Yoga and The Natural World by Albatross

Sun / Moon Logo by Nina Aidas Line drawings by Magnus Malmsten

An Another Albatross Publication

YOGA AND THE NATURAL WORLD A SYNTHESIS AN ATTEMPT TO AUGMENT THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE P HENOMENOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF KNOWLEDGE WITH THE POSSIBILITIES OFFERED BY A STUDY OF ITS RECURSIVE NATURE IN THE LIGHT OF THE PARADIGM OF YOGA:

REST & ACTIVITY.

Oil paintings my me.

Juri Aidas

OF VEDA, OF STRUCTURES, OF YOGA & OF “THE TREE OF LIFE”, OF „THE OUTER‟ & „THE INNER‟ UNIVERSE, OF SCIENCE, OF THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION, OF INFINITIES & OF „NOUGHTS‟, OF EVOLUTION & OF TURING MACHINES, OF „THE H EART‟ & OF “THE GAME OF LIFE” & OF ALL THAT‟S B RIGHT , OF PURUSHA & PRAKRITI, OF PHOENIX & PANDORA, & OF TRUTH, OF PERPLEXITIE & OF POETRIE, OF GENES & MEMES, OF GOD & NO GOD, OF SINGLE CELL CONSCIOUSNESS, OF MONADS, OF PHONEMES, OF ENLIGHTENMENT & OF THE „RECURSIVE EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHM‟.

Hariolatory writings.

ALL IN TERMS OF THAT OLDE ALGORHYTHMIE. PRELIMINARY EDITION

Adobe Pdf edition, preferably viewed in double page mode.

Partly originated, partly compiled by

EPISTEMOLOGY / METHODOLOGY ONTOLOGY / COSMOLOGY / COSMOGONY

AAAP 36 N

Point of view!

All ‟That‟ is Full, All ‟This‟ is Full Upanishad

ALL THE WORLD‟S A JOY Always Look at the Bright Side of Life. You Never Know When the Roman Inquisition Arrives. Two sayings attributed to Brian.

Document

revised

–

June

2012,

12:03

GMT+01:00,

Sundbyberg,

Sweden.

This page is a temporary filler page – for to make this cyber-book look like more of a proper book, especially when viewed in double page mode (in Adobe Acrobat Reader choose, View/Pageview/Two – recommended). – and then, in Acrobat, do try Full Screen View mode (you‟ll get the best result with a large wide screen monitor). – one page width view over, say, a 19” or even a 17” screen, would also do well, I‟d say. – if this pdf is used for printing then page two here (this page) would become page five (page four would be a blank); sequentially after page one would come the inlay pages, with all the aums ( ), they‟d be pages two and three; for simplicity, for now, if you print this pdf simply don‟t print anything on the back of page one. – and, thusways, the page numbering for the pdf version of this document differs from the proper book version, the page numbering in the pdf should be upped one digit (for to agree with the numberings set in the contents pages), and, I guess, there are some credits missing; as regards the contents pages, well, they are yet in quite a disarray. – ah, and yes, the latter part of this document is not just in a bit ‟a disarray but is, belatedly, in quite some disorder bordering on the incoherent (getting closer to order now, though). – but, yet, this is work in progress. I‟ll keep on updating.

Juri Aidas ( ... aka., „Albatross‟ of The Brights )

Business Cat, http://memegenerator.net/

I mean business!

Work

progress.

The

purpose

this

document

inform

and

entertain.

 Cyber-links in this document are coloured, at times in different colours, but not underlined, like this, “ The Algorhythmies of An Another Albatross” (this is the one of my various blogs which focuses on the things I write about here, though I do not update it all that much); font changes may occur over the links, like this “An Another Albatross Goes Arundo!” (an another blog of mine); and some coloured text does not represent links ... so there you go. Enjoy.•

Hibiscus ∆

* ―There are always a thousand things to see and stop for along Path, snake’s-hands to explore and people to listen to. Path is like a snake, it curls around the whole [...] So when you run along Path, and here is something that looks to be Path, but you find it is only rooms interlocking in a little maze that has no exits but back to Path – that’s a snake’s-hand. It runs off the snake of Path like a set of little fingers. It is also called a snake’s-hand, because a snake has no hands, and likewise there is only one Path.‖

n this compilation of thinkings and writings I have attempted, in hariolatory fashion, to collect a few of my different essays on the themes of yoga and nature, various responses I wrote to articles on yoga in the news, some of my postings from my favourite forum of The Brights, and a li‟l of this an‟ that (of artistic bent and with a view to entertain). These writings I‘ve tried to arrange in a semblance of a sensible order though I take a few snake‘s-hands * routes in my meanderings, thus this collection of writings, in their happenstance order herein, represents the general paths of whatever I‘ve been thinking over the years. I‘ve taken the liberty of using the same diagrams in many places in the different sections of the texts here, they originated for the essay on the yogic Paradigm, which is central to the theme of this book and they thus bear to be repeated, I‘d hope, if but for the pedagogic stance, but they, of course, are but visual descriptions of my ideas. In discussing yoga the restating of processual detail keeps the mind focused on the basics of yoga and thus builds an understanding of its methodics, otherwise, and especially during practice, it is easily left to drift away upon tangential, plainly speculative or dubious metaphysics (of accelerated thinking) in the web of which it forlornly, at times, sways in bewilderments of thought and will in that be prone to simply lose itself in the multitudes of dualisms found in differing and ever contesting world-views or in just plain inner ideation.

* Engine Summer John Crowley, 1980, Bantam pocket ed., p. 26.

by Nina Aidas Oil on Canvas, 15 x 15 cm. ∆



View of copyrights and title page, pages 14, 15, as viewed on my own screen of 24â&#x20AC;?.

My view of the page of Homage to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, pages 18, 19. A double spread.

YOGA AND THE NATURAL WORLD

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The sun teaches all things that grow their longing for the light. But it is night that raises them to the stars.â&#x20AC;? The Garden of the Prophet, Khalil Gibran

Filler page.

Who knows the truth? Who here will pronounce it Whence this birth, whence this creation? The Gods appeared afterward, with the creation of this. Who then knows whence it arose? Rig Veda X. 129.6 ca. 3-rd millennium B.C.

AN ANOTHER ALBATROSS PUBLICATION PUBLICATIONS • PRODUCTIONS • PERFORMANCES • RECORDINGS – whatever – This document presently represents private undertakings of mine of yet no commercial character. The intent here being to create interest in the themes of yoga and of science, and, perchance, some day, eventually result in a professionally produced coherent publication of the works. As this manuscript is still in a preliminary state all permissions have not yet been sought. This will be done for the event of a sharp edition of the work.

Page-numbering to be amended.

Listing to be corrected & completed.

ALL THE WORLD‟S A JOY, HEAVEN AND EARTH & WORDS, ETC. & ALL OTHER MATERIALS – JURI AIDAS

Except: SUN MOON LOGO & PIKEBOROS – NINA AIDAS LINE DRAWINGS; Cover, P. 4, 9, 14, 16, 18, 20, 23, 30, 32, 40, 52, 58 & Back Cover – MAGNUS MALMSTEN SUN NOTE L OGO, LITTLE TREE, SEAL, ROSE, PIANO & CATS (of unknown origin) – Clipart Composites (ed. by Juri Aidas)

AUM LOGO –

The Matavasis of Kauai's Hindu Monastery; www.himalayanacademy.com

FOUR BASIC STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS – DEMETRI P. KANNELAKOS / JEROME S. LUCAS „The Psychobiology of Transcendental Meditation – A Literature Review (1974, p. xi) KOCH CURVE – after RUDY RUCKER (1982, p. 9) See: Larry Riddles‟ webpage at http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~lriddle/ifs/kcurve/kcurve.htm SCHEMATA OF THE NULL CONCEPT – GEORGES IFRAH (BARROW, 2000, p. 43)

CREATION TIMELINE – after PAUL BROCKELMAN (1999, p. 54) THE GAME OF LIFE – JOHN HORTON CONWAY (from DENNETT, 1995, pp. 166–176 & 2003, pp. COSMIC BACKGROUND RADIATION DATA – See Barrow, 2005, pp. 191.

39–47)

The source is from „First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Preliminary Maps and Basic Results‟, by Charles L. Bennett and team, at: http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/map/pub_papers/firstyear/supplement/wmap_basic_data.pdf FRONTISPIECE STARFIELD – FURTHEST KNOWN GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE Credit: ESA, NASA, J.-P. Kneib (Caltech/Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées) and R. Ellis (Caltech) http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2004/08/ SINGLE CELL CONSCIOUSNESS – JONATHAN C. W. EDWARDS (2005, www.ucl.ac.uk/~regfjxe/aw.htm)

RIG VEDIC HYMNS –

Translations by R.T.H. GRIFFITH (P. 5, Translation by FEUERSTEIN, KAK, FRAWLEY P. 34, RIG VEDA X: 61,7; Translation by STELLA KRAMRICH) YOGA SUTRA OF PATANJALI, 1:2, 2:XX, 2:33-34 – Translation by ALISTAIR SCHEARER

POETICAL CITATIONS – KAHLIL GIBRAN, WILLIAM BLAKE, BOB DYLAN, NEIL YOUNG & DYLAN THOMAS COMIC STRIP „SINFEST‟ – TATSUYA ISHIDA (used with permission once, permission for this reprint pending) TURING MACHINE HARIOLATION – from „CRYPTONOMICON‟ by NEAL STEPHENSON LINGUISTIC CATEGORIES – ROGETS INTERNATIONAL THESAURUS, 1977 CITATIONS – See References in this Presentation and the Bibliography. MANDALA – PRIVATE OWNERSHIP (used with permission)

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Correspondence:

a h im sa n o n - v io le n c e

a ste y a in te g r ity

b rah m ach arya c h a stity

P r a k r it i Sam âdhi

Juri Aidas

Â san a

ry th m flo w

M o r a ls , T h e L a w s o f L ife

h e a rin g to u c h

w ith o b je c t

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Sam âdhi D y n a m ic B lis s

Sweden

An Another Albatross Publication

juri@live.se

AAAP 36 N Revised: 24 June 2012

S a t, C h it, A n a n d a E x is te n c e , I n te llig e n c e , B lis s

T ran scen d en t V ir tu a l S e lf- r e fe r e n tia l F ie ld

”The Tree of Life” The Deep Beyond

M a n ife s t

P u ru sh a U n m a n ife s t

Work In Progress!

YOGA AND THE NATURAL WORLD A SYNTHESIS A collection of ideas, framed in the context of algorhythmy in yoga.

THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA IN RECURSIVE LIGHT, ON THE BASIS OF THE METAPHOR:

“THE TREE OF LIFE”.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF YOGA . YOGA DARŠANA, THE VISION OF YOGA THE PARADIGM OF YOGA: REST & ACTIVITY A NATURALISTIC OVERVIEW

Pikeboros

Juri Aidas A compilation on the Mechanisms in Yoga and in Nature presented in a portmanteau format so as to entertain and inform.

The exerpts from an exposition on Single Cell Consciousness by Jonathan C.W. Edwards used with permission (see: http://ww.ucl.ac.uk/~regfjxe/awnew.htm).

This excerpt below awaits permission to use. ‚The Logic of Inconsistency: A Study in Non-Standard Possible-World Semantics and Ontology‛, by Nicolas Rescher & Robert Brandom (Blackwell, 1979, pp. 58”61).

APPLES GALORE! BOUNTY ... alluded to by the metaphor of “THE TREE OF LIFE”. Herein, to be found, are a few Ideas & Thoughts: Gathered, Collected, Derived & Construed, as from an Abundancy of Expression growing out of the Ideational Power of this Metaphor of Subjective Creation (parallelled by objective analogues) and its Distinct Reflection of the Inherent Virtual Dynamic (Consciousness) Structured from the Reality of Our Physical Brains, or perchance even present in The Single Individual Neuronal Cell (in Monadic Fashion).

The Tree

AN HOMAGE TO MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI.

Flower Power Roses there are, Being where you are. For dear partners, For the sunshine years, Of memories, Of wonder, For the tender ones, For undying love, For the heart. So I yearn again my love. Lilies galore, Everywhere they fall, For companions, For halcyon days Of play, Havin’ fun all day. For the gentle, For anyone who cares, For everyone, An’ for all of what it be worth. O! Asters overflow! I say, “It’s a show!”. Yeah. The tide will turn As earth an’ sky, As wind unseen. The years, O Muse, Never fade, Never go away, No, no! As long as I, as I hear true love on the way.

Listen to this song as performed by An Another Albatross at: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_2029498

AN HOMAGE TO MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI. Originator: Albatross Theme: The Teacher Style: Folk Ballad

An’ Daffodils I know Abound in Summers glow, Stuff everywhere. Oh! Enough’s enough, But how could that be enough? Yeah, the river flows, Amongst the flowers of a thousand shows, In meadows, in forests, An’ being with you, You, you tune up the Wild Mountain Thyme. Yea’! Roses there are, Being where you are. For dear partners, For the sunshine years, Of memories, Of wonder, For the tender ones, For undying love, For the heart. So I yearn again my love.

Juri Aidas 13 January 2008

Clipart – Microsoft Sun/Moon – Nina Aidas

YOGA & THE NATURAL WORLD A SYNTHESIS

LINE DRAWINGS – BY MAGNUS MALMSTEN

FLIGHT – Frontispiece & P. 14; HERON – P. 1; LITTLE SUN – P. 14, HORSE and UFO – P. 18; LIGHT BEARER – P. 25; HIGH VIEW P. 26; BIRD UP HIGH P. 29; SENTINEL – P. 38; INTO THE DEEP – P. 41; BIRD IN BUSH – P. 9, 39; TURTLE – P. 13; FLOWER – P. 34; SINGING FISH – P. 38; YOGI – P. 39; ANEMONE – P. 51; SMILE – P. 52; SMILES – P. 70; HAPPY MAN – P. 56; SINGER – P. 57; ROADSIDE BIRD – P. 58; FAR AWAY BIRD – Back cover. The page numbering here is distinctly off.

CONTENTS – (overview) PREAMBLE – P. 25, CREDO – P. 27, THE BRIGHT BLUE – P. 29, PREFACE – P. 38, INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATA – P. 43.

The page numbering here is quite unreliable, ... definitely unreliable,

COSMOLOGY – P. 96 CREATION TIMELINE – P. 70,

OF THE

OUTER & THE INNER UNIVERSE – P. 95

COSMOGONY – P. 95 OF PURUSHA – P. 95,

PRAKRITI – P. 95, PHOENIX – P. 95 & PANDORA – P. 95

ONTOLOGY – P. 67 OF STRUCTURES IN

YOGA – P. 44,

WORD – P. 68

EPISTEMOLOGY – P. 48 OF

“THE TREE OF LIFE” AS METAPHOR OF THE YOGA-DARŠANA – P. 46 OF STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS – PP. 91, 92 OF THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION – P. 74 OF INFINITY – P. 89 & OF THE NULL CONCEPT – P. 90 OF ALGORITHMS – P. XX & OF “THE GAME OF LIFE” – P. 76

METHODOLOGY – OF

PP. 29, 46

“THE RECURSIVE EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHM” – P. 49 •

CONSIDERATIONS “MEMES” AND GENES – P. XX, & OF “COGNITIVE SCIENCE” – P. 82 OF “QUANTUM UNCERTAINITIES” – P. 83, OF “SINGLE CELL CONSCIOUSNESS” – P. 78 OF PHONEMES – P. 87, & OF THE “TURING MACHINE” – P. 88 • OF

RIG VEDIC HYMNS CREATION – P. 116, AGNI – P. 141 & TWO BIRDS – P. 175

MANDALA – P. 116 PATANJALI – P. 37 OF CA. 2000

YEARS AGO – P. 38 & •

THE YOGA-SÛTRA – P. 38

ALL THE WORLD‟S A JOY – P. 65

AFTERWORD – P. 120 MISCELLANEOUS – P. 129 LITERATURE – P. 130

... and it’s not just the page numbering, most of the stuff oriented towards the natural sciences has not yet been inserted here, for now those pages may be found in older editions of this document.

CONTENTS – (details)

To be updated …

… as time allows.

– FROM ONE END OF THE UNIVERSE – Section

Art / Songs

This is getting closer! Order & page #’s almost correct here.

Line Drawings

Sun/Moon Sun/Note

1 1

Flight

In the pdf version: add one digit for every # in the list for those #’s to concur.

Page

Business Cat AUM-signs

1 3 4-5

Khalil Gibran quote

Rig Vedic quote

Copyrights © page

Little Sun Pikeboros AUM-sign (Blue)

14 15 15

Introductory

17-34

Apples Galore

Contents pages

18-23

Horse & UFO Preamble

18 25

Light Bearer Cat

25 25

High View Credo

26 27

Applemore Once in a Blue Moon

Under the Umbrellæ

The Bright Blue

Science / Edward O. Wilson

Bright Light

Atha! ” Now!

Alignment / Sarvepelli Radhakrishnan

A Vista The Morning Promenade

PART I – The Yoga

35-238

The Framework

Sentinel

From Big Bang …

* See literature reference …

CONTENTS – (details)

Time and time again …

… a novelty arrives.

– TO THE OTHER – Section

Art / Songs

Line Drawings

Page Not complete!

Preface

39-40

Introducing The Scematas

43-49

Above Us Only Sky Out of the Blue

Heaven And Earth Signals

50 51

The Paradigm of Yoga ” Introductory

52-53

Definition of Yoga

Yoga Sutra – I:2

Yoga: The Practice

56-61

Yogi Hedgehog Beyond Waking, Dreaming and Sleeping

55 61 62

Falling Free (Smile) Three Categories of Meditation

62 63

Origins

64-65

Roots & Shoots

Back in Time

The Artefacts

66-69

Mohenjo-daro Seal Steatite Seal

The Heuristic

-»-

Prototype

-»-

Springs ‟n Things Evocative Headgear

Smiling Faces The Road Goes Ever On

All the World‟s a Joy The Journey

71 72

On The Yoga / The Algorhythmy Comic strip by Tasuya Ishida

77-86

Chaos Butterfly The Tree of Life

69 71

The Eightfold Yoga / Yoga Sutra 2:29

Meditation, Contemplation & Concentration

Roadside Bird

… and the presentations. *

… to Violet Whole

Pge #’s to be corrected here & there. In the pdf version: add one digit for every # in the list for those #’s to concur.

CONTENTS – (details)

To be updated …

… as time allows.

– THEN ON TO FURTHER SHORES – Section All arrangement of content here is but temporary. ... meaning that all the things listed here are to be structured into this document.

Art / Songs

Line Drawings

Structures in Yoga

Page 15

Flight The Tree of Life

16 17

Epistemology of the Recursive Evolutionary Algorythm

Three Metaphors of Yoga

A New Perspective Turning It All Right Side Up

23 24

Aurora Borealis * Orions Inner Beauty *

The Eightfold Yoga

Practical Relevance Attitude / Ethics – Yama 2. Behaviour / Morals – Niyama 3. Posture / Stability / Suppleness – Asana 4. Breath / Natural Flow – Pranayama 5. Withdrawal – Pratyahara 6. Focusing – Dharana 7. Meditation (Algorhytmic Process) – Dhyana 8. The Deep / Equilibrium – Samadhi Implications Deer at Pond 1.

30 33 33 35 35 36 36 37 27

Yoga Sutra 2:33-34

A Couple Riverrun

28 20

Patanjali & The Yoga Sutra

PART II ” Nature

239

Bliss Flowers in a Round Field Ontology

38 41 42

Words

Furthest Galaxies *

Creation Timeline *

Creation Mandala

The Bang Goes On …

46 47

* See literature reference …

CONTENTS – (details)

Time and time again …

… a novelty arrives.

– AND, AT TIMES, QUITE FAR OUT – Section

Art / Songs

Line Drawings

Watch it on the Telly

Cosmic Microwawe Background Radiation *

258

A Look-Out The Game of Life *

Page

Toy model

Neurophysiological Correlates

50 51

Anemones

Single Cell Consciousness *

52 53

Jonathan C. W. Edwards

Genes & Memes

Cognitive Consternation

The Turing Machine Phonosemantics Monadology The Logic of Inconcistency *

Robert Brandom & Nicholas Rescher

Infinity *

254

Nothing *

255

Four States of Consciousness

Emergence of Deep Structure

Cosmogony

Cosmolony

Background

The Six systems of Indian Philosophy

216

Happy

Medical Considerations Afterword

Miscellaneous

Literature

… and the presentations. *

Snake‟s-hand

Faraways

… on, yet on.

... Dito.

PREAMBLE

Amateur philosopher that I am, alas, with no formal credentials to my name, neither in scolarship nor science, yet, with over 40 busy years of lecturing and teaching experience in the field of Yoga as specific background, and with a rather large, by now, library of reference at hand, I do think some of the speculative ramblings you will find presented in the following thesis to be worthy of at least some consideration. In this work I, in a meandering fashion, attempt to traverse the extremes of the abstract from pole to pole, so to say, of its subjective and objective ranges, and then I get into relating the resulting metaphorical construct, ―The Tree of Life‖, to the structure of consciousness as understood both by modern science and the age old philosophy of Yoga. From this wide, quite immense panorama I derive a connection, a link of deep resonance, a philosophy of the creative, a dynamic of relevance that puts the significance of the depths of inner life on a level a par with the understanding and advances offered by our slick whirlpool world of today. Whatever far out conjecture, guesswork or supposition, whatever wild assumption I‘ve employed in the stretching, bending and realigning of ideas held by others to the specifics of my own theorizing, whatever hariolation proffered herein it is espoused in a benign spirit of imaginative form, it is all of my own making – and no shadow, nor the weight of any presumption of mine should therefore be cast on the exquisite work done by great people much smarter than me.

Juri Aidas

CREDO

Herein my aim is to share what I believe myself to have learned of the tight connection between understanding and experience within the subtle mind/body dynamic, of the unity of intellect and heart, and of the implications of these characte-ristics as evolutionary forces to be grasped and utilized by man in our strivings to comprehend meaning and relevance in life – what it‘s all about! In this presentation on consciousness, as seen through the eyes of both modern science and the philosophy of Yoga, my own platform, the approach I have found myself to tend to, is the holding of a world view, such as that held by naturalistic philosophers, and what has particularly inspired me is a wiev close unto that of professor Daniel C. Dennett, whom I will refer to now and then herein – to cite Mr. Dennetts definition of naturalism: *…+ ”naturalism, the idea that philosophical investigations are not superior to, or prior to, investigations in the natural sciences, but in partnership with those truth -seeking enterprises, and that the proper job for philosophers here is to clarify and unify the often warring perspectives into a single vision of the universe. That means welcoming the bounty of well-worn scientific discoveries and theories as raw material for philosophical theorizing, so that informed, constructive criticism of both science and philosophy is possible.”

(„Daniel C. Dennett, “Freedom Evolves”, 2003, p. 15)

APPLEMORE! ABUNDANCE – from “THE TREE OF LIFE”. The sky is falling. Do you know what I mean? From “Misfits”; Neil Young *

dhi Dharma Megha Sama * Raincloud of Dharma

Now! If I just drop me umbrella… ? Effortlessly!

* The Naturally Overwhelming Great Order of The Deep Dharma ~ Megha ~ Samadhi ~

The Natural Order Great ... Overwhelmingly so The Deep

... approximately.

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON Originator: Albatross Theme: The Big Question Style: Folk Ballad

The Bright Blue Who made the birds that sing in the sky? Who made the apples that grow from trees? Who made all the stuff, the stuff I see? Who made the who who asks these things?

A Blue Moon, perchance it was, banging away at a dream, Who from bright beginnings still spins a turn or two. Yea, a blue moon to sail the mind as it does its slow motion time, And every breath it takes makes lovers go "O Woo!" Who knows anything, anything on that for sure? Who can tell while caught up in the whirly gig? Whomever kicked the starter might not even by self know how? Yea, a blue moon, say, of momentary equilibrium lapse. There's a faits accomplis now, and a sense of wonder thereto. Yet I scratch my brow as my lines here ebb and flow. Who knows the answer to all construcs of The Deep? Who knows what words to use? What more to say? Yet as ever that seductive question is beyond our control, There’s no referent for backup but it’s fun to reflect upon, It shimmers in the smoky haze of a vision oh so bright, As the sun falls into the ocean at the great end of the world. So I do my thing, another chair I provide. Sit. Rest. Enjoy. Take a seat, made of atoms galore from the switchback unknown, Of dynamics of past, present and of what's ahead. A blue moon I say, keyed up. Now I turn its bright shaft. O, mysterious are my ways. An’ Oh How So! Yet deeply I dig The Deep Field and, My Oh My!, I unearth yet another trinket from a forgotten shore; I tune in, and take my step out into The Bright Blue.

Juri Aidas ,6 June 2011 Listen to ‘The Bright Blue’ here: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_9264348 „Blue Moonʹ: see page 83, Daniel Dennett on John Conway’s The Game of Life (a deterministic toy model of the Universe ). “Whomever kicked the starter might not even by self know how?”: see page 76, the Vedic „Creationʹ poem.

SCIENCE I‘d love it if my ramblings were as structured as the demands of proper science require, but even if I may be way way off here and there those boundaries are my guidelines. One way of distinguishing requirements of stringency is set out below.

Science, to put its warrant as concisely as possible, is the organized, systematic enterprise that gathers knowledge about the world and condenses the knowledge into testable laws and principles. The diagnostic features of science that distinguish it from pseudoscience are first, repeatability: The same phenomenon is sought again, preferably by independent investigation, and the interpretation given to it is confirmed or discarded by means of novel analysis and experimentation. Second, economy: Scientists attempt to abstract the information into the form that is both simplest and aesthetically most pleasing ” the combination called elegance ” while yielding the largest amount of information with the least amount of effort. Third, mensuration: If something can be properly measured, using universally accepted scales, generalizations about it are rendered unambiguous. Fourth, heuristics: The best science stimulates further discovery, often in unpredictable new directions; and the new knowledge provides an additional test of the original principles that led to its discovery. Fifth and finally, consilience: The explanations of different phenomena most likely to survive are those that can be connected and proved consistent with one another. Edward O. Wilson “Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge”, Knopf, 1998, pp. 58-59.

Science: the organized, systematic enterprise that gathers knowledge about the world and condenses the knowledge into testable laws and principles. (As per above.) repeatability / economy / mensuration / heuristics / consilience

ATHA! – NOW!

Bright Light Oil on Canvas, 41 x 41 cm.

ALIGNMENT The poet is the interpreter of the soul. We all are poets. If you‟re not prepared to be wrong you‟ll never come up with anything original! Sir Ken Robinson at TedTalks, 2006.

The truth which claims to be universal requires to be continually re-created. It cannot be something already possessed that only needs to be re-transmitted. In every generation, it has to be renewed. Otherwise it tends to become dogma which soothes us and induces complacency but does not encourage the supreme personal adventure. Tradition should be a principle not of conservatism but of growth and regeneration. We cannot keep the rays of the sun while we put out the sun itself. Petrified tradition is a disease from which societies seldom recover. By the free use of reason and experience we appropriate truth and keep tradition in a continuous process of evolution. If it is to have a hold on people’s minds, it must recon with the vast reorientation of thought that has taken place. Sarvepelli Radhakrishnan *

* "The Brahma Sutra - The Philosophy of Spiritual Life", 1960, Georg Allen & Unwin Ltd., second impr. 1971, p. 8

If The Deep were to express itself like that, surely, that is what it would say! The poets dream speaks way out yonder.

A VISTA

The Morning Promenade Oil on Canvas, 116 x 75 cm.

INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATAS

SCHEMATAS AND COLLECTIONS of discursive and referential materials – regarding Life, Creation, Being, God and No God, Evolution, Science and much else which I have collected herein. Of these ideas some I have originated myself, they have grown out of the cognition of the structure of the metaphor of The Tree of Life (as per the yogic perspective), others I have collected and set forth in diverse contextual settings revolving around the dynamics embedded in the idea of this centrally balanced and tuned metaphor; in these schematas they are presented for referential ease, comprehension of overall view, the memory of main points of eventual coherence of ideational thinking & for entertainment. WOULD HERE LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE

I prepared these many graphics and diagrams and other stuff while writing my book “The Tree of Life – A Theory of Consciousness. A New Perspective, Modern Science on the Yoga Daršana; New light on the philosophy of Yoga”, (2005, yet unpublished, see p. 219). Herein, though, I have arranged the material somewhat graphically (and even expanded on it here and there) to explain, to make the metaphor I‘ve developed, ―The Tree of Life‖, more discernible to the eye, so to say, or should I say to the mind, or – to the conscious structure of the neuronal cell itself as it registers, listens to, experiences the ‗story‘ of its natural domain (see the section on ‗Single Cell Consciousness‘, p. 265) within the algorithmic, genetic, memetic unfolding of evolution. Schema I

Structures in Yoga The structure of the philosophy of Yoga in list form, p. 107 (this is traditional, though I make a few technical distinctions): this list is usually presented with the idea of the metaphor of a ladder, eight steps of Yoga, Asthanga-Yoga (astha, eight) thus implying a difficult journey with an alluring finale to motivate the undertaking. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi turned the ladder upside down (see the section ‗Three Metaphors‘, p. 108), thus implying that the journey is not that hard after all if one starts with the most important thing, the establishing of restful alertness, which comes about as a result of a rather surprising take on the idea of meditation, dhyana, of how this practice develops familiarity with the preactive state of consciousness. The extension of this idea is that it

INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATAS should be possible to apply the methods of Yoga from whatever level of the ladder one prefers, or is bound to use due to the necessities and demands of life (look at the physical Yoga, the yoga-asana, asana means ‗Posture‘ of the body; its ability towards a dynamic balance in action as well as at rest. Yoga-asanas are very good to practice if the body is tense, and these postures, these asanas, also, in the long run, help make the body both supple and strong, thus bringing a solid physical platform for added sensitivity of the mind into play allowing it freedom of physical distraction. Coupled with the Yoga of breathing, prana-yama, prana meaning ‗the flow of the breath‘, ‗The Breathing‘, health and strength are available to the body); in life mundane circumstances may at times change quite radically so different approaches may be appropriate at different stages in life. Yet if the overall view of Yoga is lost (the point that these aspects of Yoga all go together), if we lose the connection to the main trunk of this philosophy, if the perspective narrows down to billions of rules and strange observances galore we‘re quite off the mark. Yoga is not difficult. Into this list of the eight aspects of Yoga I have woven a few important philosophical concepts from Maharishi Patanjalis analysis of the implications of Yoga (see the sections on the Yoga-Sûtra, p. 60 & 91) for developing of our perspectives on consciousness. By taking all the eight aspects into consideration Maharishi Patanjali weaves a masterful panorama of the evolution of the ‗Subject‘, the persona. The namings of some of these eight aspects have been slightly modified by me. I have my own preferences on how to express these steps: as with ‗Withdraval‘, pratyahara, which sometimes is referred to by the more cumbersome construction ‘Retraction of the Senses‘ (this would be the sensation we may have while e.g. reading, being engrossed, and not noticing somebody talking to us). ‗The Rules of Life‘, yama, become ‗Ethics‘ in my parlance, and ‗The Rules for Living‘, niyama, become ‗Morals‘, Dharana, often translated as concentration is preferrably referred to by me as ‘Focusing‘. The ‗Bliss‘ of samadhi beomes ‗Dynamic Bliss‘ (for examples of differences in these namings by

INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATAS different translators of the Yoga-Sûtra see the section called AsthangaYoga, p. 139). Yet all injunction bearing upon life and living construed out of this dynamic structure of interrelations, the aspects of Yoga, must be looked upon as referring to the processes of Yoga as such and are not to be taken as ideologically defining do‘s and don‘t‘s of action. The results of Yoga take their own due time, and then out of these results there appear standards to support all life, spontaneously bringing life into balance, allowing for life-supporting action, dharma, to gain momentum. In all these presented schemas there are a boxes here and there with highly speculative thinkings going on, imaginative flights sensing wild alluring spin-offs, much rampaging guesswork and hariolation, there‘s a bit of brainstorming going on hoping for brainchildren!

The Tree of Life Schema II:

“The Tree of Life” (p. 114, 167 & 219): in a way the yoga community traditionally does not expand the metaphor of the ladder into that of a tree when talking about the aspects of Yoga, on account of the thought that viewing the philosophy of Yoga in this fashion might be confusing as the branchings of a tree commonly often represent schools of yoga. The schools may be depicted in the form of a geneological tree with the offshoots being different schools such as: Râja Yoga, Kria Yoga, Hatha Yoga [this being the aspect where much focus is put on the proper functioning of the body parts], Laya Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti yoga etc. (a very general categorisation), all stemming from the great ancient Vedic background. One would presumably not wish to mix metaphors. But think it through (as I wish to do in this work) and the biases of many different ideologies in different schools of Yoga may be held at bay. In ‗The Deeper Dimension of Yoga‘ by Mr. Georg Feuerstein there is a good description of the linkage of Yoga and Veda. As this description also illustrates one of the traditional concepts of a ‗Tree of Yoga‘, in contrast to the perspective to be illumined with this metaphor, the idea

Schema II

INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATAS of a ‗Tree of Life‘, representing not only the growth of Yoga but it‘s intrinsic mechanisms as well. This ‗Tree of Life‘ is my main diagram relating all the aspects of Yoga, showing how abstract bliss is coupled to dynamic activity and accessible even in the midst of all the goings on of the world. In the crown of this tree of the philosophy of Yoga we find the meditative process and we can see in the diagram how directly Meditation and Dynamic Bliss are connected, and how the span they generate, by being extremes, contains all the other aspects (that also allow entrance to Yoga). Maybe nobody thought of putting the aspect of meditation on top before (I haven‘t seen this structure of mine anywhere else in the yogic literature), and then on the other side of the galaxy (to use Isaac Asimov‘s construction from his novel ‗Foundation‘) of the being, the person containing all capacities imaginable, that Dynamic Bliss. It‘s as if a magnifying glass is being put on the relationship of the two subtlest aspects of Yoga that are usually hard to separate discriminatively as they are so close really, and so affiliated that it‘s hard to see their relationship, how they interact, and thus this view easily identifies all the possible branchings of the dynamics of the whole structure that is implied in this relationship (this tree contains all of the structure of man – defined by this eightfold harmony – that are to be tuned by the process of Yoga). All the eight aspects of Yoga are, in this diagram, seen as relating to the process of Yoga as such and are not to be interpreted ideologically (in Yoga the mind and body are tuned to be able to express inner potential in terms supportive to nature). For example the precepts Yama and Niyama, the first two aspects, traditionally ‗Observances‘ and ‗Rules of Life‘, become Ethics and Morals in my parlance, and here they are seen as pertaining to the actual methods of Yoga rather than serving as ideological foundations of conduct. The end result turns out, if the hypothesis of restful-alertness can be sustained, to be even better generators of life supporting conduct, as the tuned and refreshed system enmeshes itself dynamically in the active world. This kind of activity is

INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATAS usually referred to as ‗activity in accordance with Dharma, natural law (this would have to bottom out in natural science or all this would be only flights of fancy) giving rise to life-supporting action. ―Established in Yoga, Perform Action‖ is really the only message in regard to the world that this philosophy of Yoga directs us to observe. In the other instances, regarding the other aspects, what I mean might become much clearer by looking at the example of brahmacharya, one of the substructures of yama, Attitude (or, say, the yogic Ethics, as regards the process of yoga as such); brahmacharya is usually thought of as sexual abstinence, celibacy – but in my opinion this only applies in the setting of the performance of Yoga. Everybody becomes aware of the body‘s drives if one takes a moment to calm down, and the brahmacharya concept is there to remind that there‘s no necessity for sex while one is engaged in Yoga, and the technique itself has the inherent mechanism to distract us from taking an active part in that activity, at that moment. There are no more injunctions. Well ―Take care!‖ would be one. All precepts and rules can be seen in this manner. Now I‘m thinking that this structure of a tree is composed of 7 Higgs Fields (that‘s two more postulated here by me to the five theorized – see Scientific American, July 2005, ‗The Mysteries of Mass‘, by Gordon Kane – the eight [yet unnamed, but for a provisional name I suggest ‗Perplexity Field‘, this field would represent another qualitative domain, of the basic origin of all 7 fields yet carrying all their properties and paradoxes, thus ‗perplexity‘, and might all these fields together be of such expression that they are able to be represented by the single cell [‗Is Consciousness Only a Property of Individual Cells‘, Jonathan C.W. Edwards, 2005, Journal of Cognitive Phhilosophy, April 2005]. They would have to carry different complex structures, allowing for resonances of these to propagate throughout the whole structure of the cell). Might be these fields provide the basis of the branchings of the dendritic tree of the neurone, as from a totally abstract level, yet physically imprinting this dynamic of Higgs Fields and the perplexity dynamic in the cell as an evolutionary possibility for the resulting cellular awareness to find life-supporting expressions of different kinds for it‘s

INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATAS survival and enjoyment), mediated by forces that in their buildup could in the final end interpreted as sounds, (see Scientific American, August 2005, ‗Is the Universe out of tune‘, by Glenn D. Starkman and Dominic Schwartz), becoming the SAMEDI of the cell. The cell bell! This metaphor grew and grew, developed branches, leaves, a larger frame, and thus it stands. I had a dream once when I was 19, I happened to open a door in my dream, a door that wasn‘t there a moment before, and I saw a great field with a great tree on a little knoll growing, sprouting everything imaginable from its multitudes of branches and leaves. This dream has stayed with me till this day. Schema III

Epistemology This schema, I think, could be called „An Epistemology of the Recursive Evolutionary Algorithm‟. This represents my understanding of how the process of introspection works in it‘s most refined appearance, as a process of meditation. I do not say the word meditation as such only, as this word I‘ve noticed, means whatever people want it to mean, therefore I talk about the meditative process instead. This schema (may be read from wherever one may want, start anywhere) discusses, in what I think may be a non-subjective language, the process that makes it possible to shut off the processes of conceptual thinking and yet remain awake (which experience is empirically stated by anyone who ever went into a deeper inner state – the Heterophenomenology of Daniel Dennett may find something to work with in the expressions of meditative experience), thus allowing for the body‘s normalizing processes to take over and provide whatever is necessary for the life-supporting features matrixed in its inner structure, in its cells, to stabilize, collect themselves and afterwards provide for a greater awareness and focus in life (if one is tired while doing a meditation one naturally falls asleep). As natures own master plan unfolds from the collective ambition towards the greater clarity of this inner ‗seeing‘ (which may in itself be the latent potentiality of naked consciousness – the alertness part) of every Singular Cell Consciousness of the whole system simultaneously.

INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATAS ―The Tree of Life‖ goes decoratively in the centre of this presentation, surrounded by general structures, symbolically representing centeredness (with the membrane of life surrounding all). Here we find a paradoxical experience, that of experiencing the story of every cell yet not being forced thereby to act in any specific matter. A witnessing of potential as in Arjuna's vision above.

Ontology

Schema IV

While looking through Roget‟s Thesaurus I was looking at its categories and perceived a pattern, I think, ranging from existential abstractness, being and non-being, to affections and religion, this I also applied to the structure of a tree. I am wondering if this could be regarded as an Ontology of Word?, p. 250. (I slipped in my rendition of ―The Tree of Life‖ as background decoration.)

Cosmology / Cosmogony

Schema V/VI

Schema V/V I will also present this my whirling and spinning, graphically overindulgent, kaleidoscopic, electrical mercury schema that attempts to integrate all of the foregoing into a complete cosmology/cosmogony of emergence, not only of the consciousness part in abstracto but of the whole great universe, including that of the emergence of the living cell (due to your theorizing on Single Cell Consciousness I now may have to revise some aspects of this presentation). I will not attempt to explain this schema here, that I do in my book.

Creation Timeline / Emergence

Schema VII

Schema VII: Finally I present a final schema, a creation timeline of emergence (in the wide sense of schematically taking all my thinkings on creation and evolution from Alpha to Omega, so to say. This timeline is based upon the same in Paul Brockelmans book ‗Cosmology and Creation‘, 1999, p. 54. I‘ve had some fun with it,.*

* I have placed that „Single Cell Consciousness‟ thingy in level 4 in this my hariolatory flow. 47

INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATAS

t is my hope that you, dear reader, shall at least find something of interest and value in all this verbiage. But why shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;t there be something in here? If nothing else then may there, at the least, be brought forth a semblance of the colours of the cosmos, a swirl of that which is hard to fathom, a traverse of the nerve of the transversal that acts like a membrane to our understandings, of both the inner and the outer.

INTRODUCING THE SCHEMATAS

Morning Haze Over The Deep Oil on Canvas, 54 x 65 cm.

Filler page.

Yoga: The Framework

Yoga is one of the six systems of Indian philosophy. … the fourth, its main concern therein being personal experience via the practical application of method. The philosophy of Yoga has its roots in Vedic culture, of ca. 2500–1700 BC, and gets its first exposé by Patanjali in the Yoga-Sūtra, of ca. 200 BC–100 AD.

Yoga offers the experience of a deep quiet, in terms of both mind & body.

Yoga, as method, is process. Its different methods thereby synergistically lead to a deep, wakeful, refreshing rest.

Yoga relies on the spontaneity of the mind as it journeys to rest & cognizes „bliss‟ when opportunity is given.

In Yoga an inner recursive algorhythmy is revealed. The practitioner of Yoga, by rhythmic continuity over time, establishes an inner sense of ease in the subjective experience of a gravitating towards rest and then on to activity.

The application of Yoga stabilises mind & body. This engenders dynamic activity.

The wholity of Yoga is, by metaphor, a Tree of Life. “The Tree of Life”: a recursive heuristic metaphor with which to grasp the wholity of the philosophy of yoga.

Sentinel

PREFACE

in November 2004, a very nice quiet Sunday morning actually, while in meditation (doing my Yoga, so to say: early morning practice being very conducive to mental clarity as one naturally ought to be rested after a good nights sleep, which I had had) – anyway, I really had this deep deep moment of inner relevance, of quietness, clarity and bliss, as time expanded, and in rays of joy I suddenly realized how to format an expression to the experiences of life and the insights of solitude in meditation, often going deep, that I, in my time, have had the good fortune to partake of. NE FINE MORNING

I have been teaching the methods of Yoga since 1971, and have devoted some time, to say the least, to the study of the Yoga-Sûtra, the basic and quintessential text on Yoga compiled by Maharishi Patanjali, of the 1st century A.D. (or maybe from the 3rd B.C.). A while ago I translated a splendid English translation, by Mr. Alistair Schearer (‟Effortless Being – The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali‘, 1981), of said Sanskrit text, into Swedish (my own command of Sanskrit being some-what sketchy ‘though I‘m not totally in the dark what regards Sanskrit usage, having become accquainted with the age -old Sanskrit terminology of Yoga in the many years now that I‘ve had the opportunity and pleasure to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi), and right after my translation was done an interesting idea cropped up, enticing me: the metaphor of ―The Tree of Life‖, a graphic representation of the Object/Subject fusion gendered by Yoga. I have also had an ongoing affair, a bit of romance, all my life, with the sciences of Mathematics and Philosophy and these last few years I have been delving deep deep into the works of modern philosopher Daniel C. Dennett (of the multiple drafts model of consciousness) and Dr. Jonathan Edwards & Dr. Sevush (of the single cell consciousness suggestion, the Single Neurron Theory of Consciousness) who set things straight in their writings on what consciousness is in terms of the hard sciences, in terms of verified understanding of how nature works. The concept used herein to indicate the ‗Self‘‘ as a ‗Centre of Narrative Gravity‘ I have borrowed from Mr. Dennett. In my manifest here, though, all responsibility for considerations and conclusions drawn and quartered, shredded, sundered, blasted, rent askew, or distorted is solely my own – everybody else is absolved. Well, that particular morning, in all quietness, I realized how these two streams of mental survey, Science and Yoga (that clarify our roles in the fabric of cosmos), entwine, support and actually strengthen each other. Looking back a bit: in November 2002, with the translation of the Yoga-Sûtra bundled tight, I perceived

an idea of how both the structure and method of Yoga can be metaphorically presented as a distinct ‘Tree of Life‘, in all harmony too with the cosmic sea of modern science. I drew a diagram to illustrate this but didn‘t then really know how to present the idea further – then, that beautiful Sunday morning, in 2004, I just knew I could express a wholeness, as seen from perspective (paradoxical but possible), and I knew I had the tools, the words, the concepts and the ideas to accomplish a telling, from one end of the abstract to the other, an exposition, a world-view. So I started writing. This little pamphlet may be taken as a companion to the writing I‘m alluding to above ―The Tree of Life – A Theory of Consciousness. A New Perspective, Modern Science on the Yoga Daršana; New light on the philosophy of Yoga.‖, An Another Albatross Publication, 2006 (AAAP 36), where I present the background and connexion of ideas I express in graphic format here. After having written quite an hefty portion of speculative thinking, filled with flashy imaginings, dense thought, and a surprising vision, and after coordinating the ideational matter into comprehensibility I felt the need to outline further chapters – and this here is what popped up, as if out of thin air. So, in as unpretentious a manner as possible I here invite the reader to a few moments of hazardous theoretical supposition and surmise. Maybe there‘s something of value in all this? The Yoga is there, as ever, of course, but all the rest – well? Take a while. Enjoy.

Juri Aidas

Into The Deep

THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – REST & ACTIVITY –

OGA:

a balancing, a unifying, an integration, a concilience of deep silence with the impulse to act. A yoke with which to carry both this an‘ that. I do think, yes, I think that I have managed to define the idea of yoga in a simple paradigmatic form, The Paradigm of Yoga: Rest & Activity. … a formulation that sort of popped up as my traverse at writing on this topic has trawled its course. I take my cue from Master Patanjali of long ago (of ca. 200 B.C. – 100 A.D.) who composed a first comprehensive treatise, in four short chapters, on the wholity of the philosophy of yoga, The Yoga-Sūtra *, it was written in a cultural milieu where that philosophy was a long time growing, as per its Vedic roots. In this work Patanjali defines yoga (Y.S., 1:2) with the exact statement, "Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence"*; a flow for to lead the yogi deep into The Deep, bringing rest, peacefulness, serenity, and, really, it‘s all about the obtaining of some surety and tranquility in life, refreshing. Well, that's one of the vectors of the paradigm, the inward stance. The corollary to this definition, the outward stance, one finds in the BhagavadGita, "Established in yoga perform action" (B.G., 2:48, paraphrased), obviously an injunction for one to act. Life demands action, of course, the other extreme vector of life as we live it (not talking life and/or death, but of life as it is being lived, as it but rolls along, in flows an‘ surges). There are two strong dynamics to life, one into rest, while the other streams in the outwards direction towards activity. Paradigmatic. The “Yoga-Sūtra” is, as said, a short little text written in memnonic form (sūtra means 'thread', as, say, in the syntactic thread that keeps the

* Effortless Being: The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. Translation by Alistair Shearer, 1981. 58

THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – REST & ACTIVITY –

context attuned). I compare this little work of four short chapters of about 50 statements per chapter (196 all in all) with, say, the axiomatic works of Euclid, short, to the point, precise, neat. Patanjalis work is a deep synthesis of the elements of yoga as assigned to categories as per processual considerations. So. From Patanjali we get a full description of yoga, as concerns its inward stance, and we also get a glint at what lies in wait, at what may manifest, way over, in amongst the multifarious possibilites in the field of action. (See, Yoga Sutra, Ch., III.) • (These two pages I regard as an introductory to this presentation on the subject of yoga. Look to their origin on page 77, right at the beginning of the section titled ‗On The Yoga: An Algorhythmy.‘)

DEFINITION OF YOGA – THE SETTLING OF MIND INTO SILENCE –

Yogaś-chitta-vritti-nirodahah Method in a context – the mind – its expressions – quitening

Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence.* On the definition of Yoga in translation and interpretation. The idéa about and the definition of a stilling of the many activities of the mind is treated quite somewhat differently (to so say) by the many different interpreters. The definition of Yoga, in translations from the Sanskrit, thus carries perspectives formed of two opposite criteria:

1. Allowing

Restrictive

In the following overview of the definition of yoga as per the Yoga Sutra we find many similarities in the ‗gestalts‘ of the different translations but we also find qute divergent stances on how the stilling of the mind comes about. Alistair Shearer holds forth the process of stilling the mind as a naturalness, an effortlessness, yet in some other translations the effort of a subjugation of the mind is rather distinct; in this there‘s the arc of a span but illustrating the extremes. Do compare the highlighted word in each of the translations I quote from. If one takes a look in some of the available translations of the Yoga-Sūtra it is interesting to find that within those pages we will find a great variety of interpretation, of gestalt, of the same original ideas. But they come in two flavours, one of ease, effortlessness, naturalness, the allowing of the process of yoga to flow in its application and then come those views that take a harsher, more restrictive view of the process and its methodics there is an historic progression here to be recognized (see overview on next page) from restrictive to allowing that begins to unfold from the 1970s and onwards until today. **

* Patanjali, Yoga Sūtra, 1:2; translation by Alistair Shearer. ** See page 90 where I compare Y.S. 2:29, The Eight Aspects of Yoga, in this same manner, 60

YOGA SUTRA – 1:2 – THE SETTLING OF MIND INTO SILENCE –

Allowing Alistair Schearer

Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence. (“The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali – Effortless Being”, 1982; ed. 2002, p. 107.)

Barbara Stoler Miller

Yoga is the cessation of the turnings of thought. (“Yoga Discipline of Freedom – The Yoga Sutra Attributed to Patanjali”, 1995, p. 29.)

Chip Hartranft

Yoga is to still the patterning of consciousness. (“The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali – A New Translation with Commentary”, 2003, p. 2.)

P. Y. Deshpande

Yoga is that state of being in which the ideational choice-making movement of the mind slows down and comes to a stop. (“The Authentic Yoga – Patanjali‟s Yoga Sutras”, 1978, p. 19.)

B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness. (“Light on the Yoga Sûtras of Patañjali”, 1993, p. 50.)

Restrictive Georg Feuerstein

Yoga is the restriction of the fluctuations of consciousness. (“The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali – A New Translation and Commentary”, 1979B, p. 26.)

Swami Hariharânanda Aranya

Yoga is the suppression of the modifications of the mind. (“Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali”, 1963, p. 7.)

W.Y. Evans

Yoga is the inhibition of the mental processes. (“The Yoga-System of Patanjali - Or the Ancient Hindu Doctrine of Concentration of Mind”, 1927, p. xx.)

Trevor Leggett:

Yoga is inhibition of the mental processes. (“Šankara on the Yoga-Sutras”, Volume 1, 1981, p. 14.)

I.K. Taimini

Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of the mind. (“The Science of Yoga”, 1961; ed. 1975, p. 6.)

Alice A. Bailey

This Union (or Yoga) is achieved through the subjugation of the psychic nature and the restraint of the chitta (or mind). (The Light of The Soul”, 1927; ed. 1975, p. 9.)

YOGA: THE PACTICE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AN INWARDS AND AN OUTWARDS STANCE â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

EAH, DON'T LIFE HAVE IT'S UPS AN' DOWNS.

Surely ... and we rush about, do this, do that, another experience, another moment in time filled with wondrous stuff and gyrating tangibles. Spinnin' wheel, tumblin' dice, mucho enterprise ... and where does it all lead? "When considering travel for sightseeing, remember: Always See Home First."* Yes. Home! Don't we all want to have peace reign at home, and from there have it spread out into the world in a compassionate flow? Surely. That inner peace that offers us a buffer to the ups an' downs of life, how does one access it, how do we make it a permanent fixture, a day to day reality? Myself I have the background of having studied with the great teacher Maharishi Mahesh Yogi since 1969, and teaching since 1971, yet my aim here is to modernize the nomenclature of yoga and to draw attention to a new way of looking at the wholity of it as paradigmatic, as said, and by making use of the metaphor of a tree, in delineating its mechanics. I use the recursive algorhythmy of the yogic paradigm of rest and activity to stabilize my being (that intangibility), both the inner and outer. What I wish to say is that the concept 'yoga' must be looked upon in the context of its wholity. Mostly nowadays it is regarded as some form of excercise, a supple aerobics perchance, but, yet, that practice is really a part of a wholity for to make the full impact of 'yoga' a fact. Taken out of context that yoga, of the body, becomes but another training, but an activity among activities. Yoga as a wholity is a philosophy of the practical as regards the basis of all activity, one foot rests as the other takes a step. Rest is the basis of activity, a rest that provides a deep wakeful exprienced alertness of the still consciousness (like a candle in a room where no wind blows), when no questions rise and no answers of the blowing wind need intrude to set yet another conceptual train in motion. The physical aspect of yoga (which is not to be underestimated) is not an end in itself, it needs to be integrated with all the other parts of the philosopy of experience, yoga.

* Comment by Ronald in the Sinfest Forum. 62

YOGA: THE PACTICE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AN INWARDS AND AN OUTWARDS STANCE â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

concerns itself with and handles all of its eight aspects: (I.) attitude (the willingness to learn and discuss the subject); (II.) behaviour (as regards the practice itself, not as an ideological determinate); the body, (III.) posture (the physical yoga is termed hatha-yoga wherein one practices postures, asanas, these make the body supple and smooth, but they do not train strength, there's no weightlifting going on in this, one checks the functionality of the body and establishes a balance to movements and, yes, posture); (IV.) the breath, breathing (breath should flow naturally, it goes out, it goes in, and in the extremes of that flow it rests, it turns around by itself, trust the autonomy of the physical system to take care of that, when one is stressed it's harder to breathe, it becomes irregular, it jerks back an' forth, jumps hither an' thither and destabilizes the system even more, in yoga one goes for the natural flow of it which means allowing the inbreath and the outbreath to find their still fulcrums where the flow turns around naturally ... there's really no need to count seconds this, seconds that, seconds what, one takes conscious control of the breathing for a little while and guides it into a natural flow, this will calm the mind somewhat and set the stage for the next aspect of the recursive algorhythmy of the yogic process; (V.) withdrawal, or say absorption (in this the mind starts its settling down and leaves the objects of the senses to their fates, to their causal reverberations, which will fade as the yogic process deepens ... a simile for this is a turtle that withdraws its limbs, (where'd they go?), this state of absorption is recognized in the almost universal experience of being engrossed in a book and someone speaks and we do not take note but yet a moment later we may be somewhat bewildered an' befuddled as to what was said (did someone speak? um, what'd ya say?); in the recognition of that initial absortption, or withdrawal, the yogic process induces a spark of activity, a slight, effortless (VI.) focusing, this very subtly alerts the mind as it drifts, an COMPLETE YOGA SESSION

YOGA: THE PACTICE – AN INWARDS AND AN OUTWARDS STANCE –

unhurried effortless application of such a spark over some time will distract the ideational choice-making movement of the mind and lead it to the non-participation in any further activity, the mind will start to settle down; and that is (VII.) meditation, a natural falling inward, away from the field of activity; into (VIII.) the deep (at times conceptualized as pure consciousness, but I won't an' I shan't stick my finger into that nest of epistemological labeling diversity, so, for unitys sake I but term it 'the deep'. And therein, in The Deep one rests deeply, yet with consciousness retained, alertness remains, but one does not 'do' anything, that's why one cannot put ones finger on that utmost of subjective experiences (though it has it's physical correlates [see reference below]), to, figuratively, put ones finger into the experience would be activity and thus contradict that experience. We but close in on that depth and just like we may sense the sea even before we see it we head towards it ever attracted by the deep serenity and restful peace that lies in wait to engulf us as we arrive. • The text here above and what will follow I wrote on The-Brights Forum in a general discussion on how to handle stress. • Diversions are good for destressing. I play my guitar and I love to read them olde Carl Barks Donald Duck comics. And I must say that I find that guy Tasuya Ishida of Sinfest to have something of the same liberating attitude to life as I see in the very humane behaviour of the Ducks of Barks. They are all good people, even though Donald is prone to lose his temper quite so often there's always a sequence of happenings that lead into the absurd that'd make most anyone hit the wall. I get a laugh out of that kind of stuff and that mostly sets me up for a fine day.

YOGA: THE PACTICE – AN INWARDS AND AN OUTWARDS STANCE –

All those ordinary diversions one usually recommends for relief from the burdens of life are good, very good. Walks in the forest, bicycling, honing of the physical skills, all the good stuffs of life. I concur. I take a walk around the local lake an' I feel fine. Though with the yoga it is a different thing for me. I do that as a regular daily practice (early mornings and afternoons, that's twice a day) and the point of it is that when I go deep and the inner clouds roll away and my I ceases it's constant grab for attention and I'm neither here or there or anywhere and I don't even try then I rest, deeply. Coming out of that I feel a deep peace envelop me, my body feels coordinated and I'm set do to into the world, and then to lose that and then to go back for more. The purpose of yoga is activity, engagement in the demands of life, being a part of it all, and to enjoy that. The practice of yoga is a preparation for that. One goes in, one goes out. Simple. It is that back an' forthing that builds strength in all, and not just in this an' that. • For me the practice of yoga in my daily structures starts with, of course, my attitude to it all, my willingness to learn and then to experience. Knowledge and experience go hand in hand, so to say, there's a feedback mechanism in that. Then of course I check my behaviour in the practice as such, I choose a spot where I may be free from interference, I don't wish to provoke anyone to have to be extremely quiet either as I do my practice, in this I withdraw some (a whiff of the later stages of the process) to a secluded spot, and I drink my coffe after the practice (or I'd just be full of the speed of that). Then I do a few minutes of a physical yoga sequence, stretch, roll, massage, an' so on. When one participates in a class for the physical yoga one, sort of, learns a sequence of movements but at home there may not be time for an hour of rolling on the floor. In the day to day thingy I do, say, five ten minutes of that. I don't want to get into an

YOGA: THE PACTICE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AN INWARDS AND AN OUTWARDS STANCE â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

excess of physical activity as I wish to progress with the recursive algorhythmy into a state of deep, deep wakeful rest. So I continue by taking a seat, allowing my head to be free on top of me shoulders. If the back is not strong enough one may lean it, but of course if one leans ones head a dullness reflex will take over and one will drift into some state of torpor. If I do get tired during the practice I stop it and lie down and rest for a little while, then I continue, if time allows. So when I have taken a set in a comfortable manner I do a few minutes of the breathing excercise, but in this situation I do a simple one, wherein I take concious control of the rhythm of the flow of it and then I gradually let that slip away as the breathing normalizes and the need to establish the flow vanishes. The breathing becomes more and more autonomic in this and falls into the background. These four parts of the yogic sequence are the outer limbs of yoga. From there on one will most certainly find a slight absorption with the inner to have made its entrance, one forgets about the demands that circulate in the worldie and as that deepening is felt I introduce a meaningless word (that I have received from someone else so that I do not fill that up with my own associative matrix), just an impulse of it, a slight focusing. That kind of word-sound is what is termed a 'mantra'. But I don't repeat it an any manneristic way, I but introduce that into the flow of the summer clouds of thoughts and it drops away, when I realize that I do that again (this is where the 'recursivity' of the algorhythmy is specific). After a while the whole process of this fades away and as my ideational thinking has become distracted to the point of thoughts not bothering to arrive there is as if a pull, the meditative falling, towards the ocean of the deep (which I regard as a subjective silence and not as any state of epistemological or ontological characteristic, pure consciousness is a flowery word for it, for me it's but subjective quiet). These final four aspects of yoga are called the inner limbs of yoga.

YOGA: THE PACTICE – AN INWARDS AND AN OUTWARDS STANCE –

Then I act. Then I return to the world of cause and effect. Good luck to you my readers with your life and your ambitions ... and may you stay forever young. • I'd like to add that the whole sequence of this practice takes me about 20 to 40 minutes depending on whether I have time on my hands or not; a few minutes of the yoga, e.g. a slight breating excerzise or a very short meditation can at times be refreshing when action really start spinnin‘ over wings an‘ things. When I have no other obligations to fulfill I may take to longer stretches of the yoga, wallowing in the deep, as the waves of clarity roll in, bowl me over, make me happy inside. Then I go for action and enjoy that too. •

Hedgehog

BEYOND WAKING, DREAMING AND SLEEPING – GOING DEEPER –

found a collection of treatsies on consciousness the other day: ―States of Consciousness: Experimental Insights into Meditation, Waking, Sleep and Dreams‖ (The whole book is downloadable from here, link, I found this on a Facebook page, Neuroscience library, covering books on neuroscience, consciousness studies, psychology, et al.) In chapter 10 of that book some different categorizations of meditative processes are quite well conceptualized as: focused attention meditations, open monitoring meditations and automatic self-transcending meditations. Quite an interesting terminology, might be that that may clear the nomenclature of different meditational practices (I have my quips though with the concept ‗pure consciousness‘ as the ontological and epistemological sense of that concept is yet to be determined).

Falling Free

THREE CATEGORIES OF MEDITATION – REST & ACTIVITY –

In chapter 10, authored by Frederick Travis, “States of Consciousness Beyond Waking, Dreaming and Sleeping: Perspectives from Research on Meditation Experiences‖, the distinctions are discussed. Abstract * Three categories of meditation practices have been proposed: focused attention meditations, which involve voluntary and sustained attention on a chosen object; open monitoring meditations, which involve non-reactive monitoring of moment-to-moment content of experience; and automatic self-transcending meditations, which are designed to transcend their own activity. While focused attention and open monitoring meditations explore the nature of individual cognitive, affective, and perceptual processes and experiences, automatic self-transcending meditations explore the state when conscious processing and experiences are transcended, a state called pure consciousness. This paper reports unique pheno-menological and physiological patterns during the state of pure consciousness, as experienced during Transcendental Meditation(TM) practice, a meditation in the automatic selftranscending category. These data support the description of pure consciousness as a fourth state of consciousness with unique phenomenological and physiological correlates. This paper also discusses the Junction Point Model that integrates meditation experiences with the three ordinary states of waking, sleeping, and dreaming. The Junction Point Model is supported by EEG data and provides a structure to integrate ordinary experience during waking, sleeping, and dreaming with meditation experiences and so can serve as a foundation for investigating the full range of human consciousness.

•

* Frederic Travis, chapter 10 (p. 223, in the pdf) 69

ORIGINS – BEYOND THE BEYOND –

Roots & Shoots

n a topic-thread on The Brights Forum on the meaning of the word zen I commented on a mention as to the meaning of said word, ‗zen‘, as in zen-buddhism: „ Zen‟ is a Japanese translation of „Chan‟ which is a chinese translation of the sanskrit word „ Dhyana‟. (This was from a post by mushin, of ‗The Brights‘, and the same has also been stated more extensively by Prof.M of The Brights. I‘ll try to come up with a link.) Now, dhyana is a concept of the meditative process in yoga, dubbed 'meditation' for short (which generally causes much confusion as meditation seemingly may mean anything to anybody) - meditation in yoga is a processual movement of cognatory apprehending from more active platforms of engagement to less active such without loss of the cognitory faculty. So. I'd like to get in a few words on the tradition of Yoga and its Vedic foundations as I think that would be appropriate here, as that background also touches on the roots of Buddhism. In "The Deeper Dimension of Yoga", 2003, p. 39, by Georg Feuerstein, there is a good description of the linkage of Yoga and Veda - as this description also illustrates the traditional concept of a "Tree of Yoga" (where the metaphor of a tree is used the traditional way as referring to schools of yoga, that I contrast with the perspective I have spent some time in developing and which I present in this work here in this ‗collection of ideas‘, "The Tree of Life", mine own way of using the metaphor of a tree represents not only the growth of Yoga but it's intrinsic mechanisms as well, which I herein shall endeavour to clarify), so, I think it may be fitting to cite this paragraph of Mr. Feuerstein's more fully. •

ORIGINS – OF ANCIENT HISTORY –

Back in Time •

Yoga may be pictured as a major branch of a

gigantic

tree whose roots are anchored deep in the Neolithic age, with the highest branch of its canopy still growing in our era. The base of its stem is formed by the Vedic culture, as we know it from the surviving four hymnodies: the Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sâma-Veda, and Atharva-Veda. Careful study of these works reveals that the seers (rishi) who composed them were steeped in Yoga, which they still call tapas, often rendered as “ascetism” (from the verbal root tap “to glow”). Their Yoga was entirely a solar Yoga, with the Sun being the focus of their spiritual aspirations. Much later, in the Bhagavad-Gita (4.1) the Sun is remembered as the original teacher of Yoga. [ ... ] Shortly after the time of the Upanishads of the middle period ... the trunk of our figurative tree split in three. The thick middle trunk continued the Vedic tradition leading to what came to be called Hinduism; the second trunk evolved the small but ramifying tradition of Jainism; and the third trunk unfolded the complex tradition of Buddhism. *

•

* Georg Feuerstein, "The Deeper Dimension of Yoga", 2003, p. 39. 71

THE ARTEFACTS – HARAPPA & MOHENJO-DARO –

Springs & Things

he first glimpse of Yoga to be seen in the history of mankind glimmers subtly suggestive among archeological artefacts from the land of the Indus valley, from 2500 years before the Yoga-Sūtra; a fascinating vista to reach us, well & hale. Mohenjo-daro seal

http://www.yogagalaxy.com/history-of-yoga

These artefacts are a remnant of a culture called Harappa, localised to numerous sites around the area of Mohenjo-daro (a district of what is now Pakistan). At these locations many seals of hard clay have been found, eg. the Mohenjo-daro seal *, upon which one sees the figure of a „Shaman‟(?). seated in a traditional yogic posture.

( * … for more on the Mohenjo-daro seal as prototype for the basic idea of a metaphor of a Tree of Life with which to reference the philosophy of yoga see page 90.)

THE ARTEFACTS – PROTOTYPES –

Evocative Headgear The seals here depicted can be dated from between ca. 2500-1500 BC and have been found in great numbers at sites in the Indus valley of Pakistan. They are lettered in a yet unciphered script; figurines and animals have been carved in intaglio against the background. Steatite-seal – Paśupati

http://www.yogajournal.com/history/s1.html

The one above here, the Steatite-seal (of steatite-clay) carries a representation of a male figure, with strange headgear, in what might be a traditional yoga-posture. The association with the surrounding animals and the posture suggest that this motif might depict a respected person (shaman/yogi?).

See further at – http://www.pitt.edu/~asian/week-1/week-1.html

THE HEURISTIC – FROM FAR AWAY –

* Heu·ris·tic (hyʊ-rĭs'tĭk); The teaching on methods of finding new scientific insight. [From Greek heuriskein, to find.]

adj. Of or relating to a usually speculative formulation serving as a guide in the investigation or solution of a problem: “The historian discovers the past by the judicious use of such a heuristic device as the ‘ideal type’” (Karl J. Weintraub). Of or constituting an educational method in which learning takes place through discoveries that result from investigations made by the student. Computer Science. Relating to or using a problem-solving technique in which the most appropriate solution of several found by alternative methods is selected at successive stages of a program for use in the next step of the program.

n. An heuristic method or process; Heuristics (used with a sing. verb); The study and application of heuristic methods and processes.

* Heuristic – http://www.answers.com/topic/heuristic

PROTOTYPE ”

“THE TREE OF LIFE”

– FROM LONG AGO –

he ideas in this presentation intend the exploration of a wholistic view of the philosophy of Yoga and endeavour in this to develop an heuristic metaphor (with an inner recursive dynamic) for all of Yoga.

Prototype

Heuristically speaking ... The ancient symbolism of a eightfold branching structure springing from its roots in the human consciousness, as seen in the Mohenjo-daro seal, may be regarded as an early prototype of the metaphor of The Tree of Life * which finds its expression in the philosophy and practice of the yogic stance, by the effective application of the yogic paradigm of rest and activity. Applied algorhythmy of yogic method brings the dynamic of deep wakeful rest into the field of activity to thus stabilize its ever rising and falling and rising and falling flows.

* The Tree of Life: see page 105 for the details to this metaphor.

Smiles

ALL THE WORLD‟S A JOY – FROM THE INNER WELL – Originator: Albatross Theme: Song of Life Style: Folk Ballad

All the world’s a joy And all the stars are bright. Come runaway child Be my pleasure, my delight. I love the song you strum, I love that rhyme, Be mine awhile. And all the ways of love Whirl that firmament above. O! Blessed abode! O! Blessed child of God! Everywhere you go Flowers bloom all around, And I will sing with you. I will sing with you For all tygers of the night, When soft and lean Their paws embrace us here! Peace of mind, peace of mind! And the beacon of your eye Calm this soul of mine.

I will sing with you For all tygers of the night, When soft and lean Their paws embrace us here! Peace of mind, peace of mind! And the beacon of your eye Calm this soul of mine.

I soar rifts and ridges I scale the heights. Yea my love, Fall free with me awhile. Share holy wine, Heaven and Earth entwine, May love abide.

Yea! All the world’s a joy And all the stars are bright. Come runaway child Be my pleasure, my delight. I love the song you strum, I love that rhyme, Be mine awhile. Be mine awhile. Be mine awhile.

Ah! Take me to the valley And love me there. Where honey and roses Pour fragrance on the air. Like paradise I guess, Yea, I’ll sing it all here. To sing with you.

Juri Aidas 28 February 2003

Listen to this song as performed by An Another Albatross at: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_2049431

THE ROAD GOES EVER ON – STEP LIGHTLY –

The Journey Oil on Canvas, 54 x 65 cm.

( Permission to use kindly granted by Tommy Dahlén.)

ON THE YOGA – THE ALGORHYTHMY –

oga: a balancing, a unifying, an integration, a concilience of deep silence with the impulse to act. A yoke with which to carry both this an‘ that.

… a formulation that sort of popped up as my traverse at writing on this topic has trawled its course. I take my cue from Master Patanjali of long ago (of ca. 200 B.C. – 100 A.D.) who composed a first comprehensive treatsie on the philosophy of yoga, The YogaSūtra *, in a cultural milieu where that philosophy was a long time growing, as per its Vedic roots. In this work Patanjali defines yoga (Y.S., 1:2) with the statement, "Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence"; a flow for to lead the yogi deep into The Deep, bringing rest, peacefulness, serenity, and, really, it‘s all about the obtaining of some surety and tranquility in life, refreshing. Well, that's one of the vectors of the paradigm, the inward stance. The corollary to this definition, the outward stance, one finds in the BhagavadGita, "Established in yoga perform action" (B.G., 2:48, paraphrased), obviously an injunction for one to act. Life demands action, of course, the other extreme vector of life as we live it (not talking life and/or death, but of life as it is being lived, as it but rolls along, in flows an‘ surges). There are two strong dynamics to life, one into rest, while the other streams in the outwards direction. Paradigmatic. * The “Yoga-Sūtra” is a short little text written in memnonic form, sūtra means 'thread', as, say, in the syntactic thread that keeps the context attuned. I compare this little work of four short chapters of about 50 statements per chapter, with, say, the axiomatic works of Euclid, short, to the point, precise, neat. Patanjalis work is a synthesis of the elements of yoga as assigned to categories as per processual considerations.

ON THE YOGA – THE ALGORHYTHMY – So. From Patanjali we get a description of yoga, as concerns its inward stance, and we also get a glint at what lies in wait, at what may manifest, way over, in amongst the multifarious possibilites in the field of action. (See, Yoga Sutra, Ch., III). My stance on the understanding here on chapter III, the chapter on ‗the perfections‘, although, is that the ‗perfections‘, the sidhis, and their projected outcomes, so to say, are not to be interpreted literally, but that the dynamic of their application after the encounter with The Deep (see below) opens up for all kinds of action, as potentiality, all possibility, so why not attune oneself to some vectors of life that concur with the perceived ethics of what is benefitting to life (just my opinion, but of course such issues, as of beneficiality, are often perceived as culturally relative [yet the specific origins of some universal values can actually be discerned by application of the yogic paradigm], questions of ethics and moralities are best settled by ongoing open debate and discussion); in this Patanjali of course taps heavily into many other philosophical traditions as is evident from the very beginning of Patanjalis attempt at application of sequentiality to the progression of the sidhis, starting off with The Four Noble Truths (echoing cultures diverse the wherewhitals whereof we find in many philosophies): Kindness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity, etc., etc., and then these impulses roll along their merry ways all the way into hopefully purposeful action and it in this that they set the ground for relevance and reality to the self-referential projections these sidhis, or perfections, imply. Now, the inward stance of yoga is described as of comprising eight aspects (Y.S., 2:29): (1) Attitude and (2) Behaviour (or say, the ethics and morals of yogic practice, but, importantly, viewed in terms of the yogic process and not regarded as ideological determinants); then we have that which pertains to the body, (3) Posture, balance that is, coordination, suppleness, say, things that keep the body well. This is what the movements of yoga are about; processually, though, they are to be integrated into the wholity of the practice of yoga, the positions of the yoga-asanas, the practices of hatha-yoga, are as the sun and the moon of active life, in activity a preparation for very deep, wakeful rest as those preconditions are later effectuated to their ultimate by a methodology of meditation, integrated into the practice the postures of yoga do not dominate the yogic process, as is often seen in the more aerobic manifests of the different schools of yoga; next then comes what pertains to the breathing, (4) Breath. As a calm and effortless flow of breath is conducive to the the deepening of the yogic process breathing exercises are introduced (but these are also to be integrated processually into the yogic proc-

ON THE YOGA – THE ALGORHYTHMY – ess of traversing the field of rest and activity in the direction of The Deep [as above, more below]). These four are the outer limbs of yoga, as Patanjali would have them (Y.S., 3:7-8). Then come the inner ones, and they play out processually: (5) Absorption, or withdrawal happens (as when one is reading and taking no notice oneself being talked to); (6) Focusing, a slight inner reflectivity in the cognitive is encountered, a slight awareness towards attention as such is brought to the fore; (7) Meditation (as process), in the simple recursive processuality om a meditative process the inward attraction is allowed to run its course in a natural fashion, a process that in its practice momentarily, in en effortless way, distracts the momentum of thinking from completing its perpetuality of stance, and the mind slides into stillness and quiet, though with basic awareness retained, a process that leaves the active field beyond engagement; and lastly attunement to (8) The Deep comes about, regardless of whatever label one wishes to apply to a state of deep inner rest and peace (a kind of blissful state, but not really in a self-absorbed, narcissistic way, it's but more to be looked upon in terms of stillness and the effect of rejuvenating calm inherent in the yogic experience). Yoga is a philosophy to, firstly, make sense of that deep inner experience by the processuality inherent in the application of yogic method, algorhyth-my, to attune oneself to the yogic recursive flow, which actually takes us deep within, unto The Deep, and all in an effortlessness way. This is to be established. Then … … Then one acts. Deep, effective rest allows for the springs of excellence to surge and brings on dynamic action.

“Chaos Butterfly”, Tatsuya Ishida, Sinfest, 5 April 2008. (Permission to use pending.)

ON THE YOGA – THE ALGORHYTHMY – Now, for comprehension, viewed metaphorically all these eight aspects (along with their sub-categories) may be construed as a traditional (I.) straight ladder (which may be turned around, of course) or as (II.) limbs of an ‗entity‘ of, say, anthropomorphic yogic essence, yet whereof one limb, by the application of a different metaphor, (III.) "The Tree of Life" **, may be viewed as a great root of a great tree for with which to view the wholity of the processually interacting constructs of the aspects of yoga in one glance ― yes, they have specifically to be considered as a whole, a whole made out of parts, of aspectual interdependual characteristics (sub-categories an‘ all); thus for to grasp the process of yoga one needs to but look for the dynamics of relationship that occur within the structure of the wide range of the edifice of the idea of yoga, as expressed by the interdependent dynamics occuring amongst its categories. In ther under-standing, comprehending, recognizing, cognizing, seeing, in the viewing of the spread and influentiality of the interconnectivity of the aspects of yoga one finds these being related to context and the wholity may thus be metaphorically interpreted, i.e., one may construct a functional metaphor to explore, an heuristic tool, with which to determine the aspects of processuality inherent in the overall philosophy of yogic process. It's not like the different limbs, of the freely flowing entity of yoga (in the metaphor of a ‗Tree‘ the aspects are as if ‗grounded‘), are branches of yoga, as in schools of yoga (to which use they are often put), no, the manifestations of different schools of yoga are manifestations of emphasis put on specific aspects of the philosophy. (This new metaphor of mine "The Tree of Life", see below, wherewith the wholity of yoga is pictured as a tree with ‗branches‘ is effectively transforming limbs into brance, yet retaining their limbyness, so to say.) The schools of yoga just alluded to are mostly in general agreement, as usual, over all and nothing, but, basically, the line of reasoning of Patanjali is a root for them all and is an early successful attempt to synthetize the jewel of Vedic promise; a natural process is revealed to ease the mind and rest the body, with the angle of approach, in yogic practice, going from activity to rest, an' there a fall into The Deep. Whow! There is an inner quiet, an inner serenity to be gained in all this ― from that platform of deep wakeful rest meaningful, relaxed, well directed, relevant activity is found at hand in wait to, hopefully, be successfully performed! This be the grand promise of Yoga! Yea! ** "The Tree of Life" ― a model of subjective dynamics in processual interaction (see p. XX). The model falls neatly into a treelike structure (wherein the branches are not viewed as schools but as 'limbs') and in so doing the

ON THE YOGA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; THE ALGORHYTHMY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; model actually puts, as if, a 'microscope-eye' on the innermost relationship, amongst the aspects, between the naturalness of the process of meditation, in the taking advantage of a natural tendency for the mind to get to its 'root' state as the cognitory pull therefrom (the conceptual abyss) yet bodes satisfaction (and, as bonus, a sense of wonder). With this model it is possible to trace the mechanism of the yogic process from the dynamics of early cognitive push an' pull, the actuation of awareness, via the paradigmatics embedded in said dynamic, the paradigm of yoga: rest & activity, to trace that first subtle actuation of awareness unto a field of activity rendered coherent by the utilization of the dynamic of yogic process. It amounts to procure for the individual an ability whereby it becomes possible to somewhat maximize the advantages held by both the flows of life, the inwards and the outwards stances, to draw close to such an offer is the purpose of yoga.

Meditation (Process)

Focusing Absorption (Withdrawal)

Breath Body

Behaviour (Morals)

Attitude (Ethics)

The Deep (Dynamic)

The eight aspects of yoga viewed metaphorically * as their metaphoric ladder is transformed into the metaphor of a tree.

* The Tree of Life: see page 105 for the details to this metaphor.

ON THE YOGA – THE ALGORHYTHMY – As the processual element of the yogic process (an evolutionary agorithm, of algorithmic recursivity ***, er?, or a recursive algorhythmy, one could say, cheek in tounge) requires no belief I do not add any theistic element to my personal delineation of the yoga of Patanjali. No. I hold a naturalistic stance in the way I view things and I do not require the loaded metaphysical stuff that over the ages has been crammed into the stark beauty of the comprehensiveness of Patanjalis conceptual explorations of the philosophy of yoga. *** Algorhythmy: The dynamics of life tumble us about and throw us from one extreme of life to the other, from intense, multifaceted or simple, engaging or boring demands to the deeper potentialities of the other pole the one of falling into The Deep, going to rest (if there is extreme fatigue we fall into oblivion of sleep). To regulate that pendulum swing, to tune it to the personal needs and abilities in this is what the process of yoga attempts to accomplish, thus one rests and one acts; deep rest first, effective action follows. A short period of stilling the momentum of the conceptual processes of thinking by use of the yogic process of (7) meditation with (6) focusing and (5) withdrawal being part of the scheme), with body an' breathing in tune (accomplished by the yogic methods of regulation of (4) breath into a relaxed mode and the attunement of the (3) body, a relaxed stance on (2) behaviour and (1) attitude (yet only as these pertain to recursive algorhythmy, the yogic process) as viewed by the yogic model with its nods at the understanding of perspectives on ethicality and morals construed into a philosophy, the philosophy of yoga. Theres no, absolutely no hurry in all this, a short time-out for (8) The Deep is allowed in life (aint it?), deep absorption, if not undermined by fatigue, is followed by subtle (of very fine grain) cognitory awareness of attention to be applied recursively in the yogic process inherent in the idea of yoga (and specifically so if the utter effortlessness of the ‗mantric‘ approch [see next section, ‗The Recursive Process‘] is used in the process is taken) ― to take a regular time-out for a short spell of yogic practice every day is, in the long run, conducive to life and living, and is a boon to be had ― an ‗evolutionary algorithm‘, a concept for regularity to be attempted in yogic practice, as that is an evolutionary drive for the subjective persona, that concept I have dubbed 'Algorhythmy' (a word-play on the

ON THE YOGA – THE ALGORHYTHMY – idea of an almost algorithmically perceived dynamics within the eightaspected field of yoga). And, as said, one could even look at the yogic process as a „recursive algorhythmy‟ as there is sequentiality to said process and the algorithmic element for the basic push/pull interaction of the opposites of life is traversed in the inwards direction is perceived, the almost quantified interactions of rest and activity. Today, though, we don‘t see the inward stance of yogic method, as such, talked about very specifically, and oftentimes the yogic method as such is not talked about except coincidentally and the process of yogic meditation is presented in vaguer an‘ vaguer an‘ vaguer sounding terms (the processuality of yogic method as such of course comes to an end as deep rest is established and one, as if, falls into The Deep; so there is actually a thing to be said for things getting vague and vaguer as one on an inwards journey falls into a conceptual abyss, no thinking – no process). Today the discourse often leans towards verifications (there‘ve been quite a few scientific studies made on the benefits of yoga), accomplishments (all the landmarks), visions (of the possibilites to be actuated as yogic process does its thing), and such, more than actually providing a coherent explanation of the mechanics of the particular method of The Maharishi, a method which in its development draws nourishment from all the aspects of yoga; yoga is a wholity where all the aspects interact and finally bring (by process) the mind to a settled state. Then one acts, as said. There are two steps to yoga, rest and activity; the mechanics of meditation (seen as process) are quite straightforward if one takes deep wakeful rest (an‘ with no meta-mumbo-jumbo-physics to interfere) to be the main point of things in the context I‘ve put forward in these paragraphs here. THE RECURSIVE PROCESS The yoga of meditation that I practice is not about introspection, no, it's more about letting go of the mundane world and falling, falling, falling into the sea, falling into the void, as if into a metaphorical inner black whole. Stretching the metaphor a bit there'd be an event horizon somewheres within that dynamic of falling, something that actuates thought and creates an outwards stance that will grab attention and direct the cognitive spark to reenter an outwards journey again, an inner event horizon, a transversal. And thus it goes, the mind, awareness, attention slips away and then it is pushed back by that

ON THE YOGA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; THE ALGORHYTHMY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; transversal 'tween what we congnitively assimilate and what we cannot put our finger on, so to say, of life actuating itself into alignment with the needs, demands and patterns of mundane existance. It is ideational thinking coming into play, a momentum of the thinking process as such to relate to new and former experience and make sense of it in the context of what is relevant to the process of surviving. Hm? Well, what I spend a lot of time teaching about is the possibility to introduce a li'l trick, the effortless use of a mantra ****, to slow down the process of thinking to such a degree that it, more or less, comes to a standstill and then due to the circumstance that the set and setting of the situation (as in the practice of yoga, not in the talking about it) are conducive to stillness and quiet (a supple body, restful breathing) the spark of cognitivity will slip beyond the field of thinking, of activity, into something that has no qualities as such as can be observed from an ideational point of view. The effect of this on the individual is quite refreshing. As one comes out of this yoga a relaxed dynamic of thinking is perceived, a superb coordination of movement of the body can be felt, a restfulness surrounds the multiplexity of being alive, as if the possibility vector of applied activity has, for a moment, effortlessly reached the edge of the arc of system ability and is poised to fly. **** A mantra (the sound of a word of no inherent meaning) distracts the flow of thought, thoughts do not come to their conclusions, one stops trying to effectuate them as the effortless effort of introducing the mantra into the thought stream is enough of an activity in itself (to make the effort of not really making any effort at all) and one is distracted from any form of following up any what, why or how ? a letting go it is, the mantra fades and one passes unscathed through the horizon of the inner event-transversal into whatever. This is accompanied by a general overall good feeling for the mind and body system (whatever their respective bases in a material sense), a state of deep rest is obtained, and with that flows forth a sense of deep peace; a qualitative peace which blows away any lingering existential anxieties that may have accrued as we tumble and bumble of even fumble our ways in life. Now, the question is where does one find a word of no meaning? You tell me, and I'll come back with my, me owne, speculative views on that.

ON THE YOGA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; THE ALGORHYTHMY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ah! But it's all so easy and simple. I think it must have been the poets who found out. We all need moments of time-out now and then (don't we?) for to rest and refresh. We need stillness and quiet but mostly we only get that when fatigue sets in and we tire and draw back, and vielleicht fall asleep and nap awhile. The body needs rest and the mind, or mental process, or however we define that inner thingy, likewise needs to unload. I do the yoga of meditation on a regular basis, morning and afternoon, and I find that when the mind goes quiet and when simultaneously the body is still a very good feeling arises for the system as a whole. The bodily aspect is handled by a bit of stretching and so to make it supple and to get the blood flowing properly, the mental aspect is another thing. I use a word, of no meaning or import, which I effortlessly instert into the flow of thinking, it's the sound of it that I effortlessly bring into the flow. This I find distracts the momentum of thinking as such as the thought thoughts do not complete themselves, so they go away, and the word, or mantra as it is called, also goes away and I'm left in the deep, so to say. This is refreshing and after a short while of this I feel like my day starts over from a very tuned in platform, I feel happy and joyful. In the beginning of said process there will be some fatigue and one is tempted to turn away from the stillness, as a beached whale will flop about my head will loll about, but after a while of stillness I often feel my head rolling back into an upright position to come to rest on the top of my shoulders and a clarity of mind appears, then I forget that too and am lost in the deep. Perchance this processual thing was discovered by da poets. I mean, it's like when I write a song and am stumped for another word, then the last one will reverberate for a while and, if the conceptual flow doesn't unfold, the last word will reverberate itself into meaninglessness, you know as when one says a word over and over it will lose its meaning and a nonsensical feeling will accrue to it. Well, that's the process, as everything loses its meaning and if one stays in the stasis everything, the whole system, will gravitate to a settled state, a state of deep rest, the deep. Simple. (A wakeful, alert rest, not the inertia and dullness of sleep.) If one regularizes this process, as with a few time-outs now and then then the continuity of this will make it easier and easier to let go of the compulsive need to think, think, think and the mind comes to a standstill. When this becomes a cultural thing it may become ritualized and anthromorphizised and theizised, and so forth. But the basic process is simplicity itself. From that platform new activity comes naturally and harmoniously, a very life supporting dynamic is generated and it is easy to relate to other things in life, the neccessities and all that. Easy.

ON THE YOGA – THE ALGORHYTHMY –

y work, as I see it, in the field of yoga is an attempt to express the principle of its central method in terms of rational inquiry, and I do so from the point of view of a naturalistic stance, as said, and I do not look to the supernatural or the metaphysical for to rationalize my conclusions with they are oh so irrelevant to the actual effectation of the yogic method of processual recursivity. To all the diverse schools, branches [here], traditions, approaches to the wholistic philosophy of yoga I offer an umbrella of understanding of basic principles. I should add here that I have worked for organization of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi since 1971 teaching the method of Transcendental Meditation formally until 2005 when The Maharishi disbanded his organization (informally since then) and offered his teachers re-certification courses and in that he quite rewamped his organization (at that time, for me, these courses implied an unresolvable economic hurdle and thus I‘m now on my own, and taking into account that The Maharishi passed away in early 2008 I‘d say that whatever considerations of organizational policy I‘ve had to effect those restrictions are now a thing of the past, I am able now to develop the paradigm of yoga, rest and activity, as I shall see fit), the meditation techinique though is yet the same as always as it is based on the fundamental dynamic of lifes pendulum swings across the transversal of lifes extremes, as mentioned, rest and activity. As The Maharishi passed on that thus left many continually active teachers unaffiliated, not really bound by any specific policy anymore as to what to say when the general nature of yoga is discussed, not representing no more, but well left carrying a cache of, perchance, clearheaded knowledge of the field of yoga, to be disseminated according to opportunity or request. Hopefully something sensible will come out if it. So, to conclude. I am engaged in a process to teach the wholity of yoga, to concern myself with its basic premise, its paradicmatic of rest and activity, I aim to define and discuss possible expressions of its recursive mechanism (as if that were a natural evolutionary recursive algoritm, the use and wherewithal whereof I playfully dub ‗algorhythmy‘), I also strive to consider the implications of theory on practice ― and then to make use of all this. That, for now, is my project.

THE DEEP – THE RECURSIVITY OF YOGA –

SEA LEVEL – BOTTOMING –

Heron

PATANJALI & YOGA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FULCRUM â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

When negative feelings restrict us, the opposite should be cultivated. Negative feelings, such as violence, are damaging to life, whether we act upon them ourselves, or cause or condone them in others. They are born of greed, anger or delusion, and may be slight, moderate or intense. Their fruit is endless ignorance and suffering. To remember this is to cultivate the opposite. Patanjali *

* Patanjali:, Quote from The Yoga-Sutra, 2:33-34. (Transl. by Alistair Schearer.) 91

PATANJALI & THE YOGA SUTRA – OF CA. 2000 YEARS AGO –

aharishi Patanjali, author of the Yoga-Sûtra (a short and concise delineation of the philosophy of Yoga in but 4 short chapters comprising 196 verses, short mnemonic threads, sûtras), is historically placed somewhere in the span of years from 300 B.C. to around 200 A.D. Tradition favours the earlier date but modern inquiry based on linguistic study of the Yoga-Sûtra, as discussed by e.g. Georg Feuerstein, places Patanjali closer to the later date (―The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali: A new translation and commentary‖, 1979, p, 3). Not much is known of Patanjali, but for his studies to have propagated, he must have had students. For to undertake the task of defining Yoga he must at least, in our minds, have been merited, must have been endowed with great insight and scholarly status, and must surely have had the reputation of being an influential teacher of his time. A few other Patanjali’s are known to history: the grammarian Patanjali, who is also the author of different medical texts, and we find reference to a Patanjali in southern India, but really, almost nothing is known of Maharishi Patanjali. His ageless work, the Yoga-Sûtra, upholds a concise vision of Yoga, the Daršana of Yoga; its expression is the philosophy of Yoga. The first mention of Patanjali as author of the Yoga-Sûtra we find in Vâscapati Misras commentary of this text in the 9th century A.D. (Paraphrased. Feuerstein, 2003, patanjali.htm – see more at http://www.yrec.org/.)

PATANJALI & THE YOGA SUTRA – OF CA. 2000 YEARS AGO –

The following legend is associated with Patanjali: One day, the old woman Gonikâ, who was barren, desired a son of her own. She fervently prayed to God Vishnu, who was greatly moved by her devotion. With his permission the cosmic serpent Ananta, who serves Vishnu as an eternal couch and who had been meaning to incarnate on Earth, resolved to become Gonikâ’s son. As she was stretching her hands, with upturned palms, in prayer toward Heaven, a minute fragment of Anantas’ infinite body dropped straight into her palms. She immediately knew her prayers had been answered, and she lovingly nursed the heavenly seed until it had grown into a young man. Because her hands had been in the prayerful gesture called anjali and because her son had fallen (pat) from Heaven, she called him Patanjali. patanjali.htm – from www.yrec.org – Feuerstein, 2003

For to offer an inkling of the intelligent and subtle way Patanjali turns common sense into philosophy I cited a few verses (see p. 85) from chapter two, ‗Method‘ (my version), of the Yoga-Sûtra, these offer a concise and beautiful, though terse, explication of one of the great dilemmas of man, namely our penchant for negative thinking. But who‘d oppose the sense of ‗cultivating the opposite‘ of Patanjalis‘? In this sutra, 2:33, we find both common insight and extension. Besides the obvious display of sense in this statement the Yoga-Sûtra really manages to define the experiential theory of Yoga, and an interesting way of getting a clear perspective of its endorsements can be had by looking at the way translators group the sûtras under different headings, thus the overall structure becomes easily perceivable. (Try this comparision with a few translations to see the obvious.)

ON ME AND THE YOGA-SÛTRA – TRANSLATIONS & INTERPRETATIONS –

have been a student of the Yoga-Sûtra since 1975 (having started the practice in 1978, and my teaching carreer in 1971), since Maharishi Mahesh Yogi opened up this incredible treasure trove in the early 1970-ies by starting up the TM-Sidhi program (based on chapter three of Maharishi Patanjalis Yoga-Sûtra) not before having encouraged the deep delving into Vedic texts up until about this time, the Bhagavad-Gita excepted. I am here categorizing all the ancient philosophical Indian literature as Vedic as it is the essence of the Veda that is discussed in all subsequent Indian philosophy, I‘d say. A lot of the content of the Vedic literature is quite obscure and one always has to be on guard not to misinterpret teaching, to discern strangeness not to misunderstand and thus eventually deleteriously change ones practice of Yoga. So a modern approach is neccessitated as unknowable biases of antiquity have to be countered. Since 1979 I have also studied the works of Mr. Georg Feuerstein, one of the great undogmatic thinkers of our time; author of ‗The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali – A New Translation and Commentary‘, 1979, and ‗The Philosophy of Classical Yoga‘, 1980, and many other works in this and associated areas, but in my studies these two have been the focus of particular attention. I have also enjoyed Mr Feuersteins ‗The Essence of Yoga – A Contribution to the Psychohistory of Indian Civilisation, 1974A, and his ‗Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita – Its Philosophy and Cultural Setting‟, 1974B. I have instinctively followed the advice of Mr. Feuerstein, for an audience not versatile in Sanskrit, explicitly stated on p. XX in ‗The Deeper Dimension of Yoga‘, 2003, yet implied in all his work, to read all available translations of the Yoga-Sutra, and I have found this to be very good advice. Any student of Patanjali will notice, in reading the different translations from the Sanskrit, that our ability to express in western parlance the deeper layers of meaning of Sanskrit words has evolved. Today there is available a deep access to the concepts of Yoga through the pioneering work of such eminent scholars and sages such as: J. H. Woods in 1915, Swâmi Vivekânanda, 1930, later on in 1961 we have I. K. Taimni,

BACKGROUND – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA – there‘s Swâmi Hariharânanda Âranya in 1963, and then it all really takes off with the work of modern interpreters such as P.Y. Deshpandeh, 1978, Georg Feuerstein, 1979, Trewor Leggett, 1981, Alistair Schearer, 1982 and B.K.S Iyengar in 1993, to name a few, and finally in this long list of savant gentlemen there‘s a lady, Ms. Barbara Stoler Miller whose translation and commentary on the Yoga-Sûtra, ‗Yoga – Discipline of Freedom‘, 1995, is an excellent and timeless pearl among all the savant gentlemen. Through the dedicated work of these guides and others, whose fine translations of the Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali have untied the many strange linguistic and conceptual knots we confront in unravelling the philosophy of Yoga, with all its intricacies, from the Sanskrit – through the dedicated work of many these translations continue to inspire and dazzle. Through all our continued attempts at mastering the abstracts of this pearl of philosophical language we can now today, in the West, more fully appreciate and almost as if drink from the well of Yoga itself. A growing body of translations and interpretations of ancient Vedic knowledge have become available to westerners – through the direct work of these translators and through their wonderful commentaries we today have access to many subtle tools, within our preferred idiom, with which to express in a clear and graspable manner the teachings of our common Vedic heritage, the most ancient and unbroken tradition of spiritual and philosophical insight ever to have existed on this Earth, with almost as great a span as human memory embraces, forging deep into the prehistory of man. It‘s awesome. I feel as if I, in presenting the under-standing and the benefits of Yoga, that I am thus, in this, representing Patanjali as well as the whole community of teachers of Yoga of any particular denomination or epoch (see Patanjali, Yoga-Sutra 1.39: ―So does any meditation that is held in high esteem.‖ – in describing a collection of different approaches to the attainment of liberation, peace, happiness and the eradication of suffering). Yoga is the central nerve of eastern philosophies. As writes Mr. Feuerstein: ―Both the word and the concept Yoga are known to and used by India‘s three major cultural complexes – Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Yoga lies at their very heart.‖ (2004, p. 32) For a teacher of Yoga to re-present truly, in truth becomes of ‗the deepest‘ responsibility whenever engaging in the actual teaching of this Daršana, ‗The Philosophy of Living the Fullness of Life‘. A teacher of Yoga mostly works on the two levels of theory and practice – and they go hand in hand. Practice is very personal and students often bond to the teacher. Here the responsibility becomes immense: there‘s a whole lifetime of benefit to reap

BACKGROUND – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA – from the successful practice of Yoga, and in the very open attitudes students often show in the personal setting of instruction, an imbalanced statement of the teacher could become potentially disastrous. In this the importance of recognizing the obvious and evident here cannot be understated. In the words of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: A Guru should never be angry. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; from private lecture notes.

In the Maharishis‘ commentary to the Bhagavad-Gita one reads: Thought is a great force in man. It develops into desire, which in turn translates itself into action, bringing glory or disgrace. ‘Anger’ arises from weakness or inability to fulfill one’s desires, although it is generally attributed to obstacles in the way of such fulfillment. And thus desire is said to be the direct cause of anger. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1967, p.163

The definitions of Yoga have to be distinct in every language so as not to confuse discussion and teaching. In discussion on Yoga the subtle concepts inherent in the words ‗Concentration‘, ‗Contemplation‘ and ‗Meditation‘ have to be clear. These are associated processes of introspection often confused, as they have respectively both technical and common meanings. ‗Concentration‘ in particular, being quite misused, ‗Contemplation‘ being rather foggily understood, and ‗Meditation‘ can, in a general sense, be anything. There are technical as well as general meanings surrounding concepts such as these and the present muddle is tough going. In the section called ‗Eight Aspects of Yoga‘ I define these words (see p. XX). Today, thanks to the work done by sharp minds, as has occurred greatly this past 20 th century, in the meetings of minds of many respected sages of the East and the West, in their collaborations, it is now possible to trace cultural values, etymologies, the structures of accruing philosophies, influences of these on practice, et. al., and thereby come to an insight of a great value, wherein all these concepts, and their categories, and the understandings thereof come to a balanced harmony, a state of Yoga. In my minds utopian eye I can imagine a sort of society of sorts: ‗Society of Affiliated and Unaffiliated Yoga Teachers‘ – united in the common aspiration of defining the YogaDaršana, in all its manifold aspects and beauty, for this our modern world. Juri Aidas

–– 21 January 2007

OUT OF THE BLUE – WHALES IN THE WAKE LIKE CAPES AND ALPS –

Signals Oil on Canvas, 54 x 65 cm.

YOGA – THE EIGHTFOLD YOGA (ASTHANGA) –

lthough many schools of Yoga exists there is hardly any controversy over assigning descriptions of the general structure of the philosophy of Yoga eight aspects. In the Yoga-Sûtra (2.29) these were organized by Patanjali (see p. 36 ) who, in looking at these eight aspect of Yoga, chose to list them:

yama, niyama, âsana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samâdhi. These are the eight aspects of Yoga, The eight-fold Yoga, Asthanga-Yoga (astha, eight, anga, limb). By metaphor these are often spoken of as the eight limbs of Yoga, the Asthavangani. They are the basic constitutive elements of the Yoga-Daršana, the vision (daršhana, vision), the philosophy of Yoga, along with the ideas of unmanifest and manifest, purusha and prakriti. These are controversial concepts within the many fields of modern science where they recur under other disguises as absolutes of infinites or nothingnesses, and all of these of diverse kinds – they can be handled by limits or recursivities, by algorhythmies. The eight aspects of Yoga cover the whole spectrum from the inner to the outer. Their two extremes samadhi and dhyana (as shown by the metaphor ―The Tree of Life‖), represented by the controversials purusha and prakriti, build an abstract connectivity that can be recursively traversed, thus they are central to this metaphor of ‗Life‘. On the following pages the structural relationships of these aspects are shown graphically. Do take a moment and compare the different concepts used for, say, the highlighted words, there‘s a world of differences in the approaches taken. Now I will just list, as per Patanjali, their approximate English equivalents as interpreted by:

Alistair Schearer

The Laws of Life, The Rules for Living, Posture, Breathing exercises, Retirement of the Senses, Focusing of Attention, Meditation and The Settled Mind. (“The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali – Effortless Being”, 1982, p. XX.)

A JEWEL OF EIGHT FACETS – 12 APPROXIMATIONS – 2.

Georg Feuerstein

Restraint, Observance, Posture, Breath-control, Sense-withdraval, Concentration, Meditative absorption and Enstasy. (“The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali – A New Translation and Commentary”, 1979B, p. 80.) Enstasy is a construct from „Enhanced Ecstasy‟. (Feurstein yyyy, p. xx.) 3.

Swami Hariharânanda Aranya

Restraint, Observance, Posture, Regulation of breath, Withholding of senses, Fixity, Meditation and Perfect Concentration. (“Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali”, 1963, p. 232.) 4.

W.Y. Evans

Abstentions, Observances, Postures, Regulations-of-the-breath, Withdrawal-ofthe-senses, Fixed-attention, Contemplation and Concentration. (“The Yoga-System of Patanjali - Or the Ancient Hindu Doctrine of Concentration of Mind”, 1927, p. XX.) 5.

Barbara Stoler Miller

Moral Principles, Observances, Posture, Breath control, Withdrawal of the Senses,Concentration, Meditation and Pure Contemplation. (“Yoga Discipline of Freedom – The Yoga Sutra Attributed to Patanjali”, 1995, p. 52.)

Chip Hartranft

External Discipline, Internal Discipline, Posture, Breath Regulation, Withdrawal of the Senses, Concentration, Meditative absorption and Integration. (“The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali – A New Translation with Commentary”, 2003, p. 30.) 7.

Trevor Leggett:

Restraints, Observances, Posture, Restraint of Vital Currents, Dissociation, Concentration, Meditation and Samâdhi. (“Šankara on the Yoga-Sutras”, Volume 2, 1983, p. 110.) 8.

P. Y. Deshpande

yama, niyama, âsana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samâdhi. (“The Authentic Yoga – Patanjali‟s Yoga Sutras”, 1979B, p. 98.) P.Y. Deshpande strangely enough does not translate the concepts but his discourse on the Yoga Sutra is immensly perceptive (thus I give it a mention here). 9.

I.K. Taimini

Self-Restraints, Fixed Observances, Posture, Regulation of breath, Abstraction, Concentration, Contemplation and Trance. (“Swâmi Hariharânanda Âranya, „Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali”, 1963, p. 232.) 10.

Alice A. Bailey

Commandments, Rules, Posture, Right Control of Life-force, Abstraction, Attention, Meditation and Contemplation. (“The Light of the Soul – The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali”, 1927, 11 Impr. 1978, p. 180.)

YOGA – 12 APPROXIMATIONS –

11.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Observance, Rules of Life, Posture, Breathing exercises, Retirement of the Senses, Steadiness of Mind, Meditation and The State of Transcendental Consciousness. (“The Bhagavad-Gita – A New Translation and Commentary”, 1967, p. XX.)

Rethink this.

In view of some poignant philosophical considerations, implied in semantic differences and other nuances of language that become variegated and upheld in translation, considerations that implicitly reveal the subject/ object transversal of perception and cognitive process and thus accent the seeming divergence of expressions for the eight aspects of Yoga with a wealth of conceptual insight that does stem from the empirical side of this philosophy, from its different methods, from its traditions; we may still find it possible to elaborate on these concepts, as we, in all these many efforts, find a variety of approaches to the subject at hand, the Philosophy of Yoga. From out the divergent approaches that translate the eight aspects of Yoga, found in the Yoga-Sutra, I construe a metaphoric multifold and thus template a background, a recursive dynamic, an overarching reference whereon all the different stances listed above may converge, a multifold of interpretation to parallel that held by learned Sanskritists of great comprehensive capability. But yes, well yes – I do not hesitate to have a go at this game myself. In my own parlance the idiomatic characterizations of these eight aspects of Yoga now become:

12.

Juri Aidas

Attitude & Berhaviour (the Ethics & Morals of yoga), Posture, The Breath, Withdrawal (Retraction of the Senses, as of a turtle retracting its limbs into its shell), Focusing, Meditation and The Deep (aka., Dynamic Bliss, inner equilibrium). •

100

YOGA – EXISTENCE, INTELLIGENCE, BLISS –

Yoga creates well-being. Our inner nature attracts the relaxed mind.

The Nature of the Mind: Existence, Intelligence & Bliss. As perceived from a nominal phenomenological middle ground.

•

101

FIELDINGS – SKYWAY GLITTERS –

Flowers in a Round Field Oil on Canvas, Ø 41 cm.

102

OPENNESS – ULTIMATE ABSORBTION –

Originator: Albatross Theme: The All Style: Folk Ballad

Aloneness, Independence, Freedom – Kaivalya When within – there is no space, there is no time. In the deep there is no mind and no Self to entice. No God or Guru to disturb, distract or define. No King or Queen in disguise to unveil, to take a fall. Æternity is there moot and there is no finite, Not even a reign sublime to hold the line. The only thing I know is not there, never was 'Tween the closing and opening of the eye. Kaivalya. But likewise light transversal bound Gently, brightly, clearly falls on moon and ground, Guides my feet along a path intangible To biters tooth and claw and cobweb drum. (Nicked that from Master Thomas for sure, poet galore.) A path of love supreme in this twilight zone Of surreal skies and multitudes and dreams, Of the soft breeze and the answer in the wind. Kaivalya Words repeat themselves and then fade Just like as when the ocean waves subside. Objects, knowledge itself lies there abandoned, All outer form dissolved. Ah, the emptiness of it all. And not even that nor this is the what or why or how. Lightly, gently fall the steps I now hear, A seat prepared I gather there shall be,

And alone the preceptor comes to share a bit with thee. Kaivalya

Juri Aidas 25 July 2010

103

A JEWEL OF EIGHT FACETS – ATTRIBUTIONS WITHIN THE EIGHTFOLD STRUCTURE –

Inner Perspectives

104

A JEWEL OF EIGHT FACETS – ATTRIBUTIONS WITHIN THE EIGHTFOLD STRUCTURE –

Contemplation, Concentration and Meditation On the right page overleaf the eight aspects of Yoga are presented in the form of a list:

Attitude, Berhaviour , Posture, Breath, Withdrawal, Focusing, Meditation and The Deep. Yet, before taking the plunge into them all I would like to take a moment for to bring a little attention to the three specific and dynamically associated concepts of Concentration (which in the process of yoga I deem to propound as Focusing, as a centering of awareness [basically in any chosen or, surprise, no direction]), Contemplation and Meditation. These three specifics of cognitive stance available to consciousness receive a host of interpretation and thus need the spotlight of definition. As well as being discriminatively applicable to a furthering of the panorama of encounter for the discerning mind, our thinking tool, by awareness per se, their relevance may be recognized, almost right on, in the domains of Withdrawal, Focusing, Meditation and The Deep of the eightfold structure of Yoga.

There are really many English words that can be used to describe the aspects of Yoga. Depending on the perspective and approach used for discussing these, we begin to see a great span of meaning collect around the specifics of the aspects and we may even develop a sense of familiarity with these concepts of Vedic culture in Sanskrit as such – this allows us to appreciate the exactness of thinking, which from subtle beginnings grew great philosophies and also produced much beauty in this still sung language, still rushing forth as from the great Saraswati River (dried out since ca. 1700 B.C.) – but the remembrance of rippling swells, fragrant breezes, enhancement, beauty, timeless dream and wondrous song does yet remain. Ah! Well. Now, let‘s get into the nuts an‘ bolts of Yoga. Atha! (Now!) So, turning the page here you will find a short summary regarding the general elements of the inward stance: Contemplation, Concentration and Meditation; and then on the right page you will find a graphic that makes a stab at delineating the categories of yoga with the aid of visual sequencing. Following that, on the upcoming spread, on page 80, 81, the whole edifice of the interrealationships of the eight aspects of yoga are presented in yet another graph, this time in an heuristic metaphoric manner, as a metaphor for the wholity of the philosophy of yoga , ”The Tree of Life”.

105

A JEWEL OF EIGHT FACETS – ATTRIBUTIONS WITHIN THE EIGHTFOLD STRUCTURE – Contemplation: This one we get from pratyahara, the withdrawal of the mind from sensory perception. This is the beginning of the contemplative state where thoughts go about in the mind as if unto destinations of their own, we follow them here and there and poke an‘ prod ‘em in any fashion unto our liking. We flow with them. This concept connotes a contemplative state of mind as input from the senses is left behind in withdrawal (or in, really, any mind-mode of flowing thought), input that does not then intrude onto the conceptual landscape. We contemplate ideas as they appear, and as they, in their fashion, slip away. Concentration (focusing):

Focusing, dharana, so to say, is, in my mind, a better term than concentration as pertaining to Yoga. Now, in this, we may see a gathering of cognitive attention unto the conceptual state as such, whatever its content; focusing, as versus concentration, would imply a smoother transitivy into intentional states, or holds on the mind, so to say, than the more effortladen idea of concentration. Yoga is about dynamic access to natural flow. Meditation: This concept, dhyana, meditation, represents a process of recursivity on its own, an algorythmie, one might say. In the technical sense it is the meditative process as a natural, as if it be an inwards turned gravity that is tecognized by our attention, our consciousness. The method of Yoga thus, in this contextual domain, provides an irrelevance to the objectifying tendencies of ideationality, of conceptuality. As this process, accented by Yoga, infuses and melds the contemplative state of withdrawal with slight attenuations to the state of focusing, disregardless of object, this thus tunes the ebbs and flows of the ideational states of awareness as unto a wholity of experiential relevance. The Deep: The inner engine of stillness and silence (paradoxically speaking), samadhi, The Deep, which (even though it cannot be described in words), by its nature of silence creates the attractive pull towards the state of a quiet wakeful awareness, and thus makes the inward stance of a mind engaged in the recursivity of the yogic process a possibility.

Sequence / Entry Points 106

Structures in Yoga ” List form 1.

( & about the Inherent Recursitivities.)

Attitude

Ethics (as pertaining to Yoga)

Behaviour

Morals (as pertaining to Yoga)

”

Yama

Simplicity, Contentment, Purification, Refinement, Sense of Wonder

”

Niyama

Non-violence, Truthfulness, Integrity, Restraint, Non-attachment 3.

The Body

The Breathing

Withdrawal

”

Stability

” Pranayama

Flow

Absorption

Natural Tendency of the Mind Attention drawn by an Inwards Attraction.

(Retraction of the Senses / Contemplation) 6.

Focusing Meditation

The Deep

Dharana

Algorythmy

Meditative Process ” Dhyana

Recursivity

(‘Meditation’ termed technically, or say, methodological dynamic of recursitivitie. )

Transversal Divide of Inner/Outer Abstrusness/Abstraction Field. 8.

” Pratyahara

... followed by A Gradual Increase of Abstraction /Abstruseness ... and an Absorption of the Mind Ensues.

”

Ignition

(Centering / Concentration) 7.

Asana

Activity Rest

Samprajnata (With object.) ” Samadhi

Dynamic Bliss

( Nature )

Unanifest ” Purusha

(The Transcendent) * The Deep Sat – Chit – Ananda. Existence – Intelligence – Bliss

* Transcend ” to go beyond. ( beyond activity )

Juri Aidas –

Manifest ” Prakriti

( That which one can’t quite put ones finger on! )

Sanya

The Deep

Subject / Object Perplexity Treshold. Inner Event Horizon.

Nirbija ” Samadhi

Activation of the senses From the Transcendent * by Sanyama. (Yoga Sûtra, Ch. 3.** )



5 Jan 2005. (Updat: 28 Jan 2012)

Established in Yoga, Perform Action.

(Without object.) Transcended *

Dhâranâ Dhyâna ” Sanyama (Coherence ) Samâdhi * for a discussion on ‟transcendence‟ see page xx. ** Yoga Sûtra – Patanjali

Increase of Self-referential Potential

Transcendence *

THREE METAPHORS OF YOGA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A LADDER, A PIANO, A GREAT TREE â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

can be studied by use of the tool of metaphor, but, discrimination is necessary. In discussing e.g. the metaphor of a great tree in the representation of a philosophy and theory of Yoga it will here not be used in the traditional manner, as it would in a discussion of schools of Yoga. HE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA

All the different schools of Yoga can certainly be compared to a Great tree with trunk, limbs and leafy branches, flowers full of fragrance, an abundance of fruit, wondrous. It is for the Historian of time and change to define the interrelationships of all the different schools of Yoga, to offer up perspectives. As it is quite convenient to use the metaphor of a tree in keeping track of geneaologies and different matters of historicity, and as different schools of Yoga pop up over time doing their thing in different historical epochs, as times change, it is quite natural to use the metaphor of a Tree of Yoga for this purpose, it works remarkably well in context. Yet herein it will be used to display the sructure of Yoga as an algorhythmie, as a manual for the traverse of the outer and inner. This metaphor and a few related ones can be used to study the philosophy of Yoga in depth.

Tools for Thinking.

Now! We have a first metaphor: the ladder, or stairway, with eight steps. This one is used mostly to give expression to the continuity of the different steps to be taken both in the teaching and in the studying of the wholeness of this vision of Yoga, this

108

THREE METAPHORS OF YOGA – A LADDER, A PIANO, A GREAT TREE – Yoga-Daršana. This is an excellent ladder. Difficulties arise here mainly because of the nature of the list form presentation in itself, the sequentiality as such is what creates the problem. The steps may seem to be far apart, and the ladder quite formidable to ascend. But yet, it can be approached from either end. From the second metaphor, that of an object with limbs, a table, a grand piano, we get all the starting points we‘d want. Yoga can be approached from any one aspect, yet the whole structure is somewhat loose, drifting free. Where to? Whither? What goes where? – and so on. Yet buried within this model we find a deeper sense of individuality, of freedom – of movement. This second view of Yoga has deep philosophical implications for our appreciation of our sense of ‗being‘, our inner sense of wonder. Moving on now to the third metaphor, that of a tree: „A Tree of Yoga‟ (I say „Tree of Yoga‟ here and am not using the concept of “The Tree of Life” as of yet). This metaphor of root, trunk, limbs and branches applied to Yoga may also confuse as it is generally very much tied up with the historical evolution of a variety schools and traditions – and using it for another purpose, that of making the philosophy of Yoga, the vision, the Yoga-Daršana distinct, may just add to the general bedlam of confusion regarding the philosophy of Yoga (not the least being the almost exclusive use of the word Yoga for merely the fourth aspect of this teaching, asâna, all Yoga pertaining to the body). There is a Vedic hymn that talks about a great tree that has its roots in heaven and whose immense branches reach our earthly ground (Rig Veda X.XX. [... to be found & inserted krtr, I seen it!]), all couched in very poetical manner, made beautiful and enticing. This perspective offers a metaphor of an inside view of a deep philosophical idea: the inner root of life being heaven and trunk and branches being the outer world‘. A modern take of the Vedic one would, of course, come decked with roses. “My dreams are made of iron and steel With a big bouquet of roses hanging down From the heavens to the ground.”

„Never Say Goodbye‟, Bob Dylan Very Good. But if the Vedic Tree would now also reveal the mysterious reason and mechanism of its growth? For the basic algorithms/algorythms of its dynamics to be clearly delineated and understood we need access to a sharp, rich and useful metaphor

109

A NEW PERSPECTIVE – AN EXPANDING OF THE GENERAL METAPHORS – on this, somewhat archetypal, quite perplexing, mythical idea of immensely intuitive import, and we find an immaculate philosophically relevant concept of a possibility of personal attunement to creative insight, we find a metaphor with a process rendered thereon that of itself is full of song, a blooming tool for thinking, ever growing, health generating, sense attenuating, and abundantly flowing ‗self‘ of a magnigicent „Tree of Life‟. An overarching meme* it is. A NEW PERSPECTIVE To expand upon the general metaphor of a ‗tree‘ with a strange little twist handles the confusions we just met and will give rise to the idea of ―The Tree of Life‖. This metaphor is based on inherent sensibility and empirical verifiability and brightens up insight and understanding with both the strong explanatory power of this idea and with the resultant carry-over of its broad and practical applicability. That superb, and quite ‗bright‘, edifice, the„Tree of Life‟ of The Veda is still a‘growing. I now present a metaphor to describe and define the interrelated dynamics of the aspects of Yoga, so as to enable us to clearly see both a theory and a method therein, and I will outline a mechanism to test the theory. For this I will be using the metaphor of a tree and model it into a „Tree of Life‟ (see schema p. XX), anchored deep, firmly rooted and abundantly crowned, and I will view this metaphor as from afar, thereby I take a birds eye view of the „Tree of Yoga‟ (including its roots in that ‟heaven‟, yet now grounded rightwise in the fertile ground of an evolutionary stance). I will here turn the „Tree of Yoga‟, the metaphor, right side up (in sharp contrast to the Vedic one just mentioned), so that I won‘t have to be standing on my head in presenting this ‗tool for thinking‘ about Yoga. Look! The standard caricature of a Yogi standing topsy-turvy on his/her head is often seen and is caused and upheld by heavy identification, the identification of the whole of the philosophy of Yoga in the general public apprehension of this field, with physical posturing, with the Yoga-asanas; whose main function lies in keeping the body in tune and to facilitate the managing of the subtle aspects of Yoga (thus asanas are something very good in themselves, yet they are only a part of the whole of the philosophy of Yoga). To identify the broad spectrum of Yoga with only our body is just so easy to do and that masked, that limited understanding can be but a very restrictive guide to the offer of a more complete structure of understanding of the inner spark of creation as such, which the eight

110

RIGHT SIDE UP – THE TURNING OF THE “TREE OF YOGA” – aspects of Yoga represent. In the alternate view of this philosophy of ‘experience‘ that I present, with this ‗new‘ meatphor ―The Tree of Life‖, the dynamics of ones own being in totality may actually be seen, be perceived. The subject/object transversal is revealed in this graphic rendering of the field of Yoga. Why restrict ourselves. We must look at the vision of Yoga, the Yoga-Daršana, in whole or the parts take over the show. The other seven elements (for a total of eight) of this Asthanga Yoga (astha meaning eight, see p. XX) compel us to take the arc entire of their interrelationships into consideration. The turning of this Vedic tree right side up, turning, tumbling the whole frame, so to say, produces a clearer grasp of this metaphor ―The Tree of Life‖. The former „Tree of Yoga‟, whether we look upon it as a ladder or a grand piano, or as just a wonderful and beautiful tree (with two birds perching in its uppermost brances, see: ‗Implications‘, p. XX) – this „Tree of Yoga‟ now becomes ―The Tree of Life‖. From this perspective here, quite simply introduced and only somewhat elaborated upon, I derive (in following discussions) a viable ‗strong‘ theory of Yoga, in terms consistent both with the blooming seeds of our modern Darwinian ‗Theory of Evolution‘ (by now algorithmic, see Dennett, 1995, and see ‗Timeline‘, p. XX, herein) and consistent too with all the personal, subjective yet meaningful under-standing of the same that Yoga has to offer from an inner point of view. TURNING IT ALL RIGHT SIDE UP Here‘s a way to see clearly. Turn the tree straight, as was my suggestion above, so that we see what we‘re used to see both when looking at or thinking of a tree. We now have quite another picture. Let me also add a new little twist to this philosophically conceptualised tree! I will add the special use of the parameters of, Dynamid Bliss, samâdhi and Meditation, dhyâna – the parameters of samâdhi are implied through its association with the qualities of an Absolute (firstly in philosophical terms [which implies certain considerations of its own], secondly in the sense that the empirical perspective of Yoga allows for a naturalistic interpretation of its process and method, thus the whole philosophy of Yoga is linked to Natural Science as such). An Absolute is implied by the use of the triad sat, chit, ananda; existence, intelligence, bliss). The parameters of dhyâna, meditation (this first cousin of samâdhi, Dynamic Bliss) are a great set of parameters of its own, mainly, out of the many: its introspective potential, its

111

RIGHT SIDE UP – THE TURNING OF THE “TREE OF YOGA” – directionality and the natural tendencies of the mind it opens up our awareness to, application in turn takes the conscious mind to samâdhi, to Dynamic Bliss. This, their relationship, the great span of samâdhi and dhyâna will, by a metaphor, ―The Tree of Life‖, become as a magnifying glass to resolve any inner melee of semantic confusion. The discussion of the interplay of all the components of Yoga will become a Theory. Quite often this field, the expanse of the relationship of samâdhi and dhyâna, is delegated to the subjective microcosm where but only the closeness of these parameters is empasized, leaving us as if with tunnel vision, with narrow perspectives regarding the broad scope of the dynamic interplay of their interrelationship. Here is much inner gold. Let‘s take closer look at this span, let‘s broaden it, expand it, get the value of it out in the open. The relatedness of samâdhi and dhyâna, Dynamic Bliss and Meditation, is what is expanded upon in the schematas of this presentation. Their dynamic of relevance is recognized, extended, opened up and used as the central defining pillar of the whole theoretical construct. The metaphor of a great Tree of Life‟, “The Tree of Life‖, is the centerpiece around which this whole discussion revolves. The explanatory power of this metaphor will be analzed further and the role of some necessary turnarounds, upsidedowns and whoopsies in the structural landscape of Yoga have to be made clear, and also the bearing of the insights, generated by the, alluded to, analysis that is to follow (see, p.65), on some fundamental philosophical problems of ethics and morals, of altruism and free will, of beliefs and non-beliefs, gets probed a bit. I do hope that the fundaments of the Great Philosophy of the Yoga-Daršana, the vision of Yoga, of Patanjali will be somewhat more graspable after I‘m done here. If they already are clear I hope I won‘t have confused any issues. We may now, from the scrutinizing of ideas embedded in metaphor, come to see how the relationship of samâdhi and dhyâna blooms into an understanding of a subtle link between these, as of a nerve reaching from the abstractness of inner life to the very outer extremes of existance as such, where, seen from the our present viewpoint, our middle ground in the evolution of the Cosmos, we find a span from the singularity of what we call the ‗Big Bang‘ to galactic abundance, and our understanding of that event and its consequenses now extends as if out to the far horizons and overwhelming multiplicities of the narrative and reflective mind of ours, into philosophy and mathemathics, where the subtelities whereof scientific understanding is made seemingly

112

RIGHT SIDE UP – THE TURNING OF THE “TREE OF YOGA” – perplex, where our subject/object event-horizon, so to say, trembles. I assert that the same phenomenon of cognitive compression occurs at the inner journeys end, or at least within the changing concepts we create to explain our experience of inner life (them flashy synchronities of abstraction). The same knowledge-horizon of the mind is discovered there. That inner void is not a subjective infinite though (analogously to the outer void of the starry night sky, which may also be put to question regarding attributes of the infinite) but is but an algorythmic backdrop for the inner borealis of ‘Life‘. This be the metaphoric structure that I am uncovering for to see the referential link of samadhi and dhyana, this ―The Tree of Life‖, is a great meme *. It is my hope that some of the strange words and improbables, taking the stage here, will not seem so strange and improbable anymore at curtain call, and that inner light will then have a better chance to do what it‘s supposed to do, forevermore. I hope there‘ll be a glint at the kindling. Some things will have to stand on end that we‟re not used to seeing in these positions, yet the upright view of this „Tree of Life‟ (with it‟s little twist of abstraction, root samâdhi, crown dhyâna) is easy to grasp intuitively and is quite flexible enough to allow a huge amount of modelling of theory **.

Aurora Borealis – Photo: Thilo Bubek. Location: Near Tromsø, Norway. The photographer's own description: Image is taken late in the aurora season in april 2006. http://www.northern-lights.no/

* (See the section „Genes & Memes‟, p. XX.) ** (See „Epistemology‟, p. XX.)

113

METAPHORIC VIEW – ROOT TO CROWN – In the graphic below I strive to identify the mechanism that turns the metaphor of a ladder into that of a tree.

THE TRANSVERSAL

Important:

he categories of Yoga (and the subcategories implied therein) presented in the schemata of the metaphor of ‚The Tree of Life‛ and in the traditional listings all refer to the process of Yoga as such and are not to be ideologically transferred to any other domain, their qualities will rather become infused into our life and into our living depending on what application gives and what circumstance brings.

Flight 114

THE TREE OF LIFE – AN HEURISTIC, RECURSIVE METAPHOR OF THE YOGA DARŠANA –

Meditation D hyâna MDhyâna e d ita tio n

in w a r d s

Focusing D h âran â F o c u s in g Dhâranâ

Withdrawal P r a ty â h â r a

in w a rd s

sig h t

The P r âBreathing nâyâm a

sm e ll

The Â s aBody na Âsana P o s/tuPosture re

ta ste

out in

ry th m

m balance assage, s tre stamina tc h , b e n d ,

flo w

Behaviour

su sp en d ed

sh a u c h a sim p lic ity

h e a rin g to u c h

TPrânâyâma h e B r e a th in g

Morals N iy a m a Niyama Life M o r a ls ,, TThe h e LLaws a w s o fofL ife

– of the senses

R e tr Pratyâhâra a c tin g o f th e S e n s e s

o u tw a rd s

tw is t, ro ll, tu rn , e tc .

sa n to sh a

endurance

. stimularatory o r s u n g re e tin g , e tc . .

sw â d h y â y a r e f in e m e n t

M u d ra s ?

Ethics Y am a Yama forr LLiving E th ic ,s ,The T h e Rules R u le s fo iv in g

sa ty a tr u th f u ln e ss

a p a r ig r a h a n o n - a tta c h m e n t

îsh v a r a p r a n id h â n a

Attitude

o r h a la a s a n a

c o n te n tm e n t ta p a s p u r if ic a tio n

f. e x . p a d m a â s a n a

stability

a n d o th e rs a s th e c o b ra

su r rsense e n d e roftowonder th e L o r d

a h im sa n o n - v io le n c e

a ste y a in te g r ity

b rah m ach arya crestraint h a stity

P r a k r it i Sam âdhi

w ith o b je c t

N ir b îja S a m â d h i S a m â d h i w ith o u t o b je c t

S a m Deep âdhi The

Samâdhi D y, nRestful a m ic B lisAlerness s S a t, C h it, A n a n d a E x is te n c e , I n te llig e n c e , B lis s

T ran scen d en t V ir tu a l S e lf- r e fe r e n tia l F ie ld

Theory of Method and the Grounds of Knowledge 115

M a n ife s t

P u ru sh a U n m a n ife s t

BEYOND PERPLEXITIE – AS IT ALL COMES TOGETHER –

Round an‟ r ound we go. What I allude to here is the use of a technique to distract the mind from getting caught up in cognitory processing. A distraction is introduced. A Mantra (vehicle for thought) is used.

α–ω

Wheel of Transcendence Inner Wheels

116

The wheel of Karma Tuned by Yoga Turns all action to Dharma

METHODOLOGY

Karma: Principle of Action and Reaction. Yoga: Tuning process of Mind and Body;

MEDITATION – DHYANA

Dharma: Action in accord with Natural Law

Recursive Evolutionary Algorythm.

Process of Transcendence Action generates Reaction – this is Karma, attenuated by Yoga action flows according to Natural Law, Dharma.

The process of thinking is autonomous and engenders thought as pearl on a string. In meditation there‟s no point in putting a lid on top, it is difficult to force a stop to thinking. Instead a technique to distract thought is brought into play, this results in a state of no activity at all.

Thoughts are activities of the mind and define the ‟Self‟‟ in ‟Centres of Narrative Gravity‟.*

A mantra, used on the level of thought stimulates awareness and alerteness, and also acts as a distractive impulse on the process of thinking, fragmenting and diverting it. Thinking relaxes, unfinished thoughts fade away, as does the mantra now and then.

Process of Thinking Accelleration

Thoughts

Mantra

The mantra is kept private, so that meaning and connotations do not to accrue to it and thus condition it (giving rise and drive to new trains of thought), unabling us in this to occasionally forget it.

M e d ita tio n

in w a r d s

D h âran â in w a rd s

P r a ty â h â r a Withdrawal R e tr a c tin gofo fthe th Senses e S en ses sig h t

sm e ll

T h e B r e a th in g

ta ste

out in

P o s tu r e m assage, s tre tc h , b e n d ,

su sp en d ed

N iy a m a

tw is t, ro ll, tu rn , e tc .

o r s u n g re e tin g , e tc .

sa n to sh a

sw â d h y â y a r e f in e m e n t

M u d ra s ?

a p a r ig r a h a

su r rsense e n d e rof towonder th e L o r d

Y am a

E th ic s , T h e R u le s fo r L iv in g

sa ty a tr u th f u ln e ss

n o n - a tta c h m e n t

îsh v a r a p r a n id h â n a

a h im sa n o n - v io le n c e

a ste y a in te g r ity

Mind at Rest

b rah m ach arya crestraint h a stity

Feedback loop

P r a k r it i

Fluctuating Transcendence Plattform of Sanyama (coherence). Expression of Ritambhara (inner truth). 4.

f. e x . p a d m a â s a n a a n d o th e rs a s th e c o b ra

o r h a la a s a n a

c o n te n tm e n t ta p a s p u r if ic a tio n

Mental Activity

Â san a

ry th m flo w

sh a u c h a sim p lic ity

h e a rin g to u c h

P rân ây âm a

M o r a ls , T h e L a w s o f L ife

Settling down

Gearing up

o u tw a rd s

And by the way as the motive in meditation is rest: „NOTHING‟ IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. (Though at times it does.)

Inherent Karmic causation –

When awareness, during meditation, in Yoga, comes to recognize that thoughts and activities occupy it a mantra is added to the process of thinking, as just any thought among thoughts, this stimulates the mind, counters dullness, as thinking is distracted and mind comes to deep rest.

D hyâna

F o c u s in g

Sam âdhi N ir b îja S a m â d h i S a m â d h i w ith o u t o b je c t

Activity

Two processes surface as mind and body relax: the pure creative process itself opens up and a release of latent physical and mental debris occurs, activity flares. When bound residues of activity are released this release causes further activity, tangling pure creative thought. The process of meditation defuses both flows. For a mantra not to be conditioned by meanings (and thus become a vessel of contemplation within the process of meditation) it must be obtained by personal instruction, preferably from a trusted source. A mantra is not supposed to have any meaning or be the name of anything. It must be possible to forget a mantra while using it in the meditative process: therefore it is used in a natural manner, no effort is applied, more like ‟letting go‟ than ‟picking up‟, no dull repetition. * As propounded by the Science of Heterophenomenology (phenomenology of another not oneself).

w ith o b je c t

SSamadhi am âdhi

Dynamic Bliss

Sound, word; used only as a mental impulse.

M a n ife s t

Fluctuating Transcendence

P u ru sh a U n m a n ife s t

D y n a m ic B lis s

S a t, C h it, A n a n d a E x is te n c e , I n te llig e n c e , B lis s

T ran scen d en t V ir tu a l S e lf- r e fe r e n tia l F ie ld

Release & Creativity Restful Alerteness

Samadhi

Sat, Chit, Ananda Existence, Intelligence, Bliss

Transcendent Beyond Perplexitie

The Deep

Established Yoga, U t f ö r117h a nind lin g, e t aperform b le r a d action. i yoga.

Body at Rest

As the process of thinking becomes distracted, on account of the use of a mantra subtly breaking the flow of thoughts, thinking stops seeking a goal in action. When this occurs the mind (vitalized by this dhyana) attains a state of restful alerteness and relaxes its subjective hold on the persona, it becomes calm, the ego dissolves. This causes the body to relax and rest as no impetus to activity remains. The use of a mantra in the process of meditation fragments the inherent active cause that motivates the thinking process as such. Using a mantra, on the level of thinking is to start up a recursive algorhythmic process; thoughts fade away and as also occasionally the mantra is forgotten what remains is a restful state of stillness, calm, serenity and bliss.

Juri Aidas

– 21 February 2005. Updated: 3 March 2012.

BEYOND PERPLEXITIE – AS IT ALL COMES TOGETHER –

Virtuality

Pikeboros

Snake‟s-hand

118

TRAVERSE TO THE DEEP – ELEVATOR –

Vanishing Point The Mantra is a tool to distract the flow of thinking and this, in effect, makes thinking cease its momentum.

Mantra: a word, a sound (with no inherent meaning); is only used as a mental impulse. The word ‗mantra‘ stems from the Sanskrit verbal root „man‟ meaning “to think, ponder”. The suffix ‗tra‘ indicates instrumentality.*

* “The Spiritual Heritage of Ancient India”, 2001, p. 189, by Feuerstein, Kak och Frawley. 119

THE PROCESS – STEP BY STEP –

ere now is a schemata (view a graphic rendering, on the left, p. 108) of the process of meditation. Unto the platform of our inner subjective cognizing of an inherent thinking process (of multiple narrative gravities, where macroscopic ‗self‘-nodes, of persona and personality emerge and gyrate about) another process is added: an effortless minim of activity, a slight active impulse in the form of a word of no meaning or connotation is introduced to the cognitory works. The undirected impulse of a mantra into the cognitory flow distracts the thinking process from its momentums and in that subdues our desire for conceptual closure, a defusing of the contextual arrow occurs, a fragmentation of intent comes about – and yet, the spark of awareness is upheld by this subtle turn ‗a the mind in the effortless practice. Thoughts flow. The process of thinking is autonomous and engenders multitudes of thought as beautiful pearl on a string. In meditation (in application of the meditative process) there‘s no point in putting a lid on top of thinking, it is difficult to force a stop to thinking (if not impossible). Instead a technique to distract thought is brought into play; this results in a state of no activity at all. In the final end both thinking and process are left alone and both mind and body come to be at ease.

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THE P- ROCESS – STEP BY STEP –

Effortlessly – approach & attitude! It is quite natural to cognize thinking, as it goes on most of the time, but usually a circumstance of what to do with the thoughts arises; in yoga one does not have to do anything with them. When awareness, during meditation, in Yoga, comes to recognize that thoughts and activities occupy it a mantra is effortlessly added to the process of thinking, as just any thought among other thoughts. The subtle activity (not its content – of which it has none) of this impulse slightly engages the mind, thereby mental dullness is countered as the process of thinking is distracted and our mind comes to deep rest. The flow is distracted but the process continues. A mantra, used on the level of thought stimulates awareness and alertness (by the act of its use), and this effortless use also acts, as said, as a distractive impulse on the process of thinking, fragmenting and thus diverting it. Thinking relaxes; unfinished thoughts fade away, as does the mantra now and then. Cognition is upheld along a sublimity-gradient. As the process of thinking becomes distracted, non-intent based, on account of the use of a mantra subtly breaking the flow of thoughts, thinking stops seeking a goal in action and leaves no more footprints in the mind. As the meditative process continues occasionally too the mantra is forgotten, and as thinking about whatevers may be long gone, the mind is settled. There is a sense of graduality to the whole flow of meditation as process, cognitively non-bound thoughts leave a supple

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afterglow of smooth ideational progress yet even those creative sprouts are allowed, by the effortless nature of our approach, to retract into dormancy, and if the body is stable in its meditative posture the whole system relaxes. Nothing is supposed to happen, and as nothing happens – we rest. Mind & Body are companions. When this deep settling occurs the mind (vitalized by this meditative process) attains a state of restful alertness and relaxes its subjective hold on the persona, it becomes calm, the ego dissolves. This causes the body to relax and rest as no impetus to activity remains. Yes. Occasionally the mantra is forgotten. If nothing else then happens (or does ‗not happen‘, so to say) then there you are, deep quiet and its accompanying calm have infused every nook and cranny of our existential frame. Deep, Alert Rest. Deeper than deep sleep Restful alertness. The cornerstone of the whole idea of yogic relevance. Allowal of a deep invigorating rest is a preparation for dynamic activity – is good in itself. Thoughts (and whatnot) come an‟ go. Two processes surface as mind and body relax: the pure creative process itself opens up and a release of latent physical and mental debris occurs, activity flares. When bound residues of activity are released this release causes further activity, tangling pure creative thought. The process of meditation defuses both flows.

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The Cycle proceeds: rest/activity. The use of a mantra, on the level of thinking is to start up a recursive ‗algorythmic‘ process; thoughts fade away and as also occasionally the mantra is forgotten what remains (on empirical grounds) is a restful state of stillness, calm, serenity, full of bliss. The use of a mantra in the process of meditation fragments the inherent active cause (whatever that may be) that motivates the thinking process as such. The meditative process is self-referential across the whole vista of conscious experience as represented by the span-range of the meditative process and the systemic bliss, thus it has a recursive nature that is channelled into algorythmies by the yogic process. No Assigned Content. A mantra is not supposed to have any meaning or be the name of anything. It must be possible to forget a mantra while using it in the meditative process: therefore it is used in a natural manner, no effort is applied. The mantra is kept private, so that meaning and connotations do not to accrue to it and thus condition it (giving rise and drive to new trains of thought), unabling us in this to occasionally forget it. Thus it is used in a natural way, without effort, effortlessly, more as ‗a letting go of‘ than ‗the picking up of something‘; there‘s not to be any monotonous or tiring repetition. For a mantra not to become conditioned by meanings (and in this thus become a vessel of contemplation within the process of meditation) it should be obtained by personal instruction, preferably from a trusted source. In a way any word would do as everything we think loses its connotations after a while if it is not incorporated in some semantic syntax. I‘d say it be easier not to pick some word that might have an

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for us unwanted resonance of inherent meaning, and as on would be wont to use that impulse of a word/sound over time something unique from a trusted source would be preferable. Though Maharishi Mahesh Yogi himself in his very first public lecture said that any word will do – then he says the word ‗mike‘ and knocks on the microphone. As we think in terms of word and phrase a shorter word would be preferable in the beginning stages, as the mind then is full of expectation and very prone to go into analytic mode, later it‘d be wise to lengthen the impulse as, as said, the natural rhythm of thinking comprises words, a phrase or two and maybe a feeling to go along, some qualia and whatever, but basically an impulse to distract the thinking process from its momentum (it is not possible to shut it off, ‗cept by trickin‘ it) ought not be some lengthy affair, verse and other stuff grow out of multiple mental patterns and thus ‗meaning‘ appears in the minds arena. Thus a mantra is not supposed to become a part of language per se as in a semantic and syntactical sense. To use a word in action is to name something, a thing, a process, an abstraction, anything that happens. The spoken word aligns itself with whatever narrative surge that comes along and becomes a part of that, thus when it is connected with on the level of thinking it will have accrued a mountain of reference, this is just the opposite of what is necessary for a process of algorythmy to connect with the still centre of no intent. A mantra is, almost, a silent word. Yes, one does repeat a mantra, but, there‟s an algorythmy of method to that to consider ... and that is what this little book is really all about.

To be continued ...

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD – AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY –

A li‟l Twist of a Turn

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD – AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY –

The Process

Reflections on the Wholity of Yogic Method, Algorhythmy

irstly, a thanks goes to Mr. Rolland Everitt, of The Brights, for the recent topic on TM & Yoga over at The Brights Forum, which you so graciously provided me. That gave me an opportunity, and an impetus, to add a bit to all the other stuff I've been writing recently on the paradigm of yoga: rest & activity. I am seemingly on a quest to put an expression to perspectives of my own that I have long been in the process of developing on the yoga, I have been formulating myself on this since about 2003, in addition to teaching this yoga since 1971. In 2003 I translated the Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali into Swedish (from the English though, with a glance at 12, or so, different English translations [I have but a cursory understanding of Sanskrit]), that‗s when I found me this idea of looking at the aspects of yoga metaphorically as a tree. Yes, I constructed a tree where the root of it is an easily accessible wakeful, restful well-being, a samadhi, that behaves as if rooted in the untangible, we cannot put our finger on that restfulness without activating it, and where the crown of my metaphoric tree is the process of meditation (seen as process, yes) accessible from the very tangible level of ongoing activity, where the universe obviously is at work. Sequentially then the six other aspects of yoga are, as one tracks the delineation of Patanjali, outgrowths of the distinct connection, nerve-like, of the two subjective extremes; the tangible as we perceive and interpret it through our senses, and the untangible, yet the tangible connects with the untangible in a recursive fashion, the meditative process, and that process may be enhanced by the application of yogic algorhythmy. I have in practice been teaching this stuff hands on for a long long time now and if anyone puts me a question I can relate to my paradigmatic view of yoga I may be off on an attempted discourse. The reflection Rolland put forth, which I have incorporated into this document touching on the yogic process, stimulated me to write a few ponderings on the nature of yoga and thus I have taken the liberty here of slightly editing my posts of The Brights Forum on Rollands there ― Transcendental Meditation and Yoga. I have added stuff, fixed grammar, typos, whatever, etc. I will possibly,

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD – AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY – further down the line, integrate some of this into a book on these themes I'm working on at the moment (this one). This intro has been edited by Juri Aidas: 3 July 2011, 13:50 PM

Albatross Posted – 3 February 2011, 10:31 AM

REveritt, on 03 February 2011 - 02:15 AM, said:

Quote

I tried TM for a while. At first, I had a hard time focusing on my mantra. I eventually learned to do that, but then I always fell asleep, so I gave it up.

Aha! I was lookin' for a handle to offer some input on this topic. 'TM' (Transcendental Meditation), that olde methode to quieten the thinking process, is an aspect of the wholity of the yogic process. As one regards the elements and ideas resident in the philosophy of yoga one would find, as delineated by Master Patanjali in his famous Yoga-Sūtra, which as I have said in earlier sections is the first existant synthesis of the particulars of yogic method, one would find firstly a slight glance at attitude and behaviour as regards the yogic process as such is therein considered (but looked on in terms of the process as such and not as ideological determinants, explicit pointers to acts and deeds), yama and niyama, the ethics and morals of yogic practice. Now, what is actually going on in the yogic process? All right, I tune in to the fact that I'm about to take a li'l time-out, I will find me a secluded spot, I might roll me bodie some, check it's suppleness (yeah, it functions a-ok), I tune it some (this be the bodily movements of yoga, the yoga-asanas, asana meaning posture), a good posture allows for deep quiet to be appreciated and sustained (for a li'l while). Just a little time spent on this, it's not training, it's a check-up. Then, next, I allow my breathing to find a natural flow, there's a subtle spot of suspension 'tween the outbreath and the inbreath (and vice-versa), I do not need to breathe in nor to breathe out, the flow takes care of that, I may guide it some with a breathing technique, pranayama. The breath eases, and after a li'l while I do not notice it any-more, then I don't bother about the breath no more, I know it takes care of itself, I trust it to do that, yeah, trust meself not to suddenly combust, or anything such-like. So with the breath established on autopilot, with no effort, I may notice an absorptive feel, pratyahara, sounds from

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; outside come an' go and I don't really think of them, it goes back and forth. Now, here I effortlessly gather my attention just a little, the focusing, dharana, and introduce a slight sound of a word of no import, a mantra (a quite misunderstood concept), effortlessly, no heavy concentration, no fanatic repetitiveness, no using it to push everything else away, thoughts come and go and into that stream one easily and effortlessly slips in the sound of a non-ideating word, I do not ascribe meaning to it, why?, I'm not about to spend my time conceptualizing the wonders of the universe, I'm traversing the field of activity and rest in the direction of rest, this is meditation (as process), dhyana. (In this here's my beef with your charaterization Rolland of the yogic method as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, there's no concentration required, the mantra falls away and when I happen to notice that I will effortlessly ease it back, with an ever lesser effort, and then it slips again, what do I care, I'm not really doing anything, I'm resting. If there's fatigue and tiredness in the system I will surely fall asleep, fine I guess I needed that, if I feel fresher or if the dullness just goes away, as it mostly does, then I, sort of, fall into The Deep, samadhi. It is the continuity over time in the application of yogic process which in the long run clears up the fogs of tiredness, fatigue, ennui, disorder.) These are the eight aspects of the yogic vision of method, and it's inner realization comes about as that deep wakeful rest sets in. I enjoy the quiet. Then afterward I feel refreshed, glad, alert, ready for action, I am more focused in what I do, more coordinated, I make fewer silly mistakes, I live a more ethical life (but not as a conceptual projection of ideology), actions just happens that feel creative, positive, lifesupporting. I do not really need the conceptualized worlds accruing around the method of the inner traverse (unto The Deep). Somewhere Rolland the instructions you received for your yogic practice must have got muddled. One is not supposed to focus on the mantra, one flows with the process of thinking and the slight insertion of a fork into the thinking process (I mean that by this thinking forks in different directions) distracts the momentum of ideational thought until it just says hello goodbye, and what remains is quiet, deep rest, peace, tranquility, a serenity of sorts, bliss or whatever if one wishes for a label, but labels are not important in the yoga. It's all a flow from more agitated states of physio/mental dynamics to lesser levels of activity of the physio/mental system as a whole, this is the concept of transcendence, one leaves activity behind, one transcends activity. So the

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD – AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY – Maharishi coined the concept Transcendental Meditation. It has worked for me for fortytwo years, yah! This post has been edited by Albatross: 03 February, 10:44 AM; re-edited, 05 February, 22:00 AM.

REveritt Posted – 3 February 2011, 03:31 PM

Albatross, on 03 February 2011 - 05:31 AM, said:

Quote

... Somewhere Rolland the instructions you received for your yogic practice must have got muddled. ...

Alby, I had exactly one lesson in TM, and it was never identified to me as having any connection with yoga. Also, that was about 38 years ago, and my memory may be a little hazy. I expect the reason I always fell asleep is that I was working ridiculously long hours on a swing shift, and wasn't getting enough sleep. Much more recently (only about 2 years ago) I had a demonstration of the calming effect of breathing exercises. I was at the Franklin Institute (a science museum) in Philadelphia. They have an exhibit that includes darkened booths where you sit and follow the instructions on a computer screen. There is a sensor that shows your pulse rate. You keep your hands on the metal handles, and close your eyes. You are told to focus on your breathing, but to breath normally and relax. Eventually, you are told to open your eyes and look at the screen, where you see that your pulse has slowed significantly. It was rather impressive.

Albatross Posted – 3 February 2011, 07:15 PM

Hey Rolland, thanks for creating a topic of its own for the darsana of yoga (for ease of writing I'm skippin' the diacriticals of the Sanskrit words), the vision of yoga, I'd like to bend it thataways. I've been around here since, what?, 2006, and I have but mentioned here and there that I teach the yogic method of Transcendental Meditation

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD – AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY – (as Maharishi Mahesh puts it) but I have not really wanted to impose myself on The Brights in those terms. So. I have here now been offered a fleeting 76 platform to frame some of my understandings of both the drive of the Maharishi and of yoga as such. Transcendental Meditation, TM for short, is still billed as "[...] not a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle" (as from the official site for the institution created by the Maharishi to teach this method). That's how it was when I took it up in 1969, and still is, seemingly. Today the connection to the Vedic background of yogic method is more explicitly stated though than it was when I got onto the yoga train. They say, "The Transcendental Meditation technique is based on the ancient Vedic tradition of enlightenment in India." So there you go. I was fortunate to participate in a course given by the Maharishi in 1975 when he focused on discussing the Yoga-Sūtra of Patanjali (a short little treatsie on the philosophy of yogic method). So I'd say the connection is watertight. The method of Maharishi, TM, Looking specifically at the meditation as such (as process), represents the seventh aspect of yoga, dhyana, meditation (as process), and performed in conjunction with the other aspects, in the logical sequence of their relationship to eachother (as outlined above), when all the aspects work synergetically as practice is performed then yoga is performed as a wholity. When the aspects become integrated as one proceeds with yogic practice the process of regularly establishing deep rest is enhanced and accelerated. But one has to start somewhere. The brilliant idea of Maharishi Mahesh was to turn the olde metaphor of the sequence of the aspects of yoga, the metaphor of a ladder with eight rungs, to turn this upside down thereby anchoring the meditative process in The Deep, in samadhi, in the suspended quiet of systemic time-out. I gradually leave all activity behind me until the impulse to act ceases, yet by dint of the process of meditation as such, the slight focusing that occurs as I make the 'effortless effort' of slippin' in a mantra into the thoughtflow, by dint of that, and by dint of the absorptive settling that occurs, as one allows for the time-out, and by dint of having a relaxed breath, and a good posture, and sensible behaviour (as regards yogic practice) and a relevant attitude for the whole thing, by dint of all these aspects coming together in yogic practice the mind settles down into silence, and the body is still. By turning the metaphoric ladder around the relation of The Deep and the meditative process becomes obvious. It's not about a long

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; climb up a set of rules for life and living, complex physical training, conquering of breath, mind, etc., etc., that makes for yogic success, no, it's the ease of slipping from the ordinary waking state into a quiet waking state that makes The Deep accessible, it's a flow that becomes recursive after a while, subjectively described as a falling into quiet, as if one has the rug pulled from under ones feet and like in a comic book one floats free. Easy. A course in this yoga, as per the Maharishi, is supposed to consist of an introductory meeting or two, the event of passing on a method, and a few follow-ups. When I started it was one lecture, then I came back for 78 to learn, and then I had two follow ups. Two years later when I had taken my teacher traing course (in Majorca, of all places) it was two introductory letures, the initiation, and five follow ups (three directly after the initiation, one more after two weeks, and then one again after another month, was quite a bit of work there, really). So the outer structures change some but the link to a tradition is kept (it's kind of respectful, and it is an event), and it goes back to Vedic times (out of which, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism have evolved, yoga binds them all together). So, Rolland, I guess you missed some parts of what you ought to have had been served. The movement of the Maharishi has evolved in a strange organic way, at times it's been pure chaos, but then things have resolved. Though I think the pricing of this yoga is ridiculous and that that has marginalized the movement. Nowadays I teach for free. And I've given rebates whenever possible or asked for (my judgement). I've had the chance to teach quite some (for a while there it was every two three weeks a course, and in the 1970s the demand was huge, there was seldom a course with less than 10 participants) ... and then, 6 years back the Maharishi disbanded his organization and remodeled it (quite funnily with silly hats, titles an' stuff, I myself am a Governor of the Age of Enlightenment ... imagine!!). So we were all fired, yet no one in disgrace (so I keep my respectability as a teacher, and I'm free to speak on the yoga and do not have to concern myself with strange policies of a master organization), and then the Maharishi organized re-certification courses for them that wished, and had the means. As goes for me though, I did not have the means, but it feels good to be on my own. I've done 40 years of teaching this thingy and by now I've developed some ideas myself on the yoga, a different way to view the connectivities of the aspects of yoga, as a tree, The Tree of Life. But of course the basic method of recursive flow is the same. This post has been edited by Albatross: 05 February, 13:11 AM.

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD – AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY – Albatross Posted – 5 February 2011, 07:23 PM

REveritt, on 03 February 2011 - 04:31 PM, said: Quote

Quote

Much more recently (only about 2 years ago) I had a demonstration of the calming effect of breathing exercises. I was at the Franklin Institute (a science museum) in Philadelphia. They have an exhibit that includes darkened booths where you sit and follow the instructions on a computer screen. There is a sensor that shows your pulse rate. You keep your hands on the metal handles, and close your eyes. You are told to focus on your breathing, but to breath normally and relax. Eventually, you are told to open your eyes and look at the screen, where you see that your pulse has slowed significantly. It was rather impressive.

Just goes to show how all the many methods that, in some way, involve the elements of da recursive algorhythmy actually bring about expected and generally desired results, as you have described. Here, in taking part in that demonstration, you bring a certain (1) attitude, yama, you are prepared to be a part of a circumstance which requires a certain approach, thus your expectations are being channeled by the trust you offer towards the situation; and you bring, according to instructions given, a certain (2) behaviour, niyama, towards the ongoings of both the apparatus surrounding you and towards what you are supposed to do when you've settled in; you are probably sitting comfortably (whether you lean your head or not), that's (3) posture, asana, the body is being prepared; you probably allow for a moment of reorientation toward your environment you close your eyes and are asked to focus on your breathing, that's a pranayama, methods of breathing to bring (4) the breath into the volitional spere and thereby unload the autonomous system and allow it to relax into a more settled state, then from there, as algorhythmy progresses, your breath has a stable reference when focusing gets distracted, as is natural as the cogito bounces around; now you are settling in, yes, everything ought to quieten down, and due to the situation being controlled, you have provided yourself time, you allow yourself time to let this all happen, the time-out is being recognized and a deeper (5) absorption, pratyahara, should happen (as you are actually monitoring yourself you get an empirical verification of that later), subjectively you ought to notice an inwardness regarding the desire to act and a wish to remain in

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this settling mode of the whole cognitive and physical system, you are gaining access to more restful states (and, really, it's nice that the apparatuses actually show that restoring effects happen, I guess they can be interpreted thusways); yea, onwards, a slight (6) focusing, dharana, has already happened (it's not that all the momentoes of the process must always flow in a sequentiality, they interact and come to the fore as neccessary as one algorhythmizes ones world), and now, here's where the algorhythmy may be taken a few steps further; yes, the focusing may also be applied to the flow of thinking in a similar way as that when one lets ones attention linger on the flow of breath when one is in the pranayama stage, so yea, from here the process of (7) meditation (as process), dhyana, happens as one by the slight, and in terms of yoga effortless, momentary focusing on a vehicle for thought, the sound of a word (sound, for ease of application on this level a par with the flow of thinking as such, on the level of thinking so to say, a sound, a word, but not of any purport) which distracts the momentum of thinking when one as if ideates on mental vectors to bring thoughts to their conclusions, by the effortless insertion of a distraction, the mantra, with ever lesser effort, one simply forgets what one was thinking about and then finally one forgets that one is thinking at all, the vehicle, the mantra has also dropped away, this is meditation (as process), one gravitates towards more restful states, one falls into rest, yet the accrued habit of alerting the mind on vaguer and vaguer levels of thinking, da algorhythmy, encourages the cogito to stay awake, there's a falling, there's a wakefullness; now, when the falling into wakeful alertness, the fall into (8) The Deep happens, it happens as if all by itself, unto itself. That's the whole of the algorhythmy: one to eight, the eight aspects of yoga. Bingo. To incorporate some sort of regular algorhythmy into ones pattern of living is a good thing, after such practice one feels refreshed and capable, and good things tend to happen spontaneously (amid all the chaotics of existentiality). In a film of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on a plane ride once and there being engaged in conversation with Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurti (an Indian writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual issues) I remember (I think it was there) the Maharishi saying "I'm for anything that releases stress". That's nice. So, as for me, I attemp regularity in my application of da olde 'algorhythmy', da principle of yoga, the paradigm whereof is: rest & activity. I'd like to say a few more things, maybe in further posts, on the complexities of running a movement like the Maharishis, what the drive to create it has accomplished

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THE WHOLITY OF YOGIC METHOD â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AS PER THE ALGORHYTHMY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and of what the mistakes that have happened in creating it have caused, and I would like to say a bit more on the silliness of the inflated pricing urged upon an interestee. Yea, why create that barrier, as they do, that organization, to learning. Again, I teach for free, though a few flowers and some fruit is nice to receive now an' again, one appreciates. And of course to me the cultural theisms that swirls, like clouds, around the manifold expressions of this yoga are not essential, nor neccessary, to me nor are they that to the practice of algorhythmy as such. This post has been edited by Albatross: Today, 07:37 PM

Juri Aidas Facebook message; 06 February at 13:06

Hello Rolland, ... Yea. Maybe you happened on some irregularity in teaching performance as you learned the meditation of the Maharishi 38 years ago, I do remember that at that period a course was to be of nine sessions: lecture, introductory lecture, initiation, first follow up, where practicalities surrounding the yogic method are discussed, next day a second follow up touches on the fact of stress release during the yogic process and on how to handle that, next day comes a third day of insrtruction where I usually muse a bit on the possibilites for development opened up by the use of yogic method, after a forthnight one meets up again for a general check.up of the ongoings, likewise two months later, and then a concluding meeting after half a year ... then one is on ones own, so to say. Ok! ... This post has been edited by Juri Aidas: 6 February 2011, 18:10 PM

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ENLIGHTENMENT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ALL OF THE WAY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Originator: Albatross Theme: The Now Style: Folk Ballad

Now, Enlightenment The Now. It has no beginning, it has no end. It is Love. It is all that ever was and all of what will be. Que sera sera. It soft and it is strong, tender and sweet, and hard as an Oak. Brings me joy, and writes with a rainbow quill (in light dipped). It is the smile of the horizon, from one end to the other. Now. Now there is no other, now there is no single I. What is dear to me is clear as day, now. My bright snake's-hands path Illuminates and elevates in a compassionate flow (I would hope). Rock of ages, a whirlwind show, six white horses ready to rove; All the five senses awake and an addendum thereto, now. Now. Awesome and precious it is, right on the spot. It flows uphill like coin and down it falls as gentle or wild rain. It is seeming and lovely and zings along (pealing bells of laughter). True joy it is, as said, an ever in the never. Nothing compares. It is beyond the transversal. It is nothing but now.

Juri Aidas 16 August 2010

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Riverrun Oil on Canvas, 50 x 61 cm.

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THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ATTITUDE, ETHICS, YAMA â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

The poet is the interpreter of the soul. We all are poets. Atha, now, let's take a look at what the characteristics are that the eight aspects of Yoga represent. 1.

Yama: This is what I call Ethics (yamas are observances). A single thing yet comprising several parameters, as the ring of a bell tells of its properties.

y the eye of wide and far reaching Ethics, the study and evaluation of human conduct in the light of phenomenological principles, as we may perceive them from the evolutionary middle ground of the perspective of mankind, by that eye the ideal, a balance of insight, is gained from study of the general characteristics of both ethics and morals (glimmer twins they are) and of what thereof that is available to us from out the cultures we inhabit, whereof our behavioural imprints are created. These balances, I herein, in these freely held reflections strive to envision. Insight into the mysteries and perplexities of Life do appear at times in our awarenesses and are accessible by reflection, by introspection, by serious consideration of categories, by all the ponderings we manage on the Self of sense and consciousness as such. All such processes may be tuned by the application of subjective algorithmic methods of recursivitie upon the manifestations of the thinking process (and may be generalized as "The Recursive Evolutionary Algorithm", I will, in my second paragraph here below, by the metaphor of "The Tree of Life", that I endeavour to introduce and explain, surely soar across the manifold vistas of connectivity revealed within the subjective abstract as such, the inner field; which when grasped, in the final end, offers the means for us to manage, discern, define and further clarify intangibles of any degree of perplexitie that may arise if the approach we take, the stance we hold, so to say, in regards to ethical

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THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA – ATTITUDE, ETHICS, YAMA – norm be merely a conceptualized construct lacking the element of experiential verification – thus endangering the construing of a world view, and in such way a world, fit to be appreciated, free of ancient dogma, full of potential and possibilitie, may come into peril. The construing of an ethical stance in life has to grow from an experiential basis juxtaposed onto the behavioural patterns we inhabit and cannot be fully apprehended, and thus fully expressed, lived, and enjoyed unless its nature be relevant to the inner eye, so to speak. The metaphor of "The Tree of Life", whereon this whole discourse is built, is a summary of structure, a gathering of perspectives, a conclusion from such evidence as I have seen of an arising meanigfulness experientially available to the individual and, by corroboration with sientific process, seemingly inherent to life. These conclusions I derive from out the many, many years that it has been my privilege and joy to teach the philosophy of Yoga, to expound on all manners of practical application and on the more abstruse concepts embedded therein that it be neccessary to grasp (that subjective recursivity!) for a full appreciation of this subtle philosophy, Yoga, the root of which is grounded in and blossoms from out the antediluvian Vedic era. That root has ever sprung a vision of, simply, great opportunity. Ethics, yamas, are the most basic, perceivable constituents of this metaphoric tree, ―The Tree of Life‖, they, together with niyama, morals, comprise the first two branches of this metaphor (the overarching umbrella for this discourse). In the schemata, we find them right above the subtly hidden (but visible to metaphor) root of ‗Dynamic Bliss‘, samadhi, stretching all its nerve-like way from its unseen, puruhic, root to outmost, prakritic, brilliant crown of recursivity found in the meditative process, dhyana, thus a connection from the abstract to the tangible world via the physical body is present, and in this we can see a means, a method, an understanding of the whys and whereofs of diverse possibilitie available for us to tap into by a discernment, a recognition of the distinctions of energies at play that simultaneously envelop and develop by that cognition an inner sustain of subjective dynamics. It is as if a nerve of abstract sentience divergently reaches out into the world, almost running in tandem with it and being mediated by the bodily interface. In this linkage the abstract as such is referenced to the world by the very same evolutionary algorithmic processes present in memetic development as in genetic1. This schema is therefore itself as abstract a metaphor of the abstract as abstractness goes, a generator of perplexitie, supremely paradoxical; it is an inventing of multiplicity from singularity (greatly voiding the nihilistic non-existant), and it is a directing of all resulting free-floating rationales of whatever dynamic back to

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THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA – ATTITUDE, ETHICS, YAMA – the very same source they ever and ever blossom from unhindered. With this metaphor I attempt to close the subtly modulating abstract loop of conceptual chaos sprung from intrinsic contradiction. But a logic of inconsistency (seriously) 2 can be applied to bring closure, to bring it all back home. ―Creation is an act of violence that infringes upon the uncreate‖3, it creates its own paradox. In the mythical expressions expounded by the Vedic philosophy of ore, which lays a general groundwork for our modern appreciations, we hear Rudra, the Wild God speak, ―I am not a puzzled-out book, I am a god with his contradictions.‖4. Contradictions, polarities, operate on all levels of ambience, and radiate out from their center. But we must disregard ambiguity a while. In the structured, connective dynamics revealed by the bridging of this abstract span, this subtle transversal, this almost surreal divide of subject/object, by metaphor, which we may grasp (and thus both span and bridge) by rational thought, by application of all the scientific checks of process and method, by no-nonsensical intellectation, and finally by an application of the recursive evolutionary algorythm revealed by further yogic discernment of processes embedded within this great virtual span, so to say, this great span from paradox to possibility is given a distinct form by the metaphor I here espouse, "The Tree of Life". In the interplay of the dynamics of the eight basic fields of Yoga, defined by æons of subtle memetic structuring, the relevance of the approach of yogic methods and conceptualizations step into a bright light: ‗Dynamic Bliss‘, samadhi is perceived to span the whole field of the abstract, a span comprising both subjective and objective manifestation of itself – and ‗meditation‘, dhyana, acts as a recursive anchor unto that process; for to tune the excesses of the unbrideled creativity of evolutionary Natures outpourings and bring them in line with the relevances of sentience. In this realization we are offered insight, a clear perspective on how Yoga anchors the structure of emergent consciousness in all of nature, abstract as well as concrete, all the way from mind to matter - and even all the way from matter to mind (these being the main parallell themes I explore both graphically and with hariolating hyperbole herein, in these presentations). Ethics, yes. The constituents of Yama, our observances, our Ethics (specifically in regard to Yoga), represent the basic Rules of Life – they are our basic ethical guides to life and living. But ethics is a general field of study implying the consideration of ideologies and their cultural validations, in a sense being the question of what is good in life – in Yoga, though, an identity as to means and wants arises and the methods, in the recursive interactions of Yoga give rise to a full perception of the main influences that

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THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ATTITUDE, ETHICS, YAMA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; balance life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and thus our ethics, or observances, the yamas, are what our basic ideals and motives, what our wants and desires spring from, and the processes of yoga help define the parameters neccessary to qualify our understanding as to what action to undertake when confronted by choices. See, Yoga is an empirical subjective science of method, and so as not to fall into the trap of mysticism we have to start from the middle ground, so to say, with just the tools provided us by evolution, what we have at hand. As we have learned to recognize different behaviours among ourselves some have commanded a greater attention for the generally perceived sense of 'good' in contrast with its opposite. Some behaviours are conducive to Yoga others are not, but the important thing here is to separate the approach we take toward a collection of ethical recommendations into two categories: (1) that which pertains to the methods of Yoga, the practices, of both concrete and abstract nature, and (2) that which pertains to all else life confronts us with. Yoga is a philosophy, not an idology, and therefore we have to be very clear on how our observances, the yamas, our ethics, relate to the processes of yogic practice before we attempt to discuss the more worldly sense of ethics in general. What grounds do we act upon? Yoga contributes to that discussion that recognizing that sithin its domain understanding rises, largely from the yogis sense of distinction between inner and outer experience. Thus one wants to establish that distinction and therefore the inner platform has to be clearly percerived for it to be discerned from outer fields impinging and encroaching upon our sense of Self. "Established in Yoga, perform action." says a line from a fine verse of the BhagavadGita (2: 48). Patanjali defines Yama in terms of five sub-categories:

Truthfulness, Non-attachment, Restraint, Integrity, Non-violence. Yes. Here are five qualities that grow out of the practice of Yoga and they are strenghtened and furthered by the continuity of the practice. From these few basic conceptual impulse-buffers an Ethics based on inner sight and coordination with bodily functions may be established and thus projected.

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THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA – BEHAVIOUR, MORALS, NIYAMA – 2.

Niyama: This is Morals, the basic 'Rules of Life’, also comprise several parameters, a spectrum of propensities to be recognised as conducive to sensibility and good living.

The second great branch on ‗The Tree of Life‘ is Niyama, what I designate Morals, the rules of life, so to say (but remember that all consideration be in terms of the application of the processes of Yoga). Together with the first I perceive these two branches, Ethics and Morals, as offering deep insight in the experientially understood functionings of a nervous-system (a bit of historically early phenomenology with the twist of recursivity, often forgotten), and also, in the final end, being the platform of all human interaction, all cooperation, all mingling of interests and loyalties: these two together make the platform where we get to know ourselves and each other. To this end Patanjali defines five sub-categories of Niyama, fixed observances, sensible rules, Morals:

Refinement, Contentment, Simplicity, Purification, Sense of Wonder. Out of the great embrace of these two lower branches a sense of wonder rises, shines, appears on the horizon of possibility, when collaborations suddenly work and entrusted obligations are kept. Without going any further a respectable life can be lived when these precepts are actualized in life. Isn‘t this the central part of what the Dalai Lama constantly teaches? At least to the general audience? I do realize though that my defining Yama and Niyama as ‗Ethics‘ and ‗Morals‘ does make the sub-categories float a bit, certainly these sub-lists could be expanded and structured yet more, but do we not see a basic idea here, a sense that we must learn to sensibly trust others; we are urged to the cultivating of qualities of kindness, compassion, joy and as the fourth of these universals we must develop a sense of impartiality towards that which is wrong, so that affectations of our own do not overwhelm the discriminative faculties of sense, in the telling of wrong from right when the time for action is come. We must come to see that there‘s something relevant in all the budding strivings of inner man, that there‘s something we deem worthwhile to perform for the good of all and sundry. To wish for an incahote world seems very strange to me and is seemingly the lure of a maelstrom of

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THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA – POSTURE, THE BODY, ASANA – sensation and misdirected desire, the result is not acceptable, as states Maharishi Mahesh Yogi "Conflict is a result of intellectual bankruptcy.‖ Therefore the fourth of these universal categories of trust must be developed, enabling us to to what needs be done. We must want the world to evolve into something great. On the platform of Ethics and Morals it is possible to build a stable structure to maintain and uphold the balances demanded by circumstances, by the ever-changing, good and bad happenstances that may befall anyone fortunate enough to count as belonging to the sphere of living beings capable of reflection, of a deepened self-sense. 3.

Asana: Pertains to the body. Posture. Asana is that which makes the body supple and strong, balanced. The result of yoga-asanas, the exercises, thus provides a heightened ability to not become distracted by the body. In the meditative phase of Yoga, in the performing of dhyâna, meditation, this balance and freedom from disturbances from the physical structure combined with strength built up along the spine, does thus enable stability to the back while one rests in the yogic posture, the asana, making for a free flow of breath – all the energies of the body stabilized and made conducive to the continuation of deep inner bliss obtained by the more abstruse aspects of this asthanga-yoga.

The illustration introducing this addendum, by Magnus Malmsten, shows the lotus position, somewhat modernistically maybe, but which, when mastered, allows the spine to hang suspended without any pressure from below, and if one puts ones centre of balance within the triangle of pelvis and kneecaps the built in pillows of our thighs comfortably lift the back from the ground. Now it becomes important to hear, and reflect on the fact that the lotus position, as all demanding positions of asana may demand, is that these advanced positions all demand a degree of suppleness of the body, if one is not flexible enough the twistings and turnings required may become dangerous, with the lotus asana the kneess are in particular danger, when rolling on the floor it is important to remove necklaces and such so as not to get it ‗tween the vertebrae, and cause serious damage. The extreme position of the lotus asana is of course not necessary for meditation, sitting on a chair is fine too, one only endeavours to not lean ones head, it‘s quite ok to lean ones spine, attempting a somewhat erect position though, so that the diaphragm

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THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA – POSTURE, THE BODY, ASANA – does not come under pressure and can relax and thus allow our breath to pass in and out unhindered. Resting ones head somewhere allows for dullness to establish itself, we may even fall asleep as this is natural while resting and fatigue is present. Therefore one doesn‘t lean ones head at the outset of meditation, dhyâna, but if the fatigue is overwhelming one at first leans the head slightly, the wave might pass, otherwise one lises down and rests. I regard the view of our erect physical structure maintained in deep meditation being aking to the metaphor of a seal balancing a ball on its nose, likewise ones head will stay balanced on top of the spine when the back is strong, the body supple and sensitive and the potential for alertness supported and stimulated by this manœuvre. A few sections back I disscussed the misconceptions that equate the techniques of Yoga with asanas and would again like to point out that Yoga has eight limbs that all allow an entry to Yoga and it does not do the asanas any ultimate good to neglect the other limbs of the Eight-fold Yoga. The aspects work synergistically, co-operatively, in collaboration, drawing upon the progress of one for the furtherance of the other. What is gained by the asana is reaped by the other limbs making the attainment of discriminative vision an easy task, well it does take application and incentive though and thus it is easy to overdo a part, get excellent results in one area of life while the other parts are lacking, easily leading to excess in the achievement in one, thus the sceptre of fanatism looms closer). It is not really a matter of hours of practice, but rather of holding to a regular practice of doing things in small steps. give a little time for asanas every day, a 10 minute pass, or even less would be quite enough – complemented with a bit of pranayama, breathing exercises, the 4th, aspect of Yoga, preferably in conjunction with the practice of meditation, dhyana, the 7th aspect, thus a relevant structure of Yogic practice is built. A bit of study won‘t hurt either: the active study of ethic principles, moral precepts, taking care of the body and taking care of inner man is what Yoga is about. Why not tune up if this be possible? Thus we read in Patanjalis Yoga-Sûtra, chapter 1, verse 14: The practice of Yoga will be firmly rooted when it is maintained consistently and with dedication over a long period. Yoga-Sûtra, 1:14; Translation by Alistair Schearer

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THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA – BREATH, FLOW, PRANA-YAMA – The actual yogic postures that have been invented and developed in the schools of Hatha-Yoga are numerous, and pertain differently to different systems of the body and its nervous system. They should be used on a basis of individual ability, no straining, an individually adjusted program would be the ideal, it should not be difficult to trim the body a little, turn a little, twist a little, nut too much, but just so. Yoga, all of it, has unjustly come to be regarded as strenuous and demanding – but what‘s so laborious about massaging the head a little, bending the limbs, turning the torso a bit, rolling some vertebræ on a carpet covered with a soft blanket? It should be a pleasure doing the exercises, and it does become a real pleasure when all the other limbs of Yoga walk in step. The concern of Yoga, its whole approach is the wholeness of man. That‘s why everything counts. After having performed a program of asanas, making the body lithe and responsive it is then quite natural, as just said, to engage a moment with prana-yama, breathing exercises. 4.

Prana-Yama: The Breathing. In practice the techniques and exercises designed to develop a smooth natural flow in the whole round of in-breath and out-breath and the respective pauses of suspension, an exploration of the dynamic of breath, of its peaks and and valleys and of the silent mechanisms of sustain in the absence of breath, as in between the in-breath and out-breath and vice-versa.

On the basis of the primary character of the breathing, breath, prana, we learn, in the theory of Yoga, that there is a link between the autonomous aspect of the nervous system, the somatic self-regulating part and the part that is under the jurisdiction of our conscious will, and that the connection is integrated with prana, breath. In the moment when the in-breath perceptible turns to out-breath we can suddenly perceive, in the stillness of restful alertness, the dynamics of breath made available through the smooth workings of the bodily systems, as prepared for by the techniques of asanas. Through the application of an understanding of the breathing mechanism the body is vitalized. If all other yogic tricks fail there‘s still the breathing, it stays with us till the very end. It is always possible to put our attention slightly on the flow of breath, flowing with it. Familiarity with this flow makes it east to draw strength from this natural, given resource at critical times (in the dentists chair, say, or when sleep is a long time coming). Trusting in this natural flow, and having become familiar with its subtleties in the

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deeper stages of Yoga, it is suddenly possible to understand where the ‗gasp‘ comes from when a yawn is initialized (it is hard to yawn [there are techniques to yawn], when stress has got its clutches in us, and try doing it while lolling in water deeper than yourself, when we cannot press down as we strive to float, no earth below, the relaxation that loosens our diafragm and sets off the yawn cannot set in). Singers learn how to breathe so as to not suddenly go out of breath. Breath is basic, it is one with the life process itself. 5.

Pratyâhâra: Now here we meet the Tortoise. Pratyâhâra represents the idea of retracting the senses from external object (in meditation it is helpful to close the eyes, letting our attention rest somewhere behind the eyebrows). As a Tortoise withdraws its lims at occasion, head extremities and tail, so does the mind withdraw from the objects of the senses as the yogic process proceeds.

We can understand the sense of pratyâhâra in considering the sense of hearing. It does happen that one becomes so engrossed in reading that one does not hear when one is spoken to, well one does hear but it doesn‘t really register, we somehow disregard the noises we hear and do not feel disturbed by them. In reading or some other focused activity this quality of absorption may come into play an helf deepen our facility to concentrate. This is not to imply that the meditative state of pratyâhâra cuts off the critical faculties of our mind. If somebody yells ‗Fire!‘ – we hear, we act, we run, save someone if we can. It‘s just natural, as the mind, in performing Yoga, gains alertness though simultaneously being at rest: this is the meaning of restful alertness, its dynamic so to say, the creative impulse being always at hand in alertness, its not as if one is otherwhere, one is at home and ready to roar, one is really just engaging in a few moments of innerness, hopefully gaining a fresh, discerning wiev on whatever. The last three aspects in this list of eight are more deeply connected than the others. They are discussed by Patanjali in chapter 3 of the Yoga-Sûtra. These three together comprise, as is sometimes said, ‗The Heart of Yoga‘. When the Yogi takes the decision to return to activity from the, quiet, inner state characterized by silent awareness at rest, there are two alternatives. 1; Either to just break off the process of closing in on the innermost through the natural process of transcendence, thus allowing the mind to slowly drift back into activity (an abrubt change of a deep state of rest into an active state can in itself cause stress, this being higly unneccessary and unwanted after one has

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applied oneself to a process to relieve the system of stress, in this mind clears up, becomes coherent). Or. 2; The process of activity can, on the other hand be structured, by using the process of sanyama, ‗perfect discipline‘ (as Ms. Miller translates it), thus preparing the system for dynamic action from a stable inner platform. Sanyama is the application three things taken together: firstly, the discernment of ‗Focusing‘, the imprint of the process of the transcendence the system is exposed to by, secondly, the application of Dhyâna, ‗Meditation‘, causing the mind to return to transcendence as soon as an impulse to activity is started (the focusing, inclusive of the awareness of intention), and thirdly, it draws on the residual, remaining influence of the state of samâdhi as an energizing, vitalizing influence in our being; the closeness to inner ‗Dynamic Bliss‘ is like unto that of the risen sun. 6.

Dhâranâ: Focusing. When the senses have retracted from their objects, through the application of dhâranâ, the mind is free to dive into deep essential rest. Dhâranâ is the subtle gate that we can learn to regulate so as to enable us to perform yoga, helping us to maintain the process consistently over a longer period of time,

Dhâranâ is often misleadingly called concentration and thus it easily gives rise to the idea of strenuous effort, hard work, arduous application, exhausting difficulty. It is not difficult or complicated to do Yoga. Yoga is based on natural processes, on what happens in the nervous system by natural order, so to say. It is unfortunate that this harsh attitude towards Yoga has sprung up with practitioners, dissuading others who have much to think about in life and who‘d do well to develop, and tune the physical and mental structures. It is unfortunate that many good people have come to associate Yoga with excessive ascetism and denial and strife when it is rather the balance of opposites that is enhanced: the ability to interact is augmented by self-sense and sensible ideals. Revealed by Yoga we find a vision of fullness of utter relevance to life to set us on a path of ‗Dharma‘, ‗Natural law‘, in which Life becomes ultimately meaningful. This process of Dhâranâ, of the senses letting go, retraction, can be stimulated by a somewhat detached attitude to people and events in life, but which overdone can lead to alienation in the social interaction with others. We‘re all, more or less, dependent on each other, this is the boundary of the essence of humanity, holding out is not an

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option – in the processes of Yoga dhâranâ comes about naturally. This should become clear to our understanding as the next aspect of Yoga, dhyâna, comes up for consideration. 7.

Dhyâna: Meditation. The systematic and gentle process of bringing the mind to a state of restful alertness by making use of the natural tendency of the mind to be drawn to that which is rewarding to it. The lure of the ultimate dynamic bliss of samâdhi deep within becomes unresistable to the diving mind as it engages in a process of transcendence by use of the simple yet rational techniques of dhyâna. The inner bliss of samâdhi (see below), is felt even from a distance (as we draw close to it we become aware of the presence of the ocean even before it is in wiev). In this the mind and the whole physical structure relaxes and allows for alertness and insight to rise and soar, to ascend in clarity (as a pool grows clearer when its waves subside).

See plate III, page XX, for the structure of the epistemology of a method of transcendence offered by the 7th limb of Patanjalis asthanga-yoga. This way of putting things, in general terms, represents what I have been teaching, all these years, as regards dhyâna, meditation. The vocabulary used is standard, though I have brought in a few new specifying terms and modernized others, adding some clarifications of my own. The key point in the schemata I present is the way the mind is channeled away from activity to rest in meditation. It is the slight distraction of a mantra, a word, used on the level of the thinking mind, as a slight thought, which becomes vaguer as the process proceeds, it becomes a veichle for the sense of reality; this channels the mind in a direction of no activity at all, only rest. And this is the crucial point, this is the hinge. Here we find the root of paradox in the contrast of a mantra, creating a state of no activity and also simultaneously stimulating the mind into alertness. Used in the prescribed way (effortlessley, naturally, more in a sense of letting go instead of as in picking something up, yet the mantra is treated as just another thought among others) this distracts the impetus of intentionality carried by mental structures generated by the thinking process. A slight impulse of activity is also engendered by this slight distraction itself, this is what stimulates awareness from falling into dullness, and, as the process continues other thoughts fade away; and as there is no effort applied in using the mantra, and as no inherent meaning is attributed to it, it will fade too leaving the alert

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mind in a state of no activity whatsoever – ―Nothing is supposed to happen‖. While resting, we rest. We do not do anything as the process of trancendence takes us in a deep dive to the centre of our inner being. But here the categories break up. The inner field becomes a singularity, parallelling our modern understanding of the singularity of the Big Bang of Creation. In the inner field, as well as in the outer the laws we have come to identify and integrate in our perspectives break down. As the laws of Time and Space become undefined, while looking far into the outer Universe, we find that similarily the subjective rules of our being dissappear, the inner unboundedness we popularly conceive might just as well be regarded as an inner singularity, the objective mind, with its trappings of subjective Gordic magnitudes, dives into a field of no definition, dragging the body along to whatever stillness is in its ability to uphold (therefore posture, asana, prepares the body for longer proximities to this ur-state of inner being). To assign the properties of infinities to this state is tricky indeed, and as fact would have it there‘s no empirical evidence for this. Though subjectively we may treat this state as of infinite nature. As silence and inner quietness deepen it becomes easier for the generated wakefulness to remain sustained and thus the process accellerates until a state of no activity at all of the mind is obtained, in concert with, in unity with a maximum of awareness at hand: a state of restful alerteness. (This is represented in the lower left hand square of the Kannellakos/Lucas chart on p. 24.) This is the state of samâdhi, Dynamic Bliss. 8.

Samâdhi: Dynamic bliss. In the Yoga-Sûtra Patanjali recognizes two kinds of samâdhi: with or without object, samprajnata samâdhi and nirbîja samâdhi. Samâdhi represents the direct subjective experience of an inner ‘ground state’, so to say, and is endowed with the self-same qualities of existence, intelligence and bliss (sat, chit, ananda), associated with the concept of the Absolute.

The philosophy of this concept of samâdhi, ‗Dynamic Bliss‘, the inner platform of restfull alertness, provided by the methods of Yoga, was widely discussed a moment ago in the section called ‗The Central Concept‘, therefore I will not expand additionally on it here as it is also discussed from many other angles in this text as a whole, and is of fundamental character, in it being closely connected to the concept of Purusha and Prakriti, Unmanifest and Manifest, as mentioned. (See p. 31, ‗The Central Concept‘,

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and also cast another glance at the plate of ‗The Tree of Life‘, p. 8; the section on ‗The Great Tree‘, p. 57, presents this metaphor in some detail.) • When the mind (whatever that is) relaxes from the demands of ideational thinking and inner equilibrium is settling in it sweeps through a process. When the inner absorption deepens there will appear objects, thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations, etc., some of these will agitate the mind some will soothe it, the physical body too may have to deflect surges of kinetic dynamics or be thrown into activity, so one flows, at times even sensually, with the impulses until they fade. The equilibrium, the deep, the good balance of the system will make itself felt as the inwards flow of awareness continues. That state is termed samadhi by them yogis an' folks who have taken an interest (I but call it the deep, yea). In the processuality of establishing the deep samadhi the sage Patanjali (of the yoga-sutra) distinguishes a spectrum: inner equilibrium with conscious activity, samprajñata-samadhi (samadhi with object), whereby an object, as said, is part of that inner blissfulness and the mind may pick up modes of cogitation, reflection, joy and I-am-ness, so to say; that state will then deepen into asamprajñatasamadhi (samadhi without object), where consciousness is devoid of all objective support and merely exists in the form of very subliminal flows (imagine the sense of wetness of the ocean on the air and thus one knows of it's nearness), in this state there would be a sense of the gradual falling away of any activator and the process of absorption would in itself become enhanced, until one of those physical or mental winds mightily appears, a memory may meme the matter at hand and one is literally pushed up on a wave of activity. The physical yogas, hatha-yogas, prepare the body for this by attuning it and stabilizing it, and then thus established the flows of energy may flow on and away and begone from the tranquility and peace of the yogi. Then comes the great immersion. In the final end all activators, of any kind, dissappear and one is dunked into nirbija-samadhi, a state where absolutely nothing happens, and even that doesn't happen, quiet ... please do not disturb. This general overview * is even more atomized in Patanjalis epistemology of the understanding of the yogic process. But simply speaking, one but goes from a level of being active to a level of being where one does nothing, without the loss of awareness or alertness. One will be deeply engrossed yet be able to stand up and walk away in an instant if a tiger breaks a twig or a fire starts to crackle. If ones is fortunate to go

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THE EIGHT ASPECTS OF YOGA – THE DEEP, SAMADHI – undisturbed during the yogic time-out then one is indeed fortunate. (Very simple it is too, one but effortlessly distracts the mind with, like the mental sound of a word of no meaning at all, and with no conceptualization thereto either, a mantra. The mantra distracts the momentum of the thinking process, thoughts do not fullfill their purpose, they fall away ... and a dynamic of inwards absorption is set in motion. All the nice subtle sensations one experiences in this processuality of inwards movement (the yoga) are quite enticing and may offer worlds to contemplate and patternings in the myriad to explore, metaphorically as well as by subtle, intuitive, reasoning (all within the parameters of scientific laws, of course). Sometimes great ideas are generated in the zone of [i]ritambhara[/i], that level of cognition where thoughts come unhindered in dharmic synchronicities, that truth-bearing level, well at times one does feel the creative flow, unhindered, in all expressiveness, from the minutest formula, to the drums of dawn. Yet beneath (metaphorically, of course) all these subtle things is the real deep, The Deep. Wakeful, quiet ... • Nothing is supposed to happen. Take your time.

To be continued ...

* Some of the above I have taken from Georg Feuersteins’, "The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation and Commentary", sutras 1:17-18, 48, 51. 152

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153

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS – THE FOUR BASIC STATES – Dream

Waking

Sleep

Transcendental

Four Basic States

Introducing the fourth state of consciousness, ‗Transcendental Consciousness‘, Turiya. The fourth (Turiya), the wise say, is not inwardly cognitive, nor outwardly cognitive, nor cognitive both-wise; neither is it an indefinite mass of cognition, nor collective cognition, nor non-cognition. It is unseen, unrelated, inconceivable, uninferable, unimaginable, indescribable. It is the essence of the one self-cognition common to all states of consciousness. All phenomena cease in it. It is peace, it is bliss, it is non-duality. This is the self, and it is to be realized.

Dream

Waking

Sleep

Transcendental

Four Basic States

Mândûkyopanishad, verse 7, Swâmi Sarvânanda, 1972, 9 th ed.

Low

High

Dreaming State

Waking State

High

Deep Sleep

Transcendental Consciousness

Low

Physiological Activity

Cosmic Consciousness

Below: the Kanellakos/Lucas device; an illustrative graphic coordinated around the extremes of the two parameters of „Physiological Activity‟ and „Conscious Awareness‘ in the relationships of the four basic states of consciousness. Picking up on ideas introduced by Kannellakos* et. al., in the organizing of a theory regarding the domain of the transcendent. This diagram is theoretically utilized by physicist Lawrence H. Domash in ―Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation Program: Collected Papers, 1977, Vol. 1, p. 656; ‘The Transcendental Meditation Technique and Quantum Physics: Is Pure Consciousness a Macroscopic Quantum State?‟‖ Presented here is the Domash variant of the diagram. (I switched direction on the horizontal axis.)

Cosmic Consciousness

Conscious Awareness

Awareness versus activity in the four major states of consciousness.

All encompassing (God - or whatever) consciousness

For an extension of these ideas see p. 63, ‟Three More States‟. 154

All encompassing (God - or whatever) consciousness

* Dimitris P. Kannellakos & P. Ferguson,‟The Psychobiology of Transcendental Meditation (an annotated bibliography, 1973.

THREE MORE STATES – EMERGENCE OF HIGHER STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS – On the basis of only two parameters (one containing the extremes of empirical conscious awareness and the second the full range of physiolocigal activity), it is, in this, quite possible to perceive clearly the elegant relationships of conscious states, giving us to understand the whole of consciousness as a dynamic based upon its ground state ‘Transcendental Consciousness‘, Turiya, which is defined as a state of restful alerteness of no activity at all yet making its influence felt in all the other states, thus bringing clarity of intelligent thought and the virtues.







FOR THE SHEER FUN OF IT, for the imgination, let‘s interpolate from the Kannelakos/Dimitris array (presented on p. 62) and see how the four basic states give insight and rise to an understanding of a process of evolution of consciousness from its ‗Ground State‘, ‗Turiya‟, ‟Transcendental Consciousness‟. As ‗Transcendental Consciousness‘ becomes a living reality, due to it being experienced daily (through the methodology of of the Science of Yoga, by transcendence), and thus becoming imprinted on the physical structure and the psyche, it infuses its inherent qualities, of the abstract field, the unmanifest, on all the life we live, becoming a background reference for the well being of the dynamics of our Self (the interactive dynamics of a ‘Center of Narrational Gravity‘ [see p. 51] with other entwined nodes of partially the same historicity, that is, the self recognizes a common ground in its active sphere, culture). This wholeness of abstract infusion is represented by reference to the graphic triangle expanding out of the central square of the four distinct fields, to consequently, in the light of regular practice of Yoga,

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THREE MORE STATES – EMERGENCE OF HIGHER STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS – embrace all of life, in a physical sense as well as in the sense of the abstract, this completion of the expansion of Transcendence into the other three and the whole expanding into a fullness, represented by the circle, thus giving us a sixth platform. The first four states having been named a fitting name for the fifth, wherein the field of abstraction remains in consciousness even as the other three basic states engage the mind, might be ‘Cosmic Consciousness‘ (though not in any metaphysical sense, but rather in the sense of all-inclusivity). The sixth state would continue the interpolation and expand this influence, the right living that ensues, and the fruits accrued, into a concept of an all-encompassing state wherein the refined system (due, again, to regular and continued practice of Yoga) obtains the capacity to respond to any changeable occurrence in context and thus provide the necessary action wherever and whenever it is needed. The completeness of this sixth state (as if it was a God-consciousness) reaches an ultimate end in a unity of understanding in all expression and action, thus completing this speculation on lifes‘ journey in a fullness of living. A seventh and ultimate state of Unity.

Four Basic States (the base)

Cosmic Consciousness (all inclusive)

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All encompassing Consciousness (or whatever-consciousness)

THREE MORE STATES – EMERGENCE OF HIGHER STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS –

United

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TO THE POINT – BALANCE WITHIN THE CHAOS –

House on Stilts

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ALGORHYTHMY – THE WALK OF LIFE–

To me Yoga represents a qualitative interaction between rest and activity.

Yoga defines a paradigm: rest & activity.

(One could say, in short, that a paradigm defines the consensual view on states and things.)

Yoga, as method, establishes a rhythm in our relationship to rest and activity.

This rhythm suffuses all nature’s rhythms.

When Yoga is applied as method I call this algorhythmy.

Here ’algorhythm’ is viewed as analogous to algorithm, implying a process that is repeated.

Continuity to a process of interaction of rest and activity, algorhythmy, creates a dynamic in all.

I gather resources when I rest and when I act a relevance to what I do is revealed.

10.

In terms of rest and activity algorhythmy is a dynamic process.

11.

It is a process that links the extremes of life, that is, rest and activity.

12.

(In this the process of algorhythmy is recursive, it returns unto its root.)

13.

When rest and activity meld together a balance between them is created.

14.

Yoga effectively enhances the interaction between rest and activity.

15.

In rest is the ground of all activity, in activity resides a potential for rest.

16.

The performer of an algorhythmy lands on the feet and bounds across mountains.

he word ‗algorhythmy‘ is supposed to reflect the idea of a skillfully applied tool for to establish an elegantly honed rhythmic continuity to the processes of interaction between rest and activity, the two cornerstones to life, to cause a qualitative enhancement of those natural dynamics, to bring forth their essence, to unite them. I wish to create a rational conceptual ground stable enough to explain the subtle process of recursivity embedded in the method of yoga, a process for to put 'gain' into natures great pendulum swings between the two extremes rest and activity.

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CORIOLIS – INWARDS & OUTWARDS STANCES –

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ALGORHYTHMY – THE WALK OF LIFE –

On the Dynamics of Algorhythmic flow in yoga.

s one practices the ‗algorhythmy‘ of the yoga of meditation a mantra is used for to slightly‘ distract‘ the natural flow of thinking. what happens is that as the mantra is used effortlessly (which means it is not concentrated upon but only, like, added to the thought flow) it distracts whatever thinking‘s we do from their goals. Thinking falls away as the yoga (yoga, because meditation is one of the eight aspects of yoga) is practiced, and so does the meditation technique; that leaves the mind in a non-active, restful state yet awake. The slight impulse that is generated as the mantra is used is the stimulus that, in the final end, is what keeps cognition alert even though no activity is taking place. So, it is a wakeful alertness one experiences in deep meditation during the process of yoga. This is refreshing to both mind and body—and, of course, anxieties fall away. Body and mind become coordinated which gives rise to a more natural flow of action. Yoga is not navel-gazing it rather brings about a restful state and prepares the practitioner for activity. The essence of Yoga is effortlessness. It is a recursive process though, if analyzed intellectually (a recursive algorhythmy it is). Yet no analysis is necessary for the practice, but after a while of practice curiosity does set in, "What is this good thing that is happening to me?‖, ―Why does it work?", ―What am I doing?‖. Yoga practitioners do ask about these things. So, explanations are being provided, and all the teacher would ask is that these structural and dynamic tools for a furthering of an 'understanding' of the mechanism and relevance of the method of yoga, yes, all the teacher would ask is that these ‗regular tools‘ be put aside during practice, during the process as such of establish-

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ALGORHYTHMY – FLOWING DYNAMIC – ing a state of restful alertness in the individual. The Maharishi often said that understanding and experience go hand in hand. Maharishis commentary to the Indian classic ―The Bhagavad-Gita‖ is well worth the read. In the practice of the seventh aspect of yoga, meditation (in my parlance the eight aspects of yoga are: ethics, morals, posture, breath, withdrawal, focusing, meditation and 'the ineffable [whatever, bliss]'), in this practice we utilize what The Maharishi dubbed 'the natural tendency of the mind'. This 'tendency' is the natural flow of the mind to seek out that which is a pleasure, a delight, a wonder (O, that Sense of Wonder), the tranquil, the serene, the rejuvenating, and in terms of the 'inner', bliss. If, when one is in the flow of meditation, thoughts are allowed to not interfere, to not be brought to their conclusions, their rhythms ebbed (they come and go), their breath as if suspended into a single note, not focused upon, not egged on, not brought to action, slightly distracted, well then the mind takes the deep dive, the ego holds back, the impulse to express all and everything settles, becomes still: "Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence." This translation is, as said, by Alistair Shearer, 1979 (Shearer, by the way, is a long time teacher of Transcendental Meditation, TM, and, as per Shearer, this translation was approved of by Maharishi Mahesh). The stillness brought about is rest. It is a wakeful rest, mind is full of rest, is at rest. Anxieties fall away, like water off a goose. In all this, during practice of the meditation of yoga, the ‗mantra‟, a word, a sound of no meaning, is utilized as but another thought amongst thoughts, is effortlessly brought into the flow of thinking (the goal oriented mode of thinking is distracted), thinking‘s that go on and on until all settles down, an‘, lo an‘ behold, the mantra disappears as well, the process of yoga vanishes, as sound does in thin air; as the ‗air‘ of activity thins out everything goes. Now in this still state the practitioner remains wakeful. The impulse of effortlessly adding another thought, of no meaning (or the mind would be spurred to act on it, the analytic engine‘d rev‘ up), to add an impulse, only the impulse, to the natural, unhindered flow of thinking, as if letting go of a feather rather than picking it up is what is done in the process of yogic meditation, and the mind settles down. It‘s all about allowing oneself the time to ‗recharge‘.

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“I Need To Recharge”, Sinfest, by Tatsuya Ishida, 10 April 2010 (used with permission).

Yes at times one might do well to catch a later bus. Sometimes I say that if some specific thought would arise while one is traversing The Deep, in meditation, I say that if that thought would happen to remain and be cognized when the time-out of yoga is done then the time to act has arrived, bring the thought to fruition. So it is a simple process really, not much to ado about in terms of mechanism. But it works. If the other aspects of yoga, set and setting, attitude, the state of body and breath, are tuned up a little with movements and position and breathing techniques (all so prevalent in yoga culture) then the physical body is kept fit and healthy and in terms of deep meditation (the Transcendental Meditation of The Maharishi was so called a long time ago) it gains the capacity to remain awake in the ‗deep‘ state of restful awareness (though at times one does fall asleep too, it just natural, how tired may one not be at times after a days work?) In meditation one sits comfortably, with a somewhat straight back, don‘t push it, so as not to block the flow of the breathing, and the head rests in a good place up there on the shoulders (one may use the image of a relaxed seal balancing a ball on top of his nose). I allow my eyes to close, that‘s restful in itself, and after a while I gently add the mantra, no hurry about it, no manic concentration, there‘s but a slight focusing taking place, this generates an impulse of wakefulness. It ‗is‘ easy to fall asleep as one rests, well, so if there‘s a tiredness in the system which makes oneself felt one might, to start with, lean ones head a little (might be a good idea to sit so as to be able to lean ones head against something), if the tiredness takes over, well, stop the yoga, lie down, sleep awhile. The whole point is to get a good rest.

* On The Bahagavad-Gita: A New Translation and Commentary, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1967. 163

ALGORHYTHMY – TOWARDS HIGH GROUND – "Established in yoga perform action." This phrase from The Bahagavad-Gita (2:48), somewhat shortened and cast in iconic form, is the corollary to the one I‘ve just been discussing, ―Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence‖. What is implied is that, first things first, that the yoga practitioner first establish the ‗deep‘ rest provided by yoga, this ‗deep‘ rest suffuses the whole psycho-physiological system, then the ‗yogi‘ performs whatever necessary action required, and does it well from that relaxed and normalized ground. The purpose of yoga thus becomes ‗skill in action‘. The ‗deep‘ rest generates a platform for precise and dynamic action. An act progresses in two steps, rest and activity. As The Maharishi would have it, ―When we walk one foot rests and the other moves forwards, acts‖ and, tongue in cheek, ―Activity rests in rest‖. These two parameters, rest & activity, are just absolutely basic to any process, though they are often overlooked in the technical sense, yet in yoga these two ‗ultimates‘ and the dynamics of their interaction are precisely what are taken into account. If there ...

To be continued.

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On Top of the Wave

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In this essay I take the liberty of reusing t diagrams from earlier chapters, they originated with this text. In discussing yoga the restating of detail keeps the mind focused on the basics of yoga, rather than going off on tangents on speculative, dubious metaphysics and differing world-views.

THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – YOGA IS THE SCIENCE OF EXPERIENCE

n the philosophy of yoga all of life, in terms of the human being, is looked upon, nominally, from the existential & phenomenological middle ground of the cooperative symbiosis of cognitive experience as such (as it arises and acts to work in tandem) with its physiological correlate and counterpart the body itself. These two together pertain to construe our consciousness a grand subjective vista, noded by objectivities, wherein all the dynamics of life and living necessarily must chime in unison; the systemic harmony achieved when the opposites integrate will effectively add to, will bring quality to, will revitalize the many ways whereby the wholeness of our gravitating dynamic system, of inner reverberating narrative reflectivity and of powerful cresting biological drive, in itself, will be able to recognize the utter breadth, the grand vista, of these two bases to our existentiality. Cognized thusways and well united in that perception these apexes ultimately, as said, ascribe a wide panorama to life, whereof sublime awareness and the resulting hand in hand further refinement of bodyphysiology are attained by continued application of the experientially stanced nature of yogic recursive method; by the upholding of a systematic continuity of such processee the extremes of life thus merge in the apprehending. In all this we find the depth of sublime paradigm: of rest and activity. ONE FUNDAMENTAL OBSERVATION Life is the upholding of a dynamic balance of rests and activities, of moments of inner quiet and of periods of sweeping outward expressiveness. In life‘s actions we refine our works and our ambitions and carry on and do our thing but this all is only upheld by the constant infusion of deep rest. We sleep to rest, we dream, we daydream, we linger, loiter an‘ laze about, and but for sleep this is all still action, though unfocused. In the state of sleep we also relinquish our awareness, and along go our cognitory abilities, and thus we miss out on the possibly deepest obtainable rest available to us deeper than deep sleep, yet infused with the wakefulness of an ethereal and bright inner recognition of simultaneous mental and biological quietude, a relaxation of all active intent unto the

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – nature of a subjectively almost absolute stillness. This recognition realized reveals the true nature of trust: in that tranquil quiet we have no other recourse but to trust life, to trust the beat of the heart, it won‘t stop (unless there be a system fault), trust our breath to return though it seemingly be gone and our consciousness but a bright candle in a room where no wind blows, where no breeze flutters, when no gusts, or guests call, as no concept divides and no god intrudes (we be left in peace), where all is singularly calm and utter silence reigns. To thus remain is ‗trust‘. The true relevance to life that the systemic experience of wakeful deep rest unfolds is to be seen in the far ranging rejuvenating effects it brings as regards the individual and as an evolving capacity for dynamic accomplishment (these issues have, by now, gathered quite some scientific research). The practical side of the philosophy of yoga has found, has explored, has tested, has put to trial and has developed both method and understanding as goes for the attainable development, management and fulfilment of the dual requirements of life‘s demands on our existance, we must care for the necessities of both mind and body, life requires development of both the inner and the outer; thus time is what is needed, time to rest, and time to act. In the final end deep rest and skill in action combine, and eventually bring abundant time. The offer of yoga implies access to a deep inner wakeful experience of rest supreme and a resulting enhancement of our active ways. In a skilful delineation, in the classic Yoga-Sutra (100BC200AD), its originator Maharishi Patanjali undertakes the systematizing and explanation of many considerations as regards the method and philosophy of yoga and a general definition is proffered: Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence. And that‘s it. Nothing but. When the mind settles and thought and thinking are suspended, and finally not even upheld, though awareness is, the resulting mental quiet as if spreads throughout the whole biological system that in the process of yoga has been set up to maximize the natural propensity of systemic response for the nervous system as a whole to stay balanced as it naturally gravitates towards rest and relaxation. As the yogic paradigm is accessed in slightly different ways by the individual, according to the specific needs of each and every one of us, this differentiation thus gives rise to a spectrum of slightly different approaches to yoga that yogic philosophy meets up with

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – by slight variations to practice; different schools of yoga arise. If time‘s short a shorter programme is recommended, if there‘s time enough, do a longer one, adjustments are made on an individual basis. But the centre point of all yogic method hinges on the deepest aspect of its paradigm, actuation of our inherent ability to access the deepest attainable possible rest. Yogic rest is not about getting into subjectively phantastic states, nor is it about the creating of moods. Nothing is supposed to happen when we are quiet. That‘s what rest is all about. Established in Yoga, Perform Action. This expression of the yogic paradigm states the corollary to the basic definition. Clearly it is so that yoga ultimately is for action, and not but for the otherworldly. REST AND ACTIVITY Let‘s have a glance at the cycle of rest and activity. This pulse of life acts as a bridge to unite extremes which range from the elusiveness of the quiet inner terrain to the creativities and, at times though, mayhems, of our engaged ambitions. To be effective in ultimate action we have to take recourse to ultimate rest, half-measures will always be half-measures. Sure, sleep and relaxation rejuvenate but do they give us ultimate trust in the existentiality of our lives, do we cast off existential angst by half-measures? Continuity in the process of yoga implies a structuring of life to swing dynamically between the poles of the opposite characteristics of rest and activity. In deep wakeful rest we find trust, joy and a sense of wonder, in the creative management of worldly concerns we may find trust, joy and a sense of wonder too, then its called fulfilment. If our foundation of rest is strong and has a broad base our aspirations might actually bring us closure, and bring a deeper relevance and meaning to pertinent life. In our glance here at the entangled development of the interaction of the outmost poles of mind/body reach, from the quiet thought to dynamic fulfilment, it is possible to intuit a few parallel semantic flows that mirror the dynamics of the actual coming to be and expression of an act, from its subtle primal preparations unto its completion. This little cyclic schema attempts to but throw a wee glance at the semantic interrelations of the inwards and outwards flows and attempts to draw parallels that semantically suggests the main nodes of the minds inwards directed movement, resources,

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – process, turnaround, that resonate in full harmony with the likewise „strong‟ nodes of its quite habitual outwards directedness, withdrawal, focusing, meditative process (in this an algorythmic recursive machinery can be sensed and the properties of its mehanism may be worked into a functional metaphor to further the understanding of the recursive yogic process). In this flow that we see is displayed a naturalness in the way both these processee, the inwards and outwards momentums, proceed and we may in this also see the rationality in placing a high value on the necessity of the cycle of rest and activity to be taken at face value, incorporated naturally into the natural flow of outerdirectedness; to establish a continuity to it, to make of it a recurring balance that in itself will compensate for all them fatigue generating effects of an active life thus we can grasp the very real necessity for the upholding of a continuity to the full cycle of the inwards/outwards movement of awareness which by this effectivisation maximizes the qualitative advantages of balance and clarity that the mind/body system may gain in life. In this way together rest and activity dance, if I may, a grand algorythmy. From rest springs thought, ever fresh, ever light, inspiring; full ‗a zest, dance and song, intricately spun, in patterned gyrations its supple momentums cause a memetic flow to ensue. Then of course this expression of natural propensity hits the hard rocks of existentiality. Action becomes quite necessary. We must act to survive, this is imperative, and if it was not but for the process of recursive alorythmy stillness would be hard to sustain and activity with no stillness in its centre dynamic will tumble about mad as a hatter and will bring no fulfilment to the entity caught up in its whirlwind. If the whirly centres of narrative gravity find no undisturbed spot where to rest from the ever-insistent flows of connotation how would they ever become supportive of a balanced life? Activity needs rest as rest needs activity, without which there would be no strengthening of the system and all awareness would erode. THE ASPECTS OF YOGA ARE UNIVERSALS From the perceptive viewpoint of the self-reflecting cognitory framework, the minds I, the panorama of experience ranges over a span of eight nodes which connect the ultimate depths of our murky behavioural and memetic reality-whirlpools of ethics (1) and morals (2), by way of a trawl along the great span through direct approaches on body (3) and breathing (4), further continued in the courses of natural psychological flow via the subtle alignment of general withdrawal (5), effortless focusing (6) and

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – graceful recursive inner mental process (7), and finally, in this traverse, the phenomenological flow generates a gentle stance towards that which actually brings pleasure and joy, a connection of our cognitory roots unto a platform of a subtly blissful (8) inner state of basal unity of physiology and psyche is made, a recursivity completed. A span well worth the existential journey to make an extended, deep and ultimately satisfying acquaintance with. These here, in my own parlance, are the eight aspects of yoga as derived from the application of empirically developed, practical, experiential, consistent methods of yoga. I would say that these eight characterizations here and the attributions they generate, their subcategories (see the schemata in ―The Tree of Life‖ section below, p. 46), are as universals to a ‗life‘ entity, of sorts, to a life form, to something living, a human being, or a single cell, say? Time spent on the study and careful application of sensible recommendations from the rich fields of each and every one of these generalizations of the human condition, as regards the individual, results in a refinement of attitude, understanding and behaviour as to inherent needs and worldly concerns that need be resolved and not overlooked. Yes: “See the Need, Do the Deed.” The practical methods appended to the specific categories in the philosophy of yoga serve to regulate the swoop and dive, the pulse and the rhythm, the inwards and outwards movements, the elegant dance, the natural algorythmies of life that our consciousness seemingly surfs upon, flows along, gyrates about, spins, wings, rings, gravitates its narrative centres upon as its wanders and wonders; turn it around now, yoga brings the utmost existential silence unto the utmost complex demands of ‗real‘ life, so to say; this yogic ‗quiet‘ becomes as if infused into all our undertakings, into all the acts we but must perform, that are necessitated by those common prerequisites we ultimately must attend to for to serve our basal survival needs - and thus, with the practice of yogic method, a stable basal balance of mind and body is formatted and over time the resulting life-supportive systemic enhancements embrace all aspects of vibrant life. The categories of yoga provide a structural focus for our attentions as we care for the many different aspects of that which makes for quality and perceptiveness in life, they provide an enhanced connection to the natural platform of deep wakeful rest as they, as said, care for that fundamental, the deepest wakeful rest, which develops our ability to spring into action when demands and encroachments arise and impinge upon

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – the different life events we encounter. The categories spring from as if an utmost inner event-horizon, from the vertigo depths of the subjective inner (from its subtle neurophysiological correlate), and then do traverse the full vista of life‘s subjective/objective character up unto the far-reaching complexities of the outer event-horizon (as we find when we study life‘s big-bang-origin; for to formulate complex concepts, as in mathematics, these have first to be intuited, e.g. the proposal of the existence of the photon). The categories range from one end to the other of the existential spree. The eight aspects of yoga are aspects that stimulate the growth of well-being of every sort, if attended to, they are ‗wholity‘ generators, thus universals, they uphold the natural dynamics that shape our life. From a middle ground phenomenological angle the spree may seem infinite, and may well be, but for the cognitory reach the opposites be but an instant away. THREE METAPHORS And now for a few metaphors to unite our conception of them quality nodes, so to say (see illustration next page). But firstly, to put the idea of metaphor itself in context one could say, in a paraphrasing of Steven Pinker, that metaphors are heavy generalizations, they include the parti-culars of a phenomenal structure in some overarching category or rule, and like other generalizations they can be tested on their predictions and scrutinized on their merits, including their fidelity to the structure of the world, and one could further say that metaphors are powerful to the extent that they are like analogies, which take advantage of the relational structure of a complex analogy. A perceptive meataphor provides us an analogy deep enough to see through the veneer of sensory experience to a shared conceptual skeleton of events, states, goals, causes and extents. For more on metaphor see this note. So, now, on to metaphor in yoga. Traditionally the aspects of yoga are presented in a linear fashion, in straight list form. This allows, as a place to start, for a nice, simple metaphor of a stair, or a ladder (which refines that metaphor), (see illustration on p. 179). A stair we climb from the bottom up, thus the end result of yoga, the attainment of inner bliss and happiness, may seem a long way off. One would start from deep intense study of the laws and rules of

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2 Tools for Thinking.

life, one would train the body and breath for ages, then one would have to do quite terribly complicated mental exercise stuffs and, doh, enlightenment! Exhausting. Now. If the metaphor is of a ladder this image may be turned around and one is able to make a start from the more alluring end of theory and practice start from the enchanting bliss, so to say, and as that inner content spreads and infuses everything of concern to the living entity an easier path to completion is perceived but this, of course, implies getting hold of an easy method to access the starting point. One could also use the metaphor of a table (I like to use the image of a grand piano, p. 41) with which to purview the aspects of yoga. In this construal there is a strong connectivity to the aspects, if they are as legs to a table (or a piano), pull one leg and all the others come along. Thus one can approach yoga from any angle pertaining to the aspects. One could study the philosophy, or start with the body say, do some limbering up stuff, or take a deep breath, and a gentle breath etc., or start with the mind, say, in this view all life‘s avenues are influenced but where be the deep fundament? There we are, lost in space, the metaphor spins and finds no anchor. Thirdly one could use the metaphor of a tree (p. 41, and see also the full illustration overleaf, p. 47). So, now, this here is an idea I‘ve lately spent some time on deve-loping into a semblance of coherence. Let‘s put as if a magnifying glass on the relationship of two particular aspects of the eightfold structure of yoga, let‘s close in on the relationship meditation/bliss, as these two are traditionally conceptualized to be in close proximity (and somewhat logically too, the recursive process of meditation hovers near the most subjective node of the aspects, the dynamic bliss, they almost fuse). But in that

* In this essay I take the liberty of reusing diagrams from earlier sections, they originated with this text.

THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – relation is a seed-pattern, a recursive redraw of the whole outer metaphoric tree in itself (might be we have a reflection of the natural forces that uphold the unity of a resonating cell membrane, see appendix, p. 85). In this we have a structural framework to underscore the relevance of silence as it relates to all other engagements in life. In essence the yogic paradigm brings an essential suspending of the energetic bio-dynamic yet with no loss of awareness. From the bottom of the first metaphor of a stair meditation and bliss are both far off; the ladder, though, allows us to get closer to that essentiality by flippin‘ it around, but we‘re still riding in as from nowhere, so to speak; the piano metaphor (or the table dito) allows for many entry points yet the wholity here is somehow off by itself, floating free; in the tree metaphor on the other hand there‘s a deep anchor to life‘s existential ground, our common ground, and even the process of recursivity can be viewed in its image, the algorythmy itself is revealed. THE TREE OF LIFE Allow me to now introduce a graphic rendering (see preciding page) of the third of these metaphors, the tree, in somewhat more detail, so as to engender a ‗visual‘ of the interactions of the categories of yoga as viewed per metaphor in this schemata of ―The Tree of Life‖. Hopefully this will bring the essence of the yogic paradigm into a clear view and perchance it will also help render the relational dynamic of the aspects of yoga quite tangible. The connectivities, the interdependencies and the fusion of these eight aspects of yoga when viewed in terms of the yogic process as a whole may be visualized by the use of an heuristic metaphor, a learning device, here I use an image of a tree, sevenbranched, eight-aspected (seven branches and a root): “The Tree of Life”. The device of a tree allows for a unique perspective on the dynamics of consciousness as purportedly perceived and transmitted by the empirical science of yoga. How does this work? One does one thing in yoga, something happens, one does it again, same thing happens, etc. The methods of yoga are subjectively empirical over a range of subjects and in that we may define certain momentums and inclinations, attributes, I‘d say, of the behaviour of the conscious dynamics of what constitutes our sense of self that elusive ‗I‘ and we may define even the absence of that ‗I‘, as

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – Compare the nomenclature in this my first attempt to distinguish the eight aspects of yoga in terms of a tree. The new nouns are in boxes, highlighted in light blue. Absorption

Behaviour Attitude

The Deep (equilibrium)

The eight aspects of yoga viewed metaphorically as their metaphoric ladder is transformed into the metaphor of a tree.

paradoxically we find that as long as our body retains its functionality and biological drive even the absence of that ‗I‘ may be cognized by basal biological awareness as such. (This gives rise to the conjecture of a single neuronal cell, a cell ‗a the brain, so to say, as being the upholder of such a basal awareness; and I would attribute a sense of existential satisfaction to the ‗ground‘ state of the single cell a basal state of ‗bliss‘ upheld by the dynamics of ‗life‘ itself, as scientific theory within the field of neurologic functionality allows for consciousness to reside therein, as a phononic wave. See appendix, p. 85, for: ―The Phonon and the Phoneme‖ an hariolatoryon The Single Neuron Theory of Consciousness.)

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – The graphic, below, portrays a rendering of the process whereby, by the discerning and magnifying power of yoga, one metaphor is turned into another, we see the long ladder turned into a tree, a ‗Tree of Life‘. Now in this graph of the aspects of yoga the structural pattern of the ‗Tree of Life‘ metaphor is seen as it arises out of the basic relation of the process of meditation and the state of a quiescent inner dynamic awarness.

In my image of a tree, ―The Tree of Life‖, as a metaphor for all of life as seen through the lens of yoga, I place the subjective reflection of the basal state, the blissful, at the root of this metaphoric tree, lifes subjective base thus being inner ‗bliss‘, so to say (empirically validated as per the discussion above, in an heterophenomenologicalsense, the third person view – and as the practice of yoga is established that inner experience grows ) (for a seminal artefactual resonance on this idea see the illustration in the next section, ‗The Seals‘, p. 61).

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – As we traverse the pattern of this metaphoric ‗Tree‘ and as we start out from its blissful (1) root we find firstly ethics (2) and morals (3) grounded therein (as they, in the field of yoga, pertain to the individual and not to the ideologues of outward action), following the lead of Shearer, 1982, these two, ethics and morals, may consistently be viewed, in an inwards sense and distinctly applied to yogic process, as The Laws of Life and The Rules for Living and they are as two great lower branches upon which, as two more bran-ches, the edifice of body (4) and breathing (5) are held (these four be the outer limbs of yoga), and upon which four the four inner limbs of yoga, withdrawal (6), focusing, (7) and the meditative process (8) reside, as two more branches and a crown of pure algorythmy to this metaphoric tree to top it off, and then thus via algorythmic recursivity the applied processuality connects back, back-propagates, via the central trunk of this ‗tree‘ to the dynamic bliss (1) (do take note of how the superficial numbering of the aspects changes. in this benign intuition pump visual of a ‗Tree of Life‘ versus the ‗stair‘ metaphor, as one starts out from the ‗root‘ [new #1], which ordinarily would be depicted as the ‗crown‘ [old #8], which it, in a sense, also is). Now, everything above the root of this metaphoric tree lies partly in an objective realm and partly in the structured subjectivities of the resulting experientials, as perceived from within the yogic process. This kind of object/subject cognitive figure/ ground shift blurs the fundamental inner/outer distinction we mundanely cognize as we refer to ‗self‘ (which implies an ‗other‘) and in this allows for a biological basis to enter the dynamic. The blissful state thus, finally, as both root and concluding next/last note in this yoga octave ties the meditative and blissful states into an even tighter fold. This (dynamic) „Bliss‟ holds a category to itself, as said, being the subjective root of the whole metaphor, yet it could in itself be biologically based, as intuited (by the projection of this metaphoric structure onto the purely physical characteristics of a single cell). This collection of attributes, the aspects, of the experiential subjective provides an overarching wholity to the basic paradigm of rest/activity, as it be propounded by the philosophy of yoga; all aspects of life are tended to. So. Here we have eight aspects to yoga. These aspects in turn express subcategories of their own that refine and further define the broad scope of the universal paradigm yet they all, categories and subcategories pertain to the process of yoga as such and should not be imposed upon any ideology of an ‗outwards‘ characteristic (say, of any political, supernatural or fabular norm system).

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – The metaphor of a tree frees our understanding of yoga from some restrictions of the traditional metaphor of a stair/ladder and also of those imbued in the idea of a table with many legs. (I.) A stair represents sequence and may only be approached from the bottom up, a long extortive climb ensues. A ladder though can be turned around and thus allows for a traversing of said sequence in the opposite direction (start with the ‗bliss‘ an‘ but flow along); thus the more natural approach of the firsthand establishment of inner quiet comes within easy reach (this refinement to yoga was introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1958). (II.) The metaphor of a table brings immediate contact with any one of all the aspects of yoga, grab a leg and pull and the whole table (piano) will follow. In other words, in the sense of this metaphor, one may approach the yogic methods by referencing any singular one of the eight aspects (herein lies the deep seed of the systemic global tree metaphor). To exemplify. We may discuss morals and ethics, or we may start with the body, say, as has become quite popular, or use breathing techniques, and we do know that focusing collects the mind, etc. Any aspect applied will draw one into the whole field of yoga. But, of course, this whole table/piano contraption floats about. Wherein is that basic bliss grounded in this view? Nowhere? Everywhere? Yes. It floats about. Now. I have introduced (III.) a „Tree‟ metaphor (this kind of metaphor is ordinarily successfully used in the construing of genealogies or hierarchies) and it would seemingly be out of place for to unite the eight aspects(if one insists on holding onto the implications of the metaphor of a stair/ladder the following of a sequence it would not be possible to see the object/subject dichotomy as clearly as the tree metaphor allows for, to see the great highway of a nerve, so to say, of direct connectivity of the outmost perimeters of the metaphors). But. If a transversal is drawn and the blissful basal state, as such, is separated from the also likewise abstruse and subtle process of the dynamic of recursivity implied in the concept of a ‗process‘ of meditation as such (a method to reduce cognitive content, within the yogic setting, that simultaneously will uphold awareness in a wakeful state) we find that the process of meditation may indeed be described in objective terms and thus it falls on the objective side of the transversal within the subjective field as a whole, thereby the phenomenological subjectivity we attribute to experience, the story within, the illusion of ‗self‘, the cognitory traversing of a pattern, is revealed as a constituting of dynamic narrative gravities which, in a replicative sense, harbour multiple drafts of similar ‗selves‘ (in a way, all these must be

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – of objective nature, as the dynamics of mental rumination can be defined and this thus bring objective quanta into the turbulent, or dynamically quiescent, trawling fields of qualia). THE SEALS In this manner, as portrayed in the preceding section, all the upper seven aspects of the philosophy of yoga may be looked upon as the branches of a great tree that spreads out into the fabulous multiplicities of the objective world as if they were the great branches of a tree reaching from the heavens to the ground, as we find in ancient Vedic literature (Rig Veda, 1:24:7): “Varuna, King of hallowed might, sustaineth erect The Tree’s stem in the baseless region. Its rays, whose root is high above, stream downward.

Deep may they sink within us, and be hidden.‖ The root would, in that view, be stemmed in a mythic heaven (or haven, so to say, as the non-theist perchance would have it), yet it could also be seen as emanating in structural form from the existentiality of man a tree with its roots in the inner man visually rendered as a tree rooted in the head of a yogi. This image brings an echo of ancient Celtic mythologies of Cerununnos to mind. Viewed thisways then what has been accomplished is the metaphoric rooting of this magnificent ‗Tree of Life‘ in a purely naturalistic ground. The ‗Tree‘, of the inner bliss, has been uprighted. A bright perspective unfolds and spreads its leafy branches indeed. The first glimpse of yoga to be seen in the history of mankind glimmers subtly suggestive among archeological artefacts from the land of the Indus valley, from 2500 years before the Yoga-Stra; a fascinating vista to reach us, well & hale, a remnant of a culture called Harappa, localised to numerous sites around the area of Mohenjo-daro (a district of what is now Pakistan). Here many seals of hard clay have been found, eg. the Steatite-seal (of steatite-clay) upon which the figure of a „Shaman‟, seated in traditional yogic posture, is seen. Have a look now at some antique artefactery dug out from ground along ancient river-flows, from where once The Saraswati , Mother of the Vedas, used to flow.

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – Seals, such as these, of the Vedic Harappa culture, can be dated from between ca. 2500-1500 BC; figurines and animals have been carved in intaglio against the background. The left one here (the Steatite-seal) carries a representation of a male figure, with strange head-gear, in what might be a traditional yoga-posture. The association with the surrounding animals and the posture suggest that this motif might depict a respected person (shaman/yogi?). Do take note of the fancy branching head-gear of both of our ‗yogis‘ above (p. 61). In the Mohenjo-daro-seal we clearly see a structure of seven branches and a root, all made from Buffalo horns and of the branches and leaves of the pipal tree, an eight-aspected structure, as if rounding in all the universals in one pattern. Here, in hariolatory fashion (see graphic on former page, p. 62), I see a prototype of the metaphoric reach of a ―Tree of Life‖, and we find it rooted in the head of the yogic figure. To me this alludes to consciousness, as such, existant, senescent, real, and grounded in the biological functionality of the single cell and centered in the narrative dynamic of our psycho physiological awarity. THE ALGORYTHMY Now for the processual part of the yogic process. Yes, I would like to trace the methods of approach to the practical management and balancing of systemic propensities. What stance to take? First and foremost I would like to highlight the li‘l mental trick that brings closure to the whole yogic process. But why start with the somewat abstruse process of the recursive algorythmy of the mental mode of the yogic process? The body and breathing are quite obvious entry points for a discussion of yoga to make its point in lieu of their concreteness, as are the parameters of ethics and morals (the paradigms whereof are the only guidelines to a good life that we can sensibly embrace); the interactions that ensue from all manners of worldly encounters in terms of ideals and ideationals have thoroughly and properly been addressed by both science and theology over the centuries and a certain grasp of the consequences of extreme divergence from norms and the rewards attainable from a closer social cohesion to the same normatives have been suggested in different formats by the many cocnizers in these fields. In yoga the normatives point distinctly to the process of recursivity in the algorythmy of process, method, and should not be applied to any ideological venture, as I‘ve, again and again, emphasized herein. See my statement

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – attached to the graphic of ―The Tree of Life‖ (p. 7). For to pin-point the yogic stance on ethics and morals and to distinguish the two senses to these ideationals, the differences of viewpoint between the yogic stance and the ideological one, I discuss these ideas in further depth in the appendix, ―The Yogic Stance on Ethics and Morals‖ (p. 97). As we study the laws of life and the rules for living, as we take care of body and breathing, and as we allow for the quietening of withdrawal and the attentivity of effortless focusing we are finally (or to start with) brought up to the recursive process of cognitory algorythmy, the syste-matic process of ultimately distracting our thinkings from their inherent motives and from their fundamental drive. Thus, in due course, the cognitory aspect of our awarity comes to a standstill and a freedom from the flows of all activity comes about. Subjectively a feeling of an almost as if torrential transcendent, tranquil, tractable, triumphant peace comes aboutbut, yet, nothing is supposed to happen (remember, that is what rest is all about). It is not as if one puts ones fingers on this unikum, it is but that deep rest is a distinct joy for the integrated mind/body system as a whole and thus I, as in the foregoing discussion, state the conjecture of basal single cell bliss. Now why start from the meditative angle? Well. This harks back to the original metaphor of a ladder, the modern-ized stair. A stair is like a hill, there would be steps to take in an upwards direction, but downwards would, of course, be an easier go. So, what happens when we turn the stair upside down, as per the ladder? Will, we actually retain the idea of ease to the process of now ascending a ladder in contrast to the hard climp upwards to the top of a hill. As it was discovered (possibly as far back as the neolithic age) that there is an element of joy in life to the contem-plation of the qualiative phenomenon of life itself, aware-ness, this then, over time, must have given way to more refined techniques and methods for to bring more of those exquisite qualia of inner life into existential relevance. Then, from here, one would of course wonder what it is that supports the meditative practices (so closely inter-twined with that basal bliss of deep rest). Well. This is the point where the breathing techniques and gymnastic postures enter the arena, they set the platform for the effectivness of the meditative practice (which brings joy) and thus become an element of the yogic progress, as do considerations of ethics and morals (which at first are directed solely towards the yogic process but in the final end become relevant guides even of outer-

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY – directedness; they should not, though, be the bringers of dogma – as it is not the practicing of an ideology to do the yoga but it is rather the setting of the stage for quality on all levels, from the inner fields of resonant qualia unto the utmost care in ouwards life spent on making this world a good world). Thus, allow me now to take a dive into the intri-cacies of the yogic process of meditation as it is the discoverable recursivity of that process which makes for an understanding of what actually is going on. With a sensible attitude towards one‘s own psycho physiological system one may go a long way: in the preparatory stages of the yogic process the ethics and morals, of this context, tell us that it is good thing to get on with a little bit of refinement to things, behaviours, outlook, ones stance in life; with methods for attuning body and breathing a stabilizing of the body-posture and its dynamic ensues whereby the beginning of a physiologically arranged systemic balance is brought to the fore; then as withdrawal occurs (as there, in quietude, is a systemic propensity for that) our silent attention can manage a broader swathe and thinking itself becomes accessible to cognition from the level of its impulse, from its first cognitory renderings - this platform is where our ideational stances tumble about as the impulsivity of thought bubbles about, many ideas rise as if from nowhere (from the area of the hippocampus in the brain), it‘s as if one is looking far towards a shimmering simmering horizon where ideas start out and then pour their energies into existing conceptual structures and thereby remold them bit by bit, in this we see an example of memetic evolution. In the yoga we step back from even this level – well we ain‘t going anywhere when we rest – and suddenly there‘s no activity going on at all. It is the disengagement from thinking, by an at that subtle level that must be enhanced by process as otherwise our thinking dynamic will constantly be reactivated by the ensuing memetic flow. The recursivity of yogic method back-propagates through the whole system of subjective and objective reality and in this it stabilizes our wholity from stance to dance, so to say.

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THE PARADIGM OF YOGA – ON THE ALGORHYTHMY –

183

TIME AND TIME AGAIN – THE RIVER FLOWS –

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ON SPANDRELS – AND OF THE STRANGE NICHES THEY OCCUPY – Originator: Albatross Theme: Reality Style: Folk Ballad

What Is, Is Real 1.

When patterns flow,

I tune in,

As if on tip-toe,

Rock ’n Roll an’ folk,

They lock in

All the form

On that magic touch

And the function thing.

Until they display

I take a walk with you

(Shure as day,

(Need the talk,

Plain to see),

Will last a billion years),

Upon the eye

And I can understand,

Of destiny;

What is, is real.

When on our olde sphere,

Yea, the pattern flows

Transversal bound,

It folds an’ it unfolds,

In recless times

Another twist,

They do their count:

A beaut, Origami Swan.

Another day, another night

Ah, my Skylark dives

(Tell me where to start

(Wings its way,

And if it’s wise).

No clockwork there),

Now the Skylark sings

Leaves a sigh

It’s spandrel stuff.

Within my wellspring heart.

True it is to see,

Yea, the patterns flow,

True it is to thee

Every day

That the waters flow

They come an’ go

All the way

An’ then fade away;

From home to home

A virtual beat

(In the wind,

(bird on high,

Wings will sing),

Surreal sky),

Along this bright length

An’ I but think a smile’s ray

Of but a guitar string.

Will win the day.

Juri Aidas 10 November 2009

Listen to this song as interpreted by An Another Albatross at: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_9308591

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FUNDAMENTALS – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA –

The Yogic Stance on Ethics and Morals. Science of Morality, Anyone? (This was the title to a discussion topic, started by Coberst at The Brights Forum over a few days in November 2008 and that sparked the following, more informal, reflections of mine on morals and ethics as seen through the lens of the yogic paradigm of rest and activity. The text below is based on four post I made at the forum and I have included a few comments from another participant as they arose.)

here‘s another way of looking at the ‗expressiveness‘ of the polarized interactivities we engender and display in life and living. I come from the field of yoga and this philosophical stance bases itself on the empirical experience of the recurrence of subjective yet similar states over a range of subjects. What I mean is that in yoga I regularly, for a li‘l moment of my precious time, attain a moment of quietude, which in ‗subjective‘ terms may be described as: that abstract psycho physiological state of inner contentment of no ideational content. From the refreshing influence of a daily dose, or two, of that, or in the dentists waiting room, or whenever I need calm and have yet just a little extra time available, from that influence I gladly go my ways, meet people, do my thing, my job, my art, and a satisfaction in everything seems to grow as well as a non-acceptance of the suffering of others - See the Need, Do the Deed! Now in yoga the thinking on ethics and morals is construed in terms of the supportive effect specific behaviours have on the actual performance of the yogic algorythmy of recursivity, in an easy and effortless manner of course well it‘s about going for an all-encompassing view of life by the recognition of the universality of the yogic paradigm of rest and activity. It‘s a pendulum thing demanding action needs a swing back into effective rest, yoga offers total subjective rest, that is, sans loss of cognizance, a biological and psychological suspension of all intent, of any ideational type, to the cognitory bran of brain we‘ve been endowed with.

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FUNDAMENTALS – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA – See. The first category of the eight aspects of yoga Yama has been translated and understood in many different ways, one of the best, in my opinion, is Shearers ‗The Laws of Life‘ which I have shortened down to ‗Ethics‘, plain and simple, the ethics that pertains to the actual practice of yoga, the ethics that pertains to the psycho physiological dynamic structure of life, hangin‘ in the balance, the mind/body collaborative. In this, the Ethics of Yoga, we find the subcategories of: Nonviolence, Truthfulness, Integrity, Collectedness & Nonattachment, five rough categories that could as well be applied to ideology but in yoga it is not so. In yoga I do not hurt myself, I stay true to myself, I uphold the means to be able to perform my practicer by my integrity towards it, I collect myself a bit (all that runnin‘ around is exhausting) as I go into the deeper states (I do not gorge myself before my practice) and in the actual process of the practice I gradually let go of the different impulses to hold onto stuff and thus even the intentional stance goes into suspended animation, and I‘m in a tranquil state of contentment. This platform of well-being and and of subsequent inspirational upwelling, as happens when I confront the outer with a clear mind (not clogged up by the latest memetic jumble), is a good indicator to tell me if my deeds create good or bad effects if my conscience is clear my yoga is smoother, if not I do more yoga and my conscience clears enough for me to grasp my mistakes and get a clear lead on how to go abouts with the acute dilemma. so that‘s Etics in yoga. From here the good stuff can build. We can cast our glance at Morals in the same way. Niyama. Following Shearer again we have, ‗The rules for Living‘, which I short down to ‗Morals‘, this aspect of yoga also has its subcategories. From this angle, the yogic angle, they are: Simplicity, Contentment, Purification, Refinement and that Sense of Wonder. Well I don‘‘t need much to do my yoga (in the lotus position, beware the knees, I have built in pillows), It usually feels good to be able to take a bit ‗a time out for yoga, and it‘s nicer when one is clean (take your shower before the yoga – it‘s about rest not about gettin a work-out), Ah, and the refinement, well, when I‘m drunk I can‘t manage da balance, so I do not drink before the yoga, whatever I do afterwards is my business as long as I do not hurt anybody and stay out of the life of crime, as goes for the more mundane ‗enhancements‘ to life and living I might possibly notice that if I‘m moderate in my consumptions it does not interfere with da yoga (so it carries over into life), and that Sense of Wonder, well (well try Carl Barks I regard his works as an ultimate work to

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FUNDAMENTALS – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA – study the ethical and moral behaviours of humans, though they amazingly look like ducks). Well. Sense of Wonder. I translate this pranidhanani as Sense of wonder, though it‘s been translated with everything from ‗meditation of god‘ to ‗surrender to the lord‘ - with my naturalistic leanings Sense of Wonder does well for me (see the starry skies, take a walk at night under milk wood). So this is the yogic take on the ideas of Etics and Morals. What one does with the seeds that yoga sows is of course up to oneself, as there are no dos an‘ don‘ts in yoga (a bit ‗a high life dont hurt me), but the influence of the experiential part of yoga, the immaculate rest (as if the universe would sigh; as the microwave background radiation is supposed to sound like as its signal is made audible), this supreme rest is invigorating indeed.

• “While that all may be very interesting, it is not science.” /WZB Yah! Of course. But yet, interesting or not, scientific or not, the yogic principle applied may be empirically tested for its results, over a span of subjects. With the yoga, there is the access to a recurring experience of a subjective state, of a strangely similar character over time, and in the empiricism thereof one may see a pattern of life-supportive dynamics. I find that these dynamics as such, the aspects of yoga, find their relevant places in an overall schemata, da tree, from which it is possible to derive an alogrithm of recursive algorythmy that makes the ultimate cognitory suspending in time of a ‗no act‘ moment relevant, and in that to describe a systematicity. From this platform a construal of values, or rather but suggestions and recommendations, to go by the yogic spirit of non-infringement of others, may be attempted if ones conscience is clear, I hold, better decisions are made. So, a methodicity is discerned to yoga, and as the mechanism of that is revealed, as algorythmy implies recursivity, one may hold that the seeds of the subcategories in yoga must find their equivalents in whatever ideological stances we as humans create amongst ourselves, the different Ethics and Moralities of the world. The introspection (which is a spin-off within the yogic process, the moments of contemplative reach into causes and deeds, acts and consequences) in yoga, and yoga in

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FUNDAMENTALS – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA – itself as a wholity, is ultimately for activity, for sensible effort, and for a balance of emotion and intellect, all good things, I think. Now the root of the tree of yoga may, in an hariolatory fashion, be conjecturally grounded in the forces that uphold the life of a living sentience, a single cell say. What may be the parameters that make life possible for the cell (so it‘ll be able to stretch it‘s membrane in a contented manner, so to speak)? (And as the cell is nudged or nudges itself [becaus ‗a the brownian thingy] its phononic resonance differentials may be the seeds of our phonemes of language that in the end make up thoughts and thinking and languages and metaphors and understandings, and sing the glories of the trees of all life in the galaxy pointing their crowns at us, as we walk under milk wood.) There‘s a science to yoga and an understanding of the recursive principle of yoga may well aid science as such in making the mechanisms of phononic intuition more graspable in general. As one is in deep quietude nothing is supposed to happen. At times nothing must happen for a long time before one notices that nothing is happening, and then of course nothing is not happening anymore. So it goes, round an‘ round, through ever deepening mento-physio-logical strata. This is the kind of dynamic the mind experiences all by itself, at rest, at the borderline of it‘s cognitory reach and an exten-ding of this state is what yoga suggests, as a, maybe, sensible contrast to all the hustles an‘ bustles of life. An algorythmic dipping is what it is. (Sorry, I better lay down this virtuaquill right now, starting now, stopping now.) One could dig in into the nuts and bolts of the framework of morality. But I will not get into that angle but will rather give my response, from mine own perspective, on the divergent stances on this issue of the yogic stance and its contribution to the study of the parameters of Ethics and Morals. •

… “The self induced euphoric state created by yoga has absolutely nothing to do with morality or science.” … “People in euphoric states are more peaceful and less likely to commit violent acts, but that does not mean that they are more moral. Plus, the cultural side effect of euphoric states is introversion and less action and eventually they lose out to

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FUNDAMENTALS – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA – cultures that are extroverted; more intense and active. They may not be killed, but they are sidelined, minimalized.” /WZB I must contend the view above. Yes. So. No. The result of yoga is not a ―self induced euphoric state‖. The result of yoga is fulfilment in action. To dwell on the (even though they be beneficial) side effects of yoga is to miss the point. And why? Yoga is not about the creating of phantastic states of either emotive or cognitive characteristics. Yoga is about setting up the means for en effective momentary time-out for the whole system of both biological cresting drive and cognitory dynamic. It is not about associating an inner experience of momentary quietude with an emotional or conceptual character of any kind (although a good feeling seems to reverberate through the systemic structure). No. As the quietude deepens (in yogic process), and the foreground/background reversal occurs to cognizance (that figure/ground shift cognition is prone to), in the balancing of this transversal I find that yoga is about naturalness, about the natural nature of the deep restfulness that yoga provides, of the natural happening of that non-happening that happens as if by itself (when all prerequisites have been tended to it is, for example, not conducive to the process of yoga to perform the practice on a moving platform, just as it is not easy to sleep on the back of a horse60 [unless the horse stands still and the allusion to sleep is not really correct]), if the platform shakes, rickety-rick, rickety-trick, this will disturb and activate the intentional stance, yes, the deep rest in yoga comes about by itself, as the means for its establishment are provided, as if it were a natural propensity of the system as such to attune itself to such a state (of suspended animation, almost), a state of balance between otward and inwards momentums, a quiescening, a quietening of all emotional and cognitive drives. The process of yoga suggests a framework to guide the whole system to this ultimate pole on the existential spree, the natural stance of algorythmy, the opposite one to dynamic and forceful activity (yet the active stance is quite a natural stance too, see below). Ya. Yoga is for activity. Without activity there‘s no sense to yoga. Yoga is for ultimate activity. A yogi should be in the midst of the fray, to lead and assist, and then there‘s a time to rest and recuperate, and if this too, this resting, is done effectively strength is built. There are two steps to yoga, rest and activity. That‘s the paradigm. It is

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FUNDAMENTALS – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA – by the performing of activity that the system is strengthened. To excessively dwell within the subjective sphere is quite rightly dulling to rest and to act, that‘s the process, that is yoga. Now. The yogic paradigm is not quite grasped by the multitudes (as your response indicates to me), or even by famous yogis (as occurs with the preponderance of restrictive handed down dogma). A caricature of yoga is often created where difficult processee and silly images of upside down people are held forth as to the fabulousness of yoga. Yes, yoga is often pictured as a hopelessly introverted contorted navel gazing wherein the outer world has ceased to be of interest. Well that is all nonsense. It is held that one of the great tragedies of India is due to the leaching off of intelligent people from society by misunderstandings of the yogic paradigm.61 People have taken to the woods instead of standing upright and tall and ambitious and up to the existential challenge to ride the creative trail. The lure of theistic projections creeps into the philosophy and causes some folks to give up all sense and reason for a construed ideal of isolation (as in standing by a window snappin‘ fresh air as the rest of the party enjoys the moment and no allergies or such for the excuse, just plain overdone fanatic purification noja, yeah, with dissaproving glances from curtainways, silly). No, the categories of yoga point to the essential balanced state of the whole living organism, which is a good and should some of the implications of this vitalization carry over into daily life, the better. As that which is good for ourselves, in the yogic sense, is a universal, and is thus good for all. It is good to take some care of the system, we do all brush our teeth, whether with twigs or with nylon brush. Yoga does not infringe on the liberties of others but sets a platform for sense and reason in our interaction with the world, and yoga is also a support to skill and intelligence, and a continuity of alteration of deep rest and activity brings force and drive. If I take care of myself according to some universal principle that brings life supportive qualities into my life, and if, by the systemwise extension of my balanced apprehension of those, some of them might carry over into the lives of others - a synergistic ‗good‘ dynamic is set up. So, yoga is definitely about ethics and morals as well as of body and breathing, and is of withdrawal (of the senses) and of a slight effortless focusing of intent to lead into the meditative phase (as process) and thus establish an awarity of the natural contented state of the system at rest. Then it‘s time for activity. As one has arrived at this state, of potential (the state of quietude), this state is as an arrow pulled back and readied to

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FUNDAMENTALS – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA – shoot from the bow, or from the hip, (a yogi, just as Lucky Luke [French comic book cowboy], needs roll his cigarettes with but one hand and draws his gun faster than his own shadow), a quality just as important as the lotus position - skill in action - uh, I‘m not advocating smoking here, as we nowadays know what that leads to, but if one should happen to be a smoker there‘s no prerequisite that one should give up smoking for to do the yoga, so, I take my coffe after the yoga, not immediately before), yes, as one arrives at rest it is time for the next step of yoga, to get into the dynamics of activity, as has been said, ―Go out and lose it, then come back!‖62. I do think this topic is the right place to insert the view of recursive algorythmy into the attempt to understand morality and ethics. Yoga provides the seed for good living and a good life and what would that be sans others. These seeds can be understood in a systematic way and may also be dirctly applied by any individual in their daily ongoings for to strengthen all natural synergies that emerge from our widespread ambitions and acts. Yoga makes us sensitive to the consequenses of our acts and offers the deeper platform of systemic rest (which improves introspective insight) upon which to build spontaneous systemic rejuvenation and for to attain access to a cornucopia of inspirational thought again a side effect of the yogic stance, while resting the expression of memories simmers about in the cogital field and as one comes at these impulses, again and again (in the midst of that momentary time-out), from the deeps and depths of quietude solutions appear. Here is the reality of, ―A rightly stated question, contains it‘s own answer!‖. In any attempts to create a coherent understanding of the outwards effects of our societal drives there are many specifics to identify. To list every biological drive one first has to be aware of them all. How to discover ‗em all? What I‘m attempting to show is that morality is not but a cerebral concept but is directly dependent on the state of our health, psychological and physiological, and thus my work is but my humble attempt to clarify and show that the parameters of yoga have a direct relevance on our understanding of the abstract field of which Ethics and Morals partake. •

… “think about what will happen when a warrior meets a yogi that opposes him. Do not fantasize that the yogi will survive the encounter.” /WZB

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FUNDAMENTALS – WALKING THE EDGE OF THE ‟VISION‟ OF YOGA – Yoga is not by itself a cause to any introverted lifestyle. Yoga is not a profession. A yogi might as well be a warrior as be a representative of any other aspect of human behaviour. Then we‘d have one warrior of certain skill meeting a yogic warrior who would draw on the continual yogic infusion of rest that has helped build a platform of skill in action, so the yogi would fight. As said, the other step op the yogic paradigm is activity. Activity is necessary to build the strength to keep ignorance at bay. If skill is put into the building of a well focused, balanced and dynamic state and if this platform has been established beforhand then all the yogi need to do is to release the metaphoric arrow of the yogic stance into the world of action. Skill comes naturally for the yogi. If one applies oneself, then, in whatever one does, there will be skill.

• In the text above I have edited away the trivia of the original posts, the quoted questions by WildZBill (yoga teacher hinself), a participant of the forum who goes by that handle, are abouts where they appeared in flow of the discussion. The four, slightly edited, posts here were written for to emphasize the non-projective stance in the streaming flow of the yogic application of ethical and moral precepts these do not create ideology, their aim is the yogic process as such. I wrote the pieces over a few days in November 2008 and they are accessible in their original context at The Brights Forum via the links here below (overleaf). So. Thank you WZB for goading me onwards with your critiques as I built up my conceptualizations of these, in a way, quite subtle matters.

•

The first seeds to this little ramble on Ethics and Morals were written on 4 – 6 November 2008 at The Brights Forum. 193

CLOSURE – EVER CHANGING MULTIPLICITY –

Big Bloomin‟ Flower Oil on Canvas, 54 x 65 cm.

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MY HEART – GROWS RIGHT THROUGH THE CONCRETE –

Originator: Albatross Theme: The Heart Style: Folk Ballad

My Heart is not a Secret Ah, cause your heart to be done with All rules that bind an’ tangle. Cause your heart to take comfort, No need for all you been wantin’. An’ all the ways you ever wandered, Through dark an’ light abandon, Brought you here almost tumblin’, Now you can live the life of becoming. Ain’t it a wonder to be beholdin’, The sight of wild geese unfoldin’; I’d be runnin’, freight trains steamin’, Throwin’ sparks an’ thundered lightnin’. I see your dream arisin’, Winds of wheat an’ barley streamin’, I hear your thought abidin’ Within that deep well of all becoming. An’ to you my heart is not a secret, It’s a pathway an’ a gateway. Takes me down the highway, Me an’ my true love an’ the skyway. An’ all tides an’ winds of change, All hurricanes galore, an’ God knows what, Won’t have the slightest strength nor charm To put out all your becoming.

Juri Aidas 9 December 2003

Listen to this song as interpreted by An Another Albatross at: Upload of music file pending.

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A REPLY – ON MEDITATIVE PRACTICE –

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A REPLY – ON MEDITATIVE PRACTICE – In reply to Sam Harris article, ‗How to Meditate‘, at Huffington Post 12 May 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-harris/how-to-meditate_b_861295.html

Sam Harris is an American author, neuroscientist and CEO of Project Reason.

Hello Mr. Harris,

hanks for your article on meditation. Myself I have been a practitioner of yoga since 1969 and I have been teaching on it since 1971. I started out with Transcendental Meditation in the aftermath of The Beatles, of course, and then it took me up until 1975 to really get a grasp of that methods connection to the wholity of the field of yoga. Meditation, as per this view, is an aspect of the wholity of yoga which comprises eight aspects: attitude, behaviour, body, breath, withdrawal, focusing, meditation & the deep (this be my own jargon). Now, I'd like to draw attention to the fact that these categories refer to the practice of yoga and are not to be looked upon as idological determinants. Traditionally the categories are metaphorically looked upon as a stair or ladder starting out from attitudinal and behavioral parameters and continuing via body, breath, etc., up to inner quiet and serenity (the blissful state – which I've dubbed 'The Deep'). The traverse of this progression has been viewed as a strenuous endeavour requiring a long time to complete, if not a lifetime, and being full of extorting practice and difficulty, lots of tough mental concentration and all that. Now, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi turned that ladder upside down placing blissfulness, joy and serenity (samadhi) at the bottom and easily reached by a simple fundamental method of meditation. The movement of Maharishi Mahesh does teach on all the other aspects as well. Maharish takes his stand from the historically first systematic treatsie on yoga the yoga-sūtra of Patanjali of about 2000 years ago. The technique of meditation, as per Maharishi Mahesh, is simplicity itself. While sitting quietly, with eyes closed, one effortlessly introduces the sound of a word (mantra) into the thought stream thereby distracting the momentum of thought from fulfilling its intents, thus thoughts fade away and as one actually does not concentrate on the mantra it too fades away; what remains is a deep quiet, a mental rest, a tranquile state of relaxation with awareness retained. One is not doing anything in that deep rest and thus the

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A REPLY – ON MEDITATIVE PRACTICE – subject/object transversal is softened and a deep peace is established. In his very first lecture on this yoga in India in 1958, I think it was, Maharishi Mahesh said "any word will do", then he said the word 'mike', repeated it ever more softly a few times while tapping his microphone in unison. All the aspects of yoga are covered in this process: one takes a stance to do the practice, one treats oneself sensibly while doing the yoga (no straining), the physical movements make the body supple and responsive, a breathing technique then slows everything down to a natural flow, a withdrawal is experienced (as when one is talked to when reading and does not notice until some time has elapsed), a slight focusing is generated as the mantra is introduced, which actualizes the meditative process and finally one plunges into the deep, that blissful state of wakeful rest. Another metaphor on yoga is a table (or a grand piano if you will). One pulls at a leg and all the others will follow, implying that the practice of yoga may be initiated from any particular one of the aspects. In this one could speak of ‗limbs‘ of yoga. A third metaphor (which I dreamed up) is that of a tree, a tree of life, the root whereof is embedded in the abstract field (the deep) with a rising trunk where the bottom two brances are attitude and behaviour (the ethics and morals of yoga), above those we find body (posture) and breathing (flow), higher up are withdrawal and focusing and then at the top the whole edifice is crowned with the natural process of meditation easily accessible from the field of the concrete, the field of activity. Here's an attempt of mine to word the essence of the wholity of yoga as viewed through the structure of Patanjalis eight limbs of yoga. "The categories of Yoga (and the subcategories implied therein) presented in the schemata of the metaphor of ―The Tree of Life‖ and in the traditional listings all refer to the process of Yoga as such and are not to be ideologically transferred to any other domain, their qualities will rather become infused into our life and into our living depending on what application gives and what circumstance brings." Yoga may be seen as paradigmatic as concerns the dynamic interplay of rest and activity, a processual vector on how a stable balance in life is achieved. The Paradigm of Yoga: Rest and Activity. To conclude (and I've been teaching TM now for forty years) I do agree with Mr. Harris that the movement of Maharishi Mahesh has become somewhat cultish (to say

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A REPLY – ON MEDITATIVE PRACTICE – the least) and has endowed itself with an exaggerated pricing structure. In 2005 Maharishi fired all his teachers and restructured his movement. I myself did not have the means to take his re-certification courses, and well is that as I feel that I am now free to speak my mind on the subject without any undue policy considerations and am also able to develop the understanding of the paradigmatic nature of yoga and may freely develop an explanation of the process as I examplify in my heuristically metaphoric construct The Tree of Life. I do hold to a naturalistic world-view free of the supernatural and have no use at all for moodmaking engagements of established superstitional institutions. Yoga as method is free from all that (although some cultural baggage of such things remain here and there in our worldie). Juri Aidas Albatross of The Brights (Albatross being my cyber-nomé.)

For more information on my views on yoga see: http://another-albatross.blogspot.com/; … or have a look some of my other cyberpages for an overview on my work in this field: http://algorhythmy.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/a-few-pointers-to-some-of-myyoga-stuff-here-in-cyberspace/. And, additionally, I started a topic based on this reply to Mr. Harris over at TheBrights forum, see: http://www.the-brights.net/forums/forum/index.php?showtopic=11945.

28 & 29 May 2011 slightly edited for this publication 28 January 2012. 199

A REPLY – ON MEDITATIVE PRACTICE –

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ANOTHER REPLY – ON MEDITATIVE PRACTICE – In reply to an article in The Independent of 28 May 2011: ―John Friend: The man who would be yoga king.” http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/ john-friend-the-man-who-would-be-yoga-king-2288855.html

oga. Why is it so often prefixed with a qualificator: anusara, asthanga, kriya, hatha, kundalini, bhakti, etc., etc? Yoga is the philosophy of experience plain and, of course, there are many entry points into it's practicalities. The first ur-mentions of processes of inward experience are found in the canon of Vedic scripture (those songs of blissed out poets of another age); eg., tapas, heat, the generating of bodily warmth reminicing the heat of the sun, thus the sun becomes a symbol for yogic accomplishment ... bright indeed. The first systematic treatsie of yoga was propounded by Master Patanjali of approximately 2000 years ago in his famous masterpiece the Yoga-Sutra (sutra meaning thread, conceptual connector). In that short work Patanjali systematized the elements of yogic requirement into eight aspects, or limbs of yoga, so to say (thus asthanga, astha meaning eight and anga meaning limbs) and he called the whole conceptual unity kriya (activity) as the purpose of yoga is not its deepity but in the infusion of the attainable relaxed state of mind and body into activity, "Established in yoga perform action". Patanjali defines yoga in the second verse of his 'sutra', "Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence". That's its essence. Everything else is about the establishing of conducive conditions for the mind to settle into The Deep: ones attitude to yogic method has to be considered as well as ones behaviour regarding practice (the ethics and morals of yoga, so to say), then one takes care of the body making it supple and responsive, next the easy and natural flow of breath is attenuated, and one settles down, now withdrawal will set in (as when one is talked to when reading and does not notice until momentarily later), further on a slight effortless focusing of the mind is encouraged which then leads to a natural meditative process of a subjective traverse, in tandem with the settling of ones physiology, of the field of activity into a deep and wakeful rest, and lo one falls into The Deep, that inner field of a serene and tranquile deep peace. Then one acts. Yoga is a paradigmatic of the dynamic of rest and activity. The Paradigm of Yoga: Rest & Activity.

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A REPLY – ON MEDITATIVE PRACTICE – The categories of yoga may be described in terms of a metaphoric construct (that I dreamed up), an heuristic metaphor formatted as a tree (to augment the standard metaphors of a stair/ladder and table [grand piano]), a tree of life, "The Tree of Life". In this metaphor we see a tree, the root whereof is embedded in the abstract field (the deep) with a rising objective trunk where the bottom two brances are attitude and behaviour (the ethics and morals of yoga), above those we find body (posture), then comes the breath (flow), higher up are withdrawal and focusing and then at the top the whole edifice is crowned with the natural process of meditation easily accessible from the field of the concrete, the field of activity. Yoga is not an ideology (neither is it training), it is a methodology of process for to rest and relax deeply, with awareness retained, thus providing an upcoming momentum for clearheded and dynamic action. The eight aspects of yoga which I have described above are not to be seen as ideological determinants (no dos nor dont's in yoga), and the stance towards them I delineate as follows: "The categories of Yoga (and the subcategories implied therein) presented in the schemata of the metaphor of “The Tree of Life” and in the traditional listings all refer to the process of Yoga as such and are not to be ideologically transferred to any other domain, their qualities will rather become infused into our life and into our living depending on what application gives and what circumstance brings."

In all this there is no conflict 'tween inner and outer, no supernatural overbuild is required and thus yoga suits the spiritually minded just as well as it suits those of a naturalistic bent (though not neccessarily any the less 'spiritual' as spirituality goes). This guy Friend is doing a good thing. Myself though not being acquainted with the particulars of what he teaches I still hold that going through a set of yoga poses in a structured manner now and then is a good thing. Now, when people go to a yoga class they basically learn how to balance the physical body, how to establish its suppleness and its responsivity and thus make it attuned for the stillness required as one progresses towards the meditative practice of settling the mind (though one can also start with meditation immediately if one wishes, there are many entry points into the yoga). Unfortunately the physical stance in yoga is what has come to dominate the general understanding of yogic practice and the wholity of the philosophy of yoga is therefore slightly overshadowed in the modern world. The sequences of postures one learns in a yoga class (where one takes the

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ANOTHER REPLY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ON MEDITATIVE PRACTICE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; time to learn how to do them without straining) are later to be pared down to something that is relevant for day to day practice and which will fit into a structure of practice that incorporates all the eight aspects of yoga. Continuity over time in the application of yogic practice is what leads to a dynamic result in the field of yoga and which from there is then infused into life and living (see: Patanjali, Yoga-Sutra, 1:14). As the point of yoga is to settle the mind it'd be wise to have taken care of the body beforehand so that it doesn't interfere when the inwards momentum of meditation kicks in, as one falls into The Deep, so to say. In meditation one sits omfortably, preferably in the lotus* position (though that is not an absolute neccessity, one can just as well sit on a chair). The back is held straight but not in a forced manner, a natural swank is but a property of the spine. If ones back is not strong enough for selfsufficient holding one may lean it against something (sitting in a sofa though makes ones back angle backwards and ones head will then undoubtedly roll over backwards). Think of a seal balancing a ball on the tip of its nose, that's how the head balances on top of the shoulders and spine as one sits in meditation. As one progresses toward inner quiet, with awareness retained, a moment will possibly come when fatigue takes over, then ones head will start to loll about and the natural thing then to do is to lean ones head and just stop meditating for a little while as one leans ones head against something (that's why it is nice to sit beneath a tree as one may lean against the trees' trunk until the fatigue fades and one can lift ones head again, rolling it back up onto the shoulders and allowing it to find its natural balance there at the tip of the spine [just like the seal balancing its ball]). If the fatigue intensifies then discontinue the practice wholly and lie down, rest. When one is deep in meditation the set and setting is perfect for tiredness to come to the fore, do take advantage of the time-out you have allowed yourself with the yoga and go to sleep if needs be, later on, another day, awareness will remain and The Deep will be attainable. Yoga is not training in the general sense, it's not an aerobics, so to say. Yoga is a practice that gradually brings mind and body to an utter wakeful stillness and then the deep peaceful rest attained brings bright light into life. â&#x20AC;˘ * (The lotus position contains a natural secret, built in pillows. In that position the bottom of the spine is lifted up from the ground, a natural uplift, so to say, as the centre of balance of the physical body falls within the triangle of the spine [which is held just slightly forwards] and the knees and one will then sit comfortably on the thigh muscles. Self-sufficiency indeed. Simple.)

Juri Aidas (Albatross of The Brights), 28 & 29 May 2011 203

CREATION – STEP BY STEP – Rishi: Prajâpati Paramesthin Deity: Creation Metre: Tristup

Then was not non-existent nor existent; there was no realm of air, no sky beyond it. What covered it, and where? And what gave shelter? Was water there, unfathomed depth of water? Death was not then, nor was there aught immortal; no sign was there, the day’s and night’s divider. That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever. Darkness there was; at first concealed in darkness this All was indiscriminated chaos. All that existed then was void and formless: by the great power of Warmth was born that Unit. Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire, the primal seed and germ of Spirit. Sages who searched with their hearts thought discovered the existent’s kinship in the non-existent. Transversely was their severing line extended; what was above it then, and what below it? There were begetters, there were mighty forces, free action here and energy up yonder. Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born and whence comes this creation? The Gods are later than this world’s production. Who knows then whence it first came into being? He, the first origin of this creation, whether He formed it all or did not form it, Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, He verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not. Rig Veda X. 129 Translation by R.T. H. Griffith. (Within the public domain.)

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Mandala 205 Dharamsala, 56 x 67 cm. Unknown artist, 1975, (Details: see p 294.)

AGNI – MAN EXTENDS IT AND MAN UNBINDS IT – Deity: Agni (Fire, Creative Spark) Rishi: Agni Metre: Tristup

The sacrifice drawn out with threads on every side, Stretched by a hundred sacred ministers and one, This do the Fathers weave who hitherward are come: They sit beside the warp and cry, Weave forth, weave back. The Man extends it and the Man unbinds it: Even to this vault of heaven hath he outspun it. These pegs are fastened to the seat of worship: They made the Sâma-hymns their weaving shuttles. What were the rule, the order and the model? What were the wooden fender and the butter? What were the hymn, the chant, the recitation, When to the God all Deities paid worship? Closely was Gâyatrî conjoined with Agni, And closely Savitar combined with Usnih. Brilliant with Ukthas, Soma joined Anustup: Brihaspatis’ voice by Brihatî was aided. Virâj adhered to Varuna and Mitra: Here Tristup day by day was Indras portion. Jagatî entered all the Gods together: So by this knowledge men were raised to Rishis. So by this knowledge men were raised to Rishis, When ancient sacrifice sprang up, our Fathers. With the minds eye I think that I behold them Who first performed this sacrificial worship. They who were versed in ritual and metre, in hymns and rules, Were the seven Godlike Rishis. Viewing the path of those of old, The sages have taken up the reins like chariot-drivers. Rig Veda, 10.80.; Translation by R.T. H. Griffith.

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VEDIC DIVERSION – ON THE ROAD AGAIN –

have herein intended to show that a different perspective taken on the evolution of the general metaphor of a ‗tree‘ would transmute the ‗Tree of Yoga‘ into ―The Tree of Life‖. The tools of Yoga, beside its practices of different kind, are the everyday words we use to speak our understandings, transmitting them rightly or wrongly according to our ability to grasp and find relevant context. Thus we find ‗Man‘, as poet, zoning in on abstraction as well as having to take stock of the offerings and material demands of our natural world, we find the Poet putting words to work to harness fires of passion and delight, thereby defining a spectrum of available tools, the ‗Ontology of Word‘ to express, in Centers of Narrative Gravity, the age-old mysteries of life. “And the mystery Sang alive Still in the water and singing birds” From „Poem in October‟; Dylan Thomas

As an example of the vast amount of poetry of the ‗Rig Veda‘, transmitted across innumerable ages, we find a poem, R.V. 10:61.7: – of the hunter, the eternal fire, life itself, Agni who is but a mask of Him whose name is withheld and to whom the gods, the celestial intelligence, in compassionate insight give shape as Vâstoshpati, guardian of the dwelling, guardian of divine law – to paraphrase from, and to continue, as writes Stella Kramrich in ‗The Presence of Šiva‘, 1981, p. 4: They carved this shape out of the poem (brahman) while they created it. By their wording of the sacred mantra His shape arose in its meter, and the vision took form in the rhythm of the words of this raudra brahman, this wild, fierce hymn of the god whose name it hides while he is seen as he arises in his unfathomable nature and paradoxical shape as guardian of the sacred order, lord of vâstu.

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VEDIC DIVERSION – ON THE ROAD AGAIN – The verse discussed in the passage above, in translation by Ms. Kramrich (1981, p, 3), is dedicated to Agni, in the guise of Rudra, the Vedic rishi, the seer, is Astradamstra, and it is expressed in the metre of Trishtup: In their concern the gods created a poem, a word of power (brahman) and out of this they gave shape to Vâstoshpati, the guardian of the dwelling, the guardian of sacred order (vratapâ). Rig Veda, 10.61.7; Kramrich

And now Ms. Kramrich takes us further yet. The implications of the theme of this verse, and a few other central verses in this same context, for the whole of Vedic mythology are astounding: in the primordial scene when time is just about to begin, in the dawn of the world, when the black cow of cosmic night lies with the ruddy cows of morning, we find Agni the hunter, interrupting the creative act, in a setting where ―Creation itself is seen as an act of violence that infringes upon the Uncreate‖. Agni, the wild god, thereby in this, or on account of it, creates progeny, whose patter, soon to be heard on earth, is ever active (p, 4-6). Here is the verse from the Rig Veda embodying this embryonic Vedic world-view. In this example we find the moment of the unwholesome act being interrupted. This verse, from R.V. 1:71.5, translated by R.T.H. Griffith, is dedicated to Agni, it is composed by rishi Parâšara, and is also in the metre of Trishtup: When man poured juice to Heaven, the mighty Father, he knew and freed himself from close embracement. The archer boldly shot at him his arrow, and the God threw his splendour on his Daughter. Rig Veda, 1.71.5; R.T.H. Griffith

I am not really surprised that the verses, RV 10:61, 5-8, describing this creation myth in heavily erotic metaphors are missing from the very fine translation of the Rig Veda by R.T.H. Griffith, and consequently this story, of the abstract interplay of Agni and Rudra giving rise to ‗Creation‘, is seldom told, if even understood. Now what act did ‗The Hunter‘ interrupt? And who were the actors? Two figures

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VEDIC DIVERSION – ON THE ROAD AGAIN – appear on the primæval stage, the Father, Brahma, Prajapâti, lord of Generation, and the Virgin Daughter, Ushas the Dawn, and then they are interrupted. They are cut short in their coupling: the Father rages, Ushas speeds south into cosmic night. This I envision as if it were a genetic message is sent across time immemorial (though not in modern detail, but shrouded in myth and magic) warning us of the consequences of turning genetic pool material upon itself and, at the same time, defining the act of creation, in its two aspects: manifest and unmanifest. In this we find human insight and instinct combined, expressed by seers, the rishis, the Vedic poets, as they structured their verse in phrase and metre of utmost significance. From the undifferenti-ated wholeness that is before the beginning of things two simul-taneous acts of recursive violence arise; (1) the act of undifferentiated copying, symbolized in the incestuous act of the Father, which we now know may give rise to monstrosities of genetic collapse in its offspring; then (2) Agni, Fire, in the guise of the wild hunter Rudra, the guardian of the uncreate (whose name is not to be uttered, cannot be uttered as ‗He‘ is a representation of the unmanifest, here in the aspect of Fire) fires an arrow at the act of creation, causing the father to pull back, to spill his seed, which ripened by Fire, by Agni, falls on Earth, giving rise to the Angirases, the benevolent hosts of immaculate Fire-youths: and thus Creation arose. Together, in their common concern, all the Gods created a poem, the ‗Raudra-Brahman‘ where Rudra arises, in the form of a poem (Brahman), from out of all inherent possibilities of Creation, sprung from the dynamics of the Unmanifest (of its silent, dormant and fluctuating virtua), born as Vâstoshpati, guardian of the sacred order, Vastu. The place where the Fathers seed fell becomes the place of original sacrifice which the metres of portentous mantrasguard and the paradoxical nature of fire, heat, as an abstract virtual dynamic within the Uncreate with the power to attune its own acts is revealed – in the manifestation of the potentiality for endless multiplicity of relative existence a process is discerned attempting to prevent and stop this whirlpool of existential madness (not, in nihilo, directed at existence as such but at the dynamics of madness generetad by Kaos). Here we find the embryo to the process of recursivity that Yoga successfully utilizes. This inherent recursivity, of the abstract platform of life, ultimately gives rise to meaningful existence, flowing from the original attempt to eliminate the seeds of Kaos, the virtual multiplicities. This will hopefully all come clear in the section entitled ‗The Central Concept‘ where the nature of this seeming paradox of manifest and unmanifest is resolved in that the hidden connection of Rudra and Agni is seen as circling a point of identity. And, also,

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VEDIC DIVERSION – ON THE ROAD AGAIN – in the words of Feuerstein, Kak and Frawley, ‗The Vedic seers were masters of paradox‘ (1995, p. XX). The following two verses are from R.V. 10:129, verses 4 & 6. This hymn is dedicated to Creation, the rishi here again is Prajâpati Paramesthin, and the metre is Tristup, just as in the former referenced verse of R.V. 1:71. Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire, the primal seed and germ of Spirit. Sages who searched with their hearts thought discovered the existent’s kinship in the non-existent. Rig Veda, 10:129,4; R.T.H. Griffith

Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born and whence comes this creation? The Gods are later than this world’s production. Who knows then whence it first came into being? Rig Veda, 10:129,6; R.T.H. Griffith

Although the great Vedic culture allowed hugely for inspirational freedom of metaphor for the poet, the society it grew in was heavily based upon ritual, even in the minutiae of ordinary daily life, these structures of living may at times have been quite binding. So if I euologize Vedic life, it is for the great value of vision and insight provided here and there, and actually all over the place, depending on the frame of reference projected, in the texts of Veda. A great and useful book on India‘s historical past clarifying the picture of its Vedic heritage (in a level-headed manner seldom seen in the field), ‗The Gem in the Lotus – The Seeding of Indian Civilisation‘. See p.142 on the restrictive influence of complicated ritual requiring priestly assistance. Another fitting and interesting sample of the great flowing hymns of the Veda is presented below and might be appreciated here. A hymn of Rig Veda, 10.130, dedicated to ‗Creation‘, carrying the theme of poetry itself, as represented by the names of the traditional metres used and linked to the, both abstract and concrete, deities of nature. Man weaves the loom of poetry, and in the rebirthing of knowledge represented by the poem, by this, man is raised in the springs of unbroken flow of tradition, and thus the reins of order, sense and action are picked up by generation after generation. In the hymns of our forfathers the structures and tools of understanding were present. In this

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VEDIC DIVERSION – ON THE ROAD AGAIN – example we find a fitting complement to the discussions of Ms. Stella Kramrich above (in the section on „Yoga and Veda ‟, p. 13). Remember! Fire, Agni, to whom the celestial intelligence, all the gods, gave shape when as the ‗Hunter‘, Rudra, whose real name the poem hides, Agni shoots the arrow of creation, and all gods in their great concern weave the poem, the Raudra Brahman, a wild, free creation, giving shape to unmanifest structure. We do get the idea of something abstract being represented by something equally abstract; art, poetry coming into being, being the actual representation of the act of creation. Thus writes Ms. Kramrich in ‗The Presence of Šiva‘ (p. 9). In the Rig Veda myth of Rudra, the origin of mankind, beginning with the Añgirases, the mythical fire-youths, is interwoven with the creation of poetry, the archetypal act of art in divinis. Although in this myth man is not created in the image of god, the art of man is in conformable imitation of the wonderworks of gods. Works of art are substantiations of divine prototypes. They are their audible, visible, tangible, concrete form. In rythms and rites, the guardian of sacred order, Vratapa, surveys his domain.

In Rig Veda, 10.80, the verse below, in this hymn dedicated to ‗Creation‘, we find all the tools of the rishis, the poets. The metres named are Gayatrî, Savitar, Anustup, Brihatî, Virâj, Tristup and Jagati; and the deities are, respectively: Agni, Fire; Savitar, the impeller, the unifying power of the sun; Soma, a drink, a plant, the elixir of immortality; Varuna, all encompassing, god of truth and retribution, and cosmic order, and of the waters, and Mitra (who also appeared as the principal deity in the 5 th century B.C. Persia) of wisdom, (these two deities for Virâj); and finally here, Indra, the Lord of Heaven and all the Gods together for Jagatî. What are we really talking about when we speak of expressions of Brahman? What do such unfathomable conceptualizing entail? In Vedic literature ‗the mouth‘ is the expression of Brahman. It is from mouth sound arises (and this is anthrophomorphizing). ‗Word‘ is Brahman. ‗Song‘ is Brahman. In the Brihadâranyaka Upanishad, in chapter one, 6th Brâhmana, which deals with the three-fold character of the World, we read: Verily, this (world) is a triad of name, shape and work. Of these as regards names, speech is the source, for from it all names arise. It is their common

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VEDIC DIVERSION – ON THE ROAD AGAIN – feature for it is common to all names. It is their Brahman, for it sustains all names. Now, of shapes eye is the source, for from it all shapes arise. It is their common feature for it is common to all shapes. It is their Brahman, for it sustains all shapes. Now of works, the body is the source for from it all works arise. It is their common feature for it is common to all works. It is their Brahman, for it sustains all works. These three together are one, this self; the self, though one, is this triad. This is the immortal veiled by the real. Breath, verily, is the immortal, name and shape are the real. By them this breath is veiled. The Principal Upanishads; Translated by S. Radhakrishnan

Having already established the primacy of breath in the 3 rd Brâhmana in its ontology of creation and having made the connection of this to speech, the chant, the poem, Brahman, becomes all pervading. And in an ontology of Word as World, that I suggest in the chart next page, p. 40, language is a wholeness of the subjective, allencompassing, reaching from abstract rela-tions to affections, from existence to religion, from being to non -being, from this to that; this is anthropomorphic man, Purusha. Here I wish to bring attention to the great subjective range covered by language in the structures of the manifold associations made possible by this wonderful construct. We find the full reach of language here, in the ontology of its categories (lifted from the 1977 edition of Roget‘s International Thesaurus). ‗The ontology of a theory is the catalogue of things and types of things the theory deems to exist‘ (Dennett 1991, p. 36). But what of the motive giving rise to such diversity, what source, purpose, intentionality, what driving force is there, and what of the mind, the self, consciousness, abstraction? How do subjecti-vities as these actually relate to this tiered ontology of diverging correspondences and what of the relevance of such relations to the world, to existence as such? A follow up question would be of intentionality regarding these platforms, their reasons, relevance and eventual inherent motives! In ‗Kinds of Minds‘, 1996, professor Daniel Dennett discusses the evolution of mind as part and parcel of the process of evolution as such, as laid out in the theories and studies of Charles Darwin. Dennett defines evolution as an algorithmic process, thus extending the theory of natural selection into the realm of the abstract where we find affinities to the

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VEDIC DIVERSION – ON THE ROAD AGAIN – phenomenon of consciousness, to subjectivity, to language and other such intangibles that tangle our grasp of reality. How do we study these abstract phenomena? And who does the studying? As states Dennett: ―What kinds of minds are there? And how do we know? The first question is about what exists – about ontology, in philosophical parlance; the second question is about our knowledge – about epistemology.‖ (p. 2.) On page 17 Mr. Dennett writes: The ontological question

–

about what exists.

The epistemological ditto

–

about how we know about it.

We have also, in the abstract, created another rather strange and weird concept of ‗imaginary numbers‘, the square root of a negative number. What is not commonly understood is that a concept of this paradoxical kind is actually a part of the ‗General Theory of Relativity‘. This concept appears at a really early stage in theorizing, it appears in order to give a positive value to a concrete distance in hyperbolic geometry, making the use of imaginary numbers necessary in calculation. It‘s as if there‘s a mental twist in any theory involving abstraction, we find strange concepts, strange twists, not just in the reality but also in the fabrics of our perception, displaying both manifest and unmanifest aspects. I get the impres-sion that modern science implies an abstract, almost virtual, background to all manifestation, abstract but not untraceable. What I am getting at is the idea that a concept so all encompassing as to be characterized by an unconditional ‗Absolute‘ does have to embrace fundamental problems such as the one of paradox, inner and outer, within its range. In scrutinizing concepts implying vastness, infinities, an enormity or something such, paradox does arise. (See the verse from Rig Veda, 10:129.6 on page XX.) It‟s as if our mind persist in holding on to a personal inner sense of cosmic unboundedness, an ever ongoing unending inner expansion, whatever, identifying itself with this manifold enormity. Then, in identifying itself with the complexities of the world the mind accomplishes this to such an extent that it loses itself in the belief of its own reality as being a totality of the everchanging, and in practicality, uncountable aspects of the material world, without realizing that this is glossing over fundamental problems. In Chapter 2 of the Yoga-Sûtra, verses 18–26, Maharishi Patanjali takes a stab at getting at the nature of things both material and spiritual.

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VEDIC DIVERSION – ON THE ROAD AGAIN – The world is the play of the gunas – the universal energies of light, motion and mass. They take form as the elements and the senses. The purpose of the world is to provide us with experience and thus lead us to liberation Patanjali, Yoga-Sûtra, 2.18; Schearer

The mind in its reflecting on the colossal extent of the manifest world almost grasps the outer vastness. From the conceptual background of assumed inner infinity, the mind takes to these qualities: thus identification comes about, a paradoxical understanding of the inner dimension is projected onto the outer and identification occurs. In this the mind is ascribed qualities, the same qualities we assign the shimmering aura we sense within, our own projection of an ‗Absolute‘ inner vastness is assigned conceptual definition but unfortunately in terms belonging to the outer sphere of life, in reflecting this inner construction back on the outer illusion an experience of ‗Mâyâ‘ is created. In Indian philosophy we find this large and paradoxical concept of an unbound, all encompassing ‗Absolute‘ expressed in the concept of the immaculate Brahman. A wholeness. Brahman is the ‗Story of Everything‘. Brahman, the Poem, see above in the section on ‗Creation‘, p. 15. The ideas suggested by Ms. Kramrich do open up some ... ? The Veda and its heritage is immense, and from it, as from a great overflowing fount of inspiration connecting heaven and earth, imparted through vast ancient tradition over innumerable generations, out of the unfathomable well of this knowledge, this Veda, this song, this poetry, springs Yoga, both as philosophy and as practical teaching. In a well-known verse of the Rig Veda (see p. 157) we find one of the deep concepts of Yoga, that of being a witness: being aware of reflective consciousness in action as well as at rest. We are urged to know and to take action. Taking care of ourselves and the tree that we are a living part of helps sustain the cosmic balance. The human physiology has the ability to conceive thought, it has reflexivity, it is supple, and looked upon as a function of time it defines consciousness in multiplicities of abstract interrelationships. A virtual dynamic is expressed, a creative act is possible. Reaching from the utterly sublime to most mundane human fallibilities, our precious mind, our consciousness,

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VEDIC DIVERSION â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ON THE ROAD AGAIN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; reflects its own involvement in moments of action as well as in inner unity with abstract quiet, with the innermost essence, its own crystal wakefulness. Out of this state all reality may spring (maybe as some kind of abstract quantum wave dynamic, mediated by Single Cell Consciousness, whatever), and in this we are all interratedly involved. Expressed Consciousness is Life evolving.

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SIX SYSTEMS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY – THE WHOLITY –



Nyaya

Vaisheshika

Sankhya

Reasoning

Analysis & Discrimination

Pertaining to Number (Categories)

The Means of Valid Knowledge

Perception Inference Comparison Verbal Testimony            

The Object of Valid Knowledge Doubt Purpose Exampel Established Principle Parts of a logical Argument The Process of Reasoning The Art of Drawing Conclusions Discussion Polemics Cavil Fallacies

The inconclusive The contradictory The equivalent to the question The Unproved The belated 

       



Earth Water Fire Air Space Time Direction in Space Soul

1. Transcendental Reality The basis of the subjective aspect of life (Purusha. 2. Nature The primal substance. (Prakriti) 3. Movement towards manifestation. Ascending & Descending 4. Individuation of the movement Life-breaths Closing and Opening 5. The Mind of the eyelids The object of the Life individuating principle. Mental activity 6 - 15. The Senses Pleasure Five senses of perception Pain & five organs of action Desire provide the connection Effort of the subjective with the objective. Mind 16 - 20. The Essences Of the objects of the five senses of perception 21 ” 25. The Elements

Equivocation

”The Tree of Life” Seen as a Virtual Self-referential Field of The Deep.

Verbal Generalizing Figurative  

Futile Argument Disagreement on First Principles

D hyâna M e d ita tio n

in w a r d s

D h âran â F o c u s in g

in w a rd s

P r a ty â h â r a R e tr a c tin g o f th e S e n s e s

o u tw a rd s sig h t

to u c h

P rân ây âm a

sm e ll

T h e B r e a th in g

ta ste

out in

P o s tu r e m assage, s tre tc h , b e n d ,

su sp en d ed

N iy a m a

sh a u c h a sim p lic ity

Â san a

ry th m flo w

M o r a ls , T h e L a w s o f L ife

h e a rin g

tw is t, ro ll, tu rn , e tc .

c o n te n tm e n t ta p a s p u r if ic a tio n

f. e x . p a d m a â s a n a a n d o th e rs a s th e c o b ra

o r h a la a s a n a o r s u n g re e tin g , e tc .

sa n to sh a sw â d h y â y a r e f in e m e n t

M u d ra s ?

a p a r ig r a h a n o n - a tta c h m e n t

îsh v a r a p r a n id h â n a

sense of wonder

su r r e n d e r to th e L o r d

Y am a

E th ic s , T h e R u le s fo r L iv in g

sa ty a tr u th f u ln e ss

a h im sa n o n - v io le n c e

a ste y a in te g r ity

b rah m ach arya c h a stity

P r a k r it i Sam âdhi

w ith o b je c t

N ir b îja S a m â d h i S a m â d h i w ith o u t o b je c t

Sam âdhi D The y n a mDeep ic B lis s Dyn amic Bliss

S a t, C h it, A n a n d a E x is te n c e , I n te llig e n c e , B lis s

T ran scen d en t V ir tu a l S e lf- r e fe r e n tia l F ie ld

M a n ife s t

P u ru sh a U n m a n ife s t

SIX SYSTEMS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY – THE WHOLITY –



Yoga

Karma Mimansa

Vedanta

Direct Experience

Investigation, Close Consideration

Knowledge

Ethics

Yama

–

Morals

  

Niyama

–

Refinement, Contentment, Simplicity, Purification, Sense of Wonder • Posture • • • • •

– Breathing – Withdrawal – Focusing – Meditation – Dynamic Bliss –

 

Truthfulness, Non-attachment, Restraint, Integrity, Non-violence 

Asana Pranayama Pratyahara Dharana Dhyana Samadhi

Percepts or Injunctions Key-Words – Mantras Proper Nouns Prohibitions Explanatory passages

1. Discrimination 2. Non-Attachment 3. The Six Treasures

Control of mind Control of senses Abstinence Endurance Faith Mental equilibrium

Conventional Meanings Independent Compounds Dependent Compounds In accord sith these principles the Vedic texts,

4. Desire for Liberation

Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, are considered in two parts:

* The Samhitas: The parts that consider the key-words, the mantras. a. Those that are spoken aloud b. Those wich are pronounced silently ** The Brahmanas: The parts that consider traditions. - 10 metods of analysis of the Brahmanas -

Motive; Explanation or Expression; Deprecation; Praise; Doubt; Precept; Individual action; Past Events; Meaning according to context; Comparison. Compiled and slightly reworded; from appendix II to Maharishi Mahesh Yogis’ “On the Bhagavad-Gita: A New Translation and Commentary”, 1967, pp. 472–494.

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“The Tree of Life” A Theory of Consciousness. A New Perspective, Modern Science on the Yoga Daršana; New light on the philosophy of Yoga. “Yogastah Kuru Karmani” “Established in Yoga perform action” Bhagavad-Gita, 2:48

INTRODUCTION

HIS DISCOURSE,

in terms of Yoga and also in terms of Science, the Science of Modern Philosophy, will not attempt to be what it cannot. There will be mistakes, hopefully to be corrected – no pretensions, well, maybe a few. It‘s all been done before. But, I haven‘t seen Yoga presented anywhere else in quite the way I intend to do here. Now, this text will, at times, be allowed to veer into the informal, the initiatives here being solely of my own, my agenda in this not being under the constraints of any outside agency (but circumstance and luck), and thus I may very well write what I please, yet I will aim and strive for exactness in what I express in terms of knowledge gathered and experience vindicated. The responsibility for whatever blunders made will be all mine. I will have to avoid some of the worst pitfalls found in discussing the philosophy of consciousness: the confusions of ―First Person Pluralis‖ reckognings, the confusing of our own subjective views with those of others, and; ―‗The Third-Person Perspective‖, where only objectivity counts and mental events don‘t count – but does this mean we cannot study them scientifically?‖ (‗Conscious-ness Explained‘, p. 71, Daniel C. Dennett, 1991). These are two main bewilderments, among many, facing the science of ‗Heterophenomenology‘, the nascent science of making sense of inner phenomenology (phenomenology of another not oneself). A host of interesting and surprisingly twisty turns in the modern scientific study of consciousness need to be recognized and be brought into bright light, and some quite radical conclusions on ways of looking at inner experience have to be considered, if, at all, we take science seriously. What I‘m getting at is that there are things about consciousness we can actually unveil,

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – and this text is an attempt towards a workable and modern view of the subject at hand, ‗Consciousness‘, and of its corollary, of how the ‗Self‘ can be ‗known‘, by discussing the contexts of ‗Science‘ and ‗Yoga‘ side by side; what is offered and analyzed here is a perspective suffused in the philosophy of Yoga, aiming somewhat to identify the structure of consciousness within the concept of a unity of inherent shared natures of the respective dynamics of science, the scientific process as such, and of yoga, ultimately finding in that connexion a deep harmonic linkage endowed with possiblity and subtle advance for the striving, faring ‗soul‘, our tumblin‘, spinnin‘ whirl of narrative centering, for to broaden its appraisal of inner and outer ‗Man‘, endowed with deep yearnings of both sun and moon and the seductive, instinctive desire for comprehension. But I would like to remind everybody that what we intuitively take to be a glow of explanatory understanding may be a piece of self-deception that we attempt to construe for to explain an outcome as already contained in its grounds, as when a kitten turns into a cat, an ‗acceptable‘ transformation, or as in seeing our actions as effects of our intentions, a great psyhological trick. When we encounter any new kind of thing we should not expect to immediately be infused with the warm glow of understanding however right the correlations may seem. ―Phenomenal consciousness may present a case like modern physics, where it takes time and familiarity for accounts initially seen as technically adept but explanatory unsatisfying to become accepted as genuine explanations – understanding – is a poor guide to our real progress.‖ HETEROPHENOMENOLOGY An elegant overview of the third-person approach of Herteropheno-menology is avalable in a quite recent work of Mr. Daniel C. Dennett (who is University Professor and Director of the Center for Cognitive Sudies at Tufts University, Boston, U.S.A., and whom I will refer to quite often herein). This fine book, ―Sweet Dreams – Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness‖, 2005, lucidly explains all the wide ranging implications arising from this stance (among others the realization that certain constraints placed upon the data on consciousness obtained from a subject are quite necessary if we are to avoid incoherence and fancy in qualitative theorizing), this third-person methodology, not really unique to Herterophenomenology, is just the objective functionalist approach taken by natural science as such. This is clarly stated by

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – Professor Dennett in the following citation wherein he makes use of his very own thorough thinkings taken from ―Consciousness Explained‖; and which is thus being ‗echoed‘ in this recent work ―Sweet Dreams‖ p. 36), in this work Dennett shows how this Science of the subjective is to be regarded as: ... the neutral path leading from objective physical science and its insistence on the third-person point of view, to a method of phenomenological description that can (in principle) do justice to the more private and ineffable subjective experiences, while never abandoning he methodological principles of science. (1991, p. 72)

So what are we really talking about here? According to Mr. Dennett we are asked to take a giant theoretical leap and are adviced to keep a clear head about the presuppositions and implications embedded in its philosophical underpinnings (1991, p. 72). Herterophenomenology starts with recorded raw data on whatever physical ongoings are about within and without. From this a transcript is composed being the perceivable, for us, sum of whatever communications we detect from the subject (or subjects) whether they think it or speak it or breathe it, or are obliged to press a button: a record, an inventory of communica-tive acts is created, springing from reactions to whatever experiment is performed. These expression can then be interpreted as (apparent) expressions of beliefs, whether we started with sound waves or movements, button-pressings or any kind of recordable reactions. To be able to treat subjects in suchlike experimental settings respect-fully, to see them as the believers they belive they are, we have to see that to take the word of these believers and desirers, capable of performing acts with intended meaning, requires us to adopt what Mr. Dennett dubs the intentional stance: The intentional stance is the strategy of interpreting the behaviour of an entity (person, animal, artifact, whatever) by treating it as if it were a rational agent who governed its choice” of “action” by a “consideration” of its “beliefs” and “desires”. (Dennett, “Kinds of Minds – The Origins of Consciousness”, 1996, p. 35)

Treating the subject, the entity under investigation, as an agent enables us to predict and somewhat explain its actions or moves.

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – We living beings are intentional systems, of differing conceptual capacities, we have evolved gradually over billions of years and our behaviour is predictable/explicable from the intentional stance. To make investigation along such a path significant, agents have to be treated as smart beings, from this we then have the leverage to make predictions as to their actions, particular beliefs and desires may be attributed to the agent and our predictive leverage is dependent on this particularity, it is sensitive to the particular ways our beliefs and desires are expressed. Such systems may be called intentional systems, and that‘s what we are, predictors of the future and are ourselves too being predicted (paraphrased from ―Kinds of Minds‖, p, 42-47). We are travellers along subjective timelines of predictive surges of effort, our intentionality is therein channeled in evolutionary ways by environmental forces that in a speculative sense may be steered by the self-same algorithms of evolution that drive the subjective dynamics of our inner conceptualized and phenomenally experienced beings. There‘s an affinity there. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED Herein my aim is to share what I believe myself to have learned of the tight connection between understanding and experience, of the unity of intellect and heart, of the subtle mind/body dynamic and of the implications of the characteristics of these platforms as evolutionary forces to be grasped and utilized by man in our strivings to comprehend meaning and relevance in life – what it‘s all about! In this discussion of consciousness, as seen through the eyes of both modern scienceand the age old philosophy of Yoga, my own platform, the approach I have found myself to tend to, is the holding of a world view such as that held by naturalistic philosophers, and what has particularly inspired me is a view close unto that of professor Dennett. To cite Dennetts definition of naturalism: … naturalism, the idea that philosophical investigations are not superior to, or prior to, investigations in the natural sciences, but in partnership with those truthseeking enterprises, and that the proper job for philosophers here is to clarify and unify the often warring perspectives into a single vision of the universe. That means welcoming the bounty of well-worn scientific discoveries and theories as raw material for philosophical theorizing, so that informed, constructive criticism of both science and philosophy is possible.” (“Freedom Evolves”, 2003, p. 15)

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – My own background (of which I will tell more in a moment) lies deeply in the field of Yoga wherein I have seriously extended my interests of both its theoretical and practical aspects. I have studied the subject from diverse angles and done quite a bit of teaching. Therefore, in the setting out of this argument, I will, at first, outline and define a new approach on the theory of the science of Yoga, and secondly, I will endeavour to present a view of this theoretical structure, with practical applications, from the modern perspective. Regarding Yoga I take my lead from the Yoga-Darshana, (darshana, vision) the vision of Yoga, the philosophy of Yoga, as presented by sage Maharishi Patanjali, of approximately 2000 years ago, in the Yoga-Sûtra, the classic discourse on Yoga. But, rather than insist on holding a traditional stance, I will, in this telling, slant my moves in a slightly different mode, as will soon become clear, contrasting the natural vision of Yoga, that it is my aim to conwey, that of the natu-ral, elegant and simple, to a strange vision of confusing practices laced by exaggerated difficulties (of so many do‘s and don‘ts‘, and whatnots‘) that unfortunately have become associated with the understanding and practices of Yoga, as mostly all the numerous schools of Yoga present these. It is my aim to defuse misunderstandings regarding both the methods of Yoga and of what is possibly possible to know, as revealed by the sciences of today. I will show Yoga, in concert with modern science, to be a wide and general philosophy as well as being a distinct method of personal development, applicable in all settings, be they secular or denominational, and I will show this dynamic to be able to reveal the mysteries of consciousness. This theory will be metaphorically modelled as a great big tree, ―The Tree of Life‖. To do this will entail not just the slight casual preparation, some gathering of a few notes, a little compilation and a few ounces of thought. No! There will be quite a dive ahead, so be prepared for a few digressions thrown in for surprise and good measure. SNAKE‟S-HANDS! Quite naturally a few ‗Snake‘s-hands‘ may occur; snake‘s-hands and complicated jokes. Snake‘s-hands!See: imagine walking through the leafy wood one sunny day following a path, or, when seen from another perspective, we may find we‘re on the path of the journey of our Soul, figuratively speaking, and while on it we might just find some pointers, as may seem, or a way, a quintessence of ‗Path‘ (a path is like a snake, it curls

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – around everything, like the Milky Way, as Ananta, the Cosmic Snake, crawling round the world), but what we find is really just a little maze though that has no exits but leads back to Path – it runs off Path like a set of little fingers (a snake has no hands and likewise there is only one Path). Sometimes the snake‘s-hands are the best parts of a story, if the story is a long one. This telling may be a path, I hope; and so it must have its snake‘s-hands. Walking boulevards of cypress trees (and strange paths at night), trailing moss in mystic glow, purple blossom soft as snow. Behold! Above! Unbelievable firmament of innumerable, uncountable stars – it‘s overwhelming – all the beauty of that diamond sparkling sky, adamantine obsidian heaven, only milky white light to guide my feet here. See! The Milky Way, hanging up there, falling free, without, within. The sky is falling! Do you know what I mean? Whew! It‘s all up there for the imagining. Maybe in just a like manner as to how Welsh Poet Dylan Thomas might have experienced a brilliant night sky: fond of walks, once he may have been standing ‗Under Milk Wood‘ regarding all the deep infinitudes above. (Dylan Thomas! I will have more to say, below, on this genius whom I regard as a modern Rishi, seer, visionary poet extraordinaire and lyricist teacher, who, in tuning, embodying and explaining the mysteries of life contemplates the living souls of Heaven and Earth entwined.) We all live under ‗Milk Wood‘, under breathing myriads of billions upon billions of great ‗Trees of Life‘ whose living forests hang suspended, life itself shining brilliant – charmed and weightless, changing, growing – evolving life; all the atoms of ourselves, of our bodies, all the quantum packets of twirling strings and things that have lived within the hearts of stars, generations of stars, this life now recognizes and responds unto that immensity, without and within, to the spark of life and origin of it all. Life itself being the spark, rising like Phoenix from the dust and ashes of whatever was (and might Mr. Thomas too, one time, have felt the vertigo, the pull of this heavenly attraction). O! Agni, creative spark, fire, visible in the heavens to the naked eye, engendering the universe. O! Ananta, cosmic serpent, Narayana, Îshvara, Guru Deva, all, eternal teachers, masters. I am humbled. And we will all become as stars within eternal galaxies of time, in multiplicities and mysteries of worlds both far and near, both abroad and at home, both there and here, both without and within, all around, everywhere. Sprayed ‗Hand-Prints‘ of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia! (now – indulge me and allow me another digression here as I wish to put a bit of perspective on the different

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – themes about to crop up as this telling proceeds)! In all the myth and lore of the Australian realm, we find the cosmic serpent Tchamala. As He stretches over the world he is at times called ―The Rainbow Serpent‖: imagine how brilliant the night sky must have appeared to these people, all the colours of the stars, and all these colours, this heavenly abundance, reflected in days rainbow; the two entities day and night share the reference, thus they are united. Paintings of these ur-inhabitants of the Australian continent reflect these themes even today, they holdf a strong tradition of pointillism; stripes and wiggles fluctuating, flashing and poignant like all natures manifestation, against a blessed background of stars; dots and curls and splashes all over the place, strongly creating a sense that the numinous is held within the luminous. The Aborigines of Australia regard and believe the colour white – derived from a clay called huntite – to be the droppings of ‗The Rainbow Serpent‘. It‘s quite a metaphor, a rainbow spectrum that shimmers through the sky and over the earth leaving a dazzling white behind. In Egypt, in the tomb of Rameses VI, we find again reflected inthe ‗Uraeus‘, from the Egyptian for ‗Cobra‘, worn by the Pharaoh on his crown) the cosmic serpent, vaulting over the journeying sun god Ra. Ra being flanked by Mind and Magic: representing understanding and experience, as I‘d have it. Fifth-century Alexandrian writer Horapollo wrote: ‗When the Egyptians would represent the universe they delineate a serpent bespeckled with variegated scales, devouring its own tail, the scales imitating the stars of the universe‘. Found on a small golden shrine of Pharaoh Tutankhamen‘s an encircling Ouroboros serpent is shown representing powers of resurrection and renewal. And again! A central figure in ancient Mexican rebirth rituals was the „Sovereign Plumed Serpent‘, Quetzalcoatl. In Mexico, land of the Maya in the Central-Americas, we can be witness to the epiphany of a feathered serpent descending down the sky along the northern stairway of the pyramid Kukulkan at Chichen Itza in the evening of the autumnal equinox (21 September).The pyramid is built with such skill that as the sun falls lowerin the sky the shadow of a gigantic undulating snake of sevencoils of shadow can be seen crawling down the western stairway.This stairway ends with a large sculpted serpents head with gapingjaws, at the base of it, to complete the illusion. The snake wasa principal religious symbol for the Maya, representing the sky. The Mayan word ‗chan‘ denotes both ‗snake‘ and ‗sky‘.

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – In Indian mythology why is Vishnu, preserver, sustainer of the universe, represented by Narayana, one of the original teachers, resting on the back of Serpent-King Shasha? To understand this image we must know that, according to Hindu cosmology, the universe was created out of the primæval waters, the Milky Way. In attempting to give an anthropomorphic face to Natures potential Vishnu is pictured as resting on an immovable primordial rock. The word naga, used to indicate a snake, means ‗not to go‘, being steady‘, from na, not, and ga, to go, and as such it can refer to the cosmic mountain or cosmic tree at the centre of cosmic existence. As modern man has begun to realize – the branches emanating from this centre spread their remarkable bouquets everywhere. ―As Above, So Below!‖ In this famous esoteric adage of ancient Hermes Trismegistus we obviously find a sense of correlation of Heaven and Earth. Everywhere in Earths‘ prehistory there is distinct representation of the relationship of the outer and the inner, mythologized in the magic metres and structures of poetry, in their patterned timings of rhythms and beats, in their expressions of structured knowledge (memes, see p. 124), this relationship of Heaven and Earth, this synergistic Pavane, delineates inner organization superimposed on structures offered by the outer (and the inner) world through our senses, both in the physical sense, with all the soundings and squeaky turnings of its body-physics, as well as being a structure responsive to the taking of cues from the inner functionings of our mind, as said. Expression can be thought of as an out-pouring of what we innately create from abstract inner fields, to resound upon and format our world. I intentionally emphasize the role of poetry and myth as it will become important and vital, quite soon in this discussion, to recognize that Word, World, Philosophy and Science, connect on very abstract yet distinctly very real levels. On this the ancient Vedic tradition speaks, symbolically repli-cating inner and outer creation in their diverse branchings: as of a great ‗Tree of Life‘ though shrouded in myth. In assimilating these gorgeous hymns, brought to expression by the most ancient still living civilization in the world, we will become as if singularly aware of consciousness per se, and, in concert with, in the study of these hymns find a capacity to learn much and more of ourselves, and possibly of even the manifold intricacies of our modern quantumnal capabilities.

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – SNAKE‟S-HANDS PATH Back to Path! This document will cover two main perspectives stemming from two very distinct world views, yet united along stem, axis and crown respectively, as I intend to show; they‘re really not that different, they only belong to two historical epochs separated in time by millennia. In one of our palms, viewing all the extant knowledge discovered and created by man, we find available, a modern scientific world view (on which I will focus a more specific and closer attention in chapter 2, ‗Theory‘). A glimpse of what this modern world view represents, that accords with the drive of this text, I found in a book by Mr. Paul Brockelman, professor of religion and philosophy, who, in his book ‗Cosmology and Creation – The Spiritual Significance of Contemporary Cosmology‘, 1999, p. 44, offers this clarifying synopsis of the kinds of perspective shifts in conceptualization that have accellerated the scientific quest since about the middle of the 20th century. This is a process that found a strong definition with Copernicus and then later, passing through the Enlightenmentto modern times where with the ‗Theory of Relativity‘ and the tools of ‗Quantum Theory‘, it has given rise to a modern cosmology. ”… this cosmology understands nature as a historical or temporal unfolding over billions of years, a story which entails a vision of the whole of the universe as seen through all the sciences. Rather than describing nature as a complicated machine, as has been the case in earlier scientific understandings, this cosmology pictures it more as a living, organic process. This shift in our perception of the universe forces us to revise our understanding of God from that of an initial clockmakerdesigner standing apart from the machine to something more like an immanent force or power-to-be which unfolds from the original singularity into the astonishing, interrelated, and ordered manifold of reality we have come to recognize.

In recognizing that there‘s a kind of historicity, a flow, a story to creation and emergence, a sense of myth reflected even in the process of modern science, we run into many unknown areas of abstraction that create paradox. As this phenomena regularly appears in human history creating paradigm shifts when the specifics of a paradox or other are resolved, it is my aim to show how the essence of these gordic knots of confusion, boggling the mind, is central to my explanations. Thus my hope

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – herein is to be able to throw at least some light on the subtle nature of these strange depths. An example of the conceptual difficulties encountered is given by Joseph Margolis, also eminent professor of philosophy. … everything we say is said in a certain context, as we say. And every context is located in a more inclusive context. And the universe might be said to be the context of contexts. But, if you take that view, then the universe is not an object of discourse because to say it is would mean to put it in a larger context and that would be contradictory.

This kind of strangeness will become the basis of discussion in the section called ‗The Central Concept‘, p. 69, wherein I will present a few ideas modeling the complex. And then, in the other palm, there‘s the Vedic angle, the age old Vedic traditions, and within these the seeds to the theories and sciences of Indian philosophy, of which a main tool of insight is direct experience exemplified by the many methods and practices of Yoga. This system of Yoga is thoroughly analyzed and theoretically understood in the vision of Maharishi Patanjali. Today there is a great surge of interest in Vedic knowledge, a great reawakening awaits, and as our good fortunes are the Veda never was forgotten or lost. Veda today is not just alive, but alive, roarin‘, kickin‘ and a‘growin‘. Regarding Yoga and its ramifications it is my intent here to share a few descriptions of a modern view of the subject of Yoga having the capacity to convey a strong potential of inherent explanatory power, to share a vision that strangely surfaced, in November 2002, sort of, from wherever, and who knows how? This was right after I had completed a translation of the Yoga-Sûtra of Maharishi Patanjali into Swedish (yet to be published – more on the sûtras in a moment). And then it grew, until I woke up one fine Sunday morning last fall, 2004, and there, in a deep meditation, in all that quiet Sunday solitude, I suddenly knew how to express this insight, I knew how to begin. In translating the Yoga-Sûtra I myself, unfortunately, am not yet versed well enough in Sanskrit to take the direct route to the heart of the matter (as in translating from the original), therefore I have translated from the English, though as years go by one does tend to pick up diverse stuff, – all that exact and precise Sanskrit terminology, and some of it rubs in. In translating I have looked at eleven different English translations of the

228

THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – Yoga-Sûtra, comparing the different strains of reasoning applied to the text, comparing the resulting content, deemed appropriate to define key Sanskrit concepts in English, and then I have drawn some conclusions of my own), but mostly my work, of, I hope, at least some merit, is based on the clear and beautiful English rendition of this text by Mr. Alistair Schearer: ‗Effortless Being – The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali‘, 1982. It was this fine work of Mr Shearer that impelled me to attempt a Swedish translation of this discerning philosophical device, the ‗Yoga-Sûtra‘, of which I believe there is no previous Swedish translation, at least none that has yet crossed my ‗path‘. I have been striving for a comprehensible Swedish text of the subtle, intricate and visionary work of Patanjali. In this, to aid my efforts, I have been guided, as said, by a host of translations, of the Yoga-Sûtra, from Sanskrit into English (see bibliography – ‗Yoga-Sûtra‘, where a summary of the various content of these works is given.). These other works have at times offered alternate routes to more stringent phrasings in Swedish, one after another, of many convolute concepts, at times they have given my imagination a freer rein to mine the available knowledge gathered by scholars working the western idioms. These works have distinctly helped clear extant mental rubble and confusions of my own resulting from personal shortcomings, failings in understanding, and in progress being hampered by various ups and downs in mundane circumstances while travelling the vistas of abstract landscapes. Then also, in general, in all translation there are problems involved, not negligible in the least, due to the great and vast, almost unimaginable distances in time that the remarkably precise transmission of these discerning and ever significant philosophies of the age-old Vedic era has had to cover, and meaning does tend to drift over epochs, resulting in a certain amount of guesswork on precise meaning. (Good training ground for the intuitively minded.) This Vedic age traces its roots at least 5000 years back, with a high culture well established from around 2500 B.C. lasting until the beginning centuries of the 2 nd millennium B.C., in the area of what is now modern Pakistan But intelligent guides and a just a wee bit of applied common sense while delving these depths can work wonders. In working with the text of the ‗Yoga-Sûtra‘ I chose to opt for inner poetry (not discounting content and deeper meaning though). So, I went looking for the unity of idea and expression, the fusion of intellect and heart, of body and soul. It must not be forgotten that the age of Patanjali was an age of great poetry, the poetry of Vedic culture, still vitally alive today, breathing and radiating essences and nectars of life.

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THE TREE OF LIFE – A NEW PERSPECTIVE – Having previously translated a selection of poems of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas into Swedish and thereafter gone tackling the Yoga-Sûtra, aiming at its core, I now felt sure in places where formerly I‘d have stumbled. Well, with that experience, the virtuoso performances of Mr. Thomas snapped, crackled and popped, with this experience to lean on, to draw from, I went for the flow, pulse, rhythm, phrase, melody, song – the wholeness – of this great eye-opener, the Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali. Freeing myself somewhat from the traditional framework surrounding this great work, the innume-rable mazes of interpretation and dogma, not always staying with the literal interpretation, trusting my intuitions, seeking the vision, looking for innovation: an approach I accordingly used both in the translating into Swedish of the beautiful poetry of Mr. Thomas and then, via the excellent work of Mr. Schearer, pressing on with my translation of the structured vision of Maharishi Patanjali, the Daršana of Yoga; an‘ I strode right out and went for the heart! – And saw! A Tree! –

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THE HAGA PARK ? – BEAUTIFUL SPOT –

Artist unknown. 231

ABOVE US ONLY SKY – FROM STARDUST TO STARDUST – Originator: Albatross Theme: Span of Creation Style: Folk Ballad

Heaven and Earth Before we knew the starry skies, Before we knew what was above the clouds Heaven and Earth were far apart. Now each footstep on this my beloved ground Reaveals a path that was there all along, From where we came to where we go, From a billion years ago. The only way I know is step by step, The only way to go is outwards bound, Yet stand still a while and catch the roll and flow of time, Yeah take your time, consider all the choice you have, Stand still a while, there’ll always be another road to take. He said, “It never was so easy, it never was so slow.” Dear friend of mine, it’s quite natural – the way to go. I will go, I will be, I will climb those steps From the deepest gravity, Soar and roar up to almost utmost blessed infinity, Into weightless states and dreams reminding me of consistency. I’ll climb far above to the heaven we’ve joined with earth so rationally, All the way from where we came to where we go. Ah my love, from a billion years ago.

Juri Aidas

– 14 January 2006

Listen to ‟Heaven and Earth‟ as performed by Another Albatross at: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_2048623

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IMPLICATIONS – DEEPER DIMENSIONS –

Rishi: Kutsa Deity: Višvedevas Metre: Jagati Rig Veda, 1.106.20-23, Transl. by R.T.H. Griffith

Two Birds with fair wings, knit with bonds of friendship, In the same sheltering tree have found a refuge. One of the twain eats the sweet Figtree’s fruitage; The other eating not regardeth only Where those fine Birds hymn ceaseless their portion Of life eternal and the sacred synods. There is the Universe’s mighty Keeper, Who, wise, hath entered into me the simple.

Deer at Pond Oil on Canvas, 100 x 100 cm.

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The Tree, whereon the fine Bird eats the sweetness, Where they all rest and procre their offspring, Upon its top they say the fig is luscious: None gaineth it who knoweth not the Father

AFTERWORD

S EEMINGLY THE VEDAS ARE NOT ARRANGED IN A SEQUENTIAL ORDER but rather in a manner conducive to ceremony and ritual making them fit the time, the season and occasion a1. After some 800 years though, of high civilization lasting from ca 2,500 B.C. to 1,700 B.C., the ritualization of Vedic soceiety had become overbearing, even mundane hosehold chores would fall under the sway of priestly guidancea2, b1 (giving more work for the priest no doubt), and with slow but persistent influx of immigrants, clashes and trouble, natural disorder culminating in the great Saraswati river (mentioned in the Veda) ending up drained – earthquakes, watercourses redirected, furnace sands and deserts encroaching – thus, sadly, this high, beautiful and sublime civilization faded (whatever its restrictive character, its reverence of life has gone unsurpassed) yet seeding the narrative courses of other peoples and lands, Vedic insight survived moving its focus from the Indus Valleys of the then seven rivers to the gangetic plains further east (we know the approximate date of this turmoil, somwhere around the first half of the second millennium B.C. c) and thus the light of ancient knowledge managed to survive and seed the remarkable and abiding spiritual philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism & Jainismd, At their root lies Yoga. Yes, embedded at the centre, source and root of this outpouring we find Yoga! ‗The Recursive Evolutionary Algorythm of Evolution‘, still shining, thriving anew, as ever. In this presentation I have attempted to draw attention to a few basic landmarks of modern science and philosophy contrasting them with a selection of somewhat representative hymns from the Vedic canon that model the universal questions of human striving in structures of lyrical beauty and wonder. I have stuck them in here and there in this document yet I try to show them in context, give relevance to their content, so to say, give them a fitting place in all this cosmogonical supposition – all in order to argue the depths of insight attainable to man. I have been surprised by the many advances made in the sciences these last decades, but with Artificial Intelligence entering the arena it could not but have happened, and this has been all predicted too (see the general literature dealing with the advances of science from the early sixties and onward, e.g Susan Greenswards‘ ‗Tomorrows People‘, 2005, another good example, looking forward from out of our near history, would be

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Joseph Weizenbaums, by now classic ‗Computer Power and Human Reason – From Judgment to Calculation‘, 1976, wherein we are also direly warned not to leave our sense of ethics and morals aside, the creation of innumerable generations of ancestors, our conscience) – well, anyway (gets you from here to there), I am surprised by the energy manifest in all of our human inventiveness and in the sheer creative genius of some people. Wherever we‘re going, and however fast we may get there we carry the legacies of all. The Vedic insights are an expression of the great flows of vision of mankind rising out of antiquity reaching towards the stellar firmament, from out the eternal murks of chaos to modern autonomy the great life-sustaining flow of the Saraswati river is ever flowing, never to be forgotten. A part of man as sure as the stars above. And but a quantum of this Veda does contain a spark, an acute and vibrant dynamic, to entwine all the heavens with our earth. We surely stand under milk wood.

 Juri Aidas

a, b, c, d,

‗In Search of Ancient Civilization‘, Feuerstein, Kak & Frawley, 1995, p. 1, 204 2, 34 & 2, 38. ‗The Gem in the Lotus – The Seeding of Indian Civilization, Abraham Eraly, 2000, p. 135. ‗Uncovering the Keys to the Lost Indus Cities‘, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, Scientific American, 2005, vol. 15, No. 1. ‗The Deeper Dimension of Yoga – Theory and Practice‘, 2003, p. 39.

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ARCADIÉ – BEETWEEN BRACKETS –

To conclude now (but that‘s a long way off yet) would, in a way, be to draw a transversal of objectivity across the subjective structures embedded in the psycho-physiology of us humane biota. Well, this may be impossible of course (well almost, see appendix). And what more, in terms of yogic practice (conducting the recursive algorythmy of subject/ object introspectivity) what one is doing in the applying of yoga is seemingly not possible to pinpoint exactly, as it is being explained, except by allusion and metaphor - it is only possible to but subjectively, so to say, be able to close in on that to which no concept applies. In the sense of cognitivity and comprehension this is what happens when the effortless effort to so do is finally distracted (even the algorythmy gone), and one is not ‗doing‘ that anymore, that‘s the paradox. It is there, the tranquil, the serene, the supreme, redundant with intensities, bright an‘ clear, yet it ever slips away to the direct glance. So one but remains - as if held in an arcadié, in an all embracing unity, a wide and open closure, of dynamic bio-psychological trust.

237

238

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ORION'S INNER BEAUTY – BEYOND THE BEYOND –

NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Megeath (University of Toledo) http://sscws1.ipac.caltech.edu/Imagegallery/image.php?image_name=ssc2006-16a

241see p. 92. For specifics

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NATURE – ALL A WONDER –

243

NATURE – ALL A WONDER – Beyond Perplexitie

Dynamic Bliss

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NATURE – ALL A WONDER –

Speculative musings: The meditative process is an essence of what may be construed as being of self-referential nature and is yet unmanifest, is as purusha. The inherent virtual dynamic of this unmanifest yet structurally defined abstruseness (of recursive algorythmie, of inner return) is the very nature of the process of transcendence, By sanyama, coherence, the relevance of the subjective world is defined as intent ” this establishes and makes possible a meeting with outer reality, prakriti, in a constantly ongoing creative process. The correspondence thus is of the inner with the manifestations of objective creation. Creativity is the expression of it all. Makes the world emergent and renewed.. Dhyâna is the anchor of sanyama, dhâranâ is its direction and samâdhi its relevance. Perform action established in Yoga.

Koch Curve

Speculative Thinkings on a Virtual Self-Referential Field: The application of a Recursive Evolutionary Algorythm, Dhyana, allows for a process (see „Epistemology‟, p. 39) of Transcendence to develop familiarity with a:

Virtual, Self-referential Field, Samadhi – Algorhythmically Structured & Physically Based in the Domain of the Single Cell. Construction of a „Koch‟ Curve.

Juri Aidas –

An example of Algorithmic Fractal development: The „Koch‟ ** Curve.

Algorithms construct worlds! „Snowflake‟: made from 3 „Koch Curves‟.

** Rudy Rucker (1982, p. 9) http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/~lriddle/ifs/kcurve/kcurve.htm ** Yoga Sûtra – Patanjali (200 B.C. – 100 A.D.)

22 November 2002. (Updated: 3 April 2008.)

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NATURE – ALL A WONDER –

* z 246

NATURE – ALL A WONDER –

* z 247

NATURE – ALL A WONDER –

248

NATURE – ALL A WONDER –

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ONTOLOGY – OF WORD, OF BRAHMAN – Categories

1. ABSTRACT RELATIONS EXISTENCE RELATION QUANTITY ORDER NUMBER TIME CHANGE EVENT CAUSATION POWER

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

A. BEING IN THE ABSTRACT 1. 2.

1I. SPACE SPACE IN GENERAL DIMENSIONS STRUCTURE; FORM MOTION

ABSTRACT RELATIONS SPACE PHYSICS MATTER SENSATION INTELLECT VOLITION AFFECTIONS

EXISTENCE NONEXISTENCE

BEING IN THE CONCRETE 3.

SUBSTANTIALITY

UNSUBSTANTIALITY

C. FORMAL EXISTENCE 5.

INTRINSICALITY

EXTRINSICALITY

D. MODAL EXISTENCE 7.

STATE

CIRCUMSTANCE

A. ABSOLUTE RELATION

9. E 1II. PHYSICS 10. U PHYSICS 11. R B 12. R M HEAT 13. C LIGHT 14. I C ELECTRICITY; ELECTRONICS 15. 16. D 18. U MECHANICS 19. N PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 20. M B. PARTIAL RELATION COLOR 21. S XISTENCE

NRELATEDNESS

ELATIONSHIP BY LOOD ELATIONSHIP BY

ARRIAGE

ORRELATION

DENTITY

ONTRARIETY IFFERENCE

NIFORMITY

ONUNIFORMITY ULTIFORMITY

IMILARITY

1V. MATTER MATTER IN GENERAL INORGANIC MATTER ORGANIC MATTER

Juri Aidas –

22. 23.

DISSIMILARITY IMITATION

24. 25.

NONIMITATION COPY

26.

MODEL

C. CORRESPONDENCE OF RELATIONSHIP 27.

AGREEMENT

28.

DISAGREEMENT

6 January 2005, ed., 2 March 2012

As the main 8 categories of this ontologigal ‟Tree of Language‟, of‟ ‟Word‟, of ‟Brahman‟, are expanded this gives rise to 1042 different conceptual platforms of emergence – for all the multifarious, specific and expressive words of language: the atoms of all our notions, theories and models; our ethics and morals; our amazing arts and sciences; our understandings. The ‟Memes‟ of life.

SENSATION SENSATION IN GENERAL TOUCH TASTE SMELL SIGHT HEARING

V1. INTELLECT INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES AND PROCESSES STATES OF MIND COMMUNICATION OF IDEAS VOLITION VOLITION IN GENERAL CONDITIONS VOLONTARY ACTION POSSESSIVE RELATIONS

VI1.

AFFECTIONS VII1. PERSONAL AFFECTIONS SYMPATHETIC AFFECTIONS MORALITY RELIGION

Ref: Roget‟s International Thesaurus, 1977 Attunement of the linguistic groupings by Juri Aidas

WORDS – FROM ALL ACROSS THE UNIVERSE –

Originator: Albatross Theme: Span of Creation Style: Folk Ballad

Words Words are flowing in my mind

In patterns made of silv’ry smiles, New worlds are being born, bang bang, An’ they spread out across the starry vault. All around me that hustle bustle propensity Is lightin’ up the world, As the dance of life Throws up a bright billion galaxies of light: O! I find that words are not enough. O! Golden ships fly the range galore, From middle ground to utmost shore. Both ways they go. Set up a call; An’ the world will tumble as it falls Free, ablaze, a great delight; An’ that a trail of transversality creates That will will itself the great divide To bridge, as word and æon burn. O! Fly me beyond the horizon. Yea, as I look from shore to shore, At my canvas edge strange worlds unfold. Galaxies, bang bang, like grains of sand Abound, are everywhere around, An’ in my hand, a fire, a pertinence Of essence, every colours’ inner shinin’ light. And thus I strive to finalize, To draw the line, set the scene: To make, and then, as river ripplin’ flow, go.

Juri Aidas

– 12 November 2006

Listen to this song as interpreted by An Another Albatross at: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_2029476

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FURTHEST GALAXIES – AFTER BIG IGNITION! –

NASA's Hubble Finds Hundreds of Young Galaxies in Early Universe

For the inspiration of this li‟l piece of a sense of wonder see the Hubble site: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/cosmology/2006/12/

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CREATION TIMELINE – ONTOGENESIS *, CREATIVE EMERGENCE – TIME

(after BIG BANG)

10 10-43 10-35 10-10 1–3

seconds seconds (temp: 1032˚ K) seconds (temp: 1028˚ K) seconds (temp: 1015˚ K) minutes

(1)

**13,7 billion is the calculated Infinite Singularity. frame on this as of October 2006.] Gravitational force separates. Strong nuclear force separates. Weak nuclear and Electro-magnetic forces separate. Matter emerges in particles along with helium and hydrogen.

(2)

300,000 years after Bang (2000˚ K) 1–5 billion years after billion years after billion years after

11–12 TIME 3–4 700 550

billion years after (from NOW – timeframe change) billion years ago million years ago million years ago

400 235 216 210 90

million years ago million years ago million years ago million years ago million years ago

(4)

(5)

4.4 million years ago 2.8 million years ago 2.4–1.0 million years ago 200–300,000 years ago

THE EMERGENCE OF LIFE First microscopic forms of life. „Single Cell Consciousness‟ DNA, photosynthesis and sexual regeneration. Familiar multi-cellular creatures emerge in the sea. First shell fish appear: the Cambrian Explosion of new forms of marine life – including the first vertebrates – which lead to myriad life forms (fish, plants, animals, mammals) which are familiar today. Life emerges from the sea. Dinosaurs appear. First mammals appear. Breakup of Pangæa and formation of continents. Flowering plants predominate.

THE EMERGENCE OF HUMAN LIFE First hominid anscestor of both humans and apes and chimpanzees. First Humans: Homo Habilis. Humans spread around the world: Homo Erectus. Archaic Homo Sapiens.

(6)

years ago years ago years ago years ago years ago

THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL VISION (Emergence of Memetic Structures) First cultural remains of modern Homo Sapiens. Neanderthals die out. Neolithic culture. Classical cultures. Copernicus (1543) and modern culture.

(7)

130–160 years ago

UNFOLDING OF MEMETIC ONTOGENESIS * Charles Darwin & Evolution, 1849; Gregor Mendels Laws in Genetics, 1865. First Computer Program: written by Ada Lovelace, 1840 -ies. Birth of the Transistor – Information Technology takes off. „The Mathematical Theory of Communication‟: Claude E. Shannon. Discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation. Predicted by Theory. The Gaia Hypothesis, J. Lovelock; Science sees the whole in the new cosmology; Evolution realized as an algorithmic process; Quantum relevance.

1948 1949 1965 1980–2000 NOW Forecast

FORMATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM A sun (Tiamat) in the Orion arm of the Milky Way explodes

as a supernova spewing forth heavy elements such as carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. Sun, Earth and Solar System form.

40,000 35,000 12,000 3,500 450

FORMATION OF THE GALAXIES Hydrogen and Helium form lumpy clouds. Around 50 billion galaxies form.

(3)

9–10

INITIAL STAGE (13,7 ** billion years ago) [15 billion acc to Brockelman*,1999;

(8)

AUTONOMY OF INFORMATION EMERGES

Subject/Object fusion: Evolution of Artificial Intelligence realizes its dependency on the profundity factor of the biological platform * Ontogenesis: origin and development of individual being (towards of consciousness – fusion actualizing the aspirations of both. increasing autonomy of complex interrelated dynamic platforms). A shared ‟Sense of Wonder‟ doth arise: Spiritual Fulfilment. From “Cosmology and Creation”, by Paul Brockelman,* 1999 p. 54. 7th & 8thstage by Juri Aidas & a bit of the 4thstage, 10 August 2005.

INFINITY – THE ESSENCE OF PARADOX – Metaphysics of the Essence of Things Perplexity Field

Cantor was able to show that there is no end to an ascending hierarchy of infinities. If you have any infinite set, then you can generate one that is infinitely bigger by considering the set that contains all its subsets. This is called its power set.

John D. Barrow; The Infinite Book – A Short Guide to the Boundless,Timeless and Endless‟, 2005, p. 74-75.





 

  



Absolute Infinity

“The actual infinite arises in three contexts: first when it is realized in its most complete form, in a fully independent being, in Deo, where I call it the Absolute Infinite or simply Absolute; second when it occurs in the contingent, created world; third when the mind grasps in abstracto as a mathematical magnitude, number or order type. I wish to make a sharp contrast between the Absolute and what I call the Transfinite, that is the actual infinities of the last two sorts, which are clearly limited, subject to further increase, and thus related to the finite.”

Topless Tower. Never-ending hierarchy of ascending infinities.

... Everything we say is said in a certain context, as we say. And every context is located in a more inclusive context. And the universe might be said to be the context of all contexts. But, of course, if you take that view, then the universe is not an object of discourse because to say it is would mean to put it in a larger context and that would be contradictory.

Cantors general classification of Infinities; John D.Barrow, 2005, p. 93.

Joseph Margolis, interview by Michael Malone; A Parliament of Minds, 2000, p. 116.

254

2 Perplexitie

Chakra system – from the Internet (source unknown). A metaphysical point of view on the Emergence of conscious structures.

From an infinite set like  we can create an infinitely larger set (meaning one that cannot be put in one-to-one correspondence with it) by forming its power set, P[]=. Now we can do the same again by forming the power set of P[]=. That will be infinitely bigger than P[]. And so on, without end.

THE NULL CONCEPT – VANISHING POINT – Starting from one end of the poles of abstraction, from the manifests of immensity and vacuity in Nature, ending with a „Cipher‟, „Nought‟, „Null‟, „Zero‟.



Vyoman, Gagana, Aqbhira, Kha, Ambara Sky, Firmament, Atmosphere, Space

Akasha

Shunya

Ether

Bindu

Void

Dot

Concept of Shunyata, Vacuity. Birth of the place-value system and of zero in an empty space Non-created Non-produced Non-substance Non-existence The unformed The unthought The non-present The absent Nothingness Insubstiantiality

The Zero is expressed by: Shunya, Void; Akasha, Ether; Kha, Space; Vyoman, Sky; Gagana, Firmament; Ambara, Atmosphere; Bindu, Dot; etc., Which are treated as numerical symbols.

The concept is represented graphically by a dot (image of Bindu, ‟Dot‟) or by a small circle, which is itself a universal symbolic representation of the Sky and the vault of the Heavens.

Not much Negligible Insignificant Insignificance Nothing Of Little Value Non-value Without value Null Nullity Worthless

Concept of abstract Zero Empty

Absence Nothing

Insignificance

Nothingness

Nullity

In India, with only the slightest shades of difference, these notions have been totally unified, at least since the fifth century A.D. Mathematical concept of the Null Number. In A.D. 628 the Indian astronomer Brahmagupta defined ‟Zero‟ to be the result of subtracting any number from itself, and he also spelled out the algebraic rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing with it. “When sunya is added to a number or subtracted from a number, the number remains unchanged; and a number multiplied by sunya becomes sunya.”

Brahmagupta also defines infinity as the number that results from dividing any other number by zero and sets up a general system of rules for multiplying and dividing positive and negative quantities. („THE BOOK OF NOTHING‟, JOHN D. Barrow, 2000, p. 38) SCHEMATA OF THE NULL CONCEPT – GEORGES IFRAH (in BARROW, 2000, p. 43)

 

AS FAR AS FAR CAN SEE – WATCH IT ON THE TELLY! –

Expansion

An interesting thing about one of the many alternate ideas in the field of cosmology, the idea of an inflatory expanding infinite Universe, is that it corresponds remarkably well with empirical data. Based on the discovery of the cosmic background radiation in 1965 (the background remnants of radiation from the cosmological moment of of what is now called the Big Bang, the moment of creation for as far back as we can tell today, and some theoretical speculation takes us even further back) which lead to the devising of experiments to test theory, in the considering of whether any effects of slight variations in the structure of the primæval universe can be found reflected in the distribution of the background radiation as found today; some quite interesting results have been brought to light. On the next page overleaf a few results from observations in early 2003 by NASA are presented, these are from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe experiments. According to theory calculations that use the complex tools of quantum-mechanics reveal an uncanny correspondence between theory and the empirical data on the background radiation we find today, an imprint of fluctuations from the birth of the universe. A series of high-tech experiments, using high-flying ballons and satellites were a remarkable success and deliver a consistent picture of what the fluctuations in the background radiation look like. A view of what the universe must be like for these results to obtain is exellently told by John Barrow in his book on ―Infinity‖, 2005, pp. 189-190. Here‘re a few short paragraphs on what the WMAP-experiment strove to vindicate, or, to at least avail us some hard data for theorizers to utilize. There are very respectable theories of the very early history of the Universe which lead inevitably to an infinite Universe with markedly different properties from place to place. The most popular is the eternal inflationary universe theory of Alex Vilenkin and Andre Linde.

This is one of the theoretical structures that it is within the abilities of science to say something meaningful about, to either prove the soundness of the basic thinking or to disprove the same. Mr. Barrow goes on to explain just exactly what were looking for.

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AS FAR AS FAR CAN SEE – WATCH IT ON THE TELLY! –

Accelleration … As the Universe’s expansion surges (‘inflates’), these characteristic variations [of early conditions] in the temperature and the density of the Universe become stretched over large regions of space. They imprint their signatures on the visible radiation today in the form of small temperature differences from one direction to another on the sky. Assuming the laws of physics are the same in this environment as they are now, we can predict what these tiny fluctuations should be like and then go and see whether the expected variations exist in the radiation that is left over from the beginning of the Universe’s expansion.

The findings of the WMAP microwave studies are enticing, to say the least, tantalizing, they are thought-provoking, suggestive of lurking truth and insight (a new perspective looms bright) of deep profundity quite electrifying to the imagination. Who knows what else theory can predict from this? Another interesting insight Mr. Barrow calls to our attention, among others, on how effects of variation in the expansion of our visible Universe can be perceived, in the context of the influence of microwave background radiation, is described in his book on Infinity. This amazing television-example is from pages 142–143. So far our observations show a remarkable agreement with the predictions of the simplest inflationary universe theories. The distinctive pattern of variations that inflation imprints upon a bubble that expands for 14 billion years is there. We can see its presence imprinted on the microwave radiation that fills the Universe, a hiss of distortion from the beginning of the Universe that is even visible as interference on our television sets. If we look with instruments of exquisite sensitivity we can pick up the micro-structure of this noise, and extract from it the information it brings about our inflationary past.

•

And now , in the past few years here around 2010 (I‘ll have to look it up) the understanding has dawned on us that the expansion of the universe is actuslly accellerating, and we have all the new far flung hypotheses, theories, seeming verifications, et al. On ‘dark matter‘ and ‘dark energy‘, who‘d have imagined? All of these very interesting discoveries, and almost-discoveries, have all deepened into a magnificent world wiev for us all.

257

RESIDUAL HEAT – IN THE DEEP –

From the furthest recesses of this our stage

COSMIC BACKGROUND RADIATION DATA – See Barrow, 2005, pp. 191. The source is from ‘First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Preliminary Maps and Basic Results’, by Charles L. Bennett and team, at: http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/map/dr1/pub_papers/firstyear/basic/ wmap_basic_results.pdf.

All The Universe A Stage

258

COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION – QUANTUM RELEVANCE – COSMOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION Spergel et al. (2003) show that a cosmological model with a flat universe, seeded with a scale-invariant spectrum of adiabatic Gaussian fluctuations, with reionization, is an acceptable fit not only to the WMAP data but also to a host of astronomical data. WMAP Basic data: p. 36. An interesting thing about one of the many alternate ideas in cosmology, the idea of an inflatory expanding infinite Universe, is that it corresponds remark-ably well with empirical data. Based on the discovery of the cosmic background radiation in 1965 (the background remnants of radiation from the cosmological moment of what is now called the Big Bang, the moment of creation for as far back as we can tell today, and some theoretical specula-



tion takes us even further back). This discovery, by Penzias and Wilson lead to the devising of experi-ments to test theory, in the considering of whether any effects of slight variations in the structure of the primæval universe can be found reflected in the distribution of the background radiation as found today; some quite interesting results have been brought to light.

Fig. I

A guide to the microwave sky for reference. This picture shows the large-scale emission from the Milky Way galaxy, including some of its notable components such as the Cygnus complex, the North Polar Spur, the Gum region, etc. The small circles show positions of the microwave point sources detected by WMAP (Bennett et al. 2003c). The brighter sources are labeled for reference. WMAP Basic data: p. XX.

IMPLICATIONS FOR INFLATION – WMAP Basic data: p. 31. WMAPdata tests several of the key predictions of the inflationary scenario: (a) Inflation predicts that the universe is flat. (b) Inflation predicts Gaussian random phase fluctuations. (c) Inflation predicts fluctuations on scales that appear to be superhorizon scales in a Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmology. (d) Inflation predicts a nearly scale invariant spectrum of fluctuations, as seen by WMAP.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS – WMAP Basic data: p. 36. (1) WMAPhas produced high quality full sky maps in five widely separated frequency bands. These maps can be used to test cosmological models and serve as the primary legacy of the mission. (10) We have fit cosmological parameters to the data. We find results that are consistent with the Big Bang theory and inflation. We provide values and uncertainties for a host of parameters based on this non-power-law inflationary model. THE INFLATIONARY THEORY There are very respectable theories of the As the Universe‟s expansion surges very early history of the Universe which lead („inflates‟), these characteristic variations [of inevitably to an infinite Universe with early conditions] in the temperature and the markedly different properties from place to density of the Universe become stretched place. The most popular is the eternal over large regions of space. They imprint inflationary universe theory of Alex Vilenkin their signatures on the visible radiation and Andre Linde. It is a generalization of the today in the form of small temperature inflatory universe theory, which provides a differences from one direction to another on good explanation for many of the large scale the sky. Assuming the laws of physics are properties of our Universe. This theory the same in this environment as they are proposes that during the first 10-35 second of now, we can predict what these tiny the Universe‟s history, it experiences a brief fluctuations should be like and then go and period of acceleration as a result of the see whether the expected variations exist in presence of new forms of matter, which are the radiation that is left over from the predicted to exist at a very high tempebeginning of the Universe‟s expansion. ratures. These novelties quickly decay into Barrow, 2005, pp. 189–190. radiation and the Universe resumes its most lugubrious career of decelerating expansion. (See figure. III.)

Fig. II

WMAP satellite observations of temperature fluctuations in the background radiation versus scale compared to those predicted by the simplest theory of the inflationary model shown by the solid red line. Barrow, 2005, p. 191.

Fig. III

Inflation

Today

Time

The process of inflation takes a very small region of space and expands it in size by a large factor. Here, we see the way in which the scale and temperature of one of these regions vary in time. Barrow, 2005, p. 190.

FREE WILL / DETERMINISM – A MULTI LEVELED DYNAMIC –

I am determined to have free will. The structure of this simple deterministic model, ―The Game of Life‖, almost has the power to structure complex recursivity, to create a ‗Universal Turing Machine‟, this model was invented by mathematician John Conway and his team in the 1960s.

The quotes below refer to the two bottom paragraphs on the next page. * (Life hackers playing God in this simplified

two-dimensional universe. From Denneltt 2003, p. 41.)

** (Poundstone 1985, pp. 227-228. From Dennett 1995, p. 173. In 1985 this was high resolution, a modern lap-top would require a screen somewhat less than I kilometer across, Dennett 2003, p. 48.)

Evitability & Intentionality

260

♫♪

Toy model:

A nifty little meme !

of a deterministic universe.

(After Dennett, 1995, p. 166.)

THE GAME OF LIFE

– DETERMINISM, EMERGENCE & THE INTENTIONAL STANCE – A ‟Life‟ World is a deterministic two-dimensional Democritean universe. * The two stages of a ‟Flasher‟ obeying ‟Life‟ physics.

– with

squares, adjacent squares, a few rules (see box below) & OFF squares. ON

OFF

Process of Transcendence

ON Theory of Evolution

Fig II:

”How to build a two dimensional self-replicating construct!”

The basic elements of a „Life‟ World.

* Democritean Universe: simple imaginary universe. (W.V.O. Quine, 1969)

Fig. I

Fig. II

Life Physics: for each cell in the grid, count how many of its eight neighbours are ON Tree of Life: Manifest structure. A Growing Intentionality.

at the present instant. If the answer is exactly two, the cell stays in its present state (ON or OFF) in the next instant. If the answer is exactly three, the cell is ON in the Tree of Life: Unmanifest structure. A deepening Recurrence of Evitability. next instant whatever its current state. Under all other conditions the cell is OFF.

Fig. III

 • Can a twodimensional Life world be noisy enough to support open-ended evolution, while still quiet enough to permit the designer parts to do their good work unassailed?

Nobody knows. (Dennett, 2003, p. 50.)





A Glider

Time 1 Time 2 Among periodic configurations are some that swim amœbalike, across the plane. The simplest is the ‟glider‟, the five pixel configuration [shown in figure III, above] taking a single stroke to the southeast. (Dennett, 1995, p. 170.) Time 0

Design level interaction

Fig. IV

Time 3

Time 4

An ‟Eater‟ [figure IV, below] can eat a ‟Glider‟ in four generations.

(Poundstone, 1985, p. 38. From Dennett, 1995, p. 170.)

An Eater

• The open-endedness of evolution by natural selection depends on the extraordinary richness of the real world, which constantly provides new undesigned elements that can be serendipitously harnessed, once in a blue moon, into new design elements. (Dennett, 2003, p. 50.)



 Time 0

Subjective Recursive Evolutionary Algorithm

Manifest Objective Evolutionary Algorithm

Fig I:

Time 1

Time 2

The Intentional Stance: “Enriching the design stance by speaking

of configurations as if they “know” or “believe” something, and “want” to accomplish some end or other is moving up from the simple design stance to what I call the intentional stance.” Our simplest doers have been reconceptualized as rational agents or intentional systems ... (Dennett, 2003, p. 45.)

Encroachment is what makes Life interesting * • The loaf reacts with all the junk the R-pentomino produces as it naturally transforms into a Herschel, and miraculously reappears some time later leaving no debris at all. It is necessary to prevent the first Herschel glider from hitting the fading remnants of the reaction, and there is no room for an ordinary eater. But luckily a tub with tail and block can be used instead. • Dave Buckingham found a faster stable reflector that does not use Paul Callahan‟s special reaction. Instead the incoming glider hits a boat to make a B-heptomino, which is converted into a Herschel and moved round to restore the boat. A compact form of the 119-step Herschel conduit is needed here, as is a non-standard still life to cope with the 64 64 77 conduit sequence.

Time 3

Time 4

A Universal Turing Machine: It was Von Neumann who took Alan

Turings abstract conception of a mechanical computer (a “Turing machine”) and engineered it into the specification for a general-purpose stored-program serial-processing computer (a von “Neumann machine”). Von Neumann proved that a Universal Turing machine (a Turing machine that can compute any computable function at all) could in principle be “built” in a twodimensional world. To Display a 1013-pixel pattern would require a video screen about 3 million pixels across the least. Assume the pixels are 1 millimetre square (which is very high resolution by the standards of home computers). Then the screen would have to be 3 kilometers (about two miles) across. It would have an area about six times that of Monaco. Perspective would shrink the pixels of a self-reproducing pattern to invisibility. If you got far enough away from the screen so that the entire pattern was comfortably in view, the pixels (and even the gliders and, eaters and guns) would be too tiny to make out. A self reproducing pattern would be a hazy glow, like a galaxy. **

THE PHONON – ON SINGLE CELL CONSCIOUSNESS –

The Phonon and the Phoneme Algorythmy. Yes. I would like now to quote (highlights by me) from the work of Professor Jonathan Edwards on a correlation of consciousness with the properties of Single Cells, particularly the Neuronal cells of the brain (of which there are approximately one hundred billion, 10¹¹)52. Edwards debunks certain „views‟ on the nature of consciousness and offers a relevance to another one, an insight that allows for a grasp of the functionalities of these minute entities of the brain, the nerve cells, in terms of and in relation to our understanding of consciousness as such. The conclusion being that:

Each and every single neuronal cell is conscious in its own right. “Perhaps the most baffling unanswered question in science is how the physical working of the brain gives rise to conscious awareness. There are several reasons for this question being difficult, but the most important may be that we are looking for the wrong sort of answer. Almost everyone assumes that we are trying to explain one copy of awareness in each person’s brain, one observer, one subject; one consciousness. However, as William James pointed out in 1890, having one copy of awareness in a brain makes very little sense, whether in terms of logic, physics or neurology. It would make much more sense if there were lots of copies and lots of subjects, even if it seems odd. There is also a basic biological reason for there being many subjects in a brain; a brain is not a single life unit but a colony of cellular life units which are not joined together by any mysterious ‘life force’. The hypothesis of Single Cell Consciousness (also known as the Single Neuron Theory of Consciousness) arose from the simple strategy of trying to find an explanation for awareness that fits with what we know about the physics of the brain. There appears to be only one option that works; that each brain cell is aware separately. Although this may seem to conflict with our experience it almost certainly does not.” 54

262

THE PHONEME – ON ARCHETYPAL MEANINGS –

• “The hypothesis seems to make two requirements of a wave that might endow the neuronal membrane as a whole with sentience linked to behaviour. Firstly, a wave with access to information about the state at all synapses would need its wavefront (or domain of non-trivial amplitude) to occupy the whole neuronal dendritic tree. This would seem to require a reverberating wave with time to make several passes – like the resonation of the bell. In Vitiello’s (2001) terms it would be a long range correlation. Secondly, to be describable as a quantised field it probably needs to be energy conserving, at least to a first approximation.” 55

• Then I happened onto a site dedicated to the study of phonemes, the minutest coherent quanta of words, the sounds of the letters as such, a study which leads on to an idea of archetypally associated inherent meanings to these minutiae, the phonemes. This site is the work of linguist Margaret Magnus (who has written a Dictionary of English Sound). “Individual phonemes and phonetic features are meaning-bearing. They each have a unique semantics which can be identified by first measuring the semantic disproportions within phonologically defined classes of words and then the converse measuring the phonological disproportions within semantic classes. One finds in this way that every word which contains a given phoneme bears an element of meaning which is absent in words not containing this phoneme. One finds further than the effect of the phoneme-meaning varies with the position that the phoneme bears within the syllable. In addition, one finds that all phonemes which have a common phonetic feature also have a common element of meaning.” 56

In the deeper study of the details of Ms. Magnus research she offers this interesting insight: “In truth, I believe data of this type to be incredibly important. What it says essentially is that the consonants and vowels do in fact have a meaning. The most fundamental aspect of that meaning is pure sound without any interpretation or symbolism. That pure sound is meaningful (and how!). But one step above that most fundamental and pure sound-meaning is the archetypal

263

NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATE – STANDING WAVE – meaning. Since the consonants and vowels form the foundation of the word not only of its sound, but also of its meaning, then we literally talk in terms of archetypes. Every word is a sound a shruti note on which are superimposed a collection of gods whose interaction forms the basis of the word. It is really like that. It is poetic, but it is also cold, sober fact. What is added on top of that - the semantic class and the referent is secondary to sound and archetype.” 57

• And then I happened onto a masterful treatsie on the nature of human thought by Steven Pinker (see note 22). In this work I found that our thoughts reflect the basal forces of events, states, goals, causes and extents (see p. 40, ―Three Metaphors‖) to the analogy of sensory experience to a shared conceptual skeleton of causality, and I get the impression that the physical forces that we encounter in life on account of our being a part of the world and not separated from it, thus I speculate that the attributes of our physiology (and it‘s interface, the morphology of the macroscopic outer body sheath or the minute cell wall/membrane) are reflected and molded upon the ways we think and interpolatedly act. I think that in liéu of the foregoing discussions above that it‘d not be too far-fetched to imply that the phenomenon of sound has essential consciousness as one of it‘s emergent properties, the propertiy of sound that is, as long as it is bound in the physical structure and is would be live, so to say, but in extenso in it‘s expressions in the spoken or written word it would be virtual to different degrees.

Harmonic To view the development of the incorporation of different characte-ristics and elements to a cell (including the Turing process, p. 86) see this Powerpoint presentation: A Turing Machine.

264

SINGLE CELL CONSCIOUSNESS – IS THE SINGLE CELL THE SEAT OF CONSCIOUSNESS? –

The inclusion here of the text on the following pages, is a quite preliminary device of mine. It is my intention to produce my own essay on this stuff when time allows. Meanwhile, here, in Professor J. W. Edwards words (whose permission for these quotes I will surely attempt to obtain if this document ever actually sees a formal publication) we may perceive a glimpse of an actual biological basis for consciousness as such. The structure of the neuronal cell.

All the properties of a bell ring (those harmonic occillations) may be attributed to that elusive entity, the Single Cell, and in this context Yoga may be wieved as a tuning tool (and ‛The Tree of Life‛ be it’s tuning fork). This compilation of paragraphs is shortened from the full text, and, here and there, a few phrases are emphasized (bold-faces by me) in order to provide easy review of the basics of this enticing idea and the main points of it.

The Tree of Life structurally embedded in a single neuronal cell.

At first glance a melee of interaction, yet there’re algorithms involved.

Oscillation

265

HIGHLIGHTS – IS SENTIENCE A PROPERTY OF EACH SINGLE CELL? – Highlights added.

Excerpt: I have, sort of, picked and chosen from here an’ there in professor Edwards text. (The highligts are by me.) See: www.ucl.ac.uk/~regfjxe/awnew.htm

Single C ell C onsc iousness by

Jonathan C.W. Edwards MD

To try to avoid confusion I divide consciousness into three levels: Sentience, I will use to mean having a pattern of sensations but not necessarily implying a context of memory or externally referrable meaning. Consciousness, I will use to mean having a pattern of sensations which is a meaningful map of an "outside world", which includes a representation of time that implies memory. Adult consciousness, I will use to mean consciousness that includes a sense of a self or "me", and of other selves. [ ... ] Two arguments, one cybernetic and one physical, appear to indicate that, within the brain, sentience involving binding of 10-1000 elements of information must be in an individual cell. A nerve cell can receive up to about 10,000 pieces of information simultaneously through the synapses on its dendrites. There is no other structure in the brain which receives information in a sense that is relevant to what we know about the way nervous tissue works. Although it is suggested that a network of cells could have access to many pieces of information simultaneously as a pattern this has no meaningful physical or cybernetic basis. In an artifical "neural net" in a computer that can be used to recognise the pattern of a face, the elements of the pattern are not present simultaneously in the net as a pattern. They are present as individual bits of information which are used for a series of

266

HIGHLIGHTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; OF DIAMONDS AND TIME & OF SPACE â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

parallel and sequential digital computations. The discovery of electrical signalling between cells followed by the development of computers has led to the idea that digital computation and thinking are much the same and that consciousness accompanies these electrical signals. However, this does not make sense. Electrical signals between cells are isolated and discrete and therefore cannot be the basis of our sentience. Only when signals come together at a particular cell are they together in a way that might allow them to form a pattern to which something actually has access (the cell). [ ... ] Although underpinned by complex mathematics, modern physics in the form of quantum field theory, indicates, in very simple terms, that the indivisible elements of the universe are not billiard balls but modes of harmonic oscillation, each of which is inhabited by one or more quanta of momentum. Both an electron and the swing of a pendulum are harmonic oscillations of this sort. They can be considered separate existing 'things' even though the swing of a pendulum takes in sextillions of atoms. Identity and extent are defined by the frequency, wavelength, rest mass and other parameters associated with the quanta of momentum that occupy the mode of oscillation. They are 'corners of the universe' which, because they have a fixed, predictable internal dynamic harmony, have a single relationship to the rest of the universe. The relationship of one end of a pendulum to the rest of the universe is totally defined by the relationship of the other end to the rest of the universe, so they can be considered as one. This single relationship to the outside world would seem to be the most fundamental requirement of anything with a single sentience. [ ... ] Harmonic oscillations, if treated as whole things, provide a way round the problem of atomism. An oscillation has access to all the physical perterba-

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HIGHLIGHTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; IS SENTIENCE A PROPERTY OF EACH SINGLE CELL? â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

tions that can affect it, throughout its domain. The fundamental reality of this is shown at the quantum level by Young's classic double slit experiment. Whether a wave on the sea or a single photon of light, an oscillation passing through two 'slits' has access to information about both slits. As Richard Feynman describes in his monograph "QED", a photon of light reflected off a lake progresses as if it has access to information about the entire lake and makes use of that information in "choosing" its path. The implication of this discussion to our sentience is that whatever exists and thinks in our heads probably needs to be something associated with a clearly defined mode of oscillation. To be functionally robust it probably needs to be a "lump", "string" or "shell" which in some sense can "ring". The outer membrane of a single cell, its cytoskeleton, or a composite of the two probably have this property over a distance of about 100 microns but would not be suitable over larger distances. The brain as a whole would be unsuitable. Thus, the only coherent physical explanation for our sentience seems to fit with the cybernetic argument. It needs to be a cell or part of a cell. Steven Sevush, who has developed a similar view on consciousness to that expressed here, has suggested that the apical dendritic tree of a pyramidal cell would be the most likely site for sentience, on neuroanatomical grounds. [ ... ] More recently rather different electromechanical phenomena have been observed in cell membranes in various contexts. Iwasa et al (Science 1980, 210, 339-340), showed that the Hodgkin-Huxley action potential is associated with a mechanical wave which oscillates for perhaps 2-3 cycles before being damped out. This in itself does not seem an attractive substrate for sentience, but it shows that there can be electromechanical coupling in neurones. The existence of electromechnical coupling in cell membranes has been demonstrated on a more general basis by Petrov. Cell membranes

268

HIGHLIGHTS – OF DIAMONDS AND TIME & OF SPACE –

show a planar form of piezoelectricity in which convex-concave oscillations are coupled to changes in electrical potential difference across the membrane. Interestingly, these changes in potential difference can under some circumstances open ion channels and could therefore modulate the Hodgkin-Huxley equations. Although this flexoelectric coupling is frequencydependent there is as yet no clear indication that modes of flexoelectric oscillation at specific frequencies might be set up in neurones. Another form of piezoelectricity found specifically in sensory nerve cells does gives rise to oscillations at specific frequencies. It is, however, as far as is known specific to the outer hair cells of the inner ear. It makes use of a protein called prestin, specifically found at that site. It is associated with significant changes in the cell shape and would therefore not be expected to be found in neurones within brain substance. Nevertheless, there is at least some suggestion that electromechanical oscillations might possibly inhabit the membranes of cortical neuronal dendrites. [ ... ] … However, there may be two ways in which a piezoelectric (or equivalent) mode of oscillation in a neuronal membrane might appear to affect decision making without actually changing the laws of the known electrical effects. In both cases, it is important to reiterate that, although the 'metaphysical' attraction of such a mode of oscillation is that it is a quantised indivisible, its role in brain function would be purely classical. There are serious problems with any suggestion that purely quantum level events might have any useful effect on brain function and fortunately there seems to be no need to invoke them. [ ... ] In summary, my conjecture is that sentience is a property of each single brain cell and not of any larger domain. It is the same physical phenomenon

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HIGHLIGHTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; IS SENTIENCE A PROPERTY OF EACH SINGLE CELL? â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

as the access to patterns of information known to be a feature of waves treated s a whole. It is based on some form of oscillation in a neuronal membrane which might be a form of Petrov's flexoelectric effect. The cell's firing would be, if not caused by, at least matched to the information available to the sentience. The implications

The suggestion that our brains contain many thousands, or even billions of conscious beings might at first seem contrary to experience. However, the suggestion I am making would not in any way change the predicted behaviour of a human being, other than perhaps that complex non-digital intraneuronal computation might explain some of the features of our behaviour highlighted by Roger Penrose as being unlike that of computers. The advantage is that the severe logical problems generated by trying to link sentience to the passage of information from one cell to another are eliminated. If it seems that the proposal should require a change in observed human behaviour or subjective experience then I would suggest that some unwarranted assumptions are being made about the relationship between consciousness and behaviour. [ ... ]

The idea of many different sentiences functioning at different levels might provide useful models for problems like autism, schizophrenia or damage due to stroke. Many of the remarkable features of human behaviour seem to apply to both the conscious mind and unconscious behaviour. In my suggestion the difference between conscious and unconscious brain activity is that the former relates to information circulated to adult conscious neurones, perhaps in the prefrontal area, whereas the latter relates to information circulated to cells which are merely sentient or conscious at a low level.

270

HIGHLIGHTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; OF DIAMONDS AND TIME & OF SPACE â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

There is likely to be considerable overlap, since even goal driven tasks can be performed both unconsciously and consciously. Certain types of information, like that used by hypothalamic cells to regulate body temperature or hormone levels would not be circulated to cells with full adult conciousness. [ ... ] The proposed basis for consciousness would imply that the view I have of the room around me is not what a room really looks like, but what a neuronal cell membrane in a certain pattern of excitation looks like to a mode of oscillation. This may be hard to imagine but I would suggest that it makes more sense than the idea the the appearance of the room arises in some virtual cyberspace arising, by a purely magical process, out of electrical impulses moving about in various parts of the brain. That makes no sense at all. If we accept Russell's premise that all we are ever aware of is the inside of our head the question is: what is the most plausible substrate in our head to give this display of sensations? All the options are equally counterintuitive. A complex pattern of voltage gradients in a branching membrane is probably as plausible as any. Jonathan C.W. Edwards MD Professor in Connective Tissue Medicine University College London 31st July 2005

Choice of quoted selections and added highlits by Juri Aidas. 271

AN HARIOLATION – ON ALL THESE THINGS –

The H ariolator y.

And now but for fun, a bit ‗a hariolatory (some somewhat informed speculative pondering and it‘s fun). • Is there a relationship of the phonon and the phoneme? Is there a dynamic to the phonon that is mirrored by the phoneme? Are the lilts, movements and reactions of single cells, by whatever stimulus caused, translated into cascades of phonic waves that in patterns of spreading multiple drafts of interaction through neural networks, accented by reverberating recursions of further stimuli patterned on the single cells response to the first input, are these minute movements, the flexings of the cell, a conscious song? Is it all just plain Rock ‗n Roll? Is Life – a Singin‘, Swingin‘ Momentum? In the Single Cell Theory the membrane of a cell is viewed as the carrier of an elastic wave, capable of accessing ‗rich‘ information. In terms of Edwards‘s single cell theory, it has SAMEDI, Simultaneous (cotemporal) Access to Many Elements (of information) in Defined Inter-relationships, i.e. it has access to a pattern.58 These patterns, as they propagate, might, give rise to further multiple drafts of actuation, to be received as new patterns and cognized by the single cell in the networks of neural nets reciprocally surrounding differentiated single cell nodes? Would the cells internal update dynamic thus define a temporal shift in the multiple overlays of different reverberating patterns (some of which be recursive, and thus algorythmic) to be cognized as a whole, a moving dynamic? The ring of a bell? If it be broken in one place that‘ll be expressed by the whole wave. We have a wholity of structured self-referring temporality, i.e. life goes on. (Might the stilled out wave reciprocally be void of both subjectivity and objectivity yet be there, aware? Awareness made of basal bliss?.

272

A HARIOLATORY – REALLY –

What do I know? Multiple Drafts, Neural Nets, Narrative Subjectivity Nodes – causal interaction? Is it that consciousness is not but that the illusion of consciousness is? Though that is not? Is illusion also qualia in itself? Is bliss a qualia? Or does it have a physiological correlate? How to understand the physiological reverberations of a ‗silent word‘? It‘s phononic cascade? •

273

PHONOSEMANTICS – ON THE SOUND-MONADS OF MEANING –

hen I happened onto a site dedicated to the study of phonemes, the minutest coherent quanta of words, the sounds of the letters as such, a study which leads on to an idea of archetypally associated inherent meanings to these minuties, the phonemes. That site is the work of linguist Margaret Magnus (who has wrote a Dictionary of English Sound and works from Norway). Here‘s a link to, "Margo's Magical Letter Page", and here's one to Ms. Magnus dissertation "What's in a Word? Studies in Phonosemantics"; from the last destination it is possible to download the whole dissertation as a pdf. Here is an excerpt from the abstract: "Individual phonemes and phonetic features are meaningbearing. They each have a unique semantics which can be identified by first measuring the semantic disproportions within phonologically defined classes of words and then the converse – measuring the phonological disproportions within semantic classes. One finds in this way that every word which contains a given phoneme bears an element of meaning which is absent in words not containing this phoneme. One finds further than the effect of the phoneme-meaning varies with the position that the phoneme bears within the syllable. In addition, one finds that all phonemes which have a common phonetic feature also have a common element of meaning."

On Ms. Magnus main site there is an interesting allusion, she connects the sound elements of words to Archetypal characteristics: "About 300 hours into this research, you start losing your mind. You start imagining you discern archetypes in all those consonants and vowels. (Ho, ho!) For your confoundment and entertainment, I now proffer some data on the serpent in /s/ and the Grail in /g/.

274

PHONOSEMANTICS – ON THE SOUND-MONADS OF MEANING –

In truth, I believe data of this type to be incredibly important. What it says essentially is that the consonants and vowels do in fact have a meaning. The most fundamental aspect of that meaning is pure sound without any interpretation or symbolism. That pure sound is meaningful (and how!). But one step above that most fundamental and pure sound-meaning is the archetypal meaning. Since the consonants and vowels form the foundation of the word - not only of its sound, but also of its meaning, then we literally talk in terms of archetypes. Every word is a sound - a shruti note - on which are superimposed a collection of gods whose interaction forms the basis of the word. It is really like that. It is poetic, but it is also cold, sober fact. What is added on top of that - the semantic class and the referent is secondary to sound and archetype. And so, friends, I bid you observe how the mighty serpent abides in English S and informs every word that contains it."

This link "Archetypes", from, the left frame on Ms. Magnus' main site, will bring you directly to this discussion. (Clickin' in from the main page though keeps the sites' frame structure intact.) •

275

THE MONADOLOGY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ON THE MONADS OF LEIBNITZ â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

The Monadology of Leibnitz's is pure hariolation of a sublime kind. * Leibnitz understood the paradox of the infinitesimal and that Newton only saw the tool of it. *

THE MONADOLOGY by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, 1898 translated by Robert Latta

1. The Monad, of which we shall here speak, is nothing but a simple substance, which enters into compounds. By 'simple' is meant 'without parts.' (Theod. 10.) 2. And there must be simple substances, since there are compounds; for a compound is nothing but a collection or aggregatum of simple things. 3. Now where there are no parts, there can be neither extension nor form [figure] nor divisibility. These Monads are the real atoms of nature and, in a word, the elements of things. 4. No dissolution of these elements need be feared, and there is no conceivable way in which a simple substance can be destroyed by natural means. (Theod. 89.) 5. For the same reason there is no conceivable way in which a simple substance can come into being by natural means, since it cannot be formed by the combination of parts [composition]. 6. Thus it may be said that a Monad can only come into being or come to an end all at once; that is to say, it can come into being only by creation and come to an end only by annihi-

* Quote by, Jonathan C. W. Edwards. 276

THE MONADOLOGY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ON THE MONADS OF LEIBNITZ â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

lation, while that which is compound comes into being or comes to an end by parts. ... Etc,. Read on here ... xxx

63. The body belonging to a Monad (which is its entelechy or its soul) constitutes along with the entelechy what may be called a living being, and along with the soul what is called an animal. Now this body of living being or of an animal is always organic; for, as every Monad is, in its own way, a mirror of the universe, and as the universe is ruled according to a perfect order, there must also be order in that which represents it, i.e. in the perceptions of the soul, and consequently there must be order in the body, through which the universe is represented in the soul. (Theod. 403.) ... 90 paragraphs all in all of this hariolatory .

277

GENES & MEMES – A DELINEATION –

What‟s that song again?! THE CONCEPT OF A MEME is one of the most interesting ideas about thinking yet imagined. The name was coined by Richard Dawkins in 1965. Me myself I discovered it in the 1980‘s in the works of Lyall Watson. (‗Lifetide‘, 1979, p. 136) it has been extensively discussed by Daniel C. Dennett. In an article called ‗Memes and the Exploitation of Imagination‘ (Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 48, 127-35, Spring 1990) Dennett cites Richard Dawkins on his concept of a meme: … a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. ‘Mimeme’ comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like ‘gene’ … it could alternatively be thought of as being related to ‘memory’ or to the French word même. … Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation. If a scientist hears, or reads about, a good idea, he passes it on to his colleagues and students. He mentions it in his articles and his lectures. If the idea catches on, it can be said to propagate itself, spreading from brain to brain. Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976

In French the word ‗meme‘ means ‗same‘ and in a charming and utterly intelligent comic by Dave Sim ‗Cerebus the Aardvark‘ (6500 pages of continuity), in the appendix of volume 13, p. XX, I found a discussion concerning the African journey of Ernest Hemingway and his wife Mary. The natives apparently called Mr. Hemingway ‗sahib‘, and Mary was called ‗memê-sahib‘, that is ‗the same kinda‘ sahib‘, or rather ‗one more of the same‘, or something such. So the word meme is really very appropriate having connotations of sameness, likeness, and memory of course; isn‘t the concept of memory indicative of a process of copying, of reproduction? Do we not have an embedded idea here to ideationally represent the algorithmic process of evolution in itself, an algorythmie, perchance.. Here‘s a quote by Mr. Dennett from the article mentioned above where the above citation of Richard Dawkins is discussed.

278

COGNITIVE CONSTERNATION – OF PERPLEXITIE –

The Unraveling So far, no doubt, this seems to be just a crisp reworking of the standard fare about the evolution and spread of ideas, but in The Selfish Gene, Dawkins urges us to take the idea of meme evolution literally. Meme evolution is not just analogous to biological or genetic evolution, not just a process that can be metaphorically described in these evolutionary idioms, but a phenomenon that obeys the laws of natural selection exactly. The theory of evolution by natural selection is neutral regarding the differences between memes and genes; these are just different kinds of replicators evolving in different media at different rates. And just as the genes for animals could not come into existence on this planet until the evolution of plants had paved the way (creating the oxygen-rich atmosphere and ready supply of convertible nutrients), so the evolution of memes could not get started until the evolution of animals had paved the way by creating a species – homo sapiens – with brains that could provide shelter, and habits of communication that could provide transmission media, for memes. Daniel C. Dennett: „Memes and the Exploitation of Imagination‟ (Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 48, 127-35, Spring 1990)

Parallax

e, us hominids, have also, in the abstract, created a rather strange and weird concept, the idea of ‗imaginary numbers‘, the square root of a negative number that is. What is not commonly understood is that a concept of this paradoxical kind is actually a part of the ‗General Theory of Relativity‘. This concept appears at a really early stage in theorizing, it appears in order to give a positive value to a concrete distance in hyperbolic geometry, necessitationg the theory of imaginary numbers in abstract calculation. It‘s as if there‘s a twist, a mental snake‘s-hand, in all and any theoretical construct involving abstraction, we find strange concepts, strange whorls (maybe even worlds), not just in the reality but also within the fabrics of our perceptive faculties, which display both manifest and unmanifest aspects (as with the concepts of infinity and nought. I get the impression that modern science implies an abstract, almost virtual, background to all manifestation, both to the abstract and elusive itself, and to the concrete and tangible, yes, but that background is not untraceable.

279

UNORTHODOX QUANTUM PHYSICS – THE EVERETT-WHEELER HYPOTHESIS OF MULTIPLE UNIVERSES –

From utter Perplexity of Inconsistecies ...

… to the Rational Multiplicity of Possibility.

The following discussion is an excerpt from the book:

‚The Logic of Inconsistency ” A Study in Non-Standard Possible-World Semantics and Ontology‛, by Nicolas Rescher & Robert Brandom, 1979. This excerpt is from pp. 58”61. As the blurb on the inner front flap dust-jacket cover of this book so excellently states: ‚It is often said that consistency is an absolute requirement of rationality ” that violations of the ‘law of noncontradiction’ destroy any possibility of rational thought and discourse. The book argues the untenability of such a view. It explores the idea that rationality can be maintained even in the context of inconsistent world-pictures.‛

From . by.

THE LOGIC OF INCONSISTENCY Nicolas Rescher & Robert Brandom

Unorthodox Quantum Physics In recent physical theory the idea of an inconsistent world has come into its own in being advanced as a serious scientific theory, moving along the roadways of the physical literature under the name of the EverettWheeler theory in quantum mechanics.75

each representing the quantity being measured as having one of its possible values, and each thus providing a distinct observational result of measurement. The obvious difficulty is how this superposition of distinct outcomes can be reconciled with the fact that in practice only one value is ever to be observed. How can a measurement force reality to make up its mind, so to speak, between physically parallel alternatives? How can the process of actual observational measurement of itself constrain an inherently pluralistic situation into producing a unique result?

The focal point of this theory is the issue of measurement in quantum theory, specifically the well-known “problem of the reduction of the wave packet.” With such quantum -theoretic measurement cases as the nucleonic decay timespan of a very heavy radio-active element, the result of a measurement is formally speaking a superposition of vectors,

280

QUANTUM UNCERTAINITY PARADOX – & LOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF INCONSISTENCY –

The orthodox quantum-theoretical line of response to this question is to say that only one outcome is in fact real, and that the other alternatives are unactualized possibilities, merely possible but utterly non-actual alternatives. This approach, however, at once encounters a serious difficulty: How can an experimental trial of physical measurement single out as uniquely real and actual one specific situation whose status in all departments of physical theory is altogether similar to that of others ? If the state vector is construed as presenting alternative possibilities, what in the name of heaven or, rather, of physics, reduces these to a single actuality? Given that physics is inherently non discriminatory as between these alternatives, how can we rationalize the fact that the measuring process is able to select one single alternative as the uniquely real observed value? How is it that in experimental trials at quantum measurement only one unique single outcome can be encountered observationally, when the theory itself provides no means for collapsing the state vector at issue into merely a single one of its values?

tively, its physical picture is that of a universe continually splitting into a multiplicity of distinct but equally real subworlds, each embodying a unique but definite result of the quantum measurement. The cosmos is the internally complex counterpart of a linear superposition of vectors, each of which represents observable reality as having assumed one of its value outcomes. The seeming uniqueness of the quantum observation is a simply perspectival aspect of the relationship between the observer and what is observed: being placed within the subworld where a given result obtains, the other no less real outcomes are simply observationally inaccessible to the observer. The reason why all observers agree on a given result inheres in the merely parochial fact that they hail from the same subworld, and accordingly lack all prospect of causal interaction with the rest. We have simply lost to another subworld those observers whose view of reality conflicts with our own. It is worth noting that this doctrine carries to its logical conclusion the tendency of the Copernican revolution to move away from the anthropocentrism of the Aristotelian worldpicture. We standardly draw the familiar distinction between this, the actual world and other physically possible but unrealized worlds. From the standpoint of the EverettWheeler hypothesis it is unduly anthropocentric to view this world of ours as the uniquely

The Everett-Wheeler hypothesis cuts the Gordian knot of this problem by the daring tactic of insisting that all of the possible alternative outcomes are in fact actual. We come here to its notorious hypothesis of the “self-multiplication of the universe”. Intui-

281

UNORTHODOX QUANTUM PHYSICS – THE EVERETT-WHEELER HYPOTHESIS OF MULTIPLE UNIVERSES –

actual one: We are bid to recognize the other physically realizable worlds as wholly on a par with ours in point of actuality. That they are inaccessible to us is – as it were – our misfortune, and not theirs. The world is the

The foregoing survey is highly suggestive from our present perspective. For it indicates that a rather striking change of attitude is in the air as concerns contradictions and inconsistencies – alike among logicians, scientists, and philosophers. While these various approaches unquestionably differ radically from that of our present theory, they serve to place this theory within the framework of a larger setting whose recognition conduces to a just appreciation of our present concerns.

stage of a concurrent realization of incomparable alternatives. Only the parochial limitations of our limited sensory perspective presents us men from perceiving this fact. Where other approaches see incompatible alternatives, the Everett-Wheeler hypothesis sees concurrent actualities. But since these are, in the very logic of the situation, mutually exclusive, the systematization of quantum-physics by the Everett-Wheeler approach invites (though it does not irrevocably demand) 76 a logical apparatus that is inconsistencytolerant.

The project of inconsistency-admitting formal systems is a fair way to becoming a significant area of current research, one which, on present indications, may well turn out to constitute a major stage in the development of logical theory in the second half of the 20th century. Logicians have looked inconsistency in the eye and are not totally horrified by what they see. Many of them no longer believe that rationality will necessarily fly out the window when inconsistency comes in the door. The present essay should be understood against this background. To be sure, its own approach to inconsistency is quite different from those just surveyed. But differences of approach aside, it does share with them the important ideological feature of inconsistencytoleration.

And even quite apart from the EverettWheeler theory, who can say with confident assurance that the next twist and turn of elementary particle physics will not thrust us into the world envisaged by an inconsistencytolerant logic of world-superposition. It is surely not beyond the pale of conceivability that the smoothest theoretical systematization in subatomic physics should call for the supposition that this envisages actual inconsistencies in nature. [...]

282

QUANTUM UNCERTAINITY PARADOX – & LOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF INCONSISTENCY –

Throughout history, a sort of horror contradictionis has been endemic among rigorous thinkers, and it has been the view of the logical guild that once a contradiction has been encountered nothing more remains to be done but to leave the scene with proper expressions of disapproval. The indications are that a new spirit is abroad nowadays. Logicians and philosophers are coming to take a new and more tolerant view of inconsistency.

Ω –

This book expresses in formal mathematical language how rules can be construed, regarding worlds that are inconsistent or descriptively incomplete, to show that acccess to cogent argumentation concerning inconsistent situations can be derived and verified semantically from these rules. From the dust-jacket blurb.

THE LOGIC OF INCONSISTENCY – A STUDY IN NON-STANDARD POSSIBLE-WORLD SEMANTICS AND ONTOLOGY Nicolas Rescher & Robert Brandom 1979, APQ Library of Philosophy, pp. 58–61

283

THE TURING MACHINE – AND THE VON NEUMANN SPINOFF –

The sand at the surf line has been washed flat. A small child's footprint wanders across it, splaying like gardenia blossoms on thin shafts. The sand looks lika a geometric plane until a sheet of ocean grazes it. Then small imperfections are betrayed by swirls in the water. Those swirls in turn carve the sand. The ocean is a Turing machine, the sand is its tape; the water reads the marks in the sand and sometimes erases them and sometimes carves new ones with tiny currents that are themselves a response to the marks. Plodding through the surf, Waterhouse strikes deep craters in the wet sand that are read by the ocean. Eventually the ocean erases them, but in the process its state has been changed, the pattern of its swirls has been altered. Waterhouse imagines that the disturbance might somehow propagate across the Pacific and into some super-secret Nipponese surveillance device made of bamboo tubes and chrysanthemum leaves; Nip listeners would know that Waterhouse had walked that way. In turn, the water swirling around Waterhouse's feet carries information about Nip propeller design and the deployment of their fleets„if only he had the wit to read it. The chaos of the waves, gravid with encrypted data, mocks him. Neal Stephenson Cryptonomicon

284

THE TURING MACHINE – AND THE VON NEUMANN SPINOFF –

• Apply rule #1.

• Apply rule #2. +→1

• Apply rule #3.

( move 1 step ← ) go into state B

• Apply rule #4. #→1

An animated presentation of the Turing process, as per the above graphic, can be viewed here: A Turing Machine.

Xkcd – A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. http://xkcd.com/205/

285

AHEM! – FROM THE SOURCE –

Quote from a Poem by Dylan Thomas.

“… And freely he goes lost In the unknown, famous light of great And fabulous, dear God. Dark is a way and light is a place. Heaven that never was Nor will be ever is always true, And in that brambled void, Plenty as blackberries in the woods The dead grow for his joy. There he might wander bare With the spirits of the horseshoe bay Or she stars’ seashore dead, Marrow of eagles, the roots of whales And wishbones of wild geese With blessed unborn God and His Ghost, And every soul his priest, Gulled and chanter in young Heavens fold Be at cloud quacking peace, …” From “Poem on His Birthday”; by Dylan Thomas

286

FAR OUT A ‘Cosmogony‘ incorporating the virtual dynamic of the structure of evolution that spans the abstract extremes of the subjective and the objective It is represented by application of the structure of ‘The Tree of Life‘ which infused into the cosmological model of ontogenetic evolution, allows for an understanding of creative emergence.

“ The following two pages represent my whimsical ontology, in terms of hariolatory cosmology and cosmogony, of the interface of metaphysial reality and the physical platform. “

This structural cosmogony defines memetic evolution in terms of the dynamics of the extremes of the span of abstraction (the ‟Black Whole Surface Information Fields) thus giving rise to ‘Informational Autonomy‘ of interrelated complex structures, and establishes the full linkage of the subjective and objective platforms That make fulfilment of individual aspiration possible. ... more to come. 287

COSMOGONY – OF PURUSHA, PRAKRITI, PHOENIX, PANDORA & THE TREE OF LIFE – Theory of the Creation of the Universe

Purusha

Unmanifest

The Tree of Life Manifest aspect

Prakriti Manifest – Outer

Singularity / Infinity Objectivity Breakdown Quantum Paradox

Implosion / Expansion !

Big Bang Expansion

Outer Quantum Differentiation Field Laws of Nature Information (World III of Popper)

Unaccessibility Boundary Outer Event Horizon Background Microwave Radiation Field

Akasha

Point of View of Counterentropic Entity Individual

Imprinting and Projection:

Melding:

born of the Identity of the Paradoxes of Outer & Inner Reality.

of Inner and Outer Prakriti Identification and Ignorance, Avidya

Boundary of Individual of Counterentropic Entity

The Tree of Life Unmanifest aspect Inner Quantum Differentiation Field Field of Truth (World of Plato)

Prakriti Manifest – Inner

Ritambhara

Purusha

Unmanifest

Inner Event Horizon Singular Vastness ! Inner Unboundedness ! Quantum Paradox

Expansion / Implosion !

Samadhi

Bond of Existence in Nonexistence

Agni

Abstract Intelligent Dynamic

Rig Veda X:129.4

Raudra Brahman

Rig Veda X:61

Creative Spark

Subjectivity

– Phoenix rising from within Pandora – Individuality in objective and subjective Creation is caused as the Spark of Agni propagates through Akasha and Ritambhara simultaneously, via the Structure of ‟The Tree of Life‟ inherent in the two aspects of creation, Purusha and Prakriti, Juri Aidas – 17 January 2005 thus uniting the two great Paradoxes of the Inner and the Outer.

COSMOLOGY – OF THE OUTER & THE INNER UNIVERSE –

Outer Cosmology

Singularity / Infinity

Science of the Universe

Objectivity Breakdown Quantum Paradox

Represents the increase of informational entropy.

Implosion / Expansion !

Boundary defines Universe.

Big Bang Expansion

Outer Quantum Differentiation Field Laws of Nature Information (World III of Popper)

Unaccessibility Boundary

Perplexity Structure

Outer Event Horizon Background Microwave Radiation Field

Akasha

Reservoir of Feedback to Maya occurring reflexively on account of the Connective Identity. of the Inner and Outer Paradox.

Point of View of Counterentropic Entity

Existence Is – Nonexistence Is, yet Is Not – Is Paradox

– Individual

Existence arises as a Multiplicity of Individualities Imprinted on Creation at its Causation in the Unity of the Inner & the Outer Paradoxes.

A Living Being is a Vector of Time Time is the Vector of Entropic Reversal rooted in the Virtual Infinity of Paradox.

Knowledge is Structured in Consciousness Consciousness is Structured Information in Dynamic Interplay. A Centre of Narrative Gravity

Inner Cosmology

Tat Tvam Asi

Imprinting and Projection: born of the Identity of the Paradoxes of Outer & Inner Reality.

Offers the potential of a decrease of informational entropy.

In Rising from Paradox Agni both Creates and Devours Maya.

Inner Event Horizon Singular Vastness !

Ritambhara

Inner Unboundedness ! Quantum Paradox

English: Fire Information Field Illusion Nature Unmanifest ‟The Poem‟: a Creation of the Wild God Dynamic Bliss Field of Truth The Transcendent Consciousness

Expansion / Implosion ! – (Turiya)

Samadhi

Dynamic Bliss / ManifestVirtuality

‟The Tree of Life‟:

connects the inner and outer abstracts (see ‟Cosmogony‟ p. 21). Individuality is created as the ‟Spark of Life‟, Agni, propagates simultaneously through Akasha and Ritambhara; thus uniting the two great paradoxes of the Inner and the Outer.

Abstract Intelligent Dynamic

Creative Spark – Expansion

Subjectivity Breakdown (Phoenix rising from the heart of Pandora.)

Purnamadah Purnamidam All That Is Full, All This is Full Upanishad

Boundary of Individual Maya is the Sustenance of Agni

Inner Quantum Differentiation Field Field of Truth (World of Plato)

Samadhi Ritambhara Turiya

Upanishad

of Counterentropic Entity

Boundary defines an Absorbtion Structure, a bearer of the imprint of Creation.

Sanskrit: Agni Akasha Maya Prakriti Purusha Raudra Brahman

‟That‟ Thou Art

Construed Subjective Infinity

Maya (Illusion):

is the projection of this ‟Inner Virtual Vastness‟ on the outer field of life.

Bond of Existence in Nonexistence Rig Veda X.129:4

Agni, Raudra Brahman Rig Veda X.61

Juri Aidas –

5 January 2005

A FEW POEMS – FROM THE SOURCE –

Tyger, Tyger burning bright, In the forest of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame the fearful symmetry? From “The Tyger”, verse 6; William Blake

May you grow up to be righteous, May you grow up to be true, May you always know the truth and see the light surrounding you. May you always be courageous, Stand upright and be strong, May you stay forever young. From “Forever Young”; Bob Dylan

The sky is falling. Do you know what I mean? From “Misfits”; Neil Young *

290

THAT WILD BLUE YONDER – MANY ROADS WILL MEET –

Faraways Oil on Canvas, 56 x 67 cm.

291

A NATURALISTIC WORLD VIEW! – LAST THOUGHTS –

Out of the blue and into the black. Out of the black and into the blue.* * Neil Young

INNER / OUTER The Inner Universe, the one we cognize as we close our eyes, what is to tell if that is Infinite or not?. Is there an inner event-horizon, beyond which everything slips away, everything? Looking inwards do we really „see‟ an Infinite, in the analogous and general sense we attribute an Infinite to the perception and understanding we have contrued of the Universe at large, the Outer Universe. But we can only „see‟ 13,7 billion light years into the distance (see p. 27, „Emergence‟). So even that can be construed as an event-horizon, and inside the greater masses too, centers of galaxies. So, why not an inner eventhorizon ... And we fall into The Deep. Infinite Recursivity? – Perplexitie! What do we know? What are the unsolved problems ? What have we failed to consider?”

University of California at Los Angeles, palentobiologist William Schopf at the World summit on Evolution, June conference, 2005, hosted by San Fransisco University of Quito on the Galapagos island of San Christóbal, where Charles Darwin began his explorations. Quoted by Michael Shermer – in Scientific American September 2005, p. 19.

Yes! I thought that quote wide and great … and where and how do we look, and so I think the clarity of mind that (even though in snake‟s-hands ways) arises is conducive as tool for any further exploration of the great whatever.

Turnstile

292

ENLIGHTENMENT! – FROM A BRIGHTS‟ POINT OF WIEW –

Enlightenment! The reddest herring of all red herrings – a qualia yet.

High Sky Oil on Canvas, 116 x 75 cm.

293

294

295

PHYSIOLOCICAL INDICATORS – MEDICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS –

Meta-analysis is a procedure for drawing definitive conclusions from large bodies of research studies. A meta-analysis of all available physiological research on the Transcendental Meditation program found that the practice of this technique produces a state of deep rest compared to control conditions, as measured by reduced respiration rate, reduced basal skin conductance (increased skin resistance), and reduced plasma lactate. Reference: American Psychologist 42: 879–

Patients with high blood pressure who learned the Transcendental Meditation program showed a significant reduction of systolic and diastolic blood pressure after three months, in contrast to those randomly assigned to a control technique or to those who received health education on how to reduce blood pressure through diet and

Charts from the Transcendental Meditation homepage. http://archive.tm.org/discover/research/charts/

PHYSIOLOCICAL INDICATORS – MEDICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS –

During the Transcendental Meditation technique individuals often report the subjective experience of Transcendental Consciousness or pure consciousness, the state of least excitation of consciousness. This study found that many experiences of pure consciousness were associated with periods of natural respiratory suspension, and that during these respiratory suspension periods individuals displayed higher mean EEG coherence over all frequencies and brain areas, in contrast to control periods where subjects voluntarily held their breath. Reference: Psychosomatic Medicine 46: 267–276, 1984.

During

the

Transcendental

Meditation

program,

early

(sensory)

components of the brain’s response to somatosensory stimuli are more widely distributed across the cortex, indicating greater participation of the whole brain in the response to a stimulus. Reference: Human Physiology 25: 171–180, 1999.

For a critical view on some of the research on Transcendental Meditation see: http://trancenet.net/research/index.shtml

NO-GOD – FROM EARLY

ON VIA

EPICURUS ET.AL. TO M ODERN TIMES –

Now, a few notes nicked from Wikipedia. Time allowing I shall endeavour to frame my own perspectives on the theme.

Early Indic

Atheistic schools are found in early Indian thought and have existed from the times of the historical Vedic religion.[71] Among the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy; Samkhya, the oldest philosophical system do not accept God and the early Mimamsa also rejected the notion of God.[72] The early Mimamsa not only did not accept God but asserted that human action itself was enough to create the necessary circumstances for the enjoyment of its fruits. [73] The thoroughly materialistic and antitheistic philosophical Cārvāka (also called Nastika or Lokaiata) school that originated in India around the 6th century BCE is probably the most explicitly atheistic school of philosophy in India, similar to the Greek Cyrenaic school. This branch of Indian philosophy is classified as heterodox due to its rejection of the authority of Vedas and hence is not considered part of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism, but it is noteworthy as evidence of a materialistic movement within Hinduism. [74] Chatterjee and Datta explain that our understanding of Cārvāka philosophy is fragmentary, based largely on criticism of the ideas by other schools, and that it is not a living tradition: Classical Antiquity

Western atheism has its roots in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy, but did not emerge as a distinct worldview until the late Enlightenment.[77] The 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher Diagoras is known as the "first atheist",[78] and is cited as such by Cicero in his De Natura Deorum.[79] Critias viewed religion as a human invention used to frighten people into following moral order. [80] Atomists such as Democritus attempted to explain the world in a purely materialistic way, without reference to the spiritual or mystical. Other pre-Socratic philosophers who probably had atheistic views included Prodicus and Protagoras. In the 3rd-century BCE the Greek philosophers Theodorus Cirenaicus[79][81] and Strato of Lampsacus[82] also did not believe gods exist. Early Middle Ages to the Renaissance

The espousal of atheistic views was rare in Europe during the Early Middle Ages and Middle Ages (see Medieval Inquisition); metaphysics, religion and theology were the dominant interests. [96] There were, however, movements within this period that forwarded heterodox conceptions of the Christian God, including differing views of the nature, transcendence, and knowability of God. Individuals and groups such as Johannes Scotus Eriugena, David of Dinant, Amalric of Bena, and the Brethren of the Free Spirit maintained Christian viewpoints with pantheistic tendencies. Nicholas of Cusa held to a form of fideism he called docta ignorantia ("learned ignorance"), asserting that God is beyond human categorization, and our knowledge of God is limited to conjecture. William of Ockham inspired anti-metaphysical tendencies with his nominalistic limitation of human knowledge to singular objects, and asserted that the divine essence could not be intuitively or rationally apprehended by human intellect. Followers of Ockham, such as John of Mirecourt and Nicholas of Autrecourt furthered this view. The resulting division between faith and reason influenced later theologians such as John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and Martin Luther.[96] The Renaissance did much to expand the scope of freethought and skeptical inquiry. Individuals such as Leonardo da Vinci sought experimentation as a means of explanation, and opposed arguments from religious authority. Other critics of religion and the Church during this time included Niccolò Machiavelli, Bonaventure des Périers, and François Rabelais.[93] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

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NO-GOD – FROM EARLY

ON VIA

EPICURUS ET.AL. TO M ODERN TIMES –

Early modern period

The Renaissance and Reformation eras witnessed a resurgence in religious fervor, as evidenced by the proliferation of new religious orders, confraternities, and popular devotions in the Catholic world, and the appearance of increasingly austere Protestant sects such as the Calvinists. This era of interconfessional rivalry permitted an even wider scope of theological and philosophical speculation, much of which would later be used to advance a religiously skeptical world-view. Criticism of Christianity became increasingly frequent in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in France and England, where there appears to have been a religious malaise, according to contemporary sources. Some Protestant thinkers, such as Thomas Hobbes, espoused a materialist philosophy and skepticism toward supernatural occurrences, while the Jewish-Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza rejected divine providence in favour of a panentheistic naturalism. By the late 17th century, deism came to be openly espoused by intellectuals such as John Toland who coined the term "pantheist". Despite their ridicule of Christianity, many deists held atheism in scorn. The first known atheist who threw off the mantle of deism, bluntly denying the existence of gods, was Jean Meslier, a French priest who lived in the early 18th century.[97] He was followed by other openly atheistic thinkers, such as Baron d'Holbach and Jacques-André Naigeon.[98] The philosopher David Hume developed a skeptical epistemology grounded in empiricism, undermining the metaphysical basis of natural theology. Late modern period

Atheism in the 20th century, particularly in the form of practical atheism, advanced in many societies. Atheistic thought found recognition in a wide variety of other, broader philosophies, such as existentialism, objectivism, secular humanism, nihilism, anarchism, logical positivism, Marxism, feminism,[100] and the general scientific and rationalist movement.

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GOD â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DEFINITIONS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Myself I have a naturalistic world view yet I thought it neccessary to look into standard defines of the utter whatever. The theistic dimension has a tendency, it seems, to accrue to anything that may conceptualise an affinity to an ideal, and certainly an ideal may be found in yoga but, as I see it, it is neccessary for the greater success of practice that methodology is kept distinct from ideology. In yoga all recommendations are directed towards application of method as such.

This here also nicked from Wikipedia.

Time allowing I shall endeavour to frame my own perspectives on the theme.

God is the term used to denote the Supreme Being ascribed by many religions to be the creator, ruler and/or the sum total of, existence. Conceptions of God vary widely, despite the common use of the same term for them all.

Definition Concept of God

In many Eastern religions, God is usually said to have a specific and clearly defined relationship to, and interest in, the happenings of this world and the lives of those in it. Metaphors for God's relationship to the visible world often include that of ruling authority (king, ruler), and (in most Abrahamic religions) judge of individual activity therein. By contrast, many Asian and Oriental religions and philosophies consider that there is an ultimate intelligence, purpose or awareness beyond this world, but without necessarily conceptualizing it in such a human-oriented manner or positing it as having created the world predominantly for human beings. The term "God" is a label or linguistic symbol, for the ultimate being or truth of existence whom many people believe exists [1] [2], and different people subsume within that term their different concepts about the nature and attributes of such a being. Attributes of God

Common traits attributed to most concepts of God are absoluteness and other superlative qualities. However, many other definitions of the word exist. For example: God may be Supreme but is not necessarily a Being. Some concepts of God may include anthropomorphic attributes, gender, particular names, and ethnic exclusivity (see Chosen people), while others are purely transcendent or philosophic concepts. The concept of God is often embedded in definitions of truth, where the sum of all truth is equated to God. There are variations on defining God either as a person, or not as a person but as an ambiguous impersonal force (see Absolute Infinite). Also at stake are questions concerning the possibilities of human/God relations. There are countless variations in traditions of worship and/or appeasement of God. Some concepts of God center on a view of God as ultimate, immanent, transcendent, eternal Reality beyond the shifting and constantly mutable multiplicities of the sensible world. In much religious and philosophic thought, God is considered the creator of the universe.

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GOD – DEFINITIONS – Some traditions hold that the creator is also the sustainer (as in theism), while others argue that their God is no longer involved in the world after creation (as in deism). The common definition of God assumes omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and omnibenevolence. However, not all systems hold that God is necessarily morally good (see summum bonum). Some hold that God is the very definition of moral goodness and that God is equivalent to love. Others maintain that God is beyond morality. Negative theology, sometimes called apophatic theology argues that no true statements about attributes of God can be made at all (because this asserts that the essence of God's being can be expressed accurately within the limits of human language), while agnostic positions argue that limited human understanding does not allow for any conclusive opinions on God whatsoever. Some mystical traditions ascribe limits to God's powers, arguing that God's supreme nature leaves no room for spontaneity. The concept of a singular God is characteristic of monotheism, but there is no universal definition of monotheism. The differences between monotheism and polytheism vary among traditions (see also dualism, and henotheism). Some espouse an exclusionist view, holding to one sole definition of God. Others hold an inclusionist view, accepting the possibility of more than one definition of God to be true at the same time. There are also atheistic explanations for the concept of God that can include psychological and/or sociological factors.

Etymology Earliest attestation of the Germanic word in the 6th century Codex Argenteus (Mt 5:9) The word God continues Old English/Germanic god (guþ, gudis in Gothic, gud in modern Scandinavian and Gott in modern German), from Proto-Germanic *ǥ uđan. The original meaning and etymology of the Germanic word god has been hotly disputed, though most agree to a reconstructed Proto-IndoEuropean form *khutóm, which is the neuter passive perfect participle of the root *khu-, which likely meant "libation", "sacrifice". Compare:Vedic Sanskrit hu- = "to sacrifice". Greek khu-, kheu- = "to pour". Common Germanic strong verb *geutan (Anglo-Saxon gēotan) = "to pour", English in-got. The connection between these meanings is likely via the meaning "pour a libation". Another possible meaning of *khutóm is "invocation", related to Sanskrit hūta. The same root appears in the names of three related Germanic tribes, the Geats, the Goths and the Gutar. These names may be derived from an eponymous chieftain Gaut who was subsequently deified, who sometimes appears in early Medieval sagas as a name of Odin or one of his descendants, a former king of the Geats (Gaut(i)), an ancestor of the Gutar (Guti), of the Goths (Gothus) and of the royal line of Wessex (Geats) and as a previous hero of the Goths (Gapt). The Lombardic form of Odin, Godan, may derive from cognate Proto-Germanic *ǥ uđánaz. The word God was used to represent Greek Theos, Latin Deus in Bible translations, first in the Gothic translation of the New Testament by Ulfilas. For the etymology of deus, see *dyeus. Greek theos is possibly unrelated, and of uncertain origin. De Saussure tentatively connected Baltic and Germanic words for "spook", ultimately cognate with Latin fumus "smoke".

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THAT BRIGHT STUFF – THE NATURALISTIC WORLDVIEW – Here‟s a consideration for a deeper, fuller, take on the Naturalistic World View.

The Vision Persons who have a naturalistic worldview should not be culturally stifled or civically marginalized due to society‘s extensive supernaturalism. Rather, they ought to be accepted as fellow citizens and full participants in the cultural and political landscape.

What is a bright? A bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview A bright's worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview

Reason and Purpose Currently the naturalistic worldview is insufficiently expressed within most cultures, even politically/socially repressed. To be a Bright (someone who fits the definition and registers on this Web site) is to participate in a movement to address the situation. There is a great diversity of persons who have a naturalistic worldview. Some are members of existing organizations that foster a supernatural-free perspective. Far more individuals are not associated with any formal group or label. Under the broad umbrella of the naturalistic worldview, the constituency of Brights can undertake social and civic actions designed to influence a society otherwise permeated with supernaturalism.

The Brights – An international Internet constituency of individuals. http://www.the-brights.net/

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THAT BRIGHT STUFF â&#x20AC;&#x201C; BOTTOM LINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

The movement's three major aims are: 1.

Promote the civic understanding and acknowledgment of the naturalistic worldview, which is free of supernatural and mystical elements.

Gain public recognition that persons who hold such a worldview can bring principled actions to bear on matters of civic importance.

Educate society toward accepting the full and equitable civic participation of all such individuals.

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A BOOK – NOW ISN‟T THAT A DISTRACTION? –

Originator: Albatross Theme: The Distraction Style: Folk Ballad

Tha' New Book Run, run, gonna get me another one, A book to read, my nose to stick inside. Ah, to smell the leaves an' soot 'an print therein, See strange symbly, scribbly marks pulse an' breathe. O, doh, there they breathe! An inner resonance, that phonon rythm With a Rumba rumbly ruggle my dream will feed. Then, to peel the words, one by one, Of their contextual vector spin (that they do embode), Along the line, now by eye, now by brain, Clause by clause, my stance but bright, I will, I shall, conclude, as I reach 'The End', And perchance grasp the wholity of syntactic grip, If worthwhile was that snake's-hands trip I choose to embark upon 'mong thinkers free Their minds to speak, to say, to draft, to dream. Afterwards I shall slip it in amongst the all them others, That do recline, their honeyed nectar spun, On my shelves. A book, a book! Oh so new. Now, the book to find I shalt.[/indent] (Where noe my bright shades be? Ah, there.)

Alb

Rondeáu

Spontaneously written at The Brights forum (whenever).

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EVOLUTION – THE ALGORITHMIC DYNAMIC OF LIFE –

ife on earth evolved gradually beginning with one primitive species – perhaps a self-replicating molecule – that lived more than 3.5 billion years ago; it then branched out over time, throwing off many new and diverse species; and the mechanism for most (but not all) of evolutionary change is natural selection. When you break that statement down, you find that it consists of six components: Evolution, gradualism, speciation, common ancestry, natural selection and nonselective mechanisms of evolutionary change. Jerry Coyne, “Why Evolution Is True”, 2009, Penguin Books, page 3.

From a Brights‟ Point of Wiew Fallacy: "Evolution states that organs evolve by random chance or by accident." Rebuttal: "Not so. Evolutionary theory states that over many, many generations, a mutation will be selected for or against depending on whether or not that mutation helps the creatures in question survive and reproduce. Mutations – tiny changes in genetic code that get expressed in a creature's physique or behavior – may be introduced by a number of causes, some of which seem 'random' in the sense that they're not purposeful. But agents of mutation (cosmic rays, replication errors, etc.) are a constant force on a species, and selection pressure to weed out harmful mutations is also a constant force on a species. As a result of these constant pressures on the reproduction of members of a species, evolution is ongoing and highly NON-random. From a few small mutations that stand the test of time – compared to the many, many, many mutations that don't – a new organ or behavior may eventually evolve within a species." mslongjr; date, Jan 13 2006, post='64849' http://www.the-brights.net/forums/forum/index.php?showtopic=4425&st=0 THE ALGORITHMIC DYNAMIC OF ORIGINATION ... and THE EVOLUTION OF THE EYE. ( THEMES TO PURSUE .)

In the Blink of an Eye: How Vision Kick-started the Big Bang of Evolution, Andrew Parker, 2003.

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EVOLUTION – VIEWED AS PER THE BRIGHTS –

This flier is available for download in pdf format at: http://www.the-brights.net/ http://the-brights.net/action/activities/resources/DidYouKnow-BrightsEvolutionFlier-EuropeA4-FullPagePrint.pdf

306

EVOLUTION – VIEWED AS PER THE BRIGHTS –

This flier is available for download in pdf format at: http://www.the-brights.net/ http://the-brights.net/action/activities/resources/DidYouKnow-BrightsEvolutionFlier-EuropeA4-FullPagePrint.pdf

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MISCELLANEOUS – ODDS AND ENDS – Listen to these songs as interpreted by An Another Albatross at: All the World‟s a Joy: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_2049431 Heaven and Earth: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_2048623 Words: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_2029476

Hubble Site – News Release Number: STScI-2006-12, September 21, 2006 10:00 AM EDT) NASA's Hubble Finds Hundreds of Young Galaxies in Early Universe For the inspiration of this li‟l piece of a sense of wonder see the Hubble site: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/cosmology/2006/12/ The full picture of these glories from the Hubble site (11,7 MB): http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2006/12/images/b/formats/full_tif.tif

Orion's Inner Beauty NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Megeath (University of Toledo) http://sscws1.ipac.caltech.edu/Imagegallery/image.php?image_name=ssc2006-16a Instrument: Wavelength: Exposure Date: Exposure Time: Image scale: Orientation: Release Date:

IRAC 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 microns February 16 and 18, 2004, March 9, 2004, October 8, 12, and 27, 2004 41.6 seconds per position 0.77 x 1.44 deg North is up 2006/08/14

Mandala – Reproduced with kind permission. Purchased by me in New Delhi 1981.

Markings (of which I know nothing) found on back of Mandala on page 31.

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LITERATURE – SELECTIONS – Juri Aidas

The Tree of Life – A Modern Theory on the Yoga Daršana, – New Light on the Philosophy of Yoga, 2005

John D. Barrow

The Book of Nothing, 2000 The Infinite Book – A Short Guide to the Boundless, Timeless and Endless, 2005

Paul Brockelman

Cosmology and Creation – The Spiritual Significance of Contemporary Cosmology, 1999

Daniel C. Dennett

Consciousness Explained, 1991 Darwins Dangerous Idea – Evolution and the Meanings of Life, 1995 Kinds of Minds – The Origins of Consciousness, 1996 Freedom Evolves, 2003

Jonathan C. W. Edwards

Single Cell Consciousness, 2005 – www.ucl.ac.uk/~regfjxe/awnew.htm How Many People Are There In My Head And In Hers, 2005 – www.ucl.ac.uk/~regfjxe/awnew.htm

Abraham Eraly

The Gem in the Lotus – The Seeding of Indian Civilization, 2000

Lawrence H. Domash

Is Consciousness a Macroscopic Quantum Mechanical State Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation Program – Collected Papers, 1977

Georg Feuerstein, The Deeper Dimenson of Yoga, 2003 with – Subhash Kak & David Frawley In Search of Ancient Civilization, 1995 R. T. H. Griffith

The Rig Veda, 1973, 1st edition 1889

Douglas R. Hofstadter Gödel, Escher, Bach – An Eternal Golden Bough, 1979

Dimitris P. Kannellakos & P. Ferguson, The Psychobiology of Transcendental Meditation – (an annotated bibliography), 1973 Stella Kramrich

The Presence of Šiva, 1981

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi The Science of Being and Art of Living The Bhagavad-Gita – A New Translation and Commentary, 1967

Joseph Margoulis

Interview by Michael Malone in ‟A Parliament of Minds‟, 2000

Barbara Stoler Miller

Yoga – Discipline of Freedom, 1995

Roger Penrose

The Road to Reality – A Complete Guide to the Laws of Nature, 2004

Karl R. Popper, John C. Eccles The Self and Its Brain – An Argument for Interactionism, 1977 Nicholas Rescher, Robert Brandom The Logic of Inconsistencey, 1979 Rudy Rucker

Infinity and the Mind, 1982

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LITERATURE – MORE BOOKS – 1963 Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali 1979 The Authentic Yoga: Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras 1979 The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali: A New Translation and Commentary 2003 The Yoga-Sûtra of Patanjali: A New Translation with Commentary 1983 Šankara on the Yoga-Sutras, Volume 2 1967 The Bhagavad-Gita – A New Translation and Commentary 1995 Yoga: Discipline of Freedom (The Yoga Sūtra Attributed to Patanjali) 1982 Effortless Being: The Yoga Sūtras of Patanjali New Edition 2002, The Yoga Stras of Patanjali 1961 The Science of Yoga 1927 THE YOGA-SYSTEM OF PATANJALI - Or the Ancient Hindu Doctrine of Concentration of Mind 1978 Raja-Yoga – or Conquering the Internal Nature’, 17 Impr. 2003 Yoga-Sutra. A poetic translation into Swedish from the English editions above and a few Sanskrit sources. (Yet unpublished.) 2005 The Tree of Life: A Modern Theory on Consciousness as Seen through the Lens of the Yoga Darsana, New Light on the Philosophy of Yoga. (Yet unpublished.) 2005 The Infinite Book: A Short Guide to the Boundless, Timeless and Endless 1999 Cosmology and Creation: The Spiritual Significance of Contemporary Cosmology 1973 Seven States of Consciousness: A vision of possibilities suggested by the teaching of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 2000 2000 1994 1994 (in ‘Novelty – Four Stories’)

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LITERATURE – MORE BOOKS – 1987 1980 2004 Living the Bhagavad-Gita 2003 Freedom Evolves 1991 Consciousness Explained 1995 Darwins Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life 1996 Kinds of Minds: The Origins of Consciousness 2004 Gem in the Lotus: The Seeding of Indian Civilization 2005 How Many People Are There In My Head? And In Hers? 2003 The Deeper Dimension of Yoga 1980 The Philosophy of Classical Yoga 1974A The Essence of Yoga: A Contribution to the Psychohistory of Indian Civilisation 1974B Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita: Its Philosophy and Cultural Setting 1995 In Search of Ancient Civilization 2001 Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox 1980 Layayoga: An Advanced Method of Concentration 1998 Heaven’s Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization 1979 Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid 1978 The Right to Useful Unemployment: and its Professional Enemies 1981 Shadow Work 1979 Gender 1981 The Presence of Šiva

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LITERATURE – MORE BOOKS – 2001 Closure: A Story of Everything 1979 The Game of Life 1921 Vivekacudamani of Sri Shankarâchârya 1967 The Bhagavad-Gita: A New Translation and Commentary, Chapters 1–6 1965 The Science of Being and Art of Living 1965 The Upanishads 2004 The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe 1953 The Principal Upanishads 1972 Mândûkyopanisad 2001 Effortless Being: The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali 2004 The Last Day 1979 Lifetide: A Biology of the Unconscious 2004 The Yoga of Time Travel: How the Mind Can Defeat Time

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LITERATURE – MORE BOOKS –

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LITERATURE – MORE BOOKS –

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LITERATURE – MORE BOOKS –

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – 1. Dr. Sarvepelli Radhakrishnan, philosopher/politician, second president of India “”, 1960, Georg Allen & Unwin Ltd., second impr. 1971, p. 8.5. 2. Edward O. Wilson, “Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge”, Knopf, 1998, pp. 58-59, hardcoverat all. 3. Paradigm: (pr’-dîm’, -dm’) *Middle English, example, from Late Latin paradîgma, from Greek paradeigma, from paradeiknunai, to compare : para-, alongside; para + deiknunai, to show.] n. ·

One that serves as a pattern or model.

A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb.

A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

Since the 1960s, paradigm has been used in science to refer to a theoretical framework, as when Nobel Laureate David Baltimore cited the work of two colleagues that “really established a new paradigm for our understanding of the causation of cancer.” Philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn gave this word its contemporary meaning, in 1972, when he adopted it to refer to the set of practices that define a scientific discipline during a particular period of time. Kuhn himself came to prefer the terms exemplar and normal science, which have more exact philosophical meanings. However, in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Kuhn defines a scientific paradigm as: ·

what is to be observed and scrutinized,

the kind of questions that are supposed to be asked and probed for answers in relation to this subject,

how these questions are to be structured,

how the results of scientific investigations should be interpreted.

Alternatively, the Oxford English Dictionary defines paradigm as “a pattern or model, an exemplar.” Thus an additional component of Kuhn’s definition of paradigm is: ·

how is an experiment to be conducted, and what equipment is available to conduct the experiment.

Thus, within normal science, the paradigm is the set of exemplary experiments that are likely to be copied or emulated. The prevailing paradigm often represents a more specific way of viewing reality, or limitations on acceptable programs for future research, than the much more general scientific method. 4. The Bhagavad-Gita, 6:19. “A lamp which does not flicker in a windless place – to such is compared the yogi of subdued thought practising Union with the Self.” Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; 1967, “”, p. 421. 5. Since the first seminal paper in 1970 by Robert Keith Wallace, PhD, on the physiological correlates on The Transcendental Meditation Program, a veritable cornucopia of scientific research has accrued around this yogic method. This research is quite voluminous, and as that method defines one of the aspects of yoga quite comprehensively, the meditative angle, I may as well reference a set of volumes of collected papers of studies on the biological and psychological effects on the individual engendered by that method. See: “Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation Program, Collected Papers, Volumes 1-6”, edited by David W. Orme-Johnson and John T Farrow, Volume 1, 1977. Maharishi European Research University Press, # G1181; ISBN 3-88333-001-9. This volume collects 104 studies and all the volumes together presents abouts a full 600 studies. 6. The Yoga Stra is an ancient text (stra/thread – binds the context) from abouts 200BC – 100AD: this text consists of 196 short (195, depending on how they are counted) mnemonic, memorizable verses; this is the basic text of yoga, it delineates philosophy and mechanism, and sets the expression of yoga firmly in 4 short chapters.

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – Contentwise the Yoga-Stra may be traced back to Vedic culture (2500–1700 BC). Patanjali, author of the Yogastra, offered the ideas of yoga a surprisingly stable format as early as 200 BC – 100 AD. 7. Not much is known of Maharishi Patanjali who is historically placed somewhere in the span of years from 300 B.C. to around 200 A.D. Tradition favours the earlier date but modern inquiry based on linguistic study of the Yoga-Sûtra, as discussed by e.g. Georg Feuerstein, places Patanjali closer to the later date (“”, 1979, p, 3). We know little of Patanjali, yet his study of yoga has propagated, he must have had students. For to undertake the task of defining Yoga he must at least, in our minds, have been merited, must have been endowed with great insight and scholarly status, and must surely have had the reputation of being an influential teacher of his time. A few other Patanjali’s are known to history: the grammarian Patanjali, who is also the author of different medical texts, and we find reference to a Patanjali in southern India, but really, almost nothing is known of Maharishi Patanjali. His ageless work, the Yoga-Sûtra, upholds a concise vision of Yoga, the Daršana of Yoga; its expression is the philosophy of Yoga. The first mention of Patanjali as author of the Yoga-Sûtra we find in Vâscapati Misras commentary of this text in the 9th century A.D. (Feuerstein, 2003, patanjali.htm – from www.yrec.org). 8. Yoga Stra, 1:1, Patanjali, 200BC – 100AD. If one takes a look at how the definition of Yoga is treated in translation and interpretation we find that the idea about and the definition of a stilling of the many activities of the mind is treated somewhat differently (to so say) by the many different interpreters. The definition of Yoga, in translations from the Sanskrit, thus carries perspectives formed of two opposite criteria: allowing and restrictive. Allowing interpretations: 1978 – 2003 Alistair Shearer – 1981: Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence. P. Y. Deshpande – 1978: Yoga is that state of being in which the ideational choice-making movement of the mind slows down and comes to a stop. Barbara Stoler Miller – 1996: Yoga is the cessation of the turnings of thought. B.K.S. Iyengar – 1996: Yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness. Chip Hartranft – 2003: Yoga is to still the patterning of consciousness. Restrictive interpretations: 1914 – 1982 James Haughton Woods – 1914: Yoga is the inhibition of the mental processes. Alice A. Bailey – 1927: This Union (or Yoga) is achieved through the subjugation of the psychic nature and the restraint of the chitta (or mind). I.K. Taimini – 1961: Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of the mind. Swami Hariharânanda Aranya – 1963: Yoga is the suppression of the modifications of the mind. Georg Feuerstein – 1979: Yoga is the restriction of the fluctuations of consciousness.

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – Trevor Leggett – 1982: Yoga is inhibition of the mental processes. 9. The Bhagavad-Gita, 2:48. “Established in Yoga, O winner of wealth, perform actions having abandoned attachment and having become balanced in success and failure, for balance of mind is called Yoga.” Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; 1967, BG. p. 135. 10. Cycle of Rest and activity: A semantic cycle to describe the outwards and inwards flow of cognitory engagement. From rest to activity and then back. As the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi once said (La Antilla, 1971, personal lecture notes): “Go out and lose it, then come back.” The idea thereof being the fact that as the necessities of life drag us into ambitious undertakings we ought to compensate for the certain fatigue that will hit our system by recognizing the inward flow of cognition and all but allow it to do its refreshing work. In this a complication arises as the mind has a tendency to fade out from the fatigue it has gathered in activity, so a slight trick is necessitated to bring back and, in an effortless manner, stimulate the faint mental alertness required to have a conscious experience at all. 11. I use the concept ‘Algorythmy’ to allude to the recursive factor of the inward leg of the cognitive journey from activity to rest, but as that ability of the mind essentially underlies activity itself, becomes it’s base, so to say, as life’s dynamic evolves, and as activity has many multiply-patterned algorithmic components to it I find it quite natural to allude to that rationale as I describe the recursive character of the inward journey of the subjective cognitory node of awareness, the ‘I’, and as this is based on continuity of a regulated swing of awareness from one end of the abstractness spectrum of the phenomenologically perceived to the other (from inner abstraction to outer, via objectifying nodes, aka., nature construes unto consciousness a perception of ‘The World’,) 12.

Yoga Stra, 2:29. In the Sanskrit the eight aspects are referred to as: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi Ethics, Morals, The Body, Breath, Withdrawal, Focusing, Meditation (as process) & (Dynamic) Bliss.

13.

Yama (also see note 35): This is what I call Ethics (yamas are observances); The Laws of Life. A single thing yet comprising several parameters, as the ring of a bell tells of its properties.

My characterizations of the eight aspects of yoga are broad and general. Usually the two first categories, ethics and morals (as I conceptualize these) are looked upon as collections of rules and precepts for the living of a good life. In a way that is true yet all those performs really only pertain but to the yogic process as such and ought not be regarded as the only relevant ways of living life, they do not represent any ideology with which to imprint the outer world. The categories of yoga are rather ideal to pursue during the process of application of yogic method as such. Thus these things are taken into consideration as practice proceeds from more concrete platforms to subtler such. It’s a progression. One starts with preparations of practical matter, mindset and attitude, one continues via the limbering and balancing of body, the stabilizing of breathing. These are called the outer limbs of yoga. Then the period of engagement in yogic method, the actual doing of yoga, is taken into the subtler fields of inner life, the inner limbs of yoga: withdrawal, focusing, meditation and bliss (see footnotes 10, 11, 12 & 13). So as goes for ethics I have chosen this concept to embrace the whole idea of ‘The Laws of Life’ (as one translator would have it; Shearer 1981). Ethics I take to be the most basic consideration in our engagements with others and with ourselves yes, with ourselves, and this is the angle yoga represents, the direct practical involvement of the individual in setting up the prerequisites for a good and fulfilling session of yoga, all the way from treating mindset and body and breath etc., so as they tune up to be optimally conducive to the precious moments of time set aside for the continual, over time, practice of yoga. Patanjali defines Yama in terms of five sub-categories: Truthfulness, Non-attachment, Restraint, Integrity, Non-violence.

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – 14. Niyama (also see note 35): This is Morals, the basic ‘Rules for Living’, also comprising of several parameters, a spectrum of propensities to be recognised as conducive to sensibility and good living. The second great branch on ‘The Tree of Life’ is Niyama, what I designate Morals or ‘The Rules for Living’ (as Shearer, 1981, wold have it), so to say (but remember that all consideration here are made in terms of the application of the processes of Yoga). Together with the first, Ethics, I perceive these two branches, Ethics and Morals, as offering deep insight in the experientially understood functionings of a nervous-system (we have available a bit of historically early phenomenology but with the twist of recursivity often forgotten or uncommunicable because of dogma or secrecy, but to be fair to the yogic world there is a certain dilemma built into the teaching of yoga how to teach about that which is not tangible but in the sense of the deep, clearly perceived rest it brings is quite real? see the section ‘The Algorythmy’, p. 11, for more on this), and also, in the final end, being the platform of all human interaction, all cooperation, all mingling of interests and loyalties: these two together make the platform where we get to know ourselves and each other. To this end Patanjali defines five sub-categories of Niyama, fixed observances, sensible rules, Morals: Refinement, Contentment, Simplicity, Purification, Sense of Wonder. Out of the great embrace of these two lower branches a sense of wonder rises, shines, appears on the horizon of possibility, when collaborations suddenly work and entrusted obligations are kept. Without going any further a respectable life can be lived when these precepts are actualized in life. Isn’t this the central part of what the Dalai Lama constantly teaches? At least to the general audience? I do realize though that my defining Yama and Niyama as ‘Ethics’ and ‘Morals’ does make the sub-categories float a bit, certainly these sub-lists could be expanded and structured yet more, but do we not see a basic idea here, a sense that we must learn to sensibly trust others; we are urged to the cultivating of qualities of kindness, compassion, joy and as the fourth of these universals we must develop a sense of impartiality towards that which is wrong, so that affectations of our own do not overwhelm the discriminative faculties of sense, in the telling of wrong from right when the time for action is come. We must come to see that there’s something relevant in all the budding strivings of inner man, that there’s something we deem worthwhile to perform for the good of all and sundry. To wish for an incahote world seems very strange to me and is seemingly the lure of a maelstrom of sensation and misdirected desire, the result is not acceptable, as states Maharishi Mahesh Yogi “Conflict is a result of intellectual bankruptcy.” Therefore the fourth of these universal categories of trust must be developed, enabling us to to what needs be done. We must want the world to evolve into something great. Upon the dual platform of Ethics and Morals it is possible to build a stable structure to maintain and uphold the balances demanded by circumstances, by the ever-changing, good and bad happenstances that may befall anyone fortunate enough to count as belonging to the sphere of living beings capable of reflection, of a deepened selfsense. 15. : Pertains to the body. Posture In the yogic sense the balance and sustain of dynamic posture. Asana is that which makes the body supple and strong, stable. The result of yoga-asanas, the exercises, thus provides a heightened possibility, a patform of stability whereupon the mind does not becomedistracted by the body. In the meditative phase of Yoga, in the performing of dhyâna, meditation, this balance and freedom from disturbances from the physical structure combined with strength built up along the spine, does thus enable stability to the back while one rests in the yogic posture, the asana, making for a free flow, prana, of breath – all the energies of the body become stabilized and those abilities are thus conducive to the continuation of the experience of deep inner bliss obtainable by the more abstruse aspects of this asthanga-yoga. 16. : Breath, . In practice the techniques and exercises designed to develop a smooth natural flow in the whole round of in-breath and out-breath and the respective pauses of suspension, an exploration of the dynamic of breath, of its peaks and and valleys and of the silent mechanisms of sustain in the absence of breath, as in between the in-breath and out-breath and vice-versa.

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – 17. : Withdrawal. Now here we meet the Tortoise. represents the idea of retracting the senses from external object (in meditation it is helpful to close the eyes, letting our attention rest somewhere behind the eyebrows). As a Tortoise withdraws its lims at occasion, head, extremities and tail, so does the mind withdraw from the objects of the senses as the yogic process proceeds. e can understand the sense of in considering the sense of hearing. It does happen that one becomes so engrossed in reading that one does not hear when one is spoken to, well one does hear but it doesn’t really register, we somehow disregard the noises we hear and do not feel disturbed by them. In reading or some other focused activity this quality of absorption may come into play and help deepen our facility to concentrate. This is not to imply that the meditative state of cuts off the critical faculties of our mind. If somebody yells ‘Fire!’ – we hear, we act, we run, save someone if we can. It’s just natural, as the mind, in performing Yoga, gains alertness though simultaneously being at rest: this is the meaning of restful alertness, its dynamic so to say, the creative impulse being always at hand in alertness, its not as if one is otherwhere, one is at home and ready to roar, one is really just engaging in a few moments of innerness, hopefully gaining a fresh, discerning wiev on whatever. 18. : Focusing. When the senses have retracted from their objects, through the application of dhâranâ, the mind is free to dive into deep essential rest. is the subtle gate that we can learn to regulate so as to enable us to perform yoga, helping us to maintain the process consistently over a longer period of time. is often misleadingly called concentration and thus it easily gives rise to the idea of strenuous effort, hard work, arduous application, exhausting difficulty. It is not difficult or complicated to do Yoga. Yoga is based on natural processes, on what happens in the nervous system by natural order, so to say. It is unfortunate that this harsh attitude towards Yoga has sprung up with practitioners, dissuading others who have much to think about in life and who’d do well to develop, and tune the physical and mental structures. It is unfortunate that many good people have come to associate Yoga with excessive ascetism and denial and strife when it is rather the balance of opposites that is enhanced: the ability to interact is augmented by self-sense and sensible ideals. Revealed by Yoga we find a vision of fullness of utter relevance to life to set us on a path of ‘’, ‘Natural law’, in which Life becomes ultimately meaningful. This process of , of the senses letting go, retraction, can be stimulated by a somewhat detached attitude to people and events in life, but which overdone can lead to alienation in the social interaction with others. We’re all, more or less, dependent on each other, this is the boundary of the essence of humanity, holding out is not an option – in the processes of Yoga comes about naturally. This should become clear to our understanding as the next aspect of Yoga, dhyâna, comes up for consideration. 19. : Meditation (as process). The systematic and gentle process of bringing the mind to a state of restful alertness by making use of the natural tendency of the mind to be drawn to that which is rewarding to it. The lure of the ultimate dynamic bliss of deep within becomes unresistable to the diving mind as it engages in a process of transcendence by use of the simple yet rational techniques of dhyâna. The inner bliss of (see below), is felt even from a distance (as we draw close to it we become aware of the presence of the ocean even before it is in wiev). In this the mind and the whole physical structure relaxes and allows for alertness and insight to rise and soar, to ascend in clarity (as a pool grows clearer when its waves subside). ee the illustration on p. 7, “” (or follow the link here for an Internet PowerPoint presentation in the folder ‘metaphor’ at, http://another-albatross/spaces.live/com), for the structure of the epistemology of a method of transcendence offered by the 7th limb of Patanjalis asthanga-yoga. This way of putting things, in general terms, represents what I have been teaching, all these years, as regards , meditation. The vocabulary used is standard, though I have brought in a few new specifying terms and modernized others, adding some clarifications of my own. The key point in the schemata I present is the way the mind is channeled away from activity to rest in meditation. It is the slight distraction of a mantra, a word, used on the level of the thinking mind, as a slight thought, which becomes vaguer as the process proceeds, it becomes a veichle for the sense of reality; this channels the mind in a direction of no activity at all, only rest. And this is the crucial point, this is the hinge. Here we find the root of paradox in the contrast of a , creating a state of no activity and also simultaneously stimulating the mind into alertness. Used in the prescribed way (effortlessley, naturally, more in a sense of letting go instead of as in picking something up, yet the is treated as just another thought among others) this distracts the impetus of intentionality

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – carried by mental structures generated by the thinking process. A slight impulse of activity is also engendered by this slight distraction itself, this is what stimulates awareness from falling into dullness, and, as the process continues other thoughts fade away; and as there is no effort applied in using the mantra, and as no inherent meaning is attributed to it, it will fade too leaving the alert mind in a state of no activity whatsoever – “Nothing is supposed to happen”. While resting, we rest. We do not do anything as the process of trancendence takes us in a deep dive to the centre of our inner being. But here the categories break up. The inner field becomes a singularity, parallelling our modern understanding of the singularity of the Big Bang of Creation. In the inner field, as well as in the outer the laws we have come to identify and integrate in our perspectives break down. As the laws of Time and Space become undefined, while, as when looking far into the outer Universe, we find that similarily the subjective rules of our inner being dissappear, the inner unboundedness we popularly conceive might just as well be regarded as an inner singularity - the objective mind, with its trappings of subjective Gordic magnitudes, dives into a field of no definition, dragging the body along to whatever stillness is in its ability to uphold (therefore posture, asana, prepares the body for longer proximities to this ur-state of inner being). To assign the properties of diverse infinities to this state is tricky indeed, and as fact would have it there’s no empirical evidence for subjective states like this. Though subjectively we may treat this state as of infinite nature. See my internet page, (http://hem.bredband.net/ columbia/timeline.htm), for an early graphic rendering of these ideas (the single cell stuff had yet to be integrated into the exposition). As silence and inner quietness deepen it becomes easier for the generated wakefulness to remain sustained and thus the process accellerates (and/or subjectively slows - algorythmically) until a state of no activity at all of the mind is obtained, in concert with, in unity with a maximum of awareness at hand: a state of restful alerteness. 20. : (Dynamic) Bliss. In the Yoga-Sûtra Patanjali recognizes two kinds of samâdhi: with or without object, and . Samâdhi represents the direct subjective experience of an inner ‘ground state’, so to say (as perceived, nominally, from an existential and phenomenological middle ground,) and is in a nominal sense endowed with the self-same qualities of existence, intelligence and bliss (sat, chit, ananda) closely associated with the subjective concept of an Absolute. 21 Yoga Sutra, the categories (see notes 1118): Ethics, 2:30, the “Great Law of Life” non-violence, truthfulness, integrity, collectedness; Morals, 2:32, the “Rules for Living” simplicity, contentment, purification, refinement. Sense of wonder; Physical postures, 2:46; Breathing exercises, 2:49; Withdrawal, 2:54; Focusing, 3:1; Meditation (as process), 3:2; (Dynamic) Bliss, 3:3. 22. Single Neuron Theory of Consciousness: Dr. Steven Sevush () and Jonathan C.W. Edwards (). 23. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. From personal lecture notes, early 1970’s. 24. Algorythmy: The outwards and inwards swell and ebb of activial tides. (See note 7.) 25. It was Albert Einstein who first proposed and gradually developed (1905–17) the modern concept of the photon, a quanta of light, . Einstein ‘imagined’ how it would be to be a photon as it travels. As the speed of light becomes a defining element the idea of time can be collapsed into the behaviour of this energetic quanta. The photon was originally called a “light quantum” (das Lichtquant) by Albert Einstein. The modern name “photon” derives from the Greek word for light, , (transliterated phôs), and was coined in 1926 by the physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis, who published a speculative theory in which photons were “uncreat-able and indestructible”. Although Lewis’ theory was never accepted being contradicted by many experiments his new name, photon, was adopted immediately by most physicists. Isaac Asimov credits Arthur Compton with defining quanta of light as photons in 1927. , 26. Steven Pinker: Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology, Harvard University. 27. Freely paraphrased from Steven Pinker’s, “”, 2007, p. 261 (Penguin). 28. Ibid., p. 267.

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – 29. Ibid., p. 272. 30. Ibid., p. 276: “Though metaphors are omnipresent in language, many of them are effectively dead in the minds of todays speakers, and the living ones could never be learned, understood, or used as a reasoning tool unless they were built out of more abstract concepts that capture the similarities and differences between the symbol and the symbolized. For this reason, conceptual metaphors do not render truth and objectivity obsolete, nor do they reduce philosophical, legal, and political discourse to a beauty contest between rival frames. Still, I think that metaphor really is a key to explaining thought and language. The human mind comes equipped with an ability to penetrate the cladding of sensory appearance and discern the abstract construction underneath not always on demand, and not infallibly, but often enough and insightfully enough to shape the human condition. Our powers of analogy allow us to apply ancient neural structures to newfound subject matter, to discover hidden laws and systems in nature, and not least, to amplify the expressive power of language itself.” 31. Heuristic (hy-rs’tc); The teaching on methods of finding new sientific insight. [From the Greek, heuriskein, to find.] Adj.: Of or relating to; an usually speculative formulation serving as a guide in the investigation or of a problem:

solution

“The historian discovers the past by the judicious use of such an heuristic device as the ‘ideal type’” (Karl J. Weintraub). Of or constituting; an educational method in which learning takes place through discoveries result from investigations made by the student.

t h a t

Computer Science; relating to or using a problem-solving technique in which the most appro priate solution of several found by alternative methods is selected at successive stages of a program for use in the next step of the program. noun.: An heuristic method or process. Heuristics (used with a sing. verb): The study and application of heuristic methods and processes. 32. “The Tree of Life”, Metaphor by Juri Aidas, 2003. . 33. Hariolation: I found the word hariolation squeezed in with, guesswork, speculation and probability in Roget’s International Thesaurus, 4-th ed., 1977, p. 412, under Class six, II, D 543 - that is, following the chain, under: Intellect, States of Mind, Anticipation, Prediction, and finally under prediction as this is expanded upon under its heading 543, eureka - hariolation. So I guess it means speculative guesswork, I guess? Hariolator. I’d guess that’d be one who does the speculative guesswork? 34. “Single Neuron Theory of Consciousness”: (Sevush, 2005). “Is Consciousness Only a Property of Individual Cells?”: (Edwards, 2005). 35. Heterophenomenology. The third person view of understanding experience. See, Daniel Dennett, 2005, “”, p. 35.

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – 36. The concepts of Ethics and Morals are treated as The Laws of Life and The Rules for Living by Alistair Shearer in his beautiful little gem of a translation of the Yoga-Sutra, “”, 1982, p. 107-108 (first ed. 1981). It is important that these two great pillars of human existence not be vielded into behavioural rules of interaction with the lives of other individuals, our interactions in society could ideally be drawn out of the yogic pool of understanding of the dynamics of the psyco physiological system, but it is important that the ideas on Ethics and Morals of yoga allude to the process of yoga as such and should not be mixed into ideologies of behaviour (see the subscript to the tree illustration on p.7). If yoga does its trick successfully the qualities of these laws and rules should emerge spontaneously from the individual and be infused into the daily activities of the individual. And, yet, these aspects are succintly generalized by the subcategories assigned to these two great brances of: Ethics, Truthfulness, Nonattachment, Restraint, Integrity, Non-violence; and Morals, Refinement, Contentment, Simplicity, Purification, Sense of Wonder (see notes 12 and 13). As is obvious these expressions are ideals of any behavioural commitment, but when applied in the recursive yogic setting they are qualities that support the practice as such and if their effluence carries over into the attitudes we bring unto others so much the better. 37. This graphic presumes to illustrate the correspondence of the dynamics of the ‘Tree of Life’ metaphor with the structurality and thus the life-upholding properties of a single neuronal cell. The simplicity of the tree image of stem and branchy forkings might well have some analogous resonance with the fundamental physical forces that hold together the molecules and atoms and quarks, and whatever, of the whole dynamic. In an interesting debate on causality, determinism and free will on The Brights Forum between ColonelZen and CharlieD, The Colonel has quite a few points to make. Charlie-D: So what’s the point about “brownian motion”? ColonelZen: … the mechanisms of the brain are causal but not entirely deterministic. A dendrite will not fire until its receptors interact with sufficient neurotransmitter molecules, but in the very small space between axon and dendrite there may be only a few billion to trillion molecules total and only a few thousands of the transmitter chemicals. The timing between activation of the axon and the subsequent firing of the dendrite may vary considerably. In consequence the sequence of thoughts (or complex states in the neural net that later reduce to symbolic throughts) are not completely predictable even if “perfect and complete” information about the initial state were available. This is of course true of all macroscopic phenomena when measured with adequate precision to detect the influence of Brownian motion, but most macroscopic objects are not even remotely near the complexity of the brain, thus nowhere near as sensitive to those microscopic variations. Which is to say that in large if once we have a realistic and complete interactive model of how the brain/mind works, you might be able to make some measurements of me, add in everything I’ve ever written to date, grill me for a couple days on all my views about everything, and ask the model questions about how I would respond. It will come out with very good answers today - but it will not be a perfect exact match to what the real me would say. A month from now, if you don’t update it, it would still be by and large close, but farther than what I would say. A year out if not updating it for what the real me does but giving it the same information of the outside world that I encounter, it would still reflect a lot of my views fairly accurately but on some issues it and I would disagree, … Charlie-D: I’m no scientific theorist, but I do know a tad about brownian motion from the stock market. Is the brownian model more than a statistical way of describing a seemingly random phenomenon, or does it actual hypothesize that the process is non-causal and non-predictable? I know that in the case of the stock market, it works pretty well as a model but the shape of the curve does not come out to be normal, and does not confirm the hypothesis of strict randomness. In other words in the case of a particle in a gas, you have zillions of gas molecules that are hypothetically “randomly” bouncing around, and the brownian model works well. But if you actually had the information of the exact location and trajectory of every gas molecule, would you not still be able to predict a caused outcome, at least in theory. ColonelZen: Brownian motion (the real thing in real matter) is genuine quantum chaos. When two

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – molecules bounce, what is happening is that there are photon exchanges between the electrons in the outer shells of atoms in the approaching molecules. Electron and photon interaction .. if you’ve studied physics the bells of Heisenberg should be ringing loudly. To be sure, if two large molecules collide head on there will be so many photons exchanged that it will begin to approximate a pure mechanical (perfectly elastic) collision. But not all collisions are that violent ... many, many will be glancing with only single photon pair - single electron exchange bearing the full weight of uncertainty for such interactions. Take that for even the submicroscopic sample of a few trillion molecules, bouncing off each other billions of times a second. Take “perfect and complete” information for any instant in time, and a nanosecond later you have complete chaos predictable only statistically. Charlie-D: But don’t the bells of Heisenberg just refer back to the issue of whether any phenomenon involving “single electon exchange bearing the full weight of uncertainty for such interactions” can be modelled as causal in some predictable sense? What does this have to do with the brain per se?

Well, I might be a bit off topic in this putting all this here but I thought the above exchange very interesting in that one can almost tangibly feel the inspiring capacity of the reasoning minds behind the back an’ forth ongoings, as if the pendulum movement of congnition is reflecting a natural, say algorythmic, swing from clarity to consternation and back, and they are keeping it all on a strictly naturalistic platform. 38. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1912-2008. (Born: Mahesh Prasad Varma, in the Panduka area of Raipur, India, yet a different form of his name appears in the Allahabad University list of distinguished alumni, where he is listed as M.C. Srivastava ), . 39. I once, in 1970, asked Maharishi Mahesh Yogi how a tree metaphor approach would suit for to present the eight aspects of yoga. At that time I did not have a clear view of all the intricacies of the philosophy of yoga and was yet unable to conceptualize a metaphor to embrace the wholity of yoga in one full breadth of a paradigm and in this to also recognize a processual component. Maharishis opinion on this, at that time, was that a confusion with schools of yoga might ensue. But looked at from the viewpoint of Single Cell basal biological necessities the metaphor of a Tree of Life obtains a firm foundation. It was not until the early middle ninety seventies though that The Maharishi himself delved deeper into the work of Patanjali and from my point of view the classical exposition is fully relevant and needs no amendment, yet I think that if the recursivity of algorythmic method itself is heuristically perceived that that then makes for deep relevance and a revigoration of the philosophy of yoga. 40. Qualia. See: “Consciousness Explained”, Daniel C. Dennett, 1991 (pp. 369411). “The power in the external object is clear enough, it seems, but what kind of a thing is an idea of red? Is it, like a beautiful gown of blue, colored - in some sense? Or is it, like a beautiful discussion of purple, just about a colour, without itself being colored at all? This opens up possibilities, but how could an idea be just about a colour (e.g., the color red) if nothing anywhere is red?” (P. 371.) 41. Rig Veda. Book 1:24:7. Hymn dedicated to ‘Varuna and Others’. 42. E.g., the Steatite Seal, and others, 2500-1500 BC. 43. “In Search of the Cradle of Civilization”; Feuerstein, Kak & Frawley, 1995; Quest Books, 2001, p. 264-266. 44. Harappa: as above (note 43), p.61 45. Mohenjo-daro: dito. 46. Saraswati: The Saraswati River of ancient Pakistan used to flow north to south from the Himalayas through the Indus Valley unto the sea. It dried out around almost 4.000 years ago. Between 2000 B.C. and 1700 B.C., seismic activity caused the waters of the river’s two main sources to change course. The Sutlej moved course westward and became a tributary of the Indus River. The Yamuna moved course eastward and became a tributary of the Ganges. The

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REFERENCES – AND D IVERSIONS – tremendous loss of water which resulted from these movements caused the once mighty river to become sluggish and dry up in the Thar Desert without ever reaching the sea. Without any water for irrigation or transportation, the dense population of the river basin soon shifted east with the waters of the Yamuna to the Ganges River valley. Late Vedic texts record the river as disappearing at Vinasana (literally, “the disappearing”), and as joining both the Yamuna and Ganges as an invisible river. . 47. The Steatite Seal, , Material: Tan Steatite Dimensions: 2.65 x 2.7 cm, 0.83 to 0.86 thickness Mohenjo-daro, DK 12050 Islamabad Museum, NMP 50.296 Mackay 1938: 335, pl. LXXXVII, 222 The Mohenjo-daro seal, . 48. In one of Georg Feuersteins books xxx a persons name is mentioned which, by Vedic memory, reaches all the way back to the neolithic age. Play being an important part of life, and the hedonistics, et.al. All the inner joys of life must have been accessible to primaeval man as well as it is to the modern. 49. “The Wisdom Paradox: How your mind can grow stronger as your brain grows older”, Elkhonon Goldberg, 2005, p. xxx. 50. Back-popagation occurs in learning algorithms, systems that ably characterize their own workings and are able to apply them in novel situations. See article on Back-popagation in neural nets by Stephen Williams at The Subsymbolist Forum: . 51. Mantra: “”; Feuerstein, Kak and Frawley, 1995; Quest Books, 2001, p. 189. 52. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1958, as he started up his movement, this is from his first lecture in India, newspaper review (I’ll have to dig out the details), http://xxx 53. WIKI: . 54. Jonathan C.W. Edwards, “Single Cell Consciousness”, a conjecture about the nature of self. Here’s a further quote on the nature of the base properties of consciousness: “In modern physics the elements of the universe are not tiny lumps but rather oscillations with strange properties attached to them such as spin, mass, and charge. Although some of these oscillations are familiar subatomic particles, some cover much larger domains and are known as long-range correlations. Thus a piezoelectric crystal is ‘inhabited’ by quantised long-range correlations in which transient photons are coupled to ‘phonons’. A long-range correlation behaves as a whole with no parts, so any information received at any point in a domain defined by such a long-range correlation can be seen as being received by a single ‘thing’. Almost by definition, cell membranes, as liquid crystals, should be inhabited by long-range correlations. In fact piezoelectric oscillations are recognised in specialised nerve cells in the inner ear known as outer hair cells. To be of any relevance to awareness in cells within the brain such oscillations would probably have to be higher frequency and lower amplitude, but it would not be unreasonable to predict that such oscillations might exist. Thus the suggestion is made that the observers in our heads are piezoelectric oscillations and that these should be discoverable.” (page started in 2002). 55. Jonathan C.W. Edwards, “Is Consciousness Only a Property of Individual Cells?”, April/May 2005 issue of Journal of Consciousness Studies. Edwards revised version from february 2005 can be found here: .

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LINKS – READ MORE –

have not yet engaged in referencing the quotes and statements I drag forth in the preceding section above on ethics and morals (and in which I adopt the yogic stance) but much of this is covered by the footnotes to the main part of this document. I’ll have this section properly referenced too, by an’ by. This document is available on the Internet from the address right below here, and in that document I will endeavour to update the textualities in whatever way I deem necessary as my thinkings on these things hopefully develop further, keepin’ at it: Yoga and the Natural World

which along with a Powerpoint slide show of ca 30 min on all, all, the above, The Nature of Yoga

these two documents reside amongst all of the other diverse stuffs on my blogs: http://sandrian.livejournal.com/

(On this blog, at ‘LiveJournal’, I go under the nomé Sandrian rather than Albatross, as I mostly do on the Internet.) This is the first blog I ever started and thus here I have my earlier work represented, like poetry an’ stuff. http://another-albatross.spaces.live.com/

This is my blog at ‘Spaces’. Here you will find the two documents mentioned above: “The Paradigm of Yoga” and “The Nature of Yoga”. As Spaces also offers large amounts of digital storage I keep quite some whatever-stuff along with the more serious things, e.g. an art exhibition by Lithuanian poet/painter Diana Janaviciené. ˇ

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LINKS – MORE EVEN –

http://www.myspace.com/ananotheralbatross

Here, at my MySpace site, abides a bit ‘a my ‘bright’ music (there’s a mix of some ‘a mine songs there for immediate play). I do folk music mainly, singer/ songwriter stuff, but in my lyrics I do, da do, perchance display a leaning towards a naturalistic world view. Have a listen. http://another-albatross.blogspot.com/

The appendix herein, “The Phonon and the Phoneme” I first published at ‘Blogger’, and on my blog there I’m wont to keep my naturalistic ponderings, hariolatory abstrusnessee, and other stuffs that are of relevance to the naturalistic world-view. http://community.yogajournal.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction? u=4693281&as=25925

At Yoga Journal I write a blog-post on yoga now an’ then. http://issu.com/albatross/docs/paradigm-of-yoga

Hrih. A forum on yoga geared towards the work of Patanjali. http://issu.com/albatross/docs/paradigm-of-yoga

This book may be viewed on-line at Issuu.com: http://issu.com/albatross/docs/paradigm-of-yoga

Enjoy.

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OH SO!

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THE LATERAL

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RECURSIVITIES – SYMBOLS –

Pikeboros

Snake‟s-hand

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PERPLEXITIE – ALLUSION –

“Flowers” Juri Aidas Oil on Canvas, 34,5 x 27 cm.

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CLOSURE – EVER CHANGING MULTIPLICITY –

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MY HEART – GROWS RIGHT THROUGH THE CONCRETE –

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An Another Albatross Publication AAAP 36 N

– HE fromN “TATURAL HE TREE OFW LIFE ”. YOGABOUNTY AND T ORLD

A S&YNTHESIS On the two themes of Yoga Nature A Compilation purpopsedly meant to Entertain and Inform.

Juri Aidas

Thinkings about the virtual extremes of the paradoxes of self-referral inherent to Existence, and on how these are dynamically embedded in the structure of “The Tree of Life”. Established in Yoga, perform action.

An Another Albatross Publication AAAP 36 N