Some psychologists and neuro-scientists trained in the West visited Dharamsala in March 2001. They met the Dalai Lama, who requested them to study meditation with the latest scientific equipment. The scientists agreed and the findings truly surprised them - they found that meditation actually worked. So much so that the Time magazine carried an article on the research being carried out on meditation at different places in the West.

Why do we disbelieve what we cannot relate to ? Is it scientific to reject what we personally don't know ? Take the case of Mother Teresa’s sainthood. When the whole world is rejoicing on the recognition being granted to a truly great person, some of us look for something discordant to say and write. What is a miracle ? A miracle is defined as a surprising and welcome act or event which does not follow the known laws of nature and is therefore thought to be caused by God. Can a miracle not take place ? Have the “critics” followed the spiritual practices as mentioned in the scriptures before becoming “experts” on matters like miracles ? Can anyone disprove the existence of God ? Everyone should know that no one has ever found a single flaw in the instructions of the Bhagavad-Geeta - the instructions of God ? Should this fact not make us think before condemning anything spiritual ?

Was it not a miracle enough for a girl to come from a foreign country and spend her life serving the sick, destitute and poor of our country ? Is it natural for people to do what she accomplished ? Actually, most of us avoid any contact with the most unfortunate amongst us. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that her activities were a miracle enough and we need to look no further for any more miracles. She was a truly saintly person. Granting sainthood to her should be a mere formality.

Milk miracle was another instance that upset people with a “scientific” bent of mind. They could not accept something which challenged their atheistic views. No one has so far found any scientific explanation for the incident when Lord Ganesha’s idols drank milk. Therefore, the atheists deny what the world witnessed.

Something very interesting was reported at that time. French newspaper Le Monde asked its Delhi correspondent to report the facts about the incident.

The correspondent went to one of the temples where the idol of Lord Ganesha was drinking milk in public view. He looked around hoping to find some trickery being done but was disappointed ; the milk was really disappearing. “Let me try, there has to be a catch to it . This is impossible, ” he thought. He patiently waited for his turn. On reaching the idol, he carefully tried to look for some kind of explanation but was amazed to see that the milk was actually disappearing. Finding no scientific explanation, he reported the matter to his office in Paris. The head office asked him to just forget it.

It is a well-known fact that faith heals. The spiritualists know how, as they have known all along that meditation works. Let the scientists work on it and explain how faith works, as they did in the case of meditation.

What is science ? It is the study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world, especially through observation and experiment. Have we already concluded that there is nothing further to be found and nothing is unknown anymore ? If some of us have no personal experience of God, does it mean that God does not exist ? Is it scientific to draw conclusions like that ?

Unfortunately, some of us fall prey to sensationalism. Who can be bigger than God Himself to create doubts about ? Such envy cannot be passed as science. Actually, the spiritualists are the greatest scientists who practice the instructions left by the all-knowing God and reap the benefit in terms of peace, security and bliss, while the people with the “scientific” bent of mind can spend their time disproving the existence of God.