The religion of the twentieth century

Works of Swami Abhedananda

How to be a Yogi ...

Nine Lectures Pt. I

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Self Knowledge

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Swami Abhedananda

The

Religion of The Twentieth

Century

By

SWAMI fABHEDANANDA

Author of "Self Knowledge" ; "India and Her People*

"Divine Heritage of Man" ; "How to be a

Yogi" ; "Re- incarnation" ; etc. etc. etc.

Ramakrishna Vedanta Society

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The Religion of the Twentieth

Century

Twentieth Century may be called the age

of science and reason. In this age everything

that is based upon scientific truths or upon ra-

tional foundation appeals to our minds and

we accept it as truth. Science to-day, rules

over our thoughts and reason and our present

tendency is to make all physical and mental

activities harmonize with the laws explained

by modern science. Our general tendency is

to apply the truths of science in the acts of our

daily lives. In cooking, eating, drinking, dress-

ing, walking and in all avocations of life we

try to observe the laws of nature as discovered

by the scientists of to-day. We are now ready

to reject everything which is not approved by

the scientific thinkers of the world. Every day,

science is forcing us to remodel our old ideas,

to change our habit, to rebuild our dwelling

houses, and to reform our societies.

Religion of The Twentieth Century

Scientific investigations have opened before

our eyes the doors of the unknown realms of

the universe. With the help of the torch-light

of modern science we are now able to see the

vastness and grandeur of the phenomenal uni-

verse and the most exquisite beauty and perfec-

tion, in every minute detail of the objects of

nature from the smallest to the largest. Science

has revealed to us the prof oundest depths of

nature and has taken the seekers after truth,

step by step, along the path of evolution into

the realm of the finer forces that operate upon

the invisible particles of matter known as atoms

and molecules. Scientific researches have not

only explained the constituent elements which

produce the phenomenal objects, but have

lately revealed to us that those which were

so long known as atoms are not in reality in-

divisible units. There are particles fiuer than

atoms. Each atom can be sub-divided into

a thousand corpuscles or electrons which make

up its body and form. Each of these electrons

Religion of The Twentieth Centuey

may be called an etherial centre of force similar

to negative electricity. Governed by the Law

of Attraction and Repulsion these electrons pro-

duce atoms, molecules and elements of nature.

To-day, the light of new knowledge has

dawned upon the horizon of our minds and

with its help we can see things which were

unknown to the thinkers of the past centuries.

Science has also demonstrated that the various

forces of nature, like electricity, heat, light,

motion, gravitation are nothing but so many

expressions, so many manifestations of one

eternal Cosmic Energy.

Modern science has disproved, as we all

know, the Theory of a Special Creation in a

definite period of time, but, on the contrary,

it has shown that this world has come to its

present state through a gradual process of

evolution which must have lasted for millions

and millions of years. By this Theory of

Evolution, modern science has given a death-

blow to the Biblical Cosmogony which depend-

Religion of The Twentieth Century

ed upon the Theory of a Special Creation.

The astronomical discoveries of the present

century have shown the most wonderful things

of the visible universe. Modern astronomy

teaches us that the distance to the sun from

this earth is only ninety-three millions of miles.

Most of the planets are over one hundred

millions of miles away from us and the dia-

meter of the solar system is only six-thousand

millions of miles , and to cross this space, light

travelling at the rate of one hundred and

eighty -six thousand miles per second, would

take only nine minutes to reach us. The near-

est star beyond our solar system is so distant

that the light emanating from that star, takes

three and one-half years to reach our earth.

Some of these stars are so remote that the light

which we see from them to-day, probably left

them long before Jesus was born, before the

Egyptian pyramid was built, nay, long before

the earth was created, according, to the Theory

of Genesis. Perhaps when that light reaches

Religion of The Twentieth Century

our planet, the star from which it emanated

centuries ago, has become extinct in the mean-

time. Think of the immensity of space and

vastness of the universe and conceive of the

time when these luminaries first appeared in

the heavens and compare your conception with

the stories of creation which you have learnt

from your childhood.

The Geological researches of this century

have shown that the first appearance of man on

earth was not six thousand years ago, as the

Christian Bible teaches, but in the Tertiary

period which goes way back beyond 50, 000 or

100,000 years from to-day.

Comparative Anatomy and Physiology have

proved that human organism was not the result

of a Special Creation as described in Genesis,

but that it was closely related to the organism

of the lower animals. It was the result of the

gradual process of evolution from a lower

form to a higher one. Furthermore, it has been

scientifically demonstrated that the life-prin-

Religion op The Twentieth Century

ciple manifests itself not only through animal

forms but also through vegetables and even

through inorganic metals. We have learnt to-day

that the plants have eyes and other senses, that

they have something like a nervous system,

pulsation, heartbeat and the power to feel pain

etc. Those who have read Sir J. C. Bose's

famous book entitled "Response in the Living

and Non-living" will remember that ordinary

metal like iron or tin manifests life-force and

responds to an electric shock in the same man-

ner as a living tissue or a muscle of a living

animal. This discovery has revolutionised our

conception of life and nonlife. Moreover, it

has emphasized that old truth mentioned in

the Vedas that life-force or Prana is one and

universal, although its manifestations are

multiform.

Biology has disproved the old Theory that

God breathed life into the nostrils of the first

man before he became a living animal, as if

the lower animals had no breath of life at all ;

Religion of The Twentieth Centuky

on the contrary, it has proved that the

minutest protoplasm or bioplasm or amoeba

possesses life ; nay, the whole universe is

filled with the eternal life-principle or vital

energy, that there is no such thing as dead

matter, and that the life of a man is not the

result of some supernatural intervention, but

that it is as natural as the life of plants and

of lower animals.

Comparative Psychology has taught us that

the lower animals have not been created for

man's food but that they have sensation, feeling

reasoning, memory and many other mental

faculties like those of ours ; that they are as

valuable in the economy of nature as we are.

We have learnt that mind is as much subject

to evolution and growth as the gross physical

body. The scientific investigations into the

constitution of the mind have proved very

recently that the mental functions are the re-

sults of the vibrations of the finest etherial

particles ; and that thought-force is most inti-

Religion op The Twentieth Century

mately correlated to the physical forces. As

physical science has proved that the life-principle

is one and universal and has also explained by

the Theory of Evolution, persistence of energy

and correlation of forces, that all the various

forces of nature are but the expressions of one

eternal energy, so mental science has proved

the same unity in variety on the mental plane.

Thought-transference and telepathy have

proved that the individual minds are united to

one another, that they are like so many eddies

in the eternal current of the Cosmic Mind.

Every thought which we think, touches and

influences the minds of other persons whether

they are near to us or far away ; the distance

on the physical plane does not affect our

mental conditions.

As on the physical plane wireless-telegraphy

has brought us above space relations, and has

revealed to us how powerful is the atmos-

pheric electric current, so thought-transference

and telepathy have brought us above space

Religion of The Twentieth Century

relations, and it has also shown that the

atmospheric thought current is infinitely more

powerful than the thought current that is

manifested through individual centres, just as

wireless telegraphy has shown that the atmos-

pheric electric current is much more powerful

than electricity produced by artificial means.

Now, we know that if we can harmonize our

mental conditions or the vibrations of our own

minds, by tuning them in harmony with the

vibrations of the cosmic mind, then, we can

make ourselves the store-house of infinite

powers and infinite possibilities.

The result of the psychological studies with

the help of powerful microscopes, has broad-

ened our views of life and mind to such an

extent that now we are able to say positively

that wherever there is the expression of life,

there is also the manifestation of certain

functions of what we call mind. All the

discoveries of the higher laws and finer forces

of nature, and all the inventions of scientific

Religion of The Twentieth Century

instruments of the present century have testi-

fied the fact that human intelligence and will

power are but the expressions of the All-know-

ing Intelligence and Almighty Will-power of

the Divine Being.

Again, the scientific Monism of this century

has given an irreparable blow to the old

dualistic theory that mind and matter were two

separate entities and that one was the cause

of the other. Now we know that matter and

mind are but the objective and subjective

manifestations of one substance or Reality

which is called by modern science the Unknown

and the Unknowable. Herbert Spencer says :

''Matter, motion and force are not the reality

but the symbols of Reality." He also says in

his Psychology : ''The same reality is manifes-

ted objectively and subjectively." It expresses

in the objective world as matter ; in the subjec-

tive world as mind ; in the objective world as

gravitation, electricity, heat and motion ; in

the subjective world as intellect, understanding

Religion of The Twentieth Century

emotion, will etc. The Reality is one but the

manifestations are diversified. Thus, the

ultimate conclusion of the Monistic science is

unity in variety. Through the help of this

monistic science we can now say positively

that the material and efficient causes of the

universe are in one substance or Being, which

is the common source of all mental and physical

powers.

The students of modern science can no longer

believe in a Creator who dwells outside the

nature, who commands from His heavenly

abode and creates the universe out of nothing.

Modern science has discarded the old absurd

idea that something could be created out of

nothing. It has also given sufficient evidence

by which it can be proved that like matter, the

germ of life is uncreatable and indestructible

and that this germ of life is subject to the Law

of Causation. It possesses infinite potentialities

and unlimited possibilities. Parents do not

create these germs of life or the individual

Religion op The Twentieth Century

souls as we call them, but they become the

principal channels through which the germs

of life manufacture gross physical bodies and

manifest those powers which are already

latent in them. This truth of science has

destroyed the foundation of the old belief that

the germs of life or individual souls were

created fresh at the time of the birth of a child

by an extra-cosmic Being. Moreover, by

proving the indestructibility of the germ of

life and of the life-force, the problem of birth

and death has been brought at the door of the

truth of pre-existence and of continuity of

existence after death.

To-day we know that we can never die, or

can never be destroyed or absolutely annihila-

ted : but that there will be other manifes-

tations so long as the germs of life will con-

tinue to exist. This leads us to the theory of

rebirth or re-incarnation.

The theory of re-incarnation, again, makes

the germs of life or individual souls act as free

Religion op The Twentieth Century

agents, reaping the results of their own thoughts

and deeds, being subject to the law of cause

and sequence. They mould their own future,

-create their own destiny and being subject to

evolution, they rise from lower to higher stages

and progress onward to the ultimate goal.

They are indestructible ; and they continue to

exist whether on this plane or on some other.

This has helped us to realize the truth of the

greatest philosophers of India, that the Souls

are immortal and eternal by their birthright.

They mean by 'Soul' the same thing which

modern science means by the germ of life.

Thus, by studying various branches of

science we learn that unity in variety is the

plan of nature, that there is one ultimate sub-

stance which is the material and efficient cause

of the universe, that the germs of life are

uncreated and indestructible and that they are

free agents.

Now these are the most salient points on

which science has been at war with the dualis-

Religion of The Twentieth Century

tic religions of the world. In ancient times

religion performed the function of science in

trying to explain the phenomena and their

causes. But now, the discoveries of modern

science have shown the errors and mistakes

which were committed by orthodox theologians

and religious teachers of the various sects of

the world. Consequently, they have been

left far behind by the advanced scientific

thinkers of the present age.

The result of this fight between science and

religion which finally began in the last century

has not ended yet. All the existing great

religions have been shaken to their very

foundations. Various attempts have been made

to harmonize religion with science but all such

attempts have ended in complete failure. Now,

science has become stronger in power than the

existing religions. Sectarian religions are

struggling hard to keep up with the progress of

science and are obliged to reject those theories

and beliefs which were based upon tradition

Religion of The Twentieth Century

and not upon scientific truths.

Not very long ago, the Dean ofWestminister

Abbey, London, said in the course of an

address : "That much which was accepted

literally by our forefathers could not be ac-

cepted literally by us to-day. The first chapter

of Genesis no longer means to us that the

world was made in six days. The second

chapter of Genesis no longer means to us that

God moulded clay into a human figure and

breathed upon it or that, He took a rib from

Adam and made Eve. These and many other

stories like that of the talking serpent and the

talking ass, we do not take now as historical

facts, but as imagery which clothed certain

spiritual lessons."

Most deplorable is the mental condition of

those who still cling to the belief that the

scriptural texts are the revealed words of God

and that they are infallible. The eyes of the

masses are now opened to scientific truths and

the world now demands absolute harmony

Religion of The Twentieth Century

between religion and science.

Thus, when the scientific minds of Europe

and America took their stand against super-

natural revelation and showed its errors by

impartial criticism the ready-witted defenders

of the traditional religion tried their best to

avoid the conflict between religion and science

and to support the theological dogmas either

by taking shelter under history and calling

their religion historical, or by making it stand

on faith alone, because faith according to them

is above all criticism.

But the archeological researches and the

higher cirticisms of the old and new Testa-

ments have enlightened the minds of the

present generation by explaining the origin,

authorship and the dates of the composition

of each of the canonized books of the Christian

Scriptures. If we study the various religious

scriptures of the world, we shall find that one

religion is just as good as any other, and that

one set of scriptural writings which claims to

Religion of The Twentieth Century

be a direct revelation of God, has just as much

argument for such a claim as the others have.

If we accept one Scripture as the revealed

Word of God, we shall have to accept all the

Scriptures of the world. We cannot reject any.

If, for instance, we accept the Christian Bible

as the revealed Word of God, we shall have to

accept the Vedas, the Koran, the Zend-Avesta,

because the reason and arguments given in

each case are exactly the same. Furthermore,

comparative study of the various religions of

the world has taught us a great lesson that no

religion whether great or small ever had a

supernatural origin, but that every religion, on

the contrary, is the natural result of the

attempts of the human mind to grasp the truths

and to explain the mysteries of the pheno-

menal universe.

The comparative mythology has shown that

mythical elements exist in the Christian

Scriptures just as much as among the non-

Christian Bibles of the world. Some myths

2 17

Religion op The Twentieth Century

were but personifications of natural forces or

events, some were the developments of

metaphors, some were the survivals of early

superstition ; while others were the exagger-

ated accounts or descriptions of some real

events in the life of some great spiritual leader

or holy personage who was * diefied by the

people.

Prof, Bacon of Yale University says : "The

earliest narratives of Genesis are already pro-

phetic in character, because they turn to the

mass of mere folk-tale and legend current in

the eighth or ninth Century before Christ".

Regarding Abraham, for instance, the learn-

ed Professor says : "The figure of Abraham

appears purely and simply as the type of pre-

historic Israel brought from the far off East by

Yahveh to inherit the land of Cannan". He

also says : "The Abraham of the New Testa-

ment would not be the historic figure, if there

were one ; it would be but the ideal heir of

Yahveh. The true Abraham is the ideal and

Religion op The Twentieth Century

this Abraham lived only in the minds of Pro-

phets and Seers". The story of the Deluge

and Noah's Ark has been proved to be absurd

and meaningless by Huxley and other scientists.

A parallel for the story of Noah, is to be found

in the mythological story of Deulcilion among

the ancient Greeks ; such stories existed among

the ancient Hindus, the Chinese and other

nations.

The accounts of immaculate conception and

of the virgin birth are to be found in connec-

tion with the lives of all the great Saviours of

the world, most of whom lived long before

Christ was born. The healing miracles of

iEsculapius (Esclepius), the ancient Greek

physician, suggested those of the New Testa-

ment. Thus, we see that the scientific research-

es of the 19th Century have removed the

historical prop of the traditional religions.

Those who believe that Christian religion

stands on faith alone, abuse the true meaning

of the word "Faith" and mistake the sheerest

Eeligion of The Twentieth Century

credulity for it. According to most of them

"Faith" is another word for that which the old

Father Tertullian meant by "Belief", that is,

Credo quia impossible est I believe, because

it is impossible. But scientific minds do not

care to entertain this kind of belief or blind

faith ; they are not ready to give such an un-

certain foundation to the religion of the 20th

Century.

The Harmony of Religion and Science

The Twentieth Century needs a religion

which will be in perfect harmony with all the

truths discovered by modern science, which

must be based upon the principle of unity

in variety, and which should regard the mate-

rial and efficient cause of the universe as one

and the same.

The Twentieth Century needs a religion

which will advocate freedom of thought, free-

dom of speech and at the same time, which

will be in perfect harmony with the conclu-

Religion of The Twentieth Century

sions of modern scientific researches ; a religion

which will harmonize with the monistic

philosophy, and every step of which shall be

founded u,pon the solid rock of truth, unassail-

able by the critics whether of higher or of

lower order. As the spirit and ideal of modern

science have been absolute freedom of thought

and independence of the authority of books or

personalities and as its sole object has been the

discovery of truth and the worship of nothing

but Truth, so shall be the spirit, ideal and

object of that religion which will be fitted for

the present century, which shall stand on the

adamantine rock of truths, already discovered

by modern science. That true religion will

reign supreme over the minds of all the seekers

after Truth, who live in the present century.

In that religion of science there will be no

scheme of salvation ; no dogma of heaven or

hell ; no fear of eternal punishment.

The spiritualistic movement and the resear-

ches of the Psychical Societies have already

Religion op The Twentieth Century

given a death-blow to the dogma of hell-fire

and of eternal punishment. This is not a

small gain achieved by the Western people of

the present century. The system of religion

which is needed for the Twentieth Century,

must not be limited by sacerdotal institution,

must not acknowledge the divine right of the

priesthood, and must not be governed by the

authority of Scripture, of any book or persona-

lity, nor should it insist upon practising the

ceremonies and rituals which form merely the

non-essential parts of religion and which are

not absolutely necessary for the salvation of the

souls from eternal damnation.

The Twentieth Century needs a religion

which will not support any doctrine or dogma

which cannot be sustained by scientific reason-

ing. The Twentieth Century needs a religion

which will be free from all superstitious ideas,

doctrines and dogmas that give countenance

to the creation of the human being out of

nothing.

Religion op The Twentieth Century

The Twentieth Century religion needs a

conception of God who is personal, impersonal,

and beyond both, and whose supreme aspect

will harmonize with the absolute Reality of

the universe called by different names, such

as the Substantia of Spinoza, Noumenon of

Herbert Spencer, the Good of Plato, the Over-

soul of Emerson, Ding an Sick or Transcen-

dental-Thing-in-itself of Kant etc., who is

transcendent as well as immanent and resident

in nature, and who is the Soul of our soul, and

the Life of our life. He should not be con-

fined by any particular name.

When we give a name and personality to

the Divine Being, we project our own ideas

and make God limited by our conception of

His personality. Why should God be limited

by our name or our conception of His persona-

lity ? We must realize Him as the infinite

Being, beyond all limitations of our concep-

tions, of our ideas ; and the Divine Being

should also harmonize with the highest ideals

Eeligion of The Twentieth Century

of the greatest philosophers of the world. In

that way, we shall find an absolute harmony

between religion and science.

The Twentieth Century needs a religion

which will harmonize with the ultimate

conclusions of all the great philosophers

of all countries and will be based upon

the moral and the spiritual laws which

govern our lives. That religion will not only

accept all the truths discovered by the various

branches of science but will have room for

other discoveries which will be made in future.

As the aim and ideal of modern science have

always been toward the support of truth and

the independence of blind faith or tradition,

so that religion which will be fitted for the

Twentieth Century must have the same aim,

the same ideal and the same object to perform.

Now, the question arises, is it possible to find

a religion which will be in absolute harmony

with science and with the great philosophies

of the world. The answer is in the affirmative.

Religion of The Twentieth Century

True religion and science are always in perfect

harmony. There never has been any quarrel

or fight between true religion and science

both of which are universal in their scope and

are one in their ideal.

Prof. Huxley said : "True science will

continue to fulfil one of her most beneficient

functions, that of relieving men from the

burden of false science which is imposed upon

them in the name of religion."

Herbert Spencer had this in his mind when

he said : "The most abstract truth contained

in religion and the most abstract truth contain-

ed in science must be one in which the two

coalesce. To reach that point of view from

which the seeming discordance of religion and

science disappears and the two merge into one,

must cause a revolution of thought fruitful

and beneficial in consequences and must surely

be worth an effort".

Time has come when we must make an

effort to see the harmony that exists between

Religion of The Twentieth Century

true Science and true Religion. We must

examine minutely and impartially all the

existing religions of the world and see which

of them is based upon the principle of Unity

in variety and which of them accepts the

grand scientific truth of one substance as the

material and efficient cause of the universe.

If we examine carefully Christianity,

Judaism, Mohammedanism, Zoroastrianism

and all other special religions, we find

that they are not based upon that principle of

Unity in variety, because they teach two

Creators, the Creator of good and the Creator

of evil. They are dualistic. The Creator of

good is fighting against the Creator of evil.

The Creator of evil is fighting against the

Creator of good, so they do not teach the

doctrine of Unity in variety but duality of

existence. Buddhism does not teach Unity

in Variety.

Religion of The Twentieth Century

Vedanta, The Universal Religion

There is only one religion which has been

teaching the same truth of Unity in variety

from pre-historic times, for nearly five

thousand years. This religion is now given

to the world. In the Upanishads we find :

"As one 'fire' coming into this world manifests

itself through various forms, so the one

Eternal, Absolute Being manifests itself in the

various phenomena of the world." "As one

*air\ passing through different holes of a flute

produces various notes of music, so the one

Eternal Substance manifests itself in the

various phenomena of the universe." "From

that one Substance has emanated Prana t

the life-force of the plant, life-principle in all,

mind and all the sense-power, also that which

is space, that which is gaseous, heat, liquid,

and that which is solid." This idea cannot

be found in any other Scripture of the world.

This universal religion is nameless and

formless. It is in absolute harmony with

Religion of The Twentieth Century

science. Vedanta teaches that one Substance or

Reality is the material and efficient cause of the

universe. It also describes the evolution of

the phenomenal world, and rejects the theory

of a special creation. The process of cosmic

evolution as described in Vedanta is this :

From that one Substance came ether, from

ether that which is gaseous, from the gaseous

state heat, from that state liquid, then that

which is solid ; and later came gradually the

vegetables, the lower animals, and from the

lower animals, up to the highest, man. Thus,

it explains that the phenomenal universe with

all the varieties of names, forms and forces

has evolved out of one eternal Cosmic Energy

called in Sanskrit Prakriti which is the mother

of all manifestations. It is One and universal.

Vedanta teaches that God is personal, imper-

sonal and beyond both. Individual souls,

according to this religion, are not created out

of nothing, but are eternal ; they are eternal

germs of life, subject to the Law of cause and

Religion of The Twentieth Century

sequence. They are indestructible, immortal ;

and these germs of life are free agents, manifes-

ting powers which are latent in them. It

teaches that mind and matter are the sub-

jective and objective manifestation of that One

Being.

Is it not a remarkable fact that these ancient

Seekers of truth discovered that which is the

spirit of this age, that is, Unity in variety and

the one Substance which is the material and

the efficient cause of the universe ? These are

the grandest truths, but when modern science

has proved these truths and confirmed the old

truths, the scientific truth is doubly true, be-

cause we find that different thinkers, starting

from different standpoints, arrived at the same

conclusion. The great Seers of ancient India

arrived at that conclusion from their subjec-

tive conception and vision of the truth, and

reached that highest goal ; while modern

science starting from the r objective world has

reached the same goal. These two when com-

Religion of The Twentieth Century

bined will produce the most wonderful har-

mony between true science and true religion.

Modern science is just beginning to grasp

the truth that the Cause lies in the Effect,

that cause and effect are like the unmanifested

and manifested states of the same thing. But

this truth has been taught in India from very

ancient times.

Science is trying to discover the eternal

truth of the universe ; and religion is trying

to worship that eternal Truth, but that

worship of the eternal Truth must depend upon

its discovery. If we do not know the eternal

Truth, how can we worship it ? We must put

every thing aside which is not in harmony

with the highest conclusions of modern science.

So, this religion which is such a universal

religion, and which as I have already said is

nameless, is the one which embraces all the

religions of the world. No other religion can

be so universal because other religions are

more or less built around the personality of

Religion of The Twentieth Century

their Founders, Christanity is built around

the personality of Christ ; Buddhism around

Buddha ; Mohammedanism around Mohammed,

Christian Science around Mrs. Eddy. Any

religion that is built around the personality

of its Founder cannot be universal, be-

cause that personality may not be accepted

by all. This religion, however we find is

not built upon the personality of one being,

but upon the Spiritual Laws which govern our

soul-life. It has existed for five thousand years

and it will continue to be the religion of the

world in future ; this is the religion of Vedanta.

It deals with principles and leaves all the

details to be worked out by science. It admits

a personal God who is to be worshipped

through devotion and through love. It teaches

that God is one Substance, and we are but

parts ; as Christ said : "I and my Father are

one," so the absolute monistic Vedanta teaches 'I

am He* , that we are all absolutely one

with the Supreme Spirit, that our individual

Religion of The Twentieth Century

souls are nothing but so many expressions of

the one universal cosmic Being, who is the

Lord of the universe. The Creator is nothing

but the first manifestation of the Absolute

Being, therefore, He is called the first-born

Lord. Modern science has one idea which

was given in Vedanta centuries before Christ.

In modern science we study that Evolution is

followed by Involution and that evolution lasts

for a certain period of time, which is called a

cycle, while the cycle of evolution is followed

by the cycle of involution, and this chain of

the cycles of evolution and involution and then

again evolution and involution is eternal. So,

there is the beginning of the cycle of evolution,

but there is no beginning of matter, no begin-

ning of force, no beginning of the substance of

the universe.

Just as there may be a beginning of the physi-

cal form, but there is no beginning of the es-

sence that lives and enforces the physical forms

of the individual soul. Each individual soul is

Religion op The Twentieth Century

subject to the Law of Cause and Sequence,

which is called in Vedanta, the Law of Karma,

Law of Karma

By studying this Law of Cause and Se-

quence, and of action and reaction, we find that

we get to the scientific explanation of the

cause regarding the sin, misery, sickness and

suffering of the world. Vedanta does not

teach that the Creator of evil is one personality

and the Creator of good is another. Vedanta

teaches, that so long as there is good, there

will be evil ; one cannot exist without the

other, so if we take the one we will have to

take the other. Reject both, and see that the

Soul is neither good nor evil. Evil is only

ignorance ; whatever we do without proper

knowledge is a mistake, and each mistake is a

great teacher in the long run. Therefore, each

sinful act has its value ; it teaches the soul the

law that governs that act. In that way all

sinful acts are the great mistakes which we

are bound to commit, because we have come to

Religion op The Twentieth Century

this world, and are making experiments all the

time to find out exactly what we want. Being

born in ignorance we are bound to make

mistakes. Why should we blame the Creator for

our mistakes ? Therefore, Vedanta teaches

that there is no Creator of good, no Creator of

evil, but the Law of Karma ( Cause and

Sequence ) will explain all the inequalities

and diversities that exist in the world, and

God is not regarded as the Giver of rewards

or the Bestower of punishments. God never

punishes the wicked, nor rewards the virtuous,

but that which we call punishment is the

reaction of our own mistakes, which must

come back to the soul from which the action

started. That which we call reward is also

the reaction of our own good acts. So, why

should we blame God ? God is the Ocean

of love, the Ocean of intelligence and justice.

Modern science says that the source of the

universe is unknown and unknowable. Vedanta

also teaches that it is Unknown and Unknow-

Religion op The Twentieth Century

able by the mind, but can be realised by the

Spirit, because it is nearer than our mind,

nearer than our heart ; because it is the Soul

of our soul, and the essence of our being is

that Substance. It can be realized by entering

into a higher state of super-consciousness.

Thus, it harmonizes with the monistic science

of modern times. But Vedanta teaches that, that

one Substance is not insentient, but it is the

source of intelligence and all knowledge; other

, wise, if we did not admit this, then the question

will rise where did our knowledge come from ?

Can intelligence come from something which

does not possess intelligence ? It would be

as absurd as something coming out of nothing.

Therefore, Vedanta is more logical and more

scientific than the materialistic Monism of

science. Vedanta gives a scientific basis to

religion, because it explains religion through

science, in other words through the accepted

rules of inductive and deductive logic and

it accepts within its limits the supremacy of

Religion of The Twentieth Century

reason. Any system which admits these two

points is absolutely scientific. But if we apply

the rules of logic to the existing religions of

the world, at every step we shall find that they

cannot stand reasoning ; consequently, they

fall to pieces. None but the universal religion

of Vedanta can stand the test of logic and

science. The conflict between science and

religion ends in the universal religion of

Vedanta. Herbert Spencer wrote just before

his death with reference to Vedanta that "he

was gratified to find a philosophy akin to his

own thought in India. "

Again, Vedanta gives the fundamental

principles of, and the rational foundation to

ethics ; for true ethics must be based upon

scientific principles, otherwise it has no value.

The greatest ethical law, which teaches

"Love thy neighbour as thyself," does not give

any reason why we should love our neighbour

as ourselves. Christ preached the same, but

he did not give the reason. The reason we

Religion of The Twentieth Century

find in Vedanta which teaches the same truth.

We shall love our neighbours not because they

have done some good to us, but because we

are one with our neighbour in spirit, "Tat twam

a8i" ; because we are all children of the same

Infinite Being. Love means expression of

oneness. That spiritual oneness should be the

foundation of ethics, and then we shall never

do anything to hurt anybody, nor anything to

enrich ourselves at the expense of others.

The truth of Vedanta, which is absolutely

scientific, should be preached before the world

and then we shall find not only peace and

harmony among the different sectarian religions

of the world but also we shall find harmony

between true religion and true science, and

that harmony is needed in the Twentieth

Century. Max Muliar said : "Vedanta is the

most sublime of all philosophies, and the most

comforting of all religions. It has room for

every religion ; nay, it embraces them all".

Works of Swami Abhedananda

Doctrine of Karma

What is Vedanta

Christian Science & Vedanta

Does the Soul Exist after Death ?

Philosophy of Good & Evil

Religion of the Hindus

Cosmic Evolution and Its Purpose

Scientific Basis of Religion

Why a Hindu accepts Christ and rejects

Churchianity

Woman's place in Hindu Religion

Swami Vivekananda and his work

Rs.

As.

P.

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