Thus the mystic and the physicist arrive at the same conclusion; one starting from the inner realm, the other from the outer world. The harmony between their views confirms the ancient Indian wisdom that Brahman, the ultimate reality without, is identical to Atman, the reality within.’ Dr Fritjof Capra in ‘The Tao of Physics’ (p.338)

The systematic study of mysticism be-gan with William James’ famous Gifford Lectures ‘The Varieties of Religious Experience’ published in 1902. This was followed by Evelyn Underhill’s monumental book Mysticism in 1911. Dr Fritjof Capra published his remarkable The Tao of Physics (An exploration of the parallels between modern Physics and eastern Mysticism) in 1975. William James, being basically a psychologist, treated religious mysticism on the psychological basis; Evelyn Underhill’s study of mysticism was largely on the Western theological basis; but Dr Fritjof Capra being a physicist with a Ph.D in theoretical physics, did it scientifically. His The Tao of Physics is both a landmark and a breakthrough in the study of mysticism in a much more broader perspective. Capra displayed a deeper and profound understanding of Eastern mystical traditions than the other two authors. Capra’s painstaking research astounded the West as if it was waiting for such a book from a mastermind. The Tao has since been translated into more than one dozen languages. Dr. Capra’s classic explorations into the interconnectedness between modern physics and Eastern mysticism (Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism) commanded greater credence by virtue of the scientific intellectual background of the author whose commitment to Eastern mysticism was none the less to his commitment to theoretical physics.

These three books have brought about a transformation in the Western psyche by redeeming it from its erroneous notion that mysticism was something vague, elusive, mysterious, magical and therefore not worthy of scientific scrutiny. Capra observes, ‘Meditation was no longer viewed with a ridicule or suspicion, mysticism is being taken seriously even within the scientific community’1. The result was the realization that the mystical traditions of the East (which Capra calls ‘perennial philosophy’)2 provide the most consistent philosophical background to modern scientific theories not only in the field of physics but also in other life sciences. How it all has happened is a matter of abiding interest. For this one has to start from Newton.

Newton held the view that ‘Space’ was absolute and ‘Time’ was also absolute and both were autonomous. As Stephen Hawking observes in his A Brief History of Time, ‘both Aristotle and Newton believed in absolute time. . . Time was completely separate from and independent of space’3. This theory suffers from an apparent absurdity because there cannot, by warrant of logic, be more than one Absolute. Absolute doesn’t admit of any gradation or division.

Further Newtonian cosmology envisioned a highly mechanistic universe functioning under the rigid laws of gravitation. Another great flaw in the Newtonian cosmological theory was that it didn’t reckon the concept of ‘time’ because it propounded only a three-dimensional universe of ‘space’ considering ‘time’ as a separate entity.

With the advent of Einstein on the scene with his epoch-making theory of relativity followed by quantum theory (the two pillars of modern physics), the inherent flaw in rigorously mechanistic Newtonian cosmological theory was resolved. ‘Relativity theory and atomic physics shattered all the principal concepts of the Newtonian world view: the notion of absolute space and time. ‘According to relativity theory space is not three-dimensional and time is not a separate entity. Both are intimately connected and form a four-dimensional continuum, “space-time’. In relativity theory, therefore, we can never talk about space without talking about time and vice versa’4. As Hawking affirms in his Black Holes and Baby Universes ‘the two new theories completely changed the way we think about space and time and about reality itself’. It shows that time is not a universal quantity which exists on its own separate from space. . .space-time is not flat, but is curved by the matter and energy in it. This was Einstein’s greatest triumph.’5 Thus Einstein’s four-dimensional space-time continuum replaced the classical Newtonian three-dimensional space and time concept and thereby proved that they both coexist (coeval) and not separately autonomous.

Yet another significance of Einstein’s theory was that it involves human consciousness (ie), the observer as the focal point in the perception of space-time continuum and thus provides for a relativistic framework. According to Heisenberg, another renowned physicist of the 20th century, ‘We can never speak about nature, without at the same time speaking about ourselves’6; the observer being an integral part of nature, he observes. Further, quantum theory unravelled the atom and probed the subatomic structures and discovered particles intrinsically dynamic. As Dr Capra reiterates, ‘quantum theory has thus demolished the classical concepts of solid objects.. .and reveals the basic oneness of the universe. It shows that we cannot decompose the world into independently existing smaller units and, further, the Cartesian partition between I and the world, between the observer and the observed, cannot be made when dealing with atomic matter’7.

There is an interesting anecdote that Capra narrates:8

Laplace, the great mathematician, set himself the ambitious task of refining and perfecting Newton’s calculations in a book which should ‘offer a complete solution of the great mechanical problem presented by the solar system, and bring theory to coincide so closely with observation that empirical equations would no longer find a place in astronomical tables. The result was a large work in five volumes, called ‘Mecanique Celeste’ in which Laplace succeeded in explaining the motions of the planets, moons and comets down to the smallest details, as well as the flow of the tides and other phenomena related to gravity. He showed that the Newtonian laws of motion assured the stability of the solar system and treated the universe as a perfectly self-regulating machine. When Laplace presented the first edition of his work to Nepoleon—so the story goes—Nepoleon remarked, ‘Monsieur Laplace, they tell me you have written this large book on the system of the universe, and have never even mentioned its Creator.’ To this Laplace replied bluntly, ‘I had no need for that hypothesis’.

This is proof that even the bright brains of the West didn’t think, even at the hypothetical level, of an intelligent cosmic principle sustaining this universe with unfailing rhythm. But the Vedic seers visualized a rhythmically moving cosmos. The term ‘rita’ is derived from the root ‘ri’, ‘to move’.

The image of the cosmic dance of Shiva (also known as Nataràja, the king of dancers) as visualized by Indian seers is a spectacular trans-aesthetic, mystic, metaphoric portrayal of saguna-brahman (Ishvara) at its intensely dynamic state.

Capra observes, ‘Shiva the Cosmic dancer is perhaps the most perfect personification of the dynamic universe.. .the dancing Shiva is the dancing universe; the ceaseless flow of energy going through an infinite variety of patterns that melt into one another... Modern physics has thus revealed that every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction.. .For the modern physicists then, Shiva’s dance is the dance of subatomic matter. As in Hindu mythology, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the whole cosmos.’9

If the ‘Big Bang’, as attributed by modern cosmologists, caused the creation of this universe, then what caused the Big Bang? What existed prior to Big Bang? Western cosmologists and physicists have no answer. ‘Eastern mystics, on the other hand, seem to be able to experience a higher-dimensional reality directly and concretely. In the state of deep meditation, they can transcend the three-dimensional world of everyday life, and experience a totally different reality where all opposites are unified into an organic whole. When the mystics try to express this experience in words, they are faced with the same problems as the physicists trying to interpret the multidimensional reality of relativistic physics.’10

It is clear from the above statement that Western science was slowly but steadily tilting towards the findings of the Eastern mystical traditions and the West started looking at East with a meaningful glance.

Einstein, who strongly believed in nature’s inherent harmony, played a crucial role in this respect. ‘God does not play dice’ was his famous quip.

A paradigm shift

With the discoveries of modern physics, there was a paradigm shift in the thinking of the scientific community; they came face to face with a startling revelation that the classical Newtonian view of the universe as merely a colossal cosmic machine was no longer tenable. The universe was not static but the human consciousness interacts incessantly with a subtle, dynamic, organic, homogeneous and expanding universe. Along with it the Cartesian dichotomy was also dethroned with the discovery that mass and energy were interchangeable. Thus Western science was all set on searching for a unifying force of this cosmic web.

Of all the mystic traditions of the East, the Vedanta, more particularly Advaita Vedanta, presents a time-tested cosmological vision of unity and its prolific and profound wisdom provides for a comprehensive framework to contemplate the unifying force of this universe. Vedanta culminates in Advaita as its crowning glory. Advaitic wisdom is the cumulative genius of Indian philosophic contemplation. The philosophy of Advaita is an integral, elegant, edifying rational doctrine as it positively energizes the human psyche to reach for the higher and yet higher realms of consciousness towards the transcendental order. No human articulation could have ever achieved better in expressing the ineffable. Bringing the transcendental into the framework of empirical cognition is the toughest task which the Vedanta has achieved admirably well. So in this respect ‘Advaita Vedanta is the mystical tradition par excellence.’11

Advaita admits duality and multiplicity only on the phenomenal plane, while in the transcendental plane, it is nothing but One, the Brahman, the Absolute. Advaita holds that the whole universe is Brahman which is both acosmic (nishprapancha) and cosmic (saprapancha) and also the substratum (adhishthàna) of the phenomenal world. Brahman is therefore both immanent and transcendent.

Etymologically, the word Brahman is derived from the root ‘bri’, meaning big, vast and, in the extended sense, to grow and expand. Stephen Hawking observes, ‘the discovery that the universe is expanding was one of the greatest intellectual revolutions of the twentieth century’12 is a belated realization of the ageless wisdom of Indian seers of Vedanta.

Brahman is both the material and efficient cause of the universe because it creates out of itself. The Taittiriya Upanishad (2.7.1) says: ‘In the beginning all this was but the unmanifested (Brahman). From that emerged the manifested. That Brahman created itself by itself. Therefore it is called the self-creator.’ The Mundakopanishad (2.2.11) asserts: ‘The whole manifested universe is verily the Brahman, the Supreme (brahmaivedam amritam. . . vishvamidam varishtham)’. The Chàndogyopanishad (3.14.1) again makes a lofty declaration that ‘All this is verily Brahman (sarvam khalu idam brahma). And then it elaborates: ‘In the beginning this was Existence alone, One only without a second.’ ‘That (Existence) saw, I shall become many. I shall be born.’ (6.2.1 & 3) The Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1.1) further dilates: ‘From that Brahman which is the self was produced space. From space emerged air. From air was born fire, from fire was created water. From water sprang up earth. From earth were born herbs. From the herbs was produced food. From food was born man and so on.’ The Aitareya Upanishad (3.1.3) says: ‘Consciousness is Brahman and the whole universe is impelled by Consciousness.’

Again we find in The Taittiriya Upanishad (3.5.1) and (3.6.1) that ‘He knows Knowledge is Brahman; for from Knowledge, indeed, spring all these beings; having been born, they are sustained by Knowledge, they move towards and merge in Knowledge’. Again, ‘He knows Bliss as Brahman, for from Bliss, indeed, all these things originate; having been born they are sustained by Bliss, they move towards and merge in Bliss.’

A highly dynamic universe

Thus the Upanishads account for a highly dynamic universe, not a mechanistic one. The supreme Brahman manifests Itself as the Universe through its triple eternal cosmic principle sat-chit-ànanda (Being- Knowledge-Bliss). However, Advaita Vedanta with its spectacular concept of màya admits the empirical realities of Time-Space-Causal sequence that gives rise to the phenomenally pluralistic universe. Under the spell of màya, human consciousness gets inflected due to its interaction with the four-dimensional time-space phenomenology and thus presenting a kaleidoscopic view of the universe—the One appearing as many. Incidentally, time-space set in the body-mind complex creates cause-effect sequence of karma which the individual soul (jiva) is subjected to. As Hiriyanna puts it, ‘jiva is Brahman appearing in empirical dress’13. The pluralistic universe perceived by the categorizing and discriminating intellect under the spell of màya is not asatya (unreal) but mithyà (illusory). So màya could appropriately be termed as phenomenal reality or relative reality or empirical reality.

The famous Advaitic analogy—Rope-Snake—, in a limited way, is helpful in understanding the abstruse and esoteric concept of màya. The rope, without itself undergoing any change, serves as the substratum for the appearance of the snake. This superimposition (adhyàropa) is the cause for apparent transfiguration (vivarta) and not transformation of the rope into a snake. This perceptual fallacy experienced by the subjective consciousness lends only to a momentary reality that lasts till it is dispelled by the dawn of right knowledge. The moment the reality ‘rope’ is recognized, the illusory appearance ‘snake’ disappears. The elimination of snake (illusory) from the rope occurs simultaneously with the advent of discriminative knowledge.

So màya operates as long as the mind (subjective consciousness) dwells within the relativistic realm of time-space continuum. The relativistic physics has discovered that ‘space is curved to different degrees and time flows at different rates at different parts of the Universe... the notion of linear flowing time is limited to our ordinary experiences and has to be completely abandoned when we extend this experience’14

The Màndukya Upanishad deals critically with this extension of consciousness into the fourth dimension, ie turiya which lies beyond the three preceding states, viz. waking, dreaming and deep sleep. The plane of turiya is a state of transcendental consciousness freed totally from the temporal order of time-space-casuality. Turiya is said to be ‘the seer of everything’ (sarvadrik 1.12), all-pervasive (vibhuh) and self-effulgent (devah) (1.10) and therefore does not require to be illumined by any instrument of knowledge. In that most exalted and sublime plane, as Evelyn Underhill puts it, ‘the soul in ecstacy experiences the Eternal and in complete harmony with the transcended order’15. In that mystical state the soul experiences the all-pervasive reality realizing itself, either a part of it (savikalpa) or one with it (nirvikalpa). The knowledge of Brahman in the state of turiya is therefore supernal and not super-natural. The soul having reached its apex experiences the mystic union with the Divine and the seers of the Upanishads sing in ecstasy ‘I am Brahman—aham brahmàsmi (Brhad.Up 1.4.10), this àtman is Brahman—(ayam àtma brahma—Mandukya Up.2.). Shankara’s resounding advaitic dictum in his Brahmajnàvalimala that ‘brahman alone is real, the soul is no other than Brahman (brahma satyam jagat mithyà jivo brahmaiva na aparah) is a valid experience of the mystics.

A simple but a pregnant metaphor of a banyan seed was enough for the seer-teacher of the Chàndogya Upanishad (6.12.1 & 13.1) to impart the wisdom of the Eternal.

Fetch a fruit from the banyan tree.
it is this one, venerable sir.
Break it.
it is broken, venerable sir.
What do you see in it?
Venerable sir, there are the grains more atomic.
Dear son, break one of them.
It is broken, venerable sir.
What do you see here?
Nothing whatsoever venerable sir.
To him, he said, O good-looking one,
This subtleness which you cannot perceive
Of this subtleness of the size of an atom,
O good-looking one, stands this huge banyan
Tree, Have faith, O good-looking one, That
Which is this subtle essence, all this has got
That as the self
That is Truth, that is self.
‘Thou art that’, O Shvetaketu.

Almost following the methodology of an atomic physicist the seer-teacher of the Chàndogya Upanishad wants the seeker to penetrate deeper and still deeper to the sub-atomic level where the physicist and the mystics meet.

The absolute monism or Advaita Vedanta thus centuries before anticipated the discoveries of modern physicists and cosmologists.

References

1 Capra, Fritjof: The Tao of Physics (An exploration of the parallels
between modern Physics and eastern Mysticism), Flamingo,
London, 1982, p.15
2 Ibid, p. 17
3 Hawking W. Stephen: A Brief History of Time (from the Big Bang to
Black Holes), Bantham Books, Toronto, 1987, p. 18
4 Capra, cited above, p. 71
5 Hawking W. Stephen: Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays,
Bantham Books, Toronto, 1993, pp. 62, 65 & 66
6 Capra, cited above, p. 363
7 Ibid, pp. 78-79
8 Ibid, p. 66
9 Ibid, pp. 211, 271-2
10 Ibid, p. 163
11 Puligandala, Ramakrishna: Consciousness, Cosmology and Science:
An Advaitic Analyses, The Voice of Sankara, vol. 28, 2003, p. 128
12 Hawking W. Stephen: A Brief History of Time, p. 42
13 Hiriyanna, M: Essentials of Indian Philosophy, Blackie & Son,
Bombay 1978, p. 160
14 Capra, cited above, p. 197
15 Underhill, Evelyn: Mysticism, One World, Oxford 2006, preface, p. XIV.

Dr. K. Sundararaman teaches English in Chennai.

Indus and Yangtze, elephant and dragon, Taj Mahal and Chinese Wall—these are the identifying symbols of India and China. In 2008, China is going to host the Olympic Games. As a neighbour, India is also very glad about this Olympic venue, since the two countries have maintained relations from ancient times.

Since the times of Emperor Ashoka, there were trade and commerce between the two countries through the Silk Route. With the spread of Buddhism to China, missionaries of one country travelled to another. Kashyapa Matanga and Kumarjiva of India gained fame in China. Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang came to India and became famous for their masterly contributions. Exchanges continued, and in the 14th century, lbn Batuta, the famous Arab traveller was sent by Md. Bin Tughlak as an ambassador to China. In the middle of that century, the Chinese Court sent Hu-Shien and Fin-Shien as ambassadors to the Bengal Sultan. Rich in medicine, logic, philosophy, grammar, science of arts and crafts, each country was further enriched by the achievements of the other. But there was no war between them.

After being cut off from each other for many centuries, India and China were brought by some strange fate under the influence of the British East India Company. India had to endure it for long, while in China the contact was brief. But even so, it brought opium and war.

India became independent on l5th August 1947, while the People’s Republic of China was established on 1st October 1949. In the early days relation between two countries depended on the relation between two heads of states, but today it is hard to understand the international society as a whole because it consists not only of individuals, but also of states and other group-actors. Consequently, relations among the neighbouring states require a modern reinterpretation.

In this age of globalization, power will continue to play a central role in global politics, as it always does. But usually, there is something else besides conflicts. These are cultural commitment and cultural ties among the nation states. Globalization implies an increase in global interdependence and expansion of individual consciousness of the global situation in which everyone participates. This global participation brings forth cultural globalization which has four faces, namely international business culture, global popular culture, world intellectual culture, and popular religious culture.

A study of Sino-Indian cultural relations can be understood best, if we go through these four cultural traits of these two countries separately. Only then, we will understand what type of cultural ties and exchanges these two countries maintain between them.

International business culture

In the area of international business culture, China is called the Confucian Merchant. That is to say, a businessman in China is equipped with Confucian norms like benevolence, righteousness, propriety, intelligence and sincerity. The unique features of business environment in China seem to be a major reason why so many of the business elites hold on to the ideas of the Confucian merchant. Though China has followed two decades of market-oriented reforms, the Chinese market is still characterized by the state-controlled strategy regarding market resources. Even now the Chinese government owns most of the large enterprises and firms and can to a great extent determine the fate of the private companies through implementation of specific policy and regulations.

If Indian businessmen can also equip themselves with Confucian norms, the country will be benefited. In India today, economic liberalization and globalization occupy a central place in all economic discussions. Globalization raises the hope that the Indian economy can grow and reduce the poverty of its millions of citizens. Over the past 10 years, the Indian Government has demonstrated remarkable flexibility in dismantling archaic economic regulations that hindered growth. As a result, the economy has achieved a growth rate of about 5% while inflation fell to below 2.8%. ADB figures put India’s economic growth at 7%, a rate at which it would catch up with China in another 2 years.

As Cold War ended, China had begun to improve its relations with India as far back as 1979, when they realized that in order to concentrate the resources on economic development, they would have to cultivate peaceful and stable relationship with India. Thus, there was a rapid increase in bilateral trade. Bilateral trade reached $ 20 billion in 2006—a fourfold increase from 2002. During premier Hu—Jintao’s visit to New Delhi in November 2006, the neighbours pledged to double their trade to $ 40 billion by 2010. China is already India’s second largest trading partner. Mr Hu and Mr Manmohan Singh agreed to encourage the investment flow, diversify trade and hasten joint effort to secure foreign energy resources. However, no Free Trade Agreement was discussed.

Popular culture

Next comes popular culture, which is just behind the business culture. Consumerism has become a new cultural ideology in Chinese society, silently replacing both the Marxist ideology and traditional Chinese values. Chain of MacDonald’s restaurants, MTV, soap operas and pop music culture have come up.

Similarly, in India, besides these MTV and Hollywood blockbusters and music culture, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza Hut and MacDonald’s are trying to shape the country’s pop culture.

In case of food-habit culture, India as a whole has accepted the Chinese menu at an affordable price. Chinese food was brought to India through Calcutta’s Chinese community. India’s Chinese population has kinship networks in all the major metropolitan centres and Chinese restaurants were built once at a time as family business over several decades. Chinese food is not at all ‘foreign’ to Indian people as it has been localized and hybridized to suit the Indian palate.

World intellectual culture

Globalization is certainly occurring, not only in the realms of trade, business, technology, pop culture and media communication, but also in ideas, concepts and thoughts. Intellectuals have actually served as carriers of these emerging ideas across the countries.

By the 1990s, globalization as a subject was no longer new to Chinese scholars and policy-makers, since the entire modern history of China can be viewed as a series of attempts to meet the challenges of the outside world and to regain its status in the global community of nation states. During the first stage (1840—1949) the Chinese state became a vassal of Western powers during the process of globalization. The second stage (1949-1978) was marked by the Chinese Communist Party’s effort to resist globalization spearheaded by the West. It is only during the current third stage that China has positively participated in all aspects of the globalization process. For this the reform efforts of the party-state among others should be credited.

India, on the other hand, with her rich and deep civilization has potential cultural emissions and potential alternate structures of modernity. For a nation, to become a cultural emitter, a cultural self-consciousness must be developed. At this stage India is required to be aware of her potential as an emitter country in the global power balance—her economic power, the availability of human labour and her cultural resources.

Intellectuals of both the countries are also concerned with the well-being of the Chinese community of India, amongst other development issues. As a result, a Chinese Consulate Office has been opened in the Salt Lake area of Kolkata.

Popular religious culture

In China, social movement, and religious movement in particular, is an area that is under the careful watch of the party-state, because it has the potential of developing opposition forces. There are now three secular social movements in China, viz, consumer protection, environmental protection and feminism, all related to the globalization process.

In India, even in the days of globalization, religion is intermingled with an Indian’s everyday life. Indians even today are very much conscious about their rich spiritual heritage that binds a heterogeneous nation, as religion in India always implies morality that guides a man to achieve the material goals of life. From the Vedic period, there had been a series of religious movements that India had witnessed. Today it is high time for every Indian to get enriched by his / her ancient religious legacy.

Regarding China, it may be said that Buddhism was the only religion that bound the two countries together for centuries, and even now attract each other. Even today Buddhist monasteries and monks pull Indian pilgrims in large numbers everywhere.

Since the end of the Cold War, Asia has emerged as one of the hubs of global economy and the partners in the region’s success stories include Japan, the ASEAN countries and now mainland China and India. But prosperity and interdependence do not guarantee security. India and China both have strong urge to progress toward building a more effective Asian community that can help to provide all the Asian countries with a win—win solution that can change the usual setting marked by breakneck competition and mutual insecurity.

Indrani D’Gupta is a Calcutta-based freelance journalist and writer of short stories.