Mankind is the most exalted creation of the Lord. Within this body, HE has provided a unique and an unparalleled hierarchy of virtues. Higher than the body are the senses (anger, passion, greed, emotional attachment and ego). Higher than the senses is the mind (the realm of emotions, impulses, swings between the intellect and senses); higher than the mind is the intellect (to contemplate, to think in a logical manner, to analyse and to discriminate); and at the highest pedestal is our conscience – ‘Antaratma’. If this hierarchy of virtues functions in a disciplined manner, via restraint and compassion, then we may achieve fulfilment; otherwise, we invite sorrow, regret, remorse and loss of peace into our lives.
As is characteristic of Nature, the three Gunas – Tamoguna, Rajoguna and Satoguna – are prevalent in every human body. The degree and level of these Gunas keep on varying from time to time, and our sense organs act and react depending upon the signals they receive. We reap whatever we sow in the field. As per Karmic law, we receive results based upon the actions we perform during our life time. It is the human susceptibility to Tamoguna and Rajoguna that binds us to the material world and makes us suffer. Over a period of time, we become so intensely attached to the illusionary material world that we regard it (and the human body) as the real one, as stable and permanent. We keep living in that myth, whereas these elements are temporary, ever-changing and destructive. This human body, which we identify ourselves with, is derived from the five elements of nature. It is the law of nature that what takes birth, grows, changes, decays and, over a period of time, perishes. In this temporary, transitory, destructible, and unstable dreamland, none belongs to you, nor can any material object be yours forever. You have no choice but to abandon everything here. The moment your ‘Antaratma’ leaves this body (which is made of five tatvas), your own loved ones hasten for your body to be taken away and cremated, before it starts emitting a foul smell.
Those engaged in pursuit of spiritual progress must understand the role of the Field (kshetra) and its Knower (kshetragya). This body, comprising of five elements (earth, water, air, fire and space) is called the Field. It has five jnan indriyas – (eyes, ears , nose, tongue and skin; to perceive objects, sound, smell, taste and touch); five karam indriyas (hands, legs, mouth, sexual organ and anus to perform karmas (actions) such as holding/dexterity, movement, speech, reproduction and excretion); and the inner self (mind, intellect, conscience and ego). These sense organs are the vehicle by which each individual responds to the stimulus it perceives. This all-comprehensive Field constitutes not only the gross body, mind, intellect and the entire world of objects, but also the thoughts, emotions, and perceptions relayed through them.
From the time of the body’s inception (kshetra), God Almighty bestowed upon us a conscience, Vivek – (kshetragya) to exercise control over our senses, mind and intellect. We falter when we fall prey to the signals and dictates of senses, mind and intellect; and get so deeply involved with the activities of the Field (kshetra) that we take it to be the real one. In the process, we distance ourselves from the real, eternal and everlasting Supreme Soul. Ignorantly, we stray from reality and forget that the unreal has no permanent existence, and that the real never ceases to be.
In this temporary and illusionary material world, everything is subject to change – relationships, objects, insatiable desires, actions, circumstances, and situations. Change is the very essence of life. Our own body changes every minute. Modern scientists maintain that in seven years the whole body undergoes a change and that not even a drop of old blood remains. Nothing is permanent or stable here. What existed yesterday does not today; what does today will not tomorrow, as this never ending wheel of time continues to revolve. Not only did our loved ones leave us, we did not even realize when our own childhood and youth left us quietly. In such a situation, any attempt to establish a permanent relationship in this temporary world is a mirage. But one existence, that is, our Jeevatma (kshetragya), that continued to witness these changes as a spectator, is the only real, stable and a permanent entity.
Our Vivek (conscience) informs us that this human body belongs to the material world. So in all fairness, dedicate this body to the material world to render selfless service to humanity for their happiness and welfare. Our Atma (kshetragya) came from Paramatma and existed before coming into the gross body (kshetra). This Atma remains in the body as long as the body needs to exist, and continues to exist even after leaving the body. It is permanent, primeval, everlasting, REAL, and ultimately merges into and with the Supreme Soul. Our soul (which is the real self) is and has always been an inseparable part of the Supreme Soul. Detachment from the material world, unconditional surrender at the lotus feet of the Lord and meditating upon Him with the firm conviction that you belong to Him as He belongs to you, knowing and experiencing the reality that both are One entity; that is the role of kshetragya. This is the only logical and right way of life. The moment this knowledge dawns upon us, THAT moment is the attainment of Nirvana, the eternal quest of any human being.
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