Unit -4
Understanding Harmony in Nature and Existence – Whole Existence as Co-Existence
Q1. What do you mean by: “Harmony in Nature”?
Ans: Let’s us try to understand harmony in nature with the help of an example. For example, the 'body' acts according to the need of “I” and there is harmony among all the parts of the body. If “I” and “body” are in disharmony, it results in anger, stress, and unhappiness which affects the body adversely.
The aggregate of all the mutually interacting units big or small, sentient, or insentient together is called Nature. It encompasses all the physical objects solid, liquid, or gas, either living or non-living entity. All the things surrounding us starting from the biggest trees to the smallest grass, stones, soil, air, and even other living beings together constitute Nature. We like the other entities are also a part of Nature, and we co-existence in Nature with other entities as an integral part of it. Thus, it becomes very important to maintain coordination and harmony with all the other entities of Nature and with Nature itself at large.
But today we can see that humans blinded by their greed and insensitivity are exploiting Natural resources and Nature. Whatever we have today, everything is taken from Nature, but man has forgotten that no relationship can be unidirectional. From the time in memorial Humans have used natural resources like forests, rivers, Fossil fuels, etc for their benefits, but they have forgotten their duty towards Nature. Man's incessant greed has a serious problem to Nature like environmental pollution, global warming, Ozone layer depletion, nuclear poisoning, etc.
Just like in any relationship, the key to harmony is mutual fulfillment and cooperation, similar is the case in our relationship with Nature. For example, two persons will be in a harmonious relationship, as long as they respect each other and provide conditions for mutual fulfillment, if this is not the case there will be no harmony. Similar things are happening in the case of Man’s relationship with Nature, humans take a lot from Nature, but they don’t show respect towards Nature, by polluting Nature and overexploiting its resources. Humans take so much from Nature but in return, they give back nothing as their duty towards Nature. This lack of respect and mutual fulfillment from humans have disrupted the Harmony in Nature and humans must take care to follow these to maintain the harmony in Nature.
Q2. What do you mean by: ‘Interconnectedness and Mutual Fulfilment among the Four Orders of Nature’?
Ans: We must first try to understand what are the four orders of Nature and what is composed of before we learn about the interconnectedness and mutual fulfillment among these four orders. The four orders of Nature are Material order or “Padarth Avastha”, Plant Order or “Pran Avastha”, Animal Order or “Jiv Avastha” and Human Order or “Gyan Avastha”
The Material Order of Nature or “Padarth Avastha” includes landmass of the continents, large water bodies, the atmosphere, metals, minerals, and even the heavenly bodies like the planets, moon, etc. The Plant Order or the “Pran Avastha” includes things like grass, trees, small shrubs, algae, flora under the sea, and any kind of flora available in Nature. The Animal Order or the “Jiv Avastha” includes entities like Animals, birds, microorganisms, and any kind of fauna available in Nature. The final order is the “Gyan Avastha” composed of entities with consciousness like Humans.
First, we will try to understand the interconnectedness and mutual fulfillment between the Plant Order and the Material Order. For example, when a plant seed germinates and grows into a plant, it grows with the help of oxygen, water, and nutrients from the soil, all these things are derived from the material order by the plant order. But in return when the plant grows up it gives back oxygen back to the material order, it bears fruits and when the fruits fall on the soil and disintegrate, they return the minerals to the soil. Thus, we can see the plant order takes something from the material order but also returns something, by this mutual fulfillment is achieved between these two orders.
Now we will understand the interconnectedness between Plant Order, animal order, and Material order. For example, when a plant grows it takes something from the material order, and when an animal eats the plant it takes something from the plant order. The animal in return helps in pollination by dispersing the seeds, this is how it establishes mutual fulfillment with the plant order. Though the animal order is not taking anything directly from the material order, it still returns something to the material order in form of excretion and decomposed body. Thus, we can see how these three orders are interconnected with each other and how they maintain mutual fulfillment. This mutual fulfillment creates harmony in Nature.
Now we will see how the interconnectedness and mutual fulfillment among these three orders got disrupted when a new Human order or “Gyan Avastha” came into existence. For example, when humans cut trees or do deforestation, they take something from the plant order but they don’t return anything to the plant order, Humans when he is burning up fossil fuels, he is taking something from the material order but in return giving unwanted pollution to the plant and animal order. This careless and selfish overexploitation of the three orders by the human order has resulted in a lack of mutual fulfillment among the four orders, and this, in turn, has disrupted the interconnectedness of the orders and disrupted the harmony in Nature due to lack of mutual fulfillment.
Q3.What do you mean by: ‘Recyclability and Self-Regulation in Nature’?
Ans: The three orders of Nature expect the Human order are competent enough to have self-regulation by recycling various things and giving back something in return to each order. Nature maintains harmony by this act of recycling and self-regulation. Self Regulation means the appropriateness of the condition for the growth of both plants and animals are self-regulated keeping the population proportion naturally maintained. This phenomenon is called self-regulation.
Humans can also fix the disrupted Harmony in Nature by adopting the process of recycling, reuse, and self-regulation. For example, instead of using single-use plastic humans should use biodegradable or recyclable plastic, should replace the use of plastic with naturally recyclable materials like wood, metals, etc. Humans can restore a lot by self Regulation, that by first understanding how much they need and to take only that much from Nature, to avoid over-exploitation due to greed.
Q4. Explain: “Existence as Co-Existence Or ‘Sah-Astitva’ of mutually interacting units in all-pervasive space”.
Ans: First, we need to understand what is co-existence, it is existence in this Universe with the various other units of Nature. For that first, we need to understand what Nature is. Nature is an aggregate of all mutually interacting units, which are mutually interacting with each other. Existence is to exist with essence, that to exist in harmony with the other units of Nature. Existence is also the co-existence of units submerged in space. Now the question arises what is ‘Space’.
Space is the emptiness that is there in you and me, or between us and the computer or paper where we are reading this statement. Space is something transparent, it cannot be seen, and therefore existence is space as well as units suspended in the space. Any kind of emptiness, for example, if we are reading a book, there is space between us and the book, that space has no activity no movement in it. Units are submerged in space, units are active, units are self-organized, units are energized, units have various organs in it that performs various functions, units are limited in size, they have an appropriate size, units recognize each other and fulfill their needs according to their relationship like if we pour water on the soil, soil recognizes it and absorbs it according to its nature.
But space is unlimited, it is everywhere between anything and everything. There is no activity in space. Thus, space is all-pervasive. Both space and units co-exist with each other, that is the units are in the space and space is in between the units. Units can be either material entity or it can consciousness, that is “self” or, “I”. Co-existence is to exist together in mutual tolerance, in place, time, and space. It means to recognize the differences and live with them. Co-existence also means to have a relationship between groups where none is destroying the other. Space is reflecting and transparent and there is nothing, no objection in it.
Units can be either material or consciousness. When we focus on material units, they are temporary, they know how to recognize and fulfill each other. Since these material units are temporary, that is the change from one form to another. Material units are again broken up into physical order and pyranic order. The physical order is composed of atoms, which may form molecules or molecular structures and be present in form of a lump or fluid. In the pyranic order, the fluids are the active parts of the cells of the pyranic order, the cells of the pyranic order form plant, animal, and human bodies. All these components of the pyranic order even the plants and animals are not moving until they combine with the consciousness. The animal, plants, and humans are lifeless without consciousness. When the animal body combines with the conscious “I” it becomes animal order, and when the human body combines with the conscious “I” it becomes the human order. Human order has the unique capacity of knowing, which gives them the power to differentiate between right and wrong. When humans start living according to this right Understanding it becomes definite human conduct.
Q5. What is a Holistic Perception of Harmony at all Levels of Existence?
Ans: The existence is units in space. Space is the empty area all around us and everything. The holistic awareness is related to holistic cooperation, which in turn links to create holistic freedom, it helps in learning how to increase our freedom in a few and the sustainable way leading to mutual happiness of all the units.
Nature is the composite form of all units which exists on the earth, including plants, animals, humans, and material entity. Existence is nothing but the presence of these units in the space in a submerged manner. Units are of two types of material units and consciousness.
Material units are temporary and only perform the activity of recognizing and fulfilling, they can have some structural changes, therefore they are “Gathansheel”. In material order atoms combine with other atoms to form molecular structures which can be in the form of lumps or fluids. Fluids form the basis of the plant cellular structure, and the cells join to form flora, fauna, or human beings. Beginning from the atom of the formation of the complex flora and fauna bodies, everything takes place in a self-organized and natural manner, this is the harmony at the unit level.
The conscious units are continuous, that is they are “Gstganpurna” and perform the activity of knowing, assuming, recognizing, and fulfillment. Knowing is unique to the human order which gives them proper understanding and right sense. Animals and humans Coexist as conscious “I’ and material “body”. Understanding the reality of 'self' as being distinct from the 'body' is known as “JivanGyan,”
All these units of various order interact with each other to bring different forms of life into existence, they work in a self-organized, mutually fulfilling manner to make the existence of various beings possible, this is the holistic perception of harmony at various levels of existence starting from the nascent molecular level to full-size grown-up levels of maturity.
Q6. Define the terms: “Gathansheel, Gathanpurna, Kriyapurnata, and Acharanpurnata”. Explain ‘Existence is Gathansheel and Gathanpurna and also there is Kriyapurnata and Acharanpurnata in existence’.
Ans: Gathansheel; means the material units are changeable, and their components keep on transforming therefore these are gathansheel.
Gathanpurna: The other set of units the sentient ‘I’, do not change and are complete in components, and therefore gathanpurna.
Kriyapurnata: Completion of correct apprehension in a human being is called kriyapurnata
Acharanpurnata: the power or calibre to exist with holistic apprehension of knowing is called acharanpurnata.
The material units are changeable, and their composition keeps on transforming, hence these are gathansheel. The other category of units, the sentient ‘I’, do not transform and are complete in composition, hence gathanpurna.
The material units are transformable, with actions of recognizing and fulfillment only, whereas the other type of units is continuous (with activities of understanding, assuming, recognizing, and fulfillment).
The material units are available in two separate orders, which are known as the material order and pranic order respectively. In the material order, atom fuses with another atom to create a molecule, a molecule, in the same way, forms a molecular structure. Molecular structures are found in two forms: lumps and fluids.
Fluids give nutrition to the pranic order. In pranic order, the smallest units are plant cells which fuse with other cells to create new plants, animal bodies, and human body structures.
The co-existence of ‘I’ with the animal body forms the animal order, and the co-existence of ‘I’ with the human body makes the human order.
Completion of correct apprehension or understanding in a human being is known as kriyapurnata and the capacity to exist with holistic apprehension or understanding is known as acharanpurnata.
Q7.What do you mean by ‘innateness’? What is the innateness in the four orders?
Ans: Innateness suggests that qualities which are innate to the unit. Every unit existing exhibits innateness, an intrinsic quality that can’t be divided from it. We tend to refer to this principle as innateness conjointly referred to as dharma of that unit. This can be intrinsic to the unit.
Material order: once we burn coal and it has finished burning and only some ash is left and smokes have gone out, it is not that the essential material, the fundamental particles in coal, have ‘cease to exist’ or ‘disappeared’ from existence. They may not be visible to the attention at that moment, however, they still exist, they still are in the form of other matter or the form of gases, etc. This is the same with all material units. We cannot destroy matter, we can solely convert it from one form to the other. Thus, “to exist”, or ‘living’ is intrinsic to all material, it is innate to that. We can’t divide the ‘existence’ of a thing from that thing itself.
Plant/bio order as a result of the pranic order is a development of the material order, it also has the innateness of living or ‘existence’. Additionally, it also shows the ‘growth’. This principle of ‘growth’ cannot be divided from any units of this order. If it is of pranic order, it will grow. For example, if we have a plant, we can’t prevent it from growing. It will continue to breathe and keep growing and transforming in this way. The sole way we can stop it from growing is by killing or cutting it, but when we do that, it stops to be included in the pranic order, instead decays and then belongs to the material order. So, as long as we have a plant, it will transform and grow.
Animal order: the animal body can be called a development of the pranic order and hence this order inherits the innateness of the previous order namely ‘existence’ and ‘growth’. This is at the level of the material body, which is Physico-chemical. Additionally, all units in this order have the ‘will to live’ in ‘I’. Indeed no unit in this order can be extracted from this ‘will to live’. It is inherent to each unit in this order.
Human (knowledge) order; hen we inspect the human being, we observe that ‘living’ and ‘growth’ are fundamentally present within the body, just like it is in the animal body. At the level of “self” however, additionally to the ‘will to exist or live’, a human being’s innateness is the ‘will to exist with happiness’.
Q8. How does the natural characteristics (svabhava) of material order help man to lead a better life?
Ans: When we cross-check the various orders in Nature, we realize that every order has a specific value. In an elementary way, this is the ‘utility’ or ‘participation’ of the order in existence. This ‘usefulness’ or ‘participation’ is additionally named as “natural characteristic”. The ‘characteristic’ the order shows in ‘natural to itself’. This is similar to the usefulness of the entity, or its participation also called ‘svabhava’. The svabhava or participation of material order is ‘composition or decomposition’, of Plant/bio or flora order is ‘composition/decomposition’ and to nurture or worsen different pranic units. The svabhav of animal order and human order can be understood in two different concepts: the “body” and the “self”. The svabhav of animal order is Composition/decomposition, nurture/worsen in body and non-brutality, brutality in ‘I’. The svabhav of the human order is Composition/decomposition, nurture/worsen in body and perseverance, courageousness, kindness in ‘I’.
Similar is the case in animals, the human body additionally belongs to the plant/ bio order and therefore has similar svabhava or value/natural characteristic as the pranic order. It either nourishes or deteriorates other pranic units. As in the example above, when we digest the vegetable, we ingest the plant and it’s bad elements, while my body is nourished. The svabhava/ value of the self (‘I’) in humans are patience (dhirata), courage (virata) kindness (udarata).
Patience (dhirata): Being assured that the all-engulfing resolution is to understand and exist in harmony at various levels of existence, living with this commitment with no perturbation.
Courage (virata): Being assured that the all-engulfing resolution is to apprehend and exist in harmony at various levels and is ready to help the other to have the correct apprehension or understanding. This is the promise to help the other have the correct understanding of the harmony and the act of living at various levels of existence.
Kindness (udarata): Being assured that the all-engulfing resolution is to apprehend and exist in harmony at all the four levels and is ready to invest ourselves, our body, and wealth to help the other have the correct understanding.
Human beings don’t seem to live according to this natural characteristic; even though we have a svabhava, we are not living as per this natural characteristic. This is the fundamental cause of the contradiction and conflict that we witness in human beings. This is what leads towards a state of sadness or discomfort. Only when we exist as per our fundamental human characteristics as mentioned above, we have fixed or solid character, else, it is not solid, it is variable, unlike the other three orders as analyzed and discussed above.
Q9. What do you mean by ‘conformance’? Explain the conformance in the four orders.
Ans: Each unit matches through the principle of conformance or anusangita. It means how the continuity of the basic nature of the unit is kept intact.
Material order: The continuity of the basic nature of the material unit is protected or kept intact by the physical and chemical processes. Take iron for instance. Each atom of iron matches the constituting structure of ‘Iron’. There is no atom of iron that will vary from another atom of iron, if it varied, we would not know it as iron. We know this matching as ‘constitution conformance’. The material order shows constitution conformance. We can check this for all components in the material order. For example, Carbon Dioxide, nitrogen, other gasses, gold, copper, iron, aluminium… all of which conform to and are foe ever as per the constitution of their kind. Therefore, we may say that any matter matches to its constitution or has ‘constitution conformance’.
Plant/bio order: A mango seed will always germinate into a mango plant. Every one of us knows this. Its fruits, its leaves, the taste of the leaves, the colour of the leaves, all these features, are the fundamental information of every mango plant which is preserved in the seed. Thus, we say the plant is always according to the seed, or we can say, ‘as the seed, so is the plant’. Therefore, we say that a plant matches to the seed or bears ‘seed conformance’. This ‘seed conformance’ process is the method through which the continuity of a plant species is kept unchanged or preserved in Nature/existence.
Animal order: We observe that a horse always resembles a horse, and a cat is always similar to a cat. Animals match or resemble their lineage. How animals are, their actions, characteristics, etc are all as per their inheritance and to their lineage they belong to, the lineage they originate from. Therefore, we may conclude that an animal resembles its breed, or has ‘breed conformance’. This breed conformance process is the method by means of which the continuity of an animal species is preserved or protected in Nature.
Human (knowledge) order: We can witness that we human beings are not as per our origin, race, or lineage, as seen in the case of animals. We may inherit something from our parents as we grow older, but we are much different in various ways from them. We, humans, are in accordance with our imagination; as per our desires, thoughts, and judgment in ‘self’. The aspirations, thoughts, and preferences we have in ‘self can come from anywhere. It can originate from memories, it can originate from our parents, the surroundings, the media, anywhere. In the case of humans, it may be said ‘as per education, so is the human’. We are according to our aspirations, thoughts, and preferences. Jointly, we call these things ‘sanskara’. Therefore we may conclude that a human being conforms to their sanskar or has ‘sanskaar conformance’.
Q10. How is the activity in human order is different from that of animal and plant order?
Ans: An activity means anything that ‘has some kind of movement or motion ’ and or ‘has a result’. The material order is active in its characteristics in various ways, and similar is the case with plant order or animal order, or human order. We may be lying down in a room. But we are active. We are wanting, aspiring desiring, the body is breathing, running, heart pumping. The air in the room is blowing. The wall standing continuously also have activity, it is in a steady motion. A static chair in the room is also having an active motion. It may not be very much observable to our eyes but the chair is still active.
We can apprehend these activities in two different ways:
· Things that we witness or observe are ‘visibly moving’, by the naked eyes, such as a revolving top, a running bus, a jumping man, are all active, and all things which are ‘visibly stationary’, are not in motion, are also active. Like a stationary chair. The activity of the chair may be seen as that the wood of the chair is interacting with the surroundings and as a result, it decomposes with time.
All units around us, including ourselves, are immersed in some activity, all the time. All of them are interacting with their surroundings. In the activity, there is a state or setting and motion at the same time. This simultaneous existence of both is present all the time.
Material order: All material entities like units in the material order may be apprehended as an activity of ‘units’ coming together to make a larger unit. We know this as ‘composition’. For example, a chair is a form of smaller pieces of wood. Bigger units can also extract from each other to form smaller units and we know this as ‘decomposition’. This is why a wooden chairmaydecay after a few years. Thus any unit in the material order can be seen as an ‘activity of ‘composition and decomposition’.
Plant/bio order: Upon observing all the units that make up the plant/bio order we will witness that they can be known in terms of composition, decomposition, and respiration. Not only do plants compose or form new plants and decompose or die and wither. They are also breathing or pulsating, which we know as respiration, photosynthesis, etc.
Animal order: We may apprehend the activities of animal order in two concepts:
· Body In Animals – Physico-Chemical Activities, the body shows the same activities that we witness the plant. The body shows respiration or breathing, or pulsating, as we know it. The body is also made at one point in time and keeps creating cells as well, that is there is formation or transformation in the body. Therefore, the activities in the body are similar to that in the plant order or bio order, which constitute: composition/ decomposition and respiration. Therefore, we say that the body belongs to the plant/bio order.
· ‘I’ In Animals – Conscious Activities: The activities in ‘self’ or ‘I’ are varied from those in the body. ‘I’ is a unit that has the capacity or capacity of assuming. Animals make assumptions. Suppose we have a dog and some unknown people come inside the house, the dog may start shouting at them. If these people stay at our house, the dog may stop shouting at them but will continue to shout at other strangers. What has happened here is that the dog’s ‘assumption’ about these people has changed, due to this, how it responds to the people has also changed. We know this as ‘assuming’.
It is vital to understand that this awareness or faculty of assuming is not in the body. The body belongs to the materialistic or worldly plant/bio order and is Physico-chemical. It just responds to Physico-chemical inputs received from the surroundings
Human (knowledge) order: The activities in the human body are the same as those in the animal body, and we have witnessed this in detail as composition/ decomposition and respiration. When it comes to awareness or’self’ or ‘I’, anyway the human shows more than just the capacity to ‘choose’ or make preferences as animals do.
Thus, in human beings, ‘I’ or ‘self’ has the activities of aspiring, thinking, and choosing, with a possibility or requirement for apprehension and realization. Only humans have this requirement to understand and that is why it is called gyana avastha – the knowledge order.
