Preparing for the Miraculous

120 eleven talksin our societies beyond the reach of the general public. Itwould also mean certain defeat for religion and spiritualityin any comparison or confrontation with science, for sciencehas the hard arguments at its disposal, while religionand spirituality seem to reason in the clouds or apparentlyhave to resort to wondrous, improbable experiences.It is, moreover, from their high perch and relying ontheir mathematical training that some scientists perorateabout matters outside their formulas or laboratories, mattersabout which they know just as much or as little as anybodyelse. In other words, their scientific training does notsubstantiate their ideas about psychology, religion or spirituality.Thinking that they are putting down the “mysticism,superstitions and hallucinations” of religion and spirituality,they are in fact depreciating their own search for Truthwhich, if it exists, is One, approached in whatever way. TheWest, because of its centuries old Judeo-Christian tradition,is only familiar with religion as a matter of knowledge andprayer, and with a God outside his creation. The scientistsand science writers who have any notion of a divine Presencewithin, and of a possible identification with this Presence,are still exceptions.Sri Aurobindo’s appreciation of science:“But, first, it is well that we should recognize the enormous,the indispensable utility of the very brief period ofrationalistic Materialism through which humanity hasbeen passing. For that vast field of evidence and experiencewhich now begins to reopen its gates to us, can only be safelyentered when the intellect has been severely trained to aclear austerity.” 3“The scientist is man the thinker mastering the forcesof material Nature by knowing them. Life and Matter are3 Id., p. 10.