Posts Tagged ‘Thought’
Adi Shatakam Descartes Advaita
The essential difference between the philosophers of The East and The West lies in fact that while those in the East relie on Direct Experience more, while those of the West go through Reason(Rationalists)
True there are also philosophers called Empiricists, who rely on Empirical experience,starting from John Locke.
But their experience is limited to Experience as a Tool and not anything more.
In India the experience which the Philosophers speak of is the actual feeling of Oneness with the Reality.
In the sixteenth century there was a reassessment of Scientific thoughts and Philosophy.
Though most of the earlier thoughts of Socrates, Aristotle and Plato were accepted, the Philosophers wanted to reason them out.
Also there was the Church Dogma.
Adi Sankaracharya
In came Rene Descartes,a Great Mathematicians(Nearly all great Philosophers were great Mathematicians too,Descartes, Locke, Leibniz,Spinoza, Pythagoras,Bertrand Russel).
He wanted to find the Truth of the origin of the World.
He started by questioning his beliefs, for , to him, they were planted in his Mind by others.
I Think , Therefore, I am -Rene Descartes.
He tested the senses , found that they do not give out the facts exactly(ex.You dip your hands in cold water, then in hot water;the warm water takes more time to be felt as warm, similarly with Cold water:another instance he quotes is that of a Man with jaundice, for him the World is Yellow-which it is not).
Therefore he discounted the senses as well.
In the same vein he discounted and rejected all the sources of Knowledge.
Then he observes,
Cogito ergo sum (French: “Je pense donc je suis“; English: “I think, therefore I am”)
“Ac proinde hæc cognitio, ego cogito, ergo sum, est omnium prima & certissima, quæ cuilibet ordine philosophanti occurrat.”
English: “This proposition, I think, therefore I am, is the first and the most certain which presents itself to whoever conducts his thoughts in order.”-Principles of Philosophy ,Rene Descartes.
that is you can doubt everything but never the fact that You Doubt.
Doubting implies a Doubter,
Thinker implies a Thinker,
So, ‘I Think, Therefore I am’
This has become the bedrock of Western Thought.
Now Sankaracharya,though a strict Vedantin , Gnana Yogi and Bhakthi Yogi takes the route of Skepticism to prove the existence of the Reality quite effortlessly.
Look at these lines.
“
Mano-Buddhy-Ahangkaara Cittaani Naaham
Na Ca Shrotra-Jihve Na Ca Ghraanna-Netre |
Na Ca Vyoma Bhuumir-Na Tejo Na Vaayuh
Cid-Aananda-Ruupah Shivo[a-A]ham Shivo[a-A]ham ||1||Meaning:
1.1: Neither am I the Mind nor Intelligence or Ego,
1.2: Neither am I the organs of Hearing (Ears), nor that of Tasting (Tongue), Smelling (Nose) or Seeing (Eyes),
1.3: Neither am I the Sky, nor the Earth, Neither the Fire nor the Air,
1.4: I am the Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness; I am Shiva, I am Shiva,Atma Shatakam or Nirvana Shatakam Sloka 1
Exactly what Descartes speaks of.
But the destination of Descartes was different.
But the method for the existence of the Self is the same.
Descartes assigns Two Realities Mind and Matter and brings in God in his Philosophy,Idealism
.
http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/who-owns-the-world-isa-upanishad-1/
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- Mind Limits Understanding The Mind (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
- Eighteen Principles ,One Verse Nirvana Shatakam Adi Sankara (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
Mind Limits Understanding The Mind
There is an interesting article in The Atlantic on Mind and Technological Innovations.
‘One cannot help noting immediately that the theory echoes Kurzweil’s professional achievements as an inventor of word recognition machines: the “secret of human thought” is pattern recognition, as it is implemented in the hardware of the brain. To create a mind therefore we need to create a machine that recognizes patterns, such as letters and words. …
The process of recognition, which involves the firing of neurons in response to stimuli from the world, will typically include weightings of various features, as well as a lowering of response thresholds for probable constituents of the pattern. Thus some features will be more important than others to the recognizer, while the probability of recognizing a presented shape as an “E” will be higher if it occurs after “APPL.”
These recognizers will therefore be “intelligent,” able to anticipate and correct for poverty and distortion in the stimulus. This process mirrors our human ability to recognize a face, say, when in shadow or partially occluded or drawn in caricature.”
When we need the Mind to recognize patterns to perceive and be understood, we can say that while being studied becomes an Object of the Observed.
The Observer is some thing else.
The Mind is able to observe thoughts and There is something else that observes the Mind as well.
Indian Philosophy classifies three things in respect of Mind.
Brain,the activity of which leads to the
Mind, Buddhi, The Discriminator.
Chitha, the dispositions( not the predispositions of Indian Philosophy, which means Vasanas or tendencies acquired over years including the previous Births).
Mind Analyses,U.S. National Library of Medicine
The Observer is different from the Observed at the mundane or Transitory world.
To recognize an Object as the object, for that matter as an Object, Recognition is required.
Recognition is possible only when there is Data stored already.
For instance, to recognize a Rose as a Rose, at the first instance, we need some one to describe it .
But extend the logic.
How a Rose would have have been identified as such for the First Human Being as such when there were none around?
This calls for apriori Knowledge.(Knowledge that is innate.
This is the foundation of Idealism of Philosophy. whic h has been explained by Rene Descartes in His Books Principia philosophiae (Principles of Philosophy),Regulae ad directionem ingenii (Rules for the Direction of the Mind)’
Mind lets us know what it wants us to know.
As Nature does.
“[H]omunculus talk can give rise to the illusion that one is nearer to accounting for the mind, properly so-called, than one really is. If neural clumps can be characterized in psychological terms, then it looks as if we are in the right conceptual ballpark when trying to explain genuine mental phenomena–such as the recognition of words and faces by perceiving conscious subjects. But if we strip our theoretical language of psychological content, restricting ourselves to the physics and chemistry of cells, we are far from accounting for the mental phenomena we wish to explain. An army of homunculi all recognizing patterns, talking to each other, and having expectations might provide a foundation for whole-person pattern recognition; but electrochemical interactions across cell membranes are a far cry from actually consciously seeing something as the letter “A.” How do we get from pure chemistry to full-blown psychology?
McGinn goes on:
Why do we say that telephone lines convey information? Not because they are intrinsically informational, but because conscious subjects are at either end of them, exchanging information in the ordinary sense. Without the conscious subjects and their informational states, wires and neurons would not warrant being described in informational terms.
The mistake is to suppose that wires and neurons are homunculi that somehow mimic human subjects in their information-processing powers; instead they are simply the causal background to genuinely informational transactions.
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- Memory Is…… Yoga Sutra 1.11 (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
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You Lose YOU In Thought Waves Yoga Sutra 4
‘Vruddhi Saarubya Mithradhratha’ (Sutra 1.4)
You become distant from you true nature when you are lost in the Thought waves.
Once we give room for thought waves, this is by our interaction with sense objects,after a while we become immersed in them.
As seen in the earlier Sutra, we become Happy or Sad only when we give in to the thoughts of the objects.
After a while, the object may not be physically present, yet the Thoughts about them persist.
There is fable on this, narrated by Sri Ramakrishna Parama Hamsa.
Two Sanyasins(the Renounced) were walking on the road.
They saw a beautiful woman unable to walk.
A Sanyasi hoisted her on his back and carried her to her destination and left her there.
Then they continued walking about their way.
The Sanyasin who did not carry the woman was looking thoughtful
The other Sanyasi asked him what the matter was.
He replied that he was thinking of the mental states and the emotions the woman might have triggered in the mind of the Sanyasi who carried her.
The Sanyasi who carried the woman replied,
‘I left her long back,you are stinking of her still!’
There is another one from the Life of Pattonaththaar, a Great Yogi from Tamil Nadu,India.
Pattinaththaar was in Thiruvotriyur(near Chennai, where he later attained Jeeva Samadhi.
He was relaxing with a hand under his head during a hot summer, under a tree.
Two women, who were menial workers, were passing by.
On seeing Pattinathar, one woman said, ‘Strange, A sanyasi needs the pleasure of a Hand to sleep!’ and they walked on.
Pattinathar heard this and he removed his hand and lay down after removing his hand .
The women returned.
The woman who commented earlier said’ A Sanyasi should never listen to the outer world,this one seems to listen to others;he has removed his hand’
Pattinathar stood up and prostrated before her saying that she had taught him what Yoga is.
One wo gets immersed in thought waved gets himself identified with them and can never have his mind function clearly.
The same thought is conveyed in the Bhagavad Gita in Karmanyeava(Chapter 2)
Related articles
- Denying Senses Is Not Yoga, Patanjali Yoga Sutra 3 (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
- Yoga Is “Cessation Of Thought Waves” Sutra 2 (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
Why We Can’t Stop Thinking?
Thinking is what makes us what we are.
Too much thinking brings in Misery and as a wag put it,’Life is a tragedy for those who think, but a Comedy to those who feel’.
Recent study reveals that thinking is what makes us survive and make us a complicated mechanism.
However stopping ‘thinking’ is possible, according to Indian Philosophy.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sastra is all about ‘cessation of the modification of Chitta(stilling the thought waves)’
This is described as ‘Moksha’, ‘Nirvana‘ when one realises He is One with the Reality.
Brain scanning technology is quickly approaching levels of detail that will have serious implications (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
‘Most likely you have not needed to worry whether the rustling in the underbrush is a rabbit or a leopard, or had to identify the best escape route on a walk by the lake, or to wonder whether the funny pattern in the grass is a snake or dead branch. Yet these were life-or-death decisions to our ancestors. Optimal moment-to-moment readiness requires a brain that is working constantly, an effort that takes a great deal of energy. (To put this in context, the modern human brain is only 2 percent of our body weight, but it uses 20 percent of our resting energy.) Such an energy-hungry brain, one that is constantly seeking clues, connections and mechanisms, is only possible with a mammalian metabolism tuned to a constant high rate.
Constant thinking is what propelled us from being a favorite food on the savanna—and a species that nearly went extinct—to becoming the most accomplished life-form on this planet. Even in the modern world, our mind always churns to find hazards and opportunities in the data we derive from our surroundings, somewhat like a search engine server. Our brain goes one step further, however, by also thinking proactively, a task that takes even more mental processing.
So even though most of us no longer worry about leopards in the grass, we do encounter new dangers and opportunities: employment, interest rates, “70 percent off” sales and swindlers offering $20 million for just a small investment on our part. Our primate heritage brought us another benefit: the ability to navigate a social system. As social animals, we must keep track of who’s on top and who’s not and who might help us and who might hurt us. To learn and understand this information, our mind is constantly calculating “what if?” scenarios. What do I have to do to advance in the workplace or social or financial hierarchy? What is the danger here? The opportunity?
For these reasons, we benefit from having a brain that works around the clock, even if it means dealing with intrusive thoughts from time to time.’
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ask-the-brains-why-impossible-to-stop-thinking
Read my blogs on this subject under Indian philosophy.
Related:
As we age and our memory starts to function less well, names are most likely among the first things to escape us. You can use tricks to help remember, such as rhyming the name with an object. What is easiest, however, is to keep in mind that everyone has difficulty with names, so you can be less embarrassed when one eludes you and less critical of others when yours escapes them.
Facts about ‘Introverts’
Simple emoticons of the five temperaments: Sanguine (top right), Choleric (bottom right), Melancholy (bottom left), and Phlegmatic (centre), with the new temperament Supine (top left) and Phlegmatic blends in between. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The normal perception of Introvert is as one who is shy,withdrawn , recluse and one preoccupied with self.
It is believed that Introverts are more or less asocial.
And some even believe that they are cunning and scheming.
These are all Myths.
Introvert is one who is reserved by Nature who is generally more into their inner world.
They enjoy thinking, exploring their thoughts and feelings. They often avoid social situations because being around people drains their energy. This is true even if they have good social skills. After being with people for any length of time, such as at a party, they need time alone to “recharge.”
When introverts want to be alone, it is not, by itself, a sign of depression. It means that they either need to regain their energy from being around people or that they simply want the time to be with their own thoughts. Being with people, even people they like and are comfortable with, can prevent them from their desire to be quietly introspective.
Being an Introvert is also due to the Culture.They are taught not to express their Emotions overtly.
For those from the West,Asians in general and Chinese and Japanese in particular are Introverts, which is not the case.
It is just that Asians normally keep a distance till they know the other,especially those from the West.
Now read on about the Myths on Introverts before forming an Opinion on Introverts.
Story:
Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.
Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.
Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.
Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.
Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.
Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.
Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.
Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.
Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.
Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.
http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/introvert.htm
