Science, Religion and the Beloved

Many books and papers have been written on the subject of science vs. religion. Usually it’s a situation of opposition. Science against religion. But I haven’t come across anything that talks about science, religion and the Beloved and how these three fit with each other.

In science there are many facts and data. There are also a lot of premises, theories, and opinions. Many physicists, mathematicians, and cosmologists are trying to figure out the fundamental equations that govern our universe. It is an exciting and awesome adventure. Many of you know that these things interest me very much. We are looking for an underlying theory that will explain everything.

The latest theories are super-gravity and string theory. There are a lot of books on this subject if you are interested. Recently these theories have become part of a larger theory knows as M-theory. Each theory contributing to M-theory works some of the time and breaks down at other times. In some of these theories we have space with 9 dimensions, in others 11 dimensions, and so on. Other parts of M-theory produce a huge number of possible universes. Cosmologists talk about the existence of universes in the realm of 10 to the 300th power and 10 to the 750th power. Do you realize how many zeros a number like 10 to the 300th power has? This is beyond imagination. This is MYSTERY!

If these numbers are even close to being correct

they are saying that there are more universes in existence

than the number of atoms in our universe!

What does that say about our whole universe. … what does that say about our earth … what does that say about our brain which is trying to figure out this wondrous mystery! What it means is that the importance of our whole universe is much less to the Multiverse than is the significance of an electron in our own universe. If that doesn’t inspire awe and suggest mystery, I don’t know what does. Someday we will be able to see another universe, or several universes. It will be awesome. But what will we have explained?

I have talked about Stephen Hawking before and how much I admire his brain. He recently said that he was glad that our search for understanding will never come to an end. This is as I have told you also:

There will never be an end to our questions

about something that has no beginning or end.

It is a MYSTERY.

Another brilliant scientist, Godel, came up with a theorem a few years ago which basically says that discrepancies and inconsistencies arise if we try to prove statements that refer to themselves. (This is called self-referencing.) What this means is that since we cannot see our universe from a point outside of our universe (because our theories and we ourselves are all part of what we are trying to explain), therefore whatever we come up with, by definition, will be incomplete, inconsistent, or just plain wrong. This is the same as asking our brain to use its own resources to figure out who it is and what its existence and purpose is. It is futility.

It is a futility to describe the Mystery,

but it is a lot of fun trying.

Many, many brilliant people are trying to find answers to very basic questions pertaining to how life started, how the universe started, and how all these magnificent things that we feel and touch happen to arise. They go back and research. They find out more and more things, and some of the data they find goes directly against or negates some of the beliefs that various religions have. Some of the religions then modify themselves to fit the scientific information we have now. Some other religions don’t do that. And everybody is fighting with each other as to who is right.

Then within religion we have religion, and we have the original teachings of the beings that started these religions. Those two things are also different. Along with that we have the question of whether to take teachings literally or to understand them figuratively. These are more fundamental differences. So we have fights within religions and we have fights within scientific circles.

But very seldom do either the religious people or the scientists stop and say to themselves that underneath all this bickering and underneath all these things that exist between science and religion there has got to be something.

It doesn’t matter what it’s called!

There has got to be something that is underneath all these thingssome type of energy, some type of consciousness, some type of something.

That’s what I call the Beloved.

That’s the Mystery that underlies everything.

There will never be an end to scientific discoveries. Scientific discoveries will never come to a final understanding of the Mystery. Nor will there ever be an end to religions. We are going to have many, many more religions that start up. Depending upon the times and circumstances some will get stronger, some will fade, and some will changeand on and on as they have been doing since they began. But underneath all that, the Beloved never changes. The Beloved is always there and it’s always the same.

Hence, we can complicate our lives or we can simplify our lives. It is much easier to be simple and straight forward and to love the Beloved. All the other things are a lot of fun. They are interesting things to do and to contemplate.

But underneath all that is the Mystery I call the Beloved. There is nothing more and nothing less. Period.

Accept the MysteryLive in the Mystery

Play with the Mysteryrest in the Mystery.

The Mystery will bring you Peace

You are the Mystery.

CALLED TO AWE

When I hear the bells of a church and the format of religion

calling me to worship, I cannot go.

For many years I answered that call

and threw myself to the floor as if I were dirt.

But now I cannot go and pretend that I am nothing.

And so I am branded as proud.

But it is not a thing of pride for me.

It is a thing of honesty

of knowing I am something more

than merely a body of dirt.

The something more that I am

of which I am unable to speak clearly

is part of the grandest of Mysteries.

To throw That on the floor

would surely be sacrilege for me.

I look around and everywhere I see the Mystery of Mysteries

in birds and trees, in mountains and seas, in the existence of every thing

universes entwined in universes unto infinity.

I see it in you and feel it in me

and I am swept into a wave of awe.

Some are called to worship.

Once I was too

but now I am called to awe.

I have risen.

Shivakti