GIST
The solid world of our day to – day experience is only a heap of ideas. All ideas reside in the mind only. Each mind stretches out of its usual habitat the physiological body, to reach out not only the insentient world but also every other mind and become one with it but the degree of out – stretching varies from mind to mind. This should mean that there is a Universal Primordial mind of which all other minds are tiny offshoots. These offshoots however, will have fair weather if only they keep in tune with the Primordial Mind.
SUBJECT
What is presented to the mind by the senses, on undergoing a scrutiny, reveals a totally new and strange substratum. The simplest examples are the mirage and the rainbow. The rising sun and the stars present a spectacle which in every day life is taken for what it appears rather than for what it is. When we come to astronomical computations, however, we do concede that it is the apparently stationary earth which really revolves around the sun on the one hand, and on the other, the same earth also rotates around an axis passing through its own centre. In the case of colour of objects, their solidity etc. we hold on to the data furnished by the senses even more tenaciously and only under the smashing pain of analytical hammer do we admit that reality is to the contrary (Colour and solidity are only appearances and not true or real) Probably this is so, not merely because of the utilitarian benefits that accrue on accepting the verdict of the senses; but also due to the subtlty of the arguments adduced in the alternate explanation offered in the name of science and reality. But the investigator who goes on looking for truth or reality has more in store than what he asks for. He was looking for the mechanical pattern of the Universe which he misses completely and is confronted by a world of ideas, as can be seen in Sir James Jeans’ exclamation in his book (The Mysterious Universe) in the following words : “The stream of knowledge is heading towards a non – mechanical reality; the Universe looks more like a great thought than like a great machine.” Later scientists have bewildered the believer in a material Universe even more.
Now let us try to understand Sir James Jeans better. Every material body is cognised through its idea which is an inference drawn on the data furnished by the senses – one cannot cognise anything without associating it with its idea which however resides in one’s mind only. So he can dare say that there is an idea corresponding to every material object. It cannot be said conversely that every idea has got a corresponding material prototype. As an example consider ‘Government’. As an idea it exists and is real but has no mechanical prototype in the world of material bodies or it is non-existent and unreal in the mechanical world. In a like manner family, village, poverty, mercy, superiority etc., are also ideas and are true and real in the world of ideas but have no corresponding counterpart in the world of matter. These ideas, it will be seen, play a major role in the everyday life of man. There is yet another class of ideas which has no prototype in the material world but which forms an essential part in the world of physical sciences. Gravitation is one such idea. It is this class which must have been uppermost in the mind of Sir James Jeans when he commented as above. Subsequent Modren Physics has resolved the material Universe into Gravitation, Matter waves, Electromagnetic waves, Electric and Magnetic fields and such other ideas.
Man without eyes or ears or any other limb is conceivable. In the ultimate case this can take us to a man who has no limbs or body but a man without ideas or a man without a mind is inconceivable. In fact, mind is a must, even with less evolved species having lower capabilities.
Man has to rely on the inference drawn on the testimony of his senses even for ascertaining the existence of his limbs and body. But this is so common-place that the inference is not considered as such but is taken for unquestionable truth. As for the existence of the mind, it speaks for itself and so long as it does so no other proof is required. If and when it is silent what is proved is its silence rather than its absence. No proof ever forthcomes for its non-existence either.It is easy to see that the mind which can and after a sleep or swoon or any other form of activity must be the same and existed during the interval of inactivity also. Moreover, no one, be one a scholar or an imbecile, assertive or timid, sane or psychopath felt at any time a scruple regarding one’s own existence, though there will be insuperable difficulty if one should attempt to find out what is connoted by ‘One’. Knowledge of one’s own existence stands out in bold supremacy to every other piece of information and the contrast shall not be missed. This knowledge is called intutive knowledge and no proof in support or denial is needed or forthcoming.
The Material Universe of the Physicist with all its complexities resolves down to protons, neutrons and electrons etc. considered to be the smallest units of matter, together with electric and magnetic radiations, electric and magnetic fields, matter waves etc. These in turn constitute the sum total of energy (or momentum if one is so pleased) which is what the Universe is and is in its-simplest form capacity to cause change in the velocity of a material body. Velocity and magnitude themselves are relative quantities which means that any two observers in general cannot agree in respect of readings regarding a third body. Moreover we know, Albert Einstein once for all struck the death – blow to absolute space and absolute time making both of them relative. If velocity as well as the capacity to impart such velocity are relative the conclusion is that each observer has his own reading of the Universe. These observers are infinite in number spacewise as well as timewise. With infinitely large number of observers, each of whom has an equally valid observation of ‘the external world’ of which each cherishes an ‘equally dear and true’ idea, how it is possible for a common understanding to evolve and be accepted is the next question. Evidently, such an understanding exists. Going one more step ahead, understanding crops up between man and man, between man and animal and even between animal and animal. Such a workable understanding springs forth in a comparatively short span of time. But the mathematical theory of information does not give room for even anticipating such an eventuality. According to Shannon of Bell Telephone Laboratories U.S.A. (reference is to his book entitled “The Mathematical Theory of Communication) “Any two given strangers without any prior understanding after communicating any number of times, however large but finite, can never come an understanding”
In fact however, an understanding evolves rather quickly between any two beings showing any two beings or minds are not total strangers. In other words each and every mind, be it of man or of animal, overstretches into all other minds. Thus all minds form one mind like a huge tree with its trunk forming the common mind while the tiny branches and leaves form the individual minds. The Primordial Mind is universal and other individual minds form part of it. As in dreams, any idea of, say, a mirage or a rainbow, a family or a Government or even a purely fictitious idea of a snake in a rope, is true to one so long as one holds on it, so also the idea of the Universe shall be true for the Primordial Mind so long as it cherishes that idea. The other minds in partial attunement with the Primordial Mind will also be in touch with the universal tableau in the same proportion as the attunement.
Now, some inferences are possible :
1. Just as one does not exhaust oneself in the ideas of one’s own making, so also the Primordial Mind will not have exhausted itself in the idea of the Universe which is its creation or the Primordial Mind has existence apart from its creation namely the Universe.
2. The Primordial Mind, limiting itself by greater involvement in certain ideas, has brought into manifestation the Universe and its innumerable living beings and keeps relentless contact with them.
3. The human mind can never severe itself completely from the Primordial Mind.
4. The human mind can and will always apprehend the Primordial Mind in a limited way and this can be greatly enhanced, but it can never comprehend it completely.
5. The human mind and the Primordial Mind behave in a similar manner in every respect but the human mind being limited does not entertain large fluctuations. (amplitudes)
6. It is prudence for the human mind to attune itself with the Primordial Mind, going against which is bound to bring insurmountable difficulties until the universal discipline is accepted wholeheartedly.
APPENDIX I : A very simple alternate argument to show that the material world is one of ideas only is as follows.
Words denoting a collection such as heap, group, bunch, crowd etc. refer only to ideas;. in other words, collective nouns indicate only ideas or fabrications of the mind. Secondly every so – called material object consists of parts and is denoted by a noun which is more appropriately a collective noun and hence every material object is only an idea. Even the ultimate particles of matter such as protons and electrons admit of parts such as inside and outside, circumference and centre and so on.
APPENDIX II : Alternate method of arriving at the existence of the Primordial Mind.
Supposing the original order of a pack of cards is the order and we go on shuffling the pack, there will be greater and greater disorder. This is sheer common-sense. A mathematical theorem in permutation confirms this conclusion arrived bycommon-sense. In the simplest terms this means : shuffling causes randomness. In Thermodynamics, randomness is connoted by entropy and the aforesaid theorem transforms simply as follows. The total entropy of the Universe steadily increases.In the world of day to day experience a different picture obtains. Suppose, I build a house. At every stage of building it, order as against disorder is introduced; In the process a mathematical cum physical law is contradicted. This capacity to go against the aforesaid law on permutation is given to all living beings.Taking yet another view of the Universe, there is perfect order in the behaviour of the astronomical bodies. The atomic and nuclear world also is marked by perfect order. Obviously these insentient bodies must have been made to keep perfect order by some sentient being as per our finding above. But this Being must definitely be very much more powerful than I and yet similar to me.
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