What's the big IDEA?

Hari Om

Each 'Choose-day' we will investigate the process by which we can reassess our activity and interaction with the world of plurality and become more congruent within our personality.

Nothing which we read in philosophy or religion can amount to anything, in truth, unless we have a clear perception of where it lies within our own field of reference.  One of the great beauties of Vedanta is that it naturally enforces self-analysis; every text speaks as if to an individual. I, you, they...are the individual. The more that is learned the more it becomes apparent, though, that there is only One-ness. Shruti arrived to rescue that One which, through illusion (Maya), appears as many.

Which at this stage - depending on one's spiritual development - will seem like a delusion!

When the ancient seafarers set off from land, at a time when there was nothing at all to prove there was any other land than their own, what is it that drove them to embark on such a risky journey? Well, of course initially is was lust - lust for land, for treasures and to conquer. The first major drive to reach out for something is usually because we see someone else gaining some enjoyment from that thing. A value is then set upon that object. Extending boundaries over a more treacherous route - the ocean - required the drive to acquire, trust that land would again be found, hope and desire that there would be improved rewards from the finding of that land.

So much for those early travellers of the Pacific and the Atlantic. Even when ships set sail today, with all the modern equipment and knowledge, with all the certainty that there is indeed a destination to be reached, there are many hazards to negotiate. The surface travelled is unstable, constantly on the move.

The Sanskrit word  संसार/samsaara is commonly translated as 'ocean of life'.  It is descriptive of the way life takes us to peaks of enjoyment, then dashes us to the troughs of despair.  Other times it can seem entirely stagnant. (The term 'doldrums' which is used for melancholia is an adaptation of the maritime term for conditions found around the equatorial seas.)

Just as there were pioneers of the oceans who established safe routes and located places of safety to rest, equally there were 'sailors of the soul' who explored deeply the inner seas. Not everyone is born to be a sailor. For those who have a notion of it though, there are places to go in order to learn the necessary skills, to build experience, ultimately to venture out. Similarly, not everyone has a natural bent for philosophy of spirit.  For those who do embark on the wider ocean, the rewards are precious.  The sailors who reach the shores of Vedanta are those prepared to explore a little beyond the established channels, willing to risk a little turbulence for the possibility of greater gains.  It is not mythical territory; it simply awaits discovery.

What will bring us on this less travelled route? What helps us decide it is worth journeying?

I - starting with the ultimate question "who am I?" This level of interest of the condition of the individual by that individual will fund a drive for enquiry. This requires intellect. A level of cognition greater than the sum of the thoughts which inform it. The functioning of the intellect is determined by many things and is, essentially, the focus of Vedantic teaching. Frequently there are discoveries which inspire us to go further.

D - desire for an answer to the question. Determination to pursue that answer. Doubts will surely arise but the intellect which pointed us here will now start asking the related questions as well as deeper questions. Deciding to reach beyond our boundaries, delving into the unknown is not without its risks. The knowledge gained makes them worth it.

E - is for experience. With every move in life, we gain experience. Positive and negative. Not all that seems positive is necessarily good; not all that seems negative is necessarily bad. There are times when experience causes us to withdraw and not wish to interact with the world. Sometimes though, we have to extend ourselves.  'E', then is for exploration, in order to add to our experiences.  Only then can we test ourselves.

A - analysis. Assessment of the conditions. Reckoning of the factors. Weighing up. How we do this will be affected by the current functioning level of our intellect, the level of desire to make a determination and the nature of our experiences. The act of analysis does not always equate to logical exposition. At the animal level it can be as straight forward as 'can this be eaten?' and the decision made on inputs from the senses, measured against levels of hunger, and experience of whether there is potential for poisoning. At the highest level it can be the positing of seemingly outlandish theory, followed up with adequate reasoning, experimentation and coming up with a proof or solution.

Having been here to read this, you have certainly seen, on your inner horizon, the possibility of the Land of Vedanta.  There has been a level of curiosity built up from a questioning intellect. This doesn't mean you have to be a 'brainiac'! Only that you have a keen desire to understand the world more deeply and are starting to understand that this entails knowing yourself.  Whether you choose to search more deeply and how far you go will be, in part, determined by your experiences to date and furthered by the experiences gained by taking up the exploration of Vedanta.  Whilst here, there will be much which will require your analysis.  Not least your own self.

There is something for everyone in Vedanta. As with visiting any land other than your own, how much you gain from being here is up to you. 

Upgrading Your Software

Hari Om

Each 'Choose-day' we will investigate the process by which we can reassess our activity and interaction with the world of plurality and become more congruent within our personality.

Last week you were introduced to viveka/discernment.  It may have looked daunting, 'dense', too lofty a view. Be assured, it is simply the honing of a tool already to hand. It may only be that, till now, the full potential has not been understood. Think of the computer on which you are reading this. You use it regularly - but how well do you understand it? Some of you will be muttering now "I don't need to understand, it just needs to do what I want of it.." True - it is a tool.  One which can be little more than a data processing mechanism...or a highly flexible, interactive enhancement to daily activity. That which makes the difference between automated functionality and gainfully integrated performance.  You surely all have experienced a level of satisfaction, though, when you learn a new way to do things with this tool.

Let us take this analogy a little further.

There is no getting round the fact that you must at least learn how to work the keyboard (or the vagaries of a touch screen), so motor skills are required. In the physical body, you first wriggled fingers and toes, then crawled, then stood up, then the first few steps - oh the excitement!

What is it that you, the end-user, are operating with? Software. Only with software can the hardware be stimulated into a useful tool. That which stimulates the physical being is the mind. Certainly there is some hard-wired, machine code programming (animal instinct) which enables survival. Something else happens in the human being though.  The questioning.  It is what sparks the need to learn - beyond what is needed for simple survival (automated functionality).  What we start to seek is ever better understanding of the world around us and how to get the best from it (gainfully integrated performance). Education of the mind is akin to upgrading software on your computer's hard-drive.

In the end you know it is only ever going to be between you and the computer.  The more you want out of it, the more which must first be put in.

This is where choice makes its consequences known.

All sorts of scenarios could be presented here about choosing to go down the route of some of the less appealing 'gaming' items through to reading enlightening materials.  Choosing between 'heavy metal' or Gregorian chant; choosing between cookie crumble ice cream or natural yoghurt.  One will stimulate, the other soothe. At some stage the one function a computer does not have must be exercised; intellect. Intellect is what enables choice.  The nature and results of our choices will depend on a combination of instinct, desire, experience, assessment. The wisdom of those choices will depend further on the ratios each of these things have to the other.

->   Instinct causes us to think in terms of safety, comfort, health.
->   Desire (expectation/anticipation); I want 'this' because of 'that'.
->   Experience of our own and perhaps learned from others will help our considerations.
->   Assessment (analysis) aids final choice according to which of the first three we allow priority. (We shall explore each of these in detail at a later point.)

Remember, we are not talking here of judging others' choices between these things, but our own. Herein lies the essence of viveka.  Self-command.  There is a place for all of the choices, but what we are about here is seeking a way to smooth our path through the turmoil of life.

If the only software you load onto your CPU is of the distractive kind, it ends up, long-term, being destructive. There is so much on offer.  We 'download' so much stuff - until...system overload! If you are fortunate, there will come a point whereby you can stop running the damaging programming. You can substitute it with something more pertinent, a more single-purpose multi-tasking approach rather than the previous congestion. You do this because you know it will be better for your overall wellbeing. Depending how much attachment has been built for the negative program, it will affect your efforts in making the change. One of the great justifications which can hamper our progress is the phrase "better the devil you know..."

Having understood the pertinence of making choice between the 'want' and the 'need' (viveka), we are now faced with detaching from the desired and reaching for the better.  This is the step called वैराग्य /vairagya.


Questions? Doubts? The comments box is yours to voice them.  Check back for responses - if you have permitted email, personal responses may also apply.