# 033 - Indic Wisdom Meets Quantum Physics

(Reproduction of Article in Speaking Tree, TOI dated Feb 05, 2021 by Mani Bhaumik, Physicist at UCLA) We are the manifestation of the innate liveliness of universal fields, which according to the string theory, arise from one unified Source, says physicist MANI BHAUMIK Indic philosophical thought ostensibly began with verses of the Rig Veda. Its content has stimulated diverse interpretations that have been endlessly debated over the millennia. I would not be amiss in presuming that the most recognised version of Indic philosophy worldwide is Vedanta. The fundamental tenets of that can be summarised by three predominant pronouncements: Aham Brahmasmi, Tat Twam Asi, Sarbang Khalidong Brahmn. ‘I am Brahmn and so are you.’ We and everything else in this universe are inseparably intertwined with the source of it all, Brahmn, being eternally present everywhere, thereby upholding and administering the basic aspects of everything that exists. All of these contemplative conclusions are uncannily anchored in experimentally verifiable modern science. Most of the knowledge to back up my assertion was advanced only recently in the second half of the twentieth century. It involves the advanced subject of quantum field theory requiring perhaps one of the extremely intricate mathematical formulations that are beyond the grasp of most people. It all started with a persistently baffling question for physicists. Why are the properties of an elementary particle like an electron exactly the same irrespective of when or where they are created in the universe — at the early beginning following the Big Bang, during the astrophysical processes throughout eons, or in a lab anywhere in the world? The most satisfactory answer came from decades of intensive search involving many experimental and theoretical investigations. The largest of such experimental facilities costing more than 10 billion dollars is located at CERN, Switzerland. This colossal machine is housed in a 27 km long circular, underground tunnel containing supercooled magnets that allow collisions of two opposing beams of protons travelling close to the speed of light. These collisions momentarily simulate some circumstances of enormous temperature up to ten thousand trillion degrees that existed in the early universe, a mere trillionth of a second after the big bang beginning of our universe. Results of these collisions are detected by monstrous detectors like the CMS, much of which was built at the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA, where I am engaged in research on the foundations of quantum physics. The exquisite experimental results go hand in hand with corroborating studies in theoretical physics conducted worldwide over five decades, garnering numerous Nobel prizes and culminating in the Standard Model of particle physics that categorises 24 observed particles, all predicted by the effective quantum field theory. Through these studies, the ultimate ingredient of reality, uncovered by us so far, consists of quantum fields, which are innately non-material in nature. The primary material objects, elementary particles are the quanta of these abstract fields. Some perception of an abstract field can be gained from our daily experience with the classical field of gravity that pervades us. The field that we do experience is stable everywhere in our vicinity, but its magnitude varies from place to place around its origin, the earth. Quantum fields, however, pervade all space throughout this vast universe at all times, each maintaining an average value almost since the beginning of time. Quantum fields are also distinctly different in that they are always alive with intrinsic, spontaneous, and totally random activity all taking place locally in all space-time elements. In spite of this apparent infinite randomness of their activities, quantum fields on an average have been immutable almost since the beginning of time. This suggests the possibility of the existence of an inherent self-referral referring to some abstract self-awareness. In fact, such universal awareness could be the source of our own awareness as well. Also, the intrinsic spontaneous activity of the Source affects everything. Beginning with the very first members of physical creation — the elementary particles — all the fields remain always inseparably intertwined with them, prompting all manifestations in the universe including us. We are the means of manifestation of the innate liveliness of the universal fields which, according to the mathematically consistent string theory, arise from one unified source. Although we have found no way yet to experimentally verify the string theory, we have unquestionably substantial experimental proofs of unification of fields heading towards a final unification indicating the existence of a single source. It would be cogent to contend that universal self-awareness is at the core of all consciousness, as has been envisioned by legendary quantum pioneers like Max Planck, Erwin Schrödinger, David Bohm, Freeman Dyson, and others. An obvious query is how our consciousness originates from universal self-awareness. Famed physicist, Nobel Laureate Roger Penrose asserts that global quantum coherence builds up in the brain incorporating all the sensory signals. Quantum self-reduction of this global coherence in the brain spawns a moment of proto-conscious experience, presumably through some process of quantum entanglement with the universal self-awareness. As in a movie, quick projection of a series of frames creates a perception of continuous action, the occurrence of a continuous series of proto-conscious moments in the brain generates our perceived conscious experience. To summarise, we are inseparably intertwined with the Source, and its intrinsic, spontaneous, self-active liveliness is manifesting through us.