Chandan
Sukumar Sengupta
Knowledge, as the term envisages, has a direct link with mind and
intellect. It is absolutely a brain function and depends to a greater extent
upon the interaction of senses and memory. It has some involvement of motor and
sensory involvements which often people acquire through practices. Some sort of
knowledge enriches an individual tradition by tradition. We cannot abruptly
claim that knowledge will enrich an individual all on a sudden. It moves
through a series of instructional steps and a series of practices.
One cannot escape
from oneself without performing duties duly assigned by the system designed for
ensuring interactions at different trophic levels of the eco system. It is also
true that none of the advancement and modernisation can compel us to come out
of that system and behave differently to violate the basic rules of the nature.
If we start claiming that tigers should not be allowed to kill deer, cats
should not chase rats, snakes should not feed on frogs and owls should not
puncture ripe fruits then our claims will violate the laws of nature. With
certain natural instincts and for maintaining a proper balance in nature
organisms ensure their definite role as per the assignments. Human beings are
playing a role with some sort of exceptions. One can intend to kill deer for
obtaining food; one can trap fishes, kill birds, smash snakes and chase bulls
for fulfilling the need of grabbing food. With a modified vigil of registering
one’s presence in the cycle of energy transfer one can cultivate grains,
harvest fruits and maintain mulching animals for fulfilling the requirement of
food. For rest of the world the role of that human will be of a protector.
With such dual
principles human beings can register the presence of oneself in between the
highest and middle order of the trophic level[1].
In another aspect we people maintain our difference from others due to our
ductility, capabilities to speak, performance of exhibiting our emotions and
affinity of remaining linked with others. Here comes the essence of
socialisation and acculturation for the same. On the basis of such involvement
in the society parents cannot escape from their duties of nourishing their
children, young ones cannot escape from their duties toward elders and seniors
cannot escape from their affinity of helping young ones. Escapism of any type
and any degree is the affinity of human beings for which the entire community
may face sufferings, loss of trust and agony. Escapism of any type can also
create individual differences, depending upon which human beings often start
ascertaining one’s role in society.
We cannot claim
that all people make themselves capable enough to escape from the acts of
escapism and make them more active, more responsible, perfectly awakened and
properly adjusted.
Standard of Living
Sometimes we
claim that people living in some cultured civilisation lead a higher standard
of living. For all instances of life process they are more equipped and more
perpetuated than compared some other people belonging to sub human standard of
living. Objection regarding the Standardisation of living in terms of
mechanisation of life process is not the only scale depending upon which one
can classify different society and different culture. Standard is the relative
term having some limitations of its own. People involved in the process of
standardising a society or a person may consider some parameters on the basis
of the knowledge base that the person possesses. Differences in the observation
will be observed on the basis of the knowledge base of people involved in such
mechanism.
Every individual
in this society differ from the other at any of the points. There may remain
more differences or may remain any one difference. It may be in terms of
capabilities; it may be in terms of skills or may be in terms of competence. On
the basis of such formats of differences none of the individuals in this world
are of useless type. Everybody has a definite role to play here. We can
correlate attitude of any individual with those of some olden times in terms of
similarities and differences. Such comparison is of less importance because of
the reality that every individual is of its own type. Then question arises, how
do people encompass some similarities in attitudes and conducts with those of
some characters remained prevalent in olden times? Is it true that Lord Rama
can take birth again? If yes, how?
Similarities and
differences that we come across are due to the system of socialisation and
cultural blend that people come across during the process of acculturation. A
child, for an example, rarely agrees to sit alongside other fellow students
during early days of schooling. It is more prominent if we try to isolate a
child from their parents. The kind of mental adjustment is developed on the
basis of faith that grows inside the mind of the fellow learner. Learning of
any type, at this critical juncture should not be a forced one. It should not
try to suppress the individual identity by imposing any unbalanced curriculum
having no adjustment with the immediate context. Epics like Ramayana,
Mahabharata and holy book like Gita became evident only because of the ease
that these scriptures and allied literature provided for accelerating the pace
of learning. Another such famous creation that gained adequate attention of
people is Ramcharitmanas written by Goswami Tulsidasa. People found their
intellect more adjusted with the narratives of Goswami Tulsidasa.
When we talk
about the philosophy of peace, it points out toward doctrines of certain
fundamental human aspirations in which the human mind attains a constructive
status. Peace never stands simply for diffusing anger, tension or any other
unrest. It is not the exhibit of any termination of tension or war. It cannot
be considered as a dogma opposite to violence, unrest, struggle or fighting. In
its absolute sense, peace is a part of the yoga based life duly proposed by
Vedic saints as a state of mind. It even ascribes the entire human effort to
re-establish that state of peace in the immediate surroundings, and finally in
the entire world. It can be stated that Veda describes the attainment of utter
calmness and establishment of harmony in the world as an exhibit of peace. Peace is the only state of dwellings in which
one can cultivate the possibilities of practicing all sorts of cooperation,
brotherhood leading the entire creation finally toward harmony.
Synthesis of
the spiritual convergence on the basis of the efforts made by sage Veda Vyasa
is addressed perfectly by Acharya Vinoba Bhave and was perfectly reflected
through his narratives as was delivered by him during imprisonment. It also
indicates the way with which the saint has assimilated the teachings of the
Holy Scripture through repeated studies. Points to be worked out from the
teachings of the Holy Scripture will be enormous. One may become free to sort
out such kinds of relevant points and may try to make their own unique
combinations. It will finally open up a wider horizon of thinking and
executions.
One can gain knowledge simply by following masterly instructions.
Some other people can gain knowledge by indulging in the process of
instructional activities. Knowledge of doing some sort of activities often enhances
our skills and makes us competent in performing our specified duties in
particular. Another band of knowledge makes us aware of the situation which
confers our understanding of the cyclic process of creation and destruction. From
certain understanding of facts and figures it is becoming evident that entire
universe will be destroyed in due course of time. We cannot sit idle and wait
up to the moment of destruction with an aspiration of remaining off the side of
any activities in our surrounding. We must move on with a positive apprehension
for performing our duties in society for which we consider ourselves quite competent.
Our commitment to society and to our dearest ones resides on our effort of
indulging in the process of making them happy and contented.
Wisdom is the state of mental balance at which an individual
identifies wright and wrong, permissible and objectionable acts; duties to be
performed and instances to be avoided. It ensures self –actualisation, ethics
and benevolence.[2] It is the capacity of fore-knowledge of
something, may be right or wrong, or may be with immediate implications or
having implications in near future.[3] Development of wisdom is ensured through a
series of masterly guidance.[4] We
can also confer with our clear understanding that wisdom is a kind of expertise
with which one can do things perfectly and also perform assigned duties with
quite perfectness.[5]
Philosophy of Nonviolence
Ahimsa is often
referred as nonviolence in English. But the term, nonviolence is not reflecting
the absolute nature of the term ahimsa as the absolute form duly projected
through theories of yoga in Vedic Philosophy. Special emphasis of elaborating
the term ahimsa is implied in the works of Patanjali, Buddha, and Mahaveera and
in a more practical way through the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Still then, we
accept the term and replace ahimsa by the negative aspect of violence that
often stretch out the meaning of the term nonviolence for accommodating some of
the absolute aspects of the philosophy of ahimsa. The term ahimsa took its
first appearance in the Vedantic Philosophical theories and doctrines.
Patanjali considered ahimsa as one of the prominent part of the eight part yoga
philosophy (Astanga Yoga Darshan). Ahimsa was accommodated under the yama part
of the Yoga theory. Without truth and nonviolence, one cannot make oneself fit
for moving across the yoga practices duly reflected by Patanjali.
Ahimsa
alone can make a situation suitable for all the organisms staying within
certain confinement and facilitating in casting off all sorts of minute
differences such as caste, colour, creed, customs etc. Patanjali described the
philosophy of ahimsa by coining a simple theory of the concept that reflects
the entire beauty of the inherent dogma. According to his theory, “Where
nonviolence is established in its absolute sense, organisms living within that
surrounding will cast off their individual differences and start leading a life
like that of a single family.” People
living under such confinement of philosophical convergence even forget their
all sorts of individual differences of caste, creed and colour.
Philosophy of nonviolence
even secured its prominent position in Buddhism, Jainism and other schools of
religion duly developed and practiced in the Indian context. Mahaveera
delivered his doctrines of practicing nonviolence at its absolute level to be
followed by Jain Saints. Buddha perpetuated his teachings by placing peace and
nonviolence in the central position and instructed fellow followers not to move
towards the impulse of violence for putting oneself and the community in
trouble. Not to think about creating harm to any individual or to any system
even in dream was the absolute doctrine delivered by saints like Buddha and
Mahaveera. Most remarkable feature of
such ahimsa is the convergence of culture, tradition and rituals towards
attaining a communal harmony through sacrificing individually apprehended wants
for the facilitation of community welfare. Balancing the need and want is
another practical aspect of ahimsa or nonviolence that leads an individual
toward attaining satisfaction.
Attainment of
such satisfaction, in turn, will make the individual stable by mind, intellect,
deed and creed. A follower of peace and nonviolence with such attainment of
satisfaction and stability can ascend toward a state of self-regulated
individual having adequate faith upon the self. Here becomes the union of both
external as well as internal power of the individual.
[1] This
is an indicator with which position of an organism in an ecosystem and also in
a food pyramid can be worked out. Trophic level of green plants, for an
example, is one as they are capable of making their own food by using the
energy of the sunlight. Herbivores are at level two and carnivores are at level
three.
[2] Staudinger, U.M.; Glück, J. (2011).
"Psychological wisdom research: Commonalities and differences in a growing
field". Annual Review of Psychology. 62: 215–241.
doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.121208.131659. PMID 20822439.
[3] Meacham, J. A. (1990). The loss of wisdom. In
R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins, and development. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. Pp. 181 211
[4] Karunamuni N, Weerasekera R. (2019).
"Theoretical Foundations to Guide Mindfulness Meditation: A Path to
Wisdom". Current Psychology. 38 (3): 627–646.
doi:10.1007/s12144-017-9631-7. S2CID 149024504.
[5] "Can Humanity Learn to become Civilized?
The Crisis of Science without Civilization" Nicholas Maxwell
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