LIFE IS A BUNDLE OF SORROW!

We live today a hopelessly meaningless life of negativity, and that is why we have sorrow. The whole of our life is one of sorrow, grief. Why? Because there is nothing positive in us – no substantiality in us. We are empty of content because the only content which is meaningful is God. So in all spiritual sadhana, particularly in this context of self-control, we should remember that great verse of the Bhagavadgita towards the end of the third chapter where we are admonished to take the help of the most positive of meanings, the higher Self in us, which is God, and subdue the lower self in such a way that it gets transmuted completely; then raga or kama, desire for external things, gets converted into aspiration for the Universal, and the pleasures of the world vanish into the bliss of God realisation.

Man The Unknown: The Role Of Science and Self Realisation :

The sciences of inert matter have made immense progress, while those of living beings remain in a rudimentary state. The slow advance of biology is due to the conditions of human existence, to the intricacy of the phenomena of life, and to the form of our intelligence, which delights in mechanical constructions and mathematical abstractions. The applications of scientific discoveries have transformed the material and mental worlds. These transformations exert on us a profound influence. Their unfortunate effect comes from the fact that they have been made without consideration for our nature.Our  ignorance of ourselves has given to mechanics, physics, and chemistry the power to modify at random the ancestral forms of life.

Man should be the measure of all. On the contrary, he is a stranger in the world that he has created. He has been incapable of organizing this world for himself, because he did not possess a practical knowledge of his own nature. Thus, the enormous advance gained by the sciences of inanimate matter over those of living things is one of the greatest catastrophes ever suffered by humanity. The environment born of our intelligence and our inventions is adjusted neither to our stature nor to our shape. We are unhappy. We degenerate morally and mentally. The groups and the nations in which industrial civilization has attained its highest development are precisely those which are becoming weaker. And whose return to barbarism is the most rapid. But they do not realize it. They are without protection against the hostile surroundings that science has built about them. In truth, our civilization, like those preceding it, has created certain conditions of existence which, for reasons still obscure, render life itself impossible. The anxiety and the woes of the inhabitants of the modern city arise from their political, economic, and social institutions, but, above all, from their own weakness. We are the victims of the backwardness of the sciences of life over those of matter.

The only possible remedy for this evil is a much more profound knowledge of ourselves. Such a knowledge will enable us to understand by what mechanisms modem existence affects our consciousness and our body. We shall thus learn how to adapt ourselves to our surroundings, and how to change them, should a revolution become indispensable. In bringing to light our true nature, our potentialities, and the way to actualize them, this science will give us the explanation of our physiological weakening, and of our moral and intellectual diseases. We have no other means of learning the inexorable rules of our organic and spiritual activities, of distinguishing the prohibited from the lawful, of realizing that we are not free to modify, according to our fancy, our environment, and ourselves. Since the natural conditions of existence have been destroyed by modern civilization, the science of man has become the most necessary of all sciences.

 MAN THE UNKNOWN:

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TWO PATHS OF HUMAN LIFE AND WELFARE :

 

Ancient Indian sages discovered the cardinal truth that the overall development and welfare of humanity is possible through hard work and learning, but also through an intense practice of spirituality. Hence they envisaged a two-pronged endeavour for human socio economic and political progress as well as his moral and spiritual emancipation. All efforts towards the socio- economic- political development of the society they called pravṛti mārga or the method of action, and all endeavours towards cultural, moral and ethical progress they called nivṛti mārga or the method of intense inward contemplation, characterised by spiritual knowledge and renunciation. The first two mantras of the Īṡāvāsya Upanishad highlight these two methods of activity that lead mankind towards a prosperous, enlightened, moral and ethical life for all humanity.

 

The socio-economic welfare envisaged by the outward action (pravṛti) is called abhyudaya and the spiritual, moral and ethical emancipation of humanity achieved by inward contemplation as nihsreyasa. This twofold methodology was meant for the practice of Vedic dharma or the philosophy of the eternal religion (sanātana dharma) necessary for the even stability of the world.

 

Perils of pravṛti marga: The history of mankind and centuries of human experience through many cultures and civilizations of the world remind us the necessity of both action and contemplation for overall well being and stability of the world. If only one of these is emphasized, the society suffers from ill health both at the individual and social contexts. Through outward action a welfare society is established by way of economic progress and a well organised political system. However, such a society may be bereft of moral and ethical values. A value-oriented life emerges from humanities’ spiritual dimension, through inner contemplation. Through pravṛti or outward action asociety can develop science and technology, create plenty of wealth and a comfortable life for its citizens as is the case in any materialistic society. Slowly humanity succumbs to the comforts and pleasures of life disregarding all moral and ethical values. That is the sign of degeneration and decay, and if this is not rectified with appropriate spiritual orientation through religion, the society is doomed to perish. There are several examples of such self-destruction of great civilizations in the past history of mankind. The best example, possibly, is the story of the “Decline and fall of the Roman Empire,” as described by Edward Gibbon. The once powerful Roman civilization underwent a steady decay of moral and humanistic values century after century, and had a final fall from a barbarian invasion. The emphasis on socio-economic progress alone ultimately corrupts the whole society. The increase in immoral and unethical practices to accumulate wealth for the indulgence of comforts and pleasures leads humanity towards degeneration, decay and ultimate death. Many materialistic societies, of late, recognised this fact and have started initiating remedial measures. A balanced growth of human being is possible only through outward action coupled with inward contemplation, along with a moral and ethical lifestyle.

Perils of nivṛti marga: Ancient India emphasized more on the moral, ethical, and spiritual life of man. The Vedāntic concepts enunciated in the Upanishads stressed more on the spiritual life and self-realization, as these were the final destination of human life according to sanātana dharma or the eternal religion of the Vedas. This philosophy, the over-emphasis on it, led to a general inertia towards material life and achievement and a gradual withdrawal from the world of action. The result was a gradual deterioration of secular life. The development of science and technology was relegated to the back burner, resulting in the Indian society becoming poor and backward in terms of wealth and material progress. Economic disparity in the society grew and evils of caste system, subjugation and exploitation of the weaker sections resulted in a degenerating scenario very much akin to the situation existed in the overly materialized societies. Thus India also experienced decay and that was the result of over-indulgence in ways of contemplation and meditation, in other words indulging in nivṛti marga alone.

However, Indian civilization based on sanātana dharma although underwent occasional decay, never succumbed to death thanks to the brilliant efforts of Sri Krishna, Gautama Buddha, Sri Ṡankarāchārya, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekānanda and a host of luminous personalities. These divine souls enforced timely corrections to the maladies and guided the society to revive and flourish once again. This process has continued for the past 5000 years and will be continued hereafter.

Realizing that the ultimate human progress is possible only through a psycho-social evolutionary process emphasizing on moral and ethical principles, Sir Julian Huxley commented, “Once greater fulfilment is recognised as man’s ultimate or dominant aim, we shall need a science of human possibilities to help guide the long course of psycho-social evolution that lies ahead” (Evolution after Darwin) India has had developed such a science of human possibilities in the form of Vedānta ages ago.

MAN THE UNKNOWN: HUMN EVOLUTION : FULFILMENT

 

The realization of the inner divinity, the infinite dimension within, the Ātman, is the only way to life- fulfilment. The sages of the Upanishads discovered this truth many thousands of years ago. The Ṡvetāṡvatara Upanishad reveals this fact in no uncertain terms when it says, “Even as a mirror stained by dust shines brightly when it has been cleaned, so the embodied one when he has seen the (real) nature of the Self becomes integrated, of fulfilled purpose and freed from sorrow” (2.). There are several such passages in various other Upanishads extolling the virtue of Self-realization. The sages also realized that in reaching the ultimate truth in the Ātman they had also reached the ultimate of knowledge, peace and joy. They communicated their discovery as satyam, truth, jñānam, knowledge, and ānanda, bliss. They also discovered the fact that the true meaning of the entire course of cosmic and organic evolution, especially of human evolution, lies in this final fulfilment.

 

The fulfilment, as sought by all organisms is the end and aim of all activities recognised by modern biology. Upanishads proclaim this by the concepts of freedom and fullness, freedom from all bondage and fullness in terms of existence absolute (sat), knowledge absolute (chit), and bliss absolute (ānanda). Every human being, knowingly or unknowingly, wants to enjoy this freedom and enlighten himself to the status of Buddha. Human activities like education, science, culture, socio political processes, all are directed to enlarge the bounds of human experience and awareness which aid in the process of final achievement of fulfilment. The highest level of freedom is the perfect freedom of the human spirit. This can only be achieved through the liberation of the spirit from all organic limitations enforced by the physical nature of man and thereby realizing the true nature of the human being as immense repository of love, tolerance, compassion and bliss. 

 

The realisation of the true nature of humanity will provide an opportunity for man to overcome all evil tendencies and utilize his intellectual power for human progress and welfare. However, the realization of the Self is possible only when supported by a stable and sustained moral life. Indian sages envisaged a system of practical course of action, eons ago, to achieve this kind of spiritual emancipation of man in the form of Vedānta or spiritual science or Ātmavidyā.

 MAN THE UNKNOWN:A UNIQUE SPECIES

 

Most placental mammals evolved from shrew-like, insect-eating, ancestors, and primates, the Order to which human species belongs, was no exception. However, primates (monkeys, apes and man) diverged from the insectivores by becoming adapted to a different mode of life that of omnivorous tree dwellers. This new habit led to fundamental changes in the skeletal pattern that were to be of great importance in the later evolution of the primates.

 

The Grasping Hand: 

 

The most significant of these changes was the development of the grasping hand with its opposable thumb, an almost primate characteristic that originated as a means of grasping limbs and branches of trees for smooth movement. Because of their grasping hand, primates became the most successful and efficient tree dwellingmammals. Other tree dwelling mammals like squirrels depend on claws and less efficient means of holding on to branches of trees.

 

Stereoscopic Vision:

 

Along with the development of the primate hand, yet another epoch making specialization of far reaching importance was the stereoscopic vision which was necessary for confident movement high in the tops of trees where a slight misjudgement in depth perception could lead to a fatal fall. Correlated with the grasping hand and the tree dwelling habit, there was a forward migration of the eyes and a relative flattening of the face, which helped the eyes stereoscopically view the area in front. Although the grasping hand and the stereoscopic vision arose in primates as adaptation for life in trees, they were to become the foundation of man’s later evolutionary success on the ground. These specializations permitted him to grasp tools and weapons and to coordinate hand and vision precisely in such activities as hunting and tool making.

 

Jñāna Mudra:

 

 Although the adaptation of grasping hand is a common primate feature as both monkeys and apes possess this quality, man is unique in the possession of the ability to oppose the thumb to the forefinger with all the other three fingers stretched out. In Indian Vedāntic and spiritual circles this gesture is of deep significance. The thumb when opposed to the index finger with other fingers outstretched is a representation of yogic ‘knowledge pose’ (jñāna mudra) which is a remarkable sign of some profound psychic expression. As the mind is so is the body, hence our body postures have psychological counter parts. This one ability of human being is indicative of the uniqueness of human species as it expresses the level of development of the human brain as a rational thinking instrument, capable of acquiring a plethora of knowledge and skills. This human ‘knowledge pose’ represents the ability to search for immense, insatiable, knowledge. Scientifically, it has been discovered that the number of brain cells needed to manipulate these two fingers involved in ‘knowledge pose’ is the largest compared to those involved in manipulating all other fingers. “This ability to oppose the thumb to the forefinger is highly symbolic of human search for knowledge from the most ordinary to the most extraordinary levels.” (Swami Ranganāthānanda, The Charm and Power of the Gita). At the level of human evolution this adaptation was the beginning of humanity’s technological progress, cultural evolution and spiritual emancipation. It is interesting to note that in all the iconography ofIndia, of great saints, sages and incarnations and of the Divine Mother, this particular pose of jñāna mudra is depicted.

 

Awareness: 

 

The emergence of man on the evolutionary firmament heralded a new and significant change in terms of awareness. As Sir Julian Huxley says, ‘man is unique in more ways than one.’ For all other organisms the awareness is largely confined to the external environment and their ability to react to the environment is also based on their instinctive behaviour. In the human species the awareness is expanded not only to the external environment but also to ‘the world within.’ Human species alone has the awareness of the ‘perceiver,’ the Self, as the subject of experience along with the awareness of the environment around him. Both modern biology and ancient Vedānta recognize this uniqueness of man. Neurological scientists consider this Self-awareness as the source of human dominance over all nature.

MAN THE UN KNOWN :

 

EVOLUTION OF MAN : A  PERSPECTIVE

 

A biological view of evolution, often described as materialistic view, is that evolution is an accidental transformation of organisms through chance mutations and consequent production of genetic variation. On this genetic diversity natural selection operates to bring about production of superiorly adapted organisms suited to survive in an ever-changing environment. Possibly the organisms possessed only an inherent ‘desire’ to change, to explore new environments. As nature was the selector, the sole arbitrator, organisms obviously did not possess the notions of aim and direction of evolutionary change, except that it made them suitable to survive and reproduce in a given environment. In this scenario the only aim of evolution is survival and reproduction to perpetuate the changes to the next generation.

 

 Vedānta, however, differs from this view of evolution entertained by the biological scientists in that every life is a consequence of the deeds of the organism in its previous births as described through the ‘karma theory.’ As the Upanishads say, “some souls enter the womb to get embodied, others go to the plants according to (their) action and according to (their) knowledge” ( Katha Upanishad, 3.5.). According to Vedānta man is essentially pure consciousness enshrined in a physical body. The subtle body which accumulates all the consequences of the physical existence (samskāras) along with the pure consciousness (the spirit) constitutes the jīvātma or the soul which discards the gross body when it is worn out and takes another body. This process is the rebirth which is a mechanism for the redemption of all fruits of the labour of existence (karma phala) so that the spirit (ātma) will be free to join the Supreme Spirit (paramātma). This process is the liberation or moksha. As per the quality of the samskāras or karma phala to be redeemed the subtle body manufactures a suitable gross body which may be anything from plants, trees, animals and man. This fact is stated in the Bhagavad Gīta as well (Bhagavad Gīta, 2.; 14. - 5). Proper spiritual knowledge and way of life is essential ‘to work out the karma’ or nullify the effects of all worldly activities of the embodied soul. Thus according to Vedānta philosophy the aim and purpose of evolution is the exhaustion of the ‘karma’ and the liberation of the soul. Ancient Indian sages recognised this fact and accepted moksha or liberation as the supreme goal (parama purushārtha) of human life. They formulated a way of life for human beings for this purpose in the form of sanātana dharma or the eternal religion as per the tenets of Vedanta philosophy.

MAN THE UNKNOWN: HUMN CONSCIOUSNESS 

 

A dictionary definition of ‘consciousness’ is, “the state of understanding and realising something” or “the state of being awake, thinking and knowing what is happening around you” (Cambridge dictionary). In other words ‘consciousness’ is equated to ‘awareness,’ as a function of the conscious mind.

Sophisticated techniques of modern science such as refined brain scans and the measurement of patterns of activity in the brain neurons (EEG) do not provide an understanding of how a mind generates the sense of ‘self’ that is the hallmark of the functioning of the conscious mind. The objective analyses that the scientist undertakes to unravel this mystery do not identify an ‘observer’ with any role in the whole process of perception. Although the concept of such an entity was considered quite unscientific earlier, some of the neuroscientists and neurologists recently have started recognising the possibility of the existence of an ‘experiencer’ who is behind all universal phenomena. In his book The Intelligent Universe Fred Hoyle comments about “the strange aspect of science that, until now, it has kept consciousness firmly out of any discussions of the material world.” It is a welcome sign that scientists have slowly started recognising the spiritual dimension of human experience.

 

Sanskrit language has several words that are equivalent to the English word ‘consciousness:’ chit, prajña, jñapti, jñāna, bodha, samvit are a few of them which are to be used as per the context. They all mean infinite Pure Consciousness, knowledge, wisdom and so forth. Vidyāranya, the celebrated author of Panchadaṡi, gives a clear description of samvit as the eternal and non-dual Pure Consciousness, Brahman (1.7).

 

The Ātman/Brahman is the unity of all human experiences. The entire universe being Ātman is of the nature of chit or pure Consciousness. It is the self of all and is chit-svarupam. Modern scientists recognise the inseparable, inter-penetrating inter relationship between the observer and his observation. The knower behind the mind is the consciousness. Although consciousness is limitless and eternal and is the Supreme Truth, it appears limited when perceived through the narrow viewpoint of senses, mind and intellect.

 

Many modern scientists believe in the inter relationship between the subjective mind and the objective matter. Sir Arthur Eddington, Sir James Jeans, Max Plank, Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, Neil Bohr and Werner Heisenberg are a few brilliant minds who included the observer in the observable and they considered such concepts necessary for the  advancement in their methods of scientific reasoning. In 1981, Nobel laureate and father of physics Max Plank said, “Consciousness I regard as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing postulates consciousness.” Since then many eminent physicists echoed the sentiments of Max Plank and emphasized the importance of the observer in the observed phenomena.

In his Mandukyopanishad Kārika Gaudapāda Āchārya refers to Brahman as pure Consciousness: “The knowledge (jñānam) which is unborn and free from all imagination is ever inseparable from the knowable” (3.33).

 

This is the Vedāntic view of consciousness and its role in perception or cognition. Modern science systems especially atomic physics and neurology are also approaching the same viewpoint. Professor Capra writes, “In modern physics, the question of consciousness has arisen in connection with the observation of atomic phenomena. Quantum theory has made it clear that these phenomena can only be understood as links in a chain of process, the end of which lies in the consciousness of the human observer” ( The Tao of Physics, p.300). The physicist John Wheeler calls such an ‘observer’ the ‘participator.’