Ignorance is certainly not Bliss – 1

 

 

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.

"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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