Vol. I. No. 9

Inner Sciences through the Outer World

This title may sound odd and yet it is very true. A proper perspective of the inner sciences can be developed only if we are able to see the entire world in its totality, the tiny world within us and the infinitely large world outside. A deeper insight must be developed to probe into all the wonderful things that exist in the world. We must ask questions, such as, how does a little bud blossom into a flower? What makes the flower petals separate from the flower and fall onto the ground one day? What is it in the flower that gives rise to a new plant with the same kind of more and more flowers? Is there any great artist or designer behind these events? What makes it repetitive that the events of the same kind take place with a particular type of flower anywhere on the earth? How is it that the flowers are so colorful and beautiful? Do they have any purpose in their existence?

Should there be a creator or designer behind all that we see in the infinitely grand universe around us, then what would be the attributes of that entity? Would it be a conscious being? It must be so, otherwise, how could it have the intelligence and knowledge, and the ability to make these things. What are the motives behind the creation? So to say, is there any purpose in all that we see? Indeed, isn't it true that I didn't come into this world out of my own accord? I am not quite aware of it. I don't seem to recall exercising my choice in selecting my parents, my place and time of birth, and so on. Who decides all this, why and how? All these are intriguing questions, to say the least. But they seem to be very much inter-connected and they may hold the key to the destiny of my life.

We have a choice. On the one hand, we can ignore these intriguing questions and lead the life just to survive, and while doing so, we maximize the pleasures of life. But this choice doesn't really work out for very long. Nobody is interested in falling into the traps of the painful experiences but nevertheless everyone does fall into one or more such traps – be it an accident, a chronic illness, betrayal by a loved one, finances going into disarray, or a clash with another person or community. Probably, there is nobody in the world who did not want to simply eat, drink and be merry but his/her plans were knocked down by the more powerful external forces, sometimes known and sometimes unknown, but mostly, beyond our control. The message is very clear on the walls. For this reason, we cannot overlook the other choice and that is to attempt to answer the above intriguing questions. That is the principal difference between us and other species of animals, birds, etc.

Therefore, a good choice would be to utilize our intellectual faculty to understand the world we live in – its beauty and design, and furthermore, its agenda. For this to happen in a systematic and scientific manner, we must probe inward of all that exists in the world. This is the choice declared by the title of this article that we must develop inner sciences through what we see in the outside world besides what is within us. Therefore, CIS includes everything under its scope of study – both, the world within us and the world outside of us.

While the first series of articles on "An Introduction to the Center for Inner Sciences" comes to its conclusion with the present article, next month will begin its second series of articles broadly under the title of fusion of science and spirituality. After an introductory article, we will move on to "the world within us" and then to "the world outside."

As promised a couple of months ago, I will discuss in an article that will appear sooner than later, why matter is not amenable to direct perception (pratyaksa). Indeed it is other way around that spirit can be perceived directly and matter is always known indirectly through inference (anumana ). This assertion must be new to most of the readers. I am conscious about the enormity of what I am saying, and therefore, I am duty bound to explain my stand within the next few articles before we begin to conduct an exploratory journey to know what a human being is. What is our consciousness? Where does it reside? Is it a singularity or is it continuously distributed throughout the body? Is our consciousness same as that in other living species? What makes my different states of waking, dream and sleep?

Furthermore, is there a purpose in the world we live in? Is it made by chance or is it well-designed? These answers could help us find the objectives of the human life. Next month I will present a broad outline of the second series of the SpiritMag articles attempting to create a fusion of science and spirituality.

- Dr Harish Chandra
B. Tech. (IIT Kanpur)
Ph. D. (Princeton, USA)

CIS News

1. We are pleased to send the May 2007 article of SpiritMag as we transfer our mailing list to this new Google group.
2. We are pleased to announce the following lectures/courses that would be conducted by Dr Harish Chandra in the UK:
a) at Liverpool - contact Steve 0776 111 2226 or Mohan 07791 148 410
i) Science of Yoga - 6:00 to 7:45 pm, Thu Dec 10, 17 and Jan 7, 14
ii) Vedic Philosophy: Practical and Pragmatic - 3:00 to 5:00 pm, Sat Dec 12, 19 and Jan 9, 16
b) at Arya Samaj, West Ealing, London, contact: 020 8991 1732, 8864 4392
Science of Yoga - 3 to 5 pm, Sat Nov 14, 21, 28 and Dec 5
c) at Arya Samaj West Midlands, Birmingham, (see www.arya-samaj.org for directions) i) Sunday morning talks on Ishopanishad every Sunday 12:30 to 1:00 pm.
ii) Vedic Philosophy: Practical and Pragmatic - 7:00 to 9:00 pm, Mon Dec 7, 14 and Jan 11, 18

Thanking you,

SpiritMag Team