THE GOD AND THE PARTICLE- Smashing head on streams of Hydrogen protons at speed of light one hundred
seventy five meters deep inside earth in a twenty-seven kilometre long tunnel, Physicists
have yet again moved the frontiers of science far much ahead, so much that
mankind is now almost standing at the threshold of unravelling the ultimate of
all the mysteries-the mystery of the origin of the universe. The large Hadron
collider experiment by CERN at Geneva is believed to be the culmination of the
relentless hard work of ten thousand scientists from across the globe for more
than four decades. What Prof Peter Higgs theorised almost fourty eight years
back now seems to have been realised through this ten Billion dollar collider
experiment. The elusive sub atomic Higgs
boson particle or the “God Particle” that is supposed to confer mass to all
matters has been reported to be
observed. The so called “standard model” to explain the universe stands
vindicated. While scientists now can have a a deeper look into the the origin
of the universe and decipher the aftermaths of the BIG-BANG in a more
comprehensive perspective, the particle discovery also seems to have thrown up another
challenge, but on a different front –that of the very fundamental belief system
into the origin of creation-The GOD, the creator .At one level, the ability of
precise prediction, measurement and quantification of an otherwise cosmic event
has empowered science to strike at the roots of a centuries old belief system
that held a godly hand for our creation out of blue. For once, science seems to
answer with conviction the questions that Abraham,Allah and Bramha settled with
mere pronouncements seeking beliefs as a medium to reconcile with ,rather than
proofs or reasonings. But at a closer look, this conflict is only the product
of our effort to pitch the scientific imperatives against the religious ones with
no worthwhile objective. True scientific perspectives do not seek to negate religion
as an objective, as it has a different course to charter-that of unravelling
the truth. Meanwhile God as an idea,a concept will continue to remain central to man’s
consciousness .He is,to be precise, a man’s psychological requirement, a need
that provides him a comfort zone to retreat into, in order to recoup and
re-energise his consciousness. Every man ,including the scientists have a psycho-
emotional dimension carved into their being that functions at a different plane
than their rational faculties .In many ways, our Gods remain in this psycho-emotional
domain providing the necessary coolant effect to the by-products of our
emotions and moods, an essential pre-requisite to keep our sanity intact. This
deep belief in that supreme force called God probably empowers our rational
faculty to cut deeper into the mysteries of the universe using pure observation,
experimentation and reasoning. Thus God and Science is not exclusive to each other,
but perhaps complimentary to each other. The more we know about our universe, its
origin through science, the more we get intrigued about God and our reverence
for him. Interestingly, it is when we isolate God from the religion , that we
are able to identify this convergence of
god and the science. Which implies science will always be in conflict with
religion as we know it today, through its dogmas and rituals.The dogmas and the
rituals that symbolises religions of modern times have limited range and agendas
for application. In contrast, scientific
breakthroughs such as Higgs boson have implications for ever. They are,
figuratively speaking, hand in hand with God in this beautiful experience
called Creation. The exuberance ,the joy and excitements that we saw on the
faces of some of the most brilliant minds during the historic announcement at
CERN is the reaffirmation of this realisation that we have moved a step closer to
our creation ,our God. It is true that ‘Particle’
and ‘God’ can indeed Co-exist.
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