Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, was a live broadcast guest of the interview organized periodically by the Ankara Culture and Education Foundation. In the interview titled “Spirit – Consciousness – Human”, Tarhan touched upon the relationship between spirit and human, explaining the relationship between life, spirit, and the universe through a computer metaphor. Tarhan said; “Life is vitality and a function of the spirit. One of the meanings of the word spirit is life. Spirit is actually a law. A program uploads information to the computer, while electricity uploads energy. In our body, life provides vitality like electricity, and the spirit provides information flow like a program. The relationship between spirit and life is like the relationship between electricity and software.”
“The End of Materialism Has Come with the Post-Materialist Science Manifesto”
In the online meeting, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan made striking evaluations in the context of spirit, consciousness, and human. Tarhan said; “In this program, we will address the relationship between spirit and human. In Surah Isra, it is stated that spirits are under the command of the Lord. Stephen Hawking, who discovered the Big Bang, says, ‘My mathematical mind tells me that the universe is not empty.’ He explains this with the multiverse theory. He does not explicitly use the word God but refers to ‘vacibu’l vücuda’, the necessary existence, meaning Allah. Materialism is currently like a global religion, which is why those who mention the name of Allah are excommunicated. This situation significantly fractured in 2014. Arizona University and Columbia University published the ‘Post-Materialist Science Manifesto’. According to this manifesto, materialism has completed its lifespan. Now, post-materialist science needs to be prioritized. According to this theory, there is a serious connection between physics and mind. The mind affects matter. The theory states that minds are individually limitless, and there is a single mind that encompasses all minds. All minds can unite in a single mind, which is Allah. This is called the truth of interconnectedness; it points to tawhid (Oneness of God). What is meant by mind is spirit, and it is stated that spirits are controlled from a single source.”
“Silencing Children is an Approach Against the Quranic Perspective”
Tarhan made interpretations based on the Quran and Risale-i Nur regarding the education system in Turkey, evaluating the traditional Islamic perspective that has been maintained in the education system for many years. Tarhan said; “Currently, decision-makers in Turkey are within the traditional understanding of Islam. The reason for the questioning that emerges among young people is this education system. We have more important problems than our political concerns; our main concern and work should be on the future generation. Where is the future generation headed? This question should keep us awake. Therefore, we need to change our priorities. Scientific evidence has now emerged, so good days are near. In the creation of humans, angels ask Allah why He created humans and object. Today, this right is not granted to children in families. If a child offers a different interpretation, parents suppress the child by saying, ‘Be quiet, you don’t understand.’ The philosophy of ‘silence for the young, words for the elder’ does not exist in Islamic culture. In the Holy Quran, angels ask Allah questions. When children are suppressed, people who question nothing and are closed to development grow up. Our education system does not produce people of a quality to win Nobel prizes or invent things, otherwise, our people are not against it.”
“Life is the light of the spirit, consciousness is the luminosity of life”
Evaluating life, spirit, and the universe through Risale-i Nur, Tarhan explained the relationship between these concepts using a computer metaphor. Tarhan said; “Life is vitality and a function of the spirit. One of the meanings of the word spirit is life, and the other is the meaning of the name of Gabriel (a.s.). Spirit is actually a law. For example; Gravity, Archimedes’ Principle are laws. These laws do not have consciousness; when they have consciousness, they become spirit. Spirit is a command from the Lord, that is, a law. A program uploads information to the computer, while electricity uploads energy. In our body, life provides vitality like electricity, and the spirit provides information flow like a program. The relationship between spirit and life is like the relationship between electricity and software. The two are interconnected. What we call spirit does not perish. After a person dies, they pass into a different energy band. According to Nursî; “If there is no life, the body is not a body. Life is the light of the spirit, consciousness is the luminosity of life.” That is, the light of life is the spirit, and consciousness is the luminosity of life. When the universe was created, information, i.e., ‘levh-i mahfuz’ (the Preserved Tablet), existed first. After that, mathematics and law emerged. Life illuminates the spirit, and then consciousness illuminates life. Both have an explanatory aspect to each other.”