I have always been fascinated by the life and work of the great Indian Mathematician - Srinivasa Ramanujan. For my European friends who might not be familiar with his work, I recommend the wikipedia page and the movie "The Man Who Knew Infinity" - which provides a pretty accurate, and, in part, moving account of his life in India and then in UK, Cambridge.
What stands out in the life of Ramanujam is not (only) the fact that he, before the age of 32, had already compiled more than 3900 mathematical results, most of which have now been proved true, but the fact that these results were not a result of hard work or long hours of rational thinking. They were, in the words of Ramanujam, "the word of God." When his mentor in Cambridge, G.H Hardy, asked Ramanujam how he reaches these results, Ramanujam said simply - "they come to me." In reality, the results and theorems were revealed to him as flashes during states of deep meditative prayer. Ramanujam had no mind for proofs - his mentor, G.H Hardy, as well as other peers at Cambridge, had no mind for "flashes" - they wanted and needed proof.
I first heard of Ramanujam when I was about 10 or 12 years old - my parents took us to watch a play about his life. It was a particularly bad play - but a scene from it that remains with me even today, is the scene of Ramanujam seated in front of the statue of the Devi, first begging her to reveal the secrets of the Universe to him and then falling into a deep state of meditation. From the midst of this meditative, deeply blissful state, Ramanujam sprang up and scribbled notes on the floor right in front of the statue. The scene left a deep impression on me. Later, I also saw a TV series on his life - from which, I only remember the scene of his death - during which time also, he was "downloading" information directly from the vast consciousness, that in Hindu traditions is known as Devi (mother goddess) or Divinity.
It is often difficult for one who has experienced even a small taste of these "flashes" to engage constructively with those who are pre-occupied with proofs and logic. It is like a struggle between the left and right side of the brain. A strained interaction between the head and the heart. Undoubtedly, to survive in the world we need both - Ramanujams and Hardys.
As an acedemic in the Western world, I have come to understand, and even get a tiny glimpse of Ramanujam's struggle with the Western academia a little bit better. I have often struggled to explain to my academic "seniors" why I am 100% certain that a certain course of research will lead to fantastic results if pursued. I have been fortunate - I have met my own GH Hardy's who have permitted me to play my own tune, while also teaching me the rigours of Western logic and systems of proof. What I have struggled with even more, however, is trying to explain to them why and how meditation can help them more than it helps me. They have a fantastically trained logical mind. If coupled with meditation, they would surpass any Ramanujam and any Hardy of the present or past. But my longing to have these brilliant minds experience a moment of the "flashes", going beyond the "logical", is in actuality, not merely a longing to bring meditation into their lives. It is a longing to bring the great traditions of the world closer together in harmony, in mutual respect, in sincerety - so that each can be enriched by the other. It is a longing to unite the head and the heart. A longing for oneness.
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