AUM represents
past, present and future,
It is also that
which is beyond these.
- Mandukya
Upanishad
The theoretical concept of
karma which originated in antiquity represents recognition of causal events in
time. Or so it seems. I have read numerous times of the equivalence
of karma and Newton’s second law of thermodynamics which is generally
understood as the law of cause (energy) and motion (effect.) In actuality karma comes out of an early and
much different concept of the cosmos.
Among other distinctions the yoga tradition is based, not on a linear,
but a cyclical or circular understanding of time and causality. It is the modern mind which took precedence
in 18th century Europe which has fixated on linear time and cause
and effect. It is so ingrained in us
that it seems difficult to conceive of anything otherwise.
Just for a moment’s
experiment allow us to conceive of a nonlinear universe. As Albert Einstein stated, "The only
reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." Quantum mechanics has brought into question
the whole idea of the linear sequential separation of events in space and
time. As a recent article reports,
“. . . According to quantum mechanics,
objects can lose their well-defined classical properties, such as e.g. a
particle that can be at two different locations at the same time. In quantum
physics this is called a "superposition."
Now
an international team of physicists led by Caslav Brukner from the University
of Vienna have shown that even the causal order of events could be in such a superposition.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121002145454.htm#.UHDKdtARdA8.facebook
Superposition means that a particle can be considered to be in more
than one place at once. Superposition in
time means that it can be considered to be in the past, present or future at
once. In other words, at least on the
quantum level, space and time as we ordinarily think of them do not exist. This is very fitting in terms of the Yogic
understanding of the nature of space and time as well. In the Yoga Sutras (4:12) Patanjali states, “The
past and the future exist in their own form as inherent characteristics.” In other words past and future are superposed
in the present.
According to Yoga the past
and the future can be understood in terms of the actualization (karma) of latent
potentials (vasanas.) Both past and
future exist within a field of possibilities which are experienced inwardly as
desires and actualized outwardly as objects.
The past simply represents actualized potentials while the future
represents latent potentials. Because of
memory and the cyclical (or perhaps, as in Gregg Braden’s terms, fractal)
nature of time, these potentials recycle themselves endlessly.
Again, according to Yoga and
Sankhya, the presence and the constant modification of objects is based on the constant
fluctuation of three basic principles: tamas, darkness or inertia, rajas,
activity or motion and sattwas, balance or equilibrium
(homeostasis.) It is due to the
fluctuation and combination of these three states of nature that time and
objects appear to exist. Purusha, the
Self, is purely the witness of this passing show. The Yoga Sutras state, “Purusha is the
witness and the master of the fluctuations of the mind.” (4:18) When we are able to experience this deeper
aspect of our being in meditation or contemplation then we are able to rest in
a state of pervasive bliss and inner peace.
Synchronicity is another
clue to the nonlinear aspect of temporal experience. The term was coined by Carl Jung to describe
the experience of two or more seemingly causally unrelated events that come
together in a meaningful way. In other
words a “meaningful coincidence.” It is
common for meditation practitioners to report an increase in synchronicity in
their lives. The concept of
synchronicity has been linked to the phenomenon of nonlocality, or entanglement
in quantum physics as well. (Limar, Igor V., Carl G. Jung's Synchronicity and
Quantum Entanglement: Schrödinger's Cat 'Wanders' Between Chromosomes (December
22, 2010). NeuroQuantology, Volume 9, Issue 2, pp. 313-321, June 2011.
Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2089541)
Synchronicity is an example
of how quantum events might spill over into the macro-world. I came up with the term “quantum hooligans”
as a humorous way of referring to quantum events which seems to “violate the
causal order” – for which they should be duly punished. My sense is that linear world of space and
time that we generally experience in our waking state is more or less a product
of that state of consciousness. In
dreams, meditation or psychedelic experiences we get a glimpse of the open-ended,
nonlinear field of potential that constitutes this mysterious universe. Yoga tells us that it is crucial that we
realize the underlying consciousness which actualizes this potential through the
power of pure observation.
