René Descartes, the great 17^th century French mathematician and philosopher, enshrined this metaphysical divide in what came to be known in Western philosophy as mind-body dualism. Many Eastern mystical traditions, contemplating the same inner space, have come to the opposite conclusion. They teach that the mind and body belong to an indivisible continuum.

In the past, doctors and scientists have tended to dismiss that view as bunk, but the more they learn about the inner workings of the mind, the more they realize that in this regard at least, the mystics are right and Descartes was dead wrong.”

◊       But this is exactly what Lord Krishna explains to Arjun in Gita 7.2 [2] thousands of years ago……..that both the internal and the external domains of knowledge are important to reach Me the Ultimate reality…..

jñānam te ‘ham savijñānam idam vaksyāmī aśestah |
yat jñātvā ne ‘ha bhūyo ‘nyat jñātavyam avaśisyte ||

I shall teach you in full this (self) realization combined with the (external) knowledge, which being known, nothing more here remains to be known.