ABES Engineering College, Ghaziabad

VALUE EDUCATION CELL

Notes:Unit-4

Existence is Co-existence

Universal Human Values and Professional Ethics (UHVPE)

(RVE- 301)

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 Harmony in Nature: Understanding the
Interconnectedness and Mutual Fulfilment.

The Four Orders in Nature:

If we look around, everything that we see can be put into one of the following four ‘orders’.
a. Material Order (padãrtha avasthã) – e.g. soil, water, air, etc.
b. Plant/Bio Order (prãn .a avasthã) – e.g. grass, plants, trees, flowers, fruits, etc.
c. Animal Order (jïva avasthã) – e.g. Animals and Birds.

d. Human (Knowledge) Order ( gyãna avasthã) – Human Beings.

The big land mass of the continents, gigantic water bodies like ocean and seas, mountains and rivers,
the atmosphere above, the heaps of metals and mineral below, the dense gases & fossil fuels deep
below the surface of the earth – all fall into the Material Order or padãrtha avasthã. In fact, if we look
around beyond the earth, the material order is visible even in the form of stars, planets, moons and
several astronomical bodies.
Our land mass is covered with grass and small shrubs and they form the lining on the
entire soil. Shrubs, plants, and trees form huge forests along with the flora in the ocean. All
of this is the plant/bio order or prãna avasthã and it is the next big order on our planet.
(The material order is far greater in quantity compared to the plant/bio order)
Animals and birds form the third largest order and we call them the Animal Order or
jïva avasthã. Here again, we see that the plant/bio-order is far greater in quantity than the
animal order. Humans are the smallest order and they are referred to as Human Order or gyãna
avasthã. Animals are far greater in quantity as compared to the human order.
Each one of us can recognize all these four orders around ourselves and see that together
these four orders comprise of all the units that we see and understand around us

Interconnectedness and Mutual Fulfilment (Paraspartã aur Paraspara

Pürakatã)
*“paraspartã” means ‘interconnectedness’. “paraspara püraka” means ‘mutually fulfilling’

Let us look at the first three orders namely the Material, Plant/Bio (pranic) and Animal Order. We can
easily see that they are interconnected. Each order is connected to each other order. And the
relationship between these orders is in such a way that they all fulfil each other and coexist with each
other.

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Material Order and Plant/Bio-Order
The Material Order provides the nutrients to the Plant/Bio-Order in the form of soil,
minerals, etc while the Plant/Bio-Order decays and forms more nutrient, thus enriching
the soil. The Plant/Bio-Order also decays to substances like oil and coal, which are stored
deep within the earth as protection against the heat from the molten core inside the earth
as well as the heat from the sun (today, this is the material we are removing and using as fuel!).
Plants help move the nutrients through the various layers of the soil. The roots of the plants
hold the soil together and prevent the soil from erosion. Plants produce oxygen/ carbon
dioxide and thus help in the movement of the Material Order. Thus Pranic order and
Material Order, naturally exist in a relationship of mutual fulfilment with each other. They
also co-exist, they don’t deny the other. There is a mutual interdependency and co-existence
we can see here.

Material Order, Plant/Bio Order and Animal Order

The Material Order provides the basis for movement of all animals, birds and fishes. Water, Oxygen
and other gases are necessities for both plants and animals. At the same time, the Animal Order helps
enrich the soil with its excreta and this excreta helps the plants with nutrients. The Plant/Bio Order
provides food for animals, birds and fishes. The Animal Order helps in pollination of the flowers of
the Pranic order. The relationship across all three orders is – naturally one of mutual fulfilment. None
of these orders denies the other.

Material Order, Pranic Order, Animal Order and Human Order

It is clear that the above mentioned three orders are fulfilling to each other. When we look
at the connectedness with human beings, we find that each of these orders is fulfilling to
the human order. This we can verify looking at the multiple uses we are drawing out of
these entities. We humans also have a natural acceptance to be mutually fulfilling to these
three orders. However, we are not able to ensure this mutual fulfilment. We are dependent
on the material order for soil and minerals and metals, but only end up polluting the soil
and depleting the fossil fuels; we are dependent on plants for our food and holding together
the larger ecosystem, but we have destroyed forests and destroyed multiple species of plants
and herbs; we are dependent on animals to carry out our production and transportation

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activities, but have made many species of animals extinct, and are today known for our cruelty towards
animals.

We thus see that the three orders besides the Human Order are in harmony and are
fulfilling to the human order. However, we as humans have not yet understood and
learnt to live in relationship of mutual fulfilment with these three other orders. This is
because we have not understood the harmony that exists between these orders. We
have not even understood our own needs properly, nor have we understood harmonious
ways to fulfil our needs. Consequently, we have disturbed ourselves and also the balance amongst the
other three orders. This is evident when we see that we have pretty much
plundered the body of the earth of all the heat absorbing materials like coal and oil and
burnt these fossil fuels in our atmosphere causing a significant deterioration in the
temperature regulation of our planet. We have significantly deforested huge forest masses
and through it, altered the weather system of our planet. Our burgeoning cities and
industries have spilled huge amounts of industrial and human waste into the water
bodies and even drinking water has to be now chemically treated before it can be
consumed by humans. The air we breathe has become polluted; the food we grow has
become chemically affected. The effect of this disharmony is now affecting our lives in
the form of diseases and maladies.

On the other hand, if we explore our natural acceptance, we find that we want to live harmoniously
with nature. This is important for our own happiness. This is an undeniable and a very significant
relationship for each one of us. This is a relationship we need to properly understand.

Recyclability and Self-regulation in Nature

There are several cyclical processes that we can see in nature. For example the cycle of water,
evaporating, condensing and precipitating back to water giving the weather phenomena.
The quantity of water on the surface of earth remains conserved by itself, no need for
human intervention. You have studied cycles of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen in nature in
your school. The cycles keep these materials self-regulated on the earth. Breeds of plants
and animals are similarly self-regulated in their environment. In a forest, the growth of
trees takes place in a way so that the amount of soil, plants and animals remains conserved.

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It never happens that the number of trees shoots up and there is lack of soil for the trees! The
appropriateness of conditions for growth of both plants and animals are self-regulated in nature
keeping the population proportions naturally maintained. You will find that the
population of grass, deers and tigers remains such that all can continue. This phenomenon
is termed as self-regulation. You will appreciate that in a single breed of animals, the number
of males and females generated through procreation is such that the continuity of species is ensured by
itself. This happens with humans too, but inhuman practices have led to disproportionate numbers of
men and women. Nature exhibits self-regulation in various ways across the plant/bio, animal and
human orders, but we humans have disturbed it due to lack of understanding. We seldom see a
problem of over-population of a species in nature (some of what we see is man created!), nor do we
see any instance of some by-product from nature not being absorbed and becoming a source for
pollution (ex: nature does not produce plastic and foam).

These two characteristics namely, cyclical nature and self-regulation provide us with some clues of the
harmony that is in nature. These are visible signs we can see with our eyes, and understand. But, there
is also more to nature than meets the ‘eye’. This is something we shall explore next.

Order Material Plant/Bio Animal Human

Things Soil, Air, Plants, Animal Animal Body + 'I' Human Body + 'I'
(vastu) Water Body, Human
Body
Activity Composition/ Composition/ (Composition/ (Composition/
(kriyã) Decomposition Decomposition Decomposition, Decomposition,
+ Respiration Respiration) in Respiration) in Body +
Body + Selection in (Selection, Thought,
'I' Desire) in 'I' & need for
Realization &
Understanding
Innateness Existence Existence + (Existence, (Existence +
( dhãranã) Growth Growth) in Body + Growth) in Body +
Will to live in 'I Will to live with
happiness in 'I
Natural Composition/ Composition/ (Composition/ (Composition/
Characteristic Decomposition Decomposition Decomposition, Decomposition,
(svabhãva) + Nurture/ Nurture/Worsen) Nurture/Worsen) in
Worsen in Body, + Body +
(Noncruelty, (Perseverance,
Cruelty) in Bravery,
'I Generosity) in 'I'
Basic Recognising, Recognising (Recognising (Recognising
Activity Fulfillment Fulfillment Fulfillment) Fulfillment)
(kriyã) in body + in body + Knowing,
Assuming, Assuming,
Recognising, Recognising,
Fulfillment in ‘I’ Fulfillment in ‘I’
Conformance Constitution Seed Breed conformance Right values/sanskãra
(anu-sangitã) conformance conformance ( vansa anusangitã) conformance
(parinãma anu (bïja anusangitã) (sanskãra anusangitã)
sangitã)

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Dharana (Characteristic)—that which is innate to a unit.
--Material continues to exist.
(Material is conserved as material. It is neither created nor destroyed).
-- Pranic order has existence as well as growth.
--Animal body is like plants only. In ‘I’ there is there is the will to live.
--Human body is like plants only. In ‘I’ there the will to live with happiness (right understanding).

Swabhava (Participation) –Participation in the harmony at higher level of existence. With human it
means, the feelings which are readily acceptable in participation at higher level of existence.

-- By composing, small material structures transform into big structures and by decomposing, big
structures transform into small structures.
-- A Pranic unit enhances or worsens another pranic unit. -- The swabhava of animal body is same as
plants.
-- The swabhava of human body is same as plants. For I it is

- Dheerata (Perseverance): Being assured that the all-encompassing solution is to understand and
live in harmony at all four levels.

Veerata (Bravery): Being assured that the all-encompassing solution is to understand and live in
harmony at all four levels, and I am ready to help the other getting assured of it.

Udarata (Generosity): Being assured that the all-encompassing solution is to understand and live in
harmony at all four levels, and I am ready to help the other getting assured of it, and I am ready to
invest myself, body and wealth to help the other getting assured of it.
Kriya (Activity):
-- The material unit only recognizes and fulfills.
-- The pranic unit too only recognizes and fulfills. -- The animal’s body operates like the plants, while
in the Self (I), there is the activity of assuming, recognizing and fulfilling.

-- The human’s body too operates like the plants, while in the Self (I), there is the activity of knowing,
assuming, recognizing and fulfilling.

Other way of studying the activity is that the material unit has activities of composition and
decomposition, the plants have composition & decomposition as well as respiration. The bodies of
animals and human beings operate like the plants. In the Self (I) of animals, only selection is active,
while in the Self (I) of humans, desire, thought and selection are active.

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Innateness (Dhãranã )
Each unit in existence exhibits an innateness, an intrinsic quality that cannot be separated from it. We
refer to this principle as ‘Innateness’ also called ‘ & Dhãranã’ of that unit. This is intrinsic to the unit.
What exactly do we mean by this?

Innateness of the Material Order

Look at all the material order. It is possible to convert material things from one ‘form or a way of being)’ to
another ‘form or a way of being’. However, it is not possible to annihilate it. We cannot make it cease
to exist. The particles that make up that unit continue to exist. For example, when you burn coal and it
has finished burning and only some ash is left and smokes have gone out, it is not that the basic
material, the fundamental particles in coal, have ‘ceased to exist’ or ‘disappeared’ from existence!
They may not be visible to the eye at that moment, but they continue to exist, they still are in the form
of other matter or in the form of gases, etc.
We can see this for any material unit. This is there with all material units. You
cannot destroy matter, you can only convert it from one form to the other. Thus, “to exist”, or
‘existence’ is intrinsic to all material, it is innate to it. We cannot separate the ‘existence’ of
a thing from the thing itself!

Innateness of the Plant/Bio or Pranic Order

Because the pranic order is a development of the material order, it also has the innateness of
‘existence’. In addition, it also exhibits the ‘growth’. This principle of ‘growth’ cannot be separated
from any units of this order. If it is of pranic order, it will grow. For example, if you have a plant, you
cannot stop it from growing. It will continue to respire and keep changing in this way. The only way
you can stop it from growing is by cutting it, but when you do that, it ceases to belong to the pranic
order, instead decays and then belongs to the material order! So, as long as you have a plant, it will
grow. Further, just like in the case of coal; you cannot destroy the fundamental particles that make up
the plant. You can only convert it from one form to the other. Thus ‘existence’ and ‘growth’ together
are the innateness of the pranic order.

Innateness of the Animal Order

The Animal Body is a development of the pranic order and therefore this order inherits the innateness
of the previous order namely ‘existence’ and ‘growth’. This is at the level of the body, which is
physico-chemical in nature. In addition, all units in this order have the ‘will to live’ in ‘I’. Indeed no
unit in this order can be separated from this ‘will to live’. It is intrinsic to every unit in this order.

For example, you cannot separate this will to live from a dog. This “will to live” in the dog is in ‘I’
(consciousness) and not in the Body. Thus, on the one hand, the fundamental particles the body is
made up of cannot cease to exist (existence) and the ‘live body’ cannot stop pulsating (growth); on the
other hand, the will to live cannot be separated from ‘I’. Thus the animal order imbibes ‘existence’ &
‘growth’ in the body and a ‘will to live’ in ‘I’ as its innateness. The will to live is also called as ‘asha’.

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 Innateness of the Human Order
When we look at the human being, we find that ‘existence’ and ‘growth’ are fundamentally present in
the body, just as in the animal body. At the level of ‘I’ however, in addition to the will to live, a human
being’s innateness is the ‘will to live with happiness’. We can all see this and verify this for ourselves.
We can verify in ourselves and we can verify this in others. As long as it is a human being you cannot
separate him/her from the will to live and the need for happiness. Each one of us not only wants to live
but also wants to ‘live with happiness’. This is the innateness of the human order and it characterizes
the human order. We also say ‘mãnav sukha dharmï hai’, i.e. the will to live happily cannot be
removed from a human being.

This is what we have been discussing in this course! All along, we have been exploring
into ourselves and when we do, we find that just surviving is not enough for us; we also
desire happiness and its continuity! We don’t desire to not be happy, even for an instant. It
is our basic need. So, we have been looking into the causes of unhappiness, and when we
did, we discovered that the basic cause for our unhappiness is that we are living only with
assumptions, only at the level of desiring, thinking and selecting/tasting in ‘I’. This is
insufficient for us, since it leads to conflict and is driven by beliefs/preconditioning. Hence,
we have to exercise our need to know, which is what we started with. We said that we need
to have the right understanding, which is the knowledge or understanding of the harmony
at all 4 levels of our being [Realization and Understanding in ‘I’]. We have been trying to ensure this
through self-exploration, i.e. by establishing a dialogue between, ‘what we are’ and ‘what we really
want to be’ which is essentially the verification on the basis of our natural acceptance.

Possible Questions
1. What exactly is implied by the term - 'Nature'? Explain.
2. What are the four orders in nature? Briefly explain them.
3. What do you mean by mutual fulfilment in nature? Cite a few examples.
4. "Other than human order, the three orders are mutually fulfilling to each other." Explain with
examples. Why does human order fail to be mutually fulfilling to itself and to the other orders?
5. Write a short note on the recyclability and self-regulation in nature.
6. What do you mean by 'innateness'? What is the innateness in the four orders?
7. What is the Svabhãva (natural characteristic) of a unit? Elaborate on the Svabhãva of a
human order.
8. Explain the activities in the four orders of nature. How are the activities in the human order
qualitatively different from those of other three orders?
9. What do you mean by 'conformance'? Explain the conformance in the four orders.
10. Suggest ways to enhance the fulfilment of human order with the other three orders.
Mention any two programs you can undertake in light of the above.

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Harmony in Existence – Understanding
existence as Co-existence.

S o far we have been talking about units, be it a human being or animal or plant or any material
entity. All the units together constitute nature. All the units of nature exist in space which is an
important reality to understand. Existence is nothing but the nature in space. In this chapter,
we will explore the harmony in existence in the form of co-existence of all the units in space.

An Introduction to Space (Sünya)

We had started our exploration at our innermost level of being – with (our) Self (‘I’). Our
natural acceptance has been a key mechanism for us to explore the harmony of (our) Self and
the harmony with the Body. Exploring further, we discovered that we feel related with others
and we experience the feelings (or values) in our relationship. We then saw that this feeling of
relationship starts from our family, and then slowly extends to the world family. Beyond
humans, we explored the harmony in nature and we discovered that every ‘thing’ that we can
see around us can be understood as a part of one of the four orders of nature namely the
material order, plant/bio or pranic order, animal order and the human order. These four orders
are interrelated, in harmony, and our natural acceptance is to live in harmony with these
orders. So far, we have been discussing what are called ‘units’. We define a unit as something
that is limited in size. Like a small blade of human hair to the biggest planets we know of, they
are all limited in size, i.e. bounded on six sides. So, all the ‘things’ we have been studying so
far: the human beings, animals, lumps of matter as well as various atoms and molecules, are
all ‘units’. We can recognize them as such, they are ‘countable’. But there is another ‘reality’
we have not yet studied or explored. This is the space (sünya, or spelt as shoonya for
simplicity).

Let us try to understand the significance of this reality in order to complete our study of the
whole Existence.

If I ask you a question ‘What is between you and the book you are reading right now?’ Your
answer may be “Nothing”. If I now ask you what is between the earth and the sun, you answer
may still be ‘nothing’, or, some of you may say ‘empty space’’ or ‘space’. If I ask you where
is the earth? Where is the sun? What is the answer? That’s space. Yes, we are talking about
space! We normally don’t pay attention to this ‘reality’, because it’s not a ‘unit’. You can’t
touch it, smell it. We normally just ‘see through it’. But the fact is, because you can’t ‘touch it’
or ‘see it’ as you would see a unit like your body, your friend, or a piece of rock, doesn’t mean
it does not exist! Space exists everywhere. Note that space

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does not just exist between the earth and the sun, but is all around you. It is between you and
the book you are reading right now, it is inside you, it’s around you. When we start paying
attention to it, we can each see that what we call as space or emptiness, is actually
everywhere! We don’t really generally bother about it (except perhaps in an academic sense in
subjects like physics or astronomy), because, space does not seem to play any role in our daily
life. So why are we talking about it here then? Well, we want to understand all levels of our
living, and when we go to explore that, it turns out that what we call as ‘existence’ or ‘all that
exists’, includes space as well. We may think that space has no role in our life, but let us
ascertain this impression of ours. Let’s find out.

Co-existence of Units in Space

Units in Space

When we look at the existence around, the first thing we see is space. You may not note it, but
it is there. And then you see the units in space. Between every two units, there is space. As we
saw in the example of book and the reader, the same holds true for every other unit, be it
material, or plant, or animal or some human being. The units exist in space. If we were to
define this, we would say that there are two kinds of realities in existence and these are: Space
and Units (in Space). So, we say, Existence = Space + Units (in Space). Each unit of every
order viz., material, plant/bio or pranic, animal and human order, ‘exist in space’ or they ‘are
in space’. We also say they are ‘submerged in space’.

Since nature consists of the four orders we have been discussing, we can say,

“Existence = Nature submerged in space”.

Nature = Four orders (Material, Plant/Bio or Pranic, Animal and Human Order)

Existence

Space
Unit (Ikai)
Unlimited (asimit)
Limited (Simit)
All pervading (Vyapak)
Active (Kriyasheel)
No-activity (kriyã sünya = sünya)
Energized (Urjit)
Energy in Equilibrium(sãmya ürjã)
Each unit recognizes and Constant Energy
fulfill its relationship with
other units. Reflecting, transparent ( pãradarsï)

Self-organized Self organization is available -

(niyantran upalabdha)

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Limited’ and ‘Unlimited’
Nature has four orders and there are units in each order. Each unit is limited in size. The size ranges
from being really small (atom) to really big (galaxies). Each and every unit is finite and limited in size,
be it the smallest particle or the biggest galaxies. Space, on the other hand is Unlimited. Space has
no ‘size’, unlike units, it is not bounded. Space is not bounded on any side! So, there is no beginning
or end to space, as there is to units! For example, when you take a book, you know that it starts and
finishes. We say the book is ‘limited’ in size. When we take space, there is no such thing. For
example, there is space behind you, inside you, between you and the book, between the book and the
earth, in the book, in every page of it, inside the page, and beyond the earth….all the way till you can
imagine. Even if you say space ends <here> and there is “nothing” after that, that “nothing” is still
space or empty space as we call it! We find that space pervades; It is all-pervading. Units, on the other
hand are not all-pervading. That is how we recognize them as units!

‘Active’ and ‘No-activity’

We can understand each unit as something that is dynamic and active. Be it a physical activity,
physico–chemical activity or a sentient activity. Each unit or entity of all the four orders is active. We
already explored this in the previous chapter, “harmony with nature” where we explored activities in
the four orders like: composition/decomposition, selection/ taste, etc. For example: you can yourself
see that ‘thinking’ is an activity you do, and so is ‘desiring’.

Space on the other hand has no activity. Only units are active or in other words, when ‘something’ is
active or has activity, we call it a ‘unit’! There is empty space between you and the book right now and
it does not have any activity. The particles of gases and dust in between are active, but space is no-
activity. That’s how we come to know of it.

‘Energized’ and ‘Energy in Equilibrium’

What we normally call or consider as energy today, is the ‘transfer of energy’. For example: when you
place water in a vessel on the stove, we say the ‘heat energy from the flame was transferred to the
water in the vessel’. What about the water before we put it on the stove? Was it energized? What about
the stove before we lit it, was it energized? We may normally think ‘no, it was not’, but the fact is, it
is! Anything that is a unit, has activity. Anything that has activity, is energized. All the particles in the
water and the metal stove are active, very active, and energized. We can’t see this very easily or we
don’t see the ‘physical effects’ of the unheated water or unlit metal stove, but they are still energized!
Space, on the other hand, is not a unit, it has no activity. Hence, we don’t say space is energized but
we say ‘Space is energy in equilibrium’ or it is ‘constant energy’. All units are energized in space. This
energy is available to all units. In other words, space is equilibrium energy; all units are in space; all
units are energized and active being in space.

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‘Each Unit Recognizes ...Space is Reflecting & Transparent’
When you pour water into the soil, the soil soaks it up. We call this as, ‘the water is recognizing its
relationship with the soil and fulfilling it’. (When we use the term ‘recognizing and fulfilling’ for
ourselves, humans, we use it also in the sense that we are ‘aware’ of the ‘recognition’ & ‘fulfilment’.
Since the activity is basically the same, except
awareness, we use or extend the same words for things like soil, plants, etc.) When we look around,
we see that even in the physical world, there is a relationship between all things around us. The air
recognizes its relationship with the soil, the soil with the water, the water and
soil with the tree, etc. There is relationship and we see all around us. This
is the meaning of each unit recognizing its relationship and fulfilling it. As humans, we
have seen that we too want to recognize our relationship with the four orders and fulfil it.
We called this ‘living in harmony with all the four orders’. We can easily see this, understand
ourselves if we pay a bit of attention that each unit recognizes and fulfils its relationship with the other
unit.

What about space? Well, space is not a unit. Space is reflecting. What that means is, every unit is
reflected in the other units in space. It is due to this reflection that there is a relationship, and this is
why all units are related to each other. This is why, we as humans also feel or are related to one
another and this is the basis for our relationship with the four orders. All the units are related to each
other being in space.

Space is transparent. It is the same as saying reflecting. What this means is that in space there is no
obstruction. Hence, all these objects or units are able to recognize each other in space, are related to
each other being in space, since space is transparent.

‘Self-organized’, and ‘Self-organization is Available’

Every unit is an organization. A unit recognizes other units and combines to form a
bigger organization. Starting from the atom, to the big galaxy, this organization goes on,
as a self-organization. At every level, we get a self-organization. Sub atomic particles
recognize each other and come together to form atoms. Cells recognize each other and
form organizations like organs and a body. Planetary bodies, solar systems, galaxies are
still bigger organizations. We can see for ourselves, very easily. Take for example, a stone. It is self-
organized.
The stone maintains its own organization. Or take a piece of iron, it is self-organized.
We are not organizing it. We are not supplying it organization from outside. Think of a cow. It is self-
organized. The body of the cow is self-organized; and so is the ‘Jïvana’ of cow. It does not create
havoc for others around it. It has a definite behavior. Now take humans. When we look at it, we see
that we are self-organized at the level of the body. We are not organizing the body. We are not doing
anything for the coordination between the heart, kidneys, lungs, eyes, brain, hands, legs, etc. All these
are functioning together. Our input is needed only to provide the required nutrition, and to assist the
body when we fall sick/get injured. At the level of ‘I’, we are not self-organized, but being in

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space, self-organization is available to the Self (‘I’). That’s why we are in pursuit of happiness, which
is essentially being in harmony. Whenever we are not in harmony, we are unhappy

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