Reality and Knowledge According to an Indian Perspective

[Guest guest]

Reality and Knowledge According to an Indian Perspective

 

" The Indian approach to reality is to seek reality in one's self.

Reality is encountered in one's own consciousness. Consciousness

means awareness of the self. In the Indian tradition, the word atman

or " self " can mean the individual self and the divine self. Reality

is encountered through the consciousness of the individual self and

of the eternal self in the individual self. The understanding,

experiencing and interpreting of the self is called exteriorization.

 

The individual self (jivatman) which is centered in consciousness is

in a body which again exists in the world. The individual self

together with its body is called a microcosm (miniature universe). In

contrast, the Divine Self (paramatman) together with its body is

called macrocosm. The center of this macrocosm is the paramatman who

is Brahman (the highest reality, the eternal), whereas the center of

the microcosm is the jivatman. Since jivatman contains in itself the

reflection of paramatman, in the last analysis Brahman is the

ultimate center of the macro- and microcosm.

 

This ultimate center of consciousness cannot be proved but is to be

experienced slowly by way of listening, pondering and realizing

(sravanam, mananam, nididhyasanam). In the depth of the experience we

are taken from jivatman to paramatman. Man's ultimate content is

God's own image. Image always indicates something original. Jivatman,

when properly understood, leads man to the divine in himself. In

short, understanding himself in depth, man understands God.

 

The Changing universe rotates around the unchanging center, the

ultimate reality, the supreme consciousness. And we reach this

consciousness in quiet and silence in the same way as we dive and

reach the still bottom of a turbulent sea. To achieve this we have to

silence all our senses and thus be free from all emotional conflicts.

With this process of silencing a yogi becomes capable of remaining

unchanged in the changing life situations. As in the macrocosm the

changing universe rotates around the unchanging Brahman, so in the

microcosm all the outer layers of consciousness, which are rapidly

changing, will be centered on and guided by the steady consciousness

of the yogi.

 

Human knowledge draws intelligibility from sensibility. This is done

with a dynamic activity of the mind known as abstraction.

Abstraction, as the word signifies, is a process of drawing from

(Latin ab-trahere). It is drawing of the essence of a thing from its

sensible data. Philosophically, abstraction is defined as the

consideration of one aspect of reality or being, leaving other

aspects unconsidered. Thus when one says `man is a rational animal'

one abstracts what is common in all human beings one has encountered,

but leave aside the particularities of each of them. This kind of

abstraction in which the totality of the essence of a species is

drawn from different individuals is known as total abstraction. Both

what is abstracted and what is left aside is total. Total essence is

abstracted; total individuality is left aside.

 

Bhava and Anubhava are most important results of reading. " When

knowledge is related to the being he encounters, it is called lower

knowledge (apara-vidya) and can be objectified. When, on the

contrary, knowledge is realizing the atman within, it is called

higher knowledge (para-vidya) and refuses to be objectified. It is

simply the experience of the atman as the knower " (Vineeth, p. 39)

There are experiences and these experiences will change man. "

 

Reality and Knowledge According to an Indian Perspective

http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/neelankavil.html

[Guest guest]

shriadishakti , " jagbir singh "

<adishakti_org> wrote:

>

> Reality and Knowledge According to an Indian Perspective

>

> " The Indian approach to reality is to seek reality in one's self.

> Reality is encountered in one's own consciousness. Consciousness

> means awareness of the self. In the Indian tradition, the word

> atman or " self " can mean the individual self and the divine self.

> Reality is encountered through the consciousness of the individual

> self and of the eternal self in the individual self. The

> understanding, experiencing and interpreting of the self is called

> exteriorization.

>

> The individual self (jivatman) which is centered in consciousness

> is in a body which again exists in the world. The individual self

> together with its body is called a microcosm (miniature universe).

> In contrast, the Divine Self (paramatman) together with its body is

> called macrocosm. The center of this macrocosm is the paramatman

> who is Brahman (the highest reality, the eternal), whereas the

> center of the microcosm is the jivatman. Since jivatman contains in

> itself the reflection of paramatman, in the last analysis Brahman

> is the ultimate center of the macro- and microcosm.

>

>

 

LAA UQSIM BI-YAWM AL-QIYAMAH;

WA-LAA UQSIM BI-AN-NAFSAL-LAWWAAMAH

 

I do call to witness the Resurrection Day;

And I do call to witness the self-reproaching Spirit.