A Scientist's Religion

As mentioned in my earlier post, I am in the presence of a great mind these days. Its in the form of a essays and articles written or spoken by Albert Einstein on various subjects. This one is on how a scientist looks at religion.

“You will hardly find one among the profounder sort of scientific minds without a religious feeling of his own. But it is different from the religiosity of the naïve man. For the latter, God is a being from whose care one hopes to benefit and whose punishment one fears; a sublimation of a feeling similar to that of a child for its father, a being to whom one stands, so to speak, in a personal relation, however deeply it may be tinged with awe.

But the scientist is possessed by the sense of universal causation. The future, to him, is every whit as necessary and determined as the past. There is nothing divine about morality; it is a purely human affair. His religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection. This feeling is the guiding principle of his life and work, in so far as he succeeds in keeping himself from the shackles of selfish desire. It is beyond question closely akin to that which has possessed the religious geniuses of all ages.”

The book like any other thing I appreciate has become an obsession. Whatever spare time I get in between my busy schedule, even if its a 15 minutes break, I end up making a quick visit to one of the many rooms of the man’s mind to return happier than before. Have you picked up the book yet?

Inside a Great Mind - Ideas and Opinions

My sister’s limited culinary skill is responsible for this post. The decision to give cookery books to my newly married sister as a birthday gift got me buying this beautiful collection of writings by one of the finest minds, our world has ever produced. Smart retail strategy (Point of Payment) also had a role to play…the bookshop had kept it at the payment counter, so while paying for the gift, my eyes spotted this collection and I quickly asked it to be added to my bill.
It’s a book called ‘Ideas and Opinions’ and the mind responsible for it is Albert Einstein. The red and black colored book (with a very hazy and bad photograph of the man) contains this great intellectual’s views on subjects as diverse as atomic war, religion, human rights and philosophy of life. Many words have been written on the man, so I shall stay away from it. Instead, I shall put forth some of the words from him (which in a way will reflect a lot on his personality)
Consider this one from an essay called, ‘The World As I See It’ published in 1931. Says a lot on the man’s humanity, curiosity and simplicity.

"To inquire after the meaning or object of one’s own existence or that of all creatures has always seemed to me absurd from an objective point of view. And yet everybody has certain ideals, which determine the direction of his endevours and his judgments. In this sense I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves – this ethical basis I call the ideal of pigsty. The ideals, which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endevours, life would have seemed to me empty. The trite objects of human efforts – possessions, outward success, luxury – have always seemed to me contemptible."

Amongst the three ideals mentioned, I was missing Knowledge as the fourth.

And take this small one called ‘On Wealth’ from the year 1934.

"I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in theis cause. The examples of great and pure individuals is the only thing that can lead us to noble thoughts and deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and irresistibly invites abuse.
Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus, or Gandhi armed with the money-bags of Carnegie?"

With many more thoughts like these, including a section completely dedicated to ‘Contributions to Science’ makes this one a must buy…if only to sometimes disagree with the great mind’s personal philosophies. Its published by Rupa & Co and priced at a sweet 295/-.

Last Weekend:
It was full of some enjoyable activities in the still-charming city of Pune. Let me illustrate them sequentially:
- A good evening of making music and movie-talk (found a good movie pal) along with good ol’ Chivas
- Authentic Maharashtrian Thali at an authentic Maharashtrian joint called ‘Atithi’ on the next day
- Afternoon swim in the pool with the aide of two friends…one holding my hands and the other holding my waist. Considering that I know nothing about swimming, it was quiet an achievement.
- Relaxing steam bath which cleared my permanently blocked sinusitis nose (if only for a while)
These were the planned activities. Next came the surprise ones:
- A fine chicken dish called C-14 along with a beautiful Bordeaux wine at an exotic Italian joint aptly called La Dolce Vita
- It ended with a lot of phone calls to one number and later, a midnight drive back to Mumbai with Rolling Stones playing inside the lovely Ford Fusion.

Lets see what the coming weekend has in store for me…something says that I shall be working.