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xiv SPIRIT AND THE MIND
and present a particularly revealing interview that he gave to a prominent editor of the largest national Indian newspaper, the Blitz, in which he describes his world mission.
Part IV consists of four Appendices, and is directed especially, although by no means exclusively, to therapists. Appendix I is a glossary of terms related to consciousness, and I suggest that you refer to it from the start to avoid confusion. Appendix II summarizes some of the current spiritually-oriented trends in psychology, neurosciences and physics. Appendices III and IV compare Western scientific concepts about mind and consciousness to Eastern spiritual concepts, and provide a conceptual framework which shows the relationship of higher levels of consciousness to those with which we are already familiar. This working model of a hierarchy of consciousness goes even further. It also prompts us to consider a new way of understand-ing disease: possible causes of illness other than those already accepted; a wider range of therapeutic interventions; and the possibility of levels of functioning and “health” that have yet to be identified by psychiatry.
And now let’s begin with an incident that occurred in December, 1978, which was centrally important in my life and deeply affected my thinking about the nature and relationship of spirit and mind.
Notes
1. See Appendix II, p. 276.
2. “...Everyonewhoisseriouslyinvolvedinthepursuitofsciencebecomescon- vinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.” (Albert Einstein)
Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, eds., Albert Einstein The Human Side: New Glimpses from His Archives, (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1979), p. 33.
3. AvatarisaSanskritwordderivedfromtheverb-roottri—tocross,andtheprepo- sition ava—down. Defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary as, “A descent of diety in incarnate form,” an Avatar comes down, decends, to reveal the true nature of man, to demonstrate and perform holy works, and with His divine love and power to draw man closer to God.
According to Hindu scriptural tradition, a true Avatar manifests 16 special qualities. The most profound, and those which clearly distinguish him from mortal men, are his complete mastery and transcendence of the physical world— including the ability to materialize objects at will; qualities of omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence; the capacity to manifest a flow of pure and inexhaustible