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Original Message
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"Imagine a man inside a sphere, another, outside. The one inside, of course, sees it as concave and the one outside, as convex. Both men discuss and squabble; it is impossible to have them agree.
Now let us interpret. The one who is inside the sphere is the heart: he observes life from inside - subjectively - that is with emotion, feeling, and sensation. The one who is outside is the intellect that observes things from outside - objectively, rationally. This is why discussions and confrontations have gone on for centuries between the heart and the intellect, between religion and science. Which is right? Both of them, but only 50% each. That is why a third observer comes along and says: 'The sphere is both concave and convex,' then of course the other two get angry and consider him insane. In reality, the latter is a wise man who contemplates truth in its entirety. This sage is our intuition, which has the capacity of bringing together thought and feeling to see things simultaneously from outside and from inside... Yes, to know the true reality of things, one must be both subjective and objective, standing both inside and outside."
"For centuries, we have witnessed endless battles between religion and science in the West. For a long time, religion was powerful enough to win the battle. And then, little by little, the situation reversed: as science progressed, it became more dominant and, for many, was even able to undermine religion’s foundations, so that religion was forced to beat a retreat.
In reality however, whatever progress science makes, it will not be able to supplant or destroy religion, any more than religion has been able to oppose the development of science. The two are connected and, if correctly understood , can only reinforce and enlighten one another. Those who seek to separate them or get them to compete with each other are making a mistake. How can they imagine that the Lord would have introduced two incompatible realities into the universe, when he himself created it, and into human beings, when he made them in his image? They simply need to become aware of the laws that govern the physical and the spiritual worlds, for these laws are in essence identical."
"The lack of understanding that prevails between men of science and men of faith comes from the fact that the former base their convictions on visible, objective reality, whereas the latter base theirs on an invisible, subjective reality. But both points of view are incomplete, because each has a tendency to give priority to one aspect to the detriment of the other.
The universe is an entity that we can grasp from the outside by means of science, and from the inside by means of religion, because the human being itself is a unity capable of living in both the objective and the subjective worlds, in both the exterior and interior worlds. Instead of opposing each other, science and religion should complete each other. In any case, it is not science that opposes religion or vice versa, it is scientists and people of religion who oppose each other, because their knowledge is incomplete."
"Just as religion has never been able to annihilate science, science will never be able to wipe out religion, because they are founded on identical laws. There is neither division nor contradiction between the two. Divisions and contradictions exist only in the minds of ignorant people who do not know how God created the universe. Science properly understood can help believers concentrate on what is essential, and religion properly understood gives science its true dimension. Each has its specific function, and from now must co-exist within every human being. Yes, if science and religion are to cease waging war in society, they must first call a truce in each human being, because it is here that the ravages are greatest. When a man of faith opposes a man of science - and vice versa - he believes he is attacking an adversary exterior to himself. Not at all! He is attacking himself."
Science, like religion, is responsible for the evolution of humanity. The true scientists are those who see the possible consequences of their discoveries in all realms of life, including the psychic realm; for the physical and psychic worlds obey the same laws, and every discovery made in the physical world can also be applied to the psychic world. Physicists have made discoveries about the waves and energy currents that circulate throughout space, as well as about light and its power. The practical application of these discoveries has been extraordinary, of course: the telephone, radio, television, the laser… and so many more besides! But what benefits have human beings themselves derived from these for their own evolution? They should have understood that they themselves emit and receive waves and currents, that their thoughts possess the same powers as light. It is dangerous when the only applications for scientific progress are practical ones that make life easier. Scientific progress should indicate new psychic and spiritual directions. Only then is it true progress.
Many Christians abandon religion because they think scientific discoveries contradict or dispel the truths of faith. Well, this proves they have understood nothing, neither about science nor about religion because, quite to the contrary, the discoveries made by science actually emphasize the truths of faith, which are the truths of initiatic science. In reality there is no conflict between science and religion. They walk together, and moreover art walks with them. The three are linked. Science is there to give human beings light, religion to give them warmth, and art to give them activity. And because in human beings they are held together, they should neither be separated nor should preference be given to one at the detriment of the other. If God has given human beings an intellect, a heart, and a will it is so that they may work together; so that the intellect may do its work in the field of science, the heart in the realm of religion and the will in the realm of creation, of art.
"Any attempt to attack religion in the name of objectivity, of science or of reason is an enterprise doomed to failure, because we can no more suppress religious feeling than we can suppress other feelings. This is a domain in which reason by itself has no place. The sense of the sacred, the need human beings feel to be connected to a higher world, to the divine world in which they have their origin, is inscribed in their very structure. We may try to deny it, to fight it, or to pull it out by the roots, and for a time we may even succeed. But this success will not last and, sooner or later, we will also have to recognize all the harm such efforts have caused, not only to individuals, but to society as well."
"Because of the enormous advances made by science, many scientists, thinkers and philosophers believe it could replace religion, which, as far as they are concerned, only stupefies human beings. Why not replace religion with science? That’s fair enough, provided they can take science to another dimension and broaden the field of inquiry.
What was to stop science and religion from being two ways of looking at the same reality, with science focusing on the physical world and religion on the spiritual world, since man was made to live in both worlds simultaneously? All it would have taken was for people to be aware of the dual aspects of reality and not to want to favour one at the expense of the other. And yet, what the West has done over the course of the last few centuries is either reject science in the name of religion or else reject religion in the name of science. They haven’t understood that the truth lay in the harmonious balance of the two. For the universe is a unity."
"Religion is first and foremost a science based on an understanding of human beings as they were created in the image of God. We can say, therefore, that the foundations of religion are inscribed in the human being himself. When God created us, he put his seal on us, and no matter what we do, we cannot rid ourselves of it, because it is written in our basic structure. In this sense, human beings are not absolutely free; they cannot escape this imprint, this schema according to which their entire being is constructed. On the other hand, they have the greatest possible freedom to manifest the divine predestination they bear within them. This is why there are so many religions which, depending on where and when they came into being, have taken on such a rich diversity of forms."
"True religion is the science of connection. So, it is no use repeating that the word ‘religion’ comes from the Latin religare ‘to connect’, if all Christians have in their heads is separation.
You will say, ‘But the connection implied by the word ‘religion’ refers to our connection with God.’ That’s true, but, if a connection with God is accompanied by separation from everything else, what meaning does it have? The same bond that links the Creator to his creatures connects all creatures to each other and to all the elements of creation. True religion is based on an understanding of this link. So true religion also includes science, the knowledge of nature and its laws. That is why the separation between science and religion, of which some people are so proud, is totally meaningless. Those who separate religion and science have not truly understood either."
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