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The title of this blog may surprise you but please hold your curiosity. When I grew up, I wanted to study quantum physics but became an IT professional by accident. I could not resist the temptation that the IT boom in the 90s brought to India at that point.

Schrodinger was someone whom I used to study with great enthusiasm in my graduation days. His wave equation was a unique creation that can explain physics' classical and quantum worlds at the same time.

But why am I talking about Schrodinger here? This is because Schrodinger’s second most popular equation possibly remained hidden from many was:-

Atman (Self) = Brahman (Universal Consciousness)

Universal Consciousness is a metaphysical concept suggesting an underlying essence of all being and becoming in the universe.?As per the little-known ancient Indian scripture Upanishads, there are four states of human consciousness. The first three are Awake, Dreaming, and Deep Sleep. But it talks about the fourth state which you attain in deepest meditation. It is neither inward-turned nor outward-turned consciousness, nor it is an undifferentiated mass of consciousness, you attain blissful and peaceful nothingness. At this stage, you are connected to the universal consciousness which prevails around you and everywhere.

The only difference in the second equation here was that Schrodinger was not the original ideator of his second equation and never claimed as well. He borrowed it from the Upanishads. Upanishads were conceived between 1000 BC to 500 BC in ancient India. There are 108 different Upanishads which are mainly philosophies of the Vedic period. Out of them, thirteen are main. Almost all thirteen main Upanishads talk about the concept of Atman (self) and Brahman (Universal Consciousness) and use it to explain Karma – the laws of cause and effect and answer the various questions about life, death, pain, pleasure, and the reality around us. Upanishads give the concept of meditation and breathing exercises, they talk about various sounds and their relationship with man and nature. Almost all of them talk about the non-duality of Atman and Brahman and consider them the same and uses them to explain the different topics pertaining to life, world, and creation.

At one place in Chagodaya Upanishad, the teacher explains to his son about the universal consciousness and the supreme reality and says “Tat tvam asi”, (Sanskrit: “That are you”). “Tat Tvam Asi”, unites the macrocosmic ideas of God and universal consciousness with the microcosmic individual expression of the Self. Or, again, in such words as ‘I am in the east and the west, I am below and above, I am this whole world.

Upanishads explain the concept of Brahman(Universal Consciousness) is explained in the form of “Neti Neti” (Sanskrit), which means “neither this nor that”. It is a negation of everything to understand that universal consciousness that prevails around us. Whatever our sensory organs can perceive, it is not that, or whatever the brain can realize it is not that. Hence it talks about looking inner and connecting with the self to find the answer. The same soul (atman) exists everywhere in all living beings, it is a part of pure consciousness. We cannot feel it because we are blurred by greed, anger, lust, hatred, love, and many other attributes which cloud our visibility.

Upanishads also dwell upon the observer and observed. As per Upanishads, they are the same. "One cannot know the Absolute, because the Self cannot see Itself." (Brihadainiyka Upanishad). Quantum theory reduces the gap between the observer and the observed by building the connection, Upanishads indicate that it is much closer.

One of the most bizarre premises of quantum theory, which has long fascinated philosophers and physicists alike, states that by the very act of watching, the observer affects the observed reality. In books such as “What Is Life?” and “Mind and Matter” and “My View of the World”, Schr?dinger painstakingly built a concept of the One Mind, in which consciousness is transpersonal, universal, collective, and infinite in space and time, therefore immortal and eternal. This is exactly what the Upanishads also talk about all the time, explaining the connection between the material body and the stateless consciousness.

The Isha Upanishads further explain the infinite. It says - That Brahman (Universal Consciousness) is infinite. This phenomenal world is also endless. But “this” is only a projection of “that”. If “this” is taken away, “that” remains infinite as before".

The conversation can be lengthy and big but if you look soul as a part of the universal consciousness, you see the same soul in every living creature. Suddenly, the whole world becomes your family and the Maha Upanishad says “Vasudeva kutumbakam” (“Sanskrit -the world is one family).

Conclusion

Nature has brought diversity. In our conscious state, we see things differently. But in the deepest state of meditation, we see the basic core of the reality surrounding us which is the same. Customizations are superficial if we look at everything from the perspective of unified Atman and Brahman. There is no "you" and "me", there is no "I" as well. Does that create the core of something called empathy? I leave that to the imagination.

Disclaimer: The blog post is not connected to my profession or the business I am associated with, nor does it carry the views of my employer. The post is just an attempt to study various concepts of ancient scriptures. The content may be debatable and contrarian views and criticisms may exist as well. The author has a deep interest in culture, history, evolution, and humanity and continues to study them at various depths.