Knowledge comes from Within
David Deutsch (b. 1953), a British physicist at the University of Oxford, is among the world’s foremost philosopher-scientists alive. He has worked on fundamental issues in physics, particularly quantum computing, quantum information and constructor theory. I learned about him through his books The Fabric of Reality (1997) and The Beginning of Infinity (2011). Though not popular books, they reached me through the invisible hand that keeps people connected in a bizarre and wired manner, if not by design.
Why should an ordinary person bother with questions like reality? My friend and cancer surgeon, Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli, is also a philosopher-doctor. The other day, he narrated an interesting anecdote. A young TV journalist interviewed people at a busy railway station in a typical global metropolis (which could be Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, or Mumbai), asking what the most absurd fact of the modern world is. People gave different answers – income inequality, urban slums, climate change, crime, cryptocurrencies, etc. When the question was put to a Buddhist monk, he posed a counterquestion instead of answering it.
He asked the interviewer, “Who are you?”
I am so and so, the journalist answered.
“That is your name; who are you?” the monk repeated.
“I am a TV journalist.”
“That is your occupation; who are you?”
“I am a human being,” the journalist answered, a little frustrated at the way the conversation was going.
“So are 8 billion people on the planet.”
“I don’t know what you are asking,” the journalist finally answered, giving up.
The monk smiled and said, “That is the most absurd fact in the world. You don’t know who you are.”
The yaksha asked a similar question to Yudhisthira in the famous Mahabharata story: What is the strangest fact in the world? Yudhisthira answered that everyone knows that he will die, as whoever is born must die, yet he conducts his affairs as if he is immortal, acquiring possessions that must be left behind.
Adi Shankaracharya declared in the 8th century, ‘ब्रह्म सत्यं जगत् मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः’ This profound statement conveyed three principles – (1) The Ultimate Reality, be it cosmos or even beyond that, is truth, (2) Not this phenomenal mortal world, and (3) Humans, though mortals, contain Ultimate Reality within them.
Let us consider this profound but strange idea in the context of an AI bot that is given the task of learning from human intelligence. These bots interact with human activity through the ‘senses’ given to them and find patterns using evidence-based reasoning. Taking the purpose of human life as sensory pleasures and worldly acquisitions – name and fame, and fussing about likes and dislikes, hatred and attachments is living a bot’s life.
But what is bot learning? What does ‘reality’ mean for it? Indeed, a bot does not know why it is doing what it is doing. A bot is created to carry out its assigned purpose. The purpose of human life is to imagine and decipher the significance of human life in the cosmos. The universe is silent in terms of conscious signals and the cosmos outside our biosphere is sterile and depressing. To the Cosmic intelligence, people being born, growing up, ageing, and dying must be meaningless. Mithya is not ‘false’; it means ‘meaningless’.
David Deutsch’s books, mentioned here, are, therefore, essential for addressing these existential questions. The gist of The Fabric of Reality is a rational, scientific approach to understanding reality, emphasising the interconnectedness of knowledge and the universe. It confirms Adi Shankaracharya’s assertion astonishingly. Quantum mechanics leads to a cohesive theory that explains the universe as one ground of the entire cosmos and life on Earth (Advaita).
Deutsch emphasises the importance of knowledge as the basis for understanding and problem-solving, viewing it as a creative force that shapes our reality. The questions that emerge in the mind and the explanations generated in the quest for answers define the role of human beings in the cosmos. There may be many planets like Earth and many creatures like humans in the cosmos about whose size and extent we have yet to learn, driving us to expand our consciousness by asking questions and seeking answers.
In The Beginning of Infinity, Deutsch argues that pursuing knowledge is limitless and that our understanding of the universe can continually expand. There are no ultimate limits to what can be understood or achieved. Deutsch highlights humanity’s capacity to solve problems and overcome challenges through creativity and critical thinking. He suggests that every problem has the potential for a solution, reinforcing an optimistic view of the future. Mankind will continue to evolve as it has been.
Just as no one in 1900 could have foreseen the consequences of innovations made during the twentieth century – including whole new fields such as nuclear physics, computer science and biotechnology – so our own future will be shaped by knowledge that we do not yet have. We cannot even predict most of the problems we shall encounter or most of the opportunities to solve them, let alone the solutions and attempted solutions and how they will affect events. (p. 197)
Dr Sunkavalli did not leave the monk’s answer to the TV journalist’s question open-ended. He showed me his iPhone and said, “This is ‘my iPhone’ by all means; it connects me to all my contacts. Anyone can reach me through this, and I can search for whatever knowledge I seek and store gigabytes of information I choose. But I don’t have the faintest idea of how an iPhone works, both as a device and the network that backs it, and yet I enjoy it.” This is the reality of a human being, a mere device in the world, with its unique ownership, contact details and information loaded but connected to the One Source. Human life aims to find explanations for the world’s mysteries not from the outside but from within, like Newton’s imagining of gravity, Einstein’s relativity and Kekule’s benzene ring. They did not observe them; they imagined. Their knowledge did not come from outside – how could Einstein have seen space-time bending or Kekule, the six carbon atoms of benzene making a ring? Their knowledge had come from within.
MORE FROM THE BLOG
Will 2025 be ‘Year One’ of the New World?
Certain words and phrases gain prominence at different times, and this is becoming a fashion in the Internet media world. “Deep State is currently circulating about the mysterious powers that run the world…
Take the Bull by the Horns
I am a mechanical engineer who worked for 15 years at the Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad. There, I developed the Trishul and Akash missile airframes and Titanium Airbottles…
Mythology: Imagination or Coded Secrets?
Myths often reflect the creativity and storytelling traditions of cultures. They can be seen as symbolic narratives that explain natural phenomena, human behaviour and societal values. These stories often incorporate fantastical elements and characters…
Dear Sir, my salutation to you for yet another very thought provoking article. Knowledge comes from within and every time you look within, new revelations are there to dig into and old ones get reshaped continually.
Intellectually stimulating blog, Prof Tiwariji !
Your insight into the facets of reality with the integration of advances in Physics and Computer Science is brilliant !!
Thank you Sir for sharing yet another insightful and wonderful blog.
It is indeed true- Knowledge does come from within.
It is also said that we cannot see what we do not know.
My English teacher once taught me in the 8th grade- If I keep a glass in front of you and you do not know what is, you will blindly stare into space. Only with an intention to learn what the object is, will you be able to see the purpose of the glass.
One must have the correct mindset to have a vision in order to make new discoveries, learn about humanity and beyond.
We all indeed must look within.
Enjoyed reading your blog which has become your USP.
Yes, we have made phenomenal advances in every area in the last few years. AI/ML are landmarks today, but they are not the ultimate. There will be many more things to come. While we may feel that AI is a solution to all our questions the fact remains that none of these developments today, or in the future, will be even closer to human intelligence. They are nothing but machines and will never be able to display, human values such as love and compassion, and similar features.
On a different front, I used to believe that the human body is the most complex system ever seen, but our solar system is by far the most complex. Advances in modern biology has allowed us to intervene, in at least in some limited ways, with the functioning of our human body. Something we will never be able to do with regards to leave aside its functioning even understanding the complexities of the solar system and our galaxy.
In this very profound blog, you have raised a fundamental question. The scientific or epistemological view holds that actual knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience and empirical evidence. Empiricists argue that traditions (or customs) arise due to relations of previous sensory experiences. Empirical research, including experiments and validated measurement tools, guides the scientific method.
But as you rightly pointed out with examples of Einstein and Kaluke, they imagined rather than observed. Plato called knowledge opinions derived from the shifting world of sensation. According to Plato, all human beings are born possessing all knowledge, and our realisation of that knowledge is contingent on our discovery. Progress brings one closer and closer to reality as each step explains the relative truth of the past.
Thank you Sir
Swami Vivekananda declared, “No knowledge comes from outside; it is all inside. What we say a man “knows”, should, in strict psychological language, be what he “discovers” or “unveils”; what a man “learns” is really what he “discovers”, by taking the cover off his soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge. . . We say Newton discovered gravitation. Was it sitting anywhere in a corner waiting for him? It was in his own mind; the time came and he found it out. All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in your own mind. The external world is simply the suggestion, the occasion, which sets you to study your own mind, but the object of your study is always your own mind. The falling of an apple gave the suggestion to Newton, and he studied his own mind. He rearranged all the previous links of thought in his mind and discovered a new link among them, which we call the law of gravitation. It was not in the apple nor in anything in the centre of the earth.” (Complete Works, 1. 1).
VERY INTERESTING AND EXPANDING ANALOGY
Dr Saab, I love reading your blogs, this is one is equally nice.
I give my inputs for the same. “Knowledge comes from within, ignited by curiosity, nurtured by self-reflection, and illuminated by intuition.”
Tap into the wisdom within, for it is the spark that sets the flame of knowledge ablaze, guiding you toward discovery, growth, and enlightenment.
Listen to the whispers of your inner self, for it holds the keys to unlocking the treasure trove of knowledge, creativity, and innovation that lies within.
Sir, this is a captivating piece that beautifully bridges science and philosophy.
The monk’s question “who are you”? – an existential challenge-it makes you pause and reflect on deeper purpose of life. We are conditioned to associate what we are with our roles/occupation without questioning our true essence. Your comparison to AI bots emphasizes how easily we can drift through life without introspection. The pursuit of knowledge, as you have beautifully put it, is endless and is not just about observation but from imagination and creativity within that drives us to seek answers.
Arun ji, Thank you for sharing. What a great comparison with mobile phone. Very insightful.
Respected Sir, in this profound blog, your basic premise is that the mind can discover a considerable amount of science by analysing, reflecting on everyday phenomena, and grasping nature, which is what the ancient Rishis did.
There is cumulative evidence from cognitive science and biology that the inner and outer worlds are connected. Our circadian Rhythms, our biological clocks, are tuned to the motions of the sun, the moon, and other astronomical phenomena. The biological, terrestrial, and astronomical worlds are connected, as are the earth and body, water and seed, sun and eye, wind and breath, and so on. By knowing oneself, one can indeed see the world.
Dear Sir, Greetings! This is a beautifully reflective and thought-provoking piece! I love how it weaves together profound philosophical concepts—from Adi Shankaracharya to David Deutsch—with modern existential questions. The anecdote about the Buddhist monk highlights the fundamental paradox of human existence: we immerse ourselves in external pursuits yet often fail to ask, ‘Who are we?’
The connection between human imagination and knowledge is particularly striking. As you rightly said, humanity’s most significant discoveries—gravity, relativity, the benzene ring—came not from observation alone but from the depths of human creativity and introspection. This reminds me of Deutsch’s optimism in The Beginning of Infinity—that our capacity to solve problems and expand our understanding is limitless.
Thank you for sharing such an eloquent and insightful meditation on reality, knowledge, and the purpose of human life!” Warm Regards.
Are all the answers to our lives inside us? Assuming we are talking about searching for our goals or making life decisions based on ourselves only is only partially accurate. We go on listening to the idea that you should seek answers within. There is a spectrum in all life matters; things or qualities or answers to things are not always black and white. Let’s take a 0 to 10 scale for the quality of going with your own heart and seeking solutions.
At 0 is a person who doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion or advice and ‘follows his heart’. Many people like this fail miserably in various aspects and are often seen as fools for doing so. Then, at 10, he is a person who has suppressed himself to the degree that he is not aware of what he wants and went on living by what other people suggest, and I am sure you can easily conclude how such a person can never find happiness.
So basically boils down to the fact that you follow your convictions and design the foundation of your life yourself, but when acting in the real world to realise your vision, keep your ears open for advice from those who you trust and those who will be giving the most impersonal advice which may be something you were overlooking. Maybe such people are few, 1,2 or 5, but that doesn’t matter. At least listen to them and think about it. So, seeking balance alone is the best way to move ahead.
Good and thought provoking for the uninitiated and the initiated to this subject. A good revision for me.
Every thing is within .. the statement would leave one perplexed.
The comments by your readers are equally thought provoking.
In about a fortnight, we will in the new year – what the year holds for one would not be surprising, if one accepts that “everything is within”
Best wishes for a New Year for one and all.
A fascinating anecdote shared by Dr Chinnababu. Who are you? Can you answer that question for yourself? And if you can, is the answer based on outside views of yourself. Like what you do, how you look, and the people you spend time with? Or is it based on your past, background, origin, memories, religions, beliefs, and education? Answering the question of who we are isn’t as easy as we think it is. Because who are we? Can we even define ourselves in words or one sentence?
The idea of understanding oneself as an iPhone is also brilliant. Behind our trivial messages, emails and communication, a massive technology platform and communication network operate to make it happen. Even in our lives, we can see how our education, livelihood, food, and conveniences like electricity, water, and sewage disposal are made possible by great systems operating. Of course, we breathe the air given gratis, and the Sun supports every form of life and vegetation, including creating rain and distributing water everywhere.
श्रीमद् भगवद्गीता में श्रीकृष्ण यह बताते है कि अहंकार नष्ट होने पर आत्मज्ञान स्वत हो जाता है।(श्लोक 5. 16)
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः।
तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम्।।
शोक और मोह से ग्रस्त जीवों के लिए शुद्ध आत्मस्वरूप अविद्या से आवृत रहता है। उन्हें आत्मा का उसके शुद्ध स्वरूप में अनुभव नहीं होता। ज्ञानी पुरुष के लिए अज्ञानावरण पूर्णतया निवृत्त हो जाता है। कितने ही दीर्घ काल से किसी स्थान पर स्थित अंधकार प्रकाश के आने पर तत्काल ही दूर हो जाता है न कि धीरेधीरे किसी विशेष क्रम से। इसी प्रकार से आत्मज्ञान का उदय होते ही अनादि अविद्या उसी क्षण निवृत्त हो जाती है।
दूसरी पंक्ति में ‘आदित्यवत्’ कहा गया है। हम सबका सामान्य अनुभव है कि वर्षा ऋतु में कई दिनों तक सूर्य नहीं दिखाई देता और हम जल्दी में कह देते हैं कि सूर्य बादलों से ढक गया है।सूर्य बादल के छोटे से टुकड़े से कैसे ढक सकता है। सूर्य तो सदा अपने सम्पूर्ण वैभव के साथ विद्यमान है। पृथ्वी तल पर खड़ा छोटा सा मनुष्य अपनी बिन्दु मात्र आँखों से देखता है कि बादल की एक टुकड़ी ने दैदीप्यमान आदित्य को ढक लिया है।
यदि हम अपनी छोटी सी उँगली अपने नेत्र के सामने निकट ही लगा लें तो विशाल पर्वत भी ढक सकता है।इसी प्रकार जीव जब आत्मा पर दृष्टि डालता है तो उस अनन्त आत्मा को अविद्या से आवृत पाता है। जैसे सूर्य को देखने के लिए किसी अन्य प्रकाश की आवश्यकता नहीं है आत्मानुभव के लिए भी किसी अन्य अनुभव की अपेक्षा नहीं है वह चित् स्वरूप है। ज्ञान का अन्तर्निहित तत्त्व चेतना ही है।
Thanks Arunji. This aligns so well with our philosophy that identifies various sources of knowledge as Pramanas including below ones.
Pratyaksha (Perception): Direct sensory experience, where knowledge arises from sense organs interacting with objects.
Anumana (Inference): Knowledge derived logically from premises (e.g., seeing smoke and inferring fire).
Upamana (Comparison): Knowledge gained through analogy or comparison.
Shabda (Verbal Testimony): Knowledge derived from the words of a trustworthy authority, such as scriptures or a reliable person.
Manana (Conteplation): Manana refers to deep contemplation on an observation or truth and also the process of moving from gross perception to subtle truths.
Aparoksha Jnana (Direct Realization) — a direct realization of a fundamental truth that connects individual phenomena to universal laws.
The human body biology and thinking process and further coordination is required to yield the fruitful outcome. Genius mind recognise this, as it was in case of Einstein and Newton’s.
Thanks professor Arun ji this piece of elaboration.
The infiniteness of this cosmos, this world we know and the creator whom we really understand are the essence of creation, creator, creativity. In this materialistic world, life goes on on one side, and exploring the infiniteness happens on the other side. The quantum physics, theory of relativity in the finite sphere around every life remains an astonishing fact for a common man. For a seeker, in the process if understanding the ultimate, it is a matter of delightful journey in understanding Advaita, Vishishrahadwaita and Dwaita siddhanra of Aadi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhwacgarya respectively. It is a search in the realm of infinity and the life goes on..
Thank you for good piece Prof!
This “knowledge from within” would have to be guided and informed by the other factors from outside (reality).
Sir, God bless you.
Since I met you, thanks to Dr Soma Raju, I have always considered myself average and admired your intelligence, which the modern Mahatma, the late Sri Abdul Kalam Ji, recognised. Due to Exophoria from childhood, I never could read continuously and failed in subjects like Anatomy but due to that failure God blessed me with thoughts within and Surgical skill. I loved every word in your Blog‘knowledge comes from within’ and Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli’s anecdote.
Thank you sir.
Thanks Professor Arun Tiwari jee for a great mind igniting thought. We look outwards for worldly things to fulfill our worldly needs,but the originality resides inside. Those who look inside themselves, they gave something different to life.
With regards.
Dear Sir, Very interesting blog,the comparison of our existence with a bot looks slightly harsh to start with, but as we read through the blog one starts realizing that most of us are doing what the bot does. The blog convinces all of us that we have to get out of our self proclaimed superiority and tells us to look within to realise the meaning and purpose of our existence. Your concluding para referring to Newton,Einstein and benzene ring scientifically and technically proves the requirement to look within to get the real meaning. The message is very clear for all of us to live a meaningful life looking within. Than you once again for a thought provoking blog sir.
Thank you for this mind-warming article, Prof Tiwari. At the same time, Deutsch emphasises the importance of knowledge as the basis for understanding and problem-solving, viewing it as a creative force that shapes our reality. The questions that emerge in the mind and the explanations generated in the quest for answers define the role of human beings in the cosmos, of a truth God showers us with blessings that lead each of us in finding meaning when we listen to His still and small voice every day!
Necessity has always been the mother of invention; challenges we face sow seeds of asking how to face such and finding solutions that make life worthwhile. Life is a journey all of us must walk in.
Great piece of writing. The correlation of a human being to an device that connects, has loads of information by way of thoughts. Also that human life finds answers from within and from outside. I always tell everyone, we live everyday connecting to everyone and we die only once. Not the other way round where people say we only live once.
Good one Arun ji!