Religion should accept what science has proved

NEW DELHI: “As a young boy, I looked at the moon through a telescope and from the play of light and shadow on it, came to the conclusion that it had no light of its own but reflects sun’s light. I showed it to my surprised tutors too,” recalled the Dalai Lama, speaking on Sunday at the inauguration of the 3-day conference on Science and Spirituality in Modern India, organised in Delhi by the Jawaharlal Nehru University in collaboration with Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Arguably the most revered spiritual guru in the world, Dalai Lama was emphasising that religion and spirituality should accept something conclusively proven by science, even if it goes against the worldview of their own tradition.

He pointed out that Nagarjuna and others at Nalanda had the guts to reject some of Gautam Buddha’s own words which didn’t go with reality.

While paying compliments to science for improving material comforts for the body in a big way, the Dalai Lama said it has not yet come up with an injection or device as an antidote to mental suffering. Spirituality then has a role in creating happiness for the mind.

The Dalai Lama talked about two levels of spirituality. One level promotes human, spiritual values, like karuna, which are common to many traditions and can improve our emotional health, creating a happier society and families.

Knowing the crucial role of emotional health, medical scientists, he said, are showing interest in this level of spirituality.

The second level relates to belief systems, including the concept of God and karma theory, and is a source of conflict, though originally it was meant to strengthen human values like forgiveness, tolerance and contentment.

The Dalai Lama has been keenly promoting dialogue and an interface between science and Buddhism through his Mind and Life conferences in Dharamsala and abroad since 1987.

His recent book, ‘The Universe in an Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality’, argues that modern science and Buddhist philosophy have similar aims, methods and sometimes conclusions.

The inaugural session of the conference was chaired by Dr Karan Singh who recalled how as the Union health minister decades ago, he had set up a Consciousness Project at Nimhans in Bangalore.

Celebrated psychoanalyst Dr Sudhir Kakar and Professor V V Raman, of Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, were two of the distinguished speakers on the first day’s programme held at the India International Centre.