What is science? Science is the name of organized knowledge. Science refers to the knowledge in which the universe is studied in the light of objectively proven principles. In other words, science is the systematized knowledge of nature and the physical world.

Man has always pondered the reality of the universe. He studied the universe first in the light of traditional beliefs, then in the light of philosophical thinking, and finally in the light of accepted principles of science.

In the realm of physical science, we have had three major paradigm shifts in the last four centuries. First, we had the Newtonian hypothesis that matter was the basic building block of the universe. In the early twentieth century, this gave way to the Einsteinian paradigm of energy being the basic building block. And the latest is the David Bohm era when more and more scientists are accepting consciousness to be the basic building block. These shifts have had inevitable consequences for the New Age philosophy, which has moved away from the philosophy of crass materialism to that of spirituality.

The period, known as the age of science, began in Western Europe about five hundred years ago. Gradually, there was a general perception that science was the best means of knowing reality. It was generally accepted that what is proved by science is the truth, and what is not proved by scientific principles is not part of reality.

In the nascent stages of the scientific age, science became synonymous with pure material knowledge. Since religious realities did not appear to be proven on material standards of reasoning, religious realities were declared unscientific. But the river of knowledge continued to move forward until the time came when science itself became practically synonymous with immaterial knowledge rather than material knowledge. The scientific history of the previous centuries shows that through the evolution of science, for the first time, a scientific basis of reasoning was formed. This became universally accepted scientific reasoning, then it developed further, and eventually, science became knowledge that proved on an accepted rational basis that the universe is the work of higher consciousness. One scientist said: The stuff of the world is mind-stuff.

When it is proved that a great mind is behind the creation of the universe; that there is meaningfulness and flawless design in the universe, then it wonderfully speaks of the existence of a higher mind. There are countless things in the universe, and everything is on its final model. Mathematical accuracy in the universe is found at such a high standard that one scientist exclaimed that the universe signifies the existence of a mathematical mind. When the river of knowledge reaches this stage, the only task left is to name this discovered consciousness or this mind, according to religious terms, and this name is God.