remarks on interpretation of scripture and Gita etc

Bhadraiah Mallampalli vaidix at HOTMAIL.COM
Mon Mar 19 19:23:42 UTC 2001


I like to extend the mathematics parallel mentioned by Prof. Arun Gupta. It
is not entirely true to say that a non-mathematician may not understand
general relativity. We will discuss this at the end.

Now, how do mathematicians themselves study their own subject? (I request
mathematicians on this list to help.) When they study algebraic spaces like
Abel spaces or Jacobi spaces, do they really conceptualize them in their
mind, or do they just juggle some symbols on a piece of paper like someone
who knows square root only as a button on the calculator? I suppose it is
not the latter.

If some conceptualization is involved, the next question is do they perceive
those spaces personally as if they are experiencing a virtual reality show?
Or do they merely conceptualize them without a 'picture' in mind, in the
sense, without using their sensory nervous systems? I suppose both these
cases are equivalent. It is just a transformation of language from concept
level to sensory level or vice versa.

Now, the word 'passion' has its implications: positive or negative.

Negative: The presence of passion, arguing from gIta itself, is rajoguNa and
inferior to dispassion. So I would argue a dispassionate study is actually
greater than a passionate study! Now a dispassionate study is an even
greater challenge if one belongs to an entirely different faith.

Positive: Passion happens when the concepts (such as Abel spaces etc)
interact with the physical body and mind. The subjects (mathematics or
vedAnta) do not stand in vacuum. They are supported by a live combination of
body/mind, and this combination is soluble in the very subjects they
support. So the presence of passion is actually an evidence of an
interchange of information, either from subject to object or from object to
subject. (Don't ask me which of the entities (mathematics/vedAnta or
body/mind) takes on the role of subject and which of them takes on the role
of object:-) It is the place where subject and object ends meet.

How do non-mathematicians understand relativity? If one subject meets the
object, then the object can be retranslated out to any "other" subject as
well! Hence it is the place where different subjects meet. As a corollary it
is also a place where different objects meet. (Sounds new age?)

Radha-Govinda Mandir: Thanks for the precious rare-to-find dvaita assertion
over advaita. We will wait for the personified Krishna.

Best regards
Bhadraiah
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