THE LAWS OF SOCIAL DYNAMICS

official source: Prout in a Nutshell Part 4

cross-references: none

this version: is as in "The Ks'attriya Age" in Human Society Part 2, 4th 
	edition.I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present 
	Electronic Edition.

The existence of the relative factors of time, space and person is substantiated in the field of cognition, and the cognizant bearing in its inertness is the highest stance of these factors. The inherent dynamicity of an entity, depending on the existential collaboration of another entity (or in certain cases of other entities, in which case immobility becomes of indefinite character), is called its gati [movement], while that of an entity independent of other entities is called its agati [immobility]. When this relative movement loses its adjustment with the temporal factor it may be called a state of pause -- in a limited sense, staticity. The movement of an entity in relation to the witnessing faculty may be called its accelerated or retarded movement, depending upon the degree of its actional expression.

The question of whether or not movement and inertness are absolute is a knotty problem for both science and philosophy. In fact, just as dynamicity is characterized by the stigma of relativity, by the same logic inertness is also characterized by the stigma of relativity. So from an absolute point of view, if the existence of movement is denied, the existence of inertness or existential faculty will also have to be denied. When the observable objects do not seem to change place judged by relative standards, we call that state a state of inertness. But in such circumstances the movement of the observer and the observed entity within the Macrocosmic arena remains beyond the comprehension of our crude and subtle minds. That is why this so-called state of inertness cannot be called absolute inertness.

In individual life the supreme stance is that state in which the causal mind, or astral mind, remains inactive. We cannot call the disembodied state of mind the supreme stance because in that case the seed of dynamicity is still active in the Cosmic Mind and the Cosmic corpor with the help of the Cosmic Operative Principle. From this we can deduce that the supreme stance can be attained only when the seed of psychic functioning has been demolished.

The Cosmic Operative Principle, whereby the Citishakti [Supreme Cognitive Faculty] goes on transforming itself into Cosmic ectoplasms and those Cosmic ectoplasms into the bha cakra [spatio-eternal system] without undermining its own status, must necessarily imbibe the witnesship of the Sambharaka [Supreme Substantial Progenitor] of the ectoplasms. In this very witness-ship the ectoplasm-begotten primeval elements get their existential recognition or cognizance but their own motivity does not. The Supreme Substantial Progenitor witnesses the motivities of the ectoplasms in some of its stances like ota (uniscient), anujina'ta (post-uniscient) and anujina' (post-uniscience).

When movement has the scope of being witnessed, there cannot be an acceleration or retardation in movement due to the self-involvement of unit ectoplasms. Though unit ectoplasms feel their internal movement, their external movement, which is dependent upon other entities, is not felt due to the absence of any second entity other than the unit ectoplasms themselves, and thus, instead of calling their sense of movement movement, it is more appropriate to call it non-movement, or motionlessness.

Unit consciousness, when it is self-dependent (it is dependent on others also), views the transposition of objects, and only that part of movement actually comes under the category of motion. When the self-dependent movement (as also the dependent one), giving up its effort or failing in its effort to exert, surrenders to the state of motionlessness, such a condition indeed is called cessation. Apparently all kinds of movement in this expressed universe are linked with the state of pause. Thus, every action is systaltic. The sam'koca'tmaka bha'va* is an attempt to find stability in a state of pause.

* I.e., the sam'koca'tmaka bha'va, or  systolic bearing, of every action. The word sam'koca'tmaka  can be translated "systolic", "contractive" or "retardative";  throughout this section "systolic" and "contractive"  have been used. The word vika'sha'tmaka can be translated  "diastolic", "expansive","expressive" or "manifestative";  throughout this section the latter three terms (or their noun forms)  have been used. The word sam'kocavika'sha'tmaka ("having  the nature of both systole and diastole") has always been rendered  as "systaltic" or "pulsative". --Trans. 


Pause is only a temporary state of inertness. Full expression of action occurs only after attaining momentum for movement from the state of inertness. No action is possible without momentum attained from the state of inertness, and thus every action (roughly, it is also called movement) must be systaltic, or pulsative, by nature.

In the same way, unhindered expansion, or enhancement, and unhindered contraction are impossible in the realm of mundanity. The manifestative bearing of action or movement is directly related to the relative factors of time, space and person, and the contractive bearing is an attempt at detachment from the temporal factor. As the state of contraction is entrenched in inertness, the unit entity loses its awareness of the temporal factor.

Is that state which we call the state of expression a continuous process? In fact, the cause of expression is the momentum derived from the state of pause. With the momentum thus attained, the state of manifestation continues with ever-increasing speed until it reaches a final stage which is also a state of pause. This pause is also entrenched in a state of inertness, but in this state, due to the expressive impact of the temporal factor, no momentum can be acquired from the state of inertness. In the next state of pause, that is, in the second half of movement, the manifestative movement is transformed into non-manifestative inertness. This state of non-manifestative inertness is ever-decreasing by nature. This process of gradual contraction is nothing but an ultimate surrender to the state of inertness.

A structure or an entity, after getting momentum from systolic pause, progresses towards manifestative pause. This is the rule. This momentum is attained in the absence of the assertive presence of the temporal factor. Such momentum cannot be attained when the personal factor is defective or not manifest. This sort of absence of the personal factor or structural defect is termed death.

We can roughly compare this systaltic movement with a trek across a series of hills which are arranged in successive order. Having gathered vital force from the plain, one advances towards the first summit, that is, towards the state of manifestative pause. The trek down the other side of the hill can be compared with the movement towards systolic pause. And then again, acquiring one's strength, the uphill advance towards the next summit is a renewed attempt to reach manifestative pause. But while climbing up the hill one's physical speed decreases in relation to the proximity to the summit, although due to one's increased mental speed, one's aggregate speed actually increases. If one falls down the other side of the hill and corporeal derangement takes place, one will not be able to climb up the next slope after reaching the plain. This situation is called structural derangement, or death.

The human respiratory system also provides us with a good comparison with the systaltic flow of movement. Puraka [inhalation] can be compared with the movement towards manifestative pause. The retention of breath at the end of puraka (pu'rn'a kumbhaka) is manifestative pause. Recaka [exhalation] is the movement towards systolic pause. And holding the breath after complete exhalation (shu'nya kumbhaka) is systolic pause. In the retention of breath after inhalation there is manifestation of time and continuity of movement, but no sense of dynamism. In the total exhalation, however, there is no manifestation of time but there is continuity of movement minus the sense of dynamism. [From the end of] one puraka to the beginning of another puraka constitutes half of the cycle of respiration. After every such half-cycle or trip, that is, in every post-exhalation pause, there occurs the death of the unit being. But after gathering vitality for the second time from this death or state of pause, the unit being comes alive again during the next inhalation. If, after the full cycle of inhalation and exhalation, the physical mechanism is unable to gather vital force from the state of pause, further inhalation becomes impossible and what we commonly call death occurs. 

Actually, the unit structure dies thousands of times every day, after every exhalation. In the scriptures this sort of microcosmic death is called the khan'd'a pralaya [partial annihilation] of the unit entity. When the temporal factor is evident and the seed of or potential for further inhalation and exhalation is intact, this cannot be considered death. Yogic texts prescribe various methods of recaka'nta pra'n'a'ya'ma and puraka'nta pra'n'a'ya'ma [respiratory control] whereby a huge quantity of vital force may be acquired from the five fundamental factors.

When the waves of the unit mind lose parallelism with those of the Macrocosmic Mind or move in the opposite direction, it can be called the degeneration of the unit entity. When the waves of the unit mind move in parallelism, it is called the natural movement of the unit mind. When the waves travel faster, we call it the advancement or progress of the unit mind.

Nothing in this relative world of multiplicities is stationary. Had this not been so, all entities would have become one -- all the multiplicities, losing their distinctive individual faculties, would have been reduced to one singularity. Thus, the existence of the manifest world finds its substantiation not in the absolute flow, but in the relative flow, of movement.

It is with the assembling of many individuals that a society comes into being. In a society it is impossible for individuals to move exclusively according to their individual sam'ska'ras [inherent momenta]. Although it may be possible in the subtle and causal spheres, it is not possible in the physical sphere. The totality of various individual flows of movement constitutes collective social movement. Each individual flow is influenced by the collective flow and strives to move ahead in adjustment with it, at least in the mundane sphere.

The fact is that an inorganic entity is transformed into an organic being due to physical clash. Further development of that being is a result of both physical and psychic clashes. These clashes come directly from the systolic pause of social forces and indirectly from natural sources.

If the resultant cumulative flow of innumerable individuals is termed the social or collective flow, then the latter's trough and crest is shorter than the trough and crest of the individual flows. And this shortness of the collective wavelength hastens either a kra'nti [evolution] or a viplava [revolution].

Manifestative movement acquires momentum from its previous state of pause in sam'kocer bha'va [systolic bearing]. The mildness or severity of the movement depends on both the length of the period of pause and the inherent strength of the structure. A long period of inertness may be termed death only when an old structure is unable to assimilate the vital force of pause. In this case a newer structure becomes necessary for the manifestative movement [from] the state of pause. This new structure may be either a newer form of the old one or an altogether different form. Whenever there is a state of manifestation following a state of inertness, changes are bound to occur within the structure. But that structure can only be called new when the unit mind or the collective mind cannot perceive the distinct change between the old and new forms.

During the previous state of pause, one structure meets with death due to suppression or destruction by another structure. Such deaths occur both in individuals and in society. When a unit or society devours or suppresses another the necessary assimilation of conflicting waves and the resultant clashes cause its wavelength to become shorter in length, leading to the possibility of structural death. In this process of assimilation, if there is the possibility of vibrational adjustment, the individual and collective structures have a greater chance of acquiring more inherent vitality.


Egyptian Civilization

Take the case of ancient Egyptian civilization. Whether we like all the features of ancient Egyptian civilization or not, it could definitely claim some special characteristics. But the conflict of waves that occurred in its inner body weakened the collective waves of the society as a whole. The various social groups from Asia and the southeast European countries were inherently stronger in their collective waves than the Egyptians themselves, and this led to the destruction of the Egyptian civilization. However, a proper assessment of this historical occurrence will reveal that the ancient Egyptian civilization was not completely destroyed. Although many of the above-mentioned social groups were less sam'vedanashiila* (but had greater physical vitality) than the ancient Egyptian civilization and were therefore able to destroy both the vital force of its civilization and its social structure, they themselves were influenced by the greater sensibility of the ancient Egyptian civilization.

* I.e., had less depth of feeling. The word sam'vedana  that will recur throughout these pages (adj. sam'vedanashiila)  may mean "sensation", "sensibility", "sensitivity",  "feeling", "sympathetic response". Normally "sensibility"  will be used here. --Trans. 


The greatest blow to Egyptian civilization came from the section of Arab society that was imbued with Islamic ideology. Due to the influence of these new Arab bha'vadha'ra' [thought-waves], the new Egypt became dissociated, in its thought-waves, from ancient Egypt. Thus modern Egypt has ideologically** nothing in common with its ancient past.

** Bha'vadha'ra' may sometimes be translated  "thought-waves". sometimes "ideology". --Trans. 


The Arab culture was not only full of vitality, it also had a distinct sensibility of its own. Although the vitality of the Egyptian traditions was destroyed at the time of the Arab invasion, Egypt's inherent sensibility was not. What remained of Egyptian sensibility was diametrically opposite to the new Arab thought-wave. The Arabs assimilated the antithetical Egyptian sensibility, and as a result the Arab thought-wave was considerably weakened. As a result it became impossible for the Arabs to conquer Europe. This was also one of the main reasons for the retreat of the Iberian Moors.

One question remains. Since ancient Arab thought-waves and Islamized Arab thought-waves were different from each other, why did the former not destroy the vital force of the latter? Actually, many ancient Arab thought-waves were assimilated into the Islamized Arab thought-waves. Where there were differences, there was tremendous conflict. However, a common a'darsha [ideology] and a common spiritual awareness, both accepted by a large number of people, greatly helped the Islamized Arab ideas to establish themselves over the ancient Arab ideas. 

Islamized Arab ideas suffered the same set-back in Persia on the east as they did in Egypt on the west. Persian society had its own distinct characteristics and only accepted Islamic thought-waves externally, while its own Persian ideology remained for a long time as a subterranean flow. It remains even today, though only as a thin current.

Islamized Arab ideology became weakened as it passed through Persia, and after crossing the Indus Valley and entering India it was unable to exert a deep influence on Indian society. But this was secondary as a reason that the Islamized Arabs were unable to defeat India. The most important reason was the strength of India's social and spiritual ideology and the rationalistic mentality of the Indians themselves. Although the varn'a'shrama [caste] system was based on idol worship and created deep divisions in the Indian social structure, the greatness of India's moral, social and spiritual ideology had generated a powerful wave in her collective life. The Islamic social ideology, modified as it was after passing through Persia, was unable to obliterate that wave.

That modified Islamic social ideology has lived side by side with the Indian social ideology for centuries, but due to the opposite natures of their waves, the exchange between them has been negligible. Of course Islamic society has had some influence on the external forms of Indian society, but Islam has not had any influence on the mental and spiritual outlook of the Indian people. The Sufi influence on Indian society (an influence particularly on Indian Vaishnavism) is actually of Persian and not of Islamic origin. The vibrational expression of the Sufi influence is in harmony with Indian thinking and it has therefore supplied vital energy to Indian social life for centuries.

from "The Ks'attriya Age"
Human Society Part 2