Quantum Physics and Spirituality — an Afterthought
Some time ago I completed a series on the theme of my title. I’m interested in this because I perceive quantum physics to be the foundation stone for a much-needed reunification of science and religion/spirituality.
You can usually rely upon Medium writer David Price to provide some interesting quotes. This recent article of his was no exception, where I found this: “On the deepest level, much deeper than atoms or quantums, is ‘nothing’ NOTHING at all. The crazy thing is that this ‘nothing’ creates EVERYTHING”. (Hans-Peter Durr)
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EDIT
I’ve just discovered that the quote continues: “Complete universe is created moment by moment, constantly. All comes out of this ‘nothing’, comes from ‘emptiness’, which is outside any usual understanding. We are part of an endless ‘new creation’ in every moment”. This makes what follows here even more interesting.
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This immediately attracted my attention because that was precisely the viewpoint of various ancient spiritual traditions, for example Kabbalism, Taoism and others, and in modern times by the ‘gnostic’ Carl Jung in the first of his Seven Sermons to the Dead.
Some internet research revealed that the quote continues thus: “On the deepest level, much deeper than atoms or quantums, is Nothing at all. The crazy thing is that ‘Nothing’ creates Everything from moment to moment. Complete Universe is created moment by moment, constantly. All comes out of this ‘nothing’, comes from emptiness, which is outside any usual understanding. We are part of an endless ‘new Creation’ in every moment.”
This led me to wonder who exactly Hans-Peter Durr is or was. Some more internet research revealed the following. He was a German quantum physicist, a one-time director at the Max-Planck-Institute of Physics, who also worked closely with Werner Heisenberg, one of the founders of quantum mechanics.
He has appeared on Youtube with Medium writer on spiritual matters Deepak Chopra.
He is also listed as one of the top five scientists who converted to Hinduism (along with Werner Heisenberg, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Carl Sagan, and Erwin Schrödinger. We can see that he is in good company.) The website says: “He was so influenced by Hinduism that he dedicated 33 years of his life to studying and mastering the Vedas and Upanishads… He once said that when he teaches quantum physics, he feels like he’s giving a lecture on Hinduism’s vedanta philosophy”.
Elsewhere he is quoted as saying: “What we consider the here and now, this world, it is actually just the material level that is comprehensible. The beyond is an infinite reality that is much bigger, which this world is rooted in. In this way, our lives in this plane of existence are encompassed, surrounded, by the afterworld already. The body dies but the spiritual quantum field continues. In this way, I am immortal”.
Although I hadn’t heard of him before, he should clearly be included in the list of quantum physicists whose study of science led them to a spiritual worldview, the most obvious ones being Erwin Schrödinger, Sir Arthur Eddington, Max Planck, David Bohm, Fred Alan Wolf, Fritjof Capra, and Danah Zohar.
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I hope you have enjoyed this article. I have written in the past about other topics, including spirituality, metaphysics, psychology, science, Christianity, politics and astrology. All of those articles are on Medium, but the simplest way to see a guide to them is to visit my website (click here and here). My most recent articles, however, are only on Medium; for those please check out my lists.
