Advaita version 2.0 i.e E = mc2

14^th March 2012 would be Albert Einstein's 133^rd birth anniversary and on this propitious occasion I pay my rich tributes to the great scientist, who gave the most famous mathematical equation in Physics, E = mc² 

4-meter-tall sculpture of Einstein's 1905 E = mc² formula at the 2006 Walk of Ideas, Berlin, Germany

 

This is not just an equation, but was a watershed moment in the world of Physics, for it challenged for the first time the then Physics which was based on the Newtonian Principles, and made these Newtonian Principles, a bit irrelevant. This mathematical equation, this oneness of mass and energy as put forward by Einstein was what Indian/ Hindu philosophers knew conceptually and preached for a long time i.e. ‘Advaita’. In today’s software parlance, E = mc² is clearly, Advaita version 2.0, whereas version 1.0 existed, taught, preached since eons.

Let us discuss these versions in details in reverse chronological order.

Advaita v2.0 i.e. E = mc²

Einstein put forward mass–energy equivalence in 1905, by means of famous equation:   E = mc² where, E is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light in vacuum. By this equation he also proved that energy and matter are inter convertible and that the inter convertibility happens at the speed of 'Light'. When a body i.e. a 'material object' moves at the speed of 'Light' it is converted into energy of any form to be subsequently converted into the 'Ultimate'; and at that speed ‘Energy’ can be converted into Matter of any form which we perceive as 'Universe'.

So in nutshell, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, and energy, in all of its forms, has mass and on the other hand, mass also can neither be created nor destroyed, and in all of its forms, has energy. According to the theory of relativity, mass and energy as commonly understood, are two names for the same thing, thus neither one exists without the other existing also, as a property of a system. Rather than mass being changed into energy, the view of special relativity is that rest mass has been changed to a more mobile form of mass, but remains mass.

Advaita v1.0

Advaita, the 'Primary or fundamental energy' is one and only one, even though the same energy expresses in various forms, mainly four: light, electricity, magnetic force and electromagnetic force and gravitational force, sound etc being their other variants. Though expressed in various forms they essentially are the 'expressions of the primordial energy'.

Note: Scientific proof of the fact that all forms of energies can be combined was given by many scientists most notably by Maxwell, who could combine electric and magnetic forces and later trio of Abdus Salam, Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg could unify three forces (Electromagnetic and Weak Forces) for which they were awarded Nobel Prize.

Einstein desired to quantify 'Advaita' but failed to do so because he could not quantify 'total matter' and though he could prove interchangeability of matter and energy, he could not answer ‘Why this happens’.

Saankhya philosophers followed by Lord Krishna in Geeta attempted to answer why interchangeability of matter and energy exists, though in terms of philosophy for which no mathematical equation exists. A quote from ‘Bhagvat Geeta’ (अध्याय 4, श्लोक 6 i.e. Chapter 4, verse 6) 

अज: अपि सन् अव्ययात्मा भूतानां ईश्वर: अपि सन्
प्रकृतिं स्वाम् अधिष्ठाय संभवामि आत्म- मायया

i.e. by my (= that of primordial energy) intrinsic property (property of energy) I express myself (and the universe comes into being). 

This thought was subsequently also adored by Shankaraachaarya, Vivekaananda and many others. Thus "माया" (Maya) theory came into vogue. (Personally I disagree because energy and matter behave in accordance with their intrinsic properties e.g. light 'glows', electricity gives 'shocks', heat 'warms' or even 'burns', gravitational force 'pulls' etc.) 

Then an inquisitive mind will ask how can one perceive that 'Ultimate'? Patanjali, the founder of 'Yogasootra' says 'तस्य वाचक: प्रणव:' (OM/AUM- ॐ depicts 'It'). Chanting of OM ( ॐ ) can lead one to perceive the Ultimate and understandably so, since OM ( ॐ ) being in vibration and Ultimate being also in vibration, OM ( ॐ ) can resonate with the Ultimate. ‘Idol worshipers can connect with the Ultimate through the idol of the god they believe in’ say the ‘idol worshiper sages’. 

Few questions that still remain unanswered are:

1. What existed before Advaita?
2. What happened before, then existing matter exploded during ‘big bang’, which is said to be the beginning of universe?   

Well, as said by Veer Savarkar, “First page of history can not be found and history begins from second page", probably that is why Swami Vivekananda says, “As energy is the Ultimate and stable form we have to assume that energy existed, not attempting to explain how it existed and thus the Ultimate or ‘Advaita is the beginning of the universe. 

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti ( ॐ  शान्ति:  शान्ति: शान्ति: ) 

(Acknowledgement: This article would not have been able to reach this form and shape without scholarly inputs from Dr Vinze.)