The perks of a morning sojourn. They surely make the mind contemplative. As i watch this drama unfold, i wonder if this whole universe is really a Reality or just a projection on my consciousness. And then these thoughts develop into some serious musings.
Does 'Reality' really exist?
Our perception of the world we live in is based on Physical realism. A conviction that the physical world we see is real and exists by itself. The evolution of scientific thought and quantum physics in particular has forced us to review our understanding of Physical realism. Quantum theory consistently works, but it does predict particles that entangle, waves that superpose and then yet again collapse to a point. Such phenomenon are physically impossible and are "imaginary." Paradoxically we have a theory of what doesn't exist, to successfully predict what does. A virtuality to understand and explain reality?
Sapta-bhangi Naya ( Syadvada) is an important ideology of the Jain philosophy. It stems from the Sankhya school of "darshana",a premise founded on pluralism. Syadvada is neither nihilistic nor , agnostic. It attempts to underline the limitations of our perception and comprehension to fathom the ultimate truth. Syadvada alludes to the relativity of knowledge and perception of reality. It proposes seven scenarios or interpretations of reality.
1)It exists,
2)It does not exist
3)It exists and does not exist simultaneously
4)It exists , but can't be asserted
5)It does not exist and cannot be asserted
6)It exists, it simultaneusly does not exist, and it cannot be asserted
7)It can never be asserted.
The first three are fundamental coefficients of reality.Totally subjective. Either it exists, or it doesn't or then it is both simultaneously.
The last four are observer based attributes where the Reality is in relation to an observer and becomes objective.
Western philosophers were also making forays in determining the existence of a Reality. Solipsism was first recorded by the Greek thinker Gorgias (c. 483–375 BC) who stated
Nothing exists.Even if something exists, nothing can be known about it.Even if something could be known about it, knowledge about it can't be communicated to others.
The Sophists believed that "objective" knowledge of Reality was a literal impossibility.
Does reality really exist? If it is indeed objective, then it ought to exist independent of the "Perceiver". But if the perceiver is part of the reality, then reality will have to be a phenomenon that will have to be apperceived. Apperception is "the introspective or reflective apprehension by the mind of its own inner states".
Immanuel Kant called this transcendental apperception in which perception of an object involved the consciousness of the pure self as subject.
Our understanding and comprehension of all that "exists" is based on sensory ccognition. The sense organs have receptors that on stimulating transduce the signal into an electrical impulse which is de-encrypted by the brain to generate images, sounds, textures smells and tastes. Our conviction in the truth of the universe we inhabit relies on the tangibility and uniformity of our cognitive faculties. This tangibility could just be a program of the neural networks. As clinical neuroscientists we do come across gross derangements of cognition that significantly distort perception.
Quantum Physics unambiguously declares the primacy of the observer for the universe to assert and establish its existence. Can the universe and/or an unchanging reality exist a priori? Could it be a highly consistent projection on the screen of a conscious observer?
A projected image, would certainly fulfil the criterion of the Saptabhangi.It exists, it does not exist, it simultaneusly exists and also not exist. In the absence of a conscious observer, it might exist, it might not, might do both simultaneously, but could never be ascertained.
If the Self contains as also manifests as the universe, then the only reality that exists is the Upanishadic truth
"Aham Brahmaasami" or I the Self am the source, the creator, and observer of this entire Universe.
Dr Deepak Ranade
Does 'Reality' really exist?
Our perception of the world we live in is based on Physical realism. A conviction that the physical world we see is real and exists by itself. The evolution of scientific thought and quantum physics in particular has forced us to review our understanding of Physical realism. Quantum theory consistently works, but it does predict particles that entangle, waves that superpose and then yet again collapse to a point. Such phenomenon are physically impossible and are "imaginary." Paradoxically we have a theory of what doesn't exist, to successfully predict what does. A virtuality to understand and explain reality?
Sapta-bhangi Naya ( Syadvada) is an important ideology of the Jain philosophy. It stems from the Sankhya school of "darshana",a premise founded on pluralism. Syadvada is neither nihilistic nor , agnostic. It attempts to underline the limitations of our perception and comprehension to fathom the ultimate truth. Syadvada alludes to the relativity of knowledge and perception of reality. It proposes seven scenarios or interpretations of reality.
1)It exists,
2)It does not exist
3)It exists and does not exist simultaneously
4)It exists , but can't be asserted
5)It does not exist and cannot be asserted
6)It exists, it simultaneusly does not exist, and it cannot be asserted
7)It can never be asserted.
The first three are fundamental coefficients of reality.Totally subjective. Either it exists, or it doesn't or then it is both simultaneously.
The last four are observer based attributes where the Reality is in relation to an observer and becomes objective.
Western philosophers were also making forays in determining the existence of a Reality. Solipsism was first recorded by the Greek thinker Gorgias (c. 483–375 BC) who stated
Nothing exists.Even if something exists, nothing can be known about it.Even if something could be known about it, knowledge about it can't be communicated to others.
The Sophists believed that "objective" knowledge of Reality was a literal impossibility.
Does reality really exist? If it is indeed objective, then it ought to exist independent of the "Perceiver". But if the perceiver is part of the reality, then reality will have to be a phenomenon that will have to be apperceived. Apperception is "the introspective or reflective apprehension by the mind of its own inner states".
Immanuel Kant called this transcendental apperception in which perception of an object involved the consciousness of the pure self as subject.
Our understanding and comprehension of all that "exists" is based on sensory ccognition. The sense organs have receptors that on stimulating transduce the signal into an electrical impulse which is de-encrypted by the brain to generate images, sounds, textures smells and tastes. Our conviction in the truth of the universe we inhabit relies on the tangibility and uniformity of our cognitive faculties. This tangibility could just be a program of the neural networks. As clinical neuroscientists we do come across gross derangements of cognition that significantly distort perception.
Quantum Physics unambiguously declares the primacy of the observer for the universe to assert and establish its existence. Can the universe and/or an unchanging reality exist a priori? Could it be a highly consistent projection on the screen of a conscious observer?
A projected image, would certainly fulfil the criterion of the Saptabhangi.It exists, it does not exist, it simultaneusly exists and also not exist. In the absence of a conscious observer, it might exist, it might not, might do both simultaneously, but could never be ascertained.
If the Self contains as also manifests as the universe, then the only reality that exists is the Upanishadic truth
"Aham Brahmaasami" or I the Self am the source, the creator, and observer of this entire Universe.
Dr Deepak Ranade
1 comment:
O Prabho!
Don't you remember you were Ashtavakra last birth.
Please accept my oblations.🙏.
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