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Metaphysics deals with two other important speculations. They are study of the design and purpose  and the after life of the souls. Let us see how siva gnana bodham deals with it!

 TELEOLOGY AND ESCHATOLOGY IN SAIVA SIDDHANTHAM: “IRUVINAI-OPPU” (இருவினை ஒப்பு)

Teleological terms such as "function" and "design" appear frequently in the biological sciences. Examples of teleological claims include:

•        A (biological) function of stotting by antelopes is to communicate to predators that they have been detected.

•        Eagles' wings are (naturally) designed for soaring.

Teleological notions were commonly associated with the pre-Darwinian view that the biological realm provides evidence of conscious design by a supernatural creator. Even after creationist viewpoints were rejected by most biologists there remained various grounds for concern about the role of teleology in biology, including whether such terms are:

1.      vitalistic (positing some special "life-force");

2.      requiring backwards causation (because future outcomes explain present traits);

3.      incompatible with mechanistic explanation (because of 1 and 2);

4.      mentalistic (attributing the action of mind where there is none);

5.      empirically untestable (for all the above reasons).

Opinions divide over whether Darwin's theory of evolution provides a means of eliminating teleology from biology, or whether it provides a naturalistic account of the role of teleological notions in the science. Many contemporary biologists and philosophers of biology believe that teleological notions are a distinctive and ineliminable feature of biological explanations but that it is possible to provide a naturalistic account of their role that avoids the concerns above. Terminological issues sometimes serve to obscure some widely-accepted distinctions.

Exchatology:

  Mythical eschatology, then, can be defined in terms of the “myth of the eternal return,” which posits a cyclic view of history. In religious festivals, the lost time of history is regenerated and eternity is represented. Through the ritualistic repetition of the creation of the cosmos, the impression of transience is proved wrong. Everything is shown to remain in place, hope is inherent in memory, and future salvation is depicted as a return to the primordial origin or to an original golden age. In mythical eschatology, the meaning of history is found in a celebration of the eternity of the cosmos and the repeatability of the origin of the world.

  An outstanding example of research in the Piagetian tradition is the work of Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg has focused on moral development and has proposed a stage theory of moral thinking which goes well beyond Piaget's initial formulations. At stage 1 children think of what is right as that which authority says is right. Doing the right thing is obeying authority and avoiding punishment. At stage 2, children are no longer so impressed by any single authority; they see that there are different sides to any issue. Since everything is relative, one is free to pursue one's own interests, although it is often useful to make deals and exchange favors with others.

At stages 3 and 4, young people think as members of the conventional society with its values, norms, and expectations. At stage 3, they emphasize being a good person, which basically means having helpful motives toward people close to one At stage 4, the concern shifts toward obeying laws to maintain society as a whole.

At stages 5 and 6 people are less concerned with maintaining society for it own sake, and more concerned with the principles and values that make for a good society. At stage 5 they emphasize basic rights and the democratic processes that give everyone a say, and at stage 6 they define the principles by which agreement will be most just.

The term teleology  denotes action, its purpose and goodness while eschatology  denotes the rebirth and the next incarnations. These two issues are dealt in the SS from the second sootram(verse) of the sivagnanabodham.

IRUVINAI OPPU:

The term IRUVINAI-OPPU denotes the balance between the good deeds and the bad deeds. The concept of vinai(deeds) is common in most Hindu system of schools.  The deeds are divided into these good and bad on the ethical aspects of worldly existence.

The vinai concepts are analogous to these psycho-developmental process. The good deeds and bad deeds are product of the genetic, environmental and conscious self actions. Thus the deeds are divided into three types:

1.oozh vinai=deeds of the ancestors(ஊழ்வினை)

2.pirar vinai=deeds of the environment(பிறர் வினை)

3. than vinai=voluntary self actions(தன் வினை)

Thus the worldly existence brings us about to do all the three deeds voluntarily or involuntarily. “The wrong deeds and the right deeds are adjudged by the sivam. When the balance is same the process of IRU-VINAI-OPPU happens”.

It is a common question how we could be responsible for our ancestor’s wrongs. How we could be punished for this? Who is there to watch all this?

This study reveled that the children of the antisocial personalities have higher proportion of psychiatric morbidity. The boys later go to develop alcohol dependence and the girls to develop hystrionic personality disorders.

The triad of hysteria, alcoholism and anti-sociality is thus obvious. We now have proven data that ancestors deeds in the form of “oozh “(ஊழ்)can manifest on the children.

Thus one has the duty to cancel all his bad deeds and the environment and his ancestors by good deeds to get the iru-vinai-oppu.

The rebirth phenomena in Hinduism can only mean the future generations or the off-springs of the individual. This evolutionism is hidden in many of the saivite works including the St.MANIKAVASAKAR. he says “ from earliest forms like grass, tubers, worms, animals and then to man  the person gets reborn. This process is tiresome and he wants to get rid of this.”

This saivite eschatology is a pointer to the early evolutionism in saiva doctrines. Speculative thoughts have always considered evolutionism in the east and the west. The paleo-biological researches of LAMARCK and CHARLESS DARWIN have proved this later in clear logical  light in 19th century.