God is called Sat-chit-aananda. Aanada shakti denotes absolute freedom (swaatantryam). When limited in individuals (Jiva), it becomes determinism (niyati). Chit shakti denotes omnipresence (nitya satta). When limited in individuals, it acquires six stages of time evolution (shadbhaava vikaaraah), which gives rise to time (kaala). These stages: being (situation leading to its creation), becoming (its creation itself), growth (due to addition of other molecules), transformation (as a result), transmutation (due to the same effect – incompatible addition), death (change of form as a consequence) are common to both living beings and inanimate objects. Sat is as defined in Chaandogya Upanishad: sa+ti+yam, which depict icchaa-gnyaanam-kriyaa. The icchaa shakti denotes eternal affluence (nitya praapti). When limited in individuals, it becomes craving (raaga). Gnyaanam shakti denotes omniscience (sarvagnyataa). Limited in individuals, it becomes knowledge/ignorance (vidyaa/avidyaa). The kriyaashakti denotes omnipotence (sarva kartrhtwa). When limited in individuals, it becomes part/limited exposition (kalaa).
If the impulse generated by the perception of something gives rise to craving (anuraaga) based on past experience, it generates thought, which is the inertia of mind that can stop only after getting the object of desire (praapti), or knowledge of the real nature of the object (gnyaanam) or sudden severe pain (kashta). Freewill for action is based on three factors:
- Physical and genetic composition of the person that has its own interactive properties,
- Sensory experiences of the past and the memory associated with it that leads to infatuation (raaga) or confusion (moha) or negative emotions (dwesha), and
- Limited disturbance (depravity or affluence) to the ratio (both intra and inter) of fixed evolutionary (shareera) and functional evolutionary (indriya) components of the body.
These lead to diversity of response to the same situation. Diversity is a property of groups, which has many aspects across the social spectrum. Susceptibility to external conditions or emotions is an example of diversity of genetic composition. Our emotions are based on genetic imprint and past experiences. If we could map it properly, the chain of differential inertia can explain all behavior – the so-called freewill that is constrained (vaddha) by available choices.
DEFINING LIFE, BODY, SENSORY INSTRUMENTS, MIND AND INTELLECT.
Ayurveda says: breathing is the sign of life (praana dhaaranam jeevanam). Also possession of sensory instruments is the sign of life (sendriyam chetanadravyam neerindriyam achetanam). The Upanishads say: there are two causes of life: desire and breathing (hetu dwayoh hi chittasya vaasanaa cha sameerana). If either is detached, consciousness (Chitta) vanishes. The body is defined as the base for holding a compact lot of atoms (arthaashraya) that is guided by the sensory instruments (indriyaashraya), to initiate conscious actions (karmaashraya). Recently, a group of scientists at NASA, working on ice samples containing pyrimidine (a ring-shaped molecule made up of carbon and nitrogen) and exposing it to ultraviolet radiation under space-like conditions, have produced uracil, cytosine, and thymine – all three components of RNA and DNA, to show that these hereditary materials can be created non-biologically in a laboratory. Since these are a compact lot of atoms, according to the above definition of the body, these are body material. The researchers found that when pyrimidine is frozen in ice mostly consisting of water (also ammonia, methanol or methane), it is much less vulnerable to destruction by radiation than it would be if it were in gas phase in open space. Instead of being destroyed, many of the molecules took on new forms, such as RNA/DNA etc. Thus Aapomaya Parameshthee, who is called Chitta, Mahaan and Vaasudeva in Bhaagavatam is called the creator.
Gita (18-14/15) distinguishes mechanical motion from conscious speech, mental and physical actions. It says all these have five concurrent causes: 1) base or ground or physical body on which action takes place (adhisthaanam), 2) freewill or causal body (kartaa), 3) different sensory instruments (karanam), 4) energy that operates all systems (cheshtaa) and 5) external influences (daiva). Gita (18-16/17, also 13-27 to 32) declares that anyone, who thinks that the Self or Aatmaa does not induce, but does things; is misguided. While describing how a person after death acquires a new body; Gita 2-22 uses the word ‘dehee’ to indicate the causal body (linga shareera) – not Aatmaa. Let us discuss the sensory process, as it is a sign of life.
Much has been talked about sensory perception and memory consolidation as composed of an initial set of feature filters followed by a special class of mathematical transformations which represent the sensory inputs generating interacting wave-fronts over the entire sensory cortical area – the so-called holographic processes. It can explain the almost infinite memory. Since a hologram retains the complete details at every point of its image plane, even if a small portion of it is exposed for reconstruction, we get the entire scene, though the quality may be impaired. Yet, unlike an optical hologram, the neural hologram is formed by very low frequency post-synaptic potentials providing a low information processing capacity to the neural system. Further, the distributed memory mechanisms are not recorded randomly over the entire brain matter, as there are preferred locations in the brain for each type of sensory input.
The impulses from various sensory apparatus are carried upwards in the dorsal column or in the anterio-lateral spinothalamic tract to the thalamus, which relays it to the cerebral cortex for its perception. However, both for consolidation and retrieval of sensory information, holographic model requires a coherent source which literally ‘illuminates’ the object or the object-projected sensory information – grid cells and place cells – at the site of sensory repository. For retrieval of the previously consolidated information from memory, the same source again becomes necessary. Since the brain receives enormous information that is present for the whole life (subject to comorbidity related mental disorders), such source should always be illuminating the required area in the brain where the sensory information (memory) is stored. Even in dream state, this source must be active, as there also local memory retrieval and experience (without physical limitations) take place. This illuminating source (shuddha prakaasha maatra roopa) of the expressed consciousness is intelligence (vigyaanam).
The sensory agencies are different from sense organs. Eye is not ocular sensor (darshanendriya). But it is the power operating there that makes the eyes see things. Thus, when one dies, the eyes cannot see. The sensory agencies are called “indriyam” to indicate that functionally they belong to Indra, which, according to Shatapatha Braahmanam (6-1-2), is the central equilibrium point, which resolves into two equal and oppositely directed forces to initiate motion (sa yoayam madhyepraanah esha evendrah). Hence Indra has been described as the universal form of force (valasya nikhilaakrhtih). The sense organs function in that way (paraanchikhaani vyatrhnat swayambhuh) – they move out from their base in the body (like eyes etc) to interact with their respective objects and back so that we see proper pictures unlike inverted pictures in earlier cameras. These are sent to the brain through neurons with the help of mind for processing.
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