Science, Consciousness and Swami Vivekananda

Science, Consciousness and Swami Vivekananda

September 11, 1893, an unknown monk from India, Swami Vivekananda rose to the platform parliament of religions, Columbian Exposition, Chicago World Fair. The parliament bought for the first time in the history, the representatives of the world’s great religions gather in one place. Vivekananda became an undisputed hero of the parliament and hereby introduced for the first time in the history, the ancient knowledge of the Indian race to the modern world.

A disciple of an illiterate saint Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, he made it his life work to bring about the unification between the modern science and spirituality. ‘Science is nothing but the finding of unity. As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further progress, because it would reach the goal. Thus Chemistry could not progress farther when it would discover one element out of which all other could be made. Physics would stop when it would be able to fulfil its services in discovering a single energy of which all others are but manifestations.’ ^*1

 His teachings are based on the Vedanta philosophy. He defined the gist of Vedanta as follows, “Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within, by controlling the nature internal and external. Do this either by work, or worship, or philosophy, or psychic control – by one or more or all of these- and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms are but secondary details.” ^*1

In modern language, the soul is called the self or inherent consciousness. Some quantum physicists interpreted this singular consciousness as the source of all creations.

Vivekananda had some startling teaching regarding consciousness that finds the highest expression in human being. In order to convincingly understand how consciousness manifests in man, one needs a closer look at the evolutionary process of our universe. Consciousness first got manifest with what cosmologist called the Big bang. It brought about the creation of quarks & anti quarks, protons & neutrons, nuclei of lighter elements and first atoms like H, He, Li. Gravitational force eventually helped to form the first stars after 30 billion years. What prompted the big bang in the first place? And where did it come from? What is the inherent energy with the elementary particles that undergo to evolve?

Swami Vivekananda speaks about that energy, by giving a simple example of a plant. We take the seed of a dried flower. We planted carefully. And soon, a small plant peeps out. It slowly grows, becoming a bigger and bigger, until finally it becomes a fully blooming flower. Then withers and dies, again a new seed. So it completes a cycle. This cyclic process of seed form, growth, reproduction & death and new seeds is uniform throughout the universe.

There is a cause giving rise to the effect and that in turn produces a new cause. He introduces two different concepts. In the first, he talks about evolution v/s involution. By involution, he means that what is to be evolved is in its primary seed stage involved. So the evolved universe already existed before the big bang in an involved state. Something is involved it evolves and again involves. This is a circular moment. This is happening in the universe, and has been through time immemorial. This is the whole history of man, the whole history of nature, the whole history of life. There is no beginning and end to this universe.

 The second concept connected to this is the entire creation is penetrated by the core substance, consciousness. The ever increasing urge to consciousness to express itself is what prompts evolution to takes place. Modern quantum physicists have gone beyond the boundaries of matter. Apparently even the elementary particles are not the finest stuff of the universe. If matter doesn’t exist, it means that in the strictest sense, no objects, no location exists. Thus leaves an s wondering, WHERE THE UNIVERSE IS? It has to be somewhere or upon something. According to physicists, the base upon which the universe lies is the consciousness.

The Vedas teach us that creation is without beginning or end. Science is said to have proved that the sum total of cosmic energy is always the same. Then, if there was a time when nothing existed, where was all this manifested energy? Some say it was in a potential form in God. In that case God is sometimes potential and sometimes kinetic, this would make Him mutable. Everything mutable is a compound, and every compound must undergo that change which is called destruction. So God would die, which is absurd. Therefore there never was a time when there was no creation.

These are the evolutionary stages as we know them. First big bang manifested into energy, second energy in to matter; third matter became life, fourth life evolved into self reflective consciousness, the capacity to think. In the next evolutionary phases, atoms combine to form molecules, molecules to simple cells like bacteria and algae, approximately 3.5 billion years ago. Cells combine to form complex cells like simple worms about 600 million years ago. After that complex cells combine to form tissues and organs and finally self conscious organisms like human beings, Dolphins and whales. The conditions necessary to enter new evolutionary stage is increasing complexity. It has three principle concepts, namely, increasing diversity, increasing organisation and increasing connectivity. For the first time in the course of evolution, consciousness was able to express itself consciously in man. ^*2

By introducing his views on cosmology & Vedanta, Vivekananda has redefined the meaning of Religion & Science. He gives mankind an ideal and a tool to control his own growth and liberation since freedom or mystical union is our true character. Attachment and constant awareness of absolute reality are like the wings of a bird that can fly from the grounds of mortality to the heights of immortality.

^*1 complete works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol 1.

^*2 The Descent of Man, by Charles Darwin.