31 Dec 2005 @ 16:26, by Shreepal Singh
Does consciousness (of the kinds of mind, desires and bodily senses) exist? How do we know of the "apparent existence" of, say, mind (that is, reason)? What is reason? We human beings (like our inferior cousins, plants, microbes and animals) observe "objective" world around us. We act, being propelled by life (so-called instincts), and "go ahead" by preserving, dealing to dominating, adapting and procreating. This is evolving ourselves in relation to the objective world around us. This is life. But this is not enough to "reason". To be able to "reason" we have to rise a bit higher in the ladder of life. To "reason", we take a portion of the "objective" world around us and isolate this portion from the "unified whole" (of this world). This is separation.
We study the properties of this isolated part and then refit into the whole again. It is like breaking the whole into pieces creating jigsaw puzzle and solving the same by putting them back in different relations. This is unification. The reasoning follows the process of movement from unity to separation to unity again. Or, it may be put this way; we take a setof material objects (with their associated properties that may be likened to floating points of computer technology) and isolate this set from the remainder of the whole universe. It is an incongruous heap or, say, a jumbled world. The incongruity in their interrelation is a "problem" or, say, disorder. We reposition them again and again in their interrelation till congruity is established. Then, the incongruous heap turns into a congruous order of their interrelations. We call it a reason.
The reason is thought. And, this thought, when found to be in congruity with another neighbouring "assembled" thought, is elevated to the dignity of a principle, or even, law.
Here, we do not deal directly with material objects. It is not possible by any means. We deal "concepts" of material objects. Again, here also, neither these concepts contain in them all the (known and unknown) properties of material objects they represent nor they can be isolated from the remainder of the whole universe in their interrelation. Also, as in measuring time we count events and in measuring space we measure the spreadth of matter, in establishing congruity among material objects of nature we establish congruity within our mind. And, yet this congruity among objects of nature has an existence independent of our mind. This congruity, a thought, is a measure of projection of prime reality into a dimension we call consciousness of mind. But, even the thought is not a co-existing equivalent of prime reality. It is merely a projection of prime reality and, therefore, is secondary. Consciousness also has the cubic form of its dimension. Life, desires and mind form these three-pronged projections of reality. All the three remain dormant, like in a frozen state, in the matter, and emerge and manifest under appropriate evolutionary conditions. Being different (specific) measures of projection (of prime reality), time, space and consciousness are "qualitatively" different dimensions from each other.
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