By DR BHUSHAN KUMAR UPADHYAYA 

 

 

The concept of self discovery as enunciated in the Indian traditions is based upon the wholeness of existence covering both material and spiritual. The thirteenth chapter of the Geeta is known as the Kshetra-Kshetrajya - Vibhaga Yoga or the Yoga of the field and its Knower. By the field , the material and phenomenal world is indicated, while the knower of the field is the vital conscious energy. The Sankhya philosophy of the sage Kapila envisages the creation as the play of Prakriti and Purusha. Prakriti is the inert matter and Purusha is the vibrant spark of life. The same line of thought has been followed by the Geeta also. The matter and the perceived world of plurality constitute the gamut of Prakriti. There are altogether twenty four elements constituting the spectrum of the matter.

 

Five elements of the earth, water, fire, air and ether, five rudimentary qualities of these five elements named smell, taste, sight, touch and sound, five instruments of perception, five instruments of action and the mind, intellect, ego and mind stuff are these twenty four elements. Pure consciousness expresses itself through these twenty four elements and the world of the objects becomes active. As electricity passes through the wire and lights the lamp, similarly consciousness makes the things happen by energising the objects.

 

When the pure consciousness passes through different elements of nature, it gets conditioned and it identifies itself with the transient world and that is the cause of bondage. It is through meditation that the practitioner realises the difference between the inert matter and his conscious existence. The Geeta enumerates multiple qualities which are conducive to spiritual awakening. These qualities include humility, unpretentiousness, non injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self control, detachment, etc.

 

These are the virtues which are essential for self evolution. Neuroscience propounds that these noble ideas are the products of the brain when it works from its cerebral cortex and ensures mental resilience and stability. It is only through these qualities that an integrated personality is evolved. The phenomenal world of multiplicity is ever changing, limited and tangible. On the contrary, pure consciousness is infinite, all pervading and immutable. In this context the Geeta is using the language of contradiction to highlight the features of the Supreme Consciousness. It exists and at the same time it is non-existent.

 

It is supporting everything, but it is devoid of any quality. It is within as well as without. It is moving and not moving also. It is near as well as far. It is undivided, yet divided. These descriptions of the Supreme Reality by the Geeta exactly match the words of Quantum Physics where energy is both a wave and a particle and exists in multiple states at the same time. Quantum Physics believes that the cosmos is not made up of disparate layers, but it is a whole linked by entanglement. According to the Geeta the seat of pure consciousness is the heart.

 

In the philosophical term, the heart refers to the mental zone which produces virtuous and noble thoughts. Prefrontal lobe is the part of the rational brain which is responsible for the origin of such positive thoughts. The Geeta again prescribes multiple ways of self evolution. They are meditation, the path of action, the path of knowledge or the path of listening to the words of wisdom from the evolved persons. (The writer is Former DG Police & CG, Homeguards, Maharashtra)