Introduction
What attracted you to this article? The keyword ‘Spirituality’ in the title? Nataraja Statue? or CERN, or is it that the Statue is seen in front of CERN headquarters in Switzerland? The majority of the science fraternity rejects spirituality outright. Why? This is a hotly debated subject.
It is not without reason that CERN decided to install the statue of Nataraja right in front of the entrance at CERN HQ, Geneva. Read on if you are curious to know the real reason!
NOTE:
While this article is purely scientific, it attempts to trigger the scientific temper of inquiry and keep the curious alert. The scientific fraternity is grappling to answer the WHY questions. Eastern spirituality seems to have already answered the WHY?! Have they really? Read on!
Table of Contents
Wonder is in the Universe
Initially, everything starts off as crude, rustic, and incomprehensible; sometimes, they are termed pseudo sciences, superstition or downright unscientific. But then the spirit of human enquiry and curiosity drives it further on, and what evolves is what we are seeing today, and this spirit of enquiry perhaps will never end.
Have you ever wondered that…
Astronomy may have been Astrology.
Chemistry/Nuclear science may have been Alchemy.
Medicine may have been Ayurveda (or other alternate medicines)
Psychology may have been Yoga Shastra (Currently in vogue)
Architecture may have been Vaastu Shastra (currently in vogue)
If you have, then you are on the right path. Take, for example, Alchemy. Alchemists believed that a single ‘pure’ substance, ‘Prima Materia’, was the reason for all matter on Earth, including Gold. They developed methods to ‘purify’ Lead, which was considered impure, to Gold. They were unsuccessful; we now know they are two different materials due to their atomic structure and nuclei: Lead (82) and Gold (79). But curiosity took humans further; we have Chemistry and Nuclear science today.
Now we know it is possible to convert Lead (82 protons) by removing just 3 protons to Gold (79 protons), theoretically called Transmutation (not worth the cost anyway)! So, our ancestors, intuitively, are not entirely wrong. You may research further on this.
However, Nuclear Physics does this very manipulation of the nucleus:
Fission
A heavy nucleus splits into two or more smaller nuclei.
Fusion
Two light nuclei combine to form a single heavier nucleus.
Similarly, fascination with the stars, thunder, and lightning drove humans from Astrology to Astronomy, a fascinating scientific study of celestial bodies and phenomena.
These are all examples of humans’ open-mindedness, inquisitiveness, and urge to know and learn. So why not keep an open mind about spirituality instead of rejecting it outright? This article attempts to motivate the readers’ ‘Out Of The Box’ thinking attitude.
Further, surprisingly, our ancestors seem to have been aware of this. Give a moment on this ancient Rig Vedic shloka:
आ नो भद्राः क्रतवेा यन्तु विश्वतः॥
Rigveda, 1-89-i
“Let noble thoughts (or deeds) come to us from every sides.”
So, let us embark on an exciting journey into the mysterious world of quantum physics and mystic spirituality as an add-on inspiration!
But First things first
Let’s start by defining Scientific temper and Spirituality, which are foundational to this article.
Scientific Temper
The attitude of consciously and constantly being aware of our environment to gain information and knowledge through observation, inference, verification, and application. Rely on evidence-based reasoning and critical thinking.
Spirituality
It is the inner pursuit of meaning, purpose, and connection. Exploration of inner aspects of the human mind. Here, observation, inference, verification, and application are on the Mind & Body in context with the environment, an introverted effort, making us circumspect and wise.
Though they serve different purposes, scientific temper and spirituality are not contradictory, together they can offer a holistic approach to life and provide radical solutions to various problems.
There are several instances where today’s particle physicists’ statements on their findings are strikingly similar to those made thousands of years ago by sages. Find out profound observations of the great scientists and the parallel in spirituality:
“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass, God is waiting for you.”
Werner Heisenberg (Father of Quantum Mechanics)
Eastern Thought:
Vedantatic scriptures have recorded similar spiritual realizations, that there is God in every entity in the universe.
असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय। मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय॥ — From untruth to Truth; From darkness to light; From death to immortality.
“In some sense, the whole of the universe is in every part.”
David Bohm (Quantum Physicist and Philosopher)
Eastern Thought:
In Baghavat Geeta Lord Krishna says that he is in every part of the universe.
सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म — “All this (universe) is indeed Brahman.”
“Consciousness is a singular of which the plural is unknown; there is only one mind.”
Erwin Schrödinger (Creator of Wave Mechanics)
Eastern Thought:
This aligns with Advaita vedanta. Separateness is an illusion, and single universal consciousness, Brahman is the reality.
“The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.”
Niels Bohr (Founder of Quantum Theory)
Eastern Thought:
This reflects Yin-Yand philosophies. Contradiction is complementary characterstic of a greater reality.
It seems both fields point to the unity of existence, the role of consciousness in shaping reality, and the interconnectedness of all things.
It would be wrong to conclude from their statements that spirituality is appropriate, but it would be equally foolish to reject it outright. We will dig deeper into the world of Quantum Physics to understand how nature is built and see what our ancestors had to say. Keep an open mind.
Fascinating Story of Quantum Physics (QP)
From the days of Newton’s 17th Century corpuscular theory of light, which suggested that light is made of small particles, till the 19th Century, when Thomas Young demonstrated the wave nature of light, the Physics fraternity was comfortably sitting on the high pedestal of being able to know everything about nature and how it is made.
However, the discovery that light behaved like a wave sent shock waves in the science world of the 19th century. Since then, scientists and physicists have relentlessly toiled day and night, often sacrificing their private lives to dig deeper to find the ‘nature of NATURE’. Thus was born Quantum Physics (QP) of the 21st Century! The history of QP is outside the scope of this article.
Till the early 1920s, there was no explanation for the behaviour of light as both particle and wave (demonstrated by Young in 1801). In this era, Max Planck, Einstein, Shrodinger, Niels Bohr, Heisenberg, Oppenheimer and other great creators of twentieth-century physics leaned towards Eastern spiritual texts for possible answers to questions they faced in physics. This spiritual leaning has since grown over the last five to eight decades.
What is matter made of?
A quick look into the nature of ‘matter’ will show us where scientists are today in understanding the world around us before we pose questions about ancient wisdom on such matters.
We thought matter was made of atoms and then electrons, but we found a nucleus, and finally, classical physics found neutrons and protons. Then came Modern physics; quantum physics, and everything changed. Physicists found there was still more to protons and neutrons and came up with Quarks as the most fundamental particle in nature! And the search is on for more fundamental particles. Some say it is strings (String theory) that are fundamental. The point is that scientists have yet to discover.
However, there are four fundamental particle groups as of today:
Fermions (matter particles)
Quarks combine to form protons and neutrons.
Leptons include electrons and neutrinos.
Bosons (Force particles)
Photons carry electromagnetic force.
Gluons are those that hold quarks together within the nucleus (strong force)
W &H bosons are responsible for radioactivity (weak force)
Higgs Boson has been recently discovered to provide mass to all particles.
‘The’ Question.
Though the building blocks of matter are still protons and neutrons, they decay into quarks, and therefore, they are not stable or eternal (Protons have never been known to decay, though).
- A neutron ‘becomes’ a proton, which is itself made of quarks.
- The quarks are never known to decay; they are eternal!
- But they recombine and form neutrons, Protons, and other particles. This cycle goes on and on!
- So, quarks are indestructible.
This brings us to Vedanta’s proclamations that matter is destructible, but Brahman is indestructible, that Reality is Maya, and that it is SUBJECTIVE! This was proclaimed some 6,000 years ago!
Knowing that electrons behave both like waves and particles based on how one views them, scientists have arrived at a similar observation that Reality is SUBJECTIVE. Another parallel between science and spirituality is that Quarks seem indestructible, as does Brahman!
Quarks are stable, indestructible, and indivisible; they are never found in isolation and cannot be perceived directly.
Brahman is stable, formless, infinite, indivisible, found in everything in the universe, and beyond the perception of our five senses.
“Brahman is the unseen seer, the unheard hearer, the unthought thinker, and the unknown knower. There is no other seer, hearer, thinker, or knower but Brahman.”
Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.1
Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.1
All this sounds so familiar to the Vedantins! And they further say that Brahman is nothingness, consciousness, or emptiness! Read on to learn more about electrons; it is bound to baffle you.
The Omnipresent Electron!
We know that electrons revolve around the nucleus in various orbitals and shells, but have you wondered about the electron?
QP uses the wavefunction concept to define the path of electrons around the nucleus. Unlike classical particles, electrons do not revolve in fixed ‘orbits.’ Instead, they exist as a cloud, forming a region where they can be found. It amounts to saying electrons exist in this cloud ‘orbitals’ all at once! That is, they are omnipresent in that cloud of probability. This is also the central idea of QP: simultaneously, different states of existence are always uncertain. A classic example is Schrodinger’s thought experiment with his cat.
Orbitals or Shells
A hydrogen atom normally has one proton and one electron, and that electron has an orbital that forms a sphere around the nucleus. This is the s-shell. The probability of finding the electron is equal all around the shell! Again, when there are more than 2 electrons in the atom, a p-shell appears, and the probability of finding an electron is shaped like a dumbbell. Notice that the probability is zero at the 0,0,0 point of the dumbbell; how come?
Does this mean the electron miraculously jumped over to the other side? They did not, but scientists say this is due to the orbital’s wavefunction. Why is nature so mysterious and seemingly simple on the surface?
Our sages seem to have it, and they say Brahman is the all-pervading entity in this universe, which they declared thousands of years ago.
Uncertainty in the universe?
For instance, let’s try to locate an electron in a hydrogen atom; we encounter a sphere within which the electron can be anywhere; as we already know, the probability of finding the electron is equal everywhere within the sphere. QP has now found that this uncertainty and probability also exist in nature.
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle
Werner Heisenberg proposed that precisely measuring both the position (x) and momentum (P) of a particle is impossible and that there will always be an error (tiny), which is constant (h-bar/2).
Unlike classical physics, which proposed that the world is certain and everything can be predicted if we have enough data, QP has brought humility to the scientific fraternity.
The following are offshoots of this great game-changer:
- This applies to Energy & Time, Frequency & Time and many others.
- There is inherent indeterminacy in the universe.
- Reality is not fixed but probabilistic.
- Reality depends on the beholder; it is relative.
- Observer influences the observed (wavefunction collapse! Schrodinger’s cat)
The Eastern spiritualists have always declared that the universe is uncertain and that reality is to be realised by the individual, the observer. The Bhagavad Gita is replete with such shlokas; many other scriptures proclaim this. We shall go over some of them in due course.
As of now, the Particle physicist is not able to; while there are several instances where the eastern spiritualists, seemingly, have answered this or say they have an answer to this ‘NO MATTER’ Situation, they call it symbolically CONSCIOUSNESS. This is subtly stated in the following verse from the Mandukya Upanishad10:
नान्तःप्रज्ञं न बहिःप्रज्ञं नोभयतःप्रज्ञं न प्रज्ञानघनं न प्रज्ञं नाप्रज्ञम् | अदृश्यमव्यवहार्यमग्राह्यमलक्षणमचिन्त्यमव्यपदेश्यमेकात्मप्रत्ययसारं प्रपञ्चोपशमं शान्तं शिवमद्वैतं चतुर्थं मन्यन्ते स आत्मा स विज्ञेयः || 7 ||
Mandukya Upanishad Shloka 7
Neither inwardly cognizant, nor outwardly cognizant, nor both, nor a mass of cognition, nor cognition, nor non-cognition.…….
In the context of QP, this shloka seems to say that the fourth quarter ‘Turiya’ is beyond duality, like electrons, which cannot be characterized as either waves or particles.
The Quantum wavefunction
Turia (Nature) is invisible, beyond transactions, incomprehensible, undefinable, unthinkable, and indescribable.
Similarly, its QP parallel, the wavefunction, which describes a particle’s state, is not directly observable, provides probabilities, ‘collapses.’ upon observation, and is beyond human perception.
A possible representation of an electron as a wave function is that before detection, there is no wave or particle; they are superimposed. When the electron is detected, it collapses into a wave (or particle).
This is surely not a normal way of thinking, but how normal is thinking spiritual? An amount of caution in this regard, by way of spiritual wisdom, is needed so as not to go off tangentially. But can the human mind play a major part in all this?
Nataraja and CERN!
A beautiful statue of Lord Shiva (in Thandava form) adorns the entrance of CERN HQ, Geneva. For the uninitiated, it may seem incongruous that religious iconography is placed in a place that is the epitome of science and technology. But rest assured, the scientists at CERN have made the right choice! Looking at the superimposition of the image of Nataraja and a bubble chamber image of proton-antiproton annihilation creates a perspective of the universe and its ways.
In the Hindu scriptures, ‘Tandava Nrutya’ is described as the lord’s eternal Cosmic dance, which symbolizes the cycle of creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe. This is central to Hindu philosophy and deeply rooted in the Hindu culture of birth, growth, decay, and rebirth. This is also the concept of Trimurti: Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver), and Shiva (Destroyer).
Amazingly, there are two forms of Tandava, which covers the four states:
Rudra Tandava
Symbolizing destruction and transformation of the universe.
Ananda Tandava
Bliss and continuous rhythm of life and the universe.
The spiritual message in the Statue?
It is almost evident that Tandava is more than just a dance; it seems to encompass the essence of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and spirituality.
- Nataraja is seen dancing within a ring of fire of destruction, symbolising the cosmos and its perpetual cycle.
- The Damaru (Drum) seem to represent the sound of creation (CMB-Cosmic Microwave Background?).
- The beautiful one-legged balancing act seems to represent harmony amidst the chaos (Chaos Theory?).
- The observer (seer) and the observed are intertwined, Shiva being the ultimate observer (observer influences Quantum systems?).
Now, how does QP explain the Universe?
There seem to be several parallels here; it is thrilling to see these parallels:
- QP’s universe is dynamic, interconnected, and ever-changing, just like the rhythm and movement of Tandava.
- Quantum field constantly creates and annihilates (destructs) them, much like Tandava in a circle of fire.
- The dual nature of particles (Wave and Particles) parallels the duality of destruction and creation, a unity of opposites.
- In QP, the observer affects the system (wavefunction collapse). Shiva is the supreme observer in the singularity of an observer-observed combination.
As if to substantiate, several shlokas address these points; here are some:
अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम् |
Ch.13, Verse 17
भूतभर्तृ च तज्ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च || 17||
He is indivisible, yet He appears to be divided amongst living beings. Know the Supreme Entity to be the Sustainer, Annihilator, and Creator of all beings.
How much closer can one get to science here? The striking similarity of thought process!
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते | पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते || ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||
Shanthi mantra Isha Upanishad.
That is Whole; This is Whole|| From That Whole, This Whole Came||
From That Whole, This Whole removed|| What remains is The Whole||
This popular shloka seems to project that reality is always one, infinite and all-pervading, just like the quarks that science knows about.
सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं यान्ति मामिकाम् |
Bhagavath Gita 19-7&8
कल्पक्षये पुनस्तानि कल्पादौ विसृजाम्यहम् || 7||
प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुन: पुन: |
भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात् || 8||
At the end of one kalp, all living beings merge into My primordial material energy. At the beginning of the next creation, O son of Kunti, I manifest them again. Presiding over My material energy, I generate these myriad forms again and again, in accordance with the force of their natures.
The question that comes up immediately is this: were our seers aware of these nuances and complexities of nature? There is no evidence, but that does not mean we must reject them. Keeping an open mind has brought us to the quarks; there may be real answers to this grand mystery, Maya, in the scriptures!
Yet the physicists at CERN in the Larg Hedron Collider (LHC) are constantly attempting to find matter’s ultimate fundamental building blocks.
Here is a break-up of what we see in one of the bubble chamber photographs that have been superimposed on the image of Nataraja in the above picture; we can observe:
- A proton at near-light speed (arrow at the bottom in the picture) is made to collide with a heavy particle (proton) at rest.
- This particle-antiparticle combination annihilates and decays into several particles that only exist for a fraction of a millisecond. These are: pions, muons, neutrinos, protons, electrons, gamma rays, etc!
- Some exist for such short durations that the sensors do not even register them. Only recently, the Higgs Boson was discovered due to technological advancements!
- Some of them recombine and form heavier particles and release energy and light.
- This cyclic behaviour of particles in nature continues, just like the dance of Nataraja!
- Destruction-Preservation-Creation goes on and on in this universe eternally!
This seems to be exactly what the Bhagavad Gita is saying about the supreme lord being the reason for the three phases of matter in the universe.
Einstien’s matter-energy equation proves beyond doubt that energy and matter cannot be separated and that energy and matter are interconnected.
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
A living tree dies, dries up and burns to ash, nourishing smaller plants, which once again grow to become trees. Can we think this to mean life after death? After all, Life is energy and energy, they say, has no death!
Electromagnetic (Electric-Magnetic) waves, as carriers of invisible yet tangible forces, beautifully align with spiritual thoughts and ideas like the Shiva-Shakti (consciousness-energy) pair, which are inseparable.
QP’s Non-locality theorem (quantum entangled particles), which shows that the universe is interconnected at its deepest and thus non-dual in nature. Entangled particles exchange information at speeds faster than light, defying the theory of relativity; nothing here seems eternal!
Though this may be far-fetched at present, there is also no way to conclude on any of these, but is there harm to keeping an open mind to all these?
Conclusion
Here are some questions that seem eternal (no answers yet), plaguing scientists and spiritualists alike. It is uncanny how similar they both think:
- Why is nature so complicated? Why can’t it be understood easily?
- Why has man eternally been in quest of understanding nature?
- Why are there The Right and The Wrong?
- Why does man think the way he thinks?
- Why is there Duality in the Universe, while Unity is indicated in all manifestations?
- Why is there Life and Death?
All these WHY questions the vedantins seem to have answered, now is it the time of scientists?
Referring to the spiritual kinship between modern science and ancient Vedanta, Swami Vivekananda said at Chicago in1893:
“Manifestation, and not creation, is the word of science today, and the Hindu (Hindustani) is only glad that what he has been cherishing in his bosom for ages is going to be taught in more forcible language, and with further light, from the latest conclusions of science. Understood in this light, there is no conflict between science and religion, between the physical sciences and the science of spirituality…”
Is it okay to say that spirituality starts where science seems to end? That is the question for the present!
