Essays

"Ever since the dawn of civilization there have been much debate on worth and dignity of science and religion; the intellectuals, philosophers, thinkers tire divided even today on the conflicting belief in the matter of supremacy of one over the other'.

 With the rapid progress made by science and technology in the recent past, the conflict between the two widen further. Science on the one hand, concludes the theories on the basis of experiments and analytical logics, while religious theories are based on experience, meditation and blind faith. Science deals with the things objectively. while religion is a subjective matter. In the present age of rapid growth in scientific advancements in all walks of life, the future history wounded end on the way of livening  of the new generation to reconcile the conflict between Science and Religion.

Religion is mainly a phenomenon of faith, a purely subjective topic while  science is based totally on reasoning and analytically proving the concepts based on laboratory or mechanical experiments. Science always speaks the truth in crude language and in absolute terms, while religion speaks in poetic and touching sentiment. Science has the credit of all the material progress made in the world. religion enjoy the credit of providing mental peace and solace in the world, where everyone is mortal. Through science one can amass uncountable wealth, unimaginable luxuries, all material and physical things, that he needs to make him more efficient, more quick, more important in the eyes of others, but the mental solace, the self- respect. the internal peace, he can secure only through the religion. Science gives ; luxuries and materialistic living to a man. while religion gives him peace of mind.

  ' Bernard Shaw once said, "life will lose its charm, when faith is replaced by cold scientific reason."

Many great scientists, scholars, political leaders, writers have given credit of their achievements to the Almighty, a supernatural being, it shows that religion is not an unimportant concept to throw away. There is no weight age for moral and ethical values in the materialistic world created by scientific inventions and discoveries, but without moral and ethical values, the world becomes a self-destructive entity. By pushing a button of nuclear warhead the whole world or the whole civilization may face destruction; science is not going to tell you the consequence of the act of pushing a button but it is the moral and ethical values imbibed in a man because of his faith in a religion, which prevent him to push such a button as it can destroy the beautiful creature of living being created by the will of Almighty.

The approach of science towards life is crude, monotonous, lifeless, devoid of feelings of love, emotions, while on the other hand the religion approaches the life with animation, with feelings of faith, love towards all human beings, faith in self and faith in the Omnipotent, Omnipresent Super being. According to religion the existence of man is by the will of' God', all the bad or good happens only by the will of 'God', while science rejects all these concepts and believes that the birth of a child is the result of sexual relation between the man and woman. Science has been able to cure several incurable diseases, but unable to conquer the inevitable, death. Science can't tell us the reason and cause of re-birth of soul. Science can't solve many mysteries of the world. Religion gives us answers of the above questions, but that are unable to be proved, as in religion, the things are based on faith and belief and can't be justified and proved in a scientific way.

 Swami Vivekananda in his speech at the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago in 1893 said, "Science in nothing but the finding of unity. As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further progress, because it would reach the goal. Thus chemistry could not progress farther when it would discover one element out of which all others could be made. Physics would stop when it would be able to fulfill its services in discovering one energy of which all the others but manifestations and the science of religion becomes perfect when it would discover 'Him' who is the one life in a universe of death., 'Him' who is the constant basis of an ever changing world, one who is the only soul of which all souls are but delusive manifestations. Thus it is through multiplicity and duality that the ultimate unity is reached. Religion can go no farther, this is (he goal of all sciences. All Sciences are bound to come to this conclusion in the long run. Manifestation and not creation is the word of science today.

 According to religious philosophy, "Everything that is in (his Universe has  been created by the 'Almighty' and there lives a 'Soul' an invisible thing in the body of every human being. 'God' and soul arc eternal and immortal. The body of man is mortal, on the death of a person, it is the body that is destroyed, tile soul just takes charge of a new body in the womb of a lady. The science does not accept existence of 'Soul' or 'God' and does not believe in 'Rebirth' etc."

 The diversities prevailed in various concepts of different religions and the selfish interests of the head of the different protagonists of religion, turn out the havens of superstitions and unscientific, illogical traditions, rituals, made the religion a hegemony of some people. Untouchability, division of society based on birth, caste and creed, has caused a great loss to the civilized world. Organized war had taken place among the followers of different religions in order to satisfy the lust for power, killing Thousands of' innocent lives and thus the basic concept of religion was totally betrayed. Religion is a pious concept, contemplated to infuse moral and ethical values in the human being to spread love, peace and fraternity among the civilized world.

Science and Religion are altogether different concept. Science deals with materialistic progress of the world, needed to arrange physical things necessary for the comfort, luxury for the man. while Religion in true sense deals exclusively for the peace of mind. for the internal solace, for the spiritual advancement of the man, for the good of all concept. "Now first arose desire, the primal seed of mind. Sages, searching in their hearts by wisdom, found the bond between existence and non-existence."                                                                                                              —A German Philosopher

Vocabulary

I. Meditation—a calm lengthy intent consideration. 2. amass—collect or gather. 3. imbibed—receive into the mind and retain. 4. omnipotent—having unlimited power. 5. omnipresent—being present everywhere at once. 6.   manifestation—expression without words, expression. 7. protagonists—a person who backs a politician or a team etc. 8. hegemony—the domination of one state over its allies. 9. solace—give moral or emotional strength to.