Category: Study Notes

Musings

6.3.14

Natural desalination: sea water >> water vapour >> clouds >> rain >> drinking water!

Austerity & charity
Enjoyment & friendship

Survival (biological) > security (material) > comfort (psychological) > status (social) > meaning (spiritual)
Comfort ~ pleasure; Status ~ power; Meaning ~ transcendence

Distinguish:
Indulgence
&
Celebration
Is solitary enjoyment always evil?

There can be no enjoyment without desire. But the root of all misery is surely attachment. So what could be the solution to this conundrum?

Distinguish:
Equanimity
&
Stoic

“Cure the senses with the soul, and cure the soul with the senses.” – Oscar Wilde
I agree!

The moral, the intellectual & the sensual
Ethics, philosophy & aesthetics
What about politics?
The social comes only later…!

Ecstasy (momentary elation)
Vs.
Bliss (lasting peace)

Sacrifice (psychological) >> life (spiritual)

Indulgence, moderation & addiction

There is no way into the desired positive, except through the negative! The greater the desired positive, the greater the required negative…

Renunciation & liberation ~ moderation & happiness

Variety & balance
Vs.
Focus & intensity

Control is freedom
Vs.
Trust is freedom

Sublimation/transcending
Vs.
Moderation/ruling

‘The moral majority’

Will – tyrannical ruler or wise master?
Conscience – haunting spectre or benevolent guide?

Detachment & freedom
Vs.
Compassion & relationship

Doxography

Liberation from sin ~ realization of the absolute

The birth, growth, decline, death…… & resurrection of Christianity!

Resurrection as the non-dual transcendence of the life/creation/sustenance-&-death/destruction/decay dichotomy!
The eternality of the present!

Father – the self-creating & eternal GOD; the Son – the self-sustaining & manifesting GOD; and the Spirit – the self-destroying & metamorphosing GOD!

Come up with a system/structure/rule that gives enough space for spontaneity & leisure. But once fixed, do not compromise! Changes can be made only after a proper review, not impulsively.

Father, Son & Holy Spirit ~ life, death & resurrection!
Being, time & nothingness
The past as the faded present, & the future as the potential present…

GOD, man & cosmos; Cosmos, GOD & man; Man, cosmos & GOD; Man, GOD & cosmos; GOD, cosmos & man; Cosmos, man & GOD.
Created order; hierarchy of being; levels of consciousness; forms of reality…

Past, present & future ~ being created/born, living/dying & resurrection/afterlife

No ashes, no Phoenix!

Blithe

Belle sauvage

Lambent

Gleam Flicker

‘Old dead morality’ or ‘Law of creation’?

Unison & balance; integrity & freedom

Without the tension caused by the id & superego, the ego would die of laxity!

Mino

The self (I), the other within (you) & the other without (them)

Reflections

5.3.14

Personalism vs. Idealism

Physical resurrection vs. Immortality of the soul

What is passion without sacrifice/suffering?
Nothing!
Suffering – voluntary (sacrifice, discipline, etc.) & involuntary (persecution, sickness, loss, etc.)

Condemning (private) immorality >> fighting (public) injustice
Condemning idolatry (religious) >> fighting (spiritual) ignorance

Potholes & pitfalls; bumps & hurdles; by-lanes & mazes

Moving the emphasis from (sexual) chastity to (character) integrity

Hypocrisy, self-righteousness/judgmentalism & cowardice always go together!

Only the weak are aggressive!

“Strength is life, weakness is death.” – Swami Vivekananda

The root of wickedness (moral corruption) is ignorance (spiritual unconsciousness) & weakness (personality defects).
So is foolishness nothing more than ignorance? Lack of knowledge (active processing) is more than just lack of information (passive reception)!

The theology of Spiritual Disciplines
&
The spiritual discipline of Theology

Abelraj & “Zoaetic”

Unrealized, unconscious, unawakened

Noesis & Metanoia
Know, understand, believe & respond!

Endurance (passive) & perseverance (active) – the 2 sides of the same coin of decision/commitment/determination.
But isn’t knowing when to give up (let go & move on), a sign of wisdom??

Eternal destruction ~ bottomless pit ~ second death ~ hellish existence

“According to GOD”

Lover of immortality & religious fanatic
Fanaticism – isn’t all intense devotion a kind of slavery?!

Are Abraham, Isaac & Jacob all alive now?
But if so, then how do we choose between immortality of the soul & physical resurrection as the right view of the afterlife??
Moral equivocation, theological ambiguity & metaphysical ambivalence in the Bible…

Spiritual ~ metaphysical ~ ontological ~ theological

Faith = theory + practice + experience

Rebirth, regeneration & resurrection ~ reformation, renewal & revival

Compare & contrast:
Jesus & the Hebrew Bible (Palestinian Judaism)
&
Paul & the Apocrypha (Hellenic Judaism)
Is Christianity the outcome of the interplay between the Hebraic & Greco-Roman faith-traditions/cultures?

Soul ~ person ~ life ~ being

O.T >> Apocrypha (Septuagint) >> N.T

Egyptian & Mesopotamian elements in the ancient Hebrew religion/philosophy

“GOD bless you!” >> “Let us bless GOD!”

Jewish religion + Greek philosophy = Christian theology
Roman governance & ecclesiastical politics

Inspired reflection on personal experience & contextual developments => oral tradition => Scripture => interpretive schools & devotional/liturgical/doxological works…

What is the significance of the geographical context (in biblical interpretation)?

Patristics (Orthodox – Greek), Medieval (Roman Catholic – Latin), Reformation (Evangelical Protestant – German) & contemporary – modern/postmodern (Progressive/Emergent – English) theology

Death + resurrection = transformation
…Immortality is Hell!

The soul, as an actual thing, is an invented concept!

The possession of eternal life (present) and the promise of resurrection (future).
Eschatology = apocalypse!

The philosophy of Theology
&
The theology of Philosophy
Which is your dominant position?

“Theramine trees”

Notes

4.3.14
Inner freedom
Vs.
Outward fate

Resisting the degenerating influences & overcoming the stupefying factors in our context requires great resolve & energy which only a few possess…

Citizen >> customer >> consumer!

Stages of prisoner’s psychology in concentration camp:
Shock (entry) >> apathy (adaptation) >> depersonalisation (release)!

Asynchrony
Time-experience

Freedom & meaning; hope & purpose

Passive virtues & passive vices

Crimea

Theoretically rigorous

Special-interest politics

The state, the market & the media

Cheek-by-jowl

Ideological concerns

Empirical analysis of globalization, to make the outcomes of the process predictable.

tractate

Caspian, Black & Baltic Sea

Confute

Misconceptions >> misadventures

Inflation obsessives

NOTES

Reverse socialization – “child is the father of man” – ‘growing up’ by parenting!
My real challenge of manhood is not whether I multiply biologically or not, but whether I take care of my (elderly) parents when they become dependent…
Erikson – what’s in a name?
Crusty old codgers.
Crisis – challenge, opportunity, evolution.
Dependence & belonging – infant.
Confiding & intimacy – adult.
Coping strategy & character formation.
Primitive dilemma – virtue vs. vice.
Predictability & safety.
Psychosexual vs. Socio-emotional.
Mistrust >> suspicion, pessimism & self-sufficiency.
Terrible or wonderful twos?!
Precocious
Continence
GOD will take care of me, so I can relax >> My freedom vs. GOD’s will >> Pleasing GOD by keeping the Law >> becoming more like Christ (a better/stronger person) by imitating Jesus >> community of disciples/devotees (love one another) >> participating in the Kingdom/Mission
There is such a thing as self-defeating rebellion!
Parent ~ GOD ~ life/world/reality/nature
Optimistic, social, confident, competitive, clarity
Vs.
Pessimistic, isolated, ashamed, passive, confusion
Parent >> self >> others >> GOD
Myelination & cognition!
Peer pressure does NOT come from others around you!
Tribal mentality – fit in or die!
You are your parents (esp. Mother)
You are how your parents treat you.
You are your skills.
You are your appearance.
You are your friends.
You are your character.
You are your partner.
– Rules for attitude & conduct ~ skills to survive & thrive
Curiosity >> experimentation >> discovery!
What am I? >> Who am I? >> Why am I?
Identity-formation >> ready for commitment & intimacy
Biology >> psychology >> sociology >> philosophy
Your identity is determined by…?
Your value is dependent upon…?
Adulthood – emerging (18-24), early (25-34), middle (35-49), late (50-death)
Transition, consolidation, peaking & fade-out
Independence without self-absorption
Curiosity, risk-taking & initiative
Social welfare vs. Ethical ideals
Proverbs (moralism) vs. Ecclesiastes (philosophy) vs. Song of Solomon (romance)
Psychology from the gender perspective
Gender, age, upbringing & personality

26.2.14 Jottings

Stigma, taboo & moralism
Pleasure, procreation & salvation
Disciplinary canons
Mystical dogmas!
Consciousness, rationality & conscience
We, in & through the Son, relate to GOD as Father who begets us, & the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father into us and through us into the world…
Confess, experience & follow Christ
Right knowledge/theology, right worship/liturgy & right living/ethics
Divine revelation & human subjectivity
Bugger
Heresy & apostasy
The meaning of place & occasion
Believe, pray & love ~ think, feel & act
Incarnation >> transfiguration >> crucifixion >> resurrection >> ascension >> deification!
The whole package is called Atonement/Salvation
Faith, hope & love ~ trust, work & enjoy!
Liturgical (ecclesiastical) ~ sacramental (cosmic)!
Ontological dangers
Person, life & work
Maybe I should join (collaborate with) SCM (Student Christian Movement) – Liberal ministry in Chennai!
Sometimes, contrary to our certain expectations, mistakes can be worse than sins!
Agriculture & the Eucharist