UNRAVELING UNCERTAINTY: An Advaitic Paradigm

Summary: Science has now resigned itself to the fundamentally uncertain nature of our
world but does not offer any meaningful insight into the nature of that uncertainty.
Focused as it is more or less exclusively on the quantum behavior of elementary particles,
Science also has not fully recognized what is arguably the more important unpredictable
element affecting everyday life: the uncertainty surrounding human decision-making.

In this paper, the author turns to well known principles in Advaita to suggest a paradigm
that casts vasanas as the forces of nature responsible for change and uncertainty. It
highlights interesting similarities between the “collapse of the wave function” familiar to
physicists and the process leading to human decisions. The paradigm suggests an answer
to the question: Is Ishwara bound by Nature’s laws? The paper postulates a conceptual
model based on Advaita that includes matter and mind, certainty and uncertainty, and
Nature and God. Finally it touches upon the significance of uncertainty in the Lord’s
creation.

INTRODUCTION
We start with a simple story.
A man and wife, following their annual Deepavali tradition, enter a fashionable saree
store to buy a silk saree for the wife. This couple is a rarity in that husband is wise and
sensitive to every wish of his wife while the wife accepts her husband’s judgment without
reservation. At the saree shop, the sales assistant spreads before them dozens of dazzling
sarees that are the rage this year. Husband listens attentively to his wife as she examines
each saree and comments variously:
“I really like this green one. It is gorgeous and it feels so nice to touch. Too bad,
because I already have too many in green”.
“This blue looks great too, especially the border. May be I should get this. What
do you think?”
“Look at this one! Wonderful design. And the red color is so pretty. I bet nobody
I know will have one like this. But the price!”

After about half an hour and two rounds of complimentary soft drinks, the husband
knows the time has arrived when his wife turns to him holding several sarees in her hand
and asks:
“Well, what do you suggest? I can’t make up my mind among these. Which one
should I buy?”
The husband, having in the meantime judged her inclinations reasonably well, makes the
choice. She is relieved that a decision is made and is also happy at the prospect of
wearing her new saree. Satisfied, husband and wife return home from a happy shopping
trip.

True, this is not a very exciting story. Its purpose however is to suggest a paradigm
within the structure of Vedanta to explain one of the greatest mysteries of life:
Uncertainty.
THE ADVAITIC VISION OF THE WORLD: OF GOD, BY GOD, FOR GOD
Whether it is science or Vedanta, its world-view must account for four fundamental facts:

a. A world (of gross matter and subtle mind stuff) is experienced

b. This world is in constant change
c. The changes are unpredictable
d. There is knowledge of the above facts

The world-view of Advaita can be summarized thus: Brahman alone is the sole and
supreme Reality; It is however Unmanifest. Brahman, in Its role as Ishwara, the creator,
wields the illusive power of Maya to manifest Itself as Prakriti, this ever changing world.
All aspects of the phenomenal world are explained in Advaita in terms of the three
concepts: the unmanifest Brahman and its manifestations as Ishwara and Prakriti. Indeed
the Advaitic vision of the world can be summarized thus: The world is made of God
(namely, Prakriti), directed by God (namely, Ishwara), for the enjoyment of God
(namely, Brahman having “entered” the individual creatures of Prakriti).

“Made of Prakriti”: This is explained in texts such as Tatvabodh. Prakriti is the womb
of creation for everything from the five great elements to gross objects, the subtle mind
and intellect. Unlike Brahman and Ishwara, which are unitary and part-less, Prakriti is
manifold consisting of countless individuals of different forms, names and gunas. Every
individual entity in Prakriti has one or both of gross matter (B, the body) and subtle mind
(M-I, the mind-intellect complex). Entities that possess only gross matter can be referred
to as “(inert) things” and those which have M and I (with or without Body) as “beings”.

The agents or forces of change in Prakriti are the vasanas, which act on things and beings
of the world, causing them to move constantly from one state to another. The vasanas are
also manifold: The set of vasanas that affect each individual thing or being is generally
unique to that individual, causing it to behave in its own unique ways. All physical forces
of nature known to science can be considered as vasanas affecting inert matter.

“Directed by Ishwara”: Ishwara, the Lord, has command over Prakriti and over the
happenings of this world. How Ishwara and Prakriti together control the world is a
theme taken up for discussion later in this article. In the course of this discussion we will
also answer a related question: Is Ishwara subject to Prakriti’s laws? If “yes”, how does
that make Ishwara the Lord of the world? On the other hand if the answer is “no”, how
do Ishwara and Prakriti work together without conflict?

“For the Enjoyment of”: Brahman (or more specifically the Consciousness aspect of
Brahman), enchanted as it were by Its own creation, “enters” or “identifies” with the
beings in the Prakriti to give rise to sentient jeevas. One may represent this symbolically
as
Jeevai = Brahman + Prakritii
where the “+” sign denotes identification of Brahman with the “i-th” being in Prakriti1.
Every Jeeva is thus a complex entity that has the same real part (Brahman) and an
imaginary part (namely, our individual Body-Mind-Intellect). As the above symbolic
representation indicates, the B-M-I is unreal from the point of view of Brahman, but quite
real for the Jeeva. The chit or consciousness aspect of Brahman “reflecting” on M and I
of the being gives rise to the illusion of a sentient, knowing, individual “enjoying” (i.e.
experiencing) the world.2

Brahman, the Satchidananda, permeates the creation. The sat aspect lends material
existence to things and beings, and the Chit aspect manifests as knowledge and
experience of the world. What about Ananda? There are suggestions in our scriptures
that vasanas are an expression of the Ananda aspect of Brahman. In other words, Ananda
can be viewed as the primal force behind all manifest forces in creation and evolution.

This in a nutshell is how Advaita explains the world, the forces that change it, and
knowledge there is of the world. There remains however the mystery of Uncertainty yet
to be addressed.

UNCERTAINTY IS OMNIPRESENT
Uncertainty’s reach is all encompassing; behavior of both matter and mind are
unpredictable. Theory and experiments of modern physics confirm the fundamentally
unpredictable nature of matter. In the absence of a witnessing observer, matter “exists”,
as it were, merely as an ethereal, abstract cloud of all states it can possibly be in. When
brought under conscious observation, the cloud condenses to one of those states. The
state into which it will condense cannot be predicted in advance, but one can only specify
mathematically the probabilities for different states via the so-called “wave function”.

Uncertainty is noticeably significant in the behavior of individual elementary particles of

which all matter is composed. When the particles aggregate to form larger structures, the
uncertainty diminishes in its relative importance and, while theoretically still present, is
less of a problem. This fact is of enormous importance: life’s transactions will be

1
The bulk of the body of spiritual teachings in Vedanta, and to a degree in all religions, has to do
with the reverse process of how a Jeeva may gain release from B-M-I identification and realize
Brahman:
Jeevai – Prakritii = Brahman
where the symbol “–” signifies the process of jeeva’s dissociation from B-M-I through one or
more of the yogas
2
Knowing and actively experiencing are two aspects of the sentient life of a jeeva. One way to explain the
Vedantic view of these phenomena is by borrowing an analogy from communications technology. Pure
Consciousness reflects off the satwic (steady, un-agitated) intellect. This reflected light issues out as a
steady beam to illuminate the objects around us. We may call this as the beam of awareness to distinguish
it from Pure Consciousness. The beam of awareness is modulated by the objects (-similar to signals
modifying a carrier wave-) and received back by the M-I at which time we become aware of them. Objects
so perceived are actively experienced when the Jeeva reacts to the objects in ways dictated by its vasanas.
This reaction can be at the body level or M-I level or both.
unimaginably difficult if the same relative levels of uncertainty were to exist at macro
levels of aggregation. 3

Far more important to our daily lives is the way uncertainty affects the mind-intellect
complex. The reference here is to the uncertainty surrounding human decision making
which bears, as we will see below, a striking resemblance to the quantum mechanical
uncertainty enveloping matter (Ref. 1)4. That uncertainty is inherent in decision making is
obvious: If the outcome of a certain decision-making situation is predictable with
absolute certainty, then really speaking there is no true decision to be made in that
particular instance. Free will implies uncertainty.

Uncertainty thus affects the behavior of everything from elementary particles to human
beings and in much the same way (Figure 1, at the end of the paper). Science does not
attempt to give meaning to uncertainty, except to acknowledge grudgingly that it is here,
it is unavoidable and is a mystery. However, it is possible to discuss this question
intelligently within the Advaitic framework.

MANY POSSIBILITIES, ONE ACTUALITY

A key to this framework is to recognize vasanas, the agents of change in Prakriti, as
“tendencies” or “propensities”. A tendency does not force the entity it acts on to behave
in a particular way, but only makes it likely that it will behave that way. For example,
someone with a “coffee vasana” need not drink coffee every time it is available. True, the
likelihood of drinking coffee will be higher if the vasana is stronger. When several
vasanas act simultaneously on an entity, as they generally do, the probability of various
behavior modes resulting from their combined effect will depend on the relative strengths
of these vasanas.

Reverting to our lead story, the wife has several vasanas affecting her mind that day: her
liking for green color; the need to economize on spending; bragging right that comes
from possessing something her friends do not have etc, etc. Each saree she can
potentially choose “exhausts” (i.e. satisfies) these vasanas to different degrees.
Depending on how strong each vasanas is, and how well each potential choice satisfies
each vasana, we can assign to each saree, at least conceptually, a probability that she will
choose it. Faced with many sarees to choose from, her mind is - to borrow a quantum
mechanical term- in a state of “superposition of sarees” (Fig 2). This is when she looks to
her husband for help with the choice.

Whether it is gross matter or subtle mind, we thus see that Prakriti and its vasanas
determine the world only “up to its probabilities”, - or “up to its wave function” as a
physicist may put it- meaning, Nature and its forces determine only the probability of
various possible future states for the world.

3
The significant levels of uncertainty that results from incomplete or inaccurate knowledge of laws
affecting matter is altogether a different phenomenon and is a serious problem at macro levels. Many
examples can be cited: weather is one; response of an individual to medications is another.
4
Of the many possibilities one, and only one, becomes actuality5. The process by which
one of the many possibilities is selected to become the actuality is indeed the central
mystery of Uncertainty. This choice -it is postulated based on our scriptures- is the
prerogative of the Supreme Lord, Ishwara, who thereby exercises control over the entire
creation, from the minutest of matter to the subtle mind of the most evolved being.
Ishwara's free will thus directs the universe while still remaining within the bounds of the
natural laws. There is no conflict between Prakriti and Ishwara. They could be the ideal
couple in the saree shop story; only the world they create together is anything but
unexciting!

PRAKRITI PROPOSES, ISHWARA DISPOSES

Prakriti and Ishwara are vital cooperating partners in the affairs of this creation. Without
Ishwara’s will to make the choice, Prakriti is in limbo, remaining a mere possibility. On
the other hand, without Prakriti, Ishwara has nothing to choose from, the situation
looking somewhat bleak like the empty refrigerator when the wife is away visiting her
parents. Prakriti proposes various choices and makes known her preferences for these
choices; Ishwara makes the choice with due deference to Prakriti’s preferences, but in a
probabilistic sense. Figures 3 and 4 depict the overall model based on these views.

The need to conform to Parkriti’s preferences does not impose any real limitation to
Ishwara’s free will, since these preferences are expressed as probabilities. Without
getting into a philosophical discussion on the nature of probabilities and randomness, it
will suffice to note that under probabilistic laws -as opposed to deterministic laws- almost
anything is permitted to occur sooner or later6. There is room in this scheme of things for
Ishwara to exhibit compassion and justice without violating Prakriti’s laws.

IS THERE A PERSONAL FREE WILL?

If Ishwara is the one exercising the choice in all cases, does it not negate the personal free
will of all creatures? It does. The verdict of scientists and sages alike seem to support the
view that free will of jeevas is at best a false notion born of an illusory ego. Sri
Ramakrishna has commented on several occasions affirming this view. Realized masters
are said to live as mere instruments of the Lord, acting out His will. It cannot be that, on
attaining realization, the Masters give up some real personal will-power they once had.
Realization is not supposed to diminish one’s power; it is supposed to bless the Master
with even more powers. Therefore, it is more likely that, on realization, it just becomes
clear to the sage that there is no, nor there ever was, such a thing as personal free will.

5
Some physicists hypothesize that all possibilities are in fact realized, but in different copies of the
universe, including multiple copies of the jeevas- the so-called Multi Universe theory. Be that as it may,
each copy of the Jeeva experiences only one universe.
6
There is an analogy here that may be interesting to one familiar with computer simulation of complex
“stochastic” systems (i.e. systems subject to many uncertain factors) using the Monte Carlo method. The
processes to be simulated are represented by probabilistic laws in the computer code. The various possible
behavior patterns of the system are then simulated using a random number generator to make choices from
the probability laws. The point to note here is that the random number generator has full freedom to choose
from its domain of numbers, otherwise it is not random. By analogy, Ishwara’s freedom of choice is also
totally unconstrained.
Scientists too admit that they have presently no idea how the human brain makes
decisions. There is experimental evidence suggesting that decisions are made somewhere
within us before we even become aware of them. It is after this belated recognition that
our ego, like a shrewd politician, rushes in to claim it as “my decision”! Einstein drives
the point home deftly when he asks whether one “wills to will”. If willing were a
purposeful act, then we have to first “will to will”, and before that “will to will to will”
and so forth. Therefore the will expressed through us is not of our doing, but rather it is
something done to us. Our decisions cannot be rightfully claimed as ours.

WHERE IS ISHWARA?
Ishwara must be all pervasive in order to affect every inert thing and sentient being of the
creation. Where exactly is Ishwara, the sole possessor of free will, within us? It is not the
intellect. Surely, intellect helps us with assembling and analyzing facts useful in decision
making, but it is not where decisions are made7. The seat of free will, if science and
scriptures are to be believed, lies much deeper in our personality, beyond the realm of
conscious mind and intellect.

Ishwara, says the Mandukya Upanishad, is the macrocosmic counterpart of Prajnya, the
indweller of the ananda maya kosa in the individual. That is, Ishwara is the totality of all
prajnyas. Stated another way, Ishwara, as the Prajnya within each being, controls it.
Ananda maya kosa is inaccessible to all outer layers of our personality, including the M
and I (Fig 5). Decisions made in that inner most layer of our personality will not therefore
become known to the M-I until the decision issues out as perceptible action (or as an
irreversible resolve in the mind, if there is such a thing). This is consistent with the
experimental results mentioned above.

The Mandukya Karika further identifies the location of Prajnya as the “heart-space” in
the individual, heart here signifying, as it does throughout our scriptures, the psychic
center of our being. Viewed in this light, one of Lord Krishna’s famous statements in
Bhagavad Gita is quite significant: “Seated in the heart-space of every being, Oh! Arjuna,
Ishwara manipulates them all”.

What our scriptures have to say about Prajnya and heart-space is very revealing. The
Mandukya extols Prajnya thus:

“This is the Lord of all; this is the inner controller; this is the source of all. And, this is
that from which all things originate and in which they finally dissolve themselves.”

This is indeed remarkable. Prajnya is being praised here in this venerable Upanishad in
terms one would reserve for Ishwara itself. This, if I am not grossly mistaken, speaks to
an awesome truth: At the deepest innermost level of each being, there is no separate
individuality, but only totality. Another well known scripture echoes much the same
thoughts when Sage Vasishta, in answer to a question from Lord Rama, says: “All
creatures in this universe have two kinds of hearts-one to be taken note of and the other

7
Intellectual analysis alters the “wave function” - the probability of choosing the various alternatives- but
does not “collapse” it. Good analysis does improve the chance of making good decisions.
ignored. The one to be ignored is the physical organ which is situated in the chest as a
part of the perishable body. The one to be taken note of is the Heart which is of the nature
consciousness. It is both inside and outside of us and has neither an inside nor an
outside.” This suggests that the heart-space inside is continuous with the heart-space
outside in a single unbroken continuum encompassing all creation.

ANANDA
Individuality of things and beings, it would thus appear, is confined to their outer (i.e. B-
M-I) layers only. At the deepest level of ananda maya kosa there is only totality, a totality
that pervades and connects every thing and every being8. Ananda maya kosa should not
be seen merely as a sheath of ignorance into which the jeeva withdraws in deep slumber
forgetting for a while its individuality. Anandamaya kosa is the powerhouse of vasanas
that is ever ready to set the world in motion in an infinite number of potentially different
ways (Figure 6). Thus it represents the field of total potential available for moving
creation forward in time. At the same time, as we saw earlier, it is also the High
Command from which things and beings receive their directions on which way to
actually move. It must be also the spring well from which the finite receives “intimations
of the infinite”: the inspiration behind the creativity of artists, intuition that informs
scientists and revelations that enlighten the sages. It is not without reason that the ancient
seer-poets saw this creation as the Ananda Tandava (Dance of Bliss) of the Lord.

Ananda is the mother of all vasanas. If it is Ananda that brings out the chaotic,
relentlessly changing world out of the changeless Brahman, it is also the same Ananda
that makes the world seek peace and stability. Inert systems mechanically seek an
equilibrium state; individual beings search for happiness and peace, and societies demand
freedom, equality and justice for all its members. Ultimately, mumukshutwa - the craving
for God that each jeeva comes to feel sooner or later- is also due to Ananda.

WHY UNCERTAINTY?
Does uncertainty serve any purpose in creation? Is it not just a source of frustration and
anxiety? The answer is to ask what a world in which everything is certain and
predictable will be like. Hopes and dreams will have no rightful place in that world. It
will be a rather dull, dreary and even fearful existence. (Who really cares to know the
exact day in future that one will die?) On the other hand, if world were totally uncertain,
existence will be impossibly nightmarish.

What we have instead is a world of mixed certainty and uncertainty that makes for a most
enchanting combination. Many things important in the world are predictable and even
controllable to a large degree, thanks to advances in science and engineering. Yet, many
significant aspects of life remain uncertain. This is what makes the world entertaining

8
That there is an underlying totality connecting all beings and things should sit well with Quantum
Physicists. One startling implication of their theory is what Einstein dubbed as “spooky action at a
distance”. This is a phenomenon wherein a pair of elementary particles co-ordinate their (otherwise
unpredictable) behavior and act in perfect unison even when they are galaxies apart. It is as though the two
particles can read each other’s mind instantaneously! I understand this theory has been experimentally
confirmed
like an engaging sport. A sport must have predictable rules as well as unpredictable
outcome in order to entertain. A football game has its rules: when the offense does not
complete 10 yards in four plays, it must turnover the ball to the other team, etc. There
can be no uncertainty here. But the game will lose all its fascination if there were no
uncertainty about what happens in each of those four plays!

CONCLUSION
Our scriptures rightly call this world as God’s lila or sport for its ceaseless entertainment
value. It is a sport with the right mixture of certainty and unpredictability. It is often seen
as a sport that opposes good and evil. The purpose of this sport called life depends on
who we are: For God and the God-realized jeevas it is but an entertaining show; for the
yet-to-become realized, life is a classroom filled with tears and laughter that will surely
teach us the way to god-realization.

ACKNOWLDGEMENT
I acknowledge with gratitude the grace and blessings of Gurudev Swami
Chinmayanandaji and Swami Tejomayanandaji. Their teachings have been the inspiration
for developing the thoughts expressed in this paper. I have also benefited from
discussions with many Chinmaya Mission acharyas and friends, including Swami
Dheeranandaji and Benjamin Root. However, the errors that may be found in the views
presented here are entirely my own. HARI OM!

REFERENCES
1. Chidambaram, Raju (2000) Vedanta of Decision Making, Chinmaya Management
Review, Vol. 4, No: 1, Dec 2000.

FIGURE LEGENDS

1. Similarities in the behavior of gross and subtle matter

2. The Net Effect of Interplay of Vasanas is to Leave the Mind of the Decision Maker in
a State of “Superposition” of Available Options

3. Prakriti and its Forces Presage only the Probability of Various Evolutionary Paths.
They do not determine it.
4. One Path Among the Many is Chosen at Ishwara’s Will
5. The personality layers and their cosmic counterparts
6. The Primary Forces of Change in this World Emanate from Ananda
.

FIGURE 1

Quantum Behavior of Human Decision

Elementary Particle Making

Particle in "superposition" is in multiple Decision Maker's (DM) mind is in several

states (before observation) states (before decision is made)

"Wave Function" gives the probability of (Subjective) Probabilities can be assigned

different states to various options available to the DM

When physically observed, particle is When decision is made just one of these
found in just one state ("Collapse of the options is selected
Wave Function")

Outcome of observation is unpredictable Outcome of decision is not predictable

(Uncertainty Principle) (Incompatibility with Free Will)

Process of "Collapse of Wave Function" is Process by which decision is made in

not understood human brain is unknown to science

Von Neumann's Conjecture: "Collapse Common Assumption: Decision is made in

occurs in observer's mind.” the “mind-intellect" complex of DM.
 FIGURE 2

Option 1:
20%?
Option 3:
10% ?

Option 2:
70% ?

FIGURE 3

ALL
SCIENCE
ENDS
HERE
 FIGURE 4

W
O SCIENCE MAY
R END, BUT THE
L WORLD
D
CONTINUES…
THANKS TO
ISHWARA.

Figure 5

LEVEL INDIVIDUALITY TOTALITY

OUTER Vaiswanara (Gross Body) Virat

INNER Taijasa (Mind-Intellect) Hiranyagarbha

INNERMOST Prajnya (Subconscious/

Anandamaya Kosa) Ishwara
FIGURE 6

ANANDA
(THE PRIMEVAL
VASANA BEHIND
CREATION)

Strong Nuclear

Electromagnet
Weak Nuclear

Rajas
Gravity

Tamas

Satwa
ic

GROSS MATTER SUBTLE MATTER

WORLD
THINGS BEINGS
(Gross) (Gross + Subtle)