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Journalism of Courage
The most profound scientific discoveries were made by the most religious of men. Michael Faraday was one of the greatest scientists the world has ever seen; his discoveries in electromagnetism, electrochemistry and magneto-optics laid the foundations for the development of relativity theory and quantum mechanics, which lie at the heart of our ideas about the Universe today. Yet like Isaac Newton before him, Faraday was a deeply religious man who found no conflict at all between his passionate faith and the cold logic of science that dictated his work. On the contrary, he saw the Creator8217;s marvellous powers manifest in all of Nature, and his own scientific quest as a mission to discover and display His marvels for others to see.
Faraday belonged to a small sect called the Sandemanians, whose belief was that one must live a life of utter simplicity, humaneness and honesty, indeed a life in imitation of Jesus Christ. In his Christmas lectures for children titled Chemical History of a Candle, Faraday revealed a profound and wonderful truth about our world, that if we look closely enough at just about anything at all, sooner or later we end up contemplating the entire Universe!
Cut to the Chandogya Upanishad.
Fetch me a fruit of the banyan tree. Here is one, sir.
Break it. I have broken it, sir.
What do you see? Very tiny seeds, sir.
Break one. I have broken it, sir.
Now what do you see? Nothing, sir.
My child, what you do not perceive is the Essence; and in that Essence the mighty banyan tree exists. Believe me, child, in that Essence is the Self of all that is. That is the True, that is the Self. And you are that Self.
