[Advaita-l] Sadhana and neurological disorders

[Shyam]

Pranams 
I just posted this on the advaitin List in the context of neural correlates of advaita that may be relevant here in this context.


Before we make any attempt to evaluate anatomic correlates of terms such as mind and intellect we need to initiate such an exploratory excursion with an axiomatic examination of an astral body or in our terminology a sukshma shareera.

Without first a priori establishing the presence or absence of such a subtle body it is presumptuos to hoist onto the physical body astral anatomic correlates, and such conjugality of radically dissociated concepts can only derive into illegitmate conclusions, howsoever well-meaning such an exercise may be.

When the Vedas/Upanishads talk about buddhi they are talking about the intellect at the astral plane, and not necessarily about the physical brain or cerebral hemishpheres. More so when it comes to completely astral entities such as chit, manas and ahankara - that by their very nature are transcendent to the physical material plane.

The physical body is the field of expression of the subtle body. When the field of expression gets altered - either as a consequence of disease, or experiment - then certainly there will be changes to the expression - either in part or total - of the subtle body's function. This is at the heart of what drives the numerous neuroanatomic conclusions, which are all error-prone, for the simple reason that a hypothesis concerning the presence of a subtle body is never remotely in consideration. Conversely the subtle body, being by definition beyond the field of matter, can never be objectively verified except by means of Vedic pramAna. 

The limitations of such conclusions reached by a isolationist approach to mapping areas in the cortex where arise putative seats of emotion etc can be easily derived by extending the verisame reductionist experimental method a few steps further and considering the implications therof.

Hari OM
Shri Gurubhyo namah
Shyam



----- Original Message -----
From: Sudhakar Kabra <sudhakarkabra at yahoo.com>
To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
Cc: 
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 10:41 AM
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Sadhana and neurological disorders

For a person with neurological disorder, sadhana is not the correct line of approach.The correct method is medical treatment to bring him to normalcy, and for that whatever is required needs to be done is to be done.Philosophy is for normal person having intellectual thinking power beyond earthly matters.Best regardsSudhakar Kabra

--- On Wed, 6/20/12, Suresh <mayavaadi at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Suresh <mayavaadi at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Advaita-l] Sadhana and neurological disorders
To: advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 7:37 PM

Namaste,

This is a sensitive matter. Let's say a person suffers from various neurological disorders like asperger's, ADHD, OCD etc. It is not physically taxing but mentally and emotionally so. It cramps him, keeps him away from normal life - can't make friends or do regular work and earn a paycheck, must be indoors most of the time, depend on others even as an adult, face ridicule as a result etc. etc.

My question is, how does a person in this horrible situation do sadhana? Even regular life is upset by such disorders, so how will he practice bhakti, karma, jnana and such lofty things when he constantly feels cramped? Also, how does an advaitin see karma in this case?

Regards,
Suresh
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