[QUOTE=AmirMourad;53058]b.shahvir,
“In Eastern philosophy, every practice has a purpose.”
It is not a matter of philosophy. The yogic sciences are precisely that, a science for the expansion of consciousness. It does not require any philosophy at all, whether Samkhya, Advaita, or any other tradition - in fact an attachment to any philosophy or belief system is certain function like a veil over one’s eyes which prevents you from awakening a clarity which is capable of seeing tihngs as they are. If you enter into the search for Truth with any belief or philosophy, then the mind is such that it will see whatever it wants to see. And with or without one’s awareness, one is just looking for a way to re-affirm one’s own conclusions. In the search for Truth - one enters consciously into the unknown, without assuming anything at all - just an empty slate of inquiry without raising a finger for or against. Like any scientific approach, it requires a scientific attitude. But it was inevitable to turn certain discoveries into “philosophy” - because the whole problem is that the moment you try to express what cannot be expressed, you have to force it into the boundaries of your language. And the result tends to be philosophy - which is a severe distortion of the Truth. What people like Gautama Buddha, Patanjali, Mahavira, Lao Tzu, Bodhidharma, Ramakrishna, had seen was a direct encounter with one’s own true nature, but once one comes out of that experience, now the problem surfaces as to how to make it accessible to others. Something must be said about it, but the moment you start mistaking the words for the spirit behind the words, then you immediately become entangled in delusion. And as long as one continues clinging to philosophy, the delusion continues.[/QUOTE]
Dear Amir,
It is fruitless trying to convince people who do not want to be convinced. I think one must let go, as topics like these are experienced rather than debated upon. The Western civilization have done excellent progress, but at a cost… and the cost is whatever cannot be felt by the five senses is false. One can only imagine where this kind of belief system would take them.
Everyone has a right to his view point and it has to be respected, even though it might not be palatable. This is one of the positive influences of Eastern culture.