During the Middle Ages, there was a time when religion or any discipline of knowledge to be acceptable had to pass a test for it to be acceptable. So we found that scientists and thinkers were prosecuted and were asked to retract their scientific statements to fit into the religious beliefs of the time. Most of these religions were Occidental religions. Today the role is reversed. People are so enamored by science that all disciplines of knowledge are trying to make them look scientific. Even though subjects like economics, finance, management, etc. are not really scientific in the sense of the term. Still, they'll try to do some number crunching and quantify certain things so that it can look scientific. So much so that certain spiritual teachers also try to present their knowledge and wisdom as scientific. Looks like the clock has come full circle.
In the Middle Ages, everything had to fit religion. Now, everything has to fit into science. And we know that there are disciplines of knowledge that are not scientific. Psychology, Economics, Literature, Art, Music, Poetry, none of them can be evaluated in scientific terms. Nor do they need to be! Let us accept the fact that there are multiple disciplines of knowledge and all of them do not have to be scientific. Even in science itself, it is not a question of one paradigm fitting everything. Newtonian physics, Einsteinian physics, quantum physics - all of them have their own paradigm, which are very different from each other so much so that one would think that they are different disciplines by themselves. As long as a body of knowledge is logical, makes sense and contributes to enhance the human being and his growth, let us all accept them as different disciplines of knowledge, not necessarily scientific, but equally valid. Just because something is not scientific, doesn't mean it is not valid. The validity of a discipline of knowledge is not dependent on science. Let all disciplines of knowledge thrive in their own paradigms, their own way and contribute to the evolution of the human being.
The writer is the founder of Aarsha Vidya Foundation. You can write to him at aarshavidyaf@gmail.com
