Brahman & Parabrahman

A colleague asked me to describe the difference between the concept of Brahman and ParaBrahman within our philosophy and I developed the following write up in response for my own edification this morning and wanted to share: 

I try to resolve some of these questions in my own mind by trying to find parallels within observed empirical manifestations within physics. Again much of this is my own understanding and my attempt at reconciling the sage advice of our illustrious seers and science as it stands today. So, one way of looking at this is to look to Brahman and ParaBrahman as equivalent to 'this universe' and 'other parallel universes' bubbling up as infinitesimal points across the infinite. The fields that give rise to vacuum energy* in each of these universes have their own manifestation of physical constants that when combined together give rise to appropriate material forms (and thus life sometimes) in each of the universes. The fields and the physical constants that emanate from the fields in each of the universe is the 'Brahman' in that universe. The ParaBrahman is the sum agglomeration of such similar fields across every such universe that pops into existence. While the basic "character" of these fields in each and every universe is the same, the physical constants** that are manifested as a result in each universe may be singular to that universe. Thus Brahman and ParaBrahman are technically the same and different at the same time. Of course the physical constants that manifest from the fields in each of the universe may or may not give rise to life and other material forms. 

*In quantum field theory, the quantum vacuum state (also called the quantum vacuum or vacuum state) is the quantum state with the lowest possible energy. Generally, it contains no physical particles. Zero-point field is sometimes used as a synonym for the vacuum state of an individual quantized field.

According to present-day understanding of what is called the vacuum state or the quantum vacuum, it is "by no means a simple empty space". According to quantum mechanics, the vacuum state is not truly empty but instead contains fleeting electromagnetic waves and particles that pop into and out of existence.

The virtual particles that pop into and out of existence within the 'Brahman' (if one wants to use that phrase for the zero-point field) is responsible for explaining many physical interactions like Coulomb (static electric force) between electric charges.force, the magnetic field between magnetic dipoles, the strong nuclear force between quarks, the weak force, Casimir effect (where the ground state of the quantized electromagnetic field causes attraction between a pair of electrically neutral metal plates) etc. 

**The following lines excerpted from PCW Davies book, the Accidental Universe lays out the delicate balance between the physical constants that are delicately tuned to the manifestation of martial forms in our universe - values whose exact numerical precision accidentally driven by the same vacuum energy. One starts to see that even if spectacular progress has been made by physicists in recent years in understanding the basic forces of nature, many fundamental features of the physical world seem to be ar-bitrary and meaningless. Why are there three space dimensions? Why is gravity so weak? Why is the proton 1836 times heavier than the electron? And so on. The numerical values that nature has assigned to the fundamental constants, such as the charge on the electron, the mass of the proton, and the Newtonian gravitational constant, may be mysterious, but they are crucially relevant to the structure of the universe that we perceive. As more and more physical systems, from nuclei to galaxies, have become better understood, scientists have begun to realize that many characteristics of these systems are remarkably sensitive to the precise values of the fundamental constants. Had nature opted for a slightly different set of numbers, the world would be a very different place. Probably we would not be here to see it. More intriguing still, certain crucial structures, such as solartype stars, depend for their characteristic features on wildly improbable numerical accidents that combine together fundamental constants from distinct branches of physics. And when one goes on to study cosmology — the overall structure and evolution of the universe — incredulity mounts. Recent discoveries about the primeval cosmos oblige us to accept that the expanding universe has been set up in its motion with a cooperation of astonishing precision. Many of these 'accidents of nature' have been known for decades. In the 1930s, Eddington and Dirac were struck by the curious and unexpected concurrence of certain very large numbers computed from atomic physics and cosmology. These and other examples give the impression that the universe is delicately balanced in a meticulous and at the same time precarious manner where a change in a single physical constant will have multifarious effects including the fact that we would not have existed to witness the universe.