The Spiritual Wisdom of Albert Einstein
Source: http://upliftconnect.com/spiritual-wisdom-of-albert-einstein/
The Spiritual Wisdom of Albert Einstein
By UPLIFT on Wednesday December
16th, 2015
Pondering the unknown with the world's most famous scientist
In Search of the
Cosmic Man
The following is an excerpt of his
writings that explore the meeting place between science and spirituality,
giving us a fascinating glimpse into how Einstein saw the world:
“School failed me, and I failed the
school. It bored me. The teachers behaved like Feldwebel (sergeants). I wanted
to learn what I wanted to know, but they wanted me to learn for the exam. What
I hated most was the competitive system there, and especially sports. Because
of this, I wasn’t worth anything, and several times they suggested I leave.
This was a Catholic School in
Munich. I felt that my thirst for knowledge was being strangled by my teachers;
grades were their only measurement. How can a teacher understand youth with
such a system?
Order in the
Universe, Disorder in the Human Mind
From the age of twelve I began to
suspect authority and distrust teachers. I learned mostly at home, first from
my uncle and then from a student who came to eat with us once a week. He would
give me books on physics and astronomy.
The more I read, the more puzzled I
was by the order of the universe and the disorder of the human mind, by the
scientists who didn’t agree on the how, the when, or the why of creation.
Then one day this student brought me
Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Reading Kant, I began to suspect everything I
was taught. I no longer believed in the known God of the Bible, but rather in
the mysterious God expressed in nature.
The basic laws of the universe are
simple, but because our senses are limited, we can’t grasp them. There is a
pattern in creation.
If we look at this tree outside
whose roots search beneath the pavement for water, or a flower which sends its
sweet smell to the pollinating bees, or even our own selves and the inner
forces that drive us to act, we can see that we all dance to a mysterious tune,
and the piper who plays this melody from an inscrutable distance—whatever name
we give him—Creative Force, or God—escapes all book knowledge.
Science is never finished because
the human mind only uses a small portion of its capacity, and man’s exploration
of his world is also limited.
Experiencing the
Universe as a Harmonious Whole
Creation may be spiritual in origin,
but that doesn’t mean that everything created is spiritual. How can I explain
such things to you? Let us accept the world is a mystery. Nature is neither
solely material nor entirely spiritual.
Man, too, is more than flesh and
blood; otherwise, no religions would have been possible. Behind each cause is
still another cause; the end or the beginning of all causes has yet to be
found.
Yet, only one thing must be remembered: there is no effect
without a cause, and there is no lawlessness in creation.
If I hadn’t an absolute faith in the
harmony of creation, I wouldn’t have tried for thirty years to express it in a
mathematical formula. It is only man’s consciousness of what he does with his
mind that elevates him above the animals, and enables him to become aware of
himself and his relationship to the universe.
I believe that I have cosmic
religious feelings. I never could grasp how one could satisfy these feelings by
praying to limited objects. The tree outside is life, a statue is dead. The
whole of nature is life, and life, as I observe it, rejects a God resembling
man.
Man has infinite dimensions and
finds God in his conscience. [A cosmic religion] has no dogma other than
teaching man that the universe is rational and that his highest destiny is to ponder
it and co-create with its laws.
Unveiling the
Magnificence of Creation
I like to experience the universe as
one harmonious whole. Every cell has life. Matter, too, has life; it is energy
solidified. Our bodies are like prisons, and I look forward to be free, but I
don’t speculate on what will happen to me.
I live here now, and my
responsibility is in this world now. I deal with natural laws. This is my work
here on earth.
The world needs new moral impulses
which, I’m afraid, won’t come from the churches, heavily compromised as they
have been throughout the centuries.
Perhaps those impulses must come
from scientists in the tradition of Galileo, Kepler and Newton. In spite of
failures and persecutions, these men devoted their lives to proving that the
universe is a single entity, in which, I believe, a humanized God has no place.
The genuine scientist is not moved
by praise or blame, nor does he preach. He unveils the universe and people come
eagerly, without being pushed, to behold a new revelation: the order, the
harmony, the magnificence of creation!
And as man becomes conscious of the
stupendous laws that govern the universe in perfect harmony, he begins to
realize how small he is. He sees the pettiness of human existence, with its
ambitions and intrigues, its ‘I am better than thou’ creed.
This is the beginning of cosmic
religion within him; fellowship and human service become his moral code.
Without such moral foundations, we are hopelessly doomed.
Improving the
World with Ideals, not Scientific Knowledge
If we want to improve the world we
cannot do it with scientific knowledge but with ideals. Confucius, Buddha,
Jesus and Gandhi have done more for humanity than science has done.
We must begin with the heart of
man—with his conscience—and the values of conscience can only be manifested by
selfless service to mankind.
Religion and science go together. As
I’ve said before, science without religion is lame and religion without science
is blind. They are interdependent and have a common goal—the search for truth.
Hence it is absurd for religion to proscribe Galileo or Darwin or other scientists. And it is equally absurd when scientists say that there is no God. The real scientist has faith, which does not mean that he must subscribe to a creed.
Without religion there is no
charity. The soul given to each of us is moved by the same living spirit that
moves the universe.
I am not a mystic. Trying to find
out the laws of nature has nothing to do with mysticism, though in the face of
creation I feel very humble. It is as if a spirit is manifest infinitely
superior to man’s spirit. Through my pursuit in science I have known cosmic
religious feelings. But I don’t care to be called a mystic.
I believe that we don’t need to
worry about what happens after this life, as long as we do our duty here—to
love and to serve.
I have faith in the universe, for it
is rational. Law underlies each happening. And I have faith in my purpose here
on earth. I have faith in my intuition, the language of my conscience, but I
have no faith in speculation about Heaven and Hell. I’m concerned with this
time—here and now.
It is Intuition
which Advances Humanity
Many people think that the progress
of the human race is based on experiences of an empirical, critical nature, but
I say that true knowledge is to be had only through a philosophy of deduction.
For it is intuition that improves the world, not just following a trodden path
of thought.
Intuition makes us look at unrelated
facts and then think about them until they can all be brought under one law. To
look for related facts means holding onto what one has instead of searching for
new facts.
Intuition is the father of new
knowledge, while empiricism is nothing but an accumulation of old knowledge.
Intuition, not intellect, is the ‘open sesame’ of yourself.
Indeed, it is not intellect, but
intuition which advances humanity. Intuition tells man his purpose in this
life.
I do not need any promise of
eternity to be happy. My eternity is now. I have only one interest: to fulfill
my purpose here where I am.
This purpose is not given me by my
parents or my surroundings. It is induced by some unknown factors. These
factors make me a part of eternity.”
~ Albert Einstein
Text Source: Einstein and the
Poet: In Search of the Cosmic Man (1983). From a series of meetings William
Hermanns had with Einstein in 1930, 1943, 1948, and 1954
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