Post by allyanas on Jul 30, 2016 6:57:54 GMT
Week 6- Mystical Philosophy and Transcendence
Essay 1 - Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles?
In the video “Faqir Chand: Inner Visions and Running Trains,” as well as the books “Is the Universe An App?” and “The Unknowing Sage,” we learn about the importance in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles. He was a famous Master of surat shabd yoga that exposed the ignorance behind the real cause of miracles and visions of gurus that people followed. His first realization occurred mid-battle at Hamidia, Iraq in 1919. He had a vision of his guru, which the army followed and were all saved. Upon returning to Baghdad after the fighting had ceased, it became apparent that he had appeared as a vision to another group of people who then became saved and his own guru had no knowledge of his manifestations to Faqir. Following this, “he concluded that the answer to the perplexing problem of religious visions must rest in the nature of consciousness itself” (A. Diem-Lane and D. Lane 108). There is another example of a similar instance where the young Faqir Chand reflected upon visions. As a young Brahmin, Faqir had daily visions of Lord Krishna, that is until a vision appeared and told him to eat cow dung off of the street. He later reflected upon this vision and concluded that this request was not something any god or goddess would ask of from a devotee. It is said that this moment “caused Faqir to doubt the reality of the apparition and he stopped having visions of Krishna” (A. Diem-Lane and D. Lane 112). Faqir believed the cause of “religious visions is not due to outside or disconnected forces (although exterior stimuli can act as a catalyst for it), but to the internal process of concentration” (A. Diem-Lane and D. Lane 108). The importance of Faqir Chand’s experiences is that his ““unknowing” hypothesis explains almost all of the so-called guru visions in the world” (MSAC Philosophy Group 15). By understanding the origination of these visions we receive validation on the fact that the brain is a virtual simulator, that has the capacity to create grandeur illusions we may believe to be real.
Diem-Lane, Andrea and David Lane. Is The Universe An App?. Walnut: MSAC Philosophy Group, 2014. Web.
MSAC Philosophy Group. The Unknowing Sage. Walnut: MSAC Philosophy Group, 2014.
Web.
Neuralsurfer. “Faqir Chand: Inner Visions and Running Trains.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 24 Nov. 2008.
Essay 2 - What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
The phrase "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy," indicates that the focus of philosophy does not rest in answering questions simply without evidence, rather it is ground in the hard sciences. Important questions about humanity and our existence lead both philosophy and science to further question and discuss. We then look towards factually-based evidence through the fields of biology, chemistry, math, physics and so forth. As a result, we look for answers derived through investigation, observation, and experimentation; philosophy done well. However, when we cannot make a conclusion from the sciences, the philosophical question remains. Illustrated in the video, “The Remainder Conjecture: Driving Science to the Brink of an Epistemological Cul de Sac,” when we find something “is genuinely beyond science’s reach, it will invariably show up as a remainder”; philosophy done poorly. Working in conjunction, great philosophical ideas and advancements in science can develop.
Neuralsurfer. “The Remainder Conjecture: Driving Science to the Brink of an Epistemological Cul de Sac.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 20 Nov. 2014.
Essay 1 - Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles?
In the video “Faqir Chand: Inner Visions and Running Trains,” as well as the books “Is the Universe An App?” and “The Unknowing Sage,” we learn about the importance in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles. He was a famous Master of surat shabd yoga that exposed the ignorance behind the real cause of miracles and visions of gurus that people followed. His first realization occurred mid-battle at Hamidia, Iraq in 1919. He had a vision of his guru, which the army followed and were all saved. Upon returning to Baghdad after the fighting had ceased, it became apparent that he had appeared as a vision to another group of people who then became saved and his own guru had no knowledge of his manifestations to Faqir. Following this, “he concluded that the answer to the perplexing problem of religious visions must rest in the nature of consciousness itself” (A. Diem-Lane and D. Lane 108). There is another example of a similar instance where the young Faqir Chand reflected upon visions. As a young Brahmin, Faqir had daily visions of Lord Krishna, that is until a vision appeared and told him to eat cow dung off of the street. He later reflected upon this vision and concluded that this request was not something any god or goddess would ask of from a devotee. It is said that this moment “caused Faqir to doubt the reality of the apparition and he stopped having visions of Krishna” (A. Diem-Lane and D. Lane 112). Faqir believed the cause of “religious visions is not due to outside or disconnected forces (although exterior stimuli can act as a catalyst for it), but to the internal process of concentration” (A. Diem-Lane and D. Lane 108). The importance of Faqir Chand’s experiences is that his ““unknowing” hypothesis explains almost all of the so-called guru visions in the world” (MSAC Philosophy Group 15). By understanding the origination of these visions we receive validation on the fact that the brain is a virtual simulator, that has the capacity to create grandeur illusions we may believe to be real.
Bibliography
Diem-Lane, Andrea and David Lane. Is The Universe An App?. Walnut: MSAC Philosophy Group, 2014. Web.
MSAC Philosophy Group. The Unknowing Sage. Walnut: MSAC Philosophy Group, 2014.
Web.
Neuralsurfer. “Faqir Chand: Inner Visions and Running Trains.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 24 Nov. 2008.
Essay 2 - What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
The phrase "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy," indicates that the focus of philosophy does not rest in answering questions simply without evidence, rather it is ground in the hard sciences. Important questions about humanity and our existence lead both philosophy and science to further question and discuss. We then look towards factually-based evidence through the fields of biology, chemistry, math, physics and so forth. As a result, we look for answers derived through investigation, observation, and experimentation; philosophy done well. However, when we cannot make a conclusion from the sciences, the philosophical question remains. Illustrated in the video, “The Remainder Conjecture: Driving Science to the Brink of an Epistemological Cul de Sac,” when we find something “is genuinely beyond science’s reach, it will invariably show up as a remainder”; philosophy done poorly. Working in conjunction, great philosophical ideas and advancements in science can develop.
Bibliography
Neuralsurfer. “The Remainder Conjecture: Driving Science to the Brink of an Epistemological Cul de Sac.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 20 Nov. 2014.