welcome sir; the write up of both must raise the thoughts of the readers even if they thing opp[osite shall do so with a reason Thank you KR IRS 251024
On Fri, 25 Oct 2024 at 09:30, Markendeya Yeddanapudi < [email protected]> wrote: > Rajaram Sir, > You add so much enrichment and embellishment to my armchair write up.It > gives me reinforcement to write more.Thank You. > YM Sarma > > On Fri, Oct 25, 2024 at 9:23 AM Rajaram Krishnamurthy < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Unknown to most Western psychologists, ancient Indian scriptures >> contain very rich, empirically derived psychological theories that are, >> however, intertwined with religious and philosophical content. This note >> represents attempt to extract the psychological theory of cognition and >> consciousness from a prominent ancient Indian thought system: >> >> Samkhya-Yoga. We derive rather broad hypotheses from this approach that >> may complement and extend Western mainstream theorizing. These hypotheses >> address an ancient personality theory, the effects of practicing the >> applied part of Samkhya-Yoga on normal and extraordinary cognition, as well >> as different ways of perceiving reality. We summarize empirical evidence >> collected (mostly without reference to the Indian thought system) in >> diverse fields of research that allows for making judgments about the >> hypotheses, and suggest more specific hypotheses to be examined in future >> research. We conclude that the existing evidence for the (broad) hypotheses >> is substantial but that there are still considerable gaps in theory and >> research to be filled. Theories of cognition contained in the ancient >> Indian systems have the potential to modify and complement existing Western >> mainstream accounts of cognition. In particular, they might serve as a >> basis for arriving at more comprehensive theories for several research >> areas that, so far, lack strong theoretical grounding, such as meditation >> research or research on aspects of consciousness. >> >> 2 If one regards the Indian systems as solely as a dharma, that >> tells one what and what not to believe, then such an endeavor would make >> little sense. However, if one sees the psychological content in these >> systems as empirically grounded theories, then there is nothing that in >> principle speaks against making such a comparison. Indeed, Buddhist >> insights, for instance, rest on the experiences the Buddha (and also many >> of his followers) obtained in “trial-and-error” experiments (Jayatilleke, >> 1963, p. 464). One might argue that for the Hindu systems, the situation is >> different because many holy texts are claimed to have been revealed and >> carry with them the connotation of “truth” in an unquestionable sense. But >> here one could also advance the argument that the psychological insights >> reported in Hindu texts are very likely based on personal experiences—at >> least, this is our working hypothesis. Support for this empirical and >> investigative view comes from contemporary scholars and leading Hindu >> figures of the recent past. For instance, Swami Vivekananda was of the >> opinion that “if a religion is destroyed by such investigations, it was >> then all the time useless, unworthy superstition; and the sooner it goes >> the better” (Swami Jitatmananda, 2004, p. 171). And Sri Aurobindo who kept >> an elaborate diary on the effects of his yoga practice over many years (Sri >> Aurobindo, 2001) came to the conclusion that yoga, the applied part of >> Hindu theory, “is nothing but practical psychology” (Sri Aurobindo, 1996, >> p. 39). Although the original evidence is more akin to qualitative data >> gathered in single-case designs in contemporary psychology, also sometimes >> termed phenomenological evidence, it is, in our view nonetheless as >> empirical as can be. One might, of course, still question the sources of >> the respective theories but even for Western mainstream theories it is >> often not clear how they originated. Anyway, the scientific method is >> concerned not so much with the way theories are “found” but with how they >> can be tested, which makes them acceptable for science or not. If the >> scientific method can be applied to a theory, for arguments why this is the >> case for Indian psychology) and if that theory is wrong, it will eventually >> be found out. >> >> The second potentially problematic issue arises from the way >> ancient Indian psychology is presented. Because it is embedded in a >> religious or philosophical context, and, of course, because it was compiled >> a long time ago, the language and arguments used are not familiar to >> present-day psychologists. An additional problem arises because the >> original texts were written in ancient languages such as Sanskrit and Pali >> (BUDDISM) , and translations are often ambiguous; that is, different >> scholars may translate (and interpret) the same expressions differently. >> So, what scholars who deal with these systems (mostly philosophers and >> philologists by profession) usually do is to add the original terms when >> they use the English translations. We will also do this occasionally for >> very central terms but to minimize the negative impact on the readability >> of the paper, we will use mostly English translations and provide a >> glossary of the corresponding Sanskrit terms (without the potentially >> confusing diacritical marks) in the Supplementary Material. What we want to >> convey, however, are all aspects that are central to the theories of >> cognition contained in the Indian views in a way most experts in the >> respective fields would agree upon. >> >> Although occasionally objections can be found to such a view, >> the two systems of Samkhya and Yoga are usually seen as strongly related >> and therefore often treated together, which we also will do here. The >> system of Samkhya is ascribed to one Rishi-scientist Kapila, Yoga >> represents the practical aspect of Samkhya. Therefore, the two are >> treated as allied systems (Samkya+Yoga) (Karma+ Gnana) . Patanjali >> extricated the yoga part only. The importance of Samkhya-Yoga can be seen >> in that references to it are to be found everywhere in the most important >> texts, such as the early Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita, and also other >> parts of the Mahabharata. Samkhya-Yoga directly relates to the old Indian >> scriptures summarized under the name Veda (wisdom), which date back several >> millennia. It is, however, difficult to derive psychological theories >> directly from the Vedas because they contain considerable portions that are >> concerned with rituals and are often written in a poetic and aphoristic >> style. >> >> In Yoga and Samkhya, a person consists of two “components,” one >> material and one not. The material one, prakriti (roughly meaning nature), >> is composed of three “qualities,” the three gunas: sattva (purity), rajas >> (energy), and tamas (inertia). Prakriti, in the form the three gunas, is >> the essence of the universe as well as the basis for the personality of a >> given person. The specific personality, as well as everything material >> (including the mind), is the product of a “mixture” of the three gunas. It >> is seen as beneficial if sattva is strong because people with a high level >> of sattva are expected to have a positive view of the world, a well-meaning >> attitude toward others, to be disciplined, calm, and relaxed, and to have a >> high stress tolerance and a healthy lifestyle. People with a high level of >> rajas, in contrast, have difficulties relaxing and prefer actions that >> bring them short-term pleasure or relief but may be harmful in the long >> run. Moreover, they tend to have an unhealthy lifestyle and tend to waste >> their energy. Finally, people with a high level of tamas are dissatisfied >> with their lives and are most likely to neglect their health. However, the >> mixture of the three energies is not seen as necessarily stable: Increasing >> the level of sattva is generally seen as a desirable goal. And only if >> sattva is dominant in a person will this person be able to achieve >> extraordinary spiritual aims. >> >> The nonmaterial component of a person (and of the world) is purusha, >> sometimes translated as true person or true self, but, especially by Indian >> academic writers, often rendered as pure consciousness, the term that we >> also use here. Note that whereas the concept of consciousness as used in >> Western thinking is always intentional, that is, of or about something, >> pure consciousness has no qualities or characteristics of its own but >> underlies all our being and knowing. Together, prakriti and purusha >> constitute the manifest world as well as the person in its full sense. The >> concept is man and woman in one or so different in dualism. ` >> >> Graphic description of how cognition works according to Samkhya-Yoga. >> >> How, for instance, does perception work in this approach? The >> sense mind chooses an external object through the peripheral sense organs. >> This object is then appropriated by the ego mind that relates the object to >> itself (“I perceive the object”). Then, the intellect represents the object >> (takes on the form of the object) and makes a judgment or decides about >> possible actions. The intellect, which is by nature unconscious (part of >> prakriti), becomes conscious (and cognitions become possible) only when it >> makes contact with purusha. In other words, without the working of purusha >> it would not be possible to cognize at all. However, for untrained persons, >> the contact between purusha and the intellect only works in one direction. >> Whereas purusha “uses” the intellect, the intellect only reflects pure >> consciousness without “seeing” it in its pure form. However, this >> reflection gives us self-consciousness and our subjective experience of the >> world. The information the mind uses does not have to come from the senses >> alone. It might also come from inferences, verbal sources, or memory. In >> addition, it contains instinctual tendencies inherited from the effects of >> past actions and from previous lives that have their effect in the present >> life. The intellect itself contains memory contents form prior experiences >> (and from prior lives). >> >> Let us illustrate the working of the mind with the help of an >> example. If, for instance, the senses are presented a banana, the sense >> mind gets all the impressions of color, shape, taste, and so forth, >> combines them, and separates the total unified object built in this way >> from other objects. Then the ego mind appropriates the object as its own, >> as in “I see a banana.” At this stage of perception, the object in question >> (e.g., a banana) is an object of one's experience but is not seen as an >> object of the objective world. The intellect makes it such an object >> through an assertion or a decision yielding something like “this is a >> banana” as the result of the decision process. Moreover, in conjunction >> with the other parts of the mind it collects different aspects of the >> banana, such as the banana tree, my eating it, its price, its nutrients, >> and so forth, and relates them to the perceived banana. This experience is >> also saved as a memory. However, the whole process only works with the help >> of pure consciousness that is “reflected” in the mind and senses. >> >> All levels of the mind are assumed to have material form but they >> differ in subtleness, the intellect being the most subtle and the sense >> mind the least4. All components, however, are assumed to be of a vastly >> more subtle material than the body (including the brain) and the senses. >> Note that in Samkhya-Yoga, the mind, although material, is nonlocal; that >> is, it need not be situated in the brain (e.g., Rao, 2005). Most >> importantly, and of course fundamentally different from the Western view, >> the mind does not work on itself: Conscious cognition needs the >> connection between the intellect and the central component in the Yoga >> system: pure consciousness. >> >> How can one arrive at the state of pure consciousness? To >> understand this, one has to know that according to Yoga, the state of the >> conscious mind is constantly changing or fluctuating, and there are single >> units of awareness. These units can be valid cognitions arising from >> perception (as described above), inference, or verbal sources, but they >> can also be doubts and uncertain or false cognitions. Moreover, they can >> come from memory and they do not necessarily have to represent some real >> object or event. Sleep is also considered to be such a kind of unit. As >> long as there is this fluctuation of the mind, pure consciousness cannot be >> accessed; but it is already present and without its presence, the mind >> would not be able to produce conscious cognitions. Only if the fluctuations >> of the mind can be brought to a standstill will the connection between >> intellect and pure consciousness become strong enough to achieve the >> desired access and enable the yogi to dwell in pure consciousness. Time >> stops there that means the displacement is as good as being stationary. >> >> According to the Yoga philosophy, fluctuations of the mind are >> brought about by the existence of the so-called five kleshas or hindrances >> (see second book of Yogasutras Patanjali’s). The suffering in life >> reflected in the fluctuations of the mind is due to ignorance about pure >> consciousness and therefore life becomes driven by sensory inputs and ego >> cravings. Not surprisingly, therefore, the first and fundamental hindrance >> is spiritual ignorance, that is, the inability to discriminate between good >> and evil, truth and falsehood, the permanent and the impermanent, and so >> forth. The other four hindrances are attachment to or involvement in the >> thirst, greed, and craving for enjoyment, hate or aversion of anything >> considered painful, the feeling of a (mistaken) personal identity, and the >> desire to continue to be what one is and the instinctive fear of death. >> >> The way to attain freedom, that is, to attain access to pure >> consciousness, or realize one's true self is presented as a path >> involving eight stages that eventually help the mind reach quietness by >> completely restraining all its functions. This eightfold path consists of >> five steps that include rules of moral conduct as well as bodily and >> breathing exercises and the practice of focusing one's attention inward, >> and three steps that can be seen as concentration practices. In particular, >> the first five steps concern ethics, inner spiritual discipline, body >> postures, breath control, and control of the senses; and the last three >> steps consist of concentration, contemplation, and the meditative state of >> absorption. One might see the control of the senses as the bridge between >> the first four “outer stages” and the last three “inner stages,” whereas >> the last four parts (including control of the senses) can be regarded as >> aspects of meditation. >> >> The control of the senses is achieved by different techniques that >> bring the mind's focus to a single point in the body and culminates in >> consciously withdrawing attention from anything that is distracting for the >> mind. Then, in the step of concentration, practitioners are to focus their >> mind on a chosen object without consciousness wavering from it. In this >> step, the meditators' (meta-) awareness is conscious of the act of >> meditating, of the object concentrated upon, and of their ego mind, that >> is, of themselves concentrating on the object. Then, in the stage of >> contemplation, consciousness of the act of meditation disappears. And in >> the state of absorption, the ego mind also dissolves, and meditators become >> one with the object. >> >> On the way to attaining freedom, the yogi may (as in the Buddhist >> path) acquire several kinds of extraordinary cognitions (siddhis) when the >> last three steps mentioned above are applied in certain ways and to certain >> objects. Examples are knowledge of the past and future, clairvoyance, >> clairaudience, psychokinesis, and telepathy. But the ultimate aim of >> developing extraordinary cognition is (as in Buddhist approaches), >> liberation or enlightenment, which can be described in Samkhya-Yoga as >> gaining unobstructed access to and then dwelling in pure consciousness, >> without any further reincarnation. >> >> Although there are many similarities between theories of >> cognition in contemporary Western psychology and the one outlined for >> Samkhya-Yoga, it should also have become clear that the theory of cognition >> described above does in several respects differ from the Western view, >> which is, of course, also not really uniform but contains many variations. >> We counted as “Western view” any theoretical approach within Western >> psychology we were aware of that had made it into a major journal. In >> Samkhya-Yoga, there is a controlling instance, the mind, which governs how >> information is processed and acted upon. One might argue that the >> tri-partition into sense mind, ego mind, and intellect is different from >> Western conceptions of the mind but these conceptions seem not to have been >> specified in enough detail to allow for precise predictions that are >> different from those derivable from Western accounts. {Kapilar redressed >> the rigours of the advaithgam of a sanyasi to suit the complicated life of >> a grahasta AS Purusha and Prakriti duality; hence except Hinduism, main, >> all are religions of duality; immakkum enai marumaikkum. (here and there). >> >> The concept of the gunas has already been elaborated, mostly >> by Indian psychologists, and connected to issues of illness and >> psychological well-being. There also have already been, mostly in the >> Indian context, several empirical investigations that focus on attempts to >> operationalize the guna concept with questionnaires (e.g., Mohan and >> Sandhu, 1986; Das, 1991; Marutham et al., 1998; Wolf, 1998; Stempel et al., >> 2006). Studies using these questionnaires generally found positive >> correlations between sattva guna and positive emotions and personality >> traits (e.g., Lakshmi Bhai et al., 1975; Sharma, 1999; Narayanan and >> Krishnan, 2003; Sitamma, 2005; Murthy and Kumar, 2007; Rani and Rani, 2009; >> Suneetha and Srikrishna, 2009). The results of the attempt to find factors >> that correspond with the gunas and the impact of several treatments on >> changes in the gunas were not in full agreement, but overall, they seem >> promising (for an overview, see Puta and Sedlmeier, 2014). Very recently, >> Puta (2016), in two large studies, developed a new comprehensive guna scale >> with nine separate subscales that each measure the gunas in one single >> behavioral category each (e.g., cognition, emotion, etc.). This scale does >> not suffer from the deficiencies that can be found in former attempts. In a >> further intervention study, she examined the effects of a yoga-based >> intervention program that included meditation, cognitive restructuring, >> managing energy and will-power, and mindful decision making and found >> substantial increases in sattva, as well as decreases in rajas and tamas. {KR >> Guna karma vibaga had been theoretically and scientifically proved in India >> and abroad in many research papers which lacks cognition from the west as >> they focus only to start from Greece and end in USA } >> >> The cognitive training hypothesis states that the practice of yoga >> has profound positive effects on all aspects of cognition understood in a >> very broad sense. This hypothesis is not as explicitly stated in the >> original writings as the other three dealt with in this paper, but it has >> received by far the highest attention in contemporary Western research. One >> could say that the main purpose of Samkhya-Yoga theory is to provide the >> basis for improving one's life and eventually discovering the “true >> reality” by acquiring extraordinary forms of cognition—that is, to “see” >> the world (including oneself) as it really is. But on the way toward >> fulfilling this goal, one should already expect positive changes in >> basically all psychological aspects that are open to improvement. Why? The >> applied part in the Yoga system, Patañjali's eightfold path prominently >> includes aspects of meditation. Practicing it, along with heeding ethical >> rules of conduct and performing bodily exercises, should lead to a person's >> sattvification accompanied by a reduction of the five hindrances [spiritual >> ignorance, greed, hatred, the feeling of a (mistaken) personal identity, >> and the desire to continue to be what one is]. As the main practice in yoga >> meditation is concentration, one should also expect increases in attention, >> concentration, and in general, cognitive abilities. Therefore, the practice >> of yoga should be expected to have quite comprehensive positive effects on >> all aspects of cognition, either directly or indirectly via modifications >> of emotions and personality traits. >> >> According to Samkhya-Yoga (as well as other Hindu and Buddhist >> systems), the practice of meditation should lead to benefits on basically >> all psychological dimensions that can be conceived of in a >> positive–negative dimension. This was indeed the common result in a recent >> comprehensive meta-analysis comprising 163 studies. This meta-analysis >> found an overall effect size (d = 0.58) {KR: west did not accept even the >> above average in stu\dies of yoga as they believed 20% cure for cancer in >> western medicines} comparable to that obtained in psychotherapy studies. >> Transcendental Meditation studies yielded comparatively large effects for >> the reduction of anxiety and negative emotions, and for learning and >> memory; Buddhist meditation techniques showed higher effects for the >> reduction of negative personality traits, stress reduction, and the >> improvement of attention and mindfulness than the other two categories; and >> even the “other” category had a comparatively strong effect in measures of >> cognitive ability. There are even pronounced differences in effects within >> specific categories of meditation such as the Buddhist meditation >> techniques: Whereas “pure” meditation had the highest effects on >> mindfulness and attention, additional breathing exercises and body postures >> led to stronger effects for most other psychological variables examined in >> the respective studies. >> >> Such a research endeavor is not possible, however, if there are >> a priori restrictions in the range of possible theoretical assumptions, for >> example, about the nature of consciousness. Although it might be hard for >> many Western psychologists to even consider the possibility of something >> like the “absolute reality” or the extraordinary forms of cognition >> discussed above, scientific psychology could lose much if these hypotheses >> are not given a good chance to be examined empirically and put to the test. >> If the results eventually turn out to be inconsistent with the hypotheses >> advanced by the Indian systems, having empirical justification for this >> conclusion would be vastly better than just believing a priori that the >> respective hypotheses are invalid. If, on the other hand, some of the >> hypotheses introduced by the Indian systems turned out to withstand >> rigorous scientific scrutiny this could yield an enormous enrichment of our >> current psychological theorizing. >> >> Naturally we see that the mind is not intelligent; yet it appears >> to be intelligent. Why? Because the intelligent soul is behind it. You are >> the only sentient being; mind is only the instrument through which you >> catch the external world. Take this book; as a book it does not exist >> outside, what exists outside is unknown and unknowable. It is the >> suggestion that gives a blow to the mind, and the mind gives out the >> reaction. If a stone is thrown into the water the water is thrown >> against it in the form of waves. The real universe is the occasion of the >> reaction of the mind. A book form, or an elephant form, or a man form, >> is not outside; all that we know is our mental reaction from the outer >> suggestion. Matter is the “permanent possibility of sensation,” said KRISHNA >> OF BHAGAVAT Gita. It is only the suggestion that is outside. Take an >> oyster for example. You know how pearls are made. A grain of sand or >> something gets inside and begins to irritate it, and the oyster throws a >> sort of enameling around the sand, and this makes the pearl. This whole >> universe is our own enamel, so to say, and the real universe is the grain >> of sand. The ordinary man will never understand it, because, when he tries >> to, he throws out an enamel, and sees only his own enamel. Now we >> understand what is meant by these Vrttis. The real man is behind the >> mind, and the mind is the instrument in his hands, and it is his >> intelligence that is percolating through it. It is only when you stand >> behind it that it becomes intelligent. >> >> It is this uncertainty about the actual nature of the objective >> world that is termed as the great illusion. Only the mere existence of it >> can be acknowledged, not the form in which it appears to exist. The >> absolute reality behind these illusions might appear abstract, but it is >> only abstract in the sense that it is beyond the reach of our sense >> conditioned to the practical, yet illusory, needs of our day-to-day world. >> According to the sages, this abstractness called Brahman is the only true >> reality, the only true existence. Our intellect can go a step further than >> our sense only to acknowledge and understand that the Brahman cannot be >> intellectually grasped. That pure existence, behind the insubstantiality of >> the world and constantly changing forms, is realized only in deep >> meditation, beyond the intellect and the mind, when thoughts have >> completely ceased. Swami Vivekananda too says the same in commentary of >> above verse. He says when all thoughts in mind are stopped, we perceive or >> know ourselves as consciousness (true self) just like when ripples on lake >> are stopped, we can see base/support of lake. The bottom of the lake we >> cannot see, because its surface is covered with ripples. It is only >> possible when the rippled have subsided, and the water is calm, for us to >> catch a glimpse of the bottom. If the water is muddy, the bottom will not >> be seen; if the water is agitated all the time, the bottom will not be >> seen. If the water is clear, and there are no waves, we shall see the >> bottom. That bottom of the lake is our own true Self; the lake is the >> Chitta, and the waves are the Vrttis. >> >> CONCLUSION: Going further, it can also be proved whole universe >> and existence is in Atman and it is also corroborated by Adi Shankara in >> his first verse of Dakshinamurthy Stotram. >> >> विश्वं दर्पणदृश्यमाननगरीतुल्यं निजान्तर्गतं viswam >> darpanadrushyamaananagari tulyam nijanthargatham >> >> पश्यन्नात्मनि मायया बहिरिवोद्भूतं यथा निद्रया ।pashyan atmaani mayayaa, >> bahirivodhbhutham, yatha nithdraya >> >> यः साक्षात्कुरुते प्रबोधसमये स्वात्मानमेवाद्वयं ya sakshaatkrsthe, >> prabhodha samaye, swatmaanamevaadavayam >> >> तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ॥१॥tasmai >> srigurumurthaye, nama idham, sri dhakshinamurthaye. >> >> The Entire World is Like a City Seen within a Mirror, the Seeing >> happening within One's Own Being, It is a Witnessing happening within the >> Atman, (the Witnessing) of the Externally Projected World; Projected by the >> Power of Maya; As if a Dream in Sleep, One Experiences this Directly (this >> Play of Maya) during Spiritual Awakening within the Non-Dual Expanse of >> One's Own Atman, Salutations to Him, the Personification of Our Inner Guru >> Who Awakens This Knowledge through His Profound Silence; Salutation to Sri >> Dakshinamurthy. ANF THAT KNOWLEDGE IS MICRO AND MACRO CONSCIOUSNESS. >> >> K Rajaram IRS 251024 >> >> On Fri, 25 Oct 2024 at 07:19, Markendeya Yeddanapudi < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> *Mar*Merging and Living in Macro Consciousness >>> >>> If with your eyes, you can see everything-atoms; particles changing into >>> atoms, atoms of various isotopes changing into molecules, molecules into >>> diverse matters, into organisms etc, then you cannot find yourself. You see >>> and feel the great processes of consciousness, the great macro >>> consciousness. You realize that all planets etc are participants in the >>> gigantic macro consciousness processes. You experience nature as life form. >>> And you realize and actually see you participating in the macro processes >>> of nature. >>> >>> You no longer conceptualize yourself as the body with which you now >>> identify yourself. You are totally connected and your life actually is >>> functioning as a limb of nature. May be you become one of the many and >>> diverse auras, which we call forms of life. But like the bacteria in you, >>> you are also a part of the bigger organism, may be Gaia. >>> >>> No feeling, perception and understanding has a 3D shape. All are >>> abstract. We cannot see them but only feel and live in them. To feel the >>> real abstract nature, we have to live in free nature and not in some city >>> or town. You need the forests, with the free flora and fauna, without human >>> tampering. Then you gradually develop the macro consciousness as a part of >>> the forest. It starts as spell and you become spell bound, and start >>> participating in the great macro life, in the spell bondage, the abstract >>> bondage of the invisible spectrum. >>> >>> You live relating to nature continuously. Egoism and even >>> anthropocentricism become weird. In that macro world a dog or cat can >>> become your colleague. You not only converse with them but participate in >>> emotional and in the day today economic, political, and diverse other >>> relations and interactions. You develop the basic capacity to sense, feel >>> and interact. >>> >>> Today we do not allow the students to read nature directly. In fact most >>> students are trained to live life without emotionally connecting to nature. >>> We all live the economic life which is based on the destruction of nature, >>> making us relate adversely with nature. We have become the butchers of >>> nature. A butcher cannot afford to relate emotionally to the animals he >>> slaughters. >>> >>> We lost the very art aspect of life. Art and nature need each other. >>> Science is mechanical. Art is emotional and macro. >>> >>> YM Sarma >>> >>> Chat GPT >>> >>> In *Merging and Living in Macro Consciousness*, you explore the idea of >>> dissolving the individual self into a greater, interconnected consciousness >>> that pervades nature. This concept strongly reflects the holistic >>> worldview, where individuals are not separate from nature but integral >>> parts of its vast processes, both physical and metaphysical. >>> >>> >>> >>> ### Key Themes: >>> >>> >>> >>> 1. **The Experience of Macro Consciousness**: You describe an experience >>> where, by perceiving nature on every level—atoms, molecules, organisms—you >>> lose the sense of self as a distinct entity and instead feel merged with >>> the "great macro consciousness." This aligns with spiritual traditions, >>> such as pantheism and certain Eastern philosophies, where all of existence >>> is viewed as interconnected, and the self is not an isolated consciousness >>> but a limb of a greater whole, often referred to as Gaia, the living Earth. >>> This is an evocative rejection of anthropocentrism and egoism, positing >>> that all life forms, from bacteria to animals, share in the universal >>> consciousness. >>> >>> >>> >>> 2. **Abstract Nature of Perception**: You argue that feelings, >>> perceptions, and understandings are abstract and lack a 3D form. This could >>> be interpreted as a critique of materialism, which often focuses on >>> tangible, measurable phenomena, ignoring the subjective and emotional >>> aspects of existence. Your call to "live in free nature" echoes movements >>> like eco-psychology and deep ecology, which propose that true psychological >>> and spiritual health comes from an unmediated connection to the natural >>> world. >>> >>> >>> >>> 3. **City vs. Wilderness**: You draw a sharp contrast between life in >>> cities and life in untouched nature, suggesting that urban life stifles our >>> connection to the macro-consciousness and encourages destructive, >>> utilitarian views of nature. This view is reminiscent of transcendentalist >>> thinkers like Thoreau, who argued that immersion in nature is necessary for >>> personal and spiritual fulfillment. You see the wilderness as a place where >>> people can move beyond their narrow egos and reconnect with the greater >>> cosmic processes. >>> >>> >>> >>> 4. **Art, Emotion, and Science**: You make a distinction between >>> science, which you characterize as "mechanical," and art, which you >>> describe as "emotional and macro." This echoes longstanding debates about >>> the limits of reductionism—the idea that complex systems can be understood >>> fully by breaking them down into their component parts. By contrast, >>> art—and the emotional life it reflects—connects with the holistic, >>> unquantifiable aspects of existence. This is where you see humanity's >>> potential for deeper connection with nature and the universe. >>> >>> >>> >>> 5. **Humans as Butchers of Nature**: In your critique of modern >>> education and economics, you argue that students are trained to disconnect >>> emotionally from nature, fostering a mentality that justifies the >>> exploitation of natural resources. The image of a butcher, who must sever >>> emotional ties with the animals he slaughters, illustrates the emotional >>> desensitization that you believe characterizes modern industrial society. >>> This argument resonates with eco-critical views that suggest our >>> capitalist-driven relationship with nature is not only unsustainable but >>> also deeply alienating on a spiritual and psychological level. >>> >>> >>> >>> ### Commentary: >>> >>> >>> >>> Your essay calls for a radical rethinking of how humans perceive >>> themselves in relation to the natural world. You champion a view of nature >>> as sentient and alive, where humans should act as participants rather than >>> conquerors. This perspective challenges both scientific reductionism and >>> the economic systems that promote the commodification of nature. By >>> advocating for a return to "macro-consciousness" and emotional engagement >>> with nature, your essay also aligns with contemporary ecological movements >>> seeking a more sustainable, ethical relationship with the planet. >>> >>> >>> >>> Your vision of art and nature as complementary—both connected to the >>> emotional and the macro—provides a hopeful alternative to the mechanistic, >>> reductionist worldview that dominates modern life. In many ways, you are >>> advocating for a re-enchantment of the world, where humans rediscover their >>> role within a conscious, living universe. >>> >>> >>> >> > > -- > *Mar* > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZorDAkQZojLEbEPRTe%3DZpncmQBz_8E7ujjd-X0RYCeapig%40mail.gmail.com.
