saidevo
13 August 2006, 11:18 PM
In the (g)olden days of Gurukula vidya, spiritual inquiries started in the bachelor life (brahmacharya ashram) under the guidance of a guru.
Pursuit of knowledge in ancient India was holistic, spanning society, history, science, philosophy, religion and spirituality. The jyoti of spiritual inquiry lit in the early life burnt steadily and guided the sadhaka's path when he/she moved on to the other ashrams of life.
Today's materialistic education has no space for spirituality. In a fast changing world, money and material comforts have become the target of the modern-day aspirants who scarcely, if ever, think about spirituality, until they reach the vanaprasta (forties) or even the sannyasa (sixties) stage in life.
Today's youth are gradually weaned away from spirituality by cinema, TV, pop music, a growing permissive life and other evil influences of the western culture. They simply have no time for spiritual inquiry. A major factor that allows this is the lack of parental control or guidance.
As a revered Swamiji said of parents in a recent Hindu summit meeting in the USA, "Let the kids wear jeans, but they should not forget their genes. Do not teach them, reach them. They do what they see. Teach them with your life. Family is the first school."
Most of us today have only a vague idea of these truths of our spiritual life:
thoughts, emotions, dreams, consciousness, will power, death and after, reincarnation, karma, soul, spirit, other worlds, creation, evolution, devolution, dharma, and more.
These are truths that the modern, physical science can never hope to unravel. These are truths that have their cause and effect under a universal law. They influence the life of every single individual, the life of a civilization, the life of a country and the life of the entire world.
We are not aware that our seers of yore and the spiritual gurus of ancient traditions have conducted a scientific, logical and coherent inquiry into these truths and documented their findings.
The main objective of this serial is to present the readers, specially the youth, with an interesting, inherent and perhaps more practical view of the high truths listed above, using the teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism and Theosophy.
Since the human thought process is largely associative and pictorial, we would try to follow a similar way with our topics of discussion. The first topic we will select is Vibration.
I would request the readers to actively discuss/debate the concepts and facts presented here and point out any fallacies.
I have so far compiled nine topics under this subject. I shall present them, one by one, allowing time for discussion of each topic. I invite the readers to add to the discussions as we chalk out path from Here to Eternity...
Vibration...
This one word defines everything. From Here to Eternity. It defines a human being. All other beings. It defines nature, the earth and the universe. And even God.
Things that vibrate, behave in similar ways, with similar attributes. As our Tamil Siddhars said: what is in the andam (universe) is also in the pindam (body). "As above, so below", is the Hermetic Axiom.
Vibration basically, is movement. Back and forth. Up and down. In quick circles. Or pendulam-like, in an arc. It can be regular or irregular, linear or circular, in two dimensions, three, or more.
Vibration involves matter, force and energy. It is the matter that vibrates, under a force, and the vibration transmits energy.
Vibration can be measured. When we measure vibration, we take into account two things: distance and time.
When matter in discrete particles vibrates, the energy it transmits travels in waves. To measure the vibration, we take into account the Frequency and Amplitude.
Frequency is the number of cycles or oscillations a wave completes in a second. Amplitude is the intensity of the wave. Wavelength is the distance between two corresponding points in successive phases of a wave.
Frequency is measured in Hertz. One Hertz is one cycle per second. We are familiar with the terms kilohertz (KHz) and megahertz (MHz) since the time of the radio, and in today's world of FM radio, TV, mobile phones, computers and other space annihilators.
Frequency translates into color with light waves and pitch with sound waves. Waves of higher frequencies have shorter wavelengths.
Amplitude translates into voltage with electromagnetic waves in general, volume in audio waves, height in mechanical waves, and color, sound and motion when these forms of waves are combined, as in TV transmission.
Apart from frequency and amplitude, a wave has a third attribute: its shape. The typical shape of a wave is the sine curve, which is the regular, wavy line we draw to represent a wave. Complex shapes are built by adding the basic, sinusoidal shapes with different frequencies and amplitudes.
Vibration creates the nature around us. Color is vibration. Sound is vibration. Taste is vibration. Smell is vibration. Touch introduces vibration. All objects in this world, animate and inanimate, are vibrations.
These vibrations are at the physical plane, which is our world of three dimensions, bound by space and time.
When vibration manifests as color, it appears as the violet color at its highest frequency in the visible spectrum of colors. It appears as the red color at its lowest frequency. In between, are the other colors of the seven-colored rainbow: VIBGYOR.
This number 7 is a holy number. It plays a primary role in creation.
When the colors merge, we get white, the primordial color, that is, the base color from which all colors are formed. A ray of the Sun is white in color. Snow is white because it reflects all the colors of the light it receives.
When vibration manifests as sound, it is heard as the cacophony of sounds that surrounds us all the time. Sound is also heard as speech or music.
The primordial sound is the aum, the pranava mantra, which forms the basic vibration behind all manifestations.
When vibration is manifest as music, it sounds as notes, again seven in number: sa,ri,ga,ma,pa,dha,ni. Music is a complex wave of sound, whose different sinusoidal components are called Harmonics. Because it is complex and harmonious, it creates sympathetic vibrations on the part of the listener, who enjoys it.
Our emotions are also vibrations, albeit in a different plane. Our thoughts are also vibrations, in yet another plane.
There are entities higher than thoughts. They exist in their own planes. God, the highest and most absolute form of vibration, exists in His own plane.
Does this mean that the physical and other planes of vibration are separate, having their own space and time boundaries? No.
All the planes of nature interpenetrate each other and share the same space as the physical plane. Just as the elements earth, water, and air (solid, liquid and gas) interpenetrate each other in the same space. More on this later.
We have the five physical organs to sense physical vibration. They form part of our physical body. Using some of these physical organs we create physical vibrations to communicate with each other.
In the same way, we have subtle organs to sense and create subtle vibrations, such as our emotions and thoughts.
These subtle organs exist within us. They are not physical. They are usually not very well developed in ordinary humans. With knowledge and constant practice, we can control and develop them.
Once we know that everything around and within us are nothing more than vibrations which manifest as sights and sounds and thoughts and emotions, this knowledge will prompt us to know them better, control and develop them.
The essence of spiritual development lies in raising our personal vibration.
This fact of vibration as the basis of everything throws up a number of exciting possibilities. We shall continue to think about them in the forthcoming instalments.
There is No Religion (or Science) Higher than Truth.
Notes:
Some more points that are rather technical:
1. The Electromagnetic Spectrum (ES)
This is a band of measured waves that are in the nature of radiations. Starting at the radio waves, the ES band includes infrared waves, the visible spectrum of light waves, the ultraviolet waves, X-rays and gamma rays.
2. Cosmic rays
These are not radiations (so not included in the ES), but high-energy charged particles that travel through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate outside our galaxy and provide information about distant objects such as quasars. They are detected when they hit the earth's upper atmosphere, creating showers of particles in their interaction with atoms.
3. Sound
Sound has a near infinite range of vibrations, connected with all matter. While scientists acknowledge this fact today, India knew it right from her ancient times. Our Vedas speak about the primordial sound aum which is the essence of all matter, and formed the basis of creation.
~~~ ! ~~~
Pursuit of knowledge in ancient India was holistic, spanning society, history, science, philosophy, religion and spirituality. The jyoti of spiritual inquiry lit in the early life burnt steadily and guided the sadhaka's path when he/she moved on to the other ashrams of life.
Today's materialistic education has no space for spirituality. In a fast changing world, money and material comforts have become the target of the modern-day aspirants who scarcely, if ever, think about spirituality, until they reach the vanaprasta (forties) or even the sannyasa (sixties) stage in life.
Today's youth are gradually weaned away from spirituality by cinema, TV, pop music, a growing permissive life and other evil influences of the western culture. They simply have no time for spiritual inquiry. A major factor that allows this is the lack of parental control or guidance.
As a revered Swamiji said of parents in a recent Hindu summit meeting in the USA, "Let the kids wear jeans, but they should not forget their genes. Do not teach them, reach them. They do what they see. Teach them with your life. Family is the first school."
Most of us today have only a vague idea of these truths of our spiritual life:
thoughts, emotions, dreams, consciousness, will power, death and after, reincarnation, karma, soul, spirit, other worlds, creation, evolution, devolution, dharma, and more.
These are truths that the modern, physical science can never hope to unravel. These are truths that have their cause and effect under a universal law. They influence the life of every single individual, the life of a civilization, the life of a country and the life of the entire world.
We are not aware that our seers of yore and the spiritual gurus of ancient traditions have conducted a scientific, logical and coherent inquiry into these truths and documented their findings.
The main objective of this serial is to present the readers, specially the youth, with an interesting, inherent and perhaps more practical view of the high truths listed above, using the teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism and Theosophy.
Since the human thought process is largely associative and pictorial, we would try to follow a similar way with our topics of discussion. The first topic we will select is Vibration.
I would request the readers to actively discuss/debate the concepts and facts presented here and point out any fallacies.
I have so far compiled nine topics under this subject. I shall present them, one by one, allowing time for discussion of each topic. I invite the readers to add to the discussions as we chalk out path from Here to Eternity...
Vibration...
This one word defines everything. From Here to Eternity. It defines a human being. All other beings. It defines nature, the earth and the universe. And even God.
Things that vibrate, behave in similar ways, with similar attributes. As our Tamil Siddhars said: what is in the andam (universe) is also in the pindam (body). "As above, so below", is the Hermetic Axiom.
Vibration basically, is movement. Back and forth. Up and down. In quick circles. Or pendulam-like, in an arc. It can be regular or irregular, linear or circular, in two dimensions, three, or more.
Vibration involves matter, force and energy. It is the matter that vibrates, under a force, and the vibration transmits energy.
Vibration can be measured. When we measure vibration, we take into account two things: distance and time.
When matter in discrete particles vibrates, the energy it transmits travels in waves. To measure the vibration, we take into account the Frequency and Amplitude.
Frequency is the number of cycles or oscillations a wave completes in a second. Amplitude is the intensity of the wave. Wavelength is the distance between two corresponding points in successive phases of a wave.
Frequency is measured in Hertz. One Hertz is one cycle per second. We are familiar with the terms kilohertz (KHz) and megahertz (MHz) since the time of the radio, and in today's world of FM radio, TV, mobile phones, computers and other space annihilators.
Frequency translates into color with light waves and pitch with sound waves. Waves of higher frequencies have shorter wavelengths.
Amplitude translates into voltage with electromagnetic waves in general, volume in audio waves, height in mechanical waves, and color, sound and motion when these forms of waves are combined, as in TV transmission.
Apart from frequency and amplitude, a wave has a third attribute: its shape. The typical shape of a wave is the sine curve, which is the regular, wavy line we draw to represent a wave. Complex shapes are built by adding the basic, sinusoidal shapes with different frequencies and amplitudes.
Vibration creates the nature around us. Color is vibration. Sound is vibration. Taste is vibration. Smell is vibration. Touch introduces vibration. All objects in this world, animate and inanimate, are vibrations.
These vibrations are at the physical plane, which is our world of three dimensions, bound by space and time.
When vibration manifests as color, it appears as the violet color at its highest frequency in the visible spectrum of colors. It appears as the red color at its lowest frequency. In between, are the other colors of the seven-colored rainbow: VIBGYOR.
This number 7 is a holy number. It plays a primary role in creation.
When the colors merge, we get white, the primordial color, that is, the base color from which all colors are formed. A ray of the Sun is white in color. Snow is white because it reflects all the colors of the light it receives.
When vibration manifests as sound, it is heard as the cacophony of sounds that surrounds us all the time. Sound is also heard as speech or music.
The primordial sound is the aum, the pranava mantra, which forms the basic vibration behind all manifestations.
When vibration is manifest as music, it sounds as notes, again seven in number: sa,ri,ga,ma,pa,dha,ni. Music is a complex wave of sound, whose different sinusoidal components are called Harmonics. Because it is complex and harmonious, it creates sympathetic vibrations on the part of the listener, who enjoys it.
Our emotions are also vibrations, albeit in a different plane. Our thoughts are also vibrations, in yet another plane.
There are entities higher than thoughts. They exist in their own planes. God, the highest and most absolute form of vibration, exists in His own plane.
Does this mean that the physical and other planes of vibration are separate, having their own space and time boundaries? No.
All the planes of nature interpenetrate each other and share the same space as the physical plane. Just as the elements earth, water, and air (solid, liquid and gas) interpenetrate each other in the same space. More on this later.
We have the five physical organs to sense physical vibration. They form part of our physical body. Using some of these physical organs we create physical vibrations to communicate with each other.
In the same way, we have subtle organs to sense and create subtle vibrations, such as our emotions and thoughts.
These subtle organs exist within us. They are not physical. They are usually not very well developed in ordinary humans. With knowledge and constant practice, we can control and develop them.
Once we know that everything around and within us are nothing more than vibrations which manifest as sights and sounds and thoughts and emotions, this knowledge will prompt us to know them better, control and develop them.
The essence of spiritual development lies in raising our personal vibration.
This fact of vibration as the basis of everything throws up a number of exciting possibilities. We shall continue to think about them in the forthcoming instalments.
There is No Religion (or Science) Higher than Truth.
Notes:
Some more points that are rather technical:
1. The Electromagnetic Spectrum (ES)
This is a band of measured waves that are in the nature of radiations. Starting at the radio waves, the ES band includes infrared waves, the visible spectrum of light waves, the ultraviolet waves, X-rays and gamma rays.
2. Cosmic rays
These are not radiations (so not included in the ES), but high-energy charged particles that travel through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate outside our galaxy and provide information about distant objects such as quasars. They are detected when they hit the earth's upper atmosphere, creating showers of particles in their interaction with atoms.
3. Sound
Sound has a near infinite range of vibrations, connected with all matter. While scientists acknowledge this fact today, India knew it right from her ancient times. Our Vedas speak about the primordial sound aum which is the essence of all matter, and formed the basis of creation.
~~~ ! ~~~