The redneck strike again.

[Little Rik]

[quote='Riketto' pid='693988' dateline='1403442402']Not early days for Shiva that explained the role of the pineal gland 7000 ago.

But it will be very useful if science can verify it. At the moment people can have all kinds of views about it such as "The pineal gland stuff is false because my religion doesn't teach it" or "The pineal gland stuff is just religious bullshit."

If you expect the physical science to understand what is not physical you must have big expectations.
It would be something like calling a carpenter or an electrician when your sink need a plumber.

What he was really showing in this example of a split brain is that our 'rational left brain' consciousness is just the tip of an iceberg. He was then illustrating how the reality concerning brains poses problems for some religious theology. Everyone has a right and left hemisphere so we are all two people in one body so to speak. What we consciously think isn't necessarily what we unconsciously think so would we get to the Christian heaven if we only believe in the Christian God unconsciously or do we have to be conscious of our belief for it to count?

In yoga we don't have this kind of problems.
There is only one supreme consciousness to focus and this require the mind to come under control so it is possible to concentrate on the only reality.

Yoga work on a different plate.
Yoga try to establish a relationship with the macrocosm so the unit Atman or microcosm become macrocosm.

It still has to be done through the brain, though.

The brain is the fuel, the mind is the vehicle and the Atman or the I is the driver so i wouldn't give that much importance to the brain other than it play some role.

There's a reason why Ramachandran said there might be a God antenna in the brain.

Ramachandran is still searching.
One day he like everybody else will put an end to this search.
In the meantime is exactly like you.
Just searching.

How are you defining mysticism? My own brain is tuned to myths and symbols etc when I use what I call 'New Age perception' but it's not the right brain consciousness that Jill Bolte Taylor experienced. I can also use Eckhart Tolle's technique to observe my thoughts floating by. On rare occasions I can become aware of just existing and being here without any thoughts about it although I can only manage it for a couple of seconds. I'm guessing this is what's meant by the observer self. It's an interesting experience from the point of view of cognition but I don't find it any kind of evidence for God.

"The unending endeavour to bridge the gap between the finite and the infinite is mysticism."
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

"The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is at the root of all true science. Someone to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, is my idea of God."
Albert Einstein

The way I see it, humans believing that we are God's special creation or Evolution's greatest product has led to a lot of the problems we have today.

Religions create problems all the times but even without religions people would cut each other throat anyway.

Spirituality help you to go ahead so the chances to go back are very slim. I have seen countless of materialists important people fall down from high stands.

But what about people who do what they can for human rights, animal welfare and ecology. Doesn't a life devoted to service count for anything?

I already point out in previous posts what Sarkar said about spiritual progress.
The best way to progress in this field is not even yoga.
Yoga come third but yoga is the most practical way.
First come the total commitment for the welfare of other so even someone who does not believe in God but serve other before serving him-herself will get at the very top very easily.
Then come those who see God in everything and everybody.
In this way you can't go wrong as you wouldn't build up any bad Karma.
But i think that the best of the best it is to practice these 3 rules together minus the non believe in God as the first way.