Science and Spirituality

Science and Spirituality are like body and soul. Science is the study of “What is this?”, and spirituality is the study of “Who am I?” So the objective and subjective understandings together make human life complete, whole. India’s contribution is in the spiritual field. This realm is as immense as Germany’s contribution to scientific development. And in the East, science was never in conflict with spirituality. In the East the spirituality realized this thing. In the East, spirituality was never in conflict with science because spirituality goes on the experiential level. Spirituality deals on the experiential level, not just on a belief system.

In this connection we find a great interest among the scientific-tempered Germans to study the spiritual traditions of the East, and Art of Living has facilitated this quest to learn more about consciousness among the Europeans, a scientific study and reappraisal of consciousness. Art of Living has also promoted Ayurveda and Yoga, and its impact, effect, on the physiological, sociological, and psychological aspects of human life.

We have conducted the Art Of Living Prison SMART Program for prisons in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, and all other parts of Europe. It has been very successful and is graded as one of the topmost programs to rehabilitate prisoners.

The Art Of Living has also helped in today’s modern day ills: children are becoming either too aggressive or depressive and suicidal. We give a Non Aggression Program, what we call NAP, and our Young Adult YES program, Youth Empowerment Seminars, which have been widely acknowledged in Europe to combat these illnesses. The YES Course has been conducted in eight different universities in Germany alone. The program is also being given in Oslo, in Scandinavia and in other parts of Europe.

On the other hand, Europeans, and Germans in particular, have supported the 5H Program which we are enacting in developing countries. 5H stands for Health, Hygiene, Homes for Poor People, Harmony in Diversity, and Human Values. In this connection many philanthropists from Germany have visited our different schools in India. We have opened nearly *take number of schools from books 25? 65?* Tribal areas. Many German volunteers, many German youths have volunteered and come and worked teaching people hygiene and conducting health camps. They have been instrumental in developing health care programs and education programs in India, in Botswana, and in Namibia. Many German Art Of Living teachers also went to Namibia to teach human values combined with health care programs. In India over 21,000 villages have been adopted by the Art Of Living, and in this Germany also has contributed significantly.

You need a scientific temper to understand the Eastern philosophy, Eastern principle. They don’t just go by belief, faith or just based on one book. It is a systematic analysis and synthesis of knowledge. So in this sense, the ancient Hindu tradition or the Vedic traditions, are very intriguing to the German mind.

Though the practices, cultures, and traditions may be different, the philosophy is universal. So like yoga, meditation and breathing exercises, pranayama, the philosophy and its benefits are universal. Similarly the Ayurvedic system, its benefits are universal.

There are seven areas that India contributes to the world:

Number one is tourism, India has great potential for tourism, and attracts tourism. It has thousands of years old temples, pilgrimages, museums and palaces which draw German tourists.

The second aspect is the varieties of food, and the third aspect is the clothes and the jewellery, and the fourth is dance and music. The variety of dance and music that India has is enormous, there is a wide range of dance and music.

And then five and six, spirituality and yoga - spirituality, philosophy and yoga, and seventh, IT – Information Technology.

And Germany has a lot to offer to the world, the precision of Germans is unparalleled in the world. In any industry, the precision, the commitment, and the zeal and enthusiasm for work and the work culture is what India has to learn from Germany.

The Art Of Living program has been taught in all the war torn European countries, to cater to the needs of managing stress. So we need the precision and work culture of Germany and the attitude of relaxation and upliftment of human values that India is known for. Together they can complement each other very well.

The only objection that comes from the Christian and Muslim traditions is the misnomer about the Hindu organization, Hindu philosophy and culture, as polytheism, that it is based on, it worships, many gods.

Here I beg to differ. We need to understand the Hindu philosophy in a different light. It’s not many gods that the Hindus worship; it is one God in many forms. The ancient Rishis recognize the spirit is one, though it loves diversity and can express itself in diverse forms, because there is not just one type, the spirit has expressed itself in the world in many ways.

The world is full of diversity. Spirit loves diversity and the spirit has created so many types of fruits, vegetables, flora and fauna, animals, species, and matter must love diversity, so should also express itself in diverse forms. This is the phenomenon; this is the principle behind that, so it’s expressing in many ways the one truth, the one Divinity. So it’s not many Gods, but one God in many names and many forms, that’s what the Hindu tradition is. So therefore the main objection is removed. Again, nature is worshipped. The Hindu religion is nature friendly, like many other native religions all over the world.

Now when you worship nature, you are not worshipping the nature, you are worshipping the Creator of the nature. When you appreciate a painting you are appreciating the painter, so all the worship, and all the praises, all the devotion goes to the one Divinity. In this, when you see it in this light, all the conflicts between the so-called polytheistic and monotheistic religions simply dissolve. You can say all the conflicts between the Hindu and the Abrahamic religions simply dissolve, they simply don’t exist. So this better understanding of truth in a multidimensional way is what can uplift, and what can bring about, harmony in diversity.

In today’s globalized world, we need to globalize wisdom too. We accept food, technology, medicine, music from all over the world. Why not wisdom too? It is high time that we bring about the globalization of wisdom. This will put an end to terrorism which claims, “Only I go to Heaven, you go to Hell”.

Such a dialogue within the culture which has been the central core of Hindu religion is very well appreciated in Europe these days. For centuries Hinduism has demonstrated to the world a peaceful co-existence amidst differences, which is so relevant in today’s terrorized world.

So spirituality is something that unites people of different faiths, and service is part of spirituality. If there is no service there can be no spirituality, and without spirituality, service is too exhausting. I mean service becomes lame, it cannot be 100%. Without spirituality service is exhausting and lacks luster and enthusiasm. It is spirituality that provides zeal and enthusiasm to service. And service, in turn, helps one go deep into oneself, understand one’s whole self and the universe better.

Jai Guru Dev

Question -

Every year thousands of people are getting benefited by yoga and meditation, and they are having better health and mental alertness. Amongst youth today the greatest problem is attention and retention problems, deficiencies. The ancient science of yoga, meditation and chanting can bring about improvements. This has happened with thousands of people around the world already, to overcome attention and retention deficiency problems.

There are many and various benefits of yoga for health and the social attitudes of people- to manage anger, to control anger and to get rid of negative emotions. Art Of Living programs have immensely contributed to people with traumas, mental traumas and stress related problems, and also in industry. It has helped many people in industries to overcome stress and tension and live a more vibrant life.