FORCES OF NATURE

The four fundamental forces of nature are the strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, electromagnetic force and gravitation. Strong nuclear forces are responsible for holding the nucleons together in the nucleus and quarks together in the nucleons. The gravitational force as we all know binds us to our planet, earth to the solar system, stars to the galaxies and so on. Electromagnetic forces bind nuclei and electrons to form atoms and molecules and bind atoms or molecules to form solid matter. Weak nuclear forces on the other hand cause the beta decay of nuclei and also are responsible for the fusion reactions that power the sun and stars.

INTERACTION	RELATIVE STRENGTH	RANGE OF FORCE	MEDIATING FIELD PARTICLE
Nuclear	1	Short(~1fm)	Gluon
Electromagnetic	10-2	∞	photons
weak	10-5	Short(~10-3fm)	W±,Z0 bosons
Gravitational	10-39	∞	Graviton

However with developments in physics in the 20^th century the textbook classification of the four fundamental forces of nature has broken down. We now know that the weak force and electromagnetism are two facets of one entity called the electroweak force. Can one go further and unify the strong force with the electroweak force?

It is possible. It is called the grand unification but that is a speculative step which could be confirmed only in the future. The grander unification will be with the unification of the gravitation which we may call total unification which is what Einstein dreamed of.

What is reality?

For most of us reality is what we experience through our senses daily and at every moment of our life and is most comforting….But is it truly what reality is?...think again…For example I feel that I am sitting pretty comfortably in my chair while writing this article but actually speaking I am zooming through the space at around 64000miles per hour around the sun. When we touch our body or anything around for example table we fill that it is solid but actually most of it is empty space. Physicists are trying everyday to decode reality but defining reality is turning out to be pretty illusive. When it comes to understand what makes up the objects that we think to be real around us what physicist do is to smash them with each other. Through these experiments it was discovered that all elements are made up of atoms which are further made up of a tiny nucleus of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons. Most of the space inside the atoms is actually empty space and then there are electrons which revolve around the positively charged nucleus. To further understand what protons are made of they smashed two protons. But instead of getting one or two particles which they could name as elementary what they got was hundreds of particles comprising of baryons and mesons (together they were called as particle zoo).

THE PARTICLE ZOO

Now the question was which one of them was elementary? For the answer to this profound question the experimental physicists had to turn towards theoretical physicists who came up with the standard model which became the basic elementary particles of reality from which our entire reality was made of including the four primary forces of nature. (or was it?) 

THE STANDARD MODEL

Now we return to the question asked by experimental physicists. They turned towards theoretical physicists for help, who came up with standard model of elementary particles. The constituents of the universe according to the standard model come in two categories, the field sector and the particle sector. In the field sector we have got 12 gauge fields the four electroweak fields that includes the photon (γ, W+,W-,Z) and the eight gluon fields(G1,G2,…G8) their quanta are all particles with one unit of quantum attribute called spin exactly like the first and most familiar among them, the photon. All such particle having integral spin belong to the family of particles called bosons (this obeys what is called Bose Einstein statistics).

The particle sector consists of spin 1/2 particles belonging to other great family of “fermions”(Particles that obey Fermi-Dirac statistics). Most matter on earth are however made up of the quark doublet (up and down quark) and the two leptons (v, e). However nature has chosen to repeat this quartets two more times so that there actually exist three “generations” of particle quartets each consisting of a quark doublet and a lepton doublet.

Now the question that arises is why three generations? Related to this question is another more profound question- How is everything including the forces of nature that we know today come into being?? For this we have to study a cosmological phenomenon- The Big Bang!

What is the message that the characters of Mahabharata war (Pandavas) give through blowing their conch shell?

Tatahsvetairhayairyukte,mahatisyandanesthitau;
madhavahpandavascaiva,divyau sankhau pradadhmatuh

                                         ….. B.G.CHAP 1 VERSE 14

After the Kaurav, Krishna and Arjun, riding in their magnificent, sacred chariot drawn by flawlessly white horses (“white” symbolizes purity), also blow their “celestial” conches. “Celestial” means beyond the material world. Yogeshwar Krishna’s transcendental message is a promise to render unto souls the most auspicious, unworldly existence that is beyond the worlds of both mortals and gods, and verily the whole universe (Brahmlok), which is all afflicted with the fear of birth and death. If the words in this verse are carefully looked at they indicate something…It says the chariot is celestial (not made of gold or silver) conch is celestial, everything is pure and celestial so the poet wants to state that their message is also celestial.

Beyond these worlds there is only the one unique and indescribable God. Krishna’s message is of establishing a direct contact with this Supreme Being. But how will he affect this state?

Pancajanyamhrsikeso,devadattamdhananjayah;
paundramdadhmaumaha-sankham,bhima-karma vrkodarah

                                              ….. B.G.CHAP 1 VERSE 15

So Hrishikesh (lord of the senses), who knows all the mysteries of the human heart, blows the conch PANCHJANYA. This is a declaration of his intent to restrain the five organs of perception which correspond to word, touch, form, taste, and smell, and to transmute their inclinations into devotion.

ARJUNA or Dhananjay (the victor of wealth) is the affectionate devotion that attains to the state of divine exaltation. This devotion is a feeling of tenderness for the desired object, which includes within itself all the experiences of devotees, even pangs of separation and occasional disenchantment and tears. There should be nothing for a devotee except the longed-for God. If the devotion to him is perfect, it embraces the virtues (DEVDATTA) that provide access to the Supreme Spirit.

BHEEM of awesome deeds blows his great conch PAUNDR, which denotes sentiment. The heart is the spring as well as the habitat of feeling. This is why Bheem is called Vrikodar, the large-hearted. Sentiment is fathomless and mighty, and this sentiment is Bheem’s great conch that is now blown. The affection that he represents is embodied in sentiment. That is why Bheem blows the conch named Paundr.

Anantavijayamraja,kunti-putroyudhisthirah
nakulahsahadevasca,sughosa-manipuspakau

                                     ….. B.G.CHAP 1 VERSE 16

King Yudhisthir blows the conch Anantvijay (endless conquest). Kunti is the very image of dutifulness; and Yudhisthir, the embodiment of dharm (natural piety). If one’s adherence to dharm is steady, Anantvijay will bring about the absorption of the Self in the boundless God.

Nakul, who is a symbol of restraint, blows the conch named Sughosh. As restraint grows firmer, evil is subdued and the dominance of righteousness is proclaimed. Sahdev, the adherer to truth, blows on the conch which bears the name of Manipushpak. Sages have described each breath as a precious ruby. “What a pity that we squander the jewels of our breath on idle gossip!” One kind of satsang is the moral discourse we hear from noble men, but the real spiritual discourse is internal. According to Krishn, the Self alone is true and eternal. True satsang comes about when the mind reins itself in from all externals and dwells with the Self. This adherence to truth is cultivated by incessant reflection, meditation, and samadhi. The more joy one feels in dwelling with the one reality, the more restraint one gains over each breath, the mind, and the instruments by which objects of sense affect the Self. The day they are totally restrained is the day when we are absorbed in the ultimate essence. Providing, like a good instrument, harmonious accompaniment to the song of the Self is true satsang. The physical ruby is hard, but the jewel of breath is even more tender than a flower. Flowers fall and wither soon after they bloom, and we can never say that we shall live until the next breath. But if there is true adherence to the Self, it leads us to realize the highest goal through providing control over each breath. There is nothing to proclaim beyond this, although each device is helpful in traversing a certain stretch of the path of spiritual perfection….OM TATSAT

What is the message that the characters of Mahabharata war (Kaurav) give through blowing their conch shell?

In ancient times conch shells were blown before starting of war as a symbol that its time. In the case of Mahabharata war as described in the Gita we also have to remember that it has been described to drive home a spiritual message. The blowing of conch shells in this respect also tells about strength of each character. The trumpeting of conches is a declaration of the intention, of each of the chiefs, of what he can offer after conquest….

Tasyasanjanayanharsam,kuru-vrddhahpitamahah;
simha-nadamvinadyoccaihsankham dadhmau pratapavan

                                                     . . . B.G.CHAP1VERSE12

The mighty grandsire Bheeshm, the eldest of the Kaurav, blows his conch to produce a lion-like roar which gladdens Duryodhan’s heart. The lion represents the terrible, tooth-and-claw, aspect of nature. Our hair stands on end and our hearts beat violently when we hear the roar of a lion in a still, solitary forest even though we are miles away from the beast. Fear is a property of nature, not of God. Bheeshm is the very image of delusion. If delusion prevails, it will enwrap the material world’s forest of fear which we inhabit in yet another shroud of fear to make the existing dread even more frightening. Delusion cannot offer anything else except this. Fear, although in varying degrees, is born out of each perversion. Similar is also the message of the conches of the other Kaurav chiefs.

Tatahsankhascabheryasca,panavanaka-gomukhah;
sahasaivabhyahanyantasa, shabdas tumulo ’bhavat.

                                             ….. B.G.CHAP 1 VERSE 13

After Bheeshm’s blowing of his conch, numerous other conches, drums, and trumpets are sounded together, and they make an awesome noise. The Kaurav have no message other than that of fear. Intoxicated with a sense of false success, the outward-looking impulses that offend and demean the human Soul render the bonds of infatuation yet stronger.

What is the message that the characters of Mahabharata war (Pandavas) give through blowing their conch shell?