@Rhitwick : Modern science doesn't give you much answer related to life. It is stuck into material boundaries and thats why the ideas from Indian scriptures are revolutionising the west today, as in India science went hand in hand with spirituality. Some say life is basic energy and some that it is mode of conciousness which becomes life when it mixes with maya/prakriti which is always changing or dynamic. Thus even though energy or consciousness are infinite, they become finite when they merge with maya which is an aspect of prakriti.
What is the guarantee you were the same person before?
A second before mentally, you had different thoughts lesser knowledge/awareness etc. Chemically you exchange millions of molecules per second with the nature i.e breathe(exhale), fart, excrete, perspire etc and breathe(inhale), eat, drink, eat etc. Physically, you are not the same Rhitwick who existed some 5 years ago. Your weight, height, breadth, face and even complexion might have changed! Well this what we call as Maya, a concept! It doesn't mean that world doesn't exist.
Yes life and artificial life is different and robotocs is an entirely different thing. So how can you create energy, how can you create consciousness? In terms of physics, energy can neither be destroyed nor created. Even during procreation, you are "sacrificing" your sperm which consists of basic consciousness or "life" into a female. This nature itself is said to be conscious by many which explains why a lifeless old seed which is nothing but a chemical composition can germinate under favourable conditions and show signs of "life".
The universe doesn't have just a material angle which is questioned by the rigvedic hymn of creation.
rhitwick said:
Why do you do things you do? Do you think things you are saying are never said before, do you think things you are doing are never done or tried before? What drives us to do something and not to do?
When you ask "why", then it becomes philosophy. You cannot understand these things if you are just stuck to material science. Modern science cannot find the depth of universe as it would become a recursive question for boundaries and the 'source'. By source I don't mean a white bearded god playing dice with our lives!
rhitwick said:
Simply I won't accept "God's will" or "God wanted me to do so" kind of answer.
Science would say (or I think it should be like this) some actions are our reflex action, some are driven by our hormones, some are what we have learned till date seeing others.
I am not asking you to accept abrahamic faiths (like God's will) which force their "belief" on you. Since you asked questions about "why life", you can ask similar questions at macroscopic and microscopic levels too as to why reflexes work, why harmones work like that? Can you verify the m-theory, string theory? can you verify the universe itself? Thus material science has its limitations as the tools we use are only an extension of our senses.
Some philosphers equate this universe with the human mind. In deep sleep state (dreamless), there is nothing. Its total emptiness. You cannot measure its depth, the start but only experience it. But when you get a conscious thought, that thought multiplies and you can create a whole dream. You may be a part of that dream or may be not. Sometimes, when the dream gets out of control you manifest "will" to control the dream or perhaps wakeup which destroys that dream.
Similarly, in Indian context we have the concept of bhrahman (not the "modern white bearded diety") who is a personification of supreme consciousness who is said to have sprung from Vishnu's navel i.e the unconscious aspect of the universe, dreaming of many other bhramans. Its only a concept. Can we go back and read the string theory, m-theory and the parallel universes?
You may ponder over it or you may not! Like Gita (18.63), Vedas also do not force anything on you. Further, "detachment" is a part of Indian scriptures to gain complete knowledge.
rhitwick said:
The experiment I quoted sure explained how a self replicating cell can be created. The y got the whole 100% structure of a genome and now able to reconstruct (design) it in computer too.
Yes the experiment shows about self replication. But you haven't understood the experiment. It doesn't say it creates life, but a designed/chemically made genome transplanted into the recipient cell and cell is the smallest unit of life! It is analogous to properties being transplanted into a 'working life'.
rhitwick said:
Someday the experimet would go beyond bacteria to animals even human too.
May be or may be not! When you start "believing" in science, it becomes analogous to "theism" and when that attachment to knowledge comes into picture, a person starts losing his objectivity. You need to read the articles I linked before, decondition yourself from the western world views to understand the Indian concepts better. Some terms like dharma, astik, deva etc have been grossly misunderstood and even negate the meaning of the established english terminology when translated into english.
A child born in this world only sees the nature. He sees the sun, he can feel its heat, smell the water. He doesn't know what god is. This is something that west has conditioned on us and even Indians have a distorted view now. IMO, it would be wise if you stop wasting your time on theism, western god who is a personal god who dictated a set of DOs and DONTs, hate and fear etc. Indians never knew what god is, for them the nature (Sun, moon, water, air, fire, earth, plants, trees, rivers etc) was divine as it constituted their living "surya-dev" was a personification of surya. And hence, "deva" is just a concept which is a part of ultimate reality.
The westerners distorted it as polytheism and forced their monotheistic personal god (which is subjective) on others! Thus any term related to *theism i.e polytheism, atheism, theism, monotheism etc is western and much inferior conceptually.
Anyways, you are right this discussion is out of track or may be I'm out of track as I don't have any interest in western or abrahamic beliefs or its rivalry with modern material science. The common thing between both is that both are "limited" and they limit the infinite human mind which has the ability to comprehend much much more.
I didn't see the date, so sorry for bumping this thread
....lets bury it again
utkarsh said:
God is a belief which prevents you from going wrong. it increases your "vivek"
Beliefs don't increase your "vivek". Had it been the case, Indians would be free from superstitions and blind beliefs today. Following are some of the resulting statements because of some of the beliefs :
* Science will solve all our problems one day
* Science will find it tomorrow if not today
* Tuesday is the day for HanumanJi/Sai baba etc. I wonder if Hanuman knew what tuesday was or which day universe started.
* We should sit in a particular direction of Kabba. Well we have a direction too in this directionless universe!
* Slaughter of Goat on bakri-id to appease Allah. Well story started with Allah's command to Mohammed to slaughter his son and when he opened eyes their was a sheep. Here even belief is not believed properly because as per belief muslims should be slaughtering their sons to see if sheep comes.
* A black cat crossing your path is bad luck
* Flat earth that came from bible and the west.
Surely it is only described as a mode of lower consciousness and not "vivek".
