Episode 01 - Essential Gita - Chapter 9 - Virtues.
CHAPTER 9 – “VIRTUES”
HOW DOES ONE MASTER THE THREE ‘GUNAS’?
CAN ONE TRANSCEND THE THREE ‘GUNAS’ AND IF SO, HOW?
In the previous chapter on “Gunas”, we noted: “the ‘gunas’ – ingrained attitudes to the world – and their ratio are capable of governance - and change too - in one’s life, by conscious application and effort: if one is born with a predominance of Rajas, and a low quotient of Satva, it is possible for that person to alter that ratio, say, becoming more saatvic, by redefining and reshaping his or her life.”
Sri Krishna defines the goal and the means to it:
Chapter 14 – verse 20
guṇān etān atītya trīn dehī deha-samudbhavān
janma-mṛityu-jarā-duḥkhair vimukto ’mṛitam aśhnute
“By transcending the three ‘gunas’, being conscious of the truth that the three gunas are of the bodily person (dehi) and these rise and reside in that body; and that the divine Soul is the real ‘I’, one becomes free from birth, death, old age, and misery, and attains immortality (‘amritam’).”
Arjuna wants to know how would that rare person who accomplishes the spiritual feat of transcending the three gunas look? (There is no bigger incentive for an aspirant than presenting the glorious trophy, is there?)
Chapter 14 – verse 21
kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho
kim āchāraḥ kathaṁ chaitāns trīn guṇān ativartate
What are the characteristics of those who have gone beyond the three guṇas, O Lord? How do they act? How do they go beyond the bondage of the guṇas?
Sri Krishna provides the description – with all its glowing allures:
Chapter 14 – Verse 23
udāsīna-vad āsīno guṇair yo na vichālyate
guṇā vartanta ity evaṁ yo ’vatiṣhṭhati neṅgate
They are undeterred by the Gunas, untouched, undisturbed by them. Conscious that it is only the guṇas that act in them, they stay unflinchingly established in the Atman. ‘neṅgate’ - na ingate – without wavering, without flinching.
(These elevated entities are still possessed of the three gunas, but have transcended them in their inner self, by consciously ignoring or bypassing them and their actions and riveting their minds on the Atman within.)
How does an aspirant seeking the goal of ‘Moksha’ i.e. immortality, go about elevating oneself to the pedestal of predominant ‘saatvik’, which is prescribed as the threshold for achieving ‘njana’ or knowledge – about the Brahman?
The first pre-requisite is for that aspiring person to be conscious of where he stands with regard to the Guna-composition in him or her. We found Sri Krishna enumerate the attributes and emotional and action quotients of the three gunas when they reign. We thus know where we stand with reference to the dominant Guna in us – through a self-awareness that is pursued with a strong intent. That self-awareness would also call for an internal honesty – it is not easy for someone who finds himself or herself as a dominant Thamasic to admit that – even to oneself. Or, even for a Rajasic to do so. This is thus the tricky starting point.
What next? How does one go about governing, influencing, and moderating or accentuating the guna composition?
The Supreme Being, the peerless Guru that He is, tells us how:
“Acquire virtues that are exalted. You shall be established in ‘Satva’ (dominantly). These are thus known as ‘Daivim Sampadam’ – divine virtues.”
VIRTUES AS UNDERSTOOD IN DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES:
“Virtue” – like its elder sister ‘Dharma’ – is scantily and varyingly defined.
Apasthamba (the ancient sage – one who could stand on water as his name connotes) who has authored several scriptures including his celebrated “Dharma Sutra”) captures this definition problem succinctly –
“"virtue and vice do not go about saying - here we are!; neither the Gods, Gandharvas, nor ancestors can convince us - this is right, this is wrong; virtue is an elusive concept, it demands careful and sustained reflection by every man and woman before it can become part of one's life.”
In Hinduism, however, some of the smritis, beginning from the earliest one from Manu attempt to particularise human attributes that would be regarded definitively as good or bad virtues. Manu, for instance, enumerates ten attributes: Dhriti (courage), Kshama (forgiveness), Dama (temperance), Asteya (Non-covetousness/Non-stealing), Saucha (inner and physical purity), Indriyanigraha (control of senses), dhi (reflective prudence), vidya (wisdom), satyam (truthfulness), akrodha (freedom from anger). Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra enumerates attributes (yamas) that an aspiring student of yoga – ashtanga yoga – should gain before setting out to the next steps of yogic discipline and conditioning: Ahimsa (non-violence by thought, speech and action); Satya (truthfulness); Asteya (non-coveting, non-stealing); Brahmacharya (celibacy or self-discipline/control of the senses), Aparigraha (non-possesiveness.).
Buddhism elevates good virtues to what it calls “Brahmavihara” – divine states – viz: 1) Metta/Maitri: loving-kindness towards all; 2) Karuṇā: compassion; compassion is the wish for all sentient beings to be free from suffering. 3) Mudita: altruistic joy in the accomplishments of anyone – other than oneself - rejoicing in the happiness and virtues of all sentient beings. 4) Upekkha/Upeksha: equanimity, or learning to accept both loss and gain, praise and blame, success and failure with detachment, equally, for oneself and for others. Also, not to distinguish between friend, enemy or stranger, but to regard every sentient being as equal.
Philosophies – both orient and western, ancient and modern, placed ‘virtues’ on a pedestal equating it with the ‘common good’ or ‘universal good’; the theistic ones imbued these with a divine or godly consequence for both the individual and the world.
René Descartes, (French – 1596 to 1650 CE), the rationalist philosopher, René Descartes, virtue consists in the correct reasoning that should guide our actions. He thought that virtues produced ‘sovereign good’ and a solid blessedness or pleasure; he also argued that what virtues produced was spiritual pleasure which was much superior to physical pleasure.
Aristotlean take on virtues was more fundamental andspeculative – like Apastamba’s:
The ‘telos’ – Greek for purpose, goal, end or true final function of a person or an object - of a human being is to reason. The good for a human being is, therefore, acting in accordance with reason.
VIRTUES (AN IMPORTANT ‘TO DO’ LIST FOR EVERY ASPIRANT)
The Bhagavad Gita speaks of numerous virtues of man in different spiritual contexts. An aggregated discussion of these occurs in Chapter 13, (Kshetra, Kshetranja Vibhaga Yoga), Verses 8 to 12 and again in Chapter 16, (Daivaasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga), Verses 1 to 3.
Chapter 13
Verses 8 to 12
amānitvam adambhitvam ahinsā kṣhāntir ārjavam
āchāryopāsanaṁ śhauchaṁ sthairyam ātma-vinigrahaḥ
indriyārtheṣhu vairāgyam anahankāra eva cha
janma-mṛityu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣhānudarśhanam
asaktir anabhiṣhvaṅgaḥ putra-dāra-gṛihādiṣhu
nityaṁ cha sama-chittatvam iṣhṭāniṣhṭopapattiṣhu
mayi chānanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhichāriṇī
vivikta-deśha-sevitvam aratir jana-sansadi
adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁ tattva-jñānārtha-darśhanam
etaj jñānam iti proktam ajñānaṁ yad ato ’nyathā
“Humbleness; freedom from hypocrisy; non-violence; forgiveness; simplicity; service of the Guru; cleanliness of body and mind; steadfastness; and self-control; dispassion toward the objects of the senses; absence of egotism; keeping in mind the evils of birth, disease, old age, and death; non-attachment; absence of clinging to spouse, children, home, and so on; even-mindedness amidst desired and undesired events in life; constant and exclusive devotion toward Me; an inclination for solitary places and an aversion for mundane society; constancy in spiritual knowledge; and philosophical pursuit of the Absolute Truth—all these I declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to it, I call ignorance.”
Chapter 16, Verses 1 to 3:
abhayaṁ sattva-sanśhuddhir jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ
dānaṁ damaśh cha yajñaśh cha svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam
ahinsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śhāntir apaiśhunam
dayā bhūteṣhv aloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīr achāpalam
tejaḥ kṣhamā dhṛitiḥ śhaucham adroho nāti-mānitā
bhavanti sampadaṁ daivīm abhijātasya bhārata
The Supreme Lord said: “These are the saintly virtues of those endowed with a divine nature—fearlessness, purity of mind, steadfastness in spiritual knowledge, charity, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of the sacred books, austerity, and straightforwardness; non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, restraint from fault-finding, compassion toward all living beings, absence of covetousness, gentleness, modesty, and lack of fickleness; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, bearing enmity toward none, and absence of vanity.”
Some of the virtues in the two places overlap e.g. ahimsa, arjavam, shaucam.. some are synonymous e.g. kshanti for Kshama (forgiveness).
This aggregate is presented here in three blocks of distinct components:
A. Basic Virtues that apply not only in the spiritual realm but in normal life as well.
B. Virtues that are derivates or subsets of the basic virtues
C. Virtues that are relevant only in the spiritual realm.
A and B ought to be in the ‘To Do’ list of everyone. C could be perceived as commended for those aspiring to be inducted into the spiritual realm.
1. LIST A.
(1) ABHAYAM; – the very first virtue amongst the “Deiveeka Sampath” enumerated by Sri Krishna in Verses 1 to 3. “Abhayam” is the cessation, the elimination of its opposite “bhayam”.
“Bhayam” is expansively commentated by several commentators. Let us look at some of them:
Raja Barthruhari, a noted philosopher, poet and author (5th Century C.E.), the author of two major corpuses – “VaakyapadIya” a priceless work on Sanskrit grammar, e.g. Sphota and the other “Satakatriya” – three works with 100 verses each – shringara satakam, Vairagya Satakam, and Niti Satakam.
And, in his “Vairagya Satakam” this is what Barthruhari says about “Bhayam”
bhoge roga-bhayaṁ kule cyuti-bhayaṁ vitte nṛpālād-bhayaṁ
māne dainya-bhayaṁ bale ripu-bhayaṁ rūpe jarāyā bhayam |
śāstre vādi-bhayaṁ guṇe khala-bhayaṁ kāye kṛtāntād-bhayaṁ
sarvaṁ vastu bhayānvitaṁ bhuvi nṛṇāṁ vairāgyam-evābhayam ||
- Vairāgyaśatakam
The poet asserts – every object in this creation brings with it the emotion of ‘fear’. The only means to sever that emtion is ‘Vairagya”.
Another commentator explains that “bhayam” is ‘dhukham’ in anticipation.
Bhayam is Dhukham - Bhayam is an emotion of grief or distress in the present of what is in store in the future.
“Ishta Praapti, Anishta Nivritti” is our natural attitude. Bhayam occurs when - “Ishta viyogam, Anishta Samyogam” – When the mind conjures that our desires are severed, and our aversions are affiliated on us.
hethu darshanam dhukham bhayam – anartham – As the mind visualizes – mostly imaginatively – the causes of future suffering, it causes fear now. And, in the real world, those anticipated fears mostly do not materialize. (We suffer the pain that shall never come – mostly – in the mind.) That was how Sri Ramana explained the difference between “pain” and “suffering”. That ‘bhayam’ is mostly meaningless ‘anartham’.
That anticipated suffering – fear – could be of different kinds:
Naasa nimiththa bhayam – when we see (in our imagination) indications of a devastation.
Dhukha nimiththa bhayam – When we see (in our imagination) indications of a grief or distress to us.
Bhayam born out of Ignorance – When we fear the unknown.
Bhayam, though, is also a natural protective shield that keeps us from slipping into adharma or anarchy. A welcome safety-valve till we develop enough inner strength, insight, to keep off those pitfalls with ‘fear’ being the aid.
How does one vanquish this debilitative attribute ‘bhayam’. ‘Abhayam’ – fearlessness is the answer – here commended as the very first of the attributes of persons endowed with ‘daivikam’ – saatviks.
How does one inculcate ‘abhayam’? Isopanishad (Mantra 6) tells us how –
yastu sarvāṇi bhūtāni ātmanyevānupaśyati |
sarvabhūteṣu cātmānaṁ tato na vijugupsate
But he who sees everywhere the Atman in all existences and all existences in the ATman, shrinks not thereafter from aught (fears or entertains aversion for anything).
Taitreeya Upanishad – Anandavalli
yadā hyevaiṣa etasminnadṛśye’nātmye’nirukte’nilayane’bhayaṃ
pratiṣṭhāṃ vindate . atha so’bhayaṃ gato bhavati .
yadā hyevaiṣa etasminnudaramantaraṃ kurute .
atha tasya bhayaṃ bhavati . tatveva bhayaṃ viduṣo’manvānasya
When a man finds fearless support in That which is invisible, formless, indefinable, and supportless, he has then attained fearlessness. If he makes the slightest differentiation in That, (meaning that he adduces duality or attributes) there is fear for him." (2.7.1)
Sri Ramanuja’s commentary on this particular word in this verse (verse 1, Chapter 16 of the Gita) is: "We feel miserable when separated from objects of desire or associated with objects of aversion. Fear is a kind of pain resulting from the awareness of the cause of such misery; the absence of this pain is fearlessness."
Fear is an attribute every being is born with – we are wired with that attribute (along with a few others) as part of the vasanas that every being carries with it when born, from the experiences of the previous births.
As we have seen earlier here, fear also is a complex attribute with several causes and sources. Vanquishing fear therefore cannot be just a cakewalk; true, when we realise Brahman, we become fearless as the Upanishad asserts. But realizing Brahman is not a cakewalk either. We need to address this deeply embedded negative attribute that devastates lives, right here, in our day-to-day lives. Several instructions are given by the wise men of yore:
“Pratipaksha Bhavana” Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra commends: vitarka-bādhane pratipakṣa-bhāvanam (2.3.3).
When we are trobled by negative thoughts – like fear, opposite [positive] ones should be deliberated and invoked. This is pratipaksha bhavana. When doubts or wayward thoughts or fear affect our equilibrium and disturb the cultivation of the yamas and niyamas, we are instructed to generate the opposite thoughts: a counterforce of thoughts, images, or feelings that have the power to uplift, invigorate, inspire, and steady the mind.
pratipaksha bhavana, can expand to a very powerful and beneficial dimension. This practice is not just for momentary first aid when the mind is disturbed. It is also a blueprint for transformation – a therapy for new beginnings, a practice that can help us turn our life around, opening new horizons and providing a clear path for a spiritually prosperous future.
Auto-suggestion: I am all courage - My will is very powerful - I am not afraid of anything - I am bold and chivalrous.
Visualise the great warriors you have read about – Porus who fought Alexander the Great valiantly, Jhansi Rani, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Bhagat Singh, and the faceless warriors who fought for our motherland and still do vigil in inclement weather and inhospitable areas to protect our frontiers. Think of the little hare that bristles with bravery confronting a predator, with adrenaline flowing.
Feel the presence of God: invoke the universal truth that He pervades everything; that He is all auspiciousness; that He resides inside your heart; He is also proximate – about you as well.
SOLITUDE: Those gripped with fear might feel that their fear would exacerbate if they are left to themselves. That is a momentary impulse. For, one is never by himself alone. He is in the midst of intense energy all-round even if the there is quiet and physical solitude. But, being by oneself in a place of solitude – a quiet corner in a temple precincts, a river bank, a quiet grove or even in one’s own terrace – affords an opportunity for one to look inwards and unburden all the negative strands of thoughts and fill the mind with the surrounding quiet, nature’s allure and the spiritually elevating proximate presence of a Deity.
DEVOTION TO GOD allays fear – altogether. A sincere, honest surrender to Him is the most secure protection one could aspire for. Think of all the fearless devotees of our scriptures and epics – Prahlada standing the tallest of them all. Meera, Rama Das, Thirunjana Sambandar, a Saivite Sage of the South, who had only the name of Lord Sive on his lips to protect him when the ruling King threw him into the deep sea, bound to a large rock – he hailed : கற்றுணைப் பூட்டியோர் கடலிற் பாய்ச்சினும் நற்றுணை யாவது நமச்சி வாயவே. ‘You may throw me into the sea binding me to a rock for company; but I have the name ‘Nama Sivaya’ to keep me company and safe.’ Unburdening the fears on to the Maker – with inner sincerity and faith – it works.
(2) SATYAM
No other word or expression has lent itself to such complex and varying understanding,meanings and interpretations as this one is, has been and will be.
The Sanskrit word सत्यम् (satyam) finds more than 30 dictionary meanings: true, real, pure, valid, reality, etc.
In etymological terms, the word has two components: Sat and ya(m). Sat means being, reality, and is the present participle of the root as "to be"; Ya and yam means "advancing, supporting, hold up, sustain, one that moves". As a composite word, Satya and Satyam implies that "which supports, sustains and advances reality, being"; it literally means, "that which is true, actual, real, genuine, trustworthy, valid".
In Vedic literature, and later sutras the meaning of the word Satya evolves into an ethical concept about truthfulness and is considered an important virtue. It means being true and consistent with reality in one's thought, speech and action.
When we get to use this term in terms of the material world and our day-to-day lives, more complexities get into the understanding of the term.
Plato thought: When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lackintelligence. (Plato, Republic) (Doesn’t this jive with the vedantic interpretation of “satya” briefly discussed above?)
Western philosophical discussions admit the interpretative difficulties and discrepancies as well:
“Truth is unique to the individual. No truth can be ‘objectively verified’ – empirically or otherwise – and the criteria by which we define truths are always relative and subjective. What we consider to be true, whether in morality, science, or art, shifts with the prevailing intellectual wind, and is therefore determined by the social, cultural and technological norms of that specific era.
“Even when we look at what could be termed as absolute truths like a mathematical or geometrical theory or theorem we find other geometries or mathematical solutions are possible, and equally true and consistent. This means that the truth of geometry is once more inextricably linked with your personal perspective on why one mathematical paradigm is ‘truer’ than its viable alternatives.”
The “truth” which Newton gave unto the world has muted. The “truth” that Einstein gave might go that way, too. The absolute and eternal Truth would not admit of such mutability or discriminatory perceptions. It has to be an eternal, universal, constant.
Indian philosophy uses popular demonstrations of the discrepancies between the real reality and the perceived reality.
Let us take a clay-pot. Is it real, satyam or not? It is no fiction. The pot is satyam, real. What about the clay the pot is made of? It is satyam too? Now we have two objects which are both real, satyam, with reference to one thing, the pot! Since pot and clay are not synonymous, both cannot be equally right with reference to one object. That means even though we cannot say either one is completely wrong, one has to be more right than the other. Then which one is more right? The pot doesn’t have a being without clay. We cannot even imagine a clay-pot without thinking of clay. From this we understand that while the pot is clay, clay is not the pot. Pot is not an independent object, it is a dependent word, a name revealing a form of clay and a given function .
What does it mean in terms of reality? Since clay is independent of pot for its existence, it is defined as satyam. Satyam is that which does not depend upon anything for its existence. As the pot depends entirely upon clay for its existence, it is defined as mithya. Please note that mithya does not mean illusion. It only means dependent reality. Mithya is defined as that which depends upon something else for its existence, which has no being on its own but has its basis or being in something else.
Similar allegory is used in the other popular demonstration: the rope and the serpant. Here the serpant is a subjective reality: for those who see a serpant in a rope, the serpant is a reality, a subjective reality.
In the Mahabharatha, Yudhistra, considered the incarnation of dharma and truth, advises: if you want to ascertain the truth, ask your guru, if not convinced, seek for it in the scriptures, if still unconvinced,ask your conscience. (Our antaratma would guide us with the truth.)
Kalidasa, in abijnaana Shakuntalam, concurs:
Sataam hi sandEhaspadEshu vastushu pramanam antahkarana pravruttayah:
For people of character, when in doubt about the truth or correctness of a deed or issue, his inner voice or conscience is the final arbiter.
“Satyam vadha” ordains Seekshavalli in TaitriyOpanishad. “Speak the Truth”.
Though in Upanishadic terms it could be considering the ultimate eternal truth, as an ethical concept, we need to understand it in terms of what is advised for our day-to-day lives. Speak the truth, as you know it – tested against your knowledge, checked with the information you have, concerted with your own values.
Manu Smriti elaborates thus:
satyam bruyat priyam bruyat na bruyat satyam apriyam
priyam ca nanrutam bruyat esha dharmah sanatanah
Speak the truth in such a way that it is gentle, loving and helpful. Never speak truth that would not be so – gentle, loving and helpful. Just for being pleasant or loving helpful, don’t speak untruth. This is the path of eternal morality, sanatana dharma.
Biblical corroborations:
Psalm 15:1-2 O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;
Zechariah 8:16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace;
Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
SIKH GRANTHA EDICT:
The Gurmukhs do not like falsehood; they are imbued with Truth; they love only Truth. The shaaktas, the faithless cynics, do not like the Truth; false are the foundations of the false. Imbued with Truth, you shall meet the Guru. The true ones are absorbed into the True Lord. —Gurubani, Hymn 3,
THIRUKKURAL:
தன் நெஞ்சு அறிவது பொய்யற்க: பொய்த்தபின்
தன் நெஞ்சே தன்னைச் சுடும்
than nenju arivathu poyyarga; poyththapin
than nenjE thannaich chudum.
Don't hold out as truth that you know to be false; if you do, your own conscience shall burn you.
புறத்தூய்மை நீரால் அமையும்; அகத்தூய்மை
வாய்மையால் காணப்படும்
puraththooymai neeraan amaiyum; agaththooymai
vaaymaiyaan kaaNappadum.
Water may wash the body clean. Inner cleanliness shall happen only through truthfulness.
What do we make of all this?
Truthfulness is a vital virtue in our lives. We need to pursue it conscientiously and sincerely. Prices need to be paid for pursuing virtues – like disciplining the mind, overcoming the peer pressures, overcoming the cravings and attractions of the sense organs, overcoming greed, hatred and egotism. For pursuing truth as a virtue, perhaps the discipline needed most is to define truth for yourself as what your knowledge, verified information, your value systems and your character would ascertain it to be; and take great care not to add to it any falsehood, whatsoever. Most importantly, understand and accept that the truth that you have is a perceptive truth, possibly a subjective one as well, and there could be other variants of it around you.
Here are some enabling references:
1. ELEMENTARY DEFINITION: Yatha thrishtam, yatha srutham, thatha bhaashanam – As you see, as you hear so you speak. This is not the distilled truth, because you are trusting only your eyes and ears; you have not had access to full story; full information for you to venture to speak about it. What you have seen or heard may be very different from the truth. But still, if you qualify what you say as this is what I saw, what I heard, you are not lying.
2. REFINED DEFINITION: Investigate and determine what is the truth – If you have a definable interest in the issue, like fighting for a cause, or enabling the emergence of truth for a laudable purpose, then set out to understand comprehensively what you have seen and/or heard and form your view.
3. ANETHA VARJANAM – Not lying. It is not necessary for one to say everything that he or she saw, heard or experienced. But it is absolutely important that we do not say anything that we did not hear or see. Withholding the truth when it is not harmless, or when it necessary to save harm to someone, is not lying.
4. Lying matches truth when that lying causes all-round good. ‘hitham’
Concluding with the national slogan that adorns the Union of India's insignia:
satyameva jayate nānṛtaṃ satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ |
yenākramantyṛṣayo hyāptakāmā yatra tat satyasya paramaṃ nidhānam || 6 ||
Mundaka Upanishad, Mantra 6.
Truth alone wins, not falsehood; by truth, the Devayanah (the path of the Devas) is widened, that by which the seers travel on, having nothing to wish for, to where there is THAT—the highest treasure attained by truth.
Truth alone, i.e., he who speaks the truth alone, wins; not he who utters falsehood, for there can be neither victory nor defeat between abstract truth and falsehood where they do not cling to men. It is well known in the world that he who utters falsehood is defeated by him who speaks the truth; not the converse. Therefore, it is established that truth is a strong auxiliary; again, the superiority of truth as an aid is also known from the sastras; how? It is only by truth, i.e., by a determination to speak what had occurred, the road named “Devayanah” (the way of the gods) is widened; i.e., is kept up continually; by which road, seers free from deceit, delusion, fraud, pride, vanity and falsehood and having no desires, go about to where the absolute truth, the highest treasure covetable by man exists
Speaking the Truth earns punya for us.
Speaking the Truth gives us mental strength, the will to progress spiritually.
How to cultivate Truth: a) cultivate the other aiding attributes – like asteyam. not coveting; b) mitha vaak - gentle and soothing speech; c) self-honesty. d) resolve to speak only the truth at least on some days (vratham to speak the truth)
(3) AHIMSA –
“AHIMSA PARAMO DHARMA:
MEANING - Etymologically, the Sanskrit word “ahimsa” is derived from “himsa” – to injure, to cause injury or pain. Another interpretation is that it is derived from “han” which means “to kill”.
No other human virtue, possibly with the exception of Truth, has been more exhaustively and comprehensively discussed and varyingly interpreted from the earliest days of civilization. The major religions of India – Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism have elaborated on this over and over again.
And, like in the case of Truth, there have been different shades of thought – some even polar opposite – in considering Ahimsa as a human value, as a life edict, as a sociological principle.
All of us know that Gandhiji pitch-forked the maxim “ahimsa paramo dharma:” – “Non-violence is an exalted duty” and got the entire world take note of it.
The term occurs in the Mahabharata several times and in some of the vedic and sub-vedic texts as well.
Early uses of the word “ahimsa” connoted “non-injury” a much wider concept than non-violence. We must note that “non-injury” in that context meant not only not killing or injuring others physically, but included not causing injury or pain to others mentally or verbally.
(A synonym used in that period was “adrohi” – see Baudhayana Dharma Sutra 2.6.23 - वाङ्-मनः-कर्म-दण्डैर् भूतानाम् अद्रोही (One who does not injure others with words, thoughts or acts is known as Adrohi)
In the Chandogya Upanishad , one of the oldest Upanishads, one finds the earliest evidence for the use of the word Ahimsa in the sense familiar in Hinduism (as a code of conduct). It bars violence against "all creatures" (sarvabhuta) and the practitioner of Ahimsa is said to escape from the cycle of rebirth ( 8.15.1).
Chāndogya Upaniṣad also names Ahimsa, along with Satyavacanam (truthfulness), Arjavam (sincerity), Danam (charity), Tapo (penance/meditation), as five essential virtues ( 3.17.4)
AHIMSA AS A LIFE PRINCIPLE
In the Mahabharata the word occurs in several places and contexts. Let us look at the more important amongst them:
Adi Parva - Sauti Muni describes to Rishi Ruru the characteristics of a brahamana.
ahimsā paramo dharmah sarvaprāmabhrth smrtah
tasmāt prānabhrtah sarvān na himsyād brāhmanah
kva cit
brāhmanah saumya eveha jāyateti parā śrutih
vedavedāngavit tāta sarvabhūtābhaya pradah
ahimsā satyavacanam ksamā ceti viniścitam
brāhmanasya paro dharmo vedānām dharanād api
ksatriyasya tu yo dharmah sa nehesyati vai tava
dandadhāranam ugratvam prajānām paripālanam
tad idam ksatriyasyāsīt karma[4]
The highest virtue of man is sparing the life of others. Therefore a Brahmana should never take the life of any creature. A Brahmana should be versed in the Vedas and Vedangas, and should inspire all creatures with belief in God. He should be benevolent to all creatures, truthful, and forgiving, even as it is his paramount duty to retain the Vedas in his memory.
The duties of the Kshatriya are not thine(i.e. Brahmana’s). To be stern, to wield the sceptre and to rule the subjects properly are the duties of the Kshatriya.
In the Anusasana Parva, Yudhisthira is prompted by Lord Krishna to ask Bhishmacharya any questions he may have as this will be his last opportunity to do so. Yudhisthira reminds Bhishmacharya about his admonition 'ahimsa paramo dharma' and seeks a clarification about it in the context of conducting sraddha in which meat is (used to be) offered.
ahimsa paramo dharma ity uktam
bahusas tvaya sraddhesu ca bhavan
aha pitrn amisa kanksinah
Yudhistra asks: you had instructed us several times that not-injuring others including other living beings is the most exalted dharma. But one is enjoined to offer different kinds of meat to the Pitris during Sraddhas. How can one avoid killing, if one has to go by this religious edict?
Bhishma answers by stating that abstention from eating meat is a great sacrifice and provides many benefits. He goes on to state that
prajānāṃ hitakāmena tv agastyena mahātmanā
āraṇyāḥ sarvadaivatyāḥ prokṣitās tapasā mṛgāḥ
kriyā hy evaṃ na hīyante pitṛdaivatasaṃśritāḥ
prīyante pitaraś caiva nyāyato māṃsatarpitāḥ
Desirous of benefiting all men, the exalted and revered soul Agastya, by the aid of his supernatural powers gained from long penances, dedicated, once and for all, all wild animals of the deer species to the deities. Hence, there is no longer any necessity of sanctifying those lovely, harmless animals for offering them to the deities and the Pitris.
After hearing his answer in full, Yudhisthira repeats his question "...O grandsire, what is flesh, of what substances is it composed of, what are the merits that attach to abstention from it, and what are the demerits attached to the eating of meat."
Bhishma elaborates as follows and concludes with "Hence, a person of cleansed soul should be compassionate to all living creatures..."
ahimsā paramo dharmas tathāhimsā paro damah
ahimsā paramam dānam ahimsā paramas tapah
ahimsā paramo yajñas tathāhismā param balam
ahimsā paramam mitram ahimsā paramam sukham
ahimsā paramam satyam ahimsā paramam śrutam
sarvayajñesu vā dānam sarvatīrthesu cāplutam
sarvadānaphalam vāpi naitat tulyam ahimsayā
ahimsrasya tapo 'ksayyam ahimsro yajate sadā
ahimsrah sarvabhūtānām yathā mātā yathā pitā
etat phalam ahimsāyā bhūyaś ca kurupumgava
na hi śakyā gunā vaktum iha varsaśatair api
Abstention from cruelty is the highest Religion.
Abstention from cruelty is the highest self-control.
Abstention from cruelty is the highest gift.
Abstention from cruelty is the highest penance.
Abstention from cruelty is the highest sacrifice.
Abstention from cruelty is the highest puissance.
Abstention from cruelty is the highest friend.
Abstention from cruelty is the highest happiness.
Abstention from cruelty is the highest truth.
Abstention from cruelty is the highest Sruti.
Offerings made in all sacrifices, ablutions performed in all sacred waters, and the merit that one acquires from making all kinds of offerings mentioned in the scriptures,--all these do not measure up to abstention from cruelty (in point of the merit that attaches to it). The penances that are deemed to be earned by a man that abstains from cruelty are inexhaustible. The man that abstains from cruelty is regarded as having performed sacrifices perpetually. The man that abstains from cruelty is the father and mother of all creatures. Even these, O chief of Kuru's race, are only some of the merits of abstention from cruelty. Indeed, the merits that attach to it are so many that they are incapable of being enumerated even if one were to speak for a hundred years.
Here ahimsa is abstention from cruelty in relation to killing for food or even for offering in a sacred religious ritual like a pitru sraddha. Bhishma is thus strongly advocating vegetarianism.
It would seem that till the arrival of Buddhism and Jainism, the Hindu society’s attitude regarding killing for meat and its consumption was vascillating between three positions: (a) a normal part of life as, in one part of Manu Smriti, it is justified on the basis that God has created so much of animal wealth for man to use for his food. (One wag adds that in the human anatomy, incisors have been provided in the dentures for the designed purpose of meat-eating); (b) killing or harming any living beings is not sanctioned in religious laws except for the prescribed rituals; and (c) killing or causing harm to any part of the creation (sarva bhoothanam) would be a sin.
The Buddha frontally attacked the Brahmins for their senseless involvement in killing animals for sacrifice.
It is conceivable that the preponderant vegetarianism and emphasis of ahimsa amongst Brahmins in the Hindu society today is a consequence of the Buddhist and Jainist influences.
Presently there is a raging controversy and debate over the intended ban on beef in India. I think the proponents, though pursuing a noble goal, are having it all wrong, strategically and factually, by trying to draw approval and endorsement from the ritualistic part of Hindu religion – of the Vedic times or later. Antagonists might point out that these are indications of meat (including beef) being consumed for food and also sanctified as ritualistic offering. The upanishadic and other spiritual/philosophical components of the Hindu religion e.g. the Chandogya Upanishad, Sandilya Upanishad and the Yoga Sutra define, affirm and commend ahimsa – in absolute terms – as a spiritual commandment.
My personal opinion is: meat as food has to be given up – sooner than later – for three important reasons, one self-induced and the other two forced by external factors: 1) in terms of the unquestionable virtue and appeal of ahimsa as a life concept, 2) increasing frequency of epidemics like mad cow like diseases afflicting bovine sources of meat and bird flu kind of diseases afflicting poultry and increasing medical evidence of illnesses like cancer and heart-diseases traced to meat-eating, would greatly increase the hazards of meat-eating and meat-industry’s strong lobbying notwithstanding, people at large would shun this source of food; 3) with the increasing pressures on the world’s food supplies, the great conversion loss of edible cereal food in producing meat (I believe that for producing one kilogram of edible meat, 7 kilograms of edible corn, etc. needs to be fed – for pork it is 4 kgs.), would need to be averted over time. The vegan movement is gaining momentum for one or all of the above reasons and once a critical mass is accomplished, the conversion will be overwhelming pretty soon.
The bard Thiruvalluvar has this (and more) to commend on ahimsa: (kollaamai)
aRa vinai yaathenin kollaamai; kORal
piRavinai ellaam tharum.
The greatest virtue there is is non-killing; killing brings in its trail every other sin.
onRaaga nalladhu kollaamai; maRRathan
pinsaarap poyyaamai nanRu.
The greatest virtue of all is non-killing; truthfulness comes only next.
nandRaagum Akkam peridheninum saandRorkkuk
kondRaagum Akkam kadai.
They may say: sacrifices gain for the man many benefits and blessings; but to the pure-hearted, such benefits and blessings would be an abomination.
AHIMSA AS AN ETHICAL PRINCIPLE, PERSONAL VALUE
Subtle forms of Violence:
Ahimsa is ordinarily equated to its gross meaning which is 'not to hurt any living being physically'. At a more subtle level, ahimsa is violated even when contempt or hatred or dislike or scorn or prejudice is shown towards another being, by frowning upon or abusing another, by speaking ill of others, by back-biting or vilifying, even by harbouring thoughts of hatred.
All harsh and rude speech is to be regarded as violence. Using harsh words to beggars, servants or inferiors is himsa. Wounding the feelings of others by gesture, expression, tone of voice and unkind words is also himsa. Slighting or showing deliberate discourtesy to a person before others is wanton himsa. To approve of another's harsh actions is indirect violence. To fail to relieve another's pain, or even to neglect to go to the person in distress is a sort of (passive) violence.
Thus, Ahimsa, if it is to be assimilated as an integral part of one’s personality, it needs to get ingrained in all the three factors of action – the thought, the speech, the physical actions – the thrikaranas.
That is what is meant by placing “ahimsa” as the first of ten “yamas” in the ashtanga yoga of Patanjali and as prescribed in the Sandilya Upanishad. (The other nine being satya, asteya, brahmacharya, kshama, dhriti, dhaya, ariava, mitahara, shauca).
The Bhagavad Gita extols ahimsa amongst twenty virtues that a person with daivikam is supposed to possess:
Otherwise, the Gita is all about dharma and if one’s dharma calls for killing for the sake of protection of the weak or for protecting dharma, such killing shall not be abjured. Even Jainism, which extols the virtues of ahimsa in unambiguous and rigid terms, condones the violence implicit in war and in the duties of a solder.
HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA:
Since the situation in which we live is much changed but the attitude of people who are in that situation is at variance with the times, this is one of the causes of unnecessary pain, unnecessary problems. Therefore, education is needed to communicate that the concept of violence is counter-productive, that it is not a realistic way to solve problems, and that accommodation and give and take are the only realistic ways to solve problems. Right from the beginning, we have to make this reality clear to a child's mind -- the new generation. In this way, the whole attitude towards oneself, towards the world, towards others, can become more healthy. I usually call this "inner disarmament." Without inner disarmament, it is very difficult to achieve genuine, lasting world peace.
...Through inner disarmament we can develop a healthy mental attitude, which also is very beneficial for physical health. With peace of mind, a calm mind, your body elements become more balanced. Constant worry, constant fear, agitation of mind, are very bad for health. Therefore, peace of mind not only brings tranquility in our mind but also has good effects on our body.
With inner disarmament, now we need external disarmament. As I mentioned earlier, according to today's reality, there no longer is room for war, for destruction. From a compassionate viewpoint, destruction, killing others, and discriminating even against one's enemy are counterproductive. Today's enemy, if you treat them well, may become a good friend even the next day….
Ahimsa comes from a Position of Strength.
Ahimsa is not possible without fearlessness. Ahimsa cannot be practiced by someone who is afraid of death and has no power of resistance and endurance. It is a shield, not of the frail or weak-minded, but of the potent. Ahimsa is a quality of the strong. It is a weapon of the strong. When a weak man is beaten with a stick by a stronger man, he cannot physically fight back. He may claim that he is non-violent, but harbors thoughts of revenge. This is not ahimsa. When a strong man is beaten by a stick, but does not harbor feelings of revenge, than his claim of ahimsa is true. The true follower of ahimsa does not entertain any thought of retaliation or any unkind feeling towards the tormentor. Ahimsa is the perfection of forgiveness.
AHIMSA AS A SOCIETAL, NATIONAL VALUE
Human values need to be relevant to and compatible with the aggregate of society as it is today. While individually everyone can and shall imprint his personality with the virtues and values of his or her choice, as prescribed by the scriptures, gleaned from public discourses or internal discovery, he or she as a unit of the society would need to address the question as to how those virtues and values fit in with those obtaining in the society in the aggregate. There is and it is desirable as well to have a two way impacting of the individual’s virtues and values on the society and vice versa in order that there is some harmony between the individual – the base unit of society – and the society – the aggregate.
In a world at grave and serious threat from incursions by violent movements like terrorism or military adventurism, it would be foolish to talk about absolute non-violence. It is possibly in that context that, in the second part of the quote “ahimsa paramo dharma:” it asserts “dharma himsa thathaiva ca.”
Ahimsa Paramo Dharma
Dharma himsa tathaiva cha[3]
Non-violence is the ultimate dharma. So too is violence in the upholding of Dharma.
If wars or military interventions are inescapable in modern society, how do we rationalize violence related to this in the overall context of ahimsa needing to be a universal virtue of humanity?
This is a question that needs to be pondered over a bit comprehensively. As the post has grown to be long as it is, shall we look at this next week?
AHIMSA - non-violence – not just physical, but of the three karanas – by thought, by speech and by action. Even the thoughts should not be violent; speech shall not cause mental injury or anguish and of course phys