Tao of Physics

I just watched an documentary on one of a controversial and popular book The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism. It is a book by physicist Fritjof Capra, published in 1975. It was a bestseller in the United States, and has been published in 43 editions in 23 languages. After watching this video I felt I must read this book once. The author himself has narrated his observations, inspirations and positions. I am trying to present here some of the key highlight that I've grasped from the documentary.

It's main subject of discussion is the parallels between modern physics and easter mysticism in the time when mysticism is considered a s black spot in modern science. Hence, it took lot of attention as well as criticism.

1. Search of truth : Modern physics seeks to know the reality of matters dividing the matter into smallest unit called molecule and further dividing in to atoms and sub atomic particles. This quest penetrates beyond the limits of senses. Similarly, eastern mysticism has long ago sought in this direction but through experiential meditative methods. 
2. Creation & Destruction: A far as the physics went deeper, they came to a conclusion that no such physically solid particle exists in any of the atom but those so called particles are the collision and explosion of quantum (packet of energy). It is a continuous process of creation and destruction by each other. Same thing is expounded by Buddhist teachings as 'upadavaya dhammino' and in hinduism symbolized by cosmic dance of siva - a dance start from creation and lasts till destruction and continues for endless time. In China, Tao principle implies the way in which the universe proceeds. It implies a flow of energy parallel to the 'cosmic dance' or 'upadavaya' or the collision, creation and destruction process in sub-atomic world.
3. Shift in Paradigm: The modern physics is taking leap on paradigm in perceiving the reality. The western knowledge heavily dominated by Cartesian world view, Newtonian perspective, in which reality is visualized in parts (reductionist approach) and aggregate later to perceive whole. This positivist thinking has lead western scientific approaches to mere mechanistic and fragmented. The worlds most prominent crises such as environmental degradation, threat from nuclear weapon and hunger of large section of world population when looked from reductionist world view it would be perceived in one form but when it is taken in holistic ecological world view, it will be perceived as a part of process. The author stresses on the imperatives on shifting the paradigm from conventional world-view to holistic: world as a process, not as a rigid object. In other word, it is to say, to perceive any reality a joint perspective of different discipline has to be considered. Newton's view of world as mindless machine, Cartesian's view of healthy man as parallel to 'clock' are some of the examples it presents. The metaphor of clock has lead and dominated the research and practice of current medical science, in which when clock stops it tries to find out a defect at one point and repair that. From 17th century, the production of knowledge leaded in the vision that 'man are on purpose', 'man dominates world'. This world-view proliferated as industrialization movement which we considered one of the major factor of the world's environmental and other crisis. In contrast, the eastern mysticism believes that nature cannot be controlled so in these spiritual traditions they teach no-control, let flowing, being embedded in the flow and with the nature.
4. Vision of Material is just a projection: "What we see is not nature but the presentation of it visible according to the way we inquire." Hence objective study can never be objective without ignoring some environment or assuming the absence of some reality. From this perspective, there is no such matter which we perceive by these eyes or any instruments. Negating the existence of any hard and solid things, the scientist of this line of thought and the easter mysticism suggests about physical world as a web of inter-relationship.

Author Capra realized himself in a experiential level when he was sitting in beach, he realized the shower of cosmic rays bombarding in the atmosphere and that dance of the universe. After the he came forward daringly with the conclusion that eastern mysticisms are light, clarity rather than a bad, illicit as considered in modern science. Those thinking are are not rational, cannot be rational but are beyond the rational thinking.