UHCHAAF Q Ans PDF
UHCHAAF Q Ans PDF
UHCHAAF Q Ans PDF
TOPIC1
Q 1. What do you mean by values or human values? What is value education? Why there is a need of value
education? How does value education helps in fulfilling one's aspirations?
ANS. The subject that enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human happiness is called value education.
Value education is important to help everyone in improving the value system that he/she holds and puts it to
use. Once, one has understood his/ her values in life he/she can examine and control the various choices he/she
makes in his/ her life. Value education enables us to understand our needs and visualize our goals correctly and
also helps to remove our confusions and contradictions and bring harmony at all levels. It also helps remove our
confusions and contradictions and enables us to rightly utilize the technological innovations. Values form the
basis for all our thoughts, behaviours and actions. Once we know what is valuable to us, these values becomes
the basis, the anchor for our actions. We also need to understand the universality of various human values,
because only then we can have a definite and common program for value education. Then only we can be
assured of a happy and harmonious human society.
ANS. The process for value education has to be that of self-exploration, which includes two things:
verification at the level of natural acceptance and experiential validation in living. Self exploration is the process
to find out what is valuable to me by investigating within myself, what is right for me, true for me, has to be
judged within myself. Through self exploration we get the value of ourself. Various aspects of reality facilitating
the understanding of human values will be presented as proposals. We need to verify these proposals for our
self and examine our living in this light.
Q 3. What are the basic guidelines for value education? (UPTU 2011 – 12)
ANS. The subject that enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human happiness is called value education.
In order to qualify for any course on value education, the following guidelines for the content of the course are
important:
• Universal: It needs to be applicable to all the human beings irrespective of cast, creed, nationalities, religion,
etc., for all times and regions.
• Rational: It has to appeal to human reasoning. It has to be amenable to reasoning and not based on dogmas or
blind beliefs.
• Natural and verifiable: It has to be naturally acceptable to the human being who goes through the
course and when we live on the basis of such values it leads to our happiness. It needs to be experientially
verifiable, and not based on dogmas, beliefs or assumptions.
• All encompassing: Value education is aimed at transforming our consciousness and living. Hence, it
needs to cover all the dimensions (thought, behaviour, work and realization) and levels (individual,
family, society, nature and existence) of human life and profession.
• Leading to harmony: The value education ultimately is targeted to promote harmony within the
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individual, among human beings and with nature.
Q 4. What do you understand by the value of an entity? What is the value of a human being? (UPTU
2009-10)
ANS. The value of any Unit in this existence is its participation in the larger order of which it is part e.g. value of a
pen is that it can write. Here writing is the participation of the pen in the bigger order in which pen, paper,
human being, all are present. Value of an eye is that it can be used for seeing. Value of a vegetable plant is that it
gives nutrition to animals and humans.
The value of human being is the participation of human being at different level in this order. The participation
of the human being is seen in two forms: behaviour and work. The participation of human being pertaining to
behaviour are the nine values in relationship, viz. trust, respect, affection, care, guidance, reverence, glory,
gratitude and love. Likewise, working with material things, we have two values: utility value and artistic value.
All these values are nothing but the participation of the human being in different dimensions of living.
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• At the level of family – breaking of joint families, mistrust, and conflict between older and younger
generations, insecurity in relationships, divorce, dowry tortures, etc.
• At the level of society – growing incidence of terrorism and naxalism, rising communalism, spreading
casteism, racial and ethnic struggle, wars between nations, etc.
• At the level of nature – global warming, water, air, soil, noise etc. pollution, resource depletion of minerals
and mineral oils, etc.
All the problems are a direct outcome of an incorrect understanding, our wrong notion about
happiness and prosperity and their continuity
Q 13. What do the abbreviations given as SVDD, SSDD and SSSS signify?
ANS. To achieve our basic aspirations we need to work for right understanding as the base on which we can
work for relationship and then physical facilities. Today we are not working according to this that why we
can see that there are two kind of people in the world:
1. Those that do not have physical facilities/ wealth and feel unhappy and deprived. i.e. SVDD: Sadhan Viheen
Dukhi Daridra – Materially Deficient, Unhappy and Deprived.
2. Those that have physical facilities/ wealth and feel unhappy and deprived. i.e. SSDD: Sadhan Sampann Dukhi
Daridra – Materially Affluent, Unhappy and Deprived.
But these are states we don’t want to be in. We want to move from this to third category i.e.
3. Having physical facilities and feeling happy and prosperous i.e. SSSS: Sadhan Sampann Sukhi
Samriddha – Materially Adequate, Happy and Prosperous.
Q 14. “Physical facilities are necessary and complete for animals, while they are necessary but not complete for
humans.” Comment. Explain how physical facilities are necessary but not complete for humans while they are
complete for animals. Physical facilities are necessary but not complete for human being. Do you agree with
this statement? Support your answer with reasons and examples. (UPTU 2011 – 12)
ANS. Physical facilities are necessary and complete for animals, while they are necessary but not complete for
humans. It is easy to verify.
For Animals : Animals need physical things to survive, mainly to take care of their body. For example; cow will
look for food when it is hungry. Once it gets the grass or fodder. It eats it, sits around to chew at leisure. Hence,
we can say that as long as animals have physical things, they are largely fine. They don’t desire other things like
knowledge or a peaceful animal society or getting a good MBA.
For Humans : While physical facilities are necessary for human beings, they are not complete by themselves to
fulfil our needs. Our needs are more than just physical facilities. We all have other needs, other plans, perhaps
we think of going to a movie or reading a book, or go to college, or watch some TV, or spend time with family
and friends….. this list is endless. Thus it is easy to see that while physical facilities
are necessary for us human beings, they are not complete by themselves to fulfil our needs.
Hence we can say that for animals – “Physical facilities are necessary and complete.”
For humans “Physical facilities are necessary but not complete.”
Q 15. What are the requirements to fulfil basic human aspirations? What is the program to fulfil the basic
human aspirations? EExplain the basic requirements to fulfil human aspirations. Give the correct priority
among them. (UPTU 2009-10) Three things are needed in order to fulfill basic human aspirations–right
understanding, right relationships and physical facilities. Explain meaning of each one of these. (UPTU 2010–
11) Right understanding has first priority to fulfill basic aspiration. How can you explain it?
ANS. Our basic aspirations are happiness (mutual fulfilment) and prosperity (mutual prosperity). Happiness is
ensured by the relationships with other human beings and prosperity is ensured by working on physical
facilities.
Right Understanding: This refers to higher order human skills – the need to learn and utilize our intelligence most
effectively.
Good Relationships: This refers to the interpersonal relationships that a person builds in his or her life – at home,
at the workplace and in society.
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Physical Facilities: This includes the physiological needs of individuals and indicates the necessities as well as the
1. Right Understanding
Happiness - with human beings Mutual Prosperity - with rest of the nature
comforts of life. It means the feeling of having or being able to have more physical facilities than is needed. In
order to resolve the issues in human relationships, we need to understand them first, and this would come from
‘right understanding of relationship’. Similarly in order to be prosperous and to enrich nature, we need to have
the ‘right understanding’. The ‘right understanding’ will enable us to work out our requirements for physical
facilities and hence correctly distinguish the difference between wealth and prosperity. With nature as well, we
need to understand the harmony in nature, and how we can complement this harmony.
Q 16. What do you mean by animal and human consciousness? Explain with the help of a diagram. Distinguish
between ‘human consciousness’ and ‘animal consciousness’. How “shiksha and sanskar” are helpful in raising
man to “human consciousness” level. (UPTU 2010 – 11) What is the difference between animal consciousness
and human consciousness? How does the transformation take pladce in a human being?
ANS. Giving all priorities to physical facilities only, or to live solely on the basis of physical facilities, may be
termed as ‘Animal Consciousness’. Living with all three: Right understanding, Relationship and Physical facilities is
called ‘Human Consciousness’.
Q 17. “To be in a state of harmony is happiness”. Explain this statement and illustrate with two examples from
your day to day life.
ANS. Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure or joy.
Happiness may be described as consisting of positive emotions and positive activities. In other words, freedom
from want and distress, consciousness of the good order of things, assurance of one’s place in the universe or
society, inner peace and so forth. Happiness is the state of mind, where we feel good in most of the walk of life.
One important characteristic of this is feeling is that we like to continue this feeling. Or in other words, “The
state/situation in which I live, if there is harmony/ synergy in it, then I like to be in that state or situation.” i.e. “To
be in a state of liking is happiness.” If we explore our life we will find that respect is a state of harmony between
two human beings. When I respect the other and the other respects me, I like to be in that situation. It gives me
happiness. Take other example, when there is harmony in my thoughts and feelings, I feel relaxed and I want to
be in that situation. This feeling is happiness.
Q 18. Critically examine the prevailing notions of happiness in the society and their consequences. What is
happiness and prosperity? Are they related to each other? Can happiness be obtained without prosperity?
Explain. What is prosperity? Is it different from happiness? What are the basic human aspirations? Explain.
What is the outcome when we try to identify relationship based on the exchange of physical facilities?
ANS. Happiness may be defined as being in harmony/synergy in the state/ situation that I live in. “A state or
situation in which I live, if there is harmony in it then I like to be in that state / situation. The state of liking is
happiness.” Whereas, prosperity is the “feeling of having or making available more than required physical
facilities”.
In the current scenario, we are generally trying to achieve happiness and prosperity by maximizing accumulation
and consumption of physical facilities. This is an attempt to achieve happiness through pleasant sensory
interactions. The physical facilities are not seen in terms of fulfilling bodily needs but as a means of maximizing
happiness.
This has resulted in wrong assessment of wants for physical facilities as being unlimited. But this pursuit is self-
defeating. Neither can we hope to achieve continuous happiness through sensory interactions nor can we have
prosperity, as it amounts to trying to fulfil unlimited wants through limited resources. This effort is engendering
problems at all the levels. It is becoming anti-ecological and anti-people, and threatening the human survival
itself. Some of the consequences of such a trend are summarised below:
1 At the level of the individual – Rising problems of depression, psychological disorders, suicides, stress,
insecurity, psycho-somatic diseases, loneliness etc.
2 At the level of the family – Breaking of joint families, mistrust, conflict between older and younger generations,
insecurity in relationships, divorce, dowry tortures, family feuds, wasteful expenditure in family functions etc.
3 At the level of the Society – Growing incidences of terrorism and naxalism, rising communalism,spreading
casteism, racial and ethnic struggle, wars between nations, attempts of genocide, fear of nuclear
and genetic warfare, etc.
4 At the level of nature – Global warming, water, air, soil, noise, etc. pollution, resource depletion of minerals and
mineral oils, sizeable deforestations, loss of fertility of soil.
It therefore, calls for an urgent need for human beings to correctly understand happiness and prosperity as
well as the sustainable way to achieve these.
TOPIC 2
1. The needs of the self are qualitative. Illustrate.
ANS. Human beings are a complex combination of the sentiment ‘I’ which relates to all the feelings and the
material ‘body’ which refers to all the physical facilities available to them. Need of self is sukh (happiness).
Sukh is qualitative. Therefore the needs of ‘I’ are qualitative. They are not quantifiable. We also want them
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continuously. We cannot talk of one kg of respect or one meter of happiness. Our feelings are qualitative.
Either they are or they are not. Ex. Happiness is qualitative. Either we are feeling happy or we are not. Also if a
feeling is not naturally acceptable; we do not want it even for a single moment. If acceptable, we want it
continuously. We can see this with the example of respect. We don’t want the feeling of disrespect even for a
single moment, since it is not naturally acceptable to us.
By nature man is fond off comfort and happiness so he goes on making desires and ambitions one after the other
to enjoy more in life. To lead a comfortable life he also accumulates many facilities, so that his life may become
full of comfort and happiness. Sukh depends upon our thinking, so many times we are surrounded by
materialistic possessions but we feel unsatisfied. People think that their happiness depends upon suvidha
(facilities) but is it not so; happiness depends upon our thinking or our mental satisfaction.
Q 2. The needs of the body are quantitative. Illustrate.When we try to achieve continuity of happiness through
sensation by perpetuating contact with suvidha, the following pattern results: Necessary and tasteful =>
unnacessary but tasteful =>unnacessary and tasteless => inrolerable. Do you agree with this statement?
Support your answer with arguments.
ANS. Need of body are physical facilities. Physical facilities are needed for the body in a limited quantity. When
we try and exceed these limits, it becomes troublesome for us after some time. Let’s take the example of eating.
As far as, physical facilities (say rasgulla) go, they are necessary in the beginning, but if we keep consuming, it
becomes intolerable with the passage of time. This applies to every physical facility. We can only think of having
unlimited physical facilities, but if we try and consume, or have too much of physical facilities, it only ends up
becoming a problem for us. When we try to perpetuate physical facilities, the following pattern results. With time
it successively changes from:
Necessary and tasteful=>Unnecessary but tasty =>Unnecessary and tasteless =>Intolerable!
Q 3. Distinguish between the needs of the Self and the needs of the Body. What are the needs of the ‘self’ and
the ‘body’? ‘The need for physical facilities is temporary’ – explain the meaning of this statement with any
two examples. (UPTU 2009-10) Differentiate between the needs of self and the needs of body. (UPTU 2011 –
12)
ANS. The human being is the co-existence of ‘I’ and the body, and there is exchange of information between the
two. We can make this distinction between the self and the body in terms of the needs as shown in the table
below:
I Body
Trust, Respect…. Food, Clothing…
Needs are ….
Happiness (sukh) Physical Facilities (suvidha)
In time needs are……. Continuous Temporary
Needs Quantitative (limited in
In quantity, needs are... Qualitative
quantity)
Needs are fulfilled Right understanding and right
Food, clothing, etc.
by….. feelings
Q 4. Do you think that human beings are sum-total of sentiments and physical aspects the ‘self’ and
the ‘body’? Explain your answer using examples.
‘I’ is a conscious Unit while the body is a material unit. Examine this statement.
“Human being is more than just the body” – Explain.
ANS. There is the familiar shape and structure of a human being that is immediately apparent to us and we
imagine someone with similar human body-like features. But in addition to the body, there is also the aliveness
of the person – the entity that keeps the body ‘alive’ and makes it operate in various ways. We perceive this
aliveness in the activities demonstrated by the person like their seeing, talking, listening, walking, and eating, etc.
This aliveness is called Jivana. Thus, a human being is coexistence of the body and jivan. This jivan refers to itself
as ‘I’ (self). Thus we say “I am so and so” or “I feel tired” or “I am happy” and not “my body is happy”. This I or self
is also called ‘consciousness’ and is the sentient constitute of the human being. The human being is the sum total
of sentiments and physical aspect, the self (‘I’) and the body, and there is exchange of information between the
two, i.e. ‘I’ and body exist together and are related. There is a flow of information from ‘I’ to the body and from
body to the ‘I’. We can make this distinction between the self and the body in three ways in terms of the needs,
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activities and the types of these two entities. All the needs of I, say respect, trust, etc., can be called as Happiness
(such), while the needs of body are physical facilities (suvidha) like food. The two things are qualitatively
different. There is no relevance of quantity for the needs of I as it is qualitative, while the needs of body are
quantitative, and they are limited in quantity.
The activities of ‘I’ are activities like, desire, thinking, selection, while the activities of body are activities like
eating, breathing etc. The mode of interaction of ‘I’ includes knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilment. The
fulfilment depends on recognition depends on assumptions and assumptions depends on knowing or not
knowing (beliefs). If assuming is based on knowledge, then recognition will be correct and fulfilment will be
correct. If assuming is not based on knowledge, then things may go wrong. The mode of interaction of body is
only recognizing and fulfilling. Self is a conscious entity and the body is a material entity, or physiochemical in
nature.
To conclude we can say that the human being can be understood in terms of a co-existence of two entirely
distinct entities, namely sentient ‘I’ and material body. Their needs and activities are quite different and have to
be understood accordingly. But these two constituents of human being are to act in close synergy with each
other.
Q 5. ‘Human being is co-existence of the Self and the Body’ – elaborate on this statement. ‘Human being is the
co-existence of the Self and the Body’ – Explain this statement taking yourself as an example.
ANS. The human being is the co-existence of ‘I’ and the body, and there is exchange of information between the
two, i.e. ‘I’ and body exist together and are related. There is a flow of information from ‘I’ to the body and from
body to the ‘I’. We can make this distinction between the self and the body in three ways in terms of the needs,
activities and the types of these two entities. All the needs of I, say respect, trust, etc., can be called as Happiness
(such), while the needs of body are physical facilities (suvidha) like food. The two things are qualitatively
different. There is no relevance of quantity for the needs of I as it is qualitative, while the needs of body are
quantitative, and they are limited in quantity. The activities of ‘I’ are activities like, desire, thinking, selection,
while the activities of body are activities like eating, breathing etc. The mode of interaction of ‘I’ includes
knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilment. The fulfilment depends on recognition depends on assumptions
and assumptions depends on knowing or not knowing (beliefs). If assuming is based on knowledge, then
recognition will be correct and fulfilment will be correct. If assuming is not based on knowledge, then things may
go wrong. The mode of interaction of body is only recognizing and fulfilling. Self is a conscious entity and the
body is a material entity, or physic-chemical in nature. Thus we can say:
Co-existence
Human Being = Self (‘I’) Body information
The conscious entity The material entity that has
that desires, thinks, physic-chemical activities
imagines like heart-beats, digesting etc.
To conclude we can say that the human being can be understood in terms of a co-existence of two entirely
distinct entities, namely sentient ‘I’ and material body. Their needs and activities are quite different and have to
be understood accordingly. But these two constituents of human being are to act in close synergy with each
other.
Q 6. Explain with examples where activities involves both body and 'I' Differentiate between the activities of
knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilling with the help of an example. (UPTU 2010 – 11) Explain the
activities of knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfillment with one examples. (UPTU 2011 – 12) Differentiate
between the activities of the self and the body on any two grounds. What is the qualitative difference between
the activities of the Self and those of the Body? Illustrate with one example. How recognizing and fulfilling in
the self do depends upon knowing or assuming? Can the activities of the self be distinctly understood from the
activites of the body? Name any three activities and elaborate.
ANS. If we look at the variety of activities that we are engaged in commonly – we see that we can put them in
three categories:
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1. Activities that are going on in the self
2. Activities that are going on in the body
3. Activities involving both the self and the body
Knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilling are the activities involving both the self and the body.
1. Activities of recognizing and fulfilling in the body: Apart from the activities of Breathing, Heartbeat, Digestion
etc., the activities of the body can also be understood as recognition and fulfilment. In fact, the mutual
interaction between any two material entities can be understood as recognition and fulfilment of their
relationship. For example when we are thirsty and drink water, the body absorbs the water to the extentneeded
and uses for the nourishment of the various organs. Here, body recognizes its relation with water and fulfils it.
2. Activities of knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfilling in the self (‘I’): When it comes to self (jivan or ‘I’),
which is a conscious entity; in addition to ‘recognizing and fulfilling’, there is also the activity of assuming and that
of knowing. In fact, recognizing and fulfilling in case of human beings will depend upon knowing and/or assuming.
a. We assume – We all make assumptions and our response (recognition and fulfilment) is dependent on the
assumption. For ex.: If I see a snake and assumed it to be a rope, I shall respond differently to it, than if I take it to
be a snake itself. We call this activity ‘assuming or mannana’.
b. We recognize – We all recognize things today, we recognize a variety of things. Like, we recognize water, our
parents, friends, etc. We call this activity ‘recognizing or pahachaanana’. The recognizing in ‘I’ depends on
assuming.
c. We fulfil –The response that follows recognition is called the activity of ‘fulfilling or nirvaha karna’. The
fulfilment depends on the recognition. For ex.: Once we recognize water, we take it.
Taken together we can write it as (in I):
There is another activity that exists in us (in ‘I’). This activity is called ‘knowing’. Knowing means
we have the right understanding – the understanding of harmony at all levels of our living. When we have the
right understanding, when we have the knowledge of reality, it is definite, and then assuming becomes according
to the knowing, and hence recognizing and fulfilling becomes definite, or according to knowing. Until then, it is
subject to beliefs and assumptions, and this keeps changing. When we list these down:
I Body
Desiring, thinking etc. Breathing, heart-beat, etc.
Activities Activities are ….. Knowing, assuming,
Recognizing, fulfilling
recognizing, fulfilling
Q 7. Define sensations?
ANS. A perception associated with stimulation of a sense organ or with a specific body condition is known as
sensation. For example, the sensation of heat. In other words, it is a term commonly used to refer to the
subjective experience resulting from stimulation of a sense organ, for instance, a sensation of warm, sour, or
green. Suppose we had seen the bike and not associated it with ‘greatness’; rather we only liked the way it
‘looked’ – then this is based on the sensation.
Q 8. What do you mean by Imagination? OR What is Imagination?
ANS. The activities of Imaging, analyzing, Selecting/Tasting at the level of self, are collectively called as
imagination.
Imagination = Imaging + analyzing + Selecting/Tasting
We all imagine, and most of our activities (in the self) today can be mostly clubbed into imagination.
This activity of imagination in ‘I’ is continuous and not temporary. The power may change but the activity is
continuous. The object of the taste may change but the activity of selecting/tasting is continuous. Also what we
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analyze may keep changing the activity of analyzing is continuous. We make choices with the external world
based on our imagination today.
Q 9. What is pre-conditioning? What is their source? What is the meaning of desire? How do we verify whether
our desries are comming from sensations or preconditioning or natural acceptance? (UPTU 2010 – 11) How
human mind gets influenced or conditioned? (UPTU 2010 – 11) What are the source of preconditioning?
ANS. Preconditioning means we have assumed something about our desires on the basis of prevailing notion
about it. They comes from what we read, see hear, what our parents tell us, our friends talk about what the
magazines talk of, what we see on the TV etc. We have not self-verified the desires in our own right. As a result,
we are not clear about what we will get out of fulfilment of that desire. The problem with that is, unless we verify
our desires, we may not even know whether they are our. We may end up spending an entire lifetime
accumulating desires that are not ours, and in running about trying to fulfil them.
Q 10. How can you say that the activities in ‘I’ are continuous? Explain how activities in 'I' are continuous.
ANS. There are various activities in ‘I’. These activities are imaging, analyzing and selecting/ tasting. If we observe
these activities we will find that we are imaging throughout the day, even at night. During the day, we keep
having desires, and these desires don’t stops even at night. The activity of analyzing, takes place all the time as
well. What we analyze may keep changing, the activity of analyzing is continuous. Similarly, the activity of
selecting/tasting is also continuous. The object of the taste may change but the activity of selecting/tasting is
continuous. We are expecting something all the time. And do the selection on the basis of this expectation. These
activities keep going on in us, irrespective of whether we want them or not. E.g. my object of taste may change
from rasgulla, to engineering or nice looking bike, etc. similarly I may analyze about my personal life at one
moment and about my surrounding at the next moment and may start thinking about my relationships. These
activities keep going on in us irrespective of whether we want them or not. This is what happens when we say “I
was going to the exam and that song kept repeating itself in me, it was so distracting”.
Q 11. “The problem today is that the desires, thoughts and expectations are largely set by preconditioning or
sensations” – examine this statement. What are the problems that we are facing today because of operating
on the basis of preconditioned desires and sensation? How do we go into conflicts when our activities are not
guided by our natural acceptance? Explain how pre conditioning can lead to unhappiness. Discuss the problems
that are created by having desire, thoughts and expectation on the basis of pre – conditioning. (UPTU 2011 –
12) How do sensations and pre-conditionings influence our imagination? Give two examples of each.
ANS. When our activities are not guided by our natural acceptance, then they are guided by preconditioning and
sensations. Preconditioning means we have assumed something about our desires on the basis of prevailing
notion about it. We have not verified the desires in our own right. As a result, we are not clear about what we will
get out of fulfilment of that desire. What is the issue with that? Unless we verify our desires, we may not even
know whether they are our! We may end up spending an entire lifetime accumulating desires that are not our,
and in running about trying to fulfil them! Sensation is a perception associated with stimulation of a sense organ
or with a specific body condition: the sensation of heat; a visual sensation.
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We go into conflicts when our activities are not guided by our natural acceptance:
A. Conflicts and contradictions in ‘I’ as a result of pre-conditioned desire
We have not verified the desires, thoughts and expectations in us on the basis of our own natural acceptance. As
a result, these desires, thoughts and selections are in conflicts. Since the desires are in conflict, the thoughts they
give rise to, are also in conflict and in turn, the selection from the thoughts are also in conflicts. This conflict
affects us in different manners:
1. Wavering aspirations: Our goals keep shifting as the inputs from the outside also keep changing. Our desires
thus keep shifting, because their source is outside and these preconditioned desires may come from what we
read, see, hear, from media, friends, society, etc. hence, we are always wavering in what we want; we are not
able to be certain about it.
2. Lack of confidence: Since our desires are shaky, we are not sure about them. As a result, we lack self
confidence, in the true sense. Our confidence seems relative i.e. we keep comparing ourselves with others in
order to feel confident.
3. Unhappiness/conflicts: Since our desires, thoughts and expectations are in conflict, it becomes the cause for
our unhappiness, leading to stress and tension. Such desires will also be in conflict with our natural acceptance
4. Lack of qualitative improvement in us: We focus largely on fulfilling the needs of the body. As a result, we live
with a sense of lack of fulfilment. We are doing many things, accumulating a lot, progressing on paper, but we
don’t feel that we have improved, that we have become better. It seems that only the things around us are
changing!
State of resignation: Because we do not understand ourselves properly and have contradictions within, we slowly
start getting disillusioned (pleasant but mistaken beliefs). We feel that there are no solutions to these issues, and
end up in a state of resignation.
B. Short lived nature of pleasure from sensations: The pleasure obtained from sensations is short-lived.
We have so much dependent on sensations that instead of giving us some sensory pleasure, it becomes
the source for our happiness. This can be understood as follows:
The external object is temporary in nature the contact of the external object with the body is
temporary in nature. The sensation from the body to ‘I’ is temporary. And at last the taste of the sensation
from the body in ‘I’ is also temporary. Therefore, if the source for our happiness is temporary by definition,
then our need for continuous happiness will never be fulfilled. Hence, any sensation we have from the body
can’t be the source for our lasting happiness.
To sum up, if our desires, thoughts and expectations are based on pre-conditionings, we are generally in a state
of great confusion. This leads to confusion, unhappiness, conflict and stress. We have lack of clarity about the
self, relationships, society, nature and existence. We have lack of confidence. We have a feeling of being
unfulfilled, unsettled. We operate largely on the basis of the environment, driven from the outside – either from
sensations, or based on pre-conditionings.
Q 12. “I am the seer, doer and enjoyer. The body is my instrument” – Explain. (UPTU 2011 – 12)
How self enjoys the activities of the body?
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ANS. There is a relation between the self and body that body act as an instrument of self. Whatever self thinks
body performs it physically. Body does not decide itself. We can verify this by the following discussion.
I am the seer: When we are reading a book or listening, when someone is explaining something to us, when we
are watching a scenery or when we are thinking – we are engaged in the activities of ‘seeing’ or understanding.
Now when we see some nice scenery we say ‘I am seeing’ that means our self ‘I’ see via the eyes, the eyes don’t
see, they are just instruments, that unable me to see something outside. Different images are formed in the eyes
every time, but it is I who is able to relate it to the meaning of that image every time. Similarly, I can see inside ‘in
me’ also – without the eyes. For example I can see that I am getting angry. In this case I understand or know or
am aware that I am getting angry. When I see outside the body works as an instrument.
I am the doer: once I have seen/ understood something, I am the one who decides what to do or not to do. I am
the doer. For example, when I see the scenery I am the one who decide to take a picture of the scenery. I use my
hands to pick camera and click a picture. The hands in the body are thus used as an instrument. In this way I work
with my hands and legs.
I am the enjoyer: I saw the scenery and I took the picture. I am the seer and doer so far. When I see the picture I
like it. I am the one that enjoys it. Thus there is a continuity of being the seer, doer and enjoyer. Similarly when I
eat, I am the one that gets the taste – from the tongue.
Q 13. Explain the activities of imaging, analyzing and selecting/ tasting with a diagram. With the help
of an example, show how are they related. What do you mean by ‘Power’ and ‘Activity’ of self?
ANS. The self is conscious in nature while the body is physico-chemical in nature. The interaction between the ‘I’
and the body is in the form of exchange of information. So the focus of attention is on two categories of
attributes of the self, namely, the powers of the self and the corresponding activities as the manifest outcomes of
these powers.
Power: This means the basic capacity in the self (‘I’). They are: desires, thoughts and expectations.
Activities: Activity is the process of utilizing this power. The activities are: imaging, analyzing, and
selecting/tasting. The activity of analyzing means breaking down the image into various parts or to open it up.
Selecting/tasting is with the expectation of fulfilling our desires with the expectation of happiness. The activity of
selecting/tasting is the basic level via which the self interacts with the body.
We can understand the activities by a simple example. We may have a desire to have respect by being the owner
of a big house. This is in the form of imaging – we have an image in us of fulfilment of this need for respect via a
house. Based on this image, we start working out the details of the house. The house will have rooms and a
verandha, there will be a kitchen garden on the backside, it will have four rooms etc. Here the image of wanting
respect from the house split into many parts – this is called analyzing. Now that we have worked out the details
of the house, we go about choosing the size, colour, etc. of the rooms and other details. This is called selecting/
tasting. They are related in the sense that without the activity of imaging, analyzing will not be possible and
without analyzing, activity of selection/ tasting will not take place.
Q 14. “The pleasures that we derive from sensations are short lived and the efforts to extend them lead to
misery” – examine this statement. Elaborate how sensation from the body cannot be a source for continuous
happiness.
ANS. A perception associated with stimulation of a sense organ or with a specific body condition: the sensation of
heat; a visual sensation. A term commonly used to refer to the subjective experience resulting from stimulation
of a sense organ, for instance, a sensation of warm, sour, or green. The pleasure obtained from sensations is
short-lived. We are driven by five sensations (sound from the ears, touch from the skin, sight through eyes, taste
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from the mouth, and smell from the nose) and most of the time we are busy trying to get pleasure from
sensations, from the senses. We have so much dependent on sensations that instead of giving us some sensory
pleasure, it becomes the source for our happiness. Then what is the issue with this is? This can be understood as
follows:
The external object is temporary in nature the contact of the external object with the body is temporary in
nature. The sensation from the body to ‘I’ is temporary. And at last the taste of the sensation from the body in ‘I’
is also temporary. The need of the ‘I’ is continuous, i.e. we want to have happiness, and its continuity. Therefore,
if the source for our happiness is temporary by definition, then our need for continuous happiness will never be
fulfilled. Hence, any sensation we have from the body can’t be the source for our lasting happiness. No matter
how much we try to be become happy via the senses, or via bodily sensation, it does not last. This does not mean
that we stop these sensations from the body, or that we stop tasting from the senses. It only means that we need
to understand the limitations of happiness or pleasure got from the sensations from the body and need to
understand what is there use or purpose. If we confuse this purpose with the happiness, we are in trouble, since
something that is temporary can’t be the source for our continuous happiness.
We can thus understand that living on the basis of preconditioning (“good life means having a nice car”) or
sensations (happiness out of taste from the body) means being in a state of being decided by the others or
outside, i.e. enslaved (partantrata). We are at the mercy of the preconditioning and the sensation. Whereas, we
want to be in the state of self-organization of being decided by our own self, in our own right (svantrata).
Q 15. Explian the activities of realizaiton and understanding. How do they lead to harmony in the activities of
‘I’? Illustrate with an example. How does realization and understanding lead to definiteness of human
conduct? Realization and understanding are essential for happiness and harmony. Explain.
ANS. Realization: Means to be able to see the reality as it is. In realization, we get the answer to “what is the
reality?” This, for each one of us, translates into the answers to “what to do?” and “why to do?” when we
operate on the basis of realization and gains understanding according to the realization then it give definiteness
and certainty and makes us self organized.
Understanding: Means to be able to understand the self organization in all entities of nature/existence and their
inter-connected organization “as it is”. We are able to see the harmonious interconnectedness at all the levels of
our living. Understanding plays an important role in desire making. When we do not have the right
understanding, our desire keep shifting, and this indefiniteness is reflected in our thoughts, and selections we
make, and finally in our behaviour and work. On the other hand, when our understanding is based on realization
and we use this understanding in desire making then our desire will be correct and thoughts and selection will be
according to the understanding.
These are the two activities in the self (‘I’) (placed at point 1 and 2 in the figure). When we have (1) realization
then (2) understanding becomes according to the realization. When this happens, then (3) imaging or desires get
set according to this understanding. Consequently, (4) analysis or thoughts become according to the
imaging/desires and hence, the (5) expectations or selection/taste are according to the thoughts/analysis. This is
called self- organization or svantrata. This leads to happiness and its continuity. In realization and understanding,
we get the answer to “what is the reality?” This, for each one of us, translates into the answers to “what to do?”
and “why to do?” Then what remains to find out is “how to do?”, which comes from imagination (activities 3, 4,
and 5). Is we see today we are focusing on “how to do?”, without trying to first verify “what to do?” and “why to
do?”! It is just like traveling in a comfortable AC vehicle on a smooth road without knowing where we have to go!
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ANS. The self is conscious in nature while the body is physico-chemical in nature. The interaction between the ‘I’
and the body is in the form of exchange of information. So the focus of attention is on two categories of
attributes of the self, namely, the powers of the self and the corresponding activities as the manifest outcomes of
these powers.
1. Power: This means the basic capacity in the self (‘I’). They are: desires, thoughts and expectations.
2. Activities: The activities are: imaging, analyzing, and selecting/tasting. The activity of analyzing means breaking
down the image into various parts or to open it up. Selecting/tasting is with the expectation of fulfilling our
desires with the expectation of happiness. The activity of selecting/tasting is the basic level via which the self
interacts with the body.
Activities in self are related: There are two possible flows of the activities and both keep taking place:
From outside (the body) to inside (in ‘I’)
1. Self receives sensations from body tasted in ‘I’ e.g. our self see a car through the information via ‘eyes’.
2. Based on taste, thought could be triggered e.g. we start thinking about the car.
3. Based on these thoughts, desires may be set e.g. when we starts thinking about the car it forms an image
that we are leading a good life by using a car and this way a good life by having a car becomes a desire.
From inside (in ‘I’) to outside (the body)
1. When desire is set we start forming thoughts about fulfilling this desire. E.g. with the desire of a good
life via the car, we start thinking about how to get the car, what is the cost of the car, how can I have
that car, etc.
2. Based on this we make selection to fulfill these thoughts e.g. we choose the car its shape color etc and
then end up buying it. Activities in self are continuous.
Activities in self (‘I’)
Power Activity
1. ……………….. 1. ………………….
2. ……………….. 2. ………………….
Self --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
information
Body exchange Sensations
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ANS. Normally we tend to believe that the body is an instrument for sensory enjoyment, which is not correct. We
also happen to our body to exploit other human beings or rest of the nature, which is also not right utilization.
Body is the instrument of the self and the body needs to be given nutrition, protection and utilized to work as an
efficient and effective tool for the right purpose. This utilization is termed as right utilization. In other words,
employing our body as an instrument for sensory enjoyment, and to exploit other human beings or rest of the
nature is not the right utilization. On the contrary utilizing our body for right behaviour and work is actually the
right utilization of the body.
Topic 3
Q 1. Define trust. Or How is ‘trust’ the foundation value of relationships? What do you understand by ‘trust’?
What is its importance in human relationship? (UPTU 2011–12)
ANS. Trust or vishwas is the foundational value in relationship. “To be assured that each human being inherently
wants oneself and the other to be happy and prosperous” is known as trust. Having faith in others and believing
them. Trust is the expectation of people that they can rely on our word. It is built through integrity and
consistency in relationships. To keep the trust on ourself and others, we have to pay attention on the intensions
and to understand if we or the other person is not able to do benefit, it is because we are lacking competence.
Trust is the result of right understanding of the intention of all the human beings around us. This trust helps to
improve our competence in others and in ourselves.
Q 2. Explain the feeling of ‘respect’
ANS. Respect means individuality. The sense of individuality is prime object. This is the first basic step towards
respect (sammana). Once we realized that we are individual then only we can see ourself different from others.
In other words, respect means right evaluation, to be evaluated as I am.
Q 3. Define ‘affection’. Or How does affection lead to harmony in the family?
ANS. Affection is the feeling of being related to the other. Affection comes when I recognize that we both want
to make each other happy and both of us are similar. Then for the first time, I feel that I am related to the other
that the other is a relative of mine. This feeling is called affection. The feeling of affection comes only if trust and
respect are already ensured. Without trust and respect, we feel the other is trying to make us unhappy, does not
wish well for us and hence we can never feel affection for him/her. We always see the other as being in
opposition.
Q 4. Explain the feeling of ‘care’
ANS. The feeling of care is the feeling to nurture and protect the body of our relative. Or in other words a state of
mind in which one is troubled; worry, anxiety, or concern is called care. Care is level of active concern, or lack of
negligence, towards avoidance of possible dangers, mistakes, pitfalls, and risks, demanded of a party as a duty or
legal obligation. We understand a human being as a coexistence of the self (‘I’) and the body, and the body is an
instrument of ‘I’. Based on this understanding, we take the responsibility of nurturing and protecting the body of
our relatives.
Q 5. Explain the feeling of ‘guidance’
ANS. The feeling of ensuring right understanding and feelings in the other (my relative) is called guidance. We
understand the need of self (‘I’) for right understanding and feelings. We also understand that the other is similar
to me in his/her faculty of natural acceptance, desire of wanting continuous happiness and the program of living
in harmony at all the four levels. The other is also similar to me in the potential of desire, thoughts and
expectation.
Q 6. Explain the feeling of ‘reverence’
ANS. The feeling of acceptance of excellence in the other is called reverence. We understand that we aspire for
continuous happiness and to realize it, we have to understand harmony at all the levels of our living, and live
accordingly. When we see that the other has achieved this excellence- which means to understand and to live in
harmony at all the levels of living ensuring continuity of happiness, we have a feeling of reverence for him/her.
This feeling of accepting the excellence in the other is called reverence.
Q 7. Explain the feeling of ‘glory’
ANS. Glory is the feeling for someone who has made efforts for excellence. We find that there have been people
in the history, or even around us, who are investing their time, energy and their belongings to achieve excellence
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(to understand and to live in harmony at all levels of living ensuring continuity of happiness), to make others
excellent. This gives us a feeling of glory for them.
Q 8. Explain the feeling of ‘gratitude’
ANS. Gratitude is the feeling of acceptance for those who have made efforts for my excellence. Gratitude is an
emotion that occurs after people receive help, depending on how they interpret the situation. Specifically,
gratitude is experienced if people perceive the help they receive as (a) valuable to them, (b) costly to their
benefactor, and (c) given by the benefactor with benevolent intentions.
Q 9. Define love. Or How can you say that love is the complete value?
ANS. Love is called the complete value since this is the feeling of relatedness to all human beings.
This feeling or value is also called the complete value since this is the feeling of relatedness to all human beings. It
starts with identifying that one is related to the other human being (the feeling of affection) and it slowly expands
to the feeling of being related to all human beings. The feeling of love leads to an undivided society, it starts from
a family and slowly expands to the world family in the form of love.
Q 10. What is meaning of justice in human relationships? How does it follow from family to world family?
(UPTU 2009 - 10) What is ‘justice’? What are its four elements? Is it a continuous or a temporary need? Explain
justice with the help of the diagram. What is justice? How does it lead to mutual happiness? (UPTU 2011 – 12)
ANS. Justice is the recognition of values (the definite feelings) in relationship, their fulfilment, the right evaluation
of the fulfilment resulting in mutual happiness. Justice concerns itself with the proper ordering of things and
people within a society. There are four elements: Recognition of values, fulfilment, evaluation and mutual
happiness ensured. When all the four are ensured, justice is ensured. Mutual fulfilment is the hallmark of justice.
And justice is essential in all relationships. Justice starts from family and slowly expands to the world family. The
child gets the understanding of justice in the family. With this understanding, he goes out in the society and
interacts with people.
If the understanding of justice is ensured in the family, there will be justice in all the interactions we have in the
world at large
Q 11. What do you mean by differentiation in relationship? What are the issues on which differentiation in
relationship in prevalent in the society? How do we differentiate in relationships on the basis of body, physical
facilities, or beliefs? What problems do we face because of such differentiation? What is respect? When do we
feel we have been disrespected? How have we differentiated people on the basis of body and beliefs? What is
the meaning of respect? How do we disrespect others due to lack of right understanding of this feeling? (UPTU
2010 – 11) How do we come to differentiate between human beings on the basis of body? Explian. What are its
consequences? [ to answer this ques you have to mention only the points of body and there outcomes
mentioned in next ques]
ANS. Respect means accepting individuality and doing right evaluation (to be evaluated as I am). Today, we are
differentiating in the name of respect. We either differentiate people on the basis of their body, on the basis of
their wealth and possessions or on the basis of their beliefs. There is no notion of respect in terms of right
evaluation. Thus, there is no real feeling of relationship, only one of differentiation.
On the basis of body
• Sex/gender: We ignore the fact that being male or female is an attribute of the body, and not an attribute at
the level of ‘I’. And differentiate in giving respect on the basis of gender called male and females. In many
countries, people even prefer a male child to a female child, and in some other societies, the other way round.
• Race: If the person is of the same race as oneself, then we treat them differently. For example, we differentiate
on the basis of skin colour – white, brown, black etc. or on the basis of whether the person is of Aryan race,
Mongolian race etc. or on the basis of caste. Again here, we don’t do the evaluation on the basis of ‘I’, but on the
basis of the body
• Age: We have notions such as ‘one must respect elders’. There is no such notion as respect youngsters. Here,
we see that we are again evaluating at the level of the body – age is related to the body, and not to ‘I’.
• Physical strength: If someone is stronger, we again treat him/her differently. This is again at the level of the
body. In fact, we think that we are respecting the other while it is fear; the fear that if we do not treat them like
this, we will be harmed.
On the basis of physical facilities
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• Wealth: We differentiate people because some have wealth than others. What we term as a “rich person” gets
idolized. We don’t even bother to find out whether such people are feeling prosperous, or if they just have
wealth. This way, we are over-evaluating physical facilities first, which are just meant to fulfil the needs of the
body, and then on this basis, we are wrongly identifying our relationship.
• Post: We try to respect on the basis of a person’s position. The post is wrongly evaluated as the mark of a
person’s excellence and differentiation sets in. The post is considered important either on the basis that it gives
more physical facilities or on the basis that certain positions are assumed to be important. In our education, we
are trained directly or indirectly to earn posts for us to fetch respect.
On the basis of beliefs
• Sects: People of one sect only consider those with a similar belief system to be their ‘own’ and worthy of
respect. Following a particular tradition, or what we call as religion, becomes the basis of respect and disrespect
in relationship.
Q 12. ‘Discrimination leads to acrimony in relationships’. Explain. What problems are created when we
discriminate? (UPTU 2010 – 11) Explain the problems faced due to differentiation in relationship.
ANS. Differentiation based on sex/gender: Issue of women’s rights, and women protesting and demanding for
equality in education, in jobs, and in peoples’ representation. People are insecure and afraid of one another
based on their gender.
Differentiation based on race: there are many movements and protect against racial discrimination and demands
for equality, racial attacks, movements against cast discrimination has people living in fear of such racism, racist
attacks, casticism and discrimination.
Differentiation based on age: Protests and movements demanding for equal rights for children on the one hand
and for rights for elderly people on the other, generation gap
Differentiation based on wealth: Class struggle and movements to do away with class-differentiation. Many
people suffering from a lack of self-esteem and some even committing suicide,
Differentiation based on post: Protests against high handed government officials. At the level of the individual,
leads to depression, etc.
Differentiation based on ’isms: Fights, turmoil, terrorism and war, people converting from one Ism to another in
order to be able to get more respect.
Differentiation based on sects: Countless religions and sects and each sect has its own movement to ensure that
there is no discrimination against people of their belief. Demands for special provisions in jobs and in education.
Q 13. Difference between respect and differentiation. What is the difference between respect and disrespect?
Which of the two is maturally acceptable to you? (UPTU 2009-10, 2011 – 12)
ANS. Difference between respect and differentiation
Respect Differentiation
1. Respect is right evaluation. 1. Differentiation is lack of
understanding of respect.
2. Respect for others is generated by the right 2. This differentiation can take the form
evaluation and understanding which leads of:
to fulfilment in relationships. This further Gender bias
creates a sense of respect among people. Generation gap
Caste struggle
Power play and domination
Communal violence
Clash of race, religion, etc.
class struggle,
This leads to the escalation in
the problems of society which
further lowers the respect
shown to others in society.
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Q 14. What do you understand by trust? Differentiate between intention and competence with examples. How
do you differentiate between intention and competence, when you have to judge the other? Why is it
important? What is intension and competence? How do they affect human relationship? How do you
differentiate between intention and competence when you have to judge the other? Why is it important?
ANS. Trust or vishwas is the foundational value in relationship. “To be assured that each human being inherently
wants oneself and the other to be happy and prosperous” is known as trust. Mutual trust is a shared belief that
we can depend on each other to achieve a common purpose. Trust is the expectation of people that they can rely
on our word. It is built through integrity and consistency in relationships. There are two aspects in trust:
1. Intention (wanting to – our natural acceptance)
2. Competence (being able to do)
Both intention and competence are the aspects of trust. Intention is what one aspires for (our natural
acceptance) and competence is the ability to fulfil the aspiration. In intention every human being wants to do
what is right, only the competence may be lacking which needs to be developed through proper understanding
and practice. But what we are doing today is that when we are judging ourself we are judging on the basis of our
intention, whereas, when we are judging the other we are judging him on the basis of his competence. We trust
our own intention while we are not ready to trust the others intention. It is the same for other as well. We find
that while we look at our intention, we are sure of it, we are not sure of the other’s intention. We are actually
seeing their competence, and making a conclusion on their intention. Hence, mistrust is born and we deny the
relationship. We seldom look at our competence and other’s intention. It is very important to differentiate
between intention and competence. If we have trust on intention, we have a feeling of being related to the other
and we start helping the other to improve his competence, if he does not have enough.
Q 15. ‘The family is the basic Unit of human interaction. Do you agree with the statement?’ Explain your
answer using examples. “Family is a natural laboratory to understand human relationships” – elaborate.
ANS. The family is the basic Unit of human interaction… it is the anchor that roots us… it gives us both roots to
hold and wings to fly. It is not surprising that children who grow up in happy families are more successful and
well-adjusted in life. Family relations can give us strength to face the world. How wonderful it feels to return to a
happy home after a hard day at work? Our family can be our sounding board to bounce off creative ideas, our
greatest supporter during adversity and the source of unconditional love. Now imagine a situation where there
are very unpleasant relations at home… bitter fights, jealousies and the blame game being played out! A person
would actually hate going home of such an oppressive atmosphere.Family feuds can cause depression, anxiety,
sleeplessness, loss of appetite, sadness, confusion andrage. No one wants to live like that! Here are some simple
rules for turning family feuds into family fun.
Q 16. What is the basis of ‘respect’ for a human being? Do you see that the other human being is also similar to
you? Explain.
ANS. Respect means individuality. The sense of individuality is prime object. This is the first basic step towards
respect (sammana). Once we realized that we are individual then only we can see ourself different from others.
In other words, respect means right evaluation, to be evaluated as I am. If we respect a human being on the basis
of ‘I’, following things are true for every human being:
1. I want happiness and prosperity.
The other too wants to be continuously happy and prosperous!
2. To be happy, I need to understand and live in harmony at all four levels of my living.
The other also needs to understand and live in harmony at all four levels of his/ her living!
3. The activities in me (‘I’) are continuous, we can check this for our desires, thoughts and
expectations.
It is the same for the other ‘I’ as well. The activities are continuous there as well, and the
other too has continuous desires, thoughts and expectations!
When we see the above, what can we conclude? The other person also feels quite like me!
There are so many similarities! Let us put down these similarities, in order:
1. We both want to have continuous happiness and prosperity.
Our basic aspiration is the same.
2. We both need to have the right understanding, which is to understand and live in harmony at all
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four levels of our living.
Our program of action is the same.
3. The activities and powers of the self are continuous and the same in both of us – at the level of ‘I’.
Our potential is the same.
Based on these three evaluations we can conclude that
The other is similar to me
When we are able to see that the other is similar to me, we are able to recognize the feeling of
respect in the relationship. If not, we either hold ourselves, more or less than the other and this only
leads to differentiation.
Q 17.There is a common saying; if you trust everybody, people will take undue advantage of you.
What is the basic error in this statement? Explain.
ANS. The basic error is that if we trust everybody people will not take undue advantage of me. On the contrary, it
gives us inner strength and we become far more effective in interacting with and “dealing with different people”.
This is simply because, we already are sitting with the knowledge of what the person truly wants, truly intends,
even though the person may not know this himself/herself! Hence, our ability to interact with people becomes
far more effective and in the process, we don’t get hurt, we don’t get disturbed, we end up becoming an aid to
the other. In other words, becoming aware, having the right understanding, living with the assurance in
relationship does not mean becoming “stupid”! It only makes us, more competent. Further, what is being said
here is that we have trust on the intention of everyone, but, when it comes to making a program with someone, I
evaluate my competence, I evaluate his competence and make the program accordingly. This makes me more
effective.
Q 18. What is the role of value system in family harmony? How can you maintain harmony in relationship?
ANS. The family is the basic unit of human interaction… it is the anchor that roots us… it gives us both roots to
hold and wings to fly. It is not surprising that children who grow up in happy families are more successful and
well-adjusted in life.
There is a set of proposals about the families for us to verify:
1. Relationship IS and it exists between the self (‘I’) and the other self (‘I’)
2. The self (‘I’) has FEELINGS in a relationship. These feelings are between ‘I’ and ‘I’.
3. These feelings in the self (‘I’) are DEFINITE. i.e. they can be identified with definiteness.
4. RECOGNIZING and FULFILLING these feelings leads to MUTUAL HAPPINESS in relationship.
Now, we will explore into each of the above in details.
1. Relationship IS and it exists between the self (‘I’) and the other self (‘I’): Once we have recognized the existence
of human relationships, we are subsequently able to identify the feelings (values). When we work and behave
according to these feelings, it leads to fulfilment of both sides in the relationship, i.e. it leads to mutual fulfilment.
Evaluation is a natural process when we live in relationships and we constantly evaluating ours’ and the other’s
feelings in the relationship. For example, trust is wanted in a relationship and if there is a mutual feeling of trust,
then it leads to mutual fulfilment and there are no complaints. But if there is doubt on the other, the happiness in
relationship is missing. It is not possible to create the relationships that are existent in a family. We are naturally
born into this. In a similar way, the family has not invented the social dependencies in which it exists. The
familyexists naturally as a part of this social web of interdependency. So, we are embedded in relationships, they
are there and all that we need to do is to recognize them and understand.
2. The self (‘I’) has feelings in a relationship. These feelings are between ‘I’ and ‘I’: There are feelings in relations
naturally. They do not have to be created, nor can we remove them. We may try to suppress them, or argue
against them, or undermine them, but they are very much there. These feelings are fundamental to the
relationship and can be recognized. Let’s ask some questions:
Question : Who has these feelings? ‘I’ or body?
Answer : ‘I’
Question : With whom does ‘I’ have these feelings? With the order ‘I’ or the other body?
Answer : With the other ‘I’.
Here’s another question:
Question : Who want trust in relationship? Our Self or body?
Answer : Self want trust.
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Question : From whom we want this trust? The other ‘I’ or Body?
Answer : From the other ‘I’.
This is something we can easily verify ourself, that it is ‘I’ that wants trust. There is no part of the body that wants
trust, no part of the body that wants respect. When we respect someone, we respect the person’s ‘I’, and not
their body organs. When we ‘trust’ someone, it is the person, and not the body. Trust is something to do with the
person, the self (‘I’). That is to say, the feelings in relationship are between ‘I’ and ‘I’.
3. These feelings in the self (‘I’) are definite. i.e. they can be identified with definiteness.: With little exploration,
we can see that feelings in relationships are actually definite, and not vague. These are the values characterizing
relationships – e.g. Trust, Respect, Affection, etc. Living with these values, we are able to participate in the right
way with other human beings.
4. Recognizing and fulfilling these feelings leads to mutual happiness in relationship: Once we have recognized
the existence of human relationships, we are subsequently able to identify the feelings (values). When we work
and behave according to these feelings, it leads to fulfilment of both sides in the relationship, i.e. it leads to
mutual fulfilment. Evaluation is a natural process when we live in relationships and we are constantly evaluating
ours’ and the other’s feelings in the relationship. For example, trust is wanted in a relationship and if there is a
mutual feeling of trust, them it leads to mutual fulfilment and there are no complaints. But if there is doubt on
the other, the happiness in relationship is missing.
To summarize – relationships in a family or in a society are not created, they just are. We can understand these
relationships and based upon this understanding, it will be natural to have right feelings (values) in these
relationships. These feelings are definite and can be recognized with certainty. We have also seen that
recognizing the relationship and having the feelings in relationship is an activity of the self (‘I’) and not the body.
It becomes clear that relationship is between the self (‘I’) and other self (‘I’) and the feelings are also between ‘I’
and ‘I’. Mutual fulfilment is the natural outcome of a relation correctly recognized and lived.
Q 19. How can I trust a stranger? Clarify.
ANS. If we are able to see the relationship with the person at the level of ‘I’, we will see that the other person
also is like us. The other person has natural acceptance for the same things as we have. He/she too wants to
make himself / herself happy and wants to make us happy at the level of his intention, just as we. But he/she is
unaware of this fact, just as we has been. Hence, he/she may be interacting with us based on our competence.
The way out is to relate to the other person, to be able to see that at the level of natural acceptance, we are the
same. We can then interact with the person based on their competence, and also help them improve their
competence.
Q 20. Feeling of love lay down the basis of undivided society. Explain.
ANS. Love is the emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In other words, love is a feeling of warm
personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. This feeling or value is also called the
complete value since this is the feeling of relatedness to all human beings. It starts with identifying that one is
related to the other human being (the feeling of affection) and it slowly expands to the feeling of being related to
all human beings. The feeling of love leads to an undivided society, it starts from a family and slowly expands to
the world family in the form of love.
The feeling of being related to every human being leads to our participation in an undivided society (Akhanda
Samaja). With the understanding of values in human relationships, we are able to recognize the connectedness
with every individual correctly, and fulfil it. When we understand the value in relationship with other units in
nature too, we are able to recognize our connectedness with them to, and fulfil it. This enables us to participate
in the universal human order (sarvabhaum vyavastha).
Q 21. Write the program to attain comprehensive human goal. Give examples also. What are the five
dimensions of human endeavour in society conducive to ‘manaviya vyavastha’? What are the five dimensions
of Human Endeavour? How are they helpful in achieving the comprehensive human goal? What are the
programs needed to achieve the comprehensive human goal? List and define each briefly.
ANS. Comprehensive human goals are right understanding, prosperity, fearlessness and co-existence.
Programs needed to achieve the comprehensive human goals are:
1. Education – Right Living (Siksha – Sanskar)
2. Health – Self Regulation (Svasthya – Sanyam)
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3. Justice – Preservation (Nyaya – Suraksha)
4. Production – Work (Utpadan – Kriya)
5. Exchange – Storage (Vinimaya – Kosh)
We can now see how these five dimensions of humanistic society are able to ensure the human goal:
Education – Right living leads to Right understanding
∗ Having the process of education and right living leads to right understanding in the individual.
Health – Self-regulation leads to Prosperity
∗ Having the program for health and sanyam leads to well being of the body, nad identification of need for
physical facilities which along with production ensures feeling of prosperity in the family.
Justice – Preservation
leads to Fearlessness and Co-existence (respectively)
∗ Ensuring justice in relationship, or mutual fulfilment in relationship on the basis of values like Trust,
Respect, etc leads to fearlessness in society, while Suraksha of nature – via enrichment, protection and
right utilization leads to co-existence in nature.
Production – Work leads to Prosperity and Co-existence
∗ Production and work are for physical facilities, and this leads to a feeling of prosperity in the family.
Production is done in harmony with nature, and hence, this also leads to co-existence with nature.
Exchange – Storage leads to Prosperity and Fearlessness
When we store and exchange for mutual fulfilment and not for exploitation, then it leads to fearlessness
(trust) in society.
Q 22. Explain the comprehensive human goal. How does fearlessness follow from right understanding and
prosperity? (UPTU 2009 - 10) What do you mean by comprehensive human goal? Explain. How is it related to
your goal in life?
ANS. In order to facilitate the fulfilment of the basic aspirations of all human beings in the society, the following
human goal needs to be understood in a comprehensive manner:
1. When one does not have the right understanding, one remains disturbed and also acts in a manner so as to
create disharmony with other human being as well as with rest of nature.
2. Prosperity in the family means that the family is able to identify its needs and is able to produce/ achieve
more than its requirements.
3. Trust in society means every member of society feels related to everyone else and therefore there is trust
and fearlessness.
4. Co-existence in nature means there is a relationship and complementarity among all the entities in nature
including human beings.
Abhaya means fearlessness; it is a permanent state where there is no question of ever experiencing any fear. A
person with abhaya is continuously aware if his own reality; for him to become subject to fear would be
impossible. We should not consider this quality of abhaya as just the absence of fear. The fearlessness in the
society begins from the individual. We need to ensure right understanding in the individual as the foundation of
harmony in the society. With right understanding, the need for physical facilities in the family can be ascertained.
By assessing our needs correctly and by producing more than required the family can be prosperous. Assurance
of right understanding in the individuals and prosperity in the families, understanding of human relationships
leads to harmony and trust (fearlessness) in the society. When every individual is able to live harmoniously in
relationship, and the needs of all the families are ensured, fearlessness (mutual trust) in society will naturally
follow. Thus the state of absence of fear at society level will only be achieved when we have right understanding
at individual level and prosperity at the level of family.
Q 23. Critically examine the state of society today in terms of fulfilment of comprehensive human goal.
ANS. In order to facilitate the fulfilment of the basic aspirations of all human beings in the society, the following
comprehensive human goal needs to be understood. Today the state of society in terms of this comprehensive
human goal is:
Right understanding in individual: We are talking about information and skills, but we are ignoring the need of
right understanding, we are ignoring the need to understand happiness correctly. We are ignoring the need to
understand and be in relationship.
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Prosperity in families: We are not able to see that the needs of physical facilities is limited and that, we can have
more than what we need. We are only talking about how to generate wealth. We seem to have forgotten that
the need to have wealth is connected with the need to keep the body healthy and use it for the right purpose and
not for maximizing accumulation for the purpose of sensory enjoyment.
Fearlessness (trust) in society: In place of working for fearlessness, we are working for strategic power. In the
name of defence, we are misusing the valuable resources of nature to make weapons and ammunitions. We are
becoming increasingly more fearful of each other, so most of the countries in the world are busy preparing for
war, in the hope that more and more competence for war will lead to peace.
Co-existence with nature: Instead of co-existing we are busy figuring out better ways to exploit nature. We have
tended to assume that the goal of our technological development is to get victory over nature, to subjugate the
entities in nature and to disrupt nature’s cycle, in pursuance of our whims and fancies. We even have disregarded
the truth that nature is our basic support systems and disturbing its balance will result in our own destruction.
Q 24. How can the comprehensive human goals of Right understanding, prosperity, fearlessness and
existence create harmony in society? What is the comprehensive human goal? Explain how this is conductive
to sustainable happiness and prosperity for all.
ANS. In order to facilitate the fulfilment of the basic aspirations of all human beings in the society, the following
comprehensive human goal needs to be understood.
1. Right understanding is necessary for the human beings, for all human beings. When one does not have the
right understanding, one remains disturbed and also acts in a manner so as to create disharmony with other
human being as well as with rest of nature.
2. Prosperity is needed in every family. Prosperity in the family means that the family is able to identify its needs
and is able to produce/ achieve more than its requirements.
3. Trust in society means every member of society feels related to everyone else and therefore there is trust and
fearlessness.
4. Co-existence in nature means there is a relationship and complementarity among all the entities in nature
including human beings. This is the comprehensive human goal.
With little exploration, we find that all four are required for human society. We are not satisfied with anything
less than this. This is the basic minimum requirement to ensure sustainable happiness and
prosperity. We can’t cut down any of them. This is the minimum level that each one of us wants, and also the
maximum we can think of. We can’t think of anything more than this. This is the target for each one of us, the
whole human race and the human tradition. The moment we leave anyone of them out, there will be loss of
continuity, and the goal cannot be achieved.
Q 25. Right understanding in the individuals is the basis for harmony in the family, which is the building block
for harmony in the society. Give your comments.
ANS. Right understanding in the individuals is the basis for harmony in the family, which is the building block for
harmony in the society.
1. The harmony in the society begins from the individual. We need to ensure right understanding in the individual
as the foundation of harmony in the society.
2. With right understanding, the need for physical facilities in the family can be ascertained. By assessing our
needs correctly and by producing more than required the family can be prosperous.
3. Assurance of right understanding in the individuals and prosperity in the families, understanding of human
relationships leads to harmony and trust (fearlessness) in the society. When every individual is able to live
harmoniously in relationship, and the needs of all the families are ensured, fearlessness (mutual trust) in society
will naturally follow.
4. When human beings with right understanding interact with nature, it will be in consonance with the
coexistence and will be mutually enriching.
We may also understand it in the following sequence.
1. Right understanding
2. Prosperity
3. Fearlessness (trust)
4. Co-existence
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Q 26. Explain how production activities can be enriching to all the orders of nature. Give any two examples.
(UPTU 2009 - 10)
ANS. In nature, there are four different kinds of entities. One of entity includes materials, the other kind is plants,
herbs, etc., the third kind has animals and birds and the fourth kind includes human beings. When we look at
their interrelationship, we find that the materials, plants and animals are enriching for the others including
human beings. There is cyclic and enriching process in nature, and based on this process production is naturally
taking place in the nature. Humans only have to understand this feature of nature. The purpose of science and
technology is to facilitate the cyclic processes in nature and make human beings more and more fulfilling to the
other entities. But we will find that human beings are neither enriching (fulfilling) for humans nor for the other
three kinds of entities. If only we understand the processes in nature, we can design our production systems
through application of science and technology in such a way that this fulfilment is better ensured, rather than
disturbing it.
TOPIC 4
Q 1. What do you mean by co-existence?
ANS. Co-existence in nature means there is a relationship and complementarity among all the entities in nature
including human beings. Co-existence is a state in which two or more groups are living together while respecting
their differences and resolving their conflicts non-violently. Co-existence has been defined in numerous ways:
1. To exist together (in time or space) and to exist in mutual tolerance.
2. To learn to recognize and live with difference.
3. To have a relationship between persons or groups in which none of the parties is trying to destroy the other.
4. To exist together (in time or place) and to exist in mutual tolerance.
The world is full of Diversity – there are different nations, cultures, religions, communities, languages, and beliefs.
The beauty of existence can only be maximized if everything in this world is in harmony. Peaceful, symbiotic co-
existence is the key to harmony in the world.
Q 2. 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: The material units are transformable, and their composition keeps on changing, hence these are
gathansheel.
Gathanpurna: The other category of units the sentient ‘I’, do not transform and are complete in composition,
hence gathanpurna.
Kriyapurnata: Completion of right understanding in human being is called kriyapurnata
Acharanpurnata: Ability to live with complete understanding is called acharanpurnata.
The material units are transformable, and their composition keeps on changing, 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 changeful (with activities of recognizing and fulfillment only) while the other
kind of units are continuous (with activities of knowing, assuming, recognizing and fulfillment). The material units
are available in two orders – material order and pranic order. In the material order,
an atom combines with another atom to form a molecule, a molecule similarly forms a molecular structure.
Molecular structures are found in two forms: lumps and fluids. Fluids give nutrition to pranic order. In pranic
order, the smallest units are plant cells which combine with other cells to form plants, animal bodies and human
bodies. The co-existence of ‘I’ with the animal body becomes the animal order, and the co-existence of ‘I’
with the human body becomes the human order. Completion of right understanding in human being is called
kriyapurnata and ability to live with complete understanding is called acharanpurnata.
Q 3. What is sanskaar? Explain its effects or the conformance of the human order.
ANS. Sanskaar means the values that a person gets at the time of his upbringing. We can see that we humans are
not according to our lineage or race, as in animals. We may pick up something from our parents as we grow up,
but we are usually very different in many ways from them. We humans are according to our imagination;
according to our desires, thoughts and selection in ‘I’. the desires, thoughts and selections we have in ‘I’ can
come from anywhere. It can come from past memories, it can come from our parents, the environment, the
media, anywhere. In the case of humans, we can say ‘as the education, so the human’. We are according to our
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desires, thoughts and selections. Together, we call these ‘sanskara’. Hence, we say that a human being comforms
to his or her sanskar or has ‘sanskaar conformance’.
Order Things Conformance
Human order Human beings Right values / sanskara conformance
Q 4. What do you mean by ‘innateness’? What is the innateness in the four orders? What do you understand
by the term ‘innateness’ (dhaarna) in nature? Explain the innateness of material and animal order in nature.
ANS. Innateness (dharana) : Innateness means qualities which are innate to the unit. Each unit in existence
exhibits an innateness, an intrinsic quality that cannot be seperated from it. We refer this principle as innateness
also called dharna of that unit. This is intrinsic to the unit.
Material order
When we burn coal and it has finished burning and only some ash is left and smokes have gone out, it is not that
the basic material, the fundamental particles in coal, have ‘cease to exist’ or ‘disappeared’ from existence. They
may not be visible to the eye at that moment, but they continue to exist, they still are in the form of other matter
or in the form of gases, etc. This is there with all material units. We cannot destroy matter, we can only convert it
from one form to the other. Thus, “to exist”, or ‘existence’ is intrinsic to all material, it is innate to it. We cannot
separate the ‘existence’ of a thing from the thing itself.
Plant/bio order
Because the pranic order is a development of the material order, it also has the innateness of ‘existence’. In
addition, it also exhibits the ‘growth’. This priciple of ‘growth’ cannot be separated from any units of this order. If
it is of pranic order, it will grow. For example, if you have a plant, you cannot stop it from growing. It will continue
to respire and keep changing in this way. The only way you can stop it from growing is by cutting it, but when you
do that, it ceases to belong to the pranic order, instead decays and then belongs to the material order. So, as long
as you have a plant, it will grow.
Animal order
The animal body is a development of the pranic order and therfore this order inherits the innateness of the
previous order namely ‘existence’ and ‘growth’. This is at the level of the body, which is physico-chemical in
nature. In addition, all units in this order have the ‘will to live’ in ‘I’. Indeed no unit in this order can be seperated
from this ‘will to live’. It is intrinsic to every unit in this order.
Human (knowledge) order
When we look at the human being, we find that ‘existence’ and ‘growth’ are fundamentally present in the body,
just as in the animal body. At the level of ‘I’ however, in addition to the ‘will to live’, a human being’s innateness
is the ‘will to live with happiness’.
Order Things Innate-ness
Material order Soil, water, metals, etc. Exisetence
Pranic order Plants and trees Exisetence + growth
Animal order Animals and birds (Exisetence + growth) in body + will to live in ‘I’
(Exisetence + growth) in body + will to live with
Human order Human beings
happiness in ‘I’
Q 5. What is the svabhava (natural characteristic) of a unit? Elaborate on the svabhava of a human order. How
does the natural characteristics (svabhava) of material order helped man to lead a better life? Explain the
svabhav of human order and how it helps in living with harmony. Explain the natural characteristics of the
material and pranic orders. Give examples. (UPTU 2011–12) What is the natural characteristics (swabhava) of
human order? Explain.
ANS. When we look at the different orders in nature, we find that each order has a certain value. In a
fundamental way, this is the ‘usefulness’ or ‘participation’ of the order in existence. This ‘value’ or ‘participation’
is also referred to as “natural characteristic”. The ‘characteristic’ the order displays in ‘natural to itself’. This is the
same as the value of the entity, or its participation also called ‘svabhava’. The svabhava of material order is
‘composition/decomposition’, of Plant/bio order is ‘composition/decomposition’ and to nurture or worsen other
pranic units. The svabhav of animal order and human order can be understood in two aspects: body and self. The
svabhav of animal order is Composition / decomposition, nurture / worsen in body and non cruelty, cruelty in ‘I’.
The svabhav of human order is Composition / decomposition, nurture / worsen in body and perseverance,
25
bravery, generosity in ‘I’. Similar as to the case in animals, the human body also belongs to the plant/ bio order
and hence has the same svabhava or value/natural characteristic as the pranic order. It either nurtures or
worsens other pranic units. As in the example above, when I digest the vegetable, I absorb the plant and it
worsens, while my body is nurtured. The svabhava/ value of the self (‘I’) in human beings is perseverance
(dhirata),bravery (virata) and generosity (udarata).
• Perseverance (dhirata): Being assured that the all encompassing solution is to understand and live in harmony
at all levels of existence, living with this commitment without any perturbation.
• Bravery (virata): Being assured that the all encompassing solution is to understand and live in harmony at all
levels and I am ready to help the other to have the right understanding. This is the commitment to
help the other have the right understanding of the harmony and living at all levels of existence.
• Generosity (udarata): Being assured that the all encompassing solution is to understand and live in harmony
at all the four levels and I am ready to invest myself, my body and wealth to help the other have the right
understanding.
Human beings are not living as per this natural characteristic; even though we have a svabhava, we are not living
according to this. This is basic reason for the contradiction and conflict that we see in human being. This is what
leads to a state of unhappiness. Only when we live according to our basic human characteristics as mentioned
above, we have definite character, otherwise, it is not definite, it is uncertain, unlike other three orders as
discussed above.
Order Things Natural Characteristic
Material order Soil, water, metals, etc. Composition / decomposition
Pranic order Plants and trees Composition / decomposition + nurture / worsen
(Composition / decomposition, nurture / worsen) in body
Animal order Animals and birds
+ (non cruelty, cruelty) in ‘I’
(Composition / decomposition, nurture / worsen) in body
Human order Human beings
+ (perceverance, bravery, generosity) in ‘I’
Q 6. Define harmony in nature and how will you create it. Explain with examples.
ANS. Combination of all that is in solid, liquid or gas state is called as nature. In other words, the aggregate of all
the mutually interacting units – big or small, sentient or insentient together can be called nature. These units are
infinite in number and we could easily observe that there exists a dynamic balance, self regulation among all
these units.
The law of nature has a unique cause and effect system which must be understood in order to be in harmony
with the natural law of things. Natural harmony is necessary for the following reasons:
1. Natural harmony is necessary to solve the problem of global warming and depletion of non-renewable natural
resource can be avoided.
2. Natural harmony with trees cure all problems like – reduction of wind velocity, energy savings, doing
companion planting, development of an eco-subsystem in terms of establishing a forest garden, reduction of
building heat.
3. It is possible to achieve natural harmony in the establishment, maintenance and management of educational
institution like schools, colleges and universities.
4. One can understand the depths of harmony and alignment in natural by contemplating and reflecting upon the
natural order. It is possible to unravel the mystery of the natural synthesis in the midst of ongoing chaos at the
material plane.
5. To create harmony in nature, first of all we have to work in the direction of development of mankind from
animal consciousness to human consciousness. And this entails working for the right understanding.
Q 7. What are the four orders of nature? Briefly explain them.
ANS. All the physical objects that are in solid, liquide or gas state eighter living or non living, collectively termed
as nature. In other words, the aggregate of all the mutually interacting units – big or small, sentient or insentient
together can be called nature. These units are infinte in number and we could easily observe that there exists a
dynamic balance, self regulation among all these units. There are four orders of nature:
Material order
The big land mass of the continents, gigantic water bodies like ocean and seas, mountains and rivers, the
atmosphere above, the heaps of metals and mineral below, the dense gases and fossil fuels deep below the
26
surface of the earth – all fall into the material order or padartha avastha. In fact, if we look around beyond the
earth, the material order is visible even in the form of stars, planets, moons and several astronomical bodies.
Pranic order
Our land mass is covered with grass and small shrubs and they form the lining on the entire soil. Shrubs, plants
and trees form huge forest along with the flora in the ocean. All of this is the plant/bio order or prana avastha
and it is the next big order on our planet. (The material order is far greater in quantity compared to the plant/bio
order)
Animal order
Animals and birds form the third largest order and we call them the animal order or jiva avastha. Here again, we
see that the plant/bio order is far greater in quantity than the animal order.
Human order
Human are the smallest order and they are referred to as human order or gyana avastha. Animals are far greater
in quantity as compared to the human order.
Q 8. Explain the differences and similarities between animal order and human order. What is the
relation between the two orders? (UPTU 2009 - 10) Present the difference and similarity between a human
being and an animal. Give examples to support your answer.
ANS. The two orders can be distinctly recognised in terms of their characteristics, participation with other units in
similar order, activities, pattern of inheritance, etc. We can see this in the following diagram:
Natural
Order Things Activity Innate-ness Basic Activity Conformance
Characteristic
(Recognising,
(Composition /
(Composition / fulfillment) in
(Exisetence decomposition,
Animals decomposition, body +
Animal + growth) in nurture / worsen) Breed
and respiration) in (assuming,
order body + will in body + (non conformance
birds body + selection recognising,
to live in ‘I’ cruelty, cruelty)
in ‘I’ fulfillment) in
in ‘I’
‘I’
Recognising,
(Composition / (Composition /
(Exisetence fulfillment in
decomposition, decomposition,
+ growth) in body +
respiration) in nurture / worsen) Right values /
Human Human body + will (knowing,
body + in body + sanskara
order beings to live with assuming,
(selection, (perceverance, conformance
happiness in recognising,
thought, desire) bravery,
‘I’ fulfillment) in
in ‘I’ generosity) in ‘I’
‘I’
Things (Vastu)
Animal order: The animal order is made of various kinds of animals and birds. These entities display both a body
(physico-chemical activity) as well as a conscious activity (self or ‘I’). The animal order thus is the coexistence of
the animal body (pranic order) and the self (or ‘I’ = consciousness). Human (knowledge) order: The human order
is constituted of all the human beings. Each human being is coexistence of the self (‘I’, conscious entity =
consciousness) and the body (pranic order).
Activity (Kriya)
Animal Order: Body In Animals – Physico-Chemical Activities: The body displays respiration, or breathing, or
pulsating also there is composition/ decomposition in the body. ‘I’ In Animals – Conscious Activities: The activities
in ‘I’ are fundamentally different from those in the body. ‘I’ is a unit that has the ability or capacity of assuming.
Animals make assumptions. If we have a dog and some strangers come into the house, the dog may start barking
at him. If this person stays at our house, the dog may stops barking at him, but will continue to bark at other
strangers. What has happened here is that the dog’s ‘assumption’ about this person has changed, due to which;
the way in which it responds to the person has changed. We call this assuming.
Human Order: The activities in human body are similar to that in the animal body, i.e.
composition/decomposition and respiration. When it comes to consciousness or ‘I’, however, the human displays
more than just an ability to ‘select’ or make choices as animals do. In human beings, ‘I’ has the activities of
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desiring, thinking, and selecting/tasting, with a possibility or need for understanding and realization. Only
humans have this need to know and that is why it is called gyana avastha – the knowledge order.
Innateness (dharana)
Animal Order: The animal body is a development of the pranic order and therefore this order inherits the
innateness of ‘existence’ and ‘growth’. This is at the level of the body, which is physico-chemical in nature. In
addition, all units in this order have the ‘will to live’ in ‘I’. Indeed no Unit in this order can be separated from this
‘will to live’. It is intrinsic to every Unit in this order.
Human Order: When we look at the human being, we find that ‘existence’ and ‘growth’ are fundamentally
present in the body, just as in the animal body. At the level of ‘I’ however, in addition to the ‘will to live’, a human
being’s innateness is the ‘will to live with happiness’.
Natural Characteristics (Svabhava)
Animal Order: The body of the animal belongs to the plant/bio or pranic order, and hence has the same
‘usefulness’ or ‘value’ as the pranic order. Thus ‘nurture/worsen’ is the svabhava of the animal body. The
svabhava of the self (‘I’) of the animal order is non-cruelty (akrurata) and cruelty (krurata). Cruelty (krurata)
means the feeling that it can fulfil its needs through violence and forcefulness. For ex., cows may largely be living
with a feeling of non-cruelty (akrurata); while animals like tigers and lions may exhibit cruelty (krurata).
Human Order: Similar as to the case in animals, the human body also belongs to the plant/ bio order and hence
has the same svabhava or value/natural characteristic as the pranic order. It either nurtures or worsens other
pranic units. As in the example above, when I digest the vegetable, I absorb the plant and it worsens, while my
body is nurtured. The svabhava/ value of the self (‘I’) in human beings is perseverance (dhirata), bravery (virata)
and generosity (udarata).
1. Perseverance (dhirata): Being assured that the all encompassing solution is to understand and live in harmony
at all levels of existence.
2. Bravery (virata): I am ready to help the other to have the right understanding.
3. Generosity (udarata): I am ready to invest myself, my body and wealth to help the other have the right
understanding.
Basic Activity:
Animal Order: there is only recognising, and fulfilment in body, and in self (I) there is the basic activity of
assuming, recognising, fulfilment.
Human Order: human displays the same basic activity as that of animal body i.e. Recognising, fulfilment, but in
self (I) human have one more activity i.e. knowing,
Conformance (Anu-Sangita)
Animal order: Animals conform to their lineage. How animals are, their behaviour is according to their lineage
they belong to, the lineage they come from. Hence, we say that an animal conforms to its breed, or has ‘breed
conformance’. This breed conformance method is the mechanism by means of which the continuity of an animal
species is maintained in nature/existence.
Human (knowledge) order: We humans are not according to our lineage or race, as in animals. We humans are
according to our imagination; according to our desires, thoughts and selection in ‘I’. The desires, thoughts and
selections we have in ‘I’ can come from past memories, our parents, the environment, and the media, anywhere.
In the case of humans, we can say ‘as the education, so the human’. Together, we call these ‘sanskara’. Hence,
we say that a human being conforms to his or her sanskar or has ‘sanskaar conformance’.
Q 9. Explain the difference and similarities between pranic order and animal order. What is the
relation between the two orders?
ANS.
Natural
Order Things Activity Innate-ness Basic Activity Conformance
Characteristic
Composition / Composition /
Pranic Plants Exisetence Recognising, Seed
decomposition + decomposition +
order and trees + growth fulfillment conformance
respiration nurture / worsen
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(Recognising,
(Composition /
(Composition / fulfillment) in
(Exisetence decomposition,
Animals decomposition, body +
Animal + growth) in nurture / Breed
and respiration) in (assuming,
order body + will worsen) in body conformance
birds body + selection recognising,
to live in ‘I’ + (non cruelty,
in ‘I’ fulfillment) in
cruelty) in ‘I’
‘I’
Q 10. What are the four orders in nature? Describe their activities and natural characteristics? What do you
understand by ‘activity’? Write down the activity of the four orders in nature.(UPTU 2011 – 12) Distinguish
between the activities of different orders of nature giving an example of each.
ANS. Combination of all that is in solid, liquid or gas state, or the aggregate of all the mutually interacting units –
big or small, sentient or insentient together can be called nature. We can categorize all these units into four
distinct orders.
• Material order
• Animal order
• Pranic order
• Human order
The four orders can be distinctly recognised in terms of their natural characteristics and activities.
Order Things Activity Natural Characteristic
Material Soil, water,
Composition / decomposition Composition / decomposition
order metals, etc.
Pranic Plants and Composition / decomposition + Composition / decomposition + nurture /
order trees respiration worsen
(Composition / decomposition, nurture /
Animal Animals and (Composition / decomposition,
worsen) in body + (non cruelty, cruelty)
order birds respiration) in body + selection in ‘I’
in ‘I’
(Composition / decomposition, (Composition / decomposition, nurture /
Human Human
respiration) in body + (selection, worsen) in body + (perceverance,
order beings
thought, desire) in ‘I’ bravery, generosity) in ‘I’
Q 11. How will you show interconnectedness and mutual fulfilment in four order of nature with examples.
“Other than human order, the three orders are mutually fulfilling to each other”. Explain with examples.
Material, pranic and animal order are fulfilling human order but human are not fulfilling them. There is lack of
mutual fulfilment from human order. How and why is it so? Discuss the human interrelationship with nature.
What are the orders of nature? How are all four orders interconnected?How are we disturbing the balance in
nature? There are four orders in nature. How does each order participate in the harmony in the nature? Give
few examples. (UPTU 2010 – 11) What are the four orders in nature? How can the human order be responsible
to the other three orders? Critically examine the attitude of humans today towards the other three orders of
nature. Try to make a proper evaluation of human efforts. How is the human order related to the other three
orders in nature? How does this understanding help in choosing the production activity for a human being?
ANS. In the nature, all the units are connected to each other and fulfilling each other. Human being is related to
all other human beings. On this basis, we have feelings and emotions for everyone. Human being is connected to
all the material units in the existence and gets aware of it as he starts exploring it. We can see this
interconnectedness and mutual fulfilment in the following diagram:
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Material Order and Plant/Bio-Order: The material order provides the nutrients to the plant/bio order in the form
of soil, minerals, etc while the plant/ bio order decays and forms more nutrients, thus enriching the soil. The
plant/bio order also decays to substances like oil and coal, which are stored deep within the earth as protection
against the heat from the molten core inside the earth as well as the heat from the sun (today, this is the material
we are removing and using as fuel). Plants help move the nutrients through the various layers of the soil. The
roots of the plants hold the soil together and prevent the soil from erosion. Plants produce oxygen/ carbon
dioxide and thus help in the movement of the material order. There is a mutual interdependency and co-
existence we can see here.
Material Order, Plant/Bio- Order and Animal Order: The material order provides the basis for movement of all
animals, birds and fishes. Water, oxygen and other gases are necessities for both plants and animals. At the same
time, the animal order helps enrich the soil with its excreta and this excreta helps the plants with nutrients. The
plant/bio order provides food for animals, birds and fishes. The animal Order helps in pollination of the flowers of
the pranic order.
Material Order, Plant/Bio- Order, Animal Order and Human Order: We humans also have a natural acceptance
to be mutually fulfilling to these three orders. However, we are not able to ensure this mutual fulfilment. We are
dependent on the material order for soil and minerals and metals, but only end up polluting the soil and
depleting the fossil fuels; we are dependent on plants for our food and holding together the larger ecosystem,
but we have destroyed forests and destroyed multiple species of plants and herbs; we are dependent on animals
to carry out our production and transportation activities, but have made many species of animals extinct, and are
today known for our cruelty towards animals. We can see that there is interconnectedness and mutual fulfilment
in all the orders of nature except human order. We have to work on this.
Q 12. Explain how there is recyclability and self regulation in nature. Write a short note on the recyclability and
self-regulation in nature. Explain the recyclability in nature with any two examples. (UPTU 2009-10) There is
recyclability in nature. Explain this statement with any two examples. How does it help in production activity?
(UPTU 2011 - 12) Explain the recyclability of any two units in nature with examples. How is it useful for
sustainable production activities? (UPTU 2010 – 11)
ANS. There are several cyclical processes that we can see in nature. For example the cycle of water, evaporating,
condensing and precipitating back to water giving the weather phenomena. The cycles keep these materials self-
regulated on the earth. Breeds of animals are similarly self-regulated in their environment. In a forest, the growth
of trees takes place in a way so that the amount of soil, plants and animals remains conserved. It never happens
that the number of trees shoots up and there is a lack of soil for the trees. The appropriateness of the conditions
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for growth of both plants and animals are self-regulated in nature keeping the population proportions naturally
maintained. This phenomenon is termed as self-regulation. In a single breed of animals, the number of males and
females generated through procreation is such that the continuity of species is ensured by itself. This happens
with humans too, but inhuman practices have led to disproportionate numbers of men and women. These two
characteristics namely, cyclical nature and self-regulation provide us with some clues of the harmony that is in
nature.
Q 13. What do you mean by ‘conformance/inheritance’? Explain the conformance in the four orders.
ANS. Each Unit conforms through the principle of conformance or anusangita. It means how the continuity of the
fundamental nature of the Unit is preserved.
Order Material order Pranic order Animal order Human order
Things Soil, water, metals, etc. Plants and trees Animals and birds Human beings
Constitution Seed Breed Right values / sanskara
Conformance conformance conformance conformance conformance
Material order
The continuity of the fundamental nature of the material Unit is preserved through the physical and chemical
processes. Take iron for example. Each atom of iron comforms to the constitutional structure of ‘Iron’. There is
no atom of iron that will be unlike the other atom of iron, if it were, we would not call it iron. We call this
‘constitution conformance’. The material order exhibits constitution conformance. We can verify this for all
things in the material order. For example, oxygen, nitrogen, other gasses, gold, silver, aluminium… all of them
comform to and are always according to the constitution of their kind. Hence, we say that any matter conforms
to its constitution or has ‘constitution conformance’.
Plant/bio order
A neem seed will always sprout a neem plant. All of us know this. Its fruits, its leaves, the taste of the leaves, the
colour of the leaves, all this information, this basic information of every neem plant is stored in the seed. Thus,
we say the plant is always as the seed, or we can say, ‘as the seed, thus the plant’. Hence, we say that a plant
conforms to the seed, or has ‘seed comformance’. This ‘seed comformance’ method is the mechanism by means
of which the continuity of a plant species is mentained in nature/existence.
Animal order
We see that a cow is always like a cow, and a dog is always like a dog. Animals conform to their lineage. How
animals are, their behaviour, is according to their lineage they belong to, the lineage they come from. Hence, we
say that an animal comforms to its breed, or has ‘breed conformance’. This breed conformance method is the
mechanism by means of which the continuity of an animal species is mentained in nature/existence.
Human (knowledge) order
We can see that we humans are not according to our lineage or race, as in animals. We may pick up something
from our parents as we grow up, but we are usually very different in many ways from them. We humans are
according to our imagination; according to our desires, thoughts and selection in ‘I’. the desires, thoughts and
selections we have in ‘I’ can come from anywhere. It can come from past memories, it can come from our
parents, the environment, the media, anywhere. In the case of humans, we can say ‘as the education, so the
human’. We are according to our desires, thoughts and selections. Together, we call these ‘sanskara’. Hence, we
say that a human being comforms to his or her sanskar or has ‘sanskaar conformance’.
Q 14. How is the activity in human order is different with that of animal and plant order?
ANS. An activity means something that ‘has motion’ and /or ‘has a result’. The material order is active in multiple
ways, and the same with the plant order or animal order or human order. We are sitting in a room. But we are
active. We are thinking, desiring, the body has breath running, heart throbbing. The air in the room is blowing.
The wall standing constantly also have activity. The chair in the room is also active. It may not be very visible to
our eyes but the chair is still active.
We can understand this activity in two ways:
• Things that we see are ‘visibly moving’, through the naked eyes, such as a spinning top, a moving bus, a running
man, are active, and
• All things that are ‘visibly stationery’, are not moving, are also active. Like a stationary chair. The activity of chair
is that the wood of the chair is interacting with the environment and as a result it decays with time.
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All units around us, including oursleves, are actibe, all the time. They are interacting with the environment. In the
activity, there is a state or configuration and motion simultaneously. This remains all the time.
Order Things Activity
Material order Soil, water, metals, etc. Composition / decomposition
Pranic order Plants and trees Composition / decomposition + respiration
(Composition / decomposition, respiration)
Animal order Animals and birds
in body + selection in ‘I’
(Composition / decomposition, respiration)
Human order Human beings
in body + (selection, thought, desire) in ‘I’
Material order
All material things (i.e. units in the material order) can be understood as an acitivity of ‘units’ coming together to
form a bigger unit. We call this ‘composition’. For example, the chair is made of smaller pieces of wood. Bigger
units can also separte from each other to form smaller units and we call this ‘decomposition’. Like a wooden chair
can decay after a few years. Thus any Unit in the material order can be understood as an ‘activity of
‘composition/decomposition’.
Plant/bio order
When we look at all the units that make up the plant/bio order we will find that they can be understood in terms
of composition/ decomposition and respiration. Not only do plants compose (following new plants) and
decompose (decaying), they are also breathing, or pulsating, which we call respiration.
Animal order
We can understand the activities of animal order in two aspects:
• Body In Animals – Physico-Chemical Activities
The body displays the same activities that we
see the plant. The body displays respiration, or breathing, or pulsating, as we call it. The body is also formed at
one point in time and keeps building cells as well, i.e. there is composition in the body. Hence, the activities in the
body are the same as that in the plant/bio order, which are: composition/decomposition and respiration. Hence,
we say that the body belongs to plant/bio order.
• ‘I’ In Animals – Conscious Activities
The activities in ‘I’ are fundamentally different from those in the body. ‘I’ is a Unit that has the ability or capacity
of assuming. Animals make assumptions. If you have a dog and some strangers comes into the house, the dog
may start barking at him. If this person stays at your house, the dog may stops barking at him, but will continue to
bark at other strangers. What has happened here is that the dog’s ‘assumption’ about this person has changed,
due to which, the way in which it responds to the person has changed. We call this assuming. It is important to
note that this consciousness or faculty of assuming is not in the body. The body belongs to the plant/bio order,
and is physico-chemical in nature. It just responds to physico-chemical inputs.
Human (knowledge) order
The activities in human body are similar to that in the animal body, and we have seen this in detail as:
composition/decomposition and respiration. When it comes to
‘I’, however, the human displays more than just an ability to ‘select’ or make choices as animals do.
Thus, in human beings, ‘I’ has the acitvities of desiring, thinking, and selecting/tasting, with a possibility or need
for understanding and realization. Only humans have this need to know and that is why it is called gyana avastha
– the kowledge order.
Q 15. Explain the basic activity in the four orders in nature.
ANS.
Order Things Basic Activity
Material order Soil, water, metals, etc. Recognising, fulfillment
Pranic order Plants and trees Recognising, fulfillment
(Recognising, fulfillment) in body + (assuming,
Animal order Animals and birds
recognising, fulfillment) in ‘I’
Recognising, fulfillment in body + (knowing, assuming,
Human order Human beings
recognising, fulfillment) in ‘I’
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In the material and pranic order, there is only recognizing and fulfilment. Such units do not have the activities of
assuming and knowing. Take for example, hydrogen and oxygen recognise the relation to each other, and
combine to form water. A brick and the other brick have a definite relation, recognise it and get arranged to form
a building. A plant recognises the relation with sun and water, and fulfils it by acting accordingly. Such activities
take place in a similar way all the time, there is no selection involved here. A plant does not choose to turn or not
to turn to sun, absorb or not to absorb water. Similarly, the fan in your room does not choose to rotate clockwise
or anti-clockwise. It turns as per the winding in the motor. No choise. When we look at the animals and humans,
we find selection taking place.
Q 16. Comment on the statement: “Nature is limited and space is unlimited.”
ANS. Nature has four orders and there are units in each order. Each Unit is limited in size. The size ranges from
being really small (atom) to really big (galaxies). Each and every Unit is finite and limited in size, be it the smallest
particle or the biggest galaxies. Space, on the other hand is unlimited. Space has no ‘size’, unlike units, it is not
bounded. So, there is no beginning or end to space, as there is to units. For example, when we take a book, we
know that it starts and finishes. We say the book is ‘limited’ in size. When we take space, there is no such thing.
There is space behind us, inside us, between us and the book, between the book and the earth, in the book, in
every page of it, inside the page, and beyond the earth…. all the way till we can imagine. We find that space
pervades; it is all-pervading. Units, on the other hand are not all-pervading. This is how we recognize them as
units.
Q 17. How can we say that ‘nature is Self Organized and in space Self-Organization Is Available.’
ANS. Every Unit is an organization. A Unit recognizes other units and combines to form a bigger organization.
Starting from the atom, to the big galaxy, this organization goes on, as a self-organization. At every level, we get a
self-organization. Sub atomic particles recognize each other and come together to form atoms. Cells recognize
each other and form organizations like organs and a body. Planetary bodies, solar systems, galaxies are still bigger
organizations. We are not organizing it. We are not supplying it organization from outside.
When we look at humans, we see that we are self-organized at the level of the body. We are not organizing the
body. We are not doing anything for the coordination between the heart, kidneys, lungs, eyes, brain, hands, legs,
etc. All these are functioning together. Our input is needed only to provide the required nutrition, and to assist
the body when we fall sick/get injured. At the level of ‘I’, we are not self organized, but being in space, self-
organization is available to the self (‘I’). That’s why we are in pursuit of happiness, which is essentially being in
harmony. Whenever we are not in harmony, we are unhappy. All the units of four orders are self-organized. No
one is organizing them from outside. No one is supplying this organization. This self-organization is available to
units being in space. Hence, for space, we
say ‘self organization is available’.
Q 18. Define existence? Show that existence is in a form of co-existence. Existence is co-existence of mutually
interacting units in all-pervasive space. Explain. (UPTU 2010–11) “Existence = Nature submerged in space” –
Elaborate this point. Short notes on Co-existence of units in space. Differentiate between units and space. How
are units self-organized in space? What do you mean by co-existence? How are units in co-existence being in
space? How do Unit and space co-exist? What are the various attributes of units and space? Explain each.
Write a short note on ‘nature (units) submerged in space’. Explain the meaning of submerged here. (UPTU
2011 - 12) ‘Existence is co-existence’. Give your opinion. (UPTU 2011 – 12)
ANS. All the units together constitute nature. All the units of nature exist in space which is an important reality to
understand. Existence is nothing but the nature in space.
To be harmony
We define Unit as something that is limited in size. Like a small blade of human hair to the biggest planets we
know of, they are all limited in size, i.e. bounded on six sides. So, all the ‘things’ we have been studying so far: the
human beings, animals, lumps of matter as well as various atoms and molecules, are all ‘units’. We can recognize
them as such, they are countable.
But there is another ‘reality’ called ‘space’. We normally don’t pay attention to this ‘reality’, because it’s not a
‘unit’. We can’t ‘touch it’, smell it. We normally just ‘see through it’. But the fact is because we can’t ‘touch it’ or
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‘see it’ as we would see a Unit like our body, our friends, or a piece of rock, doesn’t mean it does not exist. Space
exists everywhere. Co-existence is a state in which two or more groups are living together while respecting
their differences and resolving their conflicts non-violently. Coexistence has been defined in numerous ways:
1. To exist together (in time or space) and to exist in mutual tolerance.
2. To learn to recognize and live with difference.
3. To have a relationship between persons or groups in which none of the parties is trying to destroy the other.
4. To exist together (in time or place) and to exist in mutual tolerance.
EXISTENCE