Whole Dude – Whole Connection-Whole Concept

Paire de base
Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: The DNA molecule needs a steady supply of energy to perform its living functions. What is the Connection?

The Status of Man in Nature:

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: The Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, verse 27:”So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

The First Book of Moses, The Old Testament Book of Genesis describes the story of Creation; in Chapter 2, verse 7, it narrates man’s creation: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

Man is a Created Being:  

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Man is a created being. Spirituality explores the connection between man and his Creator. The Trimurti at Elephanta Island Cave Temples near Mumbai, India represents God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva).

The status of man in nature describes man as a created object; a new object, one of its own kind, distinctive, and unique. The principle of Creation involves the use of inspiration and imagination as opposed to the view proposed by the Theory of Evolution. The fundamental issue is about understanding man’s status in nature.

Did man come into existence by gradual changes caused by random and unguided events called genetic mutations? Or, does man actually exist in nature because of his relationship with other objects present in his living environment? What defines man’s existence? What establishes the reality of man’s physical existence? Should we focus on the changing form? Alternately, should we give attention to an unchanging relationship that is a prerequisite for the existence of all life forms? If an object cannot come into its state of existence, how could that object get a shape or form? In the context of a discussion about man’s existence in nature, I state that  man is a created object, and hence man exists as a Spiritual being.

Man is a Spiritual Being:

The term Spirituality describes the nature of this connection between man and His Creator. Soul is the immortal part of man as distinguished from his body; it is the vital principle which moves and animates all Life. Soul may represent the essence of a human being, it could be the quality which confers individuality, humanity, and the moral nature of man. I divide man into two categories; the first category is called the ‘SELF’ which represents man as a physical, mental, and social being; and the second category is called the ‘KNOWING-SELF’ which represents man as a moral, and spiritual being. These two categories function together and the functional unity of the human person is an attribute of a neuro-biological function called Consciousness. Man’s physical being is represented by a changing external or morphological appearance and while the physical Identity is constantly changing, the unchanging Individuality is supported by man’s spirituality or the nature of his constant spiritual relationship.  

The Eternal Reality of Soul’s Immortality:

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Ajanta Caves near Aurangabad, Maharashtra State, India, Fresco-type wall painting- Man’s spiritual dimension describes man’s humanity, moral nature, individuality, and Consciousness.

 Religious thinkers have further defined Soul as that part of the individual which partakes of divinity. People of all races, cultures and religions would like to investigate the nature of this God-Connection as they perceive the world and the universe in which they exist as a fact of Creation. I need to find evidence that would fundamentally deny the fact of Creation.

 Man is a Social Being:

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857) coined the term Sociology. He believed that the scientific study of social organization would make possible a reconstitution of the social order based on principles of moral progress.

Apart from being a created Physical being, man is recognized as a Social being as he displays social instincts and social behaviors in all of his activities. A rudimentary understanding of Sociology or Theories of Social Science would clarify this matter.

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: The multicellular human organism is a biotic community and a social group or association of trillions of cells and microbes.

Social instincts and Social Behaviors are seen in all animals including bacteria. At a cellular level, the social function is called ‘Association’. Man is an association of trillions of cells. Each human organ and organ system represents an association of cells that display functional subordination to perform selective tasks. Life is just impossible without social structure and organization. The multicellular human organism is indeed a biotic community and a social group or association of trillions of cells and microbes.

Man is a Moral Being: 

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Man is a Spiritual being and is endowed with Moral nature. James Tissot in his painting captures the essence of man. The Book of Matthew, Chapter 27 verses 3-5 narrate the story of Apostle Judas Iscariot and his moral failing that caused the dissolution of his biological existence-“When Judas who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said,”for I have betrayed innocent blood.” So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.”

Man is an individual who exists in a social group. At the same time, man is a Moral being, as he displays moral behavior even when he is corrupt. Man displays the ability of Repentance for his thoughts, for his actions of commission and omission. Man has the ability to admit his sins, express remorse and may often punish himself for his sinful conduct. Man experiences grief for his actions that are sinful. Man actively searches for solutions for his sinful conduct. Man cannot sustain his biological existence if he had morally failed. A famous example would be that of Apostle Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus.

Matter, Energy, and Knowledge:

Greek philosopher  Aristotle had observed that corporeal substances are composite of two principles, form and matter. What is called matter is potentiality, what is called form is actuality. The totality of things have been divided in various ways. The three fundamental distinctions are 1. the distinction between the natural and the supernatural, 2. the distinction between the material and the spiritual, and 3. the distinction between the lifeless and the living. When we make the distinction animate/inanimate, living/non-living, and inorganic/organic, a question arises about the nature of that distinction. The difference, is that one of kind or degree? The Mechanistic View claims the continuity of nature in terms of the universality of purely mechanical principles.

I define Life as organization of matter with implanted supernatural Knowledge. The establishment of supernatural Knowledge in matter decribes the operation of ‘God Principle’, Spirit, or Soul. Life comes into existence when matter and energy come together with the establishment of ‘God Connection.

Life and Consciousness:

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Amoeba proteus, unicellular, protozoan organism is conscious or aware of its own state of existence. It has the abilities of Motion, Nutrition, and Reproduction. All of its living functions are goal-oriented. It responds to its environment and survives adverse environmental conditions by a process called encystment.

The basic characteristic of a Living Cell or organism is the presence of consciousness. I recognize a cell as a Living Cell if it displays functions that characterize the presence of awareness or consciousness. The Living Cell or Living Object need not be aware or conscious of the Subject who may be investigating or observing the properties of that Object. The Living Object need to be aware of its own existence and its condition called Living. Atoms and molecules display their properties and interact according to the Laws of Physics and Chemistry. Living organic molecules show individualistic behaviors under experimental conditions that could be repeated and be verified. The Living Cell is very selective and it responds in a variable manner to physical and chemical stimuli. It can communicate or send signals to other Living Cells present in its environment. It responds according to its internal condition in relation to the environment in which it exists. The interactions of non-living physical matter are not goal-oriented. The interactions of Living matter are goal-oriented and they specifically achieve the purpose of sustaining, preserving, defending, and continuing the Living functions.

Man is a Mortal, Physical Being:

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Man is a mortal being who must eventually die. When Lazarus died and was laid in a tomb for four days, Jesus performed a miracle and Lazarus came back to life from death. The Book of John, Chapter 11, narrates this event. In verses 41 and 42, Jesus said,”Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people who are standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me.” The risen Lazarus had eventually died.

Life and Death is a Continuous Process:

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: When does Life begins? When does Life ends? Life always comes into a state of existence from a previously existing Living Cell. Life and Death is a continuous process and is recognized by the presence of Consciousness and Individuality.

When does Life begins? When does Life ends? Every Living Cell is derived from a previously existing Living Cell. Life has not experienced the final event called Death. Life continues its act of Living through a function called Reproduction. A given species is considered to be totally extinct only if there is no surviving member to represent that particular species. Death is a programmed event and it gives meaning to the Identity of a Living Object. The dissolution of a single Living Object should not obscure the fact that Life is a continuous process. Life continues as Living Objects get new Identities. It is very reasonable to expect that Life would continue after the death of a given Living Object. People all over the world are a witness to that simple and direct observation. During the Life-Death continuum, the connection between the Creator and the created Living Object is manifested by the biological function called awareness or consciousness. The presence of Soul is evidenced by the presence of consciousness. As long as the Soul is functioning and is united with the physical being, the presence of consciousness could be detected and could be verified.

The Soul and God Connection: 

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: All types of Living Cells with or without a nucleus represent thermodynamically unstable systems. Without a continuous input of energy a Living Cell will degrade spontaneously into a collection of Nonliving molecules. Biological existence is possible because of an association or connection, or partnership between energy seeker and energy provider.

 There has been no clearly defined and universally accepted metaphysical conception of the term Soul. It is a term rarely used with precise definition in philosophy, religion, or common life. In this discussion we face the problem of using words to which no definitive meaning is attached. If I make an attempt to define the word ‘God’, you may even speculate that I may belong to a new religious order. We need to come to a consensus even if an entity called ‘God’ does not exist. We need to formulate a view, a hypothetical view about Soul and test that hypothesis by countering it with a skeptical hypothesis.

The Science called Physics deals with the properties, changes, interactions, etc. of matter and energy in which energy is considered to be continuous. In the ultimate analysis, matter is a representation of its energy content. The Science called Biology deals with Life and Life processes. While Life is made up of physical matter, Life processes are not explained by simple mechanistic interactions. However, I am willing to use the principles, the methods, and the tools used by Physics. Molecular Biology explains biological events by studying the molecules within cells; the molecular basis of genetics – Nucleic Acids and its relationship to energy cycling and replication. If this universe is seen as matter and energy, I would define God as the Controller of Force/Power/Energy. All living things are essentially made up of the same kind of living matter and yet they appear to be different. Life could be attributed to ONE common principle which has the ability to be simultaneously different. Each living object comes into a state of existence as a new object, as an original object, one of its own kind, unique, and distinctive. This morphological variation is an attribute of the organic molecules that establish the phenotype or the physical identity of that living organism. Physics provides those powerful tools to see the molecules and to recognize their individualistic behavior. Life comes into existence using a creative principle, and creative mechanisms that need inspiration, and imagination apart from the use of simple mechanistic laws. If Life is governed by the Law of Individuality, I would define God as a Creative Force/Power/Energy.

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Life is a condition that describes Synchronized Existence, the synchronization of activities, the connection between energy dependent life functions and its Source of Power.

A majority of these life forms that we know and have studied, have synchronized their state of existence with an event that produces alternating periods of light and darkness while that source of light is not being turned ‘on’ and ‘off’. Rather we are forced to experience the effects of an illusion. Sunrise and Sunset is the reality that governs a majority of Biological Rhythms that control the life processes. Illusion is the necessary condition for the biological existence of Life. If Earth’s rotational spin generates this illusion, God uses Force/Power/Energy to cause illusion. In the universe that exists today, to the extent we have verified; there are no two identical celestial objects that exhibit the same rotational spin. In this context, it may be said that the Force/Power/Energy called God has created Earth to provide a home to the life forms that He has created as Individuals. These life forms have the ability called reproduction and yet lack the ability of producing two identical new objects. Sexual or Asexual reproduction always results in the production of new Individuals which could be easily verified by using the Biometric Identification Technology. Even the clones, sharing identical genomes, in reality exist as individuals. This Individuality when investigated by the tools supplied by Physics, it is discovered that the organic molecules behave as Individuals and man is not able to modify that behavior. Under the same experimental conditions, the molecules behave as individuals. When we examine the nature of this biological existence, it indicates that life processes are supported by the provision of energy from an external source.

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Life on Earth depends upon supply of Energy from an Extraterrestrial Source of Energy

The Living Cell is a thermodynamically unstable system. This means that without a continuous input of energy a Living Cell will degrade spontaneously into a nonliving collection of molecules. This lack of energy independence would direct us to define God as the Power/Force/Energy which delivers Compassion/Mercy/Grace which helps energy acquisition by energy dependent living organisms. Life forms on planet Earth exist depending upon an extraterrestrial source of energy or Cosmic Power/Force/Energy.

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: The Living Cell is the basic unit of a Living System

Life exists because of its ability called ‘Association’. The act of associating, the state of being associated; the companionship, the fellowship, and the partnership is the defining feature of the State or Condition, or Act of Living. Association or patnership between energy seeker and energy provider could be described as God-Connection. Organisms that are single do not live as single cells but develop association with other single cells to form distinct Colonies. Organisms that are multicellular represent an organization of individual cells that are associated having common interests, purposes, sensations, etc., Since association has a purpose, in the context of biological existence, the association or connection, or partnership between the energy seeker, and the energy provider is a meaningful event and not a simple, mechanical, physical event governed by the Laws of Interactions between Matter and Energy. There are Four Fundamental Interactions and they do not regulate or define this Interaction between Living matter and the Cosmic Force/Power/Energy. Living matter uses and exploits energy in a creative manner to build organic molecules and to break down organic molecules. The life processes are very similar and yet the results are totally different. While using energy mostly following a similar metabolic pathway, each organism supports its identity and individuality.

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: WHO HAS ESTABLISHED THE CONNECTION BETWEEN AUTOTROPHS AND HETEROTROPHS? The creative mechanism to trap Solar Energy describes implanted Knowledge to formulate the connection between autotrophs and heterotrophs.
Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: In mitochondria, many substances (food) are oxidized and ATP, the energy-storing chemical of the Cell is produced. The most important equations for living things are mutually inverse. Respiration of humans, and Cellular Respiration represents the reverse of Photosynthesis.

Soul and Death:

The idea of ‘Soul’ always comes in the context of Death. If man is immortal, we will not be spending our time and energy discussing to verify the existence of an immortal principle. The human subject has a limited life span and it arouses a sense of curiosity about the existence of something that could defy Death. I am trying to define the word ‘Soul’ in a manner to promote an understanding that ‘Soul’ is immortal if we look at man as an Association of individual living cells. We need to establish the Identity of that Individual for whose purpose or interest this Association of Individual living cells exists. If we think of Death as a final event, it is not supported by factual evidence. In this Association, death is a daily event. We simply fail to acknowledge this daily event as there is an immortal principle that is escaping this death experience. The Individual thinks that he is alive and sustains his Individuality without getting overwhelmed by the dying process that is continuous. While the human organism is changing its external appearance and identity all the time, the Individuality survives if ‘Soul’ the vital, or operating immortal principle is functioning. The issue or question about ‘transmigration’ of Soul would not arise if every living organism exists strictly as an Individual with an Individuality. As stated before,man has no choice and he must always exist as an Individual even when we use Reproductive Genetic Engineering Technology to produce identical clones with the same genome.

The dissolution of matter may not change the Law of Conservation of Energy. If Soul is defined as the God Connection that gives the ability of energy acquisition, the Soul when removed from a physical object to which it has given Individuality, would operate as per the commands of the Controller of Force/Power/Energy. It provides the possibility of carrying the impressions of a previous state of existence into a new state of existence with a new Identity and Individuality. During the life span of a given Individual, an association of cells in which death is a daily event, Soul is a continuous principle as its purpose and interest is to maintain Individuality of that Individual.

Soul and The Living Cell:

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: 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.

I define man as a physical, mental, social, moral, and spiritual being as I define the term ‘health’ as the physical, mental, social, moral, and spiritual well-being of the man in his environment and community and not merely as absence of disease. This definition of ‘health’ would help to provide ‘comprehensive health care’ as a Primary Care physician. Specialists and Super specialists provide health care in specific areas involving an organ or an organ system.

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Jean Paul Sartre had stated that Nothingness (Non-thing or Neant) is a condition of not having Being and yet it is supported by Being. Nothingness comes into the world by the Being-for-itself. The Conscious Knowing-Self or the Essence of man is preceded by the Subjective Reality of physical Existence.

I attach my ideas to some ideas expressed by others. Sartre is a well-known person. He had won the Nobel Prize for literature but declined to accept it. I may not totally agree with him and his views about consciousness. He had stated his view in a manner that people can easily understand. He makes a distinction between objective things and human consciousness. He claims that consciousness is a ‘non-thing'(‘neant’ or nothingness ) and its reality consists in standing back from things and taking a point of view on them. Because consciousness is a non-thing, it does not have any of the causal involvements that things have with other things. If you stand before a mirror, the reflection exists only if it is supported by the presence of a physical being or thing. If the physical thing is taken away, the reflected image is gone but the reflective surface retains its ability to reflect the images of things.

 The Biological Membrane and Consciousness:

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: The Biological Membrane is not a simple physical barrier separating the Living Cell from its environment. The Protoplasm or Cytoplasm, the Living Matter uses its Biological Membrane with a sense of awareness or consciousness which recognizes the fact of its existence and the fact of something present in its environment.

In a Living Cell, consciousness reflects its external environment and its internal condition or internal environment. The Living Cell knows, it is aware of its state, fact, and act of its Living. The Living Cell makes contact with its environment by using a cell membrane, a biological membrane, or a bio-membrane. If you carefully look at some of the functions of this membrane, you would discern that the Living Cell has consciousness or awareness of these functions. The Biological Membrane behaves in a conscious manner and it is not a simple, physical barrier between the Protoplasm, the Living Substance and its environment. If the term ‘soul’ describes a vital principle, or a source of Knowledge, it provides the information with which these functions could be performed. Some molecules and ions can freely move across this Bio-membrane and some are actively pumped in or out of the Cell that involves expenditure of energy. The Living Cell has the ability to recognize the condition of its nucleus, if the DNA is damaged, the Cell can initiate a process and cause its own dissolution.

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Red Blood Cells display functional subordination to serve the purpose of the Whole Organism. Functional differentiation, and Functional Unity are important to support the existence of the Subject or Individual who is in reality an association of trillions of cells.

In multicellular organism, the consciousness works both at the level of each individual cell and to establish the functioning of the organism as an individual unit. Without functional unity, the organism cannot maintain its biological existence. Cell differentiation is the process by which the individual cells use adaptation to perform specific tasks. Red Blood Cells perform specific tasks.

 The neuro-biological aspects of Consciousness:

Reticular Formation of Brain Stem has connections with almost all other parts of the Central Nervous System and it helps to coordinate and integrate actions of different parts of the CNS. It is important for Behavioral Arousal, and the Capacity for Consciousness.

In the human Brain Stem, several neurons, and nuclei which are in an area called Reticular Formation are functionally adapted to compose the contents of human consciousness. The Reticular Formation gives the Capacity for Consciousness. The contents of this consciousness are read in the cortical areas of the cerebral hemispheres and described as Cortical awareness. Most philosophers, most of the psychologists, and several of the religious thinkers pay attention to this Cortical awareness and describe that as human consciousness. We tend to ignore the fact that there would be no Cortical awareness unless there is a Capacity for Consciousness. Most recently, the surgeons had removed the complete left cerebral hemisphere from a child to stop convulsive seizures. The child is alive, fully conscious, and hopefully would continue to live in future with some neurological deficits. Just like the human heart which has four different muscular chambers and each has a function of its own; we need to understand consciousness by knowing its components. We need to use separate terms to distinguish these different components. There would be confusion if a term is used without attaching a specific meaning. Cortical awareness is important and is very interesting and yet man can exist and survive with minimal cortical awareness. We have seen children with severe degrees of mental retardation, and they can keep their biological existence if they retain the ability to Compose Consciousness. I want to designate the upper Brain Stem as the Seat of Consciousness and the word consciousness itself must describe the functions of the Brain Stem which are most important for man’s biological existence. A man is clinically dead in the absence of these Brain Stem functions involved in the Capacity of Consciousness. In Clinical Medicine, the term conscious is often used to measure the degree of Arousal or Cortical awareness and hence this subject matter would remain confusing for a long time. If a subject is unconscious, I would not issue a ‘death certificate’. In Clinical Medicine, the term used is ‘Brain Death’ and when Brain Death is diagnosed, the human person for all practical purposes is dead. I would suggest that we must use the term ‘Unconscious’ specifically to indicate the Brain Death which is diagnosed by testing the Brain Stem Reflexes. If the human person is viewed as a single physical thing or object, the integration of functions is achieved at the Brain Stem (Reticular Formation), and he maintains his individuality throughout his physical existence only when this part of the brain is functioning. If you like the term individual soul or Jeeva Atma, its existence is a reflection of this function. To see a reflection, we need two things; the physical object and a reflective surface. The quality of reflecting objects may depend upon presence of Knowledge. It is not known if this particular kind of knowledge exists as organic molecules; however, it is very well understood that most of the knowledge to perform a variety of biological functions is contained in organic molecules and the most well-known group of these organic molecules are known as DNA. There are Viruses which can function with RNA. Hence, there is still a possibility of finding organic molecules that could be associated with the functional ability called consciousness, awareness, cognition, recognition, responsiveness, perception, memory, intelligence, and association. The most important aspect of ‘association’ is ‘God Connection’ and without this function of ‘association’ man cannot keep his biological existence.

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: Consciousness is awareness of existence, the facts that relate to the state or condition of existence. Behavioral Arousal and Cortical awareness of thoughts, feelings, and sensations is an important component of total Biological Existence.

Identity and Individuality:

Whole Dude – Whole Connection – Whole Concept: 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 Connection – Whole Concept: The mystery of man and God Connection.

Whole Dude – Whole Emptiness

Emblem of Tibet, used by the Tibetan Governmen...
Whole Dude – Whole Emptiness: The Seal of The Ganden Phodrang Institution of the Dalai Lama, the Government of Tibet.

THE SPIRITS OF SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE WELCOME HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA TO ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.
Whole Dude – Whole Emptiness: THE LIVING TIBETAN SPIRITS WELCOME HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA TO ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama spoke on “Engaging Wisdom and Compassion” on April 19-20, 2008 at Crisler Arena, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Whole Dude – Whole Emptiness: The Living Tibetan Spirits Welcome His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

The concept of ‘Sunyata’ (Emptiness or Nothingness):

Whole Dude – Whole Emptiness: The Living Tibetan Spirits Welcome His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

The emptying of the mind and the attainment of an undifferentiated unity is a theme of the ‘Sunyata’ doctrine developed by Acharya Nagarjuna. ‘Sunyata’ can be stated as a state of “pure consciousness” in which the mind has been emptied of all particular objects and images. The emptied mind reflects or manifests the undifferentiated reality in which the world appears without distinction and multiplicity.

H.H. Dalai Lama’s presentation:

Whole Dude – Whole Emptiness: The Living Tibetan Spirits Welcome His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

“At the root of all our suffering lies a form of ignorance, a form of unknowing”. The origin of suffering is attachment. “Self-grasping (or self-focus) gives rise to suffering. It is the root of all afflictions.” “Self-grasping” leads to attachment to impermanent things or thoughts which gives rise to suffering. Emptiness is created by casting aside the attachment to everyday things and worries.

H.H. Dalai Lama advised practicing loving kindness to eliminate the afflictions caused by attachment. The goal, he said is,”Cultivating the Wisdom of no self,” a sense of grand emptiness that leaves behind everyday pollutants that can take both physical or emotional form.

THE SPIRITS OF SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE:

Whole Dude – Whole Emptiness: The Living Tibetan Spirits Welcome His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Special Frontier Force is a multinational defense plan to defend freedom and democracy in the occupied Land of Tibet. I emptied my mind of all desires. The Spirits that inhabit my Consciousness seek Freedom in their Land of origin.

The Living Tibetan Spirits

English: 14th Dalai Lama, Dharasmala, India
Whole Dude – Whole Emptiness: The Living Tibetan Spirits Welcome His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity

The Complexity of Life and Time

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: How does Time Flows? Time moves forwards in a Straight Line like an Arrow whereas Life functions as if there is Cyclical Flow of Time with regular alternating periods of Day and Night with Cyclical Events called Seasons.

Yes indeed, Life is Complicated. The complexities of Life involve exploring the phenomenon of Life in which the events called Birth and Death occur during the Cyclical Flow of Time and Life whereas in reality Time moves forwards in a Straight Line like an Arrow. The Study of Life must include the concepts of Past Birth, Present Birth and Rebirth.

WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE COMPLEXITY: AGING IS A NATURAL CONDITION, A NATURAL PROCESS, A NATURAL PHENOMENON THAT AFFECTS ALL HUMAN BEINGS WITHOUT EXCEPTIONS FROM THE TIME OF CONCEPTION UNTIL DEATH.

Understanding Time and the Concept of Unchanging Reality:

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: TIME AND REALITY: Man has no true ability to formulate mental concepts unless the reality of the World is modified by other forces on which man has no control or power. Even if man knows that the Sun does not rise in the East and does not set in the West, his mortal existence is governed by this singular event.

The word ‘Concept’ describes a thought or an idea about a thing or event. Man exists on the surface of planet Earth and formulates his ideas or concepts about the reality of his existence and the reality of the world in which he exists. These mental concepts will not be possible unless the reality of the world is modified by other forces on which man has no control or power. Even if man knows that the Sun does not rise in the East, and the Sun does not set in the West, his mortal existence is governed by this singular event.

I use the term ‘WholeConcept’ to describe the relationship between man, world, Time, and Space that is established by an Unchanging Reality which is unaffected by the dimensions of Time and Space. 

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: Earth’s Rotational Spin provides the experience of Time by causing changes in the environment which Man perceives as Day and Night. This cyclical change of alternating periods of Light and Darkness is synchronized with Man’s Biological Rhythms.

Time is defined as the period or interval between two events or during which something exists, happens, or acts; the duration is a measurable interval. Indian thinkers have described ‘Time’ or ‘KAALA’ as a Power or a Force that is eternal suggesting that ‘Time’ existed before the formation of this created universe, Time operates during the existence of this created universe, and Time remains after the total dissolution of this created universe.

‘Things in Nature change with Time’. Does Time exert a force entirely of its own to change things in Nature? If Time is viewed as a Power or Force, who controls this Force and what are the Laws that operate this Force?     

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: The Subjective Reality of Man’s physical existence is operated by the Biological Clock which may have a plan for Dissolution.

Everything that is born, everything that has come into existence, and everything that is conditioned arrives with its own plan for dissolution. Whosoever had arrived on this planet Earth, is sure to depart. Time operates this plan for dissolution. Time has the power to cause dissolution of the animate as well as the inanimate world and the physical universe.

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: Time has a plan for dissolution of both animate and inanimate world.

Whatever qualities, or attributes such as material wealth, social status, social position, and physical state of well-being that man cherishes and desires most would be dissolved and would be rendered useless by the effects of Time. Humans lack the material, and the biological abilities to transform their physical beings into sources of perpetual enjoyment.

Time with its Power of Dissolution would eventually compel us to investigate and to explore the concept of Absolute and Unchanging Reality. This Subjective Reality of Man’s existence on this planet Earth which is a member of the Solar System would be dissolved by the influence of Time. The dissolution of Sun and the Solar System would not result in the dissolution of this universe that we currently know and understand. When man has been dissolved, the conditioned reality of this physical universe will continue and remains as before as earth and sun do not describe the total reality of this conditioned universe.

The Perception of Change and Human concepts about Time:

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: The Moving Train and the Perception of changing landscape. Photo Credit:Indyeahforever.

Many of you who learned Physics understand the term Speed and Velocity. A person riding in a train or any other moving object could perceive a change that is caused by the motion. The nature of this perception depends upon the Speed or Velocity of that moving object. If the person jumps out of the train, the change that he has been perceiving immediately stops. There would be no changing landscape. If the speed of the train is increased, the perception of change also alters and at very high speeds man actually loses the ability of visual perception. The visual image becomes a blur. If man is viewing a Motion Picture, his visual ability to view the Picture could be destroyed by simply increasing the speed of the Projector. Any given point on the surface of the Earth moves with the Speed of the Earth. Earth is moving at a great speed and man has no ability to perceive this motion or the speed. Man perceives a change in his environment and calls it day and night. We run our lives by numbers on clocks and calendars. The clocks and calendars create the illusion that we live in a world of mathematically measured segments of time.

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: The Flow of Time is measured as the duration or the interval between two events; Time exists for man and other living organisms as the measure of the period of duration from Sunrise to Sunset that causes an environmental change; the alternating periods of Light (DAY) and Darkness (NIGHT). Earth’s Rotational Spin transforms the instant called ‘FUTURE’ into an instant called ‘PAST’ without giving man any choice to know the instant called ‘PRESENT’. Earth’s Revolution brings Seasons that man experiences at regular and constant intervals of Time while man simply exists on the surface of planet Earth with no physical experience of Earth’s Motions through Space.

Time is looked upon as a flow like a river. Sir Issac Newton (1687) stated that the flow of Time is absolute; “It flows equably without relation to anything external.” In 1905 while postulating the Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein observed that Time is not absolute and the measurement of Time is affected by the motion of the observer. The Relativity of Time becomes significant only at great speeds. Gravity affects both Light and Time. Gravity bends both Space and Light. Time is affected by the gravitational field of each celestial body. Time is unique to any one spot in the universe. If you and me do not exist at the same spot in the universe, our experience of Time is conditioned by the place or the position of that particular spot in the universe. Thus, the experience of Time on this planet is an illusionary experience and is not an absolute experience.

Kaala Chakra or the Cyclical Flow of Time:    

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: The Cyclical Flow of Time brings Cyclical Changes at expected Time intervals. Life exists because of the Cyclical Flow of Time.

Herman Minkowski, a mathematician, added Time as the Fourth Dimension of Three Dimensional Space. Time is seen as a Dimension as it gives meaning to events and the order in which they occur. Physicists describe Time and Space as the building blocks of this universe. Biologists see Time in the internal clocks that keep all living entities in sync with Nature. Human existence and the existence of all other living entities depend upon this illusionary experience of Time. Life exists and operates only if Time flows in a cyclical manner just like a wheel that moves, rotates on an axle or axis. Man needs this experience of day and night during his entire life journey. Man needs the changing Seasons with its cyclical regularity. Just imagine the consequences to human existence if Spring Season does not arrive at the Time it is expected. You have correctly pointed out that planet Earth is not at the same location or place in Space as Time flows. Last year, we had experienced the Spring Season while Earth existed at an entirely different location and we look forward for the arrival of a new Spring Season in spite of the Change in the position. In spite of Changes in location or position, in relative terms, the Spring Season is the Unchanging Reality of the Conditioned State of Human Existence. Because of the Conditioned nature of Human Existence, Man always looks forward, and hopes that Time would flow in a cyclical manner bringing cyclical changes. Biologists describe Life in terms of Life Cycles.

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: WHAT IS THE MYSTERY OF LIFE? CAN MYSTICISM HELP TO KNOW THE HIDDEN TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE? WHAT IS THE MYSTICAL INFLUENCE OF TIME THAT DRIVES THE AGING PHENOMENON?

All living functions have a rhythmic or cyclical quality. The exchange of gases during a cycle called Respiration involves the cyclical events of Inspiration and Expiration. The vital functions sustained by Circulation demands cyclical flow of Blood. The Individual and his State or Condition of Individuality remains existing as an Unchanging Reality as long as he experiences the cyclical changes in his bodily functions and in the environment in which he exists.

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: HOW DOES THE HUMAN ORGANISM KNOWS ABOUT ITS OWN LIFETIME? THE AGING PHENOMENON IS RELATED TO MAN’S PERCEPTION OF TIME. HOW IS TIME CONTROLLING OR OPERATING LIFE EXPERIENCE?

I am that Unchanging Reality, the Reality of my Identity and my Individuality remains unchanged as my physical body experiences cyclical changes in its substance and in the environment where it exists. My phenotype or morphological appearance or outward appearance undergoes a constant change and this change is synchronized with the cyclical change called alternating periods of Day and Night. The Biological Clock precisely measures this Time interval or duration of my existence relative to the illusionary change; in Reality, the Sun is shining with all His brightness at all times with no significant change that I can perceive.

The God Connection:

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity: Face Recognition Technology helps in the identification of an Individual. Under the influence of Time, the outward appearance undergoes changes all the time during Life’s Journey and yet the Identity and the Individuality survives the Time’s Power of Dissolution.

 My Identity and my Individuality is the Unchanging Reality of my conditioned state of human existence. I explore the Nature of this Unchanging Identity and Individuality. This Unchanging Reality of Identity and Individuality exists during the Time interval or duration of my God Connection. I know that Time existed before my creation, Time is operating during my existence as a created being, and Time would continue to operate after my physical dissolution. Time with its great power of Dissolution will not change my perception about my Unchanging Identity and Individuality because of my God Connection. It is rational, it is logical, and it is reasonable to reflect upon Absolute and Unchanging Reality as long as I maintain my Identity and Individuality which can not be changed or altered by the flow of Time.

From: Dr. Srinivasa Rao Kankipati.

Lovely story and nice response. The story holds a great truth in it. The truth is that change is the law of nature. The universe, which means the aggregate of all things in it, is changing right from the moment of the Big Bang. I wouldnt say that change is constant. Even the rate of change may be varying. Swami Sivananda penned a beautiful poem titled:”Even This Shall Pass” and some other philosophical essays and poems. All these were contained in a book authored by him, which he sent to me free when I wrote a letter to him in my student days but told him that I cannot pay the cost.

I believe that death which is inevitable for everything is only a result of unavoidable change. As far as I can analyse, the only law governing the universe is the law of (maybe changing) change.
Even though we think that the earth is returning to the same position in space year after year, astronomers tell us that its relative position is changing. We never go back to the same point.

In this light, I don’t think there is anything that can be called permanent. As we can easily see from a train when we travel, the near landscape recedes in the opposite direction, but it seems to move relative to the far landscape, which assumes the character of being permanent. But after some travel, we find that the farther landscape also has changed, as against landscape which is even farther away. After some more travel the distant hills and dales at the farthest distance also vanish.

So we are changing, everything is changing, but we falsely hypothesise that it is all against the background of something that does not change. I believe that all change is perceived vis-a-vis something that changes in a slower manner, not vis-a-vis something that remains permanent. To crave for something permanent is madness and a wild exercise of a feverish imagination.

My own definition of civilisation is the construction of something which is less impermanent with the help of things which are more impermanent. All civilisations will eventually crumble. There is nothing permanent.

In this context, imagining a permanent god who will receive us into his kingdom permanently after our cycle of births and deaths is also illusory. With a person’s death, nothing more is heard from him. He has existed only once in the universe and it is just not true that his mind (as Buddhists propound) or his soul (as Hindus propound) will go on to take up another body, until finally God receives the mind and soul.

When a man dies, …
THE END!

On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 8:30 AM, Dr. Rajaram Bojji wrote:

Truth, simple but so difficult to assimilate because, the question, “So, what next ?” arises.
The King could have been captured and beheaded too. Yes that too will pass. Bit it gives a chance to the chance of the saying that may be, even the improbable horse may fly after all!

More often than not our own fear defeats us by painting bleak pictures of failure much before actual occurrence.

While doing tunneling, after making all the pep talk to workers and engineers facing repeated collapses, I used to sleep the night in frustration and depression, which you can share with no one. Get up in the morning and with a gusto start with the saying ” don’t worry , the horse will fly” (reminding one self of another story when a man promises a King to save own beheading for a few days, that he would make King’s horse fly and before he was required to fly the horse some enemy King beheads the King and releases him from prison)… wear a smile and go back to the job.

Yes, as another American writer has said, the only thing you learn from living and observing life is that life goes on.

Story of a King

Once a King called upon all of his wise men and asked them “Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and in every time. Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me. Tell me is there any mantra?” All wise men got puzzled by King’s question. One answer for all questions? Something that works everywhere, in every situation? In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? They thought and thought.

After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper. But the condition was that king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he’ll have to see it. The King put the papers under his diamond ring.

After a few days, the neighbors attacked the kingdom. It was a collective surprise attack of the King’s enemies. King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. King had to flee on his horse. The enemies were following him. His horse took him far away in the jungle. He could hear many troops of horses following him and the noise was coming closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing at the end of the road – that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley a thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished. And he could not return because it was a small road. The sound of enemy’s horses was approaching fast. King became restless. There seemed to be no way…

Then suddenly he saw the diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was very small but very great. The message was – “This too will pass.”

The King read it. Again read it. Suddenly something struck him; Yes! It too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all his pleasures have gone. I am here trying to escape from enemies. However when those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. Calm come on his face. He kept standing there. The place where he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never known that such a beautiful place was also a part of his Kingdom. The revelation of the message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him.

After a few minutes he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy coming was receding. They moved into some other part of the mountains and were not on that path. The King was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his lost empire. When he returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fan fare at the door. The whole capital was rejoicing in the victory. Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being thrown on the King from every house, from every corner. People were dancing and singing. For a moment King said to himself, “I am one of the bravest and greatest Kings. It is not easy to defeat me..”

With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him. Suddenly the diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He opened it and read it again: “This too will pass”. He became silent. His face went through a total change – from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness.

If this too is going to pass, it is not yours. The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours. You are just a watcher. Everything passes by. We are witness of all this. We are the perceiver. Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes.

Now as you have read this story, just sit silently and evaluate your own life… Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent? They all come and pass away. Life just passes away. There were friends in the past. They have gone. There are friends today. They too will go. There will be new friends tomorrow. They too will go. There were enemies in the past. They have gone. There may be enemies in the present. They too will go. There will be new enemies tomorrow and they too will go.

There is nothing permanent in this world. Everything changes except the law of change. Think over it from your own perspective.

You have seen all the changes. You have survived all setbacks, all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away. If there are problems in the present, they too will pass away. Because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away.

Who are you in reality? Know your real face. Your face is not your true face. It will change with the time. However, there is something in you, which will not change… It will remain unchanged. What is that unchangeable? It is nothing but your true self. You are just a witness of change.

Whole Dude – Whole Complexity – THE PERCEPTION OF TIME: Astronomers use Universal Time, this can be taken as the Mean Solar Time on the Greenwich Meridian. The world is divided up into about 24 Time Zones

Whole Dude – Whole Potter

“If arrived, will depart, the King, the Slave and the Fakir”

Excerpt: Man vs God: Who is the Pot Maker? It is very interesting to note that Indian thinkers like Saint Kabir Das are certain about man’s departure. It would be much more interesting to reflect upon as to how man arrives here in the first place. If we understand as to when and how man arrives on planet Earth, we could be more certain about man’s status in nature.

Man vs God: Who is the Pot Maker? KABIR DAS (Kabir-Arabic for Great, Das-Sanskrit for Servant) 1398A.D. to 1448A.D. (or 1440A.D. to 1518 A.D.) presents man as the Pot maker.

Saint Kabir lived in Benaras (Kasi, Varanasi), India during 15th century. His contributions to the Bhakti or Devotion and the Sufi movements in India are well known. Some of his poetry was incorporated into the ‘Guru Granth Sahib'(Adi Granth), the sacred book of Sikhs. In this holy book, Kabir’s hymns appear at the head of ‘Bhagat Bani’. Kabir pointed to the inward life of the mind as the source of contact with the Divine. Kabir grew up as a Muslim and his family was poor and he belonged to a community whose traditional occupation was that of weavers. In my analysis, Kabir was unaware of the preachings of the Books of The Old Testament of Bible. This unawareness becomes apparent in his concept of Clay and Potter.

The Legend about Kabir’s Departure

Man vs God: Who is the Pot Maker? KABIR DAS (Kabir-Arabic for Great, Das-Sanskrit for Servant) 1398A.D. to 1448A.D. (or 1440A.D. to 1518 A.D.) presents man as the Pot maker

Kabir’s life, his birth and death, is shrouded in mystery and legend. One popular legend about Kabir’s death claims that after his death, his Muslim and Hindu disciples were fighting about the type of funeral rites as the Muslims believe in burial and the Hindus believe in cremation of dead bodies. When they had finally opened Kabir’s coffin and pushed the cloth that was used to cover the dead body, they were astonished to find that the body was missing. In lieu of the body, they found flower petals and an empty book. His disciples entered Kabir’s sayings in that book.

Man vs God: Who is the Pot Maker? KABIR DAS (Kabir-Arabic for Great, Das-Sanskrit for Servant) 1398A.D. to 1448A.D. (or 1440A.D. to 1518 A.D.) presents man as the Pot maker. If arrived, will depart, the King, the Slave, and the Fakir. The Status of man in Nature is operated under the external influence called time.
Mati Kahe Kumhaar Se Tu Kya Raunde Moye
Ek Din Aisa Aayega Mein Raundungi Toye


Aaye Hai So Jayenge Raja Rank Fakir
Ek Sinhaasan Chadhi Chale Ek Bandhe Janjir
Durbal Ko Na Sataaiye Jaaki Moti Haaye
Bina Jeev Ki khaal Se loha Bhasm Ho Jaye


Chalti Chaki Dekh Ke Diya Kabira Roye
Do Paatan Ke Bich Mein Baki Bacha Na Koi
Dukh Me Sumiran Sab Kare Sukh Mein Kare Na Koye
Jo Sukh Mein Sumiran Kare To Dukh Kahe Hoye


Patta Tuta Daal Se Le Gayi Pawan Udaye
Ab Ke Bichhade Kab Milenge Door Padenge Jaye
Kabira Aap Thagaiye Aur Na Thagiye Koi
Aap Thage Sukh Upaje Aur Thage Dukh Hoye

Humans, who arrive on this planet earth, are certain to depart as well. The King departs after having climbed the throne. The Slave departs after having lived in shackles. The Fakir, the Wise and Man of Learning, or Monk with no worldly possessions or attachments also departs when his time for departure arrives. Kabir departed, and as per the legend, his dead body mysteriously disappeared but we still have his ideas and thoughts to reflect upon the principles called Form and Matter that constitute all living things.

How and When Man Arrives?

Man vs God: Who is the Pot Maker? Human Birth is an act of Creation. It is a Divine Phenomenon. This Individuality has existed before in the past and would not cease from its existence and would continue to exist in the future. Man exists in nature as a Created Being and his Individuality remains unchanged during the entire process of Life’s Journey during the different stages of its existence.

It is very interesting to note that Indian thinkers like Saint Kabir Das are certain about man’s departure. It would be much more interesting to reflect upon as to how man arrives here in the first place. If we understand as to when and how man arrives on planet Earth, we could be more certain about man’s status in nature.

Man vs God: Who is the Pot Maker? SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – ESSENCE – IDENTITY – UNITY – EXISTENCE: 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.

Each human being arrives as a new object, one of its own kind, original, unique, and distinctive. The genome of each man who has arrived here has not existed before, and would not exist again after the departure of that man. If arrived, man has no choice other than that of existing as an Individual with Individuality. Besides no escape from death; there is also no escape from the fact of existing as a Specific Individual with Individuality while living.

Man vs God: Who is the Pot Maker? SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – THE HUMAN SPECIES: Modern Facial Recognition and Identification Technology allows the identification of each member of the Human Species as a specific Individual with Individuality. Two human faces are never alike and the variation can be detected.

Man has to define the term life, and death and explain the basis for his existence as an Individual with Individuality while he cannot rule or govern even a single individual living cell in his body which comprises of over 100 trillion cells. This Individuality also shapes the dying process of the Individual while the man faces challenges to his mortal existence coming from numerous directions. The King may die of his battlefield injuries. The Slave may die of the effects of heat or cold. The Fakir may die of respiratory illness like pneumonia.

Man vs God: Who is the Pot Maker? If arrived, will depart, the King, the Slave, and the Fakir. But, in my analysis, each of them arrives as unique Individuals with Individuality

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

Excerpt: Man is added to nature by a special act of Creation. The status of Man in Nature is determined by the Law of Natural Generation, Bio-genetic Law, and the Law of Individuality. Could we view the behavior of man and animals and the phenomena of intelligence or mind and the constitution of psyche in confirmation with the doctrine of evolution? If man is a created being, he would exist as a spiritual being, and spirituality describes the connection between man and his Creator. If an immortal principle is involved in the creation of man, the nature or essence of man would describe the nature of that immortal principle. 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man? MICHELANGELO’S FAMOUS PAINTING IN SISTINE CHAPEL– MAN IS ADDED TO NATURE BY A SPECIAL ACT OF CREATION

Man is a Created Being: 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?
The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

“You turn things upside down, 

as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! 

Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, 

“He did not make me” ? 

Can the pot say of the potter, 

“He knows nothing”? (Isaiah, Chapter 29, verse 16) 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?
The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

The Place of Man in the Order of Nature: 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

Does man have an animal ancestry ? 

Could we view the behavior of man and animals and the phenomena of intelligence or mind and the constitution of psyche in confirmation with the doctrine of evolution? 

There are two different views about the place of man in nature. 

Man is a special creation in body and soul: 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

Plants and animals did not actually exist when the world began. The Book of Genesis speaks about the successive appearance of the various forms of life. The actual production of plants and animals in their various kinds is an act of creation. An increase in the number of species upon earth is merely a matter of addition, they attribute stability to each species new as well as old. Man is simply added to the life forms already in existence without any change in the status as species of the pre-existing forms. To quote from the Book of Psalms, 104:24 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

“How many are your works, O LORD ! 

In wisdom you made them all; 

the earth is full of your creatures.” 

The first appearance of man at a historical moment was an act of spontaneous generation, due to a special act of creation. Man is created as an individual human soul. 

So God created man in his own image, 

in the image of God He created him ; 

male and female He created them. (Book of Genesis 1:27) 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

Man is essentially and abruptly distinct from animals. Man and ape as they now exist in the world, are essentially distinct – different in kind. 

“the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Book of Genesis 2:7) 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

The Law of Biogenesis – Like generating Like: 

The Status of Man in Nature. What or Who formed the Man?

An important fact about generation or reproduction is that a species always breeds true; its members always generate organisms which can be classified as belonging to the same species however much they vary among themselves as individuals within the group. Furthermore, the subgroups the races or varieties of species are able to breed with one another, but diverse species cannot interbreed. If crossbred, like the horse and the ass, they produce a sterile hybrid like the mule. 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

Species are distinguished by their stability from generation to generation. Species are thus self-perpetuating, they in turn give stability to all the larger groupings – the genera, phyla, families – which remain as fixed from generation to generation as the species which constitute them. Nobody has actually observed or demonstrated the transformation of one species into a different species. Species of living things appear to be fixed in number and immutable in type throughout the ages. 

The Status of Man in Nature: Species are recognized on the basis of their morphology (size, shape, and appearance) and, more recently, by genetic analysis. For example, there are up to species of butterfly; they are often very different in appearance and do not interbreed.

By the Law of Natural Generation, offspring will always be of the same species as the parent organisms. No origin of species would be possible except by a special act of creation. If in the course of ages new species have arisen, their appearance cannot be accounted by natural generation. 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

Modern science tends to affirm the Law of Biogenesis, living organisms are generated only by living organisms. 

Life could have sprung up from the nature of what is void of life

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

In the words of Aristotle, “nature proceeds little by little from things lifeless to animal life.” In terms of structure and function, animals and plants tend to demonstrate a common scheme and this analogy of forms seem to be produced in accordance with a common type. They have an actual kinship due to descent from a common parent. The facts of comparative anatomy and embryology reveal affinities in organic structure and development between organisms distinct in species. The geological record of earth indicates the great antiquity of life upon the earth, also gives evidence of the cataclysmic changes in the earth’s surface with consequences for the survival of life. The fossil remains of forms of life now extinct are not dissimilar from species alive in the present age. The Theory of Evolution describes a developmental or genetic relation among the various forms of life. 

Charles Darwin claims that new species do originate in the course of time. He describes the circumstances under which new species arise and other forms become extinct. He formulates the various factors in the differentiation of species. A new species does not require a special act of creation and it is entirely the result of a natural process which requires no factors other than those at work every day in the life, death, and breeding of plants and animals. According to Darwin, new species arises when, among the varieties of an existing species, certain intermediate forms become extinct, and the surviving varieties become more sharply separated from one another in type, and in the course of many generations of inbreeding, also tend to breed true. The process of natural selection may exterminate the parent-forms and the intermediate links. Thus the origin of species is associated with the extinction of intermediate varieties, combined with the survival of one or more of the extreme varieties. This theory requires the existence of an infinite number of intermediate members lying between two given species. 

Man is a by-product of the evolutionary process and has arrived from already existing organic forms by “descent with modification.” Man is a species and differs from other animals only by continuous variation. Man and ape differ only in degree and intermediate varieties have existed to account for their descent from a common ancestor. The genetic code of man and other primates is nearly identical and they also share the same pseudo genes (genes that are present but their character is not expressed). Man and the anthropoid apes have descended from a common ancestral form which is now extinct as are also many of the intermediate varieties in the chain of development -some fossil remains supply some of the missing links. Some of the transitional forms which are described as part-ape, part-human are identified as ‘Australopithecus’, and ‘paranthropines’. Man has become a distinct species through the extinction of intermediate varieties and he differs from animals in an accidental manner. 

The Law of Individuality and Creation:

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

Ultimately, each individual living creature differs from every other in the same group with whom, at the same time, it shares certain characteristics of the race, the species, the genus, and all the larger classes to which they belong. This uniqueness is important to describe the intrinsic value of human life and the notion of Human Individuality and Individualism. Man has arrived as an individual and essentially exists as an individual as per the Law of Individuality, a biological characteristic of all living organisms and creatures. 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

We have two choices about the position of man in nature. There is an aspect of human existence which is not governed by our choice. Man, when viewed as a physical being, the physical being is mortal and would eventually die and everything that is born comes with its own plan for its dissolution. 

If man is a created being, he would exist as a spiritual being, and spirituality describes the connection between man and his Creator. If an immortal principle is involved in the creation of man, the nature or essence of man would describe the nature of that immortal principle. 

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

“By the sweat of your brow 

you will eat your food 

until you return to the ground, 

since from it you were taken; 

for dust you are 

and to dust you will return.” (Genesis, Chapter 3, verse 19)

The Status of Man in Nature. Who or What formed the Man?

Whole Dude – Whole Smile

January 30, Martyrs’ Day, I smile like the Smiling Buddha

Excerpt: On January 30, Martyrs’ Day, I smile like the Smiling Buddha. At Giriraj , in 1962, when we celebrated the ‘U.N.O. DAY’, I had the opportunity to speak and publicly express my opinion about India’s relationship with the United Nations. As my father, the Principal of Giriraj, was listening to me, I told the Faculty Staff Members and the assembled student community that India should exercise its rights to develop and test the nuclear weapons. India carried out its first nuclear test at POKHRAN on May 18, 1974. The Concept of Peace and Non-violence does not exclude India’s Right to Test Nuclear Weapons.

Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Remembering the Smiling Buddha on January 30, Martyrs’ Day
Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India.

SMILING BUDDHA AT GIRIRAJ GOVERNMENT ARTS COLLEGE, NIZAMABAD, INDIA

Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India.

The Concept of Peace and Non-violence does not exclude India’s Right to Test Nuclear Weapons

Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India.

In the year 1961, my father was transferred from Government Arts College, Rajahmundry to Nizamabad upon his selection as the Principal of Giriraj Government Arts College. At age 13, I joined Giriraj as a student of the Pre-University Course. In 1962, at age 14, I joined the Bachelor of Science 3- year degree course. I started understanding the security threats that were faced by India after the brutal Chinese aggression across our Himalayan frontier. I had also started to lose my faith in the United Nations as India was not able to defend its vital national interests in the UN Security Council. India survived on account of the diplomatic support extended by the Soviet Union. At Giriraj , in 1962, when we celebrated the ‘U.N.O. DAY’, I had the opportunity to speak and publicly express my opinion about India’s relationship with the United Nations. As my father, the Principal of Giriraj, was listening to me, I told the Faculty Staff Members and the assembled student community that India should exercise its rights to develop and test the nuclear weapons. India carried out its first nuclear test at POKHRAN on May 18, 1974.

I WAS SMILING LIKE ‘THE SMILING BUDDHA’

Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India. Till date, it is considered to be one of the CIA’s biggest failures in espionage and detection.
Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India
Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad.
Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India.
Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India.
Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India.
Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India.
Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India.

I love Giriraj , which gave me this courage to speak my mind without any inhibition or fear. Later in my life, in the year 1979 while serving in the rank of Major in the Indian Army Medical Corps, I participated in a major military exercise in and around Pokhran area of Rajasthan and I was smiling like “THE SMILING BUDDHA.”

Whole Dude – Whole Smile: Smiling Buddha at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, India

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion

The Cap Badges and the Insignia of the British Royal Medical Corps and the Indian Army Medical Corps reveal the Rudi-Grant Connection. The Indian Army Medical Corps was created from the British Royal Army Medical Corps.

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: The Rudi-Grant Connection studies the reality of existence without optimism or pessimism

In 1965, while I was a student of Human Anatomy at Kurnool Medical College, I had the opportunity to know about Dr. J. C. B. Grant (1886-1973), the author of Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy. The 5th Edition of his Atlas was published in 1962 and was available in India in our Medical College Library.

Born in Loanhead (south of Edinburgh) in 1886, Grant studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School and graduated with an M.B., Ch.B. degree in 1908. While at Edinburgh, he worked under the renowned anatomist Daniel John Cunningham. Grant became a decorated serviceman of the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War before moving to Canada. He established himself as an ‘anatomist extraordinary’ at the University of Toronto, publishing three textbooks that form the basis of Grant’s Anatomy. The textbooks are still used in anatomy classes today, and made unforgettable memories for those who found themselves in his classes nearly a century ago. One of Grant’s many accomplishments was establishing a division of histology within the department.

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: The Rudi-Grant Connection studies the reality of existence without optimism or pessimism

As a medical student, I used Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy, the seminal work of Scottish-born Dr. John Charles Boileau Grant, who would become the chair of Anatomy at the University of Toronto in 1930 and retired in 1965.

Students continue to use Grant’s textbooks today, and for the more artistic anatomist there’s even a Grant’s Anatomy Coloring Book, published in 2018.

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: The Rudi-Grant Connection studies the reality of existence without optimism or pessimism

At the University of Toronto, Dr.McMurrich, Chair of Anatomy was succeeded as chairman in 1930 by Dr. John Charles Boileau Grant. Dr. Grant wrote three text books, of which “An Atlas of Anatomy” (published in 1943) rapidly gained international prominence and is still, one of the most widely used anatomical atlases in the world. It is now known as “Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy” and is in its tenth edition. The atlas was based on a series of elegant dissections done either by Grant or by others under his supervision. Many of these dissections are currently housed in Grant’s Museum at the University of Toronto. 

The Rudi-Grant Connection is about knowing the man, the building blocks and the structural units and organization of the human body. To defend the human existence, the Rudi-Grant Connection lays the emphasis on knowing the person who is at risk apart from knowing the agent posing the risk.

THE IDENTITY OF MULTICELLULAR HUMAN ORGANISM:

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: The Rudi-Grant Connection studies the reality of existence without optimism or pessimism. Dr John Daniel Cunningham (b. April 15, 1850, d. July 23, 1909), Scottish physician and professor of Anatomy. Cunningham’s Manual of Practical Anatomy has provided me the learning tools to know and understand Man’s External and Internal Reality and its Identity as described by Cells, Tissues, Organs,and Organ Systems.

Daniel John Cunningham was born on 15 April 1850 in Scotland. After his initial schooling at his home town, Crieff, he took up the study of medicine at the University of Edinburgh and passed with honours. He is best known for the excellent series of dissection manuals, namely Cunningham’s Dissection Manuals. Cunningham’s Manual of Practical Anatomy has provided me the learning tools to know and understand Man’s External and Internal Reality and its Identity as described by Cells, Tissues, Organs,and Organ Systems.

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: The Rudi-Grant Connection studies the reality of existence without optimism or pessimism. Dr John Daniel Cunningham (b. April 15, 1850, d. July 23, 1909), Scottish physician and professor of Anatomy. Cunningham’s Manual of Practical Anatomy has provided me the learning tools to know and understand Man’s External and Internal Reality and its Identity as described by Cells, Tissues, Organs,and Organ Systems.
Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: The Rudi-Grant Connection studies the reality of existence without optimism or pessimism. Dr John Daniel Cunningham (b. April 15, 1850, d. July 23, 1909), Scottish physician and professor of Anatomy. Cunningham’s Manual of Practical Anatomy has provided me the learning tools to know and understand Man’s External and Internal Reality and its Identity as described by Cells, Tissues, Organs,and Organ Systems.
Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: The Rudi-Grant Connection studies the reality of existence without optimism or pessimism. Dr John Daniel Cunningham (b. April 15, 1850, d. July 23, 1909), Scottish physician and professor of Anatomy. Cunningham’s Manual of Practical Anatomy has provided me the learning tools to know and understand Man’s External and Internal Reality and its Identity as described by Cells, Tissues, Organs,and Organ Systems.

I learned about the human body while dissecting the body in a systematic manner. The Manual of Practical Anatomy which guides us through this entire process was published in England. The author Dr. Daniel John Cunningham prepared the Manual while dissecting cadavers of British or Irish citizens. He had never encountered cadavers of Indian citizens. At Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India, where I was a student, the Department of Anatomy obtains dead bodies from  Government General Hospital Kurnool and most of the deceased are the poor, illiterate, and uneducated people of that region. None of the deceased had the chance to know this man called Cunningham and Cunningham had no knowledge about the existence of these people who arrive on our dissection tables. But, as the dissection of the human body proceeds, inch, by inch, we recognize the anatomical parts as described by Cunningham. The manual also lists some anatomical variations and we very often exchange information between various dissection tables and recognize the variations mentioned. The dissections also involve slicing the organs and studying them, both macroscopically, and microscopically. We did not miss any part of the human body. So what is the Identity of this Human person or Human subject? How does the living Human organism maintain its Identity and Individuality? Apart from the Cultural Traditions of India, several Schools of Religious Thought claim that the Human Individual and its Identity is represented by Human Soul. Where does this soul exist in the human body? What is the location if the soul is present in the living person? Does man have a soul? How does the human organism acquires Knowledge about its own structures and the functions they perform?

Half Full or Half Empty is not the Right Question – Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

Excerpt: When I drink from the ‘Cup of my Life’; What I truly experience from my life, the reality of my condition is more important than my attitude towards existence. The man has no hope to find happiness until and unless he renounces all desires including the desire to find happiness. The man has no choice other than that of living in the moment without concern for either pessimism or optimism. The attitude of dispassion automatically excludes both pessimism and optimism.

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? IS THAT REALLY IMPORTANT? 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

I drank from that cup. Now, the cup could be described as half full or half empty. Is that really important? The cup that I drink from gives me pain and I experience suffering. What would be the right question if I have to drink from that cup? What I truly experience from my life, the reality of my condition is more important than my attitude towards my existence. The issue is not about optimism or pessimism. I need to focus on knowing the reality and I need to face the reality about what I experience when I drink from that Cup of my Life. 

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THIS CUP TO BE TAKEN AWAY FROM ME ?

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

I would answer this question from a reading from The New Testament of The Holy Bible. I would like to quote verses 36 to 44, chapter 26, The Gospel According to Matthew. 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

36. Then Jesus came with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane and said to them, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

37. And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

38. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

39. He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as You will.” 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

40. Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 

41.”Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

42. Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, may Your will be done.” 

43. And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

44. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

Jesus had prayed three times, saying the same words. It was not possible for the cup to pass away and Jesus had to drink from the cup. 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

THE TEACHINGS OF GAUTAMA BUDDHA: 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Lord Gautama Buddha has laid the foundation for understanding Pain and Suffering that is implicit in Human Existence. Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

At age 29, Prince Siddhartha realized that humans are subject to old age, sickness, disability and death. He became aware of the suffering implicit in human existence. Buddha described the nature of reality and Dharma (“true law”) as the Four Noble Truths (1) life is fundamentally disappointment and suffering; (2) suffering is a result of one’s desires for pleasure, power, and continued existence; (3) to stop disappointment and suffering one must stop desiring and (4) the way to stop desiring and thus suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path- right views, intention, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. 

From the hymns popularly known as Bhaja Govindam, while I drink from the Cup of my Life, I will keep contemplate on the concept of dispassion: 

“KASYA SUKHAM NA KAROTI VIRAGAH” 

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

suramandira-taru-mūla-nivāsaḥ
śayyā bhūtalamajinaṃ vāsaḥ ।
sarva-parigraha-bhōgatyāgaḥ
kasya sukhaṃ na karōti virāgaḥ ॥ 19 ॥

Living in temples or at the foot of trees, sleeping on the ground, wearing deer-skin, renouncing all possessions and their enjoyment – to whom will not dispassion bring happiness?

The verse 19 in Shankaracharya’s Bhaja Govindam questions, “Kasya sukham na karoti viragah?”, which means, “What pleasure cannot be given by dispassion?” It gives all the pleasures because you are so totally living in the moment.

The man has no hope to find happiness until and unless he renounces all desires including the desire to find happiness. The man has no choice other than that of living in the moment without concern for either pessimism or optimism. The attitude of dispassion automatically excludes both pessimism and optimism.

Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question?
Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: Half Full or Half Empty doesn’t change the reality of the experience.
Whole Dude – Whole Dispassion: The Cup of Life holds for me Pain, Humiliation, and Loss of Face. Can You Drink from the Cup I Drink?

Whole Dude – Whole Question

Half Full or Half Empty is not the Right Question – Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

Excerpt: When I drink from the ‘Cup of my Life’; What I truly experience from my life, the reality of my condition is more important than my attitude towards existence. The man has no hope to find happiness until and unless he renounces all desires including the desire to find happiness. The man has no choice other than that of living in the moment without concern for either pessimism or optimism. The attitude of dispassion automatically excludes both pessimism and optimism.

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? IS THAT REALLY IMPORTANT? 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

I drank from that cup. Now, the cup could be described as half full or half empty. Is that really important? The cup that I drink from gives me pain and I experience suffering. What would be the right question if I have to drink from that cup? What I truly experience from my life, the reality of my condition is more important than my attitude towards my existence. The issue is not about optimism or pessimism. I need to focus on knowing the reality and I need to face the reality about what I experience when I drink from that Cup of my Life. 

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THIS CUP TO BE TAKEN AWAY FROM ME ?

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

I would answer this question from a reading from The New Testament of The Holy Bible. I would like to quote verses 36 to 44, chapter 26, The Gospel According to Matthew. 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

36. Then Jesus came with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane and said to them, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

37. And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

38. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

39. He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as You will.” 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

40. Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 

41.”Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

42. Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, may Your will be done.” 

43. And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

44. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

Jesus had prayed three times, saying the same words. It was not possible for the cup to pass away and Jesus had to drink from the cup. 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

THE TEACHINGS OF GAUTAMA BUDDHA: 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Lord Gautama Buddha has laid the foundation for understanding Pain and Suffering that is implicit in Human Existence. Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

At age 29, Prince Siddhartha realized that humans are subject to old age, sickness, disability and death. He became aware of the suffering implicit in human existence. Buddha described the nature of reality and Dharma (“true law”) as the Four Noble Truths (1) life is fundamentally disappointment and suffering; (2) suffering is a result of one’s desires for pleasure, power, and continued existence; (3) to stop disappointment and suffering one must stop desiring and (4) the way to stop desiring and thus suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path- right views, intention, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. 

From the hymns popularly known as Bhaja Govindam, while I drink from the Cup of my Life, I will keep contemplate on the concept of dispassion: 

“KASYA SUKHAM NA KAROTI VIRAGAH” 

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? What is the real Question? Can You Drink the Cup I Drink?

suramandira-taru-mūla-nivāsaḥ
śayyā bhūtalamajinaṃ vāsaḥ ।
sarva-parigraha-bhōgatyāgaḥ
kasya sukhaṃ na karōti virāgaḥ ॥ 19 ॥

Living in temples or at the foot of trees, sleeping on the ground, wearing deer-skin, renouncing all possessions and their enjoyment – to whom will not dispassion bring happiness?

The verse 19 in Shankaracharya’s Bhaja Govindam questions, “Kasya sukham na karoti viragah?”, which means, “What pleasure cannot be given by dispassion?” It gives all the pleasures because you are so totally living in the moment.

The man has no hope to find happiness until and unless he renounces all desires including the desire to find happiness. The man has no choice other than that of living in the moment without concern for either pessimism or optimism. The attitude of dispassion automatically excludes both pessimism and optimism.

Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty? – What is the real Question?
Whole Dude – Whole Question: Half Full or Half Empty doesn’t change the reality of the experience.

Whole Dude – Whole Perseverance

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE – THE DOCTRINE OF TIBETAN RESISTANCE:

Special Frontier Force - Tibtean Resistance: Victor Marie Hugo(1802 - 1885), French novelist, romantic poet, and dramatist had defended Freedom and had opposed authoritarianism. In his Romantic vision of world order, the force of any army cannot deter the force of an idea. Man has a natural tendency to accept certain types of authority that could be consistent with the Natural Order and rejects other kinds of rule by Force.
Special Frontier Force – Tibetan Resistance: Victor Marie Hugo (1802 – 1885), French novelist, romantic poet, and dramatist defends Freedom and opposes authoritarianism. In his Romantic vision of world order, the force of any army cannot deter the force of an idea. Man has a tendency to accept certain types of authority that could be consistent with the Natural Order and rejects other kinds of rule by Force. Peace is associated with Natural State and War is associated with transgression of Natural Condition.

Excerpt: Special Frontier Force – The Doctrine of Tibetan Resistance: The Problem of War and Peace in Tibet. Can we order Peace for the sake of War, and not War for the sake of Peace? It may be argued that Peace is Inevitable or it may be stated that War is Inevitable. The problem is the absence of Natural Order, Natural Condition, Natural Power, and Natural Authority in the Land of Tibet and in the lives of Tibetans. I state that Resistance is Inevitable, Resistance will Endure, and Resistance will Prevail if there is no Natural Order in Tibet. Tibet can Resist, Tibet will Resist, and Tibetan Resistance will Prevail until the Natural Order is restored in Tibet.

Special Frontier Force - The Doctrine of Tibetan Resistance: The tools of Tibetan Resistance are 1. Patience, 2. Persistence, and 3. Perseverance. Man opposes the reign of force by standing firm or by working against the force without yielding. To oppose and to withstand a force, man needs the virtues of Temperance, Tolerance, and Tranquility to remain calm, unperturbed to maintain "Inner Peace" while reacting to an external force. The virtue of Perseverance triumphs for it preserves the "Inner Peace" while the external reality is described by Violence or War.
Special Frontier Force – The Doctrine of Tibetan Resistance: The tools of Tibetan Resistance are 1. Patience, 2. Persistence, and 3. Perseverance. Man opposes the reign of force by standing firm or by working against the force without yielding. To oppose and to withstand a force, man needs the virtues of Temperance, Tolerance, and Tranquility to remain calm, unperturbed to maintain “Inner Peace” while reacting to an external force. The virtue of Perseverance triumphs for it preserves the “Inner Peace” while the external reality is described by Violence or War.
Special Frontier Force - Tibetan Resistance: Can we order 'Peace' for the sake of 'War', and not 'War' for the sake of 'Peace'??? We may argue about the inevitability of War and Peace. In Tibet, since 1950, there is no 'Natural Order'. Resistance is the Symptom of the lack of 'Natural Order'.
Special Frontier Force – Tibetan Resistance: Can we order ‘Peace’ for the sake of ‘War’, and not ‘War’ for the sake of ‘Peace’? We may argue about the inevitability of War and Peace. In Tibet, since 1950, there is no ‘Natural Order’. Resistance is the Symptom of the lack of ‘Natural Order’. Tibet refused to surrender its Freedom and chose to offer Resistance to the War of Occupation imposed by the People’s Republic of China.

In 1950, People’s Republic of China imposed its War on Tibet. Tibet’s military occupation is the perpetuation of this condition, or state of War. Tibet has two choices in its response to China’s War; 1.Tibet can surrender to China to embrace its reign by force, or 2. Tibet can resist and stand firm against its rule by external force. Man accepts or reconciles to the use of force, power, and authority that is consistent with his natural condition or natural state. The first act of resistance is the product of man’s cognitive ability to recognize his Enemy and distinguish the Enemy from his Friend. The truth about War and Peace can be stated in simple and clear terms. It is as simple as the recognition of Black and White colors. Enemy is Black. Friend is White. War is Black and Peace is White. Occupation is Black, and Liberation is White. Occupation is the Enemy and Freedom is the Friend in simple Black and White terms. There is no Resistance if Enemy is not known or not recognized. Once Enemy is recognized, Resistance acquires the Force of a Duty. Resistance is the rejection of Enemy’s Power, and Resistance is the nonacceptance of Enemy’s authority.

THE DOCTRINE OF TIBETAN RESISTANCE:

Special Frontier Force - Tibetan Resistance: The Doctrine and the Philosophy of Tibetan Resistance to China's War of Occupation is based on the Force or Power of an Idea that concludes that the Enemy has no Power over your Mind and the Enemy cannot exercise authority over your Mind. Resistance begins when man sets his Mind Free. Resistance is Freedom in Action without any sense of Fear.
Special Frontier Force – Tibetan Resistance: The Doctrine and the Philosophy of Tibetan Resistance to China’s War of Occupation is based on the Force or Power of an Idea that concludes that the Enemy has no Power over your Mind and the Enemy cannot exercise authority over your Mind. Resistance begins when man sets his Mind Free. Resistance is Freedom in Action without any sense of Fear.

The tools of Tibetan Resistance are 1. Patience, 2. Persistence, and 3. Perseverance. Man opposes the reign of force by standing firm or by working against the force without yielding. To oppose and to withstand a force, man needs the virtues of Temperance, Tolerance, and Tranquility to remain calm, unperturbed to maintain “Inner Peace” while reacting to an external force. The virtue of Perseverance triumphs for it preserves the “Inner Peace” while the external reality is described by Violence or War.

Special Frontier Force – Tibetan Resistance: The Doctrine and the Philosophy of Tibetan Resistance to China’s War of Occupation is based on the Force or Power of an Idea that concludes that the Enemy has no Power over your Mind and the Enemy cannot exercise authority over your Mind. Resistance begins when man sets his Mind Free. Resistance is Freedom in Action without any sense of Fear.

Resistance is the rejection of Enemy’s Power over your Life. Resistance is the nonacceptance of Enemy’s authority over your Mind. The Enemy gets no shelter and the Enemy gets no Protection in the Mind of a person who Resists. Tibetans choose Life to resist their Enemy. Tibetans in their Deaths, defy the Purpose of their Enemy.

Special Frontier Force - Tibetan Resistance: Tibetans choose Life to Resist their Enemy. In Death, Tibetans defy the Purpose of their Enemy. In recent times, a number of Tibetans to defy the purpose of their Enemy have killed themselves in acts of Self Immolations.
Special Frontier Force – Tibetan Resistance: Tibetans choose Life to Resist their Enemy. In Death, Tibetans defy the Purpose of their Enemy. In recent times, a number of Tibetans to defy the purpose of their Enemy have killed themselves in acts of Self Immolation.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE - TIBETAN RESISTANCE: The Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet is the symbol of Natural Authority and is the seat of Natural Power in Tibet. The Chain is the symbol of Tibet's Occupation, the existence that violates the Principle of Natural State or Natural Condition.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE – TIBETAN RESISTANCE: The Potala Palace, Lhasa, is the symbol of Natural Authority and is the seat of Natural Power in Tibet. The Chain is the symbol of Tibet’s Occupation, the Tyranny, the Oppression that violates the Principle of Natural State or Natural Condition.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE - TIBETAN RESISTANCE: The Doctrine or the Philosophy of Tibetan Resistance involves the Art of Saying "NO" to the Enemy. The three original provinces of Tibet, U-Tsang, Kham, and Amdo constitute Tibetan territory and Tibetans reject the Tibetan Autonomous Region or TAR created by Communist China during 1965.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE – TIBETAN RESISTANCE: The Doctrine or the Philosophy of Tibetan Resistance involves the Art of Saying “NO” to the Enemy. The three original provinces of Tibet, U-Tsang, Kham, and Amdo constitute Tibetan territory and Tibetans reject the Tibetan Autonomous Region or TAR created by Communist China during 1965.

Tibet during the course of its history has come under foreign conquests. The Yuan, Mongol Dynasty founded by Kublai Khan conquered Tibet during 1279. Similarly, when the Ching or Manchu ruled over China, Tibet came under the nominal protection of Manchus. However, Tibetans retained their natural way of life, and for all practical purposes, Tibet existed in its Natural State or Natural Condition for several centuries. The rule by the political and religious institution of the Dalai Lama or the Ganden Phodrang Government founded in 1642 represents the seat of Natural Power or Natural Authority to which Tibetans yield in obedience. Communist China’s invasion of Tibet in 1950 is accompanied by a different purpose. The purpose of China’s military conquest is that of occupation, subjugation, and exploitation of the Land of Tibet, its people and all of its natural resources. The purpose of Tibetan Resistance is the quest for a Life with Dignity. Can we order Peace, Justice, and Honor for the sake of War? Can we order War for the sake of Peace, Justice, and Honor? How could we define the purpose of War and Peace in Tibet?

WAR AND PEACE IN TIBET:

Special Frontier Force - Tibetan Resistance: The Problem of War and Peace in Tibet. Can we order Peace for the sake of War, and not War for the sake of Peace? It may be argued that Peace is Inevitable or it may be stated that War is Inevitable. The problem is the absence of Natural Order, Natural Condition, Natural Power, and Natural Authority in the Land of Tibet and in the lives of Tibetans. I would state that Resistance is Inevitable, Resistance will Endure, and Resistance will Prevail if there is no Natural Order in Tibet.
Special Frontier Force – Tibetan Resistance: The Problem of War and Peace in Tibet. Can we order Peace for the sake of War, and not War for the sake of Peace? It may be argued that Peace is Inevitable or it may be stated that War is Inevitable. The problem is the absence of Natural Order, Natural Condition, Natural Power, and Natural Authority in the Land of Tibet and in the lives of Tibetans. I state that Resistance is Inevitable, Resistance will Endure, and Resistance will Prevail if there is no Natural Order in Tibet.

The term Resistance describes the organized underground movement in a country fighting against a foreign occupying power. Special Frontier Force – Establishment No. 22 represents the fact of a military alliance or military pact between Tibet, India, and the United States to fight the occupation of Tibet by its Enemy. Its military mission includes the use of force to evict the occupier of Tibet.

Special Frontier Force – Tibetan Resistance: The Problem of War and Peace in Tibet. Can we order Peace for the sake of War, and not War for the sake of Peace? It may be argued that Peace is Inevitable or it may be stated that War is Inevitable. The problem is the absence of Natural Order, Natural Condition, Natural Power, and Natural Authority in the Land of Tibet and in the lives of Tibetans. I state that Resistance is Inevitable, Resistance will Endure, and Resistance will Prevail if there is no Natural Order in Tibet.

Sigmund Freud observes: “War is not to be abolished; so long as the conditions of existence among the nations are so varied, and the repulsions between Peoples so intense, there will be , there must be Wars.” Communist China’s military power, military strategy, and military tactics will not assure the surrender of Freedom and acceptance of its power and authority in Tibet. China cannot impose its Peace by the use of its military power in Tibet.

Tibetan Resistance is a mere symptom of the absence of Natural Order in Tibetan Existence. Tibet can Resist, Tibet will Resist, and Tibet will Prevail in its Resistance until its Natural Order is restored and let its Natural Condition to operate the lives of Tibetans.

Special Frontier Force – Tibetan Resistance: The Problem of War and Peace in Tibet. Can we order Peace for the sake of War, and not War for the sake of Peace? It may be argued that Peace is Inevitable or it may be stated that War is Inevitable. The problem is the absence of Natural Order, Natural Condition, Natural Power, and Natural Authority in the Land of Tibet and in the lives of Tibetans. I state that Resistance is Inevitable, Resistance will Endure, and Resistance will Prevail if there is no Natural Order in Tibet.

Whole Dude – Whole Drama

Whole Dude – Whole Drama: Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. While Sun belongs to Supernatural or Extraterrestrial Realm, Sun’s Power/Energy/Force dominates Natural or Terrestrial Realm.

Whole Dude – Whole Celestial Drama

Tat Asmi Prabhu - Natural Vs Supernatural Dualism. While Sun belongs to Supernatural or Extraterrestrial Realm, Sun's Power/Energy/Force dominates Natural or Terrestrial Realm.
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. While Sun belongs to Supernatural or Extraterrestrial Realm, Sun’s Power/Energy/Force dominates Natural or Terrestrial Realm.

Makar Sankranti festival has special religious significance in Hinduism. Makar Sankranti festival is celebrated every year when the Sun god enters Capricorn according to the Hindu calendar.

Every year this time comes on 14th or 15th of January. There are mythological beliefs that on the day of Makar Sankranti, the Sun God goes to his son Shani’s (the personification of planet Saturn) house and according to astrology, Shani is the lord of Capricorn and Aquarius, and on the day of Makar Sankranti, the father-son union takes place. According to Hindu astrology, on Makar Sankranti festival, if all the religious works are done in auspicious time, then the person gets the virtuous results.

Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky.

Makar Sankranti will be celebrated this year on 15 January 2024, a Monday.

Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. MAKAR SANKRANTI IS A FESTIVAL CELEBRATED IN INDIA IN RECOGNITION OF SUN’S CELESTIAL JOURNEY IN SUPERNATURAL OR EXTRATERRESTRIAL REALM, WHEN SUN ENTERS THE ZODIAC SIGN OF CAPRICORN OR ‘MAKAR’ ON MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2024.

According to the Panchang (Vedic Astrology), the auspicious time of Makar Sankranti will be from 07.15 in the morning to 05.46 in the evening, Indian Standard Time. On the other hand, the great virtuous period of Makar Sankranti will be from 7.15 am to 9.00 am (IST). It is a religious belief that a person’s sins are washed away by donating and by bathing in the Ganges during the virtuous and great virtuous period of Makar Sankranti.

Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. MAKAR SANKRANTI IS A FESTIVAL CELEBRATED IN INDIA IN RECOGNITION OF SUN’S CELESTIAL JOURNEY IN SUPERNATURAL OR EXTRATERRESTRIAL REALM, WHEN SUN ENTERS THE ZODIAC SIGN OF CAPRICORN OR ‘MAKAR’ ON MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2024.

Lord Surya is worshiped on Makar Sankranti. On this day, Lord Surya should be offered Arghya (ritualistic offering) by adding water, jaggery and rose leaves in a copper vessel. On the other hand, donating khichdi of jaggery, sesame and moong dal (Pongal, a rice dish prepared with Moong Dal, a lentil) to the poor and needy and chanting Gayatri Mantra is considered auspicious.

Tat Asmi Prabhu - Natural Vs Supernatural Dualism. Sun's apparent motion or path in Supernatural or Extraterrestrial Realm crossing Signs of Zodiac.
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. Sun’s apparent motion or path in Supernatural or Extraterrestrial Realm crossing Signs of Zodiac. Hindus celebrate Sankranti on twelve separate occasions, but Sun’s Journey across Capricorn or Makar is considered to be the most auspicious event.

The Earth revolves around Sun and reaches the same location in its orbit on the same calendar date each year. On Monday, January 15, 2024, Earth reaches the location that an observer on Earth recognizes as the constellation of Capricorn when he sees Sun against the backdrop of stars in the Celestial Sphere. The man is blissfully unaware of Earth’s motion and merely perceives the apparent motion of Sun, Moon, and stars.

Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky.
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky.

The experience called Life is possible for man’s terrestrial home is set upon firm foundations so that it is never moved. The Celestial Drama unfolds on the vaulted Dome called Sky which seems to be strong and resembles molten looking glass.

Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky Dome. For God created Universe with Life on Earth, Sun traverses across Earth’s Sky giving man a blessed opportunity to Measure Time and Mark his Calendars.

Indian religious festival known as Makar Sankranti is celebration of an event witnessed by man who dwells in the Natural or Terrestrial Realm recognizing Sun’s apparent journey across Sky Dome which belongs to the Supernatural Realm. This separation of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial domains is a creative event. God created Earth separating it from the Firmament.

Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky.

The separation and distinction between Natural and Supernatural Realm is important to understand the nature of man’s conditioned existence as a terrestrial organism. Firstly, I would extend Happy Makar Sankranti Greetings to my readers and share some information about Sun’s Path across the Sky known as ECLIPTIC.

Tat Asmi Prabhu - Natural Vs Supernatural Dualism. Sun is a Celestial object that belongs to Supernatural or Extraterrestrial Realm.
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. Sun is a Celestial object that belongs to Supernatural or Extraterrestrial Realm.
Tat Asmi Prabhu - Natural vs Supernatural Dualism. Sun's Ecliptic Path belongs to Supernatural Realm and this Motion is apparent to an observer who belongs to Natural or Terrestrial Realm.
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. Sun’s Ecliptic Path belongs to Supernatural Realm and this Motion is apparent to an observer who belongs to Natural or Terrestrial Realm.
Tat Asmi Prabhu - Natural VS Supernatural Dualism. Sun's Ecliptic Path. Is this a Problem of Visual Perception or does it describe Reality of man's conditioned existence in Natural or Terrestrial Realm?
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. Sun’s Ecliptic Path. Is this a Problem of Visual Perception or does it describe the reality of man’s conditioned existence in Natural or Terrestrial Realm?

I am happy to extend my greetings to all of my readers on this festive occasion called Sankranti. In the Indian tradition, Sun is represented as personification of the Divine Energy that sustains the life of all that lives on planet Earth. Apart from being the source of primary Energy, Sun is viewed as the Source of Knowledge and Indians seek Lord Surya, the Sun God’s blessings to illuminate their inner, mental world to banish darkness called ignorance. This would lead me to reflect about the theory of Knowledge and the revolutionary change caused by Immanuel Kant in understanding our philosophic problems and procedures.

Makar Sankranti, Monday, January 15, 2024. THE PERCEPTION OF TIME: Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion explain the Perception of Time in our Solar System. Mercury takes 88 Days, Venus takes 224 Days, Earth takes one Year, Mars takes 686 Days, Jupiter takes 11 Years, Saturn takes 29 Years, Uranus takes 84 Years, and Neptune takes 165 Years to orbit the Sun if Time is measured by Units created by man.

In the context of our celebration of the Indian festival of Sankranti, I would like to pay a special tribute to Nicholas Copernicus (1457-1543) who laid the foundation for modern astronomy with his heliocentric theory of planetary motion which replaced the geocentric cosmological theory established by Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus) of 2nd century A.D. Ptolemy’s theory placed Earth motionless at the center of the universe with all celestial bodies revolving around it. Copernican system places the Sun motionless at the center of the Solar System with all the planets, including Earth, revolving around it.

MAKAR SANKRANTI – MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2024. WHAT IS THE ECLIPTIC? THE APPARENT MOTION OF SUN OR ILLUSION IS MORE RELEVANT THAN SUN’S REAL MOTION OR REVOLUTION AROUND MILKY WAY GALACTIC CENTER.

THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE – A COPERNICAN REVOLUTION:

Sun's Celestial Journey - Spiritualism - Copernican Revolution : Spiritualism is the potency that brings man's essence and existence to come together to provide man the subjective and objective reality of his own existence in the physical, or material world.
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky: Spiritualism is the potency that brings the man’s essence and existence to come together to provide the man the subjective and objective reality of his own existence in the physical, or material world.
Nicholas Copernicus, Polish astronomer caused a revolutionary change in Astronomy for he had reversed the way scientists think about the relationship of the Earth and the Sun.
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. Nicholas Copernicus, Polish astronomer caused a revolutionary change in Astronomy for he reversed the way scientists think about the relationship of the Earth and the Sun.

Copernicus caused a revolution when he discerned reflections of the Earth’s own motion in the apparent motions of the planets, and stars. To the same extent, German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) inaugurated a new era in the development of philosophical thought. He did comprehensive, and systematic work in Theory of Knowledge, Ethics, and Aesthetics.

Immanuel Kant had reversed the way philosophers think about the relationship of the world of experience and the mind. As per Kant, the mind is not shaped by the world of experience; rather, the world of experience is shaped by the patterns set by the mind.
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. Immanuel Kant reversed the way philosophers think about the relationship of the world of experience and the mind. As per Kant, the mind is not shaped by the world of experience; rather, the world of experience is shaped by the patterns set by the mind.

Kant alters the nature of philosophic inquiry. He recognizes the limits of the philosophical traditions of both Empiricism that stresses Experience, and Rationalism that stresses Reason. He analyzes the tradition of Rene Descartes (Rationalism) and clarifies the tradition of Francis Bacon (Empiricism). Kant attempts to incorporate both Experience and Reason, without falling into the Skepticism of the empirical school and without embracing the unverifiable metaphysical structure of the rationalist school. He criticizes Leibniz rationalism in his book, “Critique of Pure Reason” (1781). In Kant’s view, objective reality is known only insofar as it conforms to the essential structure of the knowing mind. Only objects of experience or phenomena may be known. Things lying beyond experience or noumena are unknowable. Kant states that the human mind provides the forms and the categories that can be used to describe experience. He holds the view that the problems like the existence of God, freedom, and immortality are insoluble by scientific thought. Kant proudly asserts that he accomplished a Copernican Revolution in philosophy. He claims that the subject doing the knowing constitutes, to a considerable extent, the object of knowing; i.e., that knowledge is in part constituted by the mind itself which imposes its influence upon the data of experience. Hence, knowledge is the product of the knowing subject and not a simple description of an external reality. Kant accounts for the application of the mind’s principles to objects by showing that the objects conform to the mind; in knowing, it is not mind that confirms to things but things confirm to the mind. I examine this issue for its relevance to the fundamental concern about human existence.

SPIRITUALISM-A COPERNICAN REVOLUTION:

SUN - SPIRITUALISM - COPERNICAN REVOLUTION: In a moving world and universe called "JAGAT", the entity called Soul and Spirit, or "BHAVANA" provides the unchanging operating system to make the human existence a reality.
Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky: In a moving world and universe called “JAGAT”, the entity called Soul , or “BHAVANA” provides the unchanging operating system to make the human existence a reality.

The man’s earthly existence is conditioned by constant change under the influence of Space and Time. To make Life happen, the existence has to be synchronized with the external events on which the man has no control. While Earth is spinning at an amazing speed, the man perceives Earth as a motionless object, and experiences the apparent motions of planets and stars. The speed of Earth’s motion, if perceived, is not compatible with human existence. The reality of Sun shining brightly in the sky all the time is not also helpful for human existence. The man needs alternating periods of light and darkness called day, and night. Human existence demands alternating periods of wakefulness and sleep. To experience the physical reality called existence, the man needs the influence of a powerful illusion that changes the perception of reality of this world, and universe that is constantly changing, and moving. The man exists for he cannot alter the sensory experience of Sun’s journey across the heavenly dome.

Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. Sir Isaac Newton demonstrated the properties of Light rays using experiments. 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 if and only if the Pencil is removed from water as man has no ability to change the properties of Light rays.

In the Indian tradition,  it is stated that the Creative Force/Power/Energy called Maya clouds man’s sense of perception of the world and the man has no ability to overcome the Power/Force/Energy that causes the Grand Illusion. This world experience caused by the Grand Illusion has a survival value as it intends to protect the man from the harsher realities of the world and the universe.

In my analysis, the man needs the guiding and regulative mechanism called Soul to perform his living functions in a moving, and changing world. Soul establishes the man’s ability to derive energy from an external source and hence Soul is always associated with the living body. The unity of man’s body and Soul could be named as the ‘God-Connection’ as this ‘Connection’ is not formulated by man’s mental, or physical work. This ‘God-Connection’ helps the man to express his desire for Freedom which includes a desire to seek Freedom from the world experience called ‘Death’. If Soul and Spirit are present in the living body that exists in the earthly, material realm, it points towards the operation of the Divine Providence in this terrestrial realm. If God by the nature of His existence is present in the immanent realm, the problems of metaphysics such as Freedom, Immortality, and God’s existence do not belong to unknowable, transcendental realm. I may have to suggest that Kant could be wrong in his view about the relationship between human mind, and the world of experience.

Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky.

The man is fortunate for things of world experience do not always confirm to the knowing mind.

Simon Cyrene

Makar Sankranti on Monday, January 15, 2024. The celebration of Sun’s Journey across the Sky. MAKAR SANKRANTI IS A FESTIVAL CELEBRATED IN INDIA IN RECOGNITION OF SUN’S CELESTIAL JOURNEY IN SUPERNATURAL OR EXTRATERRESTRIAL REALM, WHEN SUN ENTERS THE ZODIAC SIGN OF CAPRICORN OR ‘MAKAR’ ON MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2024.

Whole Dude – Whole Day


Whole Dude – Whole Day: The Celebration of Birthday at Whole Foods, Ann Arbor.

At Whole Foods, Ann Arbor, the Celebration of Birthday got transformed into Whole Day Celebration.

Whole Dude – Whole Day: The Celebration of Birthday at Whole Foods

The Whole Dude brings the Whole Self to work and hence the Birthday Celebration is named as Whole Day Celebration.

Whole Dude – Whole Day: Whole Team – Whole Congratulations – Whole Gift: To give “Whole Congratulations” to my “Whole Team” Members, Whole Dude decides to spend “Whole Dough” to offer “Whole Gift” for the very special Celebration on Whole Day. Certain Terms and Conditions apply.

Birthday vs Whole Day Celebration:

Whole Dude – Whole Day: Whole Team – Whole Congratulations – Whole Gift: To give “Whole Congratulations” to my “Whole Team” Members, Whole Dude decides to spend “Whole Dough” to offer “Whole Gift” for the very special Celebration on Whole Day. Certain Terms and Conditions apply.

The Whole Day Celebration is unlike the routine Birthday Celebration. The following Terms and Conditions apply to the Whole Day Celebration to make the distinction between Whole Day and Birthday Celebration:

  1. Must be an eligible Whole Team Member and receive the specially designed Celebration Card just meant for You.
  2. Whole Team Members who want to participate in the Whole Day Celebration must sign on the Celebration Card to give the Birthday Greetings to the Whole Person who is Celebrating Birthday.
  3. The Whole Person celebrating Birthday spends Whole Dough to offer Whole Gifts to all the Whole Team Members who sign the Celebration Card joining the Whole Day Celebration.
  4. Whole Team Members transform the Birthday Celebration into Whole Day Celebration when they receive their Whole Gifts and the Whole Person gets no Gift on his/her Birthday.

Whole Dude – Whole Name

Bharat Darshan – The tradition of choosing names using the Science of Light called Jyotish.

Excerpt: The choice of my Name is predestined by the Date, Time and the Place of Birth and their relationship to the Science of Light called Jyotish. The people of Land of Bharat are extremely fond of choosing names. This fondness for selecting, using and remembering names is an important Cultural attribute which defines the Indian Identity. In my case, the choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light. Earthly events have celestial connections. For every name that appears in my blog post, there is a specific legend that describes the origin of that name.

The name ‘ Indian ‘ is related to the great river Sindhu which is also known as Indus. In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed westwards towards setting sun to reach the shores of India. He discovered people living on islands whom he had mistakenly named as Indians. Apart from those island dwellers, the natives of the entire American continent, the so-called New World were named Indians. In spite of concerted efforts to rename them as Native Americans, the name Indian is still in use.  

Name is a very important tool to describe personal identity. The word name as a noun, describes a person, place or thing. It is also a word or words by which an object of thought is known. Indians did not choose the name India or Indian.

Kapaleeshwarar temple in Mylapore, Chennai.
Bharat Darshan: What’s in a Name? The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish .

The people of Land of Bharat are extremely fond of choosing names. This fondness for selecting, using and remembering names is an important Cultural attribute which defines the Indian Identity. In my case, the choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light. Earthly events have celestial connections. For every name that appears in my blog post, there is a specific legend that describes the origin of that name  

The Tradition of Giving Names:  

Bharat Darshan: The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. Lord Shiva is known as Rudra, Neela Kantha, Pasupati and several other names. This fondness for selecting, using, and remembering names is an important cultural attribute which defines Indian Identity. The Choice of my Name is predestined.

The name ” Rudra ” is one of the earliest names known to humanity. According to legend, the Vedic God Rudra acquired His name from His Creator Brahma. As per the story, a boy was seen ‘crying’ and ‘wandering’. The father asked the boy the reason for his ‘howling’. The boy answered that he was ‘weeping’ for he was not given a name. So, the father created a name by bringing together two Sanskrit words which mean ‘crying’ and ‘wandering’. Thus the name Ru+dra was born. This legend is an example of our emotional dependence upon the need for names. The major Deities such as VISHNU and SHIVA that Indians worship are known by thousands of names and remembering those names is deemed as an act of devoted worship. The use of these names is a fundamental right and I understand the term religious freedom in the context of my freedom to choose the name that I want to worship. The religious experience that I gained while growing up in India relates to the use of names as an act of worship. Worship would have no meaning or purpose and would not give me a sense of direction if I do not remember the beautiful names that I have come to know.  

A Personal Name and a Personal Story:

Bharat Darshan: What’s in a Name? The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish.
This landmark Temple of Kapaleeswara binds me to my birthplace of Mylapore, Madras(Chennai). The Presiding Diety of this Temple is chosen as my personal Protector and hence I am given the name of "RUDRA".
Bharat Darshan: The choice of my Name is predestined. This landmark Temple of Kapaleeswarar binds me to my birthplace Mylapore, Madras (Chennai). If my birthplace had been different, my Name would have been different. The Presiding Deity of this Temple is chosen as my personal Protector and hence I am given the name of RUDRA.

My personal name is very much a part of my personal story. If my birthplace had been different, my Name would have been different. My Name is chosen entirely due to the circumstances of my birth and I remain connected to the persons and the places for the rest of my life. I describe Mylapore, Madras city (Chennai) as my birth place and I describe Rajahmundry of East Godavari District as my native place.

Bharat Darshan: MY IDENTITY AND MY CONNECTION. I CALL MYSELF AS ‘REBBAPRAGADA’; MY MOTHER BELONGS TO THE ‘KASTURI’ FAMILY. THIS IS A PICTURE OF KASTURI BROTHERS. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, 1. DR. KASTURI NARAYANA MURTHY, M.D. (MY MATERNAL GRANDFATHER), 2. KASTURI. SESHAGIRI RAO (MARRIED TO MRS. RUKMINI, DAUGHTER OF DR. SARVEPALLI RADHAKRISHNAN), 3. KASTURI NARASIMHA RAO, 4. KASTURI KRISHNA RAO, 5. KASTURI SOMESHWARA RAO, 6. KASTURI RAMACHANDRA RAO, AND 7. KASTURI SIVAPRASADA RAO (FAR RIGHT).

My mother gave birth to me at my maternal grandfather’s residence 2/37  Kutchery Road in Mylapore during the month called Dhanurmasam that represents Sun’s transit in Sagittarius.

Bharat Darshan: What’s in a Name? The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish.
Bharat Darshan: What’s in a Name? The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish.
Bharat Darshan: What’s in a Name? The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish.
Bharat Darshan: What’s in a Name? The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish. Mylapore subdivision of Madras (Chennai) City.

I am born on a Friday night, at 4:30 A.M or the early morning hours of Saturday as the day begins at Sunrise. My grandfather’s residence on Kutchery Road is located at a short distance from Santhome Cathedral on the East, and Kapaleeswarar Temple on the West.

Bharat Darshan: What’s in a Name? The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish. A view of Kutchery Road with the spire of Santhome Cathedral.

The Corporation of Chennai, Public Health Department entered my birth in the Birth Register and issued a certificate which records my gender, the date and time of my birth, the place of my birth, the names of my father and mother, the registration number and it does not show my name as my parents did not give me a name while reporting my birth. Much later, while living in the United States, I contacted the City Corporation requesting the City Public Health Officer to add my name to my own birth record and my request was not granted for the City requires the signatures of two witnesses.

Bharat Darshan – The Making of a Name by the Science of Light. The performance of Rudra Puja at Kapaleeswarar Temple, Mylapore, Madras, Chennai was predestined.

I spent the years of my early childhood at my paternal grandfather’s mansion in Innespeta, Rajahmundry, East Godavari District of Madras Presidency and later Andhra Pradesh, India.

As per the traditional belief and the practice of Vedic Astrology known as Jyotish (Science of Light),  my Birth Star Moola predicted and warned about some forthcoming inauspicious events.

Bharat Darshan: The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Key Themes of Birth Star Moola Nakshtra.

The astrological calculations suggested that remedial action is needed to counter the negative aspects of the Moola Birth Star.

Bharat Darshan – The Making of a Name by the Science of Light.

Accordingly, my father performed a ritualistic worship popularly known as Rudra Abhishekam  and worshiped Lord Shiva at the beautiful Kapaleeswarar Temple of Mylapore.

Bharat Darshan: What’s in a Name? The making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish.

To ensure that I would always enjoy the blessings of Lord Shiva, my father decided to name me as Rudra. Hence, the name of Rudra instantly connects me to my birth place of Mylapore and to Lord Kapaleeswarar who was chosen as my personal protector.

Bharat Darshan: What’s in a name? My paternal grandfather. The family astrologer who had prepared my horoscope predicted an inauspicious event and the prediction came true five months after my birth. But the prediction did not deter my grandfather in any manner. My grandmother whose name I had acquired told me that my grandfather had loved me with all his heart without any concern about the astrological prediction.

My birth star also forewarned about consequences that impact my paternal grandfather. There was no easy escape from the influences and the second part of my personal name was carefully chosen as Narasimham to please my paternal grandmother, Lakshmi Narasamma. Because of the gender variation, her name Narasamma got transformed to Narasimham. This name immediately connects me to the Laws of Karma.

Bharat Darshan: The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish.

The names Rudra and Narasimham are well-known and particularly in the southern States of India, the name Narasimham and numerous variations of that name are frequently used. As long as I remain a conscious entity, my grandparents live in my consciousness.

Bharat Darshan – The Making of a Name by the Science of Light. Moola Star belongs to the Sagittarius constellation.

Astrology or Jyotish may not be a perfect Science. Horoscopes may not precisely predict the future course of events in a person’s life. I exist in this world and I am known by a name which was specifically selected for me because of the predictions cast by my horoscope and the predictions came true and  I find enough justification for this Indian Cultural Tradition called Jyotish.   

Bharat Darshan: The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Rebbapragadas Group describes people related to this group of people and others connected to Rebbapragadas.

 A unique name and a unique perspective:  

Bharat Darshan – The making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person: The decision to serve in the Indian Army Medical Corps was made at Kurnool and I was granted Short Service Regular Commission in the rank of Second Lieutenant after an interview conducted at the Principal’s Office in the Administrative Block of Kurnool Medical College. Dr. Bhasker Reddy, Principal conducted this interview along with a team of Army Medical Corps Medical Officers.

In 1965, I joined Kurnool Medical College after I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Osmania University, Hyderabad. At Kurnool, a batch of B.Sc., degree students were directly admitted into the second year of the medical education program that awards the M.B.B.S degree. Professor Rama Murthy of the Anatomy Department was very fond of knowing and recognizing each of his students by their personal names. On the first day of our Anatomy class, the attendance register was not ready and Professor Rama Murthy decided to call out names from the list of selected candidates. He very solemnly announced to the class that the roll call begins with a very angry and fiery name. We were intently listening to know what that name could be. Apparently, the list of selected students was prepared according to merit and my name was placed at the top of the list. He called my name and expressed his sense of disbelief. He asked me to verify my name and told the class that it was the first time in his life that he encountered a person with the personal name of Rudra Narasimham. His statement appears to be right and I have not met any other person who may have the same name. It is one of its own kind and is unique and special and these two names were put together to establish me as a Whole Person. 

Bharat Darshan: The Making of a Whole Name for a Whole Person. Socrates implored people to ‘know thy self.’ He had stated that the unexamined life is not worth living. Understanding life involves understanding personal identity and name is a word by which an object of thought is known.

The name Rudra, the first part of my first name is related to Lord Shiva who is recognized as the God of Learning. Shiva is like Socrates. Socrates of 5th century B.C. is claimed to be the father of western thought. He implores people to “know thy self.” Socrates states that the ‘unexamined life is not worth living’. Shiva guides me to reflect upon life. Shiva encourages introspection, reflecting upon your own mind and thoughts. Shiva defines that the purpose of learning is to acquire the ability to think for oneself.

Bharat Darshan: What’s in a Name? The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person. The Choice of the Name is predestined by the Science of Light called Jyotish.

The name Narasimham represents to me a Whole Person who defends my right to choose the Name for my worship. The story about  Prince Prahlad of Bhagavata Purana, the epic poem called Bhagavatam, represents the cultural importance attached to personal choice in matters of religious worship. Names of persons, places and the legends form a part of Cultural Legacy of our Land and define the Indian Identity described by the Name Bharat. 

Bharat Darshan – The Making of a Whole Name for the Whole Person by the Science of Light. Moola Star of Sagittarius constellation.