Acharya Mahaprajna
If there are human beings in this world there are also animals and birds. Man is qualitatively different from them since he has developed a good deal and is developing constantly. This development has been made possible because of the precision and clarity of man's language and his ability to think and reflect. Language and intellect are the two means of development. They enable man to have a developed memory, rich imagination and fine thinking. And it is these qualities which distinguish human beings from all other living creatures.
The practice of meditation confronts us with a real dilemma. Meditation requires that we weaken and lessen the play of both memory and imagination and try to live in the present. Does this not go counter to being a developed species different from birds and animals in that a developed memory and imagination are the main criteria of being human? Shall we then say that by concentrating on silence and freedom from doubts and under tainties we are putting the clock of development back? If being without language and reflection is good, the undeveloped creatures like birds and animals or insects and worms are undeniably better off than us. But as we shall see this is no dilemma, in fact.
There have been two main streams of thought in Indian philosophy: pravrittivad (activism or propensity for working, doing, acting) and nivrittivad (inactivism or propensity for not working, doing or acting). Action and inaction are the two natural aspects of all real objects. This was well-known to our ancestors. With the lapse of time even this fact became controversial. However, it is undeniable that all matter - whether animate or inanimate - has two aspects, one positive and other negative. This is true of all existence. In the case of human beings the positive aspect is pravritti (propensity for working, doing, acting) and the negative aspect is nivritti (propensity for not working, doing or acting).
There must be a perfect balance in everyone's life between pravritti and nivritti. Whenever this balance is disturbed, difficulties arise. Mere pravritti drives a man crazy. Resulting in excessive expenditure of energy, it turns out to be a bane instead of a boon. Likewise, mere nivritti also renders a man's life useless. What is needed is a real balance between activity and inactivity, contemplation and non-contemplation, thinking and non-thinking, doubtfulness and non-doubtfulness, memory and forgetfulness, and language and silence. We make a mistake in regarding intellect and language as the last limits of development. There is a lot beyond them which will remain out of reach unless we learn to stop their operation. Being without intellect and language is undoubtedly a sign of being undeveloped, but to learn not to use intellect and language in spite of being endowed with them is the first step to development. Anyone wishing to extend the frontiers of his consciousness has to learn the art of putting a halt to the activities of the intellect and the language.
By common consent man's superiority lies in his ability to get educated and to develop the command of language. An uneducated person with poor language equipment is looked down upon. Besides, the physical needs of man also dictate that he study and master different subjects with a view to satisfying those needs. This has naturally led people to believe that knowing things helpful in satisfying physical needs is all that there is to education. Knowing something about one's own self has yet not come to be recognized as an essential part of education. It is surprising how exclusive attention came to be paid to the instrumental causes and how the material causes came to be forgotten. Mere removal of an instrumental cause cannot result in any permanent change. For it one has to replace the material cause. No lasting change has ever been brought about through preaching, for language and ideas have their own limitations. They can at best touch the surface of our being; they cannot affect us profoundly.
That which can bring about a profound transformation lies somewhere deep inside us and it cannot be activated without the mind being steady. Tranquillity and steadiness of mind are the first step to progress and transformation. A precondition for the opening of the route to inner transformation is the development of a consciousness free from memory, imagination and thinking. Modern education concentrates all its attention on sharpening of our wit and intellect, ignoring the mind. Mere intelligence cannot achieve anything much, for all aberrations and evils originate in the mind. In order to get rid of them it is essential to educate or train the mind. But today's education rules this out since it has no provision at any stage for training the mind. This is its major shortcoming. No student is ever made aware of his infinite inner potential. He never comes to realize the presence of an inner strength which far surpasses mere physical strength. In fact, the modem student is blissfully unaware of his vital life-force. Today's education has nothing in it to train and rouse this life-force.
Enfeebling of the vital life-force gives rise to a myriad problems. The chief objective of meditation is to abort its enfeebling and to boost its growth. This is evident from the fact that most people today would not question the value of religion, nonviolence brahmcharya and nonpossession - maybe without actually knowing what they are. This raises the question: Why should man subscribe to concepts and values which deplete and deprive and curb him? The obvious answer is that adherence to these concepts and values help conserve the vital life-force. And it, in turn, opens up infinite possibilities of growth.
Quite a few psychologists question the need for brahmcharya and non-possession. It is contrary to the practice of and belief in consumerism. No wonder, much of the modern western civilization is facing a deep crisis today. Uncurbed indulgence and uncontrolled and undisciplined thoughts have made people literally crazy. Lust dissipates human energy and wasteful expenditure of energy inevitably leads to restlessness, loss of sanity and mental confusion. Having been a prey to these abnormalities, men crave mental peace. The quest for peace begins, but not often accompanied with the understanding that it is unnecessary loss of energy which causes a perturbed state of mind. The greater the waste of energy, the more the loss of peace of mind.
Similarly, violence has made man cruel and mad. Attachment to and accumulation of worldly goods are draining vital energy. No one has the time to think of the life-sustaining vital force. Academic debates engross people's minds, rendering them incapable of seeing the light of truth. It is conveniently forgotten that anything that disturbs the balance of mind also, to that extent, wastes the vital energy. Likewise, a propensity for extreme likes and dislikes also has the same effect. It is for this reason that the principal of equanimity acquires supreme importance. A sense of poise and balance is the sweet recipe for energizing the life-force. This poise or attitude of equanimity constitutes a third dimension of the human mind, the other two being pronounced likes and dislikes.
The main aim of education should be to enable the learners to develop a mind which is balanced, restful and completely unruffled and still. This aspect has been grossly neglected. Modern education turns out competent scientists, engineers, doctors and other specialists. However, their professional expertise does not rid them of the propensity for fighting, condemning and feeling jealous. Driven to despair, these people can even commit suicide. Why should this happen? One can understand the uneducated falling a prey to jealousy and extreme provocation. But how about the educated? What has education done for them? Mere sharpening of the intellect without inculcating the habit of having a balanced attitude and mind is at best a very limited form of education. For it to be meaningful it must have a lasting impact on the people's character and behaviour.
It is often seen that people measure their greatness by comparing themselves with those whom they are ready to condemn as lower than themselves. They seem to derive a morbid pleasure in looking down upon others. That seems to be their way of enjoying self-esteem. It is a form of authoritarianism which is best illustrated by an episode relating to the Mughal King Aurangzeb. When thrown into a prison Aurangzeb made earnest entreaties that he be given a few children to teach so that he could pass his time in the prison well. His prayer was granted. Soon he began to enjoy himself. The children would squat on the ground while he would sit in a chair. He would take great pleasure in admonishing them. The imperial authoritarian vein found a new outlet. The chair became a symbol-of the throne and the children represented the poor subjects. Aurangzeb's story is not untypical. Lurking in every heart is the craving for feeling great, authoritarian and censorious. What is worse, even the assumed exalted status one gives oneself becomes pleasurable only as a result of the felt or imagined lowliness of others.
The present system of education reveals a curious paradox. While everyone - society, educationists, parents - wants to see its products emerge as good people and good citizens, the method chosen to accomplish this aim is greatly defective. Overprotection overregulation makes children weak. Those who weather successive storms are the ones to whom the ultimate triumph belongs. This is as true of plants as of human beings. Children born in rich families, not exposed to life's inevitable adversities, remain weak all their lives and can never be self-reliant. It is instructive to note that one of the great qualities of life, tolerance, which is a major source of strength, is possible only in a climate of independence born of a successful encounter with hardships and sufferings.
Tolerance is best cultivated through the science of living, never through the study of the various academic subjects. Whatever be the content and extent of formal schooling, tolerance and mental poise can never result from them. The science of living, on the other hand, activates the inner potential of the learner and brings about an overall and balanced development of his personality. This science has been so far grossly neglected. Inevitably, therefore, the products of our educational system betray a complete lack of patience, tolerance and will-power and succumb to the slightest adversity in life. It has far-reaching consequences for the modern man since the present-day world is full of uncertainty bred by a myriad chance occurrences and accidents of all sorts. Man's inner defences need to be fortified more than ever before. It can be done by combining formal education with training in the science of living.
The asceticism and self-mortification that Jain monks practised at one time appeared to me to have a dubious value. Why subject the human body to unwanted suffering and painful experience? How could any sane religion justify it? But as I grew more experienced and mature, I came to realize that no one can attain the truth until he has learnt the art of regulating and mastering his body. Self-mortification is not an instrument of torture; it is a method of gaining mastery over our physical being. By practising it, man is able to face all eventualities. And mastery over the body is directly related to one's awareness of breathing. It is through this control of the body resulting from the awareness of breathing that one ultimately attains supra-sensory knowledge. This knowledge enables one to develop a transparent sight. It is the result of the whole body becoming a magnetic field.
Occult scientists have revealed the fact that man cannot develop a transparent vision until he succeeds in converting special centers within the body into an electromagnetic field. All this is possible through the practice of tolerance, equanimity, fasting and breath control, since such practice makes the atoms of the body electromagnetic fields which are intrinsically transparent.
By resorting to the system of education based on the Science of Living or Jeevan Vigyan one can potentize the above rare dimension of awareness. The Science of Living educates the mind, the speech and the body alike. Educating the body means developing the competence to sit in the same posture for a prolonged period. Educating the speech means not having any propensity to speak even though there may be many compulsive inner urges to do so. Similarly, educating the mind means being free from unbridled memory, Imagination and thinking.
Space travel has been going on for quite some time. Those who go into space have to face many problems which, it has been found, they can successfully overcome through yoga. Space travellers have found that through their training in yoga they have been able to overcome the effects of darkness and loneliness by remaining mentally poised and undetected. Viewed from a particular angle, life's long journey is no less taxing than space travel. What can be worse than feeling helpless during this journey, in the absence of any positive guidance from either the parents or the teachers? But this is precisely what is happening in a large number of cases. Untrained and uninitiated in the art of facing life's odds in a state of imperturbation, modern man succumbs to the various stresses and adversities and becomes a mental wreck. This is because today's education makes him a mere escapist. Is this not an adverse reflection on it?
Superficially, escapism appears to be highly convenient. Most people tend to think that an easy way out of difficulties is to run away from them. How does it matter whether one wins or loses? But such an evasive attitude is highly undesirable. The only way out is the practice of the science of living.
Meditation is not a mysterious thing. It is an inextricable part of the science of living. The best candidate for practising meditation is the one who learns the art of educating the mind, of facing fearful odds, and of keeping his mental balance under all circumstances. Such a man can be said to be truly educated, for he alone has the capacity for being both a scholar and a virtuous individual. Mere knowledge may command respect but it cannot save a man from public censure unless he has righteousness also, besides knowledge.
We face two directions: one leading to knowledge the other to righteousness. The latter can be taken only by practising the science of living. It is this science which activates our latent powers and which helps us realize our infinite potentialities. In fact, what is being said is that there is a compulsive need for striking a balance between external knowledge and internal being. Both are real; both are necessary. To integrate them and to bring about their creative union is true meditation or the Science of Living or Jeevan Vigyan.
