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Time of India
10-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Stillness As An Instrument, Not An Indulgence
In measuring our worth by activity and productivity, we often sacrifice the joys of 'being' to pressures of 'doing'. We seek fulfilment in motion rather than presence, so much so that stillness evokes discomfort and fear. We feel anxious to the point of questioning our purpose when we are not actively producing or consuming. This makes it critical to remember that our essence is not the same as our output. The Dalai Lama averred, "We are human beings, not human doings." The upanishads explain our true Atman, Self, as suddha-chaitanya, pure consciousness . "Atma va are drastavyah srotavyo mantavyo nididhyasitavyah," says the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, suggesting the Self must be seen, heard, reflected and meditated upon. "Tat tvam asi," declares the Chandogya Upanishad. "You are That. Not your output. Not your roles. But That: undivided, luminous awareness. That is the finest essence - this world has that as its soul." The Isha Upanishad instructs, "In activity, you should desire to live a hundred years, but only if these activities are not binding." Our fundamental nature is not that of a doer, but of a witness, defined by the awareness informing our experiences. The Mandukya Upanishad speaks of turiya, the fourth state of consciousness, transcending waking, dreaming and deep sleep. "Not inward-knowing, not conscious, not unconscious," is the still, silent witness that is. Stillness is not about desisting from action but about ensuring that the constant flow of doing does not dictate our deepest identity. Yet, we are increasingly averse to it. With our growing tendency to fill even the briefest of lulls in our lives with digital distractions, it is remarkable how our present bears out philosopher Blaise Pascal's observation that "all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Stillness can dredge up emotions, fears, doubts and dilemmas bred by neglected, unprocessed questions of meaning, purpose and mortality. But resorting to 'busyness' as an escape hardly ever delivers the sustainable well-being we crave. As Christian mystic Meister Eckhart put it, "The soul does not grow by addition but by subtraction." This is where the Upanishadic definition of Self as consciousness comforts and liberates. Expanding our view of ourselves as witnesses enables us to place our activities in perspective without being consumed by them. The Bhagwad Gita counsels, "To action alone hast thou a right, but never to its fruits," paving the way for action and inner freedom to coexist; for us to be fully present and committed to our actions without tying our self-worth, peace and identity to whether things go the way we hoped. True meditation , contemplation teacher Adyashanti explains, is not about mastering a technique but about letting go of control; the most radical aspect of being is not a result of effort but surrender. Studies show that when we are focused on being aware without trying hard, the parts of our brain that usually think about 'self' are quieter, while the parts that make us feel present and peaceful, effortless awareness, become more active. This is the dimension of being that we should start reclaiming, not to shy away from our responsibilities, but to power them. "Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone," said philosopher Alan Watts. Authored by: Harsh Kabra Why Arjun Was Chosen: The Untold Secret of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 3
Time of India
23-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Plato, Vedanta And Quantum Physics
What is reality ? Why does everything appear fragmented and separate if it is one and made of energy? Why do we each perceive it differently? For millennia, across cultures and civilisations, sages and philosophers have sensed that the world we perceive through our senses is not the whole truth. Beneath the visible lies the invisible. Behind the transient is the eternal. Beyond form and change, there is an unchanging essence. From philosophical insights of Plato to the spiritual revelations of Vedantic sages, and now discoveries of quantum physics , a striking convergence emerges. What appears as reality is only a projection, not the ultimate truth. Plato, philosopher of ideals, viewed the physical world as a shadow of a higher, perfect realm of Forms. Everything we encounter, trees, animals, human actions—is, in his view, an imperfect reflection of an ideal Form that exists beyond the material plane. There is a Form of Beauty in which all beautiful things participate, and a Form of Justice behind every just action. At the heart of this metaphysical vision is the Form of the Good, the ultimate source of all truth, existence, and intelligibility. The Chandogya Upanishad declares, Sarvam khalvidam Brahmn — all this is indeed Brahmn. It is described as the indivisible, undifferentiated, infinite essence that underlies everything. It is not a being among other beings. It is Being itself. Pure, formless, and beyond all categories, Brahmn is the ground of all reality. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tired of High Power Bills? Plug in This Device elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo But if all is Brahmn, why do we experience the world as fragmented, diverse, and ever-changing? The upanishad explains that although Brahmn is one and without division, we overlay distinctions upon it through nama, name; rupa, form; vyavahara, transactional experience. We name, shape, and engage with this undivided reality as if it were many. The world appears broken into parts because our perception is conditioned by duality. Vedanta teaches that this illusion, called maya, is born of ignorance, resulting from our reliance on limited senses and ego-mind. The goal is not to escape the world but to see through it and recognise unity in diversity. Modern science, through quantum physics, now reveals similar truths in its language. At the subatomic level, particles do not behave like solid objects but exist as waves of probability, fields of potential that remain undefined until observed. What we experience as a fixed, concrete world arises from something fluid, indefinite, and unseen. Just as Vedanta teaches that nama and rupa are superimposed upon Brahmn, quantum physics shows that the solid world manifests something more fundamental, an underlying field of pure potential. In both quantum theory and Vedanta, the observer plays a crucial role. In physics, the act of observation collapses a wave into a particle. Until then, it exists in superposition, a state of multiple possibilities. Vedanta, too, insists that perception is subjective. What we see, hear, or touch depends on the observer. Liberation lies in shifting the observer from conditioned, ego-bound self to witnessing awareness, Atman, which is Brahmn itself. Plato also called for this inward shift. In his allegory of the cave , he describes prisoners mistaking shadows on the wall for reality. Only by turning inward and moving beyond appearances can one see truth of Forms and, ultimately, the Form of the Good. Authored by: Ganesh Kolambakar Why Arjun Was Chosen: The Untold Secret of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 3
