Quantum Physics and Consciousness:
The Ultimate Theory of Everything
An interview with Dr. John Hagelin

John Hagelin, Ph.D., is a world-renowned quantum physicist, educator, public policy expert, and leading proponent of peace. After receiving his Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University, Dr. Hagelin conducted pioneering research at CERN (the European Center for Particle Physics) and SLAC (the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center). more

Enlightenment: How would you define the unified field?

Dr. John Hagelin: The unified field is the scientifically discovered unified source of the diversified universe. It’s the source of all the laws of nature. It’s the ultimate source of the order displayed throughout the vast universe.

“In the meditative state—in the experience of pure consciousness—human awareness opens to the direct experience of the unified field at the basis of the entire subjective and objective universe.”

Modern science over the past quarter century has systematically explored progressively deeper levels of nature’s functioning, from the macroscopic world of classical physics to the quantum mechanical world of the atom, nucleus, and subnuclear particles.

This inward exploration of deeper levels of nature’s functioning has culminated in the discovery of the unified field, or superstring field, at time and distance scales ten million, million, million times smaller than the nucleus.

At this fundamental scale, all four forces of nature governing all phenomena in the universe, and all the particles of nature as well, are unified into one universal field of dynamic intelligence, the basis of all the diverse forms and phenomena in the universe.

Enlightenment: How is the unified field related to human consciousness?

Dr. John Hagelin: Throughout time, certain civilizations have developed highly refined subjective technologies of consciousness—meditation techniques—to systematically explore deeper levels of mind, more fundamental levels of human intelligence. Meditation, properly understood and properly practiced, is a systematic procedure to turn our normally outward-directed attention powerfully within to experience and explore deeper levels of mind—quieter, subtler levels of thought. This inward flow of attention, achieved most effectively through the Transcendental Meditation technique, culminates in the experience of the most silent and expanded state of consciousness—pure consciousness. In this maximally expanded state of awareness—in this unified state of consciousness in which the observer, process of observing, and observed are all united as pure, self-aware consciousness—individual awareness identifies with the unified field. In other words, in the meditative state—in the experience of pure consciousness—human awareness opens to the direct experience of the unified field at the basis of the entire subjective and objective universe.

While in recent times, the unified field has been theoretically derived and, to a limited extent, empirically confirmed through the objective approach of modern science, in ancient times it was directly experienced as the unity of life in higher states of consciousness. Of course, the ancient Vedic science of consciousness, from which the Transcendental Meditation technique is derived, is the most ancient and highly developed science and technology for the direct experience of the unified field at the foundation of the universe.

Enlightenment: What is the relationship between human intelligence and the intelligence of nature?

“Eugene Wigner, who has been called the father of atomic age, commented on the ‘unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the physical sciences,’ in that ‘mathematics derived from human thought fits nature like a glove.’

“The only reasonable explanation for this correspondence is that human intelligence and the intelligence of nature have a common source—the unified field.”

Dr. John Hagelin: The intelligence that lies at the foundation of human experience is the same intelligence that lies at the foundation of everything else in nature—the unified field. Throughout scientific history, scientists and philosophers have remarked on this deep and striking relationship between human intelligence and the natural laws that surround us. For example, Eugene Wigner, who has been called the father of the atomic age, commented on the “unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the physical sciences” and how “mathematics derived through human thought fits nature like a glove.” Einstein likewise remarked that “the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.”

In other words, the theories that mathematicians have developed for centuries mysteriously describe the functioning of the physical universe around us. The only reasonable explanation for the “unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the physical sciences” is that human intelligence and nature’s intelligence have a common source—which would have to be the unified field.

Enlightenment: Does understanding the unified field of physics help us to develop our experiences of higher states of consciousness?

Dr. John Hagelin: Maharishi always felt that intellectual understanding of the nature and dynamics of consciousness helps us to understand and enhance our own experiences, and to solidify our TM practice. When we grasp the dynamics of consciousness and the mechanics of evolution, we can really see the profound significance of even small developments in our subjective experiences during meditation, and we will naturally become excited about the very profound nature of the growth we are experiencing through our daily meditation practice.

Given the profound convergence today of the modern objective and ancient subjective approaches to knowledge, the understanding of physics and the origin and evolution of the universe is intimately related to our understanding of the origin and evolution of consciousness. The discoveries of modern science provide powerful corroboration of our knowledge and experience of consciousness through Vedic Science, brought to light and revived in our generation by Maharishi.

For example, unified quantum field theory, based on the superstring, reveals the step-by-step mechanics through which the fundamental unity of the unified field sequentially gives rise to the increasingly diversified forces and particles of nature. This description nicely parallels the mechanics through which the fundamental unity of our own pure consciousness—where knower, known, and process of knowing are united in one abstract wholeness of experience—systematically gives rise to the diversified structures of ego, intellect, mind, and senses. And then, in higher states of human consciousness beyond waking, dreaming, and sleeping—pure consciousness, cosmic consciousness, and unity consciousness—the latest theories of cosmogenesis provided by inflationary cosmology start to become a direct experience and a living reality.

Enlightenment: How did you get interested in studying physics and cosmology? Were you a stargazer as a child?

Dr. John Hagelin: I always wanted to understand how the universe works. And that led me at Dartmouth College to request a double major in physics and religion. I viewed physics as a reliable means of gaining knowledge based upon empirical and verifiable facts. And I argued that religion similarly was a reliable source of knowledge, since it had been guiding civilization for millennia; if it were devoid of factual utility, it could not have survived the test of time. I argued, therefore, that both disciplines contained deep truths and must be ultimately related.

“Only with the discovery of unified field theory based on supergravity and superstring theory did modern science arrive at the doorstep of unity. It had begun to explore the fundamental unity of life that mated the spiritual and philosophic traditions.”

My eloquent appeal was denied. I was summarily informed that physics had nothing to do with religion. I ultimately chose physics as my graduate major. I pursued my quest for knowledge, my pursuit of the latest and deepest understanding of reality via the path of modern science, through my doctoral studies at Harvard in unified field theories. And truly, only then—only in the light of that pinnacle of scientific knowledge of unified quantum field theories—did the relationship between modern science and ancient science begin to be clear. Only with the discovery of unified field theory based on supergravity and superstring theory did modern science arrive at the doorstep of unity. It had begun to explore the fundamental unity of life that mated the spiritual and philosophic traditions. And this convergence of modern and ancient wisdom was very exciting to me. It encouraged me to deepen my own practice of meditation, my own subjective exploration of the unity of life. I became a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation program, and soon afterwards I had the opportunity to study directly with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at Maharishi European Research University in Seelisberg, Switzerland, just a short commute from the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) where I was pursuing my doctoral research in unified theory and superstring theory.

Being with Maharishi was very exciting. He had been waiting for modern science to begin to realize the ultimate reality of the unity of life; he had written about unified field theory a quarter of a century earlier in his Science of Being and Art of Living. He was very excited that a few scientists at CERN were beginning to discuss the discovery of unity, and I was even more excited to have the opportunity to engage in deep discourse with this renowned sage who was actually living the unity of life. This was the beginning of a very exhilarating relationship that lasted throughout my career and for the remainder of Maharishi’s life.

Enlightenment: Could you give one or two personal experiences of describing this perspective to other academics and scientists? How do they respond?

Dr. John Hagelin: Physical scientists tend to respond with surprise on first hearing of the connection between consciousness and the unified field. Physicists are unaccustomed to hearing about consciousness; many are barely familiar with the word at all. Those who elect to pursue the physical sciences are rarely, if ever, exposed to the word “consciousness” in the classroom. They are involved with the study of matter and develop over their years of study a very materialistic view of the world around them. So even as graduate students and as professors, exploring the deep and subtle areas of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, they tend to maintain this highly objective and material perspective.

We had a very interesting experience when our Maharishi University of Management physics students took a field trip to Fermilab near Chicago. They heard a rather nice presentation on the unified field, or the “theory of everything,” from a researcher there who was confident to the point of being cocky about his complete and comprehensive understanding of the universe made possible by unified field theory. Feeling confident that he could answer any question that anyone could throw at him, he invited the students to challenge him about any aspect of reality whatsoever. The first question from an MUM student was: “What is the relationship between the unified field and consciousness?” And he was taken utterly by surprise; he was totally at a loss. He said, “Consciousness? What’s that?” Consciousness was totally outside his worldview. Instinctively, he would have resisted the proposal that the unified field was consciousness simply because, to him, the unified field was a reality of such grandness, whereas, for him, consciousness didn’t exist at all or, if it did, was something of very little importance. All he was missing, however, was the proper angle. There was nothing wrong with his equations or his understanding of the unified field. His problem was only an utter lack of understanding of consciousness, which is pervasive throughout the discipline.

The good news is that those physicists who have actually invested any time in exploring the nature of consciousness tend to come to the same conclusions: consciousness is not, and cannot be, a superficial phenomenon of the brain alone. That logic simply does not hold up to careful scrutiny. Consciousness cannot emerge from matter. Whereas thinking, cognitive processing, memory, and sensory experience are intimately tied to the workings of the brain, the phenomenon of consciousness itself—the fundamental liveliness of experience, the phenomenon of subjectivity—cannot emerge from matter. Consciousness must be fundamental in nature—ultimately a quality of the unified field. And it is very exciting these days to work with a growing body of physicists who have come to this ultimate realization.