CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE CREATIVE PRINCIPLE
Metaphysics,
among other things, primarily concerns investigation of the first principles of
nature and thought, and therefore, broadly speaking, ranks as ontology or the
science of being. Search for discovering the Creative Principle which manifests
itself as the universe and all its interrelationships is understood to be the
Reality and thus constitutes as the goal of epistemology or knowledge.
What is reality?
It happens to be not only the
toughest question to answer but also the most important because the entire
purpose of life is closely related to it. Again, this enquiry is fundamental: it
is embedded in the human nature as greenery is interwoven into the texture of a
meadow. Therefore, one must seek the truth (reality) consciously and actively,
and not through the rosy glasses of faith which create a biased and restricted
vision, thus destroying the goal of genuine search.
May be an enquiry can be launched
into the nature of reality by asking the following questions:
(a) Who am I?
(b) Is this universe real?
Who am I?
Answer to (a) is seldom given in a
satisfactory form. For example, it has been said that "only I exist".
If this be the truth, then there is nothing to be explored; Thus I simply live
for myself and by myself. But it is against the experience because I live
relative to the social and physical environments. As I exist relative to other
things, everything else exists relative to me. I am because I am a part of
existence which is a mutual process.
The world, an illusion
The answer to (b) has been even
more misleading. Man's desire to escape the demands of Reality, has frequently
used the fast flying-horse of faith to carry him into the fanciful domains of
paradise filled with the greatest fecundity that imagination can offer.
Philosophical thought has been equally evasive. Plato, using the Hindu concept
of Maya, projected the world as an illusion which has prompted mankind to seek
release by escaping the problems of existence instead of facing them through
courage, discipline and equanimity.
If the universe is an illusion,
then being a part of it, I am myself an illusion but my urges and the mighty
struggles that I wage to realise them, clearly show that I exist. In fact, it
proves that as a member of the human race, I am so superb and significant that
the universe exists through me. How? Because I am the only intelligent being who
is endowed with sufficient consciousness to recognise that there is a universe.
Without me, the universe is just an aggregate of dust and gases because unless
its existence is recognised, it is no better than the most beautiful rose that
has grown in the wilderness but there is no pretty damsel to make it a part of
her ornamentations.
Godhead, the cosmic purpose
The universe has a purpose. To
achieve it, the cosmos strives sincerely, strenuously and slavishly, and with a
unique blend of wisdom and wizardry, to bring about the wonderful evolution of
man. Thus man is truly the baby of the cosmos; and the goal of his life is
simply to realise the cosmic purpose which as I shall explain is Godhead, the
highest and the noblest state of existence. In a nutshell, the answer to (a) and
(b) is that I am the cosmic baby who is destined to be the fountain of Godhead,
the ultimate goal of the cosmos, which is real.
In a previous chapter, I have
discussed at length that there cannot be a Creator God. It means that existence
of the universe cannot be explained in terms of cause-and-effect, yet one has to
probe the mystery:
Where does the universe come
from?
There can be only two answers to
this question. Firstly, the cosmos has always existed, and secondly, it comes
out of "nothingness". Assuming that the universe comes out of
nothingness, then surely we are talking about the type of nothingness which
can't be anything but the womb of existence. In this case, we are indulging in a
play of words because the distinction between nothingness and existence ceases
to be a real one, and it becomes more appropriate to say that the universe has
always existed. However, we must realise that the cosmos could not have always
existed in its present elaborate form because the entity of everything proceeds
on the principle of simple to complex, minor to major, chaos to order and lower
to higher. How did, then, this universe start?
Origin of universe
The best person to answer this
question is the modern scientist who is always burning midnight oil to illumine
the mysteries of nature. I shall, therefore, base the explanation on his
discoveries; we are told:
Elementary building blocks
1. The world is made of matter
which is composed of two elementary building blocks: quarks and the electrons.
However, to simplify the discussion, I need not go into such details, and should
add that matter is made of atoms.
Atom
2. An atom is the smallest unit of
a chemical element which retains its elemental identity. It has a central core,
known as the nucleus which consists of protons and neutrons, and is surrounded
by a number of electrons. Not only the interactions of atoms are determined by
the arrangement and conduct of the electrons but the chemical processes and the
physical properties of matter are also governed by their arrangement and
behaviour. Since nature provides about 9o different elements, there naturally
exist 90 types of atom.
The nucleus is positively charged;
neutrons and protons represent the subatomic order; it is raised to the atomic
level by the negatively charged electrons which revolve in their orbits around
the nuclei. The nucleus represents 99.95 per cent of the mass of the atom but
occupies only 10-'s Of the volume; electrons encircle the remaining part. The
mean distance of an electron from the nucleus is about 10-8 centimetres, and it
is this distance which determines the size of the atoms
Despite being a very tiny object,
an atom is the epitome of the planetary system; its nucleus is surrounded by the
electrons as the sun is encircled by the planets. It vouches for the basic unity
of the underlying principle. Yet another point to remember is that despite
containing opposite charges, atoms are electrically neutral owing to the exactly
equal number of positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons.
Value of a property
It is the property of a thing which
gives it an identity. Matter is matter because it has properties such as
density, thermal conductivity, electrical, magnetizability, dielectric constant,
specific heat, etc. These properties which matter possesses as a spatially
stretched expanse, give birth to numerous other properties. Take man, for
instance. His intellect, ingenuity, speech, taste, choice, temperament,
arrogance, adjustability, kindness, cruelty, prowess, pusillanimity, etc. are
all expressions of matter at the human level. Since matter is made of atoms, all
the known properties, qualities and attributes are embedded in atoms. These
atomic characteristics obviously emanate from the latent tendencies of the
particles which constitute atoms. This transformation from tendencies to
particular traits is brought about by physical processes and chemical reactions,
which are nothing but a mechanism of change. One should note that change is
basically from a lower point to a higher status. The change in the opposite
direction is the inability of something to retain the evolutionary advantage
gained. Thus urge for self-improvement is the basic trait of evolutionary change
because without it evolution becomes meaningless.
Change, as becoming
Becoming means changing from one
form to another: Change of position is called movement and change of form is
referred to as a chemical reaction. Change of substance is also a change of form
because form concerns not only the outward appearance but also the interior.
Since everything is constantly in the process of some kind of change, things
come into being through change and exist through adaptation to the environment
which is yet another description of change. Again, it is through change, things
discard their old properties, attain new ones and sustain them.
Though atoms can be frozen, they
are restless by nature, and thus in a process Of perpetual change. If we delve
deeper into the concept of change, it transpires that change is another name for
motion or movement; movement, especially the creative movement, is always
directed towards a destination. Therefore, the cosmos which is a phenomenon of
change, has a purpose.
Are atoms, which constitute the
natural phenomena, really the product of change?
Big Bang
Modern physics reveals that the
elementary particles were born of the Big Bang, the initial explosion, though
the atomic nuclei were formed in the central cores of stars. As these stars
exploded over a long period of time, they emptied their sizzling materials into
the immensity of interstellar spaces where the nuclei adorned themselves with
electrons to evolve as atoms.
The luminosity of this theory is
clouded by our near-ignorance of such concepts as time, space, energy, matter,
force, direction, chance, law and so on. Since existence of the cosmos cannot be
imagined without these concepts, they must rank as its integral parts. The
minimal information that we have of the natural phenomena arouses our curiosity
to indulge further in the hypothesis for conquering the realm of ignorance.
Initial stages of evolution
What has been said above in a few
words, now I may enlarge to elucidate the purpose of this discussion:
1. It is just a conjecture what
happened during the first second of the Big Bang. Quarks are said to have played
a major role in the first millionth of a second. In the ratio of three to three
they combined to form nucleons.
Deutrons, as individuality
a. The ocean of heat, during the
first second, contained populations of five elementary particles: protons,
neutrons, electrons, photons, and neutrinos. These particles which at
temperatures above 102a degrees lose their individuality, wandered at will
without recognising each other. However, in some cases, protons and neutrons did
combine to form the simplest nuclear system known as the deutron i.e. heavy
hydrogen nucleus.
Primordial nucleosynthesis
b At the completion of the first
second, the temperature drops to a billion degrees when deutrons begin to
capture neutrons and protons. This period of fierce nuclear activity known as
"primordial nucleosynthesis" gives birth to nuclear systems Comprising
three and four nucleons (proton and neutron) but these are helium nuclei. This
process lasts only a few minutes because the temperature drops to such an extent
that the nucleosynthesis i.e. nuclear evolution, cannot continue. At this stage
the universe has a copious population of helium - 4 nuclei.
c. This first stage is governed by
the emergence of nuclear force.
The cosmic fiasco
d. Scientists claim that the
primordial nuclear evolution came to a halt with the production of helium-4.
They say that it marks the failure of the cosmic experiment in its effort to
evolve. Why? Because helium is too strongly bound to associate with other types
of nuclei and thus flouts the law of nature which requires association through
bonding to create complexity for extending the ladder of evolution. But
association cannot take place if the bonds are too strong; the extraordinary
strength leads to sterility and the system closes in upon itself. Thus helium
stops the evolutionary process, and this so-called "state of interregnum,,
continues to exist for a million years.
Birth of atoms
2. As temperature drops still
lower, the state of the universe brings about the awakening of electromagnetism.
It is at this stage that a proton arrests an electron to form an atom of
hydrogen.
Protons have positive electric
charge and electrons are negatively charged. They waited for the appropriate
change in the physical conditions to assert their role. This happened at a
temperature of about 3000 degrees when each proton united with an electron. This
union marked the birth of atoms, the building blocks of the universe. Thus
existence owes itself to two facts:
a. Association between particles
which can take place only if the bonds between them are not too rigid, and
secondly,
b. The union is a directed one; it
is neutrons and protons that combine to form nuclei, and not neutrons and
electrons; it is the opposites which react towards each other to create atoms,
and not the reaction between positive charges. The particles are obviously
endowed with a potential which is realised according to the predetermined laws
which are probably the part of this potential. It must be true because one can
become only according to one's potential; no potential -no being. Of course,
potential of everything is brought about by change but this change as potential
determines or directs the identity of what follows from it.
Force of Gravity
3. As the realm of radiation is
conquered by matter, the force of gravity begins to play a major role in the
creation of galaxies, clusters and superclusters. These combinations are brought
about by the gravitational force the same way as nuclear force welds the helium
nuclei, and electromagnetic force shapes the hydrogen molecules. Gas
condensations take place and a part of their energy is transformed into internal
heat. The heated gases begin to shine as stars thus giving birth to the
evolutionary growth of complexity. These "stars" in their embryonic
form contain the primitive products of nucleosynthesis such as hydrogen, helium
and a bit of lithium but no trace of heavier atoms. The stars in their interior
manufacture the chemical elements of life thus providing a second chance for
nuclear evolution. It is caused by the thermal ascent which reaches about 10
million
degrees. Various chemical reactions
lead to the formation of a new nuclear system, i.e ``carbon" which plays a
major role in chemical and biological evolution. Again, carbon nuclei unite with
helium nuclei to bring about oxygen, which enhances the probability of evolution
through the magic of complexity; the nuclei of intermediate mass appear and
through a long chain of gradual additions the most massive nuclei such as
uranium - 238 emerge: this system contains 92 protons and 146 neutrons, and is
thus capable of changing into thousands of forms each having an internal
arrangement of orbits of protons and neutrons peculiar to itself. During its
long life, a star goes through various vicissitudes and eventually suffers an
explosion' releasing the stellar matter which travels through space at the speed
of many thousands of miles per second. The death of a star draws attention to
the following points:
Evolution as Principle
a. It goes through the same pattern
of events which took place at the time of the Big Bang. Obviously, the
evolutionary principle precedes the evolution itself and thus plays the
directive role.
Death, the ambassador of life
b. The exploding star or a
supernova is the germ for an advanced phase of evolution (i.e. death opens a new
door to life) because the ejected debris of the star consists of heavy nuclei.
This change, i.e. variation from nuclei of intermediate mass to heavy nuclei,
carries the promise of cosmic evolution. The interstellar debris becomes richer
to produce heavy atoms. It is these enriched gases which act as a womb for the
birth of the later generations of stars.
These stars, through a process of
change, father ninety elements such as hydrogen, helium, lithium, carbon,
nitrogen, oxygen, neon, sodium, iron, nickel etc. which suffer many changes to
produce the garden of existence with innumerable forms, each carrying its own
history of change.
Universal interrelationships
We should remember that different
structural (chemical) elements have a potential, that is, their innate
properties, but through chemical reaction, they also come to possess family
traits i.e. they develop the ability to form relationship with one another.
Their combinations carry an aura of natural choice because they associate with
certain other elements only and not with any element. Thus expansion of
relationships leads to new and larger families or diversity, but contraction in
realtionships marks the beginning of extinction. Therefore, the universe is an
exhibition of interrelationships and not of cause-and-effect. However, at the
root of relationships lies change because all that appears or disappears, hides
or seeks, lives or dies, is subject to the Law of Change. Coming into being of
the primordial fire ball was itself an act of change. Since its explosion,
change has been rampant ceaselessly. Since all natural phenomena are
manifestations of change, only change seems to be the reality. Is it so? Yes it
is. To understand this trUth, we must look at the following facts:
Peculiarities of Change
1. One can state straightaway that
Change as the Fundamental Principle cannot be subject to any extraneous
influence because it is its essence to keep changing all the time. Therefore,
what is immune from the extraneous influences must be original; it has always
existed, and it always will.
However, initially, as I shall
explain later, change was infantile or embryonic. It evolved through
interrelationships which were its own manifestations, and the resulting
stability emerges from the latent desire of maintaining them. It is this desire
or tendency of change to maintain interrelationships which causes
systematization based on rigid rules of composition. Initial change was, indeed,
a wild force.
a. As all natural phenomena are
displays of change, and change is eternal, existence is not subject to
extinction; it is an eternal circle of appearance and disappearance or more
properly, a play of evolution, Revolution and re-evolution because change as the
fundamental principle cannot operate in a void. Therefore "extinction"
is just a change of form: annihilation of a positron and an electron produces
two photons, and when two photons collide, a positron and an electron come into
being provided they possess sufficient energy. Thus extinction is not only a
form of change but also a reversible process.
Change is the essence of things.
All attractive and repulsive powers known as forces are various aspects of
change. In fact, without perpetual change, existence is impossible. This is why
Einstein asserted everything attracts everything, and scientists include in
"everything", movement as well as bodies which have no mass such as
photons of light. Matter attracts light and light attracts light!
Reality is circular
b. Again, what is perpetually
changing cannot have a distinct starting point or an end. It is like a circle;
after a circle has been drawn, it is impossible to say at what point it started
and at what point it ended because one end runs into another quite
imperceptibly. Thus reality is spherical and question of start and end does not
apply. Therefore, cause-and-effect does not initiate the universe; it only
explains, whenever possible, how change operates as the principle.
Unity of origin
2. Modern scientific studies, as
explained above, reveal that everything is composed of elementary particles
which themselves lose their individuality at temperatures about 1028 degrees.
Therefore, they all must have the same origin. This unity of origin clearly
shows that everything is a variation of the same truth. In other words,
everything is a different manifestation of change.
Weinberg-Salam theory
a. This point is further explained
by what is called the Weinberg-Salam theory which propounds the spontaneous
symmetry breaking property, and claims that particles look different at low
energies only and thus their difference is related to the difference of states
because in fact all particles are of the same type.
Cause-and-effect
Since things have a common origin,
diversity cannot be attributed to an external cause. It must lie within things
which are helped by the environmental factors to assume different forms.
b. The above fact is illustrated by
the composition of things. For example, HaO equals water, that is, when two
atoms of hydrogen combine with one atom of oxygen, they change into water which
can assume gaseous and solid states as well as change into myriads of other
forms of vegetation and animals.
Exactitude of change
c It reveals yet another
characteristic of change, i.e. entity or composition of things is a measured or
regulated one. In other words, nothing can come into
being without an underlying
principle or law. In this case, H20 is the law. There is no other way of
bringing water into being.
Urge of recognition
This observation unmasks another
mystery: water is the manifestation of its underlying principle (H2O). Thus
without manifestation the underlying principle cannot be recognized. The urge
for recognition seems to be an integral part of the underlying principle, and
therefore, manifestation and the underlying principle become one and the same
thing: when we decompose water, the underlying principle also disappears (in
relation to the decomposed water).
Stability
d. Put it another way,
manifestation refers to stability. As cold is meaningless without hot and dark
cannot be understood without light, change is not comprehensible without
stability. They are the two opposite poles of the same reality as photons and
electrons are (said to be) their own opposites. An even better example is
provided by a light wave which is never stationary (i.e. perpetually changing)
but always moves in crests and troughs. Obviously, both the crest and the trough
are equally essential for the concept of change because change cannot take place
without transformation from one state to another. Obviously, where there is
change, there is also stability.
The creative principle
3. What I have so far called
"The Fundamental Principle" and "change", can also be
described as the "Creative Principle" owing to their precision and
flexibility: it is these two characteristics of change which impart order to
chaos through evolution.
Precision
Here are some examples of
precision:
a. It takes three quarks to build a
proton. Why? Because of their respective electric forces, two quarks repel each
other exactly the same way as two electrons do Similarly, it requires three
quarks to form a neturon. Without such a precision, existence will not be
possible.
b. The universe is said to have
been expanding for the last ten thousand million years. The precision in the
rate of expansion is absolutely stunning. Scientists claim that one second after
the Big Bang, if the rate of expansion had varied by one part in a hundred
thousand million million, the universe could not have evolved! Obviously
existence means being in the precisely right ratio.
c. Electric charges which are
opposite to each other, have got to be exactly equal in numbers. To realise the
vastness of the opposite charges in the universe, just take one gram of hydrogen
which contains about 600 billion trillion (600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)
protons and exactly the same number of electrons. A proton has a positive charge
and an electron has a negative charge If an ounce of ordinary matter suffered as
little as one per cent difference in the numbers of its positive and negative
charges, the said ounce of matter Would explode with a force equal to the entire
weight of the earth!
What a precision it is!
Flexibility
The following examples illustrate
flexibility of the Creative Principle:
d. All known particles are divided
into two groups according to their type of spin. It is claimed that the
particles of spin 1/2 constitute the matter whereas the particles which possess
spin 0,1 and 2 give rise to interactions (forces) between the matter particles.
Pauli's Exclusion Principle
Flexibility of the Creative
Principle lies in the fact that the matter particles obey the Pauli's Exclusion
Principle but the force-carrying particles do not. The Pauli's Exclusion
Principle declares that two similar particles cannot exist in the same state: if
they both have the same position they must have different velocities within the
limits allowed by the Uncertainty Principle. This is the reason that matter
particles can resist the influence of the forces generated by the particles
carrying spin 0,1 and 2. Without it, they would collapse to a state of extreme
density.
To elucidate this point, I may add
that forces between matter particles are thought to be carried by particles of
integer spin - 0, 1 or 2 which operate in the following manner:
As an electron or a quark emits a
force-carrying particle, its bouncing effect changes the velocity of the matter
particle, thus causing a collision between itself and another matter particle.
Though the force-carrying particle is absorbed, its head-on clash serves to
change the velocity of the second particle and thus behaves as if there existed
a force between the two matter particles. Immunity of the force-carrying
particles from the Pauli's Exclusion Principle, imparts this exchange mechanism
an unlimited boost, giving rise to a strong force.
This immunity amounts to
flexibility, and forms an integral part of the Creative Principle. Without it,
operation of forces will be faulty, and the necessary prey that the universe
requires for its evolution, shall not be forthcoming.
Heisenberg's Uncertainty
Principle
e. Heisenberg's Uncertainty
Principle is yet another example of flexibility. It states that the prediction
of future depends upon the exact measurements of the position and velocity of a
particle but this is not possible because only one aspect can be measured
correctly - position or velocity. Therefore, there is no such thing as
certainty' and the scientists believe that the Uncertainty Principle is the
fundamental
property of the universe.
This does not seem quite true.
Uncertainty means near-certainty because if it were not so, the scientists could
not land a man on the moon, nor could Voyager 2 probe the mysteries of Neptune.
This truth is equally borne out by life which cannot be based on sheer guesswork
and a series of chances.
However, for the purpose of this
discussion, uncertainty simply means flexibility as opposed to certainty which
is a form of precision or rigidity.
f. Operational wisdom of the
Creative Principle is unlimited. It knows exactly when to be precise or
flexible. Take for instance, the forces between molecules. Without mutual
attraction molecules will not form but if they go on attracting one another,
matter will condense to such an extent that the universe will implode. The
interatomic forces must become repulsive at shorter range with such a precision
that molecules can retain their natural identity. This is a demonstration of
discreet precision and flexibility.
4. All these principles that I have
stated are ramifications of change or the Creative Principle the same way as
branches are offshoots of a tree, and are controlled by its root complex.
Interrelationships
These principles, which I should
designate as subprinciples, provide the basis of interrelationships between all
things. Yet the Creative Principle stands apart from the subprinciples as does a
tree from its shadow. Perhaps, a more befitting example is that of a father and
children. Though they all inherit him genetically, he exists independently, yet
they all are related to him and to one another. Father is not the real cause of
their birth but a precedence in time because he and his children are members of
the same species, bound by relationships. As relationship stitches people
mutually, it also binds one atom to another; it is quite evident from the family
traits of the chemical elements. Thus the universe is a symposium of
interrelationships and their order is regulated by the Creative Principle.
Urge of self-improvement
This leads us to a very important
point, that is, the primary conduct of the Creative Principle. As denoted by
evolution, that is, gradual progress from simple to Complex, it is instinctive
and infantile and seeks self-development to become elaborate The elaborative
conduct of the Creative Principle emerges from its relationships with the things
that it creates haphazardly and its will to hold those relationships Take a
savage for example. He seduces a damsel who bears him a child, thus arousing his
paternal instinct which creates a relationship based on ve and care. This
relationship is highly instructive. As the savage's children grow into a family,
clans and tribes, their mutual relationships give birth to rules of defence and
aggression, restraint and freedom, rights and obligations, ways of living and
eventually a culture like ours based on laws, customs and traditions
This evolutionary process must
impart elaboration and refinement to the Creative Principle itself by means of
successive relationships. It is no different from the human experience: we build
our personality, attain maturity and create and retain our cultural values by
persistent trials and efforts.
One major feature of this
evolutionary process is Change for the better. This factor emerges per se from
the basic precept of proceeding from simple to complex and rising from descent
to ascent. Of course, change can be for the worse but I am talking about the
overall change which is surely based on the urge of self-improvement. This urge
is embedded in the chemical elements themselves. Without it, they cannot change
into atoms, cells and man. It is this urge, as I shall discuss later, which
leads man to the search of Godhead - the apex of self-improvement It all depends
upon the successful maintenance of one's relationship with others In fact, it is
a matter of securing one's rights and discharging one's obligations The notion
of relativity springs from the interrelationship of things, and the concepts of
precision and flexibility are modes of honouring them.
Spontaniety of principle
5. A principle cannot be created:
a. E = mc2 is E = mc2 (E is
equivalent of energy, m is the mass of the object, and c is the velocity of
light). There is nothing one can do about it because when certain factors
arrange themselves as expressed by this equation, energy (E) is the result.
Again, it is a principle or law
that protons must have a positive electric charge and electron must have a
negative charge, and it must take three quarks to make a proton or neutron. A
principle is subject to elaboration but cannot be created or destroyed.
Principle and purpose
6. Of course, change can be
haphazard at its primary stage but as the Creative Principle it has, or comes to
possess a purpose through the relationships it creates. The principle H20
certainly has a purpose, that is, water. If H20 does not lead to water, then it
does not qualify as the principle.
It certainly does not imply the
stereotyped sense of determinism because the creation of such elements as
hydrogen and oxygen requires a great deal of effort The role of helium, as
narrated earlier, clearly shows that the purpose does not dictate a specific
effort to achieve it but opens the door to trial and error which eventually
leads to success through choosing the best course of action. If it were not so,
evolution of the universe would have stopped at the stage of helium. The fact
that it did not, indicates that particles have their purpose written into them,
that is, to evolve and become the universe. This purpose, in a way, can be
equated with the potential of things to become but they have to realise it
through their own effort.
It does not eliminate the role of
chance in evolution but certainly reduces it by expectancy Of things to realise
their own purpose.
Limits of change
7. Change is evolution and
evolution is change but change is not limitless because the Principle of Change
cannot transgress the boundary where it can no longer change Thus change can
take place only between two extremes. Therefore, when change has reached one
extreme, then it proceeds in the reverse order. If forward movement is labelled
as positive, the backward movement becomes negative, thus it observes the law of
opposites like protons and electrons, particles and antiparticles, and quarks
and antiquarks.
Second law of thermodynamics
Here the law of thermodynamics may
help explain the above statement. The second law of thermodynamics holds that in
a closed system the change is always towards a situation with a higher entropy
i.e. lower order.
Concept of entropy
8. The concept of entropy states
that the natural tendency of a system is to move from a higher state of order to
a lower state of order, that is from organization to disorganization. As
disorganization accelerates, so does entropy. Scientists use a different
language to describe this fact, i.e. the lowering of order refers to the
decreasing information content. Thus entropy and information are said to be
inversely related.
In view of what I have said, it
follows that the universe is moving from the positive to the negative direction.
The first law of thermodynamics
states that energy is conserved; it can neither be created nor destroyed. It
means that the energy lost equals the energy gained or conserved. Surely, the
energy conserved is energy only if it retains its original properties If the
universe was born from energy what can stop its rebirth from the same energy
specially when giving birth to the cosmos seems to be the essence of energy.
When the extreme state of entropy is reached, the principle of change must
become positive by reversing its direction of movement.
Change, the ultimate cause.
9. Change is restless by nature.
Initially, it operates at random but becomes purposeful and elaborate through
interrelationships. Since everything comes into being through change, the
Creative Principle, is ceaselessly working and therefore its existence and
operation are independent of external factors. Thus, it is the cause of every
thing without being caused by anything else. However, this cause, at least
Initially, is in terms of precedence, and not as cause, the creator (as
understood by the cause - effect relationship).
Change, the reality
10. As I shall explain later,
eternity is not possible without change. Therefore, what is subject of change
cannot become extinct. The universe being the
manifestation of change cannot
cease to vary and therefore, it must stay alive If there remained nothing to
change, the Creative Principle would become inoperative. This is not imaginable.
a. In fact, things stay alive only
because they have the capacity to change hydrogen and oxygen change into water
which gives birth to myriads of forms through processes of further
changes. Thus what does not change cannot exist There is no reality but change.
Change as principle, process and
product
11. Whatever is in the universe
represents change not only as the principle but also change as the process and
change as the product, thus confirming the unity of being.
H'O is the principle; the act of
covalent bonding (combination of the atoms of hydrogen and oxygen) is the
process; and water is the product. Everything, natural or artificial is the
manifestation of this truth - the change.
Manipulability of change
a. Change never ceases to be
operative. It can be visible or invisible. Though its operation cannot be
eliminated, it is subject to improvement, degradation, acceleration and
deceleration. For example, life can be improved, prolonged or reduced. It
follows that change as principle, process and product is subject to individual
or collective will and the quality of existence depends upon the quality of
control which raises the status of free will above that of determinism because
in the long run it is the quality or degree of development that counts.
Constructive change is life-giving
but destructive change is extinctive.
Change and law of opposites
b. Change expresses itself through
the law of opposites e.g. at physical level as negative and positive forces, and
at social level as morality and immorality, legality and illegality, justice and
injustice, love or loathing, and so on. Why? Because all love is not change, it
is loathing that provides variation though it may differ in degree. Similarly,
at the physical level, neutrality of atoms, and tension are not possible without
the law of opposites. Again, it is the friction of the Opposites which brings
out the best and makes life pretty, precious and palatable.
Change for the best
c. The ultimate purpose of change
is to be the best and stay the best. According to our present knowledge,
particles struggle to be the best and thus reach the stage of man but he can be
devious, devilish and despicable. Worse still, he is subject to depression,
derangement and destruction. Yet the attempt to be the best is there, and even
after a Revolutionary process, evolutionary process - an attempt to be the best
- starts all over again.
Possibility of becoming the best
Is it really possible to be the
best and stay the best? Yes it is. It is achievable through the agency of change
only. Is it not a contradictory statement? And if it is not, then how do we
reconcile these assertions?
Though I shall explain this point
at a later stage, it suffices to say at this point that man does not represent
the final development; it is Godhead that is the Ultimate mode of existence, and
it is sustained by a continuous process of change. How? We shall examine it in
due course.
The Creative Principle and
manifestation
12. Matter, the building material
of the cosmos including man, is the manifestation of the Creative Principle.
Since matter cannot be shapeless, the Creative Principle must manifest itself in
one form or another. The diversity of forms emanates from the variation of
properties which the elements acquire from chemical changes.
Again, a natural force is an agent
of change, and change creates as well as alters properties. For example, not
only sweetness, stickiness, stench, hardness, brittleness, flexibility, colour,
fragrance etc. are brought about by the electromagnetic force
but it also gives birth to the
phenomena of life such as thinking, feeling, sexual responses, digestion,
muscular activity and so on.
It follows that as the Creative
Principle must manifest itself, and manifestation is nothing but existence or
stability, it is proper to say that the purpose of change is stability. In fact,
stability is an integral part of change because change means variation in
stability. This is no fairy tale; though I exist, I keep changing all the time,
and if I do not exist, change would have no meaning in relation to me. Hence
change and stability (existence) go together. This truth is further attested by
the ever-changing heavenly bodies which have existed in space for millions of
years. Since perpetual flux of the universe is responsible for the patterns of
stability such as moon, mountain or monkey, it is a fair assumption that the
goal of change is the maximum duration or the longest period of stability. Why?
Because the longer the period of stability, the greater the chance for change to
manifest itself (in that particular form)!
The infant principle
This statement does not sound
irrational, if we realise that the Creative Principle is live and kicking, and
manifestation is nothing but an act of self-exhibition. As stated earlier, the
Creative Principle despite being the source of existence, is primarily an infant
which attains maturity by experience. As a savage through rape or cohabitation
becomes a father and thus establishes relationships with his Children,
grandchildren and so on, the Creative Principle though initially manifests
itself at random, each further manifestation begins to count as a relationship.
As it is natural for a father to honour his relationship with his children, it
is essenlia] for the Creative Principle to enter into a definite relationship
with its manifestations, each manifestation establishing a similar relationship
with its own offshoots. It is the tendency of the Creative Principle to maintain
these relationships which display themselves as the exact formulas of chemical
changes, and laws of precision and flexibility. The cosmos which is a symposium
of interrelationships stabilises itself through honouring these relationships.
This is the reason that everything exists relative to everything else. If this
relativity is weakened or destroyed, the cosmos is sure to devolve and
eventually plunge into chaos.
Significance of recognition
Before a relationship can be
honoured, it must be recognised. Of course, a relationship has an intrinsic
value but it is enhanced many times over through recognition. In most cases it
is the magnitude of recognition which makes a relationship what it becomes.
Nothing can be recognised without acknowledging its individuality. Since
existence is relative, both the recogniser and the recognised have an equal
obligation of recognising each other. Thus the Creative Principle recognises its
relationships with its offshoots and they recognise theirs' in return the cosmic
cohesion and physical exactitude produced by forces such as gravitation
electromagnetism, nuclear etc., are examples of recognising and honouring the
natural affinities. However, this pattern changes at human level where
consciousness takes over the natural conduct.
Recognition means realising what is
that exists besides us, e.g. what is parenthood? What is a friend? What is a
foe? Honouring such relationships gives rise to ethical concepts such as vice
and virtue and rights and duties, which lead to behaviour patterns, laws and
cultural traditions. Thus each relationship acts as a link in the chain of life
which prospers or perishes according to the fulfillment of these relationships.
Search for stability
In a nutshell, relationships create
systems, and there is a natural tendency in every system to seek stability
through a harmonious working of these relationships. Search for stability is the
fundamental property of matter because it constantly probes for the highest
state of stability. However, stability does not mean hardness but the longest
possible duration as a system.
The ultimate reality
Since everything emerges through
the process of change, change becomes the source of existence, and existence is
nothing but stability thus change and stability become reciprocal. As the
tendency of matter is to seek not only the higher but also the prolonged form of
existence, reality is not just change but the stabilitYthrough-change. If change
did not lead to stability, nothing could come into existence; there would be no
moon, no stars, no rivers, no forests, no birds, no humans. And without
intelligent life, the Change or the Creative Principle itself would have no
value for lack of recognition.
Immortality
Whether a thing lasts a moment or a
millenium, it represents a form of life or stability. In human terms, the real
issue is: can man live for ever, or is he destined to survive a few years and
then turn into particles of dust? Can he achieve immortality? Of course he can.
It means that although change itself cannot be
eliminated, its effect can be tamed
to become the contributor of everlasting stability. This is not a fantasy but a
well-known fact. Take electricity, for instance; it can be used as a means of
execution but can also be harnessed to act as a saver of life; again snake venom
is lethal but can also be used as an antidote. Change can equally be an
ambassador of death or life. The basic characteristic of change is that it is
not only deterministic but it is also docile. One must know how to manipulate
its effect. After all, it is change which is the source of both evolution and
devolution.
Because of the importance of this
issue, I must repeat that stability is the Opposite pole of change exactly the
same way as negative is of positive or light is of dark. Thus the Creative
Principle is completed by its built-in polarity and stability-through-change
emerges as the reality. It refers to the stage of existence where change or the
Creative Principle operates at the highest possible level to become the agent of
stability, that is, it retains its highest evolutionary level without showing
any tendency of Revolution. This level of existence becomes superior to the rest
of the universe for becoming immune to the Revolutionary process and thus
represents the cosmic purpose which is the preservation of its best aspect.
Scientific proof of eternity
Once again, is the notion of
everlasting stability a fact or fiction? It is a fact, and there is cogent
evidence to establish the veracity of this statement:
Quarks combine in threes to create
the strongly interacting family known as "hadrons" whose life-span is
measured in trillionth of a second. I am not aware of any other thing as
short-lived as a hadron. The moment a hadron disintegrates, it turns into a
proton or neutron. An isolated neutron does not last for more than fifteen
minutes but once it is incorporated into a nucleus, it becomes as stable as the
proton. Of course, a proton is mortal but it has an expected age of 103' years,
that is, 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years! Think of this figure
and compare it to the age of a hadron or a neutron. Do not forget that man is
made of exactly the same materials as the rest of the universe. If other things
can attain sufficient stability to postpone a rendezvous with death, why can't
man achieve that status? In fact, what I am about to discuss is more than a
very, very, very, long life; I am going to discuss eternity, the natural goal of
mankind.
Cosmos, man and consciousness
Eternity does not mean a stone-like
existence but an eternal life based on consciousness. This concept of eternity
applies to man only because he is the only being endowed with active
consciousness which marks the highest state achieved by the cosmic evolutionary
process. Achievement of eternity is a very real possibility because the cosmos
can realise its dream through the immortality of man only. Why? Man is the
greatest cosmic achievement and, therefore, his extinction implies failure and
total loss of labour of billions of years that the cosmos did to evolve man.
Therefore, man must be preserved not only because he is the baby of the cosmos
but also because the conscious status of being is the highest state of existence
and thus constitutes the greatest cosmic achievement. The real problem is how to
make this achievement everlasting. It is evidently the concern of consciousness.
If the journey from the human state to eternity could be accomplished through
mechanistic means, subatomic level of existence would be more suitable for this
adventure. Thus agency of faith leads man in the opposite direction because it
ranks as a programmed probe based on total brain-washing which destroys his
power of consciousness, though this is the very essence which makes him man.
Eternity means preserving the best.
What is not best is not worth preserving, and the best way of preserving one's
self is through self-endeavour.
As a footnote to this discussion, I
may recapitulate the Concept of Reality.
There is no Reality but Change.
Since everything emerges through Change, Change becomes the source of existence,
and existence is nothing but stability. Thus change and stability become
reciprocal. As the tendency of matter is to seek not only the higher but also
the prolonged form of existence, the Ultimate Reality refers to the highest
state of existence which lasts for ever. Though it is not immune to the law of
change, at this point, Change ceases to be an instrument of deterioration and
acts as the agent- of continuous stability. It is this function of Change which
gives it (Change) the dignity of the Creative Principle.
The highest and the eternal state
of existence, I have described as "Godhead", which I shall discuss in
the following Chapters of this book (III) along with how Change solely becomes
the agent of stability.
| 
Previous
Chapter
