The Partnership Between Technology and Spirituality

Science / Technology

"God is nothing else but this marvelous universe which follows its own scientific laws. Spirituality is nothing else but understanding ourselves and the laws of universe through the tools of science and technology."

It can be easy for one on a path towards spiritual enlightenment to become wary of technological advances and the obsession that humans continue to nurture related to technology. This obsession, in many, has caused a drastic pull away from the soul’s journey toward oneness and inner peace. Yet advances in technology have undoubtedly been the driving source behind so much positive change in medical, health and industrial related fields. We simply cannot live without it and should be grateful for it and moreover grateful for the technological innovations to come.

Yet how can we strike the healthy balance between spirituality and technology-meaning how do we not allow our obsession with technology lead to greed or detract us away from finding our inner voice and core self?  Dr. Anil K. Rajvanshi, a self-described ‘spiritual engineer’ whom has worked in rural renewable energy for over 30 years has a brilliant and quite beautiful point of view believing that technology and spirituality go hand in hand. He believes that both, connectedly, are necessary to achieve happiness.

Rajvanshi actually likens the spiritual practice of yoga itself to technology. He cites the ancient spiritual book of India, Patanjali yoga darshan, and highlights that out of a total of 195 Sutras, 55 talk about powers that can be obtained through yoga. The book, he argues is actually positing that a Yogi can gain control over nature “which is nothing but technology”.

Thus, the ‘technological’ powers gained through spiritual means (yoga) heighten your experience and journey of spiritual growth.

We have seen how warped reality can become when technology is overused and abused. Technology can breed evil, greed and envy. Yet with a strong spiritual practice and open heart and mind technology can advance our lives and provide tools to better navigate our personal quests. Moreover strong spiritual practices temper the negative effects that technology can potentially bring upon us. The key is finding the proper balance of both to dialectically exist for you in building your most meaningful life.