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Religion and Science We now move to a more abstract discussion of the relationship between symbol and reality and consider religion and science. In recent years there has been much discussion on the convergence (or a tendency towards) of science and religion, especially in view of new developments in quantum physics. The goal of science is to understand nature in all its manifestations. The goal of religion is to understand and (if possible) get in contact with the Ultimate Reality underlying nature and the universe. Physics deals with phenomena occurring in the universe which are always in space-time. Quantum physics pertains to the subatomic world lying at the lower end of the space-time scale, while the relativistic physics deals with the upper end of that scale. So the domain of physics is limited to space-time and the universe. Physics cannot go beyond. On the other hand the Reality that religion tries to reach is beyond space-time and, hence, outside the domain of science. Therefore, strictly speaking, there cannot be a convergence of science and religion. At the same time it is important to keep in mind that lack of convergence does not imply disagreement or conflict. It also does not mean that there are no similarities between the findings of science and religion. The quantum void, the absence of cause-effect relationship, nonlocality and phase entanglement, the behavior of electrons in selecting orbits etc., all these quantum phenomena resonate with religious/spiritual experiences. But the reason for these similarities may lie in the fact that the underlying Reality of both the manifest and unmanifest existence is the same. Now what has all this to do with symbols? All phenomena in physics are described by mathematical equations. At the quantum level in particular direct visualization of the results is not possible and everything is described in terms of probability and wave functions. Mathematical equations and wave functions are just symbols. All events in the universe result from the collapse of wave functions. Thus in effect here we are dealing not with the real universe or nature but only with its symbolic representation. In spiritual experiences the person is in contact with the Reality itself and at this stage there is no symbol involved. D. R. Sharma is a retired professor with electrical engineering and physics background. He maintains a website [http://www.cosmosebooks.com] dealing mainly with philosophy and science. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dharmbir_Sharma
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