April 2011 – Whole Dude

Whole Dude – Whole Awareness

What is Truth?

**The Truth about Self, The Inquiry about Self, Who am I?**

The term Truth suggests confirmity with facts, experience, or with Reality, either as an idealized abstraction or in actual application to statements, ideas, acts, etc., Truth signifies an established or verified fact, or principle. Truth is related to the validity of what we mean. Plato defined the nature of Truth as correspondence between thought and reality. Dr. William Jones in his book, ‘The Principles of Psychology’ states : “True ideas are those we can assimilate, validate, corroborate, and verify.”

The universe is vast and man’s role in it is insignificant. Man’s great need is not only to know the world around him but also know himself better. Man has to know the Truth about himself.

The Three Dimensions of Truth:

1. Truth is correspondence between a statement and the reality of external world.

2. Truth is correspondence between the observer and the reality of the observed fact. Here, we need to recognize the method used for the observation such as intuition, sense experience, or revelation.

3. Truth is correspondence between man and his true nature.

Lord Jesus Christ – Truth as Prophecy:

The Truth of Jesus, The Book of John, Chapter 20, verse 29: Jesus said to him (Thomas), “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Truth – Is it a matter of sight or sense experience, or is it a matter of faith and belief?

The Truth about Lord Jesus Christ had come to a very critical scrutiny while he got arrested and stood before Pilate, the Roman Governor. The Book of John, Chapter 18, verses 37 and 38 record the conversation between Jesus and Pilate: So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a King?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a King. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Jesus did not answer the question as the truth must have correspondence with reality in external world. The truth of Jesus is about establishment of Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth. It was a prophetic truth and the truth would be evident only when the Prophecy comes true.

Lord Gautama Buddha – Truth as Experience:

Lord Gautama Buddha c. 563 to c. 483 B.C. also known as Prince Siddhartha (he who will accomplish) witnessed irremediable human suffering in the form of physical disability, sickness, oldage, and death. Acting under the uplifting Power of Compassion, he left the royal palace in search of Truth.

Lord Gautama Buddha known as Siddhartha (He who will accomplish), c. 563 B.C to c. 483 B.C., left the palace at the age of 29 leaving behind his young wife and infant son. After six years of ascetic life, while meditating under a Pipal tree (later called Bodhi or Enlightenment Tree ), he became Supreme Buddha (c. 528 B.C.) at the age of 35. He preached his first sermon at Sarnath. He outlined his Doctrine of Four Noble Truths and the First Noble Truth is that of suffering, the experience of pain and sorrow called DUKHA is implicit in human existence. Buddha’s truth is related to man’s experience of the nature of his existence in the world.

I maintain that man exists at any stage of his existence, at any given age, under any given circumstance, in either good health or ill health, in pain and suffering or that of joy and happiness due to the operation of a Fundamental Force/Power/Energy that delivers Mercy/Grace/Compassion. If suffering describes one face of the coin called human existence, Compassion describes the second face of the same coin. Compassion is implicit in human existence and that of all living things.

Lord Rama – Truth in Action:

**“WHO AM I? WHY I AM LIKE THIS?” were the questions asked by Lord Rama and these are the questions that we need to ask ourselves to know the Truth about Self.**

In the epic poem known as Ramayana, Indian poet Valmiki describes Lord Rama’s life journey. Rama spends 14 years in the forest to help fulfilment of the word or promise made by his father. In the final Chapter, Book Six, Yuddha Kanda, Chapter (Sarga) 117, verse 11, he asks the following question:

“aatmaanaM maanuShaM manye RaamaM Dasharathaatmajam;

so aHaM yasya yatashchaahaM bhagavaMstadbraviitu me.”

“I think of myself to be a human being, by name Rama, the son of Dasaratha. You, as a gracious Divintiy tell me who I am and why I am like this?”

In the story of Ramayana, the Creator Lord Brahma responds to the questions asked by Lord Rama. These are the questions that we need to ask ourselves. To know Truth about Self, man must begin his inquiry with the question of Who am I?

The Inquiry about Self – Who am I?

Socrates before taking poison that would end his life had stated: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” “Know thyself” is a virtue and to defend that virtue, Socrates made no attempt to save his life.

The tradition of knowing oneself is a longer tradition than any other Science. This is a study in which the Knower and the Known are one. The object of scientific inquiry is the nature of the scientist.

How to discover the Truth about Self?

Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud: “No knowledge can be obtained from revelation, intuition, or inspiration.”

Religion, Philosophy, and Science may represent three distinct fields of learning about Truth and Reality. Each tries to answer fundamental questions about human life. All three differ from each other in the selection of method and subject matter. Auguste Comte, the 19th century French philosopher, the founder of Sociology had described Positive Science as the study of natural, mental, and social phenomena by empirical methods. In his view, Philosophy is mere speculation and Religion is superstition or irrational belief. Speculation represents a futile attempt to go behind the phenomena in order to discover ultimate causes or substances and such speculative methods may result in guess work or conjecture and not in knowledge. Philosophy may use Logic and system and yet its conclusions may lack the validity or objectivity of Science.The philosophical inquiry does not involve investigation by experiment. Science not only provides the knowledge that something is true, but also the reasons why it is true. The famous Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud had categorically claimed that no knowledge can be obtained from revelation, intuition, or inspiration. There is a tendency in modern times to reject the methods used by Religion and Philosophy. Philosophy may use intuitive generalization or induction from ordinary sense experience. The scientific method involves induction from an inference from experiments which involve testing and verifying a hypothesis. The observations of scientist go beyond the experiences which ordinary men have in the course of daily life. The instruments that are invented and used by scientists have immense abilities to collect numerous kinds of empirical data with precision, accuracy, and consistency. However, it may not be easy to conclude that Science alone can arrive at correspondence with Truth and Reality. Could we extend scientific methodology of investigation to every field of Inquiry? Could we obtain clarity and certainity in all matters using scientific methods? Could Science be the only avenue to Truth? Could we find Truth and Reality as an external experience? Could man use scientific information to experience Truth and Reality?

Sir Issac Newton demonstrated the properties of Light rays using experimets. Science explains this optical illusion. Could Science remove the optical illusion and give man a chance to experience the reality of this Pencil. The Reality of this Pencil would be known when the Pencil is removed from water and man has no ability to change the properties of Light rays.

When a object exists in a conditioned state, like this Pencil in water, Science may explain the illusion generated. Science and scientific information may not provide the direct experience of Truth and Reality. Man is the observer, and the reality or truth of Earth’s Angular Speed, or Linear Speed is not an observed fact obtained by direct human sense experience. Scientific information can not provide the experience that could be generated by the truth and reality of Earth’s Motion.

The Purpose of Science: The Knowledge about Self:

The purpose of Science is to describe observation and experience and provide accepted body of information and arrange it into a meaningful pattern to explain truth and reality.

The purpose of Science is to describe and codify observation and experiences. Natural Sciences such as Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Medical Sciences provide accepted body of information about the world and human body. We need to arrange this information into a meaningful pattern and interpret it to describe the Reality or Truth about man. We need to apply a reasoning process which involves analysis of basic concepts to determine their consistency. Something could be said to be true if, and only if it could be verified by logical or scientific procedures. We need to use a reasoning process, a philosophical analysis to clarify statements, to verify or refute a theoretical claim by demonstrating relation between the theoretical claim and the observational evidence.

The Self and the Knowing-Self:

I divide man into two categories; 1. The Self: it represents the man as a physical, mental, and social being. The Self represents the thinking person or the person having thoughts, and feelings. 2. The Knowing-Self: it represents man as a moral, and spiritual being. The Knowing-Self is aware or Conscious of the thoughts and feelings of The Self.

Thinking vs Consciousness:

Dr Florian Mormann & Dr Christof Koch have defined Neural Correlates of Consciousness as the minimal neuronal mechanism jointly sufficient for any one specific Conscious percept. This definition basically makes no distinction between Thinking and Consciousness. The NCC definition is not based on correct understanding of the function known as Consciousness. It fails to speak about the role of Reticular Formation, and Brain Stem Nuclei that have the Capacity of Consciousness. The Capacity of Consciousness is an essential precondition of the Content of Consciousness. The Reticular Formation filters incoming stimuli to discriminate irrelevant background stimuli and composes the Content of Consciousness before relaying the information to the Cerebral hemispheres to cause Cortical awareness.

The Self may think about the nature of consciousness, but Thinking and Consciousness are two distinct functions. Thinking and Consciousness are not one and the same. Consciousness functions to provide Awareness and it is not involved in mental activities such as Thinking. The conscious individual is aware of his thoughts. The Reticular Formation supports functions such as AROUSAL and it maintains wakefulness, alertness, and sleep. In the absence of this Brain Stem function, the Individual is not capable of generating thoughts, and feelings and would not be aware of what goes on inside the Individual, and what goes on outside the Individual.

In Clinical Medicine, the medical practitioner evaluates the Level of Arousal or Alertness of his patient.

The Individual – Identity and Individuality – The Two Sides of the same Coin:

The Self has two aspects- External Reality describes the Identity of the Individual; Internal Reality establishes the Individuality of the Individual.

If man is viewed as a living thing, the thing is made of Matter and Form. The Form establishes the morphological appearance in the external world. The Matter establishes the Individuality of the Individual. The external appearance or Phenotype of man undergoes constant change and is not the same at all times. The Individuality is related to the Genotype which remains constant while man goes through various stages of his existence from conception to old age. As per The Law of Individuality and Creation, man is a created being who would always exist as an Individual with Individuality and man has no choice other than that of existing as an Individual. The Truth about Self is not about the Identity of the Individual in terms of his anthropometric measurements, biometric information, name, gender, race, ethnicity, language, religion, nationality, education, social occupation, social status or social ranking, and affiliations. This external reality has a degree of correspondence in the external world as it is often confirmed and is recognized by others who can observe the Individual. But this knowledge is subject to change and the information it provides is not experienced in a constant, and objective manner. The Truth about Self is the Truth about the human organism which is multicellular. We need to know as to who or what is the subject who lives because of the functions of the trillions of cells that comprise the human organism.

Who am I? – “I am Consciousness”:

WHO AM I? This question must be answered by applying a reasoning process to Inferential Knowledge about Cell Structure (ANATOMY) and Cell Functions (PHYSIOLOGY). Life is defined as “Knowledge in Action.”

All living organisms use similar building units called cells. Basically, the cell has a membrane, a nucleus, and a living substance known as Protoplasm. The nucleus has nucleic acids like DNA/RNA which have no independent existence of their own. The genome functions when it is associated with Protoplasm which has the exclusive ability to obtain energy (food) from its environment. Consciousness is a natural principle that describes the condition of an Individual; the condition of knowing, awareness, or recognizing the fact, the state, and the act of biological existence in a given environment. The term environment refers to all the conditions, circumstances, and influences surrounding, and affecting the existence of a given Individual, or a group of Individuals. Who is this Individual who has the ability to know and be aware of its external, and internal environment? The Individual is a living organism and the organism could be unicellular or multicellular. The most fundamental aspect of Consciousness as a living function that establishes biological existence is that of acquiring energy from environment. The living cell is a thermodynamically unstable system. This means that without continuous input of energy, a cell will degrade spontaneously into a non living collection of molecules.

“I am Consciousness” – The Verification of the Proposition:

The proposition that “I am Consciousness” could be subjected to a reasoning process in two manners: 1. The Coherence Theory of Truth, and 2. The Correspondence Theory of Truth.

1. “I am Consciousness” – The Coherence Theory of Truth: The standard of Truth is the logical consistency of a proposition with a large system of propositions. “I am Consciousness” is the proposition. The propositions to support my proposition are :

a. Consciousness is a mental experience.

b. Consciousness is a sense experience.

c. Consciousness is a physical or body experience.

d. Consciousness is a social experience.

e. Consciousness is a moral experience.

f. Consciousness is a spiritual experience.

g. Consciousness is a cellular experience.

The Subject “I am” of the proposition could be defined as a physical, mental, social, moral, and spiritual being based upon the contents of the ‘Total Consciousness’ experience of that Individual.

2. “I am Consciousness” – The Correspondence Theory of Truth: Truth is viewed as a relation between an idea or proposition and its object. “I am Consciousness” is the proposition. The Subject known as “I am” is related to an idea or object described as “Consciousness.” We need to verify the Truth or Reality of a relation between the Subject and its Object. The Subject is the whole or entire human organism comprising of trillions of individual cells which function as organs and tissues of the body. The Subject “I am” can not be defined merely as a single individual,specific organ like brain or mind. The body organ called brain has no independent existence of its own. Brain and its cells (neurons, axons, and connective tissue) need energy to sustain its metabolic activities. The functional relationship between the Subject and the Object operates and involves the activity of the entire organism and is not limited to the activities of brain or mind. The purpose of Consciousness at cellular level is to foster functional unity of the multicellular organism and establish it as an Individual. A living thing maintains it Individuality while being a member of a given social group. The process by which a living cell acquires energy to perform its living functions is called ‘Nutrition’. Consciousness is the awareness of energy dependent existence in a given environment and it is the characteristic of all living cells irrespective of their differentiation, functional subordination, and identification as the constituent parts of specific organs, tissues, and organ systems. The idea or Object called “Consciousness” is fundamentally related to the Subject called “I am” both at the level of the entire organism and at the level of individual cells.

Human Knowledge and Self-Knowledge:

WHO AM I? Lord Krishna described Himself in The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter X, The Opulence of the Absolute, verse 22:”Of the Vedas, I am the Sama Veda; of the demigods, I am Indra; of the senses, I am the Mind; and in Living Beings, I AM CONSCIOUSNESS.”

Human Knowledge is of two kinds; 1. Acquired Knowledge that is dependent upon sense experience, and reason, and 2. Innate or Intuitive Knowledge, the genetic information, the biological information that all living cells and organisms use to perform living functions and to exhibit biological behavior and instincts. Knowledge about Self, or Self-Knowledge begins with the implantation of Consciousness in Matter and not as Sense experience, and not on account of rational thinking with application of reason.

Whole Dude – Whole Rational

A Pound of Foolishness is better than a Penny of Wisdom:

Whole Dude – Whole Rational: What is Reality? The Golden Gate Bridge is real, Pacific Ocean is real, Sun is real. The Sunset is not real. Can man experience the Reality? How would Reality impact man’s existence?

The social scientist Bruno Latour, from France’s “Institut d’ Etudes Politiques de Paris” was in New Delhi, India and spoke about what it means to be modern with Deep K Datta-Ray of Times of India. In essence, I support his view and there is a need for a new approach; the use of irrational belief and not that of scientific rational belief.

Can Science provide the Experience of Reality?

Whole Dude – Whole Rational: Pencil in Water Illusion. Can Science influence the nature of Perception? The Perception of bent Pencil is caused by the properties of Light rays. Science can only explain the reason for this Optical Illusion. Science has no Power to eliminate the Illusion. The only way man can experience the Reality of this Pencil would be that of changing the State of Pencil’s Conditioned Existence. It is easy to remove the Pencil from Water and experience the Reality. But, can Man remove himself from his State of Conditioned Existence and experience Reality?

It would be totally irrational to believe that Science could provide the experience called Reality. Science is not Power/Force/Energy which operates in the natural world. Science provides information to understand things and it has no power or force to influence things. Science may reveal understanding of the nature of Reality and such revelation could be of no use in the context of human existence on planet Earth as man lives because of illusional experience of the world and the universe in which he exists.

The Reality of Earth’s Motion:

Whole Dude – Whole Rational: Science can explain the Motions of planet Earth. Science can not provide the experience of the Speed of planet Earth’s Motions. The Reality of Earth’s Motions is known and is understood. But, man exists only if this Reality is not directly experienced. The physical and mental experience of the Speed of Earth, the Angular Speed, and the Linear Speed would not permit man’s physical existence on the surface of planet Earth.

The speed of earth’s motion can be described in two ways; 1. The Angular Speed: The earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours and the speed is 1,000miles/hour. 2. The Linear Speed: The distance earth travels is 584 million miles per year. The Linear Speed of earth is 66, 660 miles/hour.

**Whole Dude – Whole Rational: Science may explain the fact of the speed of a point on the surface of the earth but cannot force man to experience the Reality of that Speed.**

Science may explain the fact of the speed of a point on the surface of the earth but can not force man to experience the Reality of that Speed. Man exists on the surface of the earth without ever experiencing the Reality. There is no physical experience of this basic Reality. There is no direct mental experience of this fundamental Reality.

Man may intellectually visualize this Reality by understanding the facts explained by Science. If the human brain and body is constantly engaged by the fact of earth’s motions, the Reality of earth’s Angular Speed and Linear Speed, man would immediately experience a mental breakdown and would not be able to function as a living organism. Just think about the sense of fear, anxiety generated by a brief event like earthquake.

The Subjective Reality of man’s Physical Existence on the surface of earth is sustained, is supported, and is protected by a Fundamental Force called Gravitation. Because of the operation of Gravitational Force man is virtually saved from any experience of Earth’s motions. Man only experiences the environmental changes caused by Earth’s motions. Further, this Subjective Reality of man’s Physical Existence is governed by a Force/Power/Energy that causes an illusionary experience of Sun’s movement across the sky. Science would explain the Reality of Sun’s motion at a speed of 155 miles/second. But, man exists on the surface of earth with no physical or mental experience of Sun’s true or real motion. What man experiences is the apparent motion of Sun and experiences Sunrise and Sunset. Science may explain the Reality and teach us the fact of Sun shining with brightness all the time. Man has invented stories and has created folk tales about Sun’s Journey in the Sky. The Reality described by Science does not govern human existence. The biological activities, the Biological Rhythms (Circadian/Diurnal/Solar Rhythms) are synchronized with the experience of illusion which helps in the measurement of time and not that of Scientific Reality of true or real motions of this restless universe.

Whole Dude – Whole Spin: Biological Clock and Man’s Life Journey:

Whole Dude – Whole Rational: Man’s existence on the surface of planet Earth and the duration of his life’s journey is measured by the internal Biological Clock. The time duration is measured by the alternating periods of Light and Darkness, the experience of Day and Night, the experience of Sunrise and Sunset which drives the Biological Rhythm. In Reality, the Sun is shining with brightness at all times during the entire length of man’s life journey. Man gets no chance to experience that Reality and the Biological Clock is not influenced by that Reality of Sun shining at all the hours of man’s earthly existence.

Biological Clocks time the Solar Day, the period of Earth’s spin or rotation relative to the Sun. While Earth spins or rotates, man experiences the illusion of Sun’s apparent motion across the path called Ecliptic and exists on the surface of Earth in a state of blissful ignorance of Earth’s Angular Speed, or Linear Velocity. The daily rhythm of about 24 hours’ duration makes it appear as though the organism is keeping track of each day and behaves as if it is a Living Clock.

Light appears to be the dominant Phase Setter or Synchronizer of activity pattern during the 24-hour cycles. The 24-hour rhythms are called Solar Day, Circadian, Diel, Daily, Diurnal (day-active), and Night-Active rhythms. Plants show their daily rhythm in sleep movements such as the daytime raising and nighttime lowering of their leaves, and the timing of flowering activity. In man, the daily alternation of sleep and wakefulness is accompanied by many chemical and physiological changes that include the activities of the nervous, endocrine systems, and the liver and kidneys. Daily variations occur in body temperature, in heart and respiratory rates, and in blood pressure and composition of blood. There are daily variations in chemical syntheses and in cell divisions.

Living systems display a timing capacity and behave as if they contain a highly dependable clock. The specialized properties of this clock suggest that it involves some unique biological mechanism indissociable from life itself.

Man can not exist on the surface of physical earth if he has direct body or mental experience of the Reality explained by rational Scientific Belief.

The very nature of human existence in this vast universe can not be rationally understood. There is no evidence to suggest that Life could be discovered in other parts of our universe.

There is no chance that man could find an opportunity to leave the Solar System and find a Home in a different part of the universe. Man has no control over the structure and organization of the universe. Man has no choice other than that of accepting the conditioned nature of his energy dependent existence with no other place to call as Home.

Rational beliefs have no role and do not define the status of man in nature and in the universe.

Man’s existence can get support by an irrational belief in Ultimate Reality, which operates the Power/Force/Energy which delivers Mercy/Grace/Compassion/Providence to spread a veil of Grand Illusion to defend man from the direct physical or mental experience of Reality of the Universe in which man lives.

Whole Dude – Whole Rational: Man can only exist in this Universe if he does not directly experience the Reality of this Universe. Man’s earthly existence is defended by ILLUSION and Science has no Power to provide man a chance to experience Reality which is hidden by the ILLUSION.

‘The only shibboleth the West has is science’

Apr 4, 2011, 12.00am IST, Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/The-only-shibboleth-the-West-has-is-science/articleshow/7857996.cms?intenttarget=no

The social scientist Bruno Latour , from France’s Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), was in New Delhi and spoke about what it means to be modern with Deep K Datta-Ray .

Why do you argue that Western Europe has never been modern?

The only shibboleth the West has is science. It is the premise of modernity and it defines itself as a rationality capable of, indeed requiring separation from politics, religion and really, society. Modernisation is to work towards this.

A move away from the pre-modern, which is a period of embroilment and entanglement of everything but when one looks at the practice of science in a laboratory, as I did, this division is revealed as false.

Scientists are very much entangled in their culture and this culture is not pristine, untouched by other cultures and practices. The real history of Europe therefore is one of a constant interaction, a mixing of peoples, various cultures and the material.

What does this mean for our understanding of what the modern world actually is, how institutions thought of as quintessentially modern function?

There’s very little on how today’s world actually functions. Instead there is the official story of modernisation. Meanwhile, there is a prominent discourse in India about modernisation.

My argument is that the baseline for understanding modernity requires interrogation, which destabilises expectations of what a modernising society should do.

Traditionally, the moderns criticised the supposedly archaic, symbolised by the East. Everyone wanted to become modern – but my work demonstrates that being modern was never as clear as presumed. So, when India begins to modernise what happens?

There is a double instability – of an uncertain baseline and then what happens when that is implemented in a society far away and especially in an institutional setting and in an area so close to the state such as governance. So there has to be more work on this.

This is especially important because there are so many more people here, it is possible to have institutions of a different complexion altogether, of alternative ways instituted here. India is a reservoir of alternative interpretations of what the global is and these ways of viewing the world need to be exposed.

Could it also be said that the idea of a universalising ‘modern’ rationality is not necessarily European but became dominant in Europe?

For that there has to be more work on the non-western world. Regardless of place, there have to be thicker descriptions of practice, of what the modern world actually is, how do banks work for instance, because all we have is utopian description of how modernity functions. The dream of utopia killed descriptive work because the focus was on a universalising rationality, not how rationality actually plays out in practice. It should be clear that i’m not saying the East is somehow different, exotic. If one looks at the works of Newton to Einstein they were never scientists in the way modernity understands the term.

What are the implications of this type of work on politics?

Well, politics cannot keep to the scientific ideal quite simply because science in practice meant our moving from the country to the city and getting progressively disconnected from nature. But now one cannot discuss anything without thinking of the whole. Science was supposed to take us out of the cosmos and into a universalising rationality but that has produced all sorts of problems which are being corrected today by new approaches which are reminiscent of the non-modern, such as the politics of nature. This is a cosmological approach, one that ties in everything to make a decision.