The brain may measure transcendence. But it cannot contain it

The brain may measure transcendence. But it cannot contain it

22 February 2026

| Synapse

For decades, science and spirituality have been treated as opposing ways of understanding reality. But what happens when they begin asking the same questions?

Andrew Newberg, one of the world’s leading neuroscientists studying the biology of belief, has spent years scanning the brains of monks, meditators, and spiritual practitioners to understand what happens in the mind during moments of transcendence.

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, a renowned spiritual teacher and humanitarian leader, approaches the same mystery from the inner world of lived experience – meditation, devotion, and the search for meaning.

In this conversation with Shoma Chaudhury, Founder of Lucid Lines and Founder-Director of SYNAPSE, science and spirituality meet in a rare dialogue.