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Ziauddin
Ahmed
tidylink@yahoo.com
CHAPTER
1
The two Sides of Nature.
Nature seems to manifest itself in two forms – the ‘Physical’
and the ‘Metaphysical’. The Physical form consists of all material
existence, both visible and invisible. This Physical phase is identifiable
through the five human senses of, Touch, Taste, Sight, Smell and Hearing.
The Metaphysical phase of Nature, however, on the other hand, covers all
energy forms that may be beyond common comprehension, for example things
like the energy content of the Universe, hidden super-human forces, and the
psychology principles on which the Universe operates. Human sense can, in some cases, be
developed to a different dimension, called the sixth sense. This sense gives one the capacity to tap
into the realm of the Metaphysical and fathom certain superhuman phenomena.
A closer examination of the two phases reveals that,
it is really the Metaphysical aspect of Nature that
permeates all aspects of ‘ thought’, ‘ word’ and ‘ deed’ -- the triad of human existence, and
their coordinated manifestation results in the making of a human being.
Science has shown that according to the laws of the conservation of energy
and matter, the physical and the metaphysical phases are interlinked and
that they can be generated one from the other. This has been verifiably demonstrated
according to Einstein’s famous equation of E = mC2. The process of creation
of energy by the transformation of mass has been adequately demonstrated
through various experiments. The atomic explosion is the most common
example, where the destruction of matter can result in the creation of
energy. Matter too can be created by the conversion of energy. Now, if
matter (the Physical entity) is a derivative of energy (
the metaphysical mode of the Cosmos), then the physical state is
really the conversion or transformation of the metaphysical. Thus the
metaphysical is all that is needed for the existence of the Cosmic system
in its entirety. Astrophysicists commonly observe that the Metaphysical
content of the Universe is far greater than its physical, and if empty
space is also taken into account and considered to be some form of
Metaphysics, then the physical existence is reduced to a very small
proportion in the universe. It is thus a logical conclusion that the
metaphysical phenomena is of primary importance and, is also the basic
source for all existence. Remember the saying, “that it is the mind over
matter”. Is it not the mind (the metaphysical), that conceives, and the
body (the physical) that acts or implements the idea? So Metaphysics seems to be the principal
ingredient of all Natural phenomena.
THE
INDOMITABLE TRIAD
A triad, or a cycle of
three, is seen to be a frequently occurring sequence in Nature. Many natural
phenomena usually complete in three stages, three parts or three phases. Some
triads are :
The triad of thought,
word and deed can account for most functions of human activity.
The triad of human
evolution is seen in the development of body, mind and Soul.
Matter is seen to
exist in the three states of solid, liquid and gas.
The three phases of
life could be represented by past, present and future, or yesterday, today
and tomorrow.
vi. A day is usually divided into the
three stages of morning, noon
and night.
The list can go on and on, but let’s pause
here to reflect on these first.
An examination of a
triad sequence shows that for a fuller understanding of most natural
phenomena it is essential to study the three stages or states, both
individually and collectively. Though each stage is a complete domain by
itself, it
contributes to the whole picture
only in combination with the other parts. Let us study these phenomena in
some detail and see if there is any reasonable connection between these
stages, and also if this exercise makes any viable sense. It may be pointed
out at the very outset that this is not a scientific paper and relies
heavily on common sense, derived logic and some conjecture. It should be
approached with an open mind and seen in the context of what it says rather
than seeking proof for its refutation.
Thoughts or ideas
exist at the meta-physical level and originate from the activities of
chemicals in the brain. Or is it the reverse? i.e. the impingement of thoughts on the brain
result in the release of chemicals in it, which then transmits signals to
its agents, the senses, to derive
activity in life? This
intricate question, much like the chicken or the egg situation, has kept
man probing and guessing for answers from the time he started to think
about himself. Now, if chemical activity is the basic cause, then chemicals
and how they work are questions for medical experts to decipher and are
best left for them to tackle. But if, the thought is the origination of the
process, then speculation and philosophy can try its hands first.
The intangible ‘idea’
or ‘thought’ sets in motion some activity in the brain. This is responsible to convert the
thought to an expressible form through words. Words are the intermediary
stage of giving vent to feelings, and are instrumental to bring the idea or
the abstract to the domain of physical expression. Now, to be able to
flourish and achieve material existence, these thoughts that result in
words or plans have to be acted upon through the performance of physical
acts or deeds. They can then be established or said to have an effect on
the material world of senses. In other words, the intangible ideas or
thoughts have to go through a process of expression and planning, and then
through action, before they can be made into tangible objects or things.
The entire activity, comprising the process of thoughts, words and deeds
goes to accomplish the functions of the triad, and as said earlier, that
though each is a complete domain in itself, yet act in conjunction with the
other to complete the picture. The result is the conversion of the
intangible or meta-physical to the physical or the material plane of
existence. Were a thought or idea
not expressible in words or plans, it would be very difficult to put it in
practice and action. It would then remain an innate or a dormant notion,
not able to leave any effect, or accomplish any change in the material
world. If you bear with the logic and reasoning of this discourse it will
try to show that the direction of the effect, of metaphysical on the
physical, is in fact really cyclical and has a multidimensional tendency
i.e. although the beginning of the exercise of life may have been at the
meta-physical level of thought and has ultimately reached the physical
state of matter, it can also reverse or traverse the course of conversion
from the physical to the original or the meta-physical form, and finally
trace a complete cyclical pattern.
That this is so is strengthened by the fact that the actions and
doings of the past generations have helped in evolving the existence to the
present level, and the continuation of the evolutionary process will most
likely culminate in the perfection of man kind to consciously remerge in
the ‘ Cosmic data bank’.
It is very difficult to establish a thought
or idea to be a material reality unless there is some tangible affect of it
on the physical world. If the effect can be felt and observed, it can be
experimented with and proven or disproved, and is either accepted or
rejected by man. It is in the nature of humans to question, verify and
judge, and only then accept or reject the validity of an idea. This is so
because, itself, man is the physical manifestation
of a concept, and by nature of his physical presence he leaves an effect on
his surroundings. A child is a conception of thought,
or ‘conceiving of an idea to conceive’ an offspring... Once the thought
occurs in the mind, it is expressed and acted upon to get an effect.
Sometimes this entire thought process is consciously understood and
knowingly implemented by the conceiving couple, but sometimes the outcome
is the unconscious result of the act. Thoughts have to be shown the light
of the day by putting them to plan and action. In any case a ‘reaction’ is
the result of some ‘action’ and could not have come about in isolation, one
of the other. The action or stimulus can either be metaphysical or
physical, and so also the reaction can occur in either of the two planes.
The triad of body,
mind and soul is another interesting phenomenon to examine. The development
of the human body, aside from religious proclamations, seems to be the
outcome of a long and steady evolutionary process and upward progression of
matter. The Greek philosophers considered all matter to consist of atoms,
and that these atoms were the smallest particles that could not be broken
down any further. Modern science has come a long way from that and has even
smashed the atom down to its elementary particles, which themselves seem
neither like particles nor elementary, because they do not exist freely in
nature nor seem to be matter at all. They can be conceptualized
mathematically and may be computed from their non-physical properties.
Elementary particles are seen to be a combination of different forms of
energy like electric, magnetic and gravitational. If this is what a human
body consists of then it is surely something else besides being matter
alone, and, this is a point to ponder and study.
One field of knowledge
that deals with evolution of systems is the Holonistic theory. It was first proposed by
Arthur Koestler in the 1950’s and later expanded by Ken Wilber. The theory
goes to study holons and how they are built and
evolve. A holon
is defined as an entity that is itself a ‘whole’ yet at the same time is a
part of some other whole. The animal body is a holon. It
develops by incorporating the holons of living
cells, which have evolved from the holons of
amino acids, which are built from holons of
molecules, etc. etc. The holon
of ‘mind’ is the next level in holarchy and has
developed over the holon of the ‘body’. It seems
that over the millennia some cognitive and creative phenomenon has evolved
life from the unicellular amoeba to the multi-cellular animal. This holon of the animal, by some
process of ‘natural nurture’, has then been upgraded to the holon
of the mind. Now, as per the holonistic principle
the holon of the
mind cannot exist without incorporating and transcending the holon
of the body, which means that for the mind to have come about it is essential to have gone through an evolutionary
phase over that of the body. And only after the body went through the
required steps of change and readjustment it got prepared to be
incorporated in the holon of the mind. The mind
then starts to traverse the journey through a further process of evolution
to reach the next holon, that of the Soul. Hence
a body is essential for the holon
of the mind to develop, and that the holon of the mind is a prerequisite for the
evolution of the holon of the soul.
One learns at every stage of life. The
process of learning can however, be conscious or unconscious, and as has
been said earlier, this process of discovering is in fact an act of removing the cover of ones own innate or
hidden knowledge. One is really
grooming oneself for the next stage of existence, and is slowly evolving
towards it. Death is nothing but this next stage of human evolution. Seen this way death comes to be viewed
positively, rather than feared or mentally avoided. The stage of living through physical and
mental life is the process of the molding of the Soul -- nurturing or the
decaying of it, depending on its nourishment or neglect. The Soul, which is
a ‘cohesive life force’, is an offshoot of the Universal Cosmic force and
seeps through all living bodies. It is intrinsically integrated with each
living single cell of it. It is an evolved form of life that is a higher
rung than the level of the mind on the scale of holarchy.
The Soul’s characteristics can be speculated from the holonic
theory, where it is seen that, as the mind transcends and incorporates the holon of the body, the Soul
must transcend and incorporate the holon of the mind and as a
consequence all holons before it. Now, studying
the characteristics of the mind reveals that it is capable of receiving and
processing thoughts and then converting them to words and schemes for
actions. The Soul must thus be capable of this and one step more. The
increase in the capability of the holon of the Soul gives it the
power not only to think but also communicate with other minds, incorporate
and transcend them. This may be a questionable concept but is none the less
a logical follow through and the next step in terms of holarchy.
Extrapolating on the basis of Holarchy, the Soul
would have a capability to perceive and perhaps act in the realm of this
world as well as another dimension. This dimension itself may be more
evolved than the realm of the physical Universe. The Soul would possess the
capacity of both singular and a collective awareness, meaning that it can
exist in the physical, as individual entities, and also the metaphysical
phase where it can manifest a collective existence. Like both the mind and
the body it can be promoted, developed, and evolved by constructive acts
and doings,-- e.g. good food and exercise are
necessary for a healthy body; faith, discipline and mental exercise are
needed for the mind, -- so also the Soul can be cultivated and nurtured by
good acts or moral deeds, but it cringe and
shrinks by negative ideas and a wrong attitude. We have seen in the example of sieving
that coarse grains are rejected and held back, and the purer or finer
material passes through. The same principle of selection is applicable in
the process of progressive evolution of any system. The system of body,
mind or Soul, or any other, where fineness and purity are desired also follows
the same principle. The secret of
progress, however, lies in being aware of the processes that promote
wellness, and help in reformation.
The
next triad of solid, liquid or gas is a study of the states in which matter
can exist, depending upon its energy content. E.g. water can exist in the
form of ice – solid state, as water – liquid state, or as steam—gaseous
state. The chemical composition of the three states is the same H2O (two
atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen.) Only its physical outlook
changes with the change of state. The primary difference is the amount of
energy or latent heat each condition has. To change water into ice one
needs to take away heat energy from it to the tune of 80 calories per gram.
On the other hand to convert the same water to steam one has to add 540
calories of heat energy to every gram. Energy, once again, an intangible or
non-physical entity can in some way be equated
with consciousness or awareness as discussed above. The conversion from a
pre-born state to human shape, at the time of birth, must also be an
addition of some kind of energy, force or power to the previous level, that
which would enable it to withstand the conditions of this material world
and also to bear the rigors of independent existence. The whole process is not instantaneous
but requires a period of nine months of incubation. The living of life
through the material mode is akin to going through the process of elevation
in the energy content i.e. going from an unconscious mode, that requires less energy,
to awareness, which needs more energy to remain vigilant. When sufficient
energy, or as in our discussion above, enough awareness, has been
accumulated, a change of state becomes imminent. This change of state in
the case of living things is called death. Seen this way, death is nothing
but a mode of transference of existence from one state to another. To
recollect what has been said above, a human seems to be born in an
conscious yet unaware state, out of which it struggles to gain awareness
all its life, and then consciously transfers to a ‘super’ or ‘above’
conscious mode of existence. Seen this way the whole concept of birth, life
and death takes on a new meaning.
This
brings us to the next triad of nature.
The
triad of past, present and future is essentially a triad of the passage
of time -- itself a commodity for
trading life. The purpose of existence can not be all ‘
here and now’, -- or as it has been said, “ Eat, drink and be
merry, for tomorrow you die”. As discussed in another essay, every
Now ( which is also
known as present) was once out There ( that is
also called the future), and
will eventually become a Then
( which is
the past ); and so the natural cycle
of life continues to churn. This is
how time is spent, and with it every human life. To say it another way; -- time and effort
seem to recede or deplete. In a way they go back. Now, according to the laws of Physics and
so also of Nature – ‘to every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction’. Hence, if time and every
thing connected with it flows in a certain direction, some other thing
should come out of it as the ‘effect of a cause’, and would proceed in the
opposite direction. The outcome of this decrease in time, etc. is the
increase in
awareness and / or knowledge.
In other words there is a price to be paid for every thing. In yet
another way, gain in awareness is the return of ones investment of time and
effort -- which
in actuality is the ‘consummation of the self ’. This achievement may not be a monetary
gain, but believe me it is worth much more. One thing that comes out of all
human activity is the unveiling and expanding of new vistas of vision i.e.
the furthering of
awareness and increase of knowledge, and these are surely the
prime tools for progress. Every step
in physical, mental and spiritual advancement is basically the increase of
awareness and knowledge, which when properly utilized lead to ‘self-growth’
and conscious evolution. See how beautifully Nature manoeuvres
the evolution of matter through the passage of time and energy, first to the body, then mind and
eventually the Soul.
Let us now see the meaning of the triad of morn, noon and night.
The dawn of civilization, the rising of the sun, the
fulfillment of life to its optimum capacity, etc. are all symbolic of
enlightenment, visibility and awareness of capability. As we have been
discussing all along, awareness and knowing is the key to all survival and
meaningful existence. Maximum awareness is visible at the prime of life.
Most vitality and energy, from the sun, is given out at its peak -- the
noon hour. The day having thus dispensed with its energy, leaves the world
in darkness -- the night. The night is really a period of incubation for
the entire creation to take in and assimilate the effects of the causes
during the day, and, having thus evolved through the cycle of the triad, be
set to begin at a different level at the start of the next day. To traverse
the path of life from birth to prime and then to death, is to accomplish,
as said earlier, the act of self-consummation i.e. by spending or
utilizing the time and energy,
consciously or unconsciously, in the pursuit of awareness and knowledge.
This is done during the triad of morn, noon and night. If done knowingly,
self-satisfaction can be achieved and a higher meaning of life can be seen
and understood, and one is said to have lived a fulfilled and useful life.
If, on the other hand this is done unknowingly, all life is spent at the
level of mundane animal existence, fulfilling the chores of the body and
the flesh, not nourishing the mind or the Soul. This is akin to being held
back in a sieve of a grader and not being filtered to the next level of
evolution.
Natural phenomena show continuity from the beginning
to the end. In actuality there seems to be no beginning and no end at all.
As said earlier a cyclical pattern is perhaps the way Nature operates.
However, each successive cycle is instrumental in enhancing the process of evolution. All the triads studied so far show this behaviour, e.g. morning, noon and night is a continuous
happening without a visibly clear distinction as to the end of the morning
and the beginning of noon, and then the day gradually turns into night
without a clear demarcation between the ending of light and the beginning
of darkness. Only when a state is well established, can we name it as a
distinctive mode of the triad. This rate of change is so gradual that at
normal levels of study the discernment is not distinguishable. Both at the
macro or the micro scales there is no possibility of a clear picture. Now,
on the macro scale i.e. at the stellar level, both distances and time
lapses are so large that man does still not grasp their immensities.
Observations and measurements are still being studied in detail to make
viable sense. In space, energy and matter frames are limitless, and it is
difficult to discern as to where energy dimensions end and matter begins
because they overlap and become indistinguishable. At the other end of the
scale, at the quantum level, things take on a similar hue and a clear
distinction between matter and energy once again becomes hazy.
Quantum mechanics is the scientific study of micro
systems i.e. systems at the minute end of the scale. At those levels matter
shows dual characteristics i.e. it behaves both as a particle and a wave of
energy. This may be a difficult
concept to grasp, but it is explicitly handled by the science of
mathematics. To express in terms of communicative language, it can be seen
as a concurrence of a simultaneous physical and metaphysical
manifestation. Meaning, that if one
tries to simultaneously measure the momentum and the position of a
sub-atomic particle they may not be accurately determined. For, if the
momentum can be measured with some certainty then the particles position
will be incoherent, and if the position is clearly determined its momentum
will not be accurately ascertained. On consideration of this truth for a
minute one realizes that at the point of conversion from the meta-physical
to the physical, a particle is neither physical nor meta-physical. It may
be accurate to say that the object is in both the physical and
meta-physical condition simultaneously. However, one derives the inference
that at that stage both states or phases are interchangeable and fluid.
Yet, the origination seems to have been at the meta-physical level,
because, “ that which cannot be ascertained with
certainty is more in the realm of the ‘unknown’”, and that an ‘ unknown’ is
not a physical entity, at best some
speculation. The object must reside at the meta-physical level and then be
converted to an entity or a physical state to become tangible or become
‘known’. If all action can be broken
down to its final rudiments, it too will manifest a similar disposition,
i.e. before execution, an action exists in the mind as a
idea, at a meta-physical or an energy level. The interaction of that state
with the physical body produces some affect in the brain, giving rise to
thoughts. The conversion of this thought then takes it through the process
of planning or expression through words, into actions. These syllables,
unless expressed vocally or on paper, remain in the realm of both material
and non-material at the same time, as if in a quantum state. Once put into
practice they become material and obtain an ‘identity of an entity’. They
are then governable by the laws of classical Science. It thus goes to show
that all existence is primarily at the meta-physical plane, becoming an
identifiable material presence by the converting process of the mind; and
then having lived through a period in the ‘space--time continuum’, seem to
dissipate into oblivion, yet leaving some effect on the material world of
reality and human comprehension. This human comprehension is nothing but
an infinitesimal extension of the Cosmic awareness of the Kosmos itself.
Energy and matter, as seen earlier, are both related
and interchangeable as per Einstein’s epochal formula. According to it
matter can be seen as ‘ rest-energy’ or
‘dormant-energy’. A larger amount of energy when condensed or dormanted can be convert to a
small amount of matter, whereas a relatively small quantity of matter can
release a tremendous amount of energy.
Now, if energy and mass are equitable as per E=mc2,
then ‘ thought’ would also be equitable to energy
and vice versa in some form. Perhaps as T= k E. Where ‘T’ represents
thought, ‘E’ is energy and ‘ k’ would be a
constant or an equating factor.
To complete any ‘idea’
or ‘thought’ it has to be brought from the realm of the meta-physical and energised, and then acted upon in the realm of the physical. Now to act
one requires energy. Where does this energy come from? It takes birth due
to the convertibility of thought, as seen earlier, as per T= k E. In
the net analysis it is the thought (meta-physical) which generates energy and this
finally gets converted into action (physical). To fully appreciate the
equation ‘ T=k E’ we have to understand the
function of the term ‘k’. This ‘k’ is nothing more than the ‘ level of intensity’ or the gravity of the ‘need or
desire’. The greater the desire or quest, the higher the depth of thought,
resulting in the generation of energy of an adequate quantity. The higher
then is the level of effort required to pursue the aim.
To quote Asadulla Khan Ghalib, the famous poet philosopher of the East who put
this so aptly as:
Hasti kay muth faraib may aajaiyo Asad
Alam tamaam halqa e dam e khayal hai
Be
not deceived O Asad,
By the
dazzle of creation.
All
existence is encircled,
By the
net of imagination.
It thus seems that all creation is really a figment of
one’s imagination. Whose? Who can say?
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