oh, if you are going to put me to sleep, I must say my prayers first.“ She knelt down beside the table and prayed. Later, the surgeon said that he prayed that night for the first time in 30 years.Prayer doesn't change things. It changes people, and people change things. So, don't pray for lighter burdens.Pray for stronger backs.
Faith, as embodied in religion, and reason as embodied in science, are often erroneously thought of as being in opposition to each other. But science is not an enemy of religion, only of superstition.
Both science and religion are engaged in the search for truth, the main difference lies in their methodologies.
Science is an investigation of truth in the finite nature outside, the object. Religion is an investigation into the nature of the infinite, the subject. Science aims for universally verifiable knowledge. Religion aims for individual realisation. Universal laws operate regardless of one's beliefs and faith. We are closer to the physical world than to the metaphysical. We respect science, because it is premised on reason.
Swami Sivananda holds that science knows little about the origin of life, the origin of thought, and the origin and destiny of human nature and the universe. Even scientists are quite conscious of these limitations of science and scientific method. Faith is not predicated upon reason. It is beyond reason.
Faith, as embodied in religion, and reason as embodied in science, are often erroneously thought of as being in opposition to each other. But science is not an enemy of religion, only of superstition.
Both science and religion are engaged in the search for truth, the main difference lies in their methodologies.
Science is an investigation of truth in the finite nature outside, the object. Religion is an investigation into the nature of the infinite, the subject. Science aims for universally verifiable knowledge. Religion aims for individual realisation. Universal laws operate regardless of one's beliefs and faith. We are closer to the physical world than to the metaphysical. We respect science, because it is premised on reason.
Swami Sivananda holds that science knows little about the origin of life, the origin of thought, and the origin and destiny of human nature and the universe. Even scientists are quite conscious of these limitations of science and scientific method. Faith is not predicated upon reason. It is beyond reason.
