Near-Death, End-of-Life Experiences and Quantum Physics

This book is a compilation of the work published by the present authors in various scientific journals mainly focused on understanding how quantum physics could decipher the experiences observed and reported during near-death and end-of-life situations. The authors claim that various theories and models proposed herein (though not propounding to be a complete one) are just an attempt to understand few aspects associated with such experiences connected to the phenomenon of death. They investigate the possible role of the quantum phenomenon in the occurrence of these events and call for a detailed scientific investigation to validate any hypotheses made

On Science & the Perception of Reality

The present mainstream science tackles the problem of Consciousness by embracing the objective or third person perspective; hence, it fails in understanding many fundamental aspects of life. Further, knowledge gained from science is not absolute in the sense that it is based on a human-centric view. This brings us to the question of how to access absolute reality? In this article, we consider the subjective aspect associated with the objective phenomena and explore a possible new science of subjective experience

Understanding Embodiment: Advancing towards a lesser Body and more Soul

The nature of the soul is attribute-less and boundless. To experience its true potential, the dimensionless soul manifests itself in the physical dimension as a body. Materialism originates with the creation of the body as it grows around the soul and in the process of forming, enchants the soul with its materialistic conducts. The soul has the ability to materialize and dematerialize into bodily forms as per will, but such an entropic amendment may change the true essence of bodily life. The avarice for materialistic needs mutilates the body physically and mentally, and unshackles the soul; for as we grow in our materialistic conducts, the body and its senses endure this burden, gradually progressing towards a lesser body and more soul

The Difference in Traditional and Contemporary Meditative Pathways

Meditation and yoga have become so popular that we not only started devising new interventions based on these practices in the context of health and wellbeing, but in the process, we also deviated from the actual purpose and goals set by different traditions.1 Numerous scientific studies have been conducted on different practices of meditation to study the efficacy and potential of these techniques. But, neglecting various aspects that are to be taken into consideration, most of these studies are aimed only at delineating the underlying mechanisms of influence, thus, they involve various issues. Hence, the prime purpose of this paper is to shortlist a few issues in current meditation research and emphasise that meditation has a very deeper purpose and it is not a mere tool to heal nor for enhancing cognitive faculties. The essential message of the ancient traditions is lost and neglected by many present- day practitioners. Therefore, we summarise some obstacles that may surface from the contemporary versions of these practices

Meditation as a Preventive Sleep Medicine

Our failure in devising effective clinical measures for different sleep disorders results from the fact that we don’t really understand the role and functioning of sleep in maintaining the body to its extent. Within this context, we share a possible connection between meditation and sleep and discuss how the study of one may help in understanding the other better. Such a correlation and connection can give us novel insights in knowing the fundamental nature and purpose of sleep in one’s life. The possible influence of the practice of meditation on sleep quality also gives a promising hope for different sleep problems. From this viewpoint, meditation may serve as a non-invasive and preventive sleep medicine

Understanding Meditation Based on the Subjective Experience and Traditional Goal: Implications for Current Meditation Research

Owing to its benefits on various cognitive aspects, one’s emotions, and well-being, meditation has drawn interest from several researchers and common public alike. We have different meditation practices associated with many cultures and traditions across the globe. Current literature suggests significant changes in the neural activity among the different practices of meditation, as each of these practices contributes to distinct physiological and psychological effects. Although this is the case, we want to find out if there is an underlying commonality among all these different practices. Thus, we ask the following questions related to different practices of meditation, the traditional goal of meditation and its significance—what is the central purpose of meditation? Do traditions define the final goal of all the practices of meditation? Are the purpose and goal of these practices different or is there a common goal to be attained through all these distinct practices? Embracing the traditional perspective, through this paper, we want to emphasize that, although these techniques and practices may appear different on the periphery, eventually, they seem to subject one to the same experience at the end, a natural meditative state (discussed in various spiritual traditions as the goal of meditation). In view of future studies on different meditation practices and also those exploring this subjective state, we offer some interesting ideas based on the traditional insights into meditation. In this context, we would also like to make a few comments on the way contemporary researchers view different practices of meditation

The Role of One’s Motive in Meditation Practices and Prosociality

No individual exists without exhibiting prosociality in one or another situation during their lifetime. The argument however, is to what extent? Does it arise spontaneously, out of true empathy and compassion for others, or it is goal-oriented with some hidden motive? Here, our primary intention is to convey that, though various meditation-based interventions can be utilized for different purposes like cultivating prosocial behaviors such as compassion, empathy etc., one’s underlying motive and intent seems to play a crucial role in an individual’s development. Most of the studies exploring prosociality, in the context of meditation, usually do not consider the role of hidden or underlying motivation in one’s prosocial expression. By considering an example of how mindfulness may sometimes lead to the wrong consequences, we try to analyze why it is important to include the aspect of inner motivation in future studies exploring the effects of meditation on prosociality. We also propose that while practicing meditation one may need traditional assistance and ethical/moral teachings in addition to those merely isolated techniques

Science, Subjectivity & Reality

In this paper, we argue on the ability of science to capture the true subjective experience of life, blinded within the limits of its reductionist approaches. With this approach, even though science can explain well the physics behind the objective phenomenon, it fails fundamentally in understanding the various aspects associated with the biological entities. In this sense, we are skeptical to the present approach of science and calls out for a more fundamental theory of life that considers not only the objectivity aspect of a biological entity but also the subjective experience as well. It raises questions as to what does it takes to develop a new science from a subjective standpoint