Embracing Duality - II

Read "Embracing Duality - I"

After many iterations (from here to here), I landed in what I called "Rational Empiricism". What was important to me in a religion was that it was rational (makes sense) and experiential (tangible). You shouldn't have to follow a religion because you don't have a choice but to believe in a person or thing (although you could), you should follow a religion because you experience and internalize its truth every moment. Of course, I belong to the path of Jnana yoga (path of knowledge/reason), it is very hard for me to empathize with a Bhakti Yogi (path of faith). Another criteria I debated was meaningful vs pleasurable life. I concluded that pleasure within boundaries of meaning was ideal. The reason this is critical is that, if a person were to just pursue pleasure, he/she could cause a lot of damage to self or others. What we really want is a balanced and harmonious life. As a side note: Once in a while you are going to commit a sinful act (all for pleasure and devoid of meaning), but it is the pursuit of the ideal that makes life challenging, interesting and human. The ideal is the north star to turn to when you are lost. Humans are not machines in that machines perform a preprogrammed actions over and over again. If we were, it would be easy to stay the course. Because we aren't we have to internalize the fact that we will falter and we need to get back up on our feet and keep going. This is where man-made tools can help us stay the course.

Rational Empiricism is grounded in a model of Universe/Existence. It defines Universe to be "an interconnection of infinite, unique things". This definition should be experiential and reasonable to every human at some level. Once I defined Universe, I started inferring from its attributes. From "interconnectedness", I inferred that Science is important, we should keep at learning more about the Universe and we should try to understand the nature and interconnectedness of things and be very wary of the repercussions of our manipulation of nature. From "infiniteness", I inferred that every human is an infinitesimal part of the Universe in the vast spectrum of space and time, but to lead a happy life that infinitesimality should be overlooked and that could happen only by close relationships (family and/or friends). From "uniqueness", I inferred that every part of this Existence has a role to play; small/large, good/bad is a subjective judgment. Nevertheless, it has a role to play by virtue of its existence. Consequently, every human has the opportunity to contribute and give back in the form of his/her career at work.

In addition to the three ideas laid out in the paragraph above, there is one other key principle that I realized assists in having a meaningful and pleasurable life. It has to do with health. Ones physical and mental health is a prerequisite for leading a meaningful life within context of Rational Empiricism. As the old saying goes, when health is lost, everything is lost.

So in the end, my pathless path led to this clarity:
Gut-feelings:
1. Assumption #1: It is easier to practice religion if you understand it and feel it your bones.
2. Assumption #2: Pleasure within boundaries of Meaning is better than pleasure without meaning.
3. Assumption #3: A religion grounded in Universe/Existence (Duality) is well-grounded.
What is meaningful? :
4. Rational Empiricism #0: Take care of Body (Survival of the fittest in the Universe)
5. Rational Empiricism #1: Take care of the Planet (Interconnectedness of Universe)
6. Rational Empiricism #2: Take care of the Home (Infiniteness of Universe)
7. Rational Empiricism #3: Take care of Work (Uniqueness of every object in Universe)
Gut-feelings:
8. Be Holistic: Try to make holistic decisions after considering all the four objectives (4 to 7 above).
9. Be Resilient: In case you fail in executing your decision, learn from it and move on.

I recently found this comic strip that aptly describes what I felt after defining Rational Empiricism.
"To invent your own life's meaning is not easy... but it's still allowed."

Personally, I have reached a major milestone after traveling the 'pathless path' and now have a great degree of clarity going about life. They say "Change is the only constant". I will rephrase it this way: "Change is the only constant, except Religion'. If Religion also changes or is on shaky ground, whats the point? I think Rational Empiricism will be the constant that I can always turn to, to guide me at crossroads of life. It will give me great pleasure and satisfaction if it helps you as well.

Embracing Duality - I

I started this blog as a self-exploration, like a journal. I was hoping this will help me to put down my thoughts. I hoped this will take me towards clarity to lead a life with confidence and a degree of certainty. I felt like I was traveling a 'pathless path'. I read a lot along the way and a lot of people influenced me. I feel like what I have done here is just piece together different ideas (mine and others) into a framework that makes sense to me, that puts my mind in peace, something that gives me an anchor, something unchangeable to organize my life around. I hope that this helps others as well. I hope the next generation of humans will have an alternative to traditional religion in the form of 'rational empiricism'. I hope this catches on and few generations later humanity will live in harmony; that we will be a healthier and kinder race, maintain a cleaner planet, enjoy company of family and friends and do great things with our curiosity and inventiveness in such a way that it doesn't jeopardize our health, home or planet.

Reviewing older posts, I can summarize that the fundamental problem seemed to be "imperfect knowledge". We just don't know everything. As a result, we act in a confused way, without clarity. Because of my Hindu heritage, I explored the four paths; 'jnana yoga', 'karma yoga', 'bhakti yoga' and 'raja yoga'. None of them appealed to me other than 'jnana yoga'. I have to agree that I didn't really pursue any other yoga for any amount of time. I had a proclivity towards 'jnana yoga' because I guess I have a rational and intellectual bent of mind. Here I have to mention Jiddu Krishnamurthy's early influence on me (around age 16). He was the one who gave me the courage to look outside 'idol-worshipping, ritualistic Hinduism' I was used to growing up.

The book that influenced me a lot was called "jnana yoga" by Ramakrishna Puligandla which I picked up when I was in Grad school (when I was 23). He makes the case for "non-duality" to be the reality of Existence and "duality" to be an illusion or manifestations of non-duality and "raja yoga" asanas and meditative practices as a way to experience non-duality. I was intrigued. But I didn't quite see how that could help as I still need to live and survive in this world and cannot be in a meditative state all the time. What I needed was a pill to endure duality, I thought. Non-duality may be sweet but I have to live in Duality.

A few years later, I encountered books of Ramesh Balsekar (around age 26). His message was drastically different. He didn't prescribe anything. He just said you cannot find out where this Universe began etc and that humans and everything else are pre-programmed (causality) and there was no free-will. You can live as if you have 'free will', but there is really no such thing as you are just a bundle of your past thoughts and experiences and you will react and act in the future based on your past and your present physiological state.

Anyway, my hope that non-duality will cure all confusion slowly died. I realized one day (unclear how) that irrespective of whether I have attained "realization and clarity", time passes on and I have bills to pay and obligations to fulfill and a life to live. I felt a bit dumb chasing this elusive "non-duality"  magic pill and didn't want to be in this search all my life and regret missing out on life. I really wanted a remedy right away. I wanted something like a rock, something unchanging and something I can count on that I can use to navigate through life.

That is when it dawned on me that I should just create my own religion (around age 31), a framework that will help me. If humans invented other religions, I can invent one myself. I just need to convince myself (I am a hard critic of religions) that whatever religion I invented works for me. If it doesn't work for me, its useless and probably wont' work for others as well.

How to invent a new religion?
To be continued in the next post.

Inventions

For a happy and meaningful life, I have so far argued the following based on a broad set of ideas called "Rational Empiricism":
1. Happiness should be obtained within boundaries of meaning.
2. Meaning is derived by taking care of ones' body, home, work, and planet.

Although the above components are indispensable to a meaningful and happy life, there is another component that couldn't quite be derived in the context of Rational Empiricism. It comprises of "man-made inventions". For example consider, money and retirement planning. There is no equivalent in the Universe (may be hibernation of certain animals could be considered as an analogy for 'retirement' of humans). The concept of money and finance is a human invention and if we don't equip ourselves with skills of finance and investing we get left behind in case of emergency or in old age when the source of income stops. There are many man-made inventions like language, math, music, cooking, swimming etc. One cannot be expected to master all the man-made inventions and tools but it it may be essential to know and have some skills under your belt to lead a smooth life.

Life and Death

At some point in life, one realizes that one actually has a choice to live or to die. For most of us the choice to live is instinctive. But a few among us, choose to take their own life. Faith-based religions have the ideas like sin/judgment day and karma/rebirth that are used to proclaim its wrong to commit suicide. Similarly, what are the ideas to promote life instead of death in the context of Rational Empiricism?

To recap, Rational Empiricism argues the following about life. 

1. Life is a sum of all choices.
2. The choices should bring meaning to life. Pleasure should be experienced within the boundaries of meaning.
3. What is meaningful in life is rationalized from experiencing Universe as an 'interconnection of infinite, unique objects'.
4. For illustration, 'Principle of Interconnectedness' infuses meaning into 'being sustainable on the planet'. 'Principle of Infiniteness' infuses meaning into 'being loving with our family and friends'. 'Principle of Uniqueness' infuses meaning into 'being useful at place of work'.

The decision to live or die is personal, all that Rational Empiricism or any other religion can do is to clarify the question 'what is the promise of a religious life?'. Given the above points, we can see that there is plentiful opportunity within the context of Rational Empiricism to live a meaningful and pleasurable life, to leave a net positive impact at home, society and planet by following the path and by inspiring other nonbelievers to join the path. If a person chooses not to live, he/she loses the opportunity to have a positive impact on the world.

In Rational Empiricism, living doesn't merely refer to the state of not-dying, but a bodily state of being healthy, fit and living a life of vitality with strong-will, optimism and hope for a future that's yet to be invented. So, physical and mental exercises, sleep, proper posture and ergonomics, self-defense techniques, nutrition, hygiene etc are paramount for a Rational Empiricist. You have to take care of your body first before you can take care of your home, work or planet.

A Great Life

I believe there are two aspects to a great life; meaning and pleasure. Meaning has to do with reason/thought part of being a human. Pleasure has to do with emotion/action part of being human.

Meaning:

What gives meaning to your life boils down to the choices you make in life. Religion/Philosophy/Worldview/Culture gives the foundation to make those choices. So, its critical to build that foundation. Whatever Religion you choose, it has to make sense to you and it should be something that you hopefully won't regret later in life. (I humbly propose a religion for your consideration.)

Pleasure:

What gives pleasure to you boils down to how much fun and peace you are having in life. Pleasure within boundaries of Meaning is obviously more meaningful than pleasure without meaning. Mindful engagement in indulged activity, Flow experiences and Deep Sleep are avenues to experience pleasure.

Prescription for a Great Life:

1. Do some serious thinking/exploring and settle down on a religion/worldview that will serve you well throughout your life. It should primarily serve as a guide when you are at crossroads.

2. Make very intentional, conscious choices in life guided by your Religion.

3. Execute those choices mindfully and if possible by having flow experiences.

Rational Empiricism - a religion for nonbelievers

What happens if you don't have a religion?
You conform unconsciously or get confused when you have to make choices in life. Looking back at such a wavering life could cause much distress. You might regret the lost opportunity and it may be too late to fix it.

What is a religion?
A religion is a set of guiding principles for making choices in life. Religion gives the person clarity to make those choices and to consciously decide where to spend their time and energy in this world. It facilitates the person to live a meaningful and pleasurable life and gives the strength to navigate through the painful times.

Does religion need a God?
Religion has to be based on some solid, unshakable foundation. Belief in a God and God's word or a God's messenger's word  is one way to create a religion. One downside to such God-founded religion is that there are powerful middlemen interpreting the God's message and laying down rules for others to follow. A second problem is, at times practitioners of religion vilify other Gods and religions and cause communal disharmony. A more serious downside is the nature of faith itself; a faithful can't rationalize why he has faith but he has to always protect his faith. After living a long, devout life, if some incident suddenly converts him to a non-believer, then it invalidates a large portion of his life which would be quite devastating.

What is the foundation for Rational Empiricism?
Rational Empiricism is a non-theistic religion founded in reflecting and reasoning human experiences. Every human can testify to these two experiences; a) duality - that he exists and he is different from other things in Universe and b) causality - that there are causes for things to come into existence, causes for their sustenance and causes for them ceasing to exist. From these experiences, one can rationalize a definition for the Universe to be ''an interconnection of infinite, unique objects'. How?
1. Duality gives rise observation of objects
2. Duality also gives rise to distinction of self from other objects and to distinction of one unique object from another.
3. Duality also gives rise to observation of incomprehensible number of objects in Universe which gives rise to infinite, unique objects.
4. Causality indicates that these objects are interconnected as they continuously interact in space and time creating, sustaining and destroying each other.
Putting these concepts together, the definition of Universe as an interconnection of infinite, unique objects is justified. This definition of Universe forms the basis for the religion: Rational Empiricism.

What are the guiding principles of Rational Empiricism?
There are four guiding principles of Rational Empiricism interpreted from conception of Universe:
1. Principle of Uniqueness - Each human is unique, so is every other object in Universe.
2. Principle of Interconnectedness - Humans and other objects are interconnected to each other in complex ways.
3. Principle of Infiniteness - Each human (himself a collection of innumerable objects) and other seemingly infinite objects constitute the Universe.
4. Principle of Fitness - Each human is a person unless he is a corpse.

What is the promise of Rational Empiricism?
Rational Empiricism promises a meaningful and pleasurable life (pleasures within the boundaries of meaning) for the practitioner, a more peaceful and just society and a sustainable planet.
1. Principle of Uniqueness encourages expression of individual's unique passions and adding value through work and predicts that people do their best work in such environment.
2. Principle of Interconnectedness supports equality for all in the society and promotes scientific understanding of the interconnected world and policy making based on those findings and predicts that a human society in-sync with nature will thrive.
3. Principle of Infiniteness asserts that a sense of belonging and companionship is desired by every human in this seemingly infinite universe and predicts that love at home will give the recipient of love the strength to navigate through the tough times in life.
4. Principle of Fitness encourage physical and mental fitness while alive before other objects eventually figure out and transform him/her to dirt.

Will Rational Empiricism stand the test of time?
If we stop experiencing duality and causality, then Rational Empiricism can be discarded. But I am guessing that when that happens we won't any longer be humans, we would have evolved to a different species or we will be living in a new Universe.
Also, if we find new ways to rationalize duality and causality different from the way it is done in Rational Empiricism, then Rational Empiricism can be adapted and evolved to the new concepts. For instance, there are two fundamental mysteries of Universe that are purposely not dealt with in Rational Empiricism: a) What is the origin of Awareness? and b)  What is the origin of Universe? Rational Empiricism doesn't bother answering these questions because these mysteries of the Universe doesn't negate our experience of duality and causality. However, if and when somebody presents rational answers to these questions and if that alters our conception of Universe, then we can evolve Rational Empiricism to the new concepts. Until then Rational Empiricism will be valid in its present form for humans.

A computer science perspective

The fundamental concepts of an object-oriented programming language mimics Universe.

1. Object - An object encapsulates data and operations. This is similar to unique attributes and properties of every object in the Universe illustrating the principle of Uniqueness.

2. Message - Objects exchange messages to invoke behavior in other objects. This is similar to the ecosystem of objects that interact with each other in space and time in Universe illustrating the principle of Interconnectedness.

3. Program - An object-oriented program is a collection of communicating objects achieving the goal of the creator of the program. This is similar to collection of infinite objects which is the Universe illustrating the principle of Infiniteness. (The key difference is that the knowledge about the creator or the purpose of Universe is beyond human knowledge. Hence, we synthesize religion/beliefs/worldview to give our lives a  purpose.)

Thinking Object-Oriented