Part Five

Quantum Activism

 

In 1999, I had the unique opportunity to join a group of scientists at a conference in Dharamsala, India, whose specific purpose was for the scientists to dialogue with the Dalai Lama about applying the new paradigm ideas in science and integrating science and spirituality into our social systems. You can get a feel for the flavor of the conference from the documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance. What actually happened at this conference was very educational to me.

In short, the 30 or so scientists—and most of us knew one another—became very competitive as to who among us should have the best opportunity to present his or her ideas to the venerable Dalai Lama. The battle became so vicious that we settled for the ridiculous compromise that each person would get to present his or her work in two minutes.

I still distinctly remember my embarrassing attempt to summarize many of the ideas that you read in this book in two minutes. Of course, it didn't work, and the Dalai Lama's face showed that he was quite unimpressed. The same fate frustrated almost every one of us; the Dalai Lama showed animation only twice—when a psychologist discussed education and when somebody raised the political issue of the future of Tibet. No wonder somebody summed up our frustration with the comment, “Your Holiness, we come to you as hungry ghosts….”

The point is that when we grow up in a materialist society, as all the assembled scientists did, there is no way to escape early materialist conditioning. The competitiveness we all displayed (including me) was deeply rooted in us. Materialism, by denying the importance of meaning, makes one vulnerable to negative emotions.

All our social institutions have fallen prey to negative emotions. The cause of this can largely be traced to the prevalent materialist worldview of the last six decades. How to change it? We can make a beginning with quantum activism—using the transformative power of quantum physics to change ourselves and society.

I will end this preamble with one more anecdote about our meeting with the Dalai Lama. When someone complained to the Dalai Lama about the bitter infighting among the scientists, the Dalai Lama laughed and laughed and simply said, “That is to be expected.” This not only helped to dissipate the bitterness among us, but also proved to me that the Dalai Lama is a highly transformed person.