This is an age of reasoning. Man has become more inquisitive. He is trying to understand the physical world in its entirety. A-theory-of-everything is the latest mantra of scientists. New mathematics is being developed to assist this exercise.
I think we have to tread a long way before we arrive at a mathematical unification. Still, it will be a "mathematical solution" and very difficult, if not impossible, to verify it through experimental physics.
LHC experiments to find "God particle" has a long way to go. It would take many decades, perhaps centuries, to process the huge data, to be gathered by these experiments.
Quantum mechanics is opposite of relativity theories. Currently string theory is doing the rounds and is the sole `hope' for the unified theory. Still, dark matter and black holes are not "revealing" themselves!
We are the creatures of three-dimensional world. Now scientists are talking about ten-dimensions and hyperspace! The latest researches point out, that, probably, we would never be able to unravel the secrets of the universe, or, at least, in the lifetime of our planet.
Is it skeptical view? I do not know. Our mathematics has not yet developed to suit the proportions and complexities of the universe.
We have had great scientists. Isaac Newton was a great genius. He developed mathematics on his own to present his own theories. We need many more such geniuses today.
Yes, we are progressing well towards a “theory of everything”. But time will certainly take stock of all theories. We had to believe Newton's static universe until Einstein and Edward Hubble showed us "different truths".
It is also true that human mind or intellect has its own limitations. Ancient Indians realized it and resorted to indirect methods in their quest for “ultimate reality”.
Upanishads and Geertha say Atma or Brahman is Shuddha, Buddha, Nithya, Anadi, Anantha and Achintya. It is Self and Him, says Advaita Vedanta.
Geetha says Atman is more sookshma than Paramanu, which is the smallest representative of the physical world in ancient books (we can include sub-atomic particles also, and everything including quarks and boson within Paramanu). Atman or Brahman is non-physical, space-less and time-less.
As we are the creatures of three-dimensional world, we can not visualize spaceless-ness and timeless-ness in our minds (time is also a physical dimension). Naasadeeya Sookta of Rgveda recognizes this.
That is why Adi Shankaracharya had to take different, a negative, route, to put-forth what he wanted to convey. That route is Neti, Neti, means Atman is NOT this, and NOT that. By trying to show what is NOT atman, he believed, that he can, to an extent, make us understand the true swaroopa of Him.
That is the limitation of languages. Timeless, space-less, beginning-less and end-less state of being is hard to realize and visualize. It is only a matter experience in the form of consciousness.
Atmajnani cannot explain physical / biological sciences. But he (she or anything) has no need to "understand" the physical, "unreal", world, the domain of "scientists".
But I find universe as a different thing, in the sense that it is a physical world. But I also believe that at the highest level, physical science has to be one with spiritual reality.
As for theory-of-everything with regard to the physical world, we need to have a more advanced mathematics, for it is the language of the nature (Apara Vidya). For that, we need to wait for a while.
Here, we have a great paradox. More we dig up the cosmos; we end up with more questions!
That is the beauty of science. Worldly life (loukika jeevana) will be exciting only if something remains to be known! Certainly ignorance is not bliss, the path of trying to acquire knowledge is blissful!
I do not think everything with regard to the universe or physical world will be explained to everyone's satisfaction in the near future. Again, that theory-of-everything will be open for further assessments. Now, even Einstein's relativity theories (vis-à-vis space-time) are being reassessed.
The vastness and complexities of the universe will engage human mind endlessly!
(C) G. ANIL KUMAR 2010.
