self psychological-neuroscientific-vedantic perspective

Maximum Happiness to the Maximum Number of People for the Maximum Time

CHINMAYA MISSION BOSTON Enquiry of the ‘SELF’ A Psychological, Neuroscientific and Vedantic Perspective

March 4th, 2012

© 2012 Chinmaya Mission Boston

Enquiry of the ‘Self’

Riddle of Experience vs Memory

Widely regarded as the world's most

influential living psychologist, Daniel

Kahneman won the Nobel in

Economics for his pioneering work in

behavioral economics -- exploring the

irrational ways we make decisions

about risk

Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor

studied her own stroke as it happened

-- and has become a powerful voice for

brain recovery

Stroke of Insight



Riddle of Experience vs Memory

Widely regarded as the world's most

influential living psychologist, Daniel

Kahneman won the Nobel in

Economics for his pioneering work in

behavioral economics -- exploring the

irrational ways we make decisions

about risk


Experience vs Memory

Experiencing Self

• Experience through the senses

• No decisions

• Objective

“From the point of view of the

experiencing self if you have a

vacation, and the second week is

just as good as the first, then the

two-week vacation is twice as

good as the one-week vacation”

Remembering Self

• Remembers the experiences

• Makes decisions

• Subjective

“For the remembering self, a two-

week vacation is barely better

than the one-week vacation

because there are no new

memories added”


Bhagavad Gita – Chapter 5.Verse 11

A Karma-Yogin's attempt is to keep himself within himself --- as a detached but

interested observer of all that is happening around and within himself. When he thus

observes himself, from within himself, as a worker in any given field, it becomes easy

for him to see that all actions belong to the above-mentioned instruments-of-action and

not to the detached OBSERVER in him.

Here, however, he must realize that the OBSERVER in himself is not the Truth, but this

OBSERVER is "Truth standing on the open balcony of the intellect." Even while thus

observing ourselves in action, we are ever conscious of the very OBSERVER in

ourselves. "The Consciousness that illumines the very OBSERVER, is the Spiritual-

centre, the Self," is the declaration of all Upanishads. – Swami Chinmayananda

YOGIS, having abandoned attachment, perform actions merely by the body,

mind, intellect and senses, for the purification of the self (ego) .



Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor

studied her own stroke as it happened

-- and has become a powerful voice for

brain recovery

Stroke of Insight


Stroke of Insight

Right Hemisphere

• All about the ‘present’ – here and

now

• Seeing the ‘one in the many’

“I am an energy-being connected

to the energy all around me

through the consciousness of my

right hemisphere”

“We are energy beings

connected to one another

through the consciousness as

one human family”

Left Hemisphere

• All about the ‘past’ and the ‘future’

– anxieties and expectations

• Seeing the ‘many in the one’

“It‟s the little voice that says to

me „I am. I am‟. And as soon as

my left hemisphere says to me „I

am‟, I become separate/”

“I become the single solid

individual, separate from the

energy flow around me and

separate from you.”


Geeta Vaatika – The Perfect Man

In the right understanding of his own Self and the resulting

realization of his own Self , he becomes the Self everywhere. He

discovers a unity in the perceived diversity and a subtle rhythm in

the obvious discord in the world outside.

To him, who has realized himself to be the Self which is all-

pervading, the entire universe becomes his own Self , and therefore,

his relationship with every other part of the universe is equal and

same.

Whether I get wounded in the hand or the leg, on the back or in the

front, on the head or on the shoulder, it is the same to me, since I

am equally identifying with my head, my trunk, and my legs, as

myself. – Swami Chinmayananda


Synthesis – Psychological, Neuro-scientific and Vedantic perspectives

Experiencing Self

Right Hemisphere

Remembering Self

Left Hemisphere

The ‘true SELF’ is the WITNESS to the Experiencing and Remembering Selves.

Self-Realized people can ‘consciously’ identify with the experiencing self and

with the ‘infinite energy’ while falling back to the remembering self, as needed.


Synthesis – Psychological, Neuro-scientific and Vedantic perspectives

“So who are we? We are the life-force power of the universe, with manual

dexterity and two cognitive minds. And we have the power to choose, moment

by moment, who and how we want to be in the world.

Right here, right now, I can step into the consciousness of my right

hemisphere, where we are. I am the life-force power of the universe. I am the

life-force power of the 50 trillion beautiful molecular geniuses that make up my

form, at one with all that is.

Or, I can choose to step into the consciousness of my left hemisphere, where I

become a single individual, a solid – separate from the flow, separate from

you.” – Jill Bolte Taylor