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Religious scriptures serve a very useful purpose in conveying their message to the masses. Prayers selected from these scriptures have immense power. Most people seek solace through prayer. Besides spiritual thinking, scriptures also provide information about society, nature, and science through different verses/compositions.

It is generally believed that science and religion travel along two different paths. However, if we carefully analyze the basis of science and religion, we find that both attempt to understand the universal truth. Religion uses well-established precedents/beliefs from history for explaining the truth as enshrined in the scriptures. Science on the other hand uses scientific documentation and experimentation for understanding different processes/phenomena. This helps in the establishment of facts/theories, which can stand the test of time. In a recent book (The Relationship between Science and Religion, Cambridge University Press, January 2001) Michael Ruse discusses the relationship between Darwinian Evolution and Christianity. The author concludes that there is an absolute relationship between science and religion. It is in this context, an attempt is made here to compare some aspects of Gurbani and science. Different verses from the ‘Sri Guru Granth Sahib’ which convey scientific ideas shall be presented and correlated with scientific theories/facts.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji explains the origin of the universe through this couplet. It is explained as a ‘bubbling’ effect on water, and the universe originated through a bubbling phenomenon. This verse from Gurbani can be compared to two scientific theories:

Thus Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji through a simple couplet provided us with scientific understanding of the origin of the universe as well as the origin of life.

Gurbani tells us that there are numerous layers of the earth as well as numerous skies. This is scientifically accepted because when we study the evolution of the earth, we find different eras in the form of layers. Each layer signifies a different age in geological terms. Similarly, there are numerous solar systems in the galaxy.

In the daily prayer ‘Asa di Var’, Guru Nanak Dev Ji enlightens us with the fact that ‘water is the first cause of life, and the green earth is a result of the presence of water on this planet’. All students of biology accept the scientific fact that water is the basis of life. The very existence of life is due to water because more than 70% of protoplasm consist of water. Scientists look for any sign of water to infer existence of life, whether on this planet or on other planets, such as Mars.

Thus Guru Nanak Dev Ji provided us with a scientific fact more than 500 years ago and this is recorded in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

These statements tell us that there is great diversity in nature, and very few know about it, or have described this diversity. Referring to the daily prayer ‘Asa di Var’ Guru Nanak Dev Ji conveys a very meaningful idea on the extent of diversity on this planet. He pays homage to mother nature and mentions that it is not possible to write about the extent of the diversity.

This statement finds scientific support from several recent attempts to know about the extent of diversity on this planet. There is no precise figure as to the total number of species described. Scientists are not in agreement about the actual number of plants, animals, and other forms of life which exist on this planet. The estimates range from 3 million to 80 million, or more. Thus there is no accurate estimate of the extent of diversity on this planet. Interestingly, Guru Nanak Dev Ji through Gurbani established the fact that it is not possible to write about the extent of diversity.

This passage from the ‘Asa-di-Var’ was elaborately discussed in The Times of India, New Delhi, dated 21.10.2000 under the title- "Kinship with Nature". The translation of this passage by Dada Chellaram explains the message as follows : "Men, trees, pilgrimage places, banks of sacred streams, clouds, fields, Islands, spheres, Universe, continents, Solar systems. The sources of creation, egg-born, womb-born, earth-born, sweat-born; Oceans, mountains, and sentient beings. He, The Lord knows their condition, O’Nanak, having created beings, the Lord takes care of them all. The creator who created the world. He takes thought of it as well."

Thus, in terms of science, there is reference to different aspects of the natural world. The mention of men, trees, streams, clouds, fields, islands, etc. indicates a scientific understanding of the diversity of nature. There is also reference to the Universe and the Solar system. In addition, there is a scientific classification of organisms on the basis of the manner in which the young of the next generation are produced. Thus, birds, fish, reptiles and other organisms produce eggs. These eggs then hatch outside the body to produce young ones. This is scientifically described as "Oviparous" and this has been mentioned as "egg-born" in Gurbani. Similarly, human beings, cows, dogs, cats, most other mammals, as well as other animals give birth to live young ones after undergoing development in the womb. These are scientifically classified as "Viviparous" and have here been referred to as "womb-born". In the same manner, we can understand "eath-born" as those organisms such as the flowering plants, because they grow out from the earth when the seed germinates in the soil. At the same time, biologists are aware that many micro-organisms grow out from spores when they are provided with a moist and humid environment such as sweat. It is very common to find a large number of patients suffering from skin infections in hot and humid climates because of fungal infections. The spores (or other parts of the organism) grow in sweat and spread on the skin causing irritation.

Thus besides referring to various aspects of nature, Guru Nanak Dev Ji also classifies organisms in a scientific manner.

Botanical Simile:

This passage is also taken from the morning prayer, ‘Asa-di-Var’, and Guru Nanak Dev Ji presents a beautiful description of the ‘Silk Cotton Tree’. Again, if we read the translation provided by Dada Chellaram, we understand the description as follows: "Cypress-like straight is the Simal tree, very high and profusely thick. But, they, the parrots, who come to it with hopes, go back disappointed. Why? Because, its fruits are tasteless and flowers ungainly; even its leaves are of no use".

Botanists shall agree with this curiously scientific description of the ‘Silk Cotton Tree’. It is definitely tall and has a good spread with a large number of leaves, and the tree forms of good canopy. The fruits are botanically described as ‘capsules’. Such fruits are characterized as ‘dry dehiscent’ in botanical terms. This means that the fruits do not have any sweet pulp. Thus, Guru Nanak Dev Ji has rightly described them as tasteless. The large flowers have very thick petals so that they are not delicate. Therefore the flowers have been described as ‘ugly’. Similarly, the leaves do not serve any useful purpose to mankind.

This piece from the composition of Guru Nanak Dev Ji describes ‘bird migration’. It conveys the fact that birds fly for hundreds of miles leaving behind young ones. Guru Ji wonders how to find out who feeds and looks after these young ones.

Biologists, more particularly, ormithologists study various aspects of bird life. Regular migration is a fascinatingaspect of bird life and experiments are designed to understand this natural phenomenon. Birds are ‘ringed’ to tract their migratory path as well as to calculate the distance they travel during this process of migration. Interestingly, the young ones follow the same path as their parents. It is only the Almighty God Who teaches these birds to follow their migratory path, because He provides the nutritional requirements of all creatures.

Bhagat Kabir has beautifully compared ‘Brahma’ with the leaf, ‘Vishnu’ with the stem, and ‘Shankar’, or ‘Mahadev’ with the flower. This can be visualized in another manner also. In Hindu philosophy, ‘Brahma’ is revered as the ‘creator’, ‘Vishnu’ as the ‘supporter’, and ‘Shankar’ as the destroyer. The above composition of Bhagat Kabir helps us to understand this comparison in scientific terms. In a plant, the leaf is the most important part for creating food. This is described as the process of photosynthesis. In this process, the small cells of the green leaf prepare/synthesize food from simple components in the presence of sunlight. Thus, ‘Brahma’ is the creator and He has been scientifically compared with the leaf of a plant. In the same context, ‘Vishnu’ is the supporter, and comparing Him with the stem of a plant is very appropriate. The function of the stem is to support the plant and spread the leaves so that they are able to perform their functions. Further, ‘Shankar/Mahesh’ is recognized as the destroyer, and compared to the flower of a plant. It is a well-known fact that flowering leads to death. In some plants, the life span is very short, and the plant dies after flowering. In other plants, the long life span results in flowering every year. But if we examine the plant carefully, we find that the shoot, which produced the flower, has died. A new shoot replaces it. There are also some plants, which produce flowers after long intervals, and after flowering the plants die. Some plants may live for many years, but flower only once in their lifetime. After flowering, these plants die, for example, the ‘century plant’. Thus, Bhagat Kabir has very scientifically compared the ‘trilogy’ of deities with the leaf, stem, and flower of the plant.

The Morning Prayer, ‘Japji’, the first composition of Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, tells us the ‘ambrosial’ hour (early morning hour) is true and the Sikhs should analyze good thoughts in the name of God. We may extrapolate this in scientific terms with reference to today’s world. Everyone is concerned about the environment, and pollution is a major aspect of the environment today. It is a fact that in the early morning hours, there is less pollution because man-made vehicles are few in number on the roads. As the day advances, the level of atmospheric pollution increases in big cities like Delhi. Doctors advise people to go out for exercises in the early morning because the air quality is better. Thus, although the very simple statement about the ‘ambrosial hour’ was not meant to be scientific explanation, it helps us to understand its significance in scientific terms.

The last stanza of the ‘Japji’ compares the air with the teacher (Guru), water with the father (Pita), earth with the mother (Mata), day and night as the attendants, and the whole world can play. This explains the need to maintain a balance. Environmentalists stress the importance of maintaining equilibrium in nature so that there is sustainable development. This passage from the ‘Japji’ emphasizes the importance of this equilibrium. Thus, when we respect the air, water, earth, and the day and night schedule we can understand the significance of the natural balance.

There has been a very important development in biology in the recent past. The ‘Human Genome Project’ has attempted to explain many aspects of human life as well as the significance of understanding the basis of life. Medicine is now on the threshold of significant changes in treating diseases. Billions of dollars were spent on this project. A very interesting outcome of this detailed scientific study is the fact that all human beings have more than 99.5% common Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Thus the human beings are alike in many ways. We come across the following Shabad in Gurbani conveying the same meaning.

According to this Shabad, all human beings are the children of one God. They are all born from one source and there are good or bad people only in their deeds. The ‘one source’ is the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and this has been shown to be the same in all human beings through the recent ‘Human Genome Project’.

In this Shabad, we realize the need to recognize all mankind as one in the view of The Almighty. And now, scientifically, the ‘Human Genome Project" has shown that all mankind is one.

Thus the few examples selected here bring out various facets of the scientific ideas in Gurbani. There is a need to analyze in greater detail many other scientific thoughts enshrined in Gurbani.

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