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Human Values - Part 2
2.0 VALUES IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
Indian philosophical systems clearly articulate the objectives of mankind as purusharathas, which are; Dharma (righteousness and duty), Artha (wealth), Kama (desire), Moksha (liberation).
Human values, according to Indian philosophy, have a spiritual basis. Eight yogic disciplines are recommended which would enable man to adhere to a core values system. These are:
- Yama (self restraint)
- Niyama (observing rules)
- Aasana (seating posture)
- Pranaayama (breath-control)
- Pratyaahaara (withdrawal of senses from objects)
- Dhyaana (meditation)
- Dhaarana (Control of thought)
- Samaadhi (Super Conscious state)
The five yamas are the foundation of spiritual life. Following the yamas signifies following true ideals and principles. Positive traits are developed that transforms the human nature. When the yamas are truly practised, the heart is filled with cosmic love, goodness and light.
2.1 The Order of the Yamas
There is a deliberate order in the five yamas. Ahimsa (non-violence) comes first, because one must remove one's brutal nature first. Only through non-violence does one become fit for the practice of yoga. Then comes satya or truthfulness. The human should always remember the truth or Brahman. Next comes asteya or non-stealing. As one must develop moral consciousness, one must know right from wrong, righteousness from unrighteousness, and one must know that all is one. Brahmacharya or continence, which is the fourth yama, is a divine attribute. The aspirant is now becoming superhuman through its practice. The fifth is aparigraha, non-covetousness. Man is now free from cravings, unnecessary wants, the desire to possess and enjoy, and his heart has expanded manifold.
Ahimsa: Ahimsa has a wider import than abstention from injuring any living creature. Ahimsa is not merely non-killing. It is perfect harmlessness and positive love. It is to abstain from the slightest thought of harm to any living creature. The practitioner must abandon even unkind looks. There is no excuse or exception to the above rule. Harsh words to beggars, servants or inferiors is himsa (cruelty).
Satya: Truthfulness or satya comes next in the order of yamas. Thought must agree with word and word with action. This is truthfulness.
There are thirteen forms of truth: truthfulness, equal vision, self-control, absence of envious emulation, forgiveness, modesty, endurance, absence of jealousy, charity, thoughtfulness, disinterested philanthropy, self-possession, and unceasing and compassionate harmlessness.
Truth also implies the strength to abide by positive principles. Speak the truth, but not making it unpleasant is eternal religion. It is believed that if a human speaks the truth for twelve years, he will acquire a stature where whatever he says will come to pass.
Asteya: Asteya is non-stealing. This is another form of self-restraint. Why does a person steal? He wants something. When he cannot get it by legitimate means, he steals it. Desire, thirst or trishna is the root cause of stealing.
You remove a thing secretly without the knowledge of the owner, and you do not want others to know of this act. This is stealing. Taking blotting paper, pins, paper, pencil, etc. from the office is stealing. Hoarding too much money, eating too much, adding to your cravings are all forms of stealing. Man must be free from all these forms of theft. Even a sensitive mind becomes blunt by continuous stealing.
Brahmacharya: The fourth yama is the practice of continence. What is wanted is restraint and not suppression of sexual desire. In restraint, no sexual thought will arise in the mind. There is perfect sublimation of sexual energy. But in suppression, the human is not safe. When favourable opportunities occur, the repressed desire manifests with redoubled force, and there is danger of a miserable downfall.
Aparigraha: Aparigraha is the opposite of parigraha. Parigraha is covetousness or greed. Aparigraha is a mental state in which the sensual craving is dead. Parigraha leads to anxiety to preserve, fear of loss, hatred, anger, untruthfulness, stealing, etc. Aparigraha puts an end to all these, and bestows peace and contentment. It removes, at one stroke, fear, attachment, disappointment, anxiety, jealousy, anger, lust and depression.
Thus, a lot of emphasis is placed on internal discipline. The foundational concept of Indian values systems is that it is completely internal in nature. Society and the nations are manifestations of the individual. If the individual practices human values, the society that is formed by such humans will automatically be human, progressive an peaceful. The human creates the society; the society does not create the human.
3.0 Conclusion
Action and behaviour are based on thoughts, which express wants and desires. Values are dynamic forces that operate on the ego, mind and will. They enable connectivity of human actions to intellect and conscience. Values are the reflection between the impermanent and permanent aspects of action and behaviour, reality and desire, want and choice. Thus, human values have an inherent dynamism which carries the human being forward through all the domains of the person to the exercise and application of knowledge, skill, balance, insight and identity.
So we may conclude that human values are eternal essences empowering, driving, charging and informing human activity which sustain and uplift both the individual and the society.
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