Ego Learn to Live

 Quote from true charm and Power of Vedanta

 Ego Learn to Live

 

All our social, political and economic reforms are intended to provide for food, clothing and shelter and thus remove obstacles in the path of physical existence . But there is another struggle that is going on for the maintenance of the ego. Man has not yet learnt the art of disburdening himself of the struggle the ego  tires to maintain its identity its superiority-in the family background where it is born, in its working environment, in the midst of friends and colleagues, in other forms of social relationships. We can imagine the maze of problems that can arise from this struggle. Existentialist writers show great sill in depicting this struggle most impressively and movingly. Bertrand Russell remarks in his book. The Conquest of Happiness. What people mean, by the struggle for life is really the struggle for success. What people fear, when they engage in the struggle is not that they will fail to get their breakfast next morning, but they will fail to outshine their neigbours.

 

            According to the views of western thinkers, efforts made by man to maintain and preserve the ego is one of the unavoidable existential necessitates. In the view of Kerkegard the father of existentialism, all the experiences that man can gain come through the narrow passage of the ‘ego’. He summarizes the features of human life in four words; individuality, contradiction, choice and dread . He goes on to explain the struggle of the ego. Just as man can not perch on his own shoulder, he cannot transcend the four limitations referred to above. The world “individuality” encompasses the limitations of a person who is caught in the current of forces like various impulses interests’ action reactions influences and protests in the context of the pressures emanating from, place environment and tradition. The quality of life of an individual depends on the occupation or profession he has chosen and on his attitude. But is the really free in this? He feels that nothing is impossible for him. But when he goes a few steps forward he finds insurmountable barriers around him. (Man is capable of a little and a lot, of everything and nothing –Fascal) He realizes that he is helpless. He realizes at every step, the limitation of his knowledge happiness existence. He realizes that his life is like a tree without roots a house without foundation, or a boat without a rudder. Death engulfs everything is in a fraction of a moment. However even in the midst of these contradictions he sometimes sees a principle of unity or reconciliation.

 

The Gita has a lot in common with physics

Speaking Tree India, Spirituality, TOI

By GS Tripathi

 

Try learning them superficially, both physics and philosophy will elude you. However, both become easy when you explore them thoroughly. There’s no need to go to the forest to understand a book of philosophy. You can do that at home. We live in a society and what is good for it can be done and experimented right here.

 

Concept of indestructibility occupies a significant space in both. While in the Bhagwad Gita the soul is described as indestructible, in physics, Einstein’s relation between mass and energy suggests that both are indestructible. The difference is that the concept of indestructibility is based on reason and experimentation in physics, whereas it is a matter of faith in the Gita. Phase transformation is another aspect that is a part of both.

 

 

In the Gita it is described that the body transforms and passes through different phases such as birth, childhood, adulthood, old age and death, and each phase has its distinctness. Childhood is characterised by tenderness and curiosity. Adulthood exhibits action, dynamism and energy. Old age shows maturity, compassion and also decay.

 

Similarly, matter undergoes phase transformations and changes state from solid to gaseous via a liquid phase. In the solid state, in addition, there are instances of order-disorder transformations. Off and on, physicists predict some exotic states. Their sustainability depends on how long they engage the minds and experiments of physicists and other related scientists. Solids are identified by their rigidity, while liquid and gaseous states are characterised by fluidity. All these states have their respective equilibrium phases, free of external and internal forces. Sometimes these states are disturbed naturally, or artificially to explore something new.

 

According to the Bhagwad Gita, the equilibrium state is the sthitapragya state in life. It is a force-free state, the ultimate state. Once a person reaches this state, he is automatically enlightened. He conquers the dualities of life. However, secluded enlightenment is of no use like gems in the deep sea or flowers in a vast desert. Maybe it purifies the soul. However, it is of no use if it is not dedicated to society’s welfare.

 

The Gita talks about things small and big, statics and dynamics, one and many, light and darkness, infinities and zeroes. Physics also talks about these things but with evidence.

 

Many physical ideas originate from conjectures and hypotheses. However, these are accepted as laws only when confirmed by evidence through experimentation and reason. True philosophers also emphasise reason. As Tagore said, “Where a clear stream of reason is not lost in dreary sands of dead habit.”

 

The Gita emphasises the principles of creation, preservation and annihilation. Jagatguru Krishn affirms these principles many times in the Gita. Physics is also based on these aspects. Both deal with many-body systems. Explaining about ‘sat’ and ‘asat’, the Gita says that ‘sat’ never ceases to exist, implying it is reality and ‘asat’ has no existence, that is, it is an imagination. Physics too handles real and imaginary concepts, and arrives at meaningful conclusions, substantiated by observations. However, there are clear-cut boundaries between the two, and these should not be blurred by too much correlation. The convergence is that both evoke deep thinking and are sources of eternal excitement.

 

The writer teaches Physics at Berhampur University

 

IF HE EXIST

 I drive joy there was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting 7 precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7th heaven moment of the IN ISL East Bengal no 7 scored a goal, Mumbai no 7 scored a goal