Science and Religion are two fundamental tenets that influence our daily lives. And yet, they have little in common, in fact they are like two antagonists, rivals vying for the other’s jugular at all times. How often have we come across people who would expect all to renounce religion as an outdated concept; and some who ask us to retire the God from your lives? And yet, they both have stimulated our lives and continue to do so, albeit in completely different ways.

There’s no denying the fact that the advent of science in many streams has augmented our physical selves. In the field of life sciences, engineering, material sciences, astronomy, electronics, etc, we have accumulated a wealth of knowledge that has advanced the mankind and has taken our living standards to a completely different plane in last 2 centuries. Things unheard of a while back are common and imperishable; to such an extent that they influence our decisions and practices. Several myths and malpractices that were commonplace earlier have been eradicated by the intensification of science; for science goes by what has been evidenced and proven and not by faith and belief. No wonder then, that science has become extremely popular and trusted, attracted more and more people to it, who all joined together to take this refinement of human life to the next level.

And yet, there are things that science cannot explain; the purpose of life for example. While science deals with all things physical and visible, there are experiences that indicate that the life does not consist of things that we can only see and feel. There are invisible, metaphysical forces that leave an imprint on our lives that have been beyond the boundaries of classical science streams. The emotional, spiritual and psychic differences in human nature and its co-existence with the other living and non-living beings of the world is so intriguing, that science often falls short of an explanation. The world of metaphysics and spiritual inscrutability still remains a challenge that science has failed to resolve. These things have influenced humans for several millennia; and while the arrival of science has stopped its march to some extent, we are far from saying that it has been eradicated or that its mystery has been resolved completely. It is this metaphysical and supernatural incomprehensibility that takes the form of God in all different religions and philosophies, is perceived as larger than anything science can explain and implored all over the world. It keeps reminding that science is not an answer to everything in life. Most importantly, while science has made tremendous progress and still continues to do so, it has failed to make human life free of worries, has not eradicated all the health ailments and has caused for more stress and anxiety than before. In fact, the world has come closer thanks to science, but it has increased its distance from the metaphysical world.

And so, we see that the number of people either embracing religion or staying attached to it based on the beliefs passed down through generations. All religions in the world are slightly different in their respective practice, process and schema, but the eternal fact remains that they combined have a force as big as science, if not larger. While religion has had its dark spots via superstitions and fallacies that produced bigots and religious tyrants that killed millions, science has an equally darker side too, by the discovery of modern warfare techniques and tools that can kill millions too.

What is the answer then, for a blissful, peaceful life, when one can clearly see that neither religion nor science in itself is the answer? Well, it lies somewhere in between. It is up to us to take the best of both these doctrines and let them help us to enrich our physical and spiritual worlds. All things that are physical and better managed by science and its magnificent products and everything else should be left to the philosophical conciliation of the religion. Together they offer a power to human nature that can be extremely effective, just that we need to learn and practice to keep them together and yet distant; like the two banks of a river who never touch each other, yet the river is never complete without either of them.