Blog by Narendra Acharya
According to Vedanta, we can never have a theory of everything in terms of matter or interactions of material particles only. In Vedanta, apart from matter, which is inert by itself, there is another reality in nature. That is the fundamental spiritual particle (called atman in Vedic terminology), which is coined as “spiriton.”(By H.H. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami). It is a transcendental particle and is ontologically different from matter. It has a conscious property and free will contrary to material particles like electrons, proton, Neutron etc. It is only by the presence of spiriton that matter seems animated. In Vedanta this animated matter is called the embodied life. Although spiriton is a nonmaterial particle, since it has the property of free will and consciousness, it has the ability to interact with both individual beings and matter. The loving attraction between a mother and her baby in all well-developed living beings is due to the interaction of conscious spiritual particles, spiritons. However, when the baby is dead, this attractive power is lost because the spiriton has separated from the body of the child according to the laws of karma. This process of death is irreversible. In other words, we will never be able to bring the baby back to life by the injection of important bimolecular such as DNA or any other combination of molecules. Hence, we can rationalize that life particle or spiriton is beyond molecules. When someone dies, one can experience the symptoms of the passing of the spiriton through the eyes, mouth, rectum, or through the skin holes of the head along with the life air. Some of the important properties of spiriton are consciousness and free will. It is eternal as well, and has the will to acquire knowledge and to be eternally happy. In Vedanta, the transcendental seeds, spiritons, are injected by the Supreme Being, God, into the womb of material nature and thus living beings are manifested in the material world. Thus, the Vedantic view of the origin of life is purely theistic. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (15.7) -- mamaivamso Jivaloke jivabhutah sanatanah.
According to Vedanta, we can never have a theory of everything in terms of matter or interactions of material particles only. In Vedanta, apart from matter, which is inert by itself, there is another reality in nature. That is the fundamental spiritual particle (called atman in Vedic terminology), which is coined as “spiriton.”(By H.H. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami). It is a transcendental particle and is ontologically different from matter. It has a conscious property and free will contrary to material particles like electrons, proton, Neutron etc. It is only by the presence of spiriton that matter seems animated. In Vedanta this animated matter is called the embodied life. Although spiriton is a nonmaterial particle, since it has the property of free will and consciousness, it has the ability to interact with both individual beings and matter. The loving attraction between a mother and her baby in all well-developed living beings is due to the interaction of conscious spiritual particles, spiritons. However, when the baby is dead, this attractive power is lost because the spiriton has separated from the body of the child according to the laws of karma. This process of death is irreversible. In other words, we will never be able to bring the baby back to life by the injection of important bimolecular such as DNA or any other combination of molecules. Hence, we can rationalize that life particle or spiriton is beyond molecules. When someone dies, one can experience the symptoms of the passing of the spiriton through the eyes, mouth, rectum, or through the skin holes of the head along with the life air. Some of the important properties of spiriton are consciousness and free will. It is eternal as well, and has the will to acquire knowledge and to be eternally happy. In Vedanta, the transcendental seeds, spiritons, are injected by the Supreme Being, God, into the womb of material nature and thus living beings are manifested in the material world. Thus, the Vedantic view of the origin of life is purely theistic. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (15.7) -- mamaivamso Jivaloke jivabhutah sanatanah.
Meaning, all living beings are eternal and conscious particles of
the Supreme Lord. Thus, spiritons are totally different from material particles
and it is beyond the scope of modern scientific tools to study them. Hence, a new
science has to be introduced in order to study the spiriton. The Vedantic view about
the Theory of Everything is based on the following three verses of the Bhagavad-gita 7.4-6:
bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha
apareyam itas tv anyam
prakrtim viddhi me param
jiva-bhutam maha-baho
yayedam dharayate jagat
etad-yonini bhutani
sarvanity upadharaya
aham krtsnasya jagatah
prabhavah pralayas tatha
Translation: “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and
false ego -- all together these eight constitute My (Lord Krishna’s) separated
material energies. Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another,
superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting
the resources of this material, inferior nature. All created beings have their source
in these two natures. Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this
world, know for certain that I (Lord Krishna) am both the origin and the
dissolution.”
Fundamental qualities of the spiritual particle – spiriton or atman -- are sat (eternal existence), cit (will to know), ananda (sublime happiness), sveccha (free will) and cetana (consciousness). Thus,
consciousness is purely spiritual and transcendental to matter. There are two types of consciousness --
universal and individual. The Supreme Being or God is conscious of everything
in the universe; where as the living entities are conscious of themselves only.
According to Vedanta, the ultimate purpose of human life is to find our real
spiritual identity and relationship with the Supreme. In Vedanta, the spiritual
particle - spiriton is beyond ordinary sense perception but can be inferred. As
mentioned before, consciousness is the most visible symptom of the spiriton.
But matter, however complex it is, can never be conscious. For example, a
computer, however sophisticated it is, can never have symptoms of
consciousness. It is only due to the interaction between the spiriton and
material energy that the material nature appears to be active. Thus, according to Vedanta, without taking into
account of this spiritual particle - spiriton, a theory of everything will not
be possible. Ideally, a theory of everything should also be able to explain our
feelings, which cover vital parts of our lives. We cannot neglect the whole
world of aesthetics-- beauty, music, poetry, art, literature, etc., which play
a major role in our lives. Hence, our proposal is - a scientific study of the
ancient Vedantic model could provide a deeper insight into the search for a
theory of everything to explain the nature of reality, including the origin of
life and the universe.
