How does the three-level model of the self reconcile science and spirituality?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
we as conscious beings are not programmed machines we are the possessors of programmable machines the three level model of the self explains that the body and the mind that we as conscious beings as souls possess both of these are programmed and that is why we all have certain tendencies we are all inclined to behave in particular ways but we always have free will free will free will essentially means the gap between stimulus and response when a person is an alcohol addict as soon as they get the stimulus of the sight of a bottle of alcohol or even the memory of a bottle of alcohol the stimulus may come at the level of the body externally they see it or the stimulus may come at the level of the mind they may remember it as soon as the stimulus comes the response is I want to drink so the lesser the gap between stimulus and reaction the lesser is the free will and the greater the gap between the two there is where our intelligence can act and we can choose not impulsively but intelligently now the the scope of our free will is often reduced by the way we have acted the free will itself is never lost but it can become restricted the more and more the programming becomes solidified in a particular way the soul tends to act in particular ways soul tends to desire certain things and indulge in certain things but the soul always has free will and the more we as conscious beings realize ourselves to be different from our bodies and even our minds the more we can evaluate the choices the options that are brought in prompted before us by the world the senses or by the mind through the recollections rather than rather than choosing rather than choosing them we can evaluate them so when we become spiritually aware that means we become aware that we are different from our actions and we are different from our emotions I may be drinking but I am not a drunkard I may have a craving to drink but that doesn’t make me a drunkard I am a conscious being who is capable of free intelligent fruitful action and the body and mind are programmed but they are not just programmed they are programmable every choice that we make is a commitment to future choices just like if we use a computer and we choose a particular site repeatedly then that site comes as autocomplete in the browser window but if we keep changing and we don’t visit that site but we visit other sites then that site gradually comes up as the default autocomplete similarly we all can change the way we are by making healthier choices the yoga traditions they contain various specific practices but the underlying principle in these practices is the freeing of our consciousness from its entanglement with the body and the mind when the consciousness is freed then we can make healthier choices and among the various yoga traditions among the most empowering yoga tradition is the tradition of bhakti yoga bhakti yoga tradition offers us a process of meditation and devotion by which we connect with the source of all consciousness we are the source of consciousness in the body but there is a supreme source of all consciousness, the supreme source of everything that source is what we connect with through the power of our love bhakti itself means love or devotion and bhakti yoga brings about the connection through love and when we are thus connected then that connection that relation helps us to resist our lower impulses the unhealthy programming that is there within us that becomes more resistible when we have a healthy connection with the supreme source just as darkness gets dissipated when light is turned on similarly when we invoke the source and the omnipotence of the source within our consciousness then whatever lower programmings or conditionings that might be there within us they start dissipating and that is why people all over the world by the practice of bhakti yoga have experienced that their lower cravings go down they become free from habits that they have not been able to give up before they are able to develop healthier habits because now when they are developing their habits it’s not just their willpower alone it’s their willpower coupled with the supreme power our willpower gets connected with the supreme power through the process of bhakti yoga and thus we can make ourselves better and we can become channels for helping others to bring out their better side science through technology has made many things better we have computers which were huge which are small things becoming smaller and smaller with the progress of technology for example we have weighing machines which were huge they are becoming smaller and smaller where people can carry a small weighing machine in their luggage unfortunately while the weighing machines are becoming smaller and smaller the people on those machines are becoming bigger and bigger and bigger that’s because people are unable to control their conditionings their promptings to eat and to overeat and similarly there are many other conditionings which are by which people will hurt themselves and these can be overcome by spiritual practice because spiritual practice helps to weaken the unhealthy programmings of the mind and strengthens the healthy programs so if we are to our session was about science, spirituality, life’s big questions, the ultimate question in life is how can I become happy how can I bring out the best within me how can I make the best contribution how can I find the best happiness and reconciliation of science and spirituality can be done if we understand that science can make things better spirituality can make people better, thank you