Welcome to the Bungee
A friend of mine who is very sharp mentally and debates with me always said scientific research has without doubt established ‘identity’ to the brain waves such as Alfa, Beta, theta, Delta and Gamma which is other wise known as the electrical impulses made by Neurons.
Is there hope of doing perfect research on ‘identity’ both at gross and subtle levels?. This was a point I was pondering about quite for some time. But you can say that once a research is over on a subject you also get some definite results pointing out to doubtless answers and discoveries as in the case of diseases or medicines or a subject coming under the purview of Physics etc. from where further research is not necessary or say can not be done with the research having given desired answers and results. The research comes to an end. A detailed study into the human brain showed that the Brain and the Spinal chord are made up of many Cells including Neurons and Glial Cells.
The Human Brain is estimated to contain Hundred Billion Neurons. In these cases a perfect research has been completed into the constitution of the Brain and the Spinal Chord. We can say that the research was perfect as far as the above subjects are concerned and as far as the ingredients that constituted the Brain and the Spinal Chord. Another series of research is possible into the constitution of the cell and yet another one further dividing it into number of Neurons and then again a research into the content of a Neuron. The discharges of Electrical impulses by Neurons are called Brain Waves divided into Alpha, Beta, Theta, Delta and Gamma waves. Are these findings not the result of perfect researches? One at a time, each one perfectly done with well defined and accurate answers. Hence we don’t deny the fact that there is scope for doing perfect scientific research in each and every subject under the sun.
Researches will be undertaken by newer generations of mankind as long as time exists propelled by necessity as well as curiosity where once done researches are stored away for reference by future progenies. A perfect research that ended with a perfect answer need not be done again as it will end up in wastage of time. It remains as Data. Research will continue along with continuation of time in the space created by a celestial will leading towards eternity until research on eternity is achieved which remains as a big question mark as of now. Advancement of Science as ages succeed one another may produce cyborgs whose physiological functions are controlled mechanically or electronically. But then the very purpose of creation is defeated we can say as an argument. Why is it so?
Here the subject under discussion is whether perfect scientific research can be done to discover ‘identity’ and ‘purpose of life’. Hence we will limit our indulgences into the subjects of research and their technicalities. But there are groups who will blindly and vehemently oppose the above theory of ‘identity’ and ‘purpose of life’ as existing outside hitherto known and familiar scientific grounds based on their researches. I think it is necessary for us to dwelve into this as it is a subject with much scope for perfect research outside scientific facts.
Can a cyborg, a perfect scientific replica of a living human being, feel emotions? Is it possible to place a hundred million Neurons planted in a cyborg, the ultimate scientific human being, as it is claimed, and make them fire electrical impulses in varying degrees so as to stimulate all the biological, physiological and electro chemical interactive vibrations as is naturally happening in a naturally born human being whose tear glands can swell up and react to natural emotions? Give the newborn motherly love which naturally flows from mother to child? The possibility of a perfect scientific research into the depths of human emotions does not look like holding any water in it since it will lead us into the source of the power of Dendrites[1] in the Neurons though it is clarified as “Dendrites receive electrochemical stimulations from other neural cells”. This will mean cells receive energy from other cells in a cyclic manner but there is no clarity as to where the other cells derive power from. It is pointed out vaguely that the atom contains power. Everything is basically clusters of atoms which hold energy. The electromagnetic waves that exist in space are energy.
At one point the energy inside an Atom is connected to the electromagnetic energy in varying densities of light and still lighter densities outside the Atom in the vast spaces. But then again what is this energy’s source? Science is still desperately groping in darkness there. Perfect research has been done ages back by minds that were trained to reach into these innermost layers of energy or power existing in the infinity and even interact with its creative power. But some may say those were not perfect researches, in the absence of the modern gadgetry.
Here the data acquired and recorded by these original researchers take one into, words not minced, the hitherto unknown realms of the reality and make it possible for the researcher apart from understanding the intricacies of the universe, to experience the ‘Reality’ and to become and identify as one with the Reality just by using one’s intelligence.
Every individual has to do this research separately by him or herself until its perfect end which will bring the real meaning, purpose and goal for a human being. Here the scope for research is continuous even though perfection has been achieved every time by every researcher. But the perfect results, though data later, are of a mystical nature and one that can only rarely be passed on as an experience from one to another and the research for every researcher will become perfect only if it brings out a blissful inner fusion in every researcher by way of results.
Being a regular practitioner of Yoga ‘asanas’, postures, I was being drawn closer day by day into a profound feeling of quietude and peace, a very satisfying blissful experience which lasted only during the periods of meditation otherwise I was back in the cacophony of the painful chores of day today existence. I found that I have not done anything special but was living the same style of life which millions of others were doing. I felt like one among the dozen puppies I had noticed in the pet shop. During these days I had been doing my own research on the subject of “Self Enquiry” guided by the Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning, Bangalore
A lecture on “Self Enquiry” gave me lot of food for research to start with. The core Identity ‘I’, Mind, The Self and The Heart have enough depth in them to spend life times if one is not meticulous and serious about what one wants to achieve.[3] Here I was introduced to the conversations with Sri Ramana Maharshi which gave lot of material and insight into the research.
“The mortal is aware of the mind, only when
The Heart has not blossomed, just as the moon
Is seen only when the Sun has not appeared”[4]
A deep observation makes it clear that the body is inert and transient and that what is permanent is only the awareness of consciousness of the Heart which is reflected by the mind in the body as the Moon reflects the light of the Sun. The mind is only a collection of thoughts that disappears on a keen enquiry as to the source of the ‘I’ who experiences the thoughts. The ‘I’ is the Self, and it rises in the Heart. The gross body, Mind, Ego, Self are all extensions of the light from the Heart. To know the Heart is to know the Reality, and the Direct path “Self Enquiry” advocated by Sree Ramana Maharshi to redeem one’s lost Identity is to be explored or researched by diving inward into one’s self with a sharp mind. How to sharpen or focus the mind one pointedly? Thus the research continues further until the seeker arrives at the answer where the research ends as a perfect one. But then the same research has to be done separately by each and every individual as the result is in the form of inner experience and not in the form of Data which can be stored.
After much deliberations on “whether there is hope for perfect research on identity” I am led to conclude very strongly here that hope for perfect research is there at the subtle level which can accelerate my journey towards identity, meaning and goal of life apart from permanence. I am convinced that the Direct Path of “Self Enquiry” of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi is the subject on top priority for research for every individual as without establishing identity man does not become a whole being at all. It is like seeing one’s single image in an unbroken mirror as against thousands of images in a broken and shattered mirror. This is a research every individual has to complete sooner or later in life as providence has not given man a choice to remain otherwise and wanted to make him or her prove his love in return for the grace granted.
So the Bungee asks “man ! where is your faith?”
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Some of the claims of modern scientific researches:
It is a generally accepted fact without doubt that everyone refers to the existence of his or her mind which at times is clear, foggy, sharp, instructing its owner on actions etc. A man says “my mind is not alright”, “I am unable to think” etc. Hence it is an undisputed fact that every individual knows about the existence of a mind which knows. He also says “I know I have a mind.” If asked “whom are you referring to when you said “I”? The he will simply touch his body and say “Me”. In that case “where is your mind located?” The answer is “In my head, where else?”
And we have the Alpha Beta Theta Delta and Gamma wave definitions to support the Brain theory which indicates “Electrical Activity” in the Brain of a living being. If you try to analyze the electric circuits in the body from top to tip to understand Mind and its language you will end up as a cyborg, a half machine half man entity. So much as far as Science is concerned in the realm of Mind.
But what is the source of the electricity supply to the Brain cells? The answer will invariably point out towards some kind of energy or electrical activity in the space around a living being. The brain and
spinal cord are made up of many cells, including neurons and glial cells. ...
spinal cord are made up of many cells, including neurons and glial cells. ...
The human brain has been estimated to contain 50–100 billion (1011) neurons ...
Dendrites (from Greek δένδρον déndron, “tree”) are the branched projections of a neuron that act to conduct the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body, or soma, of the neuron from which the dendrites project. Electrical stimulation is transmitted onto dendrites by upstream neurons via synapses which are located at various points throughout the dendritic arbor.
The soma is where the signals from the dendrites are joined and passed on. The soma and the nucleus do not play an active role in the transmission of the neural signal. Instead, these two structures serve to maintain the cell and keep the neuron functional.
The support structures of the cell include mitochondria, which provide energy for the cell, and the Golgi apparatus, which packages products created by the cell and secretes them outside the cell wall.
The support structures of the cell include mitochondria, which provide energy for the cell, and the Golgi apparatus, which packages products created by the cell and secretes them outside the cell wall.
Glucose is the form of sugar that travels in your bloodstream to fuel the mitochondrial furnaces responsible for your brain power. Glucose is the only fuel normally used by brain cells. Because neurons cannot store glucose, they depend on the bloodstream to deliver a constant supply of this precious fuel.
This blood sugar is obtained from carbohydrates: the starches and sugars you eat in the form of grains and legumes, fruits and vegetables. (The only animal foods containing a significant amount of carbohydrates are dairy products.)
Too much sugar or refined carbohydrates at one time, however, can actually deprive your brain of glucose – depleting its energy supply and compromising your brain's power to concentrate, remember, and learn. Mental activity requires a lot of energy.
Oxygen:
A colorless, odorless, gaseous element constituting about one-fifth of the volume of the atmosphere and present in a combined state in nature.
Neurons in the Brain cells fire abundantly, in rapid succession when they are infused with energy from an external supply source
Each neuron is like a tiny biological battery ready to be discharged. It takes about one-thousandth of a second for a neuron to fire an impulse and return to its resting level. Thus, a maximum of 1,000 nerve impulses per second is possible. However, firing rates of 1 per second to 300-400 per second are more typical.
The human brain seems to be ruled by mob mentality. Billions of nerve cells shout to one another by firing electrical impulses, controlling how the brain's owner behaves.
Brainwaves can be categorized according to their frequency:
Gamma Beta Alpha Theta Delta | (100 - 38 Hertz = cycles per second) (38 - 15 Hz) (14 - 8 Hz) (7 - 4 Hz) (3 - 0,5 Hz) |
“The mental activity normally associated with Beta waves is the active awareness
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Relation to meditation
Experiments on Tibetan Buddhist monks have shown a correlation between transcendental mental states and gamma waves.[12][13] A suggested explanation is based on the fact that the gamma is intrinsically localized. Neuroscientist Sean O'Nuallain suggests that this very existence of synchronized gamma indicates that something akin to a singularity - or, to be more prosaic, a conscious experience - is occurring[12]. This work adduces experimental and simulated data to show that what meditation masters have in common is the ability to put the brain into a state in which it is maximally sensitive and consumes power at a lower (or even zero) rate, briefly. The "Zero power hypothesis" suggests that the lower power states may correspond to a "selfless" state and the more typical non-zero state, in which gamma is not so prominent, corresponds to a state of empirical self.
[2] ‘Who Am I?’ The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi,by V.S.Ramanan, President, Sree Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai 606 603,Tamil Nadu, India
[3] ‘A practical guide to KNOW YOURSELF’, conversations with sri Ramana Maharshi by A.R.Natarajan, President, Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning, sanjay nagar,Bangalore
[4] ‘The Quintessence of Wisdom’ by M. Anantanarayanan, Chief Justice, High court, Madras forwarded by Dr. Radhakrishnan, Ex-President, Indian Union, a Sree Ramanasramam publication
