Self in the Ancient Indian system
Ancient
Indian schools of psychology have traditionally been concerned with the Self as
a unique entity. A consistent view of orthodox schools is that the Self is an
independent, intangible substance. The Samkhya school of thought and Yogic
school of thought is inherently dualistic. It endorses two ultimate realities.
The first one is Purusa or pure universal self which is innate with the
universal consciousness, which is non-physical and thus Nirguna. The other is
the psycho-physical substantiality called Prakriti, which is unconscious. It is
in the unique interaction of the higher Self or Purusha, and the Prakriti that
the individual self and its relationship to the world are created.
The
components of Prakriti or nature is Buddhi (intelligence), Ahamkara
(ego-sense), Manas (mind), and Indriya (senses). These components borrow
consciousness of the Self (Purusa). However, in course of interaction with the
material world each of these components misperceives itself to be the absolute
reality or the Self.
Buddhi
as self: Bhuddi as the purest psycho-physical substantiality. Till buddhi is
untainted by desire and uninterrupted in intuitive knowledge, it acts as
becomes Purusa, the universal self on being illuminated by Purusa's
consciousness. In this state, it acts as the knower and controller in man.
Manas
& Ahamkara as Self: the commotions that are created within an individual
Whenever he is dominated by the desires to rule the world and control it is the
Ahamkara which is the product of the Manas. It is due to the influence of Ego
(Ahamkara) on the senses and cognitive processes, all experiences are perceived
to be as personal which confuses an individual into believing that the 'Ego' is
the true Self.
Body
as Self: when the sense organs reflecting consciousness, even they wrongly
identify themselves as Self. When any sense organs carry out its functions
since it is active, it misperceives itself to be the self. But the fact is that
it can function only with consciousness borrowed from self is forgotten. It is
in the above situation self is identified with Prakriti the individual nature
rather than Purusa universal state. According to the Yogic philosophy, this
illusion is the cause of all sufferings.
Purusa
as Self: The Supreme or the universal Being, the Purusa is believed to be
immortal, spiritual, and free. As the Self, it lacks all substantial contents.
Purusa is the witness, the inner psycho-spiritual state. Purusha becomes aware
of various objects through consciousness (Citta) which leads to the development
of attachments and ahamkara. If the Purusha has to regains its original nature
of being only a witness (drista) of the mind's activities then it has to free
itself from consciousness and this is the way by which liberation is attained.
The
Bhagavad Gita, theories related to self, stresses that man is not the Self but
only a part of self or Purusa. The duality of self, the 'higher state or the
universal self and lower part of the individual self' is explained as follows:
The true Self is 'Parabrahma'. There is, also, the transcendental,
indestructible self within each one of us which is the ideal self (Brahman).
Brahman has an eternal nature. But the constitution of the Bhraman is altered
when it comes into contact with the material world (Maya). Owing to Maya,
everything is unstable in the material world. Brahmn under the influence of the
Gunas, the Klesa, and Maya develops ignorance which in turn inculcates the
desire of ruling the world.
But
Self-realized man becomes Sthira-Buddhi or Stithaprajna who is not affected by
his contact with the materialistic world. They are not carried away by emotions
in any situation irrespective of their nature and functions with a stable
undisturbed mind. They cease to differentiate identities based on the
differences in the material bodies. One has to control the wandering nature of
the mind to attain the state of transcendence, which is beyond the mind-body
relationship.
It
is the desire for self-realization that makes individual adopt various path
which the individual feels comfortable in pursuing. The initial path is of
action (karma-yoga) which is carried out without the expectation of achieving
the intended goals. The alternative path is the development of universal love and
becomes a part of the happenings without developing attachment (Bhakti-yoga).
Following any of these paths relives a person from fear and anxiety which in
turn leads to freedom from all material bondage. This facilitates the person to
move in the direction of identifying the Supreme Self by bridging the gulf
between the individual self and the universal self.
The
self as portrayed in the Upanishads can be summarized as follows:
1. The
self exists;
2. The
self is immortal and without any beginning or end;
3. The
self is essentially non-material and;
4. The
self is identical with the ideal self (Brahman), the highest form of reality.
According
to the Katha Upanishads, the Knowledge (vidya) related to the eternal principle
(aksara) is quite different from the knowledge related to tangible unstable
(ksara) objects. One cannot obtain the Knowledge of an individual self or real
self by reaching out and connecting with the objects in the world. Knowledge of
the ideal Self is hidden deep within the innermost part of self, in the very
epicenter of the person. This innermost self lies beyond the senses, the mind,
and the intellect. Its essence cannot be sensed through sense organs or
comprehended by the mind or described by words. This is because the Self is not
observable or locatable within physical bodies. It is intangible, and hence not
limited to a particular place or point. The Katha Upanisad explains that the
Self can be experienced, through the practice of Yoga. Practicing yoga helps in
controlling the five senses thereby keeping the mind is undistracted, and the
intellect stable. The Taittiriya Upanisad describes the ideal self (Brahman) to
be attained through the realization of the Self as the Truth (Satyam),
Knowledge (jñanam), and Infinite (anantarm)
The
early Nyaya-Vaisesika school of thought supported the conception of the
self-stated in the Vedas as a substantial, persistent, and non-material entity.
They approved the theory by the Vedantins that the self cannot be perceived but
only inferred. The scholars who were a part of Nyaya school in the later
periods however rejected the idea that was put forth by the early school that
the self can only be known by inference. It asserted that the existence of the
self can be directly perceived. The Nyaya argued that the existence of the self
can be perceived through the concept of activity. They propagated the thought
that from the actions of the mind which directs the sense-organ into capturing
desirable objects, we infer the existence of the self'. The evidence offered by
the Nyaya is that from the action of regular breathing we infer the fact that
we exist. The Nyaya scholars attributed this explanation only to intelligent
actions and not merely mechanical actions which are done like that of a robot.
The Mimamsa school also supported this theory that the self as the subject can
be directly cognized in every experience.
The
Carvaka thought does not differentiate the self from the body. It argues that
self is the body which is illustrated and differentiated by consciousness. The
Carvaka denial of a subtle self is based on their evidence-based approach.
Carvacas insisted that perception is the only valid source of knowledge. The
Carvaka does not accept the legitimacy of inference and other sources of
knowledge (darsanas). From this position, they infer that the self cannot exist
because only that which can be perceived can be accepted to be existing.
According to them, the four elements of air, water, fire, and earth as the
basic building blocks of reality, and they can only be accepted as the ultimate
facts of the universe. Carvakas emphasized that the body is a unique
combination of these four elements and the self emerges from the combination
and interaction of these elements.
Buddhists
advocated the theory that a person is not a single substance existing
continuously through time, but a series of physical and mental states. Every
state of a person only exists for a short period. Each state consists of
various psychological and physiological factors which they termed as the
skandhas. These skandhas are not persistent in time but last only for one short
period. The period of each state is also not predictable. Buddism stated that a
person with mind and body (nama, rupa) consists of five elements (pañcha skandhas).
They are
1. Material
form (rupa),
2. Feeling
or sensation (vedana),
3. Perception
(samjña),
4. Personality traits which develop as an after effect of
the memories related to the past experience and behavior(samskara),
5. Reasoning
ability or intelligence (vijñana).
All
of these aspects of personhood are nor permanent. They have no absolute
existence. All five elements exist in loose relationships with one another. The
fundamental error that is experienced by all the human beings is to believe
that they are a permanent entity which can be identified with some material
form, perception, feeling, disposition, or reason, or having these components
within themselves. Buddism claimed that the states of perception, feeling,
behavioral disposition, etc which are not permanent, succeeded one after
another without having any underlying permanent, self-identical substance to
unite them. The state of a person changes after a period which is short but not
defined, and gives rise to a new state. This is an endless cycle of cause and
effect. By these explanations, they refused to accept the theory that the self
is a permanent entity. Hence Buddhism reinforced the thought that there cannot
be a persistent self. Even though the instantaneous succession of skandhas
gives the impression of continuity, it is distinct and discrete. These are
parts that cannot be treated as a whole.
Advaita
Vedanta sees the nature of the self and the nature of reality as a whole.
According to it, the self is permanent in nature and cannot be divided or destroyed.
The self does not cease to exist by the destruction of the body. It is by
realizing that the unchanging self is behind all the changes, that one attains
immortality. Thus, the true self is transcendental and this constitutes our
essential nature underlying all forms. The true self can be experienced only
when an individual from the external world. These external words include the
thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations experienced by the person. Hence, in
order to experience it, one has to first to go beyond the boundaries of the
narrow ego or the limited self before they can begin their journey in the
direction of realizing the true self.
Sankara's
Advaita Vedantic system has its base from the Upanishads. So it emphasizes that
there is one single principle that accounts for the ultimate reality, or the
universal self, known as the Brahman which is characterized by being (sat),
consciousness (chit), and bliss (ananda). It states that since human beings are
caught up in ignorance (avidya), they are therefore ignorant of this greater
truth. The ideal self (bhramn) is enteral (Nithya), pure (suddha), responsive
(buddha), ever released or boundless (Mukta), existent (Satya), subtle
(Sukshma), all-pervasive (Vibhu), and without a second or unparalleled
(advitya). Realization of our true and unadulterated nature which is the ideal
universal self comes from merging ourselves with the original and actual form,
from which we find ourselves separated due to the development of ego and
attachment towards sensory pleasures. All suffering arises when we become
attached with impermanent external frequently changing aspects of existence and
start identifying ourselves with the body or the physical self which takes us
farther away from our ideal self (Brahman).
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