Rajesh Srivastava,
I saw this site quite accidentally and exited to read this article. I noticed in your profile that you are still an undergraduate student. The language and presentation shows maturity of a senior research scholar. I wish to appreciate you for your natural brilliance and erudition.
I am not a man of science. My interests are in yoga and mysticism. I don’t know whether you are interested in it or not -probably not, because it needs an age and experience to enter in these kind of thoughts.
As per our yoga tradition which is an integral part of Eastern mysticism we have four levels of mental existence. Jagrat, svapna,sushubti and durya. I may compare them with the modern psychological terms conscious, subconscious, unconscious and collective unconscious. Well, actually there is sharp difference between these eastern concepts and western terms. Western psychology assumes these states as structures and we think them as functional modes.
According to yoga tradition we are existing in all that four levels at the same time. But one is screening the other. We can say, durya is screened by sushubti and sushubti by svapna. Jagrat covers everything as an iron curtain and it presents itself as the only self we have. Jagrat is made up of logical thought, signs and symbols, images and its endless associations. Language is the presentable form of jagrat.
Jagrat is a creation of culture. According to yoga sastra human beings created their jagrat and continuously making it stronger. Every living thing has day to day life, so it must have a jagrat. But in the case of lower level beings their jagrat is weak, so their other inner selves are stronger. Animals have more mundane life than insects. So their jagrat is stronger than them. So naturally their svapna and sushubti are weaker.
This is the explanation of yoga sastra for your question. When we began to build our jagrat or conscience for our survival we lost our connection with the durya, the collective unconscious. We lost our intuitional powers as well.
This may not seem as science, but a religious belief, but yoga says one can suspend his jagrat slowly by practice and attain the inner existence gradually. He can reach and be in durya state, merged in collective unconscious. On that stage he may predict earthquake like an animal or insect. As per our tradition the highest state for a man.
Not for this discussion but for general understanding
Carl Jung on Yoga
http://www.sol.com.au/kor/12_02.htm
Dear Rajesh Srivatsava,
Thank you for your appreciation. Reading Carl Jung, I find lot of references of Yoga. Stirs me interest in that subject.
The article-http://ajithanmotherearth.blogspot.in/2012/07/greyed-out-of-mind.html
This is quite interesting to read. Hypotheses are more related to philosophy than science. But one thing we have to note, there is always a sharp difference between philosophy and theology. In India we hardly notice this particularity. These ideas of Yoga can be configured as theological concepts rooted on mysticism. They cannot be discussed objectively. To be exact, they have no falsification mode in their logical presentation. So we should not mix them with scientific discussions.
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe yoga, though cannot be considered 'science' in the modern sense, has a strong scientific basement to it which has been in practice for centuries among us. Terming Yoga as nonscientific for it's nebulous nature when looked upon in the process of finding equivalent concepts and terminologies of modern science is, like dismissing Ayurveda in comparison with modern medicine, dubious. Both have their root from eastern philosophy which insists on the paradigm 'a balanced one is a better one', while Ayurveda looks out for balanced vatha, pitha, kapa ultimately aiming at well-being of the person no the cure of the disease, yoga looks for balance between different states of mental existence. This important balance is not realized in the west until C.G.Jung came up inspired by eastern way of thought. Now when psychologists and nuerophysiologists advancing with eastern way of thought yoga may not be able to provide direct solutions but sure can suggest the way to proceed. Many significant nueurophysiologists and psychologists with broad reading have acknowledged yoga.
ReplyDeleteFinally, religion and science are two different faces of philosophy. It is the philosophy that forms the basic, therefore science and religion can be identified with philosophy but not with each other.
Dear Ajithan
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised to see Mr Kumarsam's comment. It is very usual one, especially in our academic circle. They never care for ideas or innovations. They only min methodology. They are not teaching science they are just training the students for the methodology. If you can practice methedology correctly you can win in all examinations with full marks and attain any position here...
I wish to ask only one questian , what is the falsification mode in Jung's theory? How can one proove objectively the exisitance of collective unconscious or disprove it?
quest or search for truth is the fundamental component- various philosophies offer there own set of frame of references which are significant at there own levels. for science and spirituality cannot move an inch without this quest or urge. truth need not be objective at all time, there is always this element of subjectivity which can be attributed to spirituality. and even the subjective depth achieved in a spiritual sadhana cannot be blind to objective parameters. just my thoughts on on philosopy, spirituality and science and i do agree cent percent with your views in this regard aji.
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