Astrophysics and Advaita Vedanta

Cosmogony, the study of the origin of universe, forms part of astrophysics.  During nineteenth Century, the Western view of the universe was considerably influenced by Christian theology which held that the world was created in 4004 BC, on a Monday morning.  Even after the immensity of cosmogonic time was recognized, the concept of a static and eternal Universe, as conceived by Ptolemy and amended by Newton, prevailed among Western scientists and rationalists.  Einestein also subscribed to the theory of "closed universe" initially and calculated the radius of static universe as about 35 billion light years. In early 1920s, Edwin Hubble discovered that the spectral lines of distant galaxies showed a shift towards the red.  They theorized that the ‘red shift’ meant that the distant galaxies were receding faster than those galaxies nearer to our system.  This led to the concept of an expanding universe and “Big Bang” theory.  As per this theory, the universe had its origin after a ‘Big Bang’ and is undergoing continual expansion.  Big Bang does not mean an explosion, but the phrase is used to indicate the sudden origin with a bang as it were from nowhere and the fast expansion in a staggering scale thereafter. Origin of universe is stated as from nowhere as nobody knows or can know anything about that point of origin; for at that point, if it can be so called, there was nothing; no time, no space, no matter and no energy.   As our thoughts, words and concepts all function in a frame of time and space, this point of Big Bang, is beyond comprehension or description. So this state of infinite density and of infinite energy out of which all the origin and expansion had started 13.8 billion years ago, is spoken of as “point of singularity” by Roger Penrose, English mathematical physicist.  Singularities are zones which defy our current understanding of physics. This theory postulated not only a beginning after a ‘Big Bang’ in the remote past, but also an eventual collapse in a ‘Big Crunch’ in some distant future.

We have a term in Sanskrit, for a state that defies description; which is ‘Anirvachaniya’, meaning that which cannot be spelt out in words.  And this is the term used by Advaita Vedanta, to describe ‘Maya’, the power of Brahman, the Supreme Being.  Brahman is the Supreme Being with its inseparable, indescribable power called Maya and is commonly referred to as God in religious literatures.  Bhagavat Gita describes Maya as made up of three gunas, Satva, Rajas, and Tamas.  Generally speaking, Satva is the quality of tranquility and wisdom; Rajas one of dynamism and action; and Tamas of inertia and sloth. When the gunas are in equilibrium, universe is in an unmanifest state (Avyaktha) in Maya.  When the equilibrium is disturbed, creation happens.  Maya is also described as one that can make things happen without a cause i.e. Aghatana Ghatana Patiyasi Maya.  It is through this Maya, Brahman projects the Universe in creation.

When  we compare this concept of Maya with the concept of the point of singularity, we find a few striking similarities.  Both are Anirvachaniya, unexplainable. We can guess their existence but we do not exactly know what they are, and how they function. The upset of the equilibrium of three Gunas is one comparable to Big Bang when creation starts.  The state of Big Crunch is comparable to the pralaya i.e. deluge, of Indian Philosophy, when again all the manifested things in creation go back to their unmanifest state, Avyaktha.  As per Indian philosophy this cycle goes through eternity, in cycles of shristi i.e. creation and pralaya over a period measured in kalpas. A kalpa is a period of time equal to 4.32 billion earth years.  Astrophysics has now a theory similar to that.  Lincoln Barnett in his book “The Universe and Dr.Einstein” says “the universe in this picture is like a balloon in which cycles of expansion and contraction succeed each other through eternity”.  Both Maya and the point of singularity are not sentient. Intelligence evolves after creation, as per science and so at the point of singularity sentience is not there.  And Maya being only the power of sentient Brahman is also insentient.

As per Advaita Vedanta, beyond this Maya that undergoes apparent transformation in shristi and pralaya, is the unchanging Brahman, timeless, beginningless, endless, and attributeless, without dimension, and without limitation.  Can the physical sciences go beyond the point of singularity to reach the Brahman?  No, says Max Planck, father of quantum physics.  In his book “Where is science going” he says science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature.  And that is because in the last analysis we ourselves are part of nature”. Brahman is described as the mind of the mind in Kena Upanishad, meaning that it is the power behind the mind, that makes the mind to think and reason. So in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad the question is posed “Through what, known can know the knower i.e.Vijnataram are Kena Vijianiyaat?  (2-4-14.)

If  the knowledge of Brahman, the undivided and all-pervading consciousness,  could be gained by Rishis, it was in the intuitive mystic spiritual way, which is possible only for a highly refined mind, and not through the physical  processes of the enquiry.  Swami Vivekananda says “The mind can exist on a still higher plane, the superconscious.  When the mind has attained that state which is called Samadhi-perfect concentration, super consciousness- it goes beyond the limit of reason, comes face to face with facts which no instinct or reason can never know”.  It is at the superconscious level that man feels himself identified with the Self within, Athma, which is also the all-pervading consciousness, Brahman. Insight gained in the state of   superconsciousness does not contradict reason but fulfills it. 

Intuition is no stranger to science or scientists. Stephen Hawking worked mostly by intuition in his work on Black Holes.  Black Holes are the term applied to super dense stars that collapse as a result of their own gravitational forces.  Michael Harwood writing about Hawking’s theory on black holes says “key overview ideas came to him as ‘spiritual revelations’ and make him one of the greatest physicists of our age”.  This state is called Chitta Ekagratha, stage of one-pointedness  of mind. This state which they attain is similar to the state of savikalpa Samadhi described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. At this stage personal consciousness is not lost and the distinction between the one who meditates, the object of meditation and the process of meditation called triputi is not lost.  In the state of super consciousness, even the personal consciousness is lost and only the object of concentration remains.  This is the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, where there is oneness with the object of meditation and no triputi, described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.  It is in this state of superconsciousness, the Vedic Sages could divine their intuitive insights, to which today’s astrophysics is approximating.  

Dr.Fritjof Capra, the eminent physicist, remarks in his book “The Tao of Physics”, “that fullness which the Hindus call as Brahman can be the meeting point of the ultra modern physics as well as ultra ancient Upanishadic Philosophy”.   Can the meeting point as envisaged by  Dr.Capra be reached is a question that may not be  answered affirmatively even when the dream of a grand unified theory, started by Einstein and pursued by Hawking and still elusive, a Theory of  Everything (T.O.E) is achieved.  This theory will integrate into one theory the four separate theories that are required to explain different features of the world; namely theory of gravity, theory of relativity, theory of electro-magnetism and quantum theory. Even when T.O.E. is achieved it may be only a set of mathematical equations that can establish the single source of creation beyond doubt.  But we will still be missing the Infinite Intelligence that set this dream in motion in the first instance and that is behind Creation. Beyond Maya or the point of singularity is that Supreme Force and this is not the realm of physics but of metaphysics where not only intuitive intelligence of an individual mind but the subjective experience of individual realization in a state of superconsciousness is the influencing factor.  Twentieth century physics has stripped physics of its air of certainty and objectivity in the realm of infinitely small and infinitely big and revealed the inter-connectivity of Space and Time, Mass and Energy. Maybe this century may reveal that all branches of human knowledge including metaphysics are interconnected in the form of  Advaita Vedanta.

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Quantum physics and Advaita Vedanta

Quantum theory and Einstein's theory of relativity form the basis for the modern physics. Quantum theory is the theoretical basis of modern physics that explains the nature and behaviour of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic level.  The nature and behaviour of matter and energy at that level is also referred to as quantum physics and quantum mechanics. So we can say quantum physics is the study of the behaviour of matter and energy at the molecular, atomic, nuclear, and even still smaller microscopic levels like quarks.  "Quantum" comes from the Latin, meaning "how much." It refers to the discrete units of matter and energy that are predicted by and observed in quantum physics. Even space and time, which appear to be extremely continuous, have smallest possible values.  Quantum theory can be defined as a collection of ideas that scientists use to describe the way this microscopic world operates.  In the early 20th century, it was discovered that the laws that govern macroscopic world do not function the same in respect of microscopic world.   Quantum physics has brought science closer to Advaita Vedanta.  This is not to quote science to validate Advaita or to authenticate Advaita through science but to showcase how modern science today as quantum physics is approximating to the ancient truths propounded in Advaita Vedanta. 

Let us see how small the elementary particles that we are discussing about are.  The diameter of an atom is one hundred millionth of a centimetre. As it is difficult to conceive, let us see it through an example.  When an orange is blown to the size of the earth, then the atom will be of the size of cherry. If the atom is blown to the size of the St. Peter’s cathedral in Rome, the biggest dome on earth, then the nucleus of the blown up atom will be the size of a grain of dust on it. And protons and neutrons are constituents of nucleus. Protons are so small that in a little dot (.) we can pack 500 billion ie. 500,000,000,000 protons.  As for electron, if it is to be blown up fourteen trillion and two hundred billion ie.14,200,000,000,000 times, then it will be the size of an apple of four centimeter radius.    

Ernest Rutherford demonstrated that the atom is not the solid building block, but it has an internal structure consisting of small dense nucleus about which electrons circle in orbits.  Electrons are held in their orbits through the electrical attraction between positive nucleus and negative electrons.  Nucleus was later found to contain positive protons and neutral neutrons. Protons, neutrons and electrons were collectively called as nucleons and taken to be the ultimate indestructible unit of matter.  In 1930, new particles were discovered as scientists refined their experimental techniques and today we know over hundred ‘elementary’ particles, which are divided into two groups of hadrons and leptons and scientists are nowhere near finding the ultimate indestructible unit of matter, if it exists.  For hadrons are composite particles made of quarks and antiquarks.  But, quarks, which at present is treated as fundamental matter principle, cannot be isolated and studied and is also not stable.  The electrons have been studied in depth and it is the findings thereof that made the Western Scientists turn towards Advaita Vedanta and the Upanishad truths on which it is based.

There is an interesting aspect about subatomic particles. They behave as if they have split personality with wave-particle duality.  For they can move both as particles and as waves; particle being one confined to a small space while wave is one spread over a vast region of space. For example light can take the form of electro-magnetic waves or particles called photons.  Further the particles will behave one way or another depending upon the way the observer chooses to measure it.  This means that in the realm of quantum physics, observing something actually influences the physical processes taking place. So, the data is not independent of the way the observer measures it and the observer is also part of the project and is now called the participator.  Again the wave functions, associated with subatomic particles, are abstract mathematical quantities based upon the probabilities of finding the particles in various places with various properties.  This has made Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, celebrated physicist called “The Father of atomic bomb” remark “If we ask, for instance, whether the position of the electron remains the same we must say ‘No’.  If we ask whether the electron’s position changes with time we must say “No”.  If we ask whether electron is at rest we must say “No”, if we ask whether it is in motion, we must say “No”.”  That means science is talking the language of the Upanishads, describing the Indescribable in paradoxes.  For example, Isavasya Upanishad describes the indescribable Brahman through paradoxes.  “That moves; That moves not; That is at a distance; That is very near;  That is inside everything; That is outside everything” (Mantra 5)

In the double-slit experiments it has been found that photons, particles of light that start as particles and end as particles change to waves and back in between on their own, as if they have a will of their own.  Such a change on its own without external interference is possible only among sentient beings.  The change could be inferred but point of change and re-change could not be detected.  E.H.Walker, an American physicist, openly concluded that the photons may be conscious.  What are photons but only subatomic particles!  And these subatomic particles only make up matter.   That means matter has also potential consciousness which is the view propounded by Advaita.  Advaita philosophy states that matter has also consciousness but in unmanifest form as everything in universe, matter and non-matter, is Brahman only. 

Initially it was assumed that electrons move around nucleus in fixed orbits like the planets around the sun.  Now it is discovered that electrons don’t have a trajectory or an orbit like the ball shot in the air or whirled around a chord.  Not only is it not possible to say where an electron will be at a particular time but it is also not possible to establish a causal relationship between two known positions of the electron.  Only the probability of it being at a particular time at a particular place can be given.  Dr.Fritjof Capra, physicist and systems theorist, remarks “Being a probability pattern, the particle has tendencies to exist in various places and thus manifests a strange kind of physical reality between existence and non existence” This type of reality, which can be neither termed as existent, nor dismissed as non-existent is not unknown to Advaita.  This is the property of Maya, power of Brahman, which can neither be said to be existent nor nonexistent. This property is termed Satasat Vilakshanam; Sat means existence, Asat   nonexistence and Vilakshanam devoid of (here of both).   Swami Vivekananda defines Maya as mere statement of facts as they exist.  Yes, Maya is the statement of facts as it exists in the subatomic world.

“Subatomic particles are Maya” means the world that is made of subatomic particles is a product of Maya.  Advaita has a word for it, Vyavaharika Satyam, relative reality. So quantum physics leads us to the conclusion that the world is a relative reality, not absolute reality which is what the Advaita philosophy had been proclaiming for ages earning for its votaries the derision of all schools of dualists as Mayawadhis.  

This indeterminacy in subatomic world is outlined in Heisenberg’s theory of uncertainty, which raised a hornet’s nest when it was propounded.  Einstein who set out to disprove this theory declaring “God does not play dice” became himself unknowingly the cause for strengthening it, by leading scientists after his time to the postulation of Bell’s theorem and to the concept of quantum entanglement.   Entanglement is when two particles (for example photons) are intimately connected so that measurement on one instantly affects the other, no matter how far away it is.  One entangled particle can be seen to affect the other instantly, no matter how far apart they are.

Bell’s theorem and the successful experiment by Alain Aspect, the French physicist, have shown that two electrons of an entangled pair, i.e. pair of electrons that have a total spin of zero, react to each other instantaneously irrespective of the distances separating them.  This has made Henry Stapp, another American physicist   remark “An elementary particle is not an independently existing analysable entity.  It is in essence a set of relationships that reach out to others”.  The bootstrap hypothesis of Geoffrey Chew, an American theoretical physicist, clearly states that the world cannot be understood as an assemblage of entities which cannot be analysed further, a view held earlier in classical physics or classical mechanics.  The universe is seen now as an ‘unbroken wholeness’, a dynamic web of   interrelated events, which is the similar to the conception of universe in Upanishads as Virat Purusha, a whole person, an organic dynamic whole where each part is interconnected and interrelated to every other part.  Idiom is different but idea is the same.

Extending this to human beings who are also assemblage of subatomic particles, every one of them is interconnected to every other human being in a subtle way irrespective of the race, religion, language or sex.  This is the key message of Advaita, a message of oneness of all living beings in their essential nature, much more so, of the human beings as their Athma (soul) is one and eternal, only their names and forms are different and finite. Even if we stop at interconnectedness without extending it to oneness that understanding itself will lead to the philosophy of Sanathana Dharma, ‘Vasudaiva Kudumbakam’  (the whole world is one family); and on that basis a stable world peace and world order can be achieved.

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