Human Paradigm & Evolution
Nonlinear transformations.. Ramanujam
I was listening to this vedanta Q&A session with Pravrajika Divya in the Buddha at the Gas Pump series of talks. And was pondering on some familiar topics. Mechanics of our response system? What causes afflictions and sorrows? And how does one gain mastery and liberation?
Our nuts and bolts, and our response system
We come with a head start, and our strengths and weaknesses. We all have a fuzzy way of decoding the world around us.. This response system is called say samskaaras.
And as we keep seeing, listening, and thinking, there is a tunnel of mental imagery vruttis. And as we start focussing on what we see, and what we listen to.. the mental imagery begins to form impressions. and these impressios seed our future response systems.. Our response systems samskaaras seems like the sum total of our takeaways and is a moving function of time.
Is there some headway to change or are we trapped by our samskaaras? I often wonder at the many U-turn moments in great people. When there is openness and willingness, the cogs of knowledge and action take a U-turn..
Somewhat like the Gradient Descent AI algorithm..As long as you keep walking and searching for convergence, even if it means a U turn, it will happen.
What causes our mental Afflictions?
There is sheer brilliance in the sutras of Patanjali. As though he was born with a lens to deepdive the layers of our existence. On just the topic of affliction kleshaas.. this is what he has to say.
avidya.. We have a fuzzy way of inerpreting this world.. And ignorance sometimes causes the misunderstanding and pain.
asmita.. and like wise, we are too much wrapped by the “I” bubble. Be it our success or our sorrows, if we were to be more objective and see things around as natural phenomenon.. There is a likelihood to reprogram our understanding of the world, and hence cause lesser mental affliction.
raaga dwesha.. Too much of “like” and “dislike” attitude will only make the journey more tiring. Need to overhaul this outlook.
abhiniveśā.. clinging to familiar.. fear of discontinuity.. And when Life takes a different page, there is bound to be sufferring.
The Enablers for Liberation
On the path of Knowledge, Shankarachary has outlined this 4 fold path to liberation.
We are bound to see these qualities in great souls who advanced their journey and repurposed their lives for the greater good. Just today, I was reading a post about Ramanujam and the last one year of his life.
His last few years — how he tried to wrap a tonne of his mathematics in the last 1 year, even as he was suffering from tuberculosis, his solitary confinement time in the sanatorium, his arduous return journey from Cambridge to Kumbakonam in 1919 and his untimely death in 1920 struck like a dagger in my heart this time.
I got reminded of these tenets.. Perhaps he was seeking mathematical liberation in the lanes of his mind..
viveka.. Intelligence and ability to discern and discriminate
mumukshatvam.. an intense hankering and desire for liberation.
vairagyam.. dispassionate and unattached..Kind of force that puts one in an orbit of execution.
And the 6 gem of qualities shad-sampat
shama dhama.. Calming the mind and senses.. For the torrent and response to the outer world triggers from here.
uparati.. Being in constant bliss of the Self..
titiksha.. weathering and bearing the inclement surroundings.
shraddha.. An outlook, a vision, a purpose, a faith that is deeply instilled. For a man becomes his faith.
samadhana.. Unwavering focus and concentration
