Saturday, May 20, 2017

Cling to Sri Aurobindo's Vedic rediscovery

Finitude and Philosophy

Dear members of Sadhu-Sanga,
Namaskar.

This forum has seen some intense debates over the nature of reality and dynamics of consciousness. The topic has been approached from the perspective of different streams of science as well as philosophy. Very advanced knowledge from each field has been marshalled by respective specialists to unlock the mystery. But mostly it has been agreed that we are much far away from any semblance of a solution. This should mean as a very sobering sentiment in the face of human finitude.

Although, Freud is generally credited with introducing a nebulous notion like subconscious into Science, Sri Aurobindo can be said to have offered the most detailed account of consciousness in the realm of speculative philosophy. His framework encompasses elements from diverse schools of theology, theosophy, philosophy, and science. Such a synthesis and integral scheme is unprecedented and has not been surpassed as yet.

I quite understand that such hyperbole would shock many of you as this forum has many staunch devotees of other philosophers and scientists. But, I would request you to examine my assertion with utmost scientific or logical rigour. I know, it's not possible since most of you are hard pressed for time; others lack inclination. So, what's the solution? An expert of Domain A can't give a dependable opinion unless he is reasonably aware of Domains B, C, D, Etc.

So, there are no shortcuts and my request to all of you is to invest some time on The Life Divine by Sri Aurobindo. While delineating the whole spectrum of consciousness, he is also emphatic that it's definitely knowable despite our human finitude. Further, his method of Integral Yoga unveils a volitional course of self-enlargement which, he insists, is the only means of fathoming the mystery of consciousness. This might appear arcane and esoteric but he provides an escape route from the web of numbers and mathematical equations.

Be that as it may, what Sri Aurobindo divulges in superb English prose needs to be chewed and digested. Many of his ideas have become quite common and are often spoken without giving him the due credit but many other concepts are still there which can lead the debates here to their logical as well as satisfactory conclusion. I'm resisting the temptation of citing one example or two with the hope that the members of this esteemed forum discover the joy, themselves, in Sri Aurobindo's own magical words.

Finally, there is no gainsaying that no one likes jargon but it's unavoidable in this forum. However, there is a need for standardising terminology for the purpose of scientific investigation of consciousness. Here, Sri Aurobindo's contribution forms an excellent anchor as well as point of departure. I don't think members can take any more.

Thanks, 
Tusar Nath Mohapatra (b. 1955)
Director, Savitri Era Learning Forum (SELF)
May 19, 2017 (wasn't published)
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Tweets by @SavitriEraParty
Savitri Era: Theosophical influences are present in the work of Sri Aurobindo https://t.co/jdPLWuXrFx
ARYA (1914-1921) writings of Sri Aurobindo envisage radical break from past formulations apropos religion, philosophy, politics, and science
An intellectual colossus like Sri Aurobindo waging war against tradition as well as science at the same time is an absolutely new paradigm.
By providing Freudian psychology the Vedic anchorage and Nietzschean Evolution, a sublime orientation, Sri Aurobindo overturned materialism.
Difficult to describe objectively but Sri Aurobindo's theories are yet to find application on a wider scale and so, results are a mishmash.
Models of consciousness galore marrying neuroscience and quantum physics but what Sri Aurobindo wrote in ARYA (1914-1921) remain unsurpassed
No one knows the truth & hence the need of clinging to Sri Aurobindo's Vedic rediscovery without being intimidated by mathematical equations
All knowledge is Veda but the ladder of consciousness conceived in Rigveda as revealed by Sri Aurobindo imbues meaning to life and the world
Sri Aurobindo can be said to have received his first lessons of consciousness from Shelley, Keats, & Blake leading him later to Vedic vistas
Instead of believing in your predictions, I will prefer Sri Aurobindo's penetrating insights on future Evolution. https://t.co/pOpRB23ckh
That's fine but why I should be bothered about what you do or don't do? Further, what an anonymous handle announces so pompously can be fake
What Sri Aurobindo learnt from Coleridge & Matthew Arnold in terms of romanticism finds its full efflorescence in the peaks of Vedic imagery
For most people in India today, the Veda means nothing whereas for Sri Aurobindo, it's a meeting point of science, philosophy, and politics.
No one has done it better than Sri Aurobindo but unfortunately none is willing to even read him let alone practice his ideas in India today.
Motilal Nehru (1861–1931) is renowned. Motilal Roy (1882–1959) sprinted off at lightning-speed to meet Sri Aurobindo https://t.co/dSJy7xJF8O
The Mother & Sri Aurobindo don't ask anyone to follow them but by reading their books admiration grows depending upon one's grasping faculty
Western world is eternally indebted to Plato, Aristotle, and Pre-Socratics. Indians must inculcate same pride for the Veda via Sri Aurobindo
Let it be known that, thanks to Twitter, I'm fighting here, simultaneously, against Marxist contempt and Hindutva indifference of Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo was concerned with the deepest questions of life and society during the ARYA period (1914-1921) which should attract attention
Schools and colleges are imparting defective worldview. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have prepared a futuristic educational philosophy to mend
Hindutva strategy is to concentrate on bottom of the pyramid for spreading its ideology whereas Sri Aurobindo targets a person's top storey.
Since Rituals or Idols hold no particular meaning for him, all castes and religions become equal in the eyes of a Sri Aurobindo's follower.
It's normal to base social and political analyses on history but Sri Aurobindo hints at Evolutionary forces waiting in the wings to catapult
Reimagining and Refashioning Integral Management - Tusar Nath Mohapatra, Director, Savitri Era Learning Forum (SELF) Ghaziabad https://t.co/YGoEhdLyp7
Harnessing Western Philosophy for Self-Management by Tusar Nath Mohapatra (SAMSMRITI July-Dec 2016) - Sambhram Group https://t.co/Yuc4QffQ9C
...

References:
R Penrose, E Medal - SCIENCE AND CULTURE, 2017 - S. N. BALASUBRAHMANYAM
... ”, which Sri Aurobindo translates as “By whom missioned falls the mind shot to its
mark?” using the imagery of an arrow or a bullet aimed and shot to its mark 3. ... 130
ff. 3. Eight Upanishads, Sri Aurobindo Asram, Pondicherry, 1953.... ]

M Manikandan - Thiagarajar College of Preceptors Teppakulam, …
... of manifestations. Sri Aurobindo describes it as a life force of self directive, knowledge inherent in consciousness which enables it to guide its own force inevitably along the logical line of the original self perceptions. So, the ... ]

VR Devika, G Arulmani, FTL Bakshi, AG Watts
... note that his views were deeply debated and respected by two other contemporary Indian philosophers: Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) and Aurobindo Ghose (1872-1950). All ... Aurobindo Ghose synthesized Eastern and Western philosophy, religion, literature, ... ]

4. [we don't know what numbers and machines are capable of. Even very elementary arithmetic appears to be quite transcendental, and explainably so with Mechanism. The difference between true and false in arithmetic is a bit like the border of the Mandelbrot set: definite, but very complex. For example: (May 5, 2017, Bruno Marchal)


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