Sunday, September 21, 2008

To Flow effortlessly and majestically

Unidimensional Aspect of "Cause and Effect"

“Unidimensional aspect of CAUSE AND EFFECT”

The process of learning, programs us to think in a specific manner. That every event or thing has a cause. In fact learning or knowledge is based on accurately inter-relating the cause with effect. Learning helps make the effect a predictable outcome based on our understanding of all the forces acting on the cause.
This cause and effect thought process programs our intellects uni-dimensionally. Actually, cause and effect paradigm works fine within a narrow spectrum only on the gross level. At the sub-atomic or subtle level, all the predictable physical laws become redundant. Even quantum physicists accede that the laws governing the gross (sthoola) such as laws of motion, or relativity deviate substantially at the sub-atomic, subtle level.(Sookshma) That is where the confusion begins.
Reductionism, causality are incomplete tools of the human mind. Even in the epic “Bhagwad Gita”.the deliverance from all unhappiness is advocated by transcending the cause-effect algorithm. Indian philosophy has described this concept of non-causality centuries ago. It is called as ‘Ajati.’.
This concept is at the cross roads of the spiritual –scientific divide.
The singularity or Advaita as described by various seers stuns the intellectual process which is under the spell of the cause and effect pattern.
The instant, one veers from this path of cause and effect, the intellect is very severely handicapped.
Even scientific thought has now started inclining towards ‘experience’ rather than ‘experiment’ and the very quaint principles of quantum mechanics , force one to abandon all rationality and reason. One of the greatest Upanishads talks of “totality”, where even if one were to remove totality from totality, one would still be left with totality.
This concept cannot be comprehended by the cause effect principles.
The mysticism shrouding spiritualism is because of this apparent disconnection from cause-effect. Tangibility is the nemesis of all spiritual endeavours. Science is a process of evolution of thought, whereas spiritualism is involution of thought. Physicists have been battling all along to come to a consensus Theory of Everything . The need for this Theory is because the scientists are unanimous in accepting the discrepancy in laws governing the subtle and the gross. They are still pushing the frontiers of causality to explain quantum phenomenon which is just chasing a mirage.
Spiritualism is getting to that elusive Theory of Everything without the mediation of the cause –effect hypothesis. The theory of everything is in essence the Singularity or Advaita. Herein lies the experience that transcends causality. Where the observer, the observed and the act of observation merge into unison. The reductionism that science is obsessed with will finally culminate in the realization that the elementary building block of all manifestation is just energy. That is what the String Theory seems to point to. What varies is the form or the perception of the form, not the content. Reductionism will reach a level where matter transforms into conscious energy, just as water evaporates into vapour. What has changed is the state, not the fundamental substance. This change of state from water to vapour is unidimensional. Manifestation is the ability of the source to virtually express itself multi-dimensionally. How can one therefore employ cause and effect to comprehend that singularity when both are mere projections of the same singularity?

When we talk of virtual reality (as in Simulators) or for that matter cinema, is it not paradoxical wherein the intellect is aware of the illusory nature of the projection? At one end of the spectrum is pure awareness and the other end is also awareness which forces the senses to temporarily assign reality to the virtual image. Realisation is the process of moving from the awareness of virtual reality to pure awareness.
Identification with this singularity will necessarily happen only by transcending the cause effect protocol.



Dr. Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon and may be contacted at deepakranade@hotmail.com)

The Democratic Nature Of Creation

Democratic nature of creation

(Published in Speaking Tree in Times of India)

The original undivided pluripotent being had the option of remaining unmanifest. Just a state of awareness bliss and joy. Manifestation was one of the limitless options available to this source. When awareness needed to experience itself , a state of duality had to be induced . It needed to cleave itself and induce a psuedo-dichotomy of perceiver and perceived. This process of auto- lysis is very similar to the process of a developing embryo. The single cell replicates itself rather rapidly and metamorphoses into this complex and differentiated multi-organ form. So in reality we all are just one cell that has been able to differentiate itself into specified functional units. When I touch my hair it actually is the manifestation of a single cell touching another expression of itself and the same cell also has the capability to comprehend this “touch” phenomenon.
All creation is an induced illusion of duality to enable the source to experience itself. Creation therefore was crystallization of the supreme source’s wish to experience himself. The process of creation is in itself a very gratifying experience. All artistes when they create a work of art experience ecstacy on giving birth to a new idea, new thought. The sheer joy of manifesting in such diversity maybe the objective of this exercise by the source . He not only created multiple locii of consciousness but also ensured that his creation was made oblivious as to the source of “ its “ origins. Time and space were introduced by the source as the illusory media to ensure the delusion of separateness of this ‘creation’. This being was programmed with the ability to discover his origins as also provided the means to enjoy the rest of creation as well. Since the being was just a manifestation of the source, he also had all the attributes of the source. The resolve and ability to achieve anything he desires, the capacity to experience total bliss, and above all the freedom to exercise any choice.
Selfless creation mandated that the being was given an illusion of being the ‘doer ‘
The self- effacement of the source was maybe a precondition for nourishing the identity of his creation.
This illusion of being the doer and the center of the universe manifests as ego. This ego
served initially as a tool for self-preservation but as it crystallizes further it totally envelops the consciousness and serves as an impediment to realise its true nature.
The ego constantly reaffirms this illusionary duality and the more the ego hardens the further it moves the being away from the knowledge of his true identity. It then embarks on a game wherein the being gets an illusion of having control and the ability to manipulate the environment for its own happiness.
. The awareness when focused outwards gets entangled in this web of duality. Then there is no limit to its indulgence. This kaliedoscopic creation has a very potent arsenal to engage this awareness into its diverse forms. Indulgence has an addictive element to it and it keeps drawing this awareness into its throes and distancing itself from its true identity. This obsession with the materialistic world is actually as ludicrous as my hand being obsessed with my nose ! What a weird obsession indeed.
The drop of water in the ocean starts marveling at its own existence and identity and embarks on a journey armed with ignorance of its source. This divorce of the self from the knowledge of its true nature leads to the entire spectrum of emotions. Ranging from a diverse gamut, the emotions are totally subject to the cognitive interpretation of the
existential mirage. .The ultimate objective is for the perceptive apparatus(consciousness) to be able to perceive itself. This could be attained by various means and paths. This knowledge is already there within. The illusion is to look for it ‘without’ All other knowledge is duality based and may at best help in providing anologies . However anology is a very cheap substitute for experience. The purpose of creation was for the source to experience itself. Creation was like democracy. Made of the source, by the source and for the source This self awareness or apperceiving is self-realisation.



Dr.Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon and may be contacted at deepakranade@hotmail.com)

Saturday, September 20, 2008

The long and beautiful journey

Discover The self only to Lose
Published in Times of India Speaking tree,10th Sep 2008

The self is a projection from the unified source of consciousness.
Any attempts by the self to be enlightened are based on the premise that this projection has a unique identity .It would be analogous to being a bubble in the ocean. There is a very fine distinction between the bubble and the surrounding water. But there is no denying that the bubble is within the water, and also made of the same water. If the bubble were to make any attempt to understand itself, sure, it would momentarily feel that it is separate and has an identity of its own. But that remains only till the thin separating membrane exists. Once this assertive margin gives way, there has been no change in either the content or the nature of the water. It was water, and will remain water. All creation is analogous to bubbles in this vast expanse of consciousness. Realization involves loss of this separateness from the surrounding water, a sense of just merging into the water. Dissolution of that membrane of separateness called the ego. If this dissolution occurs during the journey of life, it would be similar to the bubble losing the differentiating membrane on the way traveling from the bottom of the sea to the top. When the mind body organism ends (death) it would be the equivalent of the bubble reaching the surface and then just popping. This bubble has a plethora of forms and shapes. But still just a transient identification of being separate.
This feeling of separateness fuels all the attempts, and endeavors to embark on understanding itself , which in itself is an impossible task. Like the bubble trying to understand itself as a separate entity when actually it is surrounded and made up by the same water. The separateness that desires this enlightenment is the ego. The identification with the mind-body organism. The consciousness that animates this mind-body form is the true self. This true self creates a projection which has great conviction of separateness and independent existence. It is a distortion induced by the perceptive apparatus. Religious orientation and beliefs are not congenital. They are a product of conditioning. If not being religious was heresy, then most atheists would be facing doom since they are disbelieving and humiliating their creator. And conversely, the savants of the religion would be perennially blessed due to their proximity and intense belief.
Many cultures believe in reincarnation /rebirth, but it would be a great mystery to understand which entity takes rebirth? The identity that each of us has is a totally man-made nomenclature of convenience. So what would reincarnate? The identity that I have in this birth? This identity is as meaningless as trying to name the different drops of water in a flowing river and then trying to locate that specific drop which had evaporated (died) and fallen from the skies again.(Rebirth) So then which entity achieves that very elusive self-realization? Is it the individual? Is it the ego? Is it the mind? Well it is anyones guess. Then is this elusive self –realization just another object to lust for? A very subtle ego-trip that puts the individual on a pedestal because he is in pursuit of the intangible. All the present day attempts to seek or reach God probably induce a state of moral well being.. Probably, the ordinary laborer who sweats it out in the sweltering heat and lives an egoless existence may be far more spiritual than the hymn singing affluent who no longer gets a fix from tangible gratification. So probably spiritualism in the present day needs to undergo a paradigm shift. Total acceptance of what is, the ability to be in the now and here, and a deep realization that all we see around is just a different manifestation of the absolute. Any belief system that segregates cannot be the path to the almighty. If we are unanimous that the creator is one, then he surely cannot be partial to any one clan or sect. Because that automatically disqualifies all other belief systems from reaching the ultimate truth. So science should help us redefine religion and metamorphose it from the ritualistic domain into a more all inclusive and all embracing state of mind, that is not cleaved by color ,ideology or ethnicity. Then spiritualism will come out of the closet and make each one realize that we are all just drops of water in this ocean of creation.


Dr. Deepak Ranade.(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon and may be contacted at depakranade @hotmail.com)

Shiva and Shakti

Search for the Non-existent Particles
Published in Times Of India- Speaking tree 20th Sep 2008

The elusive Higgs boson has been the focus of the Largest Scientific Experiment. It seemingly will plug one of the leaks that abound the standard model of Physics.
If identified, it would help in explaining why some sub-atomic particles are heavy and have a greater mass than others. Ancient Hindu beliefs reckon that the entire manifestation is a combination of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva represents the tangible matter whilst Shakti represents the intangible energy and the qualitative aspect associated with matter. Mass and energy are interconvertible. Shiva and Shakti are also very deeply interrelated and cannot be separated. The particle is like Shiva and the charge, spin, mass energy and such parameters are like shakti. This experiment seems to be like looking for shiva in Shakti, (finding the cause of the particle’s mass)when actually they are both just different manifestations of the supreme unity. This entire experiment is analogous to finding the quantitaive basis of a quality. Like trying to find a particle that serves to make beauty beautiful . That is certainly an exercise in futility. The entire experiment seems to be directed to finding a tangible quantitative parameter for a very fundamental attribute. Something akin to a pensioner being asked for proof of his being alive at the pension office. The beauty exists because there is an observer. And this observer is also as much a manifestation as the observed entity as is the act of observation. Nothing exists “a priori”.Even if the Big Bang theory were to be ratified, the bigger issue of who engineered its initiation still remains. And if space was also a derivative of the Big Bang, then in what space did this phenomenal expansion take place? Every objective existence is entirely a function of the observer. So any phenomenon is inexorably connected with the noumenon. Subject and object are interdependent on cognition. Like the quaint example of a falling tree in the forest. If no one has seen it falling ,then it never fell at all. The supreme knowledge(unification or segregation of Shiva and Shakti) cannot be studied or experimentally verified.. It has to be experienced... One has to become it. Meaning that the “knower and knowledge” distinction is not there anymore. That is probably why all the realized souls were unable to bring that knowledge into the domain of tangibility. Our analytical egos insist that we must find tangible units for every facet of existence.. Well Science can keep trying to satiate its unquenchable desire for tangibility but the end point of this endeavor will only yield ambiguity. Because the fundamental truth is that the observer in any experiment is very much a constituent of it. Identification and ratification, of observer observed dichotomy is an apparition. The hypnotic spell of Maya. The greatest quality of this maya is that it appears uniform to one and all. So if everyone is unanimous about the existence of say a tree ,then well it has to be there. Maya creates a very uniform and consistent mirage and sheer statistics coerce the senses into believing the appearance.
Physics ought to have shed its greed once Einstein proclaimed and proved the interconvertibility of mass and energy. Quantum Physics opened a Pandoras box and ridiculed logic and the very basis of Scientific deduction. Quantum theory is virtually the science of the improbable, Scientific Logic leading to the illogical. It has come up with very bizarre predictions. Like the Schroedinger’s cat supposition. We have tried to understand nature thru a very small diameter looking glass and tried to force its entirety into this limited frame of comprehension. Probably, failure to demonstrate the Higgs Boson may be the turning point. To turn inwards and become inflective and redefine the paradigm of Scientific approach. The Higgs particle is just a logical extrapolation of our limited understanding. It may just end up being the non-existent proof of a non-existent theory.. Experience never needed any experiment since it cannot be reproduced at will and under specified conditions. Probably unraveling the entire mystery of creation needs not a Large Hadron Collider but a large perception assimilator.


Dr Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon -E-mail- deepakranade@hotmail.com)