June 2019 – mymilieu.org

This blog was drafted in response to a news items on cleaning and vanishing Mosques in XinJiang, China. Xinjiang, with its predominantly Muslim followers amongst it ethnically diverse population, was gradually becoming a hotbed of radicalization. China reduced the risk to its nation by reteaching the population using a novel strategy with very little casualty. It redesigned and embedded the concept of nationhood into the masses adrift with radicalization.

There are no permanent friends but permanent interests in politics. This principle pervades across the smallest municipalities to major nations, except that national histories go beyond lifetime and so it seemingly appears as though nations are permanent friends.

Let us understand the dynamics of why China is opposing Islam and supporting Pakistan, a hardline nation in International politics, especially against India. Next, let us understand, US and the West’s opposition to China’s cleansing program. To understand China’s opposition to Islam, we need to take a closer look at Islam. Muslim diaspora that advocates a pan Islamic pantheon of nations should note that China systematically cleaned Xinjiang from Islamic version of their faith and instilled their version of nationality superior to faith.

History is a concrete testimony to millennia old and established fact that Nationality is superior to all our values and believes. Humanity has experienced through practical and painful experiences that nationhood is above religion and individual faith. Our existence and expression of life and living is strongly influenced by the nation we exist. Those espousing and envision a truly sustained form of democracy, has strongly advocated the separation of Church from Politics. History of almost all major civilizations shows this experimentation of mixing religion with democracy and adverse outcome for a sustained nationhood. It is not just restricted to Christianity alone.

Islam does not recognize the superiority of nations over religion. Rudimentary aspects of civilization are closely associated with mixing religion with nationality. Such admixture is natural when one religion dominates the polity. However, faith is a reflection of evolved identities and as multiple streams of faith emerge, a nation has to accommodate, assimilate and rise above religion. It is ridiculous to note how the followers of Islam consider religion over nation.

When a religion overrides state machinery (as is happening in China) a nation as assertive as China, with its aggravated sense of nationalism and gargantuan machinery of brute force can redesign and reengineer the very concept of faith (religion). Humanity has experienced through practical painful experiences spread across geographies and centuries, to keep religion away from politics.

Looking at the international chaos created by the ‘Believers of Islam’, through their rabid, rudimentary and rabid following of faith and its impact, has created a strong reaction and aversion event amongst the most moderate and accommodating liberals. Islam has intricately woven religion into Politics and this becomes an anathema to the existence of other nations. Other than individual religions (faith) and sects, Nations too are clamoring to oppose Islam. I am more concerned about Islam and the reaction of contemporary world.

In the context of Indian peninsula, Islam is akin to Pakistan and an existential concern to India. In India, Islam is rightly perceived as embodying the soul of Pakistan. Reviewing the context with this backdrop, we first need to take a global view of nuisances demonized through the incorrect practice of Islam. Limiting the perspective to India will devour the broader context. However, it is worth reviewing the India – Pakistan dynamics in the last seven decades. As it stands, Pakistan is a fringe nation and a falling star. Especially with its natural and instinctive knee jerk jealousy, it becomes a formidable collaborator and bulwark for China to counter India. China is not the first, it started with UK, the west took over and china regained that.

The key question is – are other nations using Pakistan against India or are they capitalizing on Pakistan’s intrinsic animosity and benefiting themselves? Pakistan is a nation with no vision except animosity can only eventually drift towards fringe status and oblivion. It would have long fallen into pieces had it not been the stockpile of nuclear arms amassed in the last two decades. It’s that last concern that keeps the west and the east propping up a beleaguered nation to contain the spread of fissile material.

Faith in ruins: China’s vanishing mosques
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-48696184

Background

Consciousness, Death, Coma and Persistent Vegetative State

John Paul II Institute has organized a symposium on Death and Organ Donation. Dr. Coimbra, a neurologist, has shared a video opposing the idea of organ harvesting and donation. Below, is the link on that discourse along concerning the John Paul II symposium (the link is included at the end of the blog). I differ with Dr. Coimbra and have provided a justification for my perspective.

Dr. Coimbra raised an interesting question – not alone in medicine but one that touches spirituality and philosophy and extends to encompasses life and living. These questions have been an enigma ever since mankind has been dabbling cognitively exploring to understand it.

However, let us discern select issues at first. At the center of the debate is the definition of death and a downstream question, after objectively defining death, is harvesting and or donating the organs. The discussion rests on a select premise and some experiments. Also, it exists in a milieu of ethics and moral values. Let me take this opportunity to untangle the issues in a reverse chronology as that helps discern and render the problem space in a simpler light.

Ethical Milieu and the Messiah Syndrome

Generally, I am averse to the idea of a conspiracy being unleashed on mankind unless it is by a select group of corporate interests or a select few individuals. I hate to consider an idea wherein, someone questions the ethical and moral commitment of a hoard of well-meaning high caliber individuals and their intellect and commitment, especially when these are not connected and/or affiliated, except for the cause and dedication to their quest for scientific (systemic) understanding. To rephrase, it is hard for me to question the integrity of these folks if these people have no common thread, except a persistent quest to unravel science. Especially, when this cohort is not bound by country, religion, business, generations, ethnicity, ideology, etc. Generally, I don’t subscribe to the ‘Messiah’ ideology. So, I would debunk this Messiah Syndrome at the outset. Calling it ‘Conspiracy’ is unjust and uncalled for. Let us not subscribe to questioning the ethical and moral commitment of all these independent contributors.

Scientific Design and Validation

Experiments have validity if the design and or collection of data is methodical, unbiased and satisfies statistical and or inferential framework. Dr. Coimbra has not substantiated his observations with adequate scientific findings and their correlations except inferences based on his precepts and biased beliefs. This defeats the purpose of any scientific study and helps his contentions to falls from the high scientific pedestals.

Conscious Connectedness

Death and Persistent Vegetative State are inextricably related to consciousness. For any discussion on the death to proceed, we need to understand, the very abstract concept of consciousness and its finite and sublime association with organ(ic) rhythmicity and the circadian cycle. The finite but abstract state of consciousness has always endured cognitive and spiritual interests for generations of the elite and of intellectuals. Suffice it to say that with humility, I am attempting to articulate ideas in this subtle and undefined area. Definitely, I want to stay away from sounding like an authority, which I am not except in my capacity as a sincere contemplative scientific seeker.

Consciousness is a culmination of awareness, cognitive interpretation, and our own limited potential to respond to the inputs from the senses and the surrounding we exist. A vegetative state is the loss of this connection between soma and conscious awareness. At times, it is transient and sometimes, it is permanent and irreversible. Loss of connection does not necessarily mean loss of somatic function. We have had several anecdotes wherein, people have risen after long durations of disconnect if their bodies are kept functional. We know that the duration of brain death is longer in frigid conditions or in infants. Similarly, we also know that sages have practiced an extended ‘state of mind and body’ dissociation during their trance phases. We have seen them reverting to normal bodily functions after reversing the soma – conscious association. Their experiences have been very different. We also have heard patients going through the near-death phenomenon, experiencing those bright flashes of light. These are just a few select examples. However, based on all these, it is evident that this is as intriguing an area as ever. However, one thing is clear that once that association between soma and conscious is irreversibly broken, we can closely approximate it with death (exception is Locked-In Syndrome, wherein, the patient is awake and conscious but disconnected with the body.

Consent and Compliance

Under these circumstances, it is best to go by the consent or implied consent of the individual (best interest standards/Substituted judgment). If those are not available, family discretion comes into play. However, religion, culture, and laws of countries define and influence this space of ethics and compliance. Evidently, we see several versions that act out, depending upon the circumstances.

Inference

Labeling this complex cornucopia of facts and diverse facets into a generalized assumption of the immorality of harvesting organ post-death is grossly inadequate if not possibly wrong.

References

Persistent Vegetative State
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/persistent-vegetative-state

The Challenges of Defining and Diagnosing Brain Death
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/articles/the-challenges-of-defining-and-diagnosing-brain-death

The Legal Definition of Death and the Right to Life
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/978-1-137-58328-4_8

Neuroethics of death in the United States – PeerJ

Click to access 2890.pdf

Spiritual –

Kundalini Yoga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini_yoga

Advaita Vedanta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advaita_Vedanta