Duality is both real and provisional — and the most sophisticated understanding of it is that it is about relationships, not distinctions. Episode 5 of the Physics from the Point of View of Indian Knowledge Systems series features Dr. Mithun J. Gomajendra — Cambridge PhD, Harvard postdoctoral researcher under a Nobel Laureate, and quantum physics expert — in a conversation that pushes the science-philosophy boundary.
Dr. Gomajendra argues that duality in physics (wave-particle, matter-energy, forces of nature) is not a fundamental feature of reality but a provisional description that reflects our level of observation. The four forces of nature are believed to unify at extreme conditions — suggesting duality itself dissolves at the deepest level. Vedic deities like Agni, understood simultaneously as phenomena and transcendent principle, encode this “meta-duality” — duality that transcends itself.
The conversation draws striking parallels between quantum field theory’s treatment of seemingly opposed categories and the Vedic non-dual tradition’s insistence that distinction and unity are not contradictions but different levels of the same reality. A rare episode where advanced physics and Indian cosmology illuminate each other with precision.

About The Speaker:
Dr Mrittunjoy Guha Majumdar is an Adjunct Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, and an Assistant Professor at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Delhi NCR. He holds a PhD from the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. He has conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University, the Indian Institute of Science, and with Nobel Laureate Prof. Brian Josephson. His research spans quantum information, entanglement, and quantum machine learning. A recognized science communicator and policy advisor, he has worked with UNESCO, the G20, and the Government of India. He is the author of the bestselling book ‘From Shiva to Schrödinger’ (Penguin) and National Convenor of Mandala, a platform integrating science and Indic knowledge systems.

Debasis Sarkar is an Anchor at The Sangam Talks and an independent researcher in Indology.