ZERO POINT
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March 4, 2006
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Book III:
Scientific and Mystical Views
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2. A Mystical Psychology
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| Why do we think that contemporary thinkers on consciousness necessarily
know so much more about the inner nature of human consciousness, than do
all the saints, swamis, yogis, Sufis masters, mystics of the esoteric teachings
of humankind, the daring explores of such realms? What do the head
doctrine theorists, assuming that the brain produces consciousness, think
about what the Dalai Lama says about the origins of human consciousness?
Of course, they are not likely to know, and would likely not consider seriously
such alternative views.
Modern psychology has taken the “I think” of Descartes as more primacy than the “I AM”—the deeper awareness of Being, associated with the heart. And now, the scientists think that the brain in the head produces the only ‘mind’ there is, and that it creates consciousness somehow through neurological processes. However, consciousness itself is left undefined and the neurological causes of consciousness cannot be figured out. Nor have scientists determined where the ‘sense of Self’ resides, and even the idea of there being a real ‘I’ or permanent I, has been dismissed. In a Psychology Today interview (1976), Guru Bawa, an eastern wise man, made these rather startling comments about western psychology and the common misunderstanding of Self. According to the guru, psychologists are quite deluded about the origin of the mind (or consciousness):
Guru Bawa describes some psychologists as thinking that the mind
is in the brain–as in the modern head doctrine. Others relate it
to the genitals–in reference to Freudian psychology, with its focus on
human sexuality; or, ‘in the ass’–in reference to the kundalini energy,
a primordial instinctual energy described by yogis as locked within the
root chakra. However, Bawa insists: “The mind is in the heart.”
This is the deepest, most essential Self and Mind--beyond what the yogis
refer to as the “monkeys of the mind” of the material brain. In this viewpoint,
mainstream psychology, philosophy and science alike, are fundamentally
mistaken about the nature of consciousness, mind and self. They are
not ‘Knowers of Self,’ as described in the mystical literature.
Ramana Maharshi, an Indian sage and mystic, similarly described the Self as being related to the mysterious Heart Centre–deeper than the personal or ego level of the mind centred in the head:
The consciousness of Being, the I Am, is more primary than the thinking and cognitive processes, and ‘consciousness’ is not a product of mental activity, or of the brain. An infant is ‘conscious of Being’ long before he is able to mentally construe himself in language and thought, and go around ‘minding its own business,’ and updating its models. This is what the head centred scientists do not seem to realize. Of course, they might dismiss any concept of consciousness as related to the Heart and blood as simply poetry or music, or religious superstition, but this in fact is the idea at the heart of mystical teachings. The issues are in ways clear. The head doctrine assumes that material brain produces consciousness, the sense of self, awareness of the body and emotions, and that these are all centered in the head. Everything, all human consciousness is up in the head, and from this view, it is only an illusion that we experience anything within the heart, or within the body. If we consider the head doctrine in this way, we realize how profoundly limited it is.
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The primary awareness of Self, of being, of the ‘I,’ is associated throughout esoteric psychology with the Heart, and is discernable within one's own experience. The mind and brain are regarded as secondary and ‘illumined’ by the light of consciousness, which emerges from within the higher dimensions of the heart. Consciousness and Self originates from within without from the higher dimensions of the Heart--where a Monad, or jiva-atma, or God spark, or individual I, is established. This element, or zero point source, is ‘inherently self-illuminating’ like the Sun. The mind/brain is compared to the moon, which has no light of its own but only reflects that of the Heart, the Sun of the body. In mystical teachings, the attainment of Self or Self-Realization brings direct realizations of this. Swami Yogeshwaranand Saraswati, in Science of Soul, states: “... it is instinctually recognized that Jivatman denoted by the pure form of “I” has its abode in the heart, and in Samadhi there is direct realization of this.” (1987, p. 69) Dr. R. Mishra, a yogi and medical Doctor, explains in the Fundamentals of Yoga:
“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna,
“I am the Self, O conqueror of sleep,
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| Mystical psychologies maintain that humans
can experience varied levels of the awakening of consciousness, inner quantum
shifts or leaps of consciousness, through Self Realization, and further
samadhis. This can include objective experiences of the deep grounds of
being and within other subtle being-bodies, experiences of mystical unity
with the world or cosmos, and states of spiritual and divine consciousness.
There are also afterlife worlds, and other lives, and other realms of being-
from hell worlds to voids, purgatories and even seven heaven worlds.
Mystical psychologies regard consciousness emerging from within the deep
substrates of Being, and certainly not a fortuitous by-product of matter/energy
processes of the brain. Consciousness is not created by or
from matter, but rather, the matter provides the body or vehicle for consciousness
experience. Further, different bodies provide the vehicles for consciousness
upon diverse interpenetrating levels of being.
The subjective side of consciousness, the I experience, is described as light, and this illuminates the object side, the me, the various psychological functions of the mind, emotions and the body, and the various being-bodies. Whereas modern science conceives that human beings live and die with the material body, mystical teachings describe seven bodies and seven dimensions of existence, inter-penetrating and sustaining one another. Of course, if there is life after death, other dimensions of human existence and such, then consciousness in the human body, was never being produced by the brain. Instead, the brain is a vehicle, body or sheath, for the life of the spirit soul, the I Am--that is within the heart. The heart is the Sun of the body, while the mind, like the moon, only reflects the light of the sun. In the Vedas, purusha is consciousness and spirit, while prakriti, is the basis for material nature. Blavatsky distinguishes between the creations of spirit and matter, the subject and object sides, the heavens and the earth, the supernal father and supernal mothers. Similarly, the Dali Lama describes human consciousness as the combination of consciousness which is a reflection of the Mind of Clear Light and minute space particles, which are the basis for the material nature, the vehicle. The Vedic psychology describes 7 differentiated prakritis, and one fundamental undifferentiated Prakriti. Prakriti is undifferentiated when three gunas, representing intelligence, energy and matter, are in perfect symmetry, and hence sign-less. When the worlds are spun out of nothingness, the 7 inside creates 7 outside—hence there being seven degrees of Maya, 7 realms of existence, each of which is sevenfold again. Tibetan Buddhism thus postulates 49 planes of existence within the Great Chain of Being. Consciousness as light can exist in relationship the subtle matters, energies and intelligences of all these inward levels. Thus as it withdraws at death through the ‘indestructible drop’ within the heart, it can awaken within new life circumstances and dimensions, under different conditions of existence. Thus, modern science assures us that the brain produces consciousness, that there is no central I in a human being, and that life, unfortunately or fortunately, ends at death. In contrast, mystical psychologies suggest profound possibilities for multi-dimensional existence, through interior dimensions of being, with a central I, established in higher dimensional Space--as a Triune Monad amidst the Seven Skins of the Parent Space. The Sons, the living beings, which emerge from the Pleroma, expand and contract through their own Selves and Heart, and each becomes in turn a world spun out of spirit and matter. |
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Partial Table of Contents: 1. “I think, therefore I am,” Descartes’
declaration epitomizes the dualistic errors of contemporary thought
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Book II --- Microcosm-Macrocosm Complete Book Listing, tables and chapters Order Books  |
