Broadlines of emotional feelings
Chapter 2: TEXT 63
krodhad bhavati sammohah sammohat smrti-vibhramah
smrti-bhramsad buddhi-naso buddhi-nasat pranasyati
krodhat—from anger; bhavati—takes place; sammohah—perfect illusion;
sammohat—from illusion; smrti—of memory; vibhramah—bewilderment;
smrti-bhramsat—after bewilderment of memory; buddhi-nasah—loss of
intelligence; buddhi-nasat—and from loss of intelligence; pranasyati—falls
down.
>From anger, delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When
memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost,
one falls down again into the material pool. {IMPACT OF EMOTIONS}
1 Aristotle spoke of the pleasures inherent in the cathartic release of
tension. Catharsis has since been used within the mental health field as
a way of describing the practice of emotional expression, which is
essential for communicating our needs, desires, and emotions. Plus, being
able to express one’s emotions is associated with various positive
outcomes, such as increased adjustment to stressors, greater life
satisfaction, and increased psychological resilience .In times of joy, all
of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag.
2 While you may understand logically that healthy emotional expression
is important, just exactly how to go about it isn’t always straightforward.
Fortunately, there are many ways to facilitate healthy emotional
expression; here are 18 tips:
1. Use positive self-talk
We all have an inner dialogue running through our heads, which is sometimes
negative and counterproductive. If you have a negative inner dialogue, this
is bound to make healthy self-expression difficult. Consider whether the
messages in your head are damaging, and if so, work on ways to replace them
with positive ones.
2. Be a good listener It might be helpful to remember that…
*“…we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we
speak.”*
Epictetus It is hurtful to feel unheard , so listen to your family,
friends, and coworkers and you will be in a far better position to respond
with expressions of empathy and understanding.
3. Try spirituality Mother Teresa said: Joy is prayer; joy is
strength; joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.
JOY IS BLISS; BLISS IS SAT CHIT ANANDA.
3 Sat-chit-ananda is a Sanskrit phrase that describes the essence of
the Upanishads, which are a collection of texts that form the philosophical
foundation of Hinduism's Vedas:
Sat
The unchanging truth of existence, or being. It's limitless and eternal,
and goes beyond the human constructs of time and space.
Chit
The flow of consciousness or awareness, which leads to the knowledge of the
Self and existence.
Ananda
Translates to bliss or happiness, and signifies the aspect of reality that
is characterized by boundless joy, happiness, and fulfillment.
The Upanishads are often presented as dialogues between sages and
truth-seekers. The texts convey that the ultimate reality is Brahman, a
state of existence where the individual realizes their oneness with it
4 Saccidānanda (Sanskrit: सच्चिदानन्द; also Sat-cit-ānanda) is an
epithet and description for the subjective experience of the ultimate
unchanging reality, called Brahman, in certain branches of Hindu
philosophy, especially Vedanta. It represents "existence, consciousness,
and bliss" or "truth, consciousness, bliss".
sat (सत्): In Sanskrit, sat means "being, existence", "real, actual",
"true, good, right", or "that which really is, existence, essence, true
being, really existent, good, true"
cit (चित्): means "consciousness" or "spirit".
ānanda (आनन्द): means "happiness, joy, bliss", "pure happiness, one of
three attributes of Atman or Brahman in the Vedanta philosophy".
5 Satcitananda is therefore translated as "truth consciousness
bliss", "reality consciousness bliss", or "Existence Consciousness Bliss".
Shankara philosophical system is based on a monistic ontology in which
brahman, the universal wholeness of existence, is alone declared to be
real. In its essential nature as nirguna (without attributes), brahman is
pure being (Sat), consciousness (Cit), and bliss (Ananda) and is completely
formless, distinctionless, nonchanging, and unbounded. As saguna (with
attributes), brahman assumes the form of Ishvara, the lord, [...] Moksha is
attained through knowledge (jñåna, vidyå) alone, for when knowledge dawns
the individual self awakens to its true nature as Atman, the universal
Self, which is identical with Brahman.
The realization of Atman.
(...) I am of the nature of consciousness.
I am made of consciousness and bliss.
I am nondual, pure in form, absolute knowledge, absolute love.
I am changeless, devoid of desire or anger, I am detached.
I am One Essence, unlimitedness, utter consciousness.
I am boundless Bliss, existence and transcendent Bliss.
I am the Atman, that revels in itself.
I am the Sacchidananda that is eternal, enlightened and pure.
— Tejobindu Upanishad, 3.1-3.12
6 Is it possible to get even greater happiness? Yes, but not in this
human existence. For this earthly existence, these material objects of
enjoyment and the very human frame itself, all have their limitations.
Beyond this familiar plane of existence there are superior worlds, finer
objects of enjoyment and powerful bodies designed for greater enjoyment.
Such is the manushya-gandharva-loka where happiness is one hundred times
the maximum happiness possible in a human body! Even this is by no means
the end. The Upanishad speaks of an ascending ladder of lokas, or worlds,
of truly cosmic proportions. As one ascends to these higher heavens,
happiness is multiplied by a hundred times at each level. In the highest
heavens, happiness is millions and billions of times greater than the
maximum of human happiness!
7 How can we make the mind calm? By renunciation of desire, says
the Upanishad. One who has the deepest conviction of the Vedantic
truth—that one’s own Self is of the very nature of bliss—and does not
hanker after sense pleasures, will get a hundred times the maximum human
happiness in this very life, right now! He doesn’t have to earn merit and
wait for death to go to the higher heavens. Whatever happiness the worldly
man gets out of sense enjoyments here and hereafter, the all renouncing
sage of the Upanishad gets here and now, by the very virtue of his
renunciation.
8 Finally the Upanishad makes a startling statement. The very pinnacle
of happiness, billions of times greater than the unit human happiness,
available in the highest heaven to the man of extraordinary merit, or here
and now to the all-renouncing sage—that ultimate happiness of Brahmaloka,
the ‘world’ of Highest Brahman, and the unit happiness in man of
manushyaloka, are virtually one and the same! It is the Self, which is
reflected as varying degrees of happiness in man and in the highest deva.
The difference is in the reflecting medium, not in the Self.
9 Just as you can see the reflection of your face in different
mirrors and the quality of the mirrors determines the quality of the
reflection. Yet in all mirrors, fine or poor, it is the very same face
being reflected. Just as these varied reflections do not affect your face,
the Self is not affected by the variations in happiness in all these
mediums, human and celestial. Indeed, just as you would not be particularly
interested in seeing your reflection in a mirror all the time, an
enlightened soul wouldn’t care to experience various degrees of happiness
in various bodies. Upon realization, the difference of subject and object
disappears and all is known to be Bliss Itself—ananda swarupa, the
quintessence of bliss. This is the Ananda Mimamsa—an enquiry into bliss,
described in the Taittiriya Upanishad.
10 In fact, all worldly happiness is a particle of the ocean of your
own ananda swarupa, your true Self. To the jnani, all experiences,
apparently pleasant or unpleasant, reflect Bliss.
11 Practice empathy
Whether among family , friends , or coworkers , practicing empathy creates
bonds that enable us to be emotionally in sync with others.
12 Forgive “shama” The ineffable joy of forgiving and being
forgiven forms an ecstasy that might well arouse the envy of the gods.
Whether you have not forgiven yourself or someone else, holding a grudge is
the antithesis of expression. If you free yourself from resentment, you
will open your heart and mind to positive expression.
13 Practice mindfulness Whether in the form of meditation,
yoga, or breathing exercises, mindfulness has been found to promote
optimism, happiness, positive emotional states, and self-acceptance. Each
of these outcomes aids in the promotion of emotional expression. Women who
suppressed emotions during an experimental study were found to have
increased blood pressure. In a study of emotion regulation, those who
suppressed their feelings experienced less positive and more negative
emotions. In an investigation using a daily diary method to assess positive
and negative mood, those who suppressed their emotions experienced higher
negative affect and lower positive affect.
14 A Take-Home Message Gandhi believed that “happiness is when what
you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Gandhi Gandhi understood the importance of emotional
expression. Consistent with his teachings, the ability to express how we
feel is associated with numerous physical, emotional, and psychological
benefits. Therefore, if you find yourself feeling pent up, there is good
reason to let those feelings out in a healthy way. And in doing so, you are
sure to experience enhanced relationships, serenity, and contentment.
*Sat Chit Ananda *
*The Philosophy of the Upanishads*
15 ‘The essence of the knowledge of the Vedas was called by the name
of Vedanta, which comprises the Upanishads.’[i] <#_edn1>
We hear of 108 Upanishads, ten of which are especially important because
they were selected for commentary by Adi Shankaracharya. There is a
traditional shloka which lists these major Upanishads –
*‘Isha-Kena-Katha-Prashna Munda-Mandukya Tittirih*
*Aitereyam ca Chhandogyam Brhadaryankam tatha’*
Often these Upanishads are in the form of dialogues between sages and
truth-seekers. For example in the Mundaka Upanishad, the enquirer, Shaunaka
asks the sage Angiras , ‘Sir, what is that, which becoming known,
everything here becomes known?’ In the Katha Upanishad, a little boy,
Nachiketa asks about what, if anything, survives death – and he asks this
to none other than Yama, Lord of Death!
16 Let us go straight into the heart of the Upanishads. What is their
central message to us?
*You are Pure Existence*
In the sixth chapter of the Chhandogya Upanishad, we find a dialogue
between a sage and his son, Shvetaketu. The enquiry here is, ‘What is that
knowledge by which everything becomes known?’ And to grasp the answer to
this bold question, we must appreciate the concept that by knowing the
cause one can know the effects. Thus if you know clay, you know all pots
made of clay (you know that all such pots are nothing but clay), by knowing
iron one understands all implements made of iron, by knowing gold, all gold
ornaments are understood as nothing but gold and so on.
In the same way, if we enquire deeply enough, the Upanishad claims we shall
see that all existent things are nothing but existence itself or pure
existence. *Sat* is the term used for pure existence.
17 To explain further, take the traditional example of a pot – the pot
is nothing but its cause clay, clay is nothing but its cause *prithvi* or
the earth element, *prithvi* is nothing but its cause *ap* or the water
element and in this way we trace everything back to the primal cause, pure
existence or *Sat*. It is *Sat* appearing as this world through the
mysterious agency of *maya*. And ‘Thou, O Shvetaketu,’ says the sage, ‘ art
That!’ By ‘That’ of course, he means, *Sat*, pure existence. You, your mind
and body, and indeed, everything you see around you, are essentially
nothing but pure existence, appearing in multifarious forms, courtesy of
*maya*. Ignorance means being unaware of your *Sat* nature, and
consequently being identified with the body-mind complex with all its
attendant problems and sufferings. Enlightenment is just the reverse –
being aware of yourself as Sat and being free of the body, mind and all
samsara. You are the immortal, unchanging Sat and the world is a mere
shadow the projection of *maya*, passing over you. This does not actually
destroy the body or the world – rather you begin to see things as they
really are.
18 Your true Self, *Sat*, is not a thing, an object, among other
objects of the universe. Rather It is the very existence of all things and
they are not apart from It. To a jnani, each object reveals *Sat*.
*You are Pure Consciousness*
19 In the Kena Upanishad, we find a very interesting question. We
see, hear, speak and think – but what power impels my mind to think, my
tongue to speak, my eyes to see and ears to hear? In other words, what am I
in the deepest, most profound depths of my being? Like most deep questions,
it appears deceptively simple.
20 Consider our bodies. They are made of matter. Yet, we have a
first-person experience in our bodies. There is something like experiencing
the redness of a rose or ‘being myself’. In modern philosophy, these are
called *qualia*. Modern neuroscience is unable to account for the vivid
living conscious experiences which we have all the time. This vivid first
person experience cannot be captured by a materialistic account like the
firing of neurons. This is the so-called ‘hard problem’ of modern
consciousness studies.
21 The Kena Upanishad begins with this question about consciousness –
the inner experience of thinking, hearing, seeing, speaking. What is that
shining within me which enables all these conscious experiences and
functions?
22 The Guru’s answer is extraordinary and profound (and, at first,
rather enigmatic). ‘It is the Ear of the ear, Mind of the mind, Eye of the
eye …’! Let us try to understand this. The answer, simply put, is pure
consciousness – *Chit*. The moment we use a term like consciousness, we
have to be very careful because the immediate temptation is to understand
it in the sense of thoughts and feelings. This is how consciousness is
usually understood by modern psychology. But when the Upanishads speak of
pure consciousness we must carefully distinguish it from the ordinary
understanding of consciousness. Science says consciousness is a product of
the body (the brain to be specific). But the Upanishads hold that *Chit* is
not a product of the body or even the mind. Our bodies are made of matter
and our minds too are made of matter, albeit of a subtle kind, while *Chit*
is radically different from matter. *Chit* pervades and illumines the mind
and body enabling all functions – thinking, seeing, hearing, feeling,
speaking and so on. *Chit* is ‘known’ only through its manifestations in
the various functions of the mind, organs and body. Without the body and
mind, as in deep sleep, *Chit* cannot be known or experienced – yet, It
continues to exist.
23 Now we are in a position to understand the Guru’s enigmatic reply:
‘Since It is the Ear of the ear, the Mind of the mind, the Speech of
speech, the Life of life, and the Eye of eye, therefore (realizing It) the
jnanis transcend the world and become immortal.’ Since *Chit* enables each
organ to perform its specific function, it is appropriate to call It the
essence of the organ viz, Ear of the ear, Mind of the mind etc.
*24 Chit* is what you really are – pure consciousness. It is
unchanging and undying and if you realize yourself as *Chit*, you become
immortal (rather, you realize that you are immortal and always were). *Chit*
identified with body and mind appears to be mortal. Note that the bodies
are mortal – equally for the jnani and ajnani. Ramakrishna, Christ and
Buddha – all had physical bodies and those bodies are gone, just as our
bodies will perish one day. But as *Chit* we are immortal. This is to be
realized and this is the Upanishadic ideal of *moksha* or freedom. Your
true Self *Chit*, is not an experience, yet all experiences shine in *Chit*.
*Chit* is the consciousness illumining every thought, every experience. To
the jnani, *Chit* is experienced in each experience.
*You are Pure Bliss*
25 In the final analysis, what we all want is happiness. What is
happiness? And more importantly, how can we be truly happy? The search
after happiness forms the field of enquiry in a remarkable section of the
Taittiriya Upanishad. What exactly is studied about happiness? The answer
is: whether happiness is born of sense contacts between subject and object
(as is usually understood) or whether happiness is the very nature of the
Self. The Upanishad starts by looking at sense enjoyments as the source of
happiness.
26 If we want to study happiness scientifically, it would be helpful to
actually measure happiness and for this we need a unit of happiness. The
Upanishad proceeds to construct a model of maximum human happiness. Imagine
a young man, physically strong, bursting with vitality and energy. He is
highly educated and morally upright. Old age, physical weakness, ignorance
and moral corruption – all causes of misery – are ruled out. Poverty of
course, is one of the greatest barriers to the fulfillment of desires and
so the Upanishad endows this fortunate young man with plenty of cash – all
the wealth of the world, in fact. Now imagine the happiness of this person
– young, vital, energetic, noble, very highly educated and extremely
wealthy. This is the unit of human happiness – *‘ekah manusha ananda’*.
27 Is it possible to get even greater happiness? Yes, but not in this
human existence. For this earthly existence, these material objects of
enjoyment and the very human frame itself, all have their limitations.
Beyond this familiar plane of existence there are superior worlds, finer
objects of enjoyment and powerful bodies designed for greater enjoyment.
Such is the *manushya- gandharva-loka* where happiness is one hundred times
the maximum happiness possible in a human body! And this is by no means the
end. The Upanishad speaks of an ascending ladder of *lokas* of truly cosmic
proportions. As one ascends to these higher heavens, happiness is
multiplied by a hundred times at each level. In the highest heavens,
happiness is millions and billions of times greater than the maximum of
human happiness!
How does one reach these lokas? By the merit earned through the religious
rituals prescribed in the Vedas. Of course, one has to wait till death to
travel to these higher *lokas*.
28 Then comes the real point of this analysis. The Upanishad says that
all happiness is only a reflection of the happiness of the Self –
Atmananda. The bliss of the Self is reflected in the serene mind and
experienced as happiness. Man, in his ignorance, feels that happiness is
due to the enjoyment of a variety of sense objects and spends all his life
trying to get happiness out of sense enjoyment. If one can actually make
the mind calm enough, it will be filled with happiness – without need of
external objects. And how can we make the mind calm? By renunciation of
desire, says the Upanishad. One who has the deepest conviction of the
Vedantic truth – that one’s own Self is of the very nature of bliss – and
does not hanker after sense pleasures, will get a hundred times the maximum
human happiness in this very life – right now! He doesn’t have to earn
merit and wait for death to go to the higher heavens. Whatever happiness
the worldly man gets out of sense enjoyments here and hereafter, the all
renouncing sage of the Upanishad gets here and now, by the very virtue of
his renunciation.
29 Finally the Upanishad makes a startling statement. The very
pinnacle of happiness, billions of times greater than the unit human
happiness, available in the highest heaven to the man of extraordinary
merit, or here and now to the all-renouncing sage – that ultimate happiness
of *Brahmaloka* and the unit happiness in man of *manushyaloka*, are
virtually one and the same! It is the Self, which is reflected as varying
degress of happiness in man and in the highest *deva*. The difference is in
the reflecting medium, not in the Self. Just as you can see the reflection
of your face in different mirrors and the quality of the mirrors determines
the quality of the reflection. Yet in all mirrors, fine or poor, it is the
very same face being reflected. Just as these varied reflections do not
affect your face, the Self is not affected by the variations in happiness
in all these mediums, human and celestial. Indeed, just as you would not be
particularly interested in seeing your reflection in a mirror all the time,
an enlightened soul wouldn’t care to experience various degrees of
happiness in various bodies. Upon realization, the difference of subject
and object disappears and all is known to be Bliss Itself – *Ananda swarupa*.
This is the *Ananda Mimamsa *– an enquiry into bliss – of the Taittiriya
Upanishad.
30 In fact, all worldly happiness is a particle of the ocean of your
own *Ananda
swarupa* – your true Self. To the jnani, all experiences, apparently
pleasant or unpleasant, reflect Bliss.
*You are Sat Chit Ananda*
So we see how the ultimate reality expounded in the Upanishads, Brahman, is
Pure Existence–Consciousness–Bliss, *Sat Chit Ananda. *Existence,
consciousness and bliss are not qualities or properties of Brahman. It is
not that Brahman exists, but that It is existence itself. Not that Brahman
is a conscious entity, rather It is consciousness itself. And not that
Brahman is happy, It is bliss itself.
31 All the Upanishads consistently proclaim that you are one with
Brahman, that you are verily *Sat Chit Ananda*. And everything else, all
other living beings, the whole universe is Brahman. All beings are in you,
and you are in all beings – the real you, of course.
32 This is to be made a living realization. ‘The one central idea
throughout all the Upanishads is that of realization. The way to
realization consists of *Sravanam*, (lit. hearing) meaning repeated and
systematic study of the Upanishads, *Mananam*, clarifying all doubts with
rigorous logical reasoning and *Nididhyasanam*, assimilating the
Upanishadic truth by meditation. The result is freedom – ultimate and
permanent. ‘Freedom, physical freedom, mental freedom and spiritual freedom
are the watch words of the Upanishads.’
------------------------------
<#_ednref1>K Rajaram IRS 13125
On Mon, 13 Jan 2025 at 08:14, Markendeya Yeddanapudi <
[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> --
> *Mar*The Fatal Assault on Feeling
>
>
>
> Imagine the totally free nature, with the healthy, happy lush flora and
> fauna. You continuously feel, you just cannot get diverted from the music,
> smells, sounds, the wonderful spectacles of lively actions because of the
> breeze, airs and wind, and the feelings stun you and take you to enchanting
> revelations. You become one with the happy and healthy nature. You become
> nature and feel as nature.
>
> Those that love each other want to remove the physical distance from each
> other. They hug and hug to completely eliminate the physical gap, and
> strive to become one. Now imagine the very healthy and happy nature hugging
> you. It hugs every atom of you. It opens the eye of Siva of you and your
> eyes can see only beauty. Your eyes begin feeling with seeing.
>
> Imagine the basic foundations, concepts and paradigms that create
> perceptions, understandings, activity, action, reaction and interaction,
> when you live in the continuous enchanting revelations from nature. God
> lives with you.Knowing, feeling and enjoying become one; the word is bliss,
> the feeling when one was in one’s very healthy and happy mother. Nature
> becomes the bigger womb as blissful.
>
> After the total takeover of perception and understanding by science and
> technology, the basic bliss is made extinct. Occasionally and momentarily
> one may experience that bliss today, but bliss as living is dead.
>
> The basic object and abode of bliss, the healthy nature is being murdered
> continuously as economic activity. And we call it progress and scientific,
> industrial and economic advancement. The hysteria to own as much property
> as possible has taken over every human. We do not even feel repelled by the
> Cartesian notion that every organism is basically a feeling-less machine,
> the Darwinian notion that all organisms are at war with each other and the
> Dawkinian notion that the basic genes are selfish.
>
> Science has ostracized feelings and emotions. There are no flora and fauna
> that sing. We have the instrumental music. We have the oxymoron, the
> incongruity the technological harmonica of music, in AC halls.
>
> When nature is killed there will be nothing left to feel. Instead of
> feeling from nature, we just read books or browse from computers, and the
> ability to tell them has become scholarship. We no longer need teachers,
> just Google and you get lots and lots of information, information you get
> without the usual emotional participation in nature. When you read nature,
> you automatically feel nature and knowledge as revelation automatically
> embeds in the internal hormonal communication.
>
> The Endocrinology, the science of hormonal communication has been
> mechanized. You no longer feel and exhale your feelings as messages. They
> get jammed in you, the hormone jam, the traffic jam in the blood stream.
>
> Can at least one university in the whole world be convinced to get freedom
> from the techno-trance, and start ‘The Free Nature Parks without Human
> Tampering’, so that studying becomes feeling?
>
> YM Sarma
>
> Chat GPT
>
> This passage captures a deep, poetic reflection on the disconnect between
> humanity and nature due to the overpowering influence of modern science,
> technology, and economic pursuits. The writer, YM Sarma, contrasts a vision
> of a harmonious, blissful existence in tune with nature to the current
> state of society, where human connection to the natural world is
> increasingly strained.
>
> At the heart of this vision, nature is not just a backdrop for life; it is
> a living, breathing presence that embraces and nourishes the individual on
> a profound emotional and sensory level. The writer evokes the idea that, in
> a truly free and healthy nature, one's perceptions, feelings, and senses
> are fully awakened and intertwined. This contrasts sharply with modernity,
> where technological advances and economic imperatives have gradually eroded
> this profound connection.
>
> The critique centers on how science and technology, while offering
> advancements in knowledge and convenience, have also contributed to the
> objectification of nature and feelings. The Cartesian, Darwinian, and
> Dawkinian frameworks are referenced to illustrate how humanity’s view of
> the world has become mechanized—reducing life to cold, impersonal processes
> and mechanisms. As the natural world is commodified and transformed into
> economic activity, the ability to truly feel and experience the world in
> its fullness is undermined. The writer laments this loss, calling it a
> "fatal assault on feeling."
>
> Sarma also highlights the profound impact of this disconnection on
> education. In the absence of direct, emotional participation with nature,
> knowledge becomes a detached process, mediated through technology, devoid
> of the visceral experience that once grounded learning in feeling.
>
> The final call is for a radical shift in education—an invitation for
> universities to break free from the technological trance and embrace a
> model of learning that allows nature to be studied through genuine,
> emotional engagement. This would involve creating spaces where humans can
> reconnect with the natural world and experience it not just as an object of
> study, but as a source of nourishment for the senses and soul.
>
> Overall, Sarma’s writing is a poetic and philosophical lament about the
> loss of connection between humanity and nature, a plea to reintegrate
> feeling and perception into the process of knowing and living.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
--
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