“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”
― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets
Yet mankind
meanders about the real definition of Reality
and pits that against Enigma.
Traveling to English from Greek by means of the Latin word for
"riddle," enigma refers to something or someone that is mysterious,
puzzling, or difficult to figure out. Reality is the way things actually are,
not the way you might want them to be. The only actual reality is the life that
happens every day. “Reality is never and nowhere more accessible than in the
immediate moment of one’s own life. It’s only there that it can be won or
lost.”
Both these
words have the ability to befuddle any one; there are times when Reality leads
to Enigma or vice-versa. Jayaran V, in his essay points out some of the latest
discoveries, in modern physics and quantum mechanics regarding the nature of
reality, and how they influence our understanding of the causality,
unpredictability and uncertainty of the universe.
He believes at some point of time
we have to rewrite our knowledge and understanding on the reality and the
enigma of the Universe. We may require new philosophies and approaches to
explain the enormous contradictions that exist in the universe at the subatomic
level and in the dimensions of space and time. There are moments when we
believe that -It happens as a scientific means to explore dimensions beyond the
physical.
Uncertainty and unpredictability
seems to be the essential nature of existence. The known or the manifested
universe has some predictability but what makes it possible, visible or active
is not always predictable. At the quantum level, the universe is foggy,
uncertain and unpredictable. Thus, the causality and know ability of the
universe is a mystery and huge challenge to both the scientists and the philosophers
alike. We do not know whether there is any organized and continuous
intelligence which is responsible for all these phenomena. If there is one, it
must be God or the Creator. Someday we may perhaps find that force or we may
not at all. Like the universe, God may remain forever an enigma, the silent and
mysterious force who exists in between the play of particles and in the silence
of the interval between appearance and disappearance of things. Even if you see
him, you may not know that it is the One.
Our survival is also a matter of
probability. We possess only a fraction of the knowledge of the universe. We
have yet to know the quantum mechanics of our own brains and bodies and how
they manifest consciousness, thoughts and interactions. May be sometime in
future all the pieces of the puzzle fall into their place and give us an
extraordinary ability to interact with the universe on our terms.
Franz Kafka… He was what I would
call one of the godfathers of enigma craftsmanship would say of Enigma… It
kindles the spirit to life with wonder. A powerful enigma is a slingshot into
the Unknowable. There, with our eyes closed and our hearts fully observant, we
behold the touch of infinity. Beckoned by awe and wonder, the yearning to grow
and evolve unfolds. We return to our daily lives feeling enriched, albeit in a
vague way, having briefly visited with the mystic inside of us.
Thus bringing us close to
reality… To be profoundly moved by a mystery which can neither be explained nor
scrutinized by the intellect, this is the proper form of an enigma. Some
enigmas point to insights which lie just beyond the horizon of conscious
understanding and yet we dawdle into chance reality. The rutted path of Enigma
encourages us to explore dimensions at the physical level. We start a journey
from illusion to the subtle. A sojourn
from the unknown to the real, we hit upon realms of discoveries, thus taking
time to accept stark reality.
‘Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them
- that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally
forward in whatever way they like.’ Lao Tzu
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