The Saturated Self – The Vedantic Dilemma Of Identity In Contemporary Life

Abstract

The Vedantic systems of Advaita (Sankara), Viśiṣṭādvaita (Rāmānuja), Dvaita (Madhva), Suddha - Advaita (Vallabha) etc are the living systems of philosophy and religion in India. They have a large following. Their main advocacy is SELF or SELVES. What is this self? What is its true nature? What are its functions? – these are the questions that naturally arise in the thinking beings. All the philosophical systems, excepting the Cārvāka agree that self or soul is something which is nonphysical or spiritual. What is this self? It is, as already said, spiritual or non - physical. It is, as Bhagavad-Gītā says, is undivided and indivisible, hence indestructible; it cannot be burnt by fire; it cannot be made wet by water, because it is non-physical; it has no size or shape; hence it cannot be seen by the naked eye or even by a microscope, or any scientific instruments however sophisticated they may be. It is sat (existence), cit (consciousness) and Ānanda (bliss); that is satccidānanda. It exists in all the divisions of time – present, past and future; at no time it is not. It is conscious by itself and knows itself and everything by it's conscious activity. In essence, it is without even a tinge of misery or sorrow or pain. The self in itself is highly abstract; it expresses itself through the body, which in turn consists of mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), I-notion, (ahankāra),vital air (prāṇa), five organs of knowledge (jñānendrias), five organs of action (karmendrias), five great elements (mahābhūtas) and five subtle elements (tanmatras). In short, twenty four principles go to constitute the human body ; sattva, rajas and tamas being it's three characteristics (gunas). The whole body is otherwise called prakṛti. The self is called puruṣa which is independent of prakriti or body. This is Samkhya theory of self and not-self. The present paper is an attempt at exploring “The Vedantic Dilemma Of Identity In Contemporary Life”