Publications

Dr. Raja Ramanna, an internationally renowned nuclear physicist and founder and Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), had deep interests in Western classical music as well as in ancient Indian traditions. 

This book intends to give a systematic exposition of the validity of quantum principles in biological systems. There are two types of applications of quantum theory in physical systems — the "trivial applications" and "non-trivial applications". Since every object in this universe consists of atoms and molecules, they should be described by the laws of quantum theory — which we call trivial applications. On the other hand, there exist some systems where the observational results cannot be explained by the laws of classical physics and this requires a change of paradigm — these are known as non-trivial applications. Many authors pointed out such non-trivial applications of quantum theory to explain how some biological systems function. In this book, we review such kinds of results in a systematic manner which clearly indicates the need to change the paradigm to understand these biological systems better.

This study discusses notions of plant consciousness within the classical Ayurveda text, the Caraka Saṁhitā (CS) and its ideas on vegetal ‘being’. Drawing extensively from Cakrapāṇidatta’s commentarial gloss on the CS, the Āyurvedadīpikā, it begins by pointing to two frequently conflicting conceptualizations and positions ascribed to plants within the text: (a) plants as material agents of therapy and (b) plants as sentient and conscious ‘beings’. Then, drawing upon the CS’s suggestion that the property of consciousness can be inferred from sentience, the paper investigates Cakrapāṇidatta’s position that plants are not only sentient but also capable of some degree of self-awareness. It then proceeds to ask whether plants may be considered as possessing ‘minds’, situating this discussion within the broader epistemic framework of the CS’s theory of sparśa. In conclusion, the study discusses the implications and challenges of such notions of plant being in view of the text’s overwhelming dependence on a herbal pharmacopeia.