From: keith@cco.caltech.edu (Keith Allan Schneider)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: What's your SIQ?
Date: 11 Nov 1992 22:02:44 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
NNTP-Posting-Host: punisher.caltech.edu

kalki33!system@lakes.trenton.sc.us writes:

>keith@cco.caltech.edu (Keith Allan Schneider) writes:

>> >The soul is not a combination of body and spirit. The soul is the
>> >individual spirit in the body. The body by itself is nonliving matter.
>> >The soul is the person, whether in or out of the body.
>> 
>> Then how does this soul interact with the body?  You still must resolve
>> the mind-body problem.

>There is a material "mind", through which the embodied soul interfaces

Yes, but HOW does it interface?  If the sould is immaterial and the mind
material, they must interact somehow, unless you believe in parallelism
(or whatever)

>with the external material nature, or the senses of its body. This mind
>is not composed of gross matter, but it is matter in that it is
>impermanent. It is not part of the soul itself. The soul emanates
>consciousness, and it is capable of fixing that consciousness on
>anything ponderable: God, the soul itself, or another soul, or the
>mind, or the senses, etc.

How exactly does this "fixing" work?

>Although the soul has this capability, in the conditioned state, while
>it is within the material body, it is almost completely identified with
>matter, and thus it follows the material senses.

I don't understand what you are trying to say.  COuld you be a bit more
explicit?

>> How do other animals fit in here?  They seem to have living bodies, don't
>> they?  Or do they have sould as well?

>Yes, every living organism is operated by a soul within the body of the
>organism. The whole show is mediated by the Supersoul, Who also resides
>within every body along with the individual soul. This is, in fact, what
>people mean when they say "God is within". However, God is also without,
>and unlike the individual souls, who are limited in power and are thus
>subject to illusion, the Supersoul is unlimited in all respects and is
>not illusioned by the allure of the material body and senses. He never
>forgets Himself at any time.

So, do the other animals worship God too, or are we special?  If so, why?
What about plants?  Protozoa? Fungi?

>> >The purpose of human life is to reestablish our forgotten relationship
>> >with God. In this way, with God's mercy, we can become perfect.

>> Perfect?  I thought no one was perfect.  And what is this forgotten
>> relationship?  Are you saying that humans once had a relationship with
>> this god thing?

>Yes, there are perfect persons. But they are very hard to find within
>the material world. The perfection of the individual soul is the result
>of becoming completely free from identification with the temporary
>material body and mind, and attaining total recall of its actual identity
>as spirit soul, the eternal devotee of the supreme soul, the Lord.

So basically, you have to die?

>We have forgotten who we are because we have become so enamored of our
>temporary material bodies, and the material bodies of others. This has
>been going on from remote time, but there has always been a way out.
>This way is variously described in the scriptures, but finally one must

What scriptures?  Who wrote them?  How did he know?

>surrender to the Lord, adopt an attitude of loving devotion to Him, and
>give up one's cherished dreams of personal power, wealth, prestige,
>sexual indulgence, and independence in the world of Maya, for these are
>sources of forgetfulness.

So these are bad things that you have listed?  Can I give up my dreams
buy still keep the reality?

keith

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