Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Bose-Einstein Condensate and State of Samadhi


Matter and energy are inter convertible.
Matter is present in various energy states that are temperature-dependent. The higher the temperature, the greater the energy.
Water boils when it is heated to higher temperatures.
This increases the disorder in the molecules as they are energised.
This is entropy.
It represents the excitability and chaos of the molecules that constitute matter.

Satyendra Bose proposed to Einstein that if matter was cooled to very low temperatures —to Absolute Kelvin or minus 273 degrees — then its entropy should decrease and matter should come down to a zero-energy state.
This was proved later on.
This zero-energy state is now known in physics as the Bose-Einstein condensate.
This state of matter is also called a super atom as the entire mass behaves as if it were a single atom.
It loses all its characteristics of shape, charge and polarisation.
It probably reverts to a shapeless, attributeless phenomenon in a de-evolution, reverting to just the potential to manifest as anything.

The human brain is an aggregate of nearly 100 billion neurons.
Thoughts that constantly crowd our minds are the sum total of simultaneous activity of different neurons.
There is chaos in our waking state.
The thoughts translate into various biological changes mediated by the hormonal apparatus at the pituitary interfacing system.
The complex interconnections that abound in the nervous system ensure that even a small impulse rapidly spreads.

Some individuals have innate higher entropy levels and so find it harder to concentrate.
They are ‘distracted’ easily.
They have fleeting thoughts and are very restless.
The sensory organs serve as an important pathway to increase the entropy as they stimulate various neuronal circuits adding to the entropy.
Therefore, closing the eyes helps in the process of concentration.

Continuous stimulation of the neural networks happens in the waking state.
Hence sleep is necessary for minimizing these constant excitatory inputs.
Sleep deprivation leads to fatigue of the neural networks.

When you concentrate, there is a resultant decrease in the disorder of the neural system. As concentration increases, the tendency of the mind to waver and scatter decreases.
The mind is more sharply focused.
So when we concentrate, we are increasing the synchronicity of a specific group of neurons and silencing unrelated neuronal activity.

In scientific parlance, concentration decreases the entropy of the neuronal apparatus.
Just as the entropy of matter drops to near-zero levels when we approach Absolute Kelvin, similarly, the neuronal disorder keeps waning as we concentrate.
The neuronal firing decreases in amplitude as well as frequency. So would the propagation across various networks.


In the waking state, when you consciously attempt to decrease the entropy of the nervous system, it is referred to as meditation.
As the entropy of the neurons keeps decreasing, a state of calmness is perceived.
As this progresses further, the neurons start becoming synchronous.
That is, they neither modulate nor amplify any incoming signal.
They just resonate in harmony.
As this orchestra gets more in sync, you experience varying states of bliss and happiness.
Till what is presumably the final state of zero entropy, where all 100 billion neurons function in total unified quantum coherence.

The Bose-Einstein condensate equivalent of the neuronal system is what may be termed as Samadhi.

Article by Deepak Ranade, a consultant neurosurgeon.

2 comments:

KVS said...

Good article.

I particularly took note of: "It probably reverts to a shapeless, attribute-less phenomenon in a de-evolution, reverting to just the potential to manifest as anything." While matter is gross, mind is subtle. Also, mind is not a single entity like matter. It is comprised of various 'layers' such as manas-budhdhi-ahamkaara-chitta... The 'subtle' is superior by a dimension to the 'gross.'
World is the creation of mind. (That is why, the world is to each his own, with, of course, a lot of common elements in the worlds of various individuals.) A mind in samaadhi can thus manifest ("create") anything in the gross as well as subtle planes. However, the sheer bliss of the state makes most of the fortunate few who reach that state just enjoy the bliss rather than create things.

Shankaran er said...

very interesting article Sowmyaa but a very critical difference is missing here. Bose - einstein condensate w.r.t Brain may be correct as it's a physical law but not with the mind. mind and Brain are not the same. Brain functions like mind but the mind is far deeper than the brain. the samadhi is relevant to the mind..