Sri Dakshinamurthy iconography and some other questions: Part Two
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Friday, November 27, 2009
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Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Meditation and Entropy
The state of meditation could be interpreted in terms of entropy. Entropy in physics is a measure of disorder. I believe we all have mental entropy to some extent or the other.
When we boil water, the temperature of its molecules increases; as the water molecules get energized, they tend to be excited and the system gets more chaotic; and with that, their disorder too increases. On the other hand if the entropy of a system decreases the system becomes more ordered or structured. For example when we cool water to its freezing point it becomes ice. The normal ice has tetrahedral structure.
Now coming to the human situation, the human brain, it is said, is an overcrowded network of billions of neurons all of which trying to assert its presence in one manner or other. There is therefore a perpetual chaos running in our waking state side by side with our structured thinking process [programmed psychological behavior]. The activities of these neurons (thoughts) influence various biological changes through complex mechanisms. The impulses and interactions spread to the human organism through its intricate network of nervous system.
The level of psychological chaos in certain individuals might be higher (that is, higher entropy levels). They are “distracted” easily; are restless and find it hard to concentrate. They, therefore, need to control and reduce the inputs that tend to excite the system. Perhaps, closing the eyes might help them to concentrate better (reduce entropy levels by cutting down inputs). A good-sleep also helps greatly in minimizing excitatory impulses. Otherwise, lack of adequate sleep leads to fatigue the nervous system - that is, it exacerbates disorder or pushes up the entropy levels.
Therefore, when you put away or ignore distractions, there is less disorder within. The tendency to waver and scatter also decreases. In other words, in an ordered mind free from distractions the entropy level is very low.
In the waking-state, when the entropy of the mind is consciously brought down, there is less disorder; the mind becomes calm and clear.
If you extend the logic further, you might say that when the entropy approaches near-zero level the mind tends to be thought-free. A thought- free mind is free from distractions and conflicts; and a state of calm and quiet envelops you.
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