Monday, October 31, 2016

Eastern influence swayed Hegel and Heidegger

Harman draws his framework from Heidegger's fourfold that he spoke of in 1949. No doubt, this was the result of his encounter with Chinese philosophy. Interestingly, Sri Aurobindo is engaged in writing, what can be called, some extensions of The Life Divine, at that time. In his famous taxonomic exercise, Sri Aurobindo, too, brings out a four fold structure of Consciousness set in Evolution. And it may not be very difficult to adjust Heidegger's fourfold to them. But the reluctance of professors, who zealously guard their turf, prevents such a breakthrough.

Silika's PhD dissertation on OOO also coincides with publication of Hegel's India, co-authored by Rimina. Heidegger's ambivalent encounter with Chinese philosophy is also similar to Hegel's imperfect grasp of Indian scriptures. But there is no denying of the fact that their philosophy was moulded and modified by the Eastern encounter. Unfortunately, these aspects are cleverly suppressed by commentators which, actually, deserve deeper investigation. Although, the name of Sri Aurobindo has been introduced in both the works, let's hope that Sri Aurobindo will find greater acceptability in future enterprises overarching Hegel to Harman.

So, though it is difficult to break the two-cultures divide in metaphysics, the scenario in ethics seems promising. A book like Negotiating Capability and Diaspora: A Philosophical Politics by Ashmita Khasnabish, is a case in point, where we find concerns merge transcending geographical barrier. How Sri Aurobindo supplements where Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum stop is an interesting, and at the same time, compelling formulation. Further, this is in keeping with Sri Aurobindo's agenda of a World Union. [TNM55]

Misc. References:

Ashmita Khasnabish - 2009 - ‎No preview - ‎More editions
In Humanitarian Identity and the Political Sublime, Ashmita Khasnabish unites Amartya Sen's concept of pluralistic identity with Sri Aurobindo's philosophy of the "religion of human unity," where the European and Western philosophy of ...

Negotiating Capability and Diaspora: A Philosophical Politics

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...
... because without a root in transcendental philosophical norm, we sometimes tend to become beastly and egocentric. In this regard, I would like to refer to the Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo, whose theory of human civilization and transformation intersects to a certain extent with the theories of John Rawls and Amartya ...In addition, feminist philosopher Martha Nussbaum plays a major role in the book as do the literary writers of diaspora."

Friday, October 28, 2016

Science is a fence against trickery

Dr Alok Pandey, in his book Veda of the Body summarises the limitations of science.

"More than five decades of experiments in the most sophisticated labs has not been able to produce a single building block of life from its material substrates. We know the processes of life but not life itself... Science has been passing through a phase of exploring matter and hence had closed its eyes to everything else. But now that it has dived deep into matter and sounded its limits, it can more readily turn to understand and accept the independence (as well as the interdependence) of life energy, mind energy and spiritual energy."

But science being a fence against irrationalism and trickery must receive full fledged support. Philosophy, too, needs to be rescued from geographical confinement and exposed to the integral perspective. Critical Posthumanism and Planetary Futures (2016) edited by Debashish Banerji and Makarand R. Paranjape, in this context, stake out fresh territory. Silika Mohapatra's PhD dissertation, “Objects of Occlumency: An Inquiry into object-Oriented Ontology” also can be seen as a supplement providing an alternative standpoint. [TNM55]

Misc. References:

Critical Posthumanism and Planetary Futures - Page 9

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...
Debashish Banerji, ‎Makarand R. Paranjape - 2016 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions
As a seminal influence of Gilles Deleuze, Simondon's ideas map closely to the nomadic posthumanism of Braidotti and Ferrando. Banerji aligns the cosmogenetic processes of individuation and transindividuation in Simondon with the metaphysics and yoga praxis of Sri Aurobindo and his spiritual collaborator, Mirra Alfassa , ...

Knowledge and Human Liberation: Towards Planetary Realizations

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...
But here a cross-cultural, transcivilizational, philosophical and spiritual engagement can help us realize that it is not only a Nietzschean and Deleuzian infrarational which constitutes the other dimension of plurivocality of being, but also Sri Aurobindo's suprarational and Roy Bhaskar's “transcendentally real self” (Bhaskar ...

Although earlier described as negative or nihilistic philosophies, both Jacques Derrida and Deleuzeentertained a strongly life-affirmative element in their ... with more complex perspectives of consciousness and who pointed to the increasing complexity of consciousness as an evolutionary quality (Aurobindo 1914/ 2000; ...

... Even if all the authorities in this book do not qualify to be considered exemplars, some, such as Vivekananda, Tagore, Aurobindo, and Gandhi probably were. ... The disruptive energy of these writers and their texts, especially in how they relate to their world, is quite aptly described by Deleuze and Guattari: the book is not ...

The Death and Afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi - Page 119

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...
The holism and unity that Gandhi championed and aspired for possibly eluded him, but I am not sure that he would therefore endorse Deleuze and Guattari's schizoanalysis, except as a means of personal, individual freedom. Perhaps a new integralism, such as proposed by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, where nothing short ...

The Philosophy of Evolution: - Page 316

https://books.google.co.in/books?id...
Rod Hemsell - 2014 - ‎Read
In the philosophy of difference – Derrida and Deleuze, and company – there has been a vast amount of thinking along these lines, which has the aim of training the mind to understand every incremental difference in being and thinking on the basis of ... into what Sri Aurobindo calls the universalization of consciousness.

CONVERSION IN LONERGAN AND AUROBINDO have consistently overlooked the fact that consciousness and knowledge are not the same thing, and so what it unknown he tends to call unconscious.”55 We note in Doran's ... of Ricoeur, Scheler, Edith Stein, Nietzche, Deleuze and others. A summary statement of his might  ...

In Praise of Copying - Page 253

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...
Marcus Boon - 2010 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions
Badiou's critique of Deleuze is astute in pointing out that for all his avowed anti-Platonism, Deleuzeultimately proposes “a Platonism of the virtual”; see Alain Badiou, Deleuze: The Clamor of Being, trans. ... Jan Van Bragt (Berkeley: University of California, 1982); Sri Aurobindo, “Art,” in Aurobindo, Notes to Pages 23–25 / 253.

On the Relationship between Creativity and God in Whitehead and Supermind and Sachchidananda in Aurobindo Thomas Padiyath ... Hegel and Nietzsche, Heidegger and Deleuze are its main proponents: for all of them, becoming is at the heart of being. This is certainly true for the so-called process-metaphysics of Alfred ...

The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and Spiritual Ordeal

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...
Joshua Ramey - 2012 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions
In this book, Joshua Ramey examines the extent to which Gilles Deleuze's ethics, metaphysics, and politics were informed by, and can only be fully understood through, this hermetic tradition.


Philosophy and India: Ancestors, Outsiders, and Predecessors

https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn...
A. Raghuramaraju - 2013 - ‎No preview - ‎More editions
Taking cognizance of this history, this book embarks on the project of critically assessing the contributions of seven twentieth-century academic philosophers of India.



Thursday, October 27, 2016

Prerna Singh's book vindicates our campaign for Sovereignty for the States

Tweets by @SavitriEraParty:
Savitri Era: Two Gujaratis at the helm is a sure recipe for disintegration of India https://t.co/XkxneNsuqq #SriAurobindo #FiveDreams
Savitri Era: From OOO to Ramakrishna, Gandhi, and Sri Aurobindo https://t.co/99pFEu8gdq #FiveDreams #WorldUnion
Savitri Era: All life is Yoga is a composite statement https://t.co/JSf42LheMI #SriAurobindo #FiveDreams #WorldUnion
@a_r_j_u_n @TejasOmkara @Sai_swaroopa @kalisbrood Reading the works of Sri Aurobindo online should receive priority. https://t.co/vQbBsO2ae4
@Insomaniaak Some pertinent details here https://t.co/jb8RqOvGEy @a_r_j_u_n
Most religions grapple with multiple nations but India being a single nation with Hindu majority is unable to see reforms. Split is necessary
Sri Aurobindo wrote in English marrying India and Europe irrevocably and sowing the seed of #WorldUnion. No power to stop this journey ahead
@Aravind8 Sri Aurobindo's #ThirdDream is #WorldUnion. A clutch of Nations in the Indian subcontinent will form the nucleus in this direction
@Aravind8 That may be the dominant perception right now due to Modi wave but I'm contesting that by the third way proposed by Sri Aurobindo.
@Aravind8 I will prefer to rely on Sri Aurobindo's explanation than yours. You are entitled to your very practical assessment of geopolitics
@Aravind8 I repeat that my perceptions are diametrically opposite of your current fascinations. But I have nothing to substantiate my views.
@Aravind8 I agree; you may just tolerate them as another halfbaked opinion within the democratic space since nothing happens before its time
@Aravind8 Can't change my views on Sri Aurobindo after half-a-century. Thanks to Twitter, I'm able to share them; otherwise, it's personal.
@Aravind8 Even if you are fully confident that things are moving in your pet direction, just keep in mind that there is an alternative view.
@Aravind8 But, strangely, you are supporting the admirers of Hitler and the politics of hatred that Hindutva is spearheading. Needs review.
Economic theories galore on how to eradicate poverty. They may have their own merit but the simplest option is to abolish the Central Govt.
The Central Govt is a parasite and a white elephant sans any sympathy for the States or their people. Its whole concern is its own survival.
The Central Govt is a client of a slew of foreign companies and becomes an easy conduit for outflow of funds. Breaking that nexus necessary.
Dual Govt. is a curse. States must become independent so that each one runs its course without any interference from any Central authority.
States as independent nations can easily manage their own affairs via regional alliances and hence Central Govt is superfluous and redundant
Instead of dividing India into two, the British should have divided it into five or six. That would have saved from much of present plight.
Oversized India is uprooting people from their homes, cultures and languages on a large scale which is nothing less than a calamity. Stop it
States are suffering from acute brain drain & lack of investments. Enough of Unity in Diversity & National Integration. Stop this hypocrisy!
Each State is capable of standing on its own leg without the midwifery of a Central Govt. 50-60m people can take care of their own destiny.
Out of the 233 members of the U.N., only 27 countries have more population than 50m. India must add around 50 more nations to sub-50m club.
People of India must taste true Democracy and fruits of Development. Linguistic Nations will foil the attempts to milk Castes and Religions.
State-level politics should interest people and not the theatrical national news dished out by TV. Abolishing Centre will clear smokescreen.
India has been the greatest enemy of Indians for all these years. States must emerge as Sovereign Republics to do justice to their citizens.
Election in U.P. will be another betrayal of the people unless it is divided into 4-5 Sovereign nations responding to regional aspirations.
@Stupidosaur Abolition of Central Govt. and, consequently, States as Sovereign Republics forming a Mahabharat Federal union is the solution.
Ten States of India having population of more than 50m should split and turned into Sovereign nations for genuine Democracy and Development.
Tiny nations with below 1m population as well as India and China with over 1b population are abnormalities. Modern world demands rightsizing
Prerna Singh's book vindicates to a large extent Savitri Era Party's campaign for abolishing the Central Govt and Sovereignty for the States https://t.co/xgsbWHQ60O
Key is to allow people of India to reorganise themselves voluntarily into multiple Nations constituted on the basis of whatever affinities. https://t.co/ykzpWczryi
Reimagining and Refashioning Integral Management - Tusar Nath Mohapatra, Savitri Era Learning Forum (SELF) Ghaziabad https://t.co/YGoEhdLyp7

Misc. References: 

Narayan Murthy as agent of Ford Foundation in India https://t.co/zsUlG5JBzL

Why did Russia not become a free-market democracy after the collapse of the Soviet Union? https://t.co/kwJM4JtRJe

Sri Aurobindo, Mahomedans, and Hindu-Muslim Unity – Part 2 https://t.co/Xh6XT26L5w - https://t.co/QkJ9Fe4Tpb
If India has to come out of its shackles and be a jagadguru (world-teacher) as Aurobindo imagined, then it must battle three enemies: the politicians who are stuck with the politics of appeasement and populism, the Muslims who place their religion above the country, and the Hindus who have forgotten that pluralism and harmony is their very identity.
We must never forget that India has been and continues to be a pluralistic society but at the same time we must be ever-vigilant if there is a threat to the tradition itself in the name of tolerating ‘the other.’ Eternal vigilance is indeed the price we pay for freedom and harmony. Thanks to Sandeep Balakrishna for his meaningful comments on the conclusion of the essay. Hari Ravikumar is a writer and musician

[Must Read] @Koenraad_Elst deconstructs @Ram_Guha's analysis of Guru Golwalkar's influence on the Sangh and Modi. https://t.co/Ni7UCOGEda
Ploughing through demanding books is only given to few, among ethnicities mainly the Chinese, Northern Europeans and Jews, and even there not exactly the majority... This aversion to reading is especially true in the RSS. This has a historical cause as well as a conscious decision behind it. The historical cause is the circumstances of the RSS’s founding: Dr. KB Hedgewar came from the Bengal revolutionary faction of the Freedom Movement, and brought its secretive methods along. Like the revolutionaries wary of feeding written evidence of their designs to police informers, RSS men never communicated in writing but travelled around to pass information orally. Hence the enormous physical locomotion performed by RSS officers. 

Savitri Study Camp 19-09 “The winding roads towards the secret soul” -"... Savitri following the great winding road Came where it dwindled into a narrow path Trod only by rare wounded pilgrim feet." The post Savitri Study Ca...

Purification of the Lower Nature and the Issues Involved in Its Achievement - The issue for the seeker of spiritual realisation, and more particularly for the seeker of the integral Yoga who wants to manifest the divine intention in ...

God, Death & the Abortion of Time - Some of us are born with morbid imaginations. My mom tells a story about me, at the age of three: I wanted to know where we go when we die. The question co...

- Wozu Dichter? it's blood hard to stop thinking, to do yoga to intricate being in nothingness, as Heidegger suggested: non-being is a tier below nothing...

Detaching from a situation while in it - By Prema Sankar All of us have our issues or disagreements with certain people or situations, which we address as our “problems”. How much so ever we try ...

From OOO to Ramakrishna, Gandhi, and Sri Aurobindo - "He covers all the major events, manages to add interesting and enlightening anecdotes at every point, demolishes many myths and misconceptions, and yet do...

Religion in nation-building and nation-changing - [image: Image via Flickr user Quinn Dombrowski]The articles by Rogers Brubaker, Genevieve Zubrzycki, and Muhacit Bilici are all about the religious and sec...

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? - *Rev. Frank Placone-Willey* is to speak (30 October) at the *Summit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship* HERE *Comment* Same title as one of my early papers...

Chitra Bose: In Memoriam by Anurag Banerjee - Dear Friends, On Saturday, 13 August 2016, the firmament of the Aurobindonian Community of West Bengal lost one of its brightest stars with the passing awa...

In memoriam: Claude Vipond - My maternal grandfather, Claude Vipond, died peacefully last Tuesday. His life was long – he reached 95 years. Claude was … Continue reading →

Mind in man poses new evolutionary challenges for the body - Dr Alok Pandey - Veda of the Body – Preface Let’s take the example of a typical stress response. It is designed to prepare the body for fight or fligh...

Ray Brassier on Nick Land - This is a brief (and quickly written) commentary on an old talk by Ray Brassier, about Nick Land, dating from 2010. The questions around speculative realis...

Indian purity and spirituality are undermined by Varma - Assorted tweets: My latest essay: Why focusing on communities can save #capitalism - https://t.co/LPTnGkFQAY @HindolSengupta Granting Sovereignty to the Sta...

Mind and Nature in German Idealism, a graduate course - I’m very excited to teach a 10-week online course at CIIS next semester (Spring 2017, running from Jan – Mar) called Mind and Nature in German Idealism. Th...

Sri Aurobindo warned against āsuric perversion of Kshatriya ideal -Indian Nationalism and the Early Congress - Page 157 https://books.google.co.in/books?isbn... John R. McLane - 2015 - ‎Preview - ‎More editions Aurobindo Gho...





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