Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Godel, Kundalini, Bach
Kurt Godel was a renowned mathematician best known for his "theory of incompleteness." According to a recent writer, "In any formal system adequate for number theory there exists an undecidable formula--that is, a formula that is not provable and whose negation is not provable." Or, as the reviewer states, "...some things you just can't prove, even if they're true."
Somehow, these reflections reminded me of the case with kundalini: if you have had the experience, you need no further proof. If you are a skeptic who has not had the experience, then no proof will convince.
Kundalini is much like aesthetic response. There is no way to convey to others the essential quality of one's felt reaction. Yet, these are among the most treasured of life's experiences. Our "peak moments," our transcendent break throughs--they are what gives our lives richness and meaning. Our current emphasis on scientific objectivity seems to rule out the subjective entirely, as realms lacking significance or purpose. Only the literal, the provable, the useful are esteemed.
Kundalini is the quintessential subjective experience. It is the ultimate "self-validating experience," unprovable, ineffable, yet totally convincing. This, I think, is why we long to find others who have shared similar experience. They too know the truth of the indescribable, that which cannot be demonstrated by logic, only encountered through experience.
(Note: A famous earlier book by Douglas Hofstater was called "Godel, Esher, Bach." The heading of the present entry is a play on that earlier work's title.)
Somehow, these reflections reminded me of the case with kundalini: if you have had the experience, you need no further proof. If you are a skeptic who has not had the experience, then no proof will convince.
Kundalini is much like aesthetic response. There is no way to convey to others the essential quality of one's felt reaction. Yet, these are among the most treasured of life's experiences. Our "peak moments," our transcendent break throughs--they are what gives our lives richness and meaning. Our current emphasis on scientific objectivity seems to rule out the subjective entirely, as realms lacking significance or purpose. Only the literal, the provable, the useful are esteemed.
Kundalini is the quintessential subjective experience. It is the ultimate "self-validating experience," unprovable, ineffable, yet totally convincing. This, I think, is why we long to find others who have shared similar experience. They too know the truth of the indescribable, that which cannot be demonstrated by logic, only encountered through experience.
(Note: A famous earlier book by Douglas Hofstater was called "Godel, Esher, Bach." The heading of the present entry is a play on that earlier work's title.)
