COGNITION DEFINED BY WEST AND INDIA
“Telepathy is the transport of feelings and not in the language of
words. But when you feel the meanings of words as meanings evolve in you on
the basis of your experience and perception in life, telepathy takes to the
language of words particular to you. No two persons really understand a
word in the same way. When you become a part, sprout and limb of nature,
the troposphere takes over your hormonal communication and learning becomes
symbiotic and hormonal.” One of the members wrote these words today. Of
course, another member wrote he is deleting good things but adding only a
waste product. NO TWO MEMBERS THINK ALIKE. WHERE THERE IS A KRISHNA THERE
MUST BE A ARJUNA NAD KARNA TOO. West also think similarly on telepathy and
cognition unlike in India. Where there are several opinions, or differed
understanding, can there be a symbiosis?
The difference between Western and Indian philosophy in their
approach to cognition and telepathy is rooted in their epistemological
frameworks, ontologies, and worldviews. Below is a comparative analysis
based on classical sources and scholarly interpretations.
COGNITION: Western vs Indian Philosophy
1. Western Philosophy: Cognition
a. Nature of Cognition
Empirical and Rational Traditions dominate.
Empiricists (e.g., Locke, Hume): All knowledge comes from sense experience.
Rationalists (e.g., Descartes, Kant): Reason and innate ideas are also
sources of knowledge.
b. Cognition as Representation
Mind is viewed as representational — forming internal representations of
external stimuli.
B Cognitive science and philosophy of mind often model cognition through
information processing, neuroscience, and computational theories (e.g.,
Fodor, Dennett).
c. Epistemological Framework
Reliance on subject-object *dualism*: A knowing subject perceives an
external object.
Emphasis on justification and reliability of belief (e.g., Gettier problem,
reliabilism).
UNDERSTOOD FROM
Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy
Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
2. Indian Philosophy: Cognition (Prajñā / Jñāna)
a. Nature of Cognition
Seen as direct or mediated awareness — includes perception (pratyakṣa),
inference (anumāna), verbal testimony (śabda), comparison (upamāna), etc.
More inclusive: Not limited to sensory data — includes inner perception
(manas), self-awareness (svasaṃvedana), and yogic insight (yogipratyakṣa).
b. *non-dualistic* vs Dualistic Views
Advaita Vedānta: All cognition ultimately resolves into non-dual
consciousness (Brahman).
Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika: More analytical and dualistic; cognition involves a
self, mind, sense organs, and external object.
c. Self-Cognition (Svasaṃvedana)
Some schools (e.g., Yogācāra Buddhism, Kashmir Shaivism) argue for
self-luminous cognition — consciousness is self-aware.
AS UNDERSTOOD FROM:
Nyāya Sūtra (Gautama), Vedānta Sūtra (Bādarāyaṇa)
Yoga Sūtra (Patañjali)
Brahma Sūtra Bhāṣya (Śaṅkara)
TELEPATHY: Western vs Indian Views
1. Western Thought on Telepathy
a. Skepticism
Generally treated as pseudoscience.
Scientific materialism does not accept telepathy due to lack of empirical
verification.
b. Parapsychology
19th–20th century saw efforts to study telepathy (e.g., by the Society for
Psychical Research).
Telepathy: Mind-to-mind communication without sensory or physical
interaction.
c. Contemporary Cognitive Science
Current neuroscience does not support telepathy.
Some speculative work in quantum consciousness (e.g., *Roger Penrose*), but
still controversial.
Carl Jung (collective unconscious, synchronicity — not telepathy per se)
2. Indian Philosophical Perspective on Telepathy (Yogic Powers / Siddhis)
a. Accepted Phenomenon in Yoga & Sāṅkhya
Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras (3rd chapter: Vibhūti Pāda) describe telepathy as a
siddhi (psychic power) attained through concentration (samādhi) and
detachment (vairāgya). Example: By samyama on the mind of another, one
gains knowledge of their thoughts (Yoga Sūtra 3.19).
Chapter 3 : Vibhooti Pada || 3.19 ||
प्रत्ययस्य परचित्तज्ञानम्
पदच्छेद: प्रत्ययस्य, पर, चित्त-ज्ञानम् ॥
शब्दार्थ / Word Meaning
pratyayasy - notions
para - other
chitta - mind, consciousness
jnanam - knowledge.
सूत्रार्थ / Sutra Meaning
When the Yogi practices Samyama (concentration, meditation, and absorption)
on the mind of another person, he gains knowledge of the thoughts and
feelings within that person’s mind.
b. Mind is Subtle, Consciousness is Universal
Telepathy possible because minds are interconnected via a universal
substratum (consciousness). Yogic discipline allows one to bypass sensory
channels and access other minds directly.
c. Śruti and Smṛti Support
Upaniṣads and Puranas mention mental communication among sages. Yogis with
purified minds are said to transcend space-time limitations.
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali (esp. 3.16–3.36)
Bhāgavata Purāṇa (11.15.16: discusses yogic powers)
Comparative Summary Table
Aspect Western Philosophy Indian
Philosophy
View of Cognition Empirical, Rational, Representational
Experiential, Direct,
Consciousness-based
Self-awareness Often derivative or secondary
Sometimes intrinsic (e.g.,
svasaṃvedana)
Telepathy Skeptical, pseudoscience,
parapsychology
Yogic siddhi, mind-to-mind
connection
Framework Subject-object dualism Can be non-dual (Advaita, Buddhism)
Method
Observation, reason, experiment Meditation,
self-realization, Samadhi
Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali – Trans. by Swami Satchidananda / Patanjali Yoga
Sutras: Translation & Commentary (A.K. Aruna)
Upanishads – (e.g., Chāndogya, Bṛhadāraṇyaka)
Brahma Sutra Bhāṣya by Shankaracharya
Western Sources Descartes – Meditations on First Philosophy
Kant – Critique of Pure Reason
Radhakrishnan, S. – Indian Philosophy (Vols I & II) Title
Indian Philosophy, Vol. 1 (Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan)
An Analysis of Extra-sensory Perceptions in Indian Philosophy (2024)
research paper
NB: KR I might have written already on all these and so presented as
notes. K RAJARAM IRS 81025
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