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 meditation and yoga practices), they found out the secrets of our universe.
Today I would begin delving into two of my 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 the truth is unalterable, shouldn’t both these paths converge at some point? 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 the logical reasoning of the incorporeal world, but true spirituality is much beyond logic! Through this post, I try to make an earnest effort to try to understand some of my spiritual teachings in the light of chemistry.
What is spirituality? Spirituality is related to the spirit/soul- something which is not materialistic,that which cannot be seen and is intangible. Can Chemistry explain this transcendent reality?
If we get into the realms of Physical Chemistry, we can vouch for the fact that the principles that explain the behavior of sub-atomic particles are different from what we perceive as reality. We live in a world that seems to follow Newtonian mechanics, but the true nature of matter is 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 the 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 find it difficult to comprehend it.
There is a vast difference between believing and knowing! We can only believe in things we don’t know completely.Can we believe that the world which we sense, is just an illusion! That there is no distinction between past, present, and the future? Even if we come to believe that, could we know that to be true? All spiritual teachings tell us exactly the same thing! All saints have been stating that the world is ‘Maya’ (delusion), and 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 minds.They keep us away from 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! The quantum phenomenons found out by research today, have already been demonstrated by many yogis a long time back.
According to quantum mechanics, subatomic particles exist in more than one place at a given instant. If subatomic particles can exhibit such behavior, can’t a human being display such a phenomenon too? Human beings are made up of these subatomic particles too!
Scientists worldwide are conducting research on teleportation. We are still 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 that tell us how ‘Bal Gopal’ (Little Krishna) used to be in two places at a time. The book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ by Paramahansa Yogananda also has references to the bilocation of his guru Swami Sri Yuteshwar Giri. Several Christian saints, monks, and Muslim sufis are also said to have exhibited this happening. We can now believe that these instances of bilocation were actually true.Yogis could harness the power of the universe to appear in two places at the same time.Some advanced yogis could teleport themselves too.
What are the teachings of these enlightened beings? They emphasize on prayer, meditation, and being in control of one’s mind. This is the only path to happiness. Do these teachings have any scientific basis? 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.
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