In his last published book after his passing, titled ‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’, theoretical physicist and cosmologist Professor Stephen Hawking went as far as saying: ‘We are each free to believe what we want, and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is that there is no God.’

 

These were the assertions made by Professor Hawking:

1. God is more a definition of the laws of nature rather than a sentient being.

2. The universe was created after the Big Bang, which is the exact moment of creation.

3. Positive energy created and neutralised by negative energy is stored in the universe.

4. Time only began at the moment of the Big Bang. There was no time before the Big Bang, hence no time for God to create the world and the universe.

5. Einstein‘s theory of general relativity breaks down near the Big Bang and hence it is called a classical theory.

6. There are certain laws that are always obeyed which could be referring to everything in the universe constantly being in a state of   equilibrium.

7. He predicted the realisation of ‘There is no God’ to happen by the end of this century.

8. He wrote that although we are yet to have a complete picture, we may not be far off.

9. He believed that there is no heaven and no afterlife.

 

In the documentary television series titled Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said there is nothing recorded before the Big Bang. Nobody has any idea what existed prior to the Big Bang some 14 billion years ago. In Tyson’s lecture titled ‘The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries, Lecture 1 History Mysteries’, he quoted ‘of all the amazing things about the universe, we know so much about the universe but there is even more that we don’t know’.

 

The search for the origin of life and the universe is never ending. The limitations of the human minds need a beginning and an end. Numerous theories and speculations were presented as to how the universe came about including the speculation (in The Inexplicable Universe series) that, possibly some microbes from Mars landed on earth, seeding earth with early life. There was even speculation that all living things came from the same ancestor. Single cell theory speculates on this possibility. String theory was another attempt but there is no evidence by this theory. Dark matter problem is still the longest-standing problem in modern astrophysics and it persists to this day.

 

E equal MC squared, the theory of relativity does not come to total agreement with quantum physics. Two physicists named Professor Andy Albrecht (University California) and Joao Magueijo (Imperial College), in trying to understand the weaknesses in Einstein’s formula, began to contemplate that there may be an infinite number of Big Bangs. The understanding that Big Bangs, in reference to time, is itself an infinite event could be helpful to understand the universes. The new view of the cosmos presented by these two physicists is the one in which the universe no longer has a beginning and an end but is eternal and an endless cycle of Big Bangs.

 

Einstein realised his formula had weaknesses. If his theory was right, the universe would have collapsed by now. Hence, he included a cosmological constant Lambda in his theory but subsequently removed it when astronomer Edwin Hubble managed to convince Einstein that the cosmological constant Lambda is not necessary to keep the universe in equilibrium against the force of gravity in 1932.

 

G = 8 π T being the original formula, Einstein adjusted it to G + Lambda g = 8 π T

 

This equation expresses the relationship between mass-energy and time space. It encompasses the structure of the entire universe. When Einstein used this equation to describe the entire universe, he ran into problems. The theory of relativity breaks down when gravity comes into the picture. This being highly imperative seeing that gravity is the dominant force in the universe. He lived with his unsatisfactory formula until his last day.

 

Stephen Hawking’s answers were brief and the big questions remains. If the present physicists and medical scientists accept current knowledge as forever fixed, humans will forever struggle to find the answers about the origin of life and the universe.

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Big Questions

 

1. Does God exist?

2. Why doesn’t God answer everyone’s prayers all the time?

3. Why can’t we question God?

4. Why does God allow evil to exists?

5. How does the origin of life point to the existence of God?

6. Is Darwin’s theory of evolution accurate?

 

There are many theories put forward but still as at now, the questions stated above remains. Talks by scientists and religious speakers continue. Questions from the audience keep coming. The chicken and egg conundrum always persist. The very fact that many scientists and physicists attend the talks by leading religious speakers and ask questions, shows that even they are still searching for the truth.

 

Even with the belief that there is no God, atheists do have other pertinent questions such as how did the universes, the earth, the planets, living things and non-living things come about? The physicists, atheists and religious leaders have yet to come to a complete agreement.  One frequently-debated questions is ‘why does God allow evil to exist?’. No satisfactory answers agreed by all parties have been given so far. Could it be that human minds, by its own nature, are more inclined to the pull of defiled thoughts? We will explore this in the latter sections.

 

Coordinates

 

Imagine a coordinate grid with x-axis and y-axis. One of the religions may assume the coordinate of (4, 5) as their version of origin of life. As far as this religion is concerned, after so many years of practice by its followers based on the origin coordinate of (4, 5), this religion believes that it is at the origin (0, 0) and the rest of the points are taking positions as coordinates measuring from this assumed origin (4, 5). Similarly, another religion may assume another coordinate as the origin. In this model of explanation, the origin is assumed to be (0, 0). It may well be argued that this model assumes the origin just as others have assumed the origin.

 

Atheism

 

The evolutionary biologist and outspoken atheist, Professor Richard Dawkins, has been saying that faith has been given a free ride for too long. The author, David Berlinski, is of the opinion that fossil records do not support the theory of evolution. British stand-up comedian, Ricky Gervais, when asked if he believes in God, responds he would rather believe in dogs. Australian stand-up comedian, Jim Jefferies, is similarly a well-known atheist. All atheists do not believe in the existence of God but have difficulty to prove their claim. In essence, it is just another belief system. At best, they can only say how can there be a God? It is their belief based on their intelligent reasoning but they are unable to elaborate especially when it comes to topics surrounding the moment of creation.

 

Going back to where we started, Stephen Hawking went as far as saying how can there be God. This is because, to his understanding, time does not exist before the moment of creation.  This understanding that time only exists from the moment of a Big Bang is a wrong view from the very start. Another wrong view by Stephen Hawking is that he believed there is no afterlife.

 

Observation 14 - What Science Is Unable To Explain, We Call Mysteries

 

Every phenomenon and everything in the universe can and should be explained. What science has yet to be able to explain, we call it mystery. It is more of a keep-in-view attitude. If physicists considered present scientific knowledge as forever fixed, there will forever be unknown mysteries.

 

Observation 6 – The Human Life Averages Twenty Thousand Days

 

In most countries, human beings have an average life span of 80 years. By nature of measuring in years, we conveniently make ourselves believe there is plenty of time to go. With this, humans continue to submerge themselves in their daily routines and stressful lives.

 

A human life ends in the following scenarios:

1. When the energy in one’s mind is no longer sufficient to support human life

2. When the biological strength of the human body expires

3. When all the conditions are present for a deadly accident to occur

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Using a burning candle as an analogy:

1. The wit is used up before the wax is completely finished, similar to scenario 1 above

2. The flame dies off when the wax is completely finished, similar to scenario 2 above

3. A strong wind blows the flame away, similar to scenario 3 above

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Observation 7 - There Is No Purpose Of Life

 

Being helpful, compassionate, kind, generous or religious is a way of life. Not the purpose of life. Mahatma Gandhi practiced a no-violence way of life. Mao Zedong led an authoritative way of life. Mother Teresa lived a compassionate way of life. The purpose of life is always referred to a person. If we assume there is afterlife, whereby the human body and mind only lasts an average of twenty thousand days, then a person can be reduced to a human being. Seeing that the mind continues to migrate from body to body, depending on the level of the mind’s energy, a person only exists as human and body for a definite period. The existence of a person is only apparent truth, but the ultimate truth is that the person only existed as human.

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Observation 8 - A Man Without An Identity Is A Human

 

A person with an identity is an apparent truth. Ultimately, he is a human. There are approximately 7.7 billion humans living on this earth. That is the ultimate truth. Ignorantly, humans created a world out of the planet earth by drawing boundaries, identifying themselves with nationalities, race and religions. Conflicts in the world arise due to a clash of identities. Ignorantly, many humans do not know that nature does not recognise identities. Identities that are derived from nationalities, race and religions only apply to apparent world but not the ultimate world.

 

Identities Are The Source Of Today’s Problems In The World

 

In the song by John Lennon titled ‘Imagine’, the lyrics clearly showcase the problems caused by identities. Unnecessary deaths in the name of religion and ignorant killings due to different nationalities are all cause by a clash of identities.

 

The ultimate truth is that we are all citizens of the world and there should be only one race: the human race. To help a blind person cross the road is a wholesome act without any identity of religion or race or nationalities. As quoted by Professor Richard Dawkins, faith and belief in god has been given a free ride for too long. It can be harmful though only a handful of extremists carry out acts of terrorism. It is uncertain whether September 11 is an act by the US government when this conspiracy was put forward. It is uncertain when terrorists claimed responsibility and victory. What is certain is that 2 to 3 thousand human lives were lost in this terrorist act. The Holocaust is another such example.

 

Deep-Rooted Ignorance

 

Standing at the top of the tallest tower in the city, a tourist used a telescope to locate a specific building. If the tourist does not aim the telescope in the right direction, he would never locate the building no matter how long he spends. Having the right direction from the start of the effort to locate the building is important.

 

Similarly, in the effort to try to understand life and nature, if we start with the wrong viewing angle, we will always end up with lots of mysteries. To assume the human brain does the thinking functions is a wrong view; to think that there is no afterlife is a wrong view; the concept of God is a wrong view. The Greek philosophers have some right views but it was not complete. Plato contemplated on the concept of afterlife. The concept of Form was a close attempt to distinguish ultimate truth from apparent truth. To fully understand life and the universe, one has to have the complete right understanding of nature and the laws that govern it. In his understanding of the universe, Stephen Hawking is of the opinion that time only existed at Big Bang. This is another wrong view. Single cell theory is a wrong view. Evolution is a wrong view. Time only starting after Big Bang is a wrong view. No afterlife is a wrong view.

To stand a chance of having the complete right understanding of the origin of life and universe, one has to:

• Eliminate all of the wrong views

• Have an understanding of the phenomenon of infinity with regards to the abstract element (refer to Before Big Bang)

• Have an understanding of the infinity nature of time

• Have an understanding of the deep-rooted human ignorance and the laws of nature that governs it

 

Observation 3 – The Human Brain Has No Thinking Functions

 

The human brain has no thinking function. The mind does the thinking. The eye can only observe a colour’s projective element. The ear can only observe a sound’s projective element. The nose can only observe a smell’s projective element. The tongue can only observe a taste’s projective element. The reflective element of touch can only observe a touch’s projective element. All the above projective elements are not motion. The five sensory organs being the eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin, therefore, cannot discern motion, but with their aids, the mind discerns motions of every kind. Every motion is discernible to the mind and the sensory organs merely assist the mind to discern them.

 

The process of thinking can be briefly explained as follows. When a thought occurs, the mind receives an impression in the form of an image of a situation. The impression enters the mind and remains fixed in it in the form of records. If the mind is powerful, it is possible for us to retrieve this impression retained in the mind. However, over time, with so many fresh impressions and old ones, the mind may not be sufficiently strong to retrieve the older impressions.

 

Due to the inadequacy of the mind’s strength, it cannot penetrate through an overgrowth of impressions when thickly formed. The numerous layers of records grow as we age. To penetrate and retrieve recent records, the normal strength of a human mind is sufficient. Problems arise when the normal strength of a human mind deteriorates to an extent where it cannot perform the penetration and retrieval process even on recent records. The mind makes use of the sensory organs to do the thinking. These organs are, in a way, initiators, as they first signal the brain on what to do. The brain, which is biologically connected to the sensory organs, has the ability to control and direct the respective sensory organs to act accordingly.

 

When a person experiences something or is just thinking about that something, the reactions and reflections on all the sensory organs are exactly the same as the previous experience. However, the intensity is greater during the actual experience as compared to just when thinking about or recalling the incident itself. When all the similar reactions and reflections on the sensory organs are brought about with the help of the brain, the memory is then recalled.

 

When we think of an object, a faint reflection of the object springs in our inner eye. When we think of a sound we have heard, a faint reflection of the same sound springs in our inner ear. This applies to all our sensory organs. We think in terms of colours, sounds, smells, tastes, hot or cold, hardness or softness, passions and emotions. In each of these thoughts, we bring into activity its respective sensory organ. Whether we visualise a situation or whether actually experience it, there is an effect on the sensory organs, the difference being the degree of intensity. When we think of the taste of food for which we may have a particular partiality, our mouth secretes saliva. Thinking of sour plum being a good example. This is because the sensory organ of the tongue is activated when our thoughts are on the taste of a particular food.

 

Memories are stored in the mind just as movies are stored in a videotape. A remote control is used to perform the playback. Memories are not stored in the human brain just as records are not stored in the remote control. The human brain has only the same function as the remote control. All the mechanisms in a video player are what we know as the sensory organs. Without the remote control, the video player is still able to function, similar to one who is brain-dead. The mind will transmit instructions to the brain for the latter to perform the tasks, similar to someone who has to operate the remote control in order to rewind a movie on the video player. When the brain cannot operate or control the sensory organs to activate them and stimulate them to the similar or less intense situation as the actual experience, those memories consequently cannot be recalled. Without the rewind button on the remote control, the playback of the videotape is not possible. Four out of the five sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, and tongue) are all fixed around the head while the fifth sensory organ (skin) is spread out across all regions of the body including the head. When we think, these five sensory organs are provoked, making us feel as if our thinking occurs in the head. Actually, the human brain neither thinks nor store records. It merely controls and coordinates the sensory organs.

 

When a doctor administers general anaesthesia, the metabolic rate of the patient’s brain decreases tremendously. When the brain loses its ability to control and operate the sensory organs, it will ultimately result in amnesia. In the case of local anaesthesia, the brain is kept under normal conditions while the area of the nerve fibres is blocked by the binding effect of the local anaesthesia to the sodium channel. The impulse condition alongside the nerves are blocked, thus causing analgesia or loss of sensibility to pain. The eye can only observe the projective element of colour, similar to the other sensory organs. All the projective elements stated above are not motion. The five sensory organs, therefore, cannot discern motion. However, with the aids, the mind discerns motions of every kind. Every motion is discernible to the mind and the sensory organs merely assist the mind to discern them.

 

When we look at an object, the reflective element present in our eyes reflects to the mind the projective colour element that is present in that object, and thus the mind receives a colour picture of the object before our eyes. Hence, seeing. In British illusionist Darren Brown’s television series titled Fear and Faith, three audience members were put into an enclosure of complete darkness. After a while, one of them claimed that she saw a girl-like object or perhaps even a nun. What happened here is that the mind created the formation of the image and reflected in the mind even though there is absolutely nothing in that enclosure. As far as that participant is concerned, she saw something. This is somewhat similar to when someone says that they saw a ghost. As long as the image is depicted in the mind, the person will believe that they are seeing that image, whether it is through the sensory organ of the eyes or an image purely manufactured in the mind cause by overwhelming fear. In the same episode, Natalie, a stem cell scientist who is an atheist, was converted to a religious believer. Human minds are weak and constantly under influence such as being surrounded in an imposing environment like a congregation or in a worship premise. This is where human beliefs can be changed. Similarly, if our reflective element of the nose were to contact the projective element of smell, the mind takes an impression of the presence of smell. If the projective element of taste present in an object were to contact the reflective element of our tongue, that reflection is absorbed into the mind, thus forming the sense of taste. If an object emits the projective element of sound and that element were to get reflected by the reflective element of our ear and it is carried to the mind, the sense of hearing is then felt by the mind.

 

One of the functions of human mind is to maintain the human body’s temperature. When the mind leaves the body, the dead body will submit itself to the outside temperature. Due to atmospheric conditions, no substances stay forever. A human being is a combination of a mind and body mechanism that exists for a limited duration of time. The human mind and body are two different entities that are strongly connected, with one constantly affecting the other, and vice versa. It is the conscious human mind with the help of a brain, controlling sensory organs and other human parts that enable the human to walk on two legs. When we form a large number of thoughts in our mind, these thoughts will gather necessary strength in order for us to do the action. The human mind does not extend outside our physical body. Imagine a white colour chalk being the non-living matter soaked in a blue solution. The mind is represented by the blue colour. The intensity of the mind is greatest at the human heart while least intense at the end of the hairs and the tip of the nails.

 

Observation 1 - Medical Sciences Is Able To Clone A Human But Not A Person

 

Cloning has been known to be present in the history of medical sciences for some time. In 2018, Jennifer Doudna introduced CRISPR-Cas9 where genome editing technology was possible which, if successful, would avoid unnecessary diseases. When we describe the character of a person, we are actually describing the formations in the mind of that person. However, all these formations are not found in the DNA. Hence, medical sciences can successfully clone a human with the same DNA but not a person with the same character. Intelligence can be found in the human DNA. Hence, science can clone another human with the same intelligence but science cannot make the cloned person to have the same character as the original human. By the explanation of this model, there is nothing morally wrong to have a human who has some diseases avoided in his life.

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Observation 2 - Intelligence Is Not Part Of A Person’s Character

 

When we describe the character of a person, we are in fact describing the mental formation of that person. A person can be confident, compassionate, greedy or egotistical.  All these mental formations are not found in the DNA of a human being. Intelligence is.

 

Observation 17 – It Is Not Possible To Not Know Something That We Already Know

 

When we come to know something, it is recorded in our minds. These records cannot be erased. It might be a situation where the mind, even with aids of the sensory organs, is unable to retrieve the records. Alzheimer disease being one such case. When the memory arises in the mind, we can choose to neglect it but we cannot erase it neither can we ensure it is not in the mind.

 

Observation 19 - We Cannot Control The Brain But We Can Control The Mind

 

The brain is a biological organ that can be influenced by intoxicant materials or medications. We can only avoid the brain being affected by these factors which can cause the brain to be in an abnormal condition. Beyond that, in our daily lives, we cannot control the brain, we can only control our minds.

 

Observation 4 - Alcohol Affects The Brain, Not The Mind

 

The mind gives instructions to the brain. The brain needs to be under normal working conditions in order to perform the task as instructed. However, under an intoxicated condition, the brain will not be able to function normally. Depending on the extent of the intoxicated condition, the brain is able to communicate and function but not perfectly. A drunk driver wishes to walk straight as requested by the traffic police. The mind of the driver wishes to walk straight but because the brain cannot perform the task perfectly, hence the driver may not pass the test. Under normal circumstances, we can control our mind when our brain is in normal working condition. Medical scientists can operate on human brain, but the mind can never be operated on. Humans can walk straight on two legs because the mind is being aided by the sensory organs.

 

Observation 13 - Science and Mathematics Have No Identity

 

Science is a subject to discover and explain nature. Science can flourish because there is no identity. Similarly, mathematics is an education without an identity. There is no English mathematics or Indian science.

 

Observation 18 - Time Is Infinite

 

Time existed even before Big Bang. In fact, time exists in the form of infinity which has no beginning and no end. This contradicts Stephen Hawking, who in his last book, states that time only existed after Big Bang which meant that there was no time for God to create the universe. Time does not distinguish day and night. Present is the point separating the past and the future. Mathematics will collapse without infinity.

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