Low Entropy Persons, Low Entropy Countries



A Galaxy, one of many in the Universe. The Universe is the father of all life, Earth is the mother


In a previous post it was mentioned that the basic purpose of life appears to be to evolve. In ancient times when civilization began, humans applied their mind to this notion. They came up with a large number of practices designed to improve body, mind and soul of humans. Many such practices were described by a common name Yoga. There are very many different types of yoga such as hatha yoga, kriya yoga, karma yoga and so on for the ways to improve body, mind and soul are countless.

This author has had deep interests in both physical sciences as well as spiritual sciences. As a result of this combination, the author had described a form of yoga that emerged from an intersection of both these sciences and gave it the name Entropy Yoga. It has been followed and taught by some in different parts of the world since it was introduced. An interested reader can find it in some of the early posts of this blog e.g.


What was described was that everything we do or even think, increases a certain quantity in the universe as a whole called entropy. Processes and actions that generate less entropy are more efficient than those that generate higher entropy. This principle applies not just to living beings but also to machines. For example a high entropy automobile would guzzle up much more fuel than another one of similar specifications and size that is low entropy generating one.

Amongst humans we have high entropy persons i.e. those who generate a lot of entropy during the process of living, relatively speaking. Generally high entropy person are those who are dishonest, disorderly and unclean. In comparison, a low entropy person is honest, clean, orderly and disciplined. Persons do not become low entropy persons because they necessarily practice yoga consciously or even know anything about it but more often because it is their nature or training to do so. A low entropy person may easily be recognized as more evolved compared to a high entropy one. Some may ask, what has honesty to do with evolution? It has, because look at a monkey, it will steal a banana from your kitchen and hand without any compunction but most humans would think twice about it.

The lowest entropy person is a zero entropy person i.e. someone who generates no entropy at all in whatever he does.  In science such a process is called an isentropic process. Therefore such a person may be called an isentropic personality. It is an ideal state and by definition there is only one isentropic personality in the Universe - God. Other beings may approach this state as they evolve but if they eventually reach this ideal they lose their individuality and become a part of the one and only Infinite being, a state also known as Nirvana by Buddhists. However since other processes and beings continuously increase the entropy of the universe as a whole, a day will come when the entropy of the universe would be unsustainable and require its annihilation in order to restore entropy back to a sustainable level for a new creation. From science we know that the only way to reduce entropy in the universe is by annihilation of mass. There is none other. In the meantime different parts of the universe may exist in peace by reducing their rates of entropy increase or in a mess and turmoil by generating high amounts of it.

When a large number of persons in a country are high entropy persons or if its governing structures and systems are high entropy processes then the country as a whole becomes a high entropy country, conversely it is a low entropy country. It goes without saying that high entropy countries are marked by disorder, corruption and inefficiency. At the present time it is perhaps some countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany that are the lowest entropy countries of the world. At one time UK, in the later Victorian era and for some time after, was also a very low entropy country; more recently it was America under Dwight D. Eisenhower. Both these countries are still reaping the benefits of those golden eras but it seems that it is being chipped away, bit by bit, decade by decade. These things change with time. In Asia, Singapore and Japan are examples of low entropy countries.

At the present time, perhaps Syria is the highest entropy country in the world. Sub-Saharan countries and South Asian ones are also some of the highest entropy countries of the world. When the entropy generation rate of a country becomes very high, it becomes unsustainable for humans to live in and they run away and become refugees. Although entropy may be high throughout a region or country, its source can be a single person, just as the source of reducing entropy in the universe is a Single Person. Not removing this cause would not help to reduce entropy and from this analysis pursuing things like ISIL would be futile in bringing peace to Syria unless this single point cause is dealt with, in order to make life bearable for the refugees to return home.

High entropy countries are marked not just by the presence of disorder and uncleanliness but also lack punctuality, constantly changing practices, schedules aside from all other manners of disorder. During my life time the design of coins, telephone numbers and schedules of examinations has changed so many times in India that it is difficult to even enumerate. It goes without saying that train timings and every other time including those of meetings and wedding ceremonies are never ever punctual. On the other hand, I have lived in Canada too and during my life time the design of coins, university exam schedules and my old phone number has not yet changed, although they added a new coin called the Loony some decades ago but that is development not increasing entropy. The first is an example of a high entropy country and the second a low entropy one, and it is not the cold and the snow that does it as some seem to think. In India one of the highest entropy provinces is also the coldest one - Kashmir.

Entropy yoga produces a high degree of efficiency but in itself it does not lead to a reduction of stress  It has to be followed by other yoga that include principles of love, truth and  simplicity. In the absence of that the increased energy may in fact increase stress, the state of many developed nations in the world today. However, it is the first step to evolution and cannot be skipped if humans wish to improve.

It was not always like this in India. One of its earliest civilization, called the Indus valley civilization is an example of the lowest entropy civilization mankind has ever seen on the planet. It was marked by a high degree of order and cleanliness. Even five thousand years ago the cities had covered drains and individual toilets. So stable were its practices that even its home and street designs did not change for a thousand years.It appears to be the source from which organized human civilisation began in the world. Sumerian and Nile civilisations came later. See:

http://alienaccount.blogspot.in/2015/04/new-studies-push-back-dates-of-ancient_16.html

Recently, India elected a new government. The new leader – Narendra Modi – appears to be a low entropy personality of a high order. Indeed the first aspiration he expressed for India was of cleanliness, a desire for a low entropy state. Perhaps under his leadership India will once again begin its long march to becoming a low entropy country.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Birds to Telepathy

Image
  Sparrow by  Laitche T he house that I live in presently was built in stages  beginning in 1991 during  vacations and sabbaticals in my career. By 1995, the ground floor of the house was more or less complete except for some finishing that continued later. In the center of the roof of the living room was a hole meant for a center light. To hide the protruding wires a small round plastic sheet covered it with another circular hole in the center of it for the light. A similar one existed in the front porch of the house. I lived in the house through most of 1995 with frequent visits of three or four days to Delhi. At this time a pair of house sparrows occupied the porch roof cavity and made it their home. There were no complaints about that since it was not intended to fix a light there in a hurry. Sparrows are cute little birds anyway and I often leave seeds out for them in the garden. Sometime later the female of the pair moved into the living room cavity and began
Read more

Inflation: Stealing from the Poor for the Rich

Image
Robin Hood and his Merry Men I n today’s complex economy it is useful for the ordinary citizen to understand a few simple principles about economics. That way, they can manage their own money better and also contribute their voice to policy making in their countries. This post is about inflation, its causes and ramifications and how it can be managed  in any country. Money is a used for acquiring goods and services and when the price of goods and services rise we say that inflation is taking place. The price of something depends on many factors but two of the primary ones are 1. Demand and supply balance 2. Extent of Money Supply.   Both factors are easy to understand. If a commodity becomes in short supply then its price tends to rise. If apple crops have been destroyed by untimely frost then apple prices will rise. If the demand for a product increases then too its price rises but if demand falls prices fall or crash. The balance of demand and supply is one of the f
Read more

Neem tree: As the Magical Sleep Aid

Image
  T here is an older article in this blog on the Neem tree and its medicinal benefits but it does not mention its effects on sleep. For years now what was happening to my sleep is that after sleeping well for a few hours, sometime in the middle of the night I used to get up and feel completely awake. If   I stayed awake after that, I would feel tired the next day. Therefore I would just take a cup of tea, sit out in the patio for about half an hour, or work on a computer when after an hour or so a second round of deep sleep came. However, this also delayed the morning hour to get up. Four days ago, due to some unrelated reasons, I took a bunch of Neem leaves from a tree nearby and chewed them in the evening at around 5 pm. That night, I woke up again in the middle of the night for a visit to toilet and from old habit decided to check emails for an hour or so. But the moment I turned on the computer, I was sleepy again and began to doze off on the keyboard so I shut off t
Read more

Edgar Cayce and the Almond Tree

Image
A s one advances in age it is inevitable that one would have to contend with some health issues. Some that I have faced in recent years is reduced energy, occasional disturbed sleep, stiffness in muscles and occasional lapses of short-term memory. However if one works on these or other such health issues it is definitely possible to improve the situation. It is wonderful if one can age gracefully without any major health issues and move on to the next world when still physically independent. It is tragic and basically bad karma if one undergoes a prolonged disability requiring help or hospitalization before exit from this life. There is much about karma in older posts. I do not rely on modern medicine and allopathic methods for chronic and minor ailments. For me allopathic methods are a resort for acute conditions, emergency or diagnosis. Therefore I have been working on my health issues through more natural means such as diet, exercise, yoga, life style changes,
Read more

You are what you eat, and drink

Image
C onsume an ounce of whiskey and you will notice the change in mood and behavior immediately. However, it is not just whiskey everything we drink, even the quality of water, or anything we eat has some subtle or significant influence on our behavior. Consumed over a period, not just the weekend binge, the type of food we consume literally shapes our personality prompting ancient thinkers like Hippocrates to remark, “You are what you eat”. Some question this by saying that it is our experiences and habits that shape our personality but the two are linked because it is our habits that shape our tastes and food choices. In another post in this blog it was  mentioned that a human personality is shaped by memory and experiences and one might ask which of the two is more significant - food or experiences?. My understanding is that humans gravitate towards the foods and actions that agree with their inner inclinations and personality and so in the end both causes are two sides of the sa
Read more

The Balsam Flower - Magic of Medicinal Herbs and Flowers

Image
     Balsam flowers W hile a huge variety of seasonal flowers grow on our planet when it is neither too hot nor too cold, unfortunately some do have to put up with extreme heat or cold for a part of the year. In northern Indian plains, summer temperatures may easily exceed 40 Celsius in the months of April, May and June and it is only the early mornings and evening that are cool to get out into the garden and have late evening garden parties. However the difficulty at this time is what flowers to grow in the garden. Few can tolerate that heat. However, with the grace of the Lord, there are some. The most popular are Zinnia, the yellow Cosmos, Portulaca and Balsam. The botanical name of the flower is Impatiens Balsamina.   It is an annual plant growing to 20–75 cm tall, with a thick, but soft stem.   Aside from the flowers the plant has beautiful leaves that are toothed and spirally arranged and that is something one has to look for in a pretty garden. The flowers range
Read more

The Palash Tree - Magic of Medicinal Herbs and Flowers and Back Pain

Image
The Palash Tree Flower B efore modern medicines became prevalent, humans treated many ailments with flowers, leaves, roots and barks of plants and trees. Ayurveda,  an ancient Indian medicinal science, makes use of many herbs and plant materials without substantial extraction of active ingredients as modern medicine does. The idea is that additional compounds in a medicinal or edible plant is an organic whole and a part of life that supports other life.  The complimentary compounds appear to play a useful balancing role whereas individually extracted and isolated compounds can be harmful. A modern example in wide use as food is sugar, a pure chemical isolated from the juice of sugar cane. Indeed there is no food or herb that does not contain a compound or two that could be from mildly to extremely dangerous if isolated and consumed but is beneficial as a group with other compounds. That is the reason why alcohol distilled from a natural fermented fruit juice and then dilu
Read more

Spirituality and Evil

Image
Albert Einstein   " A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind.”   Albert Einstein I t is so much nicer to talk of beautiful things that exist on our lovely planet that it is really a pity that I had to write this post that touches on something that to me is evil. Nevertheless I have written it because if an evil is ignored it is difficult to eradicate it. The evil I am referring to is about the denial of freedom of belief and imposition of beliefs on people and that is something even the followers of the greatest of religions on earth have not been free of though they have done so much g
Read more

Impact of Lust and Nudity on Spiritual Growth

Image
S ome modern philosophers have argued that sexual pleasures, beyond those necessary for procreation, of the appropriate kind are a useful part of the human experience and therefore worth pursuing. What exactly is considered appropriate varies with thinkers but in no case does it involve compulsion, inducement or force by one human on another. Sexual indulgence, if any, must only be between adults and from mutual interest and agreement. However, spiritual literature and saints across diverse traditions of the planet have advised humans to overcome urges of lust and described that along with two other emotions - greed and anger – it is a cause of driving humans to hell. The Bhagvat Gita, a revered scripture of the Hindus, describes these as the three gates to hell. It only lauds limited sexual desire i.e. that associated with procreation as divine. The new testament of the Christians warns not just against lustful activity but even lustful thoughts. However sexual desire w
Read more