- Where am I?
- Where shall I go?
- Who am I?
- How I came here?
- How or for whom should I grieve?
Through these questions Vyasa encourages inquiry and gave the qualifications required to answer the questions objectively. In a way he tells everyone to put aside all religion, dogma, tradition and scriptures and pursue self-enquiry like a scientist. The idea of self-enquiry or spirituality can be considered as a science. On how the theory of self-knowledge might have originated, Shankaracharya tells that once there lived a wise man who directed the out-going senses into himself and deliberated and then the light of self-knowledge shed upon him. The source of knowledge for humans are the five senses (vision, sound, smell, taste and touch). These senses are outwardly directed, i.e. they perceive the external or material world. All regular science is based upon the knowledge understood my men through these outward directed senses. Whereas in spiritual science these senses have to be directed inwards and enquiry should happen within oneself.
As much as scriptures, practices and tradition might help in self-enquiry, they are still only tools and should not undermine understanding and wisdom. All of them have to be questioned and everything has to be taken with a pinch of salt. A practice cannot be justified just because it is a tradition or a popular belief or human nature. The qualities of objective thinking mentioned earlier should be developed steadily over time. General knowledge about current affairs, politics, history, cultures, sciences and art help develop viveka (discrimination of right from wrong) and give insights into human nature. Self-enquiry is not something that can be left for later in life. Self criticism and a little cynicism along with some good humor help a lot.
Reference(s):
[1] The Message of Mahabharata - The Nation's Magnum Opus. Pg: x|viii. Author: Justice P. Kodandaramayya.
11 comments:
beautiful. reaffirms my faith in the path I choose to take in my life!
Have you read the book Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse? Do read it if you get a chance. A small book... but one of my favourites.
:-)
Do you have it? Can you send it to me if you do?
Thanks.
http://www.online-literature.com/hesse/siddhartha/
It is available as an online book through project Gutenberg.
:-)
Tell me if you prefer a paper book.. in which case I can send it to you:)
-Mohan
I had in my Office man, I should have given it to you. Very very nice book. It changed me a lot...
Dear Anu,
Nice article and I agree with the synopsis it. A life can be lived in many different ways. It
can be spent in the pursuit of worldly gross objects like money, power and material or worldly subtle things like knowledge and fame. Life can be led as a worldly person or as a monk or some variation in between. It can be led either to satiate the senses or for realizing the higher truth. Is not , provided with so many options a human confounded? What path should one take that would provide him with bliss in life (which everyone is after).
It should not be the case that life becomes so busy that an entire lifetime is spent in one direction, only to realize its futility at the end and left with a sense of complete loss. In this regard self-enquiry is very essential for everyone. One has to pose important questions to oneself about the bigger things in life and should answer them for him or her self.
The world offers you some answers and so do the Sashtras in Hinduism or any other religious text. All of them should be questioned and understood. One should have questions answered and doubts cleared before vigorously drowning oneself in the cycle of some activity.
Its true that one must introspect ...but where does one get answers ? are your questions answered when you redirect your senses inwards....and even if they are can you always trust on the answers that you get...should we refer to the books or scriptures for answers...what happens when the meaning of these deep questions is different for you and different for me....my question is will the same "scriptures, traditions and practices" have different answers for you and me
@John
I am still swimming the ocean and haven't yet reached the coast. So my answers are not authoritative. However, it is said that whatever path is chosen, the final destination is same. It makes sense because Truth is one and everyone has to reach that Truth. Everything in between can vary depending on the person. Within Hinduism itself there are several schools of philosophy such as Jnana, Bhakthi, Karma etc. All of these take you to the same destination but in different routes. Depending on your tastes and preferences you will choose one or a combination of these paths. Books and scriptures are helpful in guiding your efforts but whatever is said in the scriptures should be experienced firsthand and understood.
I don’t think I helped you much but as I said I am swimming the ocean myself.
I have never delved into spirituality but your article seems interesting.
So whats wrong with what is being proposed here....on one hand you are inspired to think on your own, introspect and look onto self enquiry as a path of righteousness. That the answers you get from them lead one in the right direction. and then what if its different from what your religion tells you to do? The classic question of should i be doing what i think is right or what the scriptures tell me is right!!!
@ mandeep
In my opinion, one's own experience and understanding is superior to scriptures. There is no point in repeating verses which do not make sense. But at the same time one should arrive at a certain conviction only after through analysis and experimenting. The scriptures that were tested and tried for a long time should not be dismissed easily. Spirituality is said to be growth, one grows by the day. So maybe one will need more time to understand or maybe the scriptures are wrong.
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