In the twenty-first century scientists will turn their attention towards bhakti and they will conduct research into the human psyche in the same way that they did research on matter, electronics, nuclear physics, computers and satellites in the twentieth century. Technology was the outcome of science in the last century. Bhakti will be the outcome of science in the new millennium.
Scientists will discover the impact of bhakti on the human mind, behaviour and constitution, and its effect on society and civilization. How does bhakti affect the electromagnetic waves of the human brain? How does it influence the enzymes? How does bhakti improve the cardiovascular system? What is the effect of bhakti on universal consciousness? It is clear that the scientists of the twenty-first century will have to work very hard. Spiritual discipline will not be known as religion or faith, but as a science of life. Just as we have been able to deal with space communication through electronic mediums, similarly we will have to deal with the idiosyncrasies of humanity, with its complicated mind and its strange behaviour, which I do not think science is able to control.
Nobody has control over the human mind and behaviour today. This should develop when scientists realize that things are going wrong. Once they start to think about it, there will be a revival of religion. But which religion should be revived? The religion which is based on logic and reasoning and which has a pragmatic approach. Scientists will give up experiments on matter and they will work on the influence of devotion to God and its effects on the chemistry, behaviour and experience of the human body and mind. It will be a wonderful thing and it will happen. This is the inevitable destiny of mankind in the new millennium.
YOGA, Vol. 11, Issue 1, January 2000