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.