Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality
Krishna Keshava Dasa
 Captions are available for this video in many different languages. Just click: Settings (⚙️) > Subtitles/CC > Auto-translate > Choose your preferred languageDear friends of the Princeton Bhakti Vedanta Institute, Namaste🙏🏻. Please find our study of Chapter 2 of Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality (2020) by Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja, Ph. D., below. Acknowledging the distinction between phenomena (thing-for-consciousness) and noumena (thing-in-itself), as Immanuel Kant and G.W.F. Hegel did, provides a foundation for examining the metaphysical trajectory and scientific conclusions of thinkers throughout the sciences and humanities. Modern science is a body of phenomenal knowledge contingent on its mostly unexamined underlying presumptions (axioms of modern science). There is a proliferation of theories and models contingent on these axioms of science; these are idols of the mind. Such theories often claim material causes for life and consciousness based on the correlation of phenomena with conscious living activities, although it is well known that “correlation does not imply causation.” Scientists must become self-conscious of their underlying presumptions and how these influence observations and conclusions of natural phenomena. Ultimately this is the recognition that thought itself is fundamental to all empirical approaches, thus the development of rational thinking and reasoning (philosophy) plays an essential role in science. Universal reason pervades all of reality, thus nature is intelligible to observation. As a rational natural philosopher, Sir Isaac Newton determined it was necessary to conclude the influence of “Lord God Pantokrator” to account for the unlikely long-term stability of the solar system. Organized systematic activity is indicative of intelligence while disorganized chaos suggests a random blind lack of intelligence. Despite this, “The mathematical bones of Newton’s Principia Mathematica were taken by modern physics and presented as a mechanical model of the universe without the Pantokrator” (IMvTR pg 31). “Modern science, as we know it today, had its beginnings in the Christian West because of a faith that Reason or rational principles could be found in God’s creation. Reason is a personal feature, found in Man. A world that is created by a rational being must also possess this personal feature, which we call God [infinite Spirit]. It is possible that an atheistic culture would have never conceived Reason in the world and therefore failed to develop science” (IMvTR pg 30).  Edi Bilimoria, an engineer in England who has done much independent research and presented internationally on Sir Isaac Newton’s broad range of mystical and scientific writings, reaffirms that Newton’s work was a homage to divinity. Newton’s mathematical descriptions of the cosmos were not intended to describe the totality of a “clock-work” universe, just as the taste, smell, or color of a Parabola-shaped object cannot be described by mathematical equations, which pertain to its curvature alone. Mr. Bilimoria agreed on the necessity for dialectic metaphysics to account for the dynamic organic nature of True Reality and overcome the abstract dichotomy between nondual and dualistic views once and for all. The capacity to recognize the subtle unity underlying apparently differentiated phenomena is sufficient reason to deduce that the “I” is not merely a material body, but a soul, an individual finite spirit. The individual “I” is the concept that unifies the differentiated content of its conscious experience — externally in its perception of objects (Kant’s unity of apperception) and internally by recognizing itself despite the physical changes of bodies (described in Bhagavad-gita 2.13 and modern science). Kant thought that the noumenal was completely beyond our comprehension but Hegel recognized the phenomenal as the immediate appearance of the noumenal. Thus, through the mediation of deeper thinking, we recognize that behind the appearance of matter are cognitive, volitional, and emotive agents organizing and utilizing things for their own goal-directed activities. Behind the appearance of the body is the soul.  During the first of our two group discussions (the second one is available here), Dr. Jayanti Sahoo of the Department of Philosophy, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, inquired about the limitations of the human mind, our capacity to come into accord with the Absolute Truth, and the reason behind evil in the world. The constitutional nature of all living entities is intrinsically finite and dependent upon that which is other from them. This may first be conceived within the context of the natural environment where all lifeforms depend on air, water, sunlight, food, shelter, etc., but when we consider the human form of life and its capacity for rational thought and self-inquiry, the emergence of disciplines such as art, science, philosophy, and religion reveal a longing to know that which is beyond or underlying the immediate natural environment and the ceaseless suffering experienced therein. Ultimately, the human form of life offers the opportunity to realize that we are not the center and to properly adjust our approach to knowing and participating in the truth.
Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality, pg 45Acknowledging that the individual “I” is not the origin of thought, i.e. thought is not coming from us but through us, it is reasonable to conclude that we are but a finite moment and participant of the infinite True Reality, the Organic Whole. When we ignore such consideration, idols of the mind serve to insulate us from the broader context of the whole within which we are intrinsically embedded and from which they draw the potential to think, feel, and act. We create a bubble centered around ourselves by erecting transient theories and models based on reality as it appears to or for us in place of knowledge of reality as it truly is by-and-for-itself, of which we are part and parcel. This self-centered bubble conceives reality through divisive analytic understanding (German: Verstandt). This is the root of the duality of good and evil. Thus, we are in the “war of all against all” as Thomas Hobbes called it. People suffer in this dichotomy because it is a foreign environment — we are like fish out of water. Transcending this false-egoic conception of reality and reestablishing ourselves in the Absolute-centered True Reality requires embracing the universal purposes expressed through the dialectic development of reason (Vernunft). In Phenomenology of Spirit §20, Hegel explains that “The truth is the whole. The whole, however, is merely the essential nature reaching its completeness through the process of its own development.” This process has been systematically developed and presented in Hegel’s three-volume Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences, the conclusion of which is corroborated by Vedic wisdom. Inspired by Dr. B. M. Puri’s encouragement on page 50 to investigate “what the universal purpose is that the individual must dovetail with the universal Will,” Dr. Devahuti Devi Dasi from Teresian College in Mysore, India, inquired accordingly. Dr. Puri responded that this universal purpose is to please Krishna, to engage in activities of loving devotional service that satisfy Him. This is explained in Bhagavad-gita 5.29:
In conclusion:
Humbly in service, Krishna Keshava Das Serving Assistant to Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja, Ph. D. Princeton Bhakti Vedanta Institute www.bviscs.org // linktr.ee/bviscs We are 100% funded by well-wishers. To support us in expanding our capacity to fulfill our mission through local and online community programs that encourage spiritual culture, and educational programs that consider spiritual science among students and professionals in scientific and academic communities, kindly consider making a donation — a devotional contribution. We are a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit educational organization — all donations are tax deductible. EIN# 20-8332347
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