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Barely another 4 years and society will close upon itself the most tumultuous century known to man; The 20th Century.
The 20th Century will be remembered for the spectacular discoveries and inventions in the field of Basic and Applied Sciences. The 20th Century will be
also remembered for the horrendous destruction man has wrought on fellow man and on his environment. The 20th Century will also be remembered because every advancement has brought in its wake a counter current of
misery, destruction, hatred and the nurturing of social tensions, conflicts, war and horrendous destruction.
Examining the aetiology of this dual contradictory evolution in Society, the spectacular developments on the one hand and the evolution & nurturing
of horrendous negative emotions, it is observed that the dual and contradictory evolutions were a natural outcome of a framework of philosophy adopted by society, based on the acquisition of knowledge, of materials
and of phenomenon external to the human mind.
The cornerstone of this philosophy has predisposed the "individual" to the position of supremacy vis-ŕ-vis his sustaining society and all
pervading nature. The cornerstone of this philosophy has relegated "success" as the only objective and goal of the individual in society. This philosophy has nurtured that characteristic in the human mind,
that has cut at the very founding roots of a socially dynamic but peaceful society, the Human Ego.
Having examined the furthest reaches of the cosmos, and the depths of the atom, modern Particle Physics, still gropes to understand the ultimate nature
of matter. The past 500 years of research into the depths of matter have thrown up a vast multitude of questions which science struggles to find a solution.
Having examined every part of the Human body and surgically dissected every known part of the human body and having injected hundreds and thousands of
different types of chemicals into the human body to eradicate diseases, man has in its wake brought himself on the threshold of a vast new frontier of diseases of unimaginable consequences.
Where does Science now turn from here? Where will the study of Subparticle Physics lead to? Where will the study of man, disease & Medicine lead
to?
It is the author's perception that all human endeavour will ultimately lead to the study, discipline and development of the human mind - The study of
the Human mind will be the Physics of the 21st Century.
Let us examine the events over the past six hundred years which have caused us to gravitate inwards, and explore for the solutions of the ultimate
nature of matter.
"Cogito ergo sum" "I think, therefore I exist" with this sentence, René Descartes the 17th Century Mathematician and Philosopher
set in motion a system of Science and Philosophy that was to predominate the thinking of the entire Western World for several centuries to come.
The entire edifice of modern science was based on the famous Descartian view of Nature being fundamentally divided into two separate end independent
realms, i e. matter (res extensa) and the mind (res cogitans). This thinking paved the way for all Scientists to treat matter as dead and separate from their individual selves end further to see the entire materials
world as o vast assemblage of distinct things separate 'in identity from themselves but constituting a huge machine functioning with some system of ordered functioning.
This mechanistic world view held by Isaac Newton's system of Physics which came to be called as classical physics, became the foundation of all
Sciences and this view dominated all scientific thinking.
Running parallel to the mechanistic world view of Scientists, but established much earlier than the advent of scientific thinking was the view of a
monarchical God, who from the farthest reaches of space in Heaven ruled over the destiny of all life here on earth and elsewhere everywhere and dispensed justice, Scientists cane to view the fundamental laws of
nature as the laws of God.
The explanations of various phenomenon by Newtonian Physics and their corroborations only proved to strengthen the Descartian philosophy of
"Cogito Ergo sum" so much so that Western societies came to equate their identity with their mind.
Classical or Newtonian Physics and the mechanistic world view were extremely successful in establishing a whole scientific culture in Western
societies, with spectacular successes in the fields of Physics, Biologics, Medicine & Chemistry. It is not the scope of this paper to examine the various successes of the Philosophies based on the mechanistic
world views; suffice to say that the entire gamut of scientific endeavour was directed to the analysis of material and phenomenon, that were sense perceivable and this endeavour was reductionist, individualistic and
isolationist in essence. Notwithstanding the material successes, the reductionist, individualist and isolationist nature of endeavour has also brought upon society a whole gamut of social, moral & economic ills
which are the subject of discussions in different fora the world over.
It was here in the firmaments of the cosmos and within the confines of matter the first inklings of rumblings were felt that all was not well with the
mechanistic world view and that phenomenon in the cosmos and within the confines of matter could not be fully explained by Newtonian Physics.
The questions thrown up by Newtonian Physics, some of which are enumerated here.
- What is the ultimate nature of matter?
- Why does matter behave sometime like waves and sometime like particles?
- Why is the speed of light the upper level of speed?
- What is the origin of the universe?
- The perplexing dual nature of light.
- Why does the perturbation of one electron affects every other electron in the universe?
(Quantum theory)
Similar developments were taking place in the fields of Chemistry and Biological Sciences. Developments in Chemistry were confronted with issues of
depletion of land fertility, killing of the earth by chemical fertilizers, large scale destruction of the Environment, Ozone depletion of a protective atmosphere generation of Hazardous Toxic Chemicals, that
seriously have threatened to put limits to growth.
Biological Sciences have faced no less a multitude of problems. The treatment of Human Body by external chemical intervention to the exclusion of the
role of the mind and the total psychology, have met with limited success, throwing up more questions than resolving them. In the quest for eradicating diseases, Medicines & Biological Sciences are today faced
with diseases that appear to be the handiwork of modern societies only. Diseases of Psychiatric origin have only been tinkered with; their causes & cures still evade mankind. What goes on, in the realms of the
Human mind, the Human Brain was till recently out of scope of the attention of medical sciences. Further Biology, has yet not dwelt upon seriously on the nature of life. The overall effect of the pursuit of Medical
Sciences on its present course has been the real possibility of generating a large number of iatrogenic diseases which effectively causes more than 70% of all human population to be permanently diseased.
I would hesitate to venture into the social consequences of this v1ev of mankind and the world. This would be the subject matter of considerable
further Thesis.
At this juncture, it would be very pertinent to observe and commend on the method of Science. If the contribution of Science to socIety is to be
evaluated, then one contribution is seen towering over all others, I speak of the Method of Sciences, "The Scientific Methodology".
It is the Scientific methodology that has systematically led Scientists from their ambient day to day world, to the Microcosm and the Macrocosm end
from there to the acceptance of the existence of a new reality for the Physics, Chemistries & Biologics, i.e. Consciousness.
Scientists are today taking cognisance of the existence of an entity called Consciousness in the study of Physics and other Sciences. But how will
Science attempt to observe, study, quantify and evaluate Consciousness? This will be the Billion Dollar question:
Will Physics devise some ultra sensitive super intelligent instrument that can pick up the signals or the auras of existence of individual
consciousness? Will Science devise some such sensors that can "quantify" consciousness? To get a deeper insight into these questions, let us temporarily go to the subject of "Maya" and
"Samadhi".
Our traditional knowledge tells us "Maya" is non-reality. But then what is reality? Unless we "know" reality, we cannot be expected
to "know" "non-reality". But here the question is that we are first told that all sense perceivable phenomenon, the material world, space time and our sense perceptions are all non-reality and
then we have to progress from a state of non-reality to reality. We are only told that reality is an all pervading consciousness.
Through the researches in Quantum Physics, Science tells us that this world and everything around is apparently.
In other words, Consciousness which traditional knowledge tells us pervades each and everything and every cell in this universe has projected itself
into "forms" or "shapes" which to the "forms", "shapes" themselves appear as "reality", how does the "form" which is but a projection of Consciousness fail
to identify or realise itself as Consciousness and identifies itself only as the "gross residue" of the "form", the "gross residue" is what is perceived by the sense organs?
From the teachings of traditional knowledge we know that the key to the above lies in the Human mind. Is the Human mind a "defiled
consciousness", defiled by the veil of Maya or apparent projections, waiting to be purified by the application of Intelligence & Disciplines to the "gross residue" and its environs? Traditional
knowledge tells us that these disciplines are Yama, Niyarna, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharma, Dhyana, Samadhi, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga etc.
All these disciplines have only one objective, to pave the way for the "form" this "gross residue" to attain a state of Samadhi.
Our traditional knowledge tells us that this state of Samadhi is the union or realisation of the individual "defiled consciousness" with the supreme all pervading Consciousness that pervades the universe;
lest the term "Universe" convey a meaning of finiteness, I would say that Supreme Consciousness pervades infinity. Now, one of the conditions that all traditional knowledge propounds as sine qua non for
attaining the state of Samadhi or Super Consciousness is the first and total practise of Yama end Niyama. What does the practice of Yama and Niyama do to the Physio-Psycho-Chemical states at the cellular and micro
level by which the consciousness pervading it is aligned into a state of receptivity with the Supreme Consciousness pervading the Universe?
Again, traditional knowledge tells us that the constant chanting of Mantras like "OM" cause the union of the individual self with the Supreme
Self. It is that the state of receptivity of the individual self (individual consciousness) to the Supreme Self (Supreme Consciousness) is due to a form of vibrant Energy and only when the vibrations of the
individual self are in a type of "Resonance" with the vibrations of the Supreme Self then the state of Superconsciousness or Samadhi is reached?
Traditional knowledge further tells us that the starting point of my )journey to the attainment of Superconsciousness state, is the total cessation of
thought vibrations in the Human mind (Patanjali Yoga). Is it then that a normal human mind produces such a statistically random disorganised state of vibrations such that a "zero mental state" is not
achieved whereas the requirements under Patanjali Yoga cause the mind to achieve a "zero amplitude" stabilisation, at which certain Psycho-Physio-Chemical responses are totally arrested that cause for the
establishment of those conditions which allow for take off into Super- consciousness?
Then again, the question is, when such conditions or states are reached, how does the individual consciousness link up to the supreme consciousness I
definitely do not imply a "physical link" here. Hindu Philosophy tells us that the individual consciousness has to pass through five stages or sheaths called "Koshs" on the grossest body. Do
these sheaths or "Koshs" constitute a vital link between the individual consciousness and the Supreme Consciousness? Are these sheaths constitutes of the same consciousness but with differing vibrational
levels and densities, the grossest being the Human body and the outermost being the subtlest, the Supreme Consciousness?
What role does the human mind play in unlocking or aligning these five sheaths, causing the individual consciousness to unite with the Supreme
consciousness?
In summary, I feel that Physics would have to ask, what are these Physio-Psycho-Chemical conditions in the Human body, the Human Mind and the
individual consciousness, that causes the individual self to link up, to unite, to correctly perceive the Supreme Self, when the appropriate disciplines are practised?
Physics, having congested the existence of consciousness has opened upon itself a vast new field of research, that could simultaneously unlock secrets
of the Microcosm and the Macrocosrn, that have eluded Man since times immemorial. The Human mind promises to occupy the centerstage of researches in Physics in the 21st Century. Possibly, researches into the Human
mind would unlock those answers, Man has sought since he first questioned his existence on Earth. Perhaps, these researches will provide man the Theory of Everything. Possibly, the unlocking of the Human Mind will
see the end of the quest of knowledge.
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