Sunday, April 25, 2010

Thought for the Day

. . . poetry is what gives meaning to existence. 
Not fact and figures and charts, but poetry. Poetry is essentially
 a really sophisticated way of experiencing the world. 
And it is much more  than mere words and stories. 
Poetry is to the human condition 
what the telescope and the microscope are to the scientist.
~ Varadaraja V. Raman*

_____________________

* Quoted in "The Heart's Reason" in Einstein's God: Conversations About Science and the Human Spirit,  by Krista Tippett, p. 133.

Emeritus professor of physics and humanities at Rochester Institute of Technology, V.V. Raman is also a physicist, philosopher, writer, and author (his books include Truth and Tension in Science and Religion). His RIT Website is here. In 2006, he received from the Samvad India Foundation the Raja Rao Award for outstanding contributions to the literature of the South Asian Diaspora.

Raman's conversations with Tippett at Speaking of Faith are here. A video program in which Raman responds to the question "What Is God Like?" is here. A brief bio and a list of other topics on which Raman speaks are here.

1 comment:

Louise Gallagher said...

You keep inspiring me to read more poetry!