Principles of Quantum physics applied to consciousness

Quantum physics explains the nature and behavior of matter and energy on the atomic and subatomic level, and began with several different scientific discoveries from the 1838 discovery of cathode rays, to the quantum hypothesis and photoelectric effect. The term quantum mechanics was coined in the early 1920s by a group of physicists at the University of Gottingen.

In the 1920’s quantum mechanics was laid out by three great minds: Werner Heisenberg, Niels Bohr and Erwin Schrödinger, who all read from and greatly respected the Vedas, the ancient Indian texts on spirituality. They elaborated upon these ancient books of wisdom in their language and with modern mathematical formulas to try to understand the ideas that are to be found throughout the Vedas, referred to in the ancient Sanskrit as “Brahman,” “Paramatma,” “Akasha” and “Atman.” As Schrödinger said, “It is some blood transfusion from the East to the West to save Western science from spiritual anaemia.”

Niels Bohr got the ball rolling around 1900 by explaining why atoms emit and absorb electromagnetic radiation only at certain frequencies. Then, in the 1920 Erwin Schrödinger, an Austrian-Irish physicist who won the Nobel prize, came up with his famous wave equation that predicts how the Quantum Mechanical wave function changes with time. Wave functions are used in Quantum Mechanics to determine how particles move and interact with time.

In the 1920’s, Werner Heisenberg formulated his famous uncertainty principle, which states that when a physicist attempts to observe a subatomic particle, the experimental apparatus inevitably alters the trajectory of the subatomic particle.

Science and Metaphysics seem to be at odds with each other. However, the pioneers of Quantum Mechanics believed otherwise. The fathers of Quantum Physics, while formulating their ground-breaking theories, dug into the annals of Vedanta Philosophy and found their experiments to be consistent with the ancient Indian Vedas and literature. The famous Nobel laureate from Denmark, Niels Bohr said, “I go into the Upanishads to ask questions.

Erwin Schrödinger while speaking of a universe in which particles are represented by wave functions, said, “The unity and continuity of Vedanta are reflected in the unity and 5 continuity of wave mechanics. This is entirely consistent with the Vedanta concept of All is One.”

Schrödinger wrote in his book - My View of the World, “In all the world, there is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction.... The only solution to this conflict in so far as any is available to us at all lies in the ancient wisdom of the Upanishads”. In chapter 5 of this book he gives his understanding of the basic view of Vedanta. He writes therein, “Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happenings are played out in one universal consciousness and there is no multiplicity of selves.”

Werner Heisenberg who is noted for his crucial contributions to quantum mechanics, devised a method to formulate quantum mechanics in terms of matrices, for which he was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize for Physics. Heisenberg is widely considered one of the most influential figures in nuclear physics, particle physics and quantum field theory. Heisenberg stated, “Quantum theory will not look ridiculous to people who have read Vedanta.”

Furthermore, Fritzjof Capra, when interviewed by Renee Weber in the book The Holographic Paradigm, stated that Schrödinger, in speaking about Heisenberg, has said, “I had several discussions with Heisenberg. I lived in England then, and I visited him several times in Munich and showed him the whole manuscript chapter by chapter. He was very interested and very open, and he told me something that I think is not known publicly because he never published it. He said that he was well aware of these parallels. While he was working on quantum theory he went to India to lecture and was a guest of Tagore. He talked a lot with Tagore about Indian philosophy. Heisenberg told me that these talks had helped him a lot with his work in physics because they showed him that all these new ideas in quantum physics were not all that crazy. He realized there was, in fact, a whole culture that subscribed to very similar ideas. Heisenberg said that this was a great help for him.”

Albert Einstein would regularly read the Bhagavad Gita. Einstein’s famous quote on the Bhagavad Gita states, “When I read the Bhagavad Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.”

Ancient Rishis of Vedic times were scientists in that they were able to dive deep into the mysteries of the Universe through intense practice of meditation and yoga. This is why we 6 recommend a dedicated practice of meditation, most particularly the Heartfulness Meditation Method to all our students, patients and instructors.

In modern times too, Indian Spirituality has continued to flourish in an unbroken chain of Masters and Disciples who have continued the research. Here we must mention how Nikola Tesla met Swami Vivekananda in Paris during the former’s travels to the West. Swami Vivekananda, wrote in a letter to an English friend, "Mr. Tesla thinks he can demonstrate mathematically that force and matter are reducible to potential energy. I am to go and see him next week to get this new mathematical demonstration. In that case, the Vedantic cosmology will be placed on the surest of foundations. I am working a good deal now on the cosmology and eschatology of the Vedanta. I see their perfect union with modern science, and the elucidation of the one will be followed by that of the other." – Swami Vivekananda, Complete Works, Vol. V, Fifth Edition, 1347, p. 77

Here Swami Vivekananda uses the terms force and matter for the Sanskrit terms Prana and Akasha. Tesla used the Sanskrit terms and understood them as energy and mass. In Swami Vivekananda’s day, as in many dictionaries published in the first half of the present century, force and energy were not always clearly differentiated. Energy is perhaps a more proper translation of the Sanskrit term “Prana”.

Further research consistently shows the gap between what the higher realms of human consciousness reveal and what science is closing in on. The new science of epigenetics by the likes of Dr. Bruce Lipton has revealed much in the field of biology as has the work on neuropeptides by Dr. Cadence Pert. Even computing and technology are shifting their base from classical mechanical physics to the ever- growing field of quantum principles.

We are witnessing a shift in the belief that the Universe is objective.

The concept of a Subjective Universe opens a whole new vista of taking a fresh look at what ancient traditions of spiritual seers, rishis and scriptures described in deep meditative states of flow. As we see a new world of infinite possibilities unfolding before us, we can explore the process of healing and wellness from an entirely different perspective and learn that the human spirit is capable of much more than we thought possible.