Gurjarvani Video collection: March 2017

The Discovery of Gravitational waves
and the Future of Religion and Society
The most recent discovery of gravitational waves
on 14 September 2015 along with its official
announcement on 11 February 2016 is one of the
greatest landmarks in the history of humans. Predicted
by Albert Einstein way back in 1916 on the basis of his
general theory of relativity, many doubted the theoretical
possibility of its existence as well as the practical
possibility of its detection. However, over 1000
scientists from over 19 countries, including 61 from
India, never gave up hope. These daring scientists
worked on two fronts – theoretical
and practical. In the theoretical front
India's contribution has been
significant. For over 25 years, two
groups – the IUCAA (Inter-
University Centre for Astronomy
and Astrophysics) Group, Pune,
under the leadership of IUCAA's
own Sanjeev Dhurandhar, and the
RRI Group (Raman Research
Institute), Bengaluru (Bangalore),
guided by Bala Iyer – contributed substantially. On the
practical front scientists worked for decades in
developing LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational
Wave Observatory), the most accurate and sensitive
device in human history. This patient and persistent
pursuit was rewarded at last. On 14 September 2015 the
leading scientists of LIGO were taken by surprise by a
cosmic message in the form of a “chirp.” The event lasted
only a paltry 200 milliseconds, but it opened a new
chapter in the annals of human's relentless pursuit to
unravel the innermost secrets of nature. Gravitational
astronomy was born. Hailed as “the discovery of the
century,” this involved a violent collision, 1.3 billion
years ago, of two massive black holes of 36 and 29 solar
masses each, ferociously merging into a single giant
black hole of 62 solar masses. The 3 solar masses that
disappeared in the collision process appeared in the form
of most powerful gravitational waves. Indeed we are
witnessing the beginning of a new era in scientific
research and development.
We know that for over 4 centuries science has been
serving humanity with many surprising discoveries and
inventions, particularly in recent years. We are proud of
what our gifted and hardworking scientists have been
able to achieve. But how are these and related
developments going to impact humanity, particularly
contemporary religions and human society? We know
the discovery of electromagnetic waves at the end of the
19th century transformed our world – mobiles, radios,
TVs, computers, etc., are results of this revolution. We
can expect a similar situation when gravitational waves
are ingeniously developed by science and skilfully
applied by technology in the future. When this happens,
what should our response be? How can humanity
respond to it so as to maximize its benefits and minimize
its possible ill-effects? These and related issues were
studied in depth and discussed in detail by a team of
international and national experts at the international
symposium organized by Indian
Institute of Science and Religion
(IISR) Delhi and Jnana –Deepa
Vidyapeeth (JDV) Centre for Science
and Religion (JCSR) Pune in
collaboration with other well-known
academic institutions at Jnana-Deepa
Vidyapeeth, Pune.
It was pointed out that discoveries
like the gravitational waves which
included world-shattering collision between massive
black holes could serve to transform what was previously
held as matters of religious faith into present day
scientific facts of experience. For instance, all theistic
religions believe that God is almighty. So far this
statement has remained a matter of religious faith.
However, today, thanks to the discovery of gravitational
waves and related cosmic events, the statement is
becoming a scientific fact of experience. In the case of
the discovery of 14 September 2015, the collision was so
powerful that some estimates show that the total energy
radiated as gravitational waves was 1049watts, which is
about 50 times the combined light power from all the
stars in the observable universe. The black holes
involved in this collision were very ordinary and
comparatively small-sized, being of 36 and 29 sun
masses. Incredibly far more massive black holes have
been spotted in the universe. According to reliable
sources, in February 2015 it was reported that scientists
had found a black hole of 12 billion sun masses. Again in
April 2016 they spotted a black hole of 17 billion sun
masses. There is good chance that in course of time other
such incredible power centres will be discovered. Any
collision between such giant black holes will be a display
of unthinkable power. Since no effect can come without a
cause, the source or cause of such black holes will have to
be an agent with almost infinite might. Similar
conclusions can be drawn with regard to religious beliefs
like “God is all-wise,” “God is all-caring,” etc.
Sparks
jAnuArY to mArCH - 2017 05
Furthermore, present day findings of the astronomical
world expose the untenability of the standard atheistic
attempt to explain complex cosmic phenomena in terms
of a play of chance. For instance, it has been estimated
that in the Milky Way Galaxy alone there are about 100
billion stars. Recent findings tell us that there are also
about 100 million black holes in the same galaxy of ours.
Now all of them are mobile, active and powerful. They
do not seem to get in the way of each other, and the whole
galaxy seems to be functioning with certain stability and
r e g u l a r i t y. I t i s h i g h l y
unconvincing to argue that all
these things have happened
and will continue to happen
by a mere play of chance,
particularly when we know
that there are approximately
one hundred billion galaxies
in the universe, and the
u n i v e r s e h a s o n l y a n
estimated age of 13.82 billion
y e a r s . A l l t h e s e
considerations prompt us to
conclude that the more
science advances, the less
convincing does the argument purporting to account for
the functioning of the super-complex universe in terms
of mere chance.
For one thing, it was very clear that the creative
confluence of the dimensions of science and religion
takes place not so much at the level of individual
scientific theories or religious dogmas, as at the level of
the lived life of the person. Thus the meeting is taking
place at a higher plane and between areas that have many
dimensions, and any method of a creative meeting
between the two needs to be sensitive to this fact. Human
life involves not only the rational but also the affective.
In fact, many experience that humans treasure dearly
extend far beyond the realm of reason, e.g., the depth of
love between two young lovers or the self-sacrificing
love of a mother for her child. It is well known that the
criteria of validation for the rational and the affective are
radically different. Thus, although both science and
religion have the same goal of assisting humans in the
building up of a better world and a better humanity, they
approach the goal very differently. To develop a
methodology that can do due justice to both this
similarity and dissimilarity still remains a challenge to all
those engaged in developing a meaningful and workable
methodology of science-religion dialogue. One response
to this challenge has been the complementarity
relationship between science and religion in the sense
that at the lower level these two have serious differences,
but at a higher level they converge creatively and
constructively. They both have different approaches, but
they move to produce an integral, unified final product.
Their approaches and resources are different, but this
difference, far from leading to conflict and
impoverishment, contribute to enrichment and
completion. Religion brings in
some elements which are
necessary for the building up
of a better humanity, which
science is not able to provide.
Similarly science brings in
something necessary, which
religion is not equipped to
s u p p l y. D e v e l o p i n g a
methodology that can put the
complementarity relationship
on a firm footing seems to be
the challenge of sciencer
e l i g i o n d i a l o g u e
methodology.
Closely related to the second point was a third one:
developing the “Eastern Wing” of science-religion
dialogue. In the past few decades, science-religion
interfacing has made remarkable strides, particularly in
the West. However, this contribution principally from
scholars from the West has remained mainly in the
academic, intellectual and rational level. It has made very
valuable and necessary contribution to developing
creative ideas and penetrating insights. But it has not
given sufficient attention to the affective dimension of
human life. It is informative and even formative of the
mind, but has fallen short of being trans-formative of life.
I think that the noble and sublime goal of science-religion
dialogue is not only to provide information and assist in
formation, but also to bring about a transformation of the
person so that a better and new humanity and cosmos can
emerge. This transformative function still remains
incomplete. In other words, science-religion dialogue
should touch and transform not only the head but also the
heart, not only the rational, but also the affective
dimension, so that the total person may be transformed.