Between World and Limbo: The Quantum Paradox of Being Present and Absent Simultaneously

Just as subatomic entities are not locked into definite positions in space and time, the mind can free itself from its rigid patterns

"If you gaze into the darkness long enough, something will always appear."

(William Butler Yeats)

In the quantum realm, beyond the boundaries of the phenomenal world, antinomies emerge that reflect the nondual nature of the Real. Here, the interplay of opposites and the principle of emptiness reveal deep intuitions about the nature of ultimate Reality.

Let’s consider for example the wave-particle duality of the electron. In classical physics, it appears as a concrete fragment of matter, an elementary particle. But in the quantum domain, its nature eludes any rigid definition, oscillating ambiguously between the states of “wave” and “particle.”

This apparent paradox reflects fascinatingly the “viparīta bhāvanā” mental attitude, conceived by Vedanta Philosophy. Just as Ultimate Reality transcends and includes at the same time being and not being, so the electron simultaneously embraces two antithetical self-descriptions. “Viparīta bhāvanā” means the “cultivation of opposites” and consists in recognizing the cyclical and impermanent nature of every mental and emotional state. Just as it may seem intense and concrete to us, every feeling contains in nuce the seed of its opposite polarity.

Furthermore, devoid of any identifiable nature outside of its essential relationship with the quantum field that influences it, it perfectly embodies the Vedantic idea of “śūnyatā” — the intrinsic emptiness of any conditioned phenomenon. The “śūnyatā bhāvanā” “cultivating emptiness” mental attitude invites to see emotions as empty forms, dependent on mental frameworks beyond their control. By unconsciously unravelling the stories, assumptions, and projections that we wrap around feelings, we can loosen their grip. Instead of solid states to fight against and cling to, we learn to relate even to the most intense moods as predominantly inconsistent schemes of transitory thoughts.

This indeterminacy allows the electron exceptional freedom and creativity to be able to participate in the manifold forms required by the perpetual cosmic becoming. As Vedanta argues, it is only thanks to the veil of Maya, the absence of a defined essence, that the Unity of Reality can manifest through the multiplicity of ephemeral phenomena that populate the different levels of being.

The Schrödinger’s cat paradox

The Schrödinger’s cat paradox is a thought experiment designed by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935, to illustrate how quantum mechanics can yield paradoxical results when applied to a macroscopic physical system.

I will explain it in a personal manner, hoping that it will be clear to you:

Imagine putting your cat Fluffy in a cardboard box, just like before. But this time, put a small vial containing some medicine inside as well.

However, this medicine is connected to a mechanism, so that at any moment it can break and spill its contents. If the medicine spills on Fluffy, it could make him sick.

Now, close the box tightly so that nothing can be seen from the outside. According to quantum physics, as long as the box remains closed, we cannot definitively say whether Fluffy is alive or dead.

This is because the vial may or may not have broken inside. Only by opening the box and looking can we determine whether Fluffy is well or not. Until then, he is in a state of “maybe alive, maybe dead.”

The crucial point is that, as long as the box is closed, we do not know Fluffy’s state, unlike in the real world where we can imagine what happened inside based on how we left it.

For instance, if we know we didn’t put anything dangerous in the box, we are sure Fluffy is fine. Or if we knew the vial could break, we would worry about him.

However, in the microscopic world of atoms and particles, things work differently and strangely. There, things can exist in multiple states simultaneously, until they are observed.

Therefore, for the cat in the quantum box, as long as it remains closed, we don’t truly know its state, unlike in the real world where we can imagine it. This is the main difference.

What does this ultimately demonstrate?

The main lesson from the Schrödinger’s cat paradox is that:

The subatomic and quantum world has laws and behaviours that are vastly different from how the macroscopic world we see functions;

At the level of individual atoms and particles, a single system can exist in multiple states simultaneously, until it is observed/measured;

This is vastly different from how we normally conceive reality at the human scale, where everything has a defined state until it is observed;

We must learn to accept that there exist other “levels of reality” where fundamental principles can be vastly different from those we are accustomed to;

Quantum mechanics has counterintuitive implications that challenge our everyday thought based on common experience;

It is important to remember that our understanding of the world has its limits and that there exist aspects of nature we may not be able to conceive rationally;

Ultimately, quantum physics seems to offer us a glimpse into the paradoxical yet harmonious functioning that governs existence beyond the dualistic categories of the mind. These “mystical” visions of contemporary science bring experimental knowledge closer to the ancient metaphysical intuitions about the ultimate Mystery.

“As the same fire assumes different shapes when it consumes objects differing in shape, so does the one Self take the shape of every creature in whom he is present.”

(Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.9)

Conclusions and Takeaways

In this sense, quantum physics resonates with contemplative teachings that help to dissolve the tenacious tendency of consciousness to reify fluid experiences into rigid structures. Both reveal that our normal perception constructs provisional relations as established essences, binding awareness to conditioned trajectories.

Just as the quantum indeterminacy embodied by photons and electrons presents close analogies with the realization of the Ātman-Brahman state advocated by Vedanta. This philosophical school teaches the practitioner to let the awareness rest in the Supreme Self (Ātman), abandoning any identification with the limited self (ahamkara) and any distinction between Subject and Object.

Relinquishing appropriating experience as “mine” or “yours” through mental conditioning (vikṣepa), just as quantum states remain indeterminate until wave function collapse occurs.

In the state of Ātman-Brahman experience manifests spontaneously and fluidly, beyond the duality between observer and observed. Just as at the subatomic level it is not possible to rigidly and exclusively define the nature of quantum entities before measurement is accomplished.

Attention rests unlimited in the undivided nondual Absolute, without any effort to circumscribe or appropriate what transcends every concept (nirvikalpa samadhi).

Just as subatomic entities are not locked into definite positions in space and time, but rather manifest freely and unpredictably, so the mind can free itself from its rigid patterns.

Both for the mystic and for the physicist, wanting to restrict the limitless potential of reality within rigid mental frameworks proves limiting and unsatisfactory. On the contrary, letting oneself be carried by the constant flow of becoming, one enters more in tune with the incessant arising of being, beyond rigid distinctions.

The paradoxical intuitions of quantum physics profoundly enrich spiritual awakening, unmasking the illusion of the fragmented mind. Both approaches reveal our intrinsic unity with the vibrant mystery of existence, beyond concepts. Relating flexibly and non-schematically to reality, we experience its intimate harmony beyond rational explanations.

Thanks for reading.