SKYSPIN
By nature man is fond of comfort and happiness so he goes on making desires and ambitions one after the other to enjoy more in life. To lead a comfortable life he also accumulates many facilities, so that his life may become full of comfort and happiness. Sukh depends upon our thinking, so many times we are surrounded by materialistic possessions but we feel unsatisfied. People think that their happiness depends upon suvidha (facilities) but is it not so; happiness depends upon our thinking or our mental satisfaction.
Necessary and tasteful
¯
Unnecessary but tasty Þ
¯
Unnecessary and tasteless Þ
¯
Intolerable!
1. Needs are ….The needs of the body like food for nourishment clothes for protection, and instruments to ensure right utilization can be categorized as being ‘physical’ in nature, or also called ‘physical facilities’ (suvidha) whereas the need of I is essentially to live in a state of continuous happiness (sukh). The needs of the body are physical in nature, whereas the needs of the self (‘I’) are not physical in nature – like trust, respect, happiness etc.
2. In time, needs are… The needs of ‘I’ are continuous in time, unlike the need of the body, which is temporary in time. We want happiness continuously. We also want the feeling of respect continuously and so also acceptance in relationship. If we talk about food, clothing, shelter, or instruments, these are needed only for some amount of time, or we can say that the need for physical facilities of the body is temporary in time- it is not continuous.
3. In quality, needs are….. Physical facilities are needed for the body in a limited quantity. When we try and exceed these limits, it becomes troublesome for us after some time. Let’s take the example of eating. As far as, physical facilities (say rasgulla) go, they are necessary in the beginning, but if we keep consuming, it becomes intolerable with the passage of time. This applies to every physical facility. We can only think of having unlimited physical facilities, but if we try and consume, or have too much of physical facilities, it only ends up becoming a problem for us. Whereas the needs of ‘I’ are qualitative (they are not quantifiable), but we also want them continuously. Our feelings are qualitative. Either they are or they are not. Ex. Happiness is qualitative. Either we are feeling happy or we are not. Also if a feeling is not naturally acceptable; we do not want it even for a single moment. If acceptable, we want it continuously.
4. Needs are fulfilled by….The need of the self (‘I’), for happiness (sukh) is ensured by right understanding and right feelings, while the need of the body, for physical facilities (suvidha), is ensured by appropriate physico-chemical things.
Ans: There is the familiar shape and structure of a human being that is immediately apparent to us and we imagine someone with similar human body-like features. But in addition to the body, there is also the aliveness of the person – the entity that keeps the body ‘alive’ and makes it operate in various ways.
We perceive this aliveness in the activities demonstrated by the person like their seeing, talking, listening, walking, and eating, etc. This aliveness is called Jivana. Thus, a human being is coexistence of the body and jivan. This jivan refers to itself as ‘I’ (self). Thus we say “I am so and so” or “I feel tired” or “I am happy” and not “my body is happy”. This I or self is also called ‘consciousness’ and is the sentient constitute of the human being.
The human being is the sum total of sentiments and physical aspect, the self (‘I’) and the body, and there is exchange of information between the two, i.e. ‘I’ and body exist together and are related. There is a flow of information from ‘I’ to the body and from body to the ‘I’. We can make this distinction between the self and the body in three ways in terms of the needs, activities and the types of these two entities.
All the needs of I, say respect, trust, etc., can be called as Happiness (such), while the needs of body are physical facilities (suvidha) like food. The two things are qualitatively different. There is no relevance of quantity for the needs of I as it is qualitative, while the needs of body are quantitative, and they are limited in quantity.
The activities of ‘I’ are activities like, desire, thinking, selection, while the activities of body are activities like eating, breathing etc.
The mode of interaction of ‘I’ includes knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilment. The fulfilment depends on recognition depends on assumptions and assumptions depends on knowing or not knowing (beliefs). If assuming is based on knowledge, then recognition will be correct and fulfilment will be correct. If assuming is not based on knowledge, then things may go wrong. The mode of interaction of body is only recognizing and fulfilling. Self is a conscious entity and the body is a material entity, or physicochemical in nature.
To conclude we can say that the human being can be understood in terms of a co-existence of two entirely distinct entities, namely sentient ‘I’ and material body. Their needs and activities are quite different and have to be understood accordingly. But these two constituents of human being are to act in close synergy with each other.
The activities of ‘I’ are activities like, desire, thinking, selection, while the activities of body are activities like eating, breathing etc. The mode of interaction of ‘I’ includes knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilment. The fulfilment depends on recognition depends on assumptions and assumptions depends on knowing or not knowing (beliefs). If assuming is based on knowledge, then recognition will be correct and fulfilment will be correct. If assuming is not based on knowledge, then things may go wrong. The mode of interaction of body is only recognizing and fulfilling. Self is a conscious entity and the body is a material entity, or physic-chemical in nature. Thus we can say:
To conclude we can say that the human being can be understood in terms of a co-existence of two entirely distinct entities, namely sentient ‘I’ and material body. Their needs and activities are quite different and have to be understood accordingly. But these two constituents of human being are to act in close synergy with each other.
1. Activities that are going on in the self
2. Activities that are going on in the body
3. Activities involving both the self and the body
Knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilling are the activities involving both the self and the body.
1. Activities of recognizing and fulfilling in the body: Apart from the activities of Breathing, Heartbeat, Digestion etc., the activities of the body can also be understood as recognition and fulfilment. In fact, the mutual interaction between any two material entities can be understood as recognition and fulfilment of their relationship. For example when we are thirsty and drink water, the body absorbs the water to the extent needed and uses for the nourishment of the various organs. Here, body recognizes its relation with water and fulfils it.
Recognizing ® Fulfilling
2. Activities of knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilling in the self (‘I’): When it comes to self (jivan or ‘I’), which is a conscious entity; in addition to ‘recognizing and fulfilling’, there is also the activity of assuming and that of knowing. In fact, recognizing and fulfilling in case of human beings will depend upon knowing and/or assuming.
a. We assume – We all make assumptions and our response (recognition and fulfilment) is dependent on the assumption. For ex.: If I see a snake and assumed it to be a rope, I shall respond differently to it, than if I take it to be a snake itself. We call this activity ‘assuming or mannana’.
b. We recognize – We all recognize things today, we recognize a variety of things. Like, we recognize water, our parents, friends, etc. We call this activity ‘recognizing or pahachaanana’. The recognizing in ‘I’ depends on assuming.
c. We fulfil –The response that follows recognition is called the activity of ‘fulfilling or nirvaha karna’. The fulfilment depends on the recognition. For ex.: Once we recognize water, we take it.
Taken together we can write it as (in I):
Assuming ® Recognizing ® Fulfilling
There is another activity that exists in us (in ‘I’). This activity is called ‘knowing’. Knowing means we have the right understanding – the understanding of harmony at all levels of our living. When we have the right understanding, when we have the knowledge of reality, it is definite, and then assuming becomes according to the knowing, and hence recognizing and fulfilling becomes definite, or according to knowing. Until then, it is subject to beliefs and assumptions, and this keeps changing. When we list these down:
I am the seer: When we are reading a book or listening, when someone is explaining something to us, when we are watching a scenery or when we are thinking – we are engaged in the activities of ‘seeing’ or understanding. Now when we see some nice scenery we say ‘I am seeing’ that means our self ‘I’ see via the eyes, the eyes don’t see, they are just instruments, that unable me to see something outside. Different images are formed in the eyes every time, but it is I who is able to relate it to the meaning of that image every time. Similarly, I can see inside ‘in me’ also – without the eyes. For example I can see that I am getting angry. In this case I understand or know or am aware that I am getting angry. When I see outside the body works as an instrument.
I am the doer: once I have seen/ understood something, I am the one who decides what to do or not to do. I am the doer. For example, when I see the scenery I am the one who decide to take a picture of the scenery. I use my hands to pick camera and click a picture. The hands in the body are thus used as an instrument. In this way I work with my hands and legs.
I am the enjoyer: I saw the scenery and I took the picture. I am the seer and doer so far. When I see the picture I like it. I am the one that enjoys it. Thus there is a continuity of being the seer, doer and enjoyer. Similarly when I eat, I am the one that gets the taste – from the tongue.
UNIT-3 (Harmony in Human Beings)
Q1. What do you mean by Sukh and Suvidha?
or
Distinguish between Sukh and Suvidha in detail taking needs of yourself as an example.
Ans: Sukh is a holistic and all encompassing state of the mind that creates inner harmony. Sukh is also called as happiness. Suvidha implies that it is looking for physical comforts and all the sources of attaining such comforts. When our body gets used to a certain level of comfort then we will only feel comfortable at that level e.g. comfort in fan, cooler or air conditioner. Different people have a different perception of suvidha and will seek a corresponding level of suvidha according to their perceptions.By nature man is fond of comfort and happiness so he goes on making desires and ambitions one after the other to enjoy more in life. To lead a comfortable life he also accumulates many facilities, so that his life may become full of comfort and happiness. Sukh depends upon our thinking, so many times we are surrounded by materialistic possessions but we feel unsatisfied. People think that their happiness depends upon suvidha (facilities) but is it not so; happiness depends upon our thinking or our mental satisfaction.
Q2. The needs of the body are quantitative. Illustrate.
or
When we try to achieve continuity of happiness through sensation by perpetuating contact with suvidha, the following pattern results: Necessary and tasteful Þunnecessary but tasteful Þ unnecessary and tasteless Þ intolerable. Do you agree with this statement? Support your answer with arguments.
Ans: Needs of body are physical facilities. Physical facilities are needed for the body in a limited quantity. When we try and exceed these limits, it becomes troublesome for us after some time. Let’s take the example of eating. As far as, physical facilities (say rasgulla) go, they are necessary in the beginning, but if we keep consuming, it becomes intolerable with the passage of time. This applies to every physical facility. We can only think of having unlimited physical facilities, but if we try and consume, or have too much of physical facilities, it only ends up becoming a problem for us. When we try to perpetuate physical facilities, the following pattern results. With time it successively changes from:Necessary and tasteful
¯
Unnecessary but tasty Þ
¯
Unnecessary and tasteless Þ
¯
Intolerable!
Q3. Distinguish between the needs of the Self and the needs of the Body.
or
‘The need for physical facilities is temporary’ – explain the meaning of this statement with any two examples.
or
Differentiate between the needs of self and the needs of body.
Ans: The human being is the co-existence of ‘I’ and the body, and there is exchange of information between the two. We can make this distinction between the self and the body in terms of the needs as shown in the table below: 1. Needs are ….The needs of the body like food for nourishment clothes for protection, and instruments to ensure right utilization can be categorized as being ‘physical’ in nature, or also called ‘physical facilities’ (suvidha) whereas the need of I is essentially to live in a state of continuous happiness (sukh). The needs of the body are physical in nature, whereas the needs of the self (‘I’) are not physical in nature – like trust, respect, happiness etc.
2. In time, needs are… The needs of ‘I’ are continuous in time, unlike the need of the body, which is temporary in time. We want happiness continuously. We also want the feeling of respect continuously and so also acceptance in relationship. If we talk about food, clothing, shelter, or instruments, these are needed only for some amount of time, or we can say that the need for physical facilities of the body is temporary in time- it is not continuous.
3. In quality, needs are….. Physical facilities are needed for the body in a limited quantity. When we try and exceed these limits, it becomes troublesome for us after some time. Let’s take the example of eating. As far as, physical facilities (say rasgulla) go, they are necessary in the beginning, but if we keep consuming, it becomes intolerable with the passage of time. This applies to every physical facility. We can only think of having unlimited physical facilities, but if we try and consume, or have too much of physical facilities, it only ends up becoming a problem for us. Whereas the needs of ‘I’ are qualitative (they are not quantifiable), but we also want them continuously. Our feelings are qualitative. Either they are or they are not. Ex. Happiness is qualitative. Either we are feeling happy or we are not. Also if a feeling is not naturally acceptable; we do not want it even for a single moment. If acceptable, we want it continuously.
4. Needs are fulfilled by….The need of the self (‘I’), for happiness (sukh) is ensured by right understanding and right feelings, while the need of the body, for physical facilities (suvidha), is ensured by appropriate physico-chemical things.
Q4. Do you think that human beings are sum-total of sentiments and physical aspects the ‘self’ and the ‘body’? Explain your answer using examples.
or
“Human being is more than just the body” – Explain.
Ans: There is the familiar shape and structure of a human being that is immediately apparent to us and we imagine someone with similar human body-like features. But in addition to the body, there is also the aliveness of the person – the entity that keeps the body ‘alive’ and makes it operate in various ways.
We perceive this aliveness in the activities demonstrated by the person like their seeing, talking, listening, walking, and eating, etc. This aliveness is called Jivana. Thus, a human being is coexistence of the body and jivan. This jivan refers to itself as ‘I’ (self). Thus we say “I am so and so” or “I feel tired” or “I am happy” and not “my body is happy”. This I or self is also called ‘consciousness’ and is the sentient constitute of the human being.
The human being is the sum total of sentiments and physical aspect, the self (‘I’) and the body, and there is exchange of information between the two, i.e. ‘I’ and body exist together and are related. There is a flow of information from ‘I’ to the body and from body to the ‘I’. We can make this distinction between the self and the body in three ways in terms of the needs, activities and the types of these two entities.
All the needs of I, say respect, trust, etc., can be called as Happiness (such), while the needs of body are physical facilities (suvidha) like food. The two things are qualitatively different. There is no relevance of quantity for the needs of I as it is qualitative, while the needs of body are quantitative, and they are limited in quantity.
The activities of ‘I’ are activities like, desire, thinking, selection, while the activities of body are activities like eating, breathing etc.
The mode of interaction of ‘I’ includes knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilment. The fulfilment depends on recognition depends on assumptions and assumptions depends on knowing or not knowing (beliefs). If assuming is based on knowledge, then recognition will be correct and fulfilment will be correct. If assuming is not based on knowledge, then things may go wrong. The mode of interaction of body is only recognizing and fulfilling. Self is a conscious entity and the body is a material entity, or physicochemical in nature.
To conclude we can say that the human being can be understood in terms of a co-existence of two entirely distinct entities, namely sentient ‘I’ and material body. Their needs and activities are quite different and have to be understood accordingly. But these two constituents of human being are to act in close synergy with each other.
Q5. ‘Human being is co-existence of the Self and the Body’ – elaborate on this statement.
or
‘Human being is the co-existence of the Self and the Body’ – Explain this statement taking yourself as an example. (MTU 2010 – 11)
Ans: The human being is the co-existence of ‘I’ and the body, and there is exchange of information between the two, i.e. ‘I’ and body exist together and are related. There is a flow of information from ‘I’ to the body and from body to the ‘I’. We can make this distinction between the self and the body in three ways in terms of the needs, activities and the types of these two entities. All the needs of I, say respect, trust, etc., can be called as Happiness (such), while the needs of body are physical facilities (suvidha) like food. The two things are qualitatively different. There is no relevance of quantity for the needs of I as it is qualitative, while the needs of body are quantitative, and they are limited in quantity.The activities of ‘I’ are activities like, desire, thinking, selection, while the activities of body are activities like eating, breathing etc. The mode of interaction of ‘I’ includes knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilment. The fulfilment depends on recognition depends on assumptions and assumptions depends on knowing or not knowing (beliefs). If assuming is based on knowledge, then recognition will be correct and fulfilment will be correct. If assuming is not based on knowledge, then things may go wrong. The mode of interaction of body is only recognizing and fulfilling. Self is a conscious entity and the body is a material entity, or physic-chemical in nature. Thus we can say:
To conclude we can say that the human being can be understood in terms of a co-existence of two entirely distinct entities, namely sentient ‘I’ and material body. Their needs and activities are quite different and have to be understood accordingly. But these two constituents of human being are to act in close synergy with each other.
Q6. Explain with examples where activities involves both body and 'I'
or
Differentiate between the activities of knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilling with the help of an example.
or
Explain the activities of knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfillment with one examples.
or
Differentiate between the activities of the self and the body on any two grounds.
or
Can the activities of the self be distinctly understood from the activities of the body? Name any three activities and elaborate.
Ans: If we look at the variety of activities that we are engaged in commonly – we see that we can put them in three categories:1. Activities that are going on in the self
2. Activities that are going on in the body
3. Activities involving both the self and the body
Knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilling are the activities involving both the self and the body.
1. Activities of recognizing and fulfilling in the body: Apart from the activities of Breathing, Heartbeat, Digestion etc., the activities of the body can also be understood as recognition and fulfilment. In fact, the mutual interaction between any two material entities can be understood as recognition and fulfilment of their relationship. For example when we are thirsty and drink water, the body absorbs the water to the extent needed and uses for the nourishment of the various organs. Here, body recognizes its relation with water and fulfils it.
Recognizing ® Fulfilling
2. Activities of knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilling in the self (‘I’): When it comes to self (jivan or ‘I’), which is a conscious entity; in addition to ‘recognizing and fulfilling’, there is also the activity of assuming and that of knowing. In fact, recognizing and fulfilling in case of human beings will depend upon knowing and/or assuming.
a. We assume – We all make assumptions and our response (recognition and fulfilment) is dependent on the assumption. For ex.: If I see a snake and assumed it to be a rope, I shall respond differently to it, than if I take it to be a snake itself. We call this activity ‘assuming or mannana’.
b. We recognize – We all recognize things today, we recognize a variety of things. Like, we recognize water, our parents, friends, etc. We call this activity ‘recognizing or pahachaanana’. The recognizing in ‘I’ depends on assuming.
c. We fulfil –The response that follows recognition is called the activity of ‘fulfilling or nirvaha karna’. The fulfilment depends on the recognition. For ex.: Once we recognize water, we take it.
Taken together we can write it as (in I):
Assuming ® Recognizing ® Fulfilling
There is another activity that exists in us (in ‘I’). This activity is called ‘knowing’. Knowing means we have the right understanding – the understanding of harmony at all levels of our living. When we have the right understanding, when we have the knowledge of reality, it is definite, and then assuming becomes according to the knowing, and hence recognizing and fulfilling becomes definite, or according to knowing. Until then, it is subject to beliefs and assumptions, and this keeps changing. When we list these down:
Q7. What is pre-conditioning? What is their source?
or
What is the meaning of desire? How do we verify whether our desires are coming from sensations or preconditioning or natural acceptance?
or
How human mind gets influenced or conditioned?
Ans: Preconditioning means we have assumed something about our desires on the basis of prevailing notion about it. They comes from what we read, see hear, what our parents tell us, our friends talk about what the magazines talk of, what we see on the TV etc. We have not self-verified the desires in our own right. As a result, we are not clear about what we will get out of fulfilment of that desire. The problem with that is, unless we verify our desires, we may not even know whether they are our. We may end up spending an entire lifetime accumulating desires that are not ours, and in running about trying to fulfil them.Q8. “I am the seer, doer and enjoyer. The body is my instrument” – Explain.
or
How self enjoys the activities of the body?
Ans: There is a relation between the self and body that body act as an instrument of self. Whatever self thinks body performs it physically. Body does not decide itself. We can verify this by the following discussion.I am the seer: When we are reading a book or listening, when someone is explaining something to us, when we are watching a scenery or when we are thinking – we are engaged in the activities of ‘seeing’ or understanding. Now when we see some nice scenery we say ‘I am seeing’ that means our self ‘I’ see via the eyes, the eyes don’t see, they are just instruments, that unable me to see something outside. Different images are formed in the eyes every time, but it is I who is able to relate it to the meaning of that image every time. Similarly, I can see inside ‘in me’ also – without the eyes. For example I can see that I am getting angry. In this case I understand or know or am aware that I am getting angry. When I see outside the body works as an instrument.
I am the doer: once I have seen/ understood something, I am the one who decides what to do or not to do. I am the doer. For example, when I see the scenery I am the one who decide to take a picture of the scenery. I use my hands to pick camera and click a picture. The hands in the body are thus used as an instrument. In this way I work with my hands and legs.
I am the enjoyer: I saw the scenery and I took the picture. I am the seer and doer so far. When I see the picture I like it. I am the one that enjoys it. Thus there is a continuity of being the seer, doer and enjoyer. Similarly when I eat, I am the one that gets the taste – from the tongue.
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