Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Michael J. Sandel, David Frawley, and V.S. Ramachandran

From: VINOD KUMAR SEHGAL Saturday, July 21, 2018 Subject: Re: [Sadhu Sanga] RE: Dependent co-origination and conditions vs. causality: extended dual-aspect monism
All siddhis emanate from a powerful Sankalpa of a Yogi and the Sankalpa of a Yogi is derived from all-powerful Cosmic Consciousness (CC). All the laws operating in nature are also due to Sankalpa of CC, as taken at the primordial time. When a Yogi takes a Sankalpa, as derived from CC, the laws of nature suspend/alter/change temporarily and locally to accommodate and fulfill the Sankalpa of the Yogi. There should be no wonder in this. A crude analogy from the mundane point of view. Today you may take some Sankalpa as  based on the power of President Trump. You will see that all the bureaucrats./ officials  down all the hierarchical lines  automatically  become ready to change rules/regulations to accommodate and fulfill your Sankalpa
....

As long as you are talking about mind and consciousness, it is fine to assume that there could be different laws. But according to my understanding , in talking about siddhis you are encroaching the domain of physics. You cannot get away with violations of established laws, unless you empirically prove these phenomena. If you prove them  then, physicists will have to rethink about the laws. If you cannot establish siddhis empirically,  question of siddhis will remain  strictly a matter of belief. You are not going to convince anyone who does not already believe in them. Laws of science cannot be discarded when they are inconvenient to your beliefs. All of us use science all day! I hope, I am not excessively blunt!
Best. Kashyap
...

Dear Kashyap,
Physics is not about finding 'laws of nature', but only mathematical models which can predict results of certain experiments under certain conditions. Anyone who has studied physics seriously knows that all mathematical models have a certain range of validity. It's not good to stretch the models beyond that. 
I can understand your insistence on empirical validation, but have already stated that it's only a particular way of verifying knowledge. To say that nothing is valid unless it's empirically tested is again an overstretch. 
I see the above as a simple obvious fact which should not require any convincing unless one has certain deep rooted beliefs in the monopoly of physics over matter.
Best, Kushal.

In the Einsteinian framework, gravity isn't a force that attracts other beings, but rather the mass of one body curves the fabric of space-time, creating a path that other entities move along as they fall. larvalsubjects | July 21, 2018 

Friends as hindrance to spiritual striving, spirituality and syncreticism in Vaiśvāmitra
RA Shastri … Sri Aurobindo was the first in modern times to argue for the centrality of spirituality in Ṛgveda.3 He pointed out that the Veda had a double aspect – psychological and physical, with the same language serving both aspects, and observed that the …

Olivier Pironneau Career Paper
W Fitzgibbon, J Periaux - Contributions to Partial Differential Equations and …, 2019… Olivier was introduced to the thought of Sri Aurobindo by his Indian mentor (more properly “guru”) ML Parashar … In 1910 Sri Aurobindo retired from public life and settled in Pondicherry where he dedicated himself to philosophical and spiritual pursuits …

Random Meditations Through Her 1000 Names - I

Swarajya-18-Jul-2018
Eleven years before Jung came up with his first lecture on 'Mother' archetype, Sri Aurobindo wrote six chapters on the 'Mother' (1927). He described her as the ...

Random Meditations Through Her 1000 Names - V

Swarajya-22-Jul-2018
As Sri Aurobindo points out, the dynamics of three gunas like kaleidoscopes can create a continuum of combinations for the persons and through the emotional ...

Random Meditations Through Her 1000 Names - VI

Swarajya-23-Jul-2018
Sri Aurobindo, in his Secret of the Vedas, explains the real nature of Vedic Dawn. This is amazingly similar to the traditional commentary regarding the name ...

Assorted tweets from diverse perspective:

The Jagannath Rath Yatra Is a Reminder of How Inclusive Hinduism Can Be https://t.co/d0vb2OoAZY

24. The CJI questions the assumption that Ayyappa Devotees constitute a religious denomination, whereas Justice Nariman seems to agree that they indeed constitute a religious denomination. #Sabarimala
25. After reading out the evidence submits that the documentary suggests that there is a practice on the basis of belief. For the Court to disagree with it, a trial must be conducted before the Court can set aside a long standing essential religious practice. #Sabarimala
36. Dr. Singhvi submits that even if Ayyappa Devotees don't constitute a religious denomination, they have rights under Article 25
38. Dr. Singhvi submits that if the law protects even dietary prescriptions based on religion, it certainly protects practices relating to entry into the Temple and worship of the Deity. #Sabarimala
40 Dr. Singhvi submits that it is not for the Court to comment on the rationality of religious beliefs. That the belief exists and traditions based on the belief have been practiced for centuries is sufficient to merit protection under Article 26. #Sabarimala

Why is India’s Ministry of Health @MoHFW_INDIA wrongly demonising meat & eggs as unhealthy? It’s starch & sugar that’s the major issue. My interview on how India can reverse its type 2 diabetes epidemic in 5 years. https://t.co/GfHayHAzsw @shekharkapur https://t.co/wV3ra4KwX4

Conventional wisdom is challenged yet again. Dairy fats are not related to CVD or death, and there's an inverse association with stroke (as reported in PURE). The claim that low-fat dairy is healthier has no basis. https://t.co/l6O2dSbjcl

Public would expect doctors to understand & be trained to understand how different food patterns affect chronic disease. Don’t remember a single lecture on this in med school: Cardiologist & health campaigner @DrAseemMalhotra. Read our interview: https://t.co/Rodoh4jKP8
“Cutting starchy carbohydrates and sugar, has not only allowed my patients to reduce the need for medication within a few weeks, but many actually “reverse” or send their type 2 diabetes into remission”. Read our interview with @DrAseemMalhotra: https://t.co/Rodoh4jKP8

What is meant by paradigm shift?: Representative Image A paradigm is a pattern, an example, or a model of something. It also means a perspective, a standard. A paradigm is a way of looking at something. The word ‘paradigm’ pops up many times in… https://t.co/lfr4eOJV6j https://t.co/5eTm9qJv2S

Why cosmology without philosophy is like a ship without a hull – https://t.co/kCVYhPM7SJ

The True Solution for Humanity and Its Future Development https://t.co/mXDfdjblq5
The Vedic Age in India Represents a Symbolic Stage of Civilisation https://t.co/FzBOLOIKGy

If there is one thinker who never ceases to drag me back to where i essentially belong (NOT politics!!) it is @Slavojiek !Since 2010 till now, his are the only ideas i have been fidel to. With the rest, i have unapologetically ‘turncoated’. Know Zizek to make sense of our times.

True. But the same reasoning applies to "thinkers" as well. Zizek doesn't see the problems with Marxism. OTOH European thinkers who oppose Marx are often conservative Christians. My limited point is that we should be careful about importing European dichotomies into our thinking.

मुझे नही पता था कि आप Freud, Lacan or Zizek को पढ़ती हैं। मैं मुख्यतः Frued के lens से Hitchcock का दर्शक रहा हूँ। मैंने Pervert Guide To Cinema देखा है, यह रोचक है। लेकिन अब मैं psychoanalysis को पुराने जमाने का बोझ मानता हूँ, इसके स्थान पर VS रामचंद्रन की neurobiology उत्तम है।
आशा है वर्तमान के भारतीय वंश के महान वैज्ञानिक Vilayanur Subramanian Ramachandran को आप अपने समय का अंश देंगी। ध्यान रखिए neurobiology ही भविष्य है, बाक़ी सारी psychoanalytical सिद्धांत समय के साथ विलुप्त हो जाएँगे।

@monikahalan You recently referrerd to this book as a 'must read' in a recent column.What an amazing guy..what an outstanding book. Thanks for the reco. I think I'm going to read everything written by him & listen to everything said by him. https://t.co/J1i9MvVFt6
Also watch his You Tube videos. Amazing insights.
His classes are held in a virtual stadium, not a classroom.

Sir the quote is taken from Sujata di's collection called "India's rebirth", which in turn is based on Sri Aurobindo's conversation with Nirodbaran & Purani on 21 June 1940.. But I don't think the quote gives the right impression.. Will share my views once I get time later today.
The actual topic of the conversation between #SriAurobindo and the disciples was in relation to the Azad Muslim conference held in Apr-1940 and the then proposed Hyderabad scheme of legislature.. https://t.co/WLr8PbKhVo
Please note that the particular demand that #SriAurobindo mentions here is the demand for 50% representation in all spheres of governance for the Muslims.. Now the quote above removes this context and puts all "Muslim demands" on the same footing, which is not correct..
True sir, It's an offering made in the service of #SriAurobindo & the Mother.. But I think it is easy to misinterpret historical statements when the context is not made clear.. Ideally a footnote should be there to explain the matter wherever there could be some confusion..

Undue comparison between the Kshatriya and Brahmin contribution..

Derision for ones own people is an inevitable result of mental slavery/colonization. https://t.co/8hm1DNlLV6

Nonsesne. Plato is known more even in India than Sri Aurobindo. So well known is he thruout the world that his name in Persian "aflatoon" is used as an exclamation for fantastic. He has a 2000 yr head start on Sri Aurobindo & is considered fount of Western philosophical canon. https://t.co/x2iiyzdPso
This points to one of the other reasons Sri Aurobindo is not so well known among the populace because he rejected explicitly propaganda etc. For e.g. there is even a Ramakrishna Mission but there is no such Sri Aurobindo Mission composed of sanyasins or pracharaks.

Very true. Sri Aurobindo was a supporter of the benefits of English "culture" in India & the predecessor of Anglophile Nehru. West-obsessed Indians need to be a little less prejudiced abt the West & learn to emulate Westerners many of whom wont b able to locate India on a map. https://t.co/zdxAgOh8AR

Beautiful... If I am not mistaken Anilbaran was allowed to take up accomodations in Sri Aurobindo's old room. https://t.co/aTwew62lDs

Dr.David Frawley is the foremost Hindu intellectual of the day. https://t.co/5Q6smqUsn6

#Sadhguru is an absolutely misleading charlatan. https://t.co/x8SKBYaMwd

@ArunudoyB dada nowadays Rumi's mystic quotes in English translation are spreading like wildfire in the form of books but far more transcendental quotes in Bengali are there from the likes of sadhak ramprasad, lalan fakir, rk paramhamsa, RN thakur, charya kabis, Kazi najrul etc.
After a proper translation,one or twoliners from lalan fakir or ramprasad would beat Rumi's mystic quotes by miles.though I don't wish to make this a point of mystic vs mystic debate :) but fact remains,we hv neglected the treasure trove of our own Bengali literature.
leave alone pure transcendentalism in lalan, ramprasad, or our ancient charya poets, we don't even explore the deeper mysticism of mainstream poets like rabindranath or kazi najrul, both of whom, consciously or subconsciously, revealed yogic wisdom of highest order in some poems.
This tweet deserves a million RTs we don't explore our own poets in our own literature, and we buy Rumi books to seek mental peace. I guess this is another side effect of communism, where the focus shifted to foreign lands and hence original vedantic wisdom sidelined. https://t.co/ghxFwp690Z

Important study of the role of women in Vedic culture by our colleague Stephen Knapp, who has written many books and articles on Vedic culture. https://t.co/OQI6HKEGVl

The chakras are very much misunderstood today, both as to their nature and how to awaken them. Reflect the stages of mergence into cosmic Consciousness, not simply our physical or personal energies. Note my extensive article. https://t.co/vjgYCkkSH4

Hindu terror is a phobia promoted by the same groups that have long benefitted by denigrating and terrorizing Hindus. The old colonial, missionary, Islamist, Marxist alliance, entrenched in media and academia, promotes the same old anti-Hindu stereotypes. https://t.co/NzAuTMbkYG

BJP-RSS are bought into the narratives of "modernity." Their understanding and appreciation of local Hindu traditions is scant. But common people are rooted in local traditions not some "grand narrative" of Hinduism.

We might have entered an era of counterfeit nationalism in which the nation's interest is not relevant to politics. https://t.co/FPrn8TMgmW

The Eroding Indic Languages- Will they survive? | @TheSignOfFive writes a detailed piece on the Indic languages with a historical context https://t.co/i86JV8ZBFO

Full video of my @whatisolio talk Unburdening the Earth: Hinduism and Ecology @strandbookstore is now available @YouTube: https://t.co/J3wYTaYxkP

A chapter from Dr Alok Pandey's book (TEXT).
'At the end, what truly works is faith. It is the single common denominator in all therapies—physical,... https://t.co/2XUHmQ5Qdl

Tara Jouhar recollects on her interaction wit The Mother https://t.co/Braqgtgl3j

The offered talk on Supramental Body gives a rare glimpse at Amal-da’s interpretation of this profound future development, which was predicted and described by... https://t.co/TkyfikbR4e

"To complement his biography of Sri Aurobindo which is being serialized here, we are reproducing an essay about Rishabhchand... https://t.co/wDCIc03QPb

We are starting to serialize this unique biography of Sri Aurobindo, which was written in response to a request from The Mother, reviewed chapter by chapter by Nolini da,... https://t.co/LiBbRQergR
Publisher's Note and Introduction - AuroMaa https://t.co/Wd0bifgiXs

A reminiscences of Sri Aurobindo by C C Dutt, who’s whole life since first meeting Sri Aurobindo in 1890’s was linked with him in many ways. https://t.co/hThCKsQmpo

An essay by Anilbaran Roy (TEXT). "I am weak, ignorant and impure, but I have dared to love Thee with all my heart and soul, and therein lies my hope. In Thy grace Thou wilt correct all my defects, raise me... https://t.co/3EEK0Isc89

THE MOTHER ON SUNIL: NEW MUSIC
In 1966, the Mother asked Sunil to set her readings from Sri Aurobindo's epic masterpiece Savitri to music. She wrote to him, "Toi seul peut faire cette musique comme il convient." (You... https://t.co/iGXW8SRGAm

Another inspiring article by Dr Sampadananda Mishra, director of Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Indian Culture in Pondicherry. https://t.co/Zh4UfD5U1R

An interaction with Dr Alok Pandey at Sri Aurobindo Society, Coimbatore Branch, in December 2017 (VIDEO and AUDIO) https://t.co/w8V2dEYQRn

Anxiety in ontological terms-A consciousness exploration of an existential perspective https://t.co/OZUWrKMdRs

Part 7  Veda Sourabha 2018:

[John Stuart Mill, Mathew Arnold, Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer influenced Bankim. He quotes from Carlyle, Michelin, Rousseau and Voltaire. In his later years, he repudiated some of his earlier views – moving from Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism
to August Comte’s humanism.]

Adorno, Baudrillard, Chomsky, and Deleuze can be said to be four essential pillars for making sense of the modern world's dynamics. Sri Aurobindo however offers the most coherent explanations of our existence outside the University curricula. Integrating them is task for Indians.

Charu Chandra Dutt used to take the help of Ramakrishna Das for translating his book into Odia and the latter as Babaji Maharaj became inspiration to a large number of devotees leading to a network of thousands of Study Circles and Schools across Odisha. https://t.co/DesUhXICTD

Those suffering from victimhood exhort to feel proud by eulogising Shivaji, Maharana Pratap, and Prithviraj Chauhan. But the pioneers of Bengal renaissance, Ram Mohan Roy, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee represent the spirit of modern India in a true sense

Plato didn't invent Electricity or Steam Engine but the West worships him even today. That discerning ability is the most crucial ingredient for any nation or civilisation to grow and excel. Indians ignoring Sri Aurobindo is an apparent indicator of its intellectual backwardness.

Ashram was an experiment or laboratory but the kind of human society The Mother & Sri Aurobindo aim at is altogether different from present conceptions of a city and diversity of labour. Even common human relationships are on a different template there, to which let's all aspire!

Supreme Court direction on Jagannath temple, Puri contains multiple dimensions. The focus on Odisha hopefully will attract more scholarly attention on how this ancient culture is a precursor of many modern streams of beliefs and philosophies. Sri Aurobindo is widely followed now.

A correction please: It's Sri Aurobindo Society (for Auroville) and not Sri Aurobindo Ashram. However, the dissenting judgement of Late Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy is highly perceptive. (S.P. Mittal Etc. Etc vs Union Of India And Others on 8 November, 1982) https://t.co/5EuZeaCcwr

Sabarimala Temple Case: Why 'Religious Denomination' is key to ...

Financial Express-5 hours ago
In SP Mittal vs Union of India & Others [SCR (1) 729], the Constitution Bench through 1-4 delivered by Justice RB Misra had refused to accept Sri Aurobindo as a ...

The Mother & Sri Aurobindo are synonyms of authenticity. Those who are yet to come across/go through their works are wandering in the wonderland of dubious narratives. Spurius nationalism is spreading religious obscurantism and intellectual impoverishment. https://t.co/3NJMhNu658

Hindutva fanatics don't recognise any generation gap and recommend the same books they read when young for the children now. If Sanskar means status quo then there's no scope for any variation or evolution, let alone deviance. Nature however is clever to bring periodical invaders

There are millions of people in the world who don't understand Sri Aurobindo or other subjects. Each one is a prisoner of his own background or circumstances. You need not feel sorry for me. However, I'm happy that at least you are able to discern knowledge levels with certitude.

Something very original and seminal has been accomplished by @bennedose which should be a model as well as inspiration for other RW scholars in terms of relevance and rigour sans usual victimhood or rancour. Let it be studied and debated on a wider scale. https://t.co/Mhz2I5PJXX

Well, I sympathise with your sentiments but since you are into writing and scholarship, the attitude that one has to carry willy nilly is respecting established narratives until demolished or superceded with fresh arguments or evidences. Umpteen areas require to be substantiated.

Thanks for responding and may I add that no one is a fanatic for ever but such a phase in life, howsoever mild, serves a certain purpose in one's overall evolution. It's needed for intellectual churning and positive outcome must be appreciated instead of treating as a pejorative.

What some people thought or some leaders pushed in 1947 can't be binding on the wishes of the present generation. Situations evolve and sentiments change; so I feel, the possibility of a united Bengal as an independent nation always hovers like the prospect of a United Punjab.

When Congress owned journalists oppose Modi, their rhetoric lacks credibility. Modi supporters are no better who merely redistribute govt press releases. Modi govt deserves a second term on the basis of a reasonable performance. That's all. No superlatives nor severe castigating.

Indian Constitution hasn't been able to produce a Prime Minister it envisages but UPA was the worst. A silent PM from RS under Party president with foreign connections and secret itinerary. Modi govt has many failures and suspected links with industrialists but still it's better.

Good point but many are supporting Congress out of desperation hoping it to cobble up a united opposition. Further, Congress represents the Nehruvian consensus which even Modi govt is more or less pursuing. Congress legacy and popularity still resonates but its leaders repulsive.

We can see the sky with naked eye with no barriers in between; this physical reality is of profound significance. Further, this unfathomable expanse of space also inhabits within us as our mind, Chidakasha. So, both inwardly and outwardly, we are always connected to possibilities

Each person with a phone has taken individualism to a new level so much so that most group cohesiveness has become amorphous. The local is less attractive now as everyone craves for a call. This can be seen as an advancement towards impersonality and weakening of hold of religion

Vedic idea of human perfection forms the fulcrum of Sri Aurobindo's philosophy. That this evolution is the very purpose of our existence is integral to his yoga. Nitty gritties however are not amenable to fast results, still it steals a march over other streams of Western thought

When Levi was "shaken to the core": in his inimitable style and substance! Build bridges and not walls is often prescribed but even bridges can be built to segregate and discriminate in order to dominate. https://t.co/BQTaYWyzG6

A powerful and insightful essay on the post-truth world https://t.co/i4VgdcQhTY

George Boole's Laws of Thought and Its Connections with Indian Logic. https://t.co/DbT2NLJjul

The Max Muller Syndrome: Deceiving #Hindus (Part 2) https://t.co/bye7HMAIDo #antihindus #antihindu

People have been telling lies and spreading rumors for centuries. But what's happening today is different. https://t.co/GE89D9NpCT @sinanaral

This is Richard Burton's translation. Basically, the Kama Sutra is a casteist, Brahminical, patriarchal handbook for the initiation of upper-caste men. It doesn't care about pleasure beyond maintaining caste endogamy. Stop valorizing it!
additionally  the Khajuraho erotica also fills me with horror, cause most likely the acts were being performed on lower caste women devoid of any semblance of consent (i was educated by James Michael's insights)

[Love and Marriage in Mumbai is a portrait of the existential emptiness that relationships seek to fill, and that is universal. But it is also exacerbated by this particular period in India where power structures & family institutions are being challenged] https://t.co/7sucPqRB00

When I hire someone to sing, according to Kant, my desire is for his or her talent – for the voice-in-action. But when I sexually desire someone, I desire his or her body, not the person’s services or talents or intellectual capabilities, although any of these could enhance the desire... And what’s objectifying about sexual desire is its ability to numb a person to reason, both in themselves and in others. Its power is such that it makes our reason its servant: our rationality becomes the means to satisfy its goals... When the desire is high, when the sexual act is in full swing, my beloved is a piece of flesh. (Though love does lead to occasional cuddling, which is nice.) I agree with Kant that sexual desire and objectification are inseparable, and a force that morality must reckon with.
Raja Halwani is professor of philosophy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is the author of Philosophy of Love, Sex and Marriage (2010).

Since the conception of this therapy was before the understanding of many physiological mechanisms or biological functionality, and as a disease was perceived as a symptom in singularity, not as a manifestation of a bigger disorder- it was believed that treating the symptom can make the disease disappear...
homeopathic drugs simply should not work based on a mechanism, but may work, for some, as a placebo. Thus, the inconsistent homeopathic efficacy in some ailments, as we observe in some patients, can only be attributed to its placebo effect.
Dr. Sumaiya Shaikh is the Editor for Alt News Science and works as a Neuroscientist in Sweden. 

Self-help gurus and now governments advocate it as a solution to depression. It is no magic wand for mental health. Written By Simantini Ghosh 


Jugaadism – An Infantile Disorder.  There is nothing intelligent about pursuing low cost and easy solutions to innovation. The mindset seeking shortcuts to bigger goals must be dumped. https://t.co/PZlflp3h3M via @swarajyamag

Cultural diversity can drive economies. Here are lessons from India and South Asia https://t.co/U2nMTbT5wL

Cities need to stop selling out to big tech companies. There's a better way https://t.co/BUSpL6P8w3

The 10 Most Impressive Civil Engineering Projects of All Time https://t.co/3vrUFVearc
One thing is very clear from these landmarks, it definitely led to massive job creation. Lessons learnt: cities should perhaps also think of building massive landmarks to see further possibilities of job creation.

With every day that passes, thousands of new civil engineering projects are completed around the globe. They might be as simple as building the foundation for a house or as complex as designing a suspension bridge that spans an entire river.
Once in a while, however, a very special type of civil engineering marvel gets finished that is earmarked to forever exist in a league of its own.
Today’s infographic comes to us from Norwich University, and it counts down the 10 most impressive civil engineering projects ever completed by humanity.
These unique and extremely bold endeavors tend to exceed all normal standards of size, complexity, and manpower required. They transcend time and bestow wonder upon new generations, showing that incredible feats are possible with the right team, ideas, and expertise at hand.

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