CHAPTER 1
Anti-Definitions
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
- Understand the meanings of certain terms used in the book in the way the authors have meant it.
- Those who are un-initiated to terms used in Indian scholarship will gain familiarity.
Coding and Decoding of the Meaning of Words Must be Identical
Words are like little cups which hold some ‘meaning’ in them. The problem is that the meaning of a word has a tendency to change based on various factors like time and user, and so when an author uses a particular word—in some particular sense—it may not carry through, in that exact manner, to the reader. A word may have several meanings in common usage, but the authors may want to use it in one or the other particular way. And therefore, at the outset, it is important that certain terms/words be laid across on the table and discussed, so that the reader is alerted. Of particular interest are certain words that need to be strongly negated for what they have come to convey; therefore their anti-definitions. Ultimately, it is not the word that is important, it is just a messenger; what matters is whether the concepts and ideas conveyed by the authors, reach the reader faithfully.
What the Authors Mean
It is said that wisdom cannot be expressed in words; even so words alone have to be used as signposts to point out to wisdom. It is the ‘meaning’ sought to be conveyed that matters—the feeling, emotion, idea … Following are the words that need special cautioning against (or introduction to) so that the reader does not start looking where the authors are not pointing.
Leader A look at the dictionary shows that the term ‘leader’ has several meanings. If one were to say ‘he is a leader’ there can be a lot of confusion so as to what the speaker wishes to convey. This needs to be resolved. Let it be mentioned here that this word is not used in its normal sense in the book; a boss does not automatically become a leader nor does a prime minister/president of a nation. It is important to distinguish between someone rising in the hierarchy of an organization on one hand and being a leader on the other. By rising in an organization, one gets the authority to execute the powers invested by the organization on that particular chair which he is made to occupy. In contrast, a leader has power over the hearts of people and can exist independent of the organizations. We shall see this in depth as we go along.
Suzerain This word is not used in the exclusive sense of a ‘King’ in this book. Suzerain would be used in a more general way to signify people who hold authority of all kinds. They find themselves in the top echelons of various organizations or at lower levels they function as heads of the domains they oversee.
Prakriti The term literally is translated from Sanskrit as ‘nature’ but in this book it is neither used in the sense of ‘environment’ nor as ‘characteristic’ (nature) of a person; rather it is used to represent the entire material dimension of the universe. Prakriti consists of everything in the universe that comes under the ambit of cause and effect. It also includes the mind-body mechanism—the gross body—that characterizes an individual human being.
Purusha It literally translates from Sanskrit as ‘male’ or ‘man’ but this definition does not do justice to a very significant usage in the ancient texts. There is no exact equivalent for it in the English language, though it could be taken as synonymous with the term ‘God’. It is supposed to inundate each and every creature. Without Purusha, the organism would be lifeless. Purusha is therefore seen as if to impregnate life into Prakriti so that it results in a creature that is found on earth. It is also considered as the ‘Impersonal self’ that each human experiences within himself.
Universal Brahman This is not the same as the Brahmin caste, which is used to refer to a particular socioreligious group in the Indian milieu that constituted the priestly class and who chiefly shouldered the responsibility of learning. The Universal Brahman, on the other hand, represents the entire universe which is composed of the two eternal principles, namely Prakriti and Purusha which were just discussed above.
Yoga In this book, it does not pertain to the physical exercises that are taught in yoga schools all over the world. In present common usage the term ‘Yoga’ is used to refer to a regimen of exercises. The exercises are rather called ‘Yogasanas’; meaning yoga-positions. Yogasana regimes are taken up by practitioners for the sake of physical wellbeing, for wellness, for calming down the mind and for facilitating advanced spiritual practice. Yogasana regimes deal with the material plane in which the body exists. Yoga on the other hand is used in this book to literally mean ‘mergence’… . It is a process where the self-experience in a person shifts from a mortal and individualistic frame to an eternal and impersonal frame. It is the process of transcendence where an individual loses his identity and finds mergence with the eternal principle called Purusha. It is also referred to as a process that ends at attaining Moksha (see definition below).
Dharma The word is not used in this book to mean ‘Religion’. Nor it is used to signify the four-Varna system that is endemic to the indigenous Indian culture. Asking a person to uphold dharma is not the same as asking someone to be faithful to his religion. It does not necessarily mean the insistence that he must be faithful to his religion or religious beliefs, nor does it mean the insistence that he must trace back his ancestry, find out the caste to which he is supposed to belong, and then take up the responsibilities of that caste. Dharma is a more general term which signifies that an individual must act accordingly to what the Highest Self within him expects from him. First of all, it is about becoming selfless, about having equal love and affection for other humans as much for oneself, and in that frame/state of being responding to the oncoming situations. It is about what a person has to do each moment of his life.
Kama Though the term kama is often used to denote ‘desire’ and sometimes ‘lust’, it is not used to mean either of these two things here. Instead kama is used as a general term to signify the urge experienced by the gross physical body in order to respond to a certain physical stimuli on the body. For example, the urging experience to satisfy hunger, or the urge to cover up when the body feels cold, or the urge to pull the hand away from a hot object etc., and the urge to pacify the hurting hand … it relates to bodily sensations and how they impel action in a creature automatically. Kama is a natural process which impels action, for instance the action of eating so as to compensate for hunger, which in turn caters to the physical healthy needs of the body. Desire on the other hand is a trait of the mind which makes a person ‘attached’ to the eating process and makes him either over eat or forces him into austerities that make him under-eat. Desire colors ongoing processes (natural happenings) with attachment and is different from ‘Kama’ the way it is used here in this book.
Artha The literal translation of the word is ‘meaning’, and in common usage it is mixed up with the idea of ‘desire triggered pursuit’. In the book, however ‘Artha’ is used to denote the impulse that makes a person act in pursuit of a special category of things; these things give certain perks and privileges to a person in his exchanges with fellow humans. The pursuit of money gives power and resources, the pursuit of education also gives authority, standing and fame; all these come under the impulse of Artha. This impulse caters to power and recognition amongst peers and prestige and security in a social setting. One can say that these pertain to the intermediate needs as denoted by Maslow.
Moksha This is literally ‘nothing’ that anyone has ever ‘imagined’—such a sweeping statement can be made because Moksha is something that is beyond the domains of the body, mind and thought and therefore it cannot be imagined. Any references to objects of the senses that are obtained in Moksha are merely symbolic (heaven and all its goodies for example). Moksha is known to be an experience, which though complex to fathom, is supposed to be as easy as child’s play; because children are said to reflect this state of existence without knowing what it is all about. It is considered the humans original state. It is generally and interchangeably used with the term ‘Nirvana’. This is close in meaning to the Christian term ‘everlasting life’.