You and the Universe

Ever wondered what you are here on this earth for? What is your role? How small are you in comparison with the magnitude of the universe? You are definitely not alone in that respect. All of us wonder about these at least once in our lifetime. Through this blog I hope to help you explore these ideas deeper. As you read through you’ll find very different ideas and theories taken from a varied range of school of thoughts. If I may say so myself this blog article will give you a dopamine rush by feeling the curiosity centre of your brain. As a bonus this article also explores the idea of ‘meaningful coincidences’.

Let’s begin with one of the most ancient records of the relationship between humankind and the universe, called “Loka Purusha Samyata”.This is one of the first theories you will learn, if you ever learn Ayurveda. Ayurveda literally means the “knowledge of life” in Sanskrit. It is one of the oldest medical, restorative as well holistic health schools in the world. All the aspects needed to live our best lives are documented in the ancient texts of Charaka and Sushrutha Samhita.

Coming back to Loka Purusha Samyata. This is also a Sanskrit term which translates as loka – world/universe (everything external) , purusha – human beings (everything internal) and samyata – equality/oneness. According to this theory, us human beings are a part of the microcosm and the universe is a part of the larger macrocosm. It also states that these two cosmos are parallel in both their structure and function. According to Ayurveda all beings are made from the five elements or the Panchamahabhutatvas. Both the micro and macro cosmos are structurally similar in this respect. In many ways man is a smaller manifestation of the universe. The body’s organs are all manifestations of each these elements. The functional similarity between the two cosmos is the constant movement to maintain balance. In the body the Tridoshas – Vata, Pita and Kapha, continually maintain balance and in the universe the movement of planets relative to the sun, moon, each other and other stars also maintain balance. Idea of balance is a little different in Ayurveda. When one entity increases to balance this the opposite entity increases thereby restoring balance.

This is only one way of exploring the concept of coincidences, if the human body and the universe are parallels. The internal and external worlds influence each other. When something inside changes it changes the outside and vice versa. Then coincidences and opportunities that connect with your soul are not just chance events but are actually the magic of the universe.

Next stop is the 1700’s. Gottfried Leibniz was a German philosopher in his book called Monadology published in 1714, he describes the relationship between the universe and our minds. According to his metaphysical approach, every individual thing has a “notion” – a distinct concept within it lies everything that is true about the individual and its relation to other things. He says that each notion is connected to every other notion, in essence to every other individual thing. Leibniz believed that everything in the universe is interconnected and it is by exploring these connections one is able to understand and discover truths.

In the same book he also describes the concept of “monads”. Leibniz states that the universe is composed of individual substances known as monads. Each of these contain complete representations of the past, present and future states. Despite being isolated from one another, monads are synchronised meaning that they all have the same content. In principle according to this theory one should be able to know everything that there is to know by simply exploring one’s mind. This can be seen as a possible explanation for understanding our intuitiveness and/or gut feeling – the idea that we already know answers to everything we need to do is to let the universe be our guide and use our introspection.

Carl Jung named the phenomenon of meaningful coincidences as “Synchronicity”. In his 1955 book titled ‘Synchronicity – An Acausal Connecting Principle’, he explores this phenomenon. Jung says “Synchronicity is an ever-present reality for those who have eyes to see”. “Synchronicity is an acausal principle and can be defined by a meaningful coincidence which appears between a mental state and an event occurring in the external world (Carl Jung 1951)”. His idea is that synchronicity mirrors the psychological processes and hold deeper meaning and guidance, just like dreams do and they correspond to emotional states and inner experiences.

This is quite similar to a lot of other ideas like the Hindu philosophy of “Ekam”, the “Law of Attraction” and “Manifestation”. What these phenomena essentially point towards is the fact that nothing is ever just a coincidence. Although synchronicity and coincidence share the same definition: ‘striking occurrences of two or more events at one time”. The main differentiator is that coincidences are perceived as events occurring due to luck or pure chance whereas synchronicity is the idea that there is a presence of a deeper intelligence at work.

Upon first glance the idea of Ekam, it may seem more religious and a way of explaining monotheism. However, it is the idea that all the thousands of Gods and Goddesses and the entire universe itself was born from the ‘One’. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The whole philosophy of yoga is based on this idea. Through the practice of yoga one is said to be able to achieve Ekam or Unity with not just oneself and one’s spiritual chakras but also with the universe. Ekam is essentially the manifestation of the Supreme Consciousness.

The whole point of writing this was to help you see that by simply being open minded and allowing oneself to feel every emotion and experience every moment to the fullest; you can unlock infinite possibilities and create the best version of your life, of your story. So the question here really is are you willing to believe in the magic of the universe and the magic that lies within you? Are you willing to work towards understanding its power and using it to make this world a better place?

If you are still skeptical and don’t believe me then I want to leave you with this poem by Nikita Gill

#synchronicity #personaldevelopment #selfdevelopment #Lifestyle #lawofattraction #healthylife #Selflove #powerofnow #selfdiscovery #Health #meditation #manifestation #catharsis #love #Wellness #selfhelp #mindfulness #evolution #magic #universe #slowliving #coincidences #productivity #healing #Idealhealth