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The Paths of Bondage and Liberation

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Spirituality and Indian Psychology

Part of the book series: International and Cultural Psychology ((ICUP))

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Abstract

As was noted in Chapter 3, what we study and how we study the problem is influenced to a substantial degree by our cultural values. It was shown in Chapter 2 that cultural values and beliefs direct the geniuses in a culture to the behavioral domain that is valued and that the Indian culture values spirituality. It is no surprise that the classical Indian texts are replete with concepts that can help us model the process of spiritual growth.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    dhAranAd dharma iti Ahur dharmeNa vidhratAH prajAH, yat syAd dhAraNa saMyuktaM sa dharma iti nizcayaH (mahAbhArata 12.110.11). dharma is said to be that which holds and supports a person. Further, it is used to hold the descendents in one’s lineage together or future generations of one’s family together. In addition, that which is endowed with the holding capacity is definitely dharma. By stating that dharma holds the future generations together, it is clear that dharma encompasses one beyond one’s life, and includes one’s children, family members, and other people.

  2. 2.

    Verse 2.31: svadharmamapi cAvekSya na vikampitumarhasi; dharmyAddhi yuddhAcchreyo’nyatkSatriyasya na vidyate. While examining your duties as a kSatriya, you should not hesitate to fight, since for a kSatriya there is nothing more auspicious than to take part in a just battle.

  3. 3.

    Verse 2.33: athacetvamimaM dharmyaM saGgrAmaM na kariSyasi; tataH svadharmaM kIrtiM ca hitvA pApamavApsyasi. If you do not fight in this just battle, you will miss out on your duties, acquire infamy, and earn demerit or sin.

  4. 4.

    varnAzram dharma was discussed in Chapter 4. Briefly, according to the varnAzram dharma human life is divided into four Azramas or phases: the student phase (or brahmacarya Azrama), the householder phase (or grihastha Azrama), the forest dweller phase (or vAnaprastha Azrama), and the monkhood phase (or sannyAsa Azrama). The four castes of brAmhaNa, kSartriya, vaizya, and zUdra have their prescribed duties of learning and teaching, protecting and fighting, trade and crafts, and service of the janitorial type, but each is supposed to follow the four phases of life. Thus, the caste bound work is only applicable to the first two phases of life when one is learning the trade and performing the duties. The later two phases are for everyone to lead a spiritual life.

  5. 5.

    The first line of the verses in 3.35 and 18.47 is identical, word for word, emphasizing the value of performing one’s duties or svadharma.

  6. 6.

    manusmRti Verse 10.97: varaM svadharmo viguNo na pArakyaH svanuSThtaH; pardharmeNa jIvanhi sadyaH patati jAtitaH. It is better to perform one’s duties even if they are problematic rather than doing the well-placed work of people of other castes. If one does not follow this, then one loses his or her caste.

  7. 7.

    Verse 3.8: niyataM kuru karma tvaM karma jyAyo hyakarmaNaH. zarIrayAtrApi ca te na prasiddhayedakarmaNaH. Do your prescribed work as doing work is superior to not working. The journey of life cannot be completed without doing work.

  8. 8.

    Don’t just stand there, do something, comes to mind as a close Western wisdom heard in the daily life, and in organizations. This, a bias for action, was identified as one of the eight characteristics of excellent companies by Peters and Waterman (1982).

  9. 9.

    Verse 18.41 states: brAhmaNakSatriyavizAM zUdrANaM ca paraMtapa; karmANi pravibhaktAni svabhAva prabhavairguNaiH. The work for brAhmaNa, kSatriya, vaizya, and zUdra are prescribed according to their innate nature derived from the three guNas (satva, rajas, and tamas). In sAGkhya philosophy, prakriti is considered the original producer of the material world, and the guNas are its three ingredients, namely, satva (goodness or virtue), rajas (passion or foulness), and tamas (darkness or ignorance).

  10. 10.

    Verse 18.42 states: zamo damastapaH zaucam kSantirArjavameva ca, jnAnaM vijnAnamAstikyaM brahmakarma svabhAvajam.

  11. 11.

    Verse 18.43 states: zauryaM tejo dhritirdAkSyaM yuddhe cApyapalAyanam, dAnamIzvarbhAvazca kSatrakarma svabhAvajam.

  12. 12.

    Verse 18.44 states: kRiSigaurakSyavANijyaM vaizyakarma svabhAvajam, paricaryAtmakam karma zUdrasyApi svabhAvajam.

  13. 13.

    Verse 18.45: sve sve karmaNyabhirataH samsiddhim labhate naraH; svakarmanirataH siddhiM yathA vindati tacchRNu.

  14. 14.

    Verse 18.46: yataH pravRtir bhUtAnAM yena sarvamidaM tatam  ; svakarmaNa tamabhyarcya siddhiM vindati mAnavaH.

  15. 15.

    Verse 2:48: yogasthaH kuru karmANi saGgaM tyaktvA Dhananjaya; siddhayasiddhayoH samo bhUtvA samatvaM yoga ucyate. O Dhananjaya, perform your duties by giving up attachment and establishing yourself in yoga; be balanced in success and failure for such balancing is yoga.

  16. 16.

    Verse 2.50: buddhiyukto jahAtIha ubhe sukritaduSkrite; tasmAdyogAya yujyasva yogaH karmasu kauzalam. The wise give up the fruits of both the good and the bad karma in this world itself; therefore, engage yourself in yoga, which is being balanced in success and failure as stated in Verse 2.48, for such balancing (i.e., yoga) is excellence in performing one’s svadharma or duties. In other words, if one is balanced in success and failure when performing one’s duties, even the tasks, functions, or works that naturally cause bondage give up their bonding nature because of such balancing in the mind of the performer. Thus, Krizna exhorted arjuna to be engaged in balancing the mind while performing his duties.

  17. 17.

    Verses 3.35 and 18.47: zreyAn svadharmo viguNah pardharmAtsvanuSThitAt; sva dharme nidhanaM zreyaH pardharmo bhayAvahaH. (3.35) zreyAn svadharmo viguNah pardharmAtsvanuSThitAt; svabhAvaniyataM karma kurvannApnoti kilbiSam (18.47).

  18. 18.

    I personally think that the caste system became a category at birth somewhere in the social evolution process, and it is quite likely that the caste system was more aptitude based in the beginning. This sounds logical to me, but it does not have historical evidence supporting it. First, the Indian system of thought does not believe in evolution theory, the way we view in the West, and the way many of us in the East have also come to accept it. It makes perfect sense to me that our languages evolved over thousands of years, and it is difficult for me to subscribe to the idea that brahman created human languages. Therefore, to argue that the caste system evolved over thousands of years necessarily requires adopting the Western worldview in analyzing the Indian system. Second, the caste system is depicted as already existing from time immemorial, as can be seen in the stories of dhruva, kapila, and others as narrated in the bhAgavatam and other purANas, which again goes against the evolutionary perspective.

  19. 19.

    Verse 18:48 states: sahajam karma kaunteya sadoSamapi na tyajyet, sarvArambhA hi doSeNa dhUmenAgnirivavRtaH.

  20. 20.

    The battle of mahAbhArat was fought in kurukSetra, which lies in the state of Hariyana in modern India.

  21. 21.

    Verse 3.9: yajnArthAt karmaNo’nyatra loko’yam karmabandhanaH; tadarthaM karma kaunteya muktasaGgaH samAcara

  22. 22.

    Verse 2.42: yAmimaM puSpitAM vAcaM pravadantyavipazcitaH, vedavAdarataH partha nAnyadastIti vAdinaH. Oh, arjuna, those people who are not wise take delight in vedic discussions (in contrast to those who practice the vedic precepts) and speak in flowery words. Such people claim that there is nothing beyond these discussions, or that pleasure is the ultimate goal of life.

  23. 23.

    Verse 2.43: kAmAtmAnaH svargaparA janmakarmaphalapradAm, kriyAviSezabahulAM bhogaizvaryagatiM prati. Those who pursue desires passionately (kamatmanah) think that there is nothing beyond the heaven (svargaparA), and that birth is a consequence of past karma. Such people pursue various activities and strive for pleasurable consumption and opulence.

  24. 24.

    Verse 2:38 states: sukhduHkhe same kRtvA lAbhAlAbhau jayAjayau, tato yudhaya yujyasva naivaM pApamavApsyasi.

  25. 25.

    Verse 2:39: eSa te’bhihitA sAGkhye buddhiryoge tvimAM zRNu; buddhayA yukto yayA pArtha karmabandhaM prahAsyasi.

  26. 26.

    Verse 2:40:nehAbhikramanazo’sti pratyavAyo na vidyate; svaplpamapyasya dharmasya trAyate mahato bhayAt.

  27. 27.

    Verse 2:45: traiguNyaviSayA vedA nistraiguNyo bhavArjuna; nirdvandvo nityasatvastho niryogakSema AtmavAn. According to Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Sir M. Monier-Williams (1960, p. 332), kSema and yoga means rest and exertion, enjoying and acquiring. However, kSema by itself means safety, tranquility, peace, rest, security, any secure or easy or comfortable state, weal, happiness as used in the Rgveda, the atharvaveda, the manusmRti, and the mahAbhArata. It is plausible to interpret becoming niryogakSemah as giving up the desire to achieve that peace of mind or happiness (kSema) that comes with the union with brahman (yoga). In effect, arjuna is being exhorted to give up even the most sublime of desires, union with brahman, implying that any desire leads to Path 1. This is also reflected in the zivo’haM stotra written by Adi zankara where he negates dharma, artha, kAma, and mokSa, to impute that the real self is beyond the pursuit of these things, which was discussed in Chapter 4.

  28. 28.

    Verse 2:48: yogasthaH kuru karmANi, saGgaM tyaktvA dhananjaya, siddhayasiddhayoH samo bhUtvA.samatvaM yoga ucyate.

  29. 29.

    Verse 3:5: na hi kazcitkSaNamapi jAtu tiSThatyakarmakRt; kAryate hyavazaH karma sarvaH prakRtijairguNaiH.

  30. 30.

    Verse 3:7: yastvindriyANi manasA niyamyArabhate’rjuna; karmendriyaiH karmayogamasaktaH sa viziSyate.

  31. 31.

    Verse 3.30: mayi sarvaNi karmaNi sannyasyAdhyAtmacetasaA; nirazIrnirmamo bhUtvA yudhyasva vigaatjvaraH.

  32. 32.

    Verse 3.17: yastvAtmaratireva syAdAtmatRptazca mAnavaH; Atmanyeva ca santuSTastasya kAryaM na vidyate.

  33. 33.

    I have found many mellowed full professors in the last few years before their retirement to be much like this even in the US universities.

  34. 34.

    sthitaprajna or balanced mind is something that is a construct discussed in detail in the bhagavadgItA and is discussed later in Chapter 7.

  35. 35.

    Verse 2:49 states: dUureNa hyavaraM karma buddhiyogAddhanaJjaya; buddhau zaraNamanviccha kRpaNAH phalhetavaH.

  36. 36.

    yatInAm prazamo dharmoniyamo vanavAsinAm; dAnameva gRhasthAnAm zuzrUSA ­brahmcAriNAm. The dharma of sannyasins is pacification of manas; that of the forest-dweller is austerity; of the householder is charity; and that of the students is service. zR viSNu sahasranAma, p. 120. Swami Tapasyananda (1986) (Translator). zR viSNu sahasranAma: Commentary of zR Adi zankara.

  37. 37.

    Commenting on Verse 3.16, Adi zankara’s writes, “prAg AtmajnaniSThayogyatAprApteH tadarthyena karmayogAnuSThanam adhikRtena anAtmajnena kartavyam eva iti.”

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  1. Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2404 Maile Way, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA

    Dharm P. S. Bhawuk

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Correspondence to Dharm P. S. Bhawuk .

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Bhawuk, D.P.S. (2011). The Paths of Bondage and Liberation. In: Spirituality and Indian Psychology. International and Cultural Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8110-3_5

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