In this short series, I’m
trying to explain how ignorance is the root-cause of all our sorrows. And of
course, the methods for overcoming ignorance also. Nothing is my own idea, just
doing a copy-and-paste job from wisdom of the sacred texts of India. So, don’t
go away. If you have some queries, I shall try to answer with my limited area
of reading. Comparative religion is not my focus.
Wise guys of yore have
categorised Sorrow into three parts,
1. Those emanating from the body
Here
both physical and mental worries are included. To use better words, gross and
subtle bodies of a human-being are taken together as a single unit.
(i)
Gross body is affected when there is a deficiency
in vital elements.
(ii)
Subtle body or “antacarana” (a kind of
“tabula-rasa”, into which we are born) gets polluted on account of impurities
like lust, anger, greed etc. The tranquility is lost and one is tossed up and
down.
2. Sorrows caused by other living–beings
It could be a mosquito bite. Or, attack from a wild animal as well (if
you’re the type who’s least bothered about mosquito-bites).
It can
even be a deep hurt caused by insulting words from a fellow human-being too.
3. Beyond one’s control
The force
majeure clause comes into play here. Nobody can stop an earthquake, volcano
eruption, twister etc. from happening, can you?
(Remember
“acts of God” sub-clause in Force Majeure).
The above-said threesome of
sorrows keep tormenting people.
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| "Words and Symbols" by KCS Paniker(1965-66) |
Now, is there any way out?
Yes. There are certain books
(shastras) each dealing with sorrows of the triumvirate.
(i)
Ayurveda: treatment for the body (and mind).
Longevity with well-being is the objective.
(ii)
Yogashastra: to get rid of impurities from the
mind
(iii)
Neetishastra :
to ward-off hurt caused by other living-beings
(iv)
Dharmashastra: to damage-control natural
disasters. More than averting them, the emphasis is on identifying the
impending calamity and to take proper precautions.
However, there is a serious
lacuna with these Shastras. Can you locate it?
They are only temporary
measures.
For example, you get a disease, say Covid19 and you take medicines. You’re back to robust health but there is no guarantee that you’ll not be afflicted by the virus or it’s variants in future. Okay, you’re sure about repulsing the pandemic, still you can’t say for sure that no illness will ever hit you. Anybody is having one or two co-travelers these days. Popular companions are Diabetics, heart-ailments, neuro/ortho related issues! Not to mention psychiatric disorders.
Our goal is not the three-way
healing from sorrows for the time-being, but permanent relief from it. A
steady-state liberation, that is.
For attaining it, absence of sorrow is not enough. Let’s talk about it in the
next post.
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