Varadaraja V. Raman is Emeritus Professor of Physics and Humanities at Rochester Institute of Technology. He grew up in the Hindu tradition. He has written several books and many articles on Science & Religion and is active in organizations devoted to building understanding between science and the humanities. (For his books I’ve read, click on his name.)

He wrote the daily reflections of this book for the Metanexus Institute on Science and Religion http://www.metanexus.net/, for which he accounts for over 400 contributions. William Grassie, Executive Director, Metanexus Institute, says about this book, “Sometimes the connections which Raman draws are happenstance, sometimes circumstance, and sometimes also instances of profound and neglected insights. The juxtapositions are always interesting and as a whole create a beautiful bricolage of human history and a mosaic of human aspirations from the ancients to the moderns across all traditions and disciplines. What does it all mean? Raman does not say, but his generous spirit and open mind give an indication of a greater Spirit and Mind that permeates human history and the very universe itself. Our poet and philosopher friend, V.V. Raman, has woven a magic Indian carpet which will fly us to new heights and vistas and inspire us to learn more about different places and times and bring us safely home to a better future. Enjoy.”

In his brief Foreword, V.V. Raman says, “Science and religion are two of the most lofty expressions of the human spirit. Both have found countless expressions in culture and civilization.” …”The essays in this book are from a daily internet column I wrote in the year 2002 for the Metanexus Institute on Science and Religion. The collection contains entries from January 1 to June 30. I have included some poets and philosophers in the sections on religion. I have not always been strict about dates. All the reflections are personal. I might have erred in some interpretations. Yet, I trust the reader will find these interesting and informative, and also get a flavor of the richness of our scientific and religious heritage. My goal has been to show the wealth and scope of human culture and science, not to argue for science or for religion, much less for any particular belief system.”

Thus his reflections here cover 182 days, each with a reflection from the world of religion and a reflection from the world of science – about 3 pages per day. Since he loaned me three books when he last visited me (see also book 348), I decided to read one week of his reflections every day so as to be able to sooner return the books to my friend who first brought V.V. to my home to visit. As I was reading, and greatly enjoying this pleasure, I began to wonder which, if any, of his daily selections to include in my review. When I came upon it, however, I knew that it would be the one to include: from page 441 (May 28) with a unique title – From the World of Religion and Science:

“Religions enrich our lives by providing a framework for thought and action. We may take to a religion as a traveler who chooses a vehicle to reach a destination. We may also choose a car or a horse carriage, mule or camel back, ship or plane, and sometimes walk from place to place on our own. There is variety in experience and enjoyment, and when one does a bit of each, one realizes that, depending upon the context, one mode may be better than another.

“The practice of deriving enrichment from different religions, yet shunning each when it becomes uncomfortable, was adopted by one who was born and brought up in the Hindu tradition. He learned to recite Vedic hymns in Sanskrit and Pater Noster in Latin. He read the Koran and the Torah too, but was nauseated when Hindus and Muslims killed one another in communal hatred. He had witnessed his pious father help the poor and the destitute. So he was moved, not by mantras and swamis, but by the caring and compassion that his father exemplified. Helping people in need and bringing cheer to them is all that counts, he told himself, all the rest of religion is soothing and insightful poetry, or amusing, or absurd noise. But he had been so deeply touched by the aesthetic and cultural aspects of religions that he felt that religions should (or could) never be thrown out of civilized societies. They must be tamed: for underneath all the wildness of religions there is a sublime core. Each of us is a spark of the consciousness that pervades the cosmos, every one a lamp that shines dimly or brightly, all equally precious.

“As a youth, he was drawn to poetry and philosophy, to mathematics and music, to languages and literature also; but most of all to physics. He was fascinated by the depth and scope of meaningful knowledge that science has brought to humanity, and impressed by the power and confidence of scientific methodology.

“He proceeded to Paris to work for a doctoral degree from the Sorbonne, but his thirst for cultural enrichment spurred him beyond the pages of Physical Review.

“He read and reflected on humanity’s heritage. Even with strong links to his own tradition, he came to regard himself as a human being most of all, with respect and sympathy for all that is enriching, ennobling, and enlightening in human culture. He wondered why there was so much conflict and confrontation when there are so many beautiful things in nature and culture, and so much capacity for love in the human heart.

“He tried to understand why people of goodwill often held opposing views on important issues. It occurred to him that perhaps we need to distinguish between facts and truths. Facts are registered in all normal human brains through the doors of perception. Truths are interpretations of facts. Interpretations are functions of the previous state of the brain. That state is determined by the inputs the brain has received. Some of these inputs are culture-dependent and some, culture-independent. The latter have little to do with feelings and emotions; the former have much to do with feelings and emotions.

“Interpretations of facts which are heavily influenced by cultural factors give the truths of religion, politics, and history. Interpretations triggered by the other kind lead to scientific truths. Truths arising from the first kind are endopotent; they have considerable impact on how one feels within oneself. The so-called scientific truths are exopotent; they enable us to manipulate the external world.

“What has been said above is about the author of these reflections (born 28 May 1932).”

I knew half way through that this was V.V. Raman writing about himself. But by changing Hindu into Christian, the doctoral institution, and the language fluency, the rest (thus most) of the above would serve to describe me and perhaps many others who feel that religious intolerance is wrong, for respect for “the core” of all religious is right. I have enormous respect for Varadaraja V. Raman’s self description with its true and deep insights, as well as his insights for the rest of his six months of reflections of 2002.

I had reviewed a similar ‘reflections’ book – The Intellectual Devotional (book 221) – that has one page each week for the seven topics History, Literature, Visual Arts, Science, Music, Philosophy, and Religion – from Monday to Sunday, respectively. In my review of 221 I gave it five stars. Since V.V. in book 350 does Religion and Science (with frequent references to philosophy) - the topics for which I am most interested, I think of book 350 as deserving at least a six-star ranking. How he managed to write 3 pages of such insightful, informative reflections each day for 6 months is hard for me to comprehend.