ENTANGLEMENT- A fascinating phenomenon

Entanglement- A state of Advaita.


Reductionism, as a means of solving the mysteries of creation has since long been the quest of physics. Molecules gave way to atoms, which paved the way for quarks, and then further on to bosons, the quest continues unabated. Presently the flavour of the reductionist approach is the ‘string theory’. It hypothesises all different types of particles being merely differing frequencies of the same elementary building block –‘the string’. The ‘string’ that weaves all creation.
Einstein, proved the inter-convertibility of matter and energy. His E= mc2 revealed the interconversion of matter and energy states. His amazing grey cells could have gone even further to integrate ‘consciousness’ in the equation. The entity that not only spawns energy and matter but along with the cognising entity , cognition itself. An equation that factors consciousness might just be the TOE (theory of everything) that has been the holy grail of Physicists.
Einstein could never digest the fact that “ God played dice”, and so he relentlessly proposed various hypotheses that questioned the integrity of Quantum Physics. One such attempt was the EPR paradox that he proposed along with Rosen and Podolsky . Heisenbergs principle of uncertainty precluded the possibility of accurately predicting both, the position and velocity of a particle. The EPR paradox suggested that if one knew the position of one of the two entangled particles, and the velocity of the other, then it would be possible to know exactly both the variables of the two particles. Since the two particles were entangled,( a term suggested by Schrodinger) they travelled at the same velocity but in opposing directions. The information about the other particle would be got instantly, faster than the speed of light. Einstein called this effect ‘spooky’ as it defied existing laws of Physics. This non-locality was scientific heresy, not just a paradox. It violated Heisenbergs theory and questioned the very foundations of quantum physics. This thought experiment subsequently got verified in the laboratory.
In 1997, Nicholas Gisin and colleagues at the University of Geneva used entangled photons to enable simple - but instantaneous - communication over a distance of seven miles. Quantum entanglement allows particles that are separated by incredible distances to interact with each other instantaneously, faster than the speed of light. The mechanism behind it cannot, be fully explained by any theory. One theory suggests that all matter was once compacted together in a unified state, and hence the connectedness. A oneness, a primordial non-dual state.
Entanglement may be the greatest testimony to Advaita or non-duality. Instant relay of information over a large distance presupposes a separation that may well be just illusory. Time and space could just be deceptive programs of the perceptive apparatus. The apparent duality being just a distortion of the observer. As the great scientist saint –Dnaneshwar has suggested – the trinity of the observer observed and observation is in reality a unity . A more astonishing aspect of entanglement is that the spin of the particle when not being observed is just one of many possibilities. It actually takes up a value only when it is measured. At that very instant this information is relayed to the entangled particle that instantaneously acquires the appropriate reciprocal value. Here, the observer, the observed and the process of observation are all mutually dependant and affect one another. The particle taking on a value when it realises it is being observed makes it as much conscious as the observer. Preposterous to imagine consciousness being an attribute of the sub-atomic world. Transmission of this information instantaneously to the entangled particle instantaneously might seem inexplicable in the realm of duality mediated by our perceptive senses. This apparent separateness may after all be the illusion that our scriptures allude to. Entanglement may eventually qualify the statement ‘Aham Brahmasami,” – I am Brahma, or “Tatvamasi”. I am that. There exists no separation, or difference in the myriad forms of consciousness. The state of realisation could very well be seeing the entire gamut of creation in another dimension – a state of quantum super-entanglement.

Dr Deepak M Ranade- (The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon- deepakranade@hotmail.com)