Plato's Cave theory and Advaita!

 Plato in his magnum opus Republic has given an Allegory of the Cave which is widely called Cave Theory to emphasise on the lack of education on our nature which is similar to the prisoners inside the cave .Prisoners inside the cave see only images of reflection which are only shadows of the reality in the dim light.Plato being the disciple of Socrates has written this as a dialogue between his brother and Socrates. The prisoners free themselves from the bonded chains in the caves and come out and see that what they have experienced is not reality but reality outside the cave exists. This allegory shows that the human senses when chained to the cave do not allow humans to think beyond the cave images. In this allegory Plato keeps mathematics, geometry and deductive logic at the third and highest level of education.

There is a similarity of this to Indian philosophy of Advaita, in which in simple terms it is said that what we experience is not the reality and it is more like an illusion what we dream in our sleep. Adi sankara when explaining this illusory phenomenon says that this happens due to Avidya or lack of education which is awareness. When we realise our true self we become one with our Creator and realise there is only one Absolute and there is no second- "A dvaita"- only" Brahmam Sathya" and this "Jagat(Earth) Mythya(myth/illusion)".

So in a way both the concepts of philosophy talk about Education or lack of it and its effect, impact on human understanding. Human minds are conditioned by experiences, perceptions and memory impressions and their interplay, without comprehension of the reality or the true nature of human existence.

Bhagawan Krishna in his Gita also emphasizes on this Avidya (Chapter 4)and suggests ways to come out of it(chapter 5). The best and the easiest way is to surrender our ego to Bhagwan and continue with our duty selflessly without any attachment to the fruits of our actions.

Minimalism-இருந்தும் ,இல்லாமல் இரு!

 Minimalism is an old concept but is gaining ground these days when Covid 19 pandemic is trying to devour the entire world.

Minimalism is all about living with less. This is not a fad but a way of life of renunciation and deep withdrawal from worldly pleasures, which has a profound effect on the psychology of humans.

In India, many of our Saints and philosophers have talked about leading life of penance ,sacrifice and total detachment. Even wealthy persons of yester years led a life like that of a Trustees of their wealth. Gandhiji also said this in his seven sins of life:

"Wealth without work; Pleasure without Conscience;Science without humanity;Knowledge without character; Politics without principle; Commerce without Morality; Worship without sacrifice"

It is said that Gandhiji also laid lot of stress on wealthy businessmen and persons to remember that they are Trustees not owners of their wealth which provide them an opportunity to serve the people at large and for social welfare.

Minimalist philosophy emphasizes on getting rid of excess stuff and living life with less and less of worldly possessions.

This is similar to the concept of leading a life like that of water on Lotus leaf. It is a status of living attached but detached explained in Bhagavad Gita. Nishkamya karma yoga in Gita is a path on the same lines without any attachment to the results. If you stretch it , this will show that the emphasis is on being not selfish but living for the sake of greater good of the society.

In Tamilnadu, siddhars gave a concept of "இருந்தும் இல்லாமல் இரு" which is nothing but minimalism of modern era. Siddhars extended this concept even to knowing the meaning of our existence. According to them God Dhakshinamurthy symbolises total silence and  inward withdrawal of soul to know thyself. Arunagirinathar was delighted at being advised by the Lord "to remain in silence".Even getting rid of words or speech is the best way to realise the truth about oneself.

This is Minimalism at its maximum!

We are born without locks!

Whenever any discussion happens on the human mental states, usually the discussion starts with Sigmund Freud. His Id, Ego and Alterego interpretations of the human mind in both conscious and subconscious levels have been the subject matter of debate throughout the world.

If you construct a matrix grid with Child, Parent and Adult ego states of Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis of social behaviours exhibited by human beings,  blended with Freud's human personality types of psycho analysis , then the two-axis grid will present what Eric Berne envisaged.

However, I went one step further and tried to blend the basic gunas as outlined by the Indian philosophy of yonder: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The complex matrix will be like the above.

According to me the middle axis of a combination of Ego, Parent and Rajas will give a stability to the human life and existence through the ages. It is Sattva which will primarily drive the Adult behaviour and bear on the Alterego for the soul's evolution to a higher plane of existence. Only a very few would be able to reach that level of discipline and yearning it demands.

Some of you may wonder why I titled this piece "we are born without locks!".

One young man met a yogi and asked him, if God had willed that everybody should be disciplined and strict then he could have given us locks for our senses and so since He has not sent us with locks, He wants us to remain free and enjoy the life as per our wishes. Yogi with a smile replied saying that He has set us free with a free Will trusting us against misuse and abuse.! that is the beauty of the whole game.

We create our own game and our own rules, and we are allowed to play with all our senses in our command. We are free to choose our methods, ways of creating excitement, enjoyment and merrimaking to our hearts' contentment. But your methods and ways pave way for your own future to unfold for you. Your means justify the ends. If You tread on others' toes to play this game, you may invite somebody to tread on your toes as a reaction and the game continues that way.You let others play and enjoy the game with you, somebody will also allow you to play and enjoy. So, this way the game goes on and on and on.

It is all about how you try to improve your fair play in the game. When your Sattivic nature gains upper hand , you are out of the line of Ego taking over and you are constantly trying to up your fairplay. Yogis play it the minimalist way.

It is all without locks and keys!!All in the game!

Art of tax return filing, nudging and budging!

"Putting fruit at the eye level" is a Nudge. Nudge proposes positive reinforcements  to influence the behaviour and decision making at individual level and at a societal level.

Richard Thaler  and Cass Sunstein in their book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness have written on Nudges as the key method for influencing the human behaviour which has huge ramifications for the economic and political spheres of every country. Thaler won Nobel Prize for this path-breaking behavioural economics concept. The theory itself was built on the heuristic human behaviour concept of Daniel Kahnemann-Tversky model.Daniel Kahnemann in his book Thinking: Fast and Slow mentions System 1 and System 2 of human thinking process in which System 1 is quick, fast, hunch-based,heuristic and System 2 based on some primitive level analysis to arrive at prefered choice or option. When people have to contend with many choices/constraints or facing time constraint, System 1 will override System 2. leading to a sub-optimal outcome.

WYSIATI(what you see is all there is) is an important underpinning guide in most of the human decisions made and Daniel Kahnemann has extensively dealt with this in his book. Nudges as a persuasive concept as opposed to any directive,coercive action is an adult to adult interactive mode (Transactional analysis?).

Some very interesting Nudges that are used all over the worldlink.  Traffic signal lottery, Piano stairs and cigarette butt voting dust bins will be all inducing good behaviour changing habits.

In the realm of Macro economics inorder to improve tax return filing compliance, some Govts. introduced free health insurance with tax filing compliance.

However the question of ethics of Nudging or is it some sort of psychological manipulation  of human behaviour , remains open for discussion at the global level.

India has always talked about Sama, Dhana, Bheda and Dhanda for influencing human behaviours, always starting with Sama/Dhana. Is the concept of Dhana not the same as "Putting a fruit at the eye level"- a Nudge?!!

Closely connected with it is the Art of Choosing written by Sheena Iyengar in marketing parlance. She found out with jam flavour experimentation that too many choices confuse people in decision making . She demonstrated that people who tasted limited no. of jam flavours are ten times more likely to buy jams than those given more flavours to taste.But she is of the view that neither more choices nor very little are good ,but optimum lies somewhere in between.

Daniel Kahnemann's System 1 will always take over human decision making when confronted with too many choices/options and this has been clearly brought out by Sheena's experiment. The same will hold good for Nudges also. Therefore some of the marketers have started offering a simple default option which will be a win-win for both the seller and the buyer. But  lot of ground work to be done to decide on this default option for the buyer to  perceive it that way!!

As Sheena Iyengar says humans are born to create meaning and also to choose, science can help us to become skillful choosers ,but ultimate decision for zeroing in on a choice is still an art. 

 Tax return filings is still an art?!We wudn't  budge with Nudges?!!

The four states of Consciousness or is it five states

The four states of Consciousness or is it five states really:

1) Jagrat- when we are fully awake and when all our 5 senses are active and mind and the body work in tandem. What we do in this state of wakefulness has been described in all our philosophies and Katho Upanishad's story of Nachiketa's dialogue with Yama gives a glimpse. When the young boy Nachiketa asks Yama for the third boon asking him to explain the mystery of what happens after death, Yama after showing reluctance initially ,answers and blesses Nachiketa for his steadfastness .Yama says the Self/Soul is the lord of the chariot, the body is the chariot, the intellect is the charioteer, the mind is the reins, and the five senses are the horses leading the chariot wallowing through the desires of life.

The same is also told by Bhagawan Krishna in Chapter 3 verse 43 indirectly when he said "jahi Shatrum kama roopam dhurasatham" -that for slaying the lust and desires, one should control the senses through the strength of the soul with the discerning intellect (buddhi) as the charioteer and mind as the reins.

The great Thiruvalluvar also says
"ஒருமையுள் ஆமைபோல் ஐந்தடக்கல் ஆற்றின்

எழுமையும் ஏமாப் புடைத்து. (Like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs and head into its shell, if all the five senses are controlled by an individual in one birth, it will continue to guide him for seven births) kural 126

2. the second stage is Swapna and this is the stage where the person is taken to the world of illusion and many philosophers say that this stage of swapna in sleep itself is swapna within a swapna. When we realise Jagat as mithya(Brahma sathyam , we know that even in the state of wakefulness we are experiencing an illusory world. So this state of Swapna while sleeping is called "Swapna inside a  Swapna". It is also called mind weaving dream experiences which try to imitate real-life instances.

3.Sushupti which is the third stage , is that of deep sleep when the mind is at rest and all the five senses losing their original state, the self losing its relevance and one with the universal consciousness. "i" is dead in Sushupti (உறங்குதல் போலும் சாக்காடு...).

4) Turiya , the fourth stage, is called Transcendental consciousness which is experienced as being one with the Whole, where the distinction between Self and the Absolute is realised and observed. This is a higher state of mind called Savikalpa Samadhi.

4) Turiyata or Chidakasa is the ultimate stage, where the Self is lost and the distinction between Self and Absolute dissolves and the whole universe is realised as Paramatman. The mind becomes Sat-chit-ananda.This is the highest state of mind called Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

Saints like Kanchi Periava, Ramana Maharishi, Kuzhandaiananda Swamigal, Seshadri Swamigal, Shirdi Sai baba were all living examples of this during 20th century.

Are we not blessed to have seen or known them during our lifetime!!Some good karma.!!

Progressive Compromises....!

The great Tamil writer  சுஜாதா(Sujatha) once wrote that our lives are one of Progressive Compromises of unfulfilled wishes and wants.

When we are born, Sigmund Freud said ,that we are born with Id, Ego and Alterego-the three states of our subconscious existence and the interplay between these three manifests in our personality and reflect in our behavioural traits.

Eric Berne wrote a famous book "Games People Play:The Psychology of Human Relationships" where he described how Child,Adult and Parent ego states play and he described it in terms Transactional Analysis for interpreting all the social interactions.He also went on to say that people also play mind games with hidden motives,desires etc. and described such negative behaviours in terms of the ego states dominating the individuals.

For solving the life's problems Thomas Harris wrote a practical guide "I'm Ok, You are OK" by doing  the Transactional Analysis of the behavioural pattern of individuals.This is based on the Johari Window concept developed by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham where the four  quadrants are fit in the understanding of the relationship with themselves and with others:" I'm not Ok, you are not OK', I'm not ok,you are OK", "I'm OK, you are not OK", "I'm OK, You are OK".

So all these stalwarts have explained what is happening in our daily interactions but none of them have looked at what it means to individuals in the long term for themselves or for the society at large.

However, even if somebody is in the quadrant of I'm OK, You are OK, with the right blend of Adult, Parent and Child egos , then with aging there can be "progressive compromises" and that is what writer Sujatha alludes to.

He goes on to explain that in his twenties he wanted to play guitar and buy a piece of Moon. But over a period of time his ambitions mellowed down and finally when he reached the 70s in age , even passing urine daily morning without any complication,according to him, became an achievement in one's life. May sound funny but it outlines a question as to what is the purpose of one's life. is it only Progressive Compromises or something more? We can feel within ourselves that there can be or should be something more to life.

Many philosophers have pondered over this question and in India all the Masters and Spiritual Gurus have categorically told that the surrendering of the self to Bhagawan is the ultimate purpose of life. But the means advocated is like what 15th century Gujarati poet Narsinh Mehta sung:" vaiṣṇava jana to tene kahiye 
                                                                                                 je pīḍa parāyī jāṇe re,"

                                                                                          (Call those people Vaishnav who
                                                                                                 Feel the pain of others,)

So helping those in pain and misery is the means by which one surrenders himself  to Bhagawan.

Is there any better way of explaining the purpose of Life!!May be, but in all humility, I want to say ,I don't know.

Art of living and 5 random acts of kindness

I had the privilege and honour of attending "Art of Living" sessions for 4 consecutive days.

the sessions were very informative, opening many doors for me even though known to me. There were exercises for the conscious, subconscious and superconscious levels.

One of the tasks given to us was to do 5 random acts of Kindness by each one of the participants. This was thought-provoking for me ,since I wanted to continue with it every day. Feeding a dog, crow, helping your wife in household chores(Is it an act of kindness!!), making a small donation, etc. But sustaining this on a day to day basis every day is highly demanding. So I have reduced it to at least 2 acts of kindness per day!!

There are a few important powerful messages I received:

1)Opposite values are complementary- day/night, ugly/beautiful, good/bad- one cannot exist without the other. Somebody said Opposites merge in Oneness like Seshnag and Garuda exist in one abode with Bhagwan. Thiruvalluvar said "
வேண்டுதல் வேண்டாமை இலான்அடி சேர்ந்தார்க்கு 
யாண்டும் இடும்பை இல 
(அதிகாரம்:கடவுள் வாழ்த்து குறள் எண்:4) "

(To those who meditate the feet of Him who is void of desire and/or aversion,evil shall never come)

இருள்சேர் இருவினையும் சேரா இறைவன்
பொருள்சேர் புகழ்புரிந்தார் மாட்டு 
(அதிகாரம்:கடவுள் வாழ்த்து குறள் எண்:5) "

(The twin-fold deeds that spring/lead, from/to darkness, shall not adhere to those who delight in the true praise of God)

In both the above kurals the emphasis is on opposites losing their values in front of God.

2)Pl. don't see intentions behind other peoples' mistakes/actions;i.e many a time we start jumping drawing diabolical evil intentions, purposes,motives behind others' actions. That is for Police and Judiciary to see and not for the common man who is in search of  harmony.

3)Pl. do not be a football for others; willingly you can be a football for some time but do not allow others to use you like a football. Even Lord Krishna ,when he went as Pandava Dhootha allowed the enemies to play him like a football but with the good intention of preventing a war. 

4)Accept people and situations as they are. Most of the time we react to others but not respond to others. Forgive and forget even those who have done the worst to you. This is being proactive in forgiving and forgetting for getting ahead with life.

5)Always live in the present and not brood over the past or worry about the future or the unknown. Give 100% to the present moment and action is important for peace of mind without any regrets in the future.

We are all energy microcosm and so since energy is neither made or destroyed in the Universe but only transformed,the rightful conclusion is that we have been in this Universe from time immemorial.

Am I counting my blessings or accounting for the missing, daily!!!

The Interactive Triangle -how do we lead a life!

Humans are students of life with the ability to help others in every possible way, however small may it be, day in and day out and go up in the ladder of evolvement of their individual souls. In this process they realise that they are preprogrammed machines with same set of Operating Systems  of mind and senses ,but with a discerning intellect guided by the Paramatman from deep inside.

Some may agree that the "inner voice" of conscience, as Gandhiji would put it,  is God speaking to you or through you and many may disagree with this. Let us not digress into that.Let us keep it aside as this is a black box about which discussion can go on endlessly.

But the elephant in the room is that we have limited cognition of both our external  universe i.e physical outer world as well as, of the inner mind space world. We are only tuned into certain frequencies or preset softwares, for the purpose of our existence in this earth.

We are daily shaped by our observations cum experiences , which form our memories of short run and long run based on our Cognitions or Perceptions. All these interact and reinforce each other continuously defining our path of life.
The Interactive Triangle can be presented this way: (Ego is Gross and Consciousness is subtle- but both exist)

The Interactive Triangle

Change management, Covid and nation.

Kubler-Ross Change Curve

This Curve theory explains the process as to how people cope up with significant upheaval or life-changing or threatening situations.link

The process explains that people undergo five/six stages: the first stage is that of Shock, then going into Denial, then to Anger, moving into Depression. Up to this stage the performance of the individual or group of people will continue to deteriorate as time progresses. Once the inevitability of the Change dawns, then the people move to Acceptance and finally into Integration when the performance will again start regaining the original position or sometimes exceeding it if there are supporting enablers or incentives.

This is true for individuals as well as for a country or economy.

Since the nation received the pandemic shock in March middle, you may recount we have seen at least the first four stages. We start denying that this pandemic will affect us and once we realised that it is spreading we showed our Anger at China, TJ, and at all those epicentres. Now we are in the Depression stage slowly moving into Acceptance stage where we need to understand to live with this virus by being vigilant and exercising caution. We should not let our safety guard down .

One must also understand that when you are already in Depression stage, if there is another negative news the performance will again start sagging and another cycle /bout of Shock, Denial ,Anger and Depression will kick in .So, it is extremely important for the Govts and the people to navigate this phase without further unexpected shocks.

People are cautioned to listen to the TV news with a pinch of salt. They must look at the Covid nos as a percentage of tests made, active cases situation , infection per lac of population and death per lac.