Can we reach the unifying force of nature?

Cover image credits: Pablo Carlos Budassi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When we talk about nature, we often talk about animals, plants, the atmosphere, climate, oceans, rivers, other water bodies, etc. But we often forget that we are part of nature, and nature is beyond the Earth. The reason we often feel disconnected from nature, Earth, and the universe is that we haven’t found a connection to ourselves. For example, you feel connected to other human beings because we belong to the same species, and so we understand their struggles and relate with them. This can be extended to an extent to other life forms like other animals and plants. But the relatability ends there. So, we will start with us and build up to everything else. This is going to be a long article, but an important one. You are welcome to read in segments for the best understanding. Let us start with our own past. In my opinion, humans in general are limiting the understanding of the past to just memories. But think about it – If there’s no memory, is there no past? If all humans happen to lose their memories at this moment and are transported to a new planet, does that mean the past did not exist?

The time relative to you is a matter of memories and how much your brain can hold. Your past minute is the same as your past 10 years biologically. But you cherish memories more as they are older because they are going further and further away in time. However, both events are in the past. The concept of time depends on us keeping track of what we did in the past but never on what we are going to do in the future. Our goal is in the future, but we measure time from the past because that’s the only end we know. We can think of time with respect to the future. I don’t mean planning. Planning is only circumstantial. But your “goal” is the constant. Whatever we achieve materialistically is pointless for us because all of that is just memory and goes away with the brain. Our brain makes memories, but along with that it also forges our path ahead. Why do we forget that goal of ours along with feeding our bodies?

Where did it all begin and where will everything end?

Everything culminates in consciousness. Consciousness is the biggest mystery on this planet. We don’t know what it is exactly. What does being alive mean? Is it only medical? Does a beating heart define life? Is neural activity the only definition of being alive? Where and why did life originate? Why do we exist? These are questions we ask ourselves every day but are not able to answer. These are the essential questions in life humanity set out to find, and then set out to make our life on this planet comfortable so that we can address the former questions. But then, there is no end to finding comfort. For every electronic device created to make manual labor easy, there was a remote control invented to make access to that device easier. At this point, after getting entangled with comfort and vital sub-issues that got created as result, there are very few who are still asking questions about our origin, life, and goals as a living organism. While comfort is important, it is more important to understand why we even exist.

I understand that not everyone can be looking for these answers. Due to the existence of multiple systems of governance, economics, politics, security, and societies, most people are able to manage just enough time to work out their basic living requirements before the day is over. This would be a result of centuries of transfer of consciousness to making perishable things last longer. But perishables will not survive. They would degrade and turn to dust even if it takes them centuries and millenniums. Memories are one of those things because they belong to the brain. A few generations are remembered, and the memories of the world refresh with every upcoming generation. So, when are we going to start really focussing on the important stuff?

What is the important “stuff”?

The first step would be to recognize the important things, and to realize that those are not “things”. “Things” will not survive the test of time. What will remain then? Energy, and the forces of nature. Energy cannot be destroyed or created. It is always there in different forms. And the forces of nature and the universe regulate them. Just to make it clear before moving forward, I am not going into “negative or positive energies”, “auras” etc. I am talking about perceivable reality. I am talking about the different forms of energy – heat, light, mechanical, electrical, chemical, and nuclear, and the forces of nature which control the energy, matter, and remaining universe- gravity, both types of nuclear forces, and electromagnetic forces. The question is – are all these forces part of a larger unifying force?

The answer is most likely yes. While we know the forms of energy and forces I have written here, there may be more such forms that we are not aware of at the moment. And just because we may not know about them, doesn’t make them non-existent. As scientists continue to look for the answers in nature, we must also remember to keep our minds open to all possibilities because the answer may come from a source you least expected. Scientifically speaking, we know of four fundamental forces of nature.

1. Gravity is the force of attraction between two bodies that have mass or energy, and the bigger the mass or energy, the higher the attraction.
   
2. Weak nuclear force is the force that changes one sub-atomic particle to another. This is the force that causes particle decay.
   
3. Electromagnetic force is the force that exists between two oppositely charged particles, where negative charges and positive charges attract each other.
   
4. Strong nuclear force is the force keeping sub-atomic particles together. It has an extremely small range, but it is the strongest of the four forces; even stronger than gravity!

The question, as I mentioned before, is whether the forces of nature are manifestations of a single unifying force and whether each of them is able to change into the other. In fact, there is already some evidence in that direction. Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg are the two physicists who won the Nobel Prize in 1979 for unifying the weak nuclear force (2) with the electromagnetic force (3), and they call it the electroweak force (2+3). Right now, we have models that successfully combine this electroweak force (2+3) with the strong nuclear force (4), and they call it the electronuclear force (2+3+4). However, we still have to observe it physically. Once this is achieved, the final step would be to combine the electronuclear force (2+3+4) with the force of gravity (1), and we will have a Theory of Everything (1+2+3+4)! This is the theory that is expected to explain everything in the universe.

Is the Theory of Everything the answer to all our questions?

One big problem that we face already is combining the micro-world with the macro world. All the other three forces apart from gravity work in the micro-world, but the force of gravity works in the macro-world. The macroscopic world is explained by Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, while the microscopic world is explained by quantum mechanics. And no one has been able to come up with a concept to merge the two worlds.

What if we were to somehow solve this problem and come up with a Theory of Everything? Would that imply we solved the question of our origin? Does this theory explain everything just like we expect? In reality, there may be other forces of nature that we do not know of yet. One of them is speculated to be related to dark matter and dark energy. There are several observances in the universe that are not explainable by the existing models of forces. So, scientists are attributing these to a new form of a sub-atomic particle, which in principle could be the fifth force of nature. If this is true, then is the Theory of Everything in combination with the fifth force of nature really our answer to everything? Or are there more forces of nature at play? We will know in time.

Validating the idea of a unified force with life

There still may be some truth to the basic concept of unifying forces. This idea seems to suggest that the universe is not a physical being, but an entire organic system, whose components are manifestations of the same unifying force that is keeping all its components alive in some form. The question again falls back on understanding consciousness, and we are back to where we started in this article. So, do we need to rethink our approach to understanding the universe? This idea of a unifying force is not alien. But in order to appreciate this concept, it is important to understand consciousness as an independent entity and not a result of the mind. While being conscious is a result of a working brain, the consciousness that I am talking about here is you being a source of energy. The energy which is running you is not your own but is a form of the unifying force we talked about. And that is why we need to talk about consciousness as an independent entity.

Classical physics says that reality is exactly as we see it and that the observed object and the observing subject can be studied independently. But this idea has its limitations. As we go to smaller and smaller sizes, the flaw of this idea becomes apparent. In quantum physics, it is said that the observed and the observer are relative to each other and that one affects the other. It means if I am an atom and I pass by another atom, I will affect its properties in some way, as opposed to the case of two human beings walking past each other. In fact, as we analyze smaller particles, we come to realize that we are not really “touching” anything. We just experience a very strong force of attraction at the sub-atomic level (Strong nuclear force) which gives the impression that we are in contact with something. But in reality, it is just the atoms being in such a strong force of contact. So, you are not really “holding” a ball while playing basketball for example. It just appears so. How can we understand this fact in relation to consciousness? We know that mass and energy are directly interchangeable, and just different forms of each other. You are a form of energy bound by a strong nuclear force to another form of energy. Hence, everything culminates in consciousness and the energy that holds this consciousness.

Consciousness and superimposition

In principle, this points to the case of superimposition. The superimposition of several forms of energy and mass that runs the universe, is originating from a single source of energy. Our goal should be to find this source. In order to do that, we would have to find a way to perceive this. Just like we are able to feel the heat energy, see the light energy, taste food (which is basically chemical reactions), and so on, we need to find a way to perceive the energy which is the source of all of this. Do you think you understand the way to it?

There is an explanation of the concept of the unified force of nature in the Bhagavad Gita. The principle of this concept can be understood from verse 16 of chapter 11:

This verse is a line said by Arjuna when he sees the Vishwaroopam (omnipresent aspect) of Sri Krishna. He says that when he tries to find the beginning, middle, and end of this form, he finds no success as every component of the universe seems to be a manifestation of this form. He calls this form of Sri Krishna as Vishweshwar (controller of the universe) and Vishwaroop (a form of the universe) at the same time. And we are looking for the form of the universe that controls every aspect of the universe itself.

There is also an explanation of the concept of superimposition and consciousness in the Advaita Vedanta. In this, Adi Sankaracharya talks about the Brahman being self-existent (Svatah-Siddha). The principle of His philosophy in Advaita Vedanta can be understood by verse 20 of Brahma Jnānavali Māla:

It means that the Brahman is real and the only reality and everything else is just an illusion of the only reality. The jiva or soul is not different from Brahman. So, in essence, it means the same thing I have concluded in the article, that the unified energy of the universe as an entire organic system (Brahman) is the one true energy, and everything else (including us) is just different forms of the same energy. And we are looking for the source of it.

There is a lot more to understand here, and this is just a small window into understanding consciousness, which even I am trying to decode with every step I take in life.

The crux of the situation

Hence, the concepts of the unified force of nature, superimposition of energies, consciousness, and the Theory of Everything are one and the same thing. Only the route to reach the destination is different in each case, which you are free to choose. And of course, there are many more routes like these. I may not be completely right, but I know that I am on the path to the right direction. There is a lot more to unravel and relearn as I progress.

In conclusion, it doesn’t matter where you are, but rather who you are; You are nature. So, did this article take you closer to yourself? Point to ponder?

Stay mystified! Say satisfied! Stay Priya-fied!