Seekers of Unity | Hinduism and the Aesthetics of Identity | Rayan Magon @SeekersofUnity | Uploaded November 2021 | Updated October 2024, 8 hours ago.
In this video, Rayan talks about how our personal identities are more important than we give them credit for and how unity can be emergent when we focus on our personal identities a little more than not.
Research Contact Form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKgIdvKYpO_26ACxaw9lyQQezZp4Dd08gIFMNZzR7lEtUFTA/viewform?usp=sf_link
In this talk, she briefs us about some core concepts in a philosophical study relating to personal identity and how while most mysticism focuses on annihilating the self and the ego in order to reach for unity and transcendence, her understanding is that through art and aesthetic experiences can we not only discover our essences but also share and express it authentically in society and therefore create a sense of emergent unity that comes out of authentic self-expression and connection. This involves a strong emphasis on how all our individual identities matter to us all and how we can create bonding through emphasizing our 'egos'.
As a Hindu, her traditional background has focused on idolatry and anthropomorphic forms of the divine and this got her interested in how just like identifying the divine through naming, imagery, iconography, etc., occurs, our own identities similarly crave recognition. This process of feeling seen, heard, and understood as well as loved and belonged for who we truly are (rather than for compromising our individuality) has been something of deep interest to her due to her early years of social exclusion and not 'fitting in'. In the end, by getting in touch with one's identity at its core and not being ashamed to express oneself in the world is a bold step she urges us all to take.
In the end, our identities are what make us who we are and daring to be ourselves in the world is if anything a first step towards creating unity and cohesion.
Rayan Magon is currently a Pearson Scholar and a 3rd-year undergraduate student researcher at the University of Toronto. Her research interests primarily have been on the topic of personal identity, unity &transcendence, self-expression, imagination, and the arts. In the past, her work has focused on utilizing creative imagination through storytelling and roleplaying to reduce gender-based implicit biases and this was a project with which she represented her country at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Her interests have been strongly in prejudice and bias reduction and making this happen through imaginative expression of identities and emphasizing one's identity in this quest for unity.
00:00 My identity and the Hindu 'egos'
01:34 Our common Question "Who am I?"
02:34 Self vs non-self views (Hinduism vs Buddhism)
04:10 Realizing our Essence
06:33 What do our identities need?
08:17 Love and Devotion - Idolatry and touching God
10:59 Identity: Self-Interest and Self-expression
11:55 Dabrowski and our True Self
13:04 Research study brief
Rayan’s Links:
Instagram: instagram.com/magon.jpeg/?hl=en
Twitter: twitter.com/MagonRayan
TEDx: youtube.com/watch?v=CFd7iRUJejQ
Advocacy: youtube.com/watch?v=MzD9yWP_p0c
mindofn.in/2019/05/17/tell-tall-tales-featured-in-science-news
sciencenewsforstudents.org/blog/eureka-lab/isef-2019-game-may-help-rid-people-biases
abstracts.societyforscience.org/Home/FullAbstract?ProjectId=16935
Works cited:
Olivelle, P. (1998). The early Upanisads: annotated text and translation. Oxford University Press
SC Vidyabhushana (1913), The Nyaya Sutras, The Sacred Book of the Hindus, Volume VIII, Bhuvaneshvar Asrama Press.
Parfit, Derek (1971). Personal identity. Philosophical Review, 80 (January):3-27.
Cupchik, G. C. (2011). The digitized self in the Internet age. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 5(4), 318–328.
Siebert, Donald T. (1984), "Hume on Idolatry and Incarnation", Journal of the History of Ideas
2004, Kant’s Transcendental Idealism, New Haven: Yale University Press. Revised and Enlarged Edition
Cooley, C.H. (1902). Human nature and the social order.
Dąbrowski, K. (1966). "The Theory of Positive Disintegration". International Journal of Psychiatry. 2: 229–44.
Lysy, K. Z.; Piechowski, M. M. (1983). "Personal Growth: An Empirical Study Using Jungian and Dąbrowskian Measures". Genetic Psychology Monographs. 108: 267–320.
Kelly, John (2005), Milindapañha: The Questions of King Milinda (excerpts), Access to Insight
Anthias, F. (2018), "Identity and Belonging: Conceptualizations and Reframings through a Translocational Lens*", Davis, K., Ghorashi, H. and Smets, P. (Ed.) Contested Belonging: Spaces, Practices, Biographies, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 137-159.
Join Seekers:
facebook.com/seekersofunity
instagram.com/seekersofunity
twitter.com/seekersofU
seekersofunity.com
Support Seekers:
patreon: patreon.com/seekers
paypal: paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=RKCYGQSMJFDRU
In this video, Rayan talks about how our personal identities are more important than we give them credit for and how unity can be emergent when we focus on our personal identities a little more than not.
Research Contact Form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKgIdvKYpO_26ACxaw9lyQQezZp4Dd08gIFMNZzR7lEtUFTA/viewform?usp=sf_link
In this talk, she briefs us about some core concepts in a philosophical study relating to personal identity and how while most mysticism focuses on annihilating the self and the ego in order to reach for unity and transcendence, her understanding is that through art and aesthetic experiences can we not only discover our essences but also share and express it authentically in society and therefore create a sense of emergent unity that comes out of authentic self-expression and connection. This involves a strong emphasis on how all our individual identities matter to us all and how we can create bonding through emphasizing our 'egos'.
As a Hindu, her traditional background has focused on idolatry and anthropomorphic forms of the divine and this got her interested in how just like identifying the divine through naming, imagery, iconography, etc., occurs, our own identities similarly crave recognition. This process of feeling seen, heard, and understood as well as loved and belonged for who we truly are (rather than for compromising our individuality) has been something of deep interest to her due to her early years of social exclusion and not 'fitting in'. In the end, by getting in touch with one's identity at its core and not being ashamed to express oneself in the world is a bold step she urges us all to take.
In the end, our identities are what make us who we are and daring to be ourselves in the world is if anything a first step towards creating unity and cohesion.
Rayan Magon is currently a Pearson Scholar and a 3rd-year undergraduate student researcher at the University of Toronto. Her research interests primarily have been on the topic of personal identity, unity &transcendence, self-expression, imagination, and the arts. In the past, her work has focused on utilizing creative imagination through storytelling and roleplaying to reduce gender-based implicit biases and this was a project with which she represented her country at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Her interests have been strongly in prejudice and bias reduction and making this happen through imaginative expression of identities and emphasizing one's identity in this quest for unity.
00:00 My identity and the Hindu 'egos'
01:34 Our common Question "Who am I?"
02:34 Self vs non-self views (Hinduism vs Buddhism)
04:10 Realizing our Essence
06:33 What do our identities need?
08:17 Love and Devotion - Idolatry and touching God
10:59 Identity: Self-Interest and Self-expression
11:55 Dabrowski and our True Self
13:04 Research study brief
Rayan’s Links:
Instagram: instagram.com/magon.jpeg/?hl=en
Twitter: twitter.com/MagonRayan
TEDx: youtube.com/watch?v=CFd7iRUJejQ
Advocacy: youtube.com/watch?v=MzD9yWP_p0c
mindofn.in/2019/05/17/tell-tall-tales-featured-in-science-news
sciencenewsforstudents.org/blog/eureka-lab/isef-2019-game-may-help-rid-people-biases
abstracts.societyforscience.org/Home/FullAbstract?ProjectId=16935
Works cited:
Olivelle, P. (1998). The early Upanisads: annotated text and translation. Oxford University Press
SC Vidyabhushana (1913), The Nyaya Sutras, The Sacred Book of the Hindus, Volume VIII, Bhuvaneshvar Asrama Press.
Parfit, Derek (1971). Personal identity. Philosophical Review, 80 (January):3-27.
Cupchik, G. C. (2011). The digitized self in the Internet age. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 5(4), 318–328.
Siebert, Donald T. (1984), "Hume on Idolatry and Incarnation", Journal of the History of Ideas
2004, Kant’s Transcendental Idealism, New Haven: Yale University Press. Revised and Enlarged Edition
Cooley, C.H. (1902). Human nature and the social order.
Dąbrowski, K. (1966). "The Theory of Positive Disintegration". International Journal of Psychiatry. 2: 229–44.
Lysy, K. Z.; Piechowski, M. M. (1983). "Personal Growth: An Empirical Study Using Jungian and Dąbrowskian Measures". Genetic Psychology Monographs. 108: 267–320.
Kelly, John (2005), Milindapañha: The Questions of King Milinda (excerpts), Access to Insight
Anthias, F. (2018), "Identity and Belonging: Conceptualizations and Reframings through a Translocational Lens*", Davis, K., Ghorashi, H. and Smets, P. (Ed.) Contested Belonging: Spaces, Practices, Biographies, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 137-159.
Join Seekers:
facebook.com/seekersofunity
instagram.com/seekersofunity
twitter.com/seekersofU
seekersofunity.com
Support Seekers:
patreon: patreon.com/seekers
paypal: paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=RKCYGQSMJFDRU
