The Divine Universe

THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE

Only one reality seems to survive … energy, that floating, universal entity from which all emerges and into which all falls back as into an ocean; energy, the new spirit, the new god.
-- Pére Teilhard de Chardin 1

The origin of the universe is a topic at the forefront of the current debate between science and gnosis; and the vision as well as the language peculiar to each of these factions makes the forging of a common understanding especially difficult. But let us try. Both the representatives of science and the representatives of gnosis agree that understanding the origin of the universe is crucial to an understanding of all that followed upon it. And I believe that the lively debate between these two perspectives is gradually centering in on a clearer presentation of the facts and a clearer understanding of the nature of the reality in which we live.
Physicists, by extrapolating backward from the present state of the expanding universe, have theorized that what initially ‘exploded’ or commenced to expand in the Beginning, known as “the Big Bang”, was a singularity. “Singularity” is a mathematical term used by physicists and cosmologists, that represents any calculation result where some property is infinite. According to calculations in accord with General Relativity theory, at the instant of the BB, both the density and the temperature register at infinity. So that is a singularity. Some physicists conjecture that one day they shall be able to eliminate these (unwanted) infinities, when a theory of quantum gravity is developed. But, for now, they are stymied. 2
But, from the ‘spiritual’ perspective, there is nothing wrong with their results. The representatives of gnosis acknowledge that there was, in fact, an infinite Energy that manifested all at once along with the four dimensions of space-time. They do not dispute the notion that there was, indeed, some 15 billion earth years ago 3, the introduction into being of an infinite burst of a spontaneously creative, transformative, consciously intelligent force that we call “Energy”. But they interpret this ‘singularity’ as the manifestation of a Divine influx. Throughout history there have been a few persons who claim to have received, through inner vision, a spiritual revelation in which the origin of the universe was clearly shown to them. Such seers and prophets speak of the formation of the cosmos by a Divine conscious Energy spewed forth from a transcendent Spirit (God) via His Breath, Word, or merely His Thought.
Such contemplative visions comprise some of the oldest treatments of the cosmic origin ever enunciated. We find this vision in the Vedas, in the Egyptian Pyramid texts, in the Torah, in the Bhagavad Gita, in Heraclitus, Pythagorus and Plato; and it is expressed in the declarations of mystics up to the present day. According to this ‘revealed’ view, there was, prior to the Beginning of Creation, no space, no time, no matter, no universe; there was only the one singular eternal Consciousness resting blissfully within Itself. And from that one Consciousness arose a creative impulse from which a breath of conscious Energy streamed forth, expanding as the universe of matter, form, and space. That (Divine) Energy had implicit in it the eternal Consciousness of its source; and it therefore had the inherent power and Intelligence to direct and self-organize itself into the form of minute particles, which then collected into more complex particles, rocks and stars and whole galaxies of stars, eventually spawning the many worlds teeming with life and awareness.
It might be helpful to recall that this ‘Divine Energy’ is, historically, a mainstay of all religious thought. In all the world’s religious theologies, the ultimate Source of all that exists is regarded as having two aspects: the primary aspect being the transcendent, eternal, and unchanging Consciousness (which has been called “the One”, “Godhead”, “Shiva”, “Brahman” “Purusha”, “Theos”, etc.); and the secondary aspect is the immanent and active cosmic Energy (which has been called “Nous”, “Creator”,“Shakti”, “Maya”, “Prakrti”, “Logos”, etc.). That Energy is recognized in all these traditions as an inseparable and inherent aspect of the eternal Divine.
It is this Divine Consciousness/Energy which manifests as the universe of space-time and mass-energy, and which evolves as life, intelligence, and Self-awareness. Energy is the primordial reality. Matter is only the transiently stable appearance of Energy. Clearly, what came into being was Energy. What precipitated its expansion was Energy. Energy is the source of the universe; it constitutes the fabric and motive power of the universe; and Energy, in its various forms, is the sole existent discoverable in this universe. The only question remaining is whence comes this Energy? It is the breath of God, say those who claim to have seen into the eternal Reality.
From the perspective of contemporary physics, however, there is no defined entity such as Energy. It may be surprising to many to learn that the most fundamental elements of the scientific view of reality, much spoken of by physicists, both theoretical and practical, are not yet defined. Terms such as matter and energy, though utilized extensively, are beyond science’s purview to define. Certainly, scientists can say quite accurately what each of these elements do, as they manifest phenomenally, but they cannot say what they are. But, you may protest, everyone knows what matter is; it’s the world of substance, made up of molecules, which are made up of atoms, which are made of ‘elemental’ particles, which are made of energy fluctuations in the quantum vacuum. But, basically, matter is really the appearance of substance created by the activity of Energy. It is what has been called in one tradition by the name, maya, or illusion. But at the heart of this ‘illusion’ is the universal Energy. Energy is what burst forth as the primordial stuff, becoming the particulate matter of this universe. And everyone knows what Energy is – don’t they?
Well, the science of thermodynamics has categorized the different ‘kinds’ of energy, such as ‘potential’ energy, ‘kinetic’ energy, ‘chemical’ energy, ‘electrical’ energy,‘nuclear’ energy, and so on, according to the particular various ways energy manifests; but as for energy itself, there is no definition. It just is. We know it exists; we can describe the various ways in which it manifests, i.e., what it does, but we can’t say what it is. And although we are taught in high school the rudimentary axiom that ‘energy is the capacity of a physical system to perform work’, which partially explains what energy does, one of the legendary physicists of our time, Richard Feynman, has acknowledged that: “It is important to realize that in physics today, we have no knowledge of what energy is.” 4
The English word, “energy”, comes from the Greek, energos, which means “active, working”, and was first coined by Thomas Young (1773-1829), a British physician, Egyptologist, and amateur physicist. And though Energy has been around forever, its first actual appearance on the scene came with a ‘big bang’ around fifteen billion years ago. Energy is eternal; it cannot be created or destroyed (See the 1st Law of Thermodynamics, the Law of the Conservation of energy). At its Source – that is, in the Absolute Consciousness – the primordial Energy is latent potential; it has no mass. Mass is defined as “the amount of inertia an object has.” Without space-time, there are no objects, no gravity, and no inertia (How heavy is a rock in a dream?). In the transcendent Source, energy has no mass. Energy only becomes mass upon its manifestation in space-time. Space-time comes into existence simultaneous with the expansion of Energy in ‘the Big Bang’, providing the environment for Energy to manifest as mass, hence the universe of ‘matter’ and ‘substance’.
But, for physicists, who do not recognize Energy as a real entity, matter is yet another one of those difficult-to-define physical terms. In fact, there is no broad consensus among physicists as to the exact definition of matter. Usually, scientists simply avoid using the term as it is recognized to be scientifically inexact, but some use the following working definition: “Matter is any substance (??) which has mass and occupies space (although some matter has no mass, and some things may have mass without being matter).” So, while we’re all comfortable that we know what is “material” and what is “immaterial”, when pressed, we may have a difficult time defining what we mean in scientific terms. Matter may be defined only in reference to mass; and mass is defined only in terms of energy. It is a tautological circle. Einstein has taught us that mass and energy are simply measures of the same thing. Matter and energy (both of which register as mass) clearly exist and operate, but physicists haven’t a clue as to what they are. They can refer to them only in terms of what they do—in other words, by how they manifest in space-time.
When pressed for an explanation of the origin of the universe, some physicists state that they are able to track the manifestation of the universe back to 10-43 of a second after t=0 (time zero; i.e., the BB), where their calculations end in infinities. The curvature of space-time becomes infinite, curving in upon itself, and mass and energy become infinitely dense. For such physicists, this “singularity” means that, using the laws of mathematics and physics, we reach an impasse, and cannot know the origin, or initial state, of the universe. Otherwise, if they were to accept the singularity as an objective reality, they would be faced with several unanswerable questions, like: Could an infinitesimal volume contain an infinite density? Could the entire universe fit in a pinpoint? And further, where could this pinpoint of infinite density have been located, since the universe of time and space had not yet appeared? In other words, if space was created along with time at the Big Bang, where was the singularity that existed before space-time came into being? Must it not be of a transcendent origin? Must we not concede that such an infinitely dense point outside of time and space could only be described as a latent and transcendent source of pure undifferentiated Energy? By all accounts, a singularity, if defined as “an infinite energy density state”, is a state that is beyond the known laws of physics, since an infinite anything must, by definition, lie outside the finite universe.
But the recognition of such a ‘supernatural’ cause for the universal manifestation is beyond the present capability of the ‘scientific’ mindset; though there is evidence that the ‘collective consciousness’ of humanity is moving in that direction. At present, not only does science have no viable or even plausible theory of the origin of the universe, they are unwilling to grant the possibility of a supernatural cause for that origin such as has been attested to by all the seers and sages throughout history. One day, however, they will be forced by the evidence to acknowledge the primordial conscious Energy from which this universe arose, along with the supernatural intelligence and purpose inherent in that eternal Energy. And then they will come to see that, though we imagine that we are observing this Energy manifesting all around us, that Energy has also become the one who is watching, labeling, and interacting with itself as us. There is nothing else but that Divine Energy, and it is doing everything—including living and acting as all these self-aware human entities.
With this understanding of the Divine Consciousness/Energy that originated and makes up the entire Cosmos, the undeniable evidence that this Energy independently organized itself into various forms and forces will at once makes sense and become clearly and satisfactorily explainable; the fine-tuning of the universal conditions for life, and the actual origin (or emergence) of conscious life on earth will be satisfactorily explained; the mechanism and direction of biological evolution will be satisfactorily explained; the non-local interactions between particles of matter, and the interconnection between all conscious beings, will be satisfactorily explained; and, most importantly and significantly, the ability of human beings to know and experience, through contemplative introspection, their original Source and Identity as the one Divine Consciousness/Energy will be satisfactorily explained. With an understanding of the Divine source of Consciousness and Energy, every science (and even gnosis) will thus be provided with the golden key to unlock its secrets. And the answer will be forthcoming to the great question: ‘If everything and everyone is a manifestation of the conscious Energy streaming forth from God, then who am I? And who are you?’


Notes: 1. Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man,
trans. By Bernard Wall, N.Y., Harper, 1959;
p. 258.

2. Some prefer to make this figure more exact, suggesting 13.7 billion years or 14.5 billion years ago for the Big Bang; but to avoid the frequently changing estimates, I prefer to simply say “around 15 billion years ago”.
3. There have been efforts on the part of some theoretical physicists to devise a viable scenario for the genesis of the universe that does not require a singularity, such as the 1973 Nature journal article by Edward P. Tryon entitled, “Is The Universe A Vacuum Fluctuation”; but neither he nor any others have as yet constructed a plausible theory consistent with current scientific evidence; in fact, all of the more recent physical theories designed to avoid a singularity, require the pre- existence of an energy-filled space, without offering a preceding source or cause of these elements.

4. Richard Feynman, “Lectures on Physics”.

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