From Chaos to Cosmos?

Dinesh Singh Observing beauty in Nature has been a human pass-time since the dawn of civilization. Poets and seers of yore have visualized endless possibilities of variations in the bashful and enigmatic face of Nature. And this very possibility of variations in Nature is what makes it so marvelous and charming. Indian literary connoisseurs, artists and poets have defined beauty as one that takes a new form every moment (Kshane kshane yan navatm upaiti tadeva roopam ramadiyath). A constant form, howsoever beautiful, becomes stale and boring after some time. This is the truth of our daily experience to which even a lay man will subscribe. What is the reason behind this variation? Modern science has discovered a new explanation for this variation through its Theory of Chaos. According to this theory, Nature has not been moulded into any set pattern, nor can it be, because of the very nature of Nature, which is unpredictable. Its behaviour cannot be predicted by any deterministic principle which relies on precision and exactitude. To what factor, then, can this unpredictability of Nature be ascribed? It is its randomness which is expressed in the abundance of freedom it enjoys. It is free, absolutely free, not bound by any mechanical system; not subservient to obey the command of any law. It owes this freedom to its randomness which, in turn, adds to its mystique and charm. If a pattern cannot be captured within the framework of a deterministic principle, it is bound to be chaotic. That is what the Chaos Theory has to say. So chaos rather than harmony, randomness rather than order emerges to be the truth of Nature. Naturalists as much as rationalists will be aghast at this conclusion of the Chaos Theory. Rubbing their eyes in disbelief and surprise, they may ask, Is there no harmony, no order in nature? Has something gone wrong with the Eternal Clock? If this argument is stretched too far, a new age David Hume may proclaim: The Sun may not rise in the east tomorrow. Are we ready to stomach such an absurdity? But let us wait, for this is not the end of the story of the Chaos Theory. Its protagonists claim that a state of orderliness can be traced in the random patterns of nature, just as harmony can be found in musical notes of different variations. To understand exactly how it is possible, we will have to have a basic comprehension of the Particle Theory, another discovery of modern science. According to it, subatomic particles, the minutest unit of material existence, move randomly in space and when they integrate, they form atomic or molecular structures. A combination of these atomic structures displays a pattern which is near equal to the initial possibilities of a single atomic structure. Since these atomic structures follow a random course, no two combinations of atomic structures can produce identical results; they may be self-similar but not exactly the same. This is called the Principle of Self-similarity. The Principle of Self-similarity is considered to be a big breakthrough in the onward march of the Theory of Chaos. Its protagonists argue that this principle can be seen working all over nature and it is one of the key natural principles that shape our world the

way it is. In the whole spectrum of natural phenomena we perceive self-similar events and things but never the same. It is because the pattern which nature follows is not mechanical. A machine can produce two or more identical things, but two products of nature can never be the same. Even twins born of the same womb of a mother may look alike but are not identical. So much on the random patterns of Nature. But a big question arises here: Can total harmony of the cosmos be explained in terms of total chaos? Perhaps science has not yet reached that stage. The Chaos Theory is still in the process of evolution and its final outcome is yet to arrive. Even if it arrives at one at some remote point in the future, will it qualify to be termed as final? Scientific investigation is an ever-continuing process and consequently nothing can be termed as the final truth because scientific investigation itself is based on some scientific assumptions. New findings often corrode the validity of these basic assumptions. Science has a unique way of mending its mistakes by what scientists call the process of self-correction. It is to the credit of scientists and their intellectual honesty that they acknowledge their errors of judgment and also the fact that none of their theories is conclusive. So, where do we land at last? In yet another chaos! This prompts us to have a fresh look at the so-called Theory of Chaos, which seems to be based on two scientific principles, viz. Principle of Uncertainty and Principle of Selfsimilarity. Let us examine the Chaos Theory in the light of these two principles, which are the foundation stones for the superstructure of this theory. The Uncertainty Principle prohibits accuracy and lays down that if the initial situation of a complex system is indeterminable, the evolution of the system cannot be accurately predicted. In the case of the Chaos Theory, the basic assumption is the random pattern of nature. Randomness of nature itself is a debatable issue and certainly not beyond question and doubt. This assumption itself, as a matter of fact, is based on some isolated observations and scattered data, which seem to be too inadequate to prove its infallibility and acceptability as a universal rule. True, we may observe a certain amount of randomness in the behaviour of nature but, at the same time, we also observe a god deal of harmony and order not only in the phenomena of nature but also on the wider canvas, i.e. the cosmos. The sun rises and sets to the precision of pre-determined clock; planets move along their allotted paths without the least deviation so much so that the time and duration of eclipses can be predicted years in advance; seasons change and birds sing in a rhythmic tune, as it were, synchronized by the eternal Time. Discordant notes, if any, in the grand symphony of Nature are few and far between. It follows, therefore, that harmony rather than chaos is the truth of the cosmos. Now let us examine what the Principle of Self-similarity proves in the context of the Chaos Theory. If the products of nature are invariably self-similar rather than identical, it only proves that nature does not act mechanically but intelligently. Nature is not a machine to produce a horde of identical numbers. It acts intelligently and hence the variation. Wherever there is intelligence rather than a mechanical device behind any act,

the result is bound to carry an element of variation. For example, an intelligent human being, howsoever meticulous and methodical, cannot produce two identical autographs. They may look alike but not exactly the same. Photographs will be identical since they are produced by a mechanical device, but not two autographs by the same person. If Nature acts intelligently, whence this intelligence come from? Perhaps science has no clue to this question, but philosophy has. Somebody has rightly said: Where science ends, philosophy begins. Snkhya school of Indian philosophy has addressed this question and probably has come out with a plausible answer. Snkhya structures its system of philosophy on two basic principles, viz. Prakriti, which may be described as the manifested world of phenomena, and Purusha, the Principle of Consciousness. Prakriti, in its primordial state, remains homogenous and inert, though potentially active. As a result of its contact with the Principle of Consciousness, it becomes active, rather hyper-active and evolves into heterogeneous manifold forms, which we call Creation. Why heterogeneous forms only? Because Prakriti is composed of different modes Sattva, rajas and tamas, which are called gunas but should not be misunderstood as qualities Sattva represents sublimity, rajas represents activity, and tamas represents inertia or sloth. In the initial stage, these gunas, too, like Prakriti, lie in a homogenous state but as soon as Prakriti becomes active being vitalized by the Principle of Consciousness, these gunas get splintered and messed up in a heterogeneous state. Hence forms of creation are invariably of heterogeneous nature. The pattern of these forms is characterized by variation but not conflict. Just like varying colours make a rain-bow, similarly heterogeneous forms make a harmonious whole known as the universe and the intelligence of Nature lies in maintaining the harmony of this whole. A question may be raised here: Any mechanical device can be triggered to action by an intelligent agent but that does not make the machine intelligent. The question is logically valid but misplaced in the context of Nature because its process is evolutionary, not mechanical. Prakriti, in its initial stage, is both inert and unintelligent but in the proximity of the Principle of Consciousness, it gains both activity and intelligence. This philosophical truth finds a beautiful expression in the Gita when Lord Krishna says: Under Me as her supervisor, Prakriti (nature) produces the moving and the unmoving; because of this, O Kaunteya, the world revolves (Ch. IX-10) May be what Snkhya philosophy has explained in philosophical terms, the champions of the Chaos Theory might be striving to explain in scientific terms not comprehensible to a lay man. It will be an ideal situation if philosophy and science come together to find a common solution for a common problem viz. the mystery of the universe