Patanjali Yoga And Scientific Value System-Part I (Religion And Its Values)

By Staff

Friday, July 18, 2008, 11:38

The Vedanta Kesari, p. 101-105, March 2006, Ramakrishna Mission

Apart from science, there is one more potent force which has significantly influenced human life. Ever since the human being discovered that all earth-bound phenomena are transitory and ephemeral, he has been passionately seeking for something which is beyond time and space. Based on his experiences and realizations, the human being has developed several theoretical frameworks called philosophies and has tried to put them into practice by systems of religion.

There are several such schools of philosophy and religion in the world today, the most prominent being Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, and many others. These possess their own dogmas, beliefs, and methodologies. Over a long period of time, they have tended to become rigid and some have even fossilized.

The great souls who have given birth to them have been remarkable intellects and geniuses. But their followers, unfortunately, have not been able to match the intellect or the brilliance of the masters and have interpreted these religions according to their own limited capacities, like the blind men trying to explain an elephant by feeling its parts. No wonder, their partial interpretations and explanations have given rise to the specter of sectarianism, bigotry, persecution and the most recent phenomenon, religious chauvinism and fundamentalism.

Unlike science, which has become a unifying force, religion has only served to divide humanity into several sects, who keep quarrelling with one another constantly. This is also another reason why there has been general withdrawal from organized religion and a great rise in materialism.

This situation has prompted many great souls to search for a universal religion, which can be a panacea for all evils. But the human experience has been that even such movements end up finally being labelled as one more religion or sect. What one needs today are not new religions or amalgamations of existing religions. We need to assess all existing religions, philosophies and dogmas to find out which one of them comes closest to the value system, which has made science so universal and powerful.

As described earlier, the four important characteristics of science, which make it universally acceptable are Universalism, Communalism, Disinterestedness and Organised Scepticism. If we apply these criteria to the existing religious practices, very few of them qualify to be called scientific. It is not that these religions are false or useless. It is quite well known that faith, blind or otherwise, plays a major role in the acceptance of a religion and its practice. However, the modern mind of a so-called educated person, brought up in the traditions of science, attempts to stretch its scepticism to the utmost before accepting any religious practice as meaningful or worth the while. It thus becomes all the more imperative that we look for a religious practice which throws a challenge to the modern mind and dares it to experiment with it.

To Be Continued