Can any religion, or even SCIENCE,afford to end the search for God, or ultimate reality ?

This seeker was forced to attend to the above question now, as the present day world is witnessing vicious clashes between religions and cultures over whose version of TRUTH, or whose way towards God / life and ultimate reality is right. I am referring to the present day movement of two or three world religions,Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, ascertaining supremacy of their particular religious paths. If one is in an attempt to conquer the world and bring her under one Caliphate, and establish the supremacy of their way over the rest of mankind, the other,( Hindus) in a never before revival of their claim of supremacy of their ways over the other sects&religions in their country, India ! Buddhists are said to be a threat to the Muslim/other minority in Myanmar,( Burma) whose Election is scheduled to be held this week to decide who would be the next RULER ( November 2015)

No religion is continuing the search for the core truth about God, or the ultimate reality behind life and existence. The clamor is all around the life-path that leads to Him; various rituals, belief systems,myths,life-styles that include food-habits too. Buddhists, though NOT believing in a supreme God, are sure about the existence of a right-path of behavior to lead a good-life during the tenure of man on earth. But, they too are intolerant towards the 'other' men ( not akin to their ways ) in their country, despite their obligation to adhere to the right-path doctrines.

This post is to APPEAL to all religions, to continue searching for God and the ultimate truth about life and existence, to save the world one day from mutual annihilation in His name. No religion can afford to close the doors of further inquiry about God and ultimate reality,as what they have now with them are old and out-dated myths, stories and rituals, that create nothing but mutual hatred in human society, fear,division and at times full-fledged wars.

Without any hesitation we could assert that, Religion is spirituality stuck at Ego level of consciousness and human-activity; hence it is engaged in mutual hatred, animosity and assault.The task of our enlightened age is to elevate it to the level of higher consciousness, and a UNIVERSAL SPIRITUALITY sans religious divisions.

 In what direction such further research could move is the theme of this write-up. Such directions has been pointed-out at the succeeding-paragraphs.

Science is no where in the contest of claiming who or what is God, as she believes, there is nothing beyond the obvious and the objective in the world ,despite and irrespective of the various very strong evidences she herself witnessed at the sub-atomic (quantum) level of physical reality, that questions even the very notion of her base concept of 'objective' facts, independent of any observer. This washing of the hands by Science from participating in he contest leaves the filed open for unprecedented human-misery,mutual hatred,community-divide and even blood-shed.

Hence, this humble attempt is to throw some serious and fresh light and perspective towards the question of who and what could be the truth behind existence and life, the constitution and ontology of the seeker-MAN, and the logical necessity or advantage of knowing GOD,or the ultimate reality as a PREDILECTION or PREDISPOSITION of Him or it. This seems the only way to end the crisis of WAR over MYTHS and beliefs in modern world, with no sensible way to silence any party. A well acceptable one PATH of seeking out God, or the ultimate reality behind existence is a dire need of modern world.

 Who we are, that SEEK God, and WHY ?

What will be taken-up first is about our very entity of man as seekers of God and truth. Science as well religions are yet to seriously ask the question who the seeker of truth-man- is, and why he seeks truth ? Man as the occupier of this planet earth,with certain definite faculties of mind and body to lead a successful tenure of life on earth, is an unverified and blind presupposition for both religions and science. Chief point of this presupposition is around the truth-worthiness of whatever he gains as knowledge on whatever capacity or entity as he finds himself here. How and why he is here on the planet with this particular body and mind mechanism, what are the features and role of his constitution as the seeker and know-er here etc. were never taken-up seriously ever by science. Entire attention was paid to the objects in the external world he observed, not at any time, with the same seriousness, on him self as the OBSERVER.

Religions of course had taken up such questions, but science, due to her status as an institution that acquired immense more relevance and reliability over science,thanks to her fantastic life-altering discoveries and innovations, had side-lined or ignored such realm of religions as subjective fantasies, myths and stories invented by security and certainty seeking,weak minds ! She just looked outside at the external world, and attempted to judge and assess life strictly on the basis of objective realities she found at the physical level. That central question, who and why the question-seeker and enquirer is there on the planet, was never considered relevant by science yet. What ever knowledge his overt,  mind-sense mechanism provides as knowledge,was considered reliable and final. Attention was never paid on his constitution and organization as the seeker of knowledge !

All major religions have the basic concept and classification between Ego and real self. Hindu seers,thousands of them,said to have lived in isolated mountains and caves in deep-meditation, and produced some of the best thoughts and ideas about the seeker and seen. In the Upanishads, written by those unknown ancient seekers, there are ample description of the difference between Ego, the entity that lives in life, and the hidden soul that always want to get liberated,breaking the 'delusion' ( Maya) barrier of the Ego.

Hindu thought very particularly refers to the role of Soul as that of a prisoner. Soul is in the prison of ego, always wanting to get liberated. Enlightenment or salvation during the life-time is a total escaping from the 'delusions' and its catch ( the prison). If one could not achieve it in one life-time, he will have to take many re-births, till he is able to achieve the 'escape', and attain liberation. The liberated souls join with its original source, the Brahman, at the end of the journey. But the cycle of life, in the above process, will continue for ever.

Islam also talks about Ego and Soul in Koran.The Sufi tradition especially delves deep into the various organs and stages of Ego and Soul. 'Nafs' is the concept of Ego. It has seven stages of development of ego, from a raw animal self to a more moderate and sober stage.It is the abode of desires, emotions and their gratifications.

Unlike Hindu paradigm of Ego and Soul, Sufism has three aspects of  mind; the Nafs, the Qulb and the Ruh.

Qulb is the mediator between the ego and soul. It holds the Divine spark or spirit and is the place of gnosis and deep spiritual knowledge. 

Ruh is in direct link with the divine, often its presence unknown ( not conscious ) to ego. Ruh also has seven stages of development or evolution.

Christianity also has their own clear-cut stand on ego-soul division.Though Ego word is no where seen in Bible, very direct reference to the theme is abundant, notably in the synonym called 'body'. The needs of the body are differentiated from the needs of the soul.Needs of the body includes cravings of the mind too, like craving for worldly possessions, fame etc.The craving for wisdom is also decried in Christianity, as it leads the seeker no where. Faith or Trust is the sole path to know and reach God.Surrendering to the will of God,ignoring body and world are her acclaimed virtues.In Christianity, it is the complete human-person who will enter paradise upon salvation,not solely his soul. 

The purpose that highlighted in this attempt is the REAL NEED OF SOME KIND OF A SCIENTIFIC LIGHT on the constitution of man's self,that science has not undertaken with any degree of dedication or commitment.It has totally left this realm at the disposal of religions and their myths, on the ground that she deals only with physical objects that are tangible. She think of Mind as a property of physical body, not having a specific constitution of itself,or purpose other than that aids the physical survival of the living organism. 

But plain sense of logic suggests that, act of probe about knowing the existential facts must have started from the end-product found in existence- the living beings,especially man, and their KNOWING mechanism and faculties attached to its 'structure', ie. the physical body. This was most important because, the very urge to know was itself a propensity of the mind. Yes, Man can not live peacefully, without a sense of Reality! He will always go on seeking reality! Both Science and religions had born out of this irrepressible urge!

How does man settle for certainty? How does he define his reality?

We will be astonished to find at close scrutiny, that we gain our sense of reality by the principle of 'sharing'.When two or more persons 'share' a myth or belief or an observed fact, it attains the 'status' of reality!Scientific facts are all but our, thus arrived 'mainstream beliefs'!( or superstitions?) Interested readers are invited to visit the following peer-reviewed paper that tries to establish the said fact:http://argumentsagainstscientificpositivism.blogspot.in/2014/05/thescientific-explanation-of-reality.html 

 How can analyzing part-by part of a car, or its metallurgy could throw even vaguest of idea about the end-product, or the organization called Car? Science's all-out efforts should have started from understanding man, and his organizational stuff called MIND, and the plan if any, and the organization of its purpose,energies and dynamics. Science never entertained the thought and possibility that, beyond matter, the organization of the 'self of man' also might have been an equally, or even more fundamental than the organization and energy system of the Physical.

The chief hurdle on the way of this new task is our limited knowledge about features of 'self' and mind by science; whatever knowledge she has is confined or limited to the 'objective' realm of external world.Objects and organization like ego and soul, she thinks, pertain to a realm beyond the objective and empirical. Moreover, whatever organization she attributes to mind is around its role as an 'aid' to the physical body, for the one and only purpose of life, SURVIVAL. 

This seeker ( writer of these lines) who has been in this path of probe since his childhood,have found some very exceptional features of human-mind that had helped man to make Science what it is today. But she is not yet aware of its role in such making of the very discipline of Science. It is the role of our faculty of Reason, that detects inconsistency from consistency when science relates causes and effects, consistency or ORDER between evidences and conclusions, and similar ORDER or consistency between analogy and its object or relation in comparison. While collecting evidences and forming hypotheses are work of the empirical,objective method of science, the more vital and central role cited above, that of our faculty of Reason in every scientific deduction, has not yet been recognized or accepted by her !

Why man's faculty of Reason and its role  in every scientific feat is very special, has been  explained in our dedicated blog-post:http://philosopherskorner.blogspot.in/, and also in the Amazon.com book by this author at link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008NOEE9I

While coming face-to-face with the said, not yet recognized and accepted (by mainstream world ) special faculties of our phenomenon of Reason, we will also become aware of a new path of acquiring  knowledge, beyond the objective paradigm of science.

It opens a door that makes us realize that, indeed the so called huge-bundle of scientific knowledge has reached us NOT in the typical objective manner,independent of the observer, but with the aid of a certain,not yet recognized and understood faculty of mind,our internal sense-organ of Reason !. This amazing knowledge and awareness could give man a new confidence to enter a new path of going after Ego and Soul, and the constitution of his self, in the most scientific manner and spirit.

For the above initiative, what science need to shed is her prejudice about spiritual research as something outside her range of subjects. Leave all pre-notions of religious piousness,faith and worship, typically related to religions, and approach the subject with the keen sense and spirit of scientific inquiry. Here, author seeks the attention every man of mind and scientist to the very recent merger of Galaxy named ' NGC 6052 at Hercules constellation, with another nearby Galaxy. ( ref. NASA reports about the findings of Hubble telescope) NASA report says:

' as the merging process continues,individual stars are thrown-out of their original orbits and placed onto entirely new paths,some very distant from the region of collision itself....the highly-chaotic shape of events will eventually settle-down into a STABLE-SHAPE,which may not resemble either of the two Galaxies...it is in fact a NEW Galaxy in the process of forming' 

What should prevent our scientific-spirit from inferring that, there genuinely exists a 'tendency' or a propensity towards attainment of some kind of an ORDER in existence,or universe, behind all the apparent chaos and disorder ? What should prevent our common-sense to infer that, if the physical-stuff is compared to a hardware, there should necessarily be a not-yet recognized and identified 'SOFTWARE too in existence/universe, that control such mergers and orderly realignment of the physical-stuff of the universe ?
Invite readers to share more on this hardware;software paradigm at link: http://patternsofapproachtodiscoverreality.blogspot.in/

This parallel initiative might open-up a new field for Science; as to how to look at human-personality in a new light, its constitution, energy dynamics that are involved, accepting other forms of energy and forces beyond physical energies in existence etc. Please refer a few helpful links that handled these subjects the most scientific way: http://thewhyquestionofexistenceanswered.blogspot.in/2015/03/the-rationale-of-being-existentially.html.

How important for Science to probe the energy and component level constitution of the seeker, man, and how smartly she could take-up at an equally sensible and rational way about his constitution, is shared at links: http://anatomyofrealities.blogspot.in/2013/08/thinking-understanding-it-as-internal.html,
http://selfandworldblogs.blogspot.in/2015/03/is-world-absolute-object-or-relative.html
and http://hiddenobserveronthelimitationsofmind.blogspot.in/

While the first post is about general features of human ego, some irrefutable evidences on the Creative-choices in life and world that might point to factors antagonistic to the Survival theory etc, the 2nd post reveals and presents a convincing proposition about the constitution of man's self, and its hidden but observable energy and component dynamics.This post introduces 'World' as necessary SPACE for the emergence as well as sustainability of ego. Third post elaborately deals with the phenomenon called HUMAN-THOUGHT.  

The above referred three blog-posts, each one much dedicated studies on the possible scheme of nature as to how smartly she might have had devised the entity of man, to be posted at planet earth has been elaborated. .

Conclusion is that, the truth seeking man is NOT a simple and safe pre-supposition that such a prestigious discipline like Science could blindly adopt without questioning. When the absolutely relative position of the OBSERVER is revealed, the kind and range of knowledge and truths he could seek-out also will be out in better-light !

What could be the truth or mystery behind existence ?

Science can not ever objectively explain an infinite ( space as well as time) universe:Though Science already have many typically PHYSICAL,zero-sum explanations and theories for the natural emergence of universe, we know, they are not different from similar stories that religions offer.Categories like Time and space, with their really in-explainable features, will remain chief hurdles for an objective science to link the world to them.By no means of the objective science, we could explain 'infinity' feature of time and space, as infinity is a category not belongs to science. Would share here a peer-reviewed paper that delves deeply into this aspect of science:http://argumentsagainstscientificpositivism.blogspot.in/

Ignoring the end-product-man and life, Science adopted bottom to top approach, ie. from atoms to man: This subject with an example has already been taken-up in the beginning of this paper, that of trying to understand a car by studying its components individually.

The motivation to understand world and life has emerged  in the obvious end-product, Man.His experience realm was responsible and behind the emergence of such urge for truth and reality. Experiences of man is almost 75% emotional and conceptual, compared to what he directly experience as physical world. Just by opening a dictionary or a Thesaurus, and counting the contained words will revel the truth of this claim.

This particular fact should have compelled at least a new science to look at the essence of universe at an emotional angle ! Why an emotional element shouldn't have been there in the stuff that we observe and experience as universe,existence,world and life ?  Such a reference to emotion need not carry science to doubt that, the subject of discussion is now drawing towards religious angles. Not at all. Science, if her spirit of inquiry is truly open and unprejudiced, she should be able to look at this reference to Emotion with an equally detached manner, the same way she look at other physical realities and phenomena of the world !

She should sincerely analyse, why she was tempted at the inception stage of Science, to view universe as a physical reality ? What was her motivations behind adopting such a stand, and continue searching for ultimate reality in the physical direction ?  Veteran Scientist Alfred North Whitehead wrote:

" Discussions on the method of Science wander off onto the topic of experiment. But experiment is nothing else than a mode of cooking the facts for the sake of exemplifying the law" . ( From his address 'Foresight',given at Harvard business School)

Why existence or universe shouldn't be looked at with an 'emotional element' at its core has been touched at an already referred link above: http://thewhyquestionofexistenceanswered.blogspot.in/2015/03/the-rationale-of-being-existentially.html. An additional post on the subject is an already given above link: http://patternsofapproachtodiscoverreality.blogspot.in/

Our top three religions in the world, while tightening their grip on their existing divine myths and stories,should be ready to loosen the hold a bit without fear, and see if more reliable realities,of course more divine and pious than their existing-ones, could be arrived at, leading to a living tie-with such emotional center of existence ! Man need not abandon and alienate his God and Truth at realms far-away in time and space, and live his life fighting each-other and hating each other, or waiting for a final judgement day of his actions after death. New knowledge if sought,combining spiritual and scientific seeking as one, might enable man to break the old wall of time-space between Him and man ! Man could definitely drag God out of old His old mythical abodes and realms, and allow him to live among us. 

In other words, if science gets ready to abandon her aversion towards spiritual-realm, a much wealthy new field of research and seeking awaits her in future. Such a step only will end the vicious fight,hatred and wars that religious men fought each other in modern world, in the name of a God,whom no party clearly knows. 

Such an opening-up from the part of religious-heads, or an attitudinal shift  to understand reality behind existence in a better-way, will end the dependence on the faith-oriented stories,myths, rituals, and life-styles. Understanding God, or the ultimate essence behind existence and life as HIS singular predilection or predisposition will  end all the differences that make man attack and kill each other today. Look at any known object or phenomenon in the world; it will definitely have a certain predilection or predisposition ( in the language of science, properties) So, in the case of ultimate reality behind existence too, She or He or It, definitely have a certain base predisposition or predilection, which, with the every might of man's sense of reason, common-sense and wisdom, can not be other than SINGULAR. Or in other words, the predisposition of that God will be one and Singular for every one. It can not ever be two kinds. An agreement on such one and only predilection /Predisposition of God, or he ultimate reality could definitely end man's fight over rituals,myths,holy-books and life-style. 

She/He/It, a Loving and caring stuff at base level, which no religion could refute, could be Angry and Vengeful with some one, at certain times. But a new Scientific-religious joint venture and effort would bring-in proper studies and knowledge, and even direct liaison with such essence itself, at some point in future. Now science assume that there is NOTHING-UP above. But laying hand on the ultimate emotional predilection of universe might enable Science to interact with Her/Him one day !

Hence, the conclusive answer to this sub-question is that, existence and life can not ever be a ZERO-SUM game as science claims ! If there is any substance to the word and concept of MEANING, it is around LIFE that we all are in ! Our tendency to judge life and existence as 'zero-sum' without any substance and meaning was the result of the developments in a particular period in history, wherein man was a victim of the hegemony of an institution, (Church) who had subdued his mind for centuries together,without recognizing its needs to be independent and free. Human mind, hence, in a fit reaction, discarded everything that MIND produced, and was compelled to accept only what was empirical and obvious to his KNOWN faculties of mind as true ! 

The immediate necessity is to end the mutual-fear, attack and killing in the name of an unknown God, who never, repeat, never, would be an Object from whom such negative emotions and actions will ever emerge!

Authored by: Abraham J.Palakudy 
( A seeker of truth and reality in fields of philosophy, spirituality, mind, Human reason and Polity)
Our web and blog pages : www.conscienceofhesociety.com/blog
Twitter: Voice of philosophy@jopan1

  

Religion free spirituality: Its sense and rationale

Why world needs a Spirituality sans religions ?

We know how violent and hate-filled modern world is, basically caused by certain group's religious beliefs. God of some group says don't kill this animal and eat its flesh, while for some others, it is some other animal. For some, some day is holy, for some other, t is some other day. Most of them have Holy-Books, statues of their Gods and sub-Gods, and any disrespect to such symbols results in violent clashes and even vengeful killings!Armies of devotees are ready to make war and kill for the sake of their Gods, and their symbols.

We all know, that for what reason the Polity took over the control of the world from Religion. Christain Church was in total control of the Western world for many, many centuries. Whatever she decreed was the final truth. Church believed Earth is at the center of the universe. But when Galileo looked at the sky with his telescope, he found Earth rotating the bigger star, Sun! Church asked him to shut up! But, the evidence of the eyes and Reason had to win over untruth and blind beliefs. That was the law of nature. 

Though that was an old story, even today, in many major corners of the world, BELIEFS of religions rule Nations and peoples' mind. These days, religion is used by the polity to prey on the minds of people, and keep them under own fold, as what rules the world today is the tradition of MAJORITY. If majority say 2+2=5, it will turn the truth of the day! Those who say, no it is 4, he will be arrested and put behind bars.Questioning is always a threat to authority.

So, religions are not at all the old roads to salvation. it is symbol of strength and majority.It has once again joined hands with Polity in many parts of the world, stopping progress of the world. A rethink on God, hence is a most pressing need of the day! Is He a divisive figure? Does he need worship? Is He also subject to hatred and violence like ignorant man? Is He one, or many? Is He a person, a character, or simply a personal non-entity, but having only His emotional 'predilection' ( or predisposition) what let the world exist and continue?

Better we accept the last proposition as the most sensible one, as it can not be different to different Gods! His likes and dislikes, his attitudinal features will be same for all,even if we believe that Gods are many! It is extremely difficult to imagine, that there exist vengeful Gods too, who seek blood of his own other creatures!   

 Though religions were originated with spiritual goals, they had turned different 'life-style' and cultural  groups in their course of development.Every religious group was under existential compulsion to stick-on as one single life-style group for various reason listed and described at our other blogs in this spirituality post-series.For the inevitable spiritual need, each person, irrespective of his religious identity and life-style, tend to keep and maintain his own kind of very subjective and personal spirituality through out human-history. There has always been the very subjective spiritual realm for each person, plus his group-togetherness in the book,myths and life-style oriented external religion. 

With existence, it looks like that, nature or God is keeping an exclusive or unique kind of relation or contract with every human-being. His gene-equation is so unique that no other person would be having such an equation ( the gene-combination from his father and mother, another unique pair) his very unique life-surroundings, ( the unique relation with his parents, his small community, his unique geographic location etc) his equally unique relation making with other unique people around, etc etc. All the above factors make each person in the world a unique 'aggregate' in every sense and meaning.No one exactly like him exists anywhere in the world ! It is like having unique ID in nature for every human-being.

Life, in this sense, is a unique opportunity, a unique aperture for each person. If God or whatever the ultimate source of reality and energies behind life and existence be, man can not connect with Him / It through collective prayer/communication process, because, what is personal is personal, and no group approach would be appropriate and effective. Collective or group rituals only would help to induce certain very personal and subjective thought-frame in the mind this way ! Every one has to go back to this source also, all alone, one day ( in death) ! So, spirituality need to be, and should be a very personal communion or communication with whatever is his metaphysical source, for every human being. This is similar to each sibling's unique tie with his/her parents.

Good 'sense' in understanding God, or the ultimate essence as a PREDISPOSITION / Predilection 

Instead of keeping different images of God by each religion, it would simply make extreme sense to understand Him as His predisposition, or predilection, which can not be more than ONE in any way. The ultimate CAUSE behind creation, or having 'existence' of man,beasts,plants,planets,milky-ways, space and time etc. could be, in all possibility, be the RESULT OF AN ALL PERVADING 'emotion', or a 'motivation-factor'. The physical form of the world, and the emotional nature of all living beings must be the 'sharing' of this base existential emotion from such an essence, and what better way to understand the ULTIMATE TRUTH than getting to know such a cause, or all-pervading emotion/ predisposition of the source of ultimate existence ?

Common-sense would tell that even science attributes a certain 'predisposition' to existence; a certain mathematical coldness, without much verification and evidence. Such a zero-sum 'coldness' is what explains the physical theories of the world, or the 'structure of the world'. It is plain that 'structure' is always determined by a hidden essence. By this logic, instead of randomly attributing different predispositions to God by different religions, if sensible agreement is arrived among all religions on this CENTRAL POINT, it itself could start a new religion sans  different dogmas and belief systems- a SPIRITUALITY without religions !
( please see our work on such a sensible predisposition at links: http://patternsofapproachtodiscoverreality.blogspot.in/, http://thewhyquestionofexistenceanswered.blogspot.in/) 


If the contemporary world proceed in the direction of propagating such a universal spirituality, not in any particular religious sense but as an essential personal discipline of every child and grown-up person, it will gain much in the way of avoiding religious based hatred, violence and wars. Citizens would then be lesser exploited by political entities in the world for their dubious number games. It might also end the dangerous hold of religious leaders and institutions upon human communities. Instead, every religion could encourage its followers to be simply spiritual, leaving divisions and conflicts in the name of life-style and ritualistic differences.

Such a development in Spirituality would boost man's ever-adored individuality that got lost once again in the post-enlightenment period of political and industry hegemony; though enlightenment era had originated the concept and value of individual-dignity, the unfortunate emergence of economic and political institutions in the post-liberal era had once again trapped man and his individual relevance in the same old Feudalism era kind of servitude. New economic and political institutions never found needing a truly sovereign individual citizen, but groups that easily fall for powerful political slogans, and/or inevitable necessities of physical survival. Power of the new States and the equal Power of the new economic masters of the world have compelled human-beings and societies once again to seek-out old religious identities ! 

Authored by:

Abraham J.Palakudy,

An independent philosophy,Mind& Reason,spirituality and polity researcher,seeker and writer.

Twitter: voice of philosophy@jopan1  

The question of BEING and NOT being !

' Why there is something rather than nothing' might be the ultimate and the most central question in philosophy. Why existence, with at surface level what we see as the physical-stuff, and at the parallel level, the stuff of mind too, that in-fact had constituted the very entity of man, who asks this, and other not-so-simple-to answer questions !

This question naturally points towards a most central fact of being, that man knows and recognizes that he 'is'! He is always able to recognize the most extra-ordinary fact about his life, that yes, he exists ! He exists because he is able to realize the vital difference between being and not being. He is there, and that is why he is able to grasp the vital difference between the speculative state of his NOT being, and the irrefutable fact of his Being ! At close introspection, his being in existence, with an eye like mystery sense-organ that always detect and 'sense' his fact of being should be the most miraculous aspect of human-intelligence and its uniqueness ! No member of animal species, we can safely assume, will have such awareness about the very fact of its 'being' in existence ! It is of course, man's special awareness,that he lives in an invisible spiritual 'space'too, in addition to his simultaneously being in the more familiar physical space and time. This unique awareness of man is the foundation of his spirituality.

For a moment, forget about the parallel existence of the external world, as without the perceiving mechanism of mind, we would not have been able to grasp it. Without that 'mind' stuff,neither we would have been able to grasp our-own entity as perceivers, nor about the external world that we routinely consider as the 'container' that we are in !

In-spite of the unprecedented advancement in science and industry in the modern world, wherein man is confident to bestow more faith in the power of his own intelligence than any thing spiritual, the number of people turning to religion and spirituality is in fact increasing ! News comes from Communist China that, the percentage of the population who goes to Church is alarmingly increasing, to the total discomfort of  the establishment that is anti-religion! It is a universal tendency from times immemorial that, after spending long-periods in typically material indulging, man tend to get tired of it, and start seeking higher realms of realities. Spiritual urge is something that Science can not ever rule-out or ignore. In one sense, the urge of Science to seek more and more knowledge about the physical world is also very similar,or at some level, equal to ordinary men's quest for spiritual knowledge ! Both are the same genus of the quest.

Can we infer from the above-seen tendencies of single individuals and societies in history that, the goal of Nature behind scheming 'existence' was to see evolving of truly enlightened beings, with the acute awareness of his distinct and clear fact of Being in existence ? His getting aware of the now invisible and unrecognized deeper space and time, whereto he irrefutably belongs to ? His being now in the more familiar physical realm of the world, does not any way alter the truth of his simultaneously belonging in a deeper way, to the other realm too ! Even if a group of passengers travel in a vehicle for years and years together, and have adapted to the ways and routines of such travel, the basic fact of their belonging to their native lives and places does not alter. It would be childish of them if they forget that base-fact.

Please share our very specific answers to the 'rationale' of being, at blog-link: http://thewhyquestionofexistenceanswered.blogspot.in/

Authored by: Abraham J. Palakudy

He is an ardent seeker and researcher in fields of philosophy, mind, spirituality and polity

Get in touch with us: ajoseph1@rediffmail.com
Twitter:Voice of Philosophy@jopan1
For his profile,look at the Blogger home page

More on the dichotomy of ego and soul..

More on the dichotomy of ego and soul 

All the previous posts in this 'spirit' series were attempting to answer one singular question; as what 'entity' of  man was expected to live on earth and life ? Whether as his 'ego', the inevitable mode in which he has to start the journey, or as his higher'entity'/self, that is usually called the soul, which is directly linked to one's spiritual, or metaphysical root ?  

Can we logically, sensibly assume, or even prove that man indeed has a root,original entity,that is different from his socially originated self, usually known in Freudian-psychology, ego ? Is man expected to live as his ego only during his life-tenure, or nature/existence expects him to seek, find and live with altered self-identity, and altered realities thus experienced ? 

We could dig deep into ontology, to seek to know how entities actually originate in human-terms. It is easy to recognize that, the status of 'entity' could NOT be bestowed to anything without its being related to something already known ! Something unrelated to anything, that stands on its own, is existentially improbable,impossible and incomprehensible in human-terms ! Here, many may ask how we, men, started recognizing ourselves as some kind of an initial entity, EGO ? This central question is taken-up below for a detailed discussion. It was not our entities that originated first, but that of the world, or the SPACE for the ego to exist, by relating to which we were able to create our 'primary'self-entity- the ego.

Ego identity, when empirically analyzed thoroughly, will be revealed that, it was the result of a smartly planned ploy of nature to originate independent knowing entities exclusively out of man's social life, and the total life experiences, or the 'world' realm acting as a SPACE, or canvas. For me to know and 'own' my preliminary entity, or to attain the status of an empirical ego- a public reality- nature has schemed it to be achieved on the very practical-principle of,  'you are, hence I am', at least at its inception stage.

If more simply put, when I give an empirical status to the 'other' on the very strength of  my being a perceiving subject, and he being an 'object' of my senses, he, in-return, reiterate the much needed reality of my entity ! I am sure he is there as an object of my senses. That confidence ensures me too that, I being a similar object before his senses, I too necessarily am real ! Thus, our ego entities are mutually provided objective statuses, claimed by all as real, on the strength of our collective inter-subjectivity. ( see a more detailed account of how Ego emerge, from link: http://anatomyofrealities.blogspot.in/2013/08/thinking-understanding-it-as-internal.html)

The depth of our egos is, thus skin-deep only, for all theoretic and practical purposes ! When the predominant other, or others are not there in our lives to ascertain our entity and reality, we, and our world-realities ( self as an object before the world ) cease to exist. See how a lover gets totally lost when his/her loved one abandon him/ her ! How empty the lives of men and women will turn when their loved ones leave them by death, or on other reasons !

It reiterate the base principle of the origin of entities; ie, the entities as we know each other is something that originate out of our relating with some other thing in existence, here, the existence of others in the world ! Here the 'reality' that each one of us 'ties'  or relates oneself to, is the 'world' filled with other men ! World is the arena where I am real for you because every one see me there, and respond to me, repeatedly reiterating the fact that I am real !

This is absolutely true with regard to each one's self as known to others, and also as the only one reality and entity that I am able to project before the society that go only by OBJECTIVE realities.But, when one's life gets filled with the totality of life's multi-faced experiences, a secret 'self' known to oneself alone also takes birth within most of the human-beings. This sense of self is often beyond the world and 'others', that at the initial states of my self development, was its exclusive cause and ingredients. I start recognizing me as a unique entity under the sky,with keen sense of what my ego is, and what this secret self is,known only to his/her deep inner. This awareness of one's 'secret self' is the beginning of man's spirituality, an awareness that, one is beyond one's ego and the world realities.

The 'self' that I could make the general world get to know is only my social identity, my objective identity, my empirical and civic entity.But in deeper inter-personal relations, ego of both vanishes, and they unite as their entities in the wider-realm of existence ! They both realizes the ecstasy of getting freed from the EGO state ! In real romantic-love, or deep inter-personal other relations, or at deep spiritual encounters, man always reach/recognize such state of his/her own being. It is not recognizing a different entity within us,but we 'transcend' ourselves as different beings.

This proposition might startle and question the stand of most of world-religions;who believe that SOUL is another separate BEING/Entity alive within every man, from birth.Realizing it, or recognizing it as the the celebrated SELF-REALIZATION, the coveted spiritual-goal in every religion ! We need to have a serious deliberation on this point. 

We all know how our science was able to fix the 'objective' reality of the world we live in, by explaining every criterion of such objective-aspect empirically. But, we also know that,to create such empirical reality, science had first assumed our existence as 'entities' who are capable of empirically seeing,hearing and understanding everything else in the world ! She also had drawn a thick line above the sticky explanation about our understanding of time and space.If we fail to believe  these explanations about time and space,  a great vacuum will emerge, as to who we are, and about the 'entity' as we live in the world. Exactly similar to the reality of our-own personal entities, the entity of the 'world' we live in, as a conceptual space, too was the product of our inter-subjectivity, as thoroughly explained in our blog: http://selfandworldblogs.blogspot.in/

We know that, for ascertaining our reality, first we had established the reality of the other, who in turn has provided the reality to me, and then that of this world where you and me live, believing in the explanations of science. But, we must realize that, science has created the realm of measurable and countable world based on man's various, purely speculative stories and assumptions about time, space and matter. This link: http://argumentsagainstscientificpositivism.blogspot.in/ will provide many details on the very thin lines that science had drawn  to carve-out a realm of measurable and sensible reality for our practical consumption.

Is there, or can there be any reality beyond our ego world, that we could relate ourselves to, and have a no-non-sense core self unlike that of the relative entity, ego ?   

1) The shadow and real analogy: Above question is similar to asking whether there will always be a real-thing behind a shadow ? The answer to the above question is as hard a fact, as it is in the reality question behind the shadow. Yes, with-out something real, there can not be a shadow !

Now, how could man be certain that,there is something real behind our ego centered self-identity? By the power of sheer-logic ! Logic, as Bertrand Russel had ascertained, is always relating or identifying the item in question now to something already known in the past. If one is convinced about the total relativity of our ego identity, like in the logic between shadow and real, one could easily be convinced of the reality of man's core-root something too.

Then there arise only the question of 'knowing' and identifying oneself with such core-essence, or reality.

2) There is no sense in assuming senselessness of life !: There is a huge difference between 'being' and 'not-being', that every thinking person could imagine and grasp. Man is, (Being) and that is why he is able to understand and recognize this huge difference !More than the fact of one's being, the most intriguing fact is that, he ' knows' its huge-difference !  Nature might-have waited for millions of years till she attained this kind of a unique understanding and recognition from one of her 'life-units'-man- for the above unique and unprecedented grasp ! It was man's recognition of 'existence' as a distinct phenomenon, in the state of non-being ! At this recognition, he feels a great sense of unity and participation with existence ! 

A moment to moment burning awareness of a reality behind the eye-lids, whereto he actually belongs to, and from where he actually originated from !

The real urge most of us experience to seek-out this core-seed,or the urge for REALITY whatever it may be, is also an evidence that no one can write-off easily ! Like many urges of body and mind that compel us to fulfill, this spiritual urge too, must convince us that, yes..the urge indicate the real existence of the target, or the object of such urge. It is so real, and this urge was the root cause behind whatever is spiritual about man, in human society. Science says, the source of such urge is ego's anxiety to relate it to something eternal, and its neurotic wish to survive the sure and certain-death !

The above two opposite views have only one sensible solution to end it; that of answering the serious question, as to whether man can ever know of any thing beyond what he routinely creates in mind ? This question is taken-up in a very serious note, at our work: http://anatomyofrealities.blogspot.in/

 When thinking about this unknown link or relation with that unknown realm of our existence, a distinct and different entity naturally emerge in each one of us,as explained in some-detail, in one of the above paragraphs, or such a new entity takes birth ! Beyond the empirical entity of us as our egos, obtained by our simple relating it with our known co-existent beings around, the irrefutable reality of the unknown portion of that reality, NATURALLY links each one of us with such unknown root, providing each one of us a distinct new entity, on the same old principle of the emergence of realities by linking, or relating ourselves with some already known 'other' entity or reality. Here, the existence of a realm beyond the known and empirical is obvious, on the strength of its irrefutable experience !

3) Understanding MIND as an image-making ( Kaleldoscopic) device: For realizing the reality of such an ORIGINAL entity behind the EGO, another plausible route is REALIZING the absolutely SUBJECTIVE nature of our thought-realm;thoughts always create a 'frame' of a certain reality for us to respond to. Whether we are temporarily responding to particular person, a particular situation, or a more permanent frame like one's base armor apropos his life, all are self-created FRAMES of mind,against which we respond, or react. If is with a person, we are responding to our mental frame of what and who he is to us; not what he thinks of himself as his real frame, his real stuff. In the case of situations too, more than what is objectively real in the eyes of a third party ( again he uses subjective frames here, to arrive at such 'objective' pictures !) what one always respond to, or react to is his subjective frame of mind of the situation !

In a nutshell, mind can not ever free herself from making infinite ( subjective) FRAMES of mind, in a non-stop act, at every moment of wake state, ALL SUCH FRAMES, pure synthetic produces of herself ! Mind is there to produce thoughts, ie. images of past and future situations, men and women,reasoning, conclusions,wishful thinking,remorse,rage against those who insulted her,God and salvation what not !

But what if the self realizes this monkey act of the mind one fine morning ?

She can definitely become smart, and be aware of this monkey business.What if she consciously put a stop to this monkey business, fully realizing and being ashamed of such act ?  Mind gets stopped of the thought business ! The business of producing synthetic thought products and frames comes to a stop !

What will happen next ? Mind realizes that, still it is there,blank but fully aware of her-own past business of producing non-stop thoughts. Without producing synthetic thoughts too, she realizes that, her infrastructure is there, definitely linked to the FORCE, ENERGY or ORGANIZATION that had kept such arrangement and even the awareness about such unique arrangements. Won't such state of mind, free of the synthetic thought-producing act, be considered a realm or a mode of mind that remain directly linked to whatever is outside the SYNTHETIC acts of mind ? The entity here is not an EGO as she stands unrelated to world and thought realm of mind. By our all known forms of logic and other truth finding tools,we will be forced to conclude that, man indeed could detach himself with his mind, and still remain fully aware of his very forceful moments of awareness and understanding that runs over and above his sense-mind tools !

Why can't we accept this realm, this state of entity of man his soul realm ? It is mind only that transcend or transform itself into a different shape and form, very similar to male-gender's sexual-organ that gets transformed into an altogether different sexual organ when the moment of need arise !

It becomes this mystery entity that originally link us, or relate us with whatever is the actual source of the whole.While we clearly perceive a line and a boundary of that object or reality with which our ego is related, the object or reality with which we are connected is boundary-less and timeless. This oneness with such a timeless and space-less reality that we are linked, naturally bestow each one of  us with a new entity, by the strength of our being related to it naturally and obviously, without need of  any doubt for assigning the status of SOUL to this entity !

The very special fact about such a SOUL-entity is that, we could never reduce it under some kind of objective narration and explanation, because each soul is uniquely related to the whole, like a particular cell of the body uniquely related to its whole, the human-body ! We know that, man created the concept of 'objective' reality of the world with the sole intention of generalizing observed facts into easily classified groups. It is similar to all the sons and daughters of a person are 'citizens' for the govt, but each one is a unique entity for his/her father and mother ! Each individual is unique, and also his/her relation with the parents.  

At this level of self-knowledge, or self-identity, life suddenly turns a great participation, with a never before felt great responsibility. Life turns-out to be a unique opportunity, ending the earlier view of a certain 'victim-hood'. The inevitable unity with whatever life is, engulfs every one at this kind of relating the self with whatever is beyond the ego. The most important feature here might be the shift of the centrality of the ego; while ego used to look-around at whatever was life around it, in the new dichotomy, the soul experience existence NOT its being at the center of its experience, but it turns existence itself, and could perceive the ego as an external something, bewildered and perplexed. The bird is out of the cage now, in the open ! Ego suddenly breaks like an egg, and lose its centrality and previously felt sense of self !

While ego identity is purely synthetic, the deeper entity of each human-being is authentic and real. For not having an explainable description of this base 'entity' should not be a disqualification about it, as what is describable is a public fact, relation or object. Here such original entity of each person will not qualify for an objective status, in the sense that objective facts are such facts that could be understood by one and all the same manner. For each person, his fact of existence is an exclusive affair, or a contract of nature with him alone, not at all 'shareable' with that of any other person. It is like the uniqueness of eyes. Ears and Nose will never be able to compare themselves with Eyes, as all the three are unique organs, with unique faculties !So, calling or understanding 'soul' as a collective noun is a totally wrong-idea. The new entity thus formed was the natural destination of ego; we would better identify this deeper self as the end-purpose, or the natural destination of ego to reach. The building-up of first the ego, and then its getting transformed into a know-er of a higher realm,seems to be was the ultimate end purpose of life. Ego, like a pottery from a the potters wheel, emerged from the potter's wheel like organization of the World ! Then it attained a distinct status, by relating itself to a realm other than the purely temporal world ! Here, an entity gets born, a know-er in real sense, who gets awareness about the very theme of life, having been in the world and relations, and finally turning something real and separate, the ultimate sacred purpose of nature !

Now, the crucial question; is man expected to evolve beyond ego in his tenure of life? 

Evolution in the Darwinian sense is familiar to all of us. He said, nature will continue to evolve living-beings to be best fitted for physical survival on earth.This will involve his ever improving ability to preserve and use 'information' too. It talks about man's ability to save the limited supply of energy and resources on the planet, and survive for long. Darwin's theory does not recognize man as a spiritual being, and need of 'existence' ( as a sensible,mind whole)  to have an intellectually ( read Spiritually ) evolved man.

To defeat the all physical and no spirit stand, what to be first proved is that, it is man's intellectual prowess that has seen him survived so long ! Is there any hidden variable that supports life beyond man's efforts ? Is success directly proportional to man's physical and intellectual toil ?

If one looks very closely at the process and progress of man's life, it will be observed that, his sense-of self, or ego is merely a 'false-participant' in the multiple experiences spurting within him. These experiences are caused by specific-energies directly 'driving' him to act, both physically and mentally. The role of his so called will power, basically an 'intention', too will be seen as an inherent 'drive' that always pushes him to move ahead. Please see a detailed write-up on man's 'existential' drives that almost works like Newtons laws of motion, at link: http://unrecognizedobjectsofthemind.blogspot.in/ .Therefor, the myth of his intentional efforts to survive through, and attain success might fall-flat ! He is only an agent who 'feels' a synthetic, or even false 'ownership' of his life ! The aspect of his undergoing, or more correctly, 'experiencing' life would turn to be the end purpose of life.

Now, why man is set in existence to undergo life experiences ? The logical answer would be, to see him through as an knowing 'entity', a role and status that is un-natural to set ready-made. For the emergence of a true and independent sense of self, as a knowing being or entity, it was best to create fit circumstances, so that such entities emerge independently, without their knowing beforehand that, their independence was indeed preset, with pre-purposes. The unique idea of nature was to give birth to  knowing and experiencing entities, almost from a make-belief and synthetic realm called life ! Please see following link that delves deeply into the why question of existence: http://thewhyquestionofexistenceanswered.blogspot.in/

What such a conscientious nature gains from having mechanical, or pure synthetic entities on the above lines?
By all sense, NOTHING, except in the role of baby-hood and child-hood in the life of every human-being as steps to turn fully matured adult ! Think of the day when these synthetic entities one-day grow-up and mature to realize the very synthetic nature of their substance they had so-far been living with, and then wake-up to realize their substance and nature beyond their synthetic selves ? Such movements, by all sense that man could think and grasp,  would be the destined and much desired goal of nature !!! It would have been the fulfillment of the secret aim and goal of nature !!! Entities emerge, with natural grasp of their ultimate essence,,and a natural glimpse of their relation with the whole etc.etc !!!

Therefore, without any doubt, it is not very difficult to grasp such sensible goal of nature, in having truly enlightened and awakened human-beings ! Such awakening or realization could be the ultimate destiny of every human-being ! Yes... it is naturally destined that, man is expected to grow beyond his 'ego' identity,and realize his real essence, and relation with the 'whole', ie. the existence in her true nature and color.

Whatever is the routine nature of events and turn-outs in life, thus, might be aimed at achieving the above one and only goal of nature !

If the real goal of nature is the emergence of fully-enlightened and knowing beings, having developed their unique relation with their source, it should help us to answer the toughest question of all; whether man survives death ? Considering each person's uniqueness in existence, it tends to be quite possible that individuals and their entities might survive death ! We know that, matter is not an ultimate stuff with which man is made-off, but a realm into which life has been creatively designed into. If it is not matter that the ultimate stuff but enlightenment and knowledge, there is no logical inconsistency in supposing that, we might survive beyond death !

Posted by : Abraham J. Palakudy: An independent mind,spirituality and metaphysics researcher, form the non-profit sector.
www.conscienceofthesociety.com
contact us: conscienceofthesociety@hotmail.com, or ajoseph1@rediffmail.com

Twitter: Voice of Philosophy@jopan1

  

A Spirituality not based on 'worship' might be the right answer for the Godless world !

Is spirituality without a 'worship' tradition possible ? 

Spirituality based on 'worship' presupposes a God desirous of it ! It gives a particular image of the God, who demands 'faith', devotion, allurement etc. Such images are what distract many modern men away from all forms of spirituality, pushing them to live their lives on whatever terms their worldly wisdom and reason advise. 

1)Are  those who keep faith in God, and live on 'worshiping' Him, on the right path ?

2)Do they have any real touch and relation with a living reality called God?

3)Why God might be a living reality, an ever ticking category of existence and life ?

4)Why it is much more sensible to understand God, or the ultimate reality behind existence as a predisposition, or a predilection of it ?

5)Understanding God as His/Her right predisposition might take-away the present way of worshiping Him !

6)Will such a very sensible form of 'RIGHTLY'connecting with the ultimate source of existence could move man  towards a new human-society, and a new way of life for each 

human-being ? 

Above are the questions this paper intend to briefly take-up, one by one.

1) Are those who keep faith in God, and live on 'worshiping' Him, on the right path ?

While the scientific tradition of modern world do not recognize the fact that, 'altered' realities would appear to the same person when he is under the influence of different beliefs,or under the impact of different premises about himself and the world. She ( science) believes that, the external reality is one,unalterable objective reality, and the observing man and his mind also is a static and equally 'objective' reality. But, she fails to recognize and in-principle accept  what one of the the great men of Science,Heisenberg had said:

" what we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.. The observer decides how he is going to set-up the measurement and this arrangement will determine,to some extent, the properties of the observed object. if the experimental arrangement is modified, the properties of the observed object will change in turn" ( Book 'physics and philosophy',London, 1963, p.57)

Here, when man seek ultimate reality adopting the stand-point of science, with all her pre-notions about the 'physical' nature of everything, even with a God presupposed as its creator, he could only 'worship' such a God, He being his creator. God here is the primary object, and men, His created objects. So, the relation between the two also falls in the traditional way, as the created worshiping his Creator. Many of our first-layer scientists ( in its history ) believed that the world God had created was a physical world, with strict laws applicable to such physical realm. Most of them believed in a supreme-creator.

But, if one is able to free his mind from all such pre-notions of science about world and existence, and face the reality of his being in an uninhibited and unprejudiced manner, existence, and his-own being will immediately appear in a new light and dimension ! It is not any artificial setting of his mind in any particular manner, indoctrinated with certain pre-notions or beliefs, but a kind of nakedness of him before the naked existence, a kind of natural unity of a part with its whole ! Whatever was the original and natural relation with him and the ultimate source of existence comes-alive here !

As Hindus say, such moments of self-realizations are seldom uttered in words, as there is no objective equals in any language to describe such a state of unity and relation.Such knowing God at close angles, and its ecstasy takes away all the devotee's desire to go back to life and convey such ecstasy to others ! So, many of the ancient Hindu sages just migrated to mountains, and spend the rest of life in long-meditation, achieving the ultimate in having a relation with God ! Only very few of such great sages came-out of such deep-state of knowing, and shared their knowledge with the world. Such bundles of knowledge is known today to the world as 'Upanishads'.

 Here, the relation of such naked man with naked existence is an irrefutable reality beyond the stand and explanations of Science, but the issue is only that of defining such unity or relation in suitable human-terms. Is that similar to a father-child, mother-child, or that between two friends,two lovers, or that between parts and their whole ? Unfortunately all human-terms ! The purpose of defining this relation in human-terns comes from the need of explaining it to 'others' who have not experienced such moments of unity; an altogether different 'category' of need and behaviour for these 'others'.

But, one thing becomes very clear here from the above explanations that, whatever might be the nature of such relation between the ultimate reality of existence and man, it can not ever be one that based on the latter worshiping the former ! Act of worship presupposes a distinct separation between the worshiper and the worshiped. It takes away all sensible ( of course a human-form ) forms and ways of communication between the two parties, as for both parties, the opposite object ceases to exist as a 'live' entity, with whom meaningful interaction is possible. The interaction from both polls gets blind and ritualistic. It gets into the mode of mechanical and routine very soon, in the absence of,  as said above, a 'live' and dynamic interaction between the two parties. Most of our religions, thus, have fallen into this kind of a ritualistic mode of relation with God, where the central category of relation is that of 'worship'.

This mode of relation or interaction with the ultimate source of existence magnifies the reality of the worshiper, and whatever stage of life he/she is into. For him/her, God turns into a center of unfathomable power and authority, a very distinct and separate entity from him, wherein the only way to keep a relation with Him is to offer various rituals, basically acts of exaltation. This includes recitation of prayers in exalting and glorifying the worshiped object, and offering other human-forms of flowers, smoke,repeating 'mantras',bodily postures representing both appeals and submission.

Here, the worshiper dwells in his own separated ( in time and space) realms, or spheres of life. The object of worship is supposed to dwell in similarly separated but highly exalted, remote realm in time and space. A 'live' tie, communication or interaction with the ultimate source of existence is totally ruled out in this kind of relation.

The worshiper gets indulged in life and its unimaginably varied action and thought paths, while simultaneously
offering his worship also, mostly not in a live, moment to moment relation or unity with God. Life for such worship-mode of faithfuls is a stand-alone routine of its-own, with its laws, morals and rationale well defined.
God for them is another distinct category, in another sphere of reality, of course as the first cause of everything.

As such images of God is without any particular 'predisposition' attributed to him, characteristic of  His prime emotional nature, even criminals and criminal-tribes offer special 'offering' and rituals to Him before their operations, seeking success !

This age is familiar with many major religions indulging in mass murders and atrocities on fellow-human beings, allegedly for fulfilling the 'wishes', or ideology of their Gods. It is often after a 'prayer' that the sword raises to strike at the neck of the victim when these 'faithfuls' engage in decapitations.

While some types among this group follow certain assumed laws of life, like that of 'Karma',( A Hindu belief, based on cause and effect realm of free-willed actions, holding man himself responsible for 'karmic' reactions of such actions) some others follow a similar, 'sin and its fruits' law of life, say by followers of Christianity.
( Those who are interested may share the extent of man's FREE-WILL from another post: http://thewhyquestionofexistenceanswered.blogspot.in/2015/03/how-could-we-explain-diseaseswars-and.html)

Whatever might be the case, as seen above, a worshiper and the worshiped dichotomy might not be the closer to truth and reality, judged on the basis of its very weak-logic ( in human-terms) of placing the ultimate source of God at remote realms, away from the sphere of life.The very act of worship, being a closed and blind act, also weakens the said dichotomy. Thirdly, despite ardent and devoted worship, many of such faithfuls often experience negative incidents and experiences in life, putting this path into great doubts again !
The worshiper is blind or dis-interested about knowing God, as he thinks it is impossible to know Him other than as Almighty and creator. The dichotomy gets into the mold of a regular routine, leaving the sphere of life a reality isolated and stand-alone from the sources of existence due to its very routine, and due to having God a mental product of a sort, in line with other objects in the life-sphere !

So, hopefully we could conclude that, those who are in the 'worship' path of God may not be in the right path for defining and understanding life in its spiritual totality, and also in the matter of knowing God in His totality and essence.

2) Do they have any real touch and relation with a living realty of God?

No: The position is somewhat cemented and closed. Such faithful often keep a certain mental image of God, in-line with his creating all other realities in life and world, basically pure mind-products ! As his primary self itself is a synthetic product of the world and its myths, values, traditions and norms, God too gets into the list, as another mind-created product. To know how the ego is existentially destined to create itself, and everything around it this way, please share this link http://anatomyofrealities.blogspot.in/2013/08/thinking-understanding-it-as-internal.html


3) Why God might be a living reality, an ever ticking category behind existence and life ? 

We should know that the conception about time and space of science is just 'workable' models, and not her absolute, empirical premises behind her physical notions of reality. Greatest of living scientists, Stephen hawking was candid when he said;

" this discovery ( the Big-Bang theory of Edwin Hubble in 1929) finally brought the question of the beginning of universe into the realm of science.....one may say that, time had a beginning at the Big-bang, in the sense that earlier times would not be defined" ( His book 'A brief history of time' p.9-10)

It is clear from such broad-views of great scientists that, what we have as scientific reality of the world and existence as a whole is mere practical models for its own sake. Life and existence still remains a mystery beyond the complete grasp and reach of science.

Beyond her stories and speculative models, man's own inherent faculties for sensing and perceiving such basic subtle realities always murmur that, life has meaning and sense, and it is much beyond the 'zero-sum' game that science alleges it is.The distance in time and space that exists between man and God that the worship oriented religious traditions teach us, it appears, could be absolute wrong notions. If time and space that science defines are mere workable and speculative models, it is quite possible by evidence of man's own internal 'sense-organs' ( invite readers to know more about such not-yet known and recognized 'internal sense-organ' like faculties, at links: http://philosopherskorner.blogspot.in/, http://thesparkleofhumanreason.blogspot.in/ ( blogs) and book link pertains to Amazon.com, at:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008NOEE9I ( e.version of the book titled, ' Is reason a sense organ? A super-mind above the known mind? ) that, man indeed is, and could be in touch with the source of ultimate reality, moment to moment of his wake-life !

This internal sense-realm of reason of man operates at spheres beyond that of the external sense-organs and overt-mind, which are dedicated for knowing and handling of the realm of ego,( the phenomenal realm) and the mind-made ( synthetic) realities of the collective world.Once the possibility of living with moment-to-moment touch and unity with the realm of ultimate-essence is known in the collective world of man, it would revolutionize our socio-political realms of life, and pave way for a new-era of peaceful co-existence, and mutually supportive human-relations. The present dogmas like Darwin's evolution, the absolute physical nature of reality etc. might go beyond curtains of new understanding on life and existence !

The fierce urge and inner-drive within every thinking man for knowing truth, and live with such truth could be cited as a strong proof of nature's own, or God's own strategy to make man seek-out the ultimate source of the 'whole'. We must agree, our Science was the direct result of the above 'urge' for truth.In this meaning, both science and spirituality are human-pursuits aimed at the same goal.

It is quite logical even in human-terms to believe that,what the goal behind the emergence of, or the development of human-beings in existence might have been to achieve the said goal !( to have knowing beings emerged out of the realm of life, and then they seek-out the 'live' reality about themselves !) For a comparison, we could always look at the fierce urge that human-beings experience to seek, as well as 'to be sought-out'  for LOVE! Both urges, or existential drives ( seeking, and 'to be sought out' in Love) could be the most crucial-clues for understanding the ultimate 'rationale' of being, and the ultimate 'sense' of life !

We could see that Love is the most swaying-kind of emotion that human-beings experience in life. Though contemporary biology will refuse to approve any angle for Love other than that of a prelude for reproduction -oriented Sex, its power to force man into commit great-sacrifices,( including very common suicides upon Love failure !)  great-works of art and architecture, even pushing whole nations into war etc should compel the very scientific-spirit of our age to probe deep into understanding this enigmatic emotion in all its dimensions !

4) Why it is much more sensible to understand God, or the ultimate reality, as a predisposition, or a predilection of it ? 

Thanks to the major dictum of modern science that, there must be a physical explanation to every phenomena that man observes. Its systems work on chemical,electrical or gravitational needs of subatomic particles, or their multitudes of complex assemblies and sub-wholes. For biological cells and their micro-constituents, instead of, or besides chemical, electrical or gravitational needs, there should be an EVOLUTIONARY need,and explanation ! She ignores the fact that, the overall 'PUSH' or the physical direction of these physical parts and wholes that ensure constant momentum of the world would be nothing but some or other kind of a predilection, or predisposition of the Physical matter ! The laws that make the physical system to run through a certain 'direction', ensuring compliance with either 'information theory' or evolution theory, can not be identified and branded other-than,or outside some kind of a predilection or predisposition. Such predilection or predisposition does not mean anything other than a 'sensible' direction. Even  school going students will agree that nature does not act random, but she exhibits a long-term directive about life and world. The laws that science talks about are nothing but signs,systems and features of such an overall direction, or a hidden command in working.This way, she indirectly (and silently)admits of a certain 'predilection, or predisposition by way of such a distinct direction. Salient features of that direction include a tendency to save energy, evolving of a self-sustaining system, though in totality an emotion-frees,zero-sum physical game !

Such a digging-out of science's un-uttered predilection about life and existence leaves the ultimate debate about reality only about the rationale and sense of such predilection, or predisposition, leaving the question of the ultimate stuff  around a chemical, physical or mathematical equation because, logically, a predilection or predisposition would be what determines, or decides the choices and options of the latter. ( the equations !)

It is simple to recognize and understand that, such an all determining and controlling predilection/predisposition would be the criterion and 'cause'that in-turn would decide its means, or the structural aspects that could ensure the correct implementation of the more fundamental, formerly explained 'essence'. ( invite the readers to read more on this structure and essence dichotomy about reality, at link: http://argumentsagainstscientificpositivism.blogspot.in/ ( section 3, about structure and substance)

A clue is given here;what the above portion attempted to show was that, such an ultimate-predilection/predisposition hidden in life and existence could be some emotional content like Love - -the ultimate existential drive behind causing the 'whole' to evolve !Not only to evolve, but also its running energy system !

5) Understanding God as His/Her predisposition could help take-away the present mode of worshiping Him ! 

From the above paragraph, hope the idea of a cosmic predilection/predisposition as base fundamental,or the most basic stuff of the 'whole' has been made clear. Understanding,or having a notion of such base emotional or attitudinal element of the 'whole existence' will be equal to solving its ' WHY' question ! Every other feature of a system or organisation, logically, would always derive, or could be attributed to such base predilection  or predisposition, whether it is a man-made system, behaviour of man and animals, or anything man could imagine.

We have already seen the existing predilection that science has attributed to the 'whole' form the above para. What all opposite evidences are there against such a predilection, stand listed at our blog: http://thewhyquestionofexistenceanswered.blogspot.in/

LOVE, if understood a bit drastically different from its mainstream,common-sense meaning and sense, would compel every open-mind to replace it with science's  'mechanical, survival oriented, cold ' predilection behind the existence of the 'whole'.

We have some very interesting account that supports the LOVE angle, from a Harvard-trained Neurosurgeon ( trained for 25 long years !) Dr. Eben Alexander. He was in a coma for seven days caused by severe bacterial meningitis.  During his coma he experienced a vivid journey into what he knew to be the afterlife, visiting both heavenly and not so heavenly realms.

When asked what he wants everyone to know about the spiritual realm, he always answers saying :

"that you are precious and infinitely loved more than you can possibly imagine. You are always safe. You are never alone. The unconditional and perfect Love of God neglects not one soul.Love is, without a doubt, the basis of everything. Not some abstract, hard-to-fathom kind of love but the day-to-day kind that everyone knows the kind of love we feel when we look at our spouse and our children or even our animals. In its purest and most powerful form, this love is not jealous or selfish, but unconditional.

This is the reality of realities, the incomprehensibly glorious truth of truths that lives and breathes at the core of everything that exists or will ever exist, and no remotely accurate understanding of who and what we are can be achieved by anyone who does not know it, and embody it in all of their actions" 

(See this link for a direct account of the above : http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/harvard-neurosurgeon-confirms-the-afterlife-exists/)

The most popular question or argument against such a positive notion of life was always that of death, disease,war and tragedies ! How anyone, or any  philosophy of a kind, just and loving God could explain such tragedies of life ? We would recommend to share its explanation from the following link: http://thewhyquestionofexistenceanswered.blogspot.in/2015/03/how-could-we-explain-diseaseswars-and.html

If the ultimate source or God is an abode of such a predilection/predisposition/emotion or attitude, won't it be more sensible to establish a fitting relationship with Him, rather worship Him as an object ? In this sense, we too are live and vibrant beings, always linked to our ultimate,existential source in a live emotional tie ! Such a notion transcends the barriers of time and space, and also that of various other life-related myths,dogmas, and stories. 

6) Will such a very sensible form of 'RIGHTLY'connecting with the ultimate source of existence could move man  towards a new human-society, and a new way of life for each 

human-being ? 

Yes... of course it could move the entire mankind ! It is crystal clear from the above paragraphs that mankind can not adopt a good for all 'objective' attitude towards God, or the ultimate source of existence. It would, and should remain as a purely subjective affair or relation for each human-being ! When each person realize that he is linked to the ultimate source of his being every moment, without any barrier in-between, it should fill him with an utter responsibility towards his-own fact of being. Such a new awareness would be more than adequate to behave with everyone around in a new oneness, and a new enlightened social-sense.  A society filled with such intellectually, rationally and spiritually liberated individuals, without any doubt, will naturally form a healthy and contented social-whole, or all kinds of collective.

A 'worship' oriented spirituality helps man to escape from the utter-responsibility of living a conscientious life. Worship gives him a false sense of spirituality, and being in the right-side of God. Here what he worships is his own mind-made images of God. Realizing one's irrefutable, moment to moment connected-state with the source of the 'whole' is the ultimate Spirituality in all sense and meaning. It involves a good degree of abandoning, or getting free from one's exclusive world-oriented sense of self and being. Natural care and protection of one's life and destiny happens naturally here, in this mode of spirituality, as man gets at least partially liberated from the burden of carrying his life and ego on his-own shoulders.  

Authored by: Abraham J. Palakudy,

He is an ardent seeker,researcher and writer/blogger in subjects like philosophy, Mind&Reason,Spirituality, and Polity.

contact : ajoseph1@rediffmail.com

Twitter: Voice of Philosophy@jopan1

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