neuroconsciousness

A Remarkable Philosophy

2012-02-02T03:37:00.000-08:00

This is the philosophy of Mr. Henry Bartell Zachary.
He was the son of an Italian immigrant and went on to become a billionaire with diverse businesses, a philanthropist and established a hugely successful business venture.
Thought of sharing this very touching philosophy that encapsulated what it takes to become successful and above all a shade of humility and compassion that pitchforks a brazen capitalistic attitude into the realm of divinity.

MY PHILOSOPHY

“I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon if I can. I seek opportunity – not security. I will refuse to be a kept citizen, to be humbled and dulled by having my state and nation look after me. I want to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed - never to be numbered among those weak and timid souls who have known neither victory nor defeat. I know that happiness can come only from the inside through hard constructive work and sincere positive thinking. I know that the so called pleasures of the moment should not be confused with a state of happiness. I know that I can get a measure of inner satisfaction from any job if I intelligently plan and courageously execute it. I know that, if I put forth every iota of strength that I possess – physical, mental, spiritual – towards the accomplishment of a worth while task, ere I fall exhausted by the wayside, the Unseen Hand will reach out and pull me through. Yes, I want to live dangerously, plan my procedures on the basis of calculated risk, to resolve the problems of everyday living into a measure of inner peace. I know if I know to do all this, I will know how to live and, If I know how to live, I will know how to die.”

HENRY BARTELL ZACHRY
Sep. 27 1901 – Sep. 5 1984

2012-01-03T20:51:00.001-08:00

Learning to unlearn
Learning is as much a process of deprogramming as much as acquiring or acquainting with something new.
Learning something new, must be preceded by a process of deprogramming that eliminates pre-existing paradigms and misconceptions. Learning physiologically is a process of conditioning. It involves recruitment of neural networks or pathways, which after sufficient time and repetitions get established. Thereafter, conditioning works at a quasi involuntary level. A classic example is that of driving. Initially as a novice, every action is deliberate, premeditated and one has to very consciously focus on the activity. Later on as the reflexes get strengthened, the same activity becomes very effortless and gradually moves to a sub-conscious level. And soon we can engage in a conversation or even grab a bite whilst driving. Many of our belief systems and thought processes post conditioning work below the consciousness horizon. Once the template is set, these anagrams become an integral part of the individuals perceptive and thought processes. We scarcely realize that these deeply etched programs serve as major deterrents from learning anything new. That partly explains why adults need a longer while to learn a new skill like computers or a new language whereas kids seem to take to this new skill like a fish takes to water. That is because the kids hard disc is unformatted and can imbibe a new concept faster and better than an adult who first has to undo some hardwired programs. These established neural networks increase the resistance to accepting fresh thoughts and ideas. On deeper introspection we would realize, that most of our belief systems are just a legacy of our environment and upbringing. Religion, culture, behavioral patterns are a few such examples. This indoctrination happens subconsciously but has far reaching consequences.
Along with the passage of time, all such recorded programs spin a cocoon around the individual. Impermeable to newer thought process. All intolerance to new ideas is consequential to this rigid unyielding cocoon.
All revolutionary inventions have become possible only when the concerned person broke open this cocoon of conformist thought process. The person had to delearn conventional wisdom to make way for newer wisdom. Religion has always beckoned mankind along the ages. It still remains one of the most profound influences on our lives. Religion programs the thought processes and sooner than we realize, we align ourselves to one of the many ‘isms’. But the basis of all religion is to attain Godhood, or self-realisation or ‘swaroop saakshaatkar’ Various sects and religions have over the years programmed their followers along different lines. These regulatory protocols are ideally the means to the end but unfortunately have become the end themselves. The extreme obsession with form precludes any tryst with the formless. All spiritual pursuits are adulterated with preformed notions and are the scourge of liberation. It would be paradoxical to confine the omniscient omnipresent being to the narrow bandwidth of our perceptive focus . As a learned sage said, Liberation is not of the individual but from the individual. From the shackles of our thought processes. Self-realisation as a concept, is again a construct of our thought. But self-realisation transcends thought. Till there is thought, there is an entity that is thinking, and this separate entity that asserts its separateness is bondage. The finite can never perceive the infinite. It can only become infinite. And once that happens, who or what remains to perceive ?. It cannot be engineered, because all attempts made by the doer only underlines his separateness, which defeats the very purpose. Somewhat akin to the monkey, with its hand trapped in a cookie jar. Trying to get its hand out of the narrow neck of a bottle whilst holding the cookie. All efforts are in vain until the monkey releases the cookie and extricates its hand. This cookie of our belief systems and conditioning that we all hold on for dear life surely has to be relinquished. This delearning of all pre-existing programs and concepts is a precondition to self awareness.

Dr Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon and may be contacted at drdeepakranade@gmail.com)
posted by Dr. Deepak Ranade @ 1:16 AM 2 comments
2 Comments:

At September 18, 2009 9:40 PM , dipti said...
sir, i am very much influenced n moralised by ur articles published in speaking tree. i want too read book having compilation of ur writings. kindly post the name of ur book. i,ll be highly oobliged. regards, dipti.
At May 8, 2010 9:05 AM , prakasam said...
You would not believe, my eyes seeks Deepak Ranade in the speaking tree column daily.

One of the best scientific and spiritual blend.

Sir,can u open a forum to discuss more lively. I have lot of spirtual questions,for which it may be the solution center.

It serves to the spiritual community as well....
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2012-01-03T20:43:00.001-08:00

This is the first article that was featured in speaking tree.

Search For The Centre Of Consciousness

The brain's neurons are differentiated to execute specific functions. All sensory perceptions reach nerve centres that are specific for a particular sensory modality. However, all attempts to localise the centre for consciousness have failed..In an experiment, an electrode was implanted in the brain adjacent to the pleasure centre of a caged mouse. When a lever was pressed, a small current would be released which would stimulate the locus of neurons and the mouse experienced a sensation of pleasure. When the mouse realised that pressing the lever was the cause of the wonderful sensation, he endeavoured to keep pressing the lever tirelessly till he died of exhaustion.
Happiness is therefore just a matter of neurotransmitters stimulating specific areas resulting in momentary gratification a chemical reaction in the brain.
Duality is a warp in perception. In reality these partitions do not exist. They are just notional values assigned by the perceptive apparatus. They are actually variations in the intensity of only one modality. The experiment where light is made to pass through two slits to determine if light is a wave or particle form, pronounced that light simultaneously exists as wave and particle. This presented the scientific community with a paradoxical conclusion hard to fathom, a daunting task for the perceptive apparatus which is limited to comprehending only one of two possibilities.
Science is based on reductionism. Science teaches one to classify, make subgroups, and analyse all events as cause and effect. It programmes the brain to fragment, not assimilate. But observations in quantum physics show that subatomic particles behave in a way incomprehensible to classical Newtonian concepts.Similarly, dark and light, pleasure and pain, cannot have an either/or existence. It is our perception that triggers this dichotomy Events or people get classified by the intellect, which analyses the event, compares the event with its database or memory and delivers a threat or no-threat verdict. This makes the subject interact with the environment. This interaction is primordial in nature, in-built for survival. The categorisation of reality into subgroups such as pleasant or unpleasant, endeavouring only pleasant situations to prevail, causes unhappiness.Medically when there is a threat perception, there is a rise in heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar, which keeps the individual in a state of combat with typical responses: fight, fright or flight. If the threat perception apparatus keeps getting stimulated too frequently then the body instead of shifting gears, often compensates by raising these parameters permanently. This causes high incidence of hypertension and diabetes where stress is a definitive cause. In the enlightened state, what changes is not the environment but the perception of the environment. Consciousness is just awareness. It is non-judgmental, with no reaction. There is no classification. It is just a witness. When perception eliminates all fragmentation, one becomes conscious, aware. Then we no longer get exhausted like the mouse did, trying to manipulate the pleasure-giving lever.

Dr.Deepak Ranade The writer is a neurosurgeon, is setting up Centre for Consciousness Studies. E-mail: drdeepakranade@gmail.com
SPEAKING TREE--TIMES OF INDIA
posted by Dr. Deepak Ranade @ 1:06 AM 1 comments
1 Comments:

At August 13, 2009 4:39 AM , Nilesh said...
Superb one!!

Good explanation you have given by taking a scientific examples.

As per my thinking, "Live a life by being just an observer". Thanafter, our real nature(SAT-CHIT-ANAND) will gradually manifested.

Am i true?
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Tribute to my dad

2011-12-31T13:29:00.001-08:00

The river was hurtling down the acutely descending slope. She was vibrant and alive as she cascaded joyfully. She had a sense of abandon and seemed unperturbed by what the variegated terrain held in store for her. The rapids smashed into a boulder and instantaneously, there was a shower of million little droplets that endeavoured to reach the inviting skies. In the process they scattered the light into it's spectral constituents lending a surreality to her existence. The very next moment she seemed to assimilate again resuming the unending journey as if nothing happened. She breathed life into the banks that showered their gratitude by breaking into a riot of violet and yellow blooms. Further on as she negotiated a bend, she appeared agitated forming eddy currents swirling into a whirlpool with a force that could destroy. This momentary self indulgence soon mutated to a schizophrenic serenity as she calmed down on more even ground. The Self effacing serenity reflected the clear blue skies with high fidelity. The onward movement continued but with a subtlety that mimicked stillness. She could never be still. Stillness in dynamism was her existential philosophy. She was a picture of "joie de vivre" in myriad forms sprouting and sustaining a plethora of life forms. Her life was moving on, imparting a velocity to all that crossed her path. The exuberance was infectious , the velocity making her buoyant and on occasions demonstrating scant regard to any force pulling her downwards. She definitely knew where she finally was headed but made no fuss about minor detours mandated by the unyielding geography. The occasional hurrying was not to reach the destination but rather a sense of urgency to live the moment to it's fullest. The opposing banks at times conspired to get close enough to snuff the life out of her . But after squeezing herself into obscurity she reappeared unfazed as a rivulet with an air of indomitability to resume her relentless journey. The banks could only momentarily obstruct the form but never the ideology of moving on. She appeared formidable and deep in certain stretches where it seemed impossible to know how deep the waters flowed. Here, she seemed to be very introspective and thoughtful, casually unflinching. In shallower stretches, the waters appeared turbid retaining an earthiness about herself . This turbidity became a sediment after a while and she again regained her pristine form about which she never ever had a doubt . As the journey continued, she seemed to be getting larger and more assertive of her presence. The terrain was more level and less undulating. This part saw her develop so much character to be able to absorb all the effluent and impurities that her subjects emptied into her. She was being used by so many rather indiscriminately but she never showed any dissent. Instead, she swallowed all the effulgent ingratitude stoically whilst never for a moment forgetting her inherent nature of moving on. She could not do otherwise. She was programmed to dilute all the toxic additions to her and yet retain the angelic ability to sprout and sustain life. She now seemed to slow down one last time and looked a bit fatigued as she navigated the deposits of sand in the delta. She effaced herself gradually as she merged into the ocean. Her form became imperceptible but she could still be flowing silently, formlessly as a current, true to her nature.
Such was my father,an eternal energy that could at best only mutate it's manifestation and be indiscernible to the uninitiated.

The complete seeking the complete

2011-12-27T04:35:00.000-08:00

Science has relentlessly diversified into various established and emerging modalities to seek answers for the hows whats whens and wheres of this phenomenal creation.These questions are yielding answers, which keep evolving and refining as do our investigative tools The answers paradoxically seem to generate further questions and the plot keeps thickening. Scientific researchand technological progress amplify the range of our sensory perception to investigate the realm of the micro, and also open a window into the vast universe. These advances give the impression of getting tantalisingly close to the truth .
This euphoria is aborted by realising that what seemed like the ultimate answer is actually a new set of questions. " Fractals" discovered by Mandelbrot, are similar patterns repeating themselves at higher orders of dimension. If you magnify a fine area of fractal structure, you get increased information in proportion to the new scale. Thus, the world not only looks different to the observers at different scales, it also measures differently. In every day language, this means that the deeper your understanding of a complex picture, the more meaningful nuances you can notice in it.
Science has sharpened the tools of reductionism and permitted deeper access into the microcosm. It is hyper fractioning the tangible to the point of intangibility.
The monochromatic reductionist approach of scientific enquiry may eventually have to metamorphose into a spectrum to throw light on the "why " of this phenomenal creation.The ultimate solution and understanding of the "what and how" make the "why "more pertinent and inevitable. The anthropic principle suggests that intelligent consciousness which could comprehend the universe was the objective of creation. Quantum physics underlined the importance of the observer to validate the observed. It has to widen it's scope to authenticate the observer in this game of hide and seek where any phenomenon ceases to exist in the absence of the observer. A strictly epistemological approach may explain the modus operandi of creation but it will fall despicably short of providing a rationale for creation. The "why" coerces scientific endeavour to introspect and realise the worthlessness of it's fangs of enquiry if the venom of how, what where and when is replaced by a hypnotic potion of why.
Science is too egoistic to question it's own existence. It is too preoccupied in preening it's feathers and marvelling at their splendour. It has the arrogance of " my way or the highway". The conceit of tangibility blinds scientific thought ; a veritable train of intelligence chugging along on the track of logic blissfully unaware why it began the journey in the very first place.
Often times, rationalist reductionism gives the illusion of uncovering the truth. But this truth is relative to the system attempting to uncover it. The absolute truth includes the seeker. This unbroken wholeness in which, and through which we exist was brillantly captured by Gödel in the proof of his celebrated Theorem: it is possible to make true statements within a particular system that cannot be proved by use of the elements and logic of that system. This is simply because the system under consideration is organically interconnected with some larger system, which by itself is dissolved into another greater than it, and so on.. The part can never understand the whole.The search for the elusive Higgs Boson is in effect the search for what gives matter its tangibility and this is perceived by the intangible consciousness. As the adage goes, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, tangibility may lie in perception and not be an apriori measurable attribute of the perceived.
Chaos and Complexity entirely deniy the idea of analyzability of the world into separated parts. Parts simply do not exist.the Whole consists of Wholes.
purnamadah purnamidam 'That is complete, this is complete'.
purnat purna mudachyate - 'From that completeness comes this completeness'
purnasya purnamadaya - If we take away this completeness from that completeness'
purnameva vashishyate: 'Only completeness remains.'
This is a quote from Upanishads.

The ultimate truth may be a state of oneness (Advaita - Nonduality) , an assimilative philosophy that realises the wholeness of the part while scientific enquiry will persist with reductionism of the whole into smaller wholes.

Dr Deepak M. Ranade

(The author a Consultant Neurosurgeon, is the co-organiser of the first national conference on Non-duality held by World Peace Center, Alandi, MAEER'S ,MIT Pune on the 30th and 31 Jan 2012.) Details on www.neuroconsciousness.blogspot.com

The sine wave of human life

2011-12-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

\“What goes up must come down and what goes down must come up.”This is a philosophical truth, that doubles up as a mnemonic aid to memorise the sine curve. The sine wave or sinusoid is a mathematical function that describes a smooth repetitive oscillation. It is a universal wave function that is applicable in pure mathematics,physics,signal processing and many other fields. The sine wave typically has a positive excursion followed by a reversal and negative excursion on the yaxis when time is plotted on the x axis. It very effectively defines the movement of a particle on a circular path when seen from the centre of the circle.
Waves can be viewed as a disturbance in the medium around an equilibrium state, which is generally at rest. The energy of this disturbance is what causes the wave motion. A pool of water is at equilibrium when there are no waves, but as soon as a stone is thrown in it, the equilibrium of the particles is disturbed and the wave motion begins. Personal consciousness (mind body organism) or manifest form could well be a mere disturbance in the impersonal consciousness ( unmanifest )
Schrodinger's equation demonstrates all of the wave like properties of matter and was one of greatest achievements of 20th century science. It is used in physics and most of chemistry to deal with problems about the atomic structure of matter. It is an extremely powerful mathematical tool that rebuilds the basis of wave mechanics.

The human form is consciousness that walks this planet over the period of his/her life span. It is the union of the intangible ‘consciousness’ with the tangible ‘form’. This consciousness generates an identity for the form and of the form.
If the (0,0) co-ordinates of a x-y axis were the starting point of this life form, and a graph were to be plotted , with identity on the y axis and time on the x-axis, it would make a fascinating sine curve. The value for this identity that is generated with relation to the outer world, a relative identity, (objective identity) is given a positive value, and the identity that is generated from within, or a subjective identity is given a negative value.
The first half of the upper half of the wave represents the gradual development of the identity of this form. Brahmacharyashram. It is in the positive deflection as it is in relation to the outer world. A clear cut demarcation of the self crystallises along with the trappings of insecurity, self-indulgence and selfishness. All these attributes are necessary for the self-preservation of the ‘form’. At this stage, the identity of the form is critical to ensure its survival, for, without this positive identity, the form would hardly be able to ensure its own survival. This self-importance of the ‘form’peaks to the point of a compulsion to replicate itself. . This ensures transmission of the blueprint and also the handing over of the baton of this identity to the next runner. To ensure the survival of this nascent form, the restrictive identification of the self itself decreases.

The downward trend indicates a shift toward self-effacement. However, this ‘self-effacement’ is contextual to ensuring the survival of the progeny. Grahasthashram.The selfless love of the parent is actually a modified nurturing for part of the self. But it does effect in shifting the focus of identity from the ‘self’ to beyond.
As this line intersects the x axis, it modulates the awareness this identity of the self yet again. It unleashes a sense of worthlessness in this contextual frame of relevance once the needs of the offspring and family have been settled. It marks the beginning of an inward journey that looks for a meaning within. Hence, it marks a negative deflection on the y axis of identity. Vanaprasthashram.
The first half of the downward wave shows a gradual tendency to being disillusioned with the relative identity. The identity looks for ‘self-actualisation’, the apex of Maslow’s motivational pyramid. The last upward surge of this curve represents a quest for an absolute identity- or, in other words, a search for the absolute. Sanyasashram. The absolute dispenses the outer and fixates on the inner. It does not require any extrinsic cognizing entity to be aware of itself. Cognizance, after all, is required for the sense of an identity
Its final intersection and merger with the x axis represents the stripping of all the identities and a realisation that all that remains is merely a sense of ‘amness’; the same ‘amness’ that life began with as a new-born.
The ‘peeling off’ of all the acquired identities after the outward former journey and the inner latter journey marks the end of all the excursions of identity. The end of the form as well as its identity is in reality, a merger with the infinite formless from where the form undertook this kaleidoscopic journey of assumed, imaginary identities.

The hard facts of decision making

2011-11-27T19:28:00.001-08:00

Life is all about decisions. From the moment we begin the day right until we retire, we are constantly faced with the dilemma of choosing. The plethora of options seem to make the task formidable. Sometimes gratification, other times responsibility and quite often a mere adherence to the routine. The vacillations of the mind do not simplify matters in any way. Very often, it compounds the dilemma . The mind after all is the naughty child within that quite often pushes us to the cookie jar to dip in just this one more time. It conjures all sorts of brilliant rationalism and justification for that moment. And this same devil later on unforgivingly assaults the conscience with strictures that dwarf the self-esteem. Life inevitably becomes a see saw that rocks between hedonism and virtue, pleasure and duty, between self castigation and achievement.
Most of the decisions that we make are fraught with short term implications. And the stakes are not very high as well. The indulgence may at the most add a few pounds, or harden the arteries a bit. Might just prepone the inevitable.. Albeit, the extra pounds could pass off as a testimony to being well ensconced in our career.
There are times when we are faced with crunch situations. The points that have the potential to alter the course of our lives. The stakes could be high not only personally but also for those in the immediate vicinity. As the stakes rise, so does the hesitation. The head and the heart seem to wrestle for supremacy. The left brain keeps a strict debit and credit account of every alternative. The right brain pops up with very intuitive suggestions. The ego cautions one about what “the others” will say. The maverick within recommends the absurd. Amidst this din and noise, the voice of the soul is totally hushed. Repeated attempts to evoke audibility makes it barely discernible..
This voice needs to be amplified. It is a high fidelity(hi-fi) source that metes out an optimised option. Fidel to our true nature and personalities. The voice within is the voice that blends the reality with the dream. It harmonises the internal and the external. It is a holistic mix of practicality and possibility. It often gets discounted by seemingly wiser considerations, but wisdom is always in retrospect. The prospective is always speculation.
The feeling of being in total control while make a decision is honestly an apparition. This is because our decisions are largely circumstance based. The circumstances are largely out of bound even for the most powerful and mighty. A decision is essentially a way out of the maze of circumstances. This maze is a construct that is unique in every situation. We certainly cannot position the maze as per our choice. The impact of the situational maze restricts our decision making to a very narrow bandwidth of exercising our choice. Free will is restricted to an excursion on this turf restricted by the circumstances . Priding ourselves about our achievements very often is a trespass of the uncontrolled domain by our egos. It certainly makes for a heady high, but we must realise that the high is not solely because of our head.

Faith

2011-11-13T02:43:00.000-08:00

Faith- An internal phenomenon
The existence of a fixed destiny has always been a source of speculation and fascination . The belief in the presence of an omniscient God who controls this destiny generates an environment of hope and the possibility of rewriting this indelible script. Factors that are beyond ones control contribute substantially to destiny . Faith, religious practices and spirituality serve as shock absorbers to negotiate the uncertainty and unpredictability in the journey of life. It is vital as a source of hope and optimism in trying times. Religion becomes a conduit between man and his faith- the tangible manifestation of the intangible. Faith modulates the internal rather than the external. Faith is fulcrum on which conviction and self-confidence are hoisted. This fulcrum can take any form. The objective is to derive mechanical advantage in accomplishing a task. Faith transforms the individual and not the environment. It lights up a lamp within to dispel darkness and gloom. The faith of an individual can hardly have any effect on this vast external universe, but it certainly is potent enough to transform the universe within. The external universe is largely a function of perception. Faith, effects a change in the perception rather than a change in environment or in the circumstances. Faith that is inherited as a legacy in the form of religious beliefs is a default setting. It is more a matter of conditioning and not necessarily founded on any elective choice. Such ritualistic faith can be a source of disharmony but that would be like arguing about the routes that have a common destination.
A new branch of research called Neurotheology attempts to provide a structural and neurobiological basis to faith, religious beliefs and spirituality. The SPECT images have brought scientists closer to investigating and documenting a transcendent experience. SPECT scanning of a subject in the midst of a prayer or whilst meditating lit up the prefrontal cortex- the seat of attention, situated in the frontal lobes lit up. More surprising was the inhibition or quietening of a bundle of neurons in the parietal lobe, situated near the top and back of the brain. This region, also called "orientation association area," processes information about space and time, and the orientation of the body in space. This area helps delineate the precise physical extent of the body .
The orientation area depends on sensory data to generate this sense of a discrete body. If the pathways carrying this sensory data are blocked, the brain is forced to perceive the self without any discrete limited existence. Deep faith and conviction modify cognition and induce harmony with the environment which mitigates apprehensions and fears. An ability to remain calm and unruffled in trying circumstances is very critical to work out a solution. Success is more often a matter of perseverance rather than performance. Faith and conviction in any benevolent power helps decrease the sense of helplessness and instil a positivity and emotional reinforcement . Meditation induces a state , where the individual self merges with the universe, leading to a so- called state of dissolution of discreteness and limited existence.
This emerging modality of Neurotheology suggests that irrespective of the object of faith and belief, the neural correlates and pathways for their perception are common across cultures, and across faiths. It underlines the fact that faith is generic. It is more an end and makes all arguments on the means superfluous.
Dr. Deepak M. Ranade.( The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon-deepakranade@hotmail.com)

NO COMEBACKS

2011-09-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

It seemed impossible. Jumping over the barbed fence that was about waist high. He again traced back a few yards , took a run up but aborted his attempt on approaching the fence.
These attempts were leading nowhere and was making him increasingly frustrated and despondent. Eventually, he reached out for his wallet and threw it over the fence.
He deliberately forced himself to a point of no return. Cutting off all the options of not jumping the fence.
Often, our free will and sense of insecurity forces us to keep alternatives . Plan B, C and D to every plan A, a kind of insurance against failure of plan A. But this insurance may also tend to blunt the efforts to make plan A successful.
We often read about rags to riches stories of people who overcame odds from the brink of total destruction. Like the protagonist of “ Pursuit of Happiness”. The desire to succeed gets amplified in an inverse proportion to the available options. The ‘no other option’ mindset pushes one to the limit as it becomes a matter of survival. Action and reaction are equal and opposite states a fundamental law of motion. When the forces against are perceived as having the potential to threaten ones survival, the reaction generated is also one that matches these forces. Do we really strive to do our best in every endeavour of ours? Is it necessary for the circumstances to push us to a point of no return to really get the best out of us? The lord has spoken of doing ones best with scant regard to the outcome. When one is pushed to the ground, one is scarcely obsessed with the outcome as what remains is merely the instinct to survive. The success of ones endeavours in such situations is relegated to becoming just a by-product of ones efforts. The strength of our efforts lies in the conviction that we have in ourselves. Faith in oneself surpasses faith in any other, may it be a deity, or any object of worship. Embarking on anything new does involve exiting ones comfort zone. This comfort zone, becomes a sort of bondage. It raises imaginary fears of failure that stymie the will to rise and march forward. There is a very thin line dividing impulse and courage. Most incredible success stories certainly have an element of impulse. But they are also coupled with a strong self belief and never say die attitude. Problems are part perception , largely self doubt and a very tiny bit reality. That is precisely why what appears as a problem to one manifests as an opportunity to the other. Need is the mother of invention. Even serendipity blesses the one who is obsessed with his objective. This obsession might open the proverbial third eye that spots the obvious where conformism and comfort blind the two eyes. Leaving no escape route requires courage and conviction. Having a plan b is what wisdom would suggest. But then wisdom is the luxury of comfort. Security eliminates the thrill of going all out and blunts the cutting edge of all effort. The paradox of a no alternative mindset is that it opens up alternatives within ourselves. We become aware of facets within which we never knew existed. It develops a lateral thinking ability and pushes the bar of our own abilities. That is the reason adversity stimulates our own growth. And the ultimate silver edge to this cloud of ‘no alternative’ is the contribution by this huge unending universe as we tread on this path of no return. Serendipity and help from unexpected quarters are natures way of rewarding the courage and conviction to this traveller on the path of no return.

Dr Deepak Ranade

Bose Einstein Samadhi

2011-07-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Scientific Basis Of Mediataion

Matter and energy are interconvertible. This was a path –breaking contribution by Einstein and was unequivocally proven albeit in very morbid and destructive circumstances. Thus, matter is present in various energy states. These energy states were found to be temperature dependant. The higher the temperature, the greater the energy. A simple example of this would be water that boils upon heating to higher temperatures. This increases the disorder in the molecules as they are energized. This disorder is referred to as entropy. It represents the excitability and chaos of the molecules that constitute matter. Satyendra Bose, a reputed Indian scientist proposed to Einstein that if matter was cooled to very low temperatures (Absolute Kelvin- minus 273 degrees ) then the entropy of that matter should decrease and matter should come down to a zero energy state. This remained only in the realms of hypothetical speculation until it was proved much later on. This zero energy state is now known to physicists as the Bose –Einstein condensate. This state of matter is also called a superatom as the entire mass behaves as if it were a single atom. It loses all its characteristics of shape, charge, polarization etc. It probably reverts to a shapeless attributeless phenonomenon. De-evolution of matter, reverting back to just the potential to manifest as anything and everything.
Our brain is as aggregate of close to a 100 billion neurons. The various thoughts that constantly crowd our minds are the sum- total of simultaneous activity of different neurons. No wonder that there is such chaos in our awake state. These thoughts then translate into various biological changes mediated by the hormonal apparatus at the pituitary interfacing system. The complex interconnections that abound the nervous system ensure that even a small impulse rapidly spreads seismically via this dense network. Certain individuals have innate higher entropy levels and therefore find it harder to concentrate. They are known as distractible in common parlance. They have fleeting thoughts and are very restless. The sensory organs serve as an important pathway to increase the entropy as they stimulate various neuronal circuits adding to the entropy. Therefore closing the eyes helps in the process of concentration. Continuous stimulation of the neural networks is what happens in awake states.Sleep is therefore necessary for minimizing these constant excitatory inputs. Sleep deprivation leads to fatigue of the neural networks
When one concentrates, there is a resultant decrease in the disorder of the neural system. As concentration increases, the tendency of the mind to waver and scatter decreases. The mind is more sharp focused. We all have experienced the need to concentrate when we are studying or performing some important activity. So when we concentrate, we are increasing the synchronicity of a specific group of neurons and silencing unrelated neuronal activity. In scientific parlance, concentration decreases the entropy of the neuronal apparatus. Reverting to the earlier example, as we approach the Absolute Kelvin, just as the entropy of matter drops to near zero levels, similarly, the neuronal disorder keeps waning as we concentrate. The neuronal firing decreases in amplitude as well as frequency. So would the propagation across various networks.
In awake states, when one consciously attempts to decrease the entropy of the nervous system, it is referred to as meditation. As the entropy of the neurons keeps decreasing, a state of calmness is perceived. As this progresses further, the neurons start becoming synchronous. That is, they neither modulate or amplify any incoming signal. They just resonate in harmony. As this orchestra starts becoming more in synch the subject experiences varying states of bliss and happiness. Till what is presumably the final state of zero entropy, where all 100 billion neurons function in total unified quantum coherence . This Bose Einstein condensate equivalent of the neuronal system is what may be termed as Samadhi.

Dr Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon)

Moving On

2011-06-11T02:30:00.000-07:00

Moving On.

One of the hallmarks of evolution has been the increase in the ability of the progressively evolved forms to move. Beginning from the single celled amoeba, which has very restricted motility, creation has ‘moved’ a long way in bestowing speed and agility to its descendants. One of the reasons for this mutative upgrade was to access a wider range of resources like food and water. Restricted motility puts immense strain on the limited resources in an area. When the particular life form moved on, it sought out newer pastures, water holes, and, possibly, a more varied genetic material to conjugate with. The ability to move on became a condition for survival. Movement assumed even greater significance as the various forms started depending on one another for their survival. The agility and speed settings of the predator and the prey having been set very precisely, both were given equal opportunity for survival. Life seemed to be measured by the ability to move.
‘Moving on’ is as critical to our own survival in today’s day and age. . However, man’s obsession with permanence tends to become the source of inertia that resists his ability to move on. An ever-looming uncertainty adds to this very strong desire to cling to the known and the familiar. . The ability to deal with change and adapting to it becomes a tool for survival. . Life , people and circumstances are as ephemeral as the designs in a kaleidoscope. We might love a particular design immensely but all that is needed is just a tap and the design changes, never to be the same ever again. Being emotionally mobile or in other words being able to move on could help us reach out to greener pastures. “ and to tap into better resources within ourselves.
Being constantly aware of change is best illustrated by the fable of this King. He was perpetually facing trying situations and hence consulted a learned sage about how he could deal with his problemsThe sage gave the King a piece of paper and asked him to open it and read the contents only if he was in the midst of an insurmountable difficulty.
As the days passed, there came many a moment when the King was tempted to open the paper but he desisted . Eventually, one day, when he was on the verge of ending his life because of a situation he was in, he finally opened the paper. In it was written, “This too shall pass”. If one doesn’t choose to move on, life anyway does. So our attempts to keep trying holding on to are also futile. As futile as probably scooping up water from the river and believing one has held it. Reluctance to move on makes us susceptible to predation by despair, despondence and pain. These are the emotional predators, that don’t deliver the killing bite. They just gorge on the vitality and render the victim helpless and incapacitated. Moving on assumes life- sustaining importance. If moving on is so crucial, we must find joy in the movement, which is very dynamic and therefore, refreshing. Movement is redemption. If inevitable, then it cannot be wrong. Evolution triggers changes that are meant for the betterment of the race and form.
If evolution demands movement, it must pave the road for our betterment. Perhaps, moving on is the prerequisite for transcending our consciousness to the next level. To realise and identify ourselves as being that which does not change, “the observer”.
Dr Deepak M. Ranade
( deepakranade@hotmail.com)

The Internal Jury

2011-06-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Despair and dejection are among the most common negative emotions that we have to deal with in our daily lives. . These emotions arise as a result of our own judgemental approach. We all have an in-built judicial system that conducts its own trials. The act of prosecution begins as soon as something unfavourable happens or when our ego gets hurt. There are usually one of four verdicts that are passed.
1) I am ok, you are not ok
2) I am not ok, you are ok
3) I am not ok and you are not ok either
4) I am ok, you are ok.

The ‘you’ in this verdict could be a person, a situation, an event, the planetary position, practically just anything outside of the self.

The people whose internal jury deliver the first verdict are typically egoistic, not introspective, rigid, and also slow learners. They are very confident but largely self indulgent and not easily amenable to suggestions. They may also be control freaks and are invariably complaining about most issues and people. They can be intimidating at times and very haughty. They are quite creative and innovative and they remain in a positive state of mind even after an occasional setback.
The individuals whose internal jury deliver the second verdict are the ones who are low on self-confidence. They are the ones who will introspect for hours, and are often more inclined toward some kind of persecution mania. They will learn from their mistakes as they have the sincere desire to learn. However, they are very prone to having bouts of despair and depression and take much longer to recover from a setback.
The ones in the third category are the pessimists, whose criticism can be annoying to those who are at the receiving end of it. . They just do not seem to find anything right. They could be among the nagging sorts and, often, non-creative. They are the least likely to venture out of their comfort zones for any reason and prefer the confines of whatever security is afforded by their reluctant, self- imposed contentment.
The last category are the ‘Edison’ category. These will never reprimand either themselves or anyone for their failures. They have an indomitable spirit and are very adventurous. They seem to have an inexhaustible appetite for life and could be very creative. They are incredibly positive and are extremely perseverant. However, they can become very egoistic when successful because, innately, they have a very high opinion of themselves.
The most advanced and philosophical are the ones that rise above this fourth category. They are the enlightened ones who never have an internal jury. The internal jury is replaced by an observer who merely observes without getting involved. They are the ones who do not believe in having any ‘doership’. Doership not as in ability to do or act. Doership is the conviction of having the wherewithal to effect the desired outcome of ones action.
Actions are most often directed towards a prefixed objective; the commonest being gratification of the senses or of the ego in some way or the other. The last category comprises of those who are less self-indulgent, more selfless. They set out doing what they have to but accept the outcome without any grudge or judgement irrespective of whether they sought the gratification or did not.
This intrinsic contentment is a state of realisation. Living life without passing a verdict of any sort either on people, circumstances or the self is deliverance from unhappiness and despair.
(This is not meant to be a verdict by the author)
Dr Deepak M Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon- deepakranade@hotmail.com

ENTANGLEMENT- A fascinating phenomenon

2011-05-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Entanglement- A state of Advaita.

Reductionism, as a means of solving the mysteries of creation has since long been the quest of physics. Molecules gave way to atoms, which paved the way for quarks, and then further on to bosons, the quest continues unabated. Presently the flavour of the reductionist approach is the ‘string theory’. It hypothesises all different types of particles being merely differing frequencies of the same elementary building block –‘the string’. The ‘string’ that weaves all creation.
Einstein, proved the inter-convertibility of matter and energy. His E= mc2 revealed the interconversion of matter and energy states. His amazing grey cells could have gone even further to integrate ‘consciousness’ in the equation. The entity that not only spawns energy and matter but along with the cognising entity , cognition itself. An equation that factors consciousness might just be the TOE (theory of everything) that has been the holy grail of Physicists.
Einstein could never digest the fact that “ God played dice”, and so he relentlessly proposed various hypotheses that questioned the integrity of Quantum Physics. One such attempt was the EPR paradox that he proposed along with Rosen and Podolsky . Heisenbergs principle of uncertainty precluded the possibility of accurately predicting both, the position and velocity of a particle. The EPR paradox suggested that if one knew the position of one of the two entangled particles, and the velocity of the other, then it would be possible to know exactly both the variables of the two particles. Since the two particles were entangled,( a term suggested by Schrodinger) they travelled at the same velocity but in opposing directions. The information about the other particle would be got instantly, faster than the speed of light. Einstein called this effect ‘spooky’ as it defied existing laws of Physics. This non-locality was scientific heresy, not just a paradox. It violated Heisenbergs theory and questioned the very foundations of quantum physics. This thought experiment subsequently got verified in the laboratory.
In 1997, Nicholas Gisin and colleagues at the University of Geneva used entangled photons to enable simple - but instantaneous - communication over a distance of seven miles. Quantum entanglement allows particles that are separated by incredible distances to interact with each other instantaneously, faster than the speed of light. The mechanism behind it cannot, be fully explained by any theory. One theory suggests that all matter was once compacted together in a unified state, and hence the connectedness. A oneness, a primordial non-dual state.
Entanglement may be the greatest testimony to Advaita or non-duality. Instant relay of information over a large distance presupposes a separation that may well be just illusory. Time and space could just be deceptive programs of the perceptive apparatus. The apparent duality being just a distortion of the observer. As the great scientist saint –Dnaneshwar has suggested – the trinity of the observer observed and observation is in reality a unity . A more astonishing aspect of entanglement is that the spin of the particle when not being observed is just one of many possibilities. It actually takes up a value only when it is measured. At that very instant this information is relayed to the entangled particle that instantaneously acquires the appropriate reciprocal value. Here, the observer, the observed and the process of observation are all mutually dependant and affect one another. The particle taking on a value when it realises it is being observed makes it as much conscious as the observer. Preposterous to imagine consciousness being an attribute of the sub-atomic world. Transmission of this information instantaneously to the entangled particle instantaneously might seem inexplicable in the realm of duality mediated by our perceptive senses. This apparent separateness may after all be the illusion that our scriptures allude to. Entanglement may eventually qualify the statement ‘Aham Brahmasami,” – I am Brahma, or “Tatvamasi”. I am that. There exists no separation, or difference in the myriad forms of consciousness. The state of realisation could very well be seeing the entire gamut of creation in another dimension – a state of quantum super-entanglement.

Dr Deepak M Ranade- (The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon- deepakranade@hotmail.com)

Decimating Osama- A Pyrrhic Victory?

2011-05-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

A Pyrrhic Victory

The frail and debilitated body was a tragic caricature of its pre-morbid healthy and strong disposition .Surgical excision of the malignancy ridden parts had taken further toll of the dwindling vitality. Cancer had totally ravaged major portions of the body and rendered it impossible to perform even basic activities of day to day living. The irony of the situation was that the body itself had manufactured this lethal cell producing factory, that gradually destroyed itself.
Modalities like chemo-therapy, or surgery are available, but effect a sort of Pyrrhic victory. Using toxic drugs, or surgical excision are extreme measures, and can never be remedial by any stretch of imagination.
When malignancy strikes, and spreads to different sites, how many extensions can be excised? Delivering toxic drugs does impact the normal tissues as well. How long will the body bear such insults?
Terrorism is like a malignancy. Once a few cells escape the sovereignty of the organism and become autonomous, they continue to multiply, at the cost of the host and wreak havoc till finally the host succumbs. Paradoxical that these cells end up killing the very host that nourished them.
One of the etiological factors that triggers this metamorphosis from normal to malignant cells is chronic irritation. Repeated abuse of the tissues destroys them. The regenerative apparatus ensures periodic repair and replacement of the damaged cells. When a threshold is crossed, the repair mechanism gets deregulated and then goes in a frenzy of producing new cells, which eventually overwhelm the host. Every organism is in essence, a conglomerate of cells functioning with extreme synchronicity and order. The body is a symphony, produced by the orchestra of different systems and organs working in tandem and in an orderly manner. Entropy or disorder is introduced due to repeated abuse and irritation. The body has a great amount of tolerance and innate ability to deal with insult, but when this limit is also transgressed, it is left with no option but to destroy itself. Destroying terrorist organisations or terrorists is like merely excising part of a rapidly spreading cancer. Using force or weapons is analogous to using cyto-toxic drugs. Such measures destroy normal cells also which are in the functional vicinity of the malignant cells. It is a very temporary respite and does nothing in terms of effecting a cure. Ideologies (religious or otherwise) take the form of instruments of irritation and abuse. They spread insidiously and propagate with an absolute conviction of their own virtue. They have scarce regard to the diversity of the host factors. The success of an ideology in one micro-environment does not ratify its universality. Other environs deal with this foreign ideology as an antigen and react violently. This response is not the fault of the host. Its the fault of the antigenic stimulation. The body works on an “all or none” program. It will either not react at all or then react with full throttle. This response transcends all logic and cannot be reversed once put into motion. Not initiating it is far more prudent than attempts to negotiate after triggering it. The transformation of orderly functional cells into an autonomous mass with the potential to destroy the host has to be stopped rather than focussing on means of containing these transformed cells. Once they are transformed, they evolve and become refractory to all modalities deployed to reign them in. The microcosm provides us insights to deal with the macrocosm. Just that we have to be smart enough to observe and learn from these time-tested cues.

Dr. Deepak M. Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon-deepakranade@hotmail.com)

An interesting take on Free will and Destiny

2011-04-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

What if ...........

The most common indulgence of the thought process. What if I had not married this partner? What if I had studied law instead of Medicine? These are the journeys undertaken by our imagination had one taken the other road when at the crossroads of life. There apparently is no limit to this rather futile extrapolation into the past. It would lead to the most bizarre point of “What if my parents were not to have met at all?” The rational conclusion after such preposterous deliberations is that there surely is some deterministic programme that effects itself to unfold our existence and what follows.
If one were to keep extending the “what if” thought process, the creation of the Universe would also be just one of the limitless possibilities. The conditions required for creation of the universe are so specific and exacting ; like the mass of the proton, the value of gravity, and all the rather critical values of the various forces. This line of thought inspired the now famous anthropic principle in 1973. The Participatory Anthropic Principle states not only that the Universe had to develop humanity(or some intelligent, information-gathering life form) but that we are necessary for its existence, as it takes an intelligent observer to collapse the Universe’s waves and probabilities from superposition into relatively concrete reality.
This principle shifts the focus to a program that deliberately effects creation. If this determinism was vital to creation itself and also to the past( like our parents meeting inevitably) then it stands to reason that it must also play a critical role in unfolding the future. This brings us to the oft debated issue of free will. Do we truly exercise free will in our lives ? Is the future also predetermined? Logically , for any event to take place, there are so many factors out of our control that must complexly interact to yield the expected output. As is oft quoted “ Man proposes and God disposes” At an individual level, what makes one think and then work in a specific direction? The so called free will may just be an illusion when in reality, the thoughts and actions gravitate towards a pre-fixed path. This line of thought surely deals a body blow to our ego. When viewed very dispassionately, one cannot help but realise that even being alive tomorrow is a presumption. Free will therefore is also based on certain assumptions and conditions. Therefore, unconditional free will may not exist . The free will that we so pride ourselves is actually restricted to making a choice within the framework and circumstances that are tossed up by factors beyond our control.
All our thoughts, actions and decisions are based on the identity that we have generated as we course through the journey of life. The destiny that we talk about is of this identity. The desire to know what is going to happen tomorrow stems largely from a deep sense of insecurity that is fuelled by the ego. Is the identity that is purely a subject of perception our true self? The true nature of our self is merely consciousness that observes. Time and space are apparitions necessary for the unmanifest consciousness to become manifest as sentient beings. Past present and future are correlates of time. They are imaginary compartments that help establish a chronology.
They are as much a figment of the imagination as time itself. The free will that we talk about remains the free will of an imaginary entity and its ego. Whether the future is scripted or not becomes a moot issue if the true nature of the self becomes clear- a speck of that unqualified consciousness that exists beyond the apparitions of time and space.
Dr Deepak M Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon-deepakranade@hotmail.com)

Moving On in Life.

2011-04-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

Moving on – The testimony of Life

A wise man was a participating in a conversation. He contributed by telling the group a joke. All those present were highly amused and appreciated the humor. After a while, he narrated the same joke again. This time the response was more tempered. After some time, he repeated it. . There was hardly any response this last time around and people were, in fact, slightly irritated. When he told the same joke yet again after a few minutes, one of the persons in the group retorted “Why are you repeating the joke so often? It now ceases to
\amuse us and we are getting irritated”, The wise man responded-“ If the same joke ceases to amuse us after a couple of repetitions, why then does the repeated remembrance of something painful elicit equal or sometimes higher degrees of sorrow and resentment?”
The way a person deals with unpleasantness in the past influences largely, his .attitude and approach to dealing with the present. Carrying too much emotional baggage certainly does not augur well and could affect the person’s self-esteem embarking on a self deprecatory behaviour. He is convinced that he is at the root of all the misfortunes that have befallen him and will mope and indulge in an unforgiving criticism of himself. The already low levels of self esteem ebb even further and makes the person very sceptical and cynical.
The embers of all unpleasant memories get fanned by self- pity and self -criticism to keep burning. It is akin to being a jury at one’s own trial., and about being obsessive about fixing the blame rather than the problem. Moving on with life after an unsavoury incident requires one to relegate the event as one out of the limitless possible outcomes.
Que sera sera - whatever will be, will be. Reminiscing and Reacting to the past is as futile as attempting to resuscitate a corpse. Most people try and strive to uproot the weeds of unpleasant memories. This is not possible as selective amnesia is still in the domain of science fiction. The memories will remain and one needs to let them. It is far more important not to be reactive about the long buried past and use that as a scale to measure oneself. The past should never be empowered enough to affect the present. Passing a verdict about oneself based entirely on the events of the past deals a body blow to growth and development. Such a verdict is like putting on blinds that force one to view the present with self-imposed imaginary limitations. It would be very egoistic to implicate oneself and hold one entirely responsible for any event or decision taken in the past. Every event is the outcome of a complex factors most of which are not entirely predictable or controllable. Such indulgence converts a person from a possibility thinker to a probability thinker. The possibility thinker is very positive and has faith in himself believing that any dream is possible. The probability thinker, in contrast, is a sceptical individual teeming with self-doubt and fearing the probability of failure.
A farmer had a couple of horses that he used for tilling his land. They would be tied the whole day to plough the field or draw water \from the well to irrigate the fields. At night the farmer would leave the rope tied round their necks but never bothered to tie the other end. It was free. A n onlooker enquired “ Why don’t you tie the other end ? Wont the animal run away?”
The farmer replied “ The end round their necks is enough to make them believe that they are captive. They are convinced that the other end is secured.”
The unsavoury memories of the past should not become such convictions that bind us and restrict our freedom to evolve and grow.

Memories of events should serve to navigate the present rather than end up being an instrument of self accusation.
The present has to be treated like a ‘present’, a . gift that should never be vitiated by the festering past. Like the wise man said , “...at hsome point we ought to get bored and refractory to the nightmares of the past and wake up to dream about the wonderful future that beckons us.”

Dr Deepak M. Ranade
Thpe author is a Consultant Neurosurgeon
deepakranade@hotmail.com
blog- www.neuroconsciousness.blogspot.com

Liberation from Personhood, TOI- SPeaking Tree-7th March 2011

2011-03-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

Deepak M Ranade

The brain's various centres are each designated for a specific function. The senses take cognition of the environment. The anthropological basis of the nervous system was to facilitate an interaction with the environment, based on the individual's awareness of being separate from the environment. All senses subserve the function of underlining a sense of discreteness. Touch, taste, sound, smell and vision are instruments of discrimination. The entity that integrates these inputs and collectively coordinates them as a subject is the assumed 'identity'. The coordinated output of separateness that the senses keep generating is ego.

The brain also provides a data bank that stores previous interactions with the environment. These are categorised and stored for reference in the bandwidths of likes and dislikes. The brain helps fragment awareness into the subjective 'self' and objective 'non-self' - the observed world. This split awareness is switched on continuously and both the 'self' and the 'non-self' are vital for each other's symbiotic existence.

Our own identity relies on our ability to perceive our self as uniquely different and distanced from the environment. Various decremental states of consciousness, such as feeling drowsy, deep sleep, semi-consciousness or even an unconscious state are familiar. Therefore, it is only logical to believe in states where there is an incremental increase in the level of consciousness.

If identity was based merely on a deep-rooted sense of discreteness that the senses generate, would a person, alone in a dark, quiet room - whose brain is not being fed with sensory inputs - consider himself as non-existent? An unconscious person doesn't interact with the environment but might be assumed to possess an 'am-ness' that is partial and aware of only the 'self' without comprehending or interacting with the environment. It's a state of partial awareness.

A seizure that arises in the portions of the limbic system - phylogenetically one of the oldest group of neurons - could give rise to profound spiritual experiences. Repeated bursts of abnormal electrical activity can facilitate a new pathway within the complex network of neurons. This is called 'kindling' - where consciousness may be getting defragmented leading to an un-split awareness, without the usual fragmentary approach.

All sense organs route their inputs through the limbic system and to various designated areas. The sensation of extreme bliss generated by un-split awareness gets triggered by the limbic system and not in the frontal lobes, the seats of intelligence and logical analysis. Such experiences are hence states of altered awareness rather than conclusions arising as a result of intellectual thought processing of the brain. The experience or realisation that the am-ness of subject and object are of the same essence could be that final frontier of consciousness evolution, the attainment of state of superconsciousness.

Faith and devotion as ways to salvation rely on the dismantling of the worshipper's identity and becoming one with the worshipped. That is, perhaps inputs that serve to generate and maintain a separateness of the self are modulated or filtered within the limbic system - a state of comprehensive, unrestricted oneness.

It's a paradoxical situation of the observer becoming the observed without the mediation of sense organs, by expanding awareness to a supra-sensory level.

Realisation may well be a modulation and 'kindling' of the neural pathways leading to a perception of oneness with the entire cosmos. It would then really be more a liberation from the person rather than of the person.

The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. deepakranade@hotmail.com

Flower Lessons- Speaking Tree, Sunday 27th Feb

2011-03-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

AccountDr DEEPAK RANADE
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By : Deepak M Ranadeon Feb 26, 2011 | Views (404) | Post response
Appreciation from others feeds the ego, but it should not steer our actions, writes Deepak M Ranade

As we trudged along the steep mountain path and reached a clearing, the landscape evolved into a picturesque panorama. The tall pines stood erect in attention as if in a military drill.

A solitary wild flower caught my attention, as it swayed merrily in the breeze. It seemed oblivious to my presence and appeared to be in some sort of a private celebration — its bright yellow colour eloquently reflecting its vibrant mood. It appeared strangely assertive of its uniqueness, and yet blended harmoniously into the orchestra of colours that surrounded it. I don’t know if it was blissful indifference or whether it was some intrinsic, stoic, self-assurance that never mandated any cognisance.

It seemed to have no questions or doubts about its existence; neither did it seem to care whether it was appreciated or even noticed. Scarcely intimidated by the riot of colours around, it seemed sure of its own little place on the vast landscape. As it swayed gracefully, its suppleness made its movements seem more like a dance than like any form of submission to the whims of the unpredictable breeze. It did not seem anxious about the overcast conditions that could stamp out its very existence. Rather, it seemed to be making the most of the given moment as its petals fluttered noiselessly.

Quantum theory would deny its very existence in the absence of an observer. I wondered, then, whether it would be considered to have existed at all, had I not seen it, and whether it would behave differently had it been aware of it being noticed. The casual disdain with which it basked in the meadow did not suggest that it cared for recognition.

Appreciation and approval is vital to every one of us. Response from the environment is what generates and maintains our identity. Our joy and happiness is most often based on recognition and it tends to direct our actions, making our existence relative.

The relentless interactive behaviour constantly generates varying coefficients of self-esteem. Fluctuation in self-esteem impacts our confidence, happiness and the sense of well-being. The need for approval and appreciation increases our vulnerability. Equanimity and being at peace with oneself warrants being unflinching and unaffected by the inconsistencies of responses.

Such an attitude was aptly illustrated by the protagonist of the novel Fountainhead, Howard Roark. When Peter Keating asks Howard what he thinks about him, his terse reply, “I don’t think about you” reveals a personality that does away with the need for any struts of approval to stay upright. This can, at times, be interpreted as being insensitive but it reflects more of a conviction in one’s own persona and script of existence. It portrays a casual self-assurance without a trace of self-doubt; an assertive awareness of the surroundings, that is neither submissive nor dominating — an awareness that merely observes and is not spectator-sensitive. The awareness that remains unruffled, metamorphoses into a state of bliss. Happiness is more an intrinsic phenomenon than being an outcome of any subject-object interaction.

Does the equation of happiness always need to factor in external response? The manifestation of that original, undivided, universal consciousness into myriad forms was for that consciousness to become aware of its own self. It was not programmed for the various forms to depend on one another for acceptance or acknowledgement. Appreciation feeds the ego, but it should not steer our actions. The image of that petite yellow flower remained imprinted in my mind — probably against its wishes — long after it unobtrusively dropped out of my field of vision.

2011-01-01T07:44:00.000-08:00

The net.
The trapeze artistes were at it. Keeping the crowd spellbound with their death defying leaps and acrobats. The spectators were gaping open mouthed as they looked upwards. Stunned by the gravity defying acts. But they were oblivious to the net that was stretched much below the line of vision. It was stretched tautly to arrest any misjudgement. It was visible only from above as the gymnasts flung themselves from dizzying heights, to be caught by a colleague in the nick of the moment.
The net was totally self-effacing, and could hardly be called a participant in that spectacle of human stunts. But no matter how much it underplayed itself, it was crucial for the entire act to unfold.
The presence of that net merely eased the nerves rather than improve the skills. The visual cue of that net eased the grip of every performer , as letting go of the bar or a colleagues hand was as important as holding on tight in this acrobatic orchestra..
Many achievers in life very often steal the spotlight as they go about their lives making the onlookers stare in disbelief. Their confidence, devil may care attitude, risk taking ability, and tremendous gumption for life appears enviable. Very rarely is mention made of that invisible net that gave these achievers the liberty of taking off. A kind of security which initiated and propelled them towards their achievements. The uniqueness of that person or force is his unobtrusiveness and being virtually a non-participatory observer. Very often, involvement and concern in a dear one prompts interference or meddlesome behaviour. This concern at times becomes counter-productive as it can stifle and extinguish the spirit of exuberance.
Love and concern for a dear one often is like a tight rope walk. Something like the art of holding a serpent as revealed by a herpetologist. The grip should be loose enough so as not to frighten the animal and tight enough to prevent it from escaping. Anything less than or more than that optimum and you have lost the plot. Concern or love that restricts can never be conducive to growth. Very often, extreme form of love becomes an exercise of ownership or control. And getting the object of ones affection yield, resorting to a form of emotional blackmail is quite commonplace. Having a very magnanimous mind-set that releases rather than holds captive is what a true relationships are all about. As is oft quoted, -If you love someone, set him free.
An important aspect of nurturing involves letting go. Like the proverbial haemoglobin that carries oxygen. The selection of this complex molecule to transport oxygen to the tissues is not because it binds very strongly to oxygen, but more importantly, its ability to release oxygen at the opportune place and time.
The most genuine of relations are the ones that never need constant reaffirmation. They are ones that transcend dependence, and never beg reciprocity. They remain uncharacteristically somewhere in the background, and serve to stimulate and encourage silently. Bordering on selflessness. Till that day of reckoning when the trapeze artistes would perform without that net. That would be the defining moment and disappearing totally would be the nets only salvation.
Dr.Deepak M. Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon- depakranade@hotmail.com, blog-www,neuroconsciousness.blogspot.com)

Travelogue of trek to Everest Base Camp

2010-12-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Blissful HeightsBy : Deepak Ranade Dec 20, 2010 | Views (229) | Responses (3) Facing Mt Everest for the first time, Deepak Ranade discovers that his ego had simply vanished at the sight of the magnificent canvas before him.

The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla in a Dornier aircraft was nerve-racking. As it made the final descent, it seemed we were headed directly for the mountains. Suddenly, the runway appeared at the edge of the valley and we all heaved a sigh of relief after a bumpy touchdown. We had a hurried meal and set off from Lukla on one of the most challenging, but exhilarating treks of our lives.

One can’t help a feeling of awe that creeps in as one treads the same path that legends like Tenzing, Hillary, and Reinhold Meissner walked on. Our first destination is Namchi Bazaar. We cross the Hillary bridge that spans the Dudhkosi river. Walking on the three feet-wide steel structure that undulates and occasionally swings certainly makes one appreciate the stable ground we walk on. As level ground makes way for the inclines, every step becomes an exercise in self-motivation and determination. The mind starts questioning the sanity of this whole masochist exercise. As the climb continues relentlessly, even the Everest Base Camp appears distant and unreachable.

Only One Way: Forward
I reason to myself that we all go through such moments in life, too. In such moments, the only option left is to keep moving ahead, taking the next step. Besides, fatigue and exhaustion strike everyone with equal intensity, but you can’t let them get the better of you. This philosophical approach surely makes the rest of the climb more bearable. In fact, it made me notice the tall pines and the lush green carpet draping the hills. After about an hour of toil, we catch the first glimpse of Everest from a small clearing — a morale-boosting sight that proved as therapeutic as a shot of steroids for our tired bodies.

Namchi is a quaint little settlement in the hills, replete with all modern facilities, without, however, severing its umbilical cord with tradition.

It serves as a major logistic head for all expeditions to the Everest. It is surrounded by some picturesque peaks like Ama-Dablam, Thamserku and Kusumkangru.

The next day saw us on our way to Tengboche, a small village that houses the famous Tenboche monastery. Legend says that on summit day, Tenzing got a glimpse of this monastery from his tent and interpreted it as a good omen for his summit bid. The Buddha idol in this monastery looks on serenely, in harmony with the ambience. The surrounding peaks and the distant but clearly visible Everest range is the perfect setting to induce a meditative state.

Majestic Mountains
We continue our trek to Pangboche, where after a night halt, we move to Dingboche. In line with our acclimatisation protocol, we ascend nearly 1,000 feet from where we catch a glimpse of Makalu, Island peak, and Peak No. 38. We also see Choufula, a sacred peak that is worshipped by the locals. As part of ritual, the entire village abstains from any form of fire for three months every year, an unimaginable fact at such heights and temperatures, and testimony to the fact that humankind spares no ordeal in its eternal quest to access Divinity.

Our next stop is Lobuche, which claims our first casualty of altitude sickness — a teammate suffers from continuous throbbing headaches, nausea and occasional shortness of breath. Suddenly, we realise our own fragility and vulnerability and how unforgiving these mountains can be. Treatment comprises of one main modality — descend — and quickly at that! We bid an emotional farewell to our colleague as he leaves with a porter.

Golden Crest
The terrain is now becoming more hostile. Morraine and rocks make climbing all the more difficult. As we make our way to the tea-house lodge at Gorakshep, the highest village on the Everest trek, we look forward to our final destination, Kala Patthar, at more than 18,000 feet.

This is a mountain made up mostly of black rock, which gives it its name. After crossing a stretch of sandy level ground — the remains of Tethys — the ocean that existed prior to the collision of the continental plates — we ascend another 1,000 feet to a plateau. The sight was too awesome for words. We were surrounded by snow-clad magnificence — Pumorie, Cho-latse, the west shoulder of Everest and Lhotse. We were spellbound, and all the pain that had preceded the moment vanished.

As the sun began to set, the majestic peaks were gradually devoured by shadows, and very soon, only the tips of the tallest, Mt Everest and Lhotse, managed to stay afloat in the fading sunlight. Those golden apices and the surreal mountainscape made us want to freeze the moment for eternity. I said a silent prayer for being able to experience this sublime masterpiece. When you see a canvas of this magnitude and splendour, you realise that all ego sublimates, and what remains is a desire to become one with this manifestation of divinity.

Tags : divinity, experience, magnitude, Mt Everest, splendour

Nirvikalpa Samadhi

2010-11-21T21:33:00.000-08:00

Supra-conceptual awareness
DEEPAK M RANADE, Nov 22, 2010, 12.00am IST
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Tags:Thoughts|spirituality|Human brain|god|Faith|evolution
Supra-conceptual awareness (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)
The human brain has a frontal lobe that has the power of abstraction and imagination. A perspective upgrade enabled by the frontal lobe makes possible comprehension of complex concepts and ideas.

Religion, God, spiritualism and belief systems are complex concepts. These are acquired and planted by social conditioning of the individual. None of them are congenital; they are legacies of culture and conditioning. They are influenced by a host of geo-politico-social factors. Their diversity harbours immense potential to breed conflict within the individual as also without. They are relative to the environment in which the individual grows up. The personality and thought processes of each individual are a sum total of all such influences.

All learning is also concept based. These concepts lead to a conditioning of the intellect. Once the formatting is done, it becomes a template and reference for future thought processes.

The identity of ones own self is also a concept. Various influences of the environment mould this concept of the identity of the self. Like sedimentary rocks, time keeps adding layers to this notional entity. Likes, dislikes, pleasure and pain also develop in accordance with development of this identity. Eventually each person becomes an eclectic mix of ideas, concepts and opinions accumulated from diverse influences. An individual identity is unformatted consciousness superimposed with an acquired identity integrated with an assortment of concepts.

All thoughts that arise in the mind are also based on concepts that have been learned and acquired. Anxiety, fear, joy, happiness and sorrow are concepts that affect our lives profoundly. But they are all concepts, nonetheless. What is primary is consciousness animating this identity.

All pleasure and pain arise as a function of this assumed identity and are very relative to this identity. Pleasure and pain are mere sensations mediated by neurotransmitters as response to events in the environment. The sense of pleasure or pain never affects the sense of am-ness, which is impermeable to variable circumstances.

Liberation is also a concept. Liberation is sought from what, the travails of life? It seems more a pre-emptive effort to obviate any impending suffering since it promises deliverance from subsequent births. It may be an extension of the pleasure-seeking principle. True liberation would be from all concepts. All thoughts are in effect founded on the backdrop of concepts. Thoughts are derivatives of the assumed identity. They have no a priori existence. They are secondary to the identity. Thoughts and ideas are totally in the domain of tangible form.

The form can perceive only a form. For consciousness to be aware of itself, it has to abandon all paradigms of knowledge and concepts. Thoughts are images and attributes of the conceptual identity arising and subsiding on the screen of consciousness.

Meditation attempts to induce a state of thoughtlessness. Liberation is the wiping of this screen of all concepts, including the concept of the self as identity. The sense of `i am' needs no knowledge to become just am-ness. The "i" tries to perceive am-ness using forms and concepts. But am-ness is supraconceptual. It exists plainly and uncharacteristically and obviously.

Realisation would be a shift from "i" am to just plain am-ness without the pronoun "i" residing in a sense of mere am-ness. This state of residing in unqualified am-ness is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi or supraconceptual awareness.

(The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon.)

deepakranade@hotmail.com

www.neuroconsciousness.blogspot.com

Read more: Supra-conceptual awareness - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spirituality/science-of-spirituality/Supra-conceptual-awareness/articleshow/6960038.cms#ixzz15zEIUiWZ

Paradox of Liberation

2010-08-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

:spirituality|paradox|liberation|intellect
Speaking Tree-Times Of India- 23 August 2010
Liberation is believed to the epitome of achievement of the human form. But the phenomenon of liberation is riddled with a great paradox.

The paradox is that the liberated entity disintegrates, dissolves and no longer remains to appreciate the state of liberation. The whole exercise of liberation therefore seems to be an exercise in futility when viewed from the standpoint of the individual endeavouring to seek liberation.

Liberation can never be an acquisition of the individual. Because liberation is not of a person, liberation is from a person. It is often said by sages that the search or efforts to seek liberation will end only when the seeker ends.

All attempts made in this direction only further crystallise the identity and discreteness of the seeker. The state of am-ness when suffixed by an identity automatically precludes any scope of salvation. Desire for liberation is an oxymoron, because liberation is absence of all desires. Does it mean that all endeavours like meditation, devotion and prayer are superfluous?

Sage Ashtavakra said precisely that. Liberation is merely a blink away. It need not involve any form of penance, effort or endeavour. The identity of self is totally a creation of the self and a figment of imagination. The name, the form is merely a projection. Liberation is instantaneously becoming aware of the absence of the subject-object dichotomy.

The meaning of the word Ashtavakra is “distorted at eight places”. According to legend when Ashtavakra was in still in his mother’s womb, his father would recite from Vedic scriptures. But his chanting was defective and every time Ashtavakra discerned an error, he would squirm inside the womb. As a result he was born with eight deformities; hence the name.

This story is symbolic. The squirming was perhaps at the futility of the chanting. Sage Ashtavakra was a realised soul and his discourse to King Janaka forms the content of the treatise, Ashtavakra Gita, that predates the Bhagavad Gita.

The name Ashtavakra has a far greater significance. Yoga as elucidated by Sage Patanjali is comprised of an eight-fold path. Ashtanga Yoga, comprising yama or restraint, niyama or self-regulation, dhyaan or meditation, pratyaahara, dharana, samadhi asana and pranayama. The eightfold path leads to samadhi or liberation. But Ashtavakra said that all endeavours only fortify the identity of the seeker. He said that liberation is the state where the subject and object become one. All endeavours only serve to underline the ego and are a detriment to liberation. Ashtavakra therefore seems to underline the distortion created by any path of endeavour by the seeker. The philosophy challenges the basic premise that one has to make any effort to seek liberation – for that matter even ashtanga yoga. This is a radical departure from all established though.

A specific form is merely the all-pervading consciousness cleaving itself into a subject and object. It then goes about believing all that is observed is as separate and discrete as its own self. The true nature of the Self is beyond all identity and ego. It is plain consciousness. The ego is adulteration of this consciousness by total conviction in this fleeting illusory identity. And then the game of seeking begins, like the dog chasing its own tail. Holding on to the illusion of identity, one goes about seeking. The form can never ever seek the formless consciousness of which it is a manifestation. It can only merge and this merger can happen only when the form realises the futility of all efforts to become the formless.

(The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon deepakranade@hotmail.com and neuroconsciousness.blogspot.com)

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Read more: Paradox of liberation - Speaking Tree - Spirituality - Life & Style - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spirituality/speaking-tree/Paradox-of-liberation/articleshow/6391369.cms#ixzz0xOFe93Xx

energy a manifestation of the unified consciousness

2010-08-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

All is one, all is Brahmn. There is no duality. Unity has a concentric disposition. The centre is the absolute potential and as one moves outwards, this potential transforms to the kinetic. The myriad forms of creation are the kinetic expression of this central toti-potent potential.
The kinetic manifests as Shakti; the potential is Shiva. Duality begins with this illusory distinction. They are totally interchangeable because, in effect, they are one. The gunas or characteristics of form -- rajas, satva and tamas -- reflect the varying proportions of kinetic and potential energies. Satva is closer to the central, unmanifest potential, while tamas is peripheral and manifests as energy in various forms.
Energy is potential coupled with entropy or disorder, from the formless zero entropy to the manifest form with varying degrees of entropy. The kinetic manifests itself in various forms while the potential remains niraakaar or formless. This abundance of manifestation is indeed spectacular and breathtaking.
The kinetic fields preoccupy attachment to material objects and indulgent behaviour; there’s nothing wrong with that. But being preoccupied within the confines of merely form is half knowledge. It is called vipareet jnana -- to believe that form is all that there is. The true nature of Self is formless potential. Self-realisation is the journey towards the centre. All worship or devotion any form of bhakti is from where the inward journey begins. Worship or meditation is activity that decreases disorder or entropy, moving from the kinetic to the potential. The plurality of forms of worship reflects the fact that there are innumerable paths to get to the final destination, the centre. The tatva, the unmanifest formless, attributeless nirgun niraakaar, or pure potentiality.
The laws of physics conclude that any event can be claimed to have occurred only if observed by an observer. This implies that the observer is ab initio or at the centre and the object of observation is a function of the observer. The object is the subject plus entropy. And the subject is the object minus the entropy. The entire gamut of creation exists only until the observer is present.
The entire spectrum of all that is visualised could well be merely a holographic algorithm of perception by the brain. The brain might be a processor that assigns values to the entropy and converts them to sensory data. A transducer. It's a simple holographic projection of a multitude of entropy on the screen of pure potential-consciousness. Consciousness assumes the persona of an individual, also presents itself as creation and interconnects the two by becoming the act of observation. That is the trichotomy. And the show goes on. This purposeless show of manifestation is called as chidvilas, the joy of manifesting.
The brain has several ganglia or group of neurons that serve as destinations for various sensory data. The different sensory perceptions may lie in merely the different address to which the data is delivered. This delivery system is pre-programmed. For example, visual data is directed to the occipital cortex, located at the back of our heads. The brain processes the terabytes of data and creates the illusion of duality by sending the incoming data to different loci. It’s a processor that integrates varying kinetic energy patterns into data .The fidelity of our sensory organs is also a subject of speculation. I call a rose a rose because I see it just as all others do. Probably proof is in the numbers. But actually, it’s a program of perceptive software. If my visual cortex were to be stimulated at the appropriate place whilst simultaneously, the centre for smell recognition were also triggered, I would perceive a rose with equal conviction despite no such entity being present. The transient or fleeting nature of all creation lends credibility to the hypothesis that it is illusory. Creation might just be the kinetic flirting with the potential. In other words, it’s the romance of Shiva and Shakti -- a romance within -- that is, the Self suffused with love.
The author is a Pune-based consultant neurosurgeon. deepakranade@hotmail.com.
Blog-www.neuroconsciousness.blogspot.com

Speaking Tree, times of India, 26 june

2010-06-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Memory Holds The Door
Deepak Ranade, Jun 26, 2010, 12.00am IST

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Tags:writer|Deepak RanadeNostalgia|consultant neurosurgeon

Nostalgia is often a pleasurable pain. But pain, nonetheless. Unpleasant memories could create bitterness while pleasant memories tend to fill one with happiness and a desire to relive the experience. Some perceive nostalgia as part of emotional baggage, and question its biological relevance.

From an anthropological standpoint, remembering where the waterholes were in a situation where the supply of water is never constant is a valuable memory input. Similarly, knowledge of the precise location of food sources is important when supply tends to fluctuate. As a recording device, memory provides vital information in trying situations. However, the bank is also filled with a wide-ranging mix of seemingly trivial and redundant data.

The colour of the dress your first date wore on that first day, the tears that coursed down your mother's cheeks after she'd spanked you and the fight you had with your classmate in school over jumping the queue these are all recorded somewhere in our memory bank. In fact, our identity and ego are but an aggregate of all recorded data. Individual identities take shape on the basis of all past events and feelings, experiences and situations that find place in a corner of the brain. Cognitive focus or concentration lends a criticality to this unique and biological data processing system.

Perception, too, plays a crucial role in this recording mechanism. What is assimilated and stored is an outcome of what is perceived. A pragmatic person may therefore not perceive an event in a complex way. If a pragmatic person's friend or colleague encountered him on the street and passed by without a greeting, such a person he would record it as an event, a megabyte of mere oversight. But someone with a more complex perception could interpret this as part of a grand conspiracy. His memory would record it not just as an event megabyte; it would perhaps be a gigabyte of associative emotional data.

Studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories have been of emotional events rather than of any empirical or neutral event. Consciousness is the turntable that keeps rotating while ego is the pin that records grooves on the record. Memories are grooves made by ego on unformatted consciousness. Identity is consciousness formatted by the perceptive ego.

The sense of self as a discrete entity makes all awareness an interaction between self and environment. Interaction is all about duality. But in moments of extreme pleasure or thrill, there is no interaction; there is only a sense of being.

There is an invisible time zone between self and environment. The sense of discreteness disappears momentarily. In those fleeting moments, there is nothing to record. The present has no access to any data. In fact, the present is the moment just prior to the beginning of the process of recording. The dominant temporal lobe is the warehouse of all data. It is an integral part of the limbic system that is phylogenically the oldest in the evolution of the brain. It was linked with emotional responses required for survival and reproduction.

Considering that the limbic system is one of the oldest, all emotional augmenting of mundane events are perhaps vestiges of primitive behaviour, and so is not evolved. In this context, a patient suffering loss of memory may be temporarily or otherwise `liberated' from stored data and its effects, though this is a source of anguish for near and dear ones.

The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. www.neuroconsciousness.blogspot.com

2010-04-03T08:51:00.001-07:00

Divine understanding
DEEPAK M RANADE, TOI Crest, Apr 3, 2010, 01.40pm IST

Article

Tags:Faith|divine|Ego|intellectDivine understanding God was born out of the interface between man's intellect and its limitations, forcing the intellect to surrender to faith, says Deepak M Ranade. But can faith ever be challenged by intellect?

Ego is a sense of doer-ship. Every action is purported with a presumed control of the outcome. If the outcome is on expected lines, it gratifies the ego, and reinforces the sense of doer-ship . If the outcome is unfavourable, the ego gets slighted. The unfavourable outcome questions the scope or influence of the doer. The intellect cannot accept the arbitrary nature of outcomes or events. Failure to predict the outcome of any endeavour exposes the limitation of its control. This limitation is then assigned various nomenclatures such as destiny, luck, and karma. The futility of analytical thought also coerces the ego to seek recourse in an abstraction called God.

God was born out of the interface between man’s intellect and its limitations. History is also testimony to the then incomprehensible phenomena like lightning being interpreted as events orchestrated by celestial powers. The influence of God gradually invaded a wider perimeter of life. God became a convenient instrument of ensuring a code of ethics in the social fabric. The limitation of comprehension continued to remain the substrate of belief in God.

Belief began where intellect ended. So did the abstraction called God. Belief and intellect are strange bedfellows. Belief is necessarily ipso facto. It cannot forge an alliance with any rational thought. Each culture proclaimed its own messiah and advocated its own doctrines not always based on sanction or rationality. Rather, every unique interpretation of this abstraction cleaved society. The abstract caught the imagination of the intellect and forced it to surrender to faith. Faith could never be challenged by intellect.

Faith became a cornerstone to make the vagaries of life palatable. It also provided a resting ground for the intellectual juggernaut. Faith surreptitiously clouded rational intellect to a point of self-destruction . It transformed abstraction to aberration. The gaps in our understanding apparently decreased with the advent and progress of science. But scientific progress never eliminated the gaps completely. Rather, it made the conundrum of Creation even more bizarre. The phenomenon of lightning was explained by modern science. But this puzzle was replaced by the dilemma over the nature of light which still remains unexplained. Is light a particle or wave? The deficiency in intellectual comprehension only modified itself, from the macro to the nano.

The unpredictable nature of the subatomic world continues to perplex even the sharpest of intellectuals. Belief, nonetheless, could not restrain the intellect to seek answers. Ironically, the intellect continued seeking answers for what it had earlier relegated to the realm of incomprehensibility. The intellect started seeking answers for what had been its nemesis, namely, God. What symbolised its own failure became a subject of its study. Before attempting to comprehend God, it was vital to first comprehend the Self.

A student of science could study any subject but would be incapable of making the Self a subject of its own study. Experiment can never investigate the Self, which is an experience of awareness. Experience transcended intelligence. A paradigm shift is needed to be able to comprehend the abstraction that we call God. This could be made possible when we move from the ambit of experiment to experience. It will require sublimation of intellectual faculties to a point of heightened awareness, elevating awareness to become all-encompassing and all-inclusive that would end the subject-object dichotomy. The only way to understand God would be to become one.

(The writer is a consultant neuro-surgeon)

Latest article in Speaking Tree

2010-01-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

An esoteric perspective: I, me, myself, who?

DEEPAK RANADE, 8 January 2010, 12:00am ISTText Size:|Topics:speaking tree

The fundamental constituent of the consciousness construct is ‘am-ness’. It is the inconspicuous motor that powers consciousness.

It is too intangible to comprehend but is the substratum of our ‘being-ness’. Intellect, mind and thoughts are derivatives of this primordial being-ness.

Being-ness is a priori and precludes any acquired knowledge or conditioning. The am-ness drives awareness and animates the Self. The Self, veiled by identity and ego, is oblivious to this am-ness, which is its very source. It merges into the form, giving the form an illusion of control and doer-ship. Am-ness is in all life forms.

Fighting to sustain am-ness is one of the most primeval instincts. But then this fight for survival is by, of and for the form. Not for the am-ness that vitalises the form. To remain in the state of being-ness is meditation. To dwell in the am-ness unadulterated by any form, identity, ego or desire is not easy. Lapsing into illusions created by the mind is inevitable. Illusion is a sensory ‘warp’. Creation is an illusion that is spun as a web by the mind and intellect on the substrate of ‘being’.

It is a film running on the screen of am-ness. Reverting to the state of being-ness requires effort. To know that pure being-ness is the nature of the true Self is knowledge and realisation. The falsely identified self constantly needs to reaffirm itself through gratification by sensory stimulation. Am-ness does not seek any gratification or reaffirmation since it is unidentified being-ness.

Am-ness is the precursor of the mind and intellect. It is pure consciousness. It is unaffected by time and form. Pure consciousness will remain eternally even after the temporary form is extinguished. It is just that it will become impersonalised. Am-ness is also called the soul or atman. Am-ness will remain undifferentiated consciousness until it inhabits a mind-body form, somewhat like the undifferentiated primal cell wherein life begins.

The single celled zygote, the first cell, has the ability to differentiate into any cell of the body. A variety of cells and tissues each functioning autonomically eventually has not even a remote semblance to the original, each still carrying the torch of am-ness that was lit by the initial flame of life.

To identify with am-ness, one has to remove all the veils one has acquired in the course of time – name, identity, beliefs, concepts and “knowledge”. Meditation serves to gradually dissolve all illusion and at the end just leaves a residual am-ness that is the state of Brahmn. All identities, objects and concepts are time-bound and are mere mirages. They are fleeting and temporary.

Am-ness is self-effacing; it is unidentifiable in the form. It is beyond concept. The mind cannot conceive its predecessor. Am-ness is sookshma or intangible. The mind works in the realm of the sthoola , or the tangible. Intelligence and thought tend to abjectly deny the intangible. These derivatives then detach from the stalk of their origin and become autonomous.

This autonomy manifests as ego and identity. These are all pseudo-entities, null and void in the absence of am-ness that is the source as well as object of Creation.

The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. E-mail: deepakranade@hotmail.com. Blog: www.neuroconsciousness@blogspot.com

2009-12-29T04:56:00.000-08:00

To adapt and innovate is to survive and evolve
DEEPAK RANADE29 December 2009, 12:00am ISTText Size:|Topics:speaking tree
spirituality
destiny
Belief

Belief in prefixed programmes or destiny provides us with back-end logic to arbitrarily occurring events. It absolves us of our contribution to To adapt and inovate is to survive and evolve
(Getty Images)

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failure or with having to deal with ‘effort to outcome’ incongruence.

Our evolution as humans has transported us from the jungles to the moon. It bears testimony to the human ability to analyse, strategise, adapt and progress. A belief in the preordained would be a discredit to evolution. It would discount phenomenal human endeavour which has always shone through the darkest clouds of despondence.

Has free will given us the power of adaptation? Adaptation is a dynamic process that delves into the deepest recesses of creativity. Overcoming adversity is what stimulates growth and development.

Failure lures the weak mind to succumb to fatalism and so one finds it convenient to give in to passive submission. Free will, if exercised, can empower. It provides us with the freedom to spread our wings; to endeavour to soar in the vast skies of achievement. To experience, to grow, to create. The indomitability of the human spirit has nurtured evolution and helped us overcome our limitations.

Facing situations squarely requires a realistic appraisal of the problem and assessing the entire spectrum of available options diligently. Assigning cosmic design or any form of inevitability to events would be defeatist. Evolution of the human brain has provided us with the power of intelligence and discrimination.

We can prevail over our hormones, instincts and beliefs. Free will is also a double-edged weapon that can breed fear and doubt. The flower never needed anyone to predict its ability to blossom. The hatchling is oblivious to any speculation of its taking flight.

The deterministic nature of a system does not make it predictable. This is what the chaos theory propounds. The `butterfly effect’ -- a very small variation in the initial starting conditions having a tremendous impact on the final outcome – makes any predictive pattern far less reliable. The butterfly effect makes a triviality such as which side one got off the bed cascade incomprehensibly to events far beyond the scope of any predictive system.

All predictive models are based on statistical analysis, and at best can quantify the probability of an event occurring. The quantum theory also predicts that any conceivable outcome, even of walking through a wall, has a probability of occurring. Till that event actually happens, the wave function of every conceivable event abounds. In the medical profession, too, statistics are at best deterministic. They give a general trend and are ineffective from a predictive standpoint in an individual case.

The desire to know and enforce specific outcomes stems from the ego. It assumes the ability to control the environment. Free will gives the freedom to alter and manipulate inputs. It does not empower us with any control over the outcomes. Having no knowledge of or control over the outcome is a pre-condition to expression of free will.

A prefixed scheme or destiny would render free will meaningless. All actions would be mere formality that has to precede the inevitable and foregone outcome. An act becomes meaningless only in retrospect once the outcome is known. Prospectively all action is meaningful.

Certainty shackles and stifles spontaneity. Uncertainty truly liberates. A limitless potential to unfold in limitless ways. It conceives the improbable. Achievements are preceded by dreams which thrive only in the realm of improbability and uncertainty.

The inability to control or predict outcomes makes free will thrive. Unpredictability emphasises the importance of action. It underlines the beauty of the journey rather than obsession about the destination.

The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. Email: deepakranade@hotmail.com.
Blog: www.neuroconsciousness.blogspot.com

2009-11-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date: Nov 9, 2009; Section: Editorial; Page: 16

THE SPEAKING TREE

Liberation Is Freedom From The Finite

Deepak M Ranade

Form is a wave perceived by the ocean of consciousness in an attempt to understand its own formlessness. This duality is imagined and the sense of am-ness crystallises as a discrete entity that thrives on other forms or cognising entities to assert its own form. It seeks cognisance from other forms to recognise its own transient form. What is eternal is the formlessness that is the precursor of form.

Form is obsessed with tangibility. The sense organs are mere instruments to reinforce this belief in form as the true self. The form continues to believe it is a discrete independent entity. It has total conviction in these deceptive sensory modalities of perception.

Relativity is based on the fact that perception changes as the observer’s state changes. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle also underlines the shortcomings of our sensory perceptive modalities, where the senses cannot determine the precise position and velocity of a particle simultaneously.

Sensory modalities can never fathom formlessness. Formlessness transcends the senses. When form has to decipher the formless it must first abandon the conviction of its own form. The brain has various centres which serve as destinations for perceptive inputs. It therefore has a strong discriminatory ability to separate the subject from the object. This discrimination is mediated via the sense organs and is the most powerful tool for effecting duality. Comprehension is totally a derivative of the sense organs.

There are many ‘silent areas’ in the brain whose exact function is not known. These areas could be mediating supra-sensory cognition, cognition that is not based on a subject-object dichotomy, cognition that uses itself to recognise itself. Awareness of the true self is beyond the mediation of conventional sensory modalities and the dichotomy of knower and knowledge. There is nothing like ignorance because ignorance also is a manifestation of awareness. Awareness itself manifests as knowledge or ignorance.

Consciousness exists as both personalised and impersonalised states. Impersonalised consciousness is supra-sensory. It just exists and does not need a cognitive entity as a medium to be aware of itself. It does not have any time space definitions because these are for the finite. The Infinite Unmanifest has the privilege of manifesting as the finite. But the finite has severe limitations in perceiving the Infinite. Its identity as a finite entity is based on amnesia of its infiniteness.

Creation is the dream of consciousness. There is no logic to this dream. Realisation is when consciousness awakes from its own dream. Till consciousness is in a dream state, illusion persists. The brain is a programme for effecting the dream of consciousness. Myriad forms of creation exist merely as functions of this cognitive programme.

Matter or form owes its existence to this programme of deception. This programme also has software that ensures total belief in the illusion that it creates. Any attempt to understand the self – as just a manifestation of the formless – is futile in the dream state. The entity that endeavours to do so is also part of that dream. Therefore, liberation is not of a person but from the person. Liberation is deliverance from the finite and its futile attempts to comprehend the infinite. It is when the infinite wakes up from the dream of being finite – cognition that can recognise itself as absolute and not resort to duality to assert itself.

The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. E-mail: deepakranade@hotmail.com

Dont look too far for solutions

2009-10-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

Don't Look Too Far For Solutions
Deepak Ranade16 October 2009, 12:01am IST
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Change is the inevitability of life. Our interpretation of change determines our attitude and approach to life. What is apparently beneficial is
accepted without any fuss. When it comes to accepting the inconvenient and the unpleasant, there begins conflict and resentment. However, the seemingly hopeless situations that are very painful to deal with are also instruments of change. ''What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly,'' wrote Richard Bach.

Every seemingly hopeless situation is pregnant with the potential to effect improvement. It's just that one usually looks at the problem in a way that's too upfront. That creates a myopic perspective in dealing with the problem.
Like Godel's theorem, which states that no part of a system can comprehend the system as long as it is an integral part of the system. As we distance ourselves from the problem, and have a bird's-eye perspective, we can begin to see the issue in another light. Anticipation of the problem always tends to magnify the event and imagine it to be much more frightful. Anticipation should prepare, not scare.

A rigid approach that expects things to happen in a specific way only makes matters worse. The ability to adapt is what can make things better. Rigidity limits available options. It severely handicaps creativity, which is considered the mother of solutions. Serendipity happens only because the mind is open and willing to look at the same thing differently.

An alternative viewpoint is critical to make the most of any given situation. The severest of problems have more often than not brought out the best from many individuals. Isn't it also said: "Necessity is the mother of invention"?

The process of strategising while solving a problem throws up many facets of ourselves that we never knew existed. Adversity has been a blessing often enough and ought to be respected rather than feared. Complications arise most often because we take things personally and too seriously. Surrender only destroys self-esteem. Fighting enhances it. The difference between the two is just a matter of attitude.

Helplessness is a state of the mind. Most successful businessmen and corporate executives are paid for their ability to keep cool in the most trying of circumstances. They probably begin where others stop trying. Fixing the blame is not what absolves one of failure. Fixing the problem is the only redemption.

Anger, fear, resentment and frustration only muddle neural networks. They are mere manifestations of the fight, flight or fright response. What is actually needed is a right, bright and trite response. This response can only be attained with a calm and controlled thought process. Knee-jerk responses are just reflexes without any form of cerebration. They are most often fruitless. A deliberate, conscious effort needs to be inculcated to programme a conditioned response.

A positive approach is a big help, as it tends to activate the right brain, the one that has great intuitive abilities. The most appropriate response to any problem would be whole-brained. That is with both the right and left hemispheres giving their inputs. The dominant half ^ the left brain in right-handed persons and right brain in left-handed persons ^ enables analysis, logic and assessment. It tends to be a fragmentary approach. The right has a more intuitive, subtle and holistic approach. A combined two-pronged approach is much more likely to bring out the best in adversity ^ and make it easier for the butterfly in you to take wing.

Speaking Tree

2009-08-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

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In moving images we see what is not
DEEPAK RANADE5 August 2009, 12:00am IST
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What is vision? We are able to see objects and other externalities because of our visual perceptive apparatus that has the attribute called as
In moving images we see what is not
In moving images we see what is not (Getty Images)
persistence of vision.

A motion picture is made up of a series of still pictures. When each of these still picture is followed by another in less than a sixth of a second, the brain interprets the sequence as a continuum. And so we see the sequence of images as a motion picture without realizing that what we think we see is just an illusion., a perception.

The continuum is implied. The continuum is enabled by a programme of the neurological apparatus. And we are actually deceived by "virtual reality." Each individual and his constituents are all the while in a state of change. Even the skeletal system that we believe to be hard and which forms the infrastructure of the body is constantly being remodeled. Absorption and reformation of the bones are a continuous process. So, when we all are constantly being reformed as it were, the perception of our own continuity is a mere hallucination.

Change is the only certainty. We all are constantly changing and so is the environment. So any perceived continuity or seeming constancy is just an illusion of our perception. If we wake up to the fact that every aspect of existence is in a constant flux, then the question that automatically arises is "What is unchangeable, permanent and eternal?"

The constancy is in the perceiver; it is in the act of observing. All creation is comprised of three distinct entities: The perceiver, the perceived and the act of perception All are manifestations of the same universal consciousness. Saint Dyaneshwara refers to this trilogy as 'triputi'. The perceived is all the while in a state of flux and change. So the perceiver is the only constant in this apparent variable equation of creation. What is perceived all the while is changing.

Quantum Physics expounds that if the observer does not observe an event, then it never happened. Out of the infinite possibilities, when the observer observes an event, then, all the other waves of possible events are squashed. Till the observer observes, all events are in a state of being possible. All perception is centred on awareness. To any observer, the universe exists only till the observer exists. Once the observer ceases to exist, then from his perspective, the universe also ceases to exist.

When ancient scriptures comment on the illusory nature of all creation, they are alluding to is the impermanence and deception created by sensory perception. The continuum of existentialism is only a mirage. We are not the same entity at two discrete points in time. We as well as the environment is continuously changing and any continuity is just an illusion of the perceptive apparatus. In deep sleep, there is a period of non-perception of the outer world. On waking, this world reappears and the show goes on. Despite non-perception of the external world there does remain a certain am-ness, that is aware and says that I slept well. That awareness is the witness and the unchangeable and permanent entity, the immortal Atman.

In death, that personalized awareness again becomes impersonal awareness. In the state of realisation, the trilogy of perceived, perceiver and the act of perception, merges into unity, into the Paramatman.

The writer is a neurosurgeon.
Email: deepakranade@hotmail.com.

2009-04-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

Times of India

Speaking Tree

Exploring the nature of true realisation
28 Apr 2009, 0000 hrs IST, DEEPAK RANADE
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Whatever events unfold outwardly, there is a continuous passive act of observation of these events. This plain awareness is what animates the
Speaking tree
Exploring the nature of true realisation (Getty Images)
intellect, thoughts and every aspect of existence; it also gives rise to the illusory self, to the identification of each individual as a separate body form.

It also affirms this identity as the real self because the body is the most tangible proof of existence. We can touch, feel and react with this tangible instrument. The ego is addition of many layers of likes, dislikes, preferences and priorities to this mind-body form. The sense of separateness. Of being one of a kind. Of discreteness.

The more we endeavour to attain salvation, the sense of separateness only gets reinforced. All chemicals such as alcohol and drugs induce a state of disconnect. A fleeting disconnect with the surroundings. This disconnect is pleasurable as it blunts the sensibilities and makes the individual immune to any unpleasantness of daily living. But it also fortifies the sense of separateness. This feeling of disconnect and indifference is momentarily blissful. These chemicals are addictive because they give an illusory, fleeting glimpse of 'spiritual' experience similar to the state of realisation.

The so-called chemical disconnection is 'exclusive'. In the sense that it refurbishes the sense of separateness but isolates the individual. The state of realisation, however, is inclusive. This inclusive disconnection is an all-pervading sense of oneness, in which any connection is superfluous. Connection or disconnection is relevant only in duality or an illusion of duality. Once this illusion of duality vanishes, what remains is unity. An impersonal awareness.

Realisation shifts the identification of the self from the mind-body form to just plain awareness. Like a drop of the ocean. This drop, when separate from the ocean, will become acutely aware of its independent existence. The drop can see the ocean separately and this separateness gives not only itself, but also the vast ocean a separate identity as well.

When the drop merges in the ocean it does not destroy the physicality of the drop. The drop just merges and loses its separateness. It becomes one with the ocean. Till the point of impact, it still maintains its identity, but at the moment of impact, the drop seemingly disappears. That state of merger can thereafter not be perceived, because perception was of the drop. When the drop ceases to exist, who or what is there to perceive?

The disconnect that occurs by inclusion is everlasting, beyond any time-space considerations. Compassion for all life then becomes the effect rather than any imbibed virtue. The sense of unity is not even an experience because experience implies the existence of an experienced. And we all are conditioned to believe that realisation would mean probably seeing some divine light, or hearing some soulful music or a tremendous state of happiness and so on.

The merger automatically dissolves the ego. It also liberates one from all desires and lust for sensory gratification. The body will eventually live out its destiny, but there would be no sense of doer-ship. There would be just a residual observer who transcends even joy and sorrow. The unqualified awareness celebrates a sense of 'am-ness' unadulterated by expectations and longing.

The intangibility and dissolution of one's identity can scarcely be expressed by any means of communication. The final moment of oneness can be experienced only when all layers of misconception are peeled away and the real self is apperceived not as a separate identity but paradoxically the absence of any.

The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon. E-mail: deepakranade@hotmail.com

2009-03-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

2009-03-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

Supraconsciousness

2009-03-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

Supra-consciousness

The medical field has made incredible advances in the fields of diagnosis, and management of a variety of Neurological disorders. The scope of this progress is however restricted to identify and subsequently attempt to rectify the underlying problem. The spectrum of disorders that can be treated range from degenerative disorders, metabolic disorders right up to trauma and tumors of the nervous system. There has also been significant progress in understanding the structure and function of the nervous system. However, areas like consciousness, are still beyond the scope of medical technology.
The known hierarchy of consciousness extends only to sub-optimal grades.- drowsy stuporous, semiconscious or then unconscious. Theoretically there has to be a supra-optimal grade of consciousness- “the supra-conscious”. Medical science has severe limitations in quantifying the optimal level of consciousness. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging can at best identify the degree and extent of blood flow to the different parts of the brain.
Consciousness can be defined as the ability of an organism to be alert and inter-act with the environment. It is being aware of ones own self and also having the ability to react with “non-self”-surrounding objects or beings. The unicellular organism is also a drop of consciousness bounded by a cell membrane. Higher forms needed an upgrade. Evolution provided segregation of this primitive cognition. The ability to focus this awareness to a specific object or activity. The ability to concentrate. So when a predator is hunting, he will necessarily need to focus all his attention on the prey. This is also coupled with an ability to defocus this awareness. Like the feel of the clothing on our bodies. They are touching us and the tactile apparatus is sending the appropriate signals to the brain, but still the brain has the discriminatory ability to keep this data below the horizon of cognition. But there is the constant “I AM” awareness that forms the background activity of consciousness. This I AM ness permeates all awake states. Intellect, thoughts are all derivatives of this I AM ness.
Further evolution takes place in the realm of elevating this consciousness.
Spiritual masters are the ones that mutate this consciousness to a supra-conscious state.
This mutation results in the “I” being deleted and what remains is just the Amness. Unqualified.This Amness is expansile and all inclusive because the restrictive ‘I’ is eliminated.
This universal Am ness is a state of supraconsciousness since it transcends a particular being. This Am ness is Advaita. To reside in that blissful state is the objective of all attempts at self realization. This term is a misnomer because in this state a separate self does not exist. Just unconditional beingness. And this entire illusion of duality was created because this universal Am ness could not perceive itself. There had to be a subject object dichotomy for acknowledging its own AM ness. Being ness has no beginning or end. There is no concept of time either. Eternity is in the moment. And the moment lasts an eternity. At that state identification with the physical form no longer remains. It is like the pot which is contained in space and also contains space. The consciousness permeates the form from without and also within, A state of wholeness, a state of oneness. Science is based on the act of observation. The seer, the seen and the process of seeing. But supraconsciousness is the state where this trinity has merged. So supraconsciousness is beyond the scope of scrutiny because it includes scrutiny.
The process of initiation by the master is probably starting the journey beyond just awareness of the mind body form. Therefore liberation is not of the person ,but rather from the person.
Dr. Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon and can be contacted at deepakranade@hotmail.com)

2009-03-09T17:54:00.001-07:00

Learning to unlearn

Learning is as much a process of deprogramming as much as acquiring or acquainting with something new.
Learning something new, must be preceded by a process of deprogramming that eliminates pre-existing paradigms and misconceptions. Learning physiologically is a process of conditioning. It involves recruitment of neural networks or pathways, which after sufficient time and repetitions get established. Thereafter, conditioning works at a quasi involuntary level. A classic example is that of driving. Initially as a novice, every action is deliberate, premeditated and one has to very consciously focus on the activity. Later on as the reflexes get strengthened, the same activity becomes very effortless and gradually moves to a sub-conscious level. And soon we can engage in a conversation or even grab a bite whilst driving. Many of our belief systems and thought processes post conditioning work below the consciousness horizon. Once the template is set, these anagrams become an integral part of the individuals perceptive and thought processes. We scarcely realize that these deeply etched programs serve as major deterrents from learning anything new. That partly explains why adults need a longer while to learn a new skill like computers or a new language whereas kids seem to take to this new skill like a fish takes to water. That is because the kids hard disc is unformatted and can imbibe a new concept faster and better than an adult who first has to undo some hardwired programs. These established neural networks increase the resistance to accepting fresh thoughts and ideas. On deeper introspection we would realize, that most of our belief systems are just a legacy of our environment and upbringing. Religion, culture, behavioral patterns are a few such examples. This indoctrination happens subconsciously but has far reaching consequences.
Along with the passage of time, all such recorded programs spin a cocoon around the individual. Impermeable to newer thought process. All intolerance to new ideas is consequential to this rigid unyielding cocoon.
All revolutionary inventions have become possible only when the concerned person broke open this cocoon of conformist thought process. The person had to delearn conventional wisdom to make way for newer wisdom. Religion has always beckoned mankind along the ages. It still remains one of the most profound influences on our lives. Religion programs the thought processes and sooner than we realize, we align ourselves to one of the many ‘isms’. But the basis of all religion is to attain Godhood, or self-realisation or ‘swaroop saakshaatkar’ Various sects and religions have over the years programmed their followers along different lines. These regulatory protocols are ideally the means to the end but unfortunately have become the end themselves. The extreme obsession with form precludes any tryst with the formless. All spiritual pursuits are adulterated with preformed notions and are the scourge of liberation. It would be paradoxical to confine the omniscient omnipresent being to the narrow bandwidth of our perceptive focus . As a learned sage said, Liberation is not of the individual but from the individual. From the shackles of our thought processes. Self-realisation as a concept, is again a construct of our thought. But self-realisation transcends thought. Till there is thought, there is an entity that is thinking, and this separate entity that asserts its separateness is bondage. The finite can never perceive the infinite. It can only become infinite. And once that happens, who or what remains to perceive ?. It cannot be engineered, because all attempts made by the doer only underlines his separateness, which defeats the very purpose. Somewhat akin to the monkey, with its hand trapped in a cookie jar. Trying to get its hand out of the narrow neck of a bottle whilst holding the cookie. All efforts are in vain until the monkey releases the cookie and extricates its hand. This cookie of our belief systems and conditioning that we all hold on for dear life surely has to be relinquished. This delearning of all pre-existing programs and concepts is a precondition to self awareness.

Dr Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon and may be contacted at drdeepakranade@gmail.com)

posted by Dr. Deepak Ranade @ 1:16 AM

2009-03-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Importance of control and restraint

The wheel was a path-breaking invention. The wheel, however, might not have been as useful if not for the invention of brakes and gears that help us control movement. The wheel made locomotion plausible but brakes regulated this motion. The defining quality of any system is probably based on the degree of control one can exercise on it. In karate, up to the black belt stage, the discipline and regimen is for strengthening the body and speeding up reflexes. Thereafter, all subsequent degrees are attained by perfecting self-control and restraint. In evolution, life forms have been empowered incrementally as they progress through stages. Human beings have the power of control, of temperance and restraint, and the ability to think beyond the self. Physiologically, higher centres in the brain have been given the responsibility of inhibition to maintain restrictive control on lower centres of the brain and spine. In spinal injuries, when the lower motor neurons are disconnected from the higher centres and they fire without control, it leads to reflex movements of the limbs, spasm of the muscles and so on. Though movement occurs, it is involuntary, uncontrolled and purposeless. The evolved brain can store large amounts of data. The data helps in generating a response transcending reflexive and programmed patterns. The ability to rise above reflex behaviour seems to be the summit of the evolutionary pyramid. Olympian Carl Lewis once explained the reason for his spectacular achievement: "I have mastered the art of self-denial". Behaviour that rises above the primitive reflexes forms the essence of culture and sophistication. All religions have a set of behavioural restrictions like fasting, celibacy and observing silence. These restrictions help the individual increase his will power, temperance, self-control and discipline. Some religions talk about renunciation. But renunciation eliminates choice. So it is probably indulgence in abstinence. The swing of the pendulum in the opposite direction charged with the potential energy to swing back to indulgence. It may also reflect a subconscious fear of lack of self-control. Like the instance of the guru, who was invited for a meal by his disciple. Whilst the other devotees were served on plantain leaves, the guru was served on silverware as a mark of reverence. The guru however was offended and walked off as he was a renunciate. He may as well have eaten in the silverware. If he was no longer in any mundane bondage, there ought to have been no distinction between silver and leaves. In reproductive behaviour, too, human beings have the freedom to choose. Any control is self-imposed. This self-control is the evolutionary upgrade. It is as if the remote control which operates all other animals has been substituted by a sharp discriminatory ability which bestows free will. In Hindu culture, it is called vivek buddhi. The intellect of discrimination. Free will reflects the ability to restrain rather than indulge. If indulgence was the purpose, all actions would have been reflexive, with scarce regard to volition. Exercising restraint requires a higher form of intelligence. Indulgence required neither skill nor intellect. And renunciation relied more on extremism. Ailments like obesity, alcoholism, hypertension and diabetes, when they are lifestyle-related, point to the diminishing self-regulatory process. Affluence has given man the opportunity to indulge like never before. Austerity is facing extinction. Patience, contentment are no longer virtues but are relegated to mere words. All catastrophes like global warming, nuclear threat and poverty are merely a reflection of our ever-increasing inclination for indulgence.

(The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon.) Email:

2009-03-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

2009-03-05T08:09:00.001-08:00

Is realisation a chemical reaction?
5 Mar 2009, 0000 hrs IST, DEEPAK RANADE
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The thought process is a continuous activity. The development of specific neuronal networks may be responsible for the conditioning that occurs.
Speaking Tree
George Gurdjieff used to say that character is like a buffer. (Getty Images)
Belief systems
, behavioural traits and even temperament are all effects of conditioning.

There has also been speculation of whether there exists in the brain a God centre. A researcher revealed that when a person was subjected to pain stimulus before and after being shown the picture of a deity he had faith in, his tolerance to pain was significantly better than it was before seeing the picture. So was the increase in tolerance the result of conditioning?

Such a premise would imply that a similar outcome were possible if the patient was shown the picture of a mountain, if he had been conditioned to believe that mountains are objects of devotion. Does it mean that whichever deity one believes in, the final locus of God in the brain remains the same?

Then theoretically, if this God centre were to be stimulated, one could experience calm, bliss, even ecstasy. Would this imply that all spiritually advanced souls have, over a period of time, been able to devise an intrinsic mechanism to stimulate the God centre?

Are all spiritually advanced masters just those who, by repeated practice, develop the God centre further so that it can be stimulated at will? That would reduce realisation to a mere neurochemical phenomenon. It would then have some tangible parameters for either localisation or verification.

Meditation could be just a process that converts all eccentric thought processes into a concentric pattern with the God centre as the epicentre. All thoughts pertaining to mundane activities may be eccentric in nature. These eccentric patterns would be a deterrent to stimulating the God centre. Most explanations given by realised masters seem to defy all logic, which is the domain of the dominant hemisphere. The non-dominant hemisphere is concerned with intuitive and non-analytical networks.

So maybe, the God centre resides in the non-dominant hemisphere and realisation could effect a state of awareness that transcends the baseline neuronal activity of just being conscious. The advent of functional imaging techniques like the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) may assist in the verification of such hypotheses. Probably, realisation could then be imaged and anatomically localised.

Happiness is most often cause-based, a consequence of perceptive modalities giving a positive feedback via established neuronal circuits. Familiarity, sensory gratification, and above all a very tangible cause-effect relationship permeates this sense of joy. But, if happiness could be devoid of a cause, it may explain the detachment that most masters talk about.

Happiness would then be independent of a cause and also stimulation of specific neural paths. It could become the background electrochemical activity, where any external object is not recognised as a separate entity and analysed and assigned relative values of joy or pain.

This Advaita or Oneness could be identified as the baseline firing of zeta neurons in a specified locus in the non-dominant hemisphere. It would create a perception shift. It could also deconstruct the "i" entity as having a discrete identity; the equivalent of dissolution of ego.

There would be no subjective element to any sensory stimulus. Which is why many masters seem to revert to a child-like innocence. Maybe, then godhood would be a neurochemical alteration in the milieu of the neuronal networks
, resulting in a perceptive variance. And spiritual progress could be monitored by an imaging modality.

The writer is a consultant neurosurgeon and may be contacted at deepakranade@hotmail.com

To Flow effortlessly and majestically

2008-09-21T03:04:00.000-07:00

Unidimensional Aspect of "Cause and Effect"

2008-09-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

“Unidimensional aspect of CAUSE AND EFFECT”

The process of learning, programs us to think in a specific manner. That every event or thing has a cause. In fact learning or knowledge is based on accurately inter-relating the cause with effect. Learning helps make the effect a predictable outcome based on our understanding of all the forces acting on the cause.
This cause and effect thought process programs our intellects uni-dimensionally. Actually, cause and effect paradigm works fine within a narrow spectrum only on the gross level. At the sub-atomic or subtle level, all the predictable physical laws become redundant. Even quantum physicists accede that the laws governing the gross (sthoola) such as laws of motion, or relativity deviate substantially at the sub-atomic, subtle level.(Sookshma) That is where the confusion begins.
Reductionism, causality are incomplete tools of the human mind. Even in the epic “Bhagwad Gita”.the deliverance from all unhappiness is advocated by transcending the cause-effect algorithm. Indian philosophy has described this concept of non-causality centuries ago. It is called as ‘Ajati.’.
This concept is at the cross roads of the spiritual –scientific divide.
The singularity or Advaita as described by various seers stuns the intellectual process which is under the spell of the cause and effect pattern.
The instant, one veers from this path of cause and effect, the intellect is very severely handicapped.
Even scientific thought has now started inclining towards ‘experience’ rather than ‘experiment’ and the very quaint principles of quantum mechanics , force one to abandon all rationality and reason. One of the greatest Upanishads talks of “totality”, where even if one were to remove totality from totality, one would still be left with totality.
This concept cannot be comprehended by the cause effect principles.
The mysticism shrouding spiritualism is because of this apparent disconnection from cause-effect. Tangibility is the nemesis of all spiritual endeavours. Science is a process of evolution of thought, whereas spiritualism is involution of thought. Physicists have been battling all along to come to a consensus Theory of Everything . The need for this Theory is because the scientists are unanimous in accepting the discrepancy in laws governing the subtle and the gross. They are still pushing the frontiers of causality to explain quantum phenomenon which is just chasing a mirage.
Spiritualism is getting to that elusive Theory of Everything without the mediation of the cause –effect hypothesis. The theory of everything is in essence the Singularity or Advaita. Herein lies the experience that transcends causality. Where the observer, the observed and the act of observation merge into unison. The reductionism that science is obsessed with will finally culminate in the realization that the elementary building block of all manifestation is just energy. That is what the String Theory seems to point to. What varies is the form or the perception of the form, not the content. Reductionism will reach a level where matter transforms into conscious energy, just as water evaporates into vapour. What has changed is the state, not the fundamental substance. This change of state from water to vapour is unidimensional. Manifestation is the ability of the source to virtually express itself multi-dimensionally. How can one therefore employ cause and effect to comprehend that singularity when both are mere projections of the same singularity?

When we talk of virtual reality (as in Simulators) or for that matter cinema, is it not paradoxical wherein the intellect is aware of the illusory nature of the projection? At one end of the spectrum is pure awareness and the other end is also awareness which forces the senses to temporarily assign reality to the virtual image. Realisation is the process of moving from the awareness of virtual reality to pure awareness.
Identification with this singularity will necessarily happen only by transcending the cause effect protocol.

Dr. Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon and may be contacted at deepakranade@hotmail.com)

The Democratic Nature Of Creation

2008-09-21T02:53:00.000-07:00

Democratic nature of creation

(Published in Speaking Tree in Times of India)

The original undivided pluripotent being had the option of remaining unmanifest. Just a state of awareness bliss and joy. Manifestation was one of the limitless options available to this source. When awareness needed to experience itself , a state of duality had to be induced . It needed to cleave itself and induce a psuedo-dichotomy of perceiver and perceived. This process of auto- lysis is very similar to the process of a developing embryo. The single cell replicates itself rather rapidly and metamorphoses into this complex and differentiated multi-organ form. So in reality we all are just one cell that has been able to differentiate itself into specified functional units. When I touch my hair it actually is the manifestation of a single cell touching another expression of itself and the same cell also has the capability to comprehend this “touch” phenomenon.
All creation is an induced illusion of duality to enable the source to experience itself. Creation therefore was crystallization of the supreme source’s wish to experience himself. The process of creation is in itself a very gratifying experience. All artistes when they create a work of art experience ecstacy on giving birth to a new idea, new thought. The sheer joy of manifesting in such diversity maybe the objective of this exercise by the source . He not only created multiple locii of consciousness but also ensured that his creation was made oblivious as to the source of “ its “ origins. Time and space were introduced by the source as the illusory media to ensure the delusion of separateness of this ‘creation’. This being was programmed with the ability to discover his origins as also provided the means to enjoy the rest of creation as well. Since the being was just a manifestation of the source, he also had all the attributes of the source. The resolve and ability to achieve anything he desires, the capacity to experience total bliss, and above all the freedom to exercise any choice.
Selfless creation mandated that the being was given an illusion of being the ‘doer ‘
The self- effacement of the source was maybe a precondition for nourishing the identity of his creation.
This illusion of being the doer and the center of the universe manifests as ego. This ego
served initially as a tool for self-preservation but as it crystallizes further it totally envelops the consciousness and serves as an impediment to realise its true nature.
The ego constantly reaffirms this illusionary duality and the more the ego hardens the further it moves the being away from the knowledge of his true identity. It then embarks on a game wherein the being gets an illusion of having control and the ability to manipulate the environment for its own happiness.
. The awareness when focused outwards gets entangled in this web of duality. Then there is no limit to its indulgence. This kaliedoscopic creation has a very potent arsenal to engage this awareness into its diverse forms. Indulgence has an addictive element to it and it keeps drawing this awareness into its throes and distancing itself from its true identity. This obsession with the materialistic world is actually as ludicrous as my hand being obsessed with my nose ! What a weird obsession indeed.
The drop of water in the ocean starts marveling at its own existence and identity and embarks on a journey armed with ignorance of its source. This divorce of the self from the knowledge of its true nature leads to the entire spectrum of emotions. Ranging from a diverse gamut, the emotions are totally subject to the cognitive interpretation of the
existential mirage. .The ultimate objective is for the perceptive apparatus(consciousness) to be able to perceive itself. This could be attained by various means and paths. This knowledge is already there within. The illusion is to look for it ‘without’ All other knowledge is duality based and may at best help in providing anologies . However anology is a very cheap substitute for experience. The purpose of creation was for the source to experience itself. Creation was like democracy. Made of the source, by the source and for the source This self awareness or apperceiving is self-realisation.

Dr.Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon and may be contacted at deepakranade@hotmail.com)

The long and beautiful journey

2008-09-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

2008-09-20T10:31:00.002-07:00

2008-09-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Discover The self only to Lose
Published in Times of India Speaking tree,10th Sep 2008

The self is a projection from the unified source of consciousness.
Any attempts by the self to be enlightened are based on the premise that this projection has a unique identity .It would be analogous to being a bubble in the ocean. There is a very fine distinction between the bubble and the surrounding water. But there is no denying that the bubble is within the water, and also made of the same water. If the bubble were to make any attempt to understand itself, sure, it would momentarily feel that it is separate and has an identity of its own. But that remains only till the thin separating membrane exists. Once this assertive margin gives way, there has been no change in either the content or the nature of the water. It was water, and will remain water. All creation is analogous to bubbles in this vast expanse of consciousness. Realization involves loss of this separateness from the surrounding water, a sense of just merging into the water. Dissolution of that membrane of separateness called the ego. If this dissolution occurs during the journey of life, it would be similar to the bubble losing the differentiating membrane on the way traveling from the bottom of the sea to the top. When the mind body organism ends (death) it would be the equivalent of the bubble reaching the surface and then just popping. This bubble has a plethora of forms and shapes. But still just a transient identification of being separate.
This feeling of separateness fuels all the attempts, and endeavors to embark on understanding itself , which in itself is an impossible task. Like the bubble trying to understand itself as a separate entity when actually it is surrounded and made up by the same water. The separateness that desires this enlightenment is the ego. The identification with the mind-body organism. The consciousness that animates this mind-body form is the true self. This true self creates a projection which has great conviction of separateness and independent existence. It is a distortion induced by the perceptive apparatus. Religious orientation and beliefs are not congenital. They are a product of conditioning. If not being religious was heresy, then most atheists would be facing doom since they are disbelieving and humiliating their creator. And conversely, the savants of the religion would be perennially blessed due to their proximity and intense belief.
Many cultures believe in reincarnation /rebirth, but it would be a great mystery to understand which entity takes rebirth? The identity that each of us has is a totally man-made nomenclature of convenience. So what would reincarnate? The identity that I have in this birth? This identity is as meaningless as trying to name the different drops of water in a flowing river and then trying to locate that specific drop which had evaporated (died) and fallen from the skies again.(Rebirth) So then which entity achieves that very elusive self-realization? Is it the individual? Is it the ego? Is it the mind? Well it is anyones guess. Then is this elusive self –realization just another object to lust for? A very subtle ego-trip that puts the individual on a pedestal because he is in pursuit of the intangible. All the present day attempts to seek or reach God probably induce a state of moral well being.. Probably, the ordinary laborer who sweats it out in the sweltering heat and lives an egoless existence may be far more spiritual than the hymn singing affluent who no longer gets a fix from tangible gratification. So probably spiritualism in the present day needs to undergo a paradigm shift. Total acceptance of what is, the ability to be in the now and here, and a deep realization that all we see around is just a different manifestation of the absolute. Any belief system that segregates cannot be the path to the almighty. If we are unanimous that the creator is one, then he surely cannot be partial to any one clan or sect. Because that automatically disqualifies all other belief systems from reaching the ultimate truth. So science should help us redefine religion and metamorphose it from the ritualistic domain into a more all inclusive and all embracing state of mind, that is not cleaved by color ,ideology or ethnicity. Then spiritualism will come out of the closet and make each one realize that we are all just drops of water in this ocean of creation.

Dr. Deepak Ranade.(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon and may be contacted at depakranade @hotmail.com)

Shiva and Shakti

2008-09-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

Search for the Non-existent Particles
Published in Times Of India- Speaking tree 20th Sep 2008

The elusive Higgs boson has been the focus of the Largest Scientific Experiment. It seemingly will plug one of the leaks that abound the standard model of Physics.
If identified, it would help in explaining why some sub-atomic particles are heavy and have a greater mass than others. Ancient Hindu beliefs reckon that the entire manifestation is a combination of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva represents the tangible matter whilst Shakti represents the intangible energy and the qualitative aspect associated with matter. Mass and energy are interconvertible. Shiva and Shakti are also very deeply interrelated and cannot be separated. The particle is like Shiva and the charge, spin, mass energy and such parameters are like shakti. This experiment seems to be like looking for shiva in Shakti, (finding the cause of the particle’s mass)when actually they are both just different manifestations of the supreme unity. This entire experiment is analogous to finding the quantitaive basis of a quality. Like trying to find a particle that serves to make beauty beautiful . That is certainly an exercise in futility. The entire experiment seems to be directed to finding a tangible quantitative parameter for a very fundamental attribute. Something akin to a pensioner being asked for proof of his being alive at the pension office. The beauty exists because there is an observer. And this observer is also as much a manifestation as the observed entity as is the act of observation. Nothing exists “a priori”.Even if the Big Bang theory were to be ratified, the bigger issue of who engineered its initiation still remains. And if space was also a derivative of the Big Bang, then in what space did this phenomenal expansion take place? Every objective existence is entirely a function of the observer. So any phenomenon is inexorably connected with the noumenon. Subject and object are interdependent on cognition. Like the quaint example of a falling tree in the forest. If no one has seen it falling ,then it never fell at all. The supreme knowledge(unification or segregation of Shiva and Shakti) cannot be studied or experimentally verified.. It has to be experienced... One has to become it. Meaning that the “knower and knowledge” distinction is not there anymore. That is probably why all the realized souls were unable to bring that knowledge into the domain of tangibility. Our analytical egos insist that we must find tangible units for every facet of existence.. Well Science can keep trying to satiate its unquenchable desire for tangibility but the end point of this endeavor will only yield ambiguity. Because the fundamental truth is that the observer in any experiment is very much a constituent of it. Identification and ratification, of observer observed dichotomy is an apparition. The hypnotic spell of Maya. The greatest quality of this maya is that it appears uniform to one and all. So if everyone is unanimous about the existence of say a tree ,then well it has to be there. Maya creates a very uniform and consistent mirage and sheer statistics coerce the senses into believing the appearance.
Physics ought to have shed its greed once Einstein proclaimed and proved the interconvertibility of mass and energy. Quantum Physics opened a Pandoras box and ridiculed logic and the very basis of Scientific deduction. Quantum theory is virtually the science of the improbable, Scientific Logic leading to the illogical. It has come up with very bizarre predictions. Like the Schroedinger’s cat supposition. We have tried to understand nature thru a very small diameter looking glass and tried to force its entirety into this limited frame of comprehension. Probably, failure to demonstrate the Higgs Boson may be the turning point. To turn inwards and become inflective and redefine the paradigm of Scientific approach. The Higgs particle is just a logical extrapolation of our limited understanding. It may just end up being the non-existent proof of a non-existent theory.. Experience never needed any experiment since it cannot be reproduced at will and under specified conditions. Probably unraveling the entire mystery of creation needs not a Large Hadron Collider but a large perception assimilator.

Dr Deepak Ranade
(The author is a consultant Neurosurgeon -E-mail- deepakranade@hotmail.com)

Neuroconsciousness

2007-09-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,
since there was a very warm response to my articles published in the speaking tree,I decided to have my own blog in matters relating to consciousness,self-realisation,and the likes.
I was really quite surprised to se the number of peolple who are interested in this sphere.
So,to begin with,I am posting my published article to initiate the proceedings.Hope that this blog can culminate in rounding up like minded people and also a special interest group.