Learning Daily

Notes on consciousness

If there are three observers at 0 c, 0.5 c and 0.9999 c, their observations of the universe would be different. This is relativity. If observers see the same universe differently, then how can the universe be said to have a single nature?
If a universe cannot have a single nature that it can present consistently to all observers, then there can be no unified theory of everything. If there is nothing fixed to refer to, then there is no standing ground for a theory. To arrive at the theory of everything, experience of constant existence at all frame of reference would be necessary. Interpretation of an observer at 0 c of the experience at 0.5 c, may not necessarily be true for the observer at 0.5 c.
Thought experiment: Can relativity be applied on to quantum fields? If the large hadron collider is moving is at 0.9999 c with respect to the observer, would the experimental results still be valid?
There are two different states of unconsciousness:
- Death state of unconsciousness: Atman/Soul has left the body and reengagement with mind/body is not expected. Person is truly dead and appears so.
- Pre-death state of unconsciousness: Atma/Soul has not left the body and reengagement with mind/body is possible. Person appears dead or in a coma to the world but is not truly dead.
In between the two states of unconsciousness, pre-death and death, exists the clue to understand the bare essential functioning of the soul/atman. In this free state, the soul remains closer to its pure form, without having the need to engage the constructs of mind or the sense organs or the world outside or the need to look for a different body to live-in next.
Like a person is standing at the door step of the house from where he can go inwards or outwards, the soul is free to engage the mind in the subtle body and go inwards into a given body and its experience or abandon the current body and seek another body more suited to the current evolved needs of the subtle body. If the current needs are zero, there should be no need for another body.
When the soul decides to “go inside the house” by engaging the mind and the current body, the rules for extent of such engagement must be set. The sages (gyani) who study the soul (not so much the world) say that this engagement must be limited for it doesn’t matter how big the house and how deep one goes into it, the exit must happen. The scientists (vigyani) who study the world (not so much the soul) say this engagement must be maximum, for this one freak opportunity to learn the world should not be wasted. The sage says do not engage, for engagement creates karma and births. The scientist says engage with all your might or else your only go at life would be wasted.
The scientists says, the universe is eternal but consciousness comes and goes. The sage says, consciousness is eternal and the universe comes and goes.

So, what are you? Are you a blip of consciousness that will be forever extinguished at death? Or are you eternal consciousness that will repeatedly come and go into the playground of universe till you learn to destroy your ego and burn your karma?

What is your world view? A fixed universe with random meaningless blips of consciousness and life forms? Or an eternal consciousness soul that craves for varying experiences in a semi-real universe?

Comparing scientific and Vedic thoughts

Science, 20 centuries after Christ	Vedas and Darshanas, many centuries before Christ
The universe we observe constitutes reality. Nature of universe must be established by experiments.	The universe is an appearance. Don’t bother with it.
Brain is the organ for producing consciousness and mind. Intelligence can be artificial.	Soul (Brahman) is the reality. Consciousness is its trait. Mind, intelligence and brain are its toys.
At the time of death mind and consciousness disappear. Life is finished.	Soul is eternal. Its lives will not be finished until its own karma is resolved.
Universe was produced from a big-bang. Everything came from nothing.	Universe was created by an intelligent infinite energy to be used as a playground for souls to act till they realize the futility of their actions and return to God.
Life comes from a chemical soup. Chicken comes from setting the right temperature on an incubator.	Life happens so as to improve the soul progressively. A chick will be born and be dead according to its own karma.
Reality is understood by looking outside at everything from the sub atomic particles to galaxies.	Reality is understood by looking inside at the soul.
We can use the Higgs field to search for dark energy, dark matter, supersymmetry, extra dimensions and multiverses.	Nature of maya is such that if you chase anything that exists, you will learn that it is does not.
String theory of 13 dimensions with 10^500 possibilities of compactification may present a unified theory of everything.	This universe is God’s play. (Dice, Mr. Einstein?)
Science can help human activity, colonizing other planets and win wars to establish world order.	All universe is eternally under divine order. Live with the universe without affecting it.
For science, the starting point of the study is the world around us. It attempts to observe, understand, theorize and verify reality with experiments. There is still much to be known.	In the Vedas, the starting point for study is the unverifiable soul (Brahman). The entire universe is an expression of the unmanifest energy. If one understands the nature of the soul, there is nothing else to be known.

For many years, I have felt that science is a natural extension of the Hindu religion. Not understanding the universe, or not knowing the physical reality has never been a cause of concern because this material universe is considered to be maya and a veil that hides reality. Study of science is the study of the veil. No matter how intricate, it needs to be put away so that the light of the eternal truth can shine.

When studying digestion, it is almost natural progression to understand the need to eat first, the food next, the digestion later and the examination of the fecal matter as the last step. Similarly, studying the Vedic thought first and the scientific thought later provides a natural advantage that the learner will be able to assign the right perspective to science.

Knowledge is the true organ of sight, not the eyes.
Panchatantra

Science questions

If the Higgs is an infinite field with a local value of 246 GeV, where does this infinite energy come from?
Why is the infinite energy of Higgs field necessary to create the smallest possible mass and for things to “simply exist”?
Why does the Higgs field interact differently with different particles with masses?
Where does the mass of neutrinos come from?
How many fields exist in empty space?
As two gluons can occupy the same space, why should they “interact” to create a Higgs Boson?
How do we see colors in our dreams when our eyelids are closed and no light enters past them? If vision can happen without the eye or light, why should we correlate reality what is observable?
How do we hear speech in our dreams when we sleep in a room with pin drop silence?
How do we explain consciousness, out-of-body experiences, near death experiences, premonition?
Explanations of dark matter, dark energy and why they predominate the known universe
Can supersymmetry be proved?
What type of experiments will need to be designed to prove matter is made of strings?
What kind of computing power is needed to solve 13 dimensional string theory problems with possible 10^500 compactifications?
What are the correct values for vacuum energy?

Fields and reality

The world is really made out of fields. Sometimes the stuff of the universe looks like particles, due to the peculiarities of quantum mechanics, but deep down it’s really fields. Empty space isn’t as empty as it looks. At every point there is a rich collection of fields, each taking on some value or another—or more precisely, due to the uncertainty that accompanies quantum mechanics, a distribution of possible values we could potentially observe.

The fields themselves aren’t “made of” anything—fields are what the world is made of. We don’t know of any lower level of reality. (Maybe string theory, but that’s still hypothetical.) Magnetism is carried by a field, as are gravity and the nuclear forces. Even what we call “matter”—particles like electrons and protons—is really just a set of vibrating fields. The particle we call the “Higgs boson” is important, but not so much for its own sake; what matters is the Higgs field from which it springs, which plays a central role in how our universe works. Astounding indeed.
Sean Carroll, The particle at the end of the universe