Introduction

This document is a report on two Microvita meetings/workshops recently held in Berlin . It is also an attempt to begin the development of a “standard model“ of microvita (MV). Although only few people were in attendance, I felt the meetings were very productive because it was possible to focus clearly on specific issues and not get side tracked. The first day of both meetings was devoted to general discussion. The second day of both meetings was focused on chapters in Microvitum in a Nutshell. In the first meeting we discussed the last chapter on Microvita and Cosmology. And for the second meeting we focused on Matter and Abstract. Both these chapters are difficult and I felt that we made good progress. At both meetings we devoted time to more practical and organisational issues, such as how to promote MV research.

Possibly the most important outcome of the meetings was a proposal by dada Vimalananda to formulate a "standard model" of microvita. The purpose of the standard model would be:

1. to act as a starting point for future discussion and research

2. to help us all to use the same terminology in the same way. It is easy to use the same words but they mean different things to different people.

3. to act as a visual model or metaphor when trying to conceptualise MV and their role in the world.

This document is a first attempt to introduce a standard model of microvita. It attempts to motivate the need for such a model, to describe how models are used and to present the core of the model. The main reference work cited in this article is “Microvitum in a nutshell” by P.R. Sarkar, 3^rd edition. It will be referenced as [MVINS]. Note that the MVINS chapters contained in the 6^th electronic edition of P.R. Sarkar’s works are the same as the 3^rd book edition.

In order to keep this document as concise as possible, many related topics have been placed in an Appendix titled “More models and metaphors of microvita”. The appendix contains much information that is essential in order to understand the core model developed here.

What is a Model?

Models are simple images and metaphors that help us to understand complex systems and processes. The use of models is a standard practice in all difficult disciplines. Microvita processes are subtle so it is useful to get a handle on them with metaphors and images. We desperately lack metaphors for understanding MV, which explains why discussion of them is so difficult. My personal opinion is that for most of us, including myself at times, the use of the terms positive and negative microvita carries no more meaning than the terms good vibes and bad vibes. We must do better than this if we are to propagate the idea of MV (in the form of a science).

Sometimes a system or phenomenon can be so difficult or so subtle that there is no 100% agreement on any one model of it. After all, models are simplifications and therefore approximations. There may be several models from different perspectives. Where it is possible to develop a model on which the majority of people can agree, it serves as a starting point for developing more complex models. This is the sense in which we use the term standard model of microvita.

The use of the term standard model invites comparisons with the standard model in particle physics. Since our model of MV will use some basic concepts of modern physics, such as particle, field and energy, it is helpful to examine the standard model of modern physics in just a little more detail.

The Standard Model of particle physics

The standard model in physics describes all the known fundamental particles that make up our physical universe. There is no need to go into the details - only the bare necessities for our purpose. There are two basic kinds of particle, matter particles such as electrons, protons and neutrons and force particles such as photons, gluons. Matter particles have a variety of properties such as electric charge, colour charge etc. The combination of properties and mass define the particle type. Matter particles interact at a distance due to the exchange of force particles. For example, electric charge is the source of the electromagnetic interaction and color charge is the source of the strong force that binds nuclear particles. A so-called Higgs particle accounts for particle mass and determines gravity.

So far the standard model, as I have described it, contains some very basic but useful notions. The notion of a particle, located at a discrete point in space and time. The notion that particles have attributes or properties by which we identify them. The notion that particles interact in ways which are determined by their attributes. All of these basic notions are useful when we start to develop a standard model of MV.

Complementary to the standard particle model, there is a quantum field description of the universe. Fields are different from particles because they are continuous and extended rather than discrete. Theoretically fields can extend to infinity, that is, they can have no bounds. I will quote one of the founders of Quantum Field Theory: "In its mature form, the idea of quantum field theory is that quantum fields are the basic ingredients of the universe, and particles are just bundles of energy and momentum of the fields. ... Quantum field theory hence led to a more unified view of nature than the old dualistic interpretation in terms of both fields and particles." [Steven Weinberg 1977 "What is Quantum Field Theory"]

So an additional fundamental notion is the field. And although QFT is attempting to overcome traditional particle-field dualism, both notions are useful for an understanding of MV. Modern physics offers another useful device - that we can look at the universe in different but complementary ways, i.e. from the perspective of waves or from the perspective of particles. Complementary descriptions will be required in MV science also.

A Standard Model for MV science

A difficulty in developing a standard model for MV science is that there is little that seems to relate to anything else we know. One theory of learning, known as connectionism, says that we only learn by making connections with other things we have learned. What connections can we make between MV and our prior learning? Most margiis have acquired their understanding of the universe from two sources - we learnt contemporary western science at school and we learnt Brahmacakra cosmology from Ananda Marga. Therefore I suggest that we must begin our study of MV by making connections both to Brahmacakra (BC) and to contemporary western science.

Of course, MV is a new kind of science - it is not just old wine in a new bottle. The trick is to discover what we can sensibly link to prior learning. One of the reasons I feel so positive about the meetings in Berlin is that we made connections that were not so clear before. However before starting, it is important to note that there are significant differences between the standard model of particle physics and a standard model of MV.

1. Knowledge is founded on experience, logic and authority. The standard model of physics is founded securely on experience and logic (these are the twin pillars of contemporary science). By comparison our standard model of MV rests, for the present, on the authority of P.R. Sarkar. However I believe we can present MV to the public from the perspective of experience. See the section A Spectrum of Sciences in [Appendix].

2. Science advances by a dialectical interaction between theory and practice. BUT practice ultimately takes precedence over theory. A theory is adapted to experience and not vice-versa. A standard model of MV should not be allowed to become a straight jacket that inhibits experimentation and discussion. It is intended to be a common starting point, not a finishing point.

3. The standard model of physics and indeed of modern science in general, rests on a faith in materialism. It describes the physical world only. Obviously the strength of the theory of MV is that it attempts to explain the whole spectrum of physical, psychic and spiritual experience. To explain such subtle phenomena requires a subtle theory and a more subtle experimental method than western science offers. Perhaps there is a danger that metaphors, such as fields and particles, may be too crude to get a handle on MV theory but we have to start somewhere.

4. Modern science studies only the objective world. However from the perspective of MV science, the objective world has its subjective counterpart. So MV science attempts a dualistic subject-object description of the world. This is to be compared with the physical monism of western science, and the spiritual monism of eastern Vedanta. However it must be noted that quantum physics is having to come to terms with the subjective participation of the experimenter. This is known as the measurement problem which can be stated thus: A physical measurement is not completed until it is registered in the mind of a conscious observer. That is, quantum mechanics requires consciousness for its very foundation. Consciousness is not just a passive witness but has a causal role in the collapse of a wave function. (Sorry for the jargon!) I feel certain that the development of MV theory will solve the measurement problem by adequately accounting for the role of consciousness. However this is a controversial area and I have no clue how to proceed!

5. The question arises as to the relation between MV science and Brahmacakra (BC). Does MV science make BC obsolete or does it bring BC into the 21st Century? For the present I believe that BC and MV science serve two different purposes. BC is intended to answer deep philosophical questions such as: where do we humans come from and to where are we going. Hence it emphasises the cyclical nature of creation. MV science is not intended to answer such questions. Rather it pushes human scientific enquiry to a new level of subtlety and power. If Brahmacakra is a cyclical view of cosmology, the last chapter of [MVINS] offers a snap shot of the process, with MV as a new component.

6. It is probable that we cannot all agree on what should be part of a standard model of microvita. We have to strike a balance between incorporating too much detail (thus reaching no agreement on the validity of the model), and incorporating only generalities (such that the model offers no focus). But this brings us to an important point. Models are not value free. Models are simplifications and so what is left out says a lot. This is particularly true of economic models.

7. Scientific enquiry is not possible without some conceptual principles to structure our observation. The principle of cause and effect is one such example. It is as though we cannot look at the world without looking through some kind of filter or coloured glasses. Likewise, it is not possible to build a model of microvita without prior preparation and orientation of the mind. The standard model of MV developed in this article depends on many conceptual principles that apparently have nothing to do with microvita. In fact you will not understand the model without first appreciating the elaborate prejudice, the style of thinking, which has constructed it. I strongly suggest you read the section Seeing with Prejudice in [Appendix] before proceeding.

The practical use of microvita

Our standard model of MV deals with many abstract issues. Those with no scientific training may wonder what is the point. When do we get to the practical stuff? Unfortunately, there is no principled, consensual science of microvita at the present time. Nevertheless, in order to motivate a model of microvita, we can start with some more practical issues. It is clear from Microvita in a nutshell, that the development of microvita science will require both experimentation in physical laboratories and experimentation in the psycho-spiritual laboratories of our minds. Some ideas for practical experimentation are given by P.R. Sarkar in the third edition.

Much more difficult to understand is what kind of personal training must a microvita scientist undergo. There are various clues throughout the book. I quote four passages.

“I think, by dint of our spiritual sadhana, rather our physico-psycho-spiritual sadhana, our minds will develop in all strata, and the power of conception, the power of conceiving, will also develop, and with that developed conceiving power, we will know all the secrets of these microvita.“ (p 5)

“With the help of non-carbonic pabula they [human beings] will sharpen their psychic penetration within inter- and intra atomic and molecular space.“ (p 23)

“Microvita research can be done in physical, chemical, medical and psychological laboratories. For microvita research, you will have to study human psychology thoroughly.“ (p 133)

“.. atoms have two parts – the cruder part and the subtler part. ..... The subtler part of atoms has not been investigated. For research into the subtler part of atoms, psycho-spiritual practice is needed. ... many great things can be achieved by using the subtler part of atoms.“ (p 133)

The consistent theme in these quotes is that the scientist must acquire an ability to conceive more subtle ideas, to visualise more abstract concepts. Partly this will be achieved through spiritual practices and partly through an attempt to come to terms with the difficult cosmology in [MVINS]. Our attempt to develop models and metaphors for microvita is, hopefully, a step in this direction.

Four visions of microvita technology

1. The use of microvita to treat disease:

This vision comes from Dr. Manohar Rudolf, a physician in Berlin:                                              

 "In my view, microvita are the controlling agents of genetic expression. This applies not only to the multiplication of viruses, but also to the operation of bacterial and cellular genomes. Therefore, in future, microvita will offer us a new approach to the pathogenicity of infectious organisms.
Additionally, they will enable us to handle genetic malfunctions, causing in-born and immunological diseases (including allergies, auto-immunity and cancer), as well as the macromolecular changes related to aging. And last but not least, because they have psychic propensities, microvita will give
us substantial support for the treatment of psychosomatic imbalances."

2. The use of crude microvita to process radioactive waste.

This suggestion comes from Michael Towsey and draws on recent discoveries in physics concerning the vacuum state and zero point energy.

“The disposal of radioactive waste is a serious problem because the waste has a long half-life (thousands or millions of years). There is no guarantee that the radioactive decay will take place under safe, controlled conditions over such a long period of time. The solution suggested here is to speed up the decay, that is, greatly reduce the half life. The decay of energetic matter is an extremely widespread phenomenon in nature, for example in photosynthesis, retinal vision, lasers and so on. The physics of these low-energy decay phenomena is recently understood. It depends on random production of virtual particles by the vacuum state in which the energetic matter is embedded. It is rather like a house of cards that collapses when hit by random puffs of wind. The more puffs of wind the faster it will collapse. Scientists have even changed the half-life of these decay processes by manipulating the behavior of the vacuum. Radioactive waste is much more energetic and therefore poses a more difficult technological problem. I believe that the production of particle pairs in the vacuum state is a crude microvita phenomenon. With appropriate psychic penetration of the space within and around radioactive waste, the vacuum state could be made more energetic and the decay process accelerated.”

3. The use of subtle microvita to affect the social consciousness

This suggestion comes from Jayanta Kumar in Australia . He offered these ideas recently to a student interested in the use of MV to organise a community festival. It is an attempt to make MV ideas immediately practical.

“If I were your student proposing to study MV and community festivals or local community development, this is the approach I would probably take: Extract from the seven types of positive MV, seven basic principles that need to be properly manifest in a local community for it to function properly. For example;

a) Utilizing physical wealth for collective welfare

b) Developing people's aesthetic sensibilities, culture, the arts

c) Fostering music, song and dance

d) Encouraging benevolent intellectual development

e) Endeavor to see the Infinite in all expressions of creation

f) Help people to free themselves from mundane problems

g) Develop power structures in a balanced way

“(These are a simplification of [MVINS] pp. 100-117) These seven basic principles come up repeatedly in spiritual literature: the seven rays of the Cosmic Mind in Alice Baily, white magic and theosophy; the seven higher lokas (or seven levels of "heaven") in Hindu philosophy; etc. In other words, disembodied minds take these various forms because they are principles that exist in the Cosmic Mind itself. Thus every community or socio-economic unit must manifest them if it is to develop and function properly. From this viewpoint, MV are no longer so "mysterious", but rather natural pathways along which humans can develop.

“There are other types of positive MV besides these seven, but these appear to be the main ones. Similarly, the seven types of negative MV have to be understood and utilized for good if a community is to function properly. Thus understanding MV is essential for proper community development, and the proper development of Prout. The challenge in this approach is to clearly understand the scope and nature of each particular principle (type of MV). How does each apply in a community setting? How do they interact to create the various colours, forms and expressions in society?”

4. An age of microvita science

This vision comes from Dr. Kerin Schell, professional psychologist in Kansas , USA . It reminds me of the heady days in the 19th century when atomic theory was first emerging and scientists were discovering new elements one by one.

“Someday, margiis all over the world will get up and do their meditation and asanas. Then they will take out a list of PosMv prescribed by their acaryas and meditate again to improve their health and spiritual advancement. The special microvita will become a central feature of everyone’s meditation. Then those who are students will go to their universities and meet with their professors, who will tell them how to think about certain PosMv that are of central importance to their studies. They will say to their students, ‘I studied with Dr. So-and-So, and he imparted this famous PosMv to me. I will tell some anecdotes about his life and explain how this PosMv helped him to evolve his famous equations. You too will use this PosMv in your careers.’ Tens of thousands of PosMv will be found to enhance human life. Every year new PosMv will be announced to the general public and in scientific journals.”

A model of Microvita

So that is the vision. We are now ready to develop a model of microvita. This model is derived principally from the table on page 155 of [MVINS] plus the supporting description throughout the book. A simplified version of the table is shown in Table 1 below. The table divides the cosmos, including we humans, into four fundamental categories (Sarkar calls them chambers) that are labeled (A) Subjective, (B) Subjective (left column), (A) Objective and (B) Objective (right column). We begin with the objective categories simply because, being objective, they should be easier to understand! Our goal is to increase our understanding of these categories by making links both to Brahmacakra and to modern physics.

 Table 1: The four categories of the Supreme Attributional Principle.

 (B) Objective - Planes of universal Macrocosmic inferences

Sarkar describes the (B) Objective category as planes of Universal Macrocosmic inferences. We can adopt a narrow or a broad definition of this phrase. The narrow definition restricts the planes of (B) Objective to the physical universe and the inferences are the five tanmatras of Brahmacakra. Or we can adopt a broad definition which equates the planes of Macrocosmic inferences to the lokas. In either case a single inferential plane corresponds to the physicist’s notion of a field and that is where we begin.

When physicists define a field, it must have spatial dimensions, a time dimension and another dimension corresponding to the defining characteristic of the field. For example, an electric field will have one dimension corresponding to electric potential. This attribute dimension makes the field different from other fields, such as a gravitational field, and it corresponds to the person relativity in Brahmacakra. It is the only attribute of the field that allows us to infer that a field is actually present! Hence the term tanmatra is translated as inference. So when physicists attempt to visualize a field, they first define its space, time and attribute dimensions and place these at right-angles to one another in order to set up a co-ordinate system. Note that each dimension is polarized, time as past-future, space as left-right, up-down, etc and all attributes can have a positive or negative expression. This polarization generates a tension, rather as if each of the dimensions has been stretched like a rubber band. (Or to extend this metaphor, the entire field is like a stretched rubber membrane, a trampoline or a drum skin.) And tension creates a potential for vibration, except that one ingredient is missing – energy. In Sarkar’s MV cosmology, the abstract category, energy, is supplied by (A) Subjective. Thus an inferential plane is like an ocean that fills a space and when supplied with energy, that ocean carries waves back and forth – it vibrates.

The above metaphor is a field view of an inferential plane. However the metaphor is not complete unless complemented from a particle perspective. Waves do not oscillate in a vacuum. Consider the waves that move through an ocean of water. This is possible because the ocean consists of billions of interacting water molecules. Water molecules tend to repel one another if pushed too close together because no two objects like to occupy the same space. But they attract one another when pulled a little apart. They attract because each water molecule is polarized, that is, it has a positive end and a negative end. By analogy, we can imagine that an inferential plane is an ocean of billions of vanishingly small, polarized, inferential particles. The particles must attract otherwise an ocean wave could not maintain its integrity. On the other hand, they must repel when pushed too close otherwise the ocean would offer no resistance to compression.

As noted above, a narrow interpretation of the planes of Macroscopic inferences equates them to the physical universe of the five fundamental factors and their corresponding tanmatras. In Idea and Ideology, a tanmatra is defined as the microscopic fraction of a bhuta or fundamental factor. According to this definition, the tanmatras correspond to the minute particles that constitute an inferential plane. Note that these planes are not directly equivalent to the five fundamental factors. We could, for example, imagine 15 planes of tanmatras spread through the physical universe, one associated with ethereal factor, two with aerial factor, and so on. But this point remains uncertain.

There are passages in Microvita in a nutshell that are consistent with this narrow physical interpretation of the planes of inferences. However, there are other passages which justify a broader interpretation, that is, to include all the lokas (except Satya loka) within (B) Objective. Only the Bhuloka corresponds to the five fundamental factors.

In Idea and Ideology, one gets the impression that the term tanmatra is applicable only to the physical universe. However in Namami Krsna Sundarum, reference is made to psychic tanmatras. And in MV in a Nutshell (1st edition p127) Sarkar asks "What are the media of microvita ...? Tanmatras -- inferences and ideas." It seems that the tanmatra concept is bursting at its physical seams! I believe that the equivalent of tanmatras exist within all the lokas, and one of the features of Sarkar's new cosmology is to make this explicit. The tanmatras of the physical world are now called inferences and the tanmatras of the psychic worlds are ideas.

The lokas can be viewed from two perspectives. From a particle perspective, the lokas are the objective substance, the matter, the stuff of which the creation is composed. This stuff is the ultimate matter, the known-I in the cosmic arena. Mind is a substance and hence MV science promotes a substantive theory of mind. (This is the term used in the academic literature.)

From a field perspective, the lokas are huge oceans of universal waves. They are the worlds or spaces in which the structures of the Macrocosmic mind and the microcosmic minds are located. To quote from Idea and Ideology, "The Cosmic Entity extends in different lokas wherein the different kosas and unit minds dwell."  Each of the lokas can be compared to a theatrical stage. In order to watch a drama or opera, you need space, time and actors. Depending on the size of the stage, the time available and the variety of actors, you can view dramas having varying degrees of grandeur and tension. The seven lokas offer a spectrum of dramas ranging in grandeur and scale from most subtle to most crude. But now we have to make an intuitive jump. These six or seven stages are simultaneously co-existent. It is as if there are six dramas happening within one theatre. These dramas interpenetrate and interact and are interdependent. The seven lokas and the different kinds of experience they afford are the framework on which we will build a science of MV. Conversely, MV science will eventually allow us to develop a unified philosophy and methodology that encompasses all the worlds we can know. This is a powerful promise!!

The lokas are created during Saincara by a process of division and compression. The first vibration or inference to be created is the Aum vibration, the seed sound of the universe. Here is how Shrii Yukteshvara, the guru of Yogananda, describes it. „In its different aspects, Aum presents the idea of change, which is Time (Kala) in the Ever-Unchangeable: and the idea of division, which is Space (Desa) in the Ever-Indivisible. The ensuing effect is the idea of particles – the innumerable atoms (anu). These four – the Word (Aum vibration), Time, Space and the Atom – are therefore one and the same and substantially nothing but mere ideas.“ (Shii Yukteshvara, The Holy Science)

The lokas can be divided and compressed because they are particulate. We can imagine that when a loka is compressed its constituent inferential particles will come closer together. However there will come a point where no further compression appears to be possible and something has to give. Nature finds a way out of this dilemma by suddenly creating a new space having its own newly created attribute. Some of the particles escape into the new space. And so the process continues, with new attribute-spaces being created within the previous spaces. The kind of wave that can be transmitted through a space depends on its degree of compression and on the nature of its constituent particles.

Note that the initial number of inferential particles remains constant. They just get distributed through different inferential spaces as these become available due to compression. We can draw an analogy between the compression of the lokas and the phase change phenomenon known to physics. A small change in compression suddenly generates a new phase or loka having different properties. For example, when steam is gradually cooled, there is a sudden phase change at 100 degrees and the resulting water has different properties from the steam. Thus the lokas can also be viewed as different phases of matter or substance. And between any two phases there is always a boundary. The division of the lokas into innumerable parts gives rise to innumerable phase boundaries. Many important phenomena take place at phase boundaries both in Brahmacakra and in physics. In particular, when an object or wave hits a boundary, it can be reflected, refracted or some of both. The notions of reflection and refraction appear again and again in MV science. The term is relevant only at a boundary between different planes of inference or phases of matter.

There is much more that could be said about the Objective B category. See for example the section “Making Waves“ in the [Appendix]. But now it is time to consider Objective A.

(A) Objective - Planes of microcosmic and Macrocosmic propensities

The planes of microcosmic and Macrocosmic propensities correspond to the kosas and their corresponding propensities. Sarkar translates kosa as shell. The translation is significant - it implies a spherical shell offering coverage to something inside. We will return to this. The Macrocosmic kosas are created during Saincara and the microcosmic kosas during Prati-saincara. The early chapters of Idea and Ideology do not mention the kosas. However in a later chapter we read: "In the extroversial Saincara process citta gradually crudifies under the influence of static Prakrti, till the crude solid is created. This process of crudification of citta, having a coordination of Mahattattva and Aham'tattva, is divided into five stages known as kosas." The properties of the different kosas are explained in some detail and there is a table in the same chapter which relates the Macrocosmic kosas to their corresponding lokas. (See the table on p 37 in Idea and Ideology 7th edition for confirmation that the Macrocosm has kosas!)

In addition, it is certain that each of the kosas can be divided into sub-kosas or sub-shells, just as the crudest loka is divided into five fundamental factors. In other words, the structure of the Macrocosmic kosas is likely to be complex but a simple classification into five kosas is sufficient for our purposes.

During Prati-saincara, unit entities are created having unit minds. The unit minds have the same kosas and attributes as the Macrocosmic mind. The difference between a microcosmic kosa and the equivalent Macrocosmic kosa lies not in the mind stuff but in the dependence on a physical base. Unit minds are founded on and depend on a physical base. The Macrocosmic mind is independent of any physical base and is indeed the creator of the physical universe. This distinction is explained at length in Idea and Ideology.

Because unit entities are founded on a physical base it is easy to forget that they have a corresponding mind. The idea I want to develop here is that during evolution, not only does unit mind expand but unit physical base also becomes much broader, and sophistication takes place in a corresponding manner. . It is easier to get the idea across with diagrams and I have a Powerpoint presentation to do this. Here I will rely on words.

Consider the hierarchical sequence atom - cell - human being - social system. It can also be viewed as an evolutionary sequence that proceeds by the synthesis of billions of parts to become a whole. The forward direction is synthetic, the reverse direction analytic. At each transition, there is a sum of parts – but also an emergent part that could not have been predicted from the properties of the parts alone. If we only see the physical base, the emergent part remains obscure. In fact, the evolutionary sequence just described also involves the unfolding of different layers or kosas of unit minds. We can write the evolutionary sequence as a series of equations:

1. many atoms  >> living cell + crude mind (kamamaya kosa)

2. many cells (and their kamamaya kosas) >> human being + subtle mind (manomaya kosa)

3. many humans (+ manomaya kosas) >> social system + intuitional mind (atimanasa kosa)

The kosa shown at the right side of each equation is the 'something new', the emergent entity that arises from the coming together of the many parts. It is tempting to speculate that the sequence can be extended. Why not:

4. many social systems (and their atimanasa kosas) >> a higher order system ???

+ aesthetic mind (vijinanamaya kosa)

Thus the evolutionary process during Prati-saincara creates unit entities on all scales of magnitude. We can get a feeling for these entities by thinking about their physical base. The physical base of a kamamaya kosa is a living cell. The physical base of a manomaya kosa is a human body. The physical base of an atimanasa kosa is, I believe, a solar system. The physical base of a vijinanamaya kosa could be a galaxy and the physical base of the one hiranmaya kosa would be the entire physical universe.

In our part of the universe we are aware only of taking the first steps in the building of a collective mind. That is, the atimanasa kosa is only just beginning to unfold with our solar system as its physical base. This is in accord with the principles of ecological energetics, the notion of Gaia and some comments in Microvita in a Nutshell concerning the effect of sunlight on the human mind. Note that the lower levels of mind continue to unfold as the higher levels unfold.

In the early stages of evolution, the Macrocosmic kosas perform the necessary higher functions for the primitive unit entities. As evolution advances, the unit entities take over more and more of the functions of the Macrocosmic kosas. At the same time, the physical body of the evolving entities extends over a broader and broader base. Although we have no idea what unit entities with evolved higher kosas might be like, human beings do get glimpses of the higher kosas (that is, the atimanasa kosa and above). These experiences are trans-personal and trans-logical. (See Ken Wilbur “Eye to Eye“ for a elegant exposition of these ideas.) They do not correspond to the ordinary state of human consciousness which is the manomaya kosa. Enrico Fermi's description of how he discovered the control of nuclear fission, Mozart's description of how he wrote a symphony, many scientist's descriptions of how they came to their discoveries, all point to a higher integrating source of consciousness. The atimanasa kosa orchestrates the collective mind of a human society and thus it is possible for later historians to recognise a zeitgeist for any particular age.

(Some terminology: western psychologists have used terms such as conscious and sub-conscious to describe different parts of the human mind. Although Sarkar has described these terms as vague, he continues to use them even in MV cosmology. For simplicity, I think of the conscious mind as corresonding to the manomaya kosa, the psycho-spiritual mind as corresponding to the kosas above the manomaya kosa and the psycho-physical mind as corresponding to the kosas below the manomaya kosa. However Sarkar makes a distinction between the psycho-physical mind and the physico-psychic mind. This requires more discussion.) 

We know from Idea and Ideology that complex structures composed of many parts must have two properties in order to be stable. First the sum of their interial forces must be greater than the sum of their exterial forces otherwise the structure would disintegrate. In addition the various interial forces must find a common nucleus. We recognize these properties most readily in an atom, a star and a galaxy, but we can easily imagine that the psychic kosas of living entities must also have interial forces that find a common nucleus with their physical counterpart. The easiest image is that the kosas of any one entity are concentric spherical shells (hence the name) all finding a common nucleus in the center of the collective structure. The psychic kosas are standing waves just like the electron shells around an atom.

So now we can make the distinction between the kosas and lokas. The kosas are stable standing waves within the ocean of a loka. We know that the Atlantic ocean is not a homogenous body of water. There are circular currents and streams distinct enough that they get a name, e.g. the Gulf Stream . The kosas are like stable currents and eddies within the lokas, stable enough to deserve a name. And when a kosa completely surrounds a structure this is referred to as endoplasmic coverage. Thus the terms kosa and endoplasmic coverage are relevant only to stable living entities. When an entity dies, its structure disintegrates and its endoplasmic coverage disappears. (Needs workshops to ascertain which happens first)

To sum up, the (A) Objective of MV cosmology refers to all the microcosmic entities and the Macrocosmic entity. There is a complex hierarchical and interwoven relationship between all these entities. The planes in this case refer to the kosas. The kosas of the microcosmic entities rest on a physical base, but the kosas of the Macrocosmic entity are independent. In other respects the kosas of the microcosms and the Macrocosm are similar. In particular they have the same kinds of propensities, attributes and values.

The best way to view the relationship between inferences (B Objective) and propensities (A Objective) is to use a simple particle physics model. Recall that there are two kinds of physical particle, matter particles and force particles. All matter particles have attributes known as charges or quantum numbers. The electron, for example has electric charge. We know that like charges repel and unlike charges attract. This interaction at a distance is mediated by force particles. In the case of electric charge, the force particle is a light particle (photon). According to this model, the propensities are like particle charges and the inferences are like force particles. For every particle charge, there is a corresponding force particle. For every propensity, there is a corresponding inference.

Now let us take the model more literally. Let us hypothesise that all the kosas have two kinds of particle. The inferential particles were described previously and are the fine structure of the lokas and kosas. They are created during Saincara and remain the fundamental particulate stuff of creation. They are the tanmatras of Brahmacakra and the force particles of modern physics. However there is another kind of particle which we may call a citta particle. We may compare citta particles to the matter particles of physics, such as electrons and protons. They are transitory, that is, they can be created, destroyed and converted to other particles. Citta particles have mass (potential energy or samskara) and wonts (propensities) which correspond to the charges of physical matter particles.

Unit entities are attracted to one another or repelled depending on the net effect of all their propensities in their different kosas. These attractions and repulsions are mediated by inferential particles. Different citta particles can presumably be combined into more complex psychic structures in the same way that electrons, protons and neutrons can be combined into 100 or so atoms and a bewildering array of molecules. Hence the diversity of the human mind.

 Here is a simple diagram showing the interaction between two unit entities having propensities. The interaction involves the exchange of inferences or ideas.

Unit entity 1 (kosas+propensities) <<>> inferences <<>>Unit entity 2 (kosas+propensities)

This equation can be visualized as two persons throwing a ball to one another. The ball game keeps the persons standing not too close together but not too far apart. The propensities must be complementary. When one throws the other must catch. You can adapt the metaphor as required. Two big people can throw a heavier ball than two small people!

There is a close connection between the mass of a physical particle and the combination of charges that it has. Protons with electric and color charge have a mass more than a thousand times that of an electron which has only electric charge. By analogy, we may suppose that there is a close connection between psychic propensities (vrttiis) and samsakras. Samskaras are the psychic equivalent of potential energy.

To close this section, recall the three relativities, time, place and person. We can get a little deeper insight into the person relativity. Consider a proton and a neutrino both emitted by the sun traveling towards planet earth. The proton hits the earth's outer atmosphere and is immediately buffeted on all sides and eventually halted in its path. The neutrino on the other hand passes right through the earth and out the other side as if nothing was there. Why? Because the proton has many charges which allow it to interact with many other particles while the neutrino has few charges and does not interact with other particles. Put another way, the universe looks a very different place to the proton and neutrino because they have different propensities. They have different particle personalities. At the heart of the person relativity lies the existence of propensities and their associated samskaras.

(A) and (B) Subjective

And now the hard bit - the subjective components of Table 1. There are two subjective entities: (A) Subjective is labeled Knower-I and is responsible for infusing energy into the lokas and kosas. (B) Subjective is the Doer-I and has its origins at the finest particulate level of consciousness – in the Berlin meeting, we called them the fine crystals of Consciousness. The sense of agent or doer-I attributed to any structure has its origins in the collectivity of MV that make up the structure. The following difficult passage states that the Knower-I and Doer-I have their objective Known-I and Done-I counterparts.

"In the cosmic arena, in the cosmic stratum, if we try to dissociate what we feel or what we conceive or what we perceive into the ‘knower’ and ‘known’ portions, the cosmos in the physical level is the ‘doing’ entity in the physical level and is microvita; and the ‘done’ portion is the world of physicality. And the ‘knowing’ faculty in the cosmic level is the supreme cause or the subtlest form of energy, and the ‘known’ portion or the ‘known’ counterpart is the psychic and psycho-spiritual worlds". (Quoted from "Matter and Abstract", electronic 6th edition but is no different from third edition of MV book.)

In the Berlin workshops, we adopted the following interpretation of the above passage. The physical universe can be divided into a doing entity, microvita and a done part, the world of physicality. And the remaining part of the cosmos, the psychic and psycho-spiritual worlds, can be dissociated into a knowing faculty (the Supreme cause and subtlest form of energy) and a known counterpart. However both (A) Objective and (B) Objective have physical and psychic parts. So more generally it appears as if knower-I and doer-I are active in both objective chambers.

This more general interpretation is supported by a passage starting at the bottom of page 139 [MVINS]. Both microvita and energy are active in the planes of propensities and in the physical planes of inferences. We interpreted this to mean that A and B Subjective are both active in the planes of propensities and inferences. However energy is more active in the physical planes of inferences and MV are more active in the planes of propensities. Even within the physical universe it is observed that energy is more active in the cruder levels of matter, than the subtle. Nuclear energy is, for example, far more powerful than chemical energy. And chemical energy (the world of electro-magnetism) is more powerful than gravitational energy. So we can imagine that energy becomes less active (less powerful ?) as we pass up through the lokas. Microvita, on the other hand, become more active. How is this possible? Because MV have the backing of conscience and presumably intelligence. A man can move a large rock with his bare hands only with great difficulty. But with judicious application of a lever, it becomes an easy task not requiring much energy.

Table 2 is an attempt to integrate all this information. There are four causal flows from the subjective side to the objective side.  

 Table 2: The four categories of the Supreme Attributional Principle showing causal relationships.

Causal Flow 1: (A Subjective >> B Objective, Known-I) The supreme causal entity and subtlest form of energy (A Subjective) infuses energy into the inferential oceans (B Objective) and causes them to vibrate with major waves. Without this infusion of energy, the objective universe would be inert. When energy comes in direct contact with the world of physicality, it is converted into so many different forms of energy, such as magnetic, electrical etc. But the same energy can also create different psychic worlds (we interpreted this to mean the higher lokas of B Objective). The causal connection between A Subjective and B Objective is explicitly stated at the top of p156 [MVINS].

Causal Flow 2: (A Subjective >> A Objective, Known-I) There appears to be only one passage that describes this causal flow. “And if after passing through the Cosmic ‘Known’ Entity it [energy] comes down towards the planes of cosmic or individual propensities, its movement is towards crude, towards crudification. But if it moves towards the cosmic cognitive faculty it [energy] is converted into psycho-spiritual movement, and finally spiritual movement or into the Spiritual Entity.” [MVINS, p 142] The relationship between propensities and samskara (potential energy) has already been discussed above.

Causal Flow 3: (B Subjective >> B Objective, Done-I) Microvita travel through the media of inferences, that is they travel through the planes of inferences and when they do so, they generate waves much as a boat leaves a wave as it sails through the ocean. These are known as sub-waves. Sub-waves are super-imposed on the major waves rather like ripples on the surface of the ocean. There is a very close relationship between MV and tanmatras which deserves more thought.

Causal Flow 4: (B Subjective >> A Objective, Done-I) Microvita help to express or suppress the propensities of B Objective. This effect is made explicit in [MVINS]. When MV pass through the expressed world of done, they can move in two directions. If they move from a subtler to a cruder plane, there is crudification of the structure – for example human being. But if they move toward a subtler plane, this has a positive or spiritually uplifting effect on the structure. Consider the propensity for sweet tasting food such as icecream. Microvita create the carbon atoms and molecules in our taste buds, that enable the propensity for sweetness to be satisfied.

It is now time to discuss MV in more detail.

(B) Subjective - Doing principle - Microvita

I believe we can say the following about microvita with enough certainty that these statements deserve to be part of a standard model.

1. A single microvitum is particle- or point-like. It occupies space in theory but not in practice.

2. MV are fundamental particles. "Microvitum is the minutest entity." That is, a single microvitum has no internal structure in the same way that an atom does. Note that the electron particle also appears to occupy no space and has no internal structure.

3. Carbon atoms and "all other kinds of atoms are the creation of microvita". ".. when billions of microvita get solidified, a carbon atom is formed." Note that these two statements do not necessarily mean that an atom is literally composed of MV. The following quote suggests that there is a dynamic equilibrium between MV and matter. “MV are the initial stage of matter. Although they are matter, they are very very subtle. All of a sudden, microvita are transmuted into matter and matter is transmuted into microvita.“

4. Despite 2, microvita have a subtle part and a cruder part. "Microvita are a happy blending of matter and idea". These should not be thought of as separable parts. The subtler part is closer to idea and the cruder part is closer to matter. Since atoms are a collective form of MV, they also have the same crude and subtle parts. We may think of MV as transducers. A transducer converts one kind of energy into another, e.g. electricity into heat or heat into electricity. A microvitum is a matter transducer. It converts the idea of a matter particle into a realisation of that matter particle. The concepts in 3 and 4 can be represented thus:

Idea >>  Microvitum <<>> Matter

Note the reversible relationship between MV and matter.

5. From the point of view of standard physics, microvita are highly mobile. They face no hindrance that normal physical particles face. In particular, some of them (if not all) must move faster than the speed of light. Sarkar gives the example of MV that caused the flu epidemic after WW1. From the point of view of particle physics, microvita could account for recently observed and puzzling non-local effects, that is, an apparent binding between well separated particles that cannot be explained in terms of the known force fields and that seems unconstrained by the speed of light.

6. The extraordinary mobility of microvita described above is however only within the physical universe. Sarkar makes a distinction between two kinds of microvita, positive and negative. The distinction is based on their mobility through the kosas and by corollary through the chakra system of the human body. Negative microvita "move in the range of physicality and touch the arena of the psychic world, but they cannot cross the threshold of the psychic world." I interpret this to mean that negative microvita are confined to the bhuh and bhuvah lokas and cannot cross into the svah loka (manomaya kosa). "Positive microvita move freely in the physical and psychic worlds, and touch the border of the spiritual world, but cannot cross the threshold of the spiritual world." I interpret this to mean that positive microvita can move in all the physical and psychic kosas but cannot cross into the satya loka.

These limitations to the movement of microvita also have their corollary in the human chakra and glandular system. Microvita can move freely through most of the human body, glands and sub-glands. They affect "almost each and every atom of the human structure". However, negative microvita "cannot influence any portion of the body above the pituitary gland." Positive microvita are able to function above the pituitary gland "but cannot touch the pineal gland."

From the point of view of the chakra system, both negative and positive microvita function directly up to the physico-psychic plexus (associated with the thyroid). However, negative microvita "cannot go directly beyond the jurisdiction of this plexus." Positive microvita on the other hand, can function directly up to and including the lunar plexus and up to the occult plexus (Guru chakra) but cannot go beyond the occult plexus - "it cannot touch the macro-propensive plexus". The following table attempts to summarise this information. The upward arrows indicate that positive microvita are pro-psychic and prefer to move upward through the kosas. The downward arrows indicate that negative microvita are pro-matter and prefer to move downward through the kosas. Note that the lower glands and plexi have not been illustrated.  

7. A microvitum requires a medium in which to propagate and that medium is an inferential plane or in the language of physicists, a field. Microvita can be detected because their movement within a medium or field creates waves within that medium or field. (See [MVINS], p 69) It is possible for their movement to be in more than one plane simultaneously. "Mobility means movement through a medium or media. There may be more than one medium, that is, there may be many media at a time in the same movement." This statement is ambiguous. Can a single microvitum move in multiple media simultaneously? I think a simpler interpretation is that different MV require different media, so when a collectivity of MV move, they coordinate their movement through multiple media or planes or fields. A practical example: a proton has multiple charges (electric charge, color charge etc) and moves through several force fields at the same time.

We now have to distinguish two kinds of waves. The major or controlling wave is that associated with the total inferential plane and its ocean of inferential particles. By contrast, microvita generate sub-waves or subsidiary waves within the inferential ocean, rather like ripples on the surface of an ocean. See p 69 for more detail on the relation between the major and sub-waves.

8. MV do not move around in isolation. Like the physical particles of science, they combine together in a collective form. In fact it is useful to imagine MV combining into structures the same way that atoms combine to form a myriad elements, molecules, macro-molecules etc. The relevant passage in Microvitum in a Nutshell is a discussion about heterogeneity versus homogeneity. (p 18-19) A variety of atoms can combine to a form a particular compound. The internal structure of the compound is heterogeneous but its external properties are homogenous. For example, the elements which compose a compound will have different melting and boiling points. But the compound formed from those elements will have its own distinct melting and boiling points.

The situation with combinations of microvita is likely to be more complex because the numbers are so large. If billions of MV constitute a single atom, and these are concentrated in the nucleus, the internal structure is likely to be complex. And it appears as if carbon atoms, for example, can externally have the same chemical bonds, but their constituent MV are quite different. See the [Appendix] for a model of the atom as an open system. For now it is necessary to remember that two atoms may appear the same externally but internally they are composed of different MV. The systems which contain those atoms will be affected accordingly.

A final word on MV as a collectivity. "The collective body of microvita is another name of carbon atom. Carbon atom is another name of so many microvita with so many specialities, with so many characteristics. The collective body of microvita is the collective 'I' feeling maintaining a relationship with the physical body." (p 57) The point here is that MV make the link between objective matter and the subjective sense of self. And for human beings, sense of self is not located in some part of the brain but rather is embedded deeply in every atom of the body. 

9. There are three kinds of MV varying in subtlety. "So these microvita may be broadly divided into three categories --". The phrasing indicates an entire spectrum of microvita ranging from most crude to most subtle but it is convenient to distinguish three major groups in the same way that we divide the spectrum of mind into five kosas. Indeed it is probable that the three categories of microvita can be mapped to the kosas.

Category 1 - Crude Microvita: They "move in ethereal space". That is, they move through the space of the physical universe and we may associate them with the Bhuloka and the unit annamaya kosa. They "come within the range of a highly developed microscope". A microscope in this case could mean a cyclotron or tunneling electron microscope for example. Crude microvita are "instrumental in emanating life throughout the cosmos." Crude microvita are "the initial stage of matter".

Category 2 - Subtle Microvita: Do not move in physical space but rather in psychic space. They "come within the scope of our perception as a result of their actional vibrations". They "function within the world of perception through inferences." I suggest that we may associate these microvita with the kamamaya kosa. As a specific example, Sarkar refers to seven categories of MV known as Yaksas. Yaksas appear to be the luminous bodies referred to in Brahmacakra. Yaksas are not individual MV, so they are not fundamental entities in cosmology. Rather they are bodies composed of innumerable MV - a collective form of MV.

Category 3 - Subtler Microvita: These "move in supra-psychic space". They come within "the scope of a special type of perception which is actually the reflection of conception within the range of perception in a limited sphere." This difficult phrase is perhaps explained in a later passage. These microvita "function directly within the subtler realm ... that is, within the human mind."  I suggest that we may associate these microvita with the manomaya kosas and above.

In my opinion, one of the difficulties in understanding MV, is that Sarkar sometimes appears to be talking about MV in general when he is referring to only one category of them. For example, the statement that “MV are the initial stage of matter" in point 3 above, could easily be interpreted as if all MV are the initial stage of matter. Again the sentence "microvita move through tanmatras, that is, the inferences of sound, touch, form, taste and smell" could easily be interpreted as if all MV are carried through tanmatras. However elsewhere we read, "... in the case of subtler microvita, they may move through ideas". This appears to be a reference to category 3 microvita.

So we have to take great care about over-generalisation from any one passage. The three categories of MV clearly do not all have the same properties. Disagreements between us about a standard model will most often have their origin in this problem.

10. MV as living entities: Similar to the over-generalisation difficulty mentioned in point 9, it is easy to confuse Sarkar’s statements about individual MV versus MV in a collectivity. It is not always clear how he is using the term. A single microvitum has no internal structure. We may take it to be a fundamental entity. And yet microvita are also living systems which are born, divide and die. Obviously an individual microvitum cannot be a protoplasmic system in the usual sense. The easiest way to reconcile such difficulties is to decide for a particular sentence, whether Sarkar is talking about MV as individual particles or in their collectivity.

Protoplasm, for example, is a collective body of MV. One of the attributes of living protoplasm is to divide. This fissiparous tendency has it origin in a particular type of component microvitum within the collective. It is the collective body of MV which divides, and not that a single microvitum becomes two. Sarkar is forcing us to conceptualise protoplasmic cells, viruses and biochemical molecules as collections of MV. We will never understand living systems and disease at the molecular and atomic level. We must go down to the fundamental MV level.

11. MV and propensities: It was suggested above that the matter – force particle relationship in modern physics is a useful model for understanding the propensity-inference relationship. A propensity is a tendency or urge or desire or wont. The negative electric charge of an electron is a propensity. It manifests as a desire to move towards a positive charge and the desire can be neutralised by merging with a positively charged particle. An electron is also a store of potential energy. In fact all particle charges are associated with stores of energy. In addition, all point charges are continually emitting and absorbing virtual force particles. And finally, from a field perspective, a point charge warps the space around it. Some physicists have modeled the electron as a mini-black hole in which the density of an electric field approaches infinity.

These ideas may be useful models for understanding vrttis (“propensities of the mind“). I imagine that vrttiis are point like charges associated with the psychic structures of the kosas. Vrttiis cause a person to be attracted towards some kinds of food and some kinds of friends and not others. People (and all psychic entities) interact with one another through the exchange of ideas and inferences in the same way that physical particles interact with one another through the exchange of force particles or tanmatras. We can imagine that every vrtti is associated with a store of potential energy and every vrtti exchanges inferences or ideas with its environment or with other vrtti points. Here are two quotes that you may or may not see as consistent with this model of vrttis (propensities) and tanmatras (inferences and ideas).

“In the human mind various thoughts are constantly emerging and dissolving. Behind these psychic phenomena are the underlying propensities which are primarily related to the reactive momenta of human beings. Propensities are formed according to one’s reactive momenta ...“ (p 123) “In human beings and other animals, some propensity or other is either activated or slowed down by the impact of different inferences at various stages.“ (p 153)

Here is the model in words:

Samskara (Potential energy) >> Propensity <<>> ideas and inferences

There are three types of vrttis, pro-physical, psychic and pro-spiritual. “All the fifty vrttis are affected by positive or negative microvita.“ (p 59) Microvita appear to act on the human mind through the plexi or chakra system. In particular, “Positive microvita create sentient propensities and negative microvita creates static propensities.“ (p 121)

12. MV offer a new theory of disease. Many diseases that current medical science says are caused by viruses are better explained as being caused by MV. MV are not viruses. Rather, there is a confusion about the causal mechanism. Modern science recognises several major categories of disease causing mechanism. 1. Various micro-organisms such as germs and viruses. 2. Genetic defects. 3. Aging. 4. Nutritional diseases. 5. Psycho-somatic diseases. Superficially, MV theory looks like an extension of the germ theory of disease. However, it is possible that a MV theory of disease will help to unify some of the above categories.  

Date: 18-20 July and 15-17 August 2003 003.                                                                                                     Attendees: Dada Vimalananda, Manohar, Rekha, Kalki, Bhaktaviirya

© Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha

for more information please contact webmaster