The endless ocean of the Being

By editor in World picture April 15, 2020

“Is our Universe a closed system or not?”- this is one of the questions that modern science is trying to answer. In other words, does our Universe have boundaries, or is it infinite? It might seem unimportant because it is unlikely to affect the life of mankind anyway. However, there are reasons to look for the answer. This knowledge is important for understanding the structure of the Universe and the laws by which it exists. Thus, it is important for understanding a human’s place in the overall picture of the world. It is difficult to find the answer though. There are no such scientific tools yet and all the ideas are very theoretical. Scientists have to work with fragmentary, not entirely justified, or indirect data, and it is not possible to conclude. There are several theories that more or less convincingly testify in favor of both theories. Based on the data available to date, the second option seems to be more likely to be recognized. Although, given the fact that the properties of space and time are still poorly studied, and the most fundamental and seemingly unsinkable theories are being reviewed in our time, is it not clear which of the two options will be recognized.

The Teaching gives a clear answer to this question. Our universe has limits. That is, it is a closed system. But this fact raises several new questions. For instance, what is beyond the Universe then? Hypotheses that support a closed system option offer a different answer. For example, one of the hypotheses claims that there is an absolute void outside the universe. This void in comparison with cosmic vacuum is the same as dense matter in comparison with a cosmic vacuum. Another hypothesis claims that the Universe is a kind of huge bubble, a cavity in a solid substance. Both of these hypotheses also suggest a possibility of the existence of other Universes besides ours – the same formations in absolute emptiness or cavities in a solid substance.
According to the Teaching, our Universe is a part of an even more extensive system, which can also be called a universe. This can be likened to the “nested doll principle”. An atom is a particle of a living cell; a cell is a particle of a human body; a human body is a particle of our Universe; our Universe is a particle of an even more gigantic Universe. The scheme is greatly simplified, but in general reflects the idea correctly. What about the other universe? It is a particle of some even more grandiose system. And so on. Although the word “grandiose” does not reflect the scale, nor does any other synonym. An adequate word simply does not exist. The scope of our Universe, even as a closed system, is beyond imagination, and the word “grandiose” is not good enough. What about the universe, in which it is just a grain of sand? This is not the limit. There is no limit at all.

In the Teaching, everything that exists, extending infinitely in space and time, is called the Being. The Being is not a certain closed system, substance, or state, but all systems, substances, and states together. It resembles an organism consisting of an infinite number of systems and structures. This organism develops, evolves. The evolution of larger systems is made up of the evolution of their smaller systems. Roughly speaking, the Being is a limitless living mass, constantly changing, evolving, generating diverse systems in itself following the evolutionary needs of its parts? We can only pass on the meaning in very general terms as there are yet no specific terms to describe it.

For all its infinity and infinite variety, the Being is a unified system with a single evolutionary process. And the principles of existence are the same for all its systems and particles. Thus, everywhere in the Being, there is space, time, substance (i.e. this or that variety and state of matter), and completion (i.e. the course of certain processes and the performance of certain actions). And the Four Great Principles (Good, Reason, Progress, and Life) are the basis of the laws that are valid in all parts of the Being. The Being itself as a whole and any element within it exist according to the Four Great Principles.
The question arises about the beginning of the Being. What was it like? What was before the Being? All attempts to get to the beginning of everything that exists, to find a certain reference point, are doomed to failure in advance. The reason is: when a reference point is discovered, the question immediately arises again – “What happened before that, and before….?” And so on to infinity. There is always something before In the Being forms and states change, some put the beginning to others. The beginning of the beginning is the Being itself. It does not have a beginning as a specific moment but is itself a beginning. The existence of the Being is a moment of creation, equal to Eternity. It lasts infinitely in time, continuously generating the Being, infinite in space. This is a moment of creation, an occurrence that never ends, in which development occurs simultaneously with the emergence. The Being begets itself. And before the Being, there was the Being. Any reference point is a reference point of the local system included in the Being. And before it was a different system, and so on. And the beginning of all of them combined is the Being, constantly abiding in the moment of its creation. This moment goes back to infinity along the time axis.

And what is ahead? Where is it all going to? Finding the endpoint is as meaningless as looking for the initial one. Life is a process. To live, any system must evolve. This goes back to the Being in the first place. This is the principle of the existence of all systems in the Being. This principle is born from the Being. Everything develops from less perfect forms to more perfect forms. This is the only way to exist. The infinite Being requires infinite perfection for existence. This is its aim. The Being strives to live and improve forever, and it is being perfected to live forever. In the moment of its creation, it tends to infinity forward along the time axis.

Sometimes people say that it makes no sense. What is the point of endless development? And where is the result? The answer is the following. Any result is an intermediate result. For example, take the evolution of the Universe, even human life. The result is always followed by a new process and a new result. This chain, in any case, has no end. Elements are changing –scale, structure, patterns, goals, etc.; but the process does not end. And if constant development is considered senseless, then there is no sense in any result either. What is the point of striving for a certain result, when absolutely everything will end as soon as it is achieved? What is the use of this result? Is death the result of everything? That would be at least strange. There is nothing better than eternal existence, constant development, moving forward, the joy of achieving new and new goals? Even for a short human life, these principles work. We live, constantly striving for something, achieving something. Without it, there is nothing to live for. The Being is a combination of all processes and all results. Eternal achievement and eternal live are the same for the Being. Could someone suggest a better aim of existence? I doubt it.

Man is a particle of the Being. He exists according to the same basic laws and principles by which all the Being exists. His flesh is the flesh of the Being; everything he does is for the Being. He extends along with the Being into infinity in time and space. He is the Being. If you realize this, human life will be seen differently. However, not only human life but everything else. And looking at a simple stone, you will understand that this is not just you looking at the stone. This is the Being looking at its infinity.