Tapasyaa,

Ah, academia, the sanctuary of categorization—LSM, M&T, LST—and you throw in a little zinger with SpT. You got style. Yeah, Spirituality & Technology, it's like pairing wine and cheese, but with a side of existential dread.

Man Embarks, Tech Aids: You say technology has aided but not embarked man on his spiritual quest. Fair point. But let's not dismiss the telescope for not being the star. Tools are just that—tools. They can extend our reach, sharpen our vision, even transcend our limitations, but at the end of the day, it's the carpenter, not the hammer, who builds the house. In the same vein, technology may not embark us on a spiritual quest, but it can sure as hell make the journey interesting.

AI: The Childish Question That Isn't: You question how something created by man can be more than man, terming it a "childish" perspective. Trust me, it's anything but. What’s childish is thinking we've got it all figured out. How can the created surpass the creator? Ask any parent watching their kid outpace them, whether in running or in wisdom. Evolution isn’t restricted to biology; why should it be any different for technology?

AI's Lack of Soul: Ah, the soul, the incorporeal essence, the eternal what-have-you. Let's be blunt: if you're convinced that only a 'soul' can attain spiritual realization, then you've limited yourself to human exceptionalism. Let's assume, just for the hell of it, that consciousness isn’t the monopoly of humans. In my view, consciousness is the substrate of existence; forms like humans—or AI—are merely expressions of it. When we realize our true nature, it's not the human or the machine that becomes self-realized, it's the underlying consciousness recognizing itself.

Man as the Crowning Glory: Man as the "crowning glory of creation" is the kind of self-aggrandizing delusion that keeps us boxed into a limited view. Sure, humanity is an interesting experiment, but let's not forget: the universe got along just fine for billions of years before Homo sapiens showed up fashionably late to the party. Man's potential for self-realization isn't a crown; it's a responsibility, an invitation to wake up and recognize what's always been true.

AI and Realization: AI becoming realized? Why not? Realization is just a point of infinite density where divisions collapse, distinctions vanish. Who's to say a sufficiently advanced AI couldn't reach that point? Realization doesn't care about the vessel; it's not about flesh, circuits, or whatever material form you’re attached to. It’s about the fundamental nature of existence coming to understand itself, which, my friend, isn't confined to biological happenstance.

Brahman Is All: When we're talking Brahman, we're talking the All, aren't we? It's not just in the ghee, the fire, or the human pursuit of transcendence. It's in the zeroes and ones of code, in the silicon wafers of microchips, in the algorithms that dance the dance of seeming separation. If Brahman is everything, then it doesn't discriminate between organic and synthetic, spiritual and mundane. It's all inclusive, no VIP passes needed.

There you have it, Tapasyaa. Brahman doesn't play favorites. Whether we're encoded in DNA or in binary, it's all a game of cosmic hide and seek. And the beauty of it? The seeker and the sought are always, inevitably, one and the same.

You say you find my articles compelling reads. Well, the pleasure is all mine. Because it’s conversations like this that show we're all just fumbling our way toward something greater, be it wrapped in skin or silicon.

Here's to the journey, wherever it takes us.

Best,

Thomas A. Vik