Some would consider it an anathema to put spirituality and science in the same sentence. But to me, they both have one thing in common, their search for the truth. The truth is defined as something that does not change with time, place or the environment.
But our perception of the truth is a process which is dependent upon the vagaries of time, place and the environment.
The understanding of the truth in both science and spirituality depends upon our capacity of subtle perception.
The tools of perception in spirituality are our senses, logical reasoning and testimony of other seekers of spiritual truth. There are shortcomings in the tools, but they are all that we have. We can increase the level of certainty by taking steps to overcome their shortcomings.
The tools of seeking in science are no different except that science continually strives to extend the reach of human senses with the use of instrumentation and that of inferential logic with mathematical reasoning. The testimony of spiritual seekers is replaced by the findings of other scientists.
The early age of science perhaps perceived the material world as that of multiplicity - each instance of matter as an individual unconnected with the others. But in the current knowledge of science, the entire infinitely diverse world of matter is ultimately one: energy which is totally inexplicable in material terms.
Recognizing that the world of matter excludes life and consciousness, the question I ask is how is this finding of modern science in essence different from the age old conclusion of our spiritual seekers who proclaim unequivocally that all beings in the universe share one unseen and ineffable ultimate reality.
The conclusion of underlying oneness is immensely meaningful to thinking beings. It must be brought out and highlighted in our educational systems using full force of all spiritual traditions and secular disciplines.
