03 Jan '15 09:14>
Consider this thread a follow up on some ideas presented by myself in the "Design Argument" thread with some clarifications as far as my thinking. I'd like to discuss a nondualist view of reality and present some scientific evidence and theory which make it likely IMO. These views has been heavily influenced by Advaita Vedanta Hinduism and some recent theoretical physicists particularly Henry Stapp but they are ultimately my own.
First off, what is nondualism in the context I am using it? In the Abrahamic religions, there is a God who creates physical reality but is Himself outside it. Therefore, you have the Creator and the Creation two distinct things.
In AV (the nondualism I am discussing), there is no such distinction. Brahman is existence; it is not a "god" even a 4 O one, but the "one without a second" i.e. everything that is. The physical world is not a creation of Brahman it is a manifestation of Brahman. Further, it is not real in the sense of having some ultimate reality; only Brahman is.
Brahman is consciousness and our seemingly individual consciousness is illusionary analogous to a drop of water deposited on a beach by a wave from the ocean. From that perspective, AV and other eastern religions encourage various forms of seeking "enlightenment" but that is not what I am primarily interested in discussing here.
If anyone objects to my admittedly cursory review of the basic beliefs systems of AV, feel free to offer criticism and/or correction. I'll give the thread a bit of a respite for such posts before I start discussing Quantum Mechanics, Schrodinger's Cat, Bell's Theorem and Stapp's insights on the necessity of consciousness in the universe and how I think they offer scientific support for a nondualist perspective.
First off, what is nondualism in the context I am using it? In the Abrahamic religions, there is a God who creates physical reality but is Himself outside it. Therefore, you have the Creator and the Creation two distinct things.
In AV (the nondualism I am discussing), there is no such distinction. Brahman is existence; it is not a "god" even a 4 O one, but the "one without a second" i.e. everything that is. The physical world is not a creation of Brahman it is a manifestation of Brahman. Further, it is not real in the sense of having some ultimate reality; only Brahman is.
Brahman is consciousness and our seemingly individual consciousness is illusionary analogous to a drop of water deposited on a beach by a wave from the ocean. From that perspective, AV and other eastern religions encourage various forms of seeking "enlightenment" but that is not what I am primarily interested in discussing here.
If anyone objects to my admittedly cursory review of the basic beliefs systems of AV, feel free to offer criticism and/or correction. I'll give the thread a bit of a respite for such posts before I start discussing Quantum Mechanics, Schrodinger's Cat, Bell's Theorem and Stapp's insights on the necessity of consciousness in the universe and how I think they offer scientific support for a nondualist perspective.