Spiritualism – Spiritual Being and Self-Realization:
Whole Dude – Whole Being: The Vitruvian Man c. 1492. The painting by Leonardo da Vinci displays the spirit of scientific inquiry. Self-Realization is defined as complete fulfillment of the Self or full development of Self. Man takes birth after full development of True or Real Self and the Newborn is always a Spiritual Being. Man does not acquire Spirituality through Learning and Practice.
What is Man? I want to respectfully begin this conversation by stating my motivation for asking this question. The motivation to ask comes from a statement expressed in the Sanskrit language: “Sarvesham Swastir Bhavatu,” a statement which seeks the well-being of all humans, of all races, of all cultures, of all religions, and of all nations.
The meaning and purpose of human life are affected by whatever we think is the ‘real’, or ‘true’ nature of Man. But, more importantly, our efforts to support the well-being of man would require correct understanding and knowledge of ‘real’, or ‘true’ Man.
In human cultures all over the world, in the history of a variety of religions, we have come to know about people who have distinguished themselves as Prophets, Saints, and as people of Spiritual Knowledge. Several of them have won the recognition of a higher status of being Spiritual Masters, Spiritual Teachers, or Spiritual Gurus and people have given them attention with a sense of humility, and devotion with the hope of obtaining Self-Realization which could be defined as complete fulfillment of the Self or full development of one’s ‘real’, or ‘true’ Self.
I submit to my readers that I do not intend to show any disrespect towards any of these Masters of Spiritual Learning and Teachers of various kinds of Spiritual Practices. I have a basic right to know and understand ‘true’ or ‘real’ Self and I believe that understanding could be applied to promote and preserve the well-being of all humanity. The reasoning process that I use could be called Applied Philosophy which involves the application of conceptual analysis to questions of belief and ideology which affect what we think about ourselves and what we think we ought to do individually and socially. We need to carefully verify the concepts of Soul, and Spirituality to attain Self-Realization.
Human Birth is a Divine Phenomenon:
Whole Dude – Whole Being: Lord Krishna, the Divine Supreme Being arrived in this Physical, Material World as a newborn, human baby, a Spiritual Being. Man arrives as a Spiritual Being and Spiritualism is not a Learned or Acquired Knowledge and Behavior.
Spiritualism is the potency that brings Man’s Essence and Man’s Existence to come together to provide Man the Subjective and Objective Reality of his own biological existence in the Physical and Material Realm.
Spiritualism is the potency that determines Man’s Existence as a Spiritual Being. Human birth is a Divine Phenomenon. The newborn baby always arrives as a Spiritual Being. This statement has two important implications;
1. There is complete development and fulfillment at birth for Man to exist as a Spiritual Being, and
2. Spiritualism is not Learned or Acquired Knowledge and Behavior. Man does not transform himself into a Spiritual Being by his physical or mental efforts.
In other words, Spiritualism does not involve learning from Holy Scriptures, practice of techniques like Meditation, and observation of religious rituals like pilgrimage and Temple worship. Man, the Physical Being is created not as an Embodied Soul but as a Living Soul that lives as a Spiritual Being. There could be several important benefits that Man may acquire by reading Holy Scriptures and through religious practices such as Prayer, Meditation, and Worship. While I would not discourage or disrespect such practices and religious behavior, I would like to categorically submit to my readers that Man does not transform himself into a Spiritual Being by virtue of any of his physical, and mental efforts.
To think that Man is born as a Physical Being and slowly transforms himself into a Spiritual Being through a process called Self-Realization is a myth. If the human body is described as a field of activity or ‘KSHETRA’, the Knower, and the Enjoyer of this field of activity called ‘KSHETRAJNA’ exists at birth and this Spiritual Being does not come into existence during a later part of life through a process of Learning from sensory experience or intellectual introspection.
Creation and Self-Realization:
Whole Dude – Whole Being: Man represents a thermodynamically unstable System.
Man, like all other living entities represents a thermodynamically unstable system. Man does not exist in the physical, material world because of his own Power/Force/Energy. Man needs continuous supply of energy from an external source during the entire span of his life. The fact of Man’s Physical Existence in the world could be understood as the manifestation of the Power/Force/Energy of the Supreme Being. The operation of this Divine Power or Potency is revealed as Self-Realization, the process or mechanism by which the Creative Power/Force/Energy establishes the complete Self which for reasons of clarity and understanding could be divided into four stages as follows:
1. First Stage of Self-Realization – The Establishment of Knowledge:
Whole Dude – Whole Being: Fertilization of an egg by a sperm, conception occurs in the oviduct. Cleavage (cell division) begins in the oviduct. as the embryo is moved. toward the uterus. by peristalsis and the. movements of cilia. 3. Cleavage continues. By the time the embryo. reaches the uterus, it is a ball of cells. It floats in the uterus for. several days, nourished by. endometrial secretions. It. becomes a blastocyst. 4. Ovary. Uterus. Endometrium. From ovulation to implantation. Inner cell mass. Cavity. Blastocyst. Trophoblast. (a) Implantation of blastocyst. (b) Fertilization occurs. A sperm. enters the oocyte; meiosis of. the oocyte finishes; and the. nuclei of the ovum and sperm. fuse, producing a zygote. 2. Ovulation releases a. secondary oocyte, which. enters the oviduct. 1. The blastocyst implants. in the endometrium. about 7 days after conception. 5.
Human life begins at conception as a single, fertilized Egg Cell. This Egg Cell always comes from a previously existing Egg Cell that has grown and developed into a human being. Father is the Originating Principle. Mother, the divine source of Life, Energy, and Knowledge is the Providing Principle. Knowledge is implanted in the substance of the Egg Cell giving its Consciousness, ability to grow and develop into embryo, fetus, and a fully formed human baby. Hence, Life could be defined as “Knowledge in Action.”
Whole Dude – Whole Being: 4 cells. 2 cells. morula. day 7. blastocyst. zygote. inner cell. mass of. blastocyst. Fertilization occurs. within the uterine. tube. sperm. embryo. day 0. The blastocyst. implants in the. uterus. ovary. ovulated egg. muscle layer. uterine wall. endometrium. (a) The first week of development.
In the Indian tradition, this aspect of Self-Realization is described as “Jnanamoya”, the living symptoms that are manifested as Consciousness.
2. The Second Stage of Self-Realization or The Establishment of Vital Functions:
Whole Dude – Whole Being: The newborn baby upon separation from its mother begins life as an independent living entity by initiation of its vital, living functions such as Respiration and Circulation. To survive in physical world, the baby needs the ability to breathe on its own and circulate the vital supply of Oxygen to all tissues and organs of the entire body.
The newborn baby upon separation from its mother, begins life as an independent living entity by initiation of its vital, living functions such as Respiration and Circulation. To survive in the physical world, the baby needs to breathe on its own and circulate the vital supply of Oxygen to all the tissues, and organs of entire human body. In Indian tradition this aspect of Self-Realization is described as “Pranamoya”, the ability to perform vital functions like breathing on its own.
3. The Third Stage of Self-Realization or The Establishment of Nutrition :
Whole Dude – Whole Being: Food and Spirituality: Food is a Spiritual substance and the baby needs Nutrition or Food for the growth, development, maintenance, and repair of its own living substance which is of Spiritual Nature.
During the stages of embryo and fetus, nutritional support is provided by the mother. The newborn baby must continue to feed through all the stages of its physical existence for the rest of its entire life span. In the Indian tradition this dependence upon food for existence is described as “Annamoya”, or the Materialistic Realization of the Supreme Being and Divine Power or Potency.
4. The Fourth Stage of Self-Realization or The Establishment of ‘The Knowing-Self’:
Whole Dude – Whole Being: The anatomical structure known as Reticular Formation shown as a red band in this image is in the Brain Stem. It composes Consciousness and its functions are important to bring Unity of the complex human organism. It is the Knower, and the Enjoyer of the activities of the entire human body.
The cells, tissues, and organ systems of the newborn baby display functional subservience for the benefit of Self which lives because of their living functions. Reticular Formation in the Brain Stem functions as ‘The Knowing-Self’, and is involved in the composition of Consciousness which brings functional unity in the complex, multicellular human organism. It could be described as the “Knower”, and the “Enjoyer” or “Kshetrajna” of the field of activities of human body called “Kshetra.” In the Indian Tradition, the establishment of this “Knower”, “Enjoyer”, or the ‘Knowing-Self’ is described as the Fourth Stage of Self- Realization, or Brahman-Realization and is called “Vijnanamoya.”
Whole Dude – Whole Living: Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, Dean of the Harvard Medical School (1847 – 1882) spoke about Life:”To Live is to function” and “That is all there is in Living.” Whole Dude or Whole Person must perform his Living Functions as Existence precedes Essence of Man.
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, Dean of the Harvard Medical School (1847 – 1882) spoke about Life: “To Live is to function” and “That is all there is in Living.”
Man’s Existence precedes Man’s Essence. Life is about its Living Functions. Whole Dude or Whole Person must perform his Living Functions to display his Essence in the world in which he lives. Spiritualism is the potency that brings Man’s Essence and Existence to come together and it describes the spiritual potential of living matter that keeps the existence of the living object.
Whole Dude – Whole Substance: Greek Philosopher Aristotle, Father of Science brings Religion, Philosophy, and Science to come together to know and understand Man as a Whole Person with Form and Matter. Whole Dude comprises of Whole Substance and is not divisible into Body and Soul.
Aristotle states that corporeal substances are composite of two principles; 1. Form, and 2. Matter. What is called Form is actuality, and what is called Matter is potentiality.
We often tend to understand the actuality of human form without giving much attention to the potentiality of its matter or its living substance. Aristotle did not regard the human body and soul as separate as the soul is merely a set of defining features. He states that the structure and behavior of things contribute to their individual being and function. In his opinion, “There is a science which investigates Being as Being and the attributes which belong to Being in virtue of its own nature.”
Whole Dude – Whole Substance: In the middle of the 19th century, various biologist started to recognize the importance of Juicy or Slimy contents of the cells. Purkinje (1839) gave the name protoplasm (Gr., Protos- primitive or first, plasma- substance) to the contents of the cells. This theory states that the cell is an accumulation of living substance or protoplasm, definitely limited in space and possessing a nucleus and a cell membrane .
Whole Dude or Whole Person is composed of Whole Substance and that Substance is of Spiritual Nature. Hence, Whole Dude or Whole Person is not divisible into Body and Soul. Whole Dude or Whole Person is not an embodied Soul and is a Living Soul.
Whole Dude – Whole Substance: Whole Dude or Whole Person is composed of Whole Substance and that Substance is of Spiritual Nature.
Whole Dude – Whole Philosophy: Jean Paul Sartre (b. June 21, 1905 Paris, d. April 15, 1980 Paris), French Novelist, Playwright, and exponent of Existentialism Philosophy. Whole Dude is a Whole Person who will discover his authentic existence from knowing himself as a Conscious Being.
Existentialism is the popular name of a philosophical focus on freedom of the individual human being, personal responsibility, and the importance of the individual’s need to make choices. Sartre’s thesis is that humans are essentially free, free to choose (though not free not to choose) and free to negate the given features of the world. Sartre’s belief in Radical Human Freedom includes the ability to choose not only a course of action but also what one would become. Sartre’s existentialist philosophy helps to guide social practice, the right of each individual to freely pursue subjective individual choices and find his own conception of happiness. In Sartre’s opinion, man must find his true significance. A sense of authentic existence is given to each person when he realizes his true subjectivity as a Being which is Conscious.
Whole Dude is a Whole Person who will discover his authentic existence from knowing himself as a Conscious Being.
Whole Dude – Whole Philosophy: Brain Stem Reticular Formation shown as a red band in the image represents an integrative focus of consciousness functioning through its widespread interconnections with the Cerebral Cortex and other regions of the Brain. It functions to compose the contents of consciousness that would be revealed as Cortical Awareness. Reticular Formation describes “The Capacity of Consciousness” and without this function the contents of consciousness (or cortical awareness) will not be known to the individual.
Whole Dude – Whole Compassion: 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, old age, and death. Acting under the uplifting Power of Compassion, he left the royal palace in search of Truth. Whole Dude is a Whole Person who is Compassionate because of his true or innate human nature.
Lord Gautama Buddha also known as Prince Siddhartha married at age 16 leading a life of luxury and comfort in a royal palace. While he took a fateful chariot trip outside the palace, for the first time in his life, Prince Siddhartha witnessed irremediable human suffering in the form of physical disability, sickness, old age, and death. He left the palace at the age of 29 leaving behind his young wife and infant son. His departure from the palace in search of Truth to discover a remedy for human pain and suffering demonstrates the uplifting power of Compassion. Sympathy (sym=together + pati=suffer) describes the emotional feelings of sorrow for the sufferings or troubles of another person or others accompanied by an urge to help. Compassion describes an understanding arising from the sameness of feeling. Compassion is the key to true or real human nature. A Whole Dude or a Whole Person is Compassionate because of his true or innate human nature. Man may choose a course of action and behavior that is derived from his thoughts, feelings, moods, and desires. But, man’s existence is entirely supported by a Force/Energy/Power that could be called Compassion/Mercy/Grace of LORD GOD Creator.
Whole Dude – Whole Compassion. A Whole Dude or a Whole Person is Compassionate because of his true or innate human nature
“I think, therefore I am” is a Whole Thought as it is beyond skeptical doubt. Rene Descartes( Ren-ay, Day-kart ) b. March 31, 1596, d. February 11, 1650 the 17th century French Mathematician and Father of Modern Philosophy advanced a Philosophy based on certitude. Whole Dude is a Whole Person who will think for himself to formulate his opinion after verification using the Cartesian Principle.
French philosopher, Rene Descartes adopts the strategy of withholding his belief from anything that is not entirely certain and indubitable. He proposes a method for guaranteeing knowledge and devises a method of inquiry for reaching the truth. He argues that in order to provide a secure foundation for knowledge it is necessary to discover clear and distinct ideas that could not be doubted and could serve as a basis for deriving further truths. He stresses that a world of metaphysical truths that could be discovered by reason. He subjects his beliefs to a series of skeptical hypotheses. As per his conclusion, “I think, therefore I am,” (Cogito, ergo sum) is beyond skeptical doubt. He invokes skepticism only as a means of reaching certainty.
Whole Dude or Whole Person has the ability to think for himself and formulate his own opinion which he subjects to verification using the Cartesian Philosophy. Dr. William James in his book, The Principles of Psychology has said, “True ideas are those we can assimilate, validate, corroborate, and verify.”
I say, “Hey Dude, let us verify this statement, ‘I think, therefore I am’ and what do you want to say???
Whole Dude – Whole Thought: DR WILLIAM JAMES (1842 – 1910), PSYCHOLOGIST AND PHILOSOPHER WHO TEACHED AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY. HE STATES THAT THE TRUTH OF A PROPOSITION IS JUDGED BY ITS PRACTICAL OUTCOME
Whole Dude – Wholesome Attitude: New York – Hyde Park: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library – Winston Churchill Portrait (Photo credit: wallyg)
Attitude refers to an expression of the way one feels. Behavior is the way that someone acts. Although the two are related, they are distinct from one another as attitude focuses on how one feels, and behavior deals with one’s actions. However, one’s attitude is often expressed through their behavior.
Whole Dude – A Dude with Whole Attitude:
Whole Dude – Wholesome Attitude: The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, the British Prime Minister (1940-1945 and 1951-1955) who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. A Whole Person with a Wholesome Attitude.
Whole Dude is pleased to share this photo image of Sir Winston Churchill as representative of a Whole Dude with a Whole Attitude, an attitude that is wholesome and is rewarding. He said, “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.” Life is all about The Art of Receiving and The Art of Giving and by the actions and behavior that we display in getting and giving, we show our true colors and it is all about Wholesome Attitude.
Whole Dude- Whole Self: SPIRITUALISM : THE UNITY OF MAN IN BODY, MIND, AND SOUL. Spiritualism describes the relation between a changing object and its unchanging spiritual nature. This baby which started its existence as a single, fertilized Egg-Cell will continue to grow and develop undergoing a series of changes in physical appearance or Identity and yet will retain the same Individuality during the entire course of Life’s Journey.
“EKAM EVA ADVITIYAM” – This statement in Sanskrit language is from Chandogya Upanishad (6:2:1) and it means: “I, one alone and there is no second.” The original intent of this statement is that of seeking the unity of the Objective Reality of Man known as ‘ATMA’ (the Individual Soul) and the Ultimate Reality known as ‘PARAMATMA’ or Supersoul. There is no Duality between the two and there is no disunity between Man and God.
However, God is not an object which is under Man’s control and the views about God are subjective opinions. I am quoting this statement to find the Unity of Man in body, mind, and soul. Man’s greatest need is not only to know the world around him but also to know himself better. Man must understand what it is to be a substance and what it is to exist. We need to establish knowledge about Man on a firm basis and the information it provides must be tested for its accuracy and consistency with external reality. Dr. William James in his book, The Principles of Psychology, has observed: “True ideas are those we can assimilate, validate, corroborate, and verify.” The separation of man into body, mind, and soul is not supported by scientific study of man.
Whole Dude – Whole Self: It is impossible to describe the concept called “SOUL”, or “SPIRIT” if it is never associated with its human body. If “SOUL” is defined as the vital, animating, Life Principle, Spiritualism demands the existence of a Living Soul or Spirit.
Man comes into existence from a single fertilized Egg Cell. This Man cannot be separated into two distinct entities like insentient material being and sentient spiritual being. The physical being and the conscious being are one and the same. The division of Man into a physical substance and a thinking substance or that of a physical body and a thinking mind is not valid as they have no independent existence of their own. The division of Man into physical body and an immortal, non-material or immaterial Soul is not also valid as the Soul is described as the vital, animating principle that is the chief characteristic of Life.
Whole Dude – Whole Self: The Egg Cell is the source of Man’s Life. The Spiritual Nature of Man could be discovered and could be described from the biological properties, characteristics and nature of the corporeal substance found in the Egg Cell.
The Spiritual Nature of Man is not a mental function. The Spiritual Nature of Man could be discovered and could be described from the biological properties, characteristics and nature of Man’s corporeal substance found in the fertilized Egg Cell. This substance is Conscious. This Single Egg Cell grows, divides, develops, and builds the cells, the tissues, and the organ systems that constitute the Human Individual. The Spiritual Nature of the substance present in the Single, fertilized Egg Cell brings the functional unity of all the cells, tissues, and organ systems to establish the Physical Reality called Man.
Whole Dude – Whole Self: Human Embryo Implantation at about six days after Conception. The Single, fertilized Egg Cell and the Human Embryo that develops from it is Conscious of its existence reflecting its Spiritual Nature.
About six days after Conception, the developing Human Embryo implants itself into maternal tissues by establishin an anatomical connection called Placenta. The implantation of Human Embryo does not involve any human thought and the Mother has no cortical awareness of the fact of implantation. The implantation demonstrates the Consciousness of the Human Embryo which is aware of the fact of its own existence. Spiritualism defines the internal, mutually beneficial relationship, partnership, association, and connection between the cells, tissues, and organ systems for the benefit of the Human Person who exists because of their living functions. The Subject that is born from the Single, fertilized Egg Cell is always a new, original, distinctive, unique, one of its own kind of Object that exists because of the innate Spiritual Nature of the material substance. Being born relates Man to the Subjective and Objective Realities of his biological existence. There is structural and functional unity between Man and his Body, Mind, and Soul. There is no Life, and there is no Human Existence if these entities are separated. Spiritualism is the potency that brings Man’s Essence and Man’s Existence to come together to provide Man the Subjcetive and Objective Reality of his own biological existence in the physical, and material world. Man is not an embodied Soul and Man is a Living Soul.
What is Man?
Whole Dude – Whole Self: This painting the Vitruvian Man (c. 1492) by Leonardo da Vinci displays a spirit of scientific inquiry. What is Man? The understanding of human nature will help to promote man’s well-being.
I will be repeatedly asking this same question in several of my blog posts on the subject of Spiritualism. I want to remind myself that the motivation for asking this question comes from a statement expressed in Sanskrit language: “Sarvesham Swastir Bhavatu”, a statement which seeks the well-being of all humans, of all races, of all cultures, of all religions, and of all nations. The meaning and purpose of human life are affected by whatever we think is the real or true nature of man. It is more important to recognize that our efforts to support the well-being of man would require correct understanding and knowledge of the real or true man.
Self and The Knowing-Self:
Whole Dude – Whole Self: FACIAL RECOGNITION-IDENTITY AND INDIVIDUALITY-THE SELF and THE KNOWING-SELF: Identity describes the external reality of man and it helps to know the man as a specific Individual. This Individual exists with unchanging Individuality which describes the internal reality of man. Identity provides awareness of the Self and Individuality involves the Knowledge of the Knowing-Self.
To know about Man, we can observe the various activities that describe the Man. The Physical being known as Man is known from the living functions performed by the tissues and organ systems of his body. This Physical being has Identity or identifying features such as age, gender, race, ethnicity and other biometrical information to know the person as a specific Individual. Factors like language, religion, culture, education, social occupation, nationality, and sexual orientation are also used to describe the Man. The Mental being known as Man is described from mental functions such as intellect, thoughts, moods, feelings, cravings, and self-pride. Man, the Social being is known from his social interactions and much of human action and behavior involves interacting with other individuals present in his social environment. Man, the Moral being is known from the choices he makes in the performance of his actions where discernment plays a role to distinguish right from wrong, and good from evil. Man, the Spiritual being is known from the nature of his existence seeking peace, harmony, and tranquility within himself and with others in his environment and community. I designate the term ‘SELF’ to describe Man as a Physical, Mental, Social, Moral, and Spiritual being. I have also observed that the Physical being is in reality consists of about 100 trillion individual living cells that show complex structural differentiation and functional organization. The corporeal substance is of spiritual nature and hence Man, the Physical being has no choice other than that of existing as a Spiritual being. The question is not that of, How Man knows himself? The question that I would like to ask is, How does the body know the Identity of the Man who lives? If the body knows its Owner, there is an anatomical structure that is associated with the function called Knowing-Self.
The Function of Knowing-Self:
Whole Dude – Whole Self: Self and The Knowing-Self
The Reticular Formation (RF) is located in the central Brain Stem and extends from Medulla to Thalamus. It consists of more than about 100,000 Brain Stem nuclei. It is estimated that a single neuron in this network may have synapses with as many as 25,000 other neurons. The RF has connections with almost all other parts of the Central Nervous System including Spinal Cord, Cranial Nerve nuclei, Cerebellum, Hypothalamus, Thalamus, Corpus Striatum, Limbic System, and Cerebral Cortex. Thus, the RF helps to coordinate and integrate actions of different parts of the Central Nervous System such as 1. regulation of muscle and reflex activity, 2. central transmission of sensory impulses, 3. respiration, 4. cardiovascular responses, 5. behavioral Arousal, and 6. Alert/Sleep Cycle.
Whole Dude – Whole Self: Self and The Knowing-Self.
There are two distinct aspects of human Consciousness namely, 1. the Capacity for Consciousness and 2. the Content of Consciousness. When Consciousness is viewed as a psychological or strictly as a mental function, it is represented by the Content of Consciousness called Cortical Awareness which is a function of the Cerebral Cortex. When Consciousness is understood as a biological function that includes the maintenance of vital functions like respiration, and circulation apart from various homeostatic mechanisms to preserve a constant internal environment, it is represented by the aspect of Capacity for Consciousness.
Whole Dude – Whole Self: Self and The Knowing-Self
The Knowing-Self is located in the Reticular Formation of the Brain Stem and its functions are of critical importance in the clinical diagnosis of Brain Death. During Life, the cells, tissues, and various organ systems of the human body work together for the benefit of ‘SELF’ which is known and recognized by this Knowing-Self.
Man is a Mortal Being:
Man’s greatest need is not only to know the world around him but also to know himself better. Man must understand what it is to be a substance and what it is to exist. Man is a physical being or thing with matter and form. The corporeal body of man is composite of two principles; matter, and form. What is called matter is potentiality, and what is called form is actuality. The corporeal substance called protoplasm becomes actuality and is recognized as a living person because of the uniqueness of its genome that operates its living functions and defines its size, shape, color, and external form or morphological appearance. However, life comes into existence only when matter or substance has the ability to acquire energy from its external environment. The human being comes to life when his corporeal substance uses its potential ability and power called ‘Nutrition’ to acquire energy and material from its environment. Life begins with fertilization, the union of sperm with egg cell, and this event called conception proceeds to develop a human being after an important event called implantation. The life journey after conception continues if there is a connection between the energy seeking embryo and its maternal energy provider. To exist means that the substance is maintaining a relationship, a partnership, a connection, or association with its source of energy. Man leads energy dependent existence deriving energy and material from nature which supports other living forms with a similar corporeal substance called protoplasm. The mortality of man must be understood as the dissolution of man’s physical form. The dissolution of living man into non-living molecules and physical elements would not alter that potentiality of protoplasm to acquire energy and material to create its own substance. Things in Nature change with Time; but what is called Nature remains unchanged even under the influence of Time. As per The Laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy as described in classical Physics, mass or energy remain constant. The potentiality of living substance to acquire energy and material to form its own kind of substance has remained unchanged or unaffected by major natural calamities and other cataclysmic events. Life forms perish and yet life continues as new life forms. During the billions of years of existence, planet Earth has experienced several minor, and major Extinction Events described in its geological history. The Science of Paleontology offers scientific evidence to support an argument based upon theoretical and practical grounds to propose that the substance called protoplasm could be eternal, immovable, immutable, and indestructible. At a fundamental level, it could be stated that man is a mortal or materialistic being who derives his physical form because of its association with an imperishable substance. During any stage of his existence, the form called man cannot be separated from the eternal nature of its substance.
Identity and Individuality:
Whole Dude – Whole Self: The Eternal Reality of Soul’s Immortality is described in The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter II, verse 12. Lord Krishna spoke to the Pandava Prince Arjuna :”Na tv evaham jatu nasam na tvam neme JanadhipaH;Na chaiva na bhavisyamaH, sarve vayam ataH param.” For each of us our Individuality existed in the past and our Individuality will continue in the future without interruption. Certainly, never at any time did I not exist, nor you, nor all these Kings and certainly never shall we cease to exist in the future.
The issue of spirituality, the nature of Soul and consciousness must be explored in the context of arriving at an understanding of man’s Identity and Individuality.
If man is viewed as an association of trillions of cells, we need to know the Identity of that Subject who lives because of the functions of the trillions of cells. The purpose of consciousness at cellular level is to foster functional unity of the multicellular organism and to establish it as an Individual. In a multicellular organism, cells have short lives as individuals. The Subject or the whole organism has a life span of its own and it has effects on individual cells. Multicellularity is accompanied by adaptive subordination of all cells to the requirements of the organism as a whole. To achieve proper numerical balance between functionally related cell groups, the death of many cells is necessary for other cells to reach maturity. This programmed cell death plays an important role in embryological development. Such programmed cell death events are essential if the organism as a whole is to develop its normal final form. Waves of genetically driven cell deaths are critical to the proper modeling of organs and organ systems.
We need to know and understand that death of cells is a must to establish the Identity and to sustain the Individuality of the human being. The dying process helps man to understand his Individuality. The Individuality is preserved while death is a daily event at the cellular level. The phenotype or the morphological appearance of the human Subject undergoes constant change during the Life journey and yet the Individuality remains unchanged. We recognize the death of this human Subject when his Soul departs from his body. Soul may be stated as an entity which is regarded as being immortal or spiritual part of the person. The Spirit of a dead person generally refers to a principle separate from the body and leading an existence of its own. If Soul is viewed as a Non-thing or Nothingness, it comes into the world of existence by entering the physical being at its conception which becomes conscious or aware of its existence. This consciousness has also existed in a previously existing Living Egg Cell which is the Mother of Life, Energy, and Knowledge.
Consciousness by its very nature is immortal, it is eternal, and it has no birth or death. We recognize the arrival and departure of the new product during the Life-Death continuum where the Individuality is unaffected by the changes that are caused by the powerful influence of Time.
Whole Dude – Whole Self: The Rudi-Grant Connection examines the complex issues of identity and individuality in the multicellular human organism. THE NEWBORN BABY ALWAYS ARRIVES INTO THE WORLD WITH AN ORIGINAL, UNIQUE, DISTINCT, AND ONE OF ITS OWN KIND OF GENOME THAT HAS NEVER EXISTED IN THE PAST AND WILL NEVER EXIST AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.
The Vitruvian Man c. 1492. The painting by Leonardo da Vinci displays the spirit of scientific inquiry. Could we know and understand Human Nature or Man’s Essence by investigating man’s mind using the Psychoanalytic principles? How does Man Exist? What is the basis for Man’s Existence? If there are hidden mental entities, how could they help or support Man’s Existence? How could Man display Essence if his Existence is not supported? Spiritualism is that potency that sustains Human Existence and is reflected as Human Nature in the structure and functions of the human being.
What is man? 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 the scientific inquiry is the nature of the scientist. The motivation to know man comes from a statement expressed in the Sanskrit language, “Sarvesham Swastir Bhavatu” which seeks the well-being of all humans of all races, of all cultures, of all religions, and of all nations. Our efforts to support the well-being of man would be affected by our ability to discover the universal principles that describe the ‘real’ or ‘true’ nature of man. All human literary, philosophical, religious, and scientific traditions make assumptions about human nature. The basic assumption about human nature is that of finding it displayed in feelings, thoughts, moods, and mental states of the human individual from where human actions and behavior proceed. All such actions and behaviors that emanate from mental states show individualistic variations. It will not be easy to discover universal principles that could clearly establish the basis of true and real human nature by simply studying human mind and its functions.
The structure and behavior of things contribute to their individual being and function. To understand human behavior, we may have to know the structure and behavior of the human living matter or substance to which we attach human identity and recognize it as human person. I explore human nature from the functional characteristics that are observable in biotic interactions of cells, tissues, organs and organ systems formed and developed by the human living matter and constitute the human organism. If man is viewed as a multicellular organism, I discover human nature of a subject who objectively exists because of the living functions of cells, tissues, organs and organ systems that provide the biological basis for that existence. In this context, I have explored the theories shared by biologist Konrad Lorenz, psychologist Dr. B.F. Skinner, philosopher Jean Paul Sartre and now I would like to review the Theory of psychoanalysis formulated by Dr. Sigmund Freud. It must be noted that all of them and several others have explained human nature without explaining the connection between the nature that is observed and the biological basis for the existence of the human individual whose behavior and actions they have studied.
Psychoanalysis and the Principle of Determinism:
Whole Dude – Whole Analysis: Dr. Sigmund Freud (1856 to 1939) claims, “No knowledge can be obtained from Revelation, Intuition, or Inspiration.” However, he reasons that knowledge could be obtained from unseen and unobservable mental entities whose existence cannot be tested empirically.
Dr. Sigmund Freud is known as the creator of Psychoanalysis. He is the author of several books; The Interpretation of Dreams (1900), The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (1901), Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905), Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (1909), Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (1915 -1917), Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920), The Ego and the Id (1923), The Future of an Illusion (1927), An Outline of Psycho-Analysis (1938), and others. He assumes that all phenomena are determined by the laws of Physics and Chemistry. He considers that man is a product of Natural Evolution and is subject to the same laws of mechanistic principles. According to Freud, every event has preceding sufficient causes within the realm of the mind. He investigates for hidden causes in a person’s mind. Freud suggests that there are uncontrollable causes in every individual’s mind that determine the choices the individual makes. Freud contends that the mind includes ‘unconscious’ items of which the person has no ordinary knowledge. Freud postulates that the ‘unconscious’ mental state is dynamic in nature and that it actively exerts pressures and influences on what a person is and what he does. Freud coined the term Psychoanalysis to describe both the theories of Personality and the method of treating mental illness.
Freud profoundly influences man’s view of himself. Psychoanalysis involves the possibility of ‘unconscious’ mental states which have causal effects on people’s mental life. Psychoanalysis is based upon the idea that people could suffer from some idea or memory or emotion of which they are not conscious, but from which they could be cured by somehow bringing it into consciousness. Freud applied Psychoanalytic theory to the whole of normal mental life, not just to pathological conditions. He evolved a method of treatment to address the problems of neurotic mental disorders. The Freudian concept thus describes the powerful influence of the ‘unconscious’ mind on conscious thought and behavior and the equally powerful influence of the apparently forgotten past on the present. Apart from using terms such as ‘unconscious’, ‘preconscious’, and ‘conscious’, he distinguished three major structural systems within the human mind or personality; the ‘id’ which contains all the instinctual drives seeking immediate satisfaction, the ‘ego’ which deals with the real world outside the person, mediating between ‘ego’ and the ‘id’, and the ‘superego’, a special part of the ‘ego’ which contains the conscience, the social norms acquired in childhood. Whatever can become ‘conscious’ or items that could be ‘preconscious’ is in the ‘ego’ and everything in the ‘id’ is permanently ‘unconscious’. Freud’s concept of man includes his theory of the ‘instincts’ or ‘drives’, the motive forces within the mind. Freud also shares the historical theory of individual human character and the adult character depends upon the experience of infancy and childhood.
Freud says that individual well-being or mental health depends on a harmonious relationship between the various parts of the mind and between the person and the real world in which man has to live. When we apply the Psychoanalytic theory to verify the contents of man’s ‘conscious’ or ‘unconscious’ mind, the basic assumption of Freud that man is governed by laws of Physics and Chemistry gets disproved. Human beings are vastly different from the entities studied by Physics and Chemistry. Psychoanalysis could only have individualistic applications. Psychoanalysis does not provide data that could be further tested empirically. We cannot test the usefulness or judge the efficacy of Psychoanalytic treatment in the same manner that is used to evaluate other therapeutic interventions.
Spiritualism and Consciousness:
Whole Dude – Whole Analysis: Dr. Sigmund Freud uses terms such as ‘preconscious’, ‘conscious’, and ‘unconscious’ without explaining the anatomical and physiological basis to describe the mental function. Consciousness has two components, 1. The Contents of Consciousness, and 2. The Capacity of Consciousness. Freud is concerned with only consciousness that is projected to the cortical areas of the brain and ignores as to how consciousness is composed by the Reticular Formation and other nuclei in the Brain Stem. Apart from being a neurological function, each living individual cell is conscious and is aware of the fact of its existence, it knows its internal condition and it reacts and responds to the conditions of its external environment.
I explain ‘Spiritualism’ as the potency that is evidenced as the presence of consciousness in any given living organism or living cell. It is the chief biological characteristic of living matter. Spiritualism is the power that causes consciousness and awareness that is exhibited in the biological properties of living matter; biological properties such as Motion, Nutrition, and Reproduction by Cell Division.
Whole Dude – Whole Analysis: The Ground Substance of Spiritualism and Spirituality. The vital characteristics, the animating principles of Protoplasm could be known by observing Amoeba proteus. The Living Substance works as an organ of Motion or Movement, as an organ of Nutrition, and as an organ of Reproduction to generate new cells which have a life span of their own. In these physiological functions, I describe the characteristics such as Cognition, Consciousness, Memory, and Intelligence which have a Spiritual role as they bring functional unity and harmony in the interactions between different parts of the same individual organism while it exists in an environment as a member of a biological community.
Spiritualism is the biological basis for human existence and it explains human nature which is expressed as an internal, mutually beneficial partnership, relationship, association, connection, and bonding between the cells, the tissues, organs and the organ systems of the human organism and the Whole Organism that represents the Human Person in the world he lives.
Clinical Medicine provides the opportunities to promote the well-being of all people as it includes the principle of verification of the objective, biological basis of human existence.
Whole Dude – Whole Analysis: SPIRITUALITY MEDICINE: The integration of Structure and Function describes the Spiritual Basis for Health and Human Existence. By knowing the structure and function of the Red Blood Cell or Erythrocyte, we can establish the facts of Blood Circulation, the reason for the structure of the Heart and Lungs, their motions and their relation to each other and their relation to the Human Being who exists as an Individual with Individuality.
Dr. Freud may explain as to why a man may choose to drink alcohol or use tobacco. But, his Psychoanalysis will not determine the behavior, action, and response of the man’s liver, heart, lungs, blood vessels and other cells, tissues, organs and organ systems to the choices that the man makes. While man makes mental choices for his actions and behavior, he has no freedom, no free will to make choices on behalf of his cells, tissues, organs and organ systems. While Freud lays the emphasis on a harmonious relationship between the various parts of the mind and between the person, I speak about harmonious relationships in the Whole Person and not simply between a few unobservable mental entities. We need a theory that recognizes the spiritual nature of man’s living matter and the spiritual relationships that it formulates while developing and building the very complex multicellular human organism.
Whole Dude – Whole Analysis: SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – ESSENCE – IDENTITY – UNITY – EXISTENCE: THIS FERTILIZED HUMAN OVUM OR EGG CELL BEGINS THE LIFE JOURNEY OF MAN. FROM THE BEGINNING, THERE IS UNITY BETWEEN, BODY, MIND, SOUL, AND GOD.
Whole Dude – Whole Form: Greek Philosophers Plato and Aristotle – To understand Human Nature, I explore the Human Form, its actions and behavior.
What is man? The motivation to ask this question comes from a statement expressed in the Sanskrit language, ‘Sarvesham Swastir Bhavatu’, which seeks the well-being of all humans, of all races, of all cultures, of all religions, and of all nations. Our efforts to support the well-being of man would be affected by our understanding the ‘real’ or ‘true’ nature of man. Aristotle describes corporeal substances are composite of two principles, form and matter. It is important to seek proper understanding of human form and to know the truth about human nature by describing the form. Being born relates man to the Subjective Reality of his physical existence and human nature is related to the fact of man’s existence in the physical world and universe. If the Objective Reality of man is non-material, we still need to know as to what exists in the world, and as to how it exists.
Plato’s Theory of Forms – The Dualism of Body and Soul:
Whole Dude – Whole Form: What a great Scene in the history of Man? If Plato and Aristotle come together, Reason and Faith also come together. The Scene at the Athenian Academy of Plato depicts the confluence of Religion, Philosophy, and Science.
Greek philosopher Plato (427 B.C. to 347 B.C.) describes human nature by his Theory of Forms. He describes four aspects of human being; 1. The Logical Form, 2. The Epistemological Form, 3. The Moral Form, and 4. The Metaphysical Form.
The Logical Form: It describes the physical being, the physical form and its identity. Each human being has characteristic physical features using which he can be identified as a member of the genus Homo and he has very specific features that establishes his identity that is shared by all the members of a species known as Homo sapiens sapiens. Each member of this species could be further identified as an individual using the present Identification technology. This specific human individual will not exist with the same identifying features during his entire duration of his physical existence. The Logical Form of human is impermanent and is subject to change and eventual death. However, the existence of this physical form is important to support the existence of man and to know his nature. Existence precedes human nature or Essence. The Essence (Who You Are) is defined and is preceded by the Reality of Existence. The human being belongs to a social group, and always exists as an Individual with Individuality while his physical form changes and passes through various stages such as infancy, boyhood, teenage, adult and old age. The Logical Form is subject to change, decay, and death. Hence, the reality of this Form is often doubted. It must be noted that Plato has not known man as a multicellular organism and his description of the Logical Form is not based upon study of Human Anatomy and Human Physiology.
The Epistemological Form: The term epistemology deals with the Theory of Knowledge. It describes the possible kinds of knowledge and the degrees of certainty for each kind of knowledge. Plato describes the knowledge that human being can acquire through education, a process of learning from sensory experiences, and teaching imparted by others. Plato expects to obtain full knowledge of human forms through proper education. Such knowledge is important to know the Metaphysical Form of man. Self-Knowledge leads to the understanding of man’s true or real nature. The perception of impermanent, material, human body is described by Plato as only opinion or belief and he considers that such perception is not true knowledge of human form.
Plato has not given attention to knowledge that is innate or that is not acquired by the learning process. To perform the living functions in support of his existence, man uses biological information that is inherited and not knowledge that has to be acquired through learning.
The Moral Form: It describes qualities such as Courage and Justice, the observable aspects of human nature that could be described from human action and human behavior.
The Metaphysical Form: Plato claims that the Metaphysical Form is not perceivable by any of the senses. The Metaphysical Form is the real form of the human being as compared to the Logical Form which is considered to be unreal. The Metaphysical Form is not present in space or time, as it is beyond the world of changeable and destructible things. It belongs to the realm of unchanging, eternal forms. This form being true can be fully known through knowledge.
Plato’s Theory of Body-Soul Dualism:
Plato divides human being into two categories; 1. Body – a material entity, and 2. Mind or Soul – a non-material entity which can exist apart from the Body. Plato maintains that the Mind or Soul is indestructible, it existed eternally before birth and will exist eternally after death. He further describes the three parts of Soul as 1. Appetite – the seat of desires and passion such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire, 2. Reason – the seat of discernment that chooses right from wrong and makes distinctions between good and evil, and 3. Spirit – the seat of self-assertion, self-interest, anger, indignation, and self-pride. Plato considers that the well-being of man depends upon harmonious interactions of the three aspects of the Soul. Plato thinks that such harmonious interactions would only be possible when Reason controls both Spirit and Appetite. To strike this balance and to maintain harmony, man has to obtain knowledge of the eternal, unchanging form. Plato thinks that Justice is revealed as a principle of each thing performing the function most appropriate to its nature, a principle of the proper adjudication of activity and being. The principle of Justice is revealed or discovered in the individual human Soul when each part of the Soul performs its proper and appropriate function. Plato believed that the Human Soul rules the Human Body. The Rule of Reason is required to combine the virtue of temperance with self-mastery and harmony results when all elements agree as to which should do what.
The Seven Dimensions of Human Existence:
Whole Dude – Whole Form: The Seven Dimensions of the Singularity recognized as Human Form
I describe the Seven Dimensions of the Singularity recognized as Human Form and each Form can be identified by its own behavior;1. The Physical Form as described by Human Anatomy and Human Physiology, 2. The Mental Form as described by sciences such as Psychology and Psychiatry, the Form that has intellectual and emotional aspects, 3. The Social Form as described by Social Sciences, the social aspects of man, his activities, and the structure and organization of all human institutions, apart from the social dimensions of man viewed as a multicellular organism hosting trillions of microbes, 4. The Moral Form as described by man’s power of discernment or conscience to make moral and ethical choices, 5, The Spiritual Form, the aspect that formulates harmonious interactions between the cells, the tissues, and the organs of the human body whose individual functions support the well-being of man, 6. The Creative Form, the existence of man as an Individual with Individuality without any choice of his own, and 7. The Rational Form, man’s use of the faculty of reasoning for his own existence.
Man’s existence would be at risk if any of these seven dimensions is adversely impacted. Unless we seek clear, visual images of Human Form in all its aspects, we will fail to understand man and his purpose in life.
Whole Dude – Whole Form: SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – THE KNOWER – THE KNOWING-SELF: MAN, THE ENTIRE HUMAN ORGANISM IS DERIVED FROM A SINGLE FERTILIZED EGG CELL. HOW IS THE IDENTITY AND INDIVIDUALITY IS ESTABLISHED AND IS KNOWN IN THIS COMPLEX MULTICELLULAR ORGANISM?
Whole Dude - Whole Concept 