Indian Philosophy Volume 1 by SP Radhakrishnan

 It is the intimate relation between the truth of philosophy and the daily life of people that makes religion always alive and real. ( Pg 5 Introduction)

The heretic, the sceptic, the unbeliever, the rationalist, the freethinker, the materialist, and the hedonist all flourish in the soil of India. 

Everything useful to life or interesting to mind becomes an object of inquiry or criticism. 

"Atmanam viddhi" ( know the self) : sums up the law and the prophets. 

The mind of man has the three aspects of the sub-conscious, the conscious and the super conscious. The abnormal psychic phenonmenon, like exstacy, genius, inspiration, madness are the workings of the super-conscious mind. The Yoga system deals specifically with these experiences. 

Aiteraya Brahmana, certainly not less than 2000 years before the birth of Copernicus: The sun never sets or rises. When people think to themselves the sun is setting, he only changes about after reaching the end of the day and makes night below and day to what is on the other side. Then when people think he rises in the morning, he only shifts himself about after reaching the end of night and makes day below and night to what is on the other side. In fact, he never does set at all. 

Bhaskara's work of Algebra- Colebrooke's translation

Sanksrit Literature- Max Mueller

The speculative mind is more synthetic, while the scientific mind is more analytic, if such distinction be permitted. The former tends to create cosmic philosophies which embrace in one comprehensive vision the origin of all things, the history of ages, and the dissolution and decay of the world.  The latter is inclined to linger over the dull particulars of the world and miss the sense of oneness and wholeness. 

Chapter 2 Paras 55 to 61 Stitha Pragnya and their qualities

 श्री भगवानुवाच

प्रजहाति यदा कामान् सर्वान् पार्थ मनोगतान्।

आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते।।2.55।।
 

2.55 प्रजहाति casts off, यदा when, कामान् desires, सर्वान् all, पार्थ O Partha, मनोगतान् of the mind, आत्मनि in the Self, एव only, आत्मना by the Self, तुष्टः satisfied, स्थितप्रज्ञः of steady wisdom, तदा then, उच्यते (he) is called.

On being questioned by Arjuna about what exactly does a "Stitha-Pragnya" behave like and how does he look like etc. Krishna starts this beautiful explanation of a stithapragnya from this paragraph no. 55 and it goes on till para no. 61. 

Lord Shri Krishna replied: When a man has given up the desires of his heart and is satisfied with the self alone, be sure that he has reached the highest state. 

This can be very confusing, as no human being can live in this world without desires. All action is preceded by desires. So what exactly does it mean here by saying that "casting off one's desires"? 

Here Krishna states that when a person realises the real power of the self and is completely satisfied with the self and enjoys the self itself, then the desires for the external objects are automatically cast away. It is not about'suppression' of desires, but rather an orientation of the mind towards the inner self, where the ultimate truth or happiness is experienced.  This experience causes the desires to just be cast away, similar to a child's toy having no value to a teenager who now desires and has experienced some other toys.  Such is the state of mind of a "wise" person ( Stitha Prajna)!!- EKATVAM ( How the person is internally)

दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः।

वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते।।2.56।।
 

2.56 दुःखेषु in adversity? अनुद्विग्नमनाः of unshaken mind? सुखेषु in pleasure? विगतस्पृहः withut hankering? वीतरागभयक्रोधः free from attachment? fear and anger? स्थितधीः of steady wisdom? मुनिः sage? उच्यते (he) is called.

2.56 The sage, whose mind is unruffled in suffering, whose desire is not roused by enjoyment, who is without attachment, anger or fear - take him to be one who stands at that lofty level.

The conduct of a 'stitha-prajna' is given here: In good times, everyone is comfortable, but only in tough times do we really come to know the state of mind of a person. A person who is unruffled in times of pain (dukha) and in good times also the person is not getting "excited", Then a very important aspect of "Raaga, Bhaya, and Krodha" is mentioned here. Why only these three emotions? Raaga is the main culprit and means 'attachment' and this is the main cause of the other two: "bhaya" ( fear) and "krodha" ( mad anger) . Basically attachment means "I plus I want___" for eg. a mother says "I plus I want my child" and she is attached to the child for the feeling of completeness. For the mother, she cannot imagine herself without her child. So obviously there is a fear induced for the safety and security of the child in the mind, and the mind creates all kinds of imaginations through the fear emotion. So, in case the child goes out somewhere and does not return home in time, the fear emotions play truant in the mind of the mother. When the child returns back home and the fear enotion is porved false in all it's creations and imaginations, then the "anger" emotion takes over and is displayed to the child: "how can you do this to me?" "How many times have I told you to inform me about your wherabouts?" and so on and so forth. At times, this can be also violent reactions.  This is just one example of attachment, we are attached to beings like pets, and also things like home, car etc.. and evoke similar reactions in our mind. A wise perosn is one who has controlled all these emotions by just removing the 'attachment', and therefore is steady in the mind without any such imaginations and emotions. -SAMATVAM ( How the person behaves)

यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम्।

नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता।।2.57।।

2.57 यः he who, सर्वत्र everywhere, अनभिस्नेहः without attachment, तत् that, तत् that, प्राप्य having obtained, शुभाशुभम् good and evil, न not, अभिनन्दति rejoices, न not, द्वेष्टि hates, तस्य of him, प्रज्ञा wisdom, प्रतिष्ठिता is fixed.

2.57 He who wherever he goes is attached to no person and to no place by ties of flesh; who accepts good and evil alike, neither welcoming the one nor shrinking from the other - take him to be one who is merged in the Infinite.

ASANGTAVAM- He who talks with no attachment to anyone, 

A wise person is one who remains unattached everywhere, and accepts good and evil things as one, does not rejoice the great nor hate the evil, such is the style of the stitha-prajna. 

यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः।

इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता।।2.58।।
 

English Commentary By Swami Sivananda

2.58 यदा when, संहरते withdraws, च and, अयम् this (Yogi), कूर्मः tortoise, अङ्गानि limbs, इव like, सर्वशः everywhere, इन्द्रियाणि the senses, इन्द्रियार्थेभ्यः from the senseobjects, तस्य of him, प्रज्ञा wisdom प्रतिष्ठिता is steadied.

A person who is centered in the supreme consciousness, is forewarned,  just like a tortoise is forewarned of danger, of any sensual attraction, and with much ease and  effortlessly withdraws his mind into the safety of the higher understanding and experience of the supreme. The quality of  a “stithapragnya pratishtitha” is explained with this analogy. 

The sense organs is mentioned here, but the mind is to be controlled, as the sense organs and sense objects are just the tools, but the mind is the one which leaks through them.

Practical Implementation: Pratyahara: The skill or ability to withdraw the sense organs on own command is being emphasized here. When a person develops this ability to sense and withdraw at the slightest provocation, they are a person steeped in wisdom. For eg,  if a person is busy working on something or doing something and is focused on the task, the moment there is a disturbance or some event that happens around, the ability of the person to remain in focus on the task and not get affected by the sight, sound, touch, smell, or even a thought of anything else other than the task focused upon is what the verse seems to indicate.

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः।

रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते।।2.59।।
 

English Commentary By Swami Sivananda

2.59 विषयाः the objects of senses, विनिवर्तन्ते turn away, निराहारस्य abstinent, देहिनः of the man, रसवर्जम् leaving the longing, रसः loving (taste), अपि even, अस्य of his, परम् the Supreme, दृष्ट्वा having seen, निवर्तते turns away.

When we stop indulging in the world outside, the sense objects retreat from you.  For eg, if you announce to your friends in a party that you have stopped drinking, after a few months , you will not be invited for drinks party. So when one abstains, the sense objects retreat from our life. Only when we indulge in sense objects, they come towards us.  But the taste still remains. 

When we focus on the Supreme, even the taste for the sense objects retreat. 

Practical Implementation: What is the practical way in which a person could develop the skill of not getting distracted by sensual attractions? Here a method is mentioned that one must, at the first level, start abstaining from the habitual sensual indulgences. But by doing so, the taste of the indulgence still remains, so the attention must be diverted to a ‘highest’ goal, which is pulling the person as an aspiration. 

Step 1: Stop indulging in sense objects..and aim to achieve something really large and satisfying at the moment. 

यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः।

इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः।।2.60।।
 

English Commentary By Swami Sivananda

2.60 यततः of the striving, हि indeed, अपि even, कौन्तेय O Kaunteya (son of Kunti), पुरुषस्य of man, विपश्चितः (of the) wise, इन्द्रियाणि the senses, प्रमाथीनि turbulent, हरन्ति carry away, प्रसभम् violently, मनः the mind.

Mind is the one that needs to be controlled, not the sense organs.. The extrovert nature of the mind is always looking for the 1st opportunity to run towards the sense objects of the world, even for a self-controlled person working towards self realisation. ( Warning being given to a candidate to be careful of the mind’s strength– turbulence and force of the mind is great and can easily pull away from the goal.)

Practical Implementation: In this process of acquiring the skill by stopping indulgences, and focusing on efforts towards highest goals, there is always the danger of the mind leaking out to the senses and then it becomes uncontrollable, the power of the mind is being described here to enable the person to realize the importance of complete focus and attention at all times, and complete alertness, otherwise, even a little slack could just let loose the torrent and turbulent mind to be carried away easily. 

Normally all of us are slaves to the sense organs. I want to watch a movie. I want to eat that food. I want to hear that music. I want to marry that person... Senses are controlling our actions. Practical example:  I want to have that extra helping of a favourite sweet in lunch. My intelligence warns me not to have it, but my mind justifies saying that I have done enough exercise to have one extra helping. Whom do I listen to: the sensual mind, which is scamming me, or the intelligence, which is driven by unbiased facts?

The sense organs, body, mind, and intellect are our vehicles. We have to steer them in the right direction. All the sense organs are under our complete control, only when the mind is focused on an ideal goal. The ‘sadhana’ explained here is “GOAL SETTING” . Everyone of us needs to have a large ideal or a GOAL that we strive for throughout our lives. The vehicle given to us then is steered in that uni-direction. We become the Masters of the vehicle. 

“Yuktah Asita Mat-parah” is the main part here, which is about turning the mind to the “SUPREME”. So, for a believer of GOD, it is a surrender of all action to the Supreme Lord Krishna. Complete devotion and work with a sense of sacrifice or contribution to the Lord  is the prescribed method of working in the World. 

To a non-believer also, the advice is to have a large GOAL be it scientific, economic, physical or anything, but it should be a very large GOAL, an ideal to be pursued for life. 

The energy and efforts and aspirations that pull the ‘mind’ towards the GOAL is what is crucial and that will keep the senses, body, mind and intellect under the complete control of a ‘stitha pragnya’ and not carried away by the senses.

Step 1: Stop indulging in Sense objects..( Deha Vasana, Loka Vasana, Shastra Vasana) 

Step 2: Set A Large Goal or an Ideal in Life and focus all Attention and efforts on achieving it. 

Some Learnings from "The BhagvadGita" by Dr S. Radhakrishnan

This book by Dr S Radhakrishnan is an epic by itself. The way it has been explained is phenomenal. I shall be taking up small parts of  this book and explaining it in my words, because I believe that when you write something down in your own words, it concretizes your thoughts and becomes a belief system. All our behaviours and actions are governed by our thoughts which originate from there. The core of our thoughts is therefore our belief system and our expressions are a feedback which either weaken or reinforce it.

Introductory Essay 

BhagwadGita is not only popular in India but also in the entire world, and right from time immemorial. In earlier times, China and Japan were greatly influenced and then this also spread to the West. Very nicely put across, this book is not a philosophical treatise but a religiuous classic which can be read and understood by anyone and everyone. It is a "poem" of life with profound insights that are valid for all times and all people in this world.  He has quoted a German scholar of sanskrit, J W Hauer who gave the central message of Gita as : 'We are not called to solve the meaning of life, but to find out the Deed demanded of us and to work and so, by action, to master the riddle of life.' The German scholar calls this the classical presentation of one of the most significant phases of Indo-Germanic religion. The Gita's teachings  encompass the entire human spirit, ranging from the "crude fetishism of the savage" to the "creative affirmations of the saint".  So BhagwadGita is not about a theory of all good and saintly, but more about real life and to understand all that happens in our life as it happens. Integration of the external world to the internal mind and understanding the oneness of everything in the Universe is explained by use of the words "transcendent" and the "empirical" and Gita integrates these two aspects of life. It is also called the 'science' of reality, and the 'art' of union with reality, thereby becoming a scientific subject as well as an artistic subject to entice each and every individual irrespective of their preferences. In layman's words, "outer desire" and "inner quality" are to be seen as a whole and not fragmented, and this is the essence of life.

Gita is also called an "Upanishad" written during times when the different currents of thought  like "the Vedic cult of sacrifice", "the Upanishad teachings of the transcendent Brahman" , the "Bhagvata Theism" , "Samkhya Dualism" and "yoga meditation" were refined and reconciled by an integration process of synthesis into this wonderful poetic book "BhagwadGita", which is free and large, subtle and profound. The beauty of this book is that it uses the fratricidal struggle of those times( The Mahabharata) to develop a spiritual message based on ancient wisdom of the Upanishads.

The Chief Commentators of BhagvadGita

The earliest was ‘Upanishads’ followed by the ‘BhagvadGita’ and then the ‘Brahma Sutra’ and these three together form the triple cannon or “Prasthana Traya”. The date of BhagvadGita may be assigned to 5th century BCE, though it’s text would have been altered many times. Author of Gita is actually not known, however it is attributed to Vyasa, the compiler of Mahabharata. The 18 chapters of Gita form chapters 23 to 40 of “Bhismaparvan” of MahaBharata. Many philosophers have argued and debated over the “philosophy” of Gita and interpreted it in their own way, especially many foreigners, like Hopkins, Holtzmann, Keith, Barnett, Rudolf Otto, and Jacobi, who are all mentioned in this book. Their different opinions on Gita seem to arise from the unique way in which the philosophical and religious thoughts are diffused in Gita along many devious courses. The Indian tradition however has always felt that all these apparently different and diverse elements are fused together in the minds of the author, and a brilliant synthesis of these actually fosters the true life of spirit. 

In India, there have been many teachers of Vedanta who have written commentaries on Gita and have interpreted it in their own way to teach their philosophy/ religious methodology/tradition also called “sampradaya”. This happened after the decline of Buddhism in India as different sects arose. I have tabulated the details in chronological order for ease of understanding below:-

S No.	Commentator	Sect	Period	Context/ Philosophy
1.	Samkara		A.D.788-820	Reality or “Brahman” is one. World of manifestation and multiplicity is unreal and only those in ignorance think it to be real. We are caught in bondage and all work binds us firmly to this cosmic process ( samsara) , the endless chain of cause and effect. Efforts cannot redeem us, only wisdom that universal reality and individual self are identical can redeem us as this wisdom dissolves the ego, and wandering ceases and we achieve perfect joy and blessedness.
2.	Anandagiri		13th century	Devotees of Samkara and developed the same views.
3.	Sridhara		A.D. 1400
4.	Madhusudana		16th century
5.	Ramanuja		11th century	He refutes the doctrine of Unreality of the world, and the path of renunciation of action. “Brahman” is separate and the highest reality and consciously created the world, which is genuine and real. “God” and “world” are like “soul” and “body”. Thus, world is dependent on God as body is absolutely dependent on soul. Main emphasis of Ramanuja is on “devotion”, even though the three paths of “knowledge”, “action” and “devotion” are equally mentioned in Gita. “Divine election” by devotion is what is emphasized by him.
6.	Madhava	Dvaita( Dualism)	A.D. 1199-1276	He wrote “Gitabhasya” and “Gitatatparya”. Soul and God are different and everything is controlled by God. Devotion is again the method emphasized here.
7.	Nimbarka	Dvaita Dvaita ( Dual-non-dual)	A.D. 1162	Soul and God are different, yet the existence of the soul and the world and their activity depends on the will of God. Again devotion is the main theme here.
8.	Vallabha	Suddhadvaita( pure non-dualism)	A.D. 1479	Pure ego ( jiva) and Supreme Brahman are one. Souls are like particles of God like the sparks of fire. Devotion and bhakti is emphasized here to obtain release from the bondage of life.
9.	B.G. Tilak		Contemporary ( 19th century)	The book does not describe their views , however, does mention that each has it’s own views and philosophies.
10.	Sri Aurobindo
11.	Gandhi

My humble interpretations:-  Even though these views seem to be very different, the Hindu tradition believes that these are complementary and not contradictory. Diversity is the essence of Hinduism and allows all views to be accommodated as the end result is only one. Most of the above commentators focus on “devotion” as the main path to release oneself from the bondage of life, though the Gita talks of the three paths of “knowledge”( Jnana”), Action( Karma) and devotion ( bhakti). Probably, the times in which these traditions emerged were focused on devotion as there would have been a subtle focus on getting more believers especially after the decline of Buddhism, which had really attracted many and most of these seers would have chosen “devotion” as an easy method as compared to “karma” or “knowledge” which are more arduous and intangible. Even today, we have more religious followers focused on devotion and bhakti, who follow rituals and dogmas, and fewer people quietly practicing the path of “karma” or “knowledge”. All these paths eventually lead to the same goal, though personally, I feel the lengths of each path may be different, and I am more inclined towards the path of “karma” and “knowledge” and show my ‘devotion’ to the work I do and the knowledge I gain. The beauty of this book is that all theories and philosophies are totally acceptable and can be followed in life, but with a purity of mind.

Ultimate Reality

Upanishads talk about the Supreme or Eternal one, "Brahman", without any form, which cannot be described in words, and can only be realised by practising silence and observing the twofold nature: the "para" or transcendent and the "apara" or immanent, one is the subjective and higher form and the other is the objective or material form. In layman's terms, very beautifully, it has been explained to compare with two birds perched on one tree, one of which eats the fruits and the other does not eat but only quietly watches as a silent witness withdrawn from all enjoyment. What is understood from this is that at any point, both these forms co-exist and when we are able to realise the co-existence of these two forms within us, is the point where we have started realising the ultimate reality.

In essence, there are two natures in each one of us, one is the living soul which represents the higher state and the material medium, which is the lower state. We can also interpret it as that "good" and "evil" co-exist in this world. Why is there evil existing in this world if God created this universe?  God or the higher self is not a dictator, but only an influencer. The world consists of active choosing individuals, therefore conflict is inevitable. Basically because there are tendencies to error, ugliness and evil, that is why human beings seek the opposites i.e truth, beauty and goodness. That means there are positive tendencies or affinity for humans towards error, ugliness and evil. In today's world, an analogy that can be easily drawn is the TRP rating of programs which are full of negative ideas and conspiracies especially the family serials where they show so many problems and egoistic conflicts between close family members, which  are extremely popular. There is a positive tendency towards all that is evil and ugly. God has offered this life to us so that we realise this and  resist these tendencies after a conscious understanding of the higher self. So this life is a battlefield where we are constantly fighting these tendencies and moving towards a higher state. As per the Gita, this world is a scene of an active struggle (Mahabharata) between "good" and "evil" in which God is extremely interested. God pours out his Love in helping man to resist all that is evil, ugly and error prone.

Further another beautiful explanation is provided here that there is an "ideal plan" and a "concrete medium" through which the ideal becomes the actual. While God's idea or the ideal plan is seeking for existence, the actual world of existence( material world) is seeking for perfection. So there is this constant work and motion of two ends of the spectrum trying to meet each other, which is the path and purpose of life.Again the concept of Brahma, Visnu and Siva is explained beautifully relating it to the begiining of creation which is represented by Brahma who has creative ideas, God who pours out his love and works hard to save the world is Visnu, and when the result is achieved and God's plan is achieved by the evil getting destroyed by the Good using God's love, the fulfillment of this is represented by Siva. These can also be represented by three values wisdom, love, and perfection respectively. All these three forms or values co-exist and cannot be separated from each other, they are one and conceived in a threefold manner. Gita is primarily concerned with the process of redeeming and saving the world, so Krishna represents Vishnu. ( to be continued...)

THE STATUS OF THE WORLD & CONCEPT OF MAYA

An extremely complex concept this is to explain, yet Dr Radhakrishnan has tried to explain it with a lot of comparisons. The Supreme  (the Brahmana) or the Eternal one or God are all different ways to address the Absolute. This absolute is "Nirguna" ( qualityless) and "acintya"( inconceivable), therefore how can this world be related to it?  However, the entire world depends on this Absolute but the Absolute does not depend on this world. The word "Maya" evolves out of this one-sided relationship.

A beautiful analogy in one of the Upanishads is about the Three States of Waking, Dreaming and Deep Sleep. While in a dream, there is a phenomenon happening of creating a visual scene in the mind and we believe what we are going through in that state. These pictures are real and created by the Self only. But as soon as we wake up, these pictures are gone and are replaced by the "Material World", which we believe is the "ultimate truth" because our "senses" perceive and feel them. However,  when we are in deep sleep, this real world also disappears and the mind goes into oblivion or "nothingness". This deep sleep state is closest to the True Self, which has the potency of  creating the images and scenes in both the dreaming state and the waking state. So all the states of a human mind are dependent on the Self, but the Self exists even without the three states and is unchangeable. 

If we were to call this Ultimate Self as GOD, then God conceals himself through this World and drives our senses outwards to create a "Veil" of sorts to hide himself in the eyes of the beholder. This process is also called "Avarana", and uses the 5 senses to be attracted to the Objects of the world. This is called "the Power of Maya".  Further, when the intelligence of a person is used by a person to wrongly understand and justify their actions, it is called "Vikshepa" or "agitation"which further drives a person away from the Real Self. 

Maya is constituted of "Prakriti" which is made up of the three gunas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Purusa is the Consciousness which interacts with Prakriti to create the Maya or the World that we see around us. It becomes a source of "Delusion" as it drives one away from realising the creator of the world who is the holder/ creator of both Purusa and Prakriti, in fact a "superset of them". The furious waves of the ocean do not realise that they have been created from the still waters of the vast ocean which is infinitely vast and exist always even when there are no waves. When each wave starts believing that it is its own creation and keeps rising and falling, still not realising that there is one common vast ocean which is it's infinite reality, very similar to that,  we all take multiple births and deaths and keep on living our lives with a lot of egoistic influences, without realising the true "Supreme reality" which is one in all of us, and the main cause for all that is happening in the world. While the Ocean is the cause of the waves, but the waves ferocity or calmness does not affect the ocean a bit too..similarly, how much ever the disturbances are, the supreme infinite reality or the "Brahman" is unaffected and is just an observer. So Maya is the force of delusion that pulls a human being in the "wrong" direction of the senses outwards away from the Supreme Inner Truth and Reality which is inside all of us as "Brahman". 

Ishvara gets the power to combine within itslef the "Sat" and the "Asat", the latter being produced by Maya, which is also called the "shakti" or "Atmavibhuti". So Ishvara and Maya are mutually dependent and beginning less. However this Maya is divine and called "vidyamaya" and then becomes "avidyamaya" for humans who get shut off from the real truth. 

GOD is cloaked by this huge "MAYA" and there begins the duality of contradictions and misery of humankind. Struggle of Opposites in the world of experience.. It is very difficult to penetrate this veil of Maya, but life offers its opportunities to do that through "Purushartha" which indicates huge perseverance and sacrifices to withstand the forces of Maya and transcend the desirous pulls towards the external world of objects and feelings. 

THE INDIVIDUAL SELF

As per the author, the Cosmic Process constitutes of  sheaths with obscure the Infinite reality. As per the Taittiriya Upanishad, the cosmic process assumes 5 stages viz. Anna( Matter), Prana( Life), Manas( Mind), Vijnana ( Intelligence), Ananda ( Bliss).  So the interpretation could be : Mineral forms has only matter, Plant forms have matter and life, Animal forms have Matter, life and Mind, Human forms have matter, life, mind and Intelligence, but there lies an opportunity for a human being to reach the 5th stage of bliss. Beyond these 5 stages lies the "Brahman", or the "Supreme Reality". If a human were to become animalistic and only act through emotions, it would be moving in the opposite direction, if he were to behave like an immobile vegetable, again it is moving in the wrong direction. So the only way ahead is to use the power of Intelligence to find that Bliss and move towards the Infinite Truth or what we call as the State of "Sat-Chit-Ananda".

A beautiful explanation is given here:- A human being gets connected with the Matter, Life and Mind so much that he loses his own individuality, but as he conforms to these forces, he feels comfortable and justified through the sense of security he derives from adhering to the rules of the "group" in the world. So generally seaking, we are all comfortable as long as we dont challenge the status quo and stick to the norms of the society and keep repeating what we have been doing. The example of Arjuna being a Ksatriya and fighting the battle is given here. However, in this battle, Arjuna felt alone when facing the world of nature and society and he does not wish to buy himself the security by submitting to the social standard. This is the point of realisation that there is a Arjuna apart from the "social warrior" and getting uncomfortable or scared is the first step towards moving inwards. When we refuse to conform and seek answers to the "Why" of any of our actions in the outside world, we are actually starting to change our direction from the "outside" to the "inside" towards the fifth sheath of "Ananda". How paradoxical can this be:-  the discomfort and pain felt psychologically is a positive indicator, and the state of comfort is a negative indicator. In other words, life is meant to be a battle field where we have to decide to make ourselves uncomfortable by deeper questions and not get driven by conformance to make ourselves comfortable in the subservience of the external world standards or "forces of Maya". 

I realise this myself that when I am ill and not in pristine health, my mind automatically turns inwards and I  start seeking answers to all the deeper questions within. There seems to be an uncanny connection between feeling ill or uncomfortable to getting closer to the supreme truth or reality. 

Is Vippasana about Buddhism?

       "Vippasana" has created a furore in my house. The moment me and my wife utter this word, my sons say "Oh no, and now you will talk about Vippasana." Others in the family believe that it is a Buddhist technique and something got to do with "Buddhism". Yes, it truly is about "Buddhism", but in the true sense of the word and not in the filtered sectarian "Buddhism" that is prevalent in our world today. Buddhas existed before Siddhartha Gautama and many exist today too, so if we talk about trying to reach their state by practicing something, and if we call this practice as "Buddhism" , then yes Vippasana is about Buddhism. But if you mean that "Buddhist" is one who has to go to a monastery and chant some verses and perform certain rites and rituals, then you are very wrong. 

  Labelling any technique and trying to define it definitely dilutes the very importance of the technique. Vippasana is a technique meant for purification of the mind from the deepest layers. So how is that possible, ask many? Well, what happens when we try to meditate? Our mind wanders, but where does it go? Now, by these questions, we have started a process of observation. These questions are the key. So, instead of just accepting our mind and the thoughts that ensue as  a result of our various experiences, we have started observing our thoughts as if there is another entity that is doing the thinking. This is the key point. But how do we observe because it may not be possible for someone to do that at all, because there is a strong belief that there is nothing true except our own thoughts. Well, that is the mystery! Thoughts have made human beings unconscious and fragmented in perception and views. If only we were  attentive to all that is happening at this instance around us, to observe the fullness and beauty of life around us without labelling any thing or judging anyone, we would realise that all our thoughts are only an outcome of a certain personal reaction due to "EGO" to an external event or stimuli that is recorded and memorized. All these recordings and memories are dormant and lying ready to flood our minds as soon as they get a similar stimuli from external environment. How can this be overcome? Here lies another beautiful fact: The moment we start observing this reaction as another entity observing the behavior of our own mind, the mind calms down and the memory starts to vaporize. An example can be given here:- 

Children at home tend to seek attention by crying even when they are not really hurt. In such situations, based on a certain habit pattern, there are certain reactions evoked from the parents, for example, some parent my react with pity and sympathy, another parent may scold the child and ask the child to shut up as there is actually no issue and the parent is aware of the child's nature. All these reactions can be very spontaneous. If we were to just hold ourselves back and observe the feelings/ thoughts going through our mind when the child screams/ cries for attention, we will observe this thought coming and then slowly ,as if it is a magic happening, subsiding on its own. This is the true form of nature, if you just observe something without any judgment, no memory gets attached and it just passes away. Instead of deriding the thought, we must pause and just observe the thought and say to one self: "See this thought just came to my mind", and then the magic of nature will be visible.

Vippasana is nothing but this art of observation of sensations on our own body which are well beyond our control and are ephemeral and just arise and pass away. These sensations are linked to our mind and based on certain external stimuli and the memories stored in our mind, they manifest as sensations on our bodies. We normally cannot feel these sensations unless they are very strong. All subtle sensations are hidden as our mind cannot sense them normally. Vippasana makes the mind sharper to observe even those subtle sensations. The pivotal point here is that the mind has stopped wandering and is now listening to it's master and is in the "NOW" rather than wandering into the "PAST" or the "FUTURE", which was its original habit.

Therefore, Vippasana is only a tool to master one's mind and try and purify it from the deepest layers by vaporizing all memories and recordings collected due to the external stimulus to one's EGO, which a person mistakes to be self. The "EGO" is not the self and one must learn to differentiate between the two to become more alert and observe the games of the mind.

Thoughts and consciousness- What is the difference?

       These are a few thoughts generated after reading two phenomenal books by Eckhart Tolle- "The Power of NOW' and " The New Earth" :-

Thoughts - Where do they originate from? Are they a reflection of our past experiences?  That means we are always bonded to our past and all our actions that succeed a thought are based on a judgement which is based on our past experience. How true are those judgements? Are the perceptions fragmented as we are missing out the larger vision while looking with coloured filters at situations based on our past experiences which are absolutely specific and personal to each one of us and though it may share similarities with many other people, it still belongs to that individual only and therefore is not a universal truth. Then what is the UNIVERSAL TRUTH? Is it something mystical and special that is known only to the enlightened and that all normal human beings will always keep striving to learn about that ?

      A Lot to introspect, isnt it? I was intrigued when I read many books related to J Krishnamurti, Eckhart Tolle etc.  and realised one thing... there was a deep connection or correlation between all the literature related to spiritual leaders or writers, be it Vippasana, Art of living, Sankaracharya, Sai Baba, Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ, Guru Gobind Singh etc. etc. 

What is that---> All spirituality leads to a single direction and that is " INWARDS". 

    This is very difficult to understand, because most of us think that our thoughts are our innards. But have we ever tried to observe our thoughts in silence? If we try this, we will see that there are two entities-- mind and life or should I say energies . The life energy is independent and activates without any control and is actually the "now' moment or the present, whereas the mind energy keeps fluctuating between the past and the present. Don't we feel the minute silence/ blank between two successive thoughts. It is that in between silence which is the actual life energy. What if we were able to extend this moment more and more where there is no thought? Is it possible to do that? IS IT NOT ESCAPISM FROM REALITY? What is reality then, our thoughts or the blank space between two thoughts? 

    How many times have we really observed the beauty of life all around us? Do we hear the birds really in the mornings, rustling of the leaves, fluttering of the wind. Everything is alive and buzzing around us, but how conscious are we about them? Are our thoughts keeping us away from this reality? Is being aware of this reality important? Keeping our mind in a thoughtless space actually makes us aware of everything that is alive and everything is alive, only we were never "CONSCIOUS". So what is consciousness? 

    Here I correlate with Vippasana. When we practice Vippasana, we feel different sensations because our mind has become sharp and is focussed on the present, basically we are attuning ourselves with our life energy and seeing all subtleties that exist within this physical frame of our bodies. The thinking mind is put to rest and our observation in silence of various subtleties is bringing us towards the reality of life or the Universal Truth of impermanence of everything around us and teaches us to be equanimous in all situations whether they are pleasurable or painful. This is an absolute state of consciousness which takes us inwards such that we are able to isolate ourselves from our habitual mind that used to always jump from past to future keeping us away from the present. 

It is very important not to attach any labels here for eg. Vippasana or any other style for that matter because the mind is a game master and will easily deceive you into believing and making this experience as a recording and again slowly push you back into the usual "unconscious" stage of mind fluctuating from past to future etc. Acceptance of the present and trying to be aware and conscious of all life around us at each and every moment as we perform our functions will probably help us to slowly change our habit pattern and take us closer to the reality or the universal truth of consciousness away from the thought filled mind which clouds you with fear, negativity and self- deceit. 

My experiences in life and with Vippasana......

 

 

Questions that arose in the mind remained unanswered. What were these questions? Well let me try and articulate some of the questions :-

Q: What is the reason people go to temples so far away, stand in long serpentine lines for long hours, struggle and jostle in crowds just to look for one second at a diety's idol? Temples are meant to give you peace of mind and harmony, and I always landed up feeling insecure and unsafe standing in between huge crowds and being pushed constantly. Once my 2 year old son was about to be crushed and I had to put him on my shoulders. I always felt why have I come here? Belief and faith is a very good thing and definitely shapes the mind. But I somehow never developed this belief and faith.
 

Q: Why is a woman who is undergoing her monthly periods not allowed to undertake any activity related to prayer of enter inside a temple?.... A woman's body has a natural mechanism of shedding the unimpregnated mass of flesh which would have otherwise formed a womb for a child. Why is that considered impure.. isnt it a biological process of creation by which all of us were born in this world? In olden days, there wasnt a concept of sanitary napkins and bleeding could become visible, so that could have been a a reason for women having periods to be isolated in their houses. Some people explain that it is because women are not supposed to exert themselves on these days as they are bleeding. In olden days, all work at home used to be done manually by the women and this was a way of  giving them rest. Is it applicable today in a world where women are on the helm of affairs in the corporate world, in sports, arts etc.? What happens when there are important conferences, sports matches, tournaments, cultural programs etc. during those days? Do women cancel it because they have bleeding? Then why even today, women are not allowed to enter temples on the days of periods?

Q: What is the meaning of the sankrit verses that are recited at each function by the great priests and why is it necessary to do all the "hawans" and elaborate rites and rituals in today's world of technology and convenience? ... I have tried asking many priests, and rarely one or two could even just explain the process and its significance. Of late there are a lot of books available on the internet on Vedanta philosophy which does give some plausible explanation of all the rites and rituals that have been passed down from generation to generation. What is amiss that we do not achieve what was supposed to be achieved by doing these rites. The realisation in the person's  mind of sacrifice and developing an attitude of sacrifice is the main idea behind most "yajnas" and "homams". But how many of us truly practice this in our daily life?

These questions and many other such related to religion were always  troubling my mind because there was no logic in what was being told to follow blindly. Being an engineer only furthered my inquisition into the logic of things and if I didnt get the apt answer, the practice was ceased forthwith. This kind of attitude was not taken nicely by the elders and they were hurt, as they have been following everything taught by their parents. But could I suppress my inquisitive nature to question and believe in what I sincerely feel is right.  What is it that I felt was right? Well, one principle learnt by me in my life , thanks to the tough training I got in my teens is that " Mind is the most powerful organ in our body, in fact mind controls the body." I knew this in a very superficial way by self experience. I could never run as a child. When I joined training, the first week we were taken for a run by our seniors .. I had to run 14 kms... I had not run more than 1 km in my life and I used to get sick quite often.. I contributed a lot to the pharmaceutical industry in my childhood. I used to live on antibiotics till I was in school. Once I joined training, for three and a half years of my cadets training, I never got fever even once. Why? Because the mind was occupied trying to survive in the new menacing environment and get used to the new way of life. It was an incredible transformation. I became much stronger, determined and developed tremendous will power to do things which others would consider difficult or even impossible. Thus I evolved from a boy to a fully grown man. Well, I thought so, but did I really grow up? I enjoyed myself thoroughly with all pleasures of life at the young aghe, namely biking, drinking, smoking, girlfriends etc. etc. Being a bachelor and staying in Colaba in Mumbai was a great opportunity to enjoy all these things. In fact , I stayed in Cochin, Visakhapatnam, and Mumbai in my bachelor days serving on board ships and submarines and in every place had my full share of enjoyment. Time flew very fast and soon it was time to settle down in life, and so at the ripe age of 27 yrs I got married with a beautiful girl.( It was an arranged marriage).

 I became a family man, married with a beautiful wife and two kids and continued to live life with the theory of keeping your mind strong and facing life bravely. There were many ups and downs and my wife used to tell me at times that I  am too insecure and self oriented. I never believed her and chided her saying that it was my expereince and I know what to do in different situations because of my experience. Whenever we go out for any movie or function, I used to be insecure about reaching early and getting the tickets or good seats etc. When I drove, I used to try and show my skills in reaching faster and always used to feel that no one can drive better than me. These were the result of  experiences and evolution of the mind by experiences in this huge bad world.  Whenever I used to teach my child and he did not understand a very basic principle in any subject, I couldn't control myself and used to shout at him since I had already explained it thrice to him and still he looked blank.Till I reached the age of 36, life went on and all the questions in my mind remained unanswered and I did not have the time or inclination to introspect or seek answers.

 I started introspection in 2008 when I joined an "Art of Living " class. In that they asked me  " Who are you?" and everytime I answered something they again aksed the same question. Well it was aimed at making me see the truth but I could never understand a thing. And then there again I saw "blind belief" in people getting fruits, flowers and sweets for a great living person. While I enjoyed the "Sudarshan kriya" a breathing technique taught by them, the concept of diefying a living person was against my principles. I started running marathons at this time and I found my mind getting calmer as I ran.

In 2011, I joined  a "Sahaj Yoga" camp and here I realised something great. When I was meditating, I felt some sensations on the top of my head and I  learnt about the chakras in our body. But the questions were still unanswered. In 2012, one of my dear friends and colleague, Krishnan told me about this 10 days course called Vippasana. I just listened, not attentively as I thought it to be another similar course  where I would not be able to achieve anything. But as time flew, I do not know what happened , but I decided in 2012 to try this thing out. So I enrolled for the course online as it was being conducted at Mumbai where I was living  and  I just needed to take 10 days leave.  Thus my journey into the "Valley of Answers" started.

Vippasana was an eye opener. It was an amazing , out of life experience for me. It was as if the locked door of knowledge was opened. While I write this I would confess that to put my thoughts on paper will not be easy and may not be understood by many, because Vippasana is not something that can be spoken and heard and understood. It is about experiencing it by each person for himself/ herself and developing an understanding on their own. The teachers only teach the method of practice and once you start practicing it and you understand the concept, life changes totally. Mind settles down, world becomes a beautiful place, you start relating to all natural things around yourself and start understanding reality. All my questions have started getting answered now. I have realised the futility of so many practices and habits that I had been following from childhood. It is all about the mind - body interaction and how the ego and habits cloud a human beings mind and do not allow him/ her to observe reality.  Again, for  a person not into spirituality, these words may seem to be heavy and unrealistic, that is why I had clarified earlier that this is an experiential thing which cannot be explained in words and understood by listening or seeing others.

I had never read our scriptures namely "Vedas". "Bhagwad Gita" etc. earlier. However, after doing Vippasana, I started reading the "Bhagwad Gita" and all that is written there and what I experienced started to match and correlate beautifully. This was a magical thing for me. I started joining the dots. I joined Bhagwad Gita sessions and discussed Vippasana with quite a few people. I found that most  people with whom I spoke, seemed to be really interested in listening to me and when I started telling them about Vippasana and the knowledge that I had gained, I went on for 1 -2 hours and they were all ears. This was true with my friends, my aunt etc. but not with my parents and some other people. I tried to  talk to them, but they used to feel and tell me that what I was doing and practicing is not possible by all and it is very difficult for a normal person to practice all this. Initially, because of my ego, I started arguing with them, and then when I introspected by doing Vippasana, and understood my mistake. I am supposed to be equanimous in all situations, so I needed to accept the reality. This is experiential learning and their mind was not yet ready to experience this. So I stopped arguing and just followed my practice regularly. Every person has to realise it for himself and only when he/ she will have  a desire to seek knowledge about self, have questions to be answered will the doors of knowledge open. In this fast paced world, not many have the luxury of spending time with themselves, so it is a difficult proposition.

Bhagwad Gita understood by me after Vippasana was an amazing experience. It is a great book to have and read daily as every time you read it, new depth of understanding happens. The best part is that now, it is no longer about " Krishna" and "Arjuna" but  "Self" and "consciousness" and therefore the logical answers that I was searching for are all available and as it gets deeper and deeper with more practice, more clarity starts coming on the answers. Unknowingly, attitudes and habit patterns in life have also changed for the better. My wife says that I am no longer insecure and take things calmly and have completely stopped shouting at children when I teach them. ( earlier, I used to get worked up if they don't understand after two-three times of explanations). When I shout at them sternly , I do it with a calm mind with an aim to stop them from doing wrong. The state of mind is the most important thing and learning to accept yourself and the weaknesses after observing them is the key to conquering those very weaknesses. That is how nature is, the more you accept it after observation, the weakness starts reducing on its own. This is a beautiful game of your mind and thoughts and Vippasana is a methodology to play this game and learn as you play.