HUMAN LIFE AND ITS GOAL

INDIVIDUAL

Supreme consciousness or Brahman is the origin and the creator of the universe. Brahman has either a beginning nor an end and undying. It is the inner self of all creatures.

What is known as Brahman at the macrocosmic (collective) level, is understood as "Atman" or "Self" at the microcosmic (Individual) level.

The individual has a physical body as well as psychical personality. Birth, growth old age and death are the attributes of the physical body.

Psychical experiences constitute happiness, grief, prosperity, poverty etc.

Human Life and its goal.

Sri Aurobondo and The Mother visualize the whole life upon earth including human life as a mass of vibrations, mostly as falsehood, ignorance and disorder resisting vibrations of truth and harmony coming from higher regions.

universal forces, good or bad, favorable or hostile are pouring into everyone, without the person even knowing them, but influence the person according to his will or consciousness. The cosmic law never makes a mistake and it never gives any thing to unfit.

The objective world represents the cosmic forces. The subjective "Atman" or "Self" inside psychical being is infinite but suffers from delusion.

Our momentary personality is only a bubble on the ocean of our existence according to Sri Aurobindo.

We are immensely more than what we know of our selves. "Self" cannot be known by study or through intellect. It is in pure mind " Self " revels itself.

We must turn to " Self " or "Atman " with in us to understand life, its purposes and attain the goal of absolute knowledge and absolute Bliss.

BODY, MIND and SOUL

Body

The human body is divided into gross, subtle and casual body.

The gross body consists of skin, flesh, bones etc.The gross body is produced by ones past actions. The subtle body is the aggregate of ten sense, five pranas, and four internal organs, making up a total 19 principles.

The subtle body carries the mind, experiences both in the walking and dreaming states, and is not disintegrated with the death of the gross body.

The casual body is pure nescience (absence of knowledge). It transmigrates and takes a new body un rebirth.

Mind

SRI SRI Ravishankar states " Health generates in the mind and blossoms in the body ". Also the mind is the cover which holds the divinity in us.

According to Buddha by regulating the mind we can make our body spontaneously go right.

The mind control is a must, since our thoughts, conscious or otherwise, expressed or not,, create a good or evil influence affecting everyone.

When we have to manage situations we experience sudden rush of temptations, anger, lust, greed, hatred etc, Pathanjali suggests that we should have contrary thoughts. that is when one is troubled by anger he should think of love.

The mind can be in five different conditions- scattering (restlessness), darkening (dull and passive) gathering, one pointed and concentrate.

Food also controls the mind. The Upanishads tell that the food that we eat is transformed in three different ways. The grossest part becomes excrement, the middle part becomes the flesh and the subtlest part goes to form the mind. Some interpret food as meaning anything that is taken in by the senses, sounds, sights, smell etc in addition to food that we eat.

Soul

Vedic scriptures say that the soul of man is beyond all affiliations, that is free from sin, old age, death, grief, thirst etc. our physical life is not unreal but represents a very small part of our real life. But viewing it as a largest part , we block the steady flow of our life force and suffer in endless ways. Sri Aurobindo sees soul as a spark of the Divine present in all life, but stands hidden behind the ordinary consciousness.

He visualizes the soul as a veiled part of us, although it is that by which we exist and persist as individual beings in nature. The soul gathers and assimilates the essence of all our mental, vital and bodily experiences for the future evolution of our existence in nature. This action is occult and not obtruded on the surface.

The absolute soul is in the heart and mind. The body and mind should be used as a means to unfold the divinity within.

Does God exist ?

It is an eternal debate where theists (believers) and atheists (non believers) refute the other's arguments.

The anthropic principle became the strongest argument of the theists but the atheists argue why an omnipresent benevolent God allowed suffering and evils to exist and even proliferate.

Debates and scientific studies apart , being a theist only helps us to take refuge in God at times of our difficulties when our efforts fail, but contrary view is devoid of any benefits.

Art of living

According to Norman Vincent Peale " Life is a marvels gift , Accept it, See it, Hear it, Touch it, Smell it, Taste it and Live it."

Psychologists that in all of us a psylogical barrier called the first layer of fatigue. Most of us stop working on reaching this point, but those who drive past this point become great achievers in their respective fields

Holistic Health and Self Healing

Life is precious because we are integral part of infinity Health is not a state but a continuous adjustment to the changing demands of life and environment.

The concept of holistic helps in achieving the body's inherent healing process. Some times, the practices fail or succeed partially due to obstructions within for free flow of prana or life energy caused by the residual traces of our past actions and experiences. this concept, takes care of all aspects of health-Physical, mental, social and spiritual.

Character building resting on the four values of Truth, Purity, Faith and Fearlessness also contributes to holistic health.

Realizing similarities and relationship between individual and nature, ayurveda advocates daily routine of rising early, exercise, bathing, oil massage, gargling and regular sleep

Regulating the intake of food, both quality and quantity and observance food in Upanishads, that is, food should not be insulted etc help control of body and fight diseases.

Fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals which are debase preventing, Vegetarian diet also stimulates anti cancer enzymes in the body.

Next to food, sleep, exercise and relaxation in all systems of health.

Self Healing

Faith is a divine gift and it is not opposed to rationalism, but belief is superficial. Positive thinking carried one step further, in curing diseases etc. Moderate levels of exercise boaster our immune system

Life after death

According to Sri Sri Ravishankar " Death ( not suicide ) is a friend of life. It is deep rest. In death we drop one body and get into another body. We fear death because we do not know what it is. Life is a circle, death brings birth, birth leads towards death. knowledge of death, gives the knowledge of life " This the essence of Sri Adisankara's teachings and Sri Bahvathgeetha.

The soul migrates from body to body, all our thoughts and deeds are stored in it, ready to spring and take a new shape again until it has finished its experience, completed the circle, and finally shines in its own light, free, no more to be born, no more to die.

The author does not claim ay originality for the ideas and thanks the Divinely Blessed Thinkers whose preaching have been the source of inspiration.

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