Author Archives: vinaire

I am originally from India. I am settled in United States since 1969. I love mathematics, philosophy and clarity in thinking.

Qur’an: The Opening

April 3, 2011 – 7:55 PM
The Opening

Reference: Religion

[NOTE: I am not blogging about Islam. I am blogging about knowledge in the tradition of JNANA YOGA (the yoga of knowledge). My interest is to interpret Qur’an from the viewpoint of knowledge that is useful to mankind. I shall be interpreting this knowledge as consistent with my view of God as unknowable.If there is any historical, religious or cultural inconsistency in this material, I shall point it out as such. ~ Vinaire]

QUR’AN:  THE OPENING

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

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All praise belongs to God.

Lord of all worlds.

COMMENTARY:  God is the source of all that is spiritual and physical.  God is the Law that governs all that is spiritual and physical.

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The Compassionate, the Merciful.

COMMENTARY:  God is the Law that provides for and supports survival in this universe.  The “personification” of God is simply poetic.  It has been used to communicate the beauty of the abstract reality, which is God, in all its majesty.  God is not physical or concrete.  God is abstract.  NOTE:  Here “abstract” does not mean imaginary.  The Law of Gravity is abstract but it is real.

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Ruler of Judgment Day

COMMENTARY: Any action of Man is judged by these eternal laws.  A person faces the “Judgment Day” when, all of a sudden, he is faced with the truth that it is his own actions which are responsible for his condition.  He can either take responsibility for his actions and survive; or ignore his responsibilities and succumb.  Equivalent of this may apply to a society, a race, or even to whole mankind.

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It is You that we worship,

and to You we appeal for help.

COMMENTARY:  It is this Law, and its Source, that we regard with utmost respect.  It is That to which we go back again and again for help and understanding.

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Show us the straight way,

the way of those you have graced,

not of those on whom is Your wrath,

nor of those who wander astray. 

COMMENTARY:  May we perceive the right way according to these Laws, and recognize those who are following them; and not be deceived by those who have gone astray and are suffering as a result.

“God’s wrath” is the unyielding nature of these Laws, which apply to everyone in the same manner, whether one is aware of them or not.  One survives better when he follows the Law.  One suffers when he ignores it.  The image of a “Wise Old Man” who is angered at the impropriety of man has often been used for God.  But this is no more than a poetic expression to convey the urgency of the message.  Per Qur’an, God should not be substituted by any image.  This also applies to any image for God formed in one’s mind.

God is pure spirit – the pure essence of all creativity and intelligence, and the source of all life in its infinite variations.  God is not bound by any finite personality.  God is the source of all personalities.

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CAUTION: Please keep in mind that the Qur’an is a poetic rendition. It seems to give the impression that God is some Being, separate from one and external to one. But God is not an entity. God is formless.

Any entity has to be defined in space. It is space that separates one thing from another. By separating things space gives form to those things. Form implies separation in space. Formlessness implies uniformity throughout the space.

Therefore, something that doesn’t have any form has to be uniform throughout the space imbibing uniformly anything in that space. It won’t be separate from anything. In short, it would not be a separable or an identifiable entity.

Islam considers God to be formless. Thus, God cannot be a separable or an identifiable entity. God has to be present uniformly in all things.

Thus, God is that POTENTIAL OF CREATIVITY that resides at the core of any beingness.

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Note (April 2011): I wrote this essay many years ago. My expanded view on God is expressed in the essay The Nature of God.

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Posted in Islam, Religion | Comments (2)

Printing a human kidney

April 2, 2011 – 10:45 PM

TED talk: Printing a human kidney

About this talk

Surgeon Anthony Atala demonstrates an early-stage experiment that could someday solve the organ-donor problem: a 3D printer that uses living cells to output a transplantable kidney. Using similar technology, Dr. Atala’s young patient Luke Massella received an engineered bladder 10 years ago; we meet him onstage.

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Posted in Science | Comments (0)

The Nature of Truth

March 31, 2011 – 9:29 PM

The word TRUTH comes from an Old English word which meant “fidelity”.  Truth has to do with “consistency”.

Truth is the recognition of something “as it is”. 

A person comes across a door. He looks at the door and says, “It is a door.”  He is speaking a truth.  But when he looks at the door and says, “It is a wall.”  He has altered that truth.  Suppose it is a wall with a secret door built into it.  The existence of the door is not so obvious that it can be discovered easily.  So the person looks at it and says, “It is a wall.”  From his viewpoint that is the truth.  Now somebody else comes along and tells him that there is a secret door.  This person may not be convinced at first, but when he examines it and discovers that he can, in fact, walk through that “wall” to the other side, he gets a better understanding of what is there.  He attains a higher level of truth. Thus, TRUTH is not just black and white.  There are many dimensions to truth.

The clearer is the perception of “what is there” the higher is the level of truth.  Clarity comes from perceiving something in detail and in “depth”.

A general statement, such as, “The organization is all rickety,” obviously, lacks detail.  An acceptance of this statement as “true” can lead to incorrect conclusion, and wrong action, as one makes up for the lack of detail by preconceived notions.  Thus, a belief in generalities, such as, “My religion is the only true religion,”  “All other religions are false,”  “All man are evil,”  “All women are to be despised,”  “White race is superior,” would always lead to conflicts to which there would be no resolution.

Any general statement, therefore, would consist of a low level of truth.  A generality must always be examined carefully for missing details without assuming anything if one is interested in discovering the truth.

An observation, such as, “Sun, moon, and stars, all go around the earth, and therefore earth is at the center of the universe,” is quite superficial. It ignores many other observations which led Copernicus to observe that “it is the earth and other planets which revolve around the sun.”  Galileo was condemned by the religious authorities of his time for making this declaration.  Thus, superficial observations and beliefs tend to ignore seemingly contradictory observations which do not fit into the existing belief system.  Such beliefs, therefore, would also consist of a low level of truth.

If contradictions are observed, one must reexamine one’s beliefs if one is interested in discovering the truth.

An exact truth is determined by the person who created it.  A liar knows that he is lying because he created the “lie” at the first place.  He knows the truth about the “lie”.  Others look and see only the “lie”.  The “lie” persists as long as the underlying truth is hidden.  As soon as the truth is exposed a resolution takes place.  Thus, the following is a very sound test of truth.

If a problem, or conflict, is persisting, the underlying truth is not known. If the underlying truth were known, the problem, or conflict, will not persist.  It would disappear.

Is truth subjective? The answer is that there is no truth in the absence of awareness. What is observed has only a relative level of truth. If something is persisting, there is a higher level of truth underlying it which is not yet observed.

A wall is made up of molecules. Molecules are made up of atoms. Atoms are made up of nucleus with electrons buzzing around. Nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons. Over ninety-nine percent of an atom is empty space. The neutrons, protons, and electrons are a condensed form of energy. Energy is motion which is condensed in less and less space to appear as a particle. A motion is a change in space. And what is space? Space is a viewpoint of dimension.

After you understand all this and look at that wall, you may say, “What wall?” Thus, truth is covered by appearances to the degree generalities are enforced, and awareness is denied.

The problem with truth reduces to the problem of attachment to what one already believes in without understanding.

But, no person’s perception of truth should be condemned just because it is different from yours, because truth, as known in this universe, is never absolute.  Truth is always subject to a viewpoint.  The absolute truth may be termed God, but a belief in “God”, as it exists, has been subject to viewpoints.  God is infinite and so is Truth.  A finite belief is no substitute for an understanding of the Infinite.

Effort of each person should always be to strive for higher levels of truth without making others wrong.

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Glossary

Truth

  1. Origin: “fidelity.” Truth has to do with “consistency”.
  2. Truth is the recognition of what is there. The clearer is the perception of “what is there” the higher is the level of truth. A generality must always be examined carefully for missing details without assuming anything if one is interested in discovering the truth.
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Posted in KHTK | Comments (3)

Approach to Looking #1

March 28, 2011 – 7:21 PM
August 17, 2014
This issue is now obsolete. For latest reference please see: Handling Unwanted condition.

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Here is an approach to looking that one may use to target a specific condition. The condition could be a psychological symptom that one wants to get rid of; or some circumstance that is preventing one from being more oneself. In either case, it takes looking to discover what underlies that condition.

The steps are as follows.

(1) Locate the area that is absorbing most of one’s attention.

This is an area where one’s attention is usually fixed, or keeps returning to; but where one finds it difficult to focus on details. This is usually the area of unwanted condition. See ATTENTION.

(2) Locate in that area a traumatic incident or major confusion.

Do not go digging in your mind for this information. Usually such information is right there. It will come up easily when you look for it. See INTRODUCTION TO LOOKING and LOOKING AND THINKING. If no such information comes up then apply APPROACH TO LOOKING #2.

(3) Locate in that incident or confusion a major shift of some kind.

This may be a sudden shift in one’s outlook. Or, there may even be a shift in one’s personality. There is some major influence that took place, the effect of which was looked upon as a solution at that time. See if such a shift is right there to be found. If there is no such shift then apply APPROACH TO LOOKING #2..

(4) Locate the moment of shock (surprise or realization) that may have triggered that shift.

This could be something that happened out of the blue. If such an instance comes to view then experience it fully several times. There may be emotional discharge. Do not resist. Just experience it. If no such instance comes up then apply APPROACH TO LOOKING #2..

(5) Locate a point during that shock when all perceptions and feelings seem to freeze.

If such a point of freeze comes up then fully become aware of it . The purpose of these five steps is to zoom to the core of this area of non-optimum attention without speculating. If no such point comes it is still okay to continue, because the above purpose is already served.

(6) Look for any hidden information in and around that shock and shift.

Information can get submerged due to the element of shock and surprise. Simply relax and look around without digging. If this information is there, it would appear as you put your attention in the area of shock and shift.

(7) Look for any suppressed information in and around that shock and shift.

An idea or impulse is suppressed if you wouldn’t let it out. Simply relax and look around to see if you suppressed your thoughts, ideas or emotions during those moments of shock and ensuing shift. Be totally non-judgmental when looking. Honestly become aware of what is there regardless of any thoughts about the matter.

(8) Look for feelings and emotions in and around that shock and shift that are still persisting.

One may find intense feelings and emotions around such shock and shift. But if they are no longer there then so be it. However, if any feeling or emotion from that shock and shift is still persisting then look at it more closely. Notice if that feeling or emotion seem to be coming from some location in or on the body, or away from the body in space. There may or may not be such a location. In any case, fully experience that feeling or emotion without resisting. Don’t try to get rid of it or do anything with it. Just experience it. Continue until the feeling or emotion seems to discharge. Then check this step again until all such feelings and emotions are addressed.

(9) Non-judgmentally acknowledge ideas, thoughts, decisions, messages, etc., that show up.

During the above step if any ideas, thoughts,decisions, or messages appear then acknowledge their presence unconditionally. Be totally non-judgmental. Do not avoid. Do not try to figure out anything. Simply acknowledge what comes up. 

(10) Look for efforts in and around that shock and shift that are still persisting.

One may also find, around that shock and shift, effort to do something or to prevent something from happening. If no such effort is there then so be it. However, if such an effort is there and it is still persisting then experience it without resisting.

Non-judgmentally and unconditionally acknowledge the presence of ideas, thoughts, decisions, messages, etc., which might appear during this step.

The above steps help one become aware of the psychological structure that is supporting one’s unwanted condition and keeping it there. With this awareness come insights. With those insights comes relief and better perception. This is followed by lessening and even disappearance of the unwanted condition.

Here’s to a lot of fun with looking!

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Posted in Self-Improvement | Tagged | Comments (0)

Considerations and Free Will

March 28, 2011 – 6:01 AM

Reference: The Nature of Consideration

Reference: On Will by Geir Isene

To me, the bottom line is NOTHINGNESS, and that means an absence of all considerations. Thus, there exists infinite choice at the outset. Any limitation on choice will then come from a prior consideration.

Geir defines “will” as “exercise of choices.” Thus, one would start with an infinite “will” and that “will” shall decrease inversely proportional to the number of choices that are made and kept.

“No free will” shall exist when one has chosen to agree completely with the status quo.

“Potential free will” shall be recoverable by as-ising one’s existing choices.

There is free will in this physical universe to the degree one is aware of the laws and principles that are keeping the physical structure there, and one can move within that structure. Ignorance of those laws and principles would limit that free will. As-isness of physical laws and principles is not essential to exercise free will. But knowledge of them is essential. Choices may be made only when there are options.

No option will exist when either nothing has been agreed upon, or everything has been agreed upon.

If everything can be calculated/predicted as per Steven Hawking, then one’s “free willed actions” may be predicted too, putting them in the category of “bound will.”

For “free will” to exist there must be a balance between KNOWABLE and UNKNOWABLE.

Randomness exists not in the universe but in the very idea of free will. The deterministic part is one’s agreements expressed as the universe; the random part is one’s free will.

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