We Believe What We Think Is True
Wand reflected upon, they can have disastrous results. ney may be dramatic, as in the case of hello, who murdered his noble wife esdemona on suspicion of infidelity. anatical thoughts may wreak -struction in the name of faith. But ten, thoughts are about our daily sues, problems and complications. ach thoughts are reflected in sharmonious relationships, and in lure to achieve one's potential or the nverse may be true. Epistemology is the study of how we now what we know. 'Prama'is what is own; 'Pramana' is how it is known. edanta lists four Pramanas or sources knowledge: 1. Pratyaksha is perception by the ses through seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching. You know the tree is green because you can see it. You know the crow is cawing because you can hear it. You know the water is cold because you can touch it. Many people believe it is the only way of knowing something. Theygo by the mantra, 'seeing is believing'. But this method is not foolproof. Every day we see, and our ancestors have seen for millennia, that the sun rises! We see the moon shine brightly in the sky But as any informed person knows, this perception is not the truth. We see magicians perform miraculous deeds. But fortunately we have other methods of knowledge through which we can verify the evide of the senses, and know whether what the senses report is tru 2. Anumana is inference. With inference starts the use of thoughtt establish truth-what is. Inference is the use of thought to understand more than what is perceived. One sees a feather and infers a bird; one sees smoke and infers fire. And from here starts the danger of thought. If senses cannot always be trusted, can thought? Othello saw Desdemona's handkerchief in Casio's hand and inferred that they were having an affair. We are constantly making inferences. Like, why did I fail or why did I succeed at work; or why is this relationship not working. Upama is comparison. We learn of x by comparing it to y. 'Kashmir is the Switzerland of India'speaksof the great beauty of Kashmir. 'Heruns like a horse' tells us how fast he is. Again, comparisons are only as good as the thinking that goes into them. 'Heruns like a horse' cannot be understood as he runs on all fours! Many religious mistakes can be traced back to this. A Sanskrit shubhasitam talks of allthe scriptures being of as much use as a mirror to a blind man when one does nouse his own pragnya intellect! 4. Agami is authoritative sources. Wwould not know much if we had to depend on only our own thinking. We can also borrow other's thinking. We look to authorities to tell us of their field. Those knowledgeable in medicinecan tell us how to cure our body, expertsin architecture can tell us about how tobuild. We need not reinvent the wheel in every field! Sages tell us of experiences we havenever had such as universal love and everlasting bliss. This of course does not mean we take the unexamined word of every person who comes along. The teaching must come from an authoritativesource for us to have any faith in it.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Janki Santoke views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Janki Santoke and Speaking Tree,Times of India
We Believe What We Think Is True
Wand reflected upon, they can have disastrous results. ney may be dramatic, as in the case of hello, who murdered his noble wife esdemona on suspicion of infidelity. anatical thoughts may wreak -struction in the name of faith. But ten, thoughts are about our daily sues, problems and complications. ach thoughts are reflected in sharmonious relationships, and in lure to achieve one's potential or the nverse may be true. Epistemology is the study of how we now what we know. 'Prama'is what is own; 'Pramana' is how it is known. edanta lists four Pramanas or sources knowledge: 1. Pratyaksha is perception by the ses through seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching. You know the tree is green because you can see it. You know the crow is cawing because you can hear it. You know the water is cold because you can touch it. Many people believe it is the only way of knowing something. Theygo by the mantra, 'seeing is believing'. But this method is not foolproof. Every day we see, and our ancestors have seen for millennia, that the sun rises! We see the moon shine brightly in the sky But as any informed person knows, this perception is not the truth. We see magicians perform miraculous deeds. But fortunately we have other methods of knowledge through which we can verify the evide of the senses, and know whether what the senses report is tru 2. Anumana is inference. With inference starts the use of thoughtt establish truth-what is. Inference is the use of thought to understand more than what is perceived. One sees a feather and infers a bird; one sees smoke and infers fire. And from here starts the danger of thought. If senses cannot always be trusted, can thought? Othello saw Desdemona's handkerchief in Casio's hand and inferred that they were having an affair. We are constantly making inferences. Like, why did I fail or why did I succeed at work; or why is this relationship not working. Upama is comparison. We learn of x by comparing it to y. 'Kashmir is the Switzerland of India'speaksof the great beauty of Kashmir. 'Heruns like a horse' tells us how fast he is. Again, comparisons are only as good as the thinking that goes into them. 'Heruns like a horse' cannot be understood as he runs on all fours! Many religious mistakes can be traced back to this. A Sanskrit shubhasitam talks of allthe scriptures being of as much use as a mirror to a blind man when one does nouse his own pragnya intellect! 4. Agami is authoritative sources. Wwould not know much if we had to depend on only our own thinking. We can also borrow other's thinking. We look to authorities to tell us of their field. Those knowledgeable in medicinecan tell us how to cure our body, expertsin architecture can tell us about how tobuild. We need not reinvent the wheel in every field! Sages tell us of experiences we havenever had such as universal love and everlasting bliss. This of course does not mean we take the unexamined word of every person who comes along. The teaching must come from an authoritativesource for us to have any faith in it.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Janki Santoke views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Janki Santoke and Speaking Tree,Times of India