Science, Psychology and Spirituality

Re: # 53

nasah

Your moralistic indignation is understandable dear Nasah but I don`t think any body has the licence to kill the innocent even if he cares little for his own life or hopes to go to heaven by performing that `jihad` and being called a `shaheed`.

Do you think Jihadi bombers have conscience when they do not spare even the innocent people praying in their mosques just for the sectarian differences? The judo-christian bombers, how cynical it may look, can have at least some solace by the `fact` that they are not killing people to send them to hell but are only sending them to heaven. What a cruel, cynical and weird logic all these bombers can have to numb their conscience!

Re: # 54

Sorry, I have invertantly mentioned the name of `Qeis` instead of `Farhaad` called the `Kohkan` in the first line of the third para of my post at #54 .

Re: # 50

Dear Dr. Sohail

Thank you dear Sohail for your appreciation for a simple question of mine which boggles the minds of many
people who think objectively and scientifically like you. I shall eagerly await you promised article on the subject before I venture to offer my humble views in the matter.

I am also thankful for your associating my nickname with a couplet of the great Ghalib, whom I consider an ‘Arif’ and my ‘Peer ustaad’.

BTW,teshah (hammer) was used by Qeis both for costruction and distruction, but the ‘root cause’ in either case was the same, i.e, Ishq. That ishq, in case of a suicide bomber, who uses a weapon, say dynamite, which can also be used both ways and is bound obviously also by ‘rasoom-o-qayyood’ which may be taken in his case as the ‘obscurantist culture’, symbolized by heaven and ‘hoors’, etc .

Here I quote another couplet from Ghalib about ‘Kohkan’:-

“Qad-o-geisu mein Qeis-o-kohkan ki aazimaaish he
(Aur) Jahaan ham hein wahaan daar-o-rasan ki aazmaaish he”

Here Ghalib differentiates between the ‘ishq’ of Kohkan, which makes you kill yourself and the real ishq against which even puts ‘daar-o-rasan’ to test. And how beautifully Ghalib put it.

tshah -- what makes one to explode one as a suicide bomber -- into thousannd pieces -- each piece growing to become thousand suicicde bombers?....

I will tell you what makes a Terrorist Suicide Bomber explode -- another Mega Terrorist -- with a cowardly smart bomb -- dropped from a distance -- that is not not smart enough to spare the lives of 36 innocent fearful children huddled together in the bosoms of their moms sisters and brothers -- in a bomb shelter -- and then blown into thousand pieces....

That is Terror on mega scale -- killing in hundreds and thousands -- the Terrorist escapes unscathed unseeingly and unseenly -- with an immaculately clean and clear Judeo-Christian conscience -- without PAYING for his SINS -- of murdering innocent civilians in droves -- with his life.

Whereas a pathetic loner suicide bomber -- brings terror -- on the same but fewer innocent women and children -- on the MICRO scale -- at too close quarters to its victims for Western moral comforts -- but is `decent` enough to PAY for his SINS with his own life -- right there on the very same spot.....along with his innocent victims.

yet in the Kafkaesque world of upside down Western morality -- the lone paying-with-his-own-life suicide-bomber is a loathsome morally inferior Terrorist -- than the nonpaying, free-loading -- technologically sophisticated -- mass murdering from a `respectable` distance -- a Mega Terrorist -- of the likes of George Bushs and Ehud Olmerts......is definitely -- a morally superior Terrorist?.....how and why?

Interesting...isn`t it...?...now Dr. Sohail can take over.....

great piece Dr Sohail -- very mind nourishing -- ``God is the state of the mind`` -- a profoundly insightful sentence -- who lives in the right brain -- the Devil is in the details analyst -- that resides in the left brain -- the rest is all a fairy `tail`...

.....thanks for yours and Dr Gill`s such mind stimulating articles.....bless you

Re: # 49
Dear Teshah....you have asked a simple but profound question. Your question is inspiring

me to write another column for chowk about the PSYCHOLOGY OF `SUICIDE BOMBERS`.

Let me see if I can articulate my ideas in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for asking an

intellectually stimulating question. Answering it a in a few words will not be fair.

sincerely sohail

ps...by the way your name reminded me of ghalib`s sheyr

teshay baghair mar na saka kohkan asad

sar gashta-e-khumar-e-rasoom-o-qayood tha

Re: # 49
Dear Teshah....you have asked a simple but profound question. Your question is inspiring

me to write another column for chowk about the PSYCHOLOGY OF `SUICIDE BOMBERS`.

Let me see if I can articulate my ideas in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for asking an

intellectually stimulating question. Answering it a in a few words will not be fair.

sincerely sohail

ps...by the way your name reminded me of ghalib`s sheyr

teshay baghair mar na saka kohkan asad

sar gashta-e-khumar-e-rasoom-o-qayood tha

Dr. Sohai

What makes one to explode as a suicide bomber? Have you studied this as well from psychological point of view?

well I came across Dr. Robert Buckman`s book CAN WE BE GOOD WITHOUT GOD? His book is more toward darwanism rather then creationism. As far as I understand he points out to secular ideology that Prophets and GOD does not exist and It was only fabricated. In order to justify his point he used temporal lobe experiment in his book.

O Allah

O Dieties of the Universe

O Spirits of Ancestors....

O Spirits of Fire without Smoke.....

I Ask Vengeance upon Evil doers.........

I Ask Vengeance upon AL Qaeda.......

I Demand Vengeance upon those who usurp rights of poor, women and children.....

I Beeseech thee O Higher Beings of the Universe in the name of Allah, the merciful

I call upon the Spirits of the Wise men and Saints,

I call upon the spirits of the Prophets

I call upon the Spirits of the Rishis and Munis of Ancient India

I call upon the Angels and their angelic powers....

I call upon the Archangel Gabriel..........

Apprehend the evil doers

Punish them with all your might

Remove them from this Earth....

Ommmm...SHanti....Shanti...Shanti hi





Om Shanti.... Om Shanti.... Shanti.....Shanti...Shanti...heeee!
Om Shanti!

OM Brahmo Deva

OM Vaishnu Deva

OM PushuPati Deva

OM!



These are but.. non sense sanskrit words....They have no power....but for those who believe......

OM......Shanti.....OM Shanti....OM Shanti.....

I call upon you, O Greatest of all goddesses, O powerful Mother Durga......

Round up the evil doers and annihilate them......

Show us your miracle.....

O Mother of all....I ask thee in the name of Allah!


I call upon you, O Great Mother Kali.....Destroy these so called Muslims who call themselves Al Qaeda....and eat their hearts.....and make necklaces of their skulls and dance upon their corpses......


I call upon you, O Great Mother Saraswati, Fill this world with your music and wisdom, and make the evil doers and shedders of blood blind, deaf and dumb. Remove all pleasure they may feel in this world..

I call upon you, O Great Mother Lakshmi, Take away the wealth of those who hoard it and use it not to help your children....

Re: # 28

Shore Sahib

Thank you for improving my translation and translating the entire quote from Bulleh Shah into English. Btw, why don`t you try to translate the entire work of Bullehshah? I don`t know if he has already been translated into English. If so, I would love to see that.

drsab, sat sri akal and hail freud,

imo the yogis/zen practitioners have been practicing manipution of something (could be the t-lobe) to attain spirituality thru hatha-yoga and breathing, archery and motor-cycle maintainance. then there are raj-yoga (political spirituality), karma-yoga (work) and so on..

Re: # 43

dear khurrum....thank you for the reference. it is a masterpiece and also mentions

another classic ...COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS. by Dr. Bucke....sincerely sohail

``Religion and Neurology``

http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/james/james2.htm

A 100yr old lecture on the same topic. A classic!

Re: # 34 and a few other posts...

Sir Ji, I appreciate your knowledgeful posts. But please don`t use your knowledge as a tool to discourage others. Free thinking is seriously needed in our society, even emong the masses. Please don`t try to give it an elitist color by discouraging the ones who have just started their journey to free thinking.

Sincerely submitted,
Charlie

Mr. Masadi,

Here, I will address you with appropriate civility, since you asked politely.

I have very little patience for brilliant minds such as yours. It has been greatly vexing reading your marvelous commentary on Chowk. Even though you have an interesting writing style, the content of your writings is simply on another plane of consciousness.

Thank you

Mr. Masadi,

Here, I will address you with appropriate civility, since you asked politely.

I have very little patience for brilliant minds such as yours. It has been greatly vexing reading your marvelous commentary on Chowk. Even though you have an interesting writing style, the content of your writings is simply on another plane of consciousness.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would not stoop down to the level of mere mortals such as myself, and not address me in the future. All you have to do is to ignore my inane and mindless ramblings, and we shall have a compromise.

Wishing you the best

I pray that good things come to you in future....

Cheers

Asim

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Re: # 37

Dear Urstruly, You have a very interesting comment. Let me try to share my opinion the

best way I can.Human beings have experiences and then we interpret them and use words

for them and words have limitations. When people say they have `spiritual` or `mystical`

experiences, they mean a set of qualities....feeling peaceful and tranquil and relaxed but

then some of them feel a connection with a power outside themselves. They might call that

power angel or god or spirit depending upon their belief system. What psychologists are

saying is that to have such experiences human beings do not need a belief in any god or

religion. It is part of our humanity. The neurologists and psychologists are saying that those

experiences are related to our right temporal lobes and when those experiences go to the

left side of the brain, the left side does not accept it as its own and feels that it came from

outside. The left side does not recognize that it was originated from the other side, the right

side that is more connected to our unconscious mind than the left side.

These spiritual or mystic experiences are different than the mystic personality that many

saints and mystics develop by decades of self purification who are in search of

enlightenment.

One can induce a `spiritual experience` in a laboratry but that would not change the

personality, for that to happen the person has to do hard work.

I hope I clarified my understanding of the relationship between mystic

experiences and personality. In my book FROM ISLAM TO SECULAR HUMANISM I had

written a chapter about Mystic personality highlighting the characteristics from a

psychological point of view. Thanks for your keen interest in my article...sincerely sohail

Dr. Sohail

I do not understand your thesis at all. Are you saying that a ``spiritual experience`` is an outcome of the conscious effort by the right side of the brain or conversely it is the right side of the brain that causes the spiritual experience. Logically, if we take first part of the above statement to be true then spiritual experince is nothing but self induced auto-suggestion but if we take second part of the statement to be true then the question is what is that which initiates the right side of the brain to set into motion the course which leades to the spiritual experience.

Re: # 6

Thank you Dr. Sohail.

I found the book in our Uni.

We live the life our brains. Only if we keep them in good shape and direction, then this world would be a better place for all human beings.

With love and wishes,

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Re: # 33

Lady, Are you on something?

Religion is not defined as you defined it?

and...

Science is not defined as you defined it?

Please look up the definitions of Religion and Science.....Oye Veh!

Even prophet Muhd used his right brain to intuitively grasp allah & his message.
Quran is simply his interpretation of that intuition , expressed in arabic language.
To claim that Quran is a word of god is nonsense. Quran is the word of Prophet.
Quran = PhD thesis written by Prophet in Arabic University !

The strictest definition of the term ``religion`` should be as follows``
Religion = scientific study of the inner world(mind of one`s own self) of man !
every day , give some time to studying what is filled in your own mind and what you do with it ! this is called religious activity !

Science = study of the external world of man ! if you study what is filled in the mind of other person , then it is Science NOT religion.

Philosophy = Science + Religion ! both science & religion are parts of philosophy, which is larger than both ! Both Science & Religiob are ideologies(systems of ideas) belonging to two different domains as explained above.

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This is interesting although I’ve always found the ‘creative right side and the cold and calculating left side’ model a little simplistic. Western scientists have a bad habit of trying to modularise everything. The uncontrolled firing of the dopamine neurotransmitter in and around the temporal lobes and its association with epilepsy is well found. They say it has a genetic basis and the so called ‘faulty’ genes leave the individual susceptible, such as Van Gogh, to suffering from epilepsy.

The question arises, if such genes are so faulty why do they remain within the gene pool? And the answer comes that there are also the lesser faultier genes which code for the more stable and controlled dopaminergic neurones. And this leads to controlled madness, i.e. creativity – the ability to think outside of the box without disengaging from the fundamental laws of this world.

Art and science, and the artist and the scientist, are usually considered poles apart. The former is a divergent thinker, the other is convergent. One is logical and calculating, the other is turbulent and colourful. Creativity and madness is usually considered the domain of the artist; yet some of the most profound moments in science have come from people having visual inspirations.

Einstein’s temporal lobes were 15% bigger than the average males and he is said to have arrived at his Theory of Relativity whilst imagining himself sitting on a train running faster than the speed of light. Kekule, the man who discovered the ring structure of benzene, is said to have gone through the creative thought process which any artist is well acquainted to. Conversely, some of the most creative pieces are designed very scientifically to hit and affect the viewer in a very certain way.

Is it any wonder why the comical mad scientist and the mad artist look so similar? One has a eureka moment and the other has an inspiration. What is fascinating however, and this ties in with one of your points regarding divinity, is that both take a leap into the unknown when progressing forward – that is an act of faith.

Umer M.

#23 by ShoreSahib

<<< What has poor GOD done to the mideast?

As I see it, its the greedy Semitic sons of Ismael and Issac that cant agree on how to divide land between themselves.......... >>>>

An extremely simplistic/false rendition of a reletively modern conflict between the implanted state of Israel and the indigeneous people of Palestine. Neither are the Jews the sons of Issac nor the Arabs the sons of Ishmael, so many generations have passed since that time that only God knows whose sons and daughters they are. It is not a religious conflict by any definition, neither do the secular jews that hold command positions in Israel deal with it in that, way except as a rallying point for manipulation. And the source of the greed in that region lies beyond the oceans with the American elite and their manipulations in that area. IT is not about ``dividing`` the land among themselves, as if both were indigeneous to the area. It is the implants trying through force of arms, helped by the US elite, to dispossess the indigeneous folk, and dominate the entire region. That and not Issac/Ishmael are the roots of this relatively new, less than a century old, fight in the Middle East.

---

Regarding this article. The origins and roots of consciousness and spirituality are still highly debated, have not been proven to be caused by the apparatus ``brain`` alone, just as the transmission your television receives is not containted totally within its apparatus,and the design of the brain that makes possible abstract thought and mathematics is much beyond anything that could have resulted from mere ``survival`` natural selection pressures. IF the human brain, the apparatus, is designed for self-consciousness, abstract thought, spirituality etc that projects itself into human society and every society has had religious institutions, you need to ask why that is so, instead of deriding spirituality as artificial, as many materialists start with (as assumption) and end with (as predetermined conclusion). That is not the way to conduct research.

Daaktar

Thanks. You have provided useful technical backup to something that many of us otherwise guestimated.

i.e. Spirituality is a human need & a human phenomenon - and is not linked to any specific faith or religion.

Another aspect explained by you `Cosmic Conciouness` is also intriguing. I used to be a non-beliver of the `Saeen Babas`. But a few events have convinced me that there is certainly something to it. Some peaple do have this ability to see things out of time and space.

Control of ginns and communicating with formless beings is also a reality.

However, this EEG does not seem to be a very accurate instrument. All pilots joining the Airlines are required to go through this EEG.

When I appeared in my EEG, I thought that I must think of pleasant things in that dark sound proof room while connected with all those leads to my head. I flunked.

Then I was told the trick to pass the test. Keep your mind absolutely blank. Next time I passed.

Anyway, is there way to titlate that right lobe before one gets down to a written assigment!

nhk

Teshah Sahib
Aap ki nazar pesh kartey hein hum::

Meri punjabi sey angrezi mein Tarjumani!

What do I know Who I am O Bullheya
I am not one of the Preachers
Nor one of those that go to the mosque
Not of the Sacred
Nor the Profane
I am not Moses,
Nor am I Pharoah
What do I know, who I am O Bullheya
What do I know, what I am?

It is all very interesting. I have personally gone through all these experiences, both religious and secular type. As the great Urdu Poet Iqbal says:

``Issl kashmakash mein guzreen meri zindgi ki ratein
kabhi sozo-saaze Roomi kabhi pecho taabe Razi``

On one extreme Mansoor Hallaj says ``Annal Haq`` (I am the truth) on the other Bulleh Shah, a Punjabi poet sage, says,

``Kee janrhaan mein kounrh Bullheaa
Nah mein Mullah wich maseetaan
Nah mein paakaan nah wich paleetaan
Nah mein Musa nah Firoun,
Kee janrhaan mein kounrh Bullheaa
Kee janrhaan mein kounrh``

``What I know who I am``, as said by Bulleh Shah is perhaps the most `significant question` for the human consciousness to solve and not to run after the hallucinations of self and others.

23 by ShoreSahib

``As I see it, its the greedy Semitic sons of Ismael and Issac that cant agree on how to divide land between themselves.......... ``

Very pertinent remark indeed. It is actually a family feud among the progeny of the two cousins. Interestingly, in Pakhtoon culture cousins are called `tarboor` which also means `enemies`. Interestingly again, the Pakhtoons are also known to be the lost tribe of Israel which means that they are `Israeli Muslims` representing the culture of both of them.

Re: # 25
Dear Khurrum....I respect all human experiences and curious about their mysteries. Some

human beings are more open than others. As disciplines it is easier to challenge science

and psychology than religions. At the end of the day we have make certain choices and

learn from them. I like the quote...human minds are like parchutes, they work only when

they are open.

I hope I am not reductionistic. Biology and neurology is just one aspect of our existential

counters which are more complex and profound. Having a `mystic experience` in a

laboratory is different than searching one`s truth for decades and developing a loving

mystic personality and finding genuine enlightenment. sincerely sohail

ps...thanks for suggesting Rudolf Otto. I will check him out.

Re #20,
``secular knowledge rather than faith based belief system``

Just wondering....
Do you think there may be a faith-based belief system underlying secular knowledge too?

drsohail,
I understand your point. I just hope you don`t fall into the reductionist trap of `debunking` religious experience by linking it to brain activity (``It`s just his temporal lobe acting up!``).

By the way William James , hundred years ago, dealt with these issues in his classic ``On the Varieties of Religious Experience``.
You may also want to check out another classic. ``The Idea of the Holy`` by Rudolf Otto.

Re#22

What has poor GOD done to the mideast?

As I see it, its the greedy Semitic sons of Ismael and Issac that cant agree on how to divide land between themselves..........

The Egos of Circumcised Men on Both sides of the Jordan attached to the size of their phalluses , and who has the bigger one?

A Veritable Pissing Match, to see who can piss the most in the Holy Land!!!!

The ONLY way to stop violence in the mideast and elsewhere, is to educate children that God does not exist.

Re:19

Perhaps some of you are going....What the F**k!

I dont even have to bother reading the article....I have read all those books used as reference during my undergraduate....

The title is enough to give me enough material for a response......

Julian Jaynes is brilliant, and his book is thought provoking...Although he seems biased... as he thinks Muhammad is hallucinating (Peace be upon him) but Jesus (mayhe forever be blessed) isnt....and his reasoning for this discrepancy is slanted in favor of Christianity...although Christianity has definitely experienced a Renaissance being the older of the two religions, and Muslims have still have to arrive at the Mantra of ``God is Love``.

I dont know about Muhammad (peace be upon him) or Jesus (mayhe forever be blessed) .....but my reasoning and scholarly research tells me that the writers/compilers of Hadith were definitely on something, and the four Imams to start the four schools of Fiqah were definitely hallucinating....

but in the end.... the collective Mystic Consciousness would say

``Dont pay any attention to Us, You cant learn anything from Us, You must search and truth will find you.``

Re: # 18

Dear Khurrum...you have a valid point. I think what psychologists and neurologists are

trying to study is the relationship between human experiences and their brains. This helps

us understand and control epilepsy, diagnose mental illness such as schizophrenia and

also those creative and mystical experiences that give us profound insights about the

secrets of life. Such a study relies on quantitative and qualitative research and develops

basis for secular knowledge rather than faith based belief system. Such a knowledge

can be questioned by anyone. It is still in infancy but has great promise. Such research is

exploring the mysterious relationship between epilepsy, insanity, creativity and

spirituality from a humanistic point of view....sincerely sohail

Prayer for Peace via Playing Music~ Asim`s Method
Three times play Ravi Shankar`s Shanti Mantra.....

One time......Paul Horn`s ``Inside the Taj Mahal``, Meditation/Mantra...

One time...... Hisham Abbas`s Alasma` ul Hasna......

One time......Sarah Brightman`s......Ave Maria

One time.....Yousuf Islam`s....Salawat

One time..... Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahib Murhoom`s ``Allah Hu``

Viola,
You have invoked the divine.....
He/She has been called,
given the message.....

Please help us find Peace?


Comes Answer from the divine....

Why are you praying to me? Fools!

Use your brain, and find a solution! DUH!

It is interesting to study the role of the brain in spiritual experiences. It can help you understand how the brain works. However, I don`t see how this helps in understanding the spiritual experience itself. I am sure you can also study parts of the brain that contribute to scientific and mathematical thought. That won`t help you in understanding any mathematical theorem or scientific theory.

Nice reading here....

I am so glad that you are not using double-spacing editor Khamkhwa.

Re: # 15
Dear Charlie....your letter reminded me of a short story I wrote a long time ago. You might

like it especially the last sentence of the story. sincerely sohail

DEVTA

``Devta1 has died.``
The news spread in town like wild fire. The smoke of hopelessness and uncertainty was widespread.
The people still remembered that period vividly when their days of ease felt short and their nights of misery had begun to appear unending.
When their children, strong men and the aged had started to crumble from the inside:
their hearts had saddened;
the fire in their spirits had lost is glow;
the settling ash on their bodies had reached their necks;
the fragrance from their characters had dissipated;
and their eyes had lost their lustre.
The whole town was enveloped by a cloud of gloom.
When people tried to look into the depths of their souls they saw only ashes-
Neither had they any yearning nor any dream,
And they nurtured no storm in their life’s stream,
There were no sparks, nor burning fire
Just a coat of ashes covering their entire being.
Then one day a stranger told the people that far from that town, in the foot of a hill, lived a Devta whose nearness would rekindle their torch of life.

---

1 In Hindu/Urdu it means God, a demigod, a holy man or a good man.

The people travelled hundreds of miles until they reached the foot of the hill, where the dwellers from many other towns had gathered to receive the gift of renaissance from the Devta.
The Devta was a tall, long-haired male whose face gleamed with the zest for living and whose eyes glowed with warmth. He wore a long gown, his speech was eloquent and had a rich timber to it. Devta greeted each man, woman and child with a smile, shook their hands, talked to them, embraced them and sent them back home with his blessings.
That nearness to him induced new hope, courage, strength and excitement in the people.
When the people returned to their town the ashes which had smouldered in their souls changed to embers. Each person brought with him a new desire, dream, or devotion.
In this way the ashen faces of the people slowly began to beam with life`s sheen and joy.
In the life of the people of that town the joyful days became longer and sorrowful nights shorter.
After that whenever the warmth of their soul slackened they would go to the hill and pay a visit to Devta.
Then one day came the news that Devta was dead.
Whole crowds of people went rushing to the mountain in whose bosom that Devta used to spend his days. There was no Devta to greet them, only his corpse waited for them. But before his death Devta had left a message for the people, written with his finger-tips in the moist ground. The message read: ``Every person among you is a Devta.``

Re: # 11

That`s an amazing idea. If applied psychology can invent a ``peak experience`` helmet which stimulates the spiritual lobe of the brain, every common man on earth will be upgraded to a mystic and every creative scientist, artist, scholar, philosopher, politician will be upgraded to a prophet (name it whatever you like). Imagine a world, full of extremely creative beings who, according to Maslow, will become more loving and more accepting and more spontaneous and honest and innocent.
I am wondering if psychology is being applied in the world as extensively as physics and biology or it is still passing through its infancy where theories are being developed and applications are not being thought of.


Spirituality is a built-in feature of every human being. As largely understood, spirituality has been considered an experience for which humans have to be dependent on a mentor, let it be a mystic or a prophet. In modern world, we really don`t need any prophets. It is the time that every human should try to explore the mystic/prophet inside him that makes him an independent entity not needing any guidance to explore his hidden powers and talents.

Re: # 13

Dear Paradox...thank you for adding to the dialogue. Joseph Campbell created wisdom

literature and I admire his concepts. I fully agree with your association of religions with

mythlogies and to read thier stories metaphorically. We get into problems when we read

them in a concrete way and it gets more complicated when religion joins politics.

sincerely sohail

Dr.Sohail
I really like your article. We need rational people like you. I have read the book`` CAN WE BE GOOD WITHOUT GOD``. Its an interesting book. I would also recomend the readers to read ``THE MASK OF GOD`` BY Joseph Campbell, where he describes some basic ``folk ideas`` and tells how its a common theme in most of the ancient cultures. Ideas like, life after death, virgin birth. It explains how religion evolved out of mythology and that religious concept are better understood if taken metaphorically.

Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?





The following is an actual question given on a University of
Washington chemistry mid-term exam. The answer by one student was
so ``profound`` that the professor shared it with other colleagues.
jz

Here is the ``Bonus Question`` on the exam: ``Is Hell exothermic (gives
off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?``

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle`s Law
(gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some
variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So
we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the
rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume
that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls
are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let`s look at
the different Religions that exist in the world today. Most of these
religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you
will go to Hell.

Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do
not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls
go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the
number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at
the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle`s Law state s
that in order for

the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of
Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two
possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls
enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase
until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls
in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell
freezes over.

So which is it? If we accept the postulate given tome by Teresa (a
girlfriend of mine during my Freshman year) that, ``it will be a cold
day in Hell before I sleep with you``, and take into account the fact
that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and
thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over.

The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it
follows that it is not accepting anymore souls and is therefore,
extinct...leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a
divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept
shouting ``Oh my God.``

THE STUDENT SCORED ``A.``

Re: # 10
Dear Charlie....you are opening up an interesting dialogue. After a human being has a

`peak experience`, he might just enjoy the peacefulness it brings but if he is a poet it might

inspire him to write a poem, if she is a scientist it might lead to a valubale discovery and if

he is a reformer he might use it to help his community. The main point is that such peak

experiences are part of our humanity and to have such experiences human beings do not

need to believe in any god or religion. Such experiences can happen to scientists, mystics,

artists but also to common people.sincerely sohail

Dr Sahib,

``Peak experiences`` in pychology, as sufis might claim them to be ``unitary experiences``, prophets can claim them to be ``Meraj``, result in extra ordinary feeling of self fulfilment. While sufis, from their ``peak experiences`` don`t try to deduce divine messages. They are only concerned with the excitement and the peace attached to the feeling, prophets claim to be getting divine instructions through it. After this experience, prophets return back to the normal state and based on their ``peak experiences``, they try to influence the world through something learnt during the experience. the point I was trying to make was that may be alongwith ``peak experience``, their is an experience of enlightenment and learning that is difficult to be understood in normal states.

Seems that modern psychology doesn`t believe that there are any extra ordinary learning involved with ``peak experiences``.

Re: # 3
Dear bjkumar....I enjoy your dry sense of humour. you might have to `pray` for them...

smiles...sohail

Re: # 5
Dear Charlie....the point humanist psychologists are making is that many human beings

have subjective experiences that are real to them but their interpretaion depends upon their

personal belief system and cultural traditions. Each culture have devised different traditions

to deal with mysteries of life. In the past those mysteries belonged to religions but now

we are exploring them and understanding them through science and psychology. If you

ever get a chance please read Sigmund Freud`s wonderful booklet call

THE FUTURE OF AN ILLUSION. You will thoroughly enjoy it....sincerely sohail

Re: # 2
Dear Charlie....thank you for your inspiration to write more.....sincerely sohail

Re: # 1
Dear VRV, thank you for appreciation. I would recommend that you read a wonderful book

COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS by Dr. Richard Bucke, a Canadian psychiatrist who discusses

the evolution of consciousness....simple consciousness of animals....to....self consciousness

of human beings ...to....cosmic consciousness of mystics....not from a religious but from a

psychological point of view....sincerely sohail

Dr Sahib, I have a question.

a) Have you ever met someone who saw a dream and it proved to be true i.e. An incident taking place thousands of kilometers away and a person dreaming the same thing at the sametime?

If so, any explanation in terms of neuro-psychological point of view?

In this article, are you saying that ``peak experiences`` are not real. If someone listens to strange sounds, signals, hallucinations, it should not be considered seriously.

nice analysis.

Interesting article - but what do we do now that we nabbed that crook temporal lobe who gives us all kinds of hallucinations?

Grab hold of all the saint-like preachers and send them to your couch to get that lobe examined?

Dear Dr Sohail,

Great article. It was perhaps the best ever article published over chowk. Keep on writing and enlightening us.

Regards,

Mr. Sohail,

Another illuminating piece fom you.

I hope to read on ESP in future. I dont know if animals feel the way we feel about the supernatural powers. (Consciousness is unique to humans, I guess).

Best regards,