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Eternity
Eternity

Table of Contents
Preface


ARE WE ON THE RIGHT PATH?
Introduction
Fear And Favour
Urge of Dominance
Faith
Middle Eastern Mythology
Revelation


SEMITIC RELIGIONS
Introduction
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Horrors of Fundamentalism


ORIGIN & DESTINATION
Introduction
Epistemology
The Creative Principle
Mind and Matter
Life After Death
Summary


THE WAY
Introduction
Harmony
Free Will
Ethics
Psychology
Sociology
Law
Politics
Taxation
Economics
Mysticism


Postscript
Glossary
Bibliography

Eternity

 
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ETERNITY

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.
 
 

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