Code Name God: The Spiritual Odyssey of a Man of Science

by Mani Bhaumik

Four hundred years after science overthrew faith, science is itself proving to be a false god, leaving in its wake a disillusioned and despondent mankind.In Code Name God, Mani Bhaumik, renowned physicist and one of the pioneers of the LASIK eye surgery technology, draws on the field of quantum physics and cosmology to answer the fundamental questions about faith. He demonstrates how both spirituality and science are essential for human beings and how one can strike a perfect balance between the two. The author, who as a youngster lived in Mahatma Gandhi's camp, details his incredible rags-to-riches journey and his equally remarkable search for meaning in life, which make for a motivational saga.Insightful and enriching, Code Name God provides a simple and easy-to-understand scientific approach to faith and the realization of god.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Science, Philosophy, Self Help, Biography, Religion

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Mani Lal Bhaumik is an Indian-born American physicist. He is a lecturer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
His early contributions to laser technology are exemplified by the development of the excimer laser at the Northrop Corporation Research and Technology Center in Los Angeles. As team leader, Dr. Bhaumik announced the successful demonstration of the world's first efficient excimer laser at the Denver, Colorado meeting of the Optical Society of America in May 1973. Subsequently, it found extensive use as the type of laser that made possible the immensely popular Lasik corrective eye surgery, eliminating the need for glasses or contact lenses in many cases. In recognition of his pioneering research in high energy lasers and new laser systems, Dr. Bhaumik has been elected by his peers to fellowships in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as well as of the American Physical Society.
Dr. Bhaumik's current interest is in sharing with the public the advances in quantum physics and cosmology and their implications for both material and spiritual development.
He was given one of India's prestigious civilian award - Padma Shri - in 2011.

Reviews

[Ajay · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of the book flows well like an autobiography and is pretty touching at times. Personally I felt some level of gloating at the initial pages but then his rags to riches story completely justified it.

The flow of his personal life goes on well till it reaches some proverbial brick wall where it suddenly takes a massive detour and goes on to give a brief summary of everything related to physics, metaphysics, with some sprinkle of spirituality in attempt to blend it seamlessly. Although strong on content, the mere barrage and the speed at which topics are covered make it tough to attain a structured approach to the desired goal. Thus may seem haywire at times, but most of the topics are covered succinctly.

All in all a good read with the added prerequisite that some knowledge of physics might be necessary to take it all in.

[Chetan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When APJ Abdul Kalam recommends a book and says he read it in one sitting, that automatically qualifies for #1 on my TBR.

Unfortunately, I cannot say I loved this book as much as Mr. Abdul Kalam did.

[Ahmed Atif Abrar · Rating 5 out of 5]

এমন বই আগে পড়ি নি। সত্যিকারের বিজ্ঞানের দৃষ্টিকোণ থেকে ধর্মকে দেখা। মণি ভৌমিকের জীবনও উঠে এসেছে এতে, যা প্রেরণাদায়ক। মাতঙ্গিনী হাজরার নাম শুনেছি অনেক; এ বইয়ে আরো বিস্তারিত জানলাম তাঁর আত্মত্যাগ নিয়ে।
অনেক বিষয়ই মাথার ওপর দিয়ে গেছে। বিশেষত কোয়ান্টাম মেকানিক্স যে বইয়ে আলোচিত হয়, তাতে যথেষ্ট মাথা খাটানোর দরকার হয়; কেবল লাইন পড়ে গেলে হয় না। তবুও ভাবছি বইটা আবার পড়ব। মূল ইংরেজিতে।

তাছাড়া রবীন্দ্রনাথ বারবার ফিরে ফিরে এসেছেন তাঁর বাণীমালা নিয়ে। মৈত্রেয়ী দেবীর লেখায় পড়েছিলাম, রবি ঠাকুর প্রতি সকালে সূর্য সম্মুখে রেখে ধ্যান করতেন; না না বাদ দিয়ে গেছি–তিনি উঠতেন অনেক ভোরে। এবার কিছুটা বুঝতে পারছি আল্লাহকে তিনি কাছে পেতে চেয়েছেন কীভাবে।

কোয়ান্টাম মেথড নামে যে পদ্ধতি বাংলাদেশে এক 'মহাজাতক' বের করেছে বলে দাবি করে, সেটা যে হার্বার্ট বেনসনের বই থেকে নেওয়া, তাও জানতে পারি। সবচেয়ে বড় কথা, ধ্যান সম্পর্কে আরো উৎসাহিত হলাম।

অনেকে বলেন, কোড নেম গড বইয়ের অনুবাদ ভালো হয় নি‌। আমার সেরকম মনে হয় নি।

[Gorab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the only book I have come across which is pretty elaborate on Science and Spirituality, and is an Autobiography!

An interesting tale from rags to riches of self-made millionaire Mr Bhaumik, who is the co-inventor of LASIK.
Born and raised in a poor family in Bangal pre-independence, his childhood thoughts draw heavy influence from Gandhiji - as he spent a substantial time in Gandhiji's company. He completed his PhD in quantum physics from IIT Kgp at a very young age of 27! He then moved to states to pursue post-doctoral with scholarship aid from UCLA. He is candid with the women in his life, and how each of them made an impact to his lifestyle.

After along 100 pages, the narration shifts to cosmology - the creation of universe, the big bang, Heisenberg, Planck, Einstein, Feynman, Penrose, Schrodinger and a gist of most influential 20th century scientific progress.

Another 50 pages down, it goes big guns with Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Field Theory! This is where I started struggling to read every sentence! Though it is all explained in generic layman terms, it is bound to get you dizzy!!!

Its like having a conversation with a top notch physicist, where he lays his mind open for you, most of it goes way above your head but somehow still strikes a few chords in your heart here and there!

Then comes the spirituality part, and his idea of resonating with "Quantum Meditation"!!! This is where science joins hands with spirituality, and his thoughts are laser focused on our consciousness, inner self, the creation of world, creation of time, universal measuring unit, ultimately leading to that one thing, unified energy field, higher power, the source, code named - God!

[Venky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Employing a unique blend of heady Quantum Physics and holistic Philosophy, Dr.Mani Bhaumik strives to bridge the gap between Science and religion. Trying to demonstrate that the philosophies of Buddha are not in conflict with the propagation of Niels Bohr and that Plato and Penrose have a common confluence rather than an apparent contradiction, Dr,Bhaumik links the advance of science with the eternal effervescence of spirituality.

Tracing his own humble beginnings from a mud floor in the village of Tamluk in Bengal, to a meteoric rise which saw him own 5 mansions, including the most popular "Bel Air", the pioneer in laser surgery (commonly known as LASIK), threads a brutally frank and unabashed journey involving spectacular soirees, delectable dalliances and unashamed accumulation of wealth. However what gives Dr,Bhaumik the ultimate solace is the realisation concerning the meaning of life triggered by an awakening of the omnipresent 'consciousness'.

While some of the concepts dealing with Quasars, negative energies and force fields are straight out of the realm of Captain James Kirk and his ubiquitous 'Enterprise', there is no esoteric 'Star Trek' involved when the author deals with his experiences concerning meditation and the search for truth. The simplicity gleaned from being in close proximity with Mahatma Gandhi for a brief period and the valuable lessons learnt from the stellar sacrifices of a doting grandmother who made over her own meager morsels of food to her aspiring grandson have all stood Dr. Bhaumik in excellent stead.

The story of a boy who took poverty head on, survived a raging epidemic and carved out a spectacular niche for himself (even appearing in a TV show concerning America's Rich and Famous) before looking within makes for some introspective and inspiring reading.

[Samanyu Sethi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating- 2.5/5

This book was recommended by a family member, the notion of combining quantum physics and religion together to arrive at the same conclusion- god does exist was quite intriguing and compelling enough for me to pick this book.

The first half of the book has a decent pace, its more like an autobiography of the author and his journey, the second half the book is where we delve into the main subject of the book- combing quantum physics and religion. The author is quite knowledgeable, the concepts explained in the book are also very well researched, but it felt rushed in some sense, especially for a person who does not have a science background and is reading about such concepts for the first time. It was tough for me to keep up with all new concepts of quantum physics and cosmology that the author attempts to explain, which is one of the reasons why i was tired of this book during the second half.

All in all, it’s in an interesting book with some interesting ideas, but as far as my personal beliefs go, the book was not able to convince me enough!

[Madhuri Ghosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

আধ‍্যাত্মিকতা আর বিজ্ঞান কি পরস্পর সম্পর্কযুক্ত?? সেই প্রশ্নের উত্তর খুঁজতেই এই বই পড়তে আগ্রহী হয়েছিলাম। ড. মণি ভৌমিক, যার জন্ম এবং বেড়ে ওঠা মেদিনীপুরের একটি গ্রামে। দেশে তখন স্বাধীনতা আন্দোলনের সংগ্রাম চলছে।পরিবারের মানুষজন স্বদেশী আন্দোলনে জড়িয়ে থাকার সুবাধে লেখক খুব সহজেই মাতঙ্গিনী হাজরা , গাঁন্ধীজীর মতো মানুষের সান্নিধ‍্যে এসেছেন এবং স্বাভাবিক ভাবেই তাদের মতাদর্শ, জীবনবোধ লেখকের জীবনে প্রভাব বিস্তারও করেছে।। এরপর খড়গপুর আইআইটি, আমেরিকার বিভিন্ন ল‍্যাবে মূলত লেজার বিষয়ক গবেষণায় তার কর্মজীবন অতিবাহিত হয়েছে। প্রচুর যশ, খ‍্যাতি, ঐশ্বর্যের প্রাপ্তি তার জীবনে ঘটেছে। কিন্তু এখানেই কী সব চাওয়া পাওয়ার সমাপ্তি?? সব কৌতূহলের শেষ?? না।। বইয়ের প্রথমার্ধ পড়ে ধারণা হতে পারে এটা কোনো অটোবায়োগ্রাফি পড়ছি। এই ধারণার ভুল ভাঙবে বইয়ের দ্বিতীয়ার্ধে পৌঁছালে।লেখকের অনুসন্ধিৎসু মন ছোটোবেলা থেকেই ঈশ্বরের অস্তিত্বের প্রমাণ খুঁজে চলেছে। মহাবিশ্বের উৎপত্তির মূলে কী আছে তার উত্তর খোঁজার তাগিদ অনুভব করেছেন। তবে সবটাই বিজ্ঞানের যুক্তিতে তিনি ব‍্যাখ‍্যা করেছেন। প্রাচীন বৈদিক দর্শন , বিভিন্ন ধর্মগ্রন্থ এবং পদার্থবিদ‍্যার কোয়ান্টাম মেকানিক্সের মধ‍্যে সম্পর্ক খুঁজেছেন। বিজ্ঞানের আলোকে ব‍্যাখ‍্যা করেছেন প্রাচীন বৈদিক যুগের তত্ত্বকে। চেতন, অবচেতন, অর্ধচেতন স্তরকে বিজ্ঞান দিয়ে বুঝিয়েছেন। শেষে ধ‍্যানের মাধ‍্যমে কিভাবে মনকে একটা বিন্দুতে স্থির রাখা যায় তার উপায়ও দিয়েছেন। ঈশ্বরচেতনা জাগ্রত করার এটি একটি পথ। পৃথিবীর সমস্ত ধর্মের মূল সারকথা যে একই এই বই সে কথাই বলে।এই সব ব‍্যাখ‍্যা করতে গিয়ে কোয়ান্টাম মেকানিক্স, বিগ ব‍্যাঙ, থিয়োরি অফ রিলেটিভিটির কথা বার বার ঘুরে ফিরে এসেছে। কিছু ক্ষেত্রে সেইসব থিয়োরির ব‍্যাখ‍্যা বোঝা একটু হলেও মুশকিল। তবুও পরিশেষে এটা বলাই যায় বিজ্ঞান, ঈশ্বর, আধ‍্যাত্মিকতার মধ‍্যে সম্পর্কের সমীকরণের সবাধান কষতে বসলে ধনাত্মক একটি উত্তরই পাবেন এই আশা করি।।

[Titas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mani Bhaumik is a scientist who came up from a very very rural area of West Bengal, India. As another Science student from West Bengal, he has always been a great idol for me. This book came to my hands when I knew almost nothing about him. Apart from any study books this was the first book i read by a scientist.
But this is not about description or elaboration of scientific facts or topics. Mr. Bhaumik tells us about himself, how he had to struggle to be what he is. Then comes the life of a wealthy man's luxury and finally his realizations.
Although in the later portions of this book he explores and tells us about his work, deep down there is a stream line containing spirituality, religion, GOD, mankind and enlightenment. It is a bit complex at some places but overall it gives a newer perspective about Science and God.
Anyone who wants to explore something other than just debates about God and Science must try this book.

[Ramchander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind-bending and life-changing! The way Mani Bhaumik connects his life, Gandhi, his principles, the charkha and quantum physics is amazing! Although I was quite skeptical at first, I realised while reading that the author's voice is genuine and is not the cliche of "Oh all these modern scientific concepts were already written long ago in the Vedas!" He has read widely, his perspectives are unique & the number of books & thinkers he introduces in this book is stunning. The deep science portions require patient re-reading. Must read for anyone interested in the intersection of science and spirituality or anyone who already has realised that boundaries between fields are superficial!

[Janice SHULL · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about a journey, and of course the journey has not ended. In a larger sense, it never will. The first half of the book tells the amazing story of Bhaumik’s journey from his low caste family living in a mud hut in Bengal to the highest echelon of physics and to immense wealth. Eventually his Bel Air lifestyle felt empty to him and he sought through meditation to regain the spiritual fullness of his youth in India.

Bhaumik began to apply his knowledge of the cosmos and quantum physics to the search for the “one source,” which Bhaumik states has been code named God by all religions. For those unfamiliar with the concepts and terminology, this whirlwind trip through the greatest scientific advances of the twentieth century is heady stuff. But Bhaumik presents the material in an accessible way, carefully guiding the reader from the smallest particle, the atom, into spacetime where all matter dissolves into quanta. From the infinitely large to the infinitesimally small, we begin to grasp how creation began from the seed of God, the one source of all.

Some people will reject the science presented here; some will feel that it threatens organized religion. Bhaumik asks the reader to temporarily relax the image of God which is most familiar, to move it aside for this exploration of a new reality. The reward is both a new way of seeing material reality and a vision of transcendent wholeness in the universe.

Bhaumik’s concluding paragraph brings it home: “…it is the universal potentiality of consciousness that we resonate with when we tap the mind’s well. We access the very power behind all existence, a power which is encrypted everywhere in the foundation of space itself. It is the power of the one source, the order that underlies and enfolds all orders, that unifies all fields and forms, as well as consciousness, …this source [that we call] by its code name: God.”

When I finished this book I felt that my journey of a lifetime had only just begun.

[Shrutarsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A journey from Bengal to Bel Air, the struggle of a boy from an impoverished background during the turbulent periods of famine and freedom struggle, a life profoundly influenced by the ideals of Gandhi and other social thinkers. The future discoverer of laser technology, which has now facilitated the LASIK technology had very little of his father who was a freedom fighter and a teacher but somewhere deep down below his teachings led him higher. But to me, a certain hypocrisy enshrouds the person. The opulence and the morals of earthly chastity preached in the first part of the book disagree with each other.. The last few chapters need some serious knowledge in physics for minimum understanding.

[Saiisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We must at least ask the question: What could the world of science tell us about the nature of God?" And this is what author Mani Bhaumik proceeds to do in his book, Code Name: God.

I’m shocked that this book isn’t better known. I don’t remember how I came across it, but now that I have, it’s my responsibility to tell more people about it. It will appeal to the Thinker types among you, those that follow the Jnana Yoga path, although the “jnana” (knowledge) imparted in this book is more of a scientific nature than Vedantic jnana.

Read the rest of my review over at http://www.nestintheforest.com/book-r...

[Vikas Banerjee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mani Bhaumik’s Code Name God explores how the extension of particle physics into quantum theory and the reconciliation of the four fundamental forces: electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, and gravity, provides a logical argument for the existence of God in some form. It has three main sections: the first being an autobiography, the second being the science section, and the last being the section that combines Bhaumik’s personal experience with the science to try to prove the existence of God.

I think that the first section was incredible. If this book was just an autobiography, it would be fantastic. He tells his story chronologically, starting dirt-poor in a small village in northern West Bengal before working his way up through society to become the multimillionaire inventor of LASIK eye surgery. Along the way, he worked with Gandhiji, moved to Kolkata, got a scholarship to come to the US for research at UCLA, and then being the leader of the team that invented the specific type of laser to be used for the LASIK surgery. After this, he became very rich, moved to Bel Air, and lived a life among the rich and famous but was unfulfilled. After consulting with three close friends, he realized that his science-focused life had become completely detached from spirituality, and he needed to figure out how he could convince himself that spirituality was real. So far, so good.

The second section was also really good. It does really good science education in that it explains things that most people would find reasonably difficult to understand in a way that makes sense and is easy-to-understand but not so much so that it feels demeaning or that the reader is being talked down to. That is a difficult balance to maintain, but this book does it well. In that sense, it reminded me of another fantastic science book I read recently: Dan Levitt’s What’s Gotten Into You, which does the same thing at a lower level. Additionally, it was also part science, part history, and part biography.

The third and final section was the section that I did not appreciate and almost ruined the whole book for me. The first two sections were incredible, so I was expecting something great from the last section, especially given the book’s claims of “logically proving the existence of God” (my italics). It did not live up to that expectation.

This section essentially starts by explaining that all of the five major religions’ perception of God is almost identical. The book does not try to state that all of these religions are the same, but simply that the book’s referral to God is not the god of any specific religion but is rather the concept of spirituality as a whole (kind of, I’m not quite sure how to explain it). I have no objections to this, and it is something that I actually agree with. However, the book’s ‘big inference’ is where it all goes wrong.
During the Big Bang, it is theorized that all four of the forces were reconciled with each other, the holy grail of particle physics. Particle physics has already proven this fact for two of the four: electromagnetism and one of the two nuclear forces (I can’t remember which). Bhaumik assumes that this fact is true. That all seems well and good to me, the theory is there that this fact is true, we just can’t definitively prove it. But then, he completely ignores this theory in the rest of the book. Literally the entire section of the book was to prove that this fact is true (and what that even means), but he just completely ignores this. To be honest, I find particle physics and quantum theory fascinating, so I did not mind at all him proving this, but his conclusion is utterly unsupported by this evidence, and if it is, he doesn’t make the connection. He proceeds then uses one of the most stupid “scientific” arguments for God, the very same one used by political debater Charlie Kirk (AKA that one Republican guy that started a shouting match and got escorted out of the DNC). The argument goes as such:

At the onset of the universe, there were six forces present. These forces were each precisely tuned to be perfect for the existence of life. Had even one of these numbers been 0.01% off what it is, the universe would not be capable of life in any form. The chance that a given universe is capable of life is a whopping 1 in 10^10^123! We live in a universe that both is capable of life and has life, therefore, God. That’s it. That’s the entire argument.

Let me disprove this using the Multiple Universes Theory of particle physics. Let’s say that there are multiple universes. Each one of them has a different configuration of these six forces. There are a near-infinite number of these universes, yet only a few of them are capable of life. If you have a universe incapable of supporting life and observation across universes is impossible, then there's no one to say "yep that's what's expected." Only the universes that are capable of supporting life would have living things there to realize that they are a 1 in 10^10^123 chance of existing. If we assume that there is no communication between universes, there is no way of knowing that it's not an anomaly, but by the same logic, we can assume that it probably is. It's like rolling a dice, writing what you got only if it's a six, and then looking at it and being like "The dice is blessed! I only got sixes! God exists!“

If you're interested, there's a great book about the actual numbers of our universe and why it can support life (that doesn't make illogical conclusions about the existence of god) called Just Six Numbers by Martin Rees.

[Rick Biswas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book helps you to believe in spirituality scientifically as well as to learn the ways of Meditation for betterment of your health and mind. And as the author proved the existence of some outer power on us and the uni/multiverse by some rules and experiment in quantum physics you are bound to believe in it as because its all scientific. The author has considered the outer power as "Brahmma".

[Viraj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great background of the author.
Great explanation about physics.
Great connection to all aspects discussed.
Great writing style and examples.
Main take away message for me was to get into meditation.

[Rajeev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic combination of spirituality and science .. this changed my ideas about GOD ..

[Dibyendu Pal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a reflection of self realization

[Disip · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never meet your heroes they say... I had been waiting to read the book for a long time and having read it now I pose the same question that the book does Why? It seems to have been written as a part-time endeavor with partially formed thoughts aimed at motivating the upper echelons of Bel-Air and Hollywood to meditate. Ironically enough, all that talk of coherence between Science and Religion, Fact and Faith the book itself lacks any coherence whatsoever. The book tries to capitalize on only certain aspects of India that it is already (and only) known for in the ignorant West - Gandhi, Meditation, Spirituality.

The early chapters describe the author's humble origin in pre-independence India. There are only a handful of lines that actually describe the author's formative thoughts and background of growing up in a British tortured Castism-ridden society. Most of it is just a superficial discussion about Gandhi which has nothing to do with the subject matter beyond the fact that he had influenced the author in his early years. The author then talks about various World Religions but the discussion is superficial and strictly banal (contrary to what has been claimed in the book) almost depicting that there was no thorough background study of the matter. Across various instances, the book draws parallels between different concepts from different religions to argue in favor of "one source" while in reality, those concepts are contradicting. It almost seems forced inclusion of everyone only to cater to a larger audience.

In the intermediate chapters, the author then discusses the state of Modern Physics and explains various concepts in layman's terms which I believe is the only interesting part of the book. However, there are other books (e.g. The Grand Design) that provide a simpler, cogent, and more enjoyable discussion of these subjects. The author builds up to the problem of how the Weak Anthropic Principle and Quantum Physics lead some to believe the existence of a single source code behind the workings of the Universe. The author argues that the traditional view of a single creator in various religions is equivalent to that single source code of our universe, subtly implying the fact that - The very universe around us and the math it is built upon is God. However, to my utter dismay, no conclusion is ever put forth.

The discussion suddenly switches contexts from autobiographical to the discussion of Gandhian Philosophy sprinkled over one of a life of luxury and debauchery in Bel-Air to World Religions to Modern Physics to Consciousness to Meditation. The last chapter was hyped up throughout the book as if it would contain all the answers. But after the second to last Chapter, the discussion switches from reconciling consciousness and quantum physics to discussing the healthy effects of meditation in the last chapter which seems nothing more than a prologue to a guide on Meditation. I wish more time was spent on developing a consistent discussion than on lame references to Hollywood movies. Here’s one from me:

Rick Sanchez: “Quantum Meditation? Jesus Mani you can't just add a sci fi word to another word and hope it means something.”

When discussing the Eastern religions (Hinduism/Buddhism) while building up to such arguments on the creator and the universe, one would expect a well-researched and thorough discussion from an author with roots in the East and a background as a scientist. However, the complete lack of either (thoroughness and research) is evident by the fact that all that discussion on Brahma and Brahman not once in the entire book the concept of 'Nirakar Brahm' is mentioned which is exactly the thing that the author is alluding to.

[Hemant Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Code Name God’ is one book that will change the scale with which you observe the universe.
The first half of the book is about Dr. Bhaumik’s pre-independence struggle and how his rags-to-riches story unfolded. It is interesting , though irrelevant at large, but helps us in giving a nice insight as to why he decided to write on this particular topic : The coherence of meta-physics and spirituality.
However , if you’ve ever been curious about cosmology , String theory, Unified theory , the immeasurable expanse of space , The Big Bang Theory, quantum physics and other such topics; the second half of the book will ponder to you a lot.
Truth be told, the last few chapters need some serious knowledge in physics to fully grasp his ideas and reasoning.
The Ted-Ed video : ‘String Theory - Brian Greene’ is a good video to get you started.

I’d recommend ‘Code Name: God’ to any seeker of spirituality, with a caution that it might not appeal to you if reading science makes your nose screw up in dismay :)

[Sandip Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unbelievably fascinating story of a man born in rural bengal in a family of freedom fighters in pre independent INDIA, who survived extreme poverty , deadly bengal famine and who came very close to witness Mahatma Gandhi in action for several months. This man goes on to earn his PhD from IIT Kharagpur post independence, the first PhD holder from that institute then goes on to become a Sloan scholar at UCLA in quantum physics later becoming the first scientist to invent LASIK , laser enabled technology of eye surgery most commonplace today. A rare scientist who chose to live in Beverly Hills hobnobbing with Hollywood celebs and US presidents of his time before turning to deep spirituality in the pursuit of immersing himself in mind and meter in his later years in the process of withdrawing from the material world . He remains a living legend to this day and an inspiration for India and Bengal. Worthy of a biopic movie....

[Ram · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gift I receive from a friend in mid-2017. One look at the back cover though, and I did not feel very keen to read it. Not to hurt his feelings though, I effusively thanked him.

It was only in Jan 2018 that I took the plunge. Took me about a week to read, and there were passages where, particularly in the second half of the book (which mixes spirituality with quantum science), I had to reread a couple of times to fully grasp the meaning intended. A good book no doubt, but one which requires a basic understanding of physics or of quantum science. The author does not assume that you have knowledge in either, and takes you step-by-step through the text. Nevertheless, to get the flow, you need a clear understanding of the 'logics' of physics.

[Yahya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to read..
One of the best quotes mentioned by Mani was
“For the minds hardness as arteries do”

The book starts by Mani autobiography and his early days in India. Then, he shared with the reader his success story and how he found himself in a disparate situation after over-achieving in his field as a laser scientist. The honest share of Mani experience makes this book unique somehow.

The third quarter of this book was boring especially if you don’t understand the physical concepts that the author is writing about. However, to give credit, Mani was trying to simplify all the physical concepts behind the single field theory.

I really liked his view of three levels of consciousness or matter.

[Deepankur Sadana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mani starts the book with his humble beginnings in Bengal, sufferings in Famine, the influence of Gandhi in the Freedom movement to research in IIT KGP. Then spotlights his way to California, the building of his "Empire" with handsome payouts from Excimer royalties ie. the laser he invented, still used to correct sights using cold-cutting cornea (available under trade name LASIK).
In the second half of the book he jumps into quantum Field theory and very intriguingly into spirituality and the concept of GOD and that GOD is ONE, and then blends the science, spirituality and mindfulness

Few topics covered includes:- consciousness vs computation, Vedas compared to quantum physics.
The book is concluded by code naming "coherence" as "GOD"

[Akash Kamdi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goosebumps, Goosebumps and Goosebumps felt multiple times while reading and when I finally finished and when I’m finally writing a review for this book.

As a physics lover, I was always curious about various phenomenon of physics, space-time, black holes, quantum physics, quantum entanglement etc. But this book explains it in a simplest way what it is and most importantly how we are all connected with everything in the universe, with one source of true power Code Named GOD.

Not writing any more as I want you to experience it first hand like I did. I’m wishing every reader May you enjoy this book as much as I did!!

[Nishant Bhagat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating!

I am no physicist nor am I a guru of spirituality but somehow at this point of my life both have converged. This convergence has not only left me fascinated but humbled at the probable ways of the universe.

I for one cannot review such books nor share what I really got. I believe it will take me quite a few readings of such books to really get the enormity of what the authors are stating here.

All I can say is that this book is a beautiful mix of science and spirituality. A must read for anyone in either of these spaces and hasn't seen the similarities.

[Manu Shetty · Rating 5 out of 5]

For someone who started to believe in God

This book is for people who are seeking God. Those who are atheist. Those who would like to question existence of God.

In the middle, the book gets into details of authors struggle from poverty and how Indias freedom struggle played a role in helping Dr to find his path to the land of opportunity.

But all through the chapters you find Dr explain things beautifully in the language of physics, which i fortunately understand and link that to spirituality!

Thank you Dr Bhaumik for writing such wonderful masterpiece!

[Abhishek Sengupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a great book by someone who knows science and has experienced spirituality by growing into it. The first part of the book is very enticing and catchy. The middle part becomes a bit drag which made me lose interest in the book. Main reason is the complicated explanations through physics which needs concentrated read to fanthom often more than once. I started again 2 week back and gained speed till finish. The last chapter is really interesting and has inspired me to take another leap at practicing meditation.

[Swastik · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story of an Indian boy who could go miles with his brilliance and sheer determination. His ideas and creativity of thoughts bring so much of spirituality and connect it with science.

It was an amazing read, although I found this book a little technical and too much into science. So I would not say, it was an easy read. But there are instances where i was quite amazed by the brilliance of the author in his 'mind and matter' concept. I absolutely loved it and you should also try this.

[Shikha Malviya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gravely underrated book that attempts to draw parallels between science- quantum physics and spiritual realm. The timing of universe always amazes me, how people (and books) and situations come and exit from one's life leaving a certain sometimes slight shift in the course of path.Though one can only see the pattern and casuality retrospectively. Beautifully narrated autobiography that shows how one needs to trust the process/journey. I remember reading Tao of physics by Fritjof Capra and Divine matrix by Gregg Brendan but none of them could actually do justice to the topic. Though these phenomena are largely experiential, Mani did a great job explaning the conceptual commanality of eastern wisdom and science with a dash of philosophy (Plato's allegory of the cave never fails to appear in such books). A must read for spiritual mentors, seekers and even spiritual amateurs

[Ashutosh SHUKLA · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very inspirational story of the scientist behind the LASIK technique which has helped millions of people across the world. The book is an interesting read about the author's life and how he overcame the challenges such as the Bengal famine, the war of independence and being the first generation to leave his home country and settle in the United States.
Although the last part seemed to go a little over my head, replete with quantum mechanics and some other mambo-jumbo, but you get it..idea of god is not easy to fathom.