Man is the only species of the creation, which has been endowed with the special traits of personality, reason and freedom. These traits, no doubt, distinguish him from other beings of the universe. Moreover, he has been gifted with a highly developed mind which can soar higher and higher into the infinite. But he is still finite – just a drop of finitude in the ocean of infinity. The sooner he accepts this truth, the better. Some brilliant human minds, both eastern and western, have tried in vain to overreach the limitations humanity finds itself confronted with.
A pertinent question arises immediately as to what it is that limits man. The apt answer is that it is mind itself. Mind is nothing but a stream of thoughts stimulated from the outside world through our sense-organs. Since the capacity of our senses is limited, the mind too becomes limited and finite; earnestly yet hopelessly groping for the infinite. Another factor limiting man is Nature whose endless panorama human mind finds to be too vast to fathom.
As we look around us in the vast universe, we observe a mysterious harmony and order – the sun, the moon and stars moving as if to the precision of an eternal clock; weathers changing and flowers blooming regularly as if following a pre-determined pattern. Is there not a guiding principle or universal law regulating all these activities of Nature? If yes, how to know it and name it? The Vedic sages recognized this rhythmic pattern in nature long ago when the human civilization was still in the cradle and called it Rit, a unique self-regulating law pervading the universe.
Theologians all over the world see the hand of God in it but rationalists do not agree with it. Even the Sankhya school of Indian philosophy does not agree with the necessity of God. According to it, Nature, which they call Prakriti, does it all in conjunction with a conscious principle, which they call Purusha. When the unconscious Prakriti comes in contact with the conscious Purusha, it becomes hyper-active as a result of which there evolve twenty-three new evolutes viz. five gross elements (ether, air, fire, water and the earth); five subtle elements (sound, contact, form, sapidity and smell) representing the above-mentioned five gross elements; the mind, intellect and ego. Whatever we perceive in the universe, it is the combination and recombination of these elements.
This theory of evolution as propounded by the Sankhya school of Indian philosophy also negates the theory of creation. The vast universe perceived by us is the handiwork of Prakriti. Since there is no creation, the question of its dissolution does not arise. As such, the trinity of Creator, Preserver and Destroyer also becomes redundant. Scientifically viewed, this theory is far better conceived than the theory of Big-bang so much hyped in the West.
This view gets further support from the fact that apart from harmony and order generally viewed in Nature, we also observe an element of randomness in Nature. By and large, Nature follows a set pattern of behaviour but at times goes astray from its normal course resulting in unpredictable natural disasters and calamities.
In view of the above, is it possible for the finite human mind to fathom comprehensively the mysteries of Nature? Perhaps not.
