On Causality

Writing in itself is tough, writing on Causality is next to impossibility. Let me explain. Causality is defined as ‘cause’ of something. Say, an event A is ‘caused’ by number of preconditions and reasons. Of all variants of questions (such as What? Where? When? How? Why?) you throw at something, to comprehend it, ‘Why’ perhaps seeks the core.

•   What ? – tries to explain nature of event witnessed
•   Where? – handles the  ‘space’ aspect of event witnessed
•   When? – typically handles the ‘time’ aspect of it
•   How? – handles the very process that happened
•   But Why? –captures the REASON why it happened after all!

WHY seeks to tackle Causality, the cause of anything. In fact, Science has built its foundations on Time, Space and Causality. By logical reasoning and scientific empirical rigor, we study why something happened. If event A and B caused event C to occur, then A and B become for us, the sole reasons, to why C exists. Suddenly the MEANING of C becomes A and B. That’s how science and our mind have come to grasp it. (well, science can get really psychedelic with its ‘Causal Loops’ and Retro-causality but let us keep it simple). Where ever, Science failed to explain the cause, we have digressed to take comfort in astrology, occult and God. Thus, significance of causality is that, human cognition has hardwired ‘causality’ to give meaning to anything. Second, if we traverse back in time-space, interpreting what-caused-what?, right back to the point of Big Bang, (beyond which even Space-Time have no meaning) and ask…not just ‘How’ Big Bang occurred but more importantly, ‘Why’ did it occur?... we are suddenly in the realm of Primal Cause and nature of Reality itself.

But why am I gung ho about this WHY?...turns out there are two WHYs to most things that haunt us…let’s say, somebody gets killed at 45, one ‘why’ gets us to careless driving or some ‘unfortunate’ freak event and we are okay with it. But then, a child dies when he is just 2, some illness…the regular ‘why’ still scientifically gets you there with its reasons, but it just isn’t enough for you!…you ask again, but Why?...why did it happen…no matter what we deduce, negligence or whatever…we just don’t understand why he had to die so young Or rather why was he born even?!!...Come to think of it, we start realizing we have no clue as to why anything and everything is really happening in this world after all. We want to make sense of this apparent absurdism of existence and experience. That’s why, we keep at it…to decipher the point of it all.

Our strongest tool, Science, has always adopted reductionism, built simplified models to study any phenomena in isolation. Progressively, improving its mathematical models to inch closer to Reality. The unexplained were retained as empirical physical ‘constants’ (e.g. velocity of light or Planck’s constant) in its mathematical expressions and it was argued, when all constants get explained, science would have for itself, the grand Theory of Everything.  The underlying principle in divide and conquer approach, has been this belief that, once parts are individually explained away, with nothing left to resolve, the WHOLE will naturally reveal itself…But what is it that we are studying?

In Isa Upanishad, there is a small prayer, a mathematical formula too, trying to explain Reality.

‘Poornamatha, Poornamitham

Poornath Poornamudhachathe

Poornasya Poornamadhayaa

Poornamedha avashishthe’

‘This’ Completeness and ‘That’ Completeness/Infinity

From ‘That’ Completeness arises ‘This’ Completeness

From ‘That’ Completeness when you reduce ‘This’ Completeness

Only Completeness remains!

Infinity – Infinity = Infinity  (mathematical equation!)

It simply states, we (our soul atman) are essentially beyond matter and are consciousness ourselves; and also, a part of the greater Reality or Universal Consciousness. More importantly, it draws the distinct observation, that, we are not just part of the whole but also, simultaneously, the whole itself. One is stunned to see Vedic mathematics blend with the mystical, in explaining this essential nature of Reality. Infinity and Completeness are all properties of the fundamental nature of Reality which is nothing but Consciousness (satyam jnanam anantam brahman - Taittiria Upanishad).

For layman, mystical poet, William Blake captures the same vision in

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.”

The infinite complexity of Universe (macrocosm) remains unexplained even in grain and further microcosm (i.e. elementary particles). The indivisibility of complexity perplex us. The essential nature of Heaven (i.e. beauty) is seen in essential nature of its manifestations (Flower) and again, the same indivisibility of ‘Beauty’ shines through. Beauty! a quality, science cannot broach! What causes us to appreciate and recognize beauty is a mystery. Is it something within us that helps us recognize it? Like a father recognizing himself in his child. And likewise, Space, Time, their infinite vastness, all retain their indivisibility, yet suddenly lose their meaning in laws of relativity, causing Causality to become the ultimate casualty.

Intuitively we ask, do the PARTS make up the WHOLE? Or does the WHOLE manifest in its PART? Think of fundamental ‘particles’ as WORDS and ‘Universe’ as a SENTENCE for a moment. Now, can you pinpoint the ‘meaning’ of the sentence amongst its words? Where did the meaning of the sentence come from?!...alas, does it now make sense to seek the meaning of universe in its constituent particles? Can the part ever explain the whole?

Science gets it now. The Bootstrap Hypothesis by Geoffrey Chew postulates that Nature has to understood through its ‘self-consistency’(i.e. ability to not contradict itself). The model points to self-consistency(an underlying order?) of the whole and all of physics follows from this one fundamental principle, that, components must be consistent with themselves and one another. In Chew’s own words “The only mechanism that meets the general principles of physics is the mechanism of Nature…the observed particles are the only quantum and relativistic systems that can be designed without internal conflict. Each nuclear particle plays three roles (1) constituent of the compound (2) mediator of the force responsible for overall cohesion of the compound (3) the composed system”. In other words, clearly stating that, the part appears simultaneously as the whole.

Of course, it is very difficult to logically conceive, this idea of ‘Interpenetration’ but it was beautifully described 2500 years ago, through an old Indian metaphor, the “Indra’s Net”, an Hindu God, whose ‘heaven’ was described as a network of jewels, so arranged that, looking at any one of them, you see all others reflected in it. Something like Mendelbrot’s fractals. In short, universe is no longer an assemblage of fundamental entities or fields that cannot be reduced further but is rather, a dynamic web of inter-connected events. The bootstrap principle can, in fact, be generalized beyond particles to include macrocosm, life, consciousness, as a philosophy of nature. The self-consistency of the whole requires all aspects of nature to be included.

The Law of Karma (of ‘cause’ and ‘effect’) or the Bible underlines the same inter-connectedness. ‘As ye sow, so also shall ye reap’. There is nothing stand-alone or fundamental in this world. The laws of nature are inherent in nature and not imposed by a divine force. All parts of the whole conform to it because of their very nature of existence as parts of the indivisible whole. The Law arises from the need to fit precisely into the place with others; the self-consistency of the whole. This concept of Bootstrap principle is in absolute alignment with Law of Karma that underlines the same interconnectedness and unavoidability of all human affairs with Nature. No single phenomenon can be fully understood in isolation because of the inter-relatedness and indivisibility of the whole. And more startlingly, the Nature and its laws are simply seen the way they are, is because that is the only way, we are equipped or wired to perceive or conceptualize or see them! In fact, all theories of natural phenomena are creations of our mind for our conceptual understanding and not Reality in itself.

Alas! we began with an important question of human cognition, WHY…only to realize the futility of asking it!

Influences:

1. Causality & Science
2. Philosophy of Existence and Modern Science
3. From Modernity to Cosmodernity: Science, Culture, and Spirituality