The Role of Mystics, Artists and Scientists in Human Evolution

Re: # 9: UKP, it is called evolution of the mind and body and soul. You keep harping about these evil systemic ``institutions``..these are scientific adn democratic institutions of change. They evolve and challenge status quo by producung new ideas and products to change how we live...for the better. Whereas you challenge the status quo with regressive ideas on economic and social paradigms that are devoid of any reality based application and are anachronistic in implementation.

There is no novel thought in simply being a contrarian. It take a special knucklehead to utter the same drivel ad nauseum without ever trying to see if maybe the fault lies within themselves. You seem to be one of these cases. Humans being live longer and healthier now than ever before in the history of the world. Scientific advancement in the American century has been unparalleled in human history. these are facts..

and for god`s sake (pun intended) how long do you think it would take for you to get fired from your current position. I give it 6 months

Re: # 6
dear parthaab....you promised absolute silence and then quoted a few quotes....quotes are

wonderful but J krishnamurti never quoted anybody...he used to say quran is

mohammad`s truth not mine....thanks for sharing though...smiles...sohail

pathaab #7 very interesting quotes.

War is good for Economy >good for happiness>properity>progress>modernity....

Look at USA....

Rebellion always breeds knowledge.

Re: # 1
dear nasruminnallah....your letter reminded me of my short poem titled

apprehension

i am afraid

the noise of the outside world

will drown one day

the music inside

all the best...sohail

#8 by Nasruminallah

What religion was Nebuchadnezzar II? I thought he ransacked Jerusalem and killed and enslaved Jews over non-payment of taxes etc ..

Re: # 11
dear freethinker....thank you for your thoughtful comments. Socrates taught us human

beings are rational beings. Freud taught us human beings can also be rationbalizing beings.

I fully agree with you that the challenge we face is to question the age old traditions we

have inherited. But for most people it is a painful process but those who do it and reach the

other shore usually say...it was all worth it....all the best...sohail

Re: # 5
dear saroya...thank you for your generous comments. i fully agree with you that personal

growth and social evolution are connected....from the simple to the complex. soren

kierkegaard had said that people talk about freedom of speech and action....most crucial is

freedoom of thought....for which we do not need social sanctions and permissions. it is the

freedom of thought that is inspired by creative people and their creations that helps us

question the conditioning we received from our traditional families and communities. once

we are able to unlearn that conditioning then sky is the limit...then we can dream and then

work together for those dreams to come true individually and collectively to become fully

human...thanks once again....sincerely sohail

Most of us are tuned to accepting uncritically and unquestioningly the traditional beliefs handed down to us by our forefathers. We are scared to think differently because religion has inculcated in us a fear of exceedingly high proportions if we question the traditional beliefs. Hell is created by God for those who question His existence and the truthfulness of religion.

Many scientists don`t believe in a God (or any God) of rewards and punishments. Dr. Sohail is one of them; he said ``good bye to God`` a long time back and is quite happy for doing so.

The article under discussion is one of a series that he has written in order to open the closed minds. His message is: it`s okay to question the existence of God. After all, one should ponder on what he/she is believing. According to Socrates, ``The unexamined life is not worth living.`` Dr. Sohail`s dedication to this cause is enviable.

Mohammad Gill

Re: # 9 ``...get an education`` from the man who cannot stay in one job for too long......

MASADA complexus Majoruii thank you for this. I am looking forward to your body of work on how close religion is related to science.

the author writes <<< As the disciplines of science and philosophy have grown, not only have human minds developed but also human communities. In schools, colleges and universities education is based on scientific values, while at the state level, laws have been made on secular and humanistic principles >>>

Great propaganda for the status quo of the present. Makes me wonder what world the author is living in when more are dying today needlessly, given sheer numbers, and more living on the margins than at any time in human history, and all this is being legitimized by master symbols of ``science`` and ``democracy``, while before the slogan was God and religion. So what has changed: except for the magnitude of the misery of the many and indirect all encompassing control, not much else. You call it evolution, I call it a more sophisticated religion with more sophisticated symbols of legitimation. It all depends on what institution (s) happens to be the dominant one. Behind all your happy imagery is basic misunderstanding of the functions of social institutions, note that you cannot know the workings of the psyche without reference to the social. So instead of attacking religion with a broad brush, which in certain cases has been a force for change, under the cover of ``humanism``, which the current status quo is much against, get an education.

Re: # 6

Prathaab , you are right about that, religion has divided mankind and killed more man than any other calamity. Wars,pillage, rape, mass murder and all sorts of villainy have been committed in the name of religion- even today

“All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry”
Edgar Allan Poe


``A thorough reading and understanding of the Bible is the surest path to atheism”
Donald Morgan


“People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.”
Dave Barry


“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.”
Richard Dawkins


“A man who is not afraid is not aggressive, a man who has no sense of fear of any kind is really a free, a peaceful man.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti

J.K., the modern `mystic`? Not to me.
This soft spoken, well-meaning, articulate and respected gentleman was the sharpest intellect of the 20th century. His understanding of the working of the human mind is unparalleled.
If M.K. Gandhi was the master of being non-violent in practice, JK was its master in theory.



What did he think of religion?

`WHEN you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence ...

... So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind.`



All I have to add is absolute silence.

Re: # 3

Evolution - specifically, a process of ``gradual change`` resulting in more complex and sophisticated outcomes.

Yes to all of the processes of change you mention; development, growth of human ....
mind, thought, all encompassing conceptual framework, world view, philosophy of life ....etc

Resulting in a more complex and sophisticated example of the human animal.