I come from a land (INDIA) , where in ancient times, saints were scientists.It would not be an overstatement to say that the yogis and saints knew it all ! Through rigorous ‘Sadhana’ (years of deep mediation and yoga practices) ,they found out the secrets of our universe.
Today I would begin delving into two of my most favorite subjects – Chemistry and Spirituality. I have always wondered if science and spirituality could be related in some way? If both lead us to the truth and if truth is unalterable and definite, shouldn’t both these paths converge at reality?Science and Spirituality are quite congruent and their connection is uncanny.Though spirituality is ineffable,science can help us to comprehend some of its facets.One can attribute science to logical reasoning of incorporeal world, but true spirituality is much beyond logic! Through this post I try to make an earnest effort in trying to understand some of my spiritual teachings in the light of chemistry.
So,What is spirituality? It is the state of being spiritual ,relating to the spirit/soul, something which is not materialistic and is intangible.So how can Chemistry explain this transcendent reality?
If we get into the realms of Physical Chemistry,we can safely vouch for the fact that though the world we live in seems to follow Newtonian mechanics, the principles that explain the behavior of sub-atomic particles are very different. In our world, most things can be said with certainty but at the quantum(or sub-atomic) level, only uncertainty prevails. In the quantum world,we could just talk about probabilities of an outcome and never be sure of one absolute result.The quantum theory seems unfathomable not only to a common man but also to the great scientists who actually believe in this theory.A lot of research is going on in this arena and even after years of experimentations and theoretical justifications , scientists still find it difficult to comprehend the reality.
How can we believe that the world which we sense is just an illusion and that there is no distinction between past,present and future? Even if we come to ‘believe’ ,could we ‘know’ that to be true? (There is a vast difference is believing and knowing! We can only believe in things we don’t know completely.)All spiritual teachings tell us exactly the same thing! All saints have been stating this fact that the world is ‘Maya’ (delusion), and the reality can never be understood by logic. We sense the world around us through the five senses and these sense organs have limitations.Thus,these sense organs create false beliefs and ideas in our mind and thus keep us away from the reality. All enlightened beings always advise us ‘to search only that which is not visible’! In short they have been telling us to take the quantum leap.
If one looks carefully,modern-day quantum chemists sound exactly like ancient mystics! Phenomenon they reveal at quantum level through research today , have already been demonstrated by many yogis ages ago. According to quantum mechanics, sub atomic particles exist in more than one place at a given instant. If subatomic particles can exhibit such behavior,then,can’t a human being,who is made up of these particles,display such phenomenon too? Though scientists worldwide are conducting research on teleportation , they are still very far away from conducting human teleportation experiments. But haven’t we heard instances of bilocation of yogis,saints and our gods before ?There are childhood stories of Lord Krishna which describe the ‘Bal Gopal’ (Little Krishna) to be in two places at a time. The book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ by Paramahansa Yogananda also has references to bilocation of his guru Swami Sri Yuteshwar Giri. Several christian saints,monks and muslim sufis are also said to have exhibited this happening.So can we now safely believe that these instances of bilocations were actually true and that these yogis could harness the power of the universe to appear in two places at the same time and even teleport themselves? Thus , these folks were scientifically much more advanced than us and had the correct knowledge of the reality of our universe.
What are the teachings of these enlightened beings? They emphasize on prayer, meditation, being in control of one’s mind , to stay happy and content. Do these teachings have any scientific basis too ?We shall try to find out the Chemistry behind this in my next post. Till then,
Be a perpetual student of life and keep learning …
Good day !
References and Further Reading –
1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilocation.
2.Pbs NOVA 2015 Quantum Physics and Mechanics BBC Science Documentary.
3.Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Madoverchemistry 