Sunday, December 08, 2019

Overman - a consciously evolving future human being

Transhumanism

JM Gidley - Critical Terms in Futures Studies, 2019
… Synchronously, Indian political activist Sri Aurobindo conceived the notion of an “Overman,” a consciously evolving future human being (Aurobindo [1914] 2000). Both … humanity? References. Aurobindo, Sri. [1914] 2000. The life divine …

[PDF] Everyday Aesthetics in Indian Cultural Communities

HM Tapaswi - 2019
… Aurobindo's (1997, p. 145) classifies beauty into four types – sensuous beauty, intellectual beauty, imaginative beauty and ideal beauty … This kind of beauty, according to Aurobindo, can be considered as intellectual beauty …

[HTML] Nurturing Employee Creativity. By James Houran & Gene A. Ference Wednesday, 30th August 2006

ITB Berlin, ABA Progams
… For this reason it is commonly referred to as the "reptilian brain." It is rigid, obsessive, ritualistic, and filled with "ancestral memories" (corresponding to what Sri Aurobindo called the "mechanical mind" and perhaps tangentially …

Sri Aurobindo and Hinduism.

Social & Political Aspects of Colonial India as envisioned by Sri Aurobindo
 Dr. Debashri R Banerjee

[PDF] Anthony Burke and Rita Parker: Global Insecurities: Futures of Global Chaos and Governance.

M Zemanová - Czech Journal of International Relations, 2019
… The author portrays the current era of transition as moving away from the state-centric approaches of … Chapter 15, “The International Governance of Forced Migration”, written by Savitri Taylor, Chapter 16, “Three Generations …

Of Bliss and Love: Methodological "Play" in Hindu-Christian Comparative Theology

Truth, Diversity, and the Incomplete Project of Modern Hinduism (2008)
 Jeffery Long
2008, Hermeneutics and Hindu Thought: Toward a Fusion of …

Review of HUDSON, EMILY T. Disorienting Dharma: Ethics and the Aesthetics of Suffering in the Mahabharata....
 Brian Collins

[PDF] The Meaning and Making of Supramental Vision with Reference to the Poetry of Sri Aurobindo

A Kumari, DK Sharma - Journal of the Gujarat Research Society, 2019
As far as Indian thoughts and literature are concerned, Sri Aurobindo stands as a profound yogi, mystic and aesthetician shining brightly and spreading his light in the sky of life and literature. His own yogic experiences were deeply rooted in the …

Woman for Woman: Langley's Oriane in A House in Pondicherry

AK Gupta, S Jain - Glass Ceiling and Ambivalent Sexism (Critical …, 2019
… Dr. Ashish Kumar Gupta, Dr. Sarita Jain herself born in India, in Calcutta, had a special place for India and describes its rich beauty as well. Langley writes in acknowledgment in her book HIP1 and says: Auroville and Sri …

[PDF] Subjectivity under domination: a dialogue between Nandy's' the intimate enemy'and Dangarembga's' nervous conditions'

LR Castro - Revista Psicologia Política, 2019
… As vidas do escritor Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) e do escritor, ativista e iogue indiano Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) são estudadas e contrastadas em relação às escolhas que cada um faz para levar uma vida mais desejável …

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Hegel was not the be-all and end-all on the subject of Being

Throughout his work, Husserl regularly points out that the objects of our intentions are structured around internal and external horizons.  The marker sitting on my desk presents itself to me in profiles.  I am never able to apprehend all of the marker at once.  I pick it up and I turn it about, and now new profiles appear or give themselves.  The others disappear.  I intend or apprehend the marker as a unity, as a totality, but it is never given all at once.  Elements of it are present and others are absent.  Nonetheless, it is given to me as a whole or a totality.  The absent profiles I intend in the marker are the internal horizon of the marker.  This internal horizon is deeply temporal as well.  I anticipate the profiles that will appear should I turn the marker about, and I retend the profiles that disappeared as I make new profiles appear.  Indeed, the very act of grasping the marker despite the fact that profiles of it are absent in my visual perception of it already indicate the work of a bodily intentionality in my engagement with things that encounters them as unities and totalities, rather than two-dimensional beings gradually built up out of atomic sensations.
larvalsubjects | November 18, 2019 at 10:41 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: https://wp.me/s390V-zoos

Probably the single big confusion that lead to the creation of materialism is the confusion between ontological states and their epistemic content. People experienced the ontological state with epistemic content of "chair outside me" and they took the epistemic content as representing an ontological state of the world, so they thought there really is a "chair outside me", when the real ontological state was that of a state of consciousness. Therefore, it appears that in order to get rid of materialism is to stop making this confusion. The problem that arises is that no matter how hard we would try to do that, any retreat from the epistemic content of an ontological state will only gives us just another ontological state with the only difference being a different epistemic content. No matter what, we cannot escape epistemic contents. Is idealism therefore fundamentally unthinkable ?

I opened this topic after reading about process philosophy. They say that the solution to understanding the world is to not think in terms of "substances", but in terms of "events". The problem is that "events" is also an epistemic content, in the sense that the concept of "event" is extrapolated from the subjective feeling of passage of time. But the "passage of time" is just a quality/an epistemic state of consciousness. To take it as revealing to us a deep character of the world is to do the same mistake materialism is doing. So, in order to avoid the mistake of materialism is to recognize this fact, and thus to reject that "event" can be anything ontologically meaningful. Is there any way to escape this vicious circle of confusions between ontological states and epistemic contents and get to an idealistic conception of the world, or is idealism fundamentally unthinkable ?

Dear Cosmin,

Namaste. The problem is not in the either/or of epistemology or ontology. It is the opposition of these two that is the problem. Ontology deals with the being-in-itself of objects, or THAT an object IS - its pure being-there (G.Dasein). In German a distinction is made between Being (G.Sein) and Being-there (G. Dasein). This marks the distinction between the general or universal concept of Being (pure indeterminate generic Being), and a particular determinate concept or type of being (eg. human being). 

To say THAT something is, and to say WHAT that something is are two different judgments or determinations. In English the difference is not represented by different words although it is certainly implied every time we make a judgment like "It is a cow." The 'It" refers to the indeterminate being of an object, while "cow" represents the determinate moment or aspect of the judgment. The identity that is implicit is this judgment, i.e. "it" = "cow" is usually invisible/unconscious to the one making the judgment. IOW, people are generally unconscious of what they are really talking about. They don't think about what they are thinking.

This naivete or uncritical thinking is the main problem of what we today call scientific thinking, where the attention or consciousness is focused on the senses, or what is being thought about - the object of thought, rather than on the content of thinking itself and its essential contribution to THAT or WHAT object is being thought about.

Epistemology is the study of  what the content or thinking process itself contributes to our knowledge of the ontological object of knowledge. We may thus consider epistemology to deal with WHAT determinations of objects THAT are there in themselves before any other determinations are made about them besides their being-there, In this way epistemology has two roles to play simultaneously: it posits THAT something IS, and it determines WHAT that something IS. This unites and identifies both the ontological and epistemological aspects of knowing or knowledge without collapsing the difference between them. This invokes the principle of identity in difference and difference in identity for those who are not asleep/unconscious to what is going on rationally. 

Humbly with respect,
B Madhava Puri

Dear David,

Namaste. While the distinction between Being and Existence is not generally recognized in common ordinary parlance, there is actually a prominent difference in the technical, philosophical meaning of these words. "Existence" refers to the manifestation or appearance of Being, and Hegel, in his Science of Logic, goes through great detail in over 400 pages to describe that difference. 

This means that 'being' is not the same as 'existence' and Dasein implies a specific determinate moment in the dialectical self-development of Being (Sein). While Dasein represents a transformation within Being (from universality to particularity), Existence represents a transition to the reflective category of Essence.  

Modern materialistic science generally fails to recognize or even investigate the logical and rational concepts that underlie its own theories, hypotheses, or principles, fixated upon finding truth in the objects of sense observation. It therefore falls into an inescapable prison formed of its own errors and misconceptions.

With humble regards and respect,
B Madhava  Puri

Dear M. Puri Maharaja,

Hegel was not the be-all and end-all on the subject of Being, otherwise Heidegger would not be widely praised for his extensive treatment of the subject.

Moreover, Hegel has had many eminent philosophers criticizing his thinking processes from many angles. Two of them were Kierkegaard and William James. Have you ever read the latter's penetrating essay, "On Some Hegelisms"?

Now, let me ask you what kind of reasoning, or insight, is behind your statement,

"Existence represents a transition to the reflective category of Essence."

I would think that Being is closer to the concept of Essence than is Existence. The distinction between Essentialism and Existentialism has been known since the middle ages, and the whole modern philosophy of Existentialism (one of whose pioneers was Kierkegaard, by the way) gives existence priority over essence.

By the way, the  whole mindset of existentialism is a dimension apart from the viewpoint of materialistic science.


Peter Nyikos
Professor, Dept. of Mathematics         -- standard disclaimer--
University of South Carolina
http://people.math.sc.edu/nyikos/

Dear Peter,

Namaste. Thank you for furthering this discussion. The vast lacuna that lies between Heidegger's dogmatic/empirical presumptions concerning being and Hegel's scientific,(i.e. systematic, dialectical) self-development of the thought Being are hardly comparable at the philosophical level. However, it does serve as a useful ruse to show exactly what distinguishes the systematic  development of pure reason from the opinionated  contingencies of empirical thought. This might more clearly be understood as the difference between pure thought thinking itself (pure because thinking does not go beyond its own self for its content, and is thus self-determined or free), and Heidegger's thought thinking about things,  which is the empirical attitude, embracing duality (thought v. tjhing) and  dogmatism (the giveness of things) and the contingent epistemology that adopts opinion, hypothesis, interpretation, or theory that to conjoin the opposition of thought and thing without ever being able to understand their prior underlying dialectical unity in difference.

The fact that anyone is "widely praised" does not speak to their authenticity but only to  their resonance with those who may be under the same common misconceptions as the author. Popularity is often, but not always, an indication of superficial sentiment than sound reasoning, which is always rare to find among the masses.

It would be hard to call James' essay on "Some Hegelisms" penetrating. Are you aware of the author's own comment on his essay? Here is how he estimates it in his own words:

"The essay 'On some Hegelisms' doubtless needs an apology for the superficiality with which it treats a serious subject. It was written as a squib, to be read in a college-seminary in Hegel's logic, several of whose members, mature men, were devout champions of the dialectical method. My blows therefore were aimed almost entirely at that. I reprint the paper here (albeit with some misgivings), partly because I believe the dialectical method to be wholly abominable when worked by concepts alone, and partly because the essay casts some positive light on the pluralist-empiricist point of view."

As for Kierkegaard, his relation to Hegel has come under more careful scrutiny of late. In his review of  Jon Sewart's book,  Kierkegaard's Relation to Hegel Reconsidered, CUP 2003, Matthew Edgar of Fordham University writes in his review:

"Without denying the existence of a certain “metalevel” dispute between Hegel and Kierkegaard, Stewart argues that (a) many of Kierkegaard’s central ideas, such as the theory of stages, are creatively, i.e., not uncritically, adopted from Hegel, and, (b) the true target of Kierkegaard’s critique is not Hegel per se, but prominent Danish Hegelians of his time. According to Stewart, ignorance of Kierkegaard’s intellectual milieu, coupled with a distorted and inadequate understanding of Hegel, has led many English-speaking critics to adopt the overly simple ’either / or’. Stewart seeks to correct this problem by showing how Kierkegaard’s writing rose out of, and responded primarily to, debates in Denmark in the 1830’s and 40’s surrounding Hegel’s philosophy and its implications for theology."

Again,many popular opinions on matters of philosophical and scientific importance are based on ignorance of the proper "intellectual milieu, coupled with a distorted and inadequate understanding of Hegel," As mentioned in previous posts, the current epistemological attitude of modern science fosters dogmatic opinionation in opposition to rational conceptual self-critique and  self-determined truth.

No doubt my previous statement

>"Existence represents a transition to the reflective category of Essence." 

requires some unpacking. Hegel often used the  phrases "in-itself" meaning implicit, and "for-itself" meaning explicit. Being in its own self, or implicitly involves many micro-logical or dialectical determinations that have only to do with itself, within itself, within  Being. You may read the Science of Logic for the details. 

On the other hand there are categories that represent reflections on Being that are beyond Being within itself. To understand this we  first have to grasp that the term "reflection" indicates a difference is invoked between what is original and its reflected image, as in a mirror. Here we leave the sphere of the in-itself, or implicitness of Being, and progress to the categories that have to do with the for-itself - possessions or what belongs to Being. This other sphere is called Essence.

Being and Essence are different although related, just as a mirror image and its original are different although identical formally. Thus we say that Essence is the truth of Being. In this sense Being takes the position of the appearance of Essence, which is the truth of Being. This relation of the identity with difference is called reflection. 

When it comes to the term "Existence" we mean the difference that arises when Being is considered the ground or truth and Existence is the manifestation or appearance of that Being. Thus we find both moments within thought, where Being is considered the appearance in relation to Essence, as well as the case where Being is considered the ground of Existence. The result is that we cannot really consider Essence any closer to Being than Existence. We might say that they are two sides of the same coin.

With humble respect and regards,
B Madhava Puri

Dear Peter,

You wrote:

>Materialism received a huge boost from the ever-growing discovery that fossils >reveal a long succession  of life over eons

Fossils (naturally preserved bones) do not produce other fossils. Bones (matter) are the products of life. Without life there are no bones produced naturally in Nature. IOW (in other words) the idea of evolution of bones is based on a complete misunderstanding of what is more fundamental: life or bones.

The Bhagavat Vedantic vies is based on the two empirically observable scientific concepts that Life comes from Life, and Matter comes from Life. How does that boost materialism? It is rather the refutation of that idea.

Furthermore, even within the materialistic camp of evolutionists the idea of evolutionary development of bones is under sever critique. One only has to take off their doctrinal blinders and look at the contrary evidence they have uncovered and what such scientists themselves have to say about fossils. Evolution is not a doctrine written in stone.

With humble and sincere regards,
B Madhava Puri

[PDF] Manoj Das: An Incredible Bridge between Literature and Philosophy

SK Nayak - 2019
… Therefore, Professor JM Mohanty has rightly said, “[…] he travels all over the world, and writes stories, novels, travelogue, essays, belles letters etc. with equal competence.” (2006: p. 611) We can take for an instance of his …

[HTML] American psychology's psychobiological perspective in the light of Sri Aurobindo's theory of social development

CA Latino
American psychology currently employs a psychobiological perspective in its study of the human psyche and tends to conduct its research using objective empirical methods based on the natural world. This article situates the American …

[PDF] Woman and Water Kindred by Nature

A Mukhopadhyay
… thought-mind. Their ray was extended horizontally; there was something above, there was something below.” (Sri Aurobindo 101) Explanation … is the first seed of what afterwards appears as the sense-mind. (Sri Aurobindo 101-02) “The …

The “Y” Goes to India: Springfield College, Muscular Missionaries, and the Transnational Circulation of Physical Culture Practices

P Vertinsky, A Ramachandran - Journal of Sport History, 2019
… declared, “You will understand the Gita better with your biceps, your muscles a little stronger.”48 His impact in the United States and his well-known treatise Raja Yoga helped set in motion a demystification of yoga's many benefits …

[HTML] This Debate

R Vanita
… Yeats's contemporary Sri Aurobindo suggested that many Romantic poems work as mantra, which he defined as "rhythmic revelation" (31) … Oxford: OUP, 2007. Ghose, Aurobindo. The Future Poetry. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1953. Glaser, Brian Brodhead …

[HTML] Edward Carpenter

E Carpenter
… [6]. An early advocate of sexual freedoms, he had an influence on both DH Lawrence and Sri Aurobindo, and inspired EM Forster's novel Maurice. [7]. Early life. Born in Hove in Sussex, Carpenter was educated at nearby …

R Alpert, A Adams, GF Feng, B Fuller, M Harner…
… Price was admitted to a mental hospital for a time, before returning to San Francisco. [17] Murphy, meanwhile, traveled to Sri Aurobindo's ashram in India, [18] and then he also returned to San Francisco. After they met, Murphy and Price found much in common …

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Each individual is chugging along a unique destiny

Tweets in original by @SavitriEraParty and @NathTusar with ontological implications:

Two brothers: one is a doctor and another an engineer but when it comes to knowledge, each one is a kid before the other. Grounding in Sri Aurobindo, similarly, consumes many dedicated decades. Humility before stupidity is a sure recipe for idiots and scoundrels ruling the roost.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1151014506744537089?s=19

Every situation or event will have at least four different types of response; of the Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras and many others overlapping of course. The Veda brings out this distinction which unequivocally becomes the cornerstone of Sri Aurobindo's contention.

Certain texts and temples are believed to be self-evident truths and the younger generation must free itself from such superstition. Since science has failed so far to explain any final configuration of our existence, diverse speculations compete to fill the space. Caution needed

Sri Aurobindo published The Life Divine during 1939-40. A book of pure philosophy, it makes the whole of Western philosophy obsolete. It also supersedes all streams of ancient Indian philosophy. Universities in India, unfortunately, are not allowing it to be studied in colleges.

Sri Aurobindo's interpretation of the Veda at one stroke alters all strands of received wisdom in India. Rituals and idols no longer enjoy any scriptural justification. Such a system of symbols, though available in Astrological literature, remains buried under mundane predictions

Two decades of the 21st century have confirmed utter groundlessness of all branches of human knowledge. Eulogising ancient texts and tradition, therefore, is fraught with hazards. Religious zeal needs to be re-evaluated so that younger generation musters courage to shed blinkers.

From an ontological point of view, designed in a different way, each individual is chugging along a unique destiny with biological or psychological commonalities distributed as abundantly as the differences. So, respect for diversity in a Democracy, though valid, is dysfunctional.

Managing man-woman relationships has been pivotal for civilisation and diverse aspects - from art to religion - have been pressed into the service of this crucial task. #Sabarimala is just one example of how the problem remains intractable and Dharma tenets are empty shibboleths.

Since science is becoming more and more shaky in its assumptions day by day, it's profitable to maintain an attitude of healthy scepticism without falling prey to atheism. To steer clear of a worldview founded on unfettered mythology and popular culture is another huge challenge.

A telescope, microscope, or stethoscope display the power of science and the urge for precision in knowing things beyond ordinary senses. The kaleidoscope however does the opposite and points to the infinite expanse of the universe and innumerable variations of its choreography.

Men and women are different in a hundred ways and recognising this reality by rejecting the hypocrisy of equality is the remedy. Reconstituting systems and situations by catering to psychological necessities should be the priority than facetious portrayals in fictions and movies.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1051685556890025985?s=19

Everything happens for the first time or nothing can be considered as a repetition. ("You cannot step into the same river twice" -Heraclitus). So, Democracy including the role of Judiciary is evolving by negotiating highly complex situations and navigating through wide diversity.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1055854595916713990?s=19

Each one is wired in a specific way and chained to a certain spatial limits. So universality is an incoherent and inchoate concept. Ideas like Infinite or Perfection nevertheless persist and propel a sense of adventure and discovery. But most are unwilling to undertake the burden.

I have said it many a time in the past that Sri Aurobindo wrote till 1950 and it's not proper to expect that each and every historical development will unfold in accordance with his words. Present situation has to be dealt with by us and I try to say things with utter seriousness

Ethics is fictional and aspirational. To be found as formulated only in plays or epics. Attributing it to persons is partial or whitewash. Vices are intrinsic to human drama as conflicts are to biology. So expecting politicians, judges, or journalists of pure virtue is but absurd

Exclusive Concentration like Extended Release or Paramarasa limiting itself like in Aletheia is another way of looking at Democracy vis-a-vis Conscious Evolution. Dwapara or Tretaya being in certain ratio of Satya or Vaikhari and Madhyama as some proportion of Pashyanti analogical
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1137007318388752384?s=19

Aesthetics like nutrition must strive for the right-mix and avoid intoxication by a few dominant components. Not being natural or duly imparted by education, this aspect of personal development is a difficult proposition for many. Further, Media offerings often warp the scenario.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1139115294792642560?s=19

Even after successive spiritual experiences, Sri Aurobindo chose the intellectual route to spread his synthetic knowledge and Integral vision. No single text can impart that and the right course perhaps is to rummage through one hundred primary volumes with a childlike curiosity.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1142352498490871808?s=19

No one has experienced whole of life and consequently all portrayals of it are inchoate. Stretches of long years may be eventful but in terms of understanding reality of life can be a desert. Spectrum is merely a certain conception or visible aberration of light; not light itself.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1148834256312926208?s=19

This much we know from The Mother & Sri Aurobindo: descent of the Supramental consciousness on earth was an uncharted path for which they "struggled, suffered, hoped, endured so much" and "attempted all, prepared, achieved all for us" but we can't produce evidence. It's all faith
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1105525275599736832?s=19

As long as science is not able to supply any valid explanation of our material existence, there's no other recourse than to believe in the Evolutionary ontology of Sri Aurobindo. Its Vedic orientation is more in line with sublime political dimension than mere individual salvation
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1102655978548457472?s=19

Promoting individualism among Indians is necessary by discouraging mythology and symbols of monarchy. Religious practices in a Democracy like election symbols, party flags, taking oath and similar pomp and ceremony should be banished. The very concept of national anthem is flawed.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1149380527515791361?s=19

Each and every major narrative needs some measure of corrective. Western scholars have failed to accommodate or appreciate the Indian scenario and Indian public intellectuals are averse to an Integral view of things. So no need to be overwhelmed by the dominant political paradigm.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1138466581271515137?s=19

Psychoanalytic therapy prods to speak more and more so that what's suppressed comes to light. Besides, each individual evolves, each moment, at each transaction. Possibilities, rather than preconceived impressions about one, therefore, are important.

Western thought hasn't been able to recover from the blow Derrida imparted to its truth-claims. Hindutva will encounter such a moment sooner or later even if it avoids Sri Aurobindo assiduously. In the meantime allow it to wallow in its shallow reservoir of knowledge of the world

Despite their best efforts, The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have not been able to craft a coherent ontology but from a practical angle, #FiveDreams of Sri Aurobindo offer a very tempting vista. Such a possibility is worth believing in so that a critical mass precipitates for fruition.
Spirituality teaches humility and surrender but not sycophancy. The stand of The Mother & Sri Aurobindo as regards nationalism, patriotism, philanthropy, or religious activism is very clear and so there is no need of being overenthusiastic. Personal preferences however are valid.

Freedom today means: Freedom from being certain,
Freedom from the tyranny of grand narratives;
Freedom from group thinking and herd moves.
Freedom from distortion of history books,
Freedom from mortgaging talent to money and career;
Freedom from Astrology, Mythology, and Rituals.

Nothing definite is yet known about the functioning of the universe or even the human body which is hostage to various Hormones and Enzymes. Since we undergo several phases of thought and mood within 24 hours, philosophy, culture, and spirituality serve as cushion against gloom.

Criticising some for the preponderance of their certain predilections against that of another set of persons is a common fallacy. Sri Aurobindo's delineation of Mitra, Varuna etc. clearly explicates fourfold division of social organisation as perceived by the Vedic seers of yore.

Our planet is one and a whole, yet many are convinced that it's run by two sets of powers: the so-called Abrahamic and Dharmic. Such a schizophrenia leads to many other maladies with fascist symptoms. Reading The Mother & Sri Aurobindo can cure such myopia and misunderstandings.
Sri Aurobindo's writings and conversations cover more than forty volumes but quotation-wallahs don't go beyond a couple of them. This sort of censorship is not only dishonest but also pernicious. Understanding him at one's own pace is okay but deliberate amnesia is unforgivable.
Freedom has negative connotations; freedom from some original bondage, tyranny, or subservience. So achieving freedom is supposed to be a struggle and constant striving. One possible meaning of All life is yoga is this. Sri Aurobindo chose the word Arya to convey this imperative.
Be it RM or DF, critical appreciation is the key. No one is perfect, so avoiding us & them approach is essential. True for all great men or saints and savants. Necessary to remember the cases of Savonarola, Bruno, or Galileo. Unadulterated adulation is an adolescent's infatuation

I have read a few posts by Bruno Marchal who speculates about numbers dreaming or machines going irrational at an advanced stage. So, what are the challenges to face such a prospect? Seems to be too dystopian; any insights on that? Thanks.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1168095830798061573?s=19
Sri Aurobindo spoke of the logic of the infinite; so, trying to find logic in spirituality doesn't hold water.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1168100711344685057?s=19
It may not be a spiritual path at all; just changing costume to avoid public attention. It's his freedom; needn't conform to any prior version.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1168111041684754432?s=19

The desire to be desired is crucial for self-esteem and how it activates hormones in a moment is the most complex mystery of social existence. Sublimation is not exactly what The Mother & Sri Aurobindo aimed at; Transformation into an altogether new configuration and we must wait
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1168059839039148033?s=19
Impersonality is integral to rationality but it's easier said than done. Other spheres of consciousness always wait in the wings and self-interest or self-protection is firm. Education, profession, financial position, age, gender, political affiliation; all have bearing on mind.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1168067685504012289?s=19
War is the father and king of all, said Heraclitus. Randall Collins highlighted how conflicts spur philosophy. Without Heehs imbroglio, the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo would have remained moribund. New frontiers opened by the debates like IY fundamentalism https://t.co/RiwAtRyzGb
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1168092216331399168?s=19

I respect you both. Each person has his chosen intellectual trajectory, spiritual destiny, and Evolutionary assignment. Truth is a severely contested domain in the 21st century due to uncertainty of science and it's a catch 22 situation. So, let not there be bar on perspectives.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1167345207760707584?s=19
I feel pity for the Hindutva activists who undertake painstaking research for understanding various nuances of Islam in order to criticise it. Similar is the case of @devduttmyth who valiantly bears the burden of displaying the futility of mythology by wallowing in its quagmire.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1167242542980554752?s=19

You have said many things; would seem as rambling rant but intention is laudable. It's a question of right attitude and convincing content. In the absence of right books people are confused about the ideology. When right knowledge comes humility will dawn. https://t.co/WlqusLsAAg
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1167722812414365697?s=19
Human affairs as perceived by way of current affairs is merely a tranche. Even in its totality it's like a few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle without any assurance of being the authentic ones since rest of the pieces are either missing or it's not known whether a puzzle exists at all.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1167495554877673472?s=19
Hindutva votaries need to be polite therefore without flaunting any kind of certainty as regards cosmology or sociology. Superiority and exceptionalism are avoidable hubris. Berating others for their contesting point of view can be unsubstantiated chutzpah. Coexistence is basic.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1167501124665933824?s=19

Proof is the very fulcrum of science but since there are immeasurable fields of knowledge beyond the confines of science philosophical speculation comes to the rescue. There epistemology is as crucial as empiricism. I'm not an atheist but against Astrology, Mythology, and Rituals
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1166953657440464896?s=19

No gainsaying that the world existed before the person but so far as the person is concerned his knowledge of the world existing before him is subsequent and would dissolve on his death or if he is in coma. So this awareness doesn't float outside the consciousness of human beings
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1169182788462862337?s=19

A spider's web can be described without the spider or with the spider. Then how it connects from different points from two walls can also be included. Thus there can be multiple perspectives. By pushing the spider out of the discourse webs of words can be multiplied exponentially

The individual is not a part of a bigger universe; the universe rather is a part of the individual. All one's perceptions therefore are unique to himself or herself; nothing universal, rational, or scientific about it. This is far more reductionist than the anthropocentric view.

Nothing exists outside oneself: no past or future; no myth or narrative. The world exists solely in an individual's consciousness; all knowledge is subjective. So peddling any authentic history is as illusory as philosophical coherence. Habitus can't be seen as a sign of veracity
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1181542566476406787?s=19

Suspect all myths and narratives being assiduously disseminated by the media and academia. Each one is a prisoner of his own trajectory and searching for any universally acceptable ontological framework is surely futile. Thus, all past philosophical formulations are mere stories.

Freedom has this outstanding feature of not believing in anything. It too can be a sign of utmost humility that one doesn't know. From that safety, it's prudent to reject all knowledge sources and philosophical streams. Then, only two dates matter: August 15 and March 29 (1914).
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1169282116070174721?s=19

All said and done, spirituality is of theoretical utility only for it can't deliver on demand. But philosophically, it offers the best possible explanation of our existence as Sri Aurobindo has shown in The Life Divine. Apart from generating optimism, it fights fundamentalism too
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1169202969100730368?s=19

Roy Bhaskar wrote many books to explicate reality but towards the end of his life he could spot the spider. Then there was nothing much to explain the web in isolation. However, his followers were aghast; how could he commit such a sacrilege! Publishing industry too was dismayed.

India is at the crossroads. No respect for knowledge; it's fashionable and prestigious to push planted narratives. Decibels are more credible than crucibles of truth. Entire corpus of Sri Aurobindo should have been part of syllabus but Universities are yet to evince any interest.

Scholarship shouldn't be resented; persons shouldn't be despised. The content should be the focus. What's good must be appreciated; what's flawed or distorted, deliberately or otherwise, needs to be countered. With sufficient caution and due academic humility; by producing fresh.

Reach of Savitri Era Learning Forum (SELF since 2005) is meager but immense in terms of significance. Many have met tangentially with the potential of engendering diversions in thought and attitude. Thirsting for an anchor by grappling with philosophical uncertainty is the need.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1169197952566345729?s=19

While a day has so much of variety in terms of circadian rhythm and allied psychological rollercoaster that we ride, annual Merry-go-round of seasons seems to have no noticeable effect or causal factors in human functioning. This disconnect is surprising when even sea sees tides.

One basic thing is true. Seduce a person into conversation and after a while he will go on and on revealing many aspects of his thinking or hopes. This can be ascribed to power of language reinventing the person also. But healing can't be thrown out like baby with the bathwater.

Agree. Can only empathise with a mother's burden; but that's again somewhat empty, for we are worlds apart. You may however consider Sri Aurobindo for some future paper, if an occasion arises. Thanks.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1168230616078274560?s=19

Women represent empiricism and men a healthy scepticism and ambivalence; that's what came out of the debate on myth and history. May be more to do with awareness level than any inherent trait but the evolutionary burden of child rearing appears ill at ease with a rearview mirror.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1145627360621842432?s=19

Knowledge is not like a collage or a mosaic nor it's democratic. Rational quest for knowledge will certainly arrive at ontology after meandering briefly through epistemological questions. Once one is gripped by ontological concerns, the journey is bound to reach at Sri Aurobindo.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1147560211441307650?s=19

Modern civilisation has prevented people to look at women and instead sends them to museums and art galleries to see their portrayal in metal, stone, or paintings. Movies are also kosher for watching them on screen. So, everyone is glued to phone in Metro. https://t.co/UmRHMiorIi
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1149942059928674304?s=19

Democracy has no perfect past model but relies on people's spontaneity and creativity. Agile representatives and not robots or puppets are crucial for its success or quality. So, multiplicity of voices are in a sense essential. Geography and nature teach the primacy of diversity.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1135070889639174?s=19
Sri Aurobindo was well conversant with major schools of Indian philosophy and mythology. So undertaking fresh comparison is pointless. Even comparative studies with Western thinkers by S.K. Maitra is not very fruitful. Postmodernism is the only area which challenges Sri Aurobindo
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1140302856068534274?s=19

Arriving at the peak marks the beginning of negotiating with the decline. Yoga however aims at an endless progress in keeping with the spirit of Amrita invoked in the Veda. Many resign to an abstract and pragmatic conception but The Mother & Sri Aurobindo insist upon the physical.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1146697607986606080?s=19
To tweet or intuit, that's the question. The nature of writing is such that quite unexpected turns of phrase sprout by sheer logic of grammar or syntax, thus altering the semantics. Besides, the aesthetic dimension has its own compulsion which forces fresh tenets of hermeneutics.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1146800648161095680?s=19

Science has enabled us to disbelieve most of its findings and no firm assurance is available on how life and the world operates. All philosophical propositions similarly can be questioned. Religions are glorified superstitions. Sri Aurobindo, therefore, is the only reliable voice
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1144798467908235265?s=19

Even after reading "a shelf full of books" that Sri Aurobindo wrote, it's difficult to claim any sure hints on future events or political course. Turning a supporter of Modi govt after being a critic on the basis of its non-performance and ideological ambivalence embarrasses many
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1086871036774240258?s=19 20 Jan 19

Puru in Girish Karnard's Yayati denies having superhuman capabilities of his forefathers. Modi similarly steers clear of the imaginary glory of Hindutva and this ideological shift is no less significant than Deendayal, Nehru, or Roy. @Janamejayan may examine in his Dharma thread.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1012959780057632769?s=19 30 Jun 18

Since science, philosophy, and religion have failed to provide any cogent explanation, Evolutionary paradigm proposed by Sri Aurobindo in The Life Divine proves to be the most plausible option. Worshipping The Mother & Sri Aurobindo is the sole condition of Savitri Era Religion.

Although plurality or multiplicity is ontologically incompatible with a monistic hypothesis, the Sun as Mitra, Varuna, etc. indicate different powers and personalities though not without the charge of being typecast or programmed. Democracy needs to cater to at least four orders.
Emergence or innovation, therefore, may seem random but even the worst evil or an avatar as its consequence thus are part of the Evolutionary plan. The infinite possibilities fostered by Hiranyagarbha might be so for the human eye as the countless voices obtaining in a Democracy.
So, is process merely an eyewash? No, surely not since Maya or Shunya is affirmative in the final analysis. Even nullifying causality is absurd. Thus, brainstorming or wisdom of the crowd has some validity in precipitating solutions and Democracy is the most appropriate platform.
Exclusive Concentration like Extended Release or Paramarasa limiting itself like in Aletheia is another way of looking at Democracy vis-a-vis Conscious Evolution. Dwapara or Tretaya being in certain ratio of Satya or Vaikhari and Madhyama as some proportion of Pashyanti analogical
Musical notes, Fractals, or Fibonacci numbers indicate a more precise mathematical order behind the reality sending shudders down the spine of a Democratic spirit. On the other hand "Doesn't occultism lead straight to fascism?" asks J Strube. Same old debate on fate vs. freewill!

Equality between men and women and concentrating on common human methods is a defining element of Sri Aurobindo's yoga. Thus, the empowerment dimension is downplayed but the magnetic function performed by women in any ecosystem is often neglected leading to lack of lubrication.

Spirituality doesn't evolve in a vacuum and involves all our faculties and activities. Politics or collective affair including physical facilities and amenities are an integral part of such a scenario. So, building an identity around shared values and a common faith is essential.

Many secrets of nature have come to light through science but there's no assurance that all the mystery will be disclosed. Human mind is a limited bowl and hence can't know the whole. Thus, those insisting on any particular religion are mistaken. Integral outlook needed to know.

Looking at the sky at night is the easiest means to be cured of religious fundamentalism since no single religion can claim to have created all the stars. [Remember that these innumerable worlds, ...are a million times more ancient than your Himalaya, ...] https://t.co/gx6MHXhQNp

Science told facts and the empiricist approach assumed a huge prestige leading to consumer behavior studies. Management however discovered that data don't give uniform results and turned to philosophy. Sri Aurobindo of course spoke of spiral course of evolution a century earlier.

Having seen several episodes of propaganda and disinformation during the last sixty years, I have been warning against grand narratives spun by those having vested interests. Working on current issues is a sound strategy for not being drawn into the vortex of analysing the past.

Instead of conjectures, it's better to accept Sri Aurobindo in terms of his actual achievements which are no less considerable. A positive environment of appreciation created around his future vision would have no place for hatred for other personalities who too helped in a way.

No doubt, The Life Divine by Sri Aurobindo is a difficult book but a certain density of orientation on its content as well as context will go a long way in understanding it. For this purpose, The Philosophy of Evolution by Rod Hemsell is an excellent help. https://t.co/VcmVg9BsFy

Commodity fetishism introduced by Marx is an important milestone in theory which also recognises an element of mysticism akin to spirituality of Sri Aurobindo. The glamour perceived in an object by a consumer can easily be compared with seeking the All Beautiful behind relations.

Nothing is self-evident truth since nothing definitively is known about our life or understanding. So a safe characterisation of all we know or think is a belief system or narrative. The Mother & Sri Aurobindo have forged a new narrative which needs to be pushed to topple others.

The tension between the individual and society is ordinarily given a political treatment but The Mother & Sri Aurobindo point to a psychological interconnectedness signifying the possibility of harmony replacing the present discord. They also tell of the Vedic domains of virtue.

If one doesn't subscribe to Divine manifestation of Sri Aurobindo and continuing action then a mere scholarly appreciation of his works doesn't mean much. Because his vast and diverse writings don't really add up to anything; can be utterly confusing. But he personifies Evolution

It's therefore absolutely necessary to be clear about the background of Sri Aurobindo's ideas and how he synthesises Western speculative wisdom with Vedic Evolutionary vision. The Philosophy of Evolution by Rod Hemsell is an excellent overview on the topic https://t.co/TvlkycHyK7

Considering the fact that humans have been inhabiting this planet since one lakh years, creativity relating to women by men through art, architecture, poetry, literature, music, and movies is recent. So much of content but women, unfortunately, are deprived of enjoying sentiment.

Almost all of Sri Aurobindo's writings can be said to be incomplete or work in process. He was never satisfied; always intended to revise. Even The Life Divine can be seen as incomplete as his essays (1949-50) revealing Mind of Light remained inconclusive. https://t.co/l3XsvPFLuM

Instead of the usual sense of love, the Vedic figures of Mitra and Varuna signifying fraternity can be the model for the future society. Such a scenario of course is unthinkable at present, but the fourfold forms a fundamental structure of any organisation or moulds of Evolution.

Science promised an era of transparency but AI smacks of a realm of Kafkaesque conspiracy. The snares of big data and deep state are ever increasing keeping pace with arms race. Carbon footprint and global warming hang like the sword of Damocles. Sri Aurobindo is the solution.

A rare instance where Sri Aurobindo approvingly hints at intellect's potential of expressing fraternity without mentioning a spiritual turn. Such a prospect however looks improbable when gender dynamics comes into picture to exert extraneous emotions. https://t.co/lX45lJHsyV

For instance, a technology like an ordinary boat is still so relevant and useful where nothing else is available, affordable, or feasible. Family skills also matter as no diploma or licence is required. Utility of bicycles or bullock carts similarly seem indispensable even today. https://t.co/B79lApEKju

Monday, September 02, 2019

Crystal doors of inner planes


Assorted tweets collated by @NathTusar Director #SavitriEra Learning Forum (SELF since 2005) Ghaziabad #SriAurobindo #FiveDreams #WorldUnion

Whereas Platonism is "henological' in the sense of inquiring as to what kinds of unit things are and what ways of being a unit there are, we may say that Aristotle is primarily interested not in this cardinal unity, but in the ordinal sense of determining what is *first*.
https://twitter.com/EPButler/status/1168232103806476288?s=19

Dr. Soumitra Basu of Sri Aurobindo Society compares Foucault with Sri Aurobindo. Interesting. https://t.co/fG0oXud9ih
https://twitter.com/GoutamGhosal2/status/1168151816736919552?s=19
The silence n the attacks  of  the leftists on Sri Aurobindo's vision of Nationalism is distasteful to me. Thapar, like Nandy n Chakraborty, has done the same thing from her left fort.
https://twitter.com/GoutamGhosal2/status/1168185981888892928?s=19
A historian must be balanced n impartial. Else it is fiction of the "rich" mind-- " apono monero madhuri mishya" (Tagore's phrase) meaning "mixing sweetness of my mind". The work of such a "Congress-Left historian" should be rechecked whatever maybe his/her awards n degrees!
https://twitter.com/GoutamGhosal2/status/1168421352438554625?s=19

In his book  @swapan55 Ji notes Nirad Chaudhuri as a thought leader of Indian right. Chaudhuri was a rape fantasizer, pervert misogynist, self proclaimed stooge of genocider Churchill & deeply racist antiBengal. All these make the Indian Right Wing https://t.co/RVcrl8WABG https://t.co/Kw5Zirjn2a
https://twitter.com/sarkar_swati/status/1168364652683616256?s=19

A review of Awakening Bharat Mata in the New Indian Express by ⁦@anirbanganguly⁩ https://t.co/YVmhh9RVWM
https://twitter.com/swapan55/status/1168014115735912449?s=19

We don't need such perverted, ignorant and twisted new frontiers of falsehood. Truth will and does stand on its own. Intellectual perverts like Peter Heehs are best ignored.
https://twitter.com/SpiritWithBody/status/1168437232941727744?s=19

“The fundamental idea is that, in creating by “heating” & by repeated “emissions,” Prajāpati consumes himself & ends by becoming exhausted. The two key terms—tapas (ascetic ardor) & visṛj (emission)—have sexual connotations, for asceticism & sexuality are connected.”
-Eliade
https://twitter.com/krumbbumm/status/1168181543350747136?s=19

Oh that’s good..my only exposure to Sanskrit is through Sri Aurobindo’s Secret of the Veda..that symbolism and vocabulary I intuitively get but nothing else...thanks for responding..may the Devas/Devis favour your journeys..
https://twitter.com/kalisbrood/status/1168194750328926208?s=19
Precision..like an artist..such nuance and colour...such a detailed being must be the Divine 🤣 hence we aspire to surrender to Him...
https://twitter.com/kalisbrood/status/1168200751786496001?s=19

So true
There is NO ONE like Sri Aurobindo.
Each of His literary expressions, from letters to epics, is like a complete & finely tuned harmony of Divine arrangenment. Greatest living demonstration of Divine Perfection.
https://twitter.com/auroviryavaan/status/1168204065903390720?s=19

Read Shri Aurobindo, how to interpret Hindu texts, everything can be false only Hymns of Rig-veda are true, everything that contradicts rig-veda is false.
https://twitter.com/VinuSemiotics/status/1168201356919726085?s=19

The narrative terrain today is divided unequally between popular #Hindu resistance and institutional #Hinduphobic #hegemony https://t.co/3zEnAxfe3c
https://twitter.com/SouleFacts/status/1168236129922871296?s=19
The victimhood industry works by a theoretical contrivance called ‘deconstruction’, which diligently reduces a culture or society by its ideological underpinnings- ‘patriarchy’, ‘Brahmanism’ or ‘normalization of heterosexuality’ https://t.co/RkvF1Xbogp
https://twitter.com/SouleFacts/status/1168236035764973568?s=19
Muslim attitude towards jihadi violence. This contradiction between seemingly irreconcilable moral attitude (condemning acts of terror& yet unquestioningly rationalizing all violence espoused by Quran)finds expression in political opinion of Islamic society https://t.co/eJxlBxH2MA
https://twitter.com/SouleFacts/status/1168237355058073601?s=19

Great article. The moron libtards who think that their ilk own intellectualism are clearly blinkered for they will neither read nor comment on this scholarly view, choosing instead to live in their fragile and ignorant self congratulatory echo-chamber https://t.co/3r43lGcfVE
https://twitter.com/bennedose/status/1168399884539461632?s=19
Doctors have to renew their registrations regularly through life. They need to collect continuing medical education hours per year. Why the hell should old bags like this liar have a lifetime position without validating her CV?
https://twitter.com/bennedose/status/1168449881612046336?s=19

The Mughal imperial system was of an ‘Islamicate’ character. It had enforced a broad political and cultural hegemony of Islam which granted Hindus limited room for cultural self-assertion https://t.co/C28QqtR7tS
https://twitter.com/IndiaFactsOrg/status/1168395288802803713?s=19

Illuminated Qutub Minar in all its glory : Sublime, Serene, Subtle, simple & looking gorgeous ! Congrats #ASI for lighting up heritage monuments & enabling evening viewing. https://t.co/YTw3Yualt8
https://twitter.com/amitabhk87/status/1167831448881025025?s=19

It fascinates me that while the character for "righteousness" or yì, which is thought to draw on formal training, had to change from the traditional Chinese 義 to the simplified Chinese 义, the character for "benevolence" or rén, thought to arise naturally, stayed the simple 仁. https://t.co/RxnF1Cx0xO
https://twitter.com/longhandnotes/status/1168389578908143618?s=19

"They had to preach secularism by projecting Hindus as hateful bigots, contributing to the fake intolerance debate the left-liberals in the country are trying to propagate for last few years." https://t.co/7XJ931qP4l
https://twitter.com/OpIndia_com/status/1168350330381189120?s=19

There is DEEP connection between work of Thapar et al + cause that Girilal Jain et al had to struggle for. As new Ombudsman of Indian Education Firmament, you should know that. Choose battles, friends, enemies consciously. Mahabharata scorned the neutral
https://twitter.com/vijayvaani/status/1168389115777183744?s=19

Sandhya ji you know best, since you yourself have been at the forefront of the struggle to articulate & establish this new narrative. I wish someday Girilal Jain et al get their real due in the regeneration of civilisational India while those who spited them will wither away
https://twitter.com/anirbanganguly/status/1168395887921418240?s=19
How these "emeritus" sniggered at the formidable Girilal Jain's opus "The Hindu  Phenomenon" & did all to kill it is another story... it will have a gigantic sound if recounted someday!!

Glad to know you approved of my father's book, but the two are unconnected. I prefaced my tweet with a statement about what I thought of Romilla Thapar's work.
https://twitter.com/thesuniljain/status/1168382906315575296?s=19
While on the subject of Romilla Thapar @ARanganathan72 @vijayvaani a look at the govt's track record on academic excellence!!!
For all the talk, till now, the UGC/Aicte stranglehold remains
https://t.co/i0ZZ1B1Pwd
https://twitter.com/thesuniljain/status/1168382409496092673?s=19

I often say that the core of liberalism is its conception of mind and scientific knowledge, this is nicely illustrated by how foreign religious beliefs are repackaged for a Western liberal audience: psychologized and given (alleged) scientific credentials.
You can take any set of religious beliefs and recast them in terms of their psychological and health benefits for the individual, while rejecting their ‘literal’ interpretation as ‘unscientific’, and then you have a liberal doppelgänger which can replace the original.
https://twitter.com/mr_scientism/status/1168364737119363072?s=19

जातिगत आरक्षण से टूट रहा है देश - शान्त प्रकाश जाटव https://t.co/SqsvMWgDMS
https://twitter.com/shantprakash/status/1168348774168584192?s=19

The historical fact is that the British invented an “Indian caste system,” which is vastly different from the rooted conceptions of Varna, Kula & Jati. 
By Sandeep Balakrishna ji @dharmadispatch   
Do read: https://t.co/PJKdJjEM3d https://t.co/zn1mGTM2ws
https://twitter.com/CASandeepSehgal/status/1168031872128913408?s=19

Why People Hate Religion https://t.co/E9DQqrkETO
https://twitter.com/peterheehs/status/1168073730364297216?s=19

Don’t give a paper https://t.co/mSKImBK1mR
https://twitter.com/loveofallwisdom/status/1168267432126906368?s=19
Asian historicism before Protestantism https://t.co/lib66OaPP6
A Buddhist argument against rebirth https://t.co/zippdsgng9
Nussbaum’s revised view of anger https://t.co/TbDB4RkEPT
The importance of being Thich Quang Duc https://t.co/rtbZAFfc0X
Kant’s quantitative individualism https://t.co/mZvJW5qqeu
A Sellarsian solution for the self? https://t.co/FQdVfIrOz8
Ten years of Love of All Wisdom https://t.co/712iPDlV9N

Celebrities/politicians/businessmen using environmentally unfriendly Ganesha images are ushering in pollution not prosperity..... Ganesha is all about vanaspati, plants and its magical ability to nourish everyone....the image below is the most traditional form of Ganesh. https://t.co/UZKRAslxcy
https://twitter.com/devduttmyth/status/1168382126498045957?s=19

While asking for CV of Romila Thapar by JNU is foolish and reeks of deliberate attempt to insult, the people who idolise Thapar like God who cannot be questioned are speaking like bhakts. No one on earth is above criticism provided criticism is legitimate and scholarly.
https://twitter.com/akdwaaz/status/1168381088361664512?s=19
I felt sick reading some tweets as if Thapar is God. Agreed she has formidable record but it doesn't mean another scholar cannot question, critique her work or her work is the final authority like some word of God and anything contrary is BS

It also reeks of entitlement and elitism considering the family she comes from. The minute you start treating her like some God you play into the BJP's hands. She is a formidable scholar but need not be blindly worshipped
https://twitter.com/LiberalMantri/status/1168383151762284544?s=19

Riveting intellectual debate featuring Catholics vs Anglicans on whether devil aka satan are real or symbolic. https://t.co/azLUtNU84B
https://twitter.com/prasannavishy/status/1168331560308723712?s=19

My essay on language hegemony in India (Gujarati) - in Nireekshak: https://t.co/BvaCHimywh
https://twitter.com/saliltripathi/status/1168445674754433026?s=19

Rakhigarhi genetic findings are going to be published on 5th Sep. Findings would be announced at a press conference at National museum, New Delhi on 5th evening by Dr Niraj Rai et al. The findings will be published in world's topmost Scientific Journal- 'Cell'. Momentous day!
https://twitter.com/Sanjay_Dixit/status/1168143106228621316?s=19

Niraj Rai supports AIT in academic papers, though sings a different tune in public programs. If he is only saying that Rakhigarhi DNA is indigenous, no impact on AIT vs OIT, since alleged invasion came later. Need comparison of Rakhigarhi DNA w modern DNA of that area
https://twitter.com/BharatDharma/status/1168166946442866689?s=19

In #writing human-centered #scifi, there's the need to balance an intimate and sympathetic portrayal of the characters with a universe full of crazy #scifi elements that those characters inhabit. For me plot doesn't come into it much because I'm a #pantser
https://twitter.com/akazlev/status/1167746075878277121?s=19
It's easy to see the nerd appeal of #WH40k over #StarWars in this image comparing the armoured troopers of each universe. SW #stormtroopers are matinee mooks whose useless armour and lack of marksmanship is legendary. WH40k #adeptusastartes are grimdark overpowered superhumans https://t.co/QmHdTsqTFF
https://twitter.com/akazlev/status/1167599307609870337?s=19
Strictly speaking I should have one twitter account for writing, one for animal rights, one for science, one for spirituality, one for politics, et cet era.  But it's too much of hassle, and anyway my scifi has to be the mythopoetic vehicle of all the others
https://twitter.com/akazlev/status/1166835433067745280?s=19

Day 16: #30Days of posting cover of books I love on group think(1 book a day for 30 days)  #MyFavouriteGroupPsychBooks https://t.co/02J5Jfuc6q
https://twitter.com/rsaroja70/status/1168116651910291456?s=19
Somewhat like a review or comment that I wrote many years ago https://t.co/9ui0Pr3LlL
https://twitter.com/rsaroja70/status/1168222451953651712?s=19
I don't know about rigidness of perspective but I have read them over a very many years. They are all different.
https://twitter.com/rsaroja70/status/1168225415086759936?s=19

Because Thou Art: Scholarship and learning are means of detecting a wrong https://t.co/Z0fIxKfW6V
SAVITRI ERA OF THOSE WHO ADORE,
OM SRI AUROBINDO AND THE MOTHER.
Assorted tweets collated by @NathTusar
Director SELF #SavitriEra Learning Forum
#SriAurobindo #FiveDreams #WorldUnion
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1168120672775655425?s=19
Title and author in the tweet itself would be helpful; searchable later too. A line about the book can be still more interesting. One question, iydm: if one devours all these books, won't he suffer from a certain rigidness of perspective? What's your prescription to obviate that?
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1168208880838402049?s=19
Savitri Era: Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo would have remained moribund without Heehs imbroglio https://t.co/DKKZeOwwBY
Tweets in original by @NathTusar President @SavitriEraParty
SAVITRI ERA OF THOSE WHO ADORE,
OM SRI AUROBINDO AND THE MOTHER.
#SriAurobindo #FiveDreams #WorldUnion
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1168216267171360770?s=19
Agree. Can only empathise with a mother's burden; but that's again somewhat empty, for we are worlds apart. You may however consider Sri Aurobindo for some future paper, if an occasion arises. Thanks.
https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1168230616078274560?s=19
While publishing the revised edition of Savitri in 1993, Sri Aurobindo Ashram also brought out a separate slim volume collating the old and new lines or passages. A similar compilation is needed for how much old history has been replaced by new findings published by RW journals.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1168417254972612608?s=19
While a day has so much of variety in terms of circadian rhythm and allied psychological rollercoaster that we ride, annual Merry-go-round of seasons seems to have no noticeable effect or causal factors in human functioning. This disconnect is surprising when even sea sees tides.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1168444579340644352?s=19

ARTIST TALK, 6th September 1930 hours, The Park, Bangalore:
PUTTING THE SPOTLIGHT ON NORTH EASTERN INDIA
I will be joining Avner Pariat and my dearest hell raiser friends from the India... https://t.co/V90rhHVPon
https://twitter.com/desharbendu/status/1167645910073008128?s=19

Modi's own image-building exercise has completely ruined India's image internationally! https://t.co/iPAAdto4tF via @ndtv
https://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1168238762029133828?s=19