Vedic Narrative of Mind and Consciousness
Vedoday2050
Center for Inner Sciences (CIS)
announces a 4-session short course on
Vedic Narrative of Mind and Consciousness
Thursday 18, 25 Nov & 2, 9 Dec 2021
8-9 pm Indian time via Zoom
by Dr. Harish Chandra, Vedic scholar specializing in Samkhya and Yoga treatises
Every session to include 35 min presentation, 15 min Q&A, and 10 min practice of meditation
Philosophy Behind the Course: The question 'Who am I' has baffled the human mind since our appearance on the earth. What is the ultimate seat of consciousness? Are we something beyond the Mind? The irony is, how can our Mind know something beyond the Mind? However, we must not ignore the question. We cannot enjoy a purposeful and fulfilled life unless we satisfactorily answer the question, Who am I?
About the Course: Mind and Consciousness are generally viewed as the outcomes of brain functions. Could Mind and Consciousness lie deep within the brain, independent of it? The Vedic narrative suggests an individual Self, enveloped by Mind made of sub-atomic particles, in a cave deep inside the brain. To validate the Vedic narrative, the classic treatises of Samkhya and Yoga, authored by Kapila and Patanjali, respectively, describe meditation techniques to Silence the Mind, an essential prerequisite to probe what lies Beyond the Mind.
What is New in the Course: Patanjali’s prescription of meditation techniques can now be better understood and replicated because Citta (Screen) and Ahamkāra (Storehouse) are correctly interpreted. These practices can validate the Vedic narrative besides improving the quality of our life. It will be argued that a scientist collecting data from a meditation practitioner is likely to conclude that Deep Meditation leads to a state similar to Deep Sleep, without proving or disproving the Vedic narrative. Hence, it will be suggested that scientists themselves learn such practices to explore Deep Meditation (beyond Mindfulness), a state different from that of Deep Sleep; the difference probably is Awareness of the Self, Beyond the Mind.
The present short course is introductory in nature. More extensive and intensive courses on Vedic Cognitive Science, Samkhya, and Yoga will be offered by CIS in the future.
Relevance: Scholars in Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Physics, Computer Science, Philosophy of Mind, Psychology, and related disciplines may be interested in the present course that deals with the inter-disciplinary area of Mind, Consciousness, and their interaction.
About the Author: Dr. Chandra is formerly a Combustion Scientist with B.Tech. from IIT Kanpur and Ph.D. from Princeton University. After his combustion-related research work in the USA, Germany, India, and Norway, he switched to Vedic Cognitive Science full-time about 25 years ago. He founded the Center for Inner Sciences.
Prior Registration is required. The course is free and open only to those in universities and educational/research institutions, engaged in study/teaching/research.
To Register, go to https://tinyurl.com/vedicnarrative
Or, open the link:
Contact: centerforin...@gmail.com