(
written in 1919 )
Chapter 1 The Ideal
1.
They
who have no central purpose in life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears,
troubles and self pitying- James Allen
2.
Be
ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect- Jesus
3.
Ask
and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you.
4.
The
question , therefore , arises as to what is the proper ideal for mankind to
cherish ? Money etc. are so many means to an end, not the end itself.
5.
Some
people think that happiness is to be had in heaven because of the vision of
glory of god which is to be had there. But this too is dependent on will and
pleasure of god. Besides vision of another cannot confer real happiness on the
soul. We find happiness in our own greatness and power.
6.
What
do we say when we have had a happy day ? We say that we have enjoyed ourselves.
Our happiness depends upon ourselves.
7.
We
therefore hold that proper ideal for mankind is God, the ever living, all
knowing , the most blissful. All other ideals fail to secure the full measure
of happiness, and are unworthy of soul.
8.
All
knowledge comes from meditation and deliberation. Nature is the open book of
truth. He who would meditate over it would learn the secret.
9.
Those
who believe in God can be divided into three groups.
a.
God
as creator and sustainer of universe, but separate from nature and human soul.
He is regarded as capricious, whimsical, despotic monarch, easily offended at
slights, hard to please and always to be dreaded. The highest ideal of
happiness provided by this system consists in life on heaven – a sort of
boarding house, on a large scale, managed by God, where his children can
indulge in their animal passions to the full, in eating, drinking and according
to some, even in fornication. This is the lowest of the three classes.
b.
Second
group believes that there is a God, but considers that universe cannot be
separate from him. It maintains that creation took place in the sense in which it
is understood in the west, that is making of something real out of nothing.
According to this sect, God is himself the creator as well as the material of
which beings and things are made. Accordingly , God, Nature and individual soul
are the three aspects of one and the same things. Here we have the dissolution
of personality i.e. separateness, in to one Absolute being or Life as the ideal
of the soul.
c.
The third class
consists of those luminous souls who have dared to conceive the truth in
its highest aspect. They regard the soul to be its own God and capable of
attaining the full measure of perfection and bliss.
10.
Mankind
wanted a cheap, simple recipe like a physician’s draught which
could be taken once day to
prevent or cure the disorders of spirituality; and simpler the method
the quicker were the people to respond to it. It was thus that every one who
had a little smattering of religious lore managed or secure some followers to
himself; and if he could perform a miracle or two in addition ,his success as
the founder of a religion was at once put beyond dispute
11.
On each occasion that you think that your
business matters ought not to suffer for devotion to Godhead, you seal your own
doom and drive an additional nail into your own coffin with your own hands.
12.
You would be no where if in reply to your
request for an admission ticket into the kingdom of heaven, the angel told you
that he did not understand what you meant by that term. You must have a clear
idea of the thing desired before you can ever expect to get it.
13.
Real bliss is
very different from pleasures of this world. It is that condition in
which one experiences nothing but uninterrupted , peace, tranquility and joy,
wave upon wave , as it were of life giving ecstasy, the becoming rather than
enjoying bliss itself which is god’s eternal swabhava.
14.
Renunciation is giving up of base imitations,
of false ideals, of worthless substitutes and acquisition of eternal life.
15.
Vast majority worship their god on account of
a vague and indefinable sense of fear.
16.
It will not bring you
any pleasure if all the ants in your house prostrate themselves before you ,
praise you up to the skies, and offer you a portion of a dead cricket, or some
such insect.
17.
It is certainly the free appreciation of one’s
equals which is pleasing to ear , not
the flattery or servile homage of inferiors.
Chapter 2 Creation
1. “Nothing existed” is a self contradictory
assertion.
2.
Matter
is only capable of making material bodies; it will never succeed in creating
tenants to occupy and enjoy the products of its labour.
3.
In
order that the indivisible idea of truth be result of activity of brain, either
different parts of the idea must belong
to different parts of the brain or each part of the brain must be subject of an
entire idea or the whole idea must pertain to a single part of the brain . If
we accept the last then our thesis that the ultimate subject of thought is
indivisible is established at once.
4.
Recollection
, then would be impossible for a consciousness which is constantly generated
from the physical matter of brain , and which does not, therefore persist
through life.
5.
Soul
cannot possibly be annihilated out of existence, and is an entity quite
independent of the physical body.
6.
Perception
is not a function of sense organs but of the soul, as we maintain, then there
is no escape from the conclusion that the death of the body would not mean the
destruction of the perceptive faculties of the soul.
7.
Careful
observation will show that the organs of sense are merely channels for the
passage of vibrations from the world. They do not in any sense constitute a
factory for the manufacturing of will, consciousness and reason.
8.
The
power of perception is not, in any sense, a product of sense organs but inheres
in the soul.
9.
Consciousness
or mind must exist independently of
matter; for it would be strange logic to say that mind is the product of
substance which itself depends on mind for its perception. This is precisely
what vedanta teaches. According to it, one universal consciousness or God whom
it calls Brahman is the only real existence and all else is an illusion.
10.
He
alone who identifies himself with his inner reality attains immortality.
11.
To
the vedantist, the whole thing is an illusion, and the only reality is one conscious
Existence, his own self , which he calls Brahman and defines with the words, “
not that, not that”. The idea underlying this quite negative definition is that
Brahman is so hopelessly beyond words that it can only be defined by negation
of all things definable by language.
12.
As
regards the number of souls in existence, Vedanta is rigidly monistic even as
to that , maintaining that there is and can be only one soul in existence.
13.
The
“ hama
14.
Monism
is possible only by throttling common sense since it is opposed to concrete
facts.
15.
We
are given the duality of Brahman and Maya to start with . Whether this Maya be
a thing which actually exists or not ?
16.
If
we say that it is an actuality of existence , then there is an end to our
Monistic aspiration at once. But if it is not endowed with existence, then it
is impossible that which has no existence whatsoever should ever be perceived.
Vedanta has never been able to extricate itself of this dilemma.
17.
With
‘him’ alone in existence , it is inevitable that the world should be reduced to
a simple dream, with ‘him’ as the dreamer all other living things being as
phantoms of imagination . Summum Bonum is either the destruction of the
reflection, or the merging in ‘him’ which also involves annihilation of the
individual. What sort of consolation is the soul to derive from the idea of
annihilation which stares it in the face , it is difficult to imagine.
18.
Those
who maintain that soul is only a reflection of a conscious reality, are unable
also to explain how it happens to be endowed with consciousness.
19.
If
there is only one soul in existence, and
be eternal, omnipresent and blissful, how are the feeling of pain and
longing of individual soul to escape from bondage of samsara to be accounted
for ?
20.
Since
Brahman has never needed liberation, and since the individual souls , being
pure, are debarred by their very nature , from its attainment. Hence no one can
be said to have ever been benefitted by its teaching.
21.
The soul which approaches the Advaita Vedanta, with a view to
obtain everlasting happiness, must prepare itself to be wiped out of existence.
22.
It
is thus clear that the aspirations of idealism to attain a monistic culmination
is foredoomed to failure.
23.
According
to Mahomedan belief, man was made from a handful of dust. Just so : but what we
want to know is this : did the dust exist independently of God , or was it also
made by him some time prior to making of man ? We now reached a point of time
when there was nothing else but God in existence, and are entitled to ask , who
obeyed the first “ kun” ( let it be
done) uttered by the Creator, and from what material was the first thing
manufactured.
24.
The
answer to these questions can only be that God obeyed his own command and
projected the material for manufacturing the thing he desired to make for himself.
25.
What
enables the creator to create the universe is his power of image making, that
is, the faculty of Imagination. The Vedantist calls this image making faculty
of mind “ Maya”; the Sufi calls it “ Kuwwat-i-khayal”, and in English it is
termed imagination.
26.
If
the matter was created from nothing , it must be endowed with a reality born
out of nothingness.
27.
Thus
the immediate and logical result of their belief about the origin of matter,
would be the acceptance of the doctrine of Vedanta, which also describes the
world as an illusion i.e. the reality born out of nothingness.
28.
As
a result , we say that neither the Idealism nor any other system of philosophy
can ever hope to succeed in solving the world mystery, without first
recognising the existence of two fundamentally different kinds of substances ,
the conscious and unconscious.
29.
By
reality we mean persistence in consciousness, a persistence which is either
unconditional, as our consciousness of space, or which is conditional, as our
consciousness of a body while grasping it.
30.
True
Idealism , while describing the universe as an illusion, does not go the length
of saying that it is altogether non existent; hence what it describes as an
illusion is the same thing as it is called the material world by Realist.
31.
This
is but another way of saying that they are composed of some kind of material,
which, for the sake of lucidity and uniformity of thought , may be called
matter.
Creation theories:
A. The
Theistic account
First cause – God (as spirit)
Nature of world process- creation by word of a
command of real material universe, or a making of something out of nothing
B.
The
Hindu Theory
First Cause – God ( a spirit)
Nature of world process- Projection and final
re-absorption of a real universe, in imitation of a spider’s web.
C.
The
materialistic theory
Causes- (1) Dead , unconscious matter.
(2) Forces of nature
Nature of world process- Evolution, in the course
of which consciousness arises from the dead matter, as miraculously as the
creation of world out of nothing.
D.
Vedanta
theory
Cause – Sat-chit-ananda ( consciousness)
Nature of world process- creation is caused by
Maya shakti ( the faculty of imagination) and is consequently possessed of a
dreamlike reality only.
(A)
is
wrong since it contradicts the daily human experience that out of nothing,
nothing comes
(B)
is
defective since it pushes the duality of seer and the seen in the spider like
belly.
(C)
If
defective since it loses sight of the subjective aspect
(D)
Its
monistic aspiration is foredoomed to failure.
To sum up, consciousness is a reality independent
of matter, and in no sense its product.
Chapter 3 God
1.
It
has already been established in the last chapter that the notion of creation of
the world is unentertainable for rational thought; but it has not yet been
ascertained whether God be creator of individuals or not ? Now this is
investigated.
2.
Firstly
why should God take the trouble of making anything at all ?
a.
Because
it pleased him to do so ?
b.
He
felt lonely and wanted company ?
c.
He
wanted to create beings who would praise his glory and worship him .
d.
He
did it in sport.
3.
It is necessary to note that if God is full and perfect in
himself, he cannot have any desires or unsatisfied cravings in him. Blissfulness which must
be an attribution of Godhood , only means a state of consciousness in which there
is not only knowledge of perfection and fullness in one’s own self but an
absence of all desires as well. Hence if God sought pleasure in homage of
others , he could not be happy in himself.
4.
Anger
cannot be an attribute of Godhood, since God must be presumed to be happy, and
since anger is the antithesis of happiness, as it only arises when things do
not happen as they should , hence he who is angry cannot be happy at the same
time.
5.
If
God sees all things every moment of his life, the full panorama of human
wickedness and sin, and if he be an irritable God, he would hardly ever have a
moment’s peace of mind. Himself in need of happiness, he certainly cannot
confer it on others. Hence anger cannot have any place in the consciousness of
God.
6.
Moreover,
it is a blot on omniscience to say that it could not foresee that happiness
could not be had from the company of unhappy mortals.
7.
If
the creator be omnipotent, as he is supposed to be, why should it please him to
create a world where sorrow and pain are the inevitable lot of his creatures.
8.
Gita
endeavors to steer clear of difficulty of attributing desire to God by making
creative activity a function of essence of God. The idea conveyed is that
creation is not the outcome of a deliberate effort on part of the God, but
results from his functional activity, so that no desire can be attributed to
him for world making.
Note
: This god becomes same as karmas as per Jains
9.
If
a soul is born ignorant, it is not its fault, for it was so created by its God.
But the question is : why should an omnipotent creator create ignorant soul and
then be constantly sending down prophets and saviours for their enlightenment,
and suffer contradictory doctrines to be circulated amongst them, so that
ordinarily it should be well nigh impossible to know the truth ?
10.
Judgement
Day : It would seem that plea of ignorance would not be allowed, the rewards
and punishment shall be eternal. A soul could not plead that the teachings of
Mahomed was entitled to greater credence than the doctrine of Christ or vice
versa. And what of him who dies in his mother’s womb ? Alas! Even he must
appear to be punished or rewarded on the judgement day, and to be sent to
heaven or hell, for there is no third place for souls to go.
11.
We are constrained to observe that notions
such as these might have passed for good sense or sound philosophy in the dark
days of medieval period, but in 20th century of our civilization
intelligent people have a right to expect consistent reason rather than a
torrent of chaotic speech from those who set themselves up as spiritual
teachers of men.
12.
If
soul is spirit, either God manufactures it out of his own body, for he said to
be the pure spirit, or out of a lump of spiritual clay which he might possess.
The first act would go on to reduce the being of God which is absurd. In the
second, the spiritual clay must be atomic or non atomic. If atomic then the
attribution of its creation to God is purely gratuitous since spiritual atom
already exists. If it is second then it cannot be broken into smaller spirits
hence not tenable.
13.
The
question is , is the death of fetal condition is due to God’s action or some
other power, or did the Lord God change his mind in the middle of process of
manufacturing.
14.
To
what earthly –or, for that matter, even heavenly – purpose can he whose being
is the purest expression of holiness of the most exalted type constitute
himself a manager of the world ?
15.
Our
conclusion, then is that the notion of the supreme Being as Governor of the
universe is as baseless and irrational as wild conjecture that divinity
consists in the creation of a world.
16.
We
must distinguish between pleasure and joy. Former is merely a gratification of
the senses, thus short term. Joy is an emotion and has the element of freedom
in it. It is a state of gladness indicating exhilaration of spirits.
17.
Joy
is a state of mind which has its roots in mental conviction , in other words,
in faith. Joy is a state of exhilaration which is manifested in consequence of
some lasting and permanent good i.e.
removal of some fetters from soul.
18.
Emotion
of joy springs up in consequence of the belief that never again the same thing
be striven for. The sense of freedom from future straining and striving
therefore, is the direct and immediate cause of joy.
19.
Who
can gauge the depth of feeling, or rather the emotion, of freedom which such an
one, who has mastered all knowledge and annihilated all doubts, will feel in
his emancipated state.
20.
Bliss
is that beatific state of being in which joy wells up in the soul, as wave upon
wave of pure ecstasy in unceasing succession.
21.
he
who realises himself to be the all knowing , the ever free and very source , as
it were of blissfulness itself must, therefore , necessarily enjoy bliss; for
him there is an end of all anxieties and bondage.
22.
Consciousness
is both infinite and simple and we have to recognise it as a whole. It means
that we are the infinite ourselves; it means that the real nature of all living
beings in the universe is unconditionally divine. It means that the soul is its
own God.
23.
True
divinity as constituted by perfection in respect of knowledge and bliss and
Holiness, which are , undoubtedly, the essential and inalienable attributes of
each and every soul. Hence the statement: “ He who knoweth his own self knoweth
God “ sayings of Muhammad.
Incomplete
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