The document discusses the relationship between science and spirituality. It provides perspectives from several scientists acknowledging the limitations of science in explaining life and consciousness. Scientists described scientific inquiry as requiring faith and inspiration, with some seeing evidence of a divine guiding force. The document advocates putting life at the center and exploring its manifestations through different fields of study, with the ultimate purpose of serving a higher spiritual truth.

1. SCIENCE & SPIRITUALITY BHAKTIVEDANTA INSTITUTE

2. Dr. T. D. Singh Director, Bhaktivedanta Institute President, Vedanta and Science Educational Research Foundation Scientific and religious paths are like two streams of the creative human mind. The scientific path tries to explain the nature of reality within rationality, whereas the religious or spiritual path does so within and beyond rationality.

3. I think in this century, science will be admitted to the spiritual aspects of mankind, and vice versa…  Prof. Karl H. Pribram Neuropsychologist, Georgetown University, USA

5. Science and Eastern Thought “ Our science – Greek science, is based on objectification…But I do believe that this is precisely the point where our present way of thinking does need to be amended, perhaps by a blood-transfusion from Eastern thought.”  Erwin Schroedinger

7. What is Life? What is Consciousness?

8. LIFE Chemical and Biological Spiritual Science Spirit

9. “ In my search for the secret of life, I ended up with atoms and electrons which have no life at all. Somewhere along the line, life has run out through my fingers. So, in my old age I am now retracing my steps.”  A. Szent Gyorgi 1937 Nobel Laureate in Medicine

10. Although a biologist, I must confess that I do not understand how life came about… To me, auto-replication of a macromolecule does not yet represent life. Even a viral particle is not a live organism, it can only participate in life processes…  Werner Arber Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine

11. “ We can admittedly find nothing in physics or chemistry that has even a remote bearing on consciousness. Yet all of us know that there is such a thing as consciousness, simply because we have it ourselves. Hence consciousness must be part of nature, or more generally, of reality, which means that, quite apart from the laws of physics and chemistry, as laid down in quantum theory, we must also consider laws of quite a different nature.”  Niels Bohr

14. “ RNA alone is not life…” “… I think that life could be beyond the assembly of biomolecules.”  Werner Arber Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine

19. Science and Religion point to Reality “ In the history of science, ever since the famous trial of Galileo, it has repeatedly been claimed that scientific truth cannot be reconciled with the religious interpretation of the world. Although I am now convinced that scientific truth is unassailable in its own field, I have never found it possible to dismiss the content of religious thinking as simply part of an outmoded phase in the consciousness of mankind, a part we shall have to give up from now on. Thus in the course of my life I have repeatedly been compelled to ponder on the relationship of these two regions of thought, for I have never been able to doubt the reality of that to which they point.”  Werner Heisenberg

23. “ The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is in the sensation of the mystical. It is a shower of all true science… That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power which is revealed in the comprehensible universe forms my idea of God.” - Albert Einstein

24. “ I believe that more thoroughly science is studied, the further does it take us from anything comparable to atheism…If you think strongly enough, you will be forced by science to believe in God.” - Lord Kelvin

27. Inspiration Indication of a Divine Guide

31. Free Will and Science “ Many scientists will say, ‘I can’t believe in religion, I can’t be religious. On the other hand, if you ask them, ‘Do you think you have some free will,’ almost every scientist instinctively thinks so. He has free will. He can choose some things. He can decide to go this way or that way. There is, in fact, no room for free will in present scientific laws and yet almost every scientist essentially assumes he has it.”  Charles H. Townes Nobel Laureate in Physics

32. Matter from Life? “You place matter before life and decide that matter has existed for all eternity. How do you know that the incessant progress of science will not compel scientists… to consider that life has existed during eternity and not matter? You pass from matter to life because your intelligence of today … cannot conceive things otherwise. How do you know that in ten thousand years one will not consider it more likely that matter has emerged from life?” - Louis Pasteur.

33. Bhagavad Gita on Life The symptoms of life occur on the basis of a spiritual, living entity. An infinity of living entities exist, and they are known as cit-kana or literally small conscious atoms. When the cit-kana acquires a body, then the changes of birth, growth, maintenance, reproduction and death are manifested in matter.

34. Life In the Center “ I began as a physicist drawing parallels between physics and the Eastern tradition. I now believe that physics cannot be placed in the center of the world view. The most appropriate center is the theory of living systems. You put life in the center, and you study life in its multiple manifestations, and you make statements about what life is, what mind is, and what consciousness is in this context. Physics would be defined as the science of nonliving systems.” - Fritjof D. Capra , Physicist and system theorist

38. “ Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe – a spirit vastly superior to that of man.” Albert Einstein