Three Levels Of Learning

Everyone knows about the relationship that existed between Shri Krishna, Pandavas and Kauravas. Kunti was the sister of Vasudeva, Krishna's father. Her name was "Pruthaa" at birth and she came to be known as "Kunti" after she was adopted by her uncle, King Kuntibhoja. The first three Pandavas were Kunti's children and also known as Kaunteya. The other two Pandavas, Nakula and Sahadeva were Maadri's sons, but after Maadri's death Kunti brought them up as her own sons. Thus Krishna and Pandavas were first cousins. Krishna was the Mentor for the Pandavas. Whatever they did was with Krishna's permission and guidance. 

Kauravas were always distrustful of Krishna and looked upon him as a stumbling block in their designs to deny Pandavas of their Kingdom or its share, whatever. Shakuni was Kauravas Mentor and all his calculated steps were to remove Krishna from the scene, as far as possible, so that he succeeds in executing his plans. The hostility between Duryodhana and Krishna is as much well documented as the warmth between Arjuna and Krishna.

Arjuna is said to have ten names. Krishna had many names. Keshava and VAsudeva were the most common names used for Krishna. 

It was quite natural that Pandavas would feel sad if Krishna was in trouble. It was also natural that Kauravas would feel elated whenever Krishna was in difficulty. 

There is a beautiful sloka that shows the reverse of this. It is very interesting as well. It goes thus:

केशवं पतितं दृष्ट्वा पाण्डवाः हर्ष निर्भराः 

रुदन्ति कौरवाः सर्वे हा हा केशव केशव 

Keshavam patitam drushtvaa Pandavaah harsha nirbharaah

Rudanti Kauravaah sarve Haa Haa Keshava keshava

Having seen fallen Krishna, Pandavas became overjoyed.

All the Kauravaas started crying shouting how bad, Keshava has fallen.

Anyone who has some understanding of the language can read the above verse and understand the situation. And the meaning coming out of the verse.

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A school boy is reading "Mahabharata". A college student is also reading the same epic for his examination preparation. A PhD scholar too is preparing a thesis for submission on the same subject. A saint who gives regular discourses on various spiritual topics is also reading the same work by revered Veda Vyasa. 

Is the learning derived by all the four the same? Is there any difference in the level of their learning? If there is any difference, why is it so?

Four visitors go to "National Gallery of Arts" in Washington DC. It is a magnificent building with many rooms and galleries displaying arts. At the reception they receive a brochure giving the details of the building, rooms in it and various important art works displayed therein. It also gives indications as to highlights of the collection. Most of the visitors would not be able to spend considerable time at the museum as they usually have a day to cover the various other parts of the city and its heritage. The brochure therefore gives indication as to what areas can be seen in one hour, two hours or half a day as well. The first three visitors go by this guidance and finish their museum visit accordingly. The fourth visitor has no such restrictions and as a student of arts spends two full days viewing and studying each artefacts in the museum.  

When you ask each of them whether they have visited and seen the National Gallery of Arts, all of them answer in the affirmative. They have all visited the place and seen the museum. But is the viewing experience and learning they derive therefrom the same?

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There are many people who claim that they are self taught and have learnt many things on their own, without any support or guidance from others. After all, one knows the language and can read and write. There are books available in the market or library or other sources. Buy the book or borrow one and just read them. You can understand the contents. It is as simple as that. 

There is a strong opinion that one should learn subtle things, especially abstract and spiritual issues, through a Guru. But it is not easy to find a proper Guru though there are plenty of self proclaimed Gurus around us. This is the era of Jagadgurus. What happens if the Guru himself has not reached a level befitting the status of a true Guru? What if his own understanding is imperfect? Then it becomes a classic example of a blind leading another blind person. Many ancient texts give guidelines and indicators to identify a genuine Guru. A real Guru does not impose his dictates on a disciple. He would only give sincere guidance and advise the seeker-disciple to accept things only after his own verifications and experiences.

What are the pitfalls of self learning? 

Many abstract and spiritual texts, especially Vedic literature texts are amenable to multiple interpretations. This is because the rich language used in these source text have words that carry multiple meanings; not just the words, even the passages or the whole text can be explained in totally different ways and often entirely contradictory.  Many stalwarts have used their versatility and ingenuity to give their own version of meanings to many of the texts. .An example for this is available in “Brahma Sutra Bhashyas” of the various Acharyas. Each one of them has given his own interpretation of the sutras and when a layman reads them each one of them appears to be perfect. Only a “Jignasu” devoting his life for a thorough study of these texts and commentaries can make out any deficiencies. 

There is also the issue of a reader understanding what he reads in accordance with his own background, knowledge and desire as well. We know from our experience that when a passage is given to different persons and ask their understanding of it, the answers differ.

Nevertheless, all learning must ultimately end with self study and culminate by finding the true meaning as the seeker sees it in the light of guidance received from time to time, and his own experiences during his spiritual journey.

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It is said that "Language" used in various texts has three levels of meaning. They can be summarised(?) as under:

1. Samadhi Bhasha (समाधि भाषा - ಸಮಾಧಿ ಭಾಷೆ): This is the language that is commonly understood by everyone. A simple reading of the written words will give out this meaning and the world at large accepts this as what is intended to be conveyed. A study of the valued texts by one who just understands the language and does not have a proper guide will understand the contents at this level.

       

2. Darshana Bhasha (दर्शन भाषा -  ದರ್ಶನ ಭಾಷೆ): This is the meaning given to the texts as conveyed by the exponents of different schools of thoughts and summarised truth as found by them. This meaning is often different from the first level Samadhi Bhasha. Examples of this type are Jaina, Bouddha, Adwaita, Dwaita etc. Here, the texts are to be understood in the meaning as conveyed by the authors. Whether the seeker accepts that school of thought is an entirely separate issue and left to his own spiritual experiences.

 3. Guhya Bhasha (गुह्य भाषा - ಗುಹ್ಯ ಭಾಷೆ): This is the real meaning of the words or texts that is intended to be conveyed and understood. The messages are covered in a language that is commonly understood differently, but have special inner meaning. Guhya means hidden. This is similar to coded messages; the outward reading conveys a simple meaning as understood by the world at large. But a person who has the key to the coded message will understand the hidden and deeper meaning. 

"Smiling Buddha" can be an example. Anyone who heard this in the year 1974 would link it to the Smiling Buddha often quoted in Buddhism. But those involved in the Pokhran nuclear tests understood the real meaning then.

How does one get hold of the key to the code? It may be given by a revered Guru or derived by deep contemplation by the seeker himself. These hidden meanings themselves may extend to multiple levels and may open up one after the other as the seeker travels along his spiritual journey. Some of these meanings suddenly flash in the mind on some day and the seeker may wonder why this did not occur to him earlier! "It was there all along, yet I did not see it", he may exclaim!

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In the background of all this, learning should happen with the following basic structure:

1. The texts chosen for study are themselves authentic and removed from the common impurities like Interpolation, Deletion, and Disorder. Interpolation is additions by the editor, which was not there in the original text but got added during transit. Deletion refers to the parts removed by the editors as they considered these parts as unwanted but has real importance in the overall context of things. Disorder is a defect that creeps when the editors change the sequence of communication by the original author or are modified by the subsequent handlers of the texts. Eagerness to reinforce one's own philosophy often are the causes of these defects.

2.  A detailed study of the related texts from beginning to end and not mere parts of them or their summaries. Fruit juice is good but does not substitute the experience of eating the whole fruit. It is common knowledge that the summary contains what the summariser considers as important. There is every possibility that the true essence is lost while summarising the content in the original text. It is often like reading a few pages of a book and trying to make out the meaning of the entire book. This is a very dangerous path for the seeker.

3. Analysing and evaluating all learning in the light of the seekers own experiences. Unless this step is adopted, the seeker will only get the truth as someone else saw it, but not by himself. It may be the truth as seen by some big achiever or saadhaka, but even then, it is not one's own learning. The food prepared may be delicious, tasted by many and its qualities explained by many more. But the true taste comes only when one eats and appreciates it and not by hearing from others or reading about it. Otherwise what the seeker gets is mere words; not the food itself.

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Let us get back to our example of Krishna's fall and the reactions of Pandavas and Kauravas. A reader with limited understanding of the language will come to the conclusion that Pandavas were overjoyed but Kauravas felt very bad when Krishna fell. Here the fall may be just a fall on the ground or even the end as happens in a war. We all know what a fallen soldier means in the context of a war.

The words Keshava, Pandava and Kourava can have entirely different meanings. When the quoted verse is read in this context, its meaning dramatically changes.

The word "Shava" means a dead body or a part of it. It may refer to a piece of meat as well as it is the part of a dead person or animal. "Ke" also means water. The word "Pandava" also means animals living in water, like fish etc. The word "Rava" means noise especially made by birds. (Remember कल-रव ಕಲ-ರವ)  The crows make noise "Ka" "Ka" continuously. So, a group of crows making such noise is Kauravas.

When this is applied to the verse refered above, the meaning dramatically changes and is read and understood as under:

    "A bird was flying carrying a piece of meat in its beak. The piece of meat slipped from its beak and fell in a water body on the ground. The fish living in the water body were overjoyed because they can eat it. The group of crows observing this were sad and cried about the lost piece of meat as they lost the chance of eating it (if it had fallen on the ground)."

    

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The above example amply illustrates the different levels of learning and dangers of self learning, especially in the context of abstract and spiritual issues. There is absolutely no doubt that any learning should ultimately be evaluated by one's own experiences, as discussed above. But self learning cannot be the beginning and end in itself.

The Missing Blue Suitcase

This was probably three years ago.

The flight from London to Bangalore was on schedule and uneventful. Arrival and landing was just perfect. Everything from boarding the first flight in USA till landing in Bangalore went like clock work. Immigration was fast and the efficient Bangalore Airport ground handling ensured that our luggage was on the conveyor belts as we arrived near it.

When things go well, we compliment ourselves for perfect planning, diligent execution and bask in the glory of a task done very well. When things go wrong, search begins to identify someone to blame. If a proper scapegoat is not readily available, blame the Lord. You can blame him as much as you want. One great thing about the Lord is that he neither protests nor question you!

We had four suitcases to arrive from the aircraft. There was natural eagerness after the long journey to pick them up and proceed to the exit. Our suitcases were the first to arrive. Wow! The Red one came first, closely followed by the Yellow one and there was the Green one too. The moment the Blue one arrives, we were all clear to go.

We propose and airline companies dispose. One after another pieces of luggage came on the belt. Big ones, small ones, beautiful ones, ugly ones, odd-size ones, musical instruments, bags, walkers, and so on. The procession reminded of the rats following "The Pied Piper of Hamelin".

Our Blue Suitcase was nowhere in the procession.

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Subhadra Kumari Chauhan is a famous Indian poet, and well known for her poem "Khoob ladi mardaani wo to Jhansiwali rani thi". Born in Prayagraj (Allahabad) in UP, she moved to Jabalpur in MP after her marriage to Thakur Lakshman Singh Chauhan. She joined the freedom movement and was jailed many times. She was an MLA in Madhya Pradesh (then Central Provinces) after Independence. Her statue has been placed in front of the City Corporation offices in Jabalpur, as a mark of respect for her contribution to literature and public life. 

In one of her poems titled ठुकरादो  या प्यार करो (Thukaraado ya pyar karo) she describes the plight of a poor old woman who goes to the temple empty handed when all the people were coming with many colourful offerings.

देव तुम्हारे कई उपासक कई ढंग से आते हैं 

सेवामे बहुमूल्य भेंट वे कई रंग के लाते हैं 

मै हूँ एक अभागन खाली हाथ चली आयी 

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When I was four or five years old, my mother used to take me to the nearby temple, a few minutes walk from our house. The practice then was never to go to a temple empty handed. The usual offerings were flowers, fruits and coconut. Onion was rarely used at home and hence coconut was a must in daily cooking. Coconuts were liberally given by the village folk as every house had at least one or two coconut trees. The item will go to the temple and the priest will take it inside the Garbha Gudi (sanctum sanctorum), break the nut into two parts and offer to the Lord, along with other offerings. At the end of the puja he would bring a container with all the coconuts and ask those who had brought the nuts to take them home. 

The practice differed from temple to temple. In some temples they gave away the big part of the nut holding back the small part. In some other temples they gave away both the parts. Once i asked my mother why this different practices was among temples. She gave a logical answer. There were no refrigerators in those days. Priests of small temples had a small number of devotees at their temples. They would hold back the smaller part and divide among the temple staff for their use. In big temples the number of devotes was also big and there was a large inflow of coconut pieces. They did not need that many pieces of coconuts and hence gave away both the pieces! The Lord never got anything, of course. 

As a small boy I was concerned about getting the right piece of the nut, especially when our offering was a big one. When the priest brought the container of the broken nuts, those in front would jump to get the big ones and small boys like me used to get the left over small ones. I used to feel very disappointed. My mother would advise me not to worry, but I was upset about the injustice (?) especially happening before the Lord.

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The crowded belt area thinned out as the happy ones receiving their luggage left the area. Four groups were left while some suitcases were still rounding on the belt. A staff of the airport came and removed the remaining three suitcases from the belt, kept it in a separate place and made place for the next batch of items from another aircraft to start the fresh process.

Among the three suitcases left unclaimed was one pale blue suitcase, much travelled and battered one. My companion grumblingly said someone has taken away our new blue suitcase and left their old one for us. She reminded me of myself standing before the container of coconuts in the temple, several years ago.

The situation in the temple was much better because I could pick up the remaining coconut piece, however small it was. We had no such option of picking up the battered old blue suitcase at the airport!

When we complained to the airport staff we were advised to meet the British Airways staff at the customer service counter. British Airways has a single flight every day at the Bangalore airport and hence the waiting was minimal. There were three passengers like me who had missing luggage. We were given a form to fill in the details like flight number, name of the passenger, tag number of the missing luggage item etc. and the address at it is to be delivered when found. The customer service executive assured that the item would arrive on the next flight and will be delivered to our house in two days. Being familiar with the sweet promises of such executives many times in the past, we still had no alternative but to move to the cab with the other items of luggage and reach home, three hours beyond the normally expected time.

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The issue of concern was that since British Airways had only one flight to Bangalore and three pieces of luggage missing, would they really invest in tracing and delivering the item to our doorstep.

The next day afternoon I received a call from a representative of a company called Carterporter Private Ltd. He informed that our suitcase has indeed arrived and will be delivered the next day morning, 48 hours after we landed in Bangalore. I asked further questions but he did not answer any of them except advising the approximate time of delivery and alternative place of delivery if we were not at home. 

Around the promised time, a mini truck arrived with many items of luggage and our Blue suitcase was one among them. The item was duly delivered against acknowledgement.

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The riddle was indeed solved when we opened the suitcase. There was a pamphlet of the US Customs inside the suitcase indicating the item was opened by them for verification. The suitcase was opened at the airport of first loading as the customs probably wanted further check after looking at the x-ray image before loading on the aircraft. The suitcase had a metal round item that was big enough (a frying pan) to raise their suspicion. By the time the inspection was over and the item cleared for loading, the aircraft had left. Hence the item had to come in the next flight thus taking an extra day to arrive in Bangalore!

The number of flights served by an airline has no connection with delivery of the missing item. This job is entrusted to an agency like Carterporter Private Limited by the airlines. They handover the late arriving item to this agency. This agency pools all the missing items of luggage of the previous day and takes care of delivering them to the bonafide passengers on the next two days.

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The Blue suitcase taught us that there is no need to panic if an item of luggage is missing when you arrive at the destination. It will most likely arrive with a time lag, but much before you are out of the jet lag.

If you still don't get it, it is like the piece of coconut offered by you to the Lord, but missing in the container when the priest brings out at the end of the ritual.

The "Other Number"

 

We all have to depend on others for many things; big or small. Issues may be important and urgent. They may be trivial but irritating. The mind does not rest until the issue is sorted out. The one who can help us solve them must be willing and free to attend to it. The helper may be willing but not free. He or she may be free but unwilling. Things have to fall in place to sort the issue and remove the irritants.

All families have general handymen who are problem solvers and skilled in removing obstacles. Such persons are usually extremely busy, but find time for others as well. Queries are answered smilingly. They make time to attend to others despite their own busy schedules. They are in great demand but seldom disappoint those who trust them. May their tribe increase!

We have one such "Go to" man with us as well. A young entrepreneur with own business that provides employment to many others as well. Working round the clock with a smiling face. Today's world runs on mobile phones. The fuel for this mobile world comes from Passwords and OTPs. There was a joke going around about the Holi festival last year. A young man went out and played Holi with his friends. When he came home he was not recognisable due to the colours on his face and body. Less said about the dress is better. When he wants the assistance of his wife for coming out of the jumble of colours, she asks for his Aadhar card. "Show me your Aadhar card. Last time I gave a bath to a person and later realised it was not you. I don't want it to happen this time", she says. Now we can replace the Aadhar card with OTP. Supreme Court of India has given a judgement that banks, mobile companies and private parties cannot ask for Aadhar authentication. Even today all these parties ask for Aadhar and people also give. OTP is the most essential thing these days. 

Air, Water and Food, followed by clothes and house (Roti, Kapda and Makaan) were the basic requirements. Now OTP precedes even air. Without a proper OTP you are choked. Finance Minister is in a good situation due to GST. The inflow of funds due to GST is enabling the FM to manage the financial affairs somewhat smoothly. If there is shortage of funds during the next budget, a one rupee GST on each OTP will make the budget a surplus one. In the near coming days, children may ask for payment and OTP for calling their parents dad or mom. 

This our general handyman has two mobile phones. No, to be accurate, it is only one mobile with two sims. We have heard innumerable stories wherein two souls live in a single body and act in turns giving beautiful situation opportunities for films. Dual sim mobiles are just like this. If you send a message to one of his mobile numbers, it automatically says that messages are to be sent to the other number. Many big shops have two doors. One for delivering the sold items and another back door for receiving supplies. If the supply person goes to the delivery door he will be politely told to go to the other door.

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Taking various roles in life and accepting responsibilities has been the norm in life. But not accepting responsibilities and desiring to be a free man or woman is also a fact of life. The number of such persons was believed to be small in the past years. Old timers claim that the number has increased over the years. One of the important social institutions that create and nurture responsibilities is "Married Life". Marriage brings with it many responsibilities, whether one likes it or not. Present generation often does not want to get bogged down by the responsibilities of married life. Responsibilities on the one side and beig tied down to one pole on the other side have led to "Live-in" relationships. Such relationships give the luxury of a mobile phone with multiple Sims. 

Our Supreme Court has become very busy nowadays with laying down guidelines and regulating such aspects of life. When does a Live-in relationship crosses the line (?), whether same sex marriages are to be allowed or not, what can be a reason for divorce etc. are consuming most of the time of the courts. One often wonders whether this is the real duty of courts. On the other side we read and see in videos the gory details of persons in relationship or refusing a relationship being attacked and even killed in busy streets. Things have gone even farther nowadays. When the first case of chopping the body of the partner into several pieces was received it was indeed shocking. It was a butcher at work putting an end to a relationship the bloody way. Such cases are now reported on daily basis from different parts of the world and they are only a passing news item now.

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In our childhood days we have seen some examples of dual SIM life among the village elders. There were some who married twice or even thrice due to various reasons. These wives lived in the same house with their husband. There were families with perfect harmony and the society also accepted it as a fact of life. Of course, thre were many families with their eternal feuds and fights, many times in the open. 

Then there were innumerable instances of prominent men having a regular wedded wife along with a parallel family life with a unwedded wife. The dual Sim life was known to everyone in the town or village. There were many instances where the other woman had been given her own house and properties as well. Such relationships were grumblingly accepted or tolerated by the wedded wife. Either due to the status enjoyed by the concerned men in society or their financial strength, such happenings were accepted as a way of life. These people were living a very religious and pious life in the big house during the daytime. Other activities were directed to the small house in the after hours. Dual Sim life is not a new phenomenon after all. 

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In Mahabharata, one can find reference to the word "Soota" many times. "Daasya" or being someone's slave was an accepted way of life in those days. A Daasa or Daasi led a life as pe the dictates of the master. It was very common for Kings and Aristocrats to have children from such Daasis. Boys born to such Daasis were known as Soota. A Soota was generally not accepted as equal in status as the children of duly wedded wife, and were carrying on life by activities and professions supporting the main activity of being rulers. Being a charioteer was one of the common professions of the Sootas. 

Even in such a society, a person's qualities were recognised and respected. Many charioteers were held in high esteem by the ruling class due to their own exalted wisdom and way of life. They were entrusted with delicate and responsible tasks and treated with utmost respect.

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S L Byrappa's novel "Parva" is an effort to present Mahabharata without any supernatural events or personalities. A close look at Parva shows that whenever Dhritarashtra mentions about his hundred sons, Gandhari retorting that the hundred are his sons but not hers. The full number of hundred was made up of a combination of her own sons and those Dhritarashtra had through various Daasis, she asserts repeatedly!