KVE301/KVE401 Universal Human Values and Professional Ethics

Chapter 11: Harmony in Existence – Understanding Existence as Coexistence

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4

Unit 5

Appendix

Meaning of Existence

All the units together constitute nature. All the units of nature exist in space which is an important reality to understand. Existence is nothing but nature in space (Shunya).

DigitalG1 Meaning of Existence

We define a unit as something that is limited in size. Like a small blade of human hair to the biggest planets we know of, they are all limited in size, i.e. bounded on six sides. So, all the ‘things’ we have been studying so far: the human beings, animals, lumps of matter as well as various atoms and molecules, are all ‘units’. We can recognize them as such, they are countable.

But there is another ‘reality’ called ‘space’. We normally don’t pay attention to this ‘reality’, because it’s not a ‘unit’. We can’t ‘touch it’, smell it. We normally just ‘see-through it’. But the fact is because we can’t ‘touch it’ or ‘see it’ as we would see a unit like our body, our friends, or a piece of rock, doesn’t mean it does not exist. Space exists everywhere.

Co Existence Of Units In Space

Co-existence is a state in which two or more groups are living together while respecting their differences and resolving their conflicts non-violently. Co-existence has been defined in numerous ways:

    1. To exist together (in time or space) and to exist in mutual tolerance.
    2. To learn to recognize and live with difference.
    3. To have a relationship between persons or groups in which none of the parties is trying to destroy the other.
    4. To exist together (in time or place) and to exist in mutual tolerance.
DigitalG1 Nature submerged in Space

Now we will take the diagram in detail.

Units In Space

When we look at the existence around, the first thing we see is space. And then we see the units in space. Between every two units, there is a space. The units exist in space. If we were to define this, we would say that there are two kinds of realities in existence and these are: space and units (in space). So we say,

Existence = Space + Units (in space)

Since nature consists of the four orders we have been discussing, we can say,

“Existence = Nature submerged in space”

Nature = Four orders (Material, Plant/Bio or Pranic, Animal and Human Order)

Limited and Unlimited

Nature has four orders and there are units in each order. Each unit is limited in size. The size ranges from being really small (atom) to really big (galaxies). Each and every unit is finite and limited in size, be it the smallest particle or the biggest galaxies. Space, on the other hand, is unlimited. Space has no ‘size’, unlike units, it is not bounded. So, there is no beginning or end to space, as there are two units. For example, when you take a book, you know that it starts and finishes. We say the book is ‘limited’ in size. When we take space, there is no such thing. There is space behind us, inside us, between us and the book, between the book and the earth, in the book, in every page of it, inside the page, and beyond the earth… all the way till we can imagine.

We find that space pervades; it is all-pervading. Units, on the other hand, are not all-pervading. This is how we recognize them as units.

Active And No-Activity

We can understand each unit as something that is dynamic and active. Because there is a physical activity, Physico-chemical activity, or a sentient activity. Each unit or entity of all four orders is active. For example, we can see that ‘thinking’ is an activity we do, and so is ‘desiring’.

Space on the other hand has no activity. Only units are active or in other words, when ‘something’ is active or has activity, we call it a ‘unit’. There is empty space between you and the book right now and it does not have any activity. The particles of gases and dust in between are active, but space has no activity. That’s how we come to know of it.

Energized And Energy In Equilibrium

What we normally call or consider energy today, is the ‘transfer of energy’. For example, when you place water in a vessel on the stove, we say the heat energy from the flame was transferred to the water in the vessel. Anything that is a unit, has activity, anything that has activity, is energized. All the particles in the water and the metal stove are active, very active, and energized. Hence we don’t say that space is energized but we say ‘space is energy in equilibrium’ or it is ‘constant energy’. All units are energized in space.

This energy is available to all units. In other words, space is equilibrium energy, all units are in space; all units are energized and active being in space.

Each Unit Recognizes... Space is Reflecting and Transparent

When we look around, we see that in the physical world, there is a relationship between all things around us. The air recognizes its relationship with the soil, the soil with the water, the water and soil with the trees, etc. There is a relationship and we see it all around us. This is the meaning of each unit recognizing its relationship with the four orders and fulfill it.

Space is not a unit. Space is reflecting. It means, every unit is reflected in the other units in space. It is due to this reflection that there is a relationship, and this is why all units are related to each other. This is why we as humans also feel or are related to one another and this is the basis for our relationship with the four orders. All the units are related to each other being in space.

Space is transparent. It is the same as saying reflecting. What this means is that in space there is no obstruction. Hence, all these objects or units are able to recognize each other in space, are related to each other being in space, since space is transparent.

Self Organized and Self-Organization is Available

Every unit is an organization. A unit recognizes other units and combines with them to form a bigger organization. Starting from the atom, to the big galaxy, this organization goes on, as self-organization. At every level, we get self-organization. Subatomic particles recognize each other and come together to form atoms. Cells recognize each other and form organizations like organs and a body. Planetary bodies, solar systems, galaxies are still bigger organizations. We are not organizing it. We are not supplying this organization from outside.

When we look at humans, we see that we are self-organized at the level of the body. We are not organizing the body. We are not doing anything for the coordination between the heart, kidneys, lungs, eyes, brain, hands, legs, etc. All these are functioning together. Our input is needed only to provide the required nutrition, and to assist the body when we fall sick/get injured. At the level of ‘I’, we are not self-organized, but being in space, self-organization is available to the self (‘I’). That’s why we are in pursuit of happiness, which is essentially being in harmony. Whenever we are not in harmony, we are unhappy.

All the units of four orders are self-organized. No one is organizing them from outside. No one is supplying this organization. This self-organization is available to units being in space. Hence, for space, we say ‘self-organization is available’.

Summarized by – Dr. Niyati Garg

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