THE HUMAN MIND AND THE SENSATE WORLD

                              

    “Manonmatram Jagat, Manah Kalpitam Jagat”.  

   In ancient ‘Gurukula’, the teachers encouraged their pupils to ask questions and derive their knowledge. The Upanishads are the sum and substance of all the Vedas. ‘Veda’ means knowledge relating to truth, the ultimate truth. This universe rests on ‘Satyam’, truth and ‘Ritam’, order. The term ‘Vedanta’ means the entire process of knowledge carried to its ultimate conclusion (‘anta’ meaning end) -the consummation of knowledge. 

        Aruni’s son Svetaketu’s spiritual education as depicted in Chandogya Upanishad highlights the need for, and the significance of, ‘shrddha’ or creative faith for man, when confronted by the mystery of unknown behind the known. After 12 years’ stay in the Gurukula from the age of 12 to 24, having studied all the Vedas, Svetaketu returned home conceited, arrogant, and proud, regarding himself as very learned. Aruni asked him, did you ask from your teacher ‘for that teaching (about the one behind the many) through which what is unheard becomes heard, what is un-thought of becomes thought of, what is unknown becomes known?

         “Where from all these entities are born, by which, being born, they abide; into which at the time of dissolution, they enter, seek to know that; that is Brahman”.  (Taittiriya Upanishad, III. 1)

       Mind is the repository of wealth. There is a very beautiful story about the secrets of the mind. Once the Gods were discussing where to hide the ‘power that grants everything’ that man wishes for. Some Gods suggested Heaven as the place; but, others said, Man can reach Heaven too, and there is no use of hiding it there. The argument went on and the Gods knew the tenacity and perseverance of Man and finally agreed to hide the power in the Mind of the Man. They all agreed that, “it is one place where he will not search”. Thus, we have enormous resources, wealth that cannot be valued in terms of US Dollars or Gold, Diamond and Platinum hidden in our own Mind. But the waves, the chitta vrittis disturb the still lake of Mind and we cannot see the bottom of the Mind-lake, ‘Manasarovar’. When the Mind Lake is clear, undisturbed, one can see the enormous wealth in it. Meditation will help to calm the Mind (by Sama) and see the hidden treasures!

 MAN AND HIS UNIVERSE       

        Ever since man attained a sense of awareness of himself and his surroundings, he has been trying to understand the mystery of the universe. He is curious to know about the origin of the universe and the myriads of forms of life. This curiosity of the human mind has been addressed in the Shvestasvatara Upanishad. It begins with the question: What is the cause? Is it Brahman? Whence are we born?  Why do we live? Where is our final rest? Under whose orders are we, who know the Brahman, subjected to the law of happiness and misery? [Shvetasvatara Upanishad, 1.1.]

         In order to answer all these questions, which are still pertinent today, the ancient sages tried one by one- the Time (Kala), Nature (Prakruti), Chance, Matter, Energy, Mind and Ego and did not find a satisfactory answer. None of these, not even a combination of these, could be the cause of the universe, because they are all dependent on something else. [Shvetas. Upa. 1.2]. As the reasoning failed, the sages turned to meditation. In the depth of contemplation they realized that supreme immutable ‘Being’ called ‘Brahman’ who is the self -luminous power in all beings and who presides over the functions of everything from Time to Ego. [Shvetas. Upa.1.3]

       When man is viewed from the sensory point of view, he appears as the  ‘limited’ finite organic system. The Vedantic view is that this is only a superficial view. Consciousness appears as a detectable datum in evolution only with the appearance of the living cell, which initiated the organic phase of evolution. That datum of consciousness develops into ‘self-consciousness’ with the appearance of man as the highest product of that organic evolutionary process. This fits in well with the Darwin’s theory of evolution. Neo-Darwinism too does not contradict this.

        Man is an integral part of infinity. The same elements that flame the stars are found in the human body. The scientist may simply put it as a consequence of and physics and chemistry, or simply an act of God according to aphilosopher; both mean the same in that the stuff of star, the sun has come alive. Inanimate chemicals have turned into living beings that breath, swallow, talk, blossom, think, imagine, write, dream and teach and what not! Practically all the living beings on earth are the cosmic creatures, products of cosmic events like atomic collisions, stellar explosions, molecular unions that were cataclysmic but still fortuitous. How beautiful it is to say that ‘we are all children of God’, the children of the universe, the center of the universe! The same fire in the sun is in our soul, atma jyoti; it shines; as a spark, it enlightens us as jnyana jyoti, illumines as divya jyoti! It is our intellect. A spark of that stellar origin sustains us through our life as Prana Jyoti. We exist on this planet as long as He shines. We are immortal just as He is immortal; we are omniscient just as He is omniscient.

        The history of the development of brain is very interesting. There is a very long gestation period during which the human brain developed. During this period, Brahman devised a control mechanism called ‘homeostasis’. Homeostasis takes full control of maintaining the internal functions of the body and it possesses self-correcting mechanism and reapirs itself. For instance, if the temperature falls too low, it staggers the body and develops enough heat to sustain the body. If the temperature goes too high and becomes uncomfortable, it drouses the body with sweat and cools it down!

 According to Grey Walter, a Neurologist,

        “The acquisition of internal temperature control, thermostasis, was a supreme event in neural, indeed, in all natural history. It made possible the survival of mammals on a cooling globe. That was its general importance in evolution. Its particular importance was that it completed, in one section of the brain, an automatic system of stabilization for the vital functions of the organism- a condition known as ‘homeostasis’. With this arrangement, other parts of the brain are left free for functions not immediately related to the vital engine or the senses, for functions surpassing the wonders of homeostasis itself”.

            This ‘Homeostasis’ is just a necessary condition for life forging ahead to higher and higher scales of evolution. Nature has achieved a physical homeostasis for man and man has now to achieve for himself, by himself through the organic capacities which nature has endowed him with, says Vedanta. What man has to achieve according to Vedanta is a ‘ mental homeostasis’, with a view to realizing the Atman behind the Mind. This is also known as the process of ‘sama’ and ‘dama’ in Yoga, a necessary moral and ethical condition for the achievement of a state of  ‘samadhi’ that enables the sadhaka to perceive the Atman. The upper brain is freed from the menial tasks of the body, the regulating functions being delegated to the lower brain, so as to enable the organism carry on a care- free life. This is indeed a mechanism meant for the mammals’ survival under the ever-changing natural conditions; but for man, it points the way to his spiritual freedom, a path to liberation or ‘mukti’.

       From the physical point of view, man is just a particle of dust in the immensity of the Cosmos; but there is something in man that understands and comprehends cosmos. Man, as a ‘thinker’, understands nature; this is a profound human dimension; man as the ‘Atman’ is infinite and immortal, his subtlest and profoundest dimension, according to Vedas and Upanishads. 

Origin of the Universe

         The history or the mystery of the origin of the Universe is first explained by the Vedas as in Rig Veda Samhita Mandala I and then by the modern scientists in recent years. The first explanation has come from a spiritual contemplation, man’s intellect dwelling in his interior depths of Mind; it is a sure source of knowledge for it has kept all the memories of its past intact. To be more precise, in the unfathomable depths of human Mind lie all the secrets of this universe. It only requires a superior skill to contemplate and fish out the required information. It is here the spiritual attainment counts. Modern science, too, has brought out some of these truth but, man had to struggle hard for centuries to perfect his equipment, his skill of observation and arrive at some agreeable conclusion. Thus Vedanta compares very well with modern science, but the latter is yet to unfold many mysteries that are already explained in the sacred Manthras of the Rig Veda.

       Both Vedanta and modern science hold the view that the primordial matter that constitute the universe emerged from Vibrations, waves of gaseous matter due to latent heat, ‘tapa’. Time, space, energy, matter, life, are all manifestations of One single Infinite, Indomitable, Effulgent, Supreme Consciousness that has neither a beginning and nor an end. It is neither born nor knows any annihilation and thus, it is “Anant” and “Achyut”. It is all-pervasive, omniscient, self-effulgent and omnipresent. This is called the “Brahman”, the “Absolute” by Philosophers, Spiritualists, Great Seers, Saints and Sages. Scientist Albert Einstein raised up his hands and said “God Knows”. Stephen Hawkings is still looking for that “Beyond Gods”.

      The ‘unity theory as explained in the Vedas is simply that, ‘Time is eternal and space is vast and endless and, there cannot be two vast endless things; they are the two sides of the same and constitute the two dimensions. To these two dimensions are added matter and energy. Matter becomes energy and energy becomes matter and both are manifestation of the same effulgent source. Thus, these two constitute the third and fourth dimensions. Life is Consciousness that constitute the fifth dimension of the same effulgent source of Indomitable Spirit. These are five dimensions of that Supreme Spirit called “God” for sake of simplicity and convenience for there is no other suitable word to express this supreme Spirit’.

        The origin of our Solar System is similarly explained. It is again the ‘Tapas’, heat generation, expansion and cooling process that explains it.

 Millions of years ago, a star called ‘Nova’ came near the Sun of our Solar System for a brief period. Through its gravitational pull, it created tidal waves. The force of attraction of the passing star created vibrations, waves and the Sun threw off great quantities of star- dust; we may call this the planetesimals or the nebula. These went on whirling round the Sun and eventually cooled to become planets and satellites.

         This in short is the story of the birth of our solar system. In one of the planets ideally located neither far, nor near the sun, i.e., the planet earth, life appeared and evolved for millions of years, producing Man, the ‘Homo sapiens sapiens’ so far the ultimate in creation. This is another long story cut short explaining the origin of man.

      The existence of human life on this planet Earth is a more calculated and thoroughly well planned design of the Lord, and as Einstein put it, ‘God does not play dice with this world’. The Vedas and the Upanishads explain the whole process of creation. Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism also shed light on the process of evolution. In brief, cosmogony, the ‘Brahmanda’, or ‘the Hiranyagarbha’ consists of macrocosm and microcosms. Macrocosm covers the whole Universe consisting of millions and millions of stars. The microcosm is the internal man built on the same plan and principle as the macrocosm for, nature builds everything on a uniform plan and revels in unity underlying diversity throughout. Man as microcosmic cell of the Universe is in-built into the whole system of cosmos; it is a mere cell of the cosmic body or a spec of the cosmic dust. When viewed from space, the earth looks so beautiful, pulsating and full of life and vibrations. Here lies the real truth. The ‘living planet’ earth is an organic cell and the unicellular amoeba that started multiplying itself is an immortal one that never dies. These are substances of great contemplation. 

         The Vedantic View is more comprehensive in explaining man and his mind than that of the modern science.

           The basic components of all creations and future creations, according to Vedanta are as follows:

1. The Mahat i.e., the ‘Akasha’ or Universal Consciousness, Intellect, or The Brahman;
2. Ahamkara i.e., the ‘I’ -ness born of the Mahat, the Akasha or Space;
3. Buddhi i.e., the discriminative faculty born of Ahamkara; and,
4. Manas i.e., the Mind born of ‘Ahamkara’ and its chittavrutti

            Besides these, there are the Ten sense organs – Jnyanendriyas; i.e., Five sense objects like sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch; and, the five great elements:  ether, air, fire, water, and the earth. By the element earth, is meant all solid bodies including the planets and satellites known to man. Together, these Twenty-four Fundamental Principles are the products of ‘Prakriti’ subsisting in its three-fold divisions of forces- known as the Sattva, the Rajas, and the Tamas. These are the first sprouts branching off from the unmanifest Nature, ‘Avyakta Prakruti’. ‘Duality’ starts here.

        Nature is unmanifested ether, Maya, Prakruti, Saksji, Ajnyana, etc. Its qualities are Satva, Rajas and Tamas.  It exists in Triputi, i.e., Time, Space and Causation according to Vedanta Vikruti is Indriyas and Panchabhutas. The Eight-fold Nature, the Prakrutyashtakas include the five elements, the Mind (Manas), the Intellect (Buddhi); and Egosim (Ahamkara). The Dhatu Ashtakas are the external skin, the internal skin, blood, flesh, bones, marrow, semen; and, the eight psychic powers are the Aishwaryas (Ashtaishwaryas). These are Super-Human Powers that include the powers of Brahma, Prajapati, Devas, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Rakshasas and Pitrus and Pishachas. The eight Virtues of Soul (Gunashtakas) are Daya (Compassion), Kshama (Forbearence), Anasuya (Absence of Jealousy), Purity (Shaucha) Karpanya (Poverty), Akarpanya (Absence of Poverty), Anayas (Absence of Fatigue) and Aspraha (Desirelessness).

            There are the eight mental states, the Bhavashtakas like Righteousness (Dharma), Adharma, Jnyana (Knowledge), Ajnyana (Ignorance), Vairagya (Renunciation), Raga (Attachment), Aishwarya (Super-Human Powers) and Anaishwarya (Want of super-human powers)

  There are five Viparyas, Misconceptions, twenty-eight Disabilities or ashaktis, nine Tushtis, Satisfactions. Besides, there are the Eight Siddhis, or Perfections (Attainments).

   Generally, the individual souls get drowned in these ashtakas, blemished with duality that makes man unhappy despite his attainments. The way out of this ‘Sansar’ is total submission to the Supreme Power behind the creation and constant Dhyan of the Lord.

    All these are explained in Sankhya Sutras III-37, 45; Sankhyakarika 47; Yoga Sutra 18; and, Brahma Purana II.2.

    The earth has Gravity. In the Vedantic sense, the attraction of the Nature, (Prakruti), “Ajnyana” (Ignorance) is so much that it holds the jivas, individual souls in its grip offering temptations of the Ashtaishwaryas and will not loosen the grip while the jeevas hanker after reaching the higher and higher levels of Consciousness, Jnyana (Knowledge) and Liberation.

   The earth, a planet on which we live is often referred to as “Shree”. Shree- Bhoo-Durga, the three different forms of Shree Laksmi, the presiding deity, stand for Prakruti.The Earth is conceptualised as a symbol of profound creative power, as the eternal source of everything; it is dharitri; it is a repository of all the wealth, and it supports and sustains life providing food and shelter to all creatures. Bhoo Devi, as she is called, is worshipped in the form of Maha Lakshmi. The mantra to propitiate the Goddess is:

          “OM SHREEM, RHEEM, KLEEM VASUDHAYAI  SWAAHA”

          Cosmic harmony of heaven, earth and man brings out enormous power and strength.

          On the face of the ‘dualities’ that reign supreme, one has to work hard, build up individuality, a personality, and an ‘integrated personality’; Then, when one is strong and spiritually mature, he or she should look up and see a greater courage and greater strength beckoning and makes one experience and say:

                            “Not I, but Thou; Thy will be done”.

       The full message of self-surrender and Divine Grace that helps one to get rid of the ‘dualities’ of sansar is beautifully explained in Bhagavad-Gita Ch. XVIII. This is the philosophy of life, the grip of Prakruti over Purusha, and the method of getting the shackles broken and getting liberated from bondage as advised by Lord Shree Krishna. It is addressed to Arjuna, a confuse, perplexed, ignorant jiva who represents the common man or woman.