The Quest For A Global Grammar, Mythos and Cosmology: Ashok K. Gangadean
The Quest For A Global Grammar, Mythos and Cosmology: Ashok K. Gangadean
The Quest For A Global Grammar, Mythos and Cosmology: Ashok K. Gangadean
Ashok K. Gangadean
Overview
Perhaps the deepest drive in human inquiry through the ages and across cultures
and worldviews- whether in philosophy or science- has been the quest to
encounter and express the fundamental field of Reality. And when we rise to a
truly global perspective and expand our horizon to incorporate the vast
spectrum of investigations and articulations - east, west and other - certain
striking patterns become evident. One great lesson in this global perspective is
that it makes all the difference how we conduct our minds - how we process
reality.
The global perspective makes evident that humanity still lacks an adequate
Universal Grammar or Logic of the Fundamental Reality, and that certain
traditions of science, philosophy (and culture making in general) continue to be
dominated by reductive patterns of thought that generate rational pathologies
that eclipse the universal grammar of the Unified Field of Reality with
devastating consequences. Here we see that the Fundamental Reality must be
an integral, infinite unified field of dynamic relations which requires thought
patterns that flow in the Holistic Logic of this Field.
mind) for the right conduct of thinking, consciousness, world-making and the
processing of Reality. I suggest that this Logic of the Unified Field is the
maturation of Natural Reason which is now essential for the advancement of
Science, Philosophy and the flourishing of human cultures.
Prologue
In these reflections I would like to sketch highlights of my lifelong quest to
clarify and articulate the primal missing logic at the heart of all worldviews and
disciplines. As we shall soon see I discovered early in my career that something
profound and vital was still missing from human discourse. Although I
instinctively gravitated to the intuition of a perennial philosophy and knew in a
pre-articulated way that there had to be an ultimate primal principle, an ultimate
science of "what is first", I nevertheless found that the language, technology of
mind and narrative for this was still missing. The nascent perennial narrative
was still semi-dormant and needed to be brought to mature global articulation.
One remarkable disclosure was that the Primordial Truth that was seeded in
diverse traditions was alive, growing, evolving and maturing in the global
evolutionary process.
The themes and findings that I summarize here have been developed in great
detail in my essays and books which present my research over the past three
decades. Two companion volumes present the heart of my quest for the
fundamental missing science of Logos: Meditative Reason: Toward Universal
Grammar, and Between Worlds: The Emergence of Global Reason. The first appeared
in l993 in the Revisioning Philosophy Series of Peter Lang Press, and the second
appeared in l997 in the same Series. These findings are presented in a simplified
narrative in a book designed for the general reader- The Awakening of the Global
Mind. A six CD set presenting an audio performance of this book was released by
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Sounds True recently. And in my recent book from SUNY Press- Meditations of
Global First Philosophy: Quest for the Missing Grammar of Logos, these themes are
further explored in a more systematic way.
The Introductory part of this essay seeks to uncover and bring to light the global
foundation of human reason which is essentially integral, holistic, non-dualistic
and dialogic in nature. In this Prologue I distill key themes from four of my
books1 which present the results of research in this area over the past forty years,
and which have direct relevance to the present inquiry. These volumes seek to
open global space for philosophy in general and more specifically to uncover the
fundamental logic and universal grammar of natural reason that is the common
generative source of diverse worldviews, of human experience, and the diverse
narratives and disciplinary languages that pervade the human condition.
One striking theme in this perspective is that the more mundane forms of
thinking, of processing information, of using language, of generating our
experience and constructing our worldviews are not suitable to approach the
Primal Source which is Unitive, Holistic, Infinite hence beyond the habits of
mind of everyday egocentric life. Indeed, a recurrent theme across worldviews---
east, west and other--is that egocentric or monocentric patterns of thought that
arise from a primal separation of the thinker from the objects of thought and
experience inevitably distort Reality and de-form the integral and holistic flow of
natural reason and intelligence, indeed, disfigure our very human essence.
Prologue
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Further, the global perspective reveals that such Integral thinking is a primary
factor in discerning or producing genuine wisdom and understanding, deeper
meaning and human flourishing. Diverse wisdom traditions through the ages
are in consensus that when our conduct of mind flows with the deepest natural
laws and patterns of Reality itself, human flourishing results. For example,
Buddha’s enlightenment is precisely this recognition that egocentric life is the
primary source of human pathologies and suffering, and the essence of his
teaching is that we can overcome our human dysfunctions through the right
conduct and rational rehabilitation of our patterns of thought- of our right
minding. This, of course, is the eightfold path of moral practice encoded in his
fourth noble or “universal” truth, In this respect, our technology of minding is
an ultimate technology that makes all the difference for our human condition.
Yet one striking theme in this global perspective is that the diverse planetary
traditions have not yet matured sufficiently to converge on a common and
fundamental global or universal grammar (language, narrative, worldview…) to
express adequately the Primal Field of Reality in its global power. And one of
the main challenges in the inquiry of my books and essays has been to seek to
uncover and develop this missing global grammar that both generates and is
implied by the diverse narratives and worldviews that have evolved through the
ages on a global scale.
The term “grammar” is here being used in a deep ontological sense to indicate
the dynamic “structure” encoded in the Primal Word, in the Unified Field of
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Reality. This follows a long established pattern of seeking the logical and/or
ontological grammar of thought that generates any given language, narrative or
worldview. In this I have sought to build on the most advanced insights and
breakthroughs of the evolving eastern, western and indigenous traditions of
logic, ontology and philosophy. And here too there have been marvelous and
perennial attempts through the ages to tap the missing fundamental Logic and
Universal Grammar of the Unified Field that has been the eclipsed, though
nevertheless presiding, blueprint of all evolution, and continues to be the missing
blueprint for the future evolution of inquiry, education and cultural
development.
When, for example, in the encounter of certain classical meditative texts, such as
the Bhagavadgita (Hindu script) or the Dhamapada (Buddhist script) or the Zen
meditations of Master Dogen, it is immediately apparent that the voice of the text
is speaking from a primal meditative space which presents itself as essentially
integral, self-coherent, non-dualizing, holistic and dialogic in the deepest sense.
And it is equally clear that the primary teaching of this voice is focused on
helping the listener awaken to his/her mental habits which are lodged and
suffused with egocentric patterns that spawn artificial divisions, fragmentation,
alienation and human pathologies. In helping students truly encounter such
texts I found it most helpful to help mark these contrasting "mentalities", forms
of minding, or thinking technologies or use of language.
and refuses to enter battle against his own kin. Arjuna, we soon learn, speaks
from the everyday egocentric mind and voice, and as yet has no idea that his
minding pattern is at the heart of his existential crisis. So Krishna and Arjuna
embody and speak from these two contrasting technologies of mind, from two
very different voice fields or dimensions of language. It becomes vital in
processing this deep dialogue to become explicitly aware of these two “voice
fields” and dimensions of mind, language and speech to authentically encounter
this sacred text. Indeed, it soon become apparent that becoming self consciously
aware of these contrasting fields of discourse is the essence of Krishna’s
liberating instruction to Arjuna. So it is of the utmost importance in effectively
processing this dialogue (and of course for our spiritual wellbeing) that we mark
this contrast between these two technologies of minding, and discern their
contrasting logical and experiential grammars.
But when we stand back from any one cultural or disciplinary perspective and
truly encounter the remarkable diversity of worldviews that have evolved
through the ages our perspective dilates and it becomes more evident that a vast
evolutionary drama has been unfolding and striking patterns begin to emerge.
As the global lens opens we begin to see that in the early dawning of diverse
cosmologies, before the separations of philosophy, religion, spirituality and
science, early cosmologies were ineluctably drawn to name and express some
ultimate First Principle or Force that must be the generative source and
organizing principle of all reality.
To pick up the earlier theme of the technology of mind- (we are as we mind)- it
may be said that the great traditions all stress that coming into direct encounter
with the Primal Source, which is found to be the driving force of human life, calls
for the overcoming of egocentric patterns of minding which are found to be the
primary cause of fragmentation, discoherence, alienation, individual and cultural
disorders, and rational pathologies in the human condition. And it is apparent
that if we attempt to approach the Unified Field of Reality from egocentric or
monocentric methods of minding the universal logic and grammar of the Primal
Field would be eclipsed, deformed, reduced and inaccessible. Examples abound
in diverse wisdom traditions: for example, meditative traditions demonstrate
that when we process our selves – our personal identity- in the objectified space
of ego thinking, we make ourselves into entities, we objectify ourselves, and thus
participate in a violent separation from our true Higher Self, which is always
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beyond any kind of object or entity. Further, such self objectification also severs
us from the Unified Field of Reality, and this issues in all sorts of splits,
separations and alienation from Others, from the ecology, and of course from
What is First. In the Biblical traditions, of course, this primal separation is
known as “sin”, ontological separation from God.
Indeed, as diverse as the traditions of First Philosophy may be, the global
perspective helps to clarify that the great traditions were keenly aware that
egocentric patterns of objectifying thinking had to be overcome, and that the key
to the awakening of wisdom, integral reason, knowledge and the direct
encounter with Primal Reality involves a dramatic transformation in method of
minding which flows in the holistic dynamics of the Unified Field. This radical
shift in the technology of minding is of the utmost importance in clarifying the
origin of Integral Understanding, Learning and Education. In this global
perspective it becomes evident that a Universal Grammar for investigating,
clarifying, formulating and expressing the fundamental Unified Field is still
wanting. And it is equally clear, despite the persistent efforts of the great global
traditions, that the fundamental Logic of the Unified Field awaits further
excavation and clarification.
In my quest to help clarify the fundamental logic and grammar of this Unified
Field I began to see striking patterns across cultures, worldviews and
philosophical traditions. It became quite apparent across diverse worldviews or
ideologies that egocentric habits and patterns of minding were pervasive, east,
west or other. Indeed, the essential task in the Hindu or Buddhist teachings, for
example, was to help the struggling "student" become aware that she was
somehow stuck in egocentric habits of mind which were generating existential
disorders of all kinds, and to enter disciplined and powerful transformations into
the integral and holistic technology of minding which brings us into the space of
genuine knowing, understanding, and encounter with Reality. For example, the
transformative deep dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in the
Bhagavadgita is precisely such an awakening therapy. Krishna’s voice speaks for
the meditative voice, and Arjuna (the everyday egocentric person lodged in ego
identity) suffers from a breakdown, a life crisis that flows from his ego-minding.
It thus became apparent in this global drama that all humans, all cultures, all
philosophical and educational traditions equally faced the challenges of
egocentric minding, whatever its worldview or ideology may be. Any
worldview, cosmology, or ideology may be processed in the mentality of
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In this experimental spirit I found it most helpful to mark the egocentric patterns
of minding - the egocentric mind and voice and language technology- with single
brackets: /.../ The egocentric space of /reason/ and /knowing/...is the dualizing
/space/ in which there is always pathological distance between /knower/ vs
/known/; between /subject/ v /object/; between /my worldview/ vs /your
worldview/, etc. Any word or thought or experience processed in the egocentric
technology is explicitly marked (as if it were a kind of quotation device): /X/
And it becomes more apparent why diverse attempts to /name/ ((What is First))
have resulted in even more divisiveness, contention and obfuscation. In fact, the
development of the ((Grammar)) of the "Integral Field" - the Global Grammar of
((Natural Reason)) made it possible for me to propose a global ((primal name)) -
((Logos)) - as a candidate for ((What is First)). In this ((context)) it becomes
clearer that this ((Infinite Primal Principle)) - let's say ((Logos)) - "is" the ((Unified
Field)), the ((Logosphere)) wherein all ((things)) are in profound and dynamic
((interaction)) and ((interrelation)). In this way we now begin to see that it
makes all the difference whether we are "thinking" and "speaking" and
"experiencing" in /.../ or ((...)).
So one of the striking findings of the ((global perspective)) is that the ((Ultimate
First Principle)), ((Logos)), is the ((Infinite, Unifying, Force)) that ((situates,
incorporates and pervades)) all "existence". This ((global fact)) follows
immediately from the ((logic)) of the ((Infinite Principle)). And the implications
of this ((elementary)) point are astounding. It "means" that whatever ((exists)) is
immediately and directly ((situated)) in this ((logosphere)), and under its
((Infinite)) sway. And here the ((irony)) is that all ((evolution)), all "human" and
"cultural" has been ((unfolding)) as a direct expression of the ((Infinite Force)) of
((Logos)). This means, of course, that every ((step)) in the ((evolutionary drama))
is a step in the ((emergent, self expression)) of ((Logos)).
For example, however I process my "self" when "I" say /I/..."I" am always
nevertheless situated within the ((context)) of ((I): and this may be expressed as
((.../I/...)). And so too with any word, term, phenomenon, event, worldview...
This simple formulation, for example, captures succinctly a great global spiritual
insight - that whatever /narrative/ or /egocentric identity/ you may give
/yourself/...there remains a ((higher self)) in the ((Integral Field)) that is ever-
present beyond all egocentric /constructs/. And the great awakening of the
((higher self)), which is ((global enlightenment)) is revealed in this formula:
((.../I/...)) which makes clear the ((I)) is always already ((present)) in any /ego
identity/.
The most relevant point for us here is to recognize in entering this ((global
drama)) that every step in the evolutionary advancement of cultures - whether in
spirituality, in ethics, in religious life, in politics, in technology and science, in the
arts are best understood as advances towards the ((awakening)) of the ((global
mind))- as the evolutionary self-expression of ((logos))...of ((...)). For this
awakening ((technology of minding)) is the rational consciousness wherein the
((thinking subject)) directly encounters its ((other)) it's ((object of thought)) in an
immediate deep-dialogic intimacy:
((Knower<====>Known))
And here we can see more clearly the contrast, for example, that Buber was
drawing between the /I/ vs /It/ mode of relation and the ((I<===>Thou))
((relation)) of ((being in dialogue)).
context)) in which all that ((exists)) is ever in dynamic ((interaction))- and this is
the ((Integral Nature)) of Reality itself. This ((Infinite Force)) of the Field of
((Reality)) is what presides in every ((moment)), in every ((event)), and surely in
every advance of ((civilization)).
If, for example, we look at the evolution of science and scientific method in this
global drama, it is immediately clear that the essence of the experimental and
scientific method of investigation is an advance towards the ((epistemic praxis))
of ((..)) - the ((scientific spirit)) is precisely the ((deep-dialogue virtue)) of
standing ((open)) in my inquiry to the ((phenomena)), to the ((other)), to the
((object)) of investigation. If, however, I remain /monocentric/ and /reductive/ in
my /theoretical paradigm/, unable to accomplish the ((rational, critical turn)) of
experimental self-questioning...then I /reduce/ the /object/ unilaterally to my
/perspective/, my /worldview/..and in a profound sense violate the
((phenomena)).
Now it is easier to see why attempts to situate ((Integral Studies)) in the older,
artificial spaces of /Egocentric Reason and Culture/ must be futile. Indeed, even
our models and programs for "integral education" continue to be undermined by
the dominant forces of /Egocentric Culture and Education/. This is why /Integral
Studies/ and /Inter-disciplinary/ strategies seems to be universally marginalized
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The quest for a Global Name for the Primal Principle: ((Logos))
We now see that the global name, Logos, is boundlessly global in scope and
power. This means that nothing can be apart from It: all names and forms, all
categories -Space, Time, Cause, Substance, Relation, Process, Word, Mind,
World, Experience, Appearance, Meaning, Value, Cognition...- arise from the
same Origin. This implies of course that all of the fundamental categories or
"building blocks" of Reality must be originally and profoundly Inter-relational,
they mutually entail each other and permeate each other. There is a profound
Dialogic Dialectic permeating everything in the Infinite Field.
Nothing can stand atomically apart, all things co-arise. This is the Dialogic
structure of Logos. In this powerful Logic of Logos (the origin of all possible
"logics") the Rational Force of the Logosphere expresses its global unifying and
diversifying power. And the implications of this are astounding for the human
condition.
As the Logic of Logos came to increasing clarity over three decades it was clear
that we urgently needed to develop tools, technology, to become mindful of
when we were in the Grammar of Logos and when we were in the grammars of
egocentric cultures. Remember in this meditation on Logos that the pathways of
awakening move in a recursive loop - the deeper we encounter Logos, the more
this invokes the global turn in minding, the more, in turn, this encourages the
expansion of thought and language, which enhances our capacity to process the
((Logosphere)).
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This is an astounding result of entering the Logic and Language of the Unified
Field. Once we explicitly clarify the use of signs in the egocentric voice and in
the Logocentric voice dramatic acceleration ignites. We now see, for example,
the difference between /time/ vs ((Time)): egocentric /time/ is linear and
separated from all other categories in egocentric worldviews- /time/ is broken
into pieces of /past/, /present/ and /future/ which are supposed somehow to unite
in some continuum of /time/. By contrast, in entering ((Time)) in the Logosphere
we see immediately that every ((moment)) of ((Time)), every ((now)) has an
infinition structure in which all moments of time meet - ((past, present, future))
meet, ((co-arise)), in every ((now)). The great mystics and meditative thinkers
understood this, but we needed a logical technology - the ((technology of Logos))
- to adequately clarify, formulate and express this global truth. To enter ((...)) is
to awaken the ((global mind)), to cross into the ((global perspective)) where
diverse worldviews ((meet and co-arise)). This, I suggest, is the emergence of the
((Primordial Tradition)) in its global form.
Let us scan selected cultural traditions and move fast-forward over the past three
millennia. In our Judaic origins we see the emergence of the breakthrough to
Yahweh, the Infinite Living Spirit that must be One. The recognition that there is
an ultimate primal reality that is Infinite, Living and One is a significant moment
in our common evolution that taps the Logic of Logos. It is also seen that this
Infinite Spirit must be the generative first cause of all reality. This too is a classic
advance. This Judaic articulation of Logos brings with it the recognition that this
Living Presence, which is always infinitely higher, calls on us to re-orient our
lives to love and honor The First with all our might, with our whole being.
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Of course this tradition too in a different way recognizes that this truth of
Aum/Brahman reveals that the true Self is boundless and beyond the artificially
constructed ego that most people confuse with the Self (which is called Atman).
And here too, in tapping the Logic of Logos this traditions sees that the key to
human flourishing is overcoming the egocentric life, which is seen to be the
source of diverse existential pathologies, and advancing to a higher form of life
that comes with the realization of Atman, true Self awakening.
Again, the great awakening of the Buddha bears witness to the emerging drama
of Logos in the human condition. Buddha's historic insight was that egocentric
mind is the source of human suffering and that it can be overcome in the
awakening of mind beyond egocentric patterns to radical Emptiness, Sunyata,
the fundamental Law or Dharma in all existence. In Buddha's teaching ultimate
Reality is a boundless Field of dynamic inter-relationality of all things. All things
are empty of the ego constructs of "self-existence". So here too we find another
alternative formulation of classic features of Logos.
that some kind of powerful pattern is at work moving human evolution, diverse
cultural worlds, to alternative formulations of Logos. This is remarkable enough.
What's equally remarkable is that as we look fast-forward over the centuries on a
global scale we also detect deep patterns of Logos emerging in the evolution of
the human condition.
How the Logos Force moves evolution in shaping the human condition
Of course it is not co-incidental that diverse cultural traditions would gravitate to
and express The First in the grammar of its worldview. For in the ((Logos))
perspective it is evident that in the deepest fabric of Reality, the Logosphere, the
Infinition dynamic and dialectic of Logos is recursively and creatively playing
itself out in every ((Moment)), in every ((Event)).
Let us scrutinize this more carefully. How can we be so confident that ((Logos))
is happening in every situation? The reason is as simple as it is classical- The
Infinite (Force) cannot be broken down or localized in a way that reduces the
Infinite Power or Presence: dividing or localizing the Ultimate "Stuff" of the
Universe does not break down its Infinite structure. Every "piece" of ((Logos))
recursively iterates the Infinitude of Logos.
accounted for more deeply. For as we now enter mid-stream to clarify the
((global perspective)) fast-forward over the past three thousand years or so we
are making great presumptions - we are taken a "given" that there are humans,
with consciousness, culture, language, mind, meaning, worldviews, narratives,
perspectives...But here we are precisely attempting to place all this in the
((context)) of the missing Story of Logos. How is the ((logos pattern)) playing out
in the emergence of human reason? in consciousness? in language, mind and
world? How do worldviews arise? How are mind, word and world mutually
connected? How do diverse worldviews arise? How are diverse disciplinary
languages/perspectives generated?
deep link between "Form", "Word", "Meaning", "Mind", "Truth" and "Force" and
"World"...But now in the context of this Formal Science of ((Logos)) we see more
clearly how and why these are indeed deeply connected. The assumption that
"logical form" is the binding force that holds Mind, Word and World together is
now illuminated through the rational force of ((Logos)). Here we find the
ultimate moving force/dynamic in the ((human condition)) - the emergence of
((Logos)), the awakening of Mind, Word, World...as ((Logos)) reflexively Self-
expresses in the Logosphere.
We are as we mind
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Let us go more deeply into this global truth. We just suggested that there is a
holonomic, recursive, creatively unfolding dialectic of Logos expressing itself in
the Logosphere. This dynamic of the Infinite Word - Infinite Form - is
((happening)) at all times in the Logosphere. This emerging self-formulation of
Infinite Form is the driving force of ((evolution)) and the key factor in
understanding the continuing evolution of the human condition. In this respect
the ((Logos Story)) provides the global foundation of all "evolutionary"
narratives from Genesis to the "Big Bang", including such diverse accounts as
that of Darwin, Hegel, Marx, Teilhard and others.
But let us look more carefully at this. The human condition is under ongoing self
evolution, and the ((Logos Event)) is the driving force at the heart of human
evolution. As the human form matures and takes shape all of the the primary
features of human life mutually co-shape and transform one another influenced
by the Logos dialectic. This means that Reason, Thought, Language, Meaning,
Perspective, Experience...are under ongoing maturation and evolution as Logos
emerges. And as we now reflect on global developments over the past three
millennia it is easier to see that humans have been in a deep struggle to mature
beyond the egocentric patterns of minding (language, thought, world making,
experience...) into the more integral, holistic and dialogic patterns of minding the
Logosphere. In this drama, as suggested earlier, we see that in diverse ways the
great teachers and revolutionaries have been attempting to usher humanity
beyond the dyfunctional and pathological ways of egocentric life into the higher
technology of minding the Unified Field of Reality.
As the human form matures our capacity to process and "metabolize" the
Logosphere deepens. To say we are "rational" beings is to say that we are as we
mind - that we arise in language, grammar, that we participate in making our
worlds, shaping worldviews through forms of interpretation, that we both shape
and are shaped by our grammar or worldview, that we have a voice in
determining the phenomena that appear to us. To be human is to participate in
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This is as true of the globalizing of our inner personal space as it is true of the
humanizing and civilizing of our shared corporate space in the life of the polis. It
is equally true in every aspect of our cultural lives, in every field and discipline,
and certainly in the evolution of the sciences. Indeed, it is now apparent that the
key advance in scientific method turns not on the ego-ideologies and dogmas of
empiricism but in the revisionary and dialogical patterns in the globalization of
human reason and inquiry.
Ashok Gangadean
Margaret Gest Professor of Global Philosophy, Haverford College
Director of the Margaret Gest Center for Global Dialogue
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