Chapter 2 - Yoga : freedom from history
a. In this chapter, the author uses the term `history-centrism' to refer to the fundamental assumption of historical revelation in the Abrahamic religions which is contrasted with the term `embodied knowing' to refer to the practice of self- evolution in the dharmic traditions.
b. Historical Revelation: The author acutely observes that "the bedrock of Judeo-Christian traditions is the historical event when god intervenes from without (outside) in order for human beings to discern the truth. This leads to an obsession with compiling and studying the historical details of such interventions." As a result, "organized religion becomes a sort of history club which aims to arrive at the `right' interpretation of prophetic teachings and instructions. Any resistance to this sheer unreasonableness has been known to bring draconian consequences." We know that the adverse reactions of deviating from religious books are detailed by several critics of Islam and Christianity. [5] and [6]. Also, the followers of Judeo-christian religions believe that their books contain the truth and there is no other way to obtain the truth than to read these scriptures. Hence, large scholarship centers including Alexandria in pre-christian Europe [7] and Taxila/Nalanda universities in pre-islamic india [8] have been destroyed ruthlessly.
One will rarely find a Christian who proclaims to be wise when he has not read the Bible. Similarly, one will rarely find a Muslim who declares that he is knowledgeable when he has not read the Quran.
However, according to the dharmic traditions – "Man is not born into original sin. He is endowed with the potential for achieving in this very life, the state of sat-chit-ananda – blissful knowledge of, and unity with god – anyone may explore and discover autonomously the meaning of our existence." The author quotes Sri Aurobindo "The veda, which I first began to read long afterwards in Pondicherry rather confirmed what experiences I already had than was any guide to my sadhana." Therefore, the author explains that "Even if all historical records were lost, historical memory erased, and every holy site destroyed, the ultimate truth could be recovered by ordinary humans through spiritual practices."
The author explains how obsession with historicity of religious gods is waste of time because their historical importance is insignificant compared to their spiritual importance. Sri Aurobindo is further quoted "if the Christ lives within our spiritual being, it would matter little whether or not a son of Mary physically lived and suffered and died in Judea."
c. History and Myth: The author observes that "myth is viewed in the west as the opposite of truth. (For the western mind) the term myth conjures up images of magical gods, spirits etc. which may be considered interesting, but they are not reliable accounts of the truth."
Even a letter to Christian congregations in the New Testament asserts that "we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of His majesty". Hence it is quite understandable why "westerners view history and myth to be mutually exclusive".
On the contrary, the dharmic perception of History – Itihasa- is not a mere sequence of chronological events, but rather it combines factual events and myths - which "use fiction to convey the truth" – and thereby have a larger symbolic importance than mere events.
For example "Lord Ram and Krishna are embodiments of bhavas(attitudes) and their historical significance is superseded by the values they convey."
d. Time: Western and dharmic perspectives of time are also entirely different. While the dharmic sense of time is "cyclical", the author states that in the Judeo-Christian framework "time and space had a beginning and are linear, which affects all history writing. The literal events in the biblical religions include a cataclysmic and violent end of the world known as End Times. History this not only has a beginning but also a defined endpoint when Christ will judge all nations."
e. Inner Sciences: The dharmic perspective involves "adhyatma-vidya" or first person empiricism, while the western perspective lacks any techniques for the evolution of mind. Allan Wallace is quoted "the untrained mind which is prone to alternating agitation and dullness, is an unreliable and inadequate instrument for observing anything. To transform it into a suitable instrument for scientific exploration, the stability and vividness of the attention must be developed to a high degree." According to this parameter, many intellectuals who have influenced much of the scholarship and politics of the modern/medieval west may be considered immature when viewed in a dharmic society. For example, Lenin launched his communist party more out of a desire to avenge his personal "condition", than with a desire to bring about social change.[9]. Karl Marx fluctuated from affluence to abject poverty, so much so that only four out of his seven children survived to adulthood.[10] Mohammed was an epileptic and believed that his fits were divine interventions [11].
KK
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