Innovation requires you to be in touch with your inner being. Scientists can spend hours in the laboratory. But, ultimately, what bears result is the intuition. The intuitive feeling that one is on the right path. Where does that intuitive feeling come from? Most inventions were inspired by a moment of inspiration.

Scientists who had deep religious beliefs

Many who have achieved a crowning glory in science were deeply religious people. Gregor Mendel who has been hailed as the father of modern genetics was a devout Christian. He was actually training to become a monk. But eventually got interested into knowing how pea plants got their characteristics. And found the basic principles of genetic science.

Innovators interested in spirituality

Steve Jobs, the erstwhile CEO of Apple, has left a deep impact on innovation. He was a visionary who set the ball rolling for Apple. He was the brain behind the launch of iPhone. iPhone has grabbed the largest share of mobile market.

But not many people know that Jobs had a deep interest in spirituality. In fact, he came to India in search of spiritual enlightenment. He wanted to seek blessings from Neem Karoli Baba. Before he reached the Ashram of Neem Karoli Baba in 1974, the spiritual guru had passed away.

Jobs interest in meditation, however, was steadfast. He travelled India and went to places of spiritual interest like Haridwar, Varanasi and Bodh Gaya. Later on, he trained into Zen Buddhism under Zen master Kobun Chino Otogawa.

He later credited his training in Zen Buddhism for designing the minimalist features of iPhone. The designs of his products are focused on simplicity. Which is why they have been able to engage people. With fewer buttons, they look uncluttered, unlike other electronic products.

Interestingly, Jobs didn’t want to waste energy on developing every component of iPhone. He was interested in the overall design of the product. Jobs approached Dell to develop the processor. This offer was declined. He outsourced chips used in the iPhone to companies in Taiwan and Japan. Even the main chip was designed by Apple but manufactured in Taiwan. No wonder, iPhone is an elegant product.

Ramanujan: A Mathematician who owed his perceptive powers to a deity

Infinity evokes the deepest awe even among a layman. It has been the biggest fascination among mathematicians in the 21st century. Srinivas Ramanujan is hailed as a person who knew infinity. But Ramanujan was also a deeply religious person. He credited all the insights he got in mathematics to Goddess of Namagiri. He was a pure vegetarian and never touched alcohol and non-veg till the very end of his life. In spite of any formal training in Mathematics, he had a mysterious ability to perceive Mathematical truths.

According to a story narrated by Ramanujan, the deity Namagiri appeared to him in visions, proposing mathematical formulas that he would then have to verify. He ardently believed that equations have no meaning unless they express a thought of God. One such event was described by him as follows:

“While asleep, I had an unusual experience. There was a red screen formed by flowing blood, as it were. I was observing it. Suddenly a hand began to write on the screen. I became all attention. That hand wrote a number of elliptic integrals. They stuck to my mind. As soon as I woke up, I committed them to writing.”

Einstein’s belief in existence of God

Einstein believed the hand of God in how Universe works. The order in the Universe is divine in the sense that it wouldn’t have been possible without a God. He called it a mysterious order. One of his famous quotes is “Science without religion is lame and religion with science is blind”. A profound take on how religion and science are inter-connected.

Concluding remarks

Spirituality is the source of all knowledge. For example, Vedas were not in written form initially. These were in the form of memories. Where did the ideas present in the Vedas come from? The ideas are actually revelations received by seers during deep meditation. Without spiritual endeavour, these eternal truths wouldn’t have been revealed to them.

According to Vedanta philosophy, the super-soul has complete knowledge. We humans have limited knowledge because we have emerged from this super-soul. But when we start recognizing the super-soul, our perception starts getting sharper. We will start differentiating between what is real and what is non-real.