[Advaita-l] Science and Vedantha

[Aditya Varun Chadha]

On 11/30/05, Abhishek RK <rkabhi at gmail.com> wrote:
> The meaning is: "That from Which speech returns and so does the mind".

thanks for the translation, it is indeed a very pertinent quote.

> You also say Godel was one of the greatest thinkers of all time. This just
> goes to show even the greatest thinkers CANNOT "infer" or even take a
> wild guess at even the existence of some "Higher Reality". The only thing
> that is inferred from this ever-changing world is that *change* is
> the "Highest Reality". Sorry if I mentioned anything out of context.

I (almost) agree. This does show that the greatest thinkers cannot (at
least as yet) "infer" the existance of "Higher Reality". What can be
inferred is that "there are some things that are true but cannot be
inferred". Still, this is not a logical proof that "Higher Reality
cannot be inferred based on mental effort alone", although both you
and I suspect so. Yes, vedAnta says so (that mental effort is not
enough), but if we use that as an assumption then we are not talking
about proofs, we are talking about faith. The question itself is
whether faith is an absolute requirement or not.:-)

There are some who believe that the the question of ultimate reality
is just the sum total of all posable questions. If this definition is
assumed, then yes, logic proves that logic is not enough to infer
ultimate reality. But then again we have to justify the basis of our
belief that ultimate reality is the sum total.

I keep my trust in science because it has a history of defining its
own limits, which is very respectable. Maybe one day science will
itself say "If there is an ultimate reality, science cannot infer it
completely". But till then all doubts must be treated with respect
(atleast among those of us who conscientiously use science in our
lives). Till then science and vedAnta don't put forth any mutual
contradictions in my mind, both are useful in two very different
planes, and both can even aid us in the quest for the other to some
extent.

In the meanwhile, vedAnta as a discipline is a much more useful (and
easier) tool to handle than (current) science when it comes to
spiritual learning.

--
Aditya Varun Chadha
adichad AT gmail.com
http://www.adichad.com
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