Mani Bhaumik - Code Name God

I AM a mathematician and scientist like my father. My life and mind have been devoted to physics and the study of the laws of the universe with close personal interactions with icons like Einstein, Heisenberg, Schrdinger and Pauli. My ethnical, cultural, and religious background is different from that of Dr Mani Bhaumik. Yet, we are connected by the wisdom of science, and I am strongly inclined to agree with Dr Bhaumiks contention that only a superficial comprehension of modern physics leads one to sheer atheism. I was so impressed by his book, Code Name God, that I personally arranged for the publication of its German edition. I also invited him to give a talk to the expert audience at the Schrdinger Institute in Vienna, an organization which I have been privileged to serve as a director. Judging from the animated questionanswer session following the talk, I must pronounce that his depiction of a universal creator based on modern scientific discoveries that argue against atheism was well received. Somewhat of a paradigm change is being revealed by modern physics.

Dr Bhaumiks portrayal of a higher power embedded in the fabric of the universe, which is responsible for its continuing existence and operation, is consistent with his reliance on the highly technical and mathematical intricacies of the Quantum Field Theory, an area of study to which I had the opportunity of making some significant contributions. With the help of quantum physics and modern cosmology, Dr Bhaumik illustrates how the universe was when it came into being, how it evolved, and how the same fundamental laws present during its genesis are now administering its activities in areas so far apart that they cannot communicate with each other even with the speed of light.

A deep understanding of the splendid sophistication unveiled by modern science persuades us to find it absurd not to recognize a common blueprint behind all of creation and behind this blueprint a higher order of intelligence. The deeper we look, the more we marvel. Dr Bhaumik elegantly explains all this in language simple enough to be understood by the general reader. Cosmic evolution has proceeded with such an incredible fine-tuning that it ultimately allowed for the emergence of intelligent beings to comprehend its design while participating in its manifestation. If the universe of pure accident, a machine operated solely by chance as imagined by some, were an invention submitted to the patent office, a scrupulous patent officer would immediately reject the applicationsince it needs so many unusual coincidences, it would fail in reality.

The interplay between random processes and exquisitely fine-tuned natural laws is simply too marvellous to attribute to chance. It strongly suggests the presence of a creator, however we may perceive the concept through our insight. Why is there such reluctance among some scientists and humanists to embrace this notion? It seems the trouble begins when we attempt to impose the scientific ideas of the higher power under the yoke of human construct for an image. It is fitting that a man of India with its immense spiritual heritage has so elegantly articulated a fresh point of view, for it was here that a truer nature of creator and creation was first glimpsed through contemplation. It is indeed illogical not to recognize that reflections on the creation of the universe reasonably lead to reflections about the creator and the traces of God in the laws of nature. I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I did.

Walter Thirring Former Director of the Theory Division, CERN, Geneva, and The Schrdinger Institute for Mathematical Physics, Vienna.