Varadaraja V. Raman is Emeritus Professor of Physics and Humanities at the Rochester Institute of Technology; Senior Fellow, Metanexus Institute. An expert on Hindu culture and religion, he has written on the historical, social, and philosophical aspects of physics/science, as well as on India’s heritage and has authored eight books. (For his books I've read, click on his name.)

An excellent summary of this book is given by this back-cover quote from Michael Cavanaugh, past president of The Institute on Religion in an Age of Science: “The Science/Religion dialogue has become quite vibrant over the last fifty years, but one could argue that it still suffers from three defects: namely, the lack of a compelling overview, the lack of balance, and the lack of a sense of humor. All three of these needs are filled by Dr. V.V. Raman in this new book. With a sure hand he carries us to heights lofty enough to survey the entire field, both in its historical and current scope – not just from a Western viewpoint but also with many trans-traditional notes. He also compensates for the unbalanced and all-too-frequent shrillness in the dialogue, by gently pointing out both the foibles and strengths of both parties to the dialogue – and he is a great one to do it, with his formidable scientific background and his long appreciation of and participation in the religious impulse. And finally, the charming humor that pervades the book keeps the reader almost as well-grounded as Dr. Raman is. It is altogether a delightful and accurate overview of the field.” This summary leaves out that V.V. Raman is also a poet.

The broadness of Varadaraja V. Raman’s background needs to be spelled out in full. From the two pages of “About the Author,” I take the following: “Dr. Raman has been a member of the Calcutta Mathematical Society, American Physical Society, American Association of Physics Teachers, Philosophy of Science Association, History of Science Society, The Institute of Religion in an Age of Science. He has served on the Editorial Board of The (American) Physics Teacher. He has served as the President of various cultural/social organizations, including the Interfaith Forum of Rochester, the India Community Center of Rochester, the Bengali Association of Rochester, the Rochester Tamil Sangam (which he founded and served on the board of), the Martin Luther King Commission of Rochester, the Metanexus Institute on Science and Religion, and the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science. He is an elected member of the International Society for Science and Religion.”

Here is his brief Preamble: “Whereas the brains of all creatures evolved for achieving social unity and group survival, the human brain also developed the peculiar and unique capacity to interpret its perceptual inputs in ways that give meaning, purpose, rational consistency, emotional satisfaction, and conviction regarding the world of perceived reality. In a more evolved state, with the development of language and concepts, it began to define, describe, and look upon these interpretations as ‘truths’. Not all these ‘truths’ could achieve the consensus individuals and groups crave. The divergences among the upholders of different interpretations (‘truths’) have given rise to tensions as to what constitutes ‘truth’, and these became the hallmark of sophisticated human cultures. This book explores this phenomenon in a variety of contexts.”

I found all ten chapters to be insightful, well balanced, touched with humor, and with little technical jargon. The chapter titles tell you the variety of contexts he explores: Introduction, On science and religion, Epistemological dimensions, Explanatory dimensions, Belief systems and God, Spiritual aspects, Ethical aspects, Dissimilar visions on common themes, Origins and ends, and Concluding thoughts. In other books I’ve read on science and religion these contexts were discussed from both scientific and Christian perspectives. V.V. Raman adds to these the perspectives of other religions, especially Hindu. He is a religious pluralist (sees value in and respects all religions) and believes that science and religion must coexist. For the latter point, he says, “Conflict between science and religion will persist whenever and wherever religion competes with science in the explanation of physical occurrences, and science competes with religion in offering matter-energy explanations for profound human experiences.” In his concluding remarks, he says this about why we need science and religion, “Just as science without religion is simply heartless and unpoetic information, religion without scientific awakening could remain fantasy-based fulfillment.”

Finally, I can make the following assertion based on the large number and types of books I’ve read on science and religion: There are only very few topics that this exceptional book has not covered and covered very well. In this book Varadaraja V. Raman has indeed given us a balanced, compelling overview, and his use of humor and poetry is both well placed and delightful. A very good friend highly recommended this book to me. He knows V.V. and hopes to introduce me to him when he next comes to Ames. I share my friend’s enthusiasm for this book. It has my very highest recommendation. Think six stars!