The Elements of Being

The Hindu vision of life is experiential and not existential. Here being is experiencing, and experiencing is to be in possession of knowledge. It may be seen that the underlying theme in all Hindu spiritual practices is the achievement of perfect correspondence between being, experiencing and knowing. The rishi addresses the problem of being from this point of view. He makes a fundamental examination of the elements of being, so that he can remove the conflicts between his being, experiencing and knowing. The ‘truth’ that leads to perfect equanimity and thus to total liberation has to come from the perfect harmony between being, experiencing and knowing.

sa ya esha antarhrudaya akasha: tasmin ayam purushomanomaya:
amruto hiranmaya: antarena taluke
ya esha stana iva avalambate

What is the basis for our being? What is it that provides the nourishment for our being? The rishi starts with this question. The source of nourishment for our being is deep within us. It is beyond the body, mind and intellect. It resides as the virile spirit, the pususha, in the deep emptiness that resides at our core. We use the term emptiness to indicate the total absence of objects that populate the plane of our experience. This purusha, is the glorious product of a mind untouched by impurities. It enables one to experience the nectar or immortality. It contains within it all the treasures that make this world a worthwhile place. This spirit of enterprise appears in the empty sky of the inner heart as an indention that is keen to provide nourishment to all those who depend on it.

ya esha stana iva avalambate
sa indrayoni
yatra asou keshanto vivartante
vyapohya sheershakapale

One depends on this purusha as if it is the nipple on a mother’s breast. It is the fountainhead of all experiences. The roots of all emanations are embedded in this. The opening at the crown of the head, which is the most exalted point in the physical body, through which a being draws inspirations from the universe, is also situated in it. The essence of one’s being is established in this spirit of enterprise.

bhooriti agnou pratitishthanti
bhuva iti vayo suvariti aditye
maha iti brahmani
apnoti svarajyam manasaspatim vakpati:chakshuspati: shroutrapati: vijnanapati:

The earthiness of one’s being is established in one’s passions. Passions act as the source of virility for earthiness. The atmosphere that contains one’s dreams is established in the currents of circulating life forces. The circulating life forces acts as the source of virility for the dreams dreamt. The expansive mood to achieve greatness is established in one’s perception of Brahman, the essence of the universe. The perception of Brahman acts as the source of virility for the propensity to expand. A wholesome alignment with the universe makes expansion a satisfying experience.

One who organizes his being around this awareness attains sovereignty. He is in command of his mind. He is in command of his initiatives. He is in command of his faculties for seeing and hearing. He is in command of his faculties for knowing.

etat tato bhavati akashashareeram brahma
satyatma pranaramam mana anandam shantisamrudham
iti pracheenayogyopasva

He identifies with that which transcends everything. He becomes one with the ethereal body of the essence of the universe. He identifies with truth. He enjoys the play of life forces. His mind is filled with bliss. He is rich, endowed with an abundance of peace.

This was the format in which the ancient sages worshipped divinity. The ultimate ideal for the ancient sages was the realization of truth and through that, equanimity and sovereignty.

The matrix that sets the field for being is composed of objects that have already come into being and the objects that experience and participate in the process of being.

prithvi antareeksham dyour disho avantaradisha:
agni vayu aditya chandrama nakshtrani apa oushadhayo
vanaspataya akasha atma iti adhibhootam

The objects that have already come into being are described here. Earth, atmosphere, heaven, the directions that set the coordinates, the interstitial space between the directions, fire, air, sun, moon, stars, water, herbs, trees, ether, the essence of individuality…these are the objects that have already come into being. All progress starts with the acceptance of the current status. One should start with the appreciation of one’s own earthiness, the environment that provide opportunities, the understanding of the ideals that one holds dear, the possible directions for advancement, the space available for maneuver, the inner passions, the currents that operate within and without, the source of energy, the equipment for coordinating knowing and doing, the sources of inspiration, sensibilities, the means for making corrective actions, the significant emanations that influence others, the emptiness at the core of being and the essence of oneself.

atha adhyatmam
prano vyano apana udana: samana: chakshu: shroutram
mano vak tvak charma mamsa majja

Now the objects that experience and participate in the process of being are described. The five life forces (prana, vyana, apana, udana, samana), the organs for perception, the mind that integrates the inputs brought by the organs of perception, the organs for self expression, the organs for supporting the emanations from oneself, the organs for differentiating oneself from others, the organs for forcefully influencing the environment and the organs for regenerating the medium for the circulation of life forces – these are the objects that experience being.

These objects are the elements of organization that gets superimposed on the objects that have already come into being.

etad adhividyaya
rishiravochat panktam va idam sarvam
panktenaiva panktam sprunoteeti

Now the object that constitutes knowledge is being described. The rishis said that the characteristic of knowledge is its stacked nature. The working of the elements of being and becoming are to be grasped by stacking them in terms of their interrelationships. A possible order for the stacking of the objects is suggested below.

Stack 1:
Earth; Atmosphere; Heaven (Ideals); Directions; Interstitial space

Stack 2:
Fire; Air; Sun (Source of energy); Moon (Reflects energy to illuminate); Stars

Stack 3:
Water; Corrective actions; Proliferating Vegetation; Emptiness; Consciousness

Stack 4:
Prana (Life forces flowing in); Apana (Life forces flowing out); Vyana (Life forces prompting expansion); Samana (Life forces striving for balance); Udana (Life forces prompting upward movement)

Stack 5:
Sense ofgans; Organs of action; Mind; Physical body; Speech

The stacks 1 to 5 are to be arranged side by side in order to form a matrix.

Here the last element in a row is to be taken as adjacent to the first element in that row and the bottommost element in a column is to be taken as adjacent to the topmost element in that column. Each element in these stacks is related to and affected by the neighboring elements. For example the development of sense organs affects the earthiness, the resourcefulness, of an entity. The resourcefulness in turn affects the passions which in turn affects the sensibilities. Looking backwards the sensibilities influence the passions and the passions affect the resourcefulness. The resourcefulness in turn affects the efficiency of operation of the sense organs. Similar chains of affections can be thought of about all possible adjacencies to deal with any particular situation.

The nature of the affections decides whether an entity is striving towards freedom or not. For example, for a free agent, perfect faculties will determine the life forces being drawn in, that in turn will determine the sensibilities, the sensibilities in turn will determine the passions and the passions in turn will determine the resources accumulated. On the contrary, for a bonded agent, the available resources will set the constraints for passions and the constrained passions will dull the sensibilities and the dulled sensibilities will affect the life forces being drawn in. The entire episode will end up in a general lack of enthusiasm, which is a basic feature of a slave.

The awareness of the matrix structure for the objects inhabiting this universe is important as it gives a means to systematically organize our affections in such a manner that our existence don’t hang as a heavy burden on our own shoulders.