NOTE: This is an excerpt from the two-part, 60-minute DVD.

The spiritual and philosophical traditions of humanity all point toward an underlying first principle which Dr. Ashok Gangadean refers to as the Logos. This principle partakes of both infinity and relationality. It speaks of the underlying unity of all reality, yet it is expressed differently in each culture. He highlights the paradoxes of consciousness as seen from the perspective of an ego-based way of using the mind. He notes that most spiritual systems attribute suffering and oppression to the ego-based style of mental functioning.

Ashok K. Gangadean is professor of Philosophy at Haverford College, PA. He serves as director of the Global Dialogue Institute and is author of Meditative Reason, Between Worldsand The Awakening of the Global Mind.