Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College, Ghaziabad

VALUE EDUCATION CELL

Notes of IInd Unit

Universal Human Values and Professional Ethics (UHVPE)

(KVE- 301/401)

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 CHAPTER FIVE

Human Being as Co-existence of the Self (“I”) and the Body

The proposal is that human being is the co-existence of Self and the Body, i.e. ‘Self’ and Body
exist together and are related. There is a flow of information from ‘Self’ to the body and from
body to the ‘Self’..

Human Being Self (I) Body

Need Happiness (e.g. Respect) Physical Facility (e.g.

Food)
In Time Continuous Temporary
In Quantity Qualitative (is Feeling) Quantitative
(Required in Limited
Quantity)
Fulfilled By Right Understanding & Right Physio-chemical Things
Feeling
Activity Desire, Thought, Eating, Walking…
Expectation…
In Time Continuous Temporary
Response Knowing, Assuming, Recognising, Fulfilling
Recognising, Fulfilling

Consciousness Material

5.1 The Needs of the Self and the Body-

If we try to understand Self and Body separately, it could be understood on the basis of
need.

• The need of the Self is happiness. If someone expresses a feeling of respect for us,
we feel happy about it. Respect is one of the needs of the Self.
• Now, if you look at the need of the Body, it is physical facility. One example of it
is food.

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Both of these are required for human being. By giving food only, you can’t ensure
respect. Same way, just by giving respect, food is not ensured. Thus, these are two
different types of needs. Both of these are essential and therefore, both of them have to be
fulfilled separately for human being.

Type of Needs –

In Terms of Time: To clarify the difference between the two types of needs, let us look at them
in terms of time.
All the needs related to the Self, like the need for respect, the need for trust, the need of
relationship, the need of happiness – all these are continuous in time. We don’t want any kind of
break in it, even for a moment.
On the other hand, all the needs related to the Body, like the need for food, the need for shelter –
all these are required for a limited time. Having them in continuity creates a problem for us. This
is one way; we can differentiate between the need of the Self and the need of the Body.

Needs – Quantity and Quality: The other way to see the difference between the two; is in
terms of quantity and quality.
The need for food is quantitative in nature. We can identify the quantity of the food needed to
nurture our Body. We can identify the quantity of the food needed to nurture our body. Same is
the case with the need of clothes, shelter, etc. None of us can eat unlimited amount of food or
wear unlimited amount of clothes. Like that, any physical facility is required in a limited
quantity.
On the other hand, the feeling of respect, trust, etc. is not quantitative. We don’t say, ‘today I got
half kg of respect’ or ‘two metres of trust’. Even speaking like this appears laughable. These
feelings are qualitative in nature. We can’t talk about their quantity. We can only say, whether
these feelings are there or not there. They are qualitative; they are in the form of a feeling.
Fulfilment of the Needs of the Self and the Body:

All the needs related to the Body, which are in terms of physical facility, are fulfilled by some
physio-chemical things. All the needs related to the Self are in terms of feeling, and they are
fulfilled by right understanding and right feeling.

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While talking about basic human aspiration we saw that three things are required for a human
being to be fulfilled:

1. Right understanding in the Self

2. Fulfilment in relationship with human being
3. Physical facility with rest of the nature

Refer to figure. The physical facility has to do with the needs of the Body. The right
understanding and right feeling have to do with the needs of the

Needs of the Self are Definite:

The needs related to the Body depend on the age, health condition, shape and size of the Body
etc. An adult may need 1kg of food in a day, while a small child may need 100 grams. A tall
young man may need 3 metres of cloth for a pant, while a short boy may need only 1 metre of
cloth. Like that the needs related to the Body will vary.

On the other hand, the needs of the Self are definite. A child needs happiness as much as a youth
as does an old person. In other words, this right understanding and right feeling is the need of
any Self and every Self, regardless of the state and condition of the Body.

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5.2 The Activities of the Self and the Body-

The Self has the activity of desire, thought and expectation. If we observe then we will
find that the activity of the Self is continuous in time. We cannot stop it.

On the other hand, any work that we take from the Body, like eating, walking, etc., is
temporary in time. After some time, the Body gets tired and we need to give it rest. We
cannot make it continuous.

5.3 The Response of the Self and the Body-

The response of the Body is based on recognizing and fulfilling whereas the response of the Self
is based on knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilling.

The recognition and fulfilment of the Body is definite However, the recognition and fulfilment
of the Self depends upon the assumption. Since the assumptions keep changing based upon the
influence of circumstances, peer pressure, society, media, etc.; our recognition and fulfilment,
our conduct also keeps varying throughout the day. That is the source of the indefinite conduct
of a human being. All the problems that we see around, ultimately, relate to this.

The conduct of the human being basically depends upon the response of the Self, as all decisions
are made by the Self. Only with the assumptions set right, i.e. assumptions that are based on
knowing, can the recognition and fulfilment be set right; and only then can the conduct become
definite.

Knowing means understanding the reality as it is, in its completeness. Since the reality is
definite, knowing is also definite With right understanding, our assumptions, basically our
acceptance is set right, our recognition of relationship is set right, and therefore, we make effort
to fulfil the relationship. In this way, our conduct becomes definite. It becomes humane; so, we
are calling it definite human conduct.

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If we understand (know) the human being as proposed above, our assumptions will be set right –
we will be able to see that all human beings are similar. Our recognition of relationship will be
set right – we will recognise all human beings as being similar, rather than on the basis of their
cast, creed, gender, age, language, region, religion, etc.
This transformation from the state of problem or indefinite conduct to the state of solution or
definite conduct can be ensured by human education-sanskar.

5.4 The Self as the Consciousness Entity, the Body as the Material Entity-

We saw that the need, fulfilment, activity and the response of Self and Body are completely
different. They are two different types of reality – the Self (which is also called as Jeevan) is the
domain of consciousness, while the Body is the domain of material. The domain of
consciousness is characterized by the activity of knowing, assuming, recognising and fulfilling.
On the other hand, the domain of material only has the activity of recognising and fulfilling.

5.5 Gross Misunderstanding – Assuming Human Being to be only the Body-

With the assumption that ‘the human being is just the Body’, all the efforts for fulfilment of
human needs have to take place through physical facility. We are actually trying to fulfil the
needs of the Self through the Body, through physical facility. Of course, we are also trying to
fulfil the needs of the Body through physical facility.

We are trying to fulfil the continuous need for happiness, like respect, through physical facility
like clothes and food. Since the need for happiness is continuous, we end up thinking that it will

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come from more clothes, more food, etc. Hence, the need for clothes, food and any other
physical facility appears to be undefined or unlimited in quantity. This is articulated in figure.

For instance, we can observe people who are trying to get respect out of clothes. They keep on
buying and wearing new clothes just to draw attention towards themselves. This attention is
totally different from respect; it is not possible to get respect based on the clothes. On this basis
continuity of respect cannot be sustained. Certainly, it does not work.

5.5 The Self is Central to the Human Being-

If we now look at human being, the Self (consciousness) is there, the Body (material) is there
and the two co-exist. Further:
• It is the Self that has the need to know and the possibility to know the reality – it is the
knower or seer.
• The Self gives instructions to the Body when the Body needs to be involved and it reads
the sensations from the Body. In that sense, the Self decides what to do – it is the doer.
• It is the Self which experiences happiness or unhappiness – it is the enjoyer
(experiencer).
In this way, we can see that the Self is central to human existence. The Body is used as an
Instrument.

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Summary
• The human being can be seen as a co-existence of the Self (Jïvana) and the body.

• The ‘I’ is conscious in nature while the body is material in nature.

• There is exchange of information between ‘I’ and the Body.

• The basic need of ‘I’ is happiness (sukha), and the needs of body are physical
facilities (suvidhã).
• Needs of the ‘I’ such as happiness, trust, respect, etc are: Qualitative (not
quantitative) and continuous in time.
• Needs of the body like food, clothing, shelter – physical facilities, are
quantifiable and temporary in time.
• The need of the ‘I’ for happiness is fulfilled by right understanding and right
feelings, while the need of the Body is fulfilled by food, clothing, etc.

• The activities in ‘I’ are desiring, thinking, imagining, etc. while activities in the
body are digesting, breathing, heartbeats, etc.
All our activities can be seen as:
(a) going on in ‘I’,
(b) those involving ‘I’ and Body, both; and
(c) those going on in the Body
• Activities in ‘I’ can also be understood as knowing, assuming, recognizing and
fulfilling.
• The recognition and fulfilment in ‘I’ depends on assuming.
• Assuming depends on knowing. Without knowing correctly, we only assume, or
operate on the basis of beliefs.
• Activities in the Body are recognizing and fulfilling. The body does not have the
capacity to assume. Thus, the recognition and fulfilment in the Body is always
definite.
• We can list out our needs and identify which needs are related to ‘I’, and which
needs are related to the Body.
• We see that many of our needs are related to ‘I’; while some others are related to
body.
• We see that the need for physical facilities for the body is limited and
quantitative. It is not endless.
• When we think in terms of physical facilities, the needs turn out to be definite.
When we think in terms of money, need for money turns out to be undefined.
• The way to work out the need for money is to thus first identify the need for
prosperity, and in order to feel prosperous, find out what the need for physical
facilities is, and then to find out how much money is needed to acquire the
required quantity of physical facilities.

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 • Taking this further, we can see that v I am, the Body is. The awareness of being
is in
‘I’.
• I want to live, and the Body is used by me as an instrument.
• Just living is not sufficient for me, I want to live with continuous happiness. The
body needs nourishment and protection, for which food, clothing, etc. are
required. Right utilization of the body needs instruments or equipments.
• My program is to understand and live in harmony at all four levels of living.
Production, protection and right utilization of physical facilities is only a part of
my program.
• Today, we are largely unaware of our Self (‘I’) and the needs of ‘I’. As a result,
we are not paying attention to the needs and program of ‘I’ at all. Instead, all our
attention today is on accumulation of physical facilities, using which, we can at
the most ensure the health of the body.

• There is hence a need for us to focus on the needs and program of ‘I’, else, we
will remain unfulfilled.
• I am the seer, doer & enjoyer. Body is an instrument.
• I am the Seer. I am the one that sees, and understands. I sometimes use the body
as an aid to see. ‘Seeing’ here means ‘understanding’. Seer is also called &
drastˆã.
• I am the doer. I am the one that decides for doing things. Decisions, choices are
continuously being made in me. Sometimes, I may express these decisions via
the body. Doer is also called kartã.
• I am the enjoyer of all that is done. Enjoyer is also called bhoktã.

Possible Questions

1. "Human being is more than just the Body"- explain.

2. Distinguish between the needs of the Self and the needs of the Body.
3. What is the qualitative difference between the activities of the Self and those of the
Body? Illustrate with one example.
4. What are the consequences of confusing between Sukh and Suvidha?
5. 'I' is a conscious unit while the Body is a material unit. Examine this statement.
6. Why are physical facilities required? What do you mean by right utilization of the
Body?
7. "I am the seer, doer and enjoyer. The body is my instrument"- explain.

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 CHAPTER VI
Harmony in the Self (‘I’)- Understanding Myself

6.1 Activities of the Self (‘I’)

We can easily see that we are involved in various activities all the time. Activities like
eating, sleeping, playing, studying, etc. are going on. There are activities of the Body as
well as Self.

We can easily distinguish between these activities as the activities of the Body, the
activities of the Self and the activities where both, the Self as well as the Body are
involved. When we say ‘my activities’, we are generally referring to our imagination, our
activity of making decisions, our desires, our thoughts, our expectations and so on. It is
necessary to understand the Self with precision, so as to be able to understand harmony
in the Self.

Activities of ‘I’:

In fig. 6-1, three sets of the activities of the Self are mentioned.

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 • Desire is the power of activity of imaging. Desire means imaging of ‘what you want to
be’.

• Thought is the power of activity of analysing, trying to work out the details of ‘how to
fulfil the desires’. Thought is the activity of analysing based on comparing various
possibilities to fulfil your desire

We can see that desire is about ‘what to do’ or ‘what to be’ and thought is about how to
fulfil the desire. So, thought is about ‘how to do’.

• Expectation is the power for the activity of selecting based on tasting. Expectation is the
activity of selecting which is of course on the basis of tasting.

6.2 Activities of the Self are Continuous and together constitute Imagination

We have the power of desire, i.e. we have the capacity for the activity of imaging, so we
are able to image. We have the power of thought, i.e. we have the capacity for the activity
of analysing, so we are able to analyse. We have the power of expectation, i.e. we have the
capacity for the activity of selecting, so we are able to select. These powers are
inexhaustible, so the activities are continuous.

The activities of imaging, analysing-comparing and selecting-tasting are always going on;
whether we are aware of them or we are not aware of them; they are continuous.

If the activities of imaging, analysing-comparing and selecting-tasting are put together, it is

called imagination.

6.3 Imagination gets expressed in Behaviour and Work

All the decisions are made in our imagination. The decision regarding behaviour with
human being is taken at the level of the imagination. Similarly, for any work we do with
rest of nature, the decisions are taken at the level of imagination. It is where all decisions
are taken.

When we are comfortable within, when we are in harmony within, when we are in a state of
happiness within, our behaviour and work is also likely to be harmonious. When we are
uncomfortable, in disharmony, confusion and unhappiness within, our behaviour and work
is also likely to be disharmonious.

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6.4 Possible Sources of Imagination – Preconditioning, Sensation and Natural Acceptance

There are three possible sources of motivation for imagination-

1. Preconditioning
2. Sensation
3. Natural Acceptance

Preconditioning as a Source of Motivation for Imagination

A dominant source of imagination is preconditioning. Preconditioning means the beliefs,

notions, norms, ideas, views, assumptions, dictums, goals, etc. picked by oneself, or
prevailing in the family, in the society which may influence our imagination.

For example, if parents say ten times you have to come first in the class, your desire gets
conditioned, and you have the desire to come first in the class. If your friend also says you
have to come first in the class, if your teacher also says you have to come first in the class,
you get a strong desire to come first in the class. We tend to pick up whatever
preconditioning is there around us in society, in family, in school without verifying it for
ourselves.
Our preconditioning keeps on deciding our desires, thoughts and expectations. The
prevailing preconditioning is one major source of motivation for imagination.

Sensation as another Source of Motivation for Imagination

Another major source of our desire, our imagination is the sensation. Sensation is the
information we get from the Body through the five sense organs – of sound (through ears),

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 touch (through the skin), sight (through the eyes), taste (through the tongue) and smell
(through the nose).

For example, you are going by the road and you see a very shining red car passing by. Now
your imagination is dragged by that car. You start desiring for that car now, because you
happened to like the colour, or you happened to like the shape, speed or something else. So,
this sensation has made an impact on you.

Sensation has an important role in our imagination. See, if that is how it has been
happening. Many of our desires are governed by the sensation that we get from the sense
organs and we may feel motivated to fulfil those desires without being able to relate them
to the continuity of happiness.

You happen to eat some exotic food, and the taste motivates you to visit the restaurant
again and again. You listen to some music and the tunes, the singer’s sonorous voice
engrosses your whole thought. You now feel like listening to the music again and again.
Your friend purchases a very soft woollen cloth, and the very touch makes you think how
to get one for you too. Your neighbour uses some kind of perfume which you happen to
like and you start locating that perfume in the mall. You like the way someone looks – now
you want that person as your intimate friend. Now, you will see that you have been
accumulating desires just like that; without verification and without being aware of how it
came about.

Natural Acceptance as the Most Authentic Source of Motivation for Imagination

The third source of motivation is our natural acceptance. Self-verification on the basis of
our natural acceptance can be the third possible source. It may or may not be the
predominant source of motivation currently, but it can be the real source for deciding our
desire, our imagination.

It is as simple as that. If we are aware of our natural acceptance, and we are aware of our
imagination, we can make the choices that are in line with our natural acceptance. We will
look into this third possibility in more detail as we go further

6.5 Consequences of Imagination from the three Sources – Self-organisation or

Enslavement?

There are three possible sources of motivation for our imagination. One is the prevailing
preconditioning, the second one is sensation and the third possible source is the self-
verification on the basis of our natural acceptance.

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The desires are coming from preconditioning, we cannot be sure whether they are in
harmony with our natural acceptance or not. Therefore, we are not sure whether, with
these desires, we will be in harmony orwe will be in contradiction within. Therefore, we
are not sure whether we will be in a state of happiness within or unhappiness within.

Similarly, when desires are based on sensation we are not very sure whether they are in
line with our natural acceptance or not. So there again, we are not very clear whether it
will lead to state of harmony and happiness within or contradiction and unhappiness
within.

Only when desires are coming through natural acceptance, we can be sure that we are in
harmony within because then imagination is in line with the natural acceptance. Only
then we are sure to be in a state of harmony within and therefore, in a state of happiness.

If the contents of imagination are operating on the basis of sensation or preconditioning, I

am DICTATED BY OTHERS (Enslavement). If they are operating on the basis of
natural acceptance, I am SELF-ORGANISED.

The only way to ensure harmony at the level of Self is to ensure that all our desire,
thought and expectation, all our imaginations are in line with our natural acceptance.

This is also the meaning of definite conduct. We are able to see our natural acceptance.
Our imagination is in harmony with our natural acceptance; therefore, we are in a state of
harmony (happiness) within. Our behaviour and work are now in line with (in harmony
with) our natural acceptance. This is what we referred to as definite human conduct.

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6.6 What is the problem today?

Let us take two scenarios:

Scenario 1: Desires set on the basis of pre-conditioning: When you see an

advertisement for a big bike, what happens? You pay attention to the advertisement, and
then you think about it. As you think, you start warming up to the idea, it plays on you,
and slowly, you decide that you ‘want’ this bike because having this bike means you
will be seen as a ‘bikewalla’. Thus, you have associated the bike with some notion of
greatness, speciality of your being, i.e. it has become your Desire (Activity #3 in ‘I’).
This is the meaning of a preconditioned desire. Pre-conditioned means, we have
assumed something about it on the basis of prevailing notion about it. We have not self-
verified the desire in our own right. As a result, we are not clear about what we will get
out of fulfilment of that desire. In fact, we may not even be aware that such a desire
exists in us!

What is the problem with that, you may ask? Well, the simple answer is, unless you
verify your desires, you may not even know whether they are yours! You may end up
spending an entire lifetime accumulating desires that are not yours, and in running about
trying to fulfil them! Which means, your entire lifetime’s goals and activities may be
‘borrowed’…with the result that you would never know whether you did the right thing.

Scenario 2: Expectations set on the basis of sensation: In the example of the bike in the
earlier section, suppose you had seen the bike, and not associated it with “greatness”;
rather, you only liked the way it ‘looked’ – then this is based on the sensation. That is,
the looks alone of the bike, the ‘taste’ of the bike is what is appealing, and there is no
notion of greatness associated with it as in the previous case. This is an example of
‘expectation being set on the basis of sensations’.

This is largely the case with us today: either we are operating on the basis of
preconditioned desires (set from outside), or on the basis of sensation (coming from the
body). As long as we are operating on the basis of pre-conditioning or on the basis of
sensation, we cannot be sure of ourselves, and it may also lead to contradictions in us.

Effects of the problems

Desires are in conflict

Example: You want to become a great man, but have both desires: to be great by having a
very large, fashionable house, for which you might have to use the wrong means, and at
the same time, be great by having the trust of the people with you, by not cheating them.

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 Thoughts are in conflict

Example: You are designing the rooms in your house and feel on the one hand that it must
look better than your neighbour’s house, and on the other hand, it should be like a house
you saw in some magazine.

Expectations are in conflict

Example: You are not able to decide the colours of the walls in the house – whether it
should be bright, or whether it should be dull.

These desires, thoughts and selections are in conflict. Since the desires are in conflict,
the thoughts they give rise to are also in conflict and in turn, the selections from the
thoughts are also in conflict:

Let us summarize the problems we face today due to these pre-conditioned desires,
thoughts and selections:

Wavering aspirations: Since our desires are being set on the basis of pre-conditionings
and are inputs from the outside (they are borrowed, or from external influence, they are
not our own), our goals keep shifting as the inputs from the outside also keep changing
(the influence from the TV may be different from the influence from the magazine;
different magazines may say different things!).

Lack of confidence: Since our desires are shaky, we are not sure about them, and don’t
know what it is that we ultimately want. As a result, we lack self–confidence, in the true
sense. Our confidence seems relative i.e. we keep comparing ourselves with others in
order to feel confident. For example, I feel confident of my torn jeans when I feel others
appreciate it or I feel confident of myself if I can speak English as well as the others. My
source of self-confidence is not in myself (i.e. it is not absolute). Rather, my source of
self-confidence is outside, as long as others feel I am fine, I feel good (i.e. it is relative).

Unhappiness/ Conflict: since our desires, thoughts and expectations are in conflict, it
becomes the cause for our unhappiness, leading to stress and tension. Moreover, such
desires will also be in conflict with our natural acceptance, thus guaranteeing our own
unhappiness. For example: we may strongly believe that the only way to succeed is by
cheating the other person – and thus, have a program of cheating for our entire life. But
when we try to cheat, when we try to exploit, it creates conflict in us at that very instant
– since exploiting the other is not naturally acceptable to us, thus leading to conflict and
unhappiness in us.

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 Lack of qualitative improvement in us: this is because, we get conditioned to ignore
theneed of the ‘I’ and focus largely on fulfilling the needs of the body. As a result, we
live with a sense of lack of fulfilment. We are doing many things, accumulating a lot,
progressing on paper, but we don’t feel that we have improved, that we have become
better. It seems that only the things around us are changing! For example, I now have a
great job, a good title, a doctorate degree, many research papers to my credit, a big
house, plenty of money, but I am still the same i.e. there is little or no QUALITATIVE
improvement in me, only QUANTITATIVE changes in the external world.

6.7 What is the Solution?

The solution is to start verifying our desires, thoughts and expectations on the basis of
our natural acceptance. We have already seen that this natural acceptance there in each
one of us, and it is invariant and unchanging. It is the basis for us to verify what we
really want to be. As we start verifying our desires, thoughts and expectations, if we find
that they come from pre-conditioning or from sensation and they are something we don’t
really want, they get dropped by themselves. On the other hand, if we find them naturally
acceptable, then we know they are right for us.
Let us take the same example that we took earlier. Ask yourself this question. Is trust
acceptable to me in relationship, or mistrust? Now observe yourself in daily life. You
shall see that very often, we end up having a feeling of mistrust for people, and since
this is not in alignment with our natural acceptance, at that very instant, we become
unhappy. Similarly, we can find numerous such examples where our desires, thoughts
and expectations are not in alignment with our natural acceptance, and cause us
unhappiness.

In addition, as we have seen earlier, there is also conflict amongst desires, thoughts and
selections, and this only adds to the problem. So, how does the accessing of natural
acceptance resolve this situation?
• As we access our natural acceptance, it becomes possible for us to have the right
understanding of the harmony at all levels of our living (remember our program!).

• When we have the right understanding, we are able to see our “true nature”, and what
we truly want. We are also able to see and understand the harmony at all levels of our
living. Our desires thus start getting set on the basis of this right understanding
instead of being driven by pre-conditioning/sensations.

• Since our natural acceptance or right understanding is based on “reality”, on the

harmony at all levels of our being, which is definite, our desires, thoughts and
selections get aligned with this understanding of the harmony at all levels of our being.
They become definite and they are in harmony among themselves.

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 • This puts us at ease. We are no longer struggling or are in conflict at the various levels
of our living. This leads to harmony within, and in our living: with the body, family,
society and nature/existence.
• Further, we can see on investigation that this natural acceptance turns out to be the
same for everyone.

The Way Ahead – Ensuring Harmony in the Self by way of Self-exploration

The state of harmony within is ‘harmony in the Self’; and it is desirable. Once we are in
harmony within, we are self-organised, in a state of continuous happiness. To reach to this
state, we need to:

a) Know our natural acceptance. We have mentioned before that our natural acceptance is
for relationship, not for opposition; for harmony, not for disharmony; and for co-
existence, not for conflict, struggle.

Previously we had referred to natural acceptance as “what I really want to be”, “what is
naturally acceptable to me”.

b) Be aware of our imagination, i.e. our desire, thought and expectation or the activities of
imaging, analysing-comparing and selecting-tasting.

Previously, we had referred to our imagination in terms of “what I am”.

c) Find out how much of our accumulated imagination is motivated by preconditioning,

sensation and natural acceptance. This is essentially analysing “what I am”.

d) Work out a way to sort out our imagination till it is fully in line with our natural
acceptance.

This is basically working out a way to line up “what I am” with my natural acceptance,
through the process of dialogue within, i.e. the process of self-exploration.

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Harmony in the Self is achieved by ensuring harmony between our imagination and our
natural acceptance, by ensuring that all imaginations are in line with our natural acceptance
(fig. 6-6).

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Review Questions
1. Why is it important to study yourself? How does it help in your day-to-day life?
2. Explain the activities of imaging, analyzing and selecting/tasting with a diagram. With
the help of an example, show how are they related.
3. Are the activities in ‘I’ continuous or temporary? Justify your answer
4. “The problem today is that the desires, thoughts and expectations are largely set by
preconditioning or sensations” - examine this statement.
5. How do we go into conflicts when our activities are not guided by our natural
acceptance?
6. What are the problems that we are facing today because of operating on the basis of
preconditioned desires?
7. “The pleasures that we derive from sensations are short lived and the efforts to extend
them lead to misery” -examine and illustrate this statement with an example.
8. What is the difference between Svatantratã and Partantratã? What is the program to
become Svatantra? Relate this with your own experience.
9. Explain the activities of realization and understanding. How do they lead to harmony
in the activities of “I”? Illustrate with an example.
10. How does realization and understanding lead to definiteness of human conduct?

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 CHAPTER VII

Harmony of the Self with the Body- Understanding Self-regulation

and Health

7.1 The Self as the Seer-Doer-Enjoyer (Body as an Instrument)-

The Self is a unit of consciousness and it is in co-existence with the material Body. It is the Self
that makes all the decisions and uses the Body to execute them, as and when required.

The Self sends instructions to the Body and the Body follows those instructions All these
instructions are information that is being given by the Self to the Body.

All the sensations taking place in the Body are available to the Self and it reads the sensations it
considers significant. To take an example, when you want to eat a sweet, you instruct the Body
to walk to your favourite sweet shop, pay the money to buy the sweet, put the sweet in the
mouth and so on. The Self is giving instruction to the Body, and the Body is acting accordingly.

The Self (consciousness) is there and the Body (material) is there. There is a will to live with
continuous happiness in the Self. That is the need of the Self. It is fulfilled by right

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understanding and right feeling. In order to live with continuous happiness, the programme of
the Self is to understand harmony and to live in harmony at all levels of being – from self to the
entire existence, i.e. individual, family, society and nature/existence.

In this process, the Body is used as an instrument. For nurturing, protecting and rightly utilizing
this instrument, physical facility is required from time to time. A part of my programme is to
produce the required physical facility, and also to protect it and rightly utilize it. This
production, protection and right utilization of physical facility is only a part of my full
programme.

We can see that I (Self) am the seer, doer and enjoyer while the Body is used as an instrument as
and when required.

I am the Seer

It is the Self that sees the reality; that understands the reality. The Self is the seer, it is the one
which understands and, in the process, the Body is used, as and when required, like an
instrument.

The eyes or any of the other sense organs do not see, the Body does not see. Rather, it is the Self
which sees through the eyes, it is the Self which associates meaning, it is the Self which
understands. Of course, it may use the Body, and particular sensations in the Body as a help, as
an instrument to see.

When we observe within, we don’t even need to use the senses. For example, to see our feeling,
to see if we are happy or unhappy, we are able to see it directly. We do not need eyes or any
other senses to see it. The Self is able to see the feelings within. In this way, we are able to
directly see our desires, thoughts, expectations and so on.

I am the Doer

Self is the doer. Doer means, one who decides, one who takes the decision to do or not to do.
Now, I can observe who has taken the decision to read the class notes – eyes or I (the Self)?
Since we decide what to do and what not to do – I (Self) am the doer. To execute your decision,
you use the Body as and when required.

Further, there are activities of the Self where the Body is not at all involved, like desire, thought
and expectation.

In this way, I am the doer.

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I am the Enjoyer

It is the Self that feels enthused or depressed or angry or delighted – the feelings are in the Self
and not in the Body. Of course, there is an impact of these feelings on the Body; so if we are
enthused, our body is more energetic; if we feel angry, our breathing may become faster and so
on.
It is the Self that experiences the happiness and unhappiness. In that sense, I am the enjoyer.

7.2 Body as a Self-organised System and an Instrument of the Self-

The Body is a wonderful self-organized unit. It has so many parts. Each part is co-existing in
harmony with every other part.
The Body is like an instrument, equipment which we can use, as and when required, for
fulfilling our programme – i.e. for happiness and prosperity. Our role vis-à-vis the Body is to
understand its self-organisation and do what is required to maintain it, to keep it in harmony, in
good health.
7.3 Harmony of the Self with the Body.

Our responsibility toward the Body is in terms of nurturing the Body, protecting the Body and
rightly utilizing the Body. Nurturing the Body is by providing the right air, water, food, sunlight,
etc. Protection is from unfavourable conditions. Right utilization would mean using the Body for
the purpose of the Self. The feeling of responsibility toward the Body is called as the feeling of
self-regulation.

Feeling of self-regulation = the feeling of responsibility toward the Body

– for nurturing, protection and right utilization of the Body.

This self-regulation is identifying the responsibility and having commitment towards the Body.
With this feeling of self-regulation in me, I make a programme to nurture, protect and rightly
utilize the Body, thus ensure the health of the Body. When I am able to execute this
programme, the Body remains in good health.

Health of the Body =

1. The Body acts according to the instructions of the Self
2. The parts of the Body are in harmony (in order)

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The first indicator of the health of the Body is that it is able to act according to the instructions
of the Self.

The second indicator of a healthy body is that different parts of the Body are in harmony
amongst each other, they are in order.

It is my responsibility to make right utilization of the Body. That is, I utilise the Body in
fulfilling my need. As we have seen, our basic aspiration is continuous happiness and prosperity,
so right utilization of the Body would mean I am using the Body toward this end. I will be able
to do this only if I have this feeling of self-regulation in me. If this feeling of responsibility is
not there, I may end up misusing the Body, using it to get happiness through favourable
sensation, from overeating tasty food for instance and, in the process, making the Body
unhealthy.
When the feeling of self-regulation is there in the Self and there is health in the Body, these two
together ensure the harmony of the Self with the Body.
7.4 Programme for self-regulation and Health

Such a programme must necessarily include nurturing the Body, protection of the Body and
right utilization of the Body. This is what we want to explore into now.

Nurturing the Body

As we have seen, the Body is, by nature, a harmonious organization. Nurturing means providing
the necessary inputs to it. The right inputs nurture the Body, without disturbing its harmony.

Overall, the programme for nurturing and maintaining health of the Body includes the
following:
1a.Intake 1b. Routine
2a. Physical Labour 2b. Exercise
3a. Balancing internal and 3b. Balancing breathing of body
external organs of body
4a. Medicine 4b. Treatment

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1a. The first part is the intake, all that the Body takes in. It includes the air it breathes, the
water it drinks, the sunlight it absorbs, the food given to it and so on. The Body needs to be able
to take what it needs from the intake for its nurturing and protection. The air needs to have the
necessary oxygen and other ingredients; the water should have the requisite purity, the minerals
and other required micro-nutrients. In most of India, keeping the Body for about two hours per
day in sunlight is required for absorption of sufficient vitamin D.

As far as the food is concerned, it has to be nutritious, it should be easy to digest and of course,
it must be tasty for the Self. Another important quality of intake, particularly food, is that after
the necessary ingredients from it are absorbed by the Body, the remaining waste should be
excretable. That happens through the breathing, the sweat as well as the end of the digestive
system.

1b. A regular routine is required in order to keep the Body healthy. For instance, it is necessary
to develop a daily routine which includes activities like waking up, cleaning the Body, eating
(and not eating in between), doing physical work and sleeping. Similarly, seasonal changes in
routine are necessary. For instance, the digestion becomes sluggish when seasons change, so
traditionally, fasting is done or light food is taken during this time. Similarly, appropriate
adjustments are required in order to keep the Body in good health in every season.

2a. The Body needs adequate movement and exertion to maintain its health. It also needs
physical facility for its upkeep. Labour is the effort a human being does on the rest of nature.
Labour ensures movement of the Body. Labour results in production of physical facility. Some
4-6 hours of labour a day provides sufficient body movements to keep the Body in good health.
It is interesting to note that with this much labour, more than enough amount of physical facility
can also be produced.

2b. Exercise requires exertion or physical effort; and it also ensures movement of the Body. The
major difference between labour and exercise is that in exercise no physical facility is produced.
Exercise is quite useful in maintaining the health and fitness of the Body. Various means of
exercise include walking, jogging, swimming, weight lifting. Most of the outdoor and indoor
games also provide exercise.

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3a. Due to any reason when internal or external organs get stressed, the harmony of the Body is
disturbed. Then, there is a need for balancing them, bringing them back into harmony. This may
be due to repetitive nature of your work, inactivity due to lack of work and exercise or some
accidental happening. There is a need for keeping the internal as well as the external organs in
harmony by appropriate means.

3b. Breathing is a significant activity for the Body. If breathing is disturbed due to any reason,
the harmony of the Body gets disturbed. In that case, balancing the breathing of body is
necessary, through appropriate breathing exercise.

For the most part, health of the Body can be maintained by these three (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a and
3b). Despite these, if there is some problem in the health of the Body then we take medicine and
ultimately, we also take treatment when all this does not work.

4a. The Body is self-organised and naturally in harmony. It is able to recover itself from many
disturbances. For example, if there is a cut in the skin, the Body has the capacity to heal that cut.
Medicine is used only to assist the Body to return back to harmony. Medicine is helpful in taking care of
lifestyle disorders, non-communicable illnesses as well as communicable diseases.

4b. In the event the Body is not in a state to recover itself back to a state of harmony, there is a
need for treatment. For example, if the kidneys are not functioning, dialysis may be an
appropriate treatment – the Body is unable to purify the blood so an external equipment is doing
that task. Another example is the use of lifelong drugs, like insulin, to perform some functions
of the Body that are deemed to be beyond recovery.

Protecting the Body

Providing a conducive physical environment includes clothing, shelter, vaccinations, etc. is all a
part of protection of Body.
Weather-appropriate clothing is required to protect the Body from excessive heat, cold, rain, etc.
Shelter is required while the Body is resting. Vaccinations are necessary for developing antigens
to protect the Body from viruses etc. Like that various protective measures are required for the
Body.

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Right Utilisation of the Body

The need for happiness is fulfilled by right understanding and right feeling. Right utilisation of
the Body would mean using the Body for right understanding and right feeling. We have also
seen that the need for prosperity is fulfilled by right understanding and physical facility.
Therefore, right utilization of the Body would also include work with rest of nature to produce
physical facility, to protect it and to rightly utilize it.

Summary
• Self is central to human existence. It is the seer – the one who understands; the doer – the
one who takes decisions; and the enjoyer or experiencer – the one who feels happy or
unhappy. Continuous happiness is the need of the Self and this is fulfilled by
understanding the harmony and living in harmony at all levels of being – individual,
family, society, nature/existence.

• The Body is a self-organised material unit, used as an instrument or equipment in the

process. With this clarity, the Self takes the responsibility for the nurturing, protection
and right utilisation of the Body – this feeling of responsibility is called the feeling of
self-regulation.

• With a feeling of self-regulation, the Self is able to ensure harmony with the Body, so
there is health in the Body, i.e. 1. Body acts according to the Self, and 2. Parts of the
Body are in harmony (in order)

• The programme for self-regulation and health of the Body includes:

1a. Intake 1b. Routine
2a. Labour 2b. Exercise
3a. Balancing internal and 3b. Regulating breathing of body
external organs of body
4a. Medicine 4b. Treatment

• Physical facility is required for the Body, so the production, protection and right
utilisation (for the purpose of the Self) of physical facility is a part of the programme of
human being.

Possible Questions
1. In what way can we say that the human body is a self-organized unit?
2. Define Self Regulation and Health. How are the two related?
3. What is our present attitude towards the Body? What are its consequences?
4. What are the programs to take care of the body? Explain.

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5. “The state of harmony or lack of it in the Self has a strong influence on the health of the
Body” - comment on this statement and illustrate with an example.
6. How does the feeling of Sanyama facilitate the correct appraisal of our physical needs?
7. Explain the meaning of Self-Regulation and describe the programs in living based on Self-
Regulation.

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