Abstract
This chapter explores the fact that śraddhā (truth-force or heart force; love-in-action, self-reliance, faith-in-oneself, and also enthusiasm) may be said to represent the key noticeable outcome of spirituality, yoga, and meditation, and also that śraddhā can be seen as the main category to bridge the gap between science and spirituality. Being itself the truth-force that is common to scientists (atheists or not) and people of different faiths, śraddhā represents a conceptual category that helps us to explain how science evolves shifting from one paradigm to another.
TopIntroduction
This chapter explores a series of thoughts on meditation, spirituality, and science in a manner that does not necessarily equal a journal article. It takes advantage of a wider space for reflection on broad topics and a license to be less systematic. For a start, it considers the current discussion brought by Adluri and Bagchee (2014a, 2014b) about the concept of science suitable to the humanities and introduces a discourse on method. Then, it addresses the candidate proposed by Turci (2015) to fulfill the role of a new scientific paradigm, capable of bridging the gap between science and spirituality. It suggests that the Bhagavad Gītā (referred to below as Gītā) provides the grounds for such a paradigm when it introduces the art and science of meditation. Ultimately, it shows that this new paradigm can be understood and translated in Western grounds as soon as one realizes that śraddhā (truth-force or heart force; love-in-action, self-reliance, faith-in-oneself, and also enthusiasm) accounts for the unity of the Gītā as well as for the two following corollaries of Turci’s (2007) Ph. D. dissertation “Śraddhā in the Bhagavad Gītā:” (Bhagwad Gita = the Song of the Lord, Circa 200 B.C.).
- (1)
the fact that śraddhā may be said to represent the key noticeable outcome of spirituality, yoga, and meditation, and also;
- (2)
that śraddhā can be seen as the main conceptual category to bridge the gap between science and spirituality.
The discussion about the centrality of śraddhā in the Gītā adds to the discussion, for instance, how powerful technology available today used to investigate brain imaging, can provide enough data to explain the material and/or spiritual nature of all human experiences. On the one hand, scientists are trying to show that brain chemistry and the functioning of neurotransmitters through all neural networks can explain our spiritual feelings. Their underlying hypothesis is mostly based on the belief that in explaining the operations of the brain one will find proof for the non-existence of the soul. Since the results of Newberg and d'Aquili (2008) many researchers have argued that all experiences attributed to the soul represent nothing but consequences of the way the brain operates. On the other hand, however, unless one believes that the brain produces the reality of this universe, one can never assign to the brain’s fantasy what may be out there in some metaphysical realm. Furthermore, it is not difficult to find in our days a researcher of the brain discussing areas that are activated during meditation. There has been a continuous and broad effort by scientists around the world to solve the mysteries involved in what one perceives as a religious experience. Increasing scientific evidence indicates that yoga and meditation are useful in mental health, bringing a combination of mental alertness with physiological rest (Kumar et al., 2010; Dentico et al., 2018).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Atman: The inner Self and also the Supreme Self; the soul. As discussed in the Atharva Veda , it is represented by the letter “A” of the word AUM.
Gu?as: The triplet of attributes associated with nature. The theory of the three strands is at the core of the establishment of all minor and provisory truths. Error and illusion are relative and necessary steps, both being summed up in the ladder of truth. The three gu?as – sattva , rajas , and tamas – are utterly inseparable though distinguishable.
Sa?sara: The phenomenological world of becoming; the natural world.
Buddhi: The spiritual dimension of the psyche where the experience of sraddha takes place. It is associated with the mind or “ manas ”. The problem is that the subtle distinction between manas and buddhi is hard to express in the Western theological vocabulary.
Prak?ti: The non-Self; the natural world.
Sakti: The energy that expresses the necessary conjunction of Self and non-Self. It represents the power of life as well as the process of becoming or sa?sara.
AUM (O?): AUM is the most sacred syllable symbol in which the whole art and science of meditation is hidden. It is generally pronounced O?. It represents the science of being ( sat ), not-being ( asat ), and becoming: the singularity (A), the duality (U), and the multiplicity (M). “A” stands for the Self ( Atman ), “U” for the non-Self ( An-Atman ; Prak?ti ) and M, for the relation of negation ( Sakti ) which exists between them.
Nirva?a: Attain nirva?a means the experience of the sacred realm hidden in the phenomenological world ( sa?sara ).
Jiva: The interplay between the Self and the non-Self gives rise to the Jiva and his/her different triads of attributes related to the psychology of cognition, desire, and action. Jiva means a separate self, a living thing, an individual part, so to say, of the Universal Self. Metaphorically speaking, it is like a droplet of the sunshine, passing from the mineral through the vegetable and animal into the human kingdom.
Sraddha: In the Bhagavad Gita sraddha is ground to spirituality, meditation, wisdom, and science. Being itself the truth-force that is common to scientists (atheists or not) and people of different faiths, sraddha represents a conceptual category that helps us to explain how science evolves shifting from one paradigm to another. The ability to recognize truth and the laws of nature comes from sraddha , a type of inner strength that shapes one’s views and life.