When Science Met Spirituality – The Bose-Einstein Condensate
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Themes: Science, Spirituality, Existentialism
We all have studied in our schools that everything is made of atoms, and the atoms are made of fundamental particles called quantum particles. Well, don’t worry, we aren’t going too much into the science, but the thing that I want to highlight is that even though we know this fact, and it’s the very basis of our existence, hardly we ever give emphasis to it, as if the world of atoms and quantum particles only belongs to the books and exams. But the truth is they are deeply personal to our existence and that too to an extent that they make the very person we are.
The atoms, electrons, the quantum particles and their waves, are not something that are there in the stones and rocks lying around us – instead they make our brain with which we do almost everything, our skin, bones and even the air we breathe. Our thoughts, the feeling of reality and that we exist, all come from the electromagnetic waves emerging from our brain, which are nothing but subtle waves in the quantum realm.
Hence, the quantum reality isn’t something that lies in the world outside us, instead it’s everywhere, within us as well. It won’t be wrong to say that the world is basically an ocean of quantum particles, waving and coming together to form you, me, and the entire world.
And also, the quantum realm, where science from the macro world seems to behave a bit differently, isn’t external to it, instead the quantum and macro world coexist in layers. It’s like if the quantum realm is the basic layer, above it comes the subatomic world of protons and neutrons and then comes the atom, elements, cells, humans, rocks, and all kinds of things in the world. We cannot remove one layer, and have the others, just like we cannot have an ocean without the tiny drops of water, and going deeper, we can neither have water droplets nor an ocean without empty space to hold them. Because even when the ocean seems like a giant when compared to a drop of water, none would exist without each other. The ocean and the drops of water exist due to their coexistence. The same goes for our planets, stars, the macro world and the invisible world of quantum particles that create the very ground for the macro world to exist.
In simpler words, the quantum world is background communication that creates the very first particles, which later communicate through the same quantum field to create different elements, and later different objects like rocks, mountains, water, animals, human beings and even the sun, the solar system and the entire universe. While the macro world seems more stable and consistent, without the background layer of the quantum realm, nothing would exist or communicate at all.
But the entire point to explain all this, is to bring that basic layer of all — the background reality, where at one point, it all becomes one, to your attention.
While the spiritual texts call this layer consciousness or awareness, the science comes hand in hand with the same phenomenon, with a concept founded by Albert Einstein and Satyendra Nath Bose. But the question is how? Well, we’re going to explore that in a while.
Spiritual Interpretation
In spirituality, especially as mentioned in Hindu Texts, it’s said that the self is one, and everything else is just reflections of it. It’s like saying every person we see, with different faces, colors, and heights are basically one at their core. That’s what the scriptures say. But, the question is, how is that even possible? And just like everyone asks: does this even hold any science in it, or is it just a religious thing?
Scientific Interpretation
Well, there is actually a proven theory to explain this. And for that, thanks to Sir Albert Einstein and Satyendra Nath Bose, whose combined theory – The Bose Einstein Condensate brought the 5th state of matter in front of the world, something that was never seen before.
The theory wasn’t just a scientific achievement but it brought a philosophy with it. It stated that at absolute zero, that is -273.15°C (where matter turns to pure energy), different atoms lose their distinctive properties and become like one entity.
Just imagine, to see this in the macro world it’s like a rock and a human, when taken to the absolute zero temperature, they don’t remain different objects, but become the same wave with no difference at all. At that state it becomes impossible to distinguish which part came from the human and which came from the rock, because they just become one wave with no separation at all.
The link between Science and Spirituality
And this is exactly what our scriptures say about the core of ourselves and shunyata – the state of no duality, but true awareness, where everything just becomes you, and you become everything.
Just like in Bose Einstein Condensate, which is achieved at absolute zero temperature, where atoms lose their distinctive properties and become one, our scriptures too mention, that to attain the highest truth, to know that you’re everything and everything is you, you have to give up all the information in your mind, reach a state of absolute zero mind, in order to lose all the duality, because that’s what opens the door to the realm of eternal truth. In science it’s called the theory of everything, and in spirituality it’s called knowing the self.
And as it all becomes one in that particular state, knowing a tiny point that is the self, becomes the same as knowing everything, including the entire universe.
This is how our spiritual texts and science meet, not on a stage for debate, but with union, perhaps chasing the same goal that is the ultimate truth, though by different means.
But while the brightest minds used to read our scriptures to find inspirations for their scientific quests, nowadays we turn our heads to our scriptures – the very thing from which science was born and was interpreted. And maybe that’s why, in times when there were least technological advancements, scientists like Galileo, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla, and Albert Einstein solved the unknown mysteries of our existence going to the edges of our galaxy and the universe, while now, even with the most advanced technologies, we seem to have achieved nothing as revolutionary as them.
Well, in the end it all depends on every individual and perhaps even the nature and uncertainty of life, which somehow forces a few to wander about the edges of ourselves and our existence, while allowing others to be comfortable without questioning. It’s perhaps a personal choice that’s beyond our hands if we see it deeply.
But what do you feel? Did you get to relate to this article? Did it help you to propel your mind towards a tangent of your own existence?
Let us know in the comments. And in case this article intrigued you, let’s get into some discussion.
Next, we’ll be exploring another philosophical and scientific aspect of our existence – which weirdly proves that we actually don’t hold any choice in our lives, and everything happens by itself. It goes to the extent of showing through EEG Brain scans that even our decisions are not made by us, instead somehow our decisions choose us. And again, it’s not just a thought, but a scientific truth that has puzzled scientists for decades.
Till then, look out for more such articles and poetry on our page — exploring the world of the self, metaphysics and existentialism.
