Sunday, April 16, 2017

Is Quantum Mechanics Rediscovering Sankhya? Are de Broglie's phase waves Tanmatras of Sankhya?


Sankhya proposes two fundamental constituents of the universe and all conscious experience: Purusha (undifferentiated Consciousness) and Prakriti  (the not conscious Nature). Experience is explained as an association of Purusha with Prakriti, knowledge or perception as a thought-wave (vritti), and mind as accumulation of vrittis. Mind is not the seer, but only an instrument of knowledge and also an object of perception like the outside world. Purusha is the real seer. Creation is an evolution outward, from Purusha into differentiated consciousness, from cosmic mind into universe, by gradually covering pure consciousness with successive layers of ignorance and differentiation, each layer being grosser and thicker than the one above it, until the process ends on the physical surface of the visible and tangible world.  In this hierarchical structure of creation, gross elements/matter accessible to the five physical senses (speech, sight, etc.) is said to be made of subtle elements called tanmatras, which are subjective sensations and not tangible, i.e., not accessible to senses.

Now, in quantum mechanics (QM), a quantum particle (QP) is not directly accessible to senses and needs to be 'observed' in a suitably designed measurement experiment. What we actually observe by means of senses is the measuring device said to be classical. The position and other 'observable' properties of a QP are only inferred from the device’s reading. QM tells us that QPs are packets of de Broglie's phase waves, each of which is supposed to have a speed greater than that of light. Clearly, the phase wave is a mathematical abstraction, an idea in physicists' minds; it is subjective and cannot be observed by senses. Since macroscopic/classical matter is accessible to senses and made up of numerous QPs, Tanmatras and de Broglie's phase waves play the same role as constituents of gross matter.
Since the ancient and modern sciences agree that gross matter is made of subtle subjective stuff, it may be useful to explore the ancient science to understand what mind is made of.