Vedanta and Science 3

Science, even though based on law of cause an effect, cannot explain the following questions easily -

a) How are people born to different circumstances, some in misery while others in prosperity

b) Why are some people deformed by birth, afflicted with disease at a very tender age, probably just a few months after birth, die very young

c) Why do some people suffer more than others

d) Why are some people stronger and healthier than others

e) Why are there much evil tendencies among some people and good among others

f) In general if the world is entirely materialistic and if there is no motivation for doing good, why should we be good and selfless? Why should not we all become selfish and maximize our gains at the expense of others? Why do we not live happily by killing others? What is the need for peace and charity? Why should we rather kill the weak and ensure that the resources are enjoyed by the strong? If one gives the excuse of ethics, morality etc. why should there be ethics and morality when resources are scarce and the only goal is to maximize selfish gain? However horrific they sound, the questions remain. Just as we do evil for the sake of our ego, we, most of us do good for the sake of our ego only, in order to prove to ourselves that we are good. That is the whole basis of morality and ethics. Such a boundary is very thin and it is often seen that even good human beings are not infallible. Mahabharata is poignant with many such stories. Karna was a great soul, he was much more charitable than hundred Rockefeller put together. However he fell because of his pride, his wounded ego to rise above his inferior birth status.

g) How are geniuses born? Why do we have absolute stupids or mediocre person and absolute geniuses from the same families when all other conditions remain same, including opportunities

In fact all ware fares and killings are driven by a lust for power and greed. Scientific thoughts, on the one hand does a lot of good by improving technology, saving lives through effective health care and medicines. On the other hand, the very scientific skepticism has increased the chasm between religion and science, by disregarding the reasons and logic that drives religion. Science and God are actually not opposite sides of the spectrum, but rather are complimentary. Science acts under the domain of mother nature and constantly drives to conquer external nature. Vedanta on the other hand strives to conquer internal nature, which is much more difficult. Vedanta stresses that conquering internal and external nature are basically the same goals as they converge at the extreme points. That point is where realization or supreme knowledge dawns and apara vidya merges into para vidya.

Vedanta answers all the above questions and much more. It says that birth or circumstances follow a cause and effect rule just as any other scientific principles would. They cannot be random events. If they are random then entire scientific principles become dependent on random event, on chance and not on causation and thus become absurdities. There cannot be anything random in natural laws. Everything should follow the law of causation. Law of Karma is thus a law of causation whose effect is birth and circumstances and which in turn create more karma and samskaras which trigger future circumstances. This is in line with natural justice - as you sow, so shall you reap. We are responsible for our own actions. We do not have to necessarily believe in an almighty God to become ethical and moral as Buddhism and some other Eastern philosophies like Sankhya have taught us. It is our past Karma which has fructified, called Praarabdha in the language of Vedanta that causes all births and circumstances, it is the samskaras that create the habits and instincts and the internal nature, and goal of mankind is to transcend the wheels of Karma and get liberated from the cycle of birth, decay and death. Leading ethical life and being unselfish is the fundamental stepping stone for doing the same, therefore all religions begin with ethics and morality and all of them teach unselfishness. The liberation is conquering inner nature. If we are theists we can believe in Almighty God and His grace to conquer ourselves, that is the path of devotion. If we are atheists or agnostics we can simply rely on Law of Karma and achieve the same results. All paths converge at the same extreme, even science and its attempts to conquer external nature. 

Thus Vedanta harmonizes scientific principles with morality and ethics and thus unites religion and science.