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The question to be discussed in this
article is – What kind of mind does an atom have? As
usual we approach the question from two perspectives,
that of Brahmacakra and that of western science. A
synthesis of both approaches will be required. We will
rely heavily on the principle as below, so above
(the reverse of its usual form!) in the belief that an
understanding of the structure and behaviour of the
accessible physical world can give us insights into the
structure and behaviour of the less accessible mental
world. Needless to say this principle should be applied
cautiously!
The aum vibration is said to be
the seed sound of the universe and we may consider it to
be the first objective entity created during Saincara.
Saincara proceeds by a process of repeated compression
and division, such that the aum world gives rise
to a succession of additional worlds (lokas), each one
cruder, more constricted and more dense than it
predecessor. The substance of these lokas is the
material stuff of the universe, whether physical matter
or psychic matter. Each loka offers a resistance to
compression but eventually when the compression becomes
too great, a new world is created within the existing
ones. Using the language of physics, we can imagine that
each new world appears as a new dimension in an already
existing multi-dimensional space. Each new dimension has
its own characteristic attribute or property by which it
can be recognised.
Finally the physical world is created
with its five sub-worlds known as the five fundamental
factors (5FF). The crudest matter we know is nuclear
matter and this is likely to be associated with solid
factor in Brahmacakra. Electronic matter is one step
subtler and likely to be associated with liquid factor.
Thus solid factor is the world of high energy physics
and nuclear energy while liquid factor is the world of
chemistry and chemical energy. It is not clear how the
subtlest three of the 5FF manifest in the world of
western physics. Note that luminous bodies (consisting
of ethereal, aerial and luminous factors only) are not
normally visible to human beings and they are certainly
not physical in the usual sesne. This suggests that the
molecular matter of western science, and the stuff of
rocks and protoplasm, is predominantly the liquid and
solid factor of Brahmacakra.
In this regard, the neutrino of western
physics is an interesting particle. If we consider the
particle sequence, neutrino, electron and quark, we note
a sequence of increasing mass and charges. Neutrinos
have what is sometimes called flavour charge.
Electrons have flavour and electric charge, while quarks
have flavour, electric and colour charges. In other
words, each more massive particle carries all the
charges of the previous particles but has an additional
charge that is its characteristic. Physicists consider
that each new charge has its corresponding 'spatial'
dimension, so we begin to sense some kind of
correspondence between the physicists description of the
particle world and the 5FF of Brahmacakra. The neutrino
is an interesting particle because it appears to
correspond to a factor that is subtler than the solid
and liquid factors.
Psychic Charges
The reason for considering these issues
in some detail is that the accumulation of particle
attributes in the physical world suggests that the
entire sequence of division and compression during
Saincara will result in an accumulation both psychic and
physical charges. During the early psychic stages of
Saincara, we can imagine citta particles
accumulating a sequence psychic charges. The physical
particles of western science are the final outcome of
this iterative process and we can therefore imagine that
particles such as electrons and quarks have psychic
charges, and many of them. And prior to the formation of
physical particles there are purely psychic particles.
Perhaps this is what Sarkar means when he says, “There
are different kinds of atoms which do not come within
the physical arena or even within the realm of physical
perception.” [MVINS, p134] Of course physicists do not
see or measure the psychic charges of physical particles
because such charges are not directly or indirectly
accessible through our sense organs. Besides which, the
doctrine of materialism denies the reality of
non-physical processes.
The question arises – what is a psychic
charge? Physics cannot help us here but perhaps
psychology can. Both western and eastern psychology
recognise that human beings have certain propensities
- behavioural and mental tendancies that are either
inherited or learned. In Brahmacakra such propensities
are called vrttis. We have previously proposed
[see Microvita – Models and Metaphors] that the
physical charges of matter particles can be considered
as the equivalent of propensities. The ideas developed
in this article depend heavily on this equivalence. The
negative charge of an electron, for example, endows it
with a propensity to move towards a positive charge and
away from any other negative charge. Indeed, we can
infer the presence of neighbouring electric charges by
watching the behaviour of an electron. The conclusion is
that physical particles have psychic propensities or
vrttis in addition to their physical charges.
According to eastern psychology, human
beings have 50 basic vrttis which can be modulated in
different ways (through the sense and motor organs and
interially and exterially) giving rise to a multitude of
apparantly different propensities. We can imagine that
during Saincara, the creation of each new spatial
dimension corresponds to the appearance of a new
propensity. And by the logic described above we conclude
that any physical particle can also potentially have
these same propensities. But it is certain that Saincara
gives rise to far more than 50 basic propensities. More
likely it is the case that human beings have only
recognised 50 basic propensities in themselves so far.
The idea that physical particles have
psychic propensities which are the antecedents of mind,
feelings and sentiments, is not original. Indeed it has
an impressive pedigree. See for example the writings of
the mathematician Alfred Whitehead [Whitehead] and the
evolutionist Sewell Wright [Wright, p14]. More recently,
Charles Birch, former professor of Biology at the
University of New South Wales in Australia, has summed
up the idea: “There is but one theory, known to me, that
casts any positive light on the ability of brain cells
to furnish us with feelings. It is that brain cells can
feel! What gives brain cells feelings? It is by the same
logic that we may say – their molecules. And so on down
the line to those individuals we call electrons, protons
and the like. The theory is that things that feel are
made of things that feel.” [Birch, p32] Clearly if we
want to understand the subtle aspects of atoms, then we
need to learn more about the vrttis and human
propensities. No wonder Sarkar says that “For microvita
research, you will have to study human psychology
thoroughly.“ [MVINS p 133]
Note the difference between the ideas
being developed here and the old idea of vitalism.
According to vitalism, living beings were just ordinary
physical matter but matter occupied by a spirit or soul
that somehow slid in from the outside. According to the
ideas being developed here, the spiritual and psychic
aspects of living beings are integrated within the very
substance of a person's atoms and molecules. There is no
separate non-physical entity that takes possession of
the physical entity.
At this point we need to introduce
microvita into the picture. According to MV theory,
atoms are composed of billions of microvita particles.
Therefore, microvita particles must in some way be
responsible for the charges (propensities) displayed by
the atomic constituents and indeed Sarkar says that the
expression of propensities is enhanced or repressed by
MV. In Microvita – Models and Metaphors, we have
filled out this picture in more detail, and the reader
can refer to that article. The new idea developed in
this article is that the different categories and
denominations of microvita that Sarkar says will be
recognised in future, must be associated with the types
of physical propensities (particle charges) and psychic
propensities (vrttis) that a microvitum enhances or
suppresses. It is tempting to suppose that a thorough
understanding of the virttis will lead to an
understanding of the different categories of microvita
and that each type of vrtti will turn out to have its
associated microvitum.
Sarkar comments that agricultural
fertilisers and explosives taken from different sources,
sometimes have different effects, (i.e. effect on plant
growth or explosive power) despite having the same
molecular formulae. He attributes this to the
constituent microvita within the atoms. He says that in
future, the atomic and molecular formulae used by
scientists will take note of the consituent microvita.
The idea that atoms contain vrttis or psychic charges in
addition to their physical charges helps us to
understand these phenomena. Consider the explosive power
of an ammonium nitrate molecule. It is dependent on the
configuration of negative and positive charges within
the molecule. Figuratively speaking, these charges are
bound together somewhat against their will. The
explosive power of the molecule is derived from the
potential energy stored in its electric fields. But
electric forces are not the only forces at play within
the molecule. There will be a multitude of psychic
charges, some of which will attract and others which
will repell. All of these will contribute to the
structural solidarity or instability of the ammonium
nitrate molecule. In microvita science, these other
psychic charges (or the more important of them) will be
taken into consideration. It may also be that control
over the psychic charges would be more than sufficient
to counteract the known physical charges.
As a first step towards understanding
vrttis in more detail, it may be useful to consider them
as positive and negative charges. When physicists
visualise the electric field around an isolated electron
or proton, they draw it as arrow lines either radiating
away from the point charge (negative charge) or
radiating into the point charge (positive charge). This
is similar to the notion of exterial and interial lines
of force. We can extend this notion to vrittis and
consider each of them to be a pair of opposites. We must
learn to recognise these polarities as belonging to the
same vrtti. The next step will be to consider the
expression of each vrtti in 10 directions.
If atoms have mind why do we not
recognise it? Put another way, how is it possible for a
collectivity of apparantly inert atoms in the form of a
human being to generate an obvious mind. Here we can use
the physicists model of a magnetised iron bar. In an
unmagnetised iron bar, the individual crystal domains
are magnetised in random directions, so that at the
macroscopic level, no magnetic field is discernible.
When the bar is magnetised, all the individual magnetic
domains are oriented in the same direction, so that the
sum of fields becomes recognisable at the macroscopic
level as a strong magnetic field. In this model, we
suppose that the psychic microvita within atomic matter
are dipoles that give rise to psychic fields. Only when
a large number of atoms (or rather the microvita within
them) are oriented correctly, do the individual fields
sum to a recognisable macroscopic psychic field.
Furthermore as the total psychic field becomes stronger,
the field itself acts as a template to which other atoms
and their constituent microvita can align themselves.
Ectoplasm and Endoplasm
The above model is helpful in another
respect. The magnetic field around an iron bar provides,
in some sense, a coverage of the bar. Lines of magnetic
force emerge from the north pole and circle around to
enter the south magnetic pole of the iron bar. Perhaps a
better example is the magnetic field around the earth
which provides protection from cosmic radiation. Using
such a model, we can begin to understand the distinction
between the terms ectoplasm and endoplasm
in Brahmacakra. The term ectoplasm appears to be used
quite generally in Brahmacakra philosophy and in occult
literature to mean the substance of mind. It refers to
the collectivity of citta particles and the psychic
force fields at play between them. A single atom has
some small amount of ectoplasm associated with it. When
a much larger number of citta particles are available
and the psychic force fields between them are
coordinated and reinforce (as in the analogy of a
magnetised bar) then the ectoplasm provides a coverage
of the object. Mind in this stable state is known as
endoplasm.
The closest physical analogy to endoplasm
is the electron orbital around an atom or the extended
electron orbital that surrounds an entire molecule, such
as a benzene ring. For this condition to arise, the sum
of interial forces holding the molecule together must be
greater than the sum of exterial forces that tend to
break the molecule apart. For any given living entity,
there will be several layers of endoplasm and in
Brahmacakra, each layer is known as a shell or kosa.
Put another way, the electron orbitals which surround
atoms and entire molecules are the physical world's
equivalent of the kosas of the mind. Kosas can only
arise in stable living structures where there is
parallelism between the physical and psychic parts of
the structure and where the total sum of interial forces
exceeds that of the exterial. These conditions arise
only in the process of Prati-saincara. And
Prati-saincara is the synthetic process whereby the
countless billion of parts created during Saincara are
again integrated into wholes. The relevant physics for
understanding Prati-saincara was described in the
section Complex Systems of More Metaphors and
Models for Microvita.
Conclusion
1.The simple premise of this article is
that something cannot come from nothing. Human beings
have sentiments and feelings because our constituent
atoms and molecules have sentiments and feelings.
2. In the language of eastern psychology,
the propensities (a generic term apparently used by
Sarkar to include all human instincts, emotions,
sentiments and feelings) which motivate human beings are
known as vrttis. They have been well studied and
enumerated. These same vrttis must be located in atoms
and molecules and have their origins in the creative
processes of Saincara.
3. Microvita, the particle constituents
of atoms, must ultimately be responsible for the
expression of vrttis.
4. The categories and enumerations of
microvita will match their corresponding vrttis.
5. The significant conclusion of this
article is that an intensive study of the vrttis in
Eastern psychology will be required if we are to succeed
in a science of microvita.
References
Birch, Charles (1990) “On
Purpose” NSW University Press, Sydney
[MVINS] Sarkar, P.R. (1991) “Microvita
in a Nutshell” Ananda Marga Publications
Whitehead, Alfred (1966) “Modes
of Thought” NY, Free Press
Wright, Sewell (1953) “Gene
and Organisation” American Naturalist 87,
p5-18
Author: Michael Towsey,
September 2003 |