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by Jayaram V
In Hindu tradition we identify the body as the field (kshetra)
and the self as
the owner of the field (kshetragna). Our scriptures describe the
body as the playground, in which the self (Iswara) is drawn to the
material things and becomes subject to the law of karma and the
cycle of births and deaths. In the macrocosm of God, we view the
material universe as the field and God as its inhabitant and enjoyer
(bhogi). According to our tradition, we indentify ourselves with
our minds and bodies and accept them as the primary sources of our
enjoyment and our primary fields of action. We develop a deep bond
with them, whereby we become drawn to the earthly life and
indulge in various activities, which culminate in our suffering.
Our first identity is therefore with our physical appearance.
We use this identity to regulate our lives and secure our interests.
This identity is so strong that we go to any length to protect it
and preserve it. Whether it is in our choice of food or our relationships,
it plays an important role. Self-image is an important component
of our ego consciousness. People are either happy or unhappy
with their looks. Many are willing to pay huge sums of money
just to look attractive or presentable. Nowadays, people don’t
even care how intelligent you are. Intelligence is now skin
deep. If you look smart, you are deemed smart. Otherwise, you
have to work hard to establish your credentials.
Our attachment to our field of action does not end here. It manifests
in many other ways. In our outward search for happiness and security
and to extend our zone of influence, we develop many attachments
and identities. They act as our many extensions or our
many avatars, which we use to promote our interests and extend our
influence. You may even consider them as the ten heads of Ravana,
the mighty demon. If you slay one, ten more will appear. While
our individual egos create problems and individual karmas, our
involvement with the material world through these various
identities complicate our lives, creating problems at the
collective or group level, and contribute to our collective
karmas.
By the activity of the senses we spread out into the material
world and connect with it through various identities. For instance,
we not only have individual identities but also family identities,
in which we take a great deal of pride, especially if the family
enjoys a higher social status or a great reputation. A vast majority
of people consider their family names to be part of their identities
and do their best to protect them and defend them. Parents sometimes
disown their children just to take away their family pride and punish
them for disobeying family values. Children born without knowing
who their parents are, suffer a lot in their lives, unless they
have foster parents with good family background. Family loyalties
are responsible for many disputes and conflicts. For example, the
Mahabharata war was precipitated because of the differences between
the families of two brothers. It resulted in huge bloodshed. Neither
side was willing to withdraw their claim to the throne because their
family prestige and family values were at stake.
Apart from family, people also take pride in their caste and
tribal identities, with which they become strongly attached, especially
if the caste or tribe in question has a higher social status or
a great historical lineage associated with it. For thousands of
years caste and tribal affinities shaped the behavior of people
and determined the course of history. Even today they are very powerful
social factors. In Hindu society, caste is a major dividing factor.
Your caste identity gives you many advantages. You can use it to
align with people of your caste and improve your social standing.
It is such a powerful factor that people fight in the name of caste
and do their best to preserve their caste identities. Tribal affinities
are equally important. They play a vital role in the social structure
of many African and Latin American countries. They often precipitate
civil wars and bloodshed.
Physical form, caste and tribe are not the only fields of ego.
There are many others, which are equally important and which play
a vital role in inciting our passions and emotions and perpetuating
our egoistic interests. Our regional, linguistic, racial,
sexual, religious, institutional, professional and national
identities are worth mentioning.
All these identities are extensions of our egos. They serve a great
purpose by defining us and representing us to the world. We use
them as our mental crutches, or little props, to strengthen our
identities and establish our self-images. Just as in case of caste
and tribe, they expand our power base and give us an opportunity
to exert our control and influence over others. You seek them
basically to boost your ego and fortify your life with additional
security. They fortify our egos with feelings of pride,
self-importance, belongingness and brotherhood. If someone insults
your caste, your tribe, your race, religion, organization or nationality,
very likely you will take it personally and do whatever you can
to defend them, if necessary through physical or violent means.
What happened in Eastern Europe a few decades ago or what is happening
now in the Middle East or Kashmir are great examples of how our
identities can cause political and social unrest and turn the lives
of people upside down.
There is one thing in common about all these identities. They
are temporary and do not last forever. Some identities may last
for a life time, although they are also subject to fluctuations,
such as your physical identity, your caste or tribal identity and
your racial identity. Others, such as your national, religious,
regional or institutional identities, may not last that long. They
may keep changing from time to time according to the choices you
make and the actions you perform. For example you can change your
religion as well as your nationality. We also acquire new identities
in tune with our times and the advances we make. In this age of
internet we now have several new identities such as your email ids,
your usernames, yahoo groups, email groups, Facebook friend groups
and so on. People become attached to them as emotionally as ancient
Indians were attached to their castes and gotras or the Romans to
their cities and legions.
Being a formation of Nature, the human ego remains confined to
the material universe to the extent it can reach it through the senses.
It cannot go beyond what it can perceive and relate to. So while
everyone seeks to identify with something or the other of this world,
none in particular likes to be identified with the universe itself.
The universe is eternal, infinite and beyond the imagination and
comprehension of the human mind. So the ego, which thrives on dualities
and divisions, simply does not like to go there. Many people do
not even think of themselves in terms of the earth or the solar
system. Many would not even prefer to think beyond their villages,
tribes, states or countries. But, whether we acknowledge it or
not, we are part of the infinite universe. The universe is with
us always, wherever we are and whatever we do. Whether we are
asleep or awake, at no point of time we are separate from it. We
are born in it and die in it. Each of us represents an
aspect of it. We are its faces, voices, forms and
manifestations. We are its intelligent, emotional and self-aware
individualities, through whom the universe speaks to itself,
observes itself and tries to fathom its own depths in utter
amazement. We don’t arrive at such an expansive vision because
we focus on our limitations and our differences. We are happy
with our limited identities and little fields of distractions.
Many people are happy to be part of some religion or caste or
heaven and like to be identified with it. Tell them that they
are part of the universe, they will tell you that you are
questioning their religious beliefs.
The Upanishads declare the material universe as the body
(field) of God (Brahman). They exhort us to transcend the field
of forms to experience the field of the formless. We can do so
only when we go beyond our appearances and our limited
identities. You cannot be part of the universe if you latch on
to small and little things that separate you from the rest of
the creation. To be part of the universal self, we have to stop
extending ourselves outwardly into the various identities we
have discussed before. We should withdraw into ourselves to
become one with the infinite and the supreme universal self,
letting go of everything and emptying ourselves. When you become
empty, you become full. When you detach yourself from all your
limited identities, you become comfortable with the idea of
being one with the universal self and improve your chances of
achieving oneness with it. When you extend your identity to the
universe and speak for it, you become its voice. This is the
truth. This is the absolute and the highest identity towards
which our Vedic seers wanted us to move through
self-transformation and inner purification. The idea of
universal brotherhood, which is enshrined in our religion,
becomes a reality only when we transcend the limited identities
with which we become involved and develop an expansive and
limitless vision. .
This essays is part of a new book titled The Awakened
Life by Jayaram V which is due to be published soon.
Suggested Further Reading
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