SEEING THE LARGER PICTURE
Modern science (or knowledge) feels that knowledge can be improved and better understood if we compartmentalize its different aspects like physics, biology, chemistry, medicine – and – then further subdivided into, say, biophysics, biochemistry, nuclear physics, molecular biology, microbiology, genetic engineering and so on and so forth. But these subdivisions have brought us to a point where each branch has become so alienated from the other that a biophysicist understands little of the science of a molecular biologist, or, a heart specialist understands only how to set right a heart problem with practically very little knowledge of how his treatment may affect the kidneys of the patient! The specialist in a particular field today has such minute, specialized and focused knowledge about his field that knowledge of other related fields mostly goes out of focus. In the bargain he/she loses sight of the overall picture. To add to this is the fact that he/she neither has the time not the inclination in to try to see the larger picture.
But in the field of spirituality, they are more concerned about integrating the knowledge of various and diverse fields. They have a holistic view of all fields of knowledge. After all, the truth of one science cannot go against or falsify the truth of another field of knowledge. In fact they not only work towards the betterment /happiness of the individual, but they work towards a goal where the welfare of the individual is such that it is in sync with the welfare of society as a whole – and – this harmonious society not only exists in harmony, but works towards bettering the entire biodiversity!!!! They work with the view that man’s welfare (even if just on a physical level) is guaranteed if the entire society, the entire biodiversity (e.g. the various food chains) and all of Nature work in complete harmony. One cannot have society (or man) growing at the expense of individual interests and vice versa. Thus one finds that a spiritual person may be a doctor, a poet, an environmentalist, a leader in society and so on, - all rolled into one.
This shows that true knowledge unifies rather than divides. Thus from a specific point of view we can say that inspite of the differences at various levels that pollute society today, it is slowly moving towards that unifying goal where barriers of race, language, caste, creed, country, religion etc.,, are breaking down and we are steadily moving towards being global men in a global village!
Dr. Poonam Mehra
Saturday, February 14, 2009
THE UNBROKEN WHOLENESS
Physics starts with parts and shows how everything works together as a whole. Hinduism (our scriptures) says everything emanates from Lord Narayana (God) and everything ultimately merges into Him. He is the starting point. In fact Bell’s theorem implies that apparently ‘separate parts’ of the Universe could be intimately connected at a deep and fundamental level. This is similar to the fact that though every member of the family acts independently, yet, the family is single unit at another level, stringed together by a particular commonality among its members – or – a nation is one single entity yet it is made up of different states – or – the nine planets are individuals at one level and yet it is our solar system - a single unit at the level of the Milky Way galaxy, - and - so on and so forth. Thus inspite of the multifaceted diversity of the various components of the Universe and yet it acts as a single organism! Probably it is this idea that David Bohm, Professor of Physics tries to describe when he asserts in one of his lectures “that the most fundamental level is an unbroken wholeness”, - meaning “that-which-is”, the truth that our rishis had declared ages ago – “TAT TVAM ASI”!!!! – A CONSCIOUSNESS THAT IS FOUND IN EVERYTHING THAT CONSTITUTES THIS UNIVERSE! It is finally this “unbroken wholeness” which at a deep and fundamental level connects Science and Spirituality – Science says that everything is ultimately made up of THAT smallest particle – whereas Spirituality says, THAT is contained in everything and everything is contained in THAT. Science and spirituality are only using different words to define the same idea – both are searching for the same – only – the paths taken to complete their journey are different – rather if both went hand-in-hand, the journey would be more easier, more pleasant and more fruitful for both!!!!!!
Dr. Poonam Mehra
Physics starts with parts and shows how everything works together as a whole. Hinduism (our scriptures) says everything emanates from Lord Narayana (God) and everything ultimately merges into Him. He is the starting point. In fact Bell’s theorem implies that apparently ‘separate parts’ of the Universe could be intimately connected at a deep and fundamental level. This is similar to the fact that though every member of the family acts independently, yet, the family is single unit at another level, stringed together by a particular commonality among its members – or – a nation is one single entity yet it is made up of different states – or – the nine planets are individuals at one level and yet it is our solar system - a single unit at the level of the Milky Way galaxy, - and - so on and so forth. Thus inspite of the multifaceted diversity of the various components of the Universe and yet it acts as a single organism! Probably it is this idea that David Bohm, Professor of Physics tries to describe when he asserts in one of his lectures “that the most fundamental level is an unbroken wholeness”, - meaning “that-which-is”, the truth that our rishis had declared ages ago – “TAT TVAM ASI”!!!! – A CONSCIOUSNESS THAT IS FOUND IN EVERYTHING THAT CONSTITUTES THIS UNIVERSE! It is finally this “unbroken wholeness” which at a deep and fundamental level connects Science and Spirituality – Science says that everything is ultimately made up of THAT smallest particle – whereas Spirituality says, THAT is contained in everything and everything is contained in THAT. Science and spirituality are only using different words to define the same idea – both are searching for the same – only – the paths taken to complete their journey are different – rather if both went hand-in-hand, the journey would be more easier, more pleasant and more fruitful for both!!!!!!
Dr. Poonam Mehra
Saturday, February 7, 2009
SCIENTISTS VERSUS SAINTS?
Thomas J. McFarlane says in one of his essays, “Science, we are told, tells us what facts are true, while religion tells us what values are good”. It is true that scientific thought is validated through reason and logic – in fact they are the mainstay, the pillars on which scientific thought stands – and – reason and logic are in the domain of the mind and intellect! Yet not a single great creative scientific breakthrough would have been possible without intuitive insight and inspiration – Newton to Neils Bohr, J.C. Bose, C.V. Raman, Chandrashekhar, Einstein to Stephen Hawking – all will bear testimony! But intuitive insight and inspiration belong to the realm beyond the mind and intellect. Thus to my mind, rational thought and logic have to work in tandem with man’s intuition and faith for not only any great breakthrough in understanding knowledge - but - also to live a more balanced life. To put the same idea in other words, I would say that there is an inherent intuition in logic and an inherent logic in intuition.
Both scientists and saints work towards going beyond the capacities that man has been endowed with, to understand Nature. Scientists working in their physical laboratories use various instruments to extend the limits of the five senses to see, hear, feel and measure subtler and subtler things, small or big – whether near or far off! On the other hand the saints work towards extending and enhancing the limits of the mind through meditation and other such techniques. Thus, scientists and saints – both want to delve deeper into the realms of reality. Only their methodology, techniques and approaches have been different.
For the scientists matter is the starting point and for the saints energy is the starting point – and as we know matter and energy are different forms of the same thing – just as water and ice! Scientists use the tangible to approach or explain the intangible, whereas the saints work towards making the intangible as tangible!!!!
Dr. Poonam Mehra
Thomas J. McFarlane says in one of his essays, “Science, we are told, tells us what facts are true, while religion tells us what values are good”. It is true that scientific thought is validated through reason and logic – in fact they are the mainstay, the pillars on which scientific thought stands – and – reason and logic are in the domain of the mind and intellect! Yet not a single great creative scientific breakthrough would have been possible without intuitive insight and inspiration – Newton to Neils Bohr, J.C. Bose, C.V. Raman, Chandrashekhar, Einstein to Stephen Hawking – all will bear testimony! But intuitive insight and inspiration belong to the realm beyond the mind and intellect. Thus to my mind, rational thought and logic have to work in tandem with man’s intuition and faith for not only any great breakthrough in understanding knowledge - but - also to live a more balanced life. To put the same idea in other words, I would say that there is an inherent intuition in logic and an inherent logic in intuition.
Both scientists and saints work towards going beyond the capacities that man has been endowed with, to understand Nature. Scientists working in their physical laboratories use various instruments to extend the limits of the five senses to see, hear, feel and measure subtler and subtler things, small or big – whether near or far off! On the other hand the saints work towards extending and enhancing the limits of the mind through meditation and other such techniques. Thus, scientists and saints – both want to delve deeper into the realms of reality. Only their methodology, techniques and approaches have been different.
For the scientists matter is the starting point and for the saints energy is the starting point – and as we know matter and energy are different forms of the same thing – just as water and ice! Scientists use the tangible to approach or explain the intangible, whereas the saints work towards making the intangible as tangible!!!!
Dr. Poonam Mehra
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
SHIVA-PARVATI
We know from elementary Physics that Potential energy is stored up energy within matter – it alone cannot create. So also Kinetic energy - which comes into play when there is movement in matter – cannot create on its own. However, it is the constant play of these two energies – their combination – that creates all, manifests all. To my mind, Shiva is Potential energy – still, serene, unmoving, in high meditative state - and Paravati is Kinetic energy – playful and trying tenaciously to move Shiva. Together, they constitute total energy. Their constant play, their attraction and repulsion is what causes ‘creation’ to take place. Their interplay causes movement – which is the ‘life-force’, that causes the creation, right from the smallest atom to the gigantic stars and galaxies – to the animates and finally man. All this and more (all that is yet to be discovered) exists due to the interaction of these two energies. The whole of ‘creation’ exists because of these constantly opposing forces – when one increases, the other decreases and vice versa. Shiva or Potential energy, singly, on its own is incomplete – Paravati or Kinetic energy, singly, is incomplete – but in their combination, the two together become ‘whole’ and this ‘completeness’ causes ‘procreation’ which keeps ‘existence’ going on and when Kinetic energy is exhausted - all goes back to Potential energy – because the sum total of both these energies at any given point in time always remains constant! Thus the Vedas say that at first there was nothing, then there was a ‘spandan’ or vibration, a flash of light – and creation started to manifest and ultimately all will go back into nothingness at the time of ‘Pralaya’ – to start all over again after some rest - and – these are the exact ideas that modern scientific thought is echoing. Thus this beautiful divine play of hide and seek of Shiva and Paravati has been going on from time immemorial and thus it will go on for time immemorial!
Dr. Poonam Mehra
We know from elementary Physics that Potential energy is stored up energy within matter – it alone cannot create. So also Kinetic energy - which comes into play when there is movement in matter – cannot create on its own. However, it is the constant play of these two energies – their combination – that creates all, manifests all. To my mind, Shiva is Potential energy – still, serene, unmoving, in high meditative state - and Paravati is Kinetic energy – playful and trying tenaciously to move Shiva. Together, they constitute total energy. Their constant play, their attraction and repulsion is what causes ‘creation’ to take place. Their interplay causes movement – which is the ‘life-force’, that causes the creation, right from the smallest atom to the gigantic stars and galaxies – to the animates and finally man. All this and more (all that is yet to be discovered) exists due to the interaction of these two energies. The whole of ‘creation’ exists because of these constantly opposing forces – when one increases, the other decreases and vice versa. Shiva or Potential energy, singly, on its own is incomplete – Paravati or Kinetic energy, singly, is incomplete – but in their combination, the two together become ‘whole’ and this ‘completeness’ causes ‘procreation’ which keeps ‘existence’ going on and when Kinetic energy is exhausted - all goes back to Potential energy – because the sum total of both these energies at any given point in time always remains constant! Thus the Vedas say that at first there was nothing, then there was a ‘spandan’ or vibration, a flash of light – and creation started to manifest and ultimately all will go back into nothingness at the time of ‘Pralaya’ – to start all over again after some rest - and – these are the exact ideas that modern scientific thought is echoing. Thus this beautiful divine play of hide and seek of Shiva and Paravati has been going on from time immemorial and thus it will go on for time immemorial!
Dr. Poonam Mehra
THE RIVER FLOWS ON
The river just flows on – its ultimate goal is to reach and merge with the ocean. On its way thus, it passes through mountains, becomes a waterfall maybe, then go on through the plains through hamlets, villages, maybe cities on both its banks – but it just goes on regardless of anything. Does it ever stop to think how it is useful to those around? Does it ever feel indispensable or worry, as to the consequences of its waters flooding or starting to dry up? No, I do not think so, because if it were to think it was indispensable – it would stop flowing – and the moment it stopped to flow, it would cease to be a river. Its existence, its survival – is in the fact that it flows; irrespective of the conditions – internal or external – because its source is somewhere else – and the source is limitless, whereas its conditions are temporary. It is probably aware of the fact that because it just keeps flowing, its energies keep getting replenished – and because its energies keep getting renewed every instant, its waters are useful – otherwise the moment they stagnate, the dirt all around would not get a chance to wash away – it would just stay and further dirt would go on getting accumulated. Thus the waters will get dirty, polluted and lose their usefulness – the very fact for which it thought its existence was indispensable!
So also we have to just keep flowing – easily passing from moment to moment, from one stage to another - obstacles will come – but that Source will provide us the required energy to either cross the obstacles, overcome them or go around them. We have to just have faith. The energy will come sometimes in small quantum and sometimes as a tidal wave that overwhelms and floods all around – till we reach our ultimate merger! Till then, as we go through life, people may make use of us, we may make use of people and/or things – whatever – but we have to keep in mind that it is just the journey, it is not the goal. We cannot get caught in their attachment and stop our growth – or – our on flow! The journey must go on – irrespective of our usefulness or uselessness – otherwise we will be caught in the vicious circle, with no way of getting our and moving forward!
Dr. Poonam Mehra
The river just flows on – its ultimate goal is to reach and merge with the ocean. On its way thus, it passes through mountains, becomes a waterfall maybe, then go on through the plains through hamlets, villages, maybe cities on both its banks – but it just goes on regardless of anything. Does it ever stop to think how it is useful to those around? Does it ever feel indispensable or worry, as to the consequences of its waters flooding or starting to dry up? No, I do not think so, because if it were to think it was indispensable – it would stop flowing – and the moment it stopped to flow, it would cease to be a river. Its existence, its survival – is in the fact that it flows; irrespective of the conditions – internal or external – because its source is somewhere else – and the source is limitless, whereas its conditions are temporary. It is probably aware of the fact that because it just keeps flowing, its energies keep getting replenished – and because its energies keep getting renewed every instant, its waters are useful – otherwise the moment they stagnate, the dirt all around would not get a chance to wash away – it would just stay and further dirt would go on getting accumulated. Thus the waters will get dirty, polluted and lose their usefulness – the very fact for which it thought its existence was indispensable!
So also we have to just keep flowing – easily passing from moment to moment, from one stage to another - obstacles will come – but that Source will provide us the required energy to either cross the obstacles, overcome them or go around them. We have to just have faith. The energy will come sometimes in small quantum and sometimes as a tidal wave that overwhelms and floods all around – till we reach our ultimate merger! Till then, as we go through life, people may make use of us, we may make use of people and/or things – whatever – but we have to keep in mind that it is just the journey, it is not the goal. We cannot get caught in their attachment and stop our growth – or – our on flow! The journey must go on – irrespective of our usefulness or uselessness – otherwise we will be caught in the vicious circle, with no way of getting our and moving forward!
Dr. Poonam Mehra
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)