PRAISE FOR
I AM A PART OF INFINITY
The Sacred Science
I Am a Part of Infinity offers the first in-depth exploration of Einstein’s spirituality, showing how he drew on a dazzling diversity of thinkers – from Pythagoras to Plato, Schopenhauer to Spinoza, the Upanishads to Mahatma Gandhi – to create a novel system where mysticism met mathematics, reality was revered, and the human mind was honored as a mirror of the Infinite.
The Cosmic Religion
Einstein's 'cosmic religion' asked us to commune with the cosmos, to treat every living creature with compassion, to channel the power that permeated all things and put it to use for pure purposes.
Einstein’s handwritten manuscript of his 1930 article introducing the cosmic religion. Photo © Kieran Fox (2023), used with permission of the Albert Einstein Archives.
The Hidden Harmony
Einstein followed the Pythagorean tradition of seeing math as a mystical path. "I hold it true," he said, "that pure thought can grasp reality, as the ancients dreamed."
The mystic, mathematician, and philosopher Pythagoras (c. 570-500 BCE). Public domain.
The Immanent Divine
Similar to Spinoza's pantheism and Lao Tzu's Tao, Einstein believed that one wondrous force was woven through all things everywhere – and this sense of the pervasive sacred influenced every aspect of his existence, from his marvelous science to his passionate pacifism.
Einstein's books on Taoism and Chinese philosophy. Photo © Kieran Fox (2023), used with permission of the Albert Einstein Archives.
An Ethics of Nonviolence
Einstein held Gandhi in higher esteem than any other living human being and claimed that careful study of his writings had given him “the greatest admiration for Gandhi and for the Indian tradition in general.
Einstein had a portrait of Gandhi on the wall in his study. Photo © Alan Richards (1953), used with permission of the Institute for Advanced Study.
Part of Infinity
Einstein knew about the Upanishads and the ultimate goal of merging Atman with Brahman, but he himself experienced ego-dissolution through science rather than spiritual practice.
Einstein with the mystical poet Rabindranath Tagore c. 1930. Public domain.
Merging Mind and Matter
Before he died, Einstein asked the brilliant physicist Wolfgang Pauli to continue his quest to understand the unified reality that gave birth to both mind and matter.
Einstein with Wolfgang Pauli. Photo by Paul Ehrenfest, courtesy of AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives.
The author at the Einstein Archives in Jerusalem. © Chaya Becker, 2023.
About the Author
KIERAN FOX, MD PHD, studied medicine at Stanford University and holds a doctorate in cognitive neuroscience from the University of British Columbia. He is a physician-scientist at the University of California San Francisco, where his research centers on the neural mechanisms and therapeutic potential of meditation practices and psychedelic medicines
