Being Religious or Being Scientific?
24th March became a historic day when Mars Orbiter Mission (MoM) or Mangalyaan successfully entered Martian orbit. It was an epochal event that etched its name in history forever. Modern science has always been a voyage into the unknown. It has always challenged the existing boundaries. On the other hand, Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Director K Radhakrishnan sought divine intervention when the MoM was about to be launched. Both instances raise the question if a person could be scientist or a rationalist and still be religious? Science bases everything on fact and reason whereas religion is based on practice of faith.
The divine intervention
Mr. Renny Thomas, Jawaharlal Nehru Univesity, says, “I conducted my thesis in one of the premier institutes of India i.e. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. I was interested in how scientists pursue their scientific and religious life. I lived there as an apprentice. It enabled me to converse with lab members and scientists of various departments of IISc.”
With the perspective of Anthropology, it is important to know how scientists live their life both scientifically and religiously rather than giving any value judgements. It would throw some light on the culture of science and culture in India. So, when a Director of a major space institution seeks divine help for the success of a space mission, it poses a unique challenge to the interpretation of the strategies and categories conventionally used to understand the relation between science and religion. It also throws up a question of whether scientists see a conflict between their scientific and religious life.
I have a question. How do you define religion
The elite relation between science and religion has been refuted by various personalities, especially anthropologist and historians. Sujit Sivasundaram, Sri Lankan Historian, argued, “The science-religion debate has to be contextualised and has to think beyond the western mentality of conflict and complimentary between the two. Both have complex engagements rather then what is described as either conflict or complementary.
Shad Naved, the chair of the evening
Historically, major figure in Indian science have been cheerfully integrated in their religious and scientific identities. Deb Kumar, historian, said that science was not seen as in conflict with Hindu tradition. In the 19th century, reformist like Raja Ram Mohan Rao, Danayanand Saraswati and national scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose, developed dialogue between the scientific rational and the religious spiritual. Indian scientists have always been very open about their religious life which sometimes refers to their writing. Raja Rammohan Roy, in his biography, talks about his pilgrimage to spiritual places like Gangotri and Badrinath. Similarly, Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao, Bharat Ratna Scientist, in his biography talks about his belief in God.
Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the head of the Manhattan Project and father of the atomic bomb, remarked the detonation of the first atomic bomb by quoting Bhagavad Gita as “Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
Renny Thomas, the speaker for the evening
As long as both entities exist there will be interpretations and perspective which would question the relation between science and religion. Both have long been existed and will continue to do so.
Picture Credits: Neel Kamal Pandey, OneWorldNews.
