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Time of India
6 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Let's Get Rid Of The Little i
Just as Hath yog strengthens the inner and outer body, Bhakti yog purifies the heart, and Karm yog renders nobility to human actions, Jnan yog opens jnan-chakshu, 'eye of knowledge ' through self-inquiry, study of scriptures and meditation. The Bhagwad Gita , 4:38, says: Na hi jnanena sadrisham pavitramiha vidyate/tatsvyam yogasamsiddhah kalenatmani vindati - verily, there is no purifier in this world like knowledge. In due course of time, the devotee who is successful in yog will spontaneously realise this within his self. Jnan yog does not negate a life of action or devotion, but advocates for steadfastness in gaining knowledge by analysing true nature of the Self. Bhadragiriyar, 14th century Tamil poet-mystic, says: "It is knowledge which knows knowledge through knowing knowledge." Knowledge is para, infinite or apara, finite. The former relates to the higher dimension of being, the latter to the spatio-temporal world. The basic principles of Jnan yog are following: the Self alone is real; the world is only an appearance; to cognise appearance as reality is erroneous; to identify oneself with the mind, body and senses, is avidya, plain ignorance, and by knowing the Self, one becomes the Self. The light of true knowledge is imparted by a competent guru who is found by god's grace. To the question, ko jagriti? - 'Who is vigilant?' Adi Shankaracharya replied, viveki - one who has the power of discrimination. By cultivating vivek, one can distinguish between the real and unreal, Self and non-self, permanent and transient. Vivek leads to vairagya, dispassion, and vairagya to the supreme realisation that 'there is but one Self in the universe, of which all lower selves are but manifestations.' Swami Vivekananda advised: "Let us get rid of the little 'i' and let only the great 'I' live in us." Vivek guides one to perceive the cosmic Self in the individual self, the cosmic mind in individual mind, and cosmic consciousness in individual consciousness. As a result, the ego is obliterated, and one feels oneness with existence. Jnan yog adds to self-understanding by enlightening one about the pancha koshas or five layers of the soul, and about ashta chakras , eight whirling energy-centres of the subtle body that distribute life-current to the physical body. After one is established in Brahmn bhav, divine feeling, by right knowledge, one can go beyond the ordinary states of consciousness. Yet, Jnan yog is not merely an intellectual pursuit, since its goal is to transcend the mind. Jnana yog postulates three ways to grow spiritually: shravan, listening about the ultimate truth from the one who knows it; manan, reflecting on the truth; nididhyasan, meditation on the truth. By dwelling on one's inherent nature, one can realise the identity of atman, individual soul, and Brahmn, the Supreme reality, and experience bliss. The Jnan yogi undergoes four stages: seeking, knowing, becoming, and being. He uses his mind to inquire into his own nature and offers his senses and life-energy as oblations in the fire of self-control, kindled by knowledge. The Gita says, "He is a jivanamukta, liberated while living, and comes to realise that he is a divine being, 'the child of immortality'." Authored by: Satish K Kapoor Why Arjun Was Chosen: The Untold Secret of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 3
Time of India
17-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Miracles Are Beyond Causality And Human Knowledge
Miracle, also known as 'chamatkar', is a complex phenomenon beyond human understanding in relation to causality and human knowledge . In philosophy and theology, it is often debated and generally understood as an event that defies natural laws or exceeds known powers of nature. The survival of lone passenger, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh , in the recent Air India plane tragedy that took 241 lives, is a miracle. The survivor revealed, "I opened my eyes, unfastened seat belt, escaped through a small space on my left and walked up to an know how I survived?" A 10-minute delay due to a traffic jam made Bhoomi Chauhan miss the flight from Ahmedabad to London. She believed that the delay and missed flight were due to divine intervention and considers her survival a miracle. Such tales defy or interrupt the standard chain of cause and effect that one typically expects in such a catastrophic event. It is a moment when the ordinary flow of events diverges and cannot be explained by physical factors or statistical probability. The incident compels one to ask a much deeper question: Is a miracle something entirely unknown and beyond the perception of the human mind? by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo The human mind, conditioned by habit, empirical observation, and specific situations, typically interprets events within a framework of cause and effect. However, the causal framework does not account for such an anomaly in catastrophic events where a lone survivor has emerged unscathed against all odds. Lone survivors: Juliane Koepcke (Dec 24, 1971), Vesna Vulovic (Jan 26, 1972), Cecelia Cichan (Aug 16, 1987), Bahia Bakari (June 30, 2009), Ruben Van Assouw (May 12, 2010), and now Vishwash Kumar Ramesh (June 12, 2025), underline limits of human knowledge and understanding pointing towards a hidden depth of reality yet to be fully comprehended by humans. Philosophers have different perspectives. For example, Spinoza insists that nature operates according to eternal universal laws, a deterministic system. To him, 'miracle' would violate these natural laws, which is impossible because God and nature are the same - Deus sive Natura. David Hume is sceptical and views ' miracles ' as improbable, irrational or unknowable. However, Thomas Aquinas and Leibniz have different perspectives and view 'miracle' as a purposeful intervention by a higher principle, a manifestation of God's will. This point is in accordance with traditional Hinduism, which views the universe not as a closed, mechanical system but as an expression of Brahmn, the ultimate reality. Naturally, the will of this Supreme principle can interrupt ordinary causality to produce what we call a chamatkar - an improbable event. Therefore, surviving a serious accident is a blessing in the ordinary sense. Such phenomena consider the possibility of hidden causal orders, subtler than physical laws, which govern extraordinary events. The survival of the lone individual against all odds may be a manifestation of these hidden resonates that the ordinary world we experience is only a surface phenomenon, a visible ripple, while the true depth of reality lies in a more unified whole. Miracles, therefore, are not violations of nature but revelations of their greater potential than the physical, measurable world. Here, the Supreme principle can interrupt ordinary causality to produce a wonder beyond human knowledge and causal explanations. Authored by: Vijay Hashia Why Arjun Was Chosen: The Untold Secret of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 3
Time of India
23-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Plato, Vedanta And Quantum Physics
What is reality ? Why does everything appear fragmented and separate if it is one and made of energy? Why do we each perceive it differently? For millennia, across cultures and civilisations, sages and philosophers have sensed that the world we perceive through our senses is not the whole truth. Beneath the visible lies the invisible. Behind the transient is the eternal. Beyond form and change, there is an unchanging essence. From philosophical insights of Plato to the spiritual revelations of Vedantic sages, and now discoveries of quantum physics , a striking convergence emerges. What appears as reality is only a projection, not the ultimate truth. Plato, philosopher of ideals, viewed the physical world as a shadow of a higher, perfect realm of Forms. Everything we encounter, trees, animals, human actions—is, in his view, an imperfect reflection of an ideal Form that exists beyond the material plane. There is a Form of Beauty in which all beautiful things participate, and a Form of Justice behind every just action. At the heart of this metaphysical vision is the Form of the Good, the ultimate source of all truth, existence, and intelligibility. The Chandogya Upanishad declares, Sarvam khalvidam Brahmn — all this is indeed Brahmn. It is described as the indivisible, undifferentiated, infinite essence that underlies everything. It is not a being among other beings. It is Being itself. Pure, formless, and beyond all categories, Brahmn is the ground of all reality. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tired of High Power Bills? Plug in This Device elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo But if all is Brahmn, why do we experience the world as fragmented, diverse, and ever-changing? The upanishad explains that although Brahmn is one and without division, we overlay distinctions upon it through nama, name; rupa, form; vyavahara, transactional experience. We name, shape, and engage with this undivided reality as if it were many. The world appears broken into parts because our perception is conditioned by duality. Vedanta teaches that this illusion, called maya, is born of ignorance, resulting from our reliance on limited senses and ego-mind. The goal is not to escape the world but to see through it and recognise unity in diversity. Modern science, through quantum physics, now reveals similar truths in its language. At the subatomic level, particles do not behave like solid objects but exist as waves of probability, fields of potential that remain undefined until observed. What we experience as a fixed, concrete world arises from something fluid, indefinite, and unseen. Just as Vedanta teaches that nama and rupa are superimposed upon Brahmn, quantum physics shows that the solid world manifests something more fundamental, an underlying field of pure potential. In both quantum theory and Vedanta, the observer plays a crucial role. In physics, the act of observation collapses a wave into a particle. Until then, it exists in superposition, a state of multiple possibilities. Vedanta, too, insists that perception is subjective. What we see, hear, or touch depends on the observer. Liberation lies in shifting the observer from conditioned, ego-bound self to witnessing awareness, Atman, which is Brahmn itself. Plato also called for this inward shift. In his allegory of the cave , he describes prisoners mistaking shadows on the wall for reality. Only by turning inward and moving beyond appearances can one see truth of Forms and, ultimately, the Form of the Good. Authored by: Ganesh Kolambakar Why Arjun Was Chosen: The Untold Secret of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 3
Time of India
15-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Upanishadic neti neti and hegelian dialectic
By Sumit Paul Upanishadic neti, neti, not this, not that, and Hegel's dialectic, while distinct, share a common thread: the use of negation and movement to arrive at a deeper understanding of reality. Though Hegel's dialectic focuses on developing concepts through thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, neti, neti is a process that enables an inquirer to arrive at the ineffable nature of Brahmn, Ultimate Reality. Hegel's dialectic is a method of philosophical inquiry positing that reality progresses through a dynamic interplay of opposing forces: a thesis, a proposition or idea; its antithesis, a counterproposition; synthesis, a new proposition that reconciles the two. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad employs neti, neti to describe the nature of Brahmn, the ultimate reality. While there are dissimilarities between Hegelian dialectic and Upanishadic neti, neti , both systems are unanimous on one count: rejection of absolutist ideas. Nothing can be called the ultimate truth because even the socalled truth is never the universal truth – neti, neti. What perpetually eludes us is the Ultimate Truth. According to Nyaya Shastra, there are only subjective truths and relative realities. Spiritual quest must never stop. It should go on and on. 'Tujhe paa lene mein woh betaab kaifiyat kahan/Zindagi woh hai jo teri justajoo mein kat gayee.' In other words, it's always better to travel than to arrive. Hegel believed that to negate is a man's intellectual fate. Both Hegel and Upanishads must be understood and appreciated in today's context of obstinacy, to use Foucault's phrase, when every religion insists that it's the only chosen path and every belief system calls itself the best and flawless. Both Hegel and Upanishads believe in transcendence of ideas and existing truths. Marcel Proust believed there was no end to spiralling ascendancy of quality. It's like perfection. You can only strive for it, but you can never become perfect. One, therefore, needs to keep improving and evolving till the last breath. To be an absolutist is to close all doors to Truth. Religions and their moral codes are periodic and relative truths. So, when we insist that what we know is the absolute truth, it blocks further inquiry and exploration into the nature of reality and different ways people experience Ultimate Reality. As veils lift, more profound mysteries, echoing ongoing nature of spiritual and intellectual exploration, are revealed to those who continue to inquire. As we peel away layers of ignorance or illusion, we will find that journey of understanding and knowledge is an ongoing process. Hegelian dialectics and Upanishadic wisdom emphasise that true understanding is not a destination but a continuous journey. Once we understand Hegelian dialectic and imbibe the spirit of Upanishads , we can expand the scope of our knowledge and understanding. It'll also mellow us, inculcate universal empathy and enhance our ability to engage in dialogue. For some, it may facilitate satori. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Shankara's Advaita and magnificence of Brahmn
Adi Shankaracharya shared profound Vedantic insights in Vivekachudamani, verse 78, 'Humans, victims of all five senses', and pinpointed Advaitic truths by expounding that to catch a deer, one entices it with sweet sound of, say, a flute, and when it stands motionless entranced by that sound, one catches it. An elephant is caught by tempting it with the touch of a she-elephant. A moth is attracted to a flame by the brightness of its form, falls into it and dies. Fishermen catch fish by using bait; the fish takes the bait and falls prey. The fragrant smell of flowers attracts the bee, which dies enjoying that fragrance. 'Thus, one or the other of the five senses leads these beings to a fatal end. But a man who is a slave to all the five senses, falls prey to the five-fold influence.' In verse 261 of Vivekachudamani, Shankara explains that Brahmn is actionless and changeless. So, when we say that Brahmn is the cause of the universe, we are only viewing it through the medium of our senses and mind. Also, when we say that Brahmn is the cause of the universe, it is only an indicative characteristic of Brahmn; it is not its 'swarupa-lakshan' – which is existence-consciousnessbliss, a three-in-one definition; an integral whole, not three but one only. In Advaita Pancharatnam, verse two, Shankara explains the core teaching of Advaita: 'A rope mistaken for a snake, a shell mistaken for silver, the trunk of a tree mistaken for a thief.' These objects last only as long as their perception persists when the rope is perceived in ignorance, either due to darkness or otherwise, as a snake; we merge with ignorance. In the same way, unaware of our true nature as the absolute Self, we are aware only of the body, mind, and intellect. This conglomeration, which we usually call jiva, is thought of as the only existence, an empirical reality. In Shankara, one finds unusual combination of philosopher, poet, savant, saint, mystic, and religious reformer, all rolled into one, who ensured that the truth of Advaita Vedanta would thrive not only in India but throughout the world. Shankara traversed far-flung corners, preaching to the local populace and debating philosophy with Hindu, Buddhist, and other scholars and monks along the way. He engaged in reforming the Sanatan Dharm and personified wisdom of the Vedas. Shankara also wrote philosophical treatises, and composed hymns known as 'Prakarana Granthas' including 'Vivekachudamani', 'Atma Bodha' and 'Upadesa Sahasri' in verse and prose. His verses have unfathomable depth, and they have helped successive generations experience beauty and liveliness of the Self. In Bhaj Govindam, Shankara exhorted people to chant the name of Govind and free themselves from the illusion of samsara. He established that duality is all-consuming, and we can get out of the binary of dusk and dawn, winter and spring, only when we have mastered our desires and are ready to seek permanent refuge in Brahmn. Shankara Jayanti is on May 1 Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
