A message from the Vivekananda Center

[Guest guest]

Dear Ramachandra / Dr Harsha / Jerry

 

We have been developing a thread on science/spirituality. The lists that you

are involved with may have interest and may be able to develop the thread in

their own unique way. If you think it is worthwhile kindly put this thread

on to your lists.

 

 

Science / spirituality

"Vivekananda Centre" <vivekananda

 

Swami Vivekananda put across the idea that science and spirituality have to

meet. His explanation was:

The search for unity in diversity in the external world is called science.

The search for unity in diversity in the internal world is called

spirituality.

The external world may be classified as the world of matter and physical

forces and the internal world may be considered to be the world of mind and

intellect.

The question arises: "Where does internal stop and external begin?" This is

not a trivial question. There is a severe overlap between the internal and

external - what we call the tiniest particle of matter 'seems' to be a mere

idea thrown up by the mind and yet a neuro-scientist will say what we

consider to be 'mind' is nothing more than the intricate electrical

activities generated by the physical brain.

The fact that we cannot show any clear demarcation where external stops and

internal begins is the very key to understanding the link between science

and spirituality. External and internal really belong to the same realm

hence the unity science is seeking has to be the same unity spirituality has

already found. Swami Vivekananda put forward these ideas about a 100 years

ago.

I did my Masters in Physics. My professor was Roger Penrose who is now the

head of Physics at Oxford and is considered to be the leading authority in

Physics. His recent two books are concerned with the ideas of 'mind' and

'consciousness'. Swami Vivekananda has not influenced him directly but one

can see the direction science is taking. It has to converge to the findings

of spirituality. We would like to explore these ideas further. We await

views from other list members.

jay

-----------------------------

EDTipple <edtipple

 

To the question: "But Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda), how can one see God in

the external world with physical eyes?" he answered: "Show me the line of

demarcation where matter ends and spirit begins." (Eternal Companion p. 5

3rd edition 1970)

 

 

Toby <wireless

 

Since you are a physics major, perhaps you would be interested in the

current search for new energy as desribed by Tesla, Russell and others, a

practical use of etheric energy and its use in causing current flow. i.e.

free energy via zero point energy conversion. Is Roger Penrose open to the

idea of free energy from the aether?

 

-------

>From Dr Shah

Namaste,

I am quoting interesting paragraphs from "Einstein and Vivekananda" by John

L. Dobson ( Art, Culture, and Spirituality, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 1997,

page 521). It reads:

"Swami Vivekananda, in 1895 or 1896, asked Nikola Tesla if he could show

that what we call matter (mass) was simply potential energy. Tesla

apparently failed to show it-and it was not shown till 1900 (1905) by Albert

Einstein who, at that time, was an unknown physicist working as clerk in a

patent office in Bern, Switzerland. Although by now Einstein's equation for

the equivalence of mass and energy has become the most famous equation of

the physics, Einstein himself did not become famous till 1919. Meanwhile, in

1902, Swami Vivekananda passed away and no one seems to have noticed that

his problem has been solved and that Einstein's famous equation, E=M (often

written E=mc2), was the equation which he had requested of Tesla nine or ten

years earlier."

And further on the next page:

"Swami Vivekananda was first and foremost an Advaitin (non-dualist). and he

saw that, like Sankhya, the physics of his day was dualistic. It believed in

matter and energy. Swamiji wanted that mistake to corrected. Had it been

corrected by Tesla, while Swamiji was still in America, relativity theory

would have been associated with Swamiji's Advaita, and we can well imagine

what turn the history of modern science might have taken..."

dr c s shah

-----------------------------

ananta <sarada

 

Want to read an interesting and recent article on Vivekananda/Einstein and

Tesla by John Dobson, founder of The SanFrancisco Sidewalk Astronomers?

It clarifies some of Swamiji's ideas on the physics of his day, including

his view of Akasha and Prana.

It also tells of an interesting meeting and connection between the three of

them (and a mystery fourth person) starting at a party Swamiji went to.

Find it at:

http://www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/srv/3version/Dobsvivekeinst.html

 

----------------

>From "Vivekananda Centre" >>

Swami Vivekananda's explanation of Samkhya darshan is superb. It is here

that the ideas of Akash and Prana are explained in great detail.

For members who are not familiar with these ideas let me try an explanation.

Out of the six main schools of Hindu philosophy - Samkhya is considered to

be perhaps the oldest. Yoga and Vedanta, the other two popular philosophies

have borrowed a great deal from Samkhya. Hence this is a philosophy worth a

serious study. - It forms the very backbone of all these other philosophies.

The most striking thing about this philosophy is that its findings are very

close to the findings of modern physics.

Let me attempt an explanation.

Sage Kapila of Samkhya makes a brave classification. He says the universe is

made of two categories. (What a classification! The whole universe reduced

to two elements!)

One is Akash - The other is Prana.

The older translations of Akash all refer to it as the 'ether' (a medium

pervading space)

Swami Vivekananda gives a new definition -

'Akash is all penetrating existence itself'.

(Not space - not even a medium pervading space - but existence itself).

 

Swami Vivekananda then goes further he says in this 'all penetrating

existence' comes a disturbance. This is called Prana. Prana is energy - the

grossest manifestation of this energy is -matter.

These talks were given a long time before the birth of modern Physics and

ideas of Special Relativity that now say 'matter is coiled up energy'.

jay