Religion and Science

Is there a conflict between religion and science?

No. The knowledge of science is incomplete. It is as if there were light all over the world while in your own house there was darkness. With such imperfect knowledge, without the knowledge of one's self, life simply turns into misery. For life to be crowned with peace, contentment and fulfillment, it is not enough to know material things alone. That way one may find prosperity but not fulfillment. That way one may have possessions but one will not have light. And without light, without knowledge, possessions become a bondage, a noose of one's own making with which to hang oneself. One who knows only the world is imperfect and imperfection leads to misery. By knowing the world one gains power. And science is a search for knowledge and power. Hasn't science put the secret keys to limitless power into mankind's hands already? But nothing worthwhile has come out of…

Question: BELOVED OSHO, ISN'T A SYNTHESIS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RELIGION NEEDED? Only what I call religiousness can be an intrinsic part of science. But that is not a synthesis because there is not antithesis. To me religion is really one aspect of science. Science has two hands. Now nobody tries to synthesize my right and left hand. They are synthesized, they are continuously synthesized without anybody synthesizing them; they are always in tune. While you are walking do you synthesize your left and right leg, keeping alert so that you do not commit some mistake? I have heard that in an army regiment a captain was training the new recruits and he was saying, "Left turn, right turn, march." And then he said, "All of you raise your left leg." Everybody raised his left leg.

Question: BELOVED OSHO, CAN SCIENCE ITSELF BE RELIGIOUS? And with God comes the priest; he becomes the mediator. He becomes more powerful than politicians. In religious countries like India, politicians go and touch the feet of Hindu priests -- of course, only before election time. Then for five years they don't bother about the priest, about the temples. But as the election comes near they start going on religious pilgrimages to temples far away in the Himalayas, touching the feet of any stupid priest, asking for blessings. The priest holds more power; the politician's power is mundane. The priest's power has entered in the very spirit of man. That's why religions did not allow science to move into their territory. First they did not allow science even to move into the objective world -- the subjective world was out of the question.

Osho, what place does religion have in the scientific age? And what is the use of religion in national and social life?

By science I mean the method of knowing that discovers the inner power hidden in matter. By religion I mean the method of knowing that discovers the inner power hidden within consciousness. There is no opposition between religion and science; rather, they are complementary. An age that is purely scientific will increase conveniences, but not happiness. An age that is purely religious will bring happiness to a few, but most people will be burdened by inconvenience. Science gives convenience; religion gives peace. Without convenience, very few can attain peace. Without peace, many may attain convenience, but they will not be able to use it. All the civilizations humanity has created so far have been incomplete and fragmented. The culture the East gave birth to stood purely on religion; its scientific side was extremely weak. As a result, the East was defeated, impoverished, subjugated. The culture the West created lies at…