RELIGION AND TECHNOLOGY

Religion is a great word that reinforces the groups of people on the entire planet to create a fundamental set of beliefs and practices that connect humanity to supernatural and spiritual elements. If this word is very powerful, then why has the discussion about religion always remained controversial for centuries? In today’s world, it is connected with technology, which is itself a powerful word. Technology is the ultimate outcome of scientific knowledge in practical human life. Religion is the practice of achieving spirituality, and technology is also a kind of practice to accomplish scientific objectives. Now the question arises: are religion and technology connected to each other? The Almighty sent a very simple message regarding the religion that consisted of just one line, ‘Do good deeds and help nature and society’ but when the message was received by human beings, a very complicated version of it came out, and that simple religion was divided into many religions like Hindu, Islam, Christian, Sikh, Buddhism, Jain, etc. People selected their departments and heads of departments—Ishwar, Allah, and Jesus. To please the heads, people started practicing various rituals, which included fasting, worshiping idols, temples, rivers, and animals. They also started the trend of meditation. Despite those rituals, people didn’t achieve success in following the real religion, which is HUMANITY. Even in the medieval age (from the 6th to the 14th centuries), religion was found to have left its home. Then one source helped to rebuild the religion, and the source was technology. It is mentioned in Genesis (the first book of the Bible) that the relationship between humans and nature was reversed in the early 8th century. Day by day, technology started invading various fields; religion was one of them. Today, in the 21st century, a new branch of religion has emerged: ‘New Age Spirituality', which promotes the development of a person’s own power and intelligence. Human beings worship God but don’t consider themselves less than God. Today’s generation wants to be the friend of God in the disguise of a devotee. They give their best to support nature and society by seeking the help of God. They are mature and enlightened due to technology; they might not believe in idolatry, but they stand by themselves, believe in themselves, and help each other. ‘New Age Spirituality’ works on three doctrines: Man unified with man, Man unified with nature and Man unified with God. This age believes that their work is their God, duty is deity. Today, the practice of religion has been changed; even priests use the internet and many mobile apps to enhance religious knowledge for the enlightenment of people. Good religious books and messages provide healthy thoughts that push people towards the practice of humanity, which is the actual religion. In today’s world, one might not find hours for penance, but with the help of the internet, books, e-books, and religious apps, one can acquire knowledge about the epics and good messages for religious enhancement. Today, online God has been released from traditional doctrine to become everything to everyone. Many scientists and researchers work for the glory of God, and they are also provided scholarship by religious institutions, which proves the connection between religion and technology in this century. Technology , science, and skills are not connected with religion only in the current time, but we find their roots even in the time of the Vedas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and Jesus Christ. The prime minister of India- Narendra Modi made the headline in 2014 that today’s technology has been derived from Vedic shashtras, Vedic technology has been prefigured. According to Hindu mythology, the trinity gods (Bramha, Vishnu and Mahesh) themselves used to give high technology as a boon to the devtas and asuras after their penance. Bramhastra by Bramha, Pashupatastra by Shiva, Kali, and Adishakti, Varunastra by Varundev, and Agneyastra by Agnidev are the illustrations that are considered today’s antimatter weapons and could vanquish the entire solar system in one shot. Bramhastra is like today’s nuclear bomb. In the Ramayana, Shri Ram built the Setu Bridge to Lanka to save his wife, which has taken the form of civil engineering in the current age. In the same epic, the Ravan had Pushpak Viman, which could appear and disappear and could fly at long distances with the power of its master. In 2013, researchers from the University of Minnesota designed a helicopter model that runs according to a pilot’s thoughts. In the Mahabharata, Sanjay’s divya drasti telecast the live commentary of the battle between Kauravas and Pandvas; today, television has taken that form. Today’s incubator technology, which helps premature children grow up, resembles the the birth of Kauravas. Surrogacy resembles the birth of Balram. Controlling of astra from a long distance is related to today’s GPS. Mantras to unlock are related to password login. Dhanush and Astras simulate today’s missiles. In Rigveda, the birth of Rishi Agastya resembles today’s technology: a test tube baby. The birth of Virbhadra (form of Lord Shiva) resembles today’s genetic technology. Genetics and plastic surgery are prime examples of it. The first surgeon was Lord Shiva who transplanted an elephant’s face on Ganesha’s body and a goat’s face on Daksha’s body. In fact, ancient people had more powerful technology and skills than today's. In that time, Naradmuni and some Brahmarishis could travel from one place to another just in a blink of an eye; that teleport technology is not available yet in today’s time. In the Ramayana, Lord Hanuman jumped from India to Shri Lanka with two leaps and just touched Mount Mandar to boost himself. This technology is far-fetched in the prevailing time. In a nutshell, technology and its connection to religion or religious figures is not a new term, but the forms of it have been continuing to change. The forms of technology and the gods might change, but faith and humanity should never die; that is the real religion, and to practice that religion, if technology can be used as one of the sources, there is nothing wrong in it. In the time of the Vedas, people used to worship Indradev, Varundev, Agnidev, and Suryadev. Slowly and gradually, we started worshiping the shatriyas. Lord Shri Krishna, by following the Hindu epic of Shri Bhagvad Geeta, time might come for the Vaishnavs, the businessmen who are very rich in money. Money might be the new god in the future. Then time might turn towards Shudras—for the true hard workers. Thus, the forms of God and technology might continue to change. Today’s God is technology. Today’s generation says, ‘I pay for a computer, and the computer will pray for me.’ They don’t mind being uplifted by the robotic priests and religious speakers. They are keen on work, work, and work. They practice meditation and also follow the E-God for the illumination of themselves and society. It has been mentioned in The Bhagvad Geeta, chapter-2, shlok -68 तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वश: |इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता That means if one is able to control his senses, he firmly achieves the established knowledge. A preceding world cannot be imagined without technology, but its usage can be controlled by human intelligence. Like a knife is used to cut an apple as well as kill a person, in the same way, that depends on us how we use the technology for religion. Controlling our senses will let us use the technology wisely and prevent the technology to use us.