Nature has created the democratic Biosphere. But we humans are devastating
the basic democratic fabric of nature.
A Great thought YMji sir.
Humans have always been and still are fascinated by the
elusive phenomenon of soul and have devised various approaches to interpret
it and attribute different names to it; depending on which part, which
religion, which tribe and which sect of the world they belong to.
Theologians to philosophers to spiritual thinkers to literary authors and
critics to scientists—all seem to be researching and explaining its nature
and place in the universal scheme of things. Interestingly, there is a
unanimity among all, regarding the eternity and indestructibility of soul.
The ancient Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita establishes soul (Jivatma) as a
triad of Self, Nature (Prakriti: material reality) and God (Parmeshvara).
The inner self is Soul which bears reflections of both, the physical nature
and God. Malleable in ignorance, it identifies with the sense-perception
dominated body but once realising its true nature, it is capable of
governing the body and its actions. With the support mechanisms and
persistence, it traverses across individual body consciousness to universal
consciousness.
The most elusive of such truths is the concept of creation, soul
and God; bewildering as well as comforting for human mind. These spiritual
concepts, irrespective of the religion they are stated by, seem to be the
only symbols of hope for the modern humanity mired in multifold conflicts
and quandaries; because they still are seen to go beyond the reach of
sciences and to furnish answers to the fundamental but crucial whys,
whences, whats, whos, hows, of kaleidoscopic creation. And the fact to be
marked here is that this recourse to spirituality is not as measured and
conscious an effort as it is an inevitable and inherent a human tendency.
And this is the only time tested refuge which humanity has to and need to
be the asylee of, having tried and tasted the bitter-sweet fruits from the
chimeric field of its egoistic potencies, and still remaining unsatiated.
Although its familiarity with humanity goes as far as that of any prominent
religious or philosophical texts, the ever-recurring role it has as a
transformative masterpiece seems unparalleled. The very criticality of the
circumstances of its coming into being mark its significance as a gateway
to relief, equability, and the so-called elusive phenomenon of peace amid a
warring scenario; inner or outer.
Bhagavad Gita situates itself as a lengthy discourse between the
Pandu prince Arjuna and his charioteer, Lord Krishna on the battlefield of
Kurukshetra, the greatest lived example of the victory of righteousness
(dharma) over unrighteousness (adharma). To mark the difference between the
destructible material body and indestructible spark of the Divine, the
embodied soul: ‘He is not born, nor doth he die: nor having been ceaseth he
any more to be; unborn, perpetual, eternal and ancient, he is not slain
when the body is slaughtered’ . There may seem nothing new in the idea of
the soul being immortal, as majority of people believe it to be so through
their respective religions or personal inklings. However, what is unique
about the soul theory of Bhagavad Gita is its synthesizing proposition
about cosmic reality. Krishna affirms the eternal reality of the cyclic
creation and dissolution of the universe consisting of the
sentient/non-sentient, living/non-living entities. Starting off with the
Ancient Vedic scriptural descriptions regarding the dual nature of
existences comprising of the material and the spiritual nature, this text
takes this concept on a level which is both abstract as well as concrete.
When Krishna talks of *Nature (Prakriti*), he is not just talking about the
material reality of and around us, he is talking of the whole scheme of the
cosmic reality wherein the Supreme Lord (Parmeshawara / Purushottama)
manifests Himself in the creation in a twofold way: through His lower,
material, transient, physically manifest nature (Kshra / Apara Prakriti)
consisting of the five basic elements of earth, water fire, air, ether
(corresponding to the five outer senses), mind, reason/intellect, and ego;
and his higher nature (Akshra / Para Prakriti), the consciousness, being,
soul (Atma / Jiva / Purusha), the life giving energy or ‘the life element’
‘All actions are wrought by the qualities of nature only. The self,
deluded by egoism, thinketh: “I am the doer”’ . Moreover, it is not like a
one-act play which will come to an end with the end of a body; the soul
goes on and on transmigrating from one body to another until it, either
supported by Intellect, the discriminatory power or by some outer agency
like a scripture or a spiritual teacher, recognises its truth and starts
detaching from the desires which bind it with the chain of action-reaction
(karma). However, what pulls the rug from under the feet and completely
unsettles a reader is the revelation regarding the single but powerful
letter ‘I’. The ‘I’ and the words ‘my’, ‘mine’, ‘me’ which we invariably
associate with our physical bodies and personalities are at once, with a
jerk, redefined and diverted to our consciousness i.e. our soul which has a
veil of illusion drawn before it by the senses, mind and ego, making it
superimpose the physical reality upon itself, which is not its
quintessence. And instead of meeting the Opulent One of its kind, it is led
away by the force of the differently combined three elements (Triguna) of
material nature, worse so if the dominant elements of a body is the Dark
(Tamas) one. And thus subjecting itself to a complete identification with
the body, it starts owning everything the body goes through: the experience
of the pairs of opposites such as good and bad, pleasure and pain, joy and
sorrow, success and failure etc. How this happens is explained by Krishna
thus ‘man, musing on the objects of sense, conceiveth an attachment to
these; from attachment ariseth desire; from desire anger cometh forth; from
anger proceedeth delusion; from delusion confused memory; from confused
memory the destruction of Reason; from destruction of Reason he perishes’
(Besant and Bhagavan 1905: 62-63). ‘Perishing’ here implies the inability
to scale the spiritual heights of self-realisation and attain the real
supreme bliss which can only be attained by acquiring the stage of inner
renunciation of attachment to sense-objects and the desire for the fruit of
action and resignation of thus purified individual consciousness to the
cosmic consciousness
During the Bhakti (devotion) movement of the mediaeval India, various
saints and devotees like Surdas, Raskhan, Raidas, Rahim, Bihari, Mirabai,
Karmabai et all, surprisingly irrespective of their region, religion, caste
and gender, articulated and lived in what some devotees now call Pure/
Krishna Consciousness. Various translations and analytical commentaries
have been written on it in India; right from the sages of Indian order of
monks like Shankaracharya, Sridhara Swami, Madhvacharya, Vivekananda, Sri
Aurobindo, to various social and political leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and
Vinoba Bhave. Various sects of Krishna devotees like ISKON, Hare Krishna
are spread all over the world, preaching and practicing his teachings.
Besides the above listed Indian thinkers, German physicist Albert Einstein,
American author and philosopher Henry David Thoreau, French-German
theologian Albert Schweitzer, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, German-Swiss
author Herman Hesse, American author Ralph Waldo Emerson, Austrian
philosopher Rudolph Steiner, English author and philosopher Aldous Huxley,
and Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess have acknowledged the influence of
Bhagavad Gita as didactic guide to spiritual evolution. Although this
all-inclusive concept of soul, told in the now almost defunct script
Sanskrit, risks misinterpretation and unanimity may not exist in their
perceptions about its propositions, this apparent lacuna also provides
flexibility as towards expansion of meaning natural for any scripture. What
Joseph Campbell says about mythology holds true for this sacred scripture,
Bhagavad Gita, too; that it is ‘a poetic, supernormal image, conceived… in
depth, but susceptible of interpretation on various levels. The shallowest
minds see in it the local scenery; the deepest, the foreground of the void;
and between are the stages of the Way from the ethnic to the elementary
idea, the local to the universal being, which is Every man, as he both
knows and is afraid to know’.
Sri Swami Sivanand asserts that ‘a busy manwith an active temperament will
be greatly benefited by the commentary ofSri Gangadhar Lokamanya Tilak,
entitled Gita Rahasya. A man of evotionaltemperament will be attracted by Sri
Sridhara’s commentary, and a man of reason by that of Sri Shankara’
(Bhagavad Gita). A.V. Srinivasan in his book, The Bhagavad Gita: A Thread
through the Eighteen Gems pronounces: ‘So, the message of Gita is detached
dynamism, egoless activity, efficiency, and courage and self-realization
[…] This unique Hindu gospel... does not require anyone abandoning their
jobs or fleeing from families, tampering their plans, disturbing their own
faiths [...] The object of Srimat Bhagavad Gita is to remove our ignorance’
(Epilogue). Vamsi Palem stresses the doctrine of charity (alms giving in
Bhagavad Gita) as a means to eternal peace for the soul, in her comparative
study Bible, Bhagavad-Gita, and Billionaires. Franklin Edgerton calls it
‘the Bible of India’ in his own translation (Edgerton 1994:x).
*Venkobrao *declares
Gita to be ‘the masterpiece of psychotherapy’, picking up the role mind has
been assigned in bewildering the soul and block its understanding of itself
(Venkobrao 2002: 32). On one hand, Michael C. Dilbeck traces Mahrishi
Mahesh Yogi’s theory of Vedic Psychology in Bhagavad Gita in terms of its
emphasis on ‘full integration of life’ by establishing the individual
consciousness in the field of core consciousness which the
Maharishi calls ‘the unified field of natural law’ (for more interesting
details about this topic, see Dilbeck 2016; also, Larson 1981: 513-541). On
the other hand, John S. Hagelin contemplates on the Maharishi’s hints at
identicality the unified field of modern theoretical physics and the field
of pure consciousness’ (Hagelin 1987: 29).
Further, Bhagavad Gita’s insightful multi-levelled directives for
addressing any crisis enlightens us on the *ever-increasing ecological
crisis looming all* over the world in some or other form. Mostly
anthropogenic, such threatening shifts in the ecological equation between
man and nature can be clearly understood if we measure our real attitudes
towards universal natural resources and the worldview projected and
preferred by Krishna. His universe is a harmonized whole, a symphony of
rhythms of life created and presented by God, and beautifully coloured
canvas of ecosystems. Every visible or invisible phenomenon partakes and
participates in the ecological harmony propounded by Krishna: That by which
one indestructible Being is seen in all beings, in separate in the
separated, know thou that knowledge as pure . A self-actualized being
acknowledges this and identifies his part and place in this universal
oneness; recognising one divine thread passing through one and all,
including himself. This ecological wisdom is thoroughly reflected in
Arne *Naess’s
ecosophy (ecological philosophy).* He emphasises the same interrelationship
of humans and their natural environment when he talks about ‘ecological
harmony or equilibrium’). A philosophy as a kind of sofia (or) wisdom, is
openly normative, it contains both norms, rules, postulates, value priority
announcements and hypotheses concerning the state of affairs in our
universe. Wisdom is policy wisdom, prescription, not only scientific
description and prediction. The details of an ecosophy will show many
variations due to significant differences concerning not only the ‘facts’
of pollution, resources, population, etc. but also value priorities’
The value system in the ecosophy of Bhagavad Gita underlines the
acknowledgement of the symbiotic relationship with the environment whereby
exploitation or domination of one over the other is to be renounced.
Significantly, this deep ecology of Bhagavad Gita is unmistakably realized
by the self-realized pure soul: ‘The self, harmonised by yoga, seeth the
SELF abiding in all beings, all beings in the SELF; everywhere he seeth the
same’ For the comprehensive evolution of persons, societies and
ecosystems, the wisdom of soul and its realization become the conditional
premise of the formula of environmental conservation.
**** Kabir Das accedes to the idea of wisdom of soul and the
enlightenment it brings: Jab Mein Tha Tab Hari Nahin‚ Ab Hari Hai Mein
Nahin, Sab Andhiyara Mit Gaya‚ Jab Deepak Dekhya Mahin (When I [ego] was
there, God was absent, when the inner flame / light shined forth, all the
darkness disappeared). Rahim exemplifies pure sacrifice of alms giving in
the following way; Denhar koi aur hai, bhejat jo din raen, log bharam hum
par karein, taso neeche naen (The Giver is someone else, giving day and
night. But the world gives me the credit, so I lower my eyes). Ravidas, a
devotee of the Supreme in manifested and un-manifested form validates what
skeptics question-mark: ‘Hari [God] in everything, everything in Hari—He
who knows Hari and the self, does not need any other testimony’ the knower
is absorbed. Sikhism owes many of its concepts to Bhagavad Gita. At
present, there are some spiritual leaders, at least in as much as they can
disseminate the scriptural principles effectively, who have written their
own commentaries on Bhagavad Gita in order to enlighten with their sermons
and different yoga practices. The prominent ones are: Sadguru Jaggi vasudev
of Isha Foundation, Sri Sri Ravishankar of Art of Living, Mata
Amritanandmayi and Brahmkumaris, Osho foundation, and Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi. Maharishi Yogi’s proposal regarding ‘the influence of coherence and
positivity in the social and natural environment generated by the practice
of the Transcendental Meditation and Sidhi programs popularly known as the
‘Maharishi effect’ .
All in all, Krishna’s teaching finds resonance either within the
souls or scriptures around the world, as most of the scriptural teaching
do, because the obligation of sustaining life and conserving environs comes
to the reasonable creatures. Manage this mountainous task is possible only
through realising the soul’s true potential. Many hope that the
applicability, adaptability, and relevance of Bhagavad Gita’s spiritual
doctrines contribute in transforming souls into equanimous beings and the
frequency of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ‘Maharishi effect’ increases.
K RAJARAM IRS 301124
On Fri, 29 Nov 2024 at 20:13, Markendeya Yeddanapudi <
[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> --
> *Mar*The Democracy of the Biosphere
>
>
>
> The Democracy of the Biosphere may be defined as the ecological symbiosis
> of the life forms, with recognition of the ecological role as the link of
> the chain of life forms. It is based on the emotional symbiosis that binds
> every life form, emotionally to its macro identity with nature. The
> emotional symbiosis, creates the basic feeling that the Biosphere is one
> single organism, where the internal hormonal communication of every
> organism is fused with the internal hormonal communications of the other
> life forms, via breathing, smelling, sensing, perceiving, understanding and
> automatic interacting which creeps into the internal hormonal
> communications creating the grand cellular fusion of all organisms with the
> cells of every organism. It is a situation where Anthropocentricism cannot
> be even conceptualized, where the human individual egoism gets recognized
> as what it is-lunacy. Today the human fool instead of recognizing that he
> too is a link in the ecological symbiotic chain, feels that he is not a
> link at all but the economic consumer of the basic ecological structure
> itself!
>
> Once our Temples were capitals of the ecological Democracy of the local
> Biosphere. Every life form was recognized with the identity of a God. In
> fact Bodhisattva of Buddhism was an attempt to explore into the
> paradigmatic base of understanding of every organism.
>
> Other than the human no organism of the Biosphere is capable of committing
> ecological crimes. Even today, in spite of the criminal economic activity
> of the human, all economic activity today, is criminal activity against
> Ecology.
>
> Today for every human, Democracy means the opportunity to become the king
> over everyone else, with the Biosphere as the economic livestock. No human
> wants to be equal.
>
> I often wonder how the definition of Democracy given by Lincoln, as rule
> by the people, for the people and of the people created waves of anger
> among the former slave owners. When the slaves were freed, the slave owners
> were bankrupted. The spectacle of their property, the slave livestock
> roaming freely right in front of them must have created terrible anger and
> bitterness. In the year 1864 there must have been spectacles of lynching
> everywhere of black Americans.
>
> Now the entire humanity chronically ill with egoism and the stupid
> Anthropocentricism, can we expect even basic reception to the idea of
> Democracy of the Biosphere based on the basic ecology?
>
> But free nature parks without human tampering takes us to that ecological
> democracy. That park will be the beginning to save all Biospheres from the
> extinction which is now happening, euphemized with the ultimate stupidity
> as economic advancement.
>
> Nature has created the democratic Biosphere. But we humans are devastating
> the basic democratic fabric of nature.
>
> Today, every University has become the fountain of economic lunacy, the
> lunacy of murdering nature. It trains the students in a career of killing
> nature.
>
> But with the continuous poisoning of land, water and air and killing every
> organism as economic activity, forests vanishing by hundreds of KM every
> hour, how long can the doom escaped from?
>
> Can at least one university becomes sane and pioneers the saving of nature
> from the death?
>
> YM Sarma
>
> Chat GPT
>
> YM Sarma’s *The Democracy of the Biosphere* presents a profound and
> urgent call for ecological consciousness and a paradigm shift in how
> humanity relates to the natural world. His critique of
> anthropocentrism—seeing human beings as separate from or above
> nature—highlights a deep, systemic issue in the way modern society,
> especially economic systems, treat the environment. Sarma envisions a world
> where the biosphere itself is seen as a "democracy" of life forms, where
> all organisms are respected as interdependent members of a greater
> ecological whole.
>
> *Key Themes and Ideas*
>
> *Ecological Symbiosis:*
>
> Sarma introduces the idea of an "emotional symbiosis" between all life
> forms, where the physiological and hormonal communications of one organism
> connect to those of others. This interconnectedness blurs the boundaries
> between species, creating an ecosystem that functions as a single, living
> organism—a global "body" where all life is a cell. This vision goes beyond
> traditional ecological thinking, suggesting a deep, almost spiritual
> connection between all living beings and their environment.
>
> *Human Egoism and Anthropocentrism:*
>
> Sarma critiques the dominant human worldview, where people see themselves
> as separate from and superior to nature. He sees this belief in human
> exceptionalism—an idea that places humanity above all other life forms—as a
> "lunacy" that leads to ecological destruction. In his view, humanity's
> consumer-driven mentality, where nature is treated as a resource to exploit
> rather than a system of interdependent life forms, has caused widespread
> environmental harm.
>
> *Historical and Cultural References:*
>
> Sarma draws a parallel between the idea of "democracy" in human society
> (specifically referencing Abraham Lincoln's famous definition of democracy)
> and the hierarchical, exploitative structures that have historically
> oppressed marginalized groups. He reflects on how the post-slavery world,
> especially the resistance to equality, mirrors humanity's ongoing refusal
> to recognize its ecological interconnectedness. The anger and bitterness
> felt by former slave owners, in Sarma’s view, is a reflection of the human
> ego’s resistance to the idea of equality—not just among people, but with
> the biosphere.
>
> *The Need for Ecological Consciousness:*
>
> Sarma makes a compelling argument that modern universities and
> institutions have become centers of "economic lunacy"—training people to
> perpetuate the destruction of nature for short-term economic gain. He
> advocates for a radical shift in education, calling on universities to
> prioritize environmental preservation and ecological responsibility, rather
> than perpetuating systems that exploit and degrade the natural world.
>
> *The Call for Action:*
>
> Sarma’s central plea is for a collective realization of the biosphere's
> "democratic" nature and a rejection of practices that harm it. He imagines
> a future where nature preserves and free nature parks are not just refuges
> for wildlife but represent the beginnings of a global movement to save the
> biosphere. In this vision, the "Democracy of the Biosphere" means living in
> harmony with nature, acknowledging that every organism, from the smallest
> insect to the largest tree, has intrinsic value and a role in maintaining
> the balance of life.
>
> *A Vision for the Future*
>
> Sarma’s vision of an ecological democracy offers a radical shift in how we
> think about both politics and ecology. Instead of viewing democracy solely
> in terms of human governance, he extends it to the entire biosphere, where
> all life forms have a say—not in a literal sense, but through their
> participation in the interdependent web of life.
>
> This ecological democracy would fundamentally challenge the current
> economic systems that prioritize profit over sustainability. It calls for a
> new understanding of progress—not in terms of economic growth, but in terms
> of ecological health and balance. Sarma’s appeal to universities to
> "pioneer the saving of nature" reflects his belief that education must be a
> vehicle for societal transformation, helping future generations understand
> and respect the interconnectedness of life.
>
> *Reflection*
>
> Sarma’s writing brings a spiritual and philosophical dimension to
> environmentalism, one that goes beyond policy or scientific data. It speaks
> to a deep, emotional understanding of the natural world—a recognition that,
> if humanity is to survive and thrive, it must find its place as one link in
> the grand, ecological chain. His message is not merely about conservation;
> it is about redefining the relationship between humans and the earth, from
> one of domination and exploitation to one of symbiosis and mutual respect.
>
> The *Democracy of the Biosphere* is an invitation to reconsider how we
> define power, value, and progress—not just as human beings, but as part of
> the wider community of life. It is a vision of a future in which humanity
> is not the master of the earth, but rather a humble participant in the
> delicate balance of life that sustains us all.
>
>
>
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