The Spiritual Atom
This is a follow up post to the one below. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the BBC documentary on “The Illusion of Reality,” I recommend it. The video clearly shows that science’s attempt in trying to find the truth about the inner workings of our universe is successful, but short lived. Every discovery that was made was shown as insignificant with deeper discoveries. When the world thought that atoms were the most fundamental building blocks of nature, someone discovered quarks, which are the building blocks of atoms. When the world thought that tangible things were made of matter and non-tangible things like light were made of waves, someone discovered that light displayed both wave-like as well as matter-like properties. When the world thought that atoms give the world its physical structure, someone proved that the atom is mostly empty space, and more bizarre that that, someone later showed that empty space is not really empty. And the most interesting of all discoveries is the measurement paradox–an atom exists only if it is observed (!), which means that this world may not exist at all; or conversely, that multiple universes may exist in parallel. My point is that science is still on a journey not complete, and could use some help from spirituality.
Why are scientists trying to reinvent the wheel? The narrator of the BBC documentary mentions that some of these discoveries were made for the very first time in the 20th century. That is incorrect. More than thousands of years ago, extremely similar ideas were laid down by the Rishis in India. Consider for example, the Mahavakyas (great truths) from the Upanishads:
- Prajnanam Brahma – “Consciousness is Brahman (God)”
- Ayam Atma Brahma – “Atman (Self) is Brahman”
- Tat Tvam Asi – “Thou art That”
- Aham Brahmasmi – “I am Brahman”
Essentially, these four statements answer the question “who are we?” Scientifically, we are all atoms essentially, right? At the outer level, we are skin and bones. But investigate further, and we will find cells…atoms…protons, electron and neutrons…and finally, quarks. So fundamentally, we are all a bunch of quarks, aren’t we? Now, science has not seen anything beyond quarks, but does that mean that quarks are final? History has clearly shown otherwise. There is so much power contained even in the tiny nucleus of an atom…enough to wipe out Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Perhaps, if we were to go beyond quarks, we might find something that contains infinite power and intelligence. I think that that’s what our Rishi’s were trying to get at–that the most fundamental unit is consciousness itself, from which everything else is made up of. If scientists think that fundamentally, “I am Atom,” “I am Brahman” is just an extension of that, a level that is deeper than the atom.
Let’s think of it in more simplistic terms. If we go back in time to the beginning of creation, according to scientists, what existed initially was only a single proton–hydrogen. As hydrogen particles combined with other hydrogen particles, more sophisticated elements came into being–such a helium, and then eventually, all the elements that we know of today. So, from the scientific perspective, hydrogen was the raw ingredient from which everything in this world is essentially made up of. Everything really IS hydrogen in various forms–we’ve just give these other forms different names.
In the spiritual world, what existed initially was “God,” who created everything. Now go back in time to the beginning of creation, when only God existed. What materials did He use to start creating this world? He was the only One there. Naturally, the only ingredient that He could have used is Himself! Everything that exists today is essentially God in various forms and we humans have obviously given these various forms different names, but the fundamental unit of everything has to be God, right? Hence, the phrase, “God made us in his own image.”
So, that’s why I’m God, and you’re God, and everything is God. Quite omnipresent!
Bhagawan Baba has said that Love is the most fundamental element in the universe, from which everything is made. That’s food for your thought…
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Tags: atman, atom, brahman, consciousness, fundamental, mahavakyas, nature, quarks, spiritual
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