Living in Paradox

Life is essentially a paradox as it happen in possibilities. Change, instability and uncertainty are its essential features. Anyone looking for stability and certainty is living in fool’s paradise 

Modern physics in general and quantum physics in particular has increasingly validated this finding of ancient Eastern Yogis. Now there is sufficient scientific evidence to prove that the systematic and mechanical view of world as given by Newtonian Physics is grossly limited at both sub atomic and cosmic levels. 

This change in understanding is essential to re calibrate our knowledge about how ecosystems works and they organize themselves. It calls for a sea change in our conceptual understanding that integrates three dimensions of life - biological, cognitive and social 

Life is aliveness. Most of the things that we encounter in our environment are alive. Everything vibrates. The only difference lies in the rate of vibration. Life is essentially a network of inseparable patterns of relationships. We are living on a planet that is living and self regulating system. 

Life is not a zero sum game and evolution is not a competitive struggle. At its core, all growth comes comes from constructive cooperative, in which creativity and novelty are the key success factors. This calls for a new attitude in our learning skills to read and understand complexities, patterns and networks. There is an intrinsic value in everything and everyone. Whatever exists, has a purpose. The sense of belongingness, interdependent and contentedness has to be our way of thinking and lifestyle. We need to change our value systems, business strategies, politics etc to fit in this approach. This is essentially a shift in learning from experiments to experiences. 

This subtle truth was discovered by geniuses, thousands of years ago, in various parts of the world. According to Heraclitus, all changes in the world arise from the dynamic and cyclic interplay of opposites (logos). The Eastern mystics view the world as essentially dynamic and contains time and change as its basic features. The cosmos is seen one inseparable reality, forever in motion, alive and organic. Today, this understanding is acting as a philosophical background to the theories of contemporary science. 

Today we know that Newtonian physics is valid only for objects consisting of large number of atoms and only for velocities which are smaller as compared to speed of light. When the first condition is dropped, quantum physics comes in picture. When the second condition is dropped, theory of relativity gets into action. It simply means that Newtonian Physics and its findings are applicable only to situations which can be assessed and analyses by physical senses. Beyond and above this, it has no validity. In quantum space, the finding of Newton that matter is solid, always conserved and essentially passive, does not hold good. According to theory of relativity, space and time are intimately connected and forms a four dimensional continuum. Further, time does not flow uniformly in the universe and different observers may experience time, differently. Einstein further proved that space is not linear. The gravitational mass of bodies makes it curve. Rutherford through his experiments proved that atom is not solid, as they consist of vast regions of empty spaces. Quantum physics further proved that even the solid part of atoms is not solid as the subatomic unit of matter always have a dual nature. Quantum mechanics has concluded that both atomic and sub atomic events do not occur with certainty at definite times but rather shows tendencies to occur. It also proves that at sub atomic level, matter has no meaning in isolation but can only be understood in terms of relations and connections. Thus the building blocks of life exists and operate as a complex web of relations between the parts of the whole. Theory of Relativity proved that mass is not substance but is a form of energy and energy is a dynamic quantity associated with process or activity. This signifies the eastern mysticism that everything exists for a purpose. 

These findings of modern physics, makes life a paradox. But this paradox disappears once we adopt a dynamic and relativistic view of life. Once we see the basic building blocks of life as dynamic patterns or processes, involving energy, a develop a new worldview. The universe is thereby seen as a dynamic and inseparable whole, which is organic in nature and includes the observer in an essential way. 

Quantum Physics and recent advances in the theory of relativity have shaken our traditional understanding of world.  A knowledge of this new understanding to everyone is essential to bring a shift in global consciousness and to solve our social, ecological and economic problems. Some of the key insights and findings in this regard are mind boggling and have both societal and personal ramifications.

1. Complex is Real, Simple is Illusion - The nature world is one of infinite varieties and complexities, a multidimensional existence, where there are no linear forms & relationships and things do not happen in sequences, but all together. In this complex setup, even emptiness is not empty but full of information. 

        Complexity is at the core of creation as it ensures aliveness and purpose of every bit of existence. To a mind, seeking simplicity in life, this is madness. This madness is essential for life to exist. To make a sense of out this complexity, we need to cross the barrier of physical senses and their see life in silence and with closed eyes. We need to think beyond language, dissection and matter as basis of knowledge. When the rational mind is silenced, the intuitive mind generates a higher awareness and we experience the world without conceptual filters. There is a part of reality which cannot be expressed in words. A different kind of language is required to understand this reality. 

2. All is One, One is All - In Quantum physics, the particle constitutes an intermediate system connecting the processes at A and B. In this sense, the particle exists and has meaning only in this context. It is not an isolated entity but an interconnection between processes and act of measurement. It essentially implies that that we cannot decompose the world into independently existing smaller units.At atomic level, every particles exist as probabilities of interconnections. The atomic particle in essence is a set of relationships that reach outward to other things.At macro scale, it essentially means that things derive their  being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves. The quantum theory thus reveals an essential interconnectedness of the universe.  
3. Opposites are complementary - At sub atomic level, particles are both destructible and indestructible, both continuous and discontinuous, both force and matter. Everything exists as a pair of concepts which are interrelated  and cannot be defined simultaneously in an accurate manner. The more we focus on one concept, the other becomes uncertain. Yet both exists simultaneously. However, these opposites are not in conflict and are intact interdependent. These forces are always a manifestation of the interplay between two sides. Everything that is gross is intact a dynamic unification of the opposites. Good and bad, pleasure and pain, life and death are not absolute experiences but are merely two sides of the same reality, extremes of a single whole. It is our awareness that makes makes polar or opposite. At its core, they ate one and makes the whole.  To experience this complementarity of opposites, we need a language, radically different from our current methods of direction, labeling and categorization. We need to develop of language of intuition where with silence we can convey the higher reality of file through vibrations rather than through words. 
4. Change is Life - In quantum theory,  a subatomic particle can be understood only in dynamic context, ie in terms of its movement, interaction and transformation. To study, a property  of a particle, when it is confined to a small region, its wavelength changes along with its velocity. The more it is confined, faster it moves. This fundamental restlessness of matter is a characteristic of the sub atomic world. This also implies that matter is always in motion. The closer we look at it, more alive we find it. Modern physics pictures matter as continuous dancing and vibrating in rhythmic pattern, determined by molecular, atomic and nuclear structure. This dynamism springs from atomic level and spread to cosmos. Mass is a form of energy and hence indestructible. It only changes from one form to another. By this definition, a particle is a bundle of energy, holds stable through various relations. In this dynamic world there is no place for status quo. Everything from sub atomic to cosmic level, is constantly vibrating and changing. Change is the essence of entire existence. A greater understanding of distinguishing features of this change will help to grasp the fundamentals of life.  
5. Emptiness is not empty  - In quantum mechanics, void/emptiness is a dynamic quality of paramount importance. At macroscopic level, the material objects are not distinct entities, but are inseparably linked to their environment. At this scale, properties of matter have to be understood in terms  of its interaction with the rest of the world. Thus the void of quantum filed gives birth to an infinite variety of forms which it sustains and eventually absorb. This relationship of form and emptiness cannot be conceived as mutually exclusive but only as two aspects of the same reality, which co exist and are in continual cooperation. Indeed, form is emptiness is form/matter and form/matter is emptiness. The field/void/emptiness is everywhere and exists always. It is the carrier of all material phenomena. At mental level, an access to this void though silence and meditation, is the only way understand the mysteries of life. Knowledge gained though this intuitive manner is free from limitations of language and bias.  
6. Rise of Singularity - The latest developments in S matrix and Bootstrap theories suggest that nature cannot be reduced to fundamental entities, it has to be understood entirely in terms of its self consistency, with its components consistent with each other and with themselves.The outcome of EPR and Bell theorem indicates that the universe is essentially interconnected, interdependent and inseparable.  This give rise to the singularity, a unified space and time construct, where causality occurs and give rise to events, which ultimately create matter.  Carried out to its logical conclusion, that the existence of conciseness along with other aspects of nature is necessary for self consistency of the whole. It also implies that universe create more and more form to be more conscious of itself. 
   

   

To sum up, everything in the universe is connected to everything else and no part of it is fundamental. It is only through emphasis on mutual interrelation and self consistency, we can gauge the heart of universe, which is fluid and ever changing. In this intrinsically connected and changing universe, things/form device their being and nature by mutual dependence. To a man, who tries to understand the universe through the tools of classical physics, it is paradox. But once we see it thought the eyes of ancient yogis, it is purposeful, singular, alive and logical. The findings of quantum physics and theory of relativity are increasingly pointing us to our ancestors.  

Think Good, Live Well