Gravity, cosmology and particle physics without the cosmological constant problem

This letter elucidates recent achievements of the "nongravitating vacuum energy (NGVE) theory" which has the feature that a shift of the Lagrangian density by a constant does not affect dynamics. In the first-order formalism, a constraint appears that enforces the vanishing of the cosmological constant Lambda. Standard dynamics of gauge unified theories (including fermions) and their SSB appear if a four-index field strength condensate is present. At the vacuum state, there is exact balance (to zero) of the gauge fields condensate and the original scalar fields potential. As a result it is possible to combine the solution of the A problem with inflation and transition to a Lambda = 0 phase without fine tuning after a reheating period. The model opens new possibilities for a solution of the hierarchy problem.