Spirituality in an age of science - managing the messy mind - ohio state university

1. Spirituality in an
age of science –
Managing the
messy mind

2. Science-spirituality harmony
Science can make
things better;
spirituality can
make people better

3. Darkness about our inner world
“Our scientific power has outrun
our spiritual power. We have
guided missiles and misguided
men.”
- Martin Luther King

4. The mind is a mess
WHO: mental health is the
biggest health challenge
The mind is attacking the body:
More people are killing
themselves than are being
killed by others

5. Mental medicine is often a bigger mess
Cracked: Why Psychiatry is doing
more harm than good – James
Davies
The Age of Anxiety: A History of
America’s Turbulent Affair with
Tranquilizers – Andrea Tone

6. Mental medicine is often a bigger mess
Pathologizing human problems
perpetuates them.
Human problems need
spiritual solutions more than
chemical solutions.

7. Science looks for matter, not spirit
Methodological naturalism
Eg. Fishing net,
Personality thru X-ray,
Seeing color on b-w camera

8. The unknown knower
Nobel Laureate Dr Wilder
Penfield’s experiments in
book The Mystery of the Mind
“The source of consciousness is
extra-cerebral.”

9. The Gita’s tripartite model of the self
Three-level existence:
Body – Hardware
Mind – Software
Soul – User

11. Srila Prabhupada - “Philosophy
without religion is just mental
speculation”
Spirituality
Philosophy
Religion

12. Srila Prabhupada - “Religion without
philosophy is at best sentimentalism and
at worst fanaticism.”
Spirituality
Philosophy
Religion

13. Become an inner explorer
Yoga: Not experimental, but
experiential
Not controlled experiments,
but experience through self-
control

14. Mantra yoga
Mantra acts as
The elevator of consciousness,
granting us higher happiness
An inner muscle-builder,
empowering us to wiser choices