-By Samriddhi Verma
Physicist Alan Lightman described an experience that changed the way he perceived the world and himself. He described a moonless night, him on a boat in the middle of a lake in Maine, gazing up at the sky and felt himself falling into infinity staring up at the stars. He felt an undeniable connection to the stars. He felt himself falling into the vast vortex of time. He felt connected to not the universe but to nature and the cosmos itself. Alan Lightman is a well-reputed scientist and an author and has continued his work long after this experience. However, his education and his title don’t take away his connection to the “allure of the spiritual world, the nonmaterial and the ethereal, things that are all-encompassing, unchangeable, eternal, sacred.”
You see, being spiritual has nothing to do with religion. It is to do with the self; to reach into the psyche of one’s essence to better understand one’s self and one’s surroundings. Perhaps it is to seek solace, reassurance, maybe even hope. When the motives of a person are so pure, how can something like spirituality be treated distastefully, especially by those who are in the science community?
Spirituality doesn’t seek to answer the world; evolution, laws of physics or formation of molecules. Spirituality taps into the psychology of human beings and the psyche of the individual seeking answers, comfort or closure. For many, the various forms of spirituality act as a last resort. Spirituality is a boundless concept; what may be spirituality for some, may not be for others. For some, something as simple as watering your plants, basking in the sun and breathing the air in is spirituality. It is their connection to nature and all things living that is their last resort. For some, lighting candles and spreading out their tarot deck and peering into a crystal ball is spirituality. For some, maintaining a dream journal and tapping into their subconscious is spirituality.
Personally, as a science student and as someone who wishes to pursue science for the rest of her life, I believe that my inclination to science has nothing to do with how spiritual I am. I study and occasionally practise Tarot. It does nothing but provide me ease, helps me gather my thoughts by linking them to my emotions. Similarly to how people say, “Flip a coin and you’ll know what you want by the time it hits your palm”, Tarot functions similarly. The answer to what I want is already in my head, Tarot just helps guide it into my conscious. Besides, it’s a fun party trick, so what’s the harm?
There is nothing to disprove or prove spirituality, it’s all about personal interpretation. If you think it’s something that can be disproved, you’re thinking of the wrong thing. We all have things we seek comfort in, and it’s nothing that should be up for debate.
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