The appeal of tranquility is universal. This is an eternal truth. And in this era, when the arbitrary use of technology and immoral living are pushing people towards unbearable stress, depression and various mental diseases. Our family social relations are gradually fading. The need for the ever-desired tranquility is most felt today.
Therefore, the popularity of meditation and yoga practice is increasing around the world. William Dalrymple, a well-known Scottish historian, writer and critic of the time, mentioned in one of his articles that currently approximately two million Americans practice yoga regularly.
In addition to the West, this practice of self-discovery and self development has gained a new dimension in the mental health and overall well-being of modern people.
Meditation According to Different Scientists!
Quantum physics, neuro-science and genetic engineering have changed the worldview of science-minded people in the 20th century. Science, which had long been matter-centered, bound by Newtonian mechanics, has now become consciousness-based. The most modern view of Western physics has now merged with the worldview of the Eastern sages, the mind-centered worldview.
Physics, following the formulas of scientists Newton and Maxwell, presented an orderly worldview in the late nineteenth century. In this scientific process everything is under one rule, there is no role of the scientist. The scientist is only a spectator there. And the whole process is audience-mind neutral. The first scientist to break this worldview was Einstein who presented his famous ‘Theory of Relativity’ in 1905.
Through this new theory came the audience to establish material reality. The scientist observing the material process also becomes an active participant in this process. With the emergence of quantum mechanics, the role of the observer becomes more important in material phenomena or theories. The mind of the beholder is included as an essential element in the materialist framework or interpretation of any subject.
This radical change in scientific thinking left quantum physicists in awe, and they plunged into deep study of the human mind and philosophy. In no other era in the history of science have leading scientists written such a large number of articles or books on the philosophical and humanistic evaluation of the results of their scientific research.
Werner Heisenberg’s Opinion Meditation!
Werner Heisenberg, aligns himself with the spiritual worldview of philosopher Aldous Huxley in light of this new theory of science. Schrödinger was the first of the quantum scientists to identify with Eastern philosophical thought. Since then, many books have been written on this subject by modern scientists. Among these, two very popular books in the West are ‘The Tao of Physics’ by Fritjof Capra and ‘The Dancing Wu Li Masters’ by Gary Zhukov.
Since Darwin there have been many attempts to explain human behavior as a biological process. Again attempts have been made to explain biological processes only as physiological processes. Carl Sagan in ‘The Dragons of Eden’ sums it up nicely, ‘What we sometimes call the mind is the brain. And the functioning of this brain is nothing but the result of its organs and physiological functions. There is no mind here.’ And molecular biologist Francis Crick wrote in his book ‘Of Molecules and Men’, ‘All zoology must be explained by physics and chemistry.’
However life, life, mind is interpreted, it has to start from mind and come back to mind. For example, first, the human mind, including thought and consciousness, can be explained as the activity of the central nervous system. Which again can be interpreted as organs and physiological functions. Second, all levels of biological activity can be fully understood in the light of nuclear science.
Because every biological activity can be explained in the light of interaction of atoms of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen etc. Finally, nuclear science must be understood through quantum mechanics if it is to be fully understood. And the mind is inextricably linked to quantum mechanics. Quantum processes are incomplete without the foundation of the observer’s mind.
Some Others Say About Mediation!
Science has learned a lot about the workings of the brain. However, knowledge about the brain is still in its infancy. Scientist Eccles said in response to the question whether the mind can affect matter at the conference of parapsychologists, ‘When we think, with each thought, the atoms of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen located in the brain neurons change their place. Atoms of carbon, hydrogen, etc. are matter and thought is the absence of matter.’
The New Branch of Worldview Changes!
Another important branch of science in changing worldviews is genetic engineering. The essence of this science is that DNA-RNA is the core of living cells. All life is developed and controlled by the information stored there. And the development of life can be influenced by making changes in this database. This reality establishes the authority of consciousness and information over matter as a new truth.
Each hemoglobin molecule can capture and transport 8 oxygen atoms. 11×1021 (11,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000) oxygen atoms are entering the body with each breath. If we think of these oxygen atoms as ‘bricks’ of the body, we can say that with each breath we are placing the above number of new ‘bricks’ in different parts of the body. The old ‘brick’ is replaced by the new ‘brick’. The old gives way to the new as easily as the flow of a river.
Oxygen, a lifeless substance a moment ago, is involved in many strange activities inside the body. Usually 60 seconds and during exercise in 15 seconds, oxygen atoms go around the whole body once. During this period, half of the new oxygen entering the body is leaving the blood and becoming part of kidney cells, neurons, muscle cells or skin cells. Oxygen atoms can stay in your body for minutes to a year per cell and participate fully in what you are capable of doing. An oxygen atom can bind to a neurotransmitter and become part of your pleasant thoughts.
Again, adrenaline can spread panic in you by becoming part of the molecule. May combine with glucose to become food for brain cells. Again, being part of the white blood cells, they can sacrifice themselves for you while fighting off the invading bacteria. And all these are controlled by the information stored in the DNA. If we go deeper, we see that DNA is primarily a delicate combination of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Knotted with fine vibrating threads. It is this delicate vibrating thread that reinforces the DNA—any exception—the thread will tear if it moves even a millionth of a millimeter. And at the root of all the subtle vibrations of life is a subconscious.
What Does Modern Science Say About the Power of Mind and Consciousness?
Modern science’s view of the powers of mind and consciousness is best summarized by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Eugene Wigner in his article ‘Remarks on the Mind-Body Question’. He wrote that most physicists have accepted the fact that thought is the origin. ‘The laws of quantum mechanics are completely without reference to consciousness. It is not possible to form coherently.’ Does practicing yoga-meditation really work? Does modern medicine support the scientific benefits of yoga?
Such questions have haunted Western medical scientists since the 1960s.
In this continuation, the leading organization in health research around the world, the National Institute of Health of America has recognized yoga as an alternative medical system and they have allocated almost 100 million dollars for the expansion of yoga-meditation. A group of researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States conducted a study on 17,000 patients. They found that patients who practiced yoga and meditation as prescribed by their doctors saw a 43 percent reduction in medical expenses.
That is, yoga practice saves 2,360 dollars per person or about two lakh rupees per year. Several studies conducted at Harvard Medical School have shown that students’ attention has become sharper and more focused as a result of yoga-meditation practice. As well as improved memory, endurance and self-esteem, results are improving and their behavior in the classroom is more elegant than ever. Students’ anger and stress have also decreased.
Studies have shown that meditation makes people more aware overall. Helping to change from the depths of psychophysical existence. Apart from this, regular meditation has a profound effect on our body cells and physiological functions and plays an important role in curing diseases. Due to these various reasons, interest in yoga is increasing in the West. In 2012, two million people in the United States practiced yoga regularly. According to a report published by the journal Yoga, the number of yoga practitioners has doubled in five years to 3.7 million, which is 11.5 percent of the US population.
Final Thought!
In the article’s conclusion, scientist Wigner states, ‘The world’s scientific research has finally established consciousness as the ultimate truth.’ And thus the perspective of modern science has come to merge with the mind-centered worldview of the ancient sages of the East. And modern man has taken a new vow to use the power of consciousness, the infinite power of mind for the welfare of humanity.