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Sophiste
Hardwired?
first of these, they are recording electrical activity in the brains of seven Carmelite nuns through electrodes attached to their scalps. The aim is to identify the brain processes underlying the Unio Mystica, the Christian idea of mystical union with God. The study has been met with scepticism from both religious and scientific sources. Scientific critics have accused Dr. Beauregard of being reductionist in trying to pinpoint the soul in the brain. Religious critics, including initially some of the nuns, have feared that he is trying to prove the existence of God.
However, Dr. Beauregard denies that he is trying to find a specific 'God Centre' in the brain. His research so far indicates a network of
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brain regions playing a role in spiritual consciousness, including those regions associated with emotional processing. Nor is he concerned to prove or disprove religious belief, but with the connections between faith and neurology.
The criticisms of Dr. Beauregard's approach have little relevance in the context of Jainism. Jains do not believe in a divine creator but an eternal universe, which includes the soul. Samadhi, unlike Unio Mystica, is about mastery and then transcendence of the self, not union with God. Jains also believe that the individual should pass through. various stages of spiritual evolution. Before complete transcendence, comes empathy and identification
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NEWS FEATURE 13
Graphic: James Maturin-Baird
with all forms of life. This accords well with the conclusions of Dr. David Hay, Honorary Research Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Hay gave a paper recently to the Trinity Institute for Christianity and Culture (TICC) in London entitled 'The Biological Roots of Religions', in which he links the spiritual impulse with the human capacity for empathy. This type of research itself shows a growing empathy between scientific and religious communities - a new phenomenon in the West, but part of Jainism's ancient heritage.
The TICC engages in Interfaith work and can be contacted on
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