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!

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.!!