Vivekananda and science
In his book Raja Yoga, Vivekananda writes that practice of Raja Yoga can confer psychic powers such as 'reading another's thoughts', 'controlling all the forces of nature', become 'almost all-knowing', 'live without breathing', 'control the bodies of others' and levitation. He also explains traditional eastern spiritual concepts like kundalini and spiritual energy centres.
However, Vivekananda himself says in the book,
He further says in the introduction of the book that one should take up the practice and verify these things for oneself, and that there should not be blind belief.
Vivekananda (1895) rejected ether theory before Einstein (1905), stating that it cannot explain the space itself.
In his paper, read at the World Parliament of Religions (1893), Vivekananda also hinted about the final goal of Physics, what in these days, is attempted by theories like the String Theory.
“ | Science is nothing but the finding of unity. As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further progress, because it would reach the goal. Thus Chemistry could not progress farther when it would discover one element out of which all other could be made. Physics would stop when it would be able to fulfill its services in discovering one energy of which all others are but manifestations ... All science is bound to come to this conclusion in the long run. Manifestation, and not creation, is the word of science today, and the Hindu is only glad that what he has been cherishing in his bosom for ages is going to be taught in more forcible language, and with further light from the latest conclusions of science. | ” |