Category Archives: Whole Story-WholeDude

Whole Dude – Whole Science

Whole Dude – Whole Science: Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, Dean of the Harvard Medical School 1847-1882. “To live is to function and that is all there is in living.” Life is defined by the nature of its living functions. Consciousness is the absolute characteristic of all living functions and so I define Life as “Knowledge in Action.”

Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, Dean of the Harvard Medical School 1847-1882, says, “To live is to function and that is all there is in living.” Life is defined by the nature of its living functions. Consciousness is the absolute characteristic of all living functions and so I define Life as “Knowledge in Action.”

What is Consciousness?

Whole Dude-Whole Science: Why is this baby crying? Is it hunger? Is it thirst? Is it a wet diaper? Is it earache? Is it fever? Is it too hot? Is it too cold? Is it gripes or colic? Is it to get attention? Is it Consciousness? The baby is aware of something. The baby is aware of its existence in an environment and is also aware of its internal condition.

Consciousness is described as a state of knowing, or awareness, or recognizing the existence, truth, or fact of ‘something’. What is that ‘something’ that is known or recognized by Consciousness? I propose to explore the contents of Consciousness to answer the question of what is Consciousness?

Consciousness is a Sense Experience:

Whole Dude-Whole Science: What is Consciousness? Is it awareness of Sense Perception? Is it awareness of Thought? Is it awareness of Mood and Feeling? Is it awareness of Existence? Can there be any Perception without Existence? What is that Exists and Knows that it Exists?
Whole Dude-Whole Science: The Neural Correlates of Consciousness defined by Mormann & Koch explores Consciousness as a sense experience. It fails to understand the Totality of Consciousness.

Consciousness is generally viewed as a form of relationship or act of the mind towards objects in nature. Consciousness has been described as a continuous field or stream of mental sense-data. Some biologists and neurophysiologists view Consciousness as a brain function and describe it as an exclusive function of the nerve cells; neuronal and axonal function. Dr. Florian Mormann and Dr. Christof Koch have defined Neural Correlates of Consciousness (Florian Mormann & Christof Koch (2007) NCC, Scholarpedia 2(12):1740 ) as the minimal neuronal mechanisms jointly sufficient for any one specific conscious percept. Further, Mormann & Koch state that, “Consciousness is a puzzling, state-dependent property of certain types of complex, biological, adaptive, and highly connected systems. A Science of Consciousness must strive to explain the exact relationship between phenomenal, mental states and brain states.” They have posed the question: ” What is the nature of the relationship between the immaterial, conscious mind and its physical basis in the electro-chemical interactions in the body?

The answer to the above question is very simple. Consciousness is related to a material substance that is called Protoplasm and electro-chemical interactions in the body describe the properties of this living substance or material. The brain cells and all other cells have the same basic features; they are constituted by Protoplasm which has a Biological Membrane to define the limits of the Cell. Mormann & Koch also erroneously suggest that, “Only a few particular systems can experience anything, why they are Conscious and other systems such as the enteric nervous system or the immune system are not Conscious.” The enteric nervous system does in fact provide a wide range of Conscious experiences. A baby would respond with a cry when it experiences gripes or colic. In the practice of Clinical Medicine, the evaluation of pain as a symptom and as a diagnostic clinical sign plays a very significant role. The pain experienced by an individual with gastrointestinal, or genitourinary problems, or from inflammation of tissues and organs, and from problems with skeleton and musculature is registered by Consciousness. The immune system behaves in a Conscious manner and displays specificity, selectivity, and memory. A Living Cell is a highly complex, biological, adaptive, and highly connected system known in Natural Science. A simple understanding of various cell functions would explain this issue. For example, mitochondria are organelles found within most cells which provide the cells with energy. Extensive protein translocation occurs in mitochondria where about one thousand different polypeptides are imported from the cytosol. This event is orchestrated by distinct translocation machineries in the outer and the inner mitochondrial membranes. Mitochondria display functional awareness and perform the task of oxidising sugars and fats in a deliberate, and sequential manner that involves the use of different enzymes to facilitate each chemical reaction. 

Consciousness is a Physical or Body Experience – The Concept of Homeostasis:

Whole Dude-Whole Science: SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – WHOLE DYNAMICS – WHOLE EQUILIBRIUM: IN MAN, HEALTH IS RELATIVE EQUILIBRIUM OF BODY FORM AND FUNCTION WHICH RESULTS FROM ITS SUCCESSFUL DYNAMIC ADJUSTMENT TO FORCES TENDING TO DISTURB IT.

Apart from thoughts, intellect, feelings, moods, and perception of various sensory information, man is aware of the fact of and the state or condition of his physical existence. Man is aware or Conscious of hunger, thirst, and sexual drive. Man is aware of vital functions like respiration, and circulation. Man is alerted and often reacts with a sense of fear when these vital functions are disturbed or threatened in a significant manner. Consciousness or awareness includes awareness of bodily functions such as appetite, lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting sensation, deglutition (the act of swallowing food and drink), satiation, and the functions of excretion and the associated sensations like the fullness of the bladder, and rectum. The human organism has awareness of its internal condition such as the state of hydration, water and electrolyte balance, and acid/base balance. The chemical events collectively called “metabolism” require the concentration of hydrogen ions and electrolytes to remain within narrow limits in the tissue cells and in the fluids which bathes them. Body responds to both volume changes and changes in the osmotic pressure of the body fluids. Life is possible only if the hydrogen ion concentration of body fluid is kept within a narrow range. In health, a blood hydrogen ion concentration of 36-44 nmol/liter or pH 7.37 – 7.45 is maintained by several closely integrated but widely differing mechanisms.

Whole Dude-Whole Science: SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – WHOLE DYNAMICS – WHOLE EQUILIBRIUM: TO DESCRIBE EQUILIBRIUM AS APPLIED TO MAN, THE FACT OF BEING AT PHYSICAL REST OR IN A STATE OF MOTION IN THE GIVEN EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ARE LESS RELEVANT COMPARED TO THE REQUIREMENT OF “HOMEOSTASIS” AS DEFINED BY FRENCH PHYSICIAN CLAUDE BERNARD.

19th century French physiologist Claude Bernard had defined “Homeostasis” as “all the vital mechanisms, varied as they are, have only one object; that of preserving constant the conditions of life.” All living things maintain a constant internal environment or Internal Milieu. Living cells and organisms are aware or Conscious of the environment in which they exist as well as the state of their own internal environment making possible to witness this phenomenon of Homeostasis.

Consciousness is a Cellular Experience:

All the solid tissues in the human body consist of cells that are essentially similar to an Ovum.

Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, the former Dean of Harvard Medical School had defined Life by stating that, “To live is to function and that is all there is in living.” Who or what is the subject who lives because of its living functions? Consciousness is a cellular experience of the cells of the brain and the body. It is an experience shared by the Whole Organism. It is an experience shared by all the living cells. The living functions of cells include uptake and conversion of nutrients, synthesis of new molecules, production of energy, and regulation and coordination of metabolic sequences apart from the function of reproduction by asexual cell division. All the solid tissues in the human body can be shown to consist largely of similar cells, differing it is true, but that are essentially similar to an ovum. The most significant feature of similarity between the cells is the presence of a soft, gelatinous, semi-fluid, granular material inside the cell. This substance known as Protoplasm is similar to that found in the ovum or the egg cell. This viscous, translucent, colloidal substance is enclosed in a membrane called Plasma Membrane or Biological Membrane. A small, spherical body called nucleus is embedded in the protoplasm. The protoplasm could be differentiated into cytoplasm/cytosol, and nucleoplasm based upon its location. Cytoplasm refers to protoplasm located outside the nucleus. Nucleoplasm refers to the protoplasm located inside the nucleus. The two essential features of any living cell in the human body are that of the presence of protoplasm and the nucleus. The most striking characteristics of protoplasm are its vital properties of “Motion”, and “Nutrition.” Protoplasm has the intrinsic power to change its shape and position and the motion is described as amoeboid movement as the motion is similar to the motion that is observed in Amoeba proteus. Nutrition is the power which protoplasm has of attracting or drawing the materials that are necessary for its growth and maintenance from surrounding matter/environment. Nutrition is not a passive, unguided, and physical event. The Biological Membrane or the Plasma Membrane allows a highly controlled exchange of matter across the barrier it poses; some compounds are able to pass through the Membrane easily, others are completely blocked. The Biological Membrane helps to maintain  cell’s internal environment or constant interior milieu in which intracellular reactions occur. To maintain life, the cell not only repairs or replaces, (or both) its structures by continual synthesis of new organic molecules. This is characteristic of functional awareness or Consciousness that is at work at the cellular level. The human organism uses a repair process and it is described as Inflammation and Repair. Wound healing,  and hemostasis (or blood leakage or bleeding from an injured blood vessel is controlled) are natural mechanisms operated by Cellular Consciousness. Human existence is possible because of this valuable and protective healing process which comes into immediate play after an injury or damage. Similarly, the human organism defines its identity and defends its existence by deploying unique protein molecules such as the antibodies. Antibodies recognize their antigens or foreign protein molecules with high affinity and extreme selectivity. The ability to develop specific immunity to infection is only one consequence of a wider capacity in the individual to recognize and to specifically respond to the foreignness of an extensive range of biological substances that are not normally present in the body of that individual. The adaptive immune system remembers that particular infectious agent and can prevent it causing disease later. The immune system consists of a variety of molecules and cells that are distributed throughout the body. They play an important role in inflammation, tissue damage and repair, the killing of bacteria, viruses, and tumor cells. Cellular Consciousness defends human existence.

Consciousness is a Social Experience:

Whole Dude-Whole Science: SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE: THE DEFINITION OF WHOLE PERSON. 1. CONSCIOUS BEING, 2. PHYSICAL BEING, 3. MENTAL BEING, 4. SOCIAL BEING, 5. MORAL BEING, and 6. SPIRITUAL BEING. This entire Human Organism is derived from a Single, Fertilized Egg Cell.

Sociology lays claim to the whole of human life beyond the biological level because virtually all human activities possess a social aspect. Consciousness can be viewed as the capacity in an individual to form harmonious relations with others and to participate in or contribute constructively to changes in the social environment. Man is a social being and he is aware of the social structures and the social organization that he is part of. Parental instincts and social instincts describe an aspect of social behavior exhibited by all animals. Animals exhibit social behaviors and form parental societies to care for their offspring. Bacteria come together to live as colonies. At cellular level, the social aspect of Consciousness is reflected by the cell’s abilities such as association, cooperation, communication using signaling molecules, recognition, and functional subordination in its interactions with other living cells present in its environment. In an Ecological System, the Consciousness plays the role to establish the interrelatedness, the interdependence, and the interconnectedness.

Consciousness is a Moral Experience:

Consciousness is the attribute of a conscientious person. Conscious behavior is often described as conscientious action that is scrupulous, characterized by or done with careful attention. Conscience describes awareness of one’s own acts and the application of knowledge to discern an act as right or wrong, good or evil, selfish or altruistic. Man has the intrinsic ability to recognize his acts of transgression or sinful conduct. Man is a creature with conscience and hence exists as a moral being.

Consciousness is a Spiritual Experience:

Whole Dude – Whole Science: The Consciousness begins at conception. THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMAN EMBRYO AND FETUS IS INFLUENCED BY TIME AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE MECHANISMS THAT OPERATE AND CONTROL THE AGING PHENOMENON. HUMAN EMBRYO, SIX DAYS ATER CONCEPTION IS READY FOR IMPLANTATION IN ITS MOTHER’S WOMB.

The word spiritual is often used to describe the fact of having a relationship based on sympathy of thought or feeling. Consciousness has a spiritual function as it establishes a relationship between the energy dependent living cell and its energy provider. The living cell is a thermodynamically unstable system. This means that without continuous input of energy, a cell will degrade spontaneously into a nonliving collection of molecules. The life’s journey of the human organism begins as a single cell, that of a fertilized egg cell. This single fertilized egg cell is Conscious of its existence, is Conscious of its energy dependence and it promptly connects itself to its energy provider. Human life begins to move forward when this egg cell implants itself into the maternal tissue and the biological mother has no cortical awareness of this implantation. Cortical awareness does not describe the Totality of Consciousness. The Science of Consciousness must describe the mental, the sensory, the physical, the cellular, the social, the moral, and the spiritual aspects of Consciousness.

Consciousness is awareness of Existence in an Environment:           

Whole Dude-Whole Science: Amoeba proteus – Is this organism aware of its own existence in an environment? Is it aware of what goes on around it and what goes on within it?

Consciousness describes the condition of an individual; the condition of knowing, awareness, or recognizing the fact, the state, and the act of existence or living in a given environment. Thus, Consciousness is a natural principle that could explain what an individual knows and experiences about the world around one and inside one. There are two aspects of Consciousness that is registered subjectively by an individual; 1. Consciousness is a state of knowing or awareness of what goes on around an individual, and 2. Consciousness is a state of knowing or awareness of what goes on within the individual. Who is this individual who has the ability to know and be aware of its external and internal environment? The term environment refers to all the conditions, circumstances, and influences surrounding, and affecting the existence of a given individual, or group of individuals. The individual is a living organism and the organism could be unicellular or multicellular.

Consciousness and Material Substance:

Whole Dude – Whole Science: Consciousness is an absolute attribute of Life; it is the fundamental characteristic of living matter or living substance described as Protoplasm, Cytoplasm, Cytosol, Nucleoplasm, and etc.,

Consciousness is an absolute attribute of Life; it is the fundamental characteristic of living matter or living substance described as Protoplasm or Cytoplasm, the essential living matter or material substance of all animal, and plant cells. Wherever Protoplasm is found, irrespective of the size, shape, and form of the cell or of the living organism, the contents of its Consciousness could be discovered.

Consciousness – The Law of Individuality and Creation:

Whole Dude-Whole Science: Identity and Individuality are the two sides of the same Coin. The genome establishes the Identity, and Consciousness establishes the Individuality of a Living Cell or of a Living Organism.

The contents of Consciousness vary from individual to individual. There are individualistic variations in the contents of Consciousness. There can never be two identical living individuals. Even when the cells are cloned and have the same or identical genomes, the state, or condition of Protoplasm that is Conscious is never identical. With the same genome, or different genomes, the living cells can only exist or live as individuals and they have no other choice. The living substance is the same, and the nature of Consciousness is the same and yet the contents of Consciousness are not the same. This Individualistic variation of Consciousness is the characteristic of what I describe as ‘The Law of Individuality and Creation’.

The Principles of Consciousness:

Whole Dude-Whole Science: Consciousness is the natural, vital principle that moves and animates all Life. The Living Cell knows the fact of its existence, it knows as to where it exists, and knows as to how it is existing.

Consciousness is the natural principle, the vital principle that moves and animates all Life. It has a set of defining features; it is the principle by which a living cell or organism knows the fact of its own existence, it knows as to where it exists, and knows as to how it is existing. Cognition is described as the act of knowing. Cognitive Science involves the study of all human activities related to Knowledge. These activities include attention, creativity, memory, perception, problem solving, thinking, and the use of language. Cognition is the process involved in knowing, or the act of knowing which includes awareness and judgment. The nature of cognition, the relationship between the knowing mind and external reality, is applicable in the study of living functions that are characteristic of the living substance or material called Protoplasm. These functions at cellular level that require cognition include nutrition, reproduction, metabolism, and association with other living cells present in the immediate environment. The human brain is often viewed as the Seat of Knowledge. Human brain’s ability to acquire, process, store, and use of information is essentially a function of the cytoplasm of the brain cells. Cognitive functions like perception and memory would establish Protoplasm as the Seat of Knowledge.

Consciousness in the Human Multicellular Organism:

Whole Dude-Whole Science: The Human Organism is an association of trillions of individual living cells. Consciousness serves the purpose of Functional Unity and all the cells display adaptive functional subordination to serve the purpose of the Whole Organism or the Individual. There are two distinct aspects of human Consciousness;1. The Capacity for Consciousness, and 2. The Contents of Consciousness.

There are two distinct aspects of human Consciousness namely the Capacity for Consciousness and the Contents of Consciousness. When Consciousness is viewed as a psychological or strictly as a mental function, it is represented by the Contents of Consciousness which is a function of the Cerebral Cortex. When Consciousness is understood as a biological or living function, it is represented by the aspect of Capacity for Consciousness. The upper brain-stem, the neural structures like the Reticular Formation, and Thalamus function to compose the contents of Consciousness and project the contents to the cerebral hemispheres via the tracts of the Ascending Reticular Activating System. The integrity of these neurons and neural connections is important to maintain the alertness, and Arousal State of the Whole Organism in its relationship to its environment and internal maintenance of coordination of various living functions.

The grading of Consciousness in Clinical Medicine:

Whole Dude-Whole Science: The reaction of pupil to light beam is often tested in the neurological evaluation of Consciousness in the practice of Clinical Medicine.

Apart from philosophers, psychologists, psychics, theologians and others, the term Consciousness is frequently used by the practitioners of Clinical Medicine. It is a useful term with several practical applications in the management of individuals with a variety of conditions that impact the neural functions, particularly the Arousal. In medical practice, the assessment and grading of Consciousness serves the purpose of being good predictor of the eventual long-term outcome or prognosis of the underlying disease or medical condition.

Whole Dude-Whole Science: In Clinical Medicine, the medical practitioner evaluates the Level of Arousal or Alertness of his patient.

In Clinical Medicine, the medical practitioner evaluates the Level of Arousal or Alertness of his patient. The different levels of Consciousness are:

a. alert or awake, fully Conscious and fully Oriented to person, place, and time. This Orientation represents the normal operation of Higher Intellectual Functions. A person who is Conscious, but is under the influence of alcohol or other psychotropic drugs, neural stimulants or depressants may not be fully oriented.

b. phase of automatism – the person is not fully alert as in Sleep-walking, or recovering from the effects of anesthesia.

c. Lethargic – drowsy, sleepy, but easily arousable.

d. Delirium – a state of mental confusion, a toxic condition, altered physical, and mental state or condition.

e. Stupor – semiconscious, responsive only to painful stimuli.

f. Coma – Unconscious or not responsive to painful stimuli.

Similarly, the Edinburgh method of grading Consciousness is:

Grade  0 – Fully Conscious

Grade 1 – drowsy but responsive to vocal command.

Grade 2 – Unconscious but responsive to minimal painful stimuli.

Grade 3 – Unconscious but just responsive to strong painful stimuli.

Grade 4 – Unconscious with no response to verbal commands and all other painful stimuli.

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS ) is universally used in the assessment of the head injury victim. This Scale measures and provides a score that ranges from 3 to 15 points by evaluating three kinds of responses from the patient.

1. Eye Opening: Spontaneous eye opening=4; Eye opening in response to command=3; Eye opening in response to painful stimuli=2; and no response of eye opening=1.

2. Motor Response: Obeys commands=6; Localizes pain=5; Shows flexion( decorticate ) response to pain=3; Shows extension ( decerebrate ) response to pain=2; and no response( no reflex muscular activity )=1.

3. Vocal Response: Oriented to person, place, and time=5; Confused=4; Shows inappropriate speech=3; Makes incomprehensible sounds=2; and no vocal sounds=1.

Such neurological evaluations are repeated periodically to record significant changes in the medical condition of the patient. However, it must be noted that Clinical Medicine always evaluates the totality of all living functions and the medical usage of the terms Conscious and Unconscious represent a careful interpretation in the context of the medical condition of the patient.

The Totality of Consciousness:

The Science of Consciousness must explore and investigate the entire contents of Consciousness. By understanding the nature of experience provided by the Totality of Consciousness, the condition, the state, or the act of being Conscious could be explained.

Consciousness is a Mental Experience:

Whole Dude – Whole Science. What is Consciousness? It is not a mental function but includes the experience of mental activities.

The term consciousness is most widely used as meaning ” attention to the contents or workings of one’s own mind.” English philosopher John Locke defined Consciousness as a psychological condition; it is described as the perception of what passes in a man’s own mind. In Indian tradition, mental activities are of four kinds and collectively constitute what is named as “ANTAHKARANAM”; these are : 1. “MANAS”- the seat of thoughts, 2. “BUDDHI” or intellect and knowledge, 3. “CHITTA” or the seat of emotions such as Kindness and Love, and 4. “AHAMKARA” or self-ego. The mental experience or knowing of these activities of thoughts, intellect, moods, feelings, and self-ego describe Consciousness as a mental experience. Using this view, many philosophers, religious thinkers, and mystics have shared their experience of different levels of Consciousness and have given names to the higher levels or states of Consciousness. Terms such as Pure Consciousness, Cosmic Consciousness, and Super Consciousness may describe some kind of mental experience and such terms may not add any information to understand the Totality of Consciousness and its experience.

Whole Dude – Whole Science: The Neural Correlates of Consciousness defined by Mormann & Koch basically ignores the existence of specific Conscious percept like NUTRITION by which the Living Organism shows its awareness of Energy dependence for its existence or living.

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence: SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION: ARISTOTLE, THE FATHER OF SCIENCE – “THERE IS A SCIENCE WHICH INVESTIGATES BEING AS BEING AND THE ATTRIBUTES WHICH BELONG TO BEING IN VIRTUE OF ITS OWN NATURE.”

Aristotle – The Father of Highest Science, First Philosophy, and Theology:

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence: ARISTOTLE- born 384 BC and died 322 BC. His Metaphysics brings about the convergence of Philosophy, Religion, and Science.

It gives me a great pleasure to dedicate this blog post to the memory of Aristotle. He surveyed the whole field of human knowledge as it was known in his day. He was at the Athenian Academy of Plato for 20 years. In 335 BC, he opened the Lyceum in Athens, a Center for speculation and research in every department of human inquiry. He became an authority for all philosophers, especially in Logic and in Natural Sciences. Logic, the theory of formal truth and validity originated in reflections on the practice of Dialectic introduced by Plato. For scientific knowledge, we need to know the governing principles of a subject and deduction from these principles provides not only the knowledge that something is true, but also the reason as to why it is true. Aristotle is recognized as the Father of Science and he defined Science as a deductive system based on evident axioms.

Aristotle’s Metaphysics – First Philosophy, Highest Science, and Theology:

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence: What a great Scene in the history of Man? If Plato and Aristotle come together, Reason and Faith also come together. The Scene at the Athenian Academy of Plato depicts the confluence of Religion, Philosophy, and Science.

Aristotle’s Metaphysics, and Plato’s Dialectic describe a method or inquiry that deals with the nature and relation of things – What each is, how it differs from others, what common qualities all have, to what kind each belongs, and in what rank each stands in its kind and whether its being is real-being, and how many beings there are, and how many non-beings to be distinguished from beings.

Metaphysics is concerned with the primary axioms, the universal principles applicable to all existence, and the transcendental properties of being. Aristotle claimed, “There is a Science which investigates being as being and the attributes which belong to being in virtue of its own nature.”

The First Philosophy described by Aristotle speculates about being and its subject matter includes all existing things as existing, and involves not only the question how anything which exists, exists (i.e., the properties of being), but also the question whether certain things, whose existence can be questioned, do in fact exist. In the words of Francis Bacon we can make a distinction between Physics and Metaphysics. Bacon stated that Physics inquires into efficient and material causes; Metaphysics inquires into formal and final causes. For Aristotle, Science means the demonstration of universal and necessary conclusions from self-evident principles. The modern conception of Science is that it represents knowledge founded upon experiment and extended observation. For example, Issac Newton in his book ‘OPTICS’ proposed to explain the properties of Light by using reason and experiments.

Man’s Essence – ‘Know thyself’:

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence: Know thyself.

The tradition of knowing oneself is the oldest established tradition in the history of man and it is a longer tradition than any other science. “Know thyself” describes a study in which the Knower and the Known are One; the object of the Science is the Nature of the Scientist. In the Indian tradition, “PURUSHA” is the Man or the Knower, and his body or “KSHETRA” is the object of Inquiry, and the Knowledge that is discovered is known as “Kshetra Jnana.”

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence: What is Man’s Essence? This tradition of Knowing Oneself is a longer tradition than any other Science. Socrates tells his friends gathered in the prison cell where he is to drink the hemlock, “True phlosophers are ever seeking to release the SOUL and are always occupied in the practice of dying.”

Aristotle – Natural Science and The Science of Soul:

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence: What is Soul? Can Science investiagte or inquire about the existence of Soul? Does this organism known as Amoeba proteus has a Soul? What is its animating Principle?

Soul is the vital principle which moves and animates all life.  Aristotle describes corporeal substances are composite of two principles; form and matter. What is called matter is potentiality, what is called form is actuality. In the above image of Amoeba proteus, its matter is constituted by its protoplasm, the living substance, and its actuality is recognized by the scientist when he observes its form. The existence of Amoeba proteus is known to man as it is made of two principles, the form, and the matter. The Natural Sciences are concerned with natural objects that are characterized by the fact that they are subject to change. Change is therefore the basic phenomenon. Matter and Forms are the Material and the Formal Cause respectively, of what comes to be.

Aristotle distinguishes four kinds of Causes. For example, a Building or a Thing comes into being because of the Builder, or the Creator known as Efficient Cause. Formal Cause describes the Structure by virtue of which it is the Building or the Thing. Material Cause describes the matter such as stones or wood that has received the Structure. The end or purpose for which the structure, the Building or the Thing exists is known as the Final Cause. A building or a house provides a place of safety for the man who lives there. The purpose or the end of a life form is to sustain its state of living.

Aristotle calls the forms of living things as “Souls”. “The soul is in some sense the principle of animal life.” As per Aristotle, “the study of the Soul falls within the Science of Nature.” The Greek inquiry into the soul extends beyond man, to all living things. So, it is relevant to investigate or inquire about the Soul that describes the Form known to us as Amoeba proteus.

Aristotle’s Treatise – “On the Soul”: The establishment of Spirituality Science: The Confluence of Inspired Knowledge, Speculative Knowledge, and Inferential Knowledge:

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence: Lord Rama and Spirituality Science. The Lord provides inspired knowledge, philosophy provides the speculative knowledge and Medical Science and other Natural Sciences provide the inferential knowledge to explore and investigate the connection between man and his Creator.

For Aristotle, the Soul rather than Man is the object of Science. He described three kinds of Souls: 1. Vegetative (plants), 2. Sensitive (animals), and 3. Rational (human beings). He believed that the Soul is merely a set of defining features. He did not regard the Body and the Soul as two separate things that mysteriously combine to form an organism.

If Soul is defined as the Immortal part of Man as distinguished from his Body, that kind of definition would suggest that Man is composed of two kinds of substances; a corporeal substance, and a non-corporeal substance. In my discussion on this subject, I tend to agree with Aristotle and suggest that Man is composed of one kind of substance and Man may not be divided into Body and Soul. However, I would like to discuss the issue of Man’s Essence, his Identity and Individuality in relation to Soul after this review of Aristotle’s ideas about material and immaterial substances. Aristotle tells us that to understand Substance, it would be necessary to consider immaterial substantial forms, like Soul and God. Only then can Man understand what it is to be a Substance, and what it is to Exist. He further described two parts of Man’s Soul; the intellectual virtue corresponds to the rational part of the Soul, and the moral virtues such as justice, courage, and generosity belong to the irrational part of the Soul which is subject to reason and has reasonable desires and feelings.

I divide Man into two categories and have described Man as the Self and the Knowing-Self.The first category describes Man as a Physical, Mental, and Social being, and the second category describes Man as a Moral, and Spiritual being.  The study of Metaphysics eventually becomes the study of immaterial substance, immortality, and God.

Spirituality Science – The Convergence of Religion, Philosophy, and Science:

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence: The Bhagavad Gita is the source of Inspired Knowledge, my internal reflection is the source of Speculative Knowledge, and the Medical Science and Natural Science is the source of Inferential Knowledge to establish Spirituality Science as a method of Inquiry to investigate man’s relationship, partnership, association, and connection with his Creator.

Aristotle tried to define and establish a branch of Science which contributes Wisdom to deal with the first causes and the principles of all things. “There are other theoretical sciences, such as Physics and Mathematics which investigate causes or deal with principles, but they do not reach to the highest causes or first principles, nor do they take all things in their most universal aspect as the object of their inquiry. Physics deals with material things in motion; and the Mathematician investigates abstractions.” He claimed that Mathematics could be certain without telling us anything about Reality. He states that, “If there is something which is eternal and immovable and separated from matter, clearly the knowledge of it belongs to a theoretical science, not however to Physics nor to Mathematics, but to a science prior to both.” He gives two names to the highest of theoretical sciences. He denominated it both from the position it occupies in relation to all other disciplines and in terms of the kind of substance which it alone investigates. A substance which is formed by Nature will be explored by Natural Science. If there is an immovable, immutable, immaterial, or eternal substance, the Science of that substance is the highest Science and it deserves to be called “Theology” as well as “First Philosophy”.

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence. The integration of Science, Philosophy, and Religion.

I propose to study and investigate the immaterial substance or principle and name the Science of that Substance/Principle as “Spirituality Science”. If Divine is present everywhere at the same time, the Divine is present in both material and immaterial substances.

Whole Dude – Whole Confluence. The integration of Science, Philosophy, and Religion.

Whole Dude – Whole Beginning

La vierge aux raisins
Whole Dude – Whole Beginning

Conception – Does it begin with Fertilization, the union of Sperm and Egg?

Whole Dude – Whole Beginning.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” 

Whole Dude – Whole Beginning

There is no universal understanding about the beginning of human life. When does human life begins ? There are several moral and ethical issues that involve the manner in which we define the beginning of human life. The society is totally polarized about woman’s reproductive rights, the right to abortion and about destruction of human embryos for purposes of scientific research. The moral and ethical validity of abortion and the embryonic stem cell research depend upon our understanding of the origin of human life. People who endorse the choice of abortion, and the scientists who conduct research upon cells derived from the early stages of embryonic development claim that the human individual begins later in the fetal stage of development when the fetus displays clearly visible features of being a human individual. They are opposed by people who believe that life begins at conception, when the union of the male gamete with a set of 23 chromosomes with a mature female gamete with a set of 23 chromosomes takes place which results in the formation of a fertilized egg with a set of 46 chromosomes. The newly formed genome is unique and has a new identity of its own and such genome has not existed before and the same genome would not be formed again as each genome displays individualistic variations. This process called conception creates and brings forth a new being. 

Whole Dude – Whole Beginning

Human culture informs us that the human entity is known to the Creator even before it has formed in the womb and much before the individual is born. Since conception appears to be an act of creation, it should be preceded by a creative thought. The fact that the human life begins with a creative thought is stated repeatedly in several religious traditions. In the Old Testament Book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 26, God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” and the thought to create man was expressed before the act of creation. The fact that God is involved in the process of conception is stated when God had promised to Abraham that he would father a son when he was nearing the age of 100 and his wife Sarah was at the age of 90. The Book of Genesis, chapter 17, verse 16 reads, “I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.” Similarly, the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, chapter 44, verse 2 reads, This is what the Lord says “He who made you, who formed you in the womb,” and in the Book of Jeremiah, chapter 1, verses 4 and 5 read, The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;” 

Whole Dude – Whole Beginning.

The birth of Jesus foretold to Virgin Mary:

Whole Dude – Whole Beginning: Human Life begins after a Creative thought. Mother Mary was informed about the fact of Immaculate Conception before she gave birth to Jesus.

The idea of ‘Immaculate Conception’ is the corner-stone of Christian belief and is described in the New Testament Book of Luke, chapter 1, verses 30 and 31 which read, But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.” The idea that a virgin could conceive is also stated in the Book of Matthew, chapter 1, verse 23 which reads, The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel which means, “God with us.” It clearly demonstrates that conception is not an accidental event but is pre-planned and is predetermined according to the will of the Creator. This idea that conception is a pre-planned event is also stated in the Book of Luke, chapter 1, verses 36 and 37 which read ” Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” The son of Elizabeth is known as ‘John the Baptist’ and his crucial role was also foretold. 

The Indian tradition about Beginning of Human Life:

Whole Dude – Whole Beginning: 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

Srimad Bhagavatam also known as Bhagavata Purana in the Seventh Canto narrates the story of Prahlada. His birth was foretold and most interestingly, Prahlada had acquired the knowledge of God while he was still in his mother’s womb and he had shared this knowledge of God with others without receiving any further instructions or learning after his physical birth. Human life originates as a creative thought and the thought leads to creative action which results in conception, a new beginning. 

The moral implications of Creation:

Whole Dude – Whole Beginning: The Human Egg Cell is conscious of its state of existence. It is goal-oriented and it serves the purpose of the Whole Organism(Mother) and displays functional subordination. If the Egg Cell is not fertilized, it has no further purpose, and it gets expelled from the body. It displays no tendency towards implantation or getting embedded into the maternal tissue to continue its existence.
Whole Dude – Whole Beginning: The Human Ovum after fertilization begins its new state of Existence and the fertilized Egg Cell known as Zygote is Conscious or aware of the fact of its Existence. It is goal-oriented and it serves the purpose of the new Whole Organism( Baby).Being aware of its energy dependence, it penetrates, implants, and embeds itself into the maternal tissues to obtain energy for its own growth and further development. While being attached to its Mother by developing a structure known as Placenta, the developing Embryo develops for its own purpose to establish its Identity and Individuality.

If man is created, it implies the operation of a creative force or energy which was set in motion by a creative thought and hence man’s beginning becomes the expression of a creative will. The destruction of human embryo for scientific research and the killing of human fetus before birth would be viewed as acts of disobedience of that creative will which caused the human existence. 

The Immaculate Conception
Whole Dude – Whole Beginning: The Immaculate Conception.

Whole Dude – Whole Time

Alternative version of image:Wooden hourglass ...
WHOLE DUDE-WHOLE TIME

The Perception of Time:

Humans have different concepts about time. Physicists view time and space as building blocks of this universe. Time is described as the fourth dimension of a three dimensional space.

Natural scientist Charles Darwin had stated that 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 a force, who controls this force and what are the laws that operate this force? Time influences, changes, transforms, and eventually dissolves both animate and inanimate objects of this universe. Time with its power of dissolution would eventually compel us to investigate, and to explore the concept of Absolute and Unchanging Reality.

The Laws of Conservation of classical Physics explain the Laws of Conservation of Mass, Energy, and Momentum. Mass and Energy cannot be created or destroyed. There is an unchanging aspect of Nature.

Planet Earth is in existence for billions of years and life has been established a long time ago. During this long history of this planet, several life forms lived and several perished. Earth witnessed several major and minor extinction events. While these changes are happening under the influence of time, the living substance known as protoplasm continues to be the same. All living entities have protoplasm which has the same basic characteristics and composition. A living thing has matter and form. The form describes its actuality and the form is recognized because it is shaped by its matter which represents the potentiality.

The potentiality of protoplasm has remained unchanged under the influence of time and it remains constant as long as it can acquire energy from its external environment and is connected to its energy provider.

Whole Dude – Whole Time: SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – ESSENCE – IDENTITY – UNITY – EXISTENCE: MAN’S EXISTENCE IS GOVERNED BY THE ETERNAL LAW OF AGING. MAN EXISTS WHILE HE PASSES THROUGH VARIOUS STAGES SUCH AS BOYHOOD, YOUTH, ADULTHOOD, AND OLDAGE THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN FORM AND APPEARANCE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF TIME.

Under the influence of time, man who comes into a state of existence called life passes through various stages of that existence from that of embryo, fetus, infancy, boyhood, teenage, manhood, and old age. Man’s morphological appearance or phenotype keeps changing because of the effects of time and yet his individuality remains unchanged.

Whole Dude – Whole Time: Sidereal Time is, time measured with respect to the Celestial Sphere.

Whole Perception – The Flow of Time

Once in a ‘Blue Moon’ – Welcome to New Year 2010:    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Once in a ‘Blue Moon’, we encounter a second Full Moon on New Year’s Eve.
Whole Dude – Whole Perception: The sensory perception about Moon depends upon the place where we exist on this planet Earth. The visual experience of Moon is not the same, it is not absolute and is only relative.

In the United States, on New Year’s Eve, we had a ‘Blue Moon’ to ring in the Year 2010. As the saying goes, the Blue Moon is a rare event. In any given season, we encounter three Full Moons. Blue Moon is defined as the third Full Moon in a season with four Full Moons. It is also easy to define a Blue Moon as the second Full Moon in a given month. A Full Moon occurs every 29.5 days and most years have 12 Full Moons. An extra Full Moon in a month is described as a Blue Moon. The name has nothing to do with the color of our celestial neighbor. The first Full Moon of the month occurred on December 2nd, 2009. On Thursday, December 31, 2009, the New Year’s Eve, the Full Moon appeared for the second time. An extra Full Moon occurs every 2.5 years. New Year’s Eve Blue Moons are rarer occuring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990, and the next Full Moon comes on New Year’s Eve again in 2028.     

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: A partial Lunar Eclipse on New Year’s Eve was visible in the East and not in the Americas.

While the United States ushered the New Year with a Blue Moon and in the Eastern Hemisphere, people celebrated the arrival of the New Year with a partial Lunar Eclipse when part of the Moon entered the Earth’s shadow. This Eclipse was not visible in the Americas. As to how we recognize the arrival of New Year depends upon the place where we live on this planet Earth. This New Year’s Blue Moon is unique to the place where we live.    

The Perception of Change:    

The experience of time on this planet Earth is an illusionary experience and is not an ‘absolute’ experience. In New York City, at Times Square thousands of people gathered on the New Year’s Eve to watch the “Ball” drop to ring in the New Year.    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: The Magical Moment in Times Square. The JOY of ushering the New Year.

The future does not exist except in our expectation. The expectation that the Ball would drop at a precise moment is the anticipated future. The future gets transformed into the past in an instant when the Ball drops down. The past does not exist except in our memory. The present represents that instant in the future and past continuum. The New Year has arrived at the middle of the night not because of a perceptible ‘Change’ in the environment. The ‘Change’ is recognized by the use of a clock and the Ball in Times Square drops by perceiving the ‘Change’ in the clock’s time. Time is perceived by the ‘Change’ it brings. Man has invented calendars and clocks to affix numbers to the passage of time. The most a clock can give is the time an instant ago and not even the time ‘now’.    

WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE OPTICS: SPIRITUALISM INVOLVES A SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF LIGHT OR OPTICS. GOD IS LIGHT, LIGHT IS LIFE, AND COLOR IS THE EVIDENCE FOR THE USE OF IMAGINATION TO FORMULATE SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIPS.

In the Indian Tradition, the New Year is associated with more perceptible changes in the physical environment. According to Indian calendars, the New Year arrives during the Spring Season, and the New Year’s Day is heralded by the dawn with the Sun rising above the horizon.     

The History of Time Measurement:    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception. Time Measurement.

Earth’s rate of spin is the determinant of our day. The speed of the Earth’s rotation can be described in two ways: 1. The Angular or Omega Speed – the Earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, or 15 degrees per hour, or 0.5 degrees of rotation in two minutes. 2. The Linear Speed or Velocity of a point on the surface of the Earth is about 1,000 miles/hour. A clock (from the Latin. Cloca – bell ) is an instrument for measuring time intervals of less than a day as opposed to a Calendar which measures time intervals greater than a day.    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Measurement of Time. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) discovered the pendulum
Whole Dude – Whole Perception: The invention of Pendulum – The History of Time Measurement.
Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Dutch Scientist Christiaan Huygens the inventor of first Pendulum Clock
Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Measurement of Time. In 1656, Huygens determined the mathematical formula that related pendulum length to time and built the first pendulum driven Clock.
Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Measurement of Time. The Grandfather Clock – The division of the day into hours, minutes, and seconds helps us to recognize the passage of time. We have no sensory perception of Earth’s spin that gives us alternate periods of light and darkness.

The day is measured in relation to the time taken for Earth’s rotation that causes perceptible environmental changes. Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens ushered us into the era of precision timekeeping. During 1884, Greenwich in England was adopted as the zero degree longitude. U.S. time zones came into existence in 1883, the global time zones came into use in 1884, and ‘daylight’ savings time came into use in 1915. However, the Earth is an erratic time keeper. The Earth’s rotation is affected by the tides, changing weather patterns, ocean currents, and polar ice variations. The net effect is that it is slowing, losing a few thousandths of a second per century. Half a billion years ago the planet took only 20 hours to make it through the day. In another 200 million years an Earth Day will last 25 hours. Man has acquired the ability to track the motion inside atomic nucleus. Picoseconds describe trillionths of a second, and Femtoseconds describe thousandths of a Picosecond. To give a better perspective, it could be stated that there are more Femtoseconds in one second than there were seconds in the past 31 million years.    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Measurement of Time. Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 developed the Gregorian Calendar that we use today.

The seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn and the phases of the Moon are used to measure the passage of time of a greater duration than a day. The Babylonians, and the Egyptians had used calendars. The Calendar developed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 is accurate to a day in every 3,323 years. The Calendar is related to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Earth’s orbit around the Sun takes about 365 1/4 days. Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of about 93 million miles. Earth travels a distance of about 584 million miles per year at about a speed of 66,660 miles/hour. The Moon rotates on its axis and revolves around the Earth in about 29.5 days  and has helped man to devise the 30 day Lunar Calendar. Moon spins with the same period as its revolution around the Earth and hence the same face of the Moon always points towards the Earth.    

Human concepts about Time:    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Human concepts about Time. Time flows like a river or moves like an Arrow.

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. Man acquired advanced language abilities to descirbe the past in terms of personal experience. Because of linguistic skills, man is able to communicate his expectations about future and reminisce about past events. Time is looked upon as a flow like a river.    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Human concepts about Time. Sir Issac Newton (1687) stated that the Flow of Time is Absolute.

Sir Issac Newton claims that the time “flows equably without relation to anything external.” In 1905, while postulating the Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein had observed that time is not absolute and that the measurement of time is affected by the motion of the observer.    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Human concepts about Time. Albert Einstein stated that Time is not Absolute and is relative to the motion of the observer.

The relativity of time becomes significant only at very great speeds. Rapidly moving clocks tick more slowly than clocks at rest. Herman Minkowski, a mathematician, added time as the fourth dimension of three dimensional space. Time is seen as a dimension like height, and width, and it gives meaning to events and the order in which they occur. Gravity affects both time and light. Time is affected by the gravitational field of each celestial body and thus is unique to any one spot in the universe. The physicists tend to view time and space as the building blocks of the universe. However, time is not a substance and it is only a measuring tool. Motion and time are invariably linked. There can be no velocity without the concept of time. While time is not absolute, the speed of light (186,282 miles/second) is absolute. Now, we have the practical ability to actually look at past while living in the present. By looking at light reaching us from a far away Galaxy, or a Supernova, we are looking as it was billions of years ago.    

The Biological Clock. The Eternal Flow of Time vs The Eternal Law of Aging:    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: The Eternal Flow of Time vs The Eternal Law of Aging. The Biological Clock is an Internal Clock that monitors time and brings about changes that affect the body and its functions.

A  biologist sees time in the ‘internal clocks’ that keep all living entities in sync with nature. The body’s dominant time cycle is called the ‘Circadian Rhythm’ (Latin. Circa – approximately; and Dies – day or About a Day). For most of us a normal circadian cycle is 25 hours. A seven day week could be described as a unit of time for the biological rhythms that regulate changes in body chemicals, the response pattern of the immune system, the rise and fall of heart beat and changes in circualtion display this periodicity of functioning.

Human body undergoes age related changes in structure and function with the passage of time and it is unrelated to man’s ability to measure time or man’s concepts about time. Aging is a time related biological phenomenon on which man has very little control.

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: The Eternal Flow of Time vs The Eternal Law of Aging. The Molecular Mechanisms of Aging.

The biological clock measures time and the activity of genes is selectively turned on or off. Apart from cell damage due to the products of cell metabolism, effects of physical environment, and biological agents, cells experience senescence. We are predestined to exist as mortal individuals and the human body experiences changes in its structure and function even if we fail to keep track of the passage of time. Humans lack the biological and physiological abilities to transform our physical bodies into sources of perpetual enjoyment. Time has influence over both animate and inanimate world. Apart from human existence, the existence of this created universe is subject to time’s Power of Dissolution. The White Dwarfs, the Brown Dwarfs, the Super Novae offer observable evidence about the effects of time on physical objects and its power to cause change, transformation, and eventually dissolution.    

Where are We Now?    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception. Where Are We Now?

Where were we in the year 2009? Where would we exist in the year 2011? In the year 2010, where are we now? Our measurement of time gives the illusionary experience of the material world in which we exist. Our experience of time is illusionary as we do not know as to when time began and we do not know as to when it may cease to exist. Indian thinkers have described time or “KAALA” as eternal and time existed before creation, and would continue to exist after dissolution of creation.

During this middle interval, after creation and before its dissolution, time exists in relation to motion. When there is no motion in absolute terms, there would be no time interval that could be measured, and  the stillness arrests the flow of time.

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Where are We Now? A Designer Universe is described by a Greek word called ‘COSMOS’ which means Beauty and Order.

Since, time is related to movement, we need a reference point to know our exact position at any given instant. Our position on the surface of the Earth keeps changing as Earth participates in the motions of the Sun as a member of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Sun also revolves around the galactic center at a speed of about 155 miles/second and Earth participates in this motion along with the rest of the Solar System. We need to know the precise location of the Sun in the Milky Way Galaxy at any given time and also know the precise location of the Milky Way Galaxy in the universe in which it exists. Without this information, our experience and understanding of time remains purely a local experience relative to a spot in this universe of unknown dimensions.    

Linear vs  Circular Time Flow:    

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Linear vs Circular Flow of Time.

Is past, present, and future are arranged in a straight line? In the West, time is more often viewed as a one-way track. The “monochronic” perception about time in the West could be related to its cultural beliefs such as resurrection which gives a sense of the arrow of time pointing in one direction. In India, time is viewed as a circle and all things are expected to return to a former state of existence. In nature, the seasons repeat themselves, and the living entities follow this pattern of cyclical growth and regeneration. According to the Indian concept of ‘Samsara’, the individual soul is eternal but is trapped in a cyclical existence of birth, death, and rebirth. The Indian concept of  ‘Karma’ also very firmly binds the individual soul to its past states of existence and the individual experiences the past in his present existence, and also in all of his future states of existence. The cyclical flow of time would let us experience the past and lets time to repeat itself.    

Time’s Power of Dissolution. The Mystical Power of Time:    

SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – ESSENCE – IDENTITY – UNITY – EXISTENCE : ADI SHANKARA(c.788 – c.820?), EXPONENT OF ADVAITA OR NON-DUALISM AND THE THEORY OF MAYA OR ILLUSION.

Time exerts a powerful influence over the qualitative aspects of human existence. Whatever qualities or attributes such as material wealth, power, status, and social position that man cherishes and desires most could be dissolved and rendered useless by the effects of time. Indian thinker Adi Shankaracharya has cautioned people to be aware of the powerful force of Illusion called ‘MAYA’ and we are asked to avoid the perceptual problems it generates.

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: Time’s Power of Dissolution. The Mystical Power of Time.

Since the manifested world and universe gives illusory experience, we need to be careful about the effects of time that tends to dissolve the manifested universe at an individual level and also as a collective human sensory experience. A philosopher had observed that:”Time is the Best Teacher, unfortunately, it kills all its pupils.” Humans have no choice. Time alters our ability to perceive the sensory experience and enjoyment of our physical body. 

Time with its Power of Dissolution would eventually compel us to investigate and to explore the Concept of Absolute and Unchanging Reality. The Strong Nuclear Force, the Weak Nuclear Force, Electromagnetism, and the Gravitational Force operate the Four Fundamental Interactions and the role of time has not been explained by physicists. Natural scientist Charles Darwin had observed that 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 a force, who controls this force and what are the Laws that operate this Force? Indian thinkers are of the opinion that Purusha (the Divine Soul), Prakriti (the material Nature), and Kaala or Time are eternal and these three entities existed before formation of this created universe, will operate during the existence of this created universe, and eventually remain existing after the total dissolution of the present created universe.

The flow of time is eternal, but time is not absolute. Purusha or the Supreme Divine Soul is the ultimate Controller of Energy in all of its forms. The Power of Time to dissolve the creation has no effect on the Creator. All the living entities are created by the Superior Energy of the Supreme Divine Soul, and the individual souls have the ability to exploit energy of an inferior source such as Prakriti (material Nature). The physical body experiences dissolution as per a predetermined time (Kaala Sutra), and the individual souls alone survive the dissolution of animate and inanimate world and universe.    

SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – ESSENCE AND EXISTENCE – CHIDAMBARA RAHASYAM: LORD GOD IS JUST ONE AND THE SAME AND YET MAN KNOWS HIM BY DIFFERENT NAMES. IN INDIAN TRADITION, THE NAME RAMA IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH OR THE ULTIMATE REALITY. LORD RAMA IS THE SOURCE OF KRUPA OR COMPASSION FOR HE HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFE JOURNEY IN HIS PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION AS A HUMAN BEING.

 Essence and Existence: 

Whole Dude – Whole Perception. The Eternal Flow of Time.

Everything that is born arrives with a plan for its dissolution. In the multicellular human organism, each individual cell has its life span and the human individual has his life span. How is the existence of the individual is established in a multicellular organism? Man may choose to define his essence, and the cells need to function to support the existence of the individual. Man’s identity is just one face of the coin, and the second face of the same coin represents the individuality of that person. Man exists as long as the individuality is maintained. Man is not capable of independent existence. The individuality is sustained because of ‘God Connection’; the Connection that connects the individual who is energy seeker with his energy provider. Man’s intellectual or physical effort is not the basis for this God Connection.

As time flows, man lives his life span because of the mercy, compassion, and grace of the Creator, who had caused the existence of this object that has identity and individuality. 

Whole Dude – Whole Perception: The personification of the destructive effects of Time. Greek god Chronos clipping the wings of Cupid, the god of Love.

WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE ARGUMENT

If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, the exchange of words could escalate into open warfare.
If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, the exchange of words, the battle of words, the Whole Argument could escalate into open warfare.

THE WHOLE ARGUMENT – THE BATTLE OF WORDS : 

If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, the exchange of words, the battle of words, the Whole Argument could escalate into open warfare. Women while initiating conversation with men begin in the mode of interrogation. Women tend to open up with a sharp question. Some questions that are often asked are; Who are you?, What have you been doing?, Where have you been?, and What else? When questioned by a female partner, men tend to give straight, and short answers. Women never get impressed by brief and matter of fact statements. While men try to use a specific word to project a specific image associated with that word, women are adept in interpreting that word using an alternate image. Women’s zeal to prolong the conversation is often motivated by a desire to probe the man further. When the grilling begins, man relents, starts using words of endearment with his responses to defuse the situation and to take cover. Once the Battle of Words begins, women tend to remain focussed on the battle as long as they have the ammunition. Women ignore all words of endearment used by the men as they view it as a distraction and fear that they may not be able to accomplish their mission of winning the Battle of Words. The inhabitants of Venus would not stop until a total victory is firmly grasped. Man, specially the Most Auspicious One, not only is willing to accept a defeat but also lovingly chooses to get killed in the duel of words. Getting killed is Divine when the Battle of Words involves your female life partner. 

Kastvam? Shuuli, mrugaya bhishajam;Neela KantaH Priye aham, Kekaam yekaam kuru;PasupatiH,naiva drushtey vishaaney;Sthaanuur Mughdhey, na vadati taruH; Jeeviteysa ShivaayaaH, gachha atavyaam; iti Hatha VachaH paatu va Chandra ChuudaH.
Kastvam? Shuuli, mrugaya bhishajam;Neela KantaH Priye aham, Kekaam yekaam kuru;PasupatiH,naiva drushtey vishaaney;Sthaanuur Mughdhey, na vadati taruH; Jeeviteysa ShivaayaaH, gachha atavyaam; iti Hatha VachaH paatu va Chandra ChuudaH.

THE BATTLE OF WORDS BETWEEN THE “FIRST COUPLE”  : 

Parvati :  Kastvam?  =  Who are You? 

Shiva  :  Shuuli  = The one with “TRIDENT”, the bearer of a Spear. 

Parvati :  Mrugaya bhishajam  = ( Go and )  Find medicine. 

Parvati pays no attention to the tradition that allows men to identify themselves by the personal weapon they carry. Lord Vishnu is often identified as “CHAKRI” for He uses “Sudarsan Chakra” as His personal weapon. People who worship Lord Shiva recognize Him as the bearer of “TRI SHUULA” or “TRIDENT”, a Spear. Parvati ignores the image attached to the word “Shuuli” and uses an alternate meaning attached to the word “Shuuli”. The word “Shuula” is a disease entity which is characterized by stomach ache. She interpreted “Shuuli” as a person with a disease entity called “Shuula” and hence She very mockingly suggested to Lord Shiva to go and find some medicine for His stomach ache. 

Shiva  : Priye + Aham + Neela KantaH = My Most Beloved, I am the One with Dark Blue Neck. 

Lord Shiva ignored Parvati’s mocking suggestion to find medicine, and very politely responds with the word “Neela KantaH” which is often used to describe Him. As per the legend, Lord Shiva had protected the world from being consumed by a dangerous poisonous gas called “Haala Hala” and had safely retained it in His throat and the deadly poison had imparted a dark blue color to His throat and contributed to His name and He is very popularly known as “Neela KantaH”. 

"Neela KantaH" or Pavo cristatus, family Phasianidae, a large pheasant with a metallic blue green body; the male is celebrated for its beauty and is endowed with strong "CROWING" voice.
“Neela KantaH” or Pavo cristatus, family Phasianidae, a large pheasant with a metallic blue-green body; the male is celebrated for its beauty and is endowed with strong “CROWING” voice.

Parvati  :  Kekaam + Yekaam + Kuru =  ( You ) Shout loudly ( with Your “CROWING” voice ) once. 

Parvati not only avoided identifying Lord Shiva as “Neela KantaH” but also She had challenged Him to give a demonstration of His voice. Birds are very often identified in nature by their unique bird calls or songs. The Indian Blue peacock utters a long mournful scream . Parvati is unwilling to look at Lord Shiva’s throat and identify Him as “Neela KantaH” and She would rather prefer to identify Him by the quality of the sound that comes from His throat. 

PASUPATI, BULL - Bos indicus, Zebu, the Brahman Bull; family Bovidae.
PASUPATI, BULL – Bos indicus, Zebu, the Brahman Bull; family Bovidae.

Shiva  : PasupatiH  =  The Lord of all four legged creatures; the Lord of all living entities. 

Lord Shiva is not provoked by Parvati’s suggestion to give a demonstration of His voice by giving a loud call. He very politely gives Her a different answer and identified Himself as the Lord of all creatures and He rides a Bull known as “Nandi”. 

Parvati  : Naiva + drushtey + vishaaney = ( I am ) Not able to see the Horns. 

Parvati made a literal interpretation of the word “Pasupati” which means a bull and responded to Lord Shiva with a bit of sarcasm and had commented that She is not able to find the Horns which could be a very characteristic feature of a bull. 

Shiva  : O’ + Mughdhey + Sthaanuur  = O’ Sweet faced One, I am “Immovable”. 

Lord Shiva is very patient, did not argue about the meaning of the word “Pasupati”, and tactfully changes the subject and speaks of His Personal Quality with which people identify Him. He is famously known for His Steadfastness and the word “Sthanuu” signifies this personality trait and character. He also demonstrates no signs of  irritation in His manner of speech and He very carefully chooses His words and responds to Parvati with a compliment about Her beautiful face which is full of charm and youthful exuberance. 

Ficus religiosa or the Bodhi Tree is often worshipped in India. The tree is also described as "Sthaanuu" which means immovable.
Ficus religiosa or the Bodhi Tree is often worshipped in India. The tree is also described as “Sthaanuu” which means immovable.

Parvati  :   Na + vadati + taruH  =   A ‘tree’ cannot speak!!! ( How could a ‘tree’ talk??? ) 

Parvati shows no interest in evaluating Lord Shiva’s character and steadfastness and interpreted the word “Sthaanuu” in a very simple manner and further commented  that if the description of “Sthaanuu” is correct; She would not expect to hear  any words as trees are not endowed with the power of speech. 

Shiva  : Jeeviteysa + ShivaayaaH  = ( I am ) Life Partner of Parvati. 

Lord Shiva uses His final and ultimate weapon in this Battle of Words. The word ” SHIVA” also describes “Parvati”. By claiming that He is the Life Partner of Parvati, Lord Shiva intended to charm Her with His words and yet the same time give an appropriate response to Her question of “KASTVAM” with which She has initiated this Battle of Words. 

Parvati  :  Gachha +  Atavyaam  =  Run to the forest. 

The alternate meaning of the word “Shiva” is Jackal. Parvati who is fully focussed upon winning the Battle of Words is not in a mood to succumb to the magic of Lord Shiva’s endearing words. Parvati amply demonstrates Her deftness in interpreting words as per the circumstances of the Battle. Jackals are very timid animals. They simply run away when they are challenged by voice. Parvati taunts Lord Shiva and tells Him to run to the forest for He has called Himself a Jackal by using the word “Shiva” to describe His Identity. 

The humble and shy Indian Jackal is also described as "SHIVA".
The humble and shy Indian Jackal is also described as “SHIVA”.

Iti Hatha Vachah paatu va Chandra ChuudaH  =  The Lord whose hairlocks are adorned by the Crescent shaped Moon, who is thus killed in the Battle of Words may protect me. 

Lord Shiva- Shuuli, Neela kantaH, Pasupati, Sthaanuu, Chandra ChuudaH.
Lord Shiva- Shuuli, Neela kantaH, Pasupati, Sthaanuu, Chandra ChuudaH.

The Lord has chosen not to win the Battle of Words. Ordinary mortals should not even attempt to succeed in such a Battle of Words. Following the Lord’s example, man should choose to get killed in a Battle of Words and grant victory to the inhabitants of the planet of Venus. To concede defeat makes the argument, a Whole Argument.

Dr. R. Rudra Narasimham, 

Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India, 

M.B.B.S.,  Class of  April, 1970.

Whole Dude – Whole Destiny

Image of Meridional Asia.
Whole Dude – Whole Destiny. Apart from the man, the Land has its own Destiny
Whole Dude – Whole Destiny. Apart from man, the Land has its own Destiny.

The Land of India or Bharata Varsha is identified as KARMA KSHETRA or KARMA BHUMI and is often personified as Bharat Mata or Mother India.

The Sanskrit word Karma describes the totality of a person’s actions in any one of the successive states of that person’s existence. The Law of Karma governs all action and its inevitable consequences on the doer. Because of this deep-rooted belief in the inevitability of consequences on the doer, the Land of Bharat or India is identified as Karma Kshetra or Karma Bhumi.

Whole Dude – Whole Destiny. Apart from the man, the Land has its own Destiny.
Whole Dude – Whole Destiny. Apart from man, the Land has its own Destiny.
Whole Dude – Whole Destiny. Apart from man, the Land has its own Destiny.

The concept of action or Karma is also applied to the actions performed by Mother Nature and the Indian tradition often attaches the names of human personalities to reflect upon their actions. The most important being the long journey of about 3,700 miles performed by the Indian Landmass about 40 to 50 million years ago leading to the formation of Himalaya Mountains from where several rivers flow down India providing sustenance to the denizens of India.

Whole Dude – Whole Destiny. Apart from man, Mother India, Bharat Mata has her own Destiny.

Whole Prayer – Blessings of Success

Lord Ganesha carved in wood
A Prayer to Lord Ganesha in the performance of all human actions that intend to promote the well-being of the performer or help in promoting the well-being of all others. It is very important to note that the Prayer exclusively intends to promote well-being and cannot be used to perform actions that intend to harm or injure others
Decorated Indian elephant
Decorated Indian elephant. The Zoomorphic form of Lord Ganesha is derived from the face of Asiatic/Indian Elephant. It provides a very interesting concept about finding Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in the performance of human actions by simply meditating upon this face which gives the mental composure and removes obstacles in performing actions. Photo Credit:Faraz Usmani, Said&Done’s Photostream. http://www.flickr.com/photos/faraz27989/315075930/
Whole Humility: The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
Lord Ganesha
A Prayer to Lord Ganesha in the performance of all human actions that intend to promote the well-being of the performer or help in promoting the well-being of all others. It is very important to note that the Prayer exclusively intends to promote well-being and cannot be used to perform actions that intend to harm or injure others.

Sri Vakra Tunda Mahaa kaaya,  

Koti Surya Sama Prabhaa,  

Nir vighnam Kuru me Deva,  

Subha karyeshu Sarvada.  

I seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha in all of my actions that intend to promote my well-being or help in promoting the well-being of others.  

While reflecting upon Lord Ganesha it is important to understand the ‘zoomorphic’ form represented in Indian Culture. He is popularly known as the God with Elephant’s head. There are two species of elephants. Elephas maximus is native to India and Southeastern Asia. Loxodonta africana, the second elephant species is known as the African elephant. The ears of the Indian elephant are considerably smaller than those of the African elephant which has large ears with a flatter head.Indian elephants are extensively used as ceremonial animals and are also widely drafted for a variety of purposes. African elephant is never used as a ceremonial animal and used as a draft animal to a very small extent. Lord Ganesha cannot be portrayed with the head of an African elephant. He cannot be depicted with two tusks. He has one tusk and it could only resemble the tusk of an Indian elephant. The long, flexible snout known as ‘trunk’ of Ganesha must always show a bend in its curvature and is never depicted straight and hence the hymn identifies Him as “Vakra Tunda.” Some European artists who had no clue about the differences between the two elephant species had depicted Lord Ganesha with the head of an African elephant. The Lord is connected to the Land of India and only the Indian elephant has the honor to represent His zoomorphic form. 

Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi

Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.

The annual festival of Ganesha Chaturthi marks the birth of Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It involves 10 days of celebration and takes place in the Bhadrapada month (August-September), Shukla Paksha (the Waxing Phase of Moon), the fourth day or Chaturthi as per the Hindu calendar.

Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.

A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility

Whole Humility: The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
Bharat Darshan. Saturday, September 07, 2024. The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi on the fourth day of the Waxing Phase (Shukla Paksha) of Moon of the Month Bhadrapada (August-September)

The auspicious festival begins on Saturday, September 07. The festival inaugurates with people bringing or making clay idols (murtis) of the Lord, and concludes on the day of Anant Chaturdashi (Tuesday, September 17), when the idol is submerged in the nearest body of water, called Ganesha visarjan.

Lord Ganesha is one of the most worshiped deities among Indian Hindus. Also known as Vinayaka or Ganpati, the elephant God is revered as the God of beginnings and the remover of obstacles.

Whole Dude – Whole Humility: A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success with Humility.

Indian Cultural Traditions offer tools for Success in all dimensions of Life including health, education, employment, social status and social relationships. The formula for success is simple; perform all tasks making an estimate to take care of negative consequences or outcomes, and plan for roadblocks or obstacles in the planning stage of executing any action. Indians initiate actions seeking Blessings of Lord Ganesha for their desire for Success in Life should not be directed by intellectual pride or arrogant use of physical or material power.

Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
PRAYER TO LORD GANESHA - SUCCESS THROUGH OBEDIENCE AND HUMILITY.
Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.
Bharat Darshan: Saturday, September 07, 2024, The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. A Prayer to Lord Ganesha for Success through Obedience and Humility.

WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE PRESERVATION

A PICTURE OF INDIA’S GRIEF OVER JIHADIST ATTACKS IN MUMBAI

TERROR ATTACKS ON INDIA  : 

Recent news reports are stating that the terror attacks on India have not seen its end and they are predicting the possibilities of more attacks similar to the Mumbai carnage on November 26, 2008. “India will continue to face a serious jihadist threat from Pakistan-based terrorist groups, and neither Indian nor U.S. policy is likely to reduce that threat in the near future”, said Angel Rabasa, lead author of the study and a senior Political Scientist with RAND, a non-profit think tank based in Santa Monica, California. According to RAND, the other extremist groups in Pakistan will find inspiration in the Mumbai attacks and there can be more attacks from groups with high body counts and symbolic targets.THE CONCEPT OF JIHAD  :  The term Jihad in Arabic means struggle and is often viewed as a religious duty. A person engaged in Jihad is called a ‘mujahid’, the plural is ‘mujahideen’. The Mumbai attackers identified themselves with the name of ‘Deccan Mujahideen’. The aim of Jihad includes the expansion and defense of the Islamic State and warfare against non-believers. Jihad ideology has historically inspired the conquest of non-Muslim population and the transformation of civil society which is viewed as corrupt, arrogant, and disobedient. The Holy Book of Quran, Surah 25, verse 52 states : “Therefore, do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with this, a great striving”. The objectives of armed warfare include uprooting unbelief and establishing supremacy of God, through Islam, in the world.”And fight them on until there is no tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere.”

THE HISTORY OF JIHAD IN INDIA  :

Sir Jadunath Sarkar, a historian, and former Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University had contended that several Muslim invaders waged a systematic Jihad against Indians. Sultan Mahamud of Ghazna(present day Ghazni city,Afghanistan) conducted more than twenty Jihadist attacks on North India between 1001 and 1027. In particular the records kept by al-Utbi, Sultan Ghazni’s secretary in the ‘Tarikh-i-Yamini’ document several episodes of bloody campaigns. Persian historian Ferishta records that Sultan Ghazni wants to “root out the worship of idols from the face of all Hindustan(India)”. He looked upon the destruction of temples as an act of Jihad. Mahamud Ghazni specifically directed his campaigns to temple towns of Nagarkot, Thanesar(1011), Mathura(1018), Kannauj(1019), Kalinjar(1023), and Somnath(1024). He had also destroyed temples at Varanasi, Ujjain, Maheshwar, Jwalamukhi, and Dwaraka. Mahmud Ghazni was of Turkic origin but had patronized the use of New Persian language and gave employment to writers such as al-Biruni, and Ferdowsi who gave detailed descriptions of the enormous booty and idols brought back to Ghazni city. Asaru-L-Bilad, a 13 th century geographer also described in great detail the destruction of Somnath. Apart from his regular troops, Mahmud Ghazni had assistance from 30,000 volunteer horsemen who had participated in the Jihad. To resist the attack on Somnath, Ghogha Rana at the age of 90 sacrificed himself and his clan. There are no census documents but after an analysis of all historical documents, historian K.S.Lal had estimated that about 2 million people died during Sultan Ghazni’s attacks on Indian temple towns.Similarly, Sikandar Lodhi of Delhi earned the epithet of ‘But Shikan’- the destroyer of idols. Babur the founder of Mughal empire in India in 1527 ordered a JIHAD against Rajputs at the battle of KHANUA. He had encouraged his men to fight the infidels and asked them to become either a Ghazi(soldier of Islam) or a Shaheed(Martyr of Islam). The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb waged Jihad against Hindus as well as Shia Muslims whom he identified as heterodox. In South India, the Hindu kingdom of Vijaynagar came under repeated attacks of annual Jihad which had started in 1501 and each attack included destruction of temples. In the historical Third Battle of Panipat(January 1761), Ahmad Shah Abdali declared a Jihad against the Marathas. Estimates from historical documents indicate that about 60 to 80 million people in India died between 1000 and 1525 CE.INDIA’S RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE  : Indian traditions have clearly established the rules of warfare. A ‘JUST WAR’ or ‘DHARMA YUDDHA’ is a duty and is an obligation of the Ruler. We believe in the principles of protecting all non-combatants. They should not be touched or harmed in any manner. We recognize the right of self-protection, self-defense, and self-preservation. When an enemy attacks you, it would be an act of cowardice if the enemy is not engaged in a battle. In the context of defending people against Jihadist attacks, we are not only defending our territory, our property, our personal lives but also we are defending our right to think for ourselves and cherish the ideas and values that are important to our existence. We have a fundamental right to worship as we please and safeguard the traditional way of life. Since Jihadist attack is actually a war against our fundamental right to practice religion, the propagation of ideas of Jihadist warfare should be prohibited and violators should be punished. The term Self-Defense means defense of one’s rights, beliefs, and existence. The Right to defend oneself with whatever force is reasonably necessary against actual or threatened violence is universally recognized by Law. Self-Defense is a natural, inborn instinct. A National Entity has a Right and also a Duty to defend itself from attacks sponsored by an enemy or an Enemy State. The act of Self-Defense could be expressed in several different forms; a retaliation involving the use of military force, economic and trade sanctions, diplomatic sanctions, imposing travel restrictions, and other punitive or defensive actions as needed.   

Dr. R. Rudra Narasimham,  

Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India,  

M.B.B.S.,  Class  of  April,  1970.

Whole Dude – Whole Worship

"haviryajna done by a Nambudiri in Kerala...
Whole Dude – Whole Worship
Whole Dude – Whole Worship

YAGNA, A VEDIC RITUAL OF SACRIFICE-‘HOTREE’ OR ‘YAGNA PERFORMER’ OFFERS ‘HAVIS’ TO FIRE (LORD AGNI)

THE UNIVERSE AS GOD’S BODY

The word ‘omnipresent’ is defined as present everywhere at the same time. The property of being present everywhere is one of the Divine attributes. In western theism it has attracted less attention and the idea of ‘omnipresence’ is explained in a bit unclear way. In Judeo-Christian, and Islamic Cultures, God is not immersed in the substance of creation even though He is able to interact with it as He chooses. They tend to the view that God is in “HEAVEN”, and that God is above and outside of all creation. They explain ‘omnipresence’ in terms of His ‘ESSENCE’ as He is present to all as the cause of their being, His ‘POWER’ as all things are subject to His power, and His ‘KNOWLEDGE’ as He constantly watches all that goes on in the world and all things are bare and open to His eyes and hence He is naturally present in every aspect of the natural order. Whereas Indian thinkers tend to believe that a thing is said to be substantially or essentially in that place in which its substance is. Hence, people in the Land of India traditionally hold the view that God is related to the universe as though it is His body. The entire creation is seen as a manifestation of the Supreme Person. The theory of transcendent(exists apart from material universe) and immanent(actually present throughout the material universe)’omnipresence’ explains the meaning of the word ‘BRAHMAN’, the Ultimate Reality. Indian people reflect this belief in their worship of creation, and the idea that God is immersed in the substance of His creation could be recognized as a core value, the foundation upon which the Cultural traditions of India are established over thousands of years of their continued existence. The rituals of temple worship and the Vedic rituals of Yagna always include aspects of Worship of Creation and the Scriptures reveal that the Gods also Worship Creation to the same extent and the Indian way of life could be stated as a quest for unity with the Divine.

A HYMN TO SEEK PROTECTION FROM THE CREATOR

Yaa srushti srashtu raadyaa vahiti vidhihutam, yaa havi ryaacha hotree

Ye dvey kaalam vidhatta, sruti vishaya gunaa, Yaa sthithaa vyaapya viswavam

Yaa maa hu sarva bhuta prakriti riti, Ya Yaa praanina praanavanta

Pratyakshaabhi prasanna stanubhi ravatu Vastaabhi rashtaabhi reesa.

We seek the protection of God who physically manifests Himself with the eight bodies of

1. WATER- Lord VARUNA who was created prior to the creation of all other creation(of living entities).

2. FIRE- Lord Agni who receives ‘HAVIS’, the oblations or offerings given to God.

3. HOTREE- the person who is performing ‘YAGNA’, the Vedic ritual of sacrifice.

4. SUN- Lord Surya, the marker of day time.

5. MOON- Lord Chandra, the marker of night-time.

6. SKY- or ETHER which helps in the propagation of SOUND and is spread across the entire universe.

7.EARTH- Mother Earth, Goddess Bhu Devi, who bears the burden of harboring all living entities.

8. WIND- Lord VAYU who is the ‘Breath of life'(or PRANA) of all living entities that breathe.

THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO WORSHIP CREATION

The act of Creation Worship defines Indian Identity. All other Cultural Traditions that are existing in India proceed from this foundational principle. Indians seek their well-being, prosperity, happiness and eventually salvation through acts of worship. The foreign forces that occupied and ruled India tried hard to take away this Right to Worship as per our belief that God is immanent. We need to recognize the Right to Worship Creation as a Fundamental Right. Citizens while they are free to profess their religion , should not be free to ‘PROPAGATE’ a religion or idea which basically interferes with a Fundamental Right. No person could have a Fundamental Right to PROPAGATE at the expense of denying and devaluing other core values. To that extent, we should seek an amendment to PART III, Article 25 of the Constitution of India which deals with Freedom of Religion. The Constitution of India must recognize the Worship of Creation as a Foundational Principle of the Land of India and hence should be considered a Fundamental Right and should prohibit PROPAGATION of religion which infringes upon this Core Value. Such an amendment is vital to defend the Freedom of Religion as religious doctrines of Islam and Christianity are opposed to the idea of divinity of all created objects. These religious faiths divide humanity into two categories; the believers, and the non-believers. They also further express the claim that they possess a divine sanction to punish or modify the beliefs of the non-believers. In the global community, the adherents of Hindu religious faith are only a minority and they need special protection to defend the Right to Freedom of Religion. 

Whole Dude – Whole Worship: The Lord God or the Principal Presiding deity at Malibu Hindu Temple is known as Lord Venkateshwara who represents the physical manifestation of the Supreme Being, Lord Vishnu in the material realm. Since the LORD is present in this terrestrial realm, He knows the Brahman Spirit that is in Prison.