Showing posts with label dharmic religions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dharmic religions. Show all posts

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Spiritual Synthesis: Wisdom Singularity Flow Model

When we are struck by a thought we feel is truly profound, we tend to think of it as wisdom. On closer study, we also tend to find that it's recurring and universal. When the wisdom is benevolent, it harmonizes conflicting polarities and leads us to a level plane of balance and unity. Such elementary truths are the base fabric of our manifold fields of existence.

True wisdom is hungry for its own reality, reaching out into the universe to gain more wisdom from across time and space, from throughout the collective history of human civilization. This wisdom leads to a singularity of human knowledge — perhaps a curse, perhaps a blessing, perhaps an utopia, and perhaps nothing at all. The Wisdom Singularity Flow Model seeks to advance a sense of unity among the many strands of wisdom scattered around the world.

Adapting the model and providing a large amount of examples, this paper presents an overall profile of the overwhelming amount of elementary unifying factors in diverging systems of thought. It is free to use and re-work for any and all purposes that seek to unify scattered fields of insight. If you copy information from this paper, please remember to include a back-link, as its contents may be periodically revised to bring it closer towards the intended ultimate model of reconciliation.

Published: 02/January/2011, 21:21 GMT+2  8  Updated: 04/01/2011  8  Version: 1.1.1


≡ Barrel of Interwoven Infinity ≡
Whether we like it or not, we're stuck in a barrel with similar patterns recurring all over again, day in and day out, in diverse contexts. Unraveling these basic patterns is the key to human fulfillment and holistic evolution. The center of the wheel remains still.

Base of Existence: Interwoven Patterns and Cycles


The whole of the domain of natural science seeks the underlying patterns in nature's endless formations, charting the common patterns in planetary bodies, cells, molecules, atoms, and elementary particles. The concept of a Theory of Everything is a Holy Grail in the horizons of many a dedicated seeker and student of fundamental truths; grasping this underlying fabric of patterns would be nothing short of having a universal blueprint to consult. Since we are all looking at an essentially identical world, we will ultimately reach conclusions that are essentially similar. Triangulating the signals, we can begin to distill and deduct the central structure from a global network of colored reflections.

[4x] The entire world of physics is under the reign of the four fundamental interactions. Our planet has its bipolar axis and its four cardinal directions, our yearly cycle sticks obstinately to its ever-flowing seasons of change, and our lives begin and end in cycles of birth, growth, maturity and decay. The whole of our existence is orchestrated in the concert hall of elementary cycles and polarities. Every relationship in existence follows an underlying thread of logos. If there were no Gluons to help the Strange Quarks and the Charm Quarks dance along in tune, and if Quark and Anti-Quark lost touch with each other, Heaven and Earth would fall apart in an instant.

[2x] To speak nothing of the endless life-cycles in nature, we are hard-pressed to escape the two basic polarities of dynamic and static, light and darkness, life and death, right and wrong, Chaos and Logos, above and below — culminating as our fundamental experience of pleasure and pain. We adore the tale of the lover and the beloved, we find solace in the balance of motion and stillness, we learn from our fathers and our mothers, and we find a promise of continuity in the father and the son. Whatever the context, we always find ourselves faced with the same basic polarities, seeking for the wisdom of the fundamental patterns to better understand and relate to the specifics of our situation.


≡ Serapis, Sadashiva, Stupa and Octagon ≡
In ancient days, the world was vast enough to avoid the inevitable convergence of perspectives. When traveling, people would commonly pay homage to the gods of the locale, seeing them as functional equivalents. In today's global and networked society, it's getting awfully crowded.

Shared Human Quest: Shared and Unified Principles


Throughout human history, we have sought to chart and better understand these underlying patterns, the basic universals that would give us better bearings in navigating the stormy seas of life. This same quest has enveloped a vast number of fields of thought, from science to creative arts, from religion to psychology, from societal organization to astrology, seeking to distill a series of universal archetypes as the cardinal and ordinal directions of our reality.

While it has been a quest for essentially one objective, and while dozens of fields of thought have evolved with essentially similar observations and models for relating to the basic elements of their existence, they have been so shrouded by cultural particularity and individualistic pursuits as to become almost entirely incompatible with each other. More often than not, and particularly in the worlds of religion and spirituality, the conflicting divergence is a sign of losing sight of the underlying fundamentals that connect everything together — into the greatness of totality they conceive of as GodUniversal Spirit or One Mind.

These manifold systems of thought describe diverse facets of one totality of existence, and therefore always and invariably overlap in essential principles. The same essentials are clad in colorful clothes and known by countless names, applied in radically diverging fields of endeavor with equally diverging agendas. When stripped naked, we are left with one being with a body and a mind, two eyes, two brain hemispheres, four limbs, and eight cardinal and ordinal directions to take. Invariably, if only we choose broaden our perspective to see the forest from the trees, we will come to find that we are fundamentally in a great deal of agreement over the essentials.

For as long as we remain subject to the inevitable pull of Gravitation, the unswerving grind of the Weak Force, the energizing and mesmerizing flow of Electromagnetism, and the fundamental overdrive of the Strong Color Force, we rotate in the same and shared wheel of reality. Inasmuch as we cannot escape the atoms and the cells combining to form our bodies, we cannot escape the fundamental unity that connects our interwoven endeavors as sentient beings. The only fundamental separating us from a field of unity is the obsessive ego, our craving for distinction by means of separation from an underlying unity.

As we now live in an integrally interconnected and networked global world, with instant access to information across all cultures, a lack of understanding of the universality shared in our human pursuits has brought us to a world of escalating conflicts between apparently irreconcilable positions. With a shared platform of understanding being nothing short of an axiom of survival into the future, it stands to reason that we pay more attention to the basic principles underlying our shared reality in our search for solutions to the ever-increasing flux of information, exchange and conflicts emerging in the global human society.

≡ Wisdom Singularity Flow Model ≡

0x Wisdom Singularity: ∞ = Nondual Dimension = Undivided Awareness = Ultimate Aim
1x Wisdom Balance: +/- = Mirror Awareness = Unity in Duality = Golden Median

2x Cosmic Polarities: + / Dynamis, Yang, Positive ∫∫ - / Neutralis, Yin, Negative
2x Wisdom Awareness: Specifying Awareness ∫ Unifying Awareness

4x Wisdom Dimensions: ++ Big Picture ∫ +- Causality ∫∫ -+ Foresight ∫ -- Introspection
4x Wisdom Perspectives = Universal Relations ∫ Reactive Connections ∫∫ Cyclic Recurrence ∫ Subjective Evolution
4x Wisdom Modes = Systemic Operation ∫ Catalytic Influence ∫∫ Proactive Approach ∫ Subjective Reflection
4x Wisdom Attitudes = Spiritual Victory ∫ Persevering Analysis ∫∫ Hopeful Orientation ∫ Internal Vigilance
4x Wisdom Sentiments: = Benevolence ∫ Compassion ∫∫ Sympathetic Joy ∫ Equanimity

8x Ternary Principles = +++ Heaven ∫ ++- Lake ∫ +-+ Fire ∫ +-- Thunder ∫∫ -++ Wind ∫ -+- Water ∫ --+ Mountain ∫ — Earth
8x Wisdom Aspects = Vision & Power ∫ Depth & Profundity ∫ Grasping & Illuminating ∫ Exciting & Reacting ∫∫ Gentle & Detached ∫ Flowing & Seamless ∫ Fortitude & Firmness ∫ Solidity & Stillness
8x Conscious Fields: Lucid Cognition ∫ Subconscious Conscience ∫ Analytical Cognition ∫ Obsessive Emotion ∫∫ Expansive Cognition ∫ Natural Emotion ∫ Protective Cognition ∫ Receptive Cognition

Wisdom Singularity Flow Model: An Introduction


The system of the Wisdom Singularity Flow Model, featured earlier as the Wisdom Wheel arrangement, is principally based on the ancient Chinese model of Ba Gua, developed by Taoist and Confucian sages and scholars in the days of antiquity. The Ba Gua model has served as a useful base reference in charting the worlds of archetypal thinking, for it operates with basic and essentially mechanistic polarities and principles, without the heavy overlays of symbolism and cultural specifics that often shroud the wisdom from the millennia past. It is designed as a neutral and universal open-source model for study and reconciliation of diverse systems of thought.

In developing the Wisdom Singularity Flow Model, the basic structure has been compared and contrasted with more than two dozen noteworthy models of thought that feature essentially identical patterns, hierarchies, dynamics and derivative relations. These "compatible" traditions include Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hermeticism, Hinduism (Tantric, Puranic, Vedic), Buddhism (Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana), Astrology (Western, Indic, Chinese), and a good number of connecting threads from diverse fields of Psychology, Biology, Computer science, and Particle/Quantum physics. They are all readily compatible with each other — at times down to remarkable principal detail — when laid out against a neutral frame of reference and observed without a specific agenda.

The intention of the Wisdom Singularity Flow Model is to provide a basis of understanding and reconciliation between conflicting fields of thought, whether in the realms of science, society, spirituality, entertainment, psychology, or any one of the countless other systems founded on basic principii we devise in improving our human situation. They need not live in a state of competition and conflict; if we are willing to forsake our obsessive attachment to minute particularity, the rewards of a harmoniously cross-referenced world of insight far outweigh the possible economical and egoistic losses suffered in the process.


≡ Wisdom Field Correlation Wheel ≡
The world is saturated with basic polarities and patterns. If we choose to see them
and reflect on their unity and compatibility, we can reach a state of balance and equilibrium.

Heaven + Earth = Basic Patterns | Lake + Mountain = Models and Methods of Estimation
Fire + Water = Detailed Material Methods | Thunder + Wind = Detailed Cognitive Methods


Basic Symmetries: Zero-One and Two-in-One


Religious and spiritual systems aim almost invariably for creating a fundamental state of balance that transcends the particularities of culture. They seek to advance the balance between Spirit and Matter, between God and Humanity, between Heaven and Earth, between Giving and Taking, and between whatever other labels these two fundamental polarities receive across diverse contexts and peoples.

[1x2] The interaction and exchange between the [+] Dynamis and the [–] Neutralis, the Creating and the Neutralizing, is at the heart of an ultimate spiritual communion and holistic experience of reality. As such, it is the active Axis Mundi of all religious and spiritual efforts. When existence is brought to a state of reconciled balance, the battle between Good and Evil is over. All foundational concepts of moral, ethical and theological good and evil have their roots in this fundamental dichotomy, a conflict between two opposite but complementary polarities in an endless flux of interaction and permutation.

[∞0] This universal balance of the two polarities is fueled by a Great Unknown, a Cosmic Singularity, a Wisdom Non-Duality, an undivided and immeasurable field of unity. This is the ultimate Singularity, the dimension where all other dimensions and phenomena cease to exist; it is the the exact and absolute zero point state of existence, where all of existence is unified into a non-dual strata of no knower, no known, and no knowledge. As such, it is the ultimate knowledge and the pinnacle of mystic union with the Uncreated God, the Universal Spirit, the Great Singularity, and the rest of its manifold labels.

All of mankind's contemplative and creative efforts, when they culminate, are geared towards discovering these ultimate components in their many combinations, and most of all, in their primal and elemental form as pure and timeless principii, a great unifying field that would yield infinite knowledge, infinite energy, infinite dimensionality, and an infinity of experience.

When these ultimate dimensions of reality are attained, the human mind is reposed in a field of perennial peace and tranquility. In practice, the unifying factors will begin to envelope the diversifying factors, establishing a natural sense of unity, shared prosperity and a natural balance of ethics. Therefore, it is entirely unreasonable to be so short-sighted as to hate others, to plunder or to wage wars in the name of religious purity and missionarism. In fact, religious wars are primarily waged over particularities that would be considered impurities in light of the pure heart of the religion's wisdom.

Conflicts between non-theistic, monotheistic and polytheistic vantage points emerge as aspects of a uniform totality become personified or abstracted for ease of access to particular audiences. They are all, of course, components of the same grand entirety of being, the Alpha and Omega of all existence, like a spectre looked at from an infinity of perspectives. While we may many paint many faces for the subsequent aspects of the one Immeasurable Ultimate, we are all after one ultimate field of unification and resolution for all of our shared reality.


 [∞] Singularity = {  [±] Balance = { [+] Dynamis, [-] Neutralis } }
As they mature and culminate, most systems of thought appear to reach a concept of
infinite ultimacy and golden balance while working with the two basic polarities.

Table #1: Basic Correlations in Systemic Models


The following is a table of 108 correlations between the ∞0 (Infinite Zero) and 1x2 (Universal Balance) principles, as found in diverse religions, mythologies and spiritual systems throughout the world and its millennia of recorded history. They are essentially identical in their function as the Great Unknown and Balance of Two Polarities that guide the heart of these formulations. This is a master list of fields that will be studied and cross-referenced in further detail in upcoming appendixes.


Systemic Spirituality: Generic Properties
Generic Terms Singularity Balance Dynamis Neutralis
Base State SingularityDual UnityPositive Negative
Base Polarity ∞0±1+1 -1
Binary Sign1/01 0

Systemic Spirituality: Internal Dimension
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Base Cognition Nondual Wisdom Mirror Awareness Specifying Awareness Unifying Awareness
Base Emotions TranquilReflectiveDesireAversion
General Ethics NeutralBalancedGoodEvil
Human Situation UnityHumanityMacrocosm Microcosm

Systemic Spirituality: Material Dimension
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
General Cosmogeny SingularityExplosion Radiation Particles
Fundamental States Unknown = Immeasurable Oscillating = QuantumOn = Dynamic Off = Static
States of Matter PlasmaGaseousLiquid Solid
General Physical States Still InteractingInfluence Resistance

Systemic Spirituality: Social Dimension
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
General Bonding CommonalityRelationshipMeetingSeparation
General Interaction PurposeExchangeGivingReceiving
General Politics UnifiedHarmonicProgressiveConservative

Systemic Spirituality: Metaphysical Dimension
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Alchemy Primal StateTransmutationAs Above So Below
Base Elements SpaceAirFireWater
Phenomenal Principles Unbeing = Non-ExistenceBeing = ExistenceChaos = Expanding, Scattering Logos = Stabilizing, Contracting
Primal Realities Primal VoidFullness of DualityProcess of FormationCompatible Materials
Operative Absorption Inaction-in-ActionAction-in-InactionDynamic ActionStatic Inaction
ExistentialityTranscendenceImmanenceSpiritMatter
Faith Perspectives MonismPantheismTheism, MonotheismAtheism, Materialism
States of Being Ascension = Ultimate FreedomGod-Man Union = Divine ManifestationDivine = Expansive BeingHuman = Limited Being
Path of Integration Singularity = Ego DissolutionDuality = Ego PenetrationProactive = Process of DiscriminationReactive = Process of Elimination
General Theology Mono-God Two-As-One GodCreator/Loving God Destroyer/Redeeming God
General Creationism Empty & FormlessLight & Darkness Heaven AboveEarth Below

Science and Psychology
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Particle Physics: Primal Cosmogeny SingularityBig BangRadiation Particles
Fusion Analogy: Solar Dynamics Sun = Massive Unity of Solar FieldEmanation = Internal TransmutationSolar Heat = Life-Generating PropertySunlight = Vision-Granting Property
Neurobiology: Cerebral Structures Neocortex = Higher Cognitive FunctionsCerebrum-Cerebellum = Volitional Action, Balance, Orientation, PatternsRight Hemisphere = Approximation, Impressions, Abstraction, Association, Innovation, Tone of LanguageLeft Hemisphere = Comparison, Fact Retrieval, Precision, Categorization, Formalization, Structure of Language

Classical Philosophy and Culture
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Greece: Metaphysics of Psyche Nous = Immortal Primal MindNoema = Object & PerceiverDianoia = Rational ThoughtNoesis = Intuitive Thought
Socratic Method: Structured Dialogue Logoi = Evident ConclusionSynthesis & Aporia = Unifying Assertion & PuzzlementAntithesis = Opposing ViewThesis = Initial View
Plato: Allegory of the Cave Sun = Release from Subjective CaveTwilight = Inside the Subjective CaveReality = Objective Light and Life Impressions = Perceived Shadows on Wall
Plato: Analogy of the Divided Line Noesis = Philosophy, The Form of the GoodDianoia = Mathematics, Abstract ObjectsPistis = Beliefs about Physical ObjectsEikasia = Projections and Shadows
Plato and Aristotle: Theory of Forms Great Infinity = Actual InfinitySmall Infinity = Potential InfinityIdeal Forms = Animator, Pattern StructureMatter = Fabric of Existence
Neoplatonism: Cosmology One Monad = Absolute Source of BeingHenosis = Divine OnenessAnima mundi = World-SoulPhenomena = Material World
Pyrrhonism: Peace in Total Scepticism Ataraxia = Mental ImperturbabilityEpokhe = Yielding, Suspension of Judgment Critique = Unwarranted Judgments, Appearing of Reality Assumptions = Unwarranted Foundations, Being of Reality
Stoicism: Cosmology One Being = One Substance, One Soul, One MovementNature = Seminal Reason, Existence Itself, God-NatureFate = Universal Drive & PurposeMatter = Passive & Malliable Material Substance
Gnosticism Monad, Proarkhe = One, Before BeginningPleroma, Aeons = Fullness of Power, Eternal BeingsDemiurge = Masculine, Incomplete Creator GodSophia = Feminine, Divine Knowledge and Wisdom

Abrahamic Culture and Religion
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Judaism: Cosmology YHWH = One Indivisible Unknowable GodCovenant = Communion with God of IsraelElohim (Pneuma) = All Powers, Forces and Causes Torah (Logos) = The Word, Primal Law
Judaism: Mystic Kabbalah Theogenesis Ohr Ein Sof = Limitless LightTzimtzum, Etz Chaim = Filtered Divinity, Tree of LifeOhrot = LightsKeilim = Vessels
Genesis: Primal Sin, Fall from Grace Godlike Knowledge and Eternal LifeTemptation, Separation = Dichotomy of InterestAdam = Original Man, ViolatorEve = Original Woman, Supporter
Christianity: Fundamental Theology Holy Spirit = Uncreated Spirit of GodAgape: Two Equal Commands = Love of God & Love of Mankind Father-God, Father in Heaven = High Creator God Jesus, Only Begotten Son = Descending Redeemer God
Christianity: Totality of Christ Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum (INRI) = Jesus Nazarene, King of Jews, One LogosJesus Christ = Hypostatic union = Temptation, TransfigurationRex Iudean = Son of God, Messiah ComeJesus Nazarene = Son of Man, God in Flesh
Christianity: Eastern Orthodox Mysticism Ousia = God's Essence, Separate and As-IsNous, Kardia = Soul-Mind, Opening Eye of HeartTabor = Longing Spirit, Uncreated Light of GodLogos = Jesus Prayer, Primal Word and Purpose
Christianity: Catholic Mysteries of Rosary Glorious Mysteries = Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of Holy Spirit, Assumption of Mary, Coronation of MaryLuminous Mysteries = Baptism, Wedding, Proclamation of Kingdom of God, Transfiguration, EucharistJoyful Mysteries = Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Finding as Child at Temple, Presentation at TempleSorrowful Mysteries = Agony in Garden, Scourging at Pillar, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying the Cross, Crucifixion
Islam: Functional Cosmology Allah = Great God, One GodIslam = Surrender to Allah, Wahdat-al-Wujud = Loss of Self, Union with GodAl-Rahman = Compassionate GodIslamic prophets, Mahdi = Guided One, One of the Moon
Baha'i: Theological Unity Unity of GodElimination of ExtremesUnity of HumanityUnity of Religion

Mythological Models
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Generic Mythological Archetypes Infinite Void = Primal BeingAxis Mundi = Cosmic ConduitPrimal God = Pervading CreatorPrimal Goddess = Receptive Fabric
Shamanism: Cosmology Earth Mother = Ground of Being, IntegralityShaman = Spirit World, World Tree, StabilityHeaven = Enthusing Trance, Explosion/AscensionUnderworld = Revealing Trance, Implosion/Descension
Mythological Heroic Quests Supreme Victory = Axis Mundi, Conquest of HeavenGreat Potentive Secret = Holy Grail, Philosophers' Stone, Tree of Life, Forgotten TreasureBattle for Good, Life and LightDefeat of Evil, Death and Darkness
Ancient Egyptian Cosmogeny Nu = Waters of Infinite Primal ExpanseDuat = Dimension of Death and Rebirth / Maat = Cohesive Principle, Eternal Order of UniverseNut = Goddess of Sky ArchGeb = God of Earth Plane
Greek and Roman Cosmogeny Chaos = Primal VoidPhanes-Phusis = Light-Bringer & NatureErebus = Pervading ShadowsNyx = Goddess of Night
Native American Cosmology Taboo = Omnipresent Invisible ForceSpirits = Land of Natural WorldCreator = Revered DeityHero = Mythic Teacher
Norse / Germanic Cosmology Yggdrasil = Unifying World Tree, Three RootsHel = Beyond, Hell and Death, Journey in UnderworldWell of Mimir = Above, Wisdom, Jötnar Frost GiantsWell of Urdr = Below, Fate, Female Norns and Æsir
Fenno-Ugrean Kalevala Cosmogeny Waters = Root ExistencePrimal Egg = Source of CosmosHeaven = Upper HalfTerra = Lower Half

Mystical and Occult Systems
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Alchemy: Process for Elixir Perfected State = Synthetic GoldTransmutation of ElementsCoagula = Joining TogetherSolve = Separating
Alchemy: Fundamental Elements Nigredo = Beyond, Dissolution, Blackening, Existential Individuation, Immortal True SelfRubedo = Middle, Unification, Reddening, Man & God, Limited & UnlimitedCitrinitas = Above, Sun, Gold, Yellowing, Technological, Operative, SpiritualizationAlbedo = Below, Moon, Silver, Whitening, Psychological, Contemplative, Purification
Hermetic Cosmology The All = The One, Supreme Mind, Universal MotherTheurgy = All Stars, Above & Below, Evil/Divine SpiritsSun = Alchemy, Investigation, ExperimentationMoon = Astrology, Patterns, Planetary Cycles
Thelema: Symbolic Phenomenology City of Pyramids = Unified in Primal DissolutionThelema, Night of Pan = Great Abyss Between Domains, Ego DeathRitual = Pattern of TransformationBabalon = Surrender as Babe of the Abyss
Thelema: Mystical Cultivation Ipsissimus = Non-dual Unlimited SourceSilent Higher Self = Holy Guardian AngelMagus = Potent Transformative WisdomMagick = Potent Accessible Formulae
Conspiracies: Illuminati Hierarchy White BrotherhoodSpecial PositionsHierarchy LevelAnarchy Level
Theosophy: Domains in Spiritual Hierarchy Highest NirvanaGreat Cosmic Solar OrbAlpha = Heavenly FatherOmega = Heavenly Mother

Buddhism and Taoism
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Buddhist Paths Bodhi, Buddha = Enlightenment, The Enlightened OneVajrayana, Tantrayana = Diamond Vehicle, Tantric VehicleMahayana = Large Vehicle, Universal SalvationHinayana = Small Vehicle, Individual Salvation
Four Steps to Nirvana Arhat = Conqueror of Foes, NirvanaAnagami = Non-Returner, BalanceSakridagami = Once-Returner, ProgressSrotapanna = Stream-Enterer, Neutralization
Theravada Buddhist Practice Parinirvana = Ultimate CessationNirvana = Cessation of Being Vipassana = Perceptive MeditationSamatha = Tranquilizing Meditation
Arupa-Jhanas: Four Formless Meditative Absorptions Fourth = No Perception, No Non-perceptionThird = Perception of Infinite NothingnessSecond = Perception of Infinite Consciousness First = Perception of Infinite Space
Mahayana: Four Axioms of Heart Sutra Sunyam Sunyam = Emptiness is EmptinessRupam Rupam = Form is FormRupam Sunyam = Form is EmptinessSunyam Rupam = Emptiness is Form
Yogacara: One Mind Citta-matram = Cognition OnlyAlaya-vijnana & Tathagata-garbha = Seminal Consciousness / Buddha-WombManas = Dynamic MindKlista-manas = Afflicted Mind
Zen: Enlightenment Orientation Daigo = Absolute EnlightenmentShogo = Glimpsing EnlightenmentSatori = Sudden Flash of EnlightenmentKensho = Subject-Object Union, Buddha-Nature Insight
Vajrayana: Four Prime Wisdoms Tathata-jñana = Knowledge of Suchness Adarsa-jñana = Mirror-like Knowledge Pratyaveksana-jñana = Investigative Awareness Samata-jñana = Awareness of Sameness
Vajrayana Ösel: Levels of Prabhasvara Radiance Od-gsal = Pure RadianceBardo = Threshold StateLam-gyi Od-gsal = Inner Radiance of PathGzhi'i Od-gsal = Inner Radiance of Ground
Vajrayana: Six Yogas of Naropa Ösel (prabhasvara) = Yoga of Clear Radiant LightPhowa (samkranti) = Entrance to Buddha-FieldsMilam (svapna-darsana) & Bardo (antarabhava) = Dream Visions & Transitions Gyulu (mayakaya) & Tummo (candali) = Magical Body &; Low Mystic Heat
Buddhism: Bönpo Dzogchen Mysticism Rang Bzhin = Ultimate Unaltered NatureNgang, Kun Gzhi, Ka Dag = Condition, Basis of All, Primordial PurityGnas Lugs = Way of Beings, Pure-and-Perfect MindGzhi, Lhun Grub = Potentive Field, Spontaneous Accomplishment
Taoism: Singular and Bipolar Cosmogeny Wuji = Without Ultimate, Without Ridge-Pole Taiji = Supreme Ultimate, Great Ridge-Pole Yang = Positive, Dynamic Yin = Negative, Static
Taoism: Neidan Internal Alchemy Xian = Celestial ImmortalityQi = Natural Energy, Flow of Being, BreathShen = Spirit, ConsciousnessJing = Essence, Density, Genes

Classical Indic Religions
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Vedas: Principal Theogenesis Soma = Mythic Nectar of GodsRita = Cosmic Order, Wheel of Existence Brahma, Prajapati = Fullness, Divine Father Aditi, Vac = Limitless Mother, Mystic Sound
Vedas: Sacrificial Theogenesis Sahasra-Sirsa-Purusha = Infinite BeingBreaking of Purusha = Derivative DivisionYajna Purusha = Pervasive BeingViraj = Born Reality
Vedas: Primal Cosmogeny Ajayamana = UnmanifestHiranyagarbha = Cosmic EggSvarga = HeavenPrithivi = Earth
Modern Hinduism: Triune Divine Brahman = Universal Spirit Vishnu = Sustainer, Balancer, Pacifying Knowledge Brahma = Creator, Dynamizer, Expanding Knowledge Shiva = Destroyer, Neutralizer, Contracting Knowledge
Puranas: Primal Cosmogeny Para-Brahma = Highest BeingSrishti-Lila = Cosmic Sport of CreationIsvara, Shaktiman = Energetic, Operator, InseminatorMaya, Shakti = Energy, Supporter, Bearer
Puranas: Universal Cosmology Paravyoma = Supreme LightMartya-Loka = Middle-WorldSvarga-Loka = Heavenly Bright WorldsBila-Svarga = Subterranean Dark Worlds

Specific Indian Religious Traditions
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Shaivism: Primal TheogenesisMahadeva = Great DivinityArdhanarisvara = Synthesis, Half-Female DeityShaktiman = Energetic, Operator, InseminatorShakti = Energy, Supporter, Bearer
Shaivism: Tantric Cosmogeny Sadashiva = Omni-ShivaMaha-Yoga = Cosmic UnionLinga = Masculine, PhallusYoni = Feminine, Womb
Vaishnavism: Tantric Theogenesis Maha-Vishnu = Great CreatorKaranarnava, Yoga-Nidra = Ocean of Causes, Cosmic DreamSambhu = Masculine Inseminating GlowRamadevi = Divine Consort-Nature
Sri Chaitanya: Descent of Devotion Bhagavan = Adored OneBhakti-shakti = Potency & Goddess of DevotionBhakta-bhagavata = Devotee as PersonGrantha-bhagavata = Devotee as Message
Sri Chaitanya: Divine Love Mahabhava = Ultimate EmotionPrema = Union of LoveKrishna = Adored GodRadha = Adoring Goddess
Sri Chaitanya: Divine Manifestation: Lila = Infinite Wheel of PastimesHladini-shakti = Bliss Potency, RadhaSamvit-shakti = Cognitive Potency, KrishnaSandhini-shakti = Existential Potency, Primal Sattva
Tantric / Sahajiya: Path of Cultivation Sahaja-Siddhi = Natural Perfection, Cosmic UnionLaya, Maithuna, Nada = Absorption-Dissolution, Polarity Union, Sound in UltimacyShaktiman = Potent, MasculineShakti = Potency, Feminine
Tantric / Sahajiya: Field of Cultivation Apana = AttainmentAropana = Superimposition of DivinitySurati, Japa = Passion, Love-Making, Spoken PrayerNirati, Ajapa = Dispassion, Detachment, Silent Prayer
Sikhism: Primal Cosmology Nirankar = ShapelessHukam = Will and OrderVahiguru = The Great TeacherEk Onkar = One Primal Syllable

Classical Indic Philosophies
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Internal Advaita Ajata = Unborn Nonduality Atman is Brahman = Nondual Unity Brahman is Spirit Atman is Spirit
External Advaita Brahman = Nondual SpiritParamatman = Supreme SelfIshvara = Supreme DeityJiva = Sentient Being
Kashmiri Shaivism Anuttara = Unsurpassed UltimateSvatantrya = Self-Dependency, Action-and-FreedomSpanda, Shiva = Masculine, Primal ConsciousnessAham, Shakti = Feminine, Heart Space
Vedantic Ontology Jagat = Brahman = World is SpiritAnanyatva = Non-differenceKarana = CauseKarya = Effect
Vedantic Attributes of Spirit Advaya-para-tattva = Nondual Supreme StrataAnanda = Endless BlissCit = Cognitive LuminescenceSat = Existential Foundation
Raja-Yoga: Ultimate ConsciousnessNirvikalpa, Adrasta = Undifferentiated, UnseenSavikalpa, Dristi = Differentiated, SeeingAtma, Drasta = Self, SeerPrakriti, Drishya = Nature, Seen
Raja-Yoga: Five Root PoisonsAvidya = IgnoranceAsmita = EgoismRaga = AttachmentDvesa = Aversion
Vedanta: Ladder of Liberation Videha-mukta = Unembodied LiberationJivanmukta = Liberated While LivingGuru = Potent TeacherSisya = Receptive Student
Natya-Shastra: Foundations of Experience Santa = Tranquility, Source of EmotionsSadharani-karana = Relish by Reflective GeneralizationRasa = Culmination of RaptureSattva = Clear Reflective Heart
Sankhya: Fundamental Principal Analysis Moksha = LiberationSatkarya = Cause-in-EffectPurusha = Masculine, Spirit, EffectorPrakriti = Feminine, Matter, Ingredient

Indic Cultivation Methodologies
Reference[∞] Singularity [±] Balance [+] Dynamis [-] Neutralis
Four Paths of Yoga Jnana = Wisdom, Cognitive LiberationRaja-Yoga = Great Mystic UnionBhakti = Devotion, Spiritual ZealKarma = Service, Dispassionate Action
Vedanta: Cultivation of Wisdom Jnana = WisdomNididhyasana = Absorbed ContemplationManana = ContemplationSravana = Hearing
Tantra: Basic Mechanisms Siddhi = PerfectionTantra = WeavingMantra = Invocation Yantra = Pattern
Hatha-Yoga: Kundalini Energy Dynamics Sahasrara, Maha-Siddha = Union at Crown Lotus, Great ImmortalitySiddha = Emergent Union, Rising KundaliniKundalini = Serpentine Current of PowerChakras = Energetic Lotus Centers
Hatha-Yoga: Energetic Nadi Conduits Siddhi = Perfection, ImmortalitySusumna = Balanced Breath, Medullar LinkPingala = Solar Serpentine, Right, Red, PositiveIda = Lunar Serpentine, Left, Pale, Negative
Yoga: Contemplation Objects Nirguna Brahma = Unqualified SpiritTuriya-bhagavat-sabda = Transdimensional Sound-with-GodMahati atma = Great Soul in the FabricAvyakta-mahat-sutra = Undecaying Thread of Fabric
Yoga: Mystic Perfections Kamavasayita = Termination of Desires, Supreme BlissVasita = Mastery and Dominion, Root NaturePrakamya = Fulfillment of DesiresTri-kala-jñatva = Knowledge of Past, Present and Future
Yoga: Spiritual Attainments Parama-ananda = Supreme BlissTuriya narayana = Transdimensional AbodeAvyakta-janma = Undecaying ExistenceSarvajñatva = Temporal Omniscience
Jainism: Process of Liberation Nirvana = Final ReleaseArhat, Jina = Victorious StateAvipaka Nirjara = Ascetic PracticeSavipaka Nirjara = Submission to Fate


While there will invariably be diverging nuances in the interpretation of the exact relationships between the four basic elements of Singularity, Balance, Dynamis and Neutralis, their fundamental principles are identical enough to justify a level field of agreement. There are, after all, countless differences in the interpretation over levels of apotheosis and scopes of relationship and identity even within traditions themselves. Such disputes and disagreements tend to fall within the domain of theological pedantry and elitistic sophistry, and have little to do with the heart of the matter; the basic patterns tend to be relatively simple and elementary.

Sometimes the principal roles in formulations such as these are seen to mirror each others' qualities, because Dynamis always holds a seed of Neutralis and vice versa. They are both rooted in the same Primal Unity, and reveal different emphases in accordance with the observer's perspective and projections. This easily turns Good into Evil, Gods into Demons, Messiahs into Antichrists, filtering through the narrow human lense unable or unwilling to contextualize against a broader perspective. Despite this, the direct and elementary reality underlying names and forms — once experienced and immersed — is eerily identical in nature. The experience itself naturally points to a fundamental underlying unity in all archetypes and purposes.

In advancing this quest for unity, symmetry and synergy in reconciling human perspectives, the above opening four-part grid should provide a useful starting point of general correlations in making headway towards a better reconciled world. This model is presented in the spirit of open-source conceptual development and evolution. The intention is not to introduce artificial universals or forced correlation; the model aims to serve in accurately reflecting the fundamental principles of diverse traditions of thought. Therefore, it should be subject to critique and revisions wherever necessary.


"Venus Dancing in Light and Shadows" — A fresh winter morning perspective
in a composite picture of the Morning Star, Planet of Reconciled Polarities.

Poetic Conclusions: Call for Balance and Feedback


The groundwork for this paper began with inspiration on the 10th of October, 2010, gazing at the skies through the crisp night air in late autumn of Helsinki. It was a beautiful clear sky, and Venus was particularly bright that night — almost frozen in her twinkle at the sky with her two horns raised, her two arms spread, and skirt of rays flowing below. Like the Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks knew Venus as both Phosphoros, Morning Star and Bringer of Light, as well as Hesperos, Evening Star and Son of Dusk. The Hellenistic world realized their unity and named the planet after Aphrodite, their goddess of love. It's hard to argue against a Bipolar Planet of Love on the need for balance on 10-10-10 at 10 PM on a tranquil night.

Then, Venus is Love and Balance with Dynamis and Neutralis married; Hesperus is Phosphorus, Form is Emptiness, One Father is One Son, One Allah with One Will, while Yin and Yang dance on the plateau of Singularity. It does not have to be awfully complicated, if only we are willing to take a step beyond our complicated and entangled perspective, reaching for the fundamentals of our existence — whether the Four Directions, Four Interactions or Four Archangels, whether for the Father and Son, for the God and Goddess, or for other primal symbols of our preference. We are all after the same universal aims; let us make the most out of our collective human potential, seeking to unify more than diversify. Unification leads to Singularity, and Diversification leads to Entropy.

Readers interested in the concepts and models of this paper are cordially invited to provide liberal feedback — critique, compliments, contributions and clarifications are all equally welcome. More detailed explanations of the variables and relations in Table #1 will be available in an interactive model at the Systemic Spirituality website. Upcoming overviews of Wisdom Singularity Flow Model will discuss the 4x and 8x spheres, the four cardinal levels and the eight principal spokes of the Wisdom Wheel, exploring many (but certainly not all) of the systems of thought referenced in this paper.

Until the next installment in the phenomenal derivation of the Wisdom Singularity Flow Model, readers interested in more angles into this model are welcome to follow the Systemic Spirituality page at Facebook or join our LinkedIn discussion group for more in-depth exchanges on many of these themes, along with a general platform for discussing anything Beyond, Between, Above or Below and that may be relevant. More on "BBAB", linear molecules and the rest in the course of next week.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Isa Masaha: The Holy Man West of Tibet

Yesterday's Jesus as Isa is a pair calling for explanation. This article explores the Jesus featured in a peculiar account of an old Hindu scripture, where Jesus is featured as a sage with a golden glow, clad in white robes, living in western Tibet in the years following his preaching of dharma among "uncultured civilizations" — the lands of the Mlecchas.

While the authenticity of the narration in the Bhavishya-purana is questionable, it is nevertheless worth studying to gain insight into the blending of Jesus Christ and the Dharmic religions. The topic of the Jesus of Aquarian Gospel and his possible travels across India is somewhat outside the scope of this article, written merely in explaining the word Isa and commenting on apocryphal references to Jesus found in Hindu scriptures.

"Shrine of Hazrati Yousa Asouph" — believed by some to be Jesus' tomb in Kashmir.
For more information, see Flickr photos and The Tomb of Jesus Christ Website.

In Arabic (and Qur'an), Jesus is known as Īsā, the al-Masīḥ one of his frequent titles. "He is also a word from God and a spirit from Him." He is also called Yasu in Arabic speaking countries, much like people in India call him Yeshu or Ishu, and many others in their own variants by culture and language.

Some versions of Bhavishya-purana ("Ancient Text of Future"), a popular Hindu text of uncertain origins, have an account of a great sage known as Isa Masaha. The Bhavishya-purana itself is largely in the "Hindu Apocrypha" department, in the body of texts that are somewhat canonized, but in many cases either entirely of more recent origin, or substantially enlarged by later authors over the centuries.

A persian miniature of Jesus / Isa
giving the famous Sermon on the Mount

The word Isa is also an often-used short form of the Sanskrit word Isvara, "Master" or "God", not unlike the word "Lord" in English and Christian usage. In a curious parallel, the word "Father" is "isä" in Finnish; also used for the Father-aspect of the Trinity: Isä, Poika and Pyhä Henki. For a Wisdom Wheel parallel: Yang: Creator, Father/Heaven; Yin: Neutralizer, Son/Lamb/Earth; Wuji: Nondual, Uncreated Holy Spirit. We are dealing with universals, once again.

The word "isä" in Finnish comes from Proto-Uralic ičä;  while Uralic languages are not directly related to Indo-European languages (such as Sanskrit and Latin), the two have shared plenty of terrain and culture with the Aryan languages over the millennia. (This is why even a language as peculiar as Finnish has some uncanny similarities with a wide range of European and Indic languages.)

It's more than likely that texts like Bhavishya-purana have been altered (read: critique that prompted this write-up) — whether by Christian missionaries eager to establish a predating legacy of Jesus for the Hindus, or by Hindus themselves in an attempt to absorb the emerging spread of Christianity under their syncretic umbrella. For reference, the relevant passage is in Bhavishya-purana, Catur-yuga Khanda, Second Adhyaya. (Link to text. The transliteration and translations there are sloppy, but sufficient to understand the meaning in the original.)

The following are summary notes of the text and the discussion of Isa Masaha and king Shalivahana, taking place following Jesus' years of preaching in the distant lands:
  • Describes himself as Isa-putra (Son of Isa or God) and Kumari-garbha-sambhava (Begotten of virgin womb).
  • Lives on a mountain in Western Tibet near Mount Kailash and Manasarovara (Hunadesh: Lands of the Huns).
  • Acted as a teacher of dharma to the Mlecchas (barbarians and uncultured people outside Vedic civilization).
  • Became Masiha (messiah) to dissipate the spread of the fearsome religions by the uncivilized, who had lost the way of the truth.
In the text, Isa presents to king Shalivahana (c. 78-102 CE) a summary of the principles of dharma he taught  (verses 27-30) for people, whose pure way had become corrupted over time:
  1. The mind should be made pristine.
  2. Embodied beings are subject to good and bad taints.
  3. Abolishing sacrifices, one should pray in highest pristinity.
  4. As duty and in thoughts one should speak the truth.
  5. In contemplation one should worship the Lord, established in the Solar Field, the Immovable Master himself, everywhere like the light of the Sun.
  6. Having the Lord firmly manifest in the heart leads to everlasting purity and welfare.
  7. "In this way, my name came to be established as Isa Masiha (Jesus Messiah)."
While not exactly a reflection of the entirety of the key teachings in the Gospel (in that they omit the central teaching of love), these teachings are certainly very much in line with the spirit of the original teachings of Jesus. Also, the connection of Isa/Father as the Prime Solar Force goes well with my Wisdom Wheel model in contextualizing Christian triune theology with other cosmologies — something for another day.

The characterization of Christianity as the religion of the Mlecchas, or uncivilized barbarians, isn't particularly complementary — while certainly an accurate description from the Brahmana point of view, where people living in deserts were regarded as being of sinful birth, lacking in culture of purity and as such ineligible to study the finer truths of theology and philosophy. If this were the handicraft of a Christian missionary, I would have expected a more complementary spin to the story.

It would be interesting to read the text in its entirety at some point. Overall, the Puranas — including Bhagavata, which is relatively late — are in the habit of listing chronologies of rulers in a future tense, when the narration is placed into anciety. For reference, see the 12th book of Bhagavata-purana. The correlative tables I have drafted for some of these lists make for a reasonable match with the actual names and sequences in history, reaching well into the common era — as with king Shalivahana (Gautamiputra Satakarni), a historical ruler of the Satavahana empire who is told here to have met Jesus the Messiah.

Still, many fundamentalists subscribe to the idea of such texts being 5,000 years old in their current form, believing them to be literal and detailed predictions for some 4,000 years into the future. I'd take it all with a grain of salt when it comes to claims to the ancience of Indic scriptures from the believers — or any other scripture with an uncanny level of specific detail for a  "prediction" of the future for that matter.

Predictions are based on enlightened and inspired observation and intuition of the patterns and undercurrents of the world, and are therefore by definition more abstract in nature. They are also not a proof of anything else than of themselves — they certainly do not validate a number of other unrelated claims heard in the same general direction.

Whatever the historicity of all these predictions may be, let's remember the gist of the lesson to be learned: Great teachers and prophets do not concern themselves with the particularities of the future, they address the problems of the humanity here and now. The thought of a salvation is a slim joy if the primal peace of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is absent from within you during your lifetime.

On that note, souls in the Kingdom of Heaven do not wave the flag of Israel or the insignia of any collective of people on Earth, whether crosses and crucifixes or wheels of dharma. They live in both immanence and transcendence, dwelling in an absolute state of pristinity within — whatever the path they may have followed in reaching that supreme peaceful and enlightened destination of the heart.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Karma: Universal and Buddhist Interpretations

The word karma, in its simplest sense, means action. In a broader context, it features the causal relationships brought about by the action, likened to seeds awaiting to ripen in the future. Karma is generally understood as the sum-total of one's activities and their latent effects, weaving a complex causal web leaving even the wisest perplexed over matters of predetermination and free will.

The exact course and formation of causal relationships can be hard to decipher.

The concept has been broadly popularized in the West by Buddhist and Hindu teachers over the past century. The Buddhist tradition has excelled particularly in its presentation of the underlying ethics, while the Hindus, and in particular the Vedantic tradition, have done some interesting groundwork in estimating the subconscious mechanics of karmic ripening.

A comprehensive gloss on the treatment of karma in Buddhism and Hinduism, along with Jainism and Sikhism, the other two main dharmic religions, is beyond the scope of this article. In the following, I hope to first distill the essentials of what determine the nature of the effect arising from a particular cause, and then gloss the Buddhist ethical analysis of action and offence as applied in their old monastic code.


A number of universal factors affect the causal content of each action.

Universal Karma


Karma is the sum total of several variables instead of the outcome of a single factor. Cause here means all direct and indirect, often far-reaching consequences born from the action. First and foremost, karma is born of the desire and intent of the doer. The consequence befalling each action are defined, among others, by the following:

1) Intention. Was the intent positive or negative, good or evil? Was the act done impulsively, with contemplation or by accident?
2) Implementation. Was the act fulfilled in accordance with the intention, or to a contrary result? Was the good or evil act brought to a conclusion?
3) Effects. Are the factual effects of the act positive, negative or mixed, individually as well as collectively?
4) Object. Was the object of a good deed particularly wanting or without need? Was the object of an evil deed helpless and innocent, equal and neutral, or greater and evil itself?
5) Circumstances. Was the act done out of a real need, or whimsically? Was the doer in a forced situation or faced with a free choice?
6) Atonement. Did the doer of an evil act try to make amendments by attempting to correct its consequences? Was the repentance superficial or genuine?

We can all form examples of the above for ourselves, the principles ought to be clear enough. In examining the factual consquence of the act and its effect on its object, the collective effect of the transformation effected in the object, and the underlying intents, we all begin to fathom just how complex the network of cause and effect really is.

I would assume the above to be largely universal, and for the most part also applicable in a court of law as in ethical measurement, even if it is evident that analysis and interpretation of the variables involved is an inherently subjective venture. Religions have certainly all had their say on the matter, and particularly so among Indic religions, where extensive theories of personal causation have evolved.


Buddhist monks of Thai and Tibetan traditions gathered in Lumbini, Nepal.

In Buddhist Monasticism


The ancient Buddhist monastic rules (vinaya) make for a particularly fascinating read in this context. This owes largely to the excessively detailed and thorough philosophy of offense featured in the commentarial tradition, primarily assessing an offense against the criteria of motivation and implementing act. The system of Vinaya Pitaka doesn't discuss the variables of the offense with regards to its possible consequences; its sole intent is to judge whether an offense has occured, and if so, at which degree of severity.

There are four parajika-offenses or unforgivables for the Buddhist monks, committing which a monk is unconditionally exiled from the monastic community for the remainder of his life. They are as follows: 1) sexual intercourse, 2) homicide, 3) theft, and 4) exaggeration of spiritual status. These offences are applicable at this severity only while living as an ordained monk; should the monk for example be unable able to control his sexual urge, he may forsake monkhood and live in a relationship for as long as he wishes, and later in his life again become a monk. However, having sex while still ordained is unforgivable.

The monastic tradition, rich in its abundance of rules, naturally gives the bulk of its attention to these four severest offences. As an example, the tradition defines theft by four criteria:

1) Object: Anything belonging to another or a group of people.
2) View: The object is understood as belonging to another or a group of people.
3) Intention: One decides to steal the object.
4) Effort: One steals the object.

In the above, in absence of factor 2) no ethical violation has occured. (The object accidentally stolen must of course be returned once understood as such.) In absence of factor 3), where the thief has accidentally stolen an object he has contemplated on stealing, a full offense is not committed, neither is it in absence of factor 1) where the thief has stolen no-man's property or something of his own. Additionally the value of the object is in direct proportion to the severity of the crime.

Homicide, in turn, is judged according to the following criteria:

1) Object: A living human being. (Commentarial tradition includes featus here; the rule was born consequent to abortion medicines administered to nuns.)
2) Intention: To knowingly, with understanding, contemplation and intention wish to terminate a person's life. "Knowingly" also includes the following:
3) View: A perception of an object as a living human being.
4) Effort: Whatever may be done in order to terminate an individual's life.
5) Outcome: Life is terminated as a direct consequence of the act.

In the above, in absence of factor 2), for example in an accidental shot, no ethical violation punishable as homicide has occured. In absence of factor 3), for example in the accidental killing of an animal or another human instead of the object (not however if the other is viewed upon as the object), a full offense has not been committed. In absence of factor 4) a full offence has also not been committed, for the transition from will to action has not occurred. A death caused without intention, and thereby also without effort, does not lead to an ethical violation.

Those interested in the Vinaya-tradition may want to study Thanissaro Bhikkhu's Introduction to the Patimokkha Rules and Buddhist Monastic Code, freely employed in this article. In the latter, particularly the fourth chapter discussing the parajika-offences makes a thorough study of ethics, coupled with illustrative examples.