Beyond Egocentrism

 

Science and Spirituality

 

The Western scientific tradition moved forwards, in one enormous leap, when the creative genius of the spirit of Albert Einstein propounded his theories, and augmented the classical scientific view that had moved Western culture beyond the barbarism and superstition of the Middle Ages. Modern physicists, who have since published works that acknowledge the harmony between the New Physics and the Ancient Wisdom, which was set out in Eastern teachings that were formulated long before the time of Christ, could, today, assist with bringing to common understanding the universal existence of God, as manifested in the order which is implicit within the visible universe, as well as within conscious awareness. Scientific doctrine generally relies upon general principles, so it is quite astonishing that Absolute Truth was considered to be out of step with the laws of physics. This confusion gave way to the incorrect relativistic assumptions that have been tied to the language formulations which underpin the pragmatic logical positivist view of human experience and truth. This mentalist position has fed and supported the dualistic twentieth-century materialist assumptions, and has also created an unhealthy cultural barrier against knowledge that is not supported by quantitative empirical measurement. Yet the paradoxical behaviour of light, and Niels Bohr’s Principle of Complementarity, do indicate the reasoned need to transcend notions associated with scientific materialism. We should collectively have both the courage and the humility to look beyond the egocentric outlook to find correct answers to the most profound questions which continue to puzzle mankind today.

 

      Revealed knowledge, known in the Indian tradition as Jnana Yoga, is the fruit of spiritual endeavour. The monumental figure of Shiva, which is seated in a yogic posture, and which was unearthed at Mohenjo-daro, has been dated, with this Indus valley civilization, as having been established in the Indian subcontinent from at least 3250 BC. Long before the advent of Christ, therefore, methods associated with the yogic tradition have directed mankind in subtle ways which transcend cultural boundaries. The eternal wisdom, which is called Sanathana Dharma, in India, is not bound to India, but is the invisible gift to mankind that is received through conscious experience and awareness of God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The waywardness of the mind has long been understood to be a major obstacle on the path to spiritual knowledge. Whether by yogic practice, or devotion and study, men and women, throughout the ages, have striven to overcome the mental barriers to divine fulfilment. If mental rumination is not to be the pinnacle of a person’s spiritual achievement, and once the mind itself has delivered to the receptive individual a clear, cognitive understanding of its own apparent limitations, it certainly can then itself be transcended. Thought, nevertheless, is more usually considered, in the modern world, to be the method of solving problems, and the transition to a more direct way of perceiving and living, through meditation and devotion, for example, has not been readily understood by those who tend to argue themselves into the social problems which they face. Those everyday problems could actually be addressed more successfully if the individuals concerned were to look beyond their immediate material priorities, and their own personal misgivings and anxieties.

 

      The ancient Greeks were responsible for the direction that mankind took, in the West, towards the constructivist idea of truth. Today, the mental exercise of reason has resulted in a dominant modern culture that has reached all parts of the globe, yielding industrial and technological advancement, and the application of scientific knowledge in nearly every branch of human activity, but human relations, within and between nations, still continue very often in crisis. Spirituality exercises intelligent reason with rigour, but it also embraces the timeless spiritual heritage which is our divine birthright. That mankind has been unable to overcome differences to function with love, in Truth, is the world’s historical tragedy. With argumentation still dominant, the blinding tumult of spiritual ignorance continues to foment many a war.

 

      Swami Vivekananda came to England, in 1896, and taught Vedanta Philosophy as Jnana Yoga, or “The Yoga of Knowledge”, in lectures to audiences in London, after previously lecturing in America. Another of his published works, Raja Yoga, which presents, with commentary, a translation of the aphorisms of Patanjali, would have then introduced many in the West, and in India, to techniques and a core philosophy that underpin certain aspects of Hatha Yoga. Raja Yoga goes well beyond the asanas and pranayama exercises with which a great many Westerners will now be familiar, incorporating, as it does, the spiritual goal of all forms of Yoga with a personal faith in the divine. The mergence of Yoga with religious sentiment, irrespective of creed, would be a welcome development in human spirituality.