Post by terenceip91 on Jun 13, 2015 8:01:41 GMT
1. Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles?
Faqir Chand is well known for admitting the ignorance surrounding the "visions" of himself appearing to his disciples in their time of need. He goes so far as to say that "gurus, masters, prophets, and mystics, posing as all knowing beings, have deceived millions of followers by duping them into believing that they have omnipresence and omnipotence when in fact they have neither." His own life experiences made him realize that these visions are not of the guru's doing, but are projections of one's own mind. For example, when Faqir Chand was in a military battle in Iraq in 1919, his squad was stuck in a really bad position, with little ammunition and what seemed like an advancing enemy. "In this very moment of fear the holy form of Hazur Data Dayal Ji appeared before me and said, "Faqir, worry not, the enemy has not come to attack but to take away their dead. Let them do that. Don't waste your ammunition."" After the battle and they returned to Baghdad, the satsangis worshipped him as if he was their guru. They told him that he appeared to them in their time of fear. Faqir questioned who it was that really appeared to them and he started questioning the visions of other disciples.
2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
I believe that is phrase means that science is just a proven philosophical idea. Philosophy is defined as the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. While science is defined as the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. When the idea is well thought and is able to be proven then it is called science, but if it can not then that philosophy hasn't been thought through then it will remain just an idea.
Faqir Chand is well known for admitting the ignorance surrounding the "visions" of himself appearing to his disciples in their time of need. He goes so far as to say that "gurus, masters, prophets, and mystics, posing as all knowing beings, have deceived millions of followers by duping them into believing that they have omnipresence and omnipotence when in fact they have neither." His own life experiences made him realize that these visions are not of the guru's doing, but are projections of one's own mind. For example, when Faqir Chand was in a military battle in Iraq in 1919, his squad was stuck in a really bad position, with little ammunition and what seemed like an advancing enemy. "In this very moment of fear the holy form of Hazur Data Dayal Ji appeared before me and said, "Faqir, worry not, the enemy has not come to attack but to take away their dead. Let them do that. Don't waste your ammunition."" After the battle and they returned to Baghdad, the satsangis worshipped him as if he was their guru. They told him that he appeared to them in their time of fear. Faqir questioned who it was that really appeared to them and he started questioning the visions of other disciples.
2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
I believe that is phrase means that science is just a proven philosophical idea. Philosophy is defined as the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. While science is defined as the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. When the idea is well thought and is able to be proven then it is called science, but if it can not then that philosophy hasn't been thought through then it will remain just an idea.