Question: In the movie Apollo 13, people were getting involved with all these machines and moving away from nature. Is it good for people to be so involved with machines? Is it good for people to go into space and do things that are unnatural? Is this useful for them?

Sri Chinmoy: In this kind of movement we are going far, farther, farthest from nature. True, God is everywhere; He is both the Creator and the creation. God is also to be found inside science because science itself is God’s creation. But the kind of link we have with God through science is not very direct.

With space exploration we are trying to do something that is like fireworks. It charms us, but it does not elevate our consciousness; it does not have sustaining power. In Apollo 13 we see people walking on the moon. We are enjoying it, but it is mostly the vital in us that is getting enjoyment. The soul is not enjoying this. Not even the heart is getting joy, because the heart wants to hear the melody that keeps earth in tune with Heaven, and that tune is not there.

Science is like a cow tied to a post. The cow is given limited freedom, but inside that limited area, the cow is destroying everything. If it sees a bucket, then it kicks that bucket. By kicking the bucket several metres, the cow is getting joy. But this kind of joy is all destruction. Fortunately, the cow has a limit. It cannot go beyond the length of the rope. Similarly, no matter how many centuries or millennia shall pass, the capacity of science will always be limited. Science is progressing and developing; miracles are being created at every second. You press a button and an atom bomb drops somewhere. But anything that is not creative will never be able to unite the suffering of Mother Earth with the smile of Father Heaven.

Scientists may descend on the moon and see a few stones, but they will not get the consciousness of the moon. Only by praying and meditating can you get the consciousness of the moon or commune with the soul of the moon. Scientists do not regard the moon as a sacred place, filled with aspiration. No, they see it as fallow ground for their experiments. Then, if they find something nice there, they just grab it and smash it to bits with their scientific instruments. But these scientific instruments will never reveal the soul or divinity inside the moon. Never, never! So science will never discover the real divinity inside the moon; only seekers will discover that.