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Modern Civilization...
Modern Civilization
A Crisis of Fragmentation$32.00
ISBN: 9788124610299
Year Of Publication: 2020
Edition: 1st Edition
Pages : xxxiv, 190 .
Bibliographic Details : Bibliography; Index
Language : English
Binding : Hardcover
Publisher: D.K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
Size: 23
Weight: 500
The crisis of the age inheres in this, that notwithstanding the century’s mind-numbing disasters, it persists in subscribing to propositions which have logically led to the atomization of the whole cloth of human experiencing, and being. Great indeed is the value which is placed on the procedure of analytic dismemberment. While the method has certainly been result-producing, materially, in its wake it has brought immense suffering – both physical and spiritual. The price paid for a lopsided advance is thirty major wars – with their toll of one hundred and thirty million lives, and the irreparable destruction of the natural environment. The time demands a reappraisal of the basic paradigms of human existence, but the hegemony of well-entrenched vested interests – material or intellectual – would seem to preclude this.
The “advanced” people among the mankind of the day become suicidally specialized. For, if the mechanical model of thought has been of advantage in man’s preceding unfolding, the same, what may be called the “survival” paradigm, now creates dangerous dualities, binary oppositions (you–me, body–mind, East–West, etc). The model has outlived its usefulness merely enforcing dormancy on a major part of the human brain.
It behoves mankind to choose wisely right now – since parallel to the socio-economic, scientific and technological revolutions there has got to be the overdue radical psychic transformation. The first step towards clearing the fateful crisis would therefore be to be aware and end the hold of the linear, causal, mechanical thought orientation over the intellectual culture of the times.
Delving deep into the epistemological cum ontological causation of the emergency confronting the being and becoming of man, this volume provokes the thoughtful lay reader to a serious engagement with his or her self.
Endorsements
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
- Introduction
Evolutionary Perspectives
- Obsolescence in Research: The Biological Analogy
- New Ideas in Biology
Morphogenetic Fields, Evolution and Consciousness
Morphic Resonance: Some Examples
Implications of Morphic Resonance
Behaviour
Instinct and Learning
Modified Materialism
The Conscious Self
The Creative Universe
Transcendent Reality
- A Study of the Past and the Concept of Time
- Learning and Communication
Learning Is Unlearning
What Is True Communication?
Barriers to Learning and Communication
Beyond Barriers
- The Person: Physical and Social Conditioning
Physical Conditioning
Social Conditioning
- The Person: Will and Loss of Experience
Does the Person Have a Will?
The Loss of Experience
- The Dual Nature of Mechanical Thought
The Fragment and the Whole
Dichotomous Thought
The Dual Movement
- Who Am I?
- The Pole of Birth and Death
- Creativity and Self-expression
- Dimensionless Space as Eternal Silence
Bibliography
Index
A study of the past is an attempt to trace human development by recording and interpreting events of human experience in an evolutionary–chronological sequence. But these interpretations of human activity somehow become convincingly real. It is often forgotten that these are only conceptual interpretations of events, known rather fragmentarily or partially; and this, too, limited by specific viewpoints. In being unconscious of such limitations, the outpourings of these studies into the overall educational system continue to reinforce a fragmentary view of human experience. The given area is linked to a deeper examination of the way we know, acquire and interpret knowledge in general. This means, as is well known by philosophers, to look deeply into that epistemology of the knowledge of the past which is governed by one’s perpetual, conceptual and metaphysical notions. History, for example, is commonly believed to be a set of facts which one simply puts in order, by some accepted cannons of knowledge, as if it were an ‘objective’ viewpoint. But is this really so? All perceptions of past events are from the point of view of the existential present. The viewer and what is viewed are inextricably bound to each other. The notion of ‘objective’ or detached history, in fact of any knowledge, especially in the historical and social sciences, is a misleading notion. All ideas are continuously changing in terms of the overall growth of knowledge in general.
Thus, historical knowledge is continuously being rewritten in terms of our present perceptions, of how we want to mould the contemporary society. In fact, this is how a study of the past is frequently used to justify each social group’s or nation’s political and economic demands. A study of the past plays a very crucial role in contemporary society since all ideological–political movements, whether conservative or liberal, use—and more often distort—historical evidence. History thus becomes a kind of contemporary mythology. To give a very simple example, the 1857 event has been variously called; an army ‘mutiny’ if one happens to be British. We leave aside the fact of what actually may have happened since the event itself has many testimonies and evidences which are incorporated variously by histories themselves.
Again, a general notion is that a group of people, whether a small or a large entity as a nation—which itself is a concept—has a single history. But it is obvious that there is no single history since each group tends to view a particular event from its own viewpoint. In fact, even within a single more or less homogeneous group, whether this is a linguistic or social group, the same event is incorporated and interpreted in different ways. The historian may claim that it takes all this into account to produce a composite and objective description. But this arises again from an idea of current state of perceptions of reality in general and historical research methodology which may change at any time—however sound these may appear for the moment. Moreover, these methods are inseparable from a comprehension and interpretation of the past event itself, that is, the past events create the present notions as well. Human perception and human action within the framework of consciousness are inseparable.
“Modern Civilization”
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An Intergrated Science of the Absolute (2 Vols. Set) $80.00
It is not just the magnum opus, but a truly monumental effort of a scientist-philosopher who has spent a whole lifetime to formulate a unitive science, wherein all disciplines of human questing could find a common ground a science where modern science and ancient spiritual wisdom could meet and merge like two opposite poles of a magnet. As a direct disciple of one of the great rishis of the modern age, Nataraja Guru discovers this common ground in Brahma-vidya, which he calls the Integrated Science of the Absolute, and which has, at its base, his Gurus Dars?ana Mala.
A string of hundred Sanskrit verses, composed by the mystic-poet, Narayana Guru (18541928), the Darsana Mala is the very epitome of all visions of truth inspired by his remarkable acquisitions of Upanisadic thought and, yet far more, by his own tapas (mystical discipline). Reproducing these highly significative verses in Roman script, along with English translations, word meanings, and extensive commentaries, Nataraja Guru not only spells out his mentors Visions of the Absolute in contemporary idiom, but also shows how these visions are fully validated by modern science.
Eclectic synthesis of varied scientific disciplines into a systematic whole is not all that Nataraja Guru accomplishes here. Rather, his book (now in third edition) is an attempt to reintroduce Brahma-vidya as the one Master Science that embraces every branch of science, every human interest. -
Reflections on Indian Thought $34.00
This anthology, consisting of fourteen essays, deals with a variety of themes that are of central importance for an authentic appreciation of the philosophical core of the Indian culture. The readers will find here illuminating discussions on various issues that bear witness to the critical thinking and deep reflection on the part of the author that have enabled her to carefully expose the subtle internal divergences that nourish the Indian conceptual world.
Based on arduous and painstaking research, these essays focus on a range of topics. There are several essays on multiple aspects of the large themes of time and consciousness, penetrating analysis showing how in the ancient discourse ideas of klesha (affliction), abhyasa (practice) and karuna (compassion) as well as on women and values are dealt with. There are also deliberations on the themes of religious diversity and the need for an encounter of world religions along with the attempt to explore India’s self-image. All these have contemporary relevance, as these essays clearly bring out the distinctive character of a living culture. -
Vada in Theory and Practice $44.00
Vada, meaning debates, dialogues, discussions, was the quintessential of Indian spirit, enabling and promoting the growth of different philosophical and knowledge systems of India. It percolated deep into our mindset and enriched the moral, ethical, religious and sociocultural edifice of anything that was essentially Indian in nature. As continuation of Anvikshiki from the bc era, vada helped thrive Indian traditional knowledge systems. It subsists on diversity and its tradition envisages pluralism.
Most of our Sanskrit works, covering a wide gamut of knowledge systems, are structured in the techniques of debate. This reality applies not only to the philosophical writings, but to Indian medical systems (Ayurveda), Arthashastra of Kautilya and Kamasutra of Vatsyayana as well. Even great epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata are no exceptions.
Vada culture involved verbal duals, attacks and even violence of speech, and all major religious systems — old or modern — were parties to it. This book also elucidates how vata was vital and critical for the growth of our socio-political fabrics. It shows how some of the major conflicts in philosophical systems were centred around karma, jnana, choice between violence and non-violence, pravritti and nivritti. It also presents the manifestations of vada on a vast canvas during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Modern spiritual and religious gurus like Ramana Maharshi, J. Krishnamurti and Vinoba Bhave were men of dialogues. Our scholars have applied the varied techniques of vada against the philosophical and scientific systems of the West to prove them correct.
This collector’s issue should enthrall a wide audience of philosophers, scholars and believers in Indian knowledge systems. -
An Introduction to Vedanta $22.00
Vedanta holds an unparalleled and unique place among the six systems of Indian philosophy. Though the Vedas are the fountainhead of Indian philosophical systems, Vedanta incorporates the philosophical thoughts resplendent in the Upanishads, the Brahmasutras, the Bhagavatgita, and in the commentaries on all these texts.
An Introduction to Vedanta introduces the Vedanta philosophy in brief and talks about its cardinal issues like self-control and the meaning of worship, maya and its gunas, upadhi, the theory of cycle, subtle bodies, the role of meditation, samadhi and its four major obstacles, Brahman realization and the state of a jivanmukta and his relation with Brahman and the world.
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