Scientific Progress And Spiritual Beliefs

creating a powerful air cushion between the car and the ground. The car floated on this air cushion—just like a boat floats on water. Among the crowd was also a young sadhu, dressed in ochre robes, with dishevelled hair. He watched the demonstration with deep attention. A newspaper reporter, noticing his focus, asked him for his thoughts. The sadhu replied: “After seeing this, a new question has arisen in my mind. Should I give up the life of renunciation and seek satisfaction in the world of material progress? This exhibition has made me think— should I choose the spiritual world or the material one?” (Hindustan Times, 20 February 1961) Events like this may suggest that science and spirituality oppose each other—that to accept one, you must leave the other. But this depends on how you define spirituality. If spirituality means leaving the world, going into forests and mountains, and cutting off from society, then yes, it would seem opposite to science. But if spirituality is understood differently, then there is no conflict. The second definition of spirituality is purity of soul and self. In this sense, spirituality is not disconnection, but a better connection. Spirituality is not the opposite of science; it is the opposite of materialism. A spiritual person is non-material, not anti-