Systematic education of the mind and the full use of reason

"Are We Religious Fundamentalists?" by Raman Reddy is an excellent exposition and defense, among other things, of religion. A religion that is at peace with reason:

[Faith in the Divine can go hand in hand with science and intellectuality – he even recommends this until the higher faculties can replace the mind. Posted by Raman Reddy at 5/31/2009 03:10:00 PM]

Paulette writes something similar:

[To be an academician or a scholar is not an obstacle; a specific feature of Integral Yoga is the systematic education of the mind and the full use of reason as starting point of the journey; only after having achieved such mastery we are truly equipped to rise above and commence another journey, through the planes of divine mind. Re: Archetypal Images and Symbols—by Paulette by Paulette on Sun 31 May 2009 02:48 PM IST Profile Permanent Link]

Paulette, further, has something very interesting to say as regards our path:

[What’s trivial, in Integral Yoga? There is no action, and no occupation, in Integral Yoga that is trivial, everything must be performed with the same perfection. And so is life, in its most external aspects as much as the inward ones. The debate on Peter Heehs is not just about quotes and counter-quotes, as some people claim. It is directly on the very foundations of our being here, and also on how we relate to others, who too have a right to the Path. We cannot drop the issue half-way. We have started and have to go till the end of it. Paulette Re: Archetypal Images and Symbols—Paulette's Comment for Posting by Paulette on Fri 29 May 2009 09:06 PM IST Profile Permanent Link]

David Hutchinson, too, was inclined to see the whole thing in more practical terms:

[The other problem is that this impulse for change, like everything else, can get mixed with other motives (as you note, see below), with group behaviors, with past beliefs, with wider political movements (such as the Hindutva movement, which I believe is related to this situation), with historical events (such as the campaign against the revision of Savitri, which I also believe is related to this situation). An argument is put forward for what seems a simple, spiritual matter, but it can be anything but. Re: Explanation of my Stand wrt The Lives of Sri Aurobindo by David Hutchinson on Wed 26 Nov 2008 06:24 AM PST Profile Permanent Link]

He spoke of the vacillation that is so prevalent:

[Is the supermind real? What about the triple transformation? Cellular yoga? Is integral yoga any different from other yogas? Did Sri Aurobindo or the Mother fail at what they were attempting? Were they mistaken about one or another aspect of yoga, or life? Did they miss things? Are some of their works badly written, incomplete, or flat out wrong? You can see how, in our community, even rhetorically stating such questions creates a collective gasp. Re: Explanation of my Stand wrt The Lives of Sri Aurobindo by David Hutchinson on Wed 26 Nov 2008 03:06 PM PST Profile Permanent Link]

Angiras was forthright to ask, "Stop pretending":

[If Sri Aurobindo’s followers have nothing better to offer than to mimic the behavior of the Muslims who riot at the publication of books rumored to insult their beliefs, it might be best to disband the Ashram and stop pretending that anyone is practising Integral Yoga. The value of this “controversy” in the larger scheme of things may be to expose the illusion that merely labelling a religion as spiritual is enough to prevent it from being a religion. Re: Explanation of my Stand wrt The Lives of Sri Aurobindo by Angiras on Fri 28 Nov 2008 04:10 AM PST Profile Permanent Link]

He also made a case for more intellectual maturity:

[David wrote: "You can see how, in our community, even rhetorically stating such questions creates a collective gasp. How dare he write that! Heresy!" This "collective gasp" at seeing certain questions even discussed is, if nothing else, a sign of a community that is not ready for the twenty-first century. by Angiras on Fri 28 Nov 2008 04:10 AM PST Profile Permanent Link] [TNM]