Yogiraj Manohar Harkare
There is something that forces everybody to think about every possible
aspect of the life. Some words always create some abstract impressions like
Life,Body, Mind, Intellect, Soul, Death,Meditation, God. VediK traditions
have some additional words like Shareer, Jeevatman,Atman,Manam,
Buddhee,Dhyan,Chetna, Prakirti,Parmatman,Mrutyu.
Human body is consisting of so many parts but we do not have feeling of
parts separately. We have feeling of a whole not as a individual organ of a
body.That means that there should be some separate entity to corporate the
working of the whole physical frame in order to keep the same intact. Many
think that we feel our body because of our Mind. Mind is silent under the
influence of anaesthetics and yet the body is working. Which is the
propelling force under such conditions? The dead body if left intact, still
works in the form of metabolism, the beard, the moustaches and the nails are
all the while incresing in a dead body which works for some time even after
physical death. The Samadhee Avastha of a Yogi overcomes all such metabolism
in the physical body.That is the difference in a physical death and body in
a Samadhee stage.
In the Samadhee stage there exists an entity that controls the metabolism
which is absent in the dead body. The metabolic function of such a Yogi
regains when he comes to his bodily senses, after required time. This means
that there must be some such independent existence within the physical body
of a Yogi which controls the working of the physical frame. The Vaidik
tradition of knowledge has reffered such an independent existence as
'Jeevatma' or Soul. It keeps the physical frame intact. The entity keeping
the entire Nature or Prakirti intact is then reffered as Atma. The entity
governing Atma is known as Paramatmam or God.The Prakirti is running by its
own laws. Paramatman or God is above all such manoeuvres of Prakirti. It is
not proper to think that the Paramatman or God runs the cosmos. He is above
all,untouched by the affairs of the Nature or Prakirti. BagwatGita has
nicely elaborated on this.
It is belived that world is created from Nothing with a BigBang and is
likely to go back in the Black Hole which will result in a new universe.
Gita explains this as 'Mahashoonya' or 'Nirvan'.It says that every moment
there is creation from Nothing. The concept of Mahashoonya or Nirvan says
this only. Every moment the old electrons of our body give room to new
electrons outside. Thus the river of existance is flowing all the while. The
electrons in their own place shrink to neutrons and voidness. This means
Nothingness is continous process of life. We feel that there is life because
there is a faculty of feeling which is life. Now naturally question arises
What is Life? A continuos process of Nothing or Shoonya or Zero. That great
Nothingness, through which everything is created, is termed as Paramatamn by
Gita,beacuse of which the creation or Nature is working. God or Paramatamn
is not entangled in such process of nature but it is vice-versa.
Many a times I wonder about the word formation in Sanskrut language. A word
in a Sanskrut language is logical representation of the semantic attaced
with it. Say for example We call physical frame of Living beings as 'Body'
in English. Now it is difficult for many experts as to answer why the word
'Body'? Atleast I have not come across one.
Where as in Sanskrut language physical frame of living being is
'Shareeram'-- 'Sheeryate Prati Kshanam Shareeram', meaning that which is
destroyed every moment. The living carbon in the lungs is thrown out as a
dead particle in other form of carbondioxide. Breathing out is death but we
live because of such death. Every thing in our body changes sooner or later.
Breathing changes our body constantly. Every moment the outer electrons
replace the body electrons thus changing the whole body every moment.
Therefore the body is termed as Shareeram in Sanskrit.
Our Mind(Manam) is also engima to us. It is not a separate entity in itself.
It does not have any existence beyond physical frame. It is there in the
each cell of frame. It is the result of cultivations received by organs. It
acts in accordence to the cultivations received by the organs. The vehicle
of Mind is organic mechanism but it is separate from the same. Therefore
decision makimng capacity of Mind is largly guided by the cultivations
received by the organs. It is the 'Buddhee' or Intellect that can
discermenate between Good and Bad. The effect of cultivations is directly on
the Mind and constant enforement of cultivations can also affect Buddhee and
to keep aloof Buddhee from the cultivations perceived by organs we practice
Dhyan or Meditations.
Again see the beauty of Sanskrut language: The word 'Buddhee' comprising
'Bud' means bubble and 'Dhee' means the ocean of existence. Buddhee means a
bubble keeping its existence upon the vast ocean of existence. The air
inside the bubble is nearly the same as it is outside. But the air inside
the bubble contains more vapour and pressure because of compressions acted
by the walls of the bubble. The walls of the bubble will break if the bubble
tries to become one with the outer atmoshphere. Individual intellect has
limitions because its walls of egosim, the disapperence of which makes the
intellect all pervading. The Jeevatma or Soul is above Buddhee because it
does not have boundries of Ego.Gita expalins this as
"Manasastu para buddhehe yo buddhehe parasastu saha"
meaning
Buddhee is above Mind and that the Atman is above Buddhee.
In this way the phases of Shareer(Body),Mana(Mind),Buddhee(Intellect) and
Jeevatma(Soul) are changing gradually but ParamAtman (God or GreatSoul)
remains as it is being out of the previewe of movement. Hence ParamAtamn is
termed as motionless or void or Shoonya or Zero having no existence but all
existence everywhere.
The Jeevatma or Soul transcends to Atma stage when it emarges out of the
indiviual limitations as a bubble bursts. The bubble cannot retain its cover
when the humidity in and out becomes same. Individual concept of jeevatma or
soul breaks its limitations when it accepts the universal cancept of Atma or
Greater Soul. The whole affair of existence is a dilemma to us without any
definate answer to it.
The Nasdiya Suktas of RigVed say
"
Na sadasinno tadasit tadanim I
Nasidrajo no vyoma paro yet I
Kimavariyah kuhakasya sharman ambhaha I
Kimaseed gahanam gabheeram I
Na mryturaseed no mryutam no tahi I
Aneedwatm swadhaya tadekaml I
Tasmadhyaanana param Kim chanas II
"
"There is, was,no unthruth or thruth in that last stage of existence.There
was no medium of expressions nor there was any space extending to eternal
extention. At such a stage what evveloped and accepted what? Where was that
endless abyss of existence? There was nither demise or immortality, neither
day nor night or such spreading pulsdation. There was only an existence
pulsating within itself.I know only this. What there was more than this? "
Gita goes beyond that:
Samghatah Chetana Dhritihi
The piece of verse of BG goes beyond theory of relativity. Combinations and
reactions occur because of energy corporastes into various existence in the
form of electrons,protons,and other subatomic partivle. Chemical affinity
and even the sense of life is evented through such behaviour of Energy or
'Chetna'. Afterall what is Energy? The positive spin of an electron creates
energy and negative spin destroys both according to quantum theory. But why
electron spins no one knows. Some say that Electron and Energy is same.Is
enery the resultant of moving elctron or electron the resultant of energy?
It is further said that electron is only a charge.It is no matter.Is the
charge a matter or energy? What made the charge to be charged with? All
leads us to the quantum of Nothingness. Because Chetna Samghat various
combinations are possible and such cultivated combinations have their own
independent existence in the form of matter.
The Great Shankaracharya went a step further than this and declared that the
whole existence is a confusion of illusionary impressions upon our mind.It
seems that world is going on and that we are part and parcel of the cosmos.
There is nothing but movement of particles which try to impress upon our
mind that the world is there and we live within that. It is all 'MAYA'
meaning thereby that we take the happenings true which are not there.The
electrons coming together in relative space, palce, time and number create
the sense of oxygen,hydrogrn,and so on. As a matter of fact ther is no such
existence but only a moving electron. The elcetron is also not there,it
seems because all the while it moves. The electron would be nowhere if it
staggers.
Such is the world we live. We can not deny that the dust and the food we eat
is the same, but we shall die if we begin to eat dust daily. Food is
requeired by living bodies though it is illusionary. Here philosophy and
science join hands to make the human life happay and sublime. Life is
reality and no illusion. One must behave according to the obtained
conditions. This is the effect of the cultivations and is reffered as Dharma
or SwaBhava.
In every birth the Jeeva or Soul is engaged within the enviormnment of its
deeds. The continuous wave and task of the body leaves the same to old stage
or age and atleast the soul has to quit the body, which cannot be used so
smoothly as before to which we call death. The momentum of previous deeds
cannot leave the soul without any such suitable body instruments obtained in
the next birth.
Mamaivansho Jeevaloke Jeevbhotah Sanatanah I
Manah shasthanindriyani Prakirti sthani karshate II
BG
Means
The jeeva or soul is My subtle portion which is there from times immemorial
and also in continuation with the times to come and incarnates in the next
birth along with its preveious mind, five organs of knowledge and mind, the
jockey controlleing those organs.