Reality as I see it: V- On achieving consistent quality

On achieving consistent quality

27th Feb 2007

Prashant wrote on 24th Feb, “How could you be sure that he hasn't applied the same in real life and has not had the same success or most importantly how does one measure success or failure in real life as it's definitely not simple as counting bad products in a box? Or is it based on the assumption that no human being is perfect and hence he must have sinned more number of times than the six-sigma limit in his lifetime…. If he has to worry about his next meal on an empty stomach it's more likely that he might go for a bodily need and hence be termed as a bodily person. But the same person, if he doesn't have to worry about his immediate needs, he might turn into a spiritual person. I also think depending on age, the older one gets the more spiritual he/she might become….Lately, I have been leaning towards another school of thought "Fate". No matter what one does there is still something that can go wrong or right that he/she does not control”.


As an engineer, you would realise how difficult it is to maintain consistent Quality in what we produce. You are aware of the SPC (the statistical process control) charts where we set the Upper limit and Lower limit and constantly check whether the production process is within control or not. We also know that if the process goes out of control, it will result in poor quality products; and the cost of poor quality is extremely high, far higher than the cost of improvisation needed for eliminating poor quality. When Motorola used the statistical concept of ‘six sigma’ to their production process, they were aiming to come of a difficult downturn, having been outwitted by the Japanese quality standards. To limit the number of defects to ‘2 per billion’ requires not just continuous improvement, but a comprehensive redesign of processes.

I said that the same man who used the rigorous six sigma concepts to the production processes, did not think of using similar standards for improving himself, his actions and his own living.

The allusion was deliberate.

I can see the question in your mind. How can you use a concept used in an inanimate circumstance (like production in a factory) to a human being, who is so live and complex? Let me use a live example. Two people in an equestrian academy learn to ride horses. One of them knows not how to ride. He is thrown about, jumping up and down, led by wherever the horse takes him. He ends with a rough ride and if the horse does not throw him down, would certainly end up with a back ache. The other person, who is trained about the techniques of riding, becomes adept and achieves a smooth ride. Where is the difference? Is it in the horse or in the rider? Just as an untrained rider, most of us ride life – as it comes, thinking that it is the right thing. We get battered by experiences and learn slowly. Too late; by then, you spend most of your productive life.

We operate at different levels at different times because we do not train ourselves adequately. Instead of realising that there is a deficiency in training ourselves, we feel that it is completely natural to behave differently in different situations and justify the same by statements that ‘to err is human’. How many times have we made a resolution only to break within no time? Isn’t it a very common occurrence? We make mistakes; and swear to learn from them. Many a time that learning never occurs, since we forget that lesson the moment there is something to smile about, feel good about. Most of us repeat the same mistakes, go down again till we come up all over again. Our moods swing also violently – up and down. We therefore are stuck in constant up and downs in life, since we learn very little from experiences. And certainly very late. What is the use of having a wise Old man who has no productive life left?

When I say that we must use the six sigma in life, I mean that we can achieve freedom from the ups and downs in life. A trial-and-error approach in life would drain our energies. We cry when lose, we jump in joy when we win. Isn’t that normal? We think, ponder about events in life. We cultivate fears, we get hysteric about things not there. We develop jealousies in life; pull competitors down; work hard – even at the cost of health- to make more money; don’t we? We consider all that very natural. We are playing the soccer hard – kicking the ball all around – without knowing where the goal is! In the process, we get dispossessed (of the ball) and lose. As and when we lose, we lament. Isn’t it? If we know where our goal is and train ourselves better, we can play the game better. Good footballers can see from the corner of the eye (or even the back of their head!) the person to whom pass is to be given. They are cool and calm, although they are competing to win. Aren’t they?

So, is there a better way to achieve stable and serene approach to events in life? Can we achieve a smoother ride of this life? Is there a better way to – remain in life – and successfully achieving our life’s goals?

Source of poor quality

Let us define a poor quality action as something, which is an inappropriate response to a given situation. I am not getting into the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ aspect now (what is good and what is not is a simple question that gave birth to a whole new subject called Philosophy). I confine myself to the appropriate reactions to outward stimuli and how these help in achieving consistency in life with better results. If there is a failure, we cry. If we land up a contract, we jump in joy, we party hard; forget about the implementation issues till we get pulled up. Don’t we? We lose interest in a thing the moment we possess it. If the person beside us does better, we feel jealous. Are these right responses?

You said you started believing in ‘fate’. That is nothing but an implicit surrender to the circumstances, rather than trying to analysing, understanding and mastering them. Can we behave in a more ‘professional’ way in real life?

For this, we should try and understand the source of our inconsistencies or poor quality actions. The obvious answer is that the environment is so complex and diverse that how can you expect the same consistent behaviour? Let us probe this further and ask how does one perceive this apparent ‘complexity’? Isn’t it through your senses and your own mind? Don’t we see two people perceiving the same situation in two different ways? If that is so, the complexity is not external, but it is internal. The complexity is actually, within us - developed, inculcated, entangled more and more by our own actions. We make a simple thing complex, by losing clarity; by associating emotions with it; by getting passionate about it. If you cut out the emotional web from the issues around us, we can think very differently. Not only can we think differently, but we can expect consistent reactions from all the people in similar situations. If I behave in the same manner irrespective of the environmental stimuli affecting me, focussing on a target of my choice, am not acting consistently?

But is it really possible to make human beings less complex? We have already seen how a detached person, who does not get into emotional web can turn out a better performance in life, by achieving his life’s goals better. To achieve that, we need to master the senses that crate this complexity. That is the key to achieving more consistent reactions to outward stimuli.

Simple isn’t it?

Absolutely not.

The senses are rooted within the body, which in most of us dominate in the Body Spirit Continuum. With the mind that acts on their inputs, man is actually at their mercy. We are like riders who go where the horse takes us, and end up bruised and battered. Achieving mastery over the senses is difficult but possible.

We need to first accept that we need to train ourselves. Recognition of the need to work on it is in fact, the most important hurdle to pass.
Normally, we need go to school to get trained. In this case, the school is within you. You can do self-study. The syllabus is known. Books exist. Techniques are well-researched. There are people who have travelled on the same path and wrote down their experiences. These ‘travelogues’ would help in traversing the course.

This is a course that we should learn to do better in life. It is not meant for old people. It has nothing to do with poverty or prosperity. It has nothing to do with the circumstances of life.

It is an essential education – acquired, faster the better.

Reality as I see it: IV- On attaining lift

On attaining the Lift

22nd Feb 2007

Usha wrote in reply: “I could easily relate myself to level 2 of your graph. Eventually I should be able to upgrade myself into the level 3. But how? I think you have the answers to all the questions that would arise in us after we read this article. But do you have some routine we could follow to get to level 3? Please suggest”.

I do not think I have all answers. To pretend to have all answers would be unparalleled arrogance and unmistakable ignorance. From what I feel, I could certainly try to assist.

Before we explore answers to this question, let us understand whether it is at all necessary to operate at the Level-3. Madhu, my erudite friend of mine protested at this idea dubbing it as an exercise in self-centredness. He feels it is escapism from the realities and complexities of the day-to-day living. Some others have stated that ‘I would rather like to be happy here and be of some help to others..make their life better, happier; rather than bothering about something about which I have no certain idea’. Let us try and understand these perceptions because they are real and genuine concerns.

Why should one operate at Level-3

Suppose we are flying in an aircraft and the pilot has the choice of flying at 3 levels: At 1500 mts, at 5000 mts and above 10,000 mts. Which option should he take to reach the destination?

It is thrilling to fly at 1500 level – you see the trees and houses as miniatures; you can see the clouds flying past you; you can swerve around adventurously; and you can see the whole ground from a grand new perspective like a painting. But you also run the risk of hitting against the tall buildings, mountains. A person operating purely at the body level is running his life like this – thrilling but dangerous, not only to himself, but to the fellow beings. He thinks that he is enjoying, may be he does too, but at a grave risk of not reaching his destination. This is the body level in the BSC.

If the pilot flies at 5,000 mts, he is not hitting against the tall structures, but he is flying rough – hitting against air turbulence and air pockets. The journey is not only very uncomfortable, but also expends a lot of fuel. He is not flying efficiently and would certainly take much longer to reach the destination and at a greater cost. A person operating in the Level-2 of the BSC is like flying the aircraft at 5,000 mts.

Finally, the plane flying at 10,000 mts plus – is flying steady, travelling faster (because there is less friction) and with lesser fuel. As a result, it is reaching the destination speedily and safely. The person operating at the 3rd level of BSC is steering his life high above the turbulence created by the worldly issues.

You can see that operating at Level-3 is NOT shying away from the goal of life; in fact, he is moving steadily at his goal without getting stuck in the emotional muddles. If the goal of his life is to do social service, he can excel at it only when he is professional about it. Efficiency comes out of professionalism; whereas, an emotional approach clouds perceptions, decreases clarity and dissipates positive energy. Flying high above the emotional entanglements is necessary to efficiently achieve even the physical objectives of life. There is therefore a serene unification of the physical and metaphysical objectives at Level-3.

Level-3 existence is not working for one’s own salvation. In the Level-3 existence there is no scope for selfishness. The foundation of Level-3 is to realise the artificiality of the boundaries between people. It is to know that you are very much a part of an unending cosmic cycle and to play your role to the perfection. And to understand that you are here with a purpose; and to complete it, without being stuck in the middle.

How do we move up?

If it is in the best interests of one’s own life to lift oneself to a higher level, then the question arises as to HOW? Let us follow the aircraft example. Think that you are the pilot of your own life and you need to reach a destination (which you alone would know). Your plane will lift up only if the ‘lift’ generated by the displacement of the air by the wings exceeds the gravitational ‘pull’. When you are trying to lift oneself, you are overcoming the gravitational pull exerted by the earthly elements and the worldly issues.

It is worthwhile to revisit the basic physics involved in creating a lift. We know that when the wing slices through the air (as shown in the picture below), the displaced air passes over the wing and is bent down. The bending of the air is the action. The reaction is the ‘lift’ on the wing.

The ‘air’ here represents the aspirations, desires, emotions and demands emanating from the body. The air is thickest at the ground level. That is, closer you are to the earthly elements, more attached are you to the worldly possessions and the greater would be the strength of the demands made by these bodily elements. If you fly closer to the ground, you run the risk of hitting hurdles, air pockets and may, in fact never reach the destination. What is needed is to slice through these demands and create enough ‘drag’ that would produce the ‘lift’. In effect, we are using those very physical elements to create the required drag and lift to raise ourselves above them.
We know through Physics that the lift of a wing is equal to the change in momentum of the air it is diverting down. Momentum is the product of mass and velocity. The lift of a wing is proportional to the amount of air diverted down times the downward velocity of that air. For more lift, the wing can either divert more air (mass) or increase its downward velocity.
What does this mean in real life? We need to slice through the bodily demands denying some while accepting some. As you go along life, the physical senses are constantly throwing up attractions at you. Suppose you are at a website reading something. You are constantly bombarded by the pop-ups that would try to take you into some other website. Some times you get tempted, click on the link, and the original link is lost. If we are serious about our work, we ignore the pop-ups and pursue our study. The ‘lift’ is created only when you are able to say ‘no’ to the attractions that come your way. It is created when YOU are in command of your life (not your BODY). Every time you exude warmth to fellow beings irrespective of their origin, forgive people who make mistakes, smile at enemies, cut out emotions from relationships, raise above jealousy, control your anger, give to others without seeking anything in return, relate without selfishness, overcome possessiveness & greed, remain calm & contented – you are slicing through the ‘air’.
All this will be possible only when you are able to look deep within you in complete silence; close your eyes and see the bright light and feel one with it; recognize the duality between the Body and the Spirit with in you.
Coming to the aircraft example, physics tells us that the wing acts as a scoop diverting a certain amount of air from the horizontal to roughly the angle of attack. The amount of air intercepted by this scoop is proportional to the speed of the plane and the density of the air. Speed of the plane requires power. This power is supplied by the airplane’s engine. Thus, the power needed to lift the aircraft is proportional to the load (or weight) times the vertical velocity of the air. The more turbulent the air or more baggage to carry, more power it would require to lift up. What is this trying to tell us?
Lifting ourselves up needs spiritual power. Although the spiritual power is spent through the life’s journey, just as we can refuel aircraft, we can recoup this power by regular ‘sadhana’ or practice. (I do not refer to religious rituals, which are the weakest machines in the spiritual gym; but to meditation). Just how much of power is needed depends on the circumstances in which you are placed. If attractions are strong, the power needed would be more. Like a trained pilot, one should be able to assess this requirement oneself. One thing is clear. It is not going to be easy.

Reality as I see it: III-On relationships

14th Feb 2007

We have seen how YOU and your BODY are two different entities coexisting - pursuing different goals resulting in a competitive dualism. We have seen how the Being experiences predominance of influence exerted by each of these and that gets reflected in his actions and behaviour. We now use this framework to examine the issue of ‘Relationships’ in our lives.

The talk about the relationships is the flavour of today. We see screaming headlines ‘if you love her, show it today’, ‘valentine’s day is all about strengthening the marital relationships’. You get unsolicited tips from the newspapers about the gifts you need to buy for your valentine today, how to make relationships work etc. One does get a feeling that all this hype is wicked marketing strategy to further their sales. That apart, what are these relationships? What is their nature? Why do we think they are important?

Relationships have defined and redefined the human history. It may not be far from truth to state that human history is actually a record of the human relationships and how they have either bettered or worsened the way the beings lived. Philosophers have written copious amounts about relationships, poets wrote books after books on the relationships; every single movie we see today is all about relationships. Are they really so important?

Relationships define the scope of the human being as he/she operates in this world. So much so, that many look at the family before they look at the person. We go to look for a match after verifying the family background from various sources. We like the family, we like the person and we perform the marriage. It turns out that the person is just too different from what the family is supposed to represent. Doesn’t this happen so very frequently?

Bodily origin

Relationships arise out of the needs represented by your Body. Body needs satisfaction of the basic needs, so you marry. It wants to further other Bodies – so you nurture a family. It wants self-esteem (we have seen that the ‘pride’ or self-esteem is a completely body trait, since nothing of that can ever claim permanence) and so we feel possessive of our spouse, we feel proud if our children do well. We get hysteric about our children doing well. We want that our children become big, much bigger than us. We feel jealous if others do better than what our children do. All these represent the Body elements in us. None of them has any element of permanence in them.

We interact with many people in this world – ‘the fellow travellers’. These interactions do not have any elements of possessiveness in them. They are purely professional. If we speak to a customer who wants a particular product, we are ascertaining his needs and trying to see if we can make a product like that. The association is based on specific need; and ends there. We call that professionalism. On the other hand, if we want to build a relationship with the customer, we probe deep in to his likings and dislikes, we try to coax him to see our other products, we try to impress him, we try to follow up with him – we are associating lot more than what he really wants.

When we travel in a bus, we speak to some fellow travellers. We can limit this interaction to exactly what is needed; or expand it into a full-scale conversation. There are people who try to enter into full-scale relationships based on casual interactions while on bus or train. Interaction sometimes is essential for completing the journey. But is it essential to expand the scope of this interaction? Yes or no, it is a choice before us. We choose whether to minimise or expand the scope of this interaction.

Emotional Web

When we combine the interaction with emotion, we have a relationship. Let us think there are 4 individuals around. They are interacting with each other in a time plane. The points of interaction of A & B are single or minimal. They are interacting on equal basis only till the point they need to interact. C & D have built a relationship of exclusivity around them, which separates them into from the rest of the universal whole.

A
B
D
C

When the couple commit that - they are only for the each other and none else; and that the nest that they are going to build is going to be different from all the rest, what are they doing? They weave an emotional web around an interaction. This emotional web differentiates this unit from the rest of the world. Therefore, you have created an enclave, a niche of exclusivity that separates that unit from the rest of the world. As a result, the world becomes a conglomerate of niches that are acting in their perceived self-interest at the exclusion of all the rest. Each unit furthers itself, often at the cost of the other units. You fight with each other to satisfy your own ego. The web now brings in not only possessiveness, jealousy, violence, greed, deceit – all for perpetuating itself.

Intermediary intrusion

Every (so called) ‘pious’ relationship is in fact, a divisive force; that divides the universe that recognises no boundaries. It brings in the concepts of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’; The concepts of ‘ownership’ and ‘possession’. The drive to accumulate. The desire to bequeath. The desire to achieve immortality. In a way, it seeks the status of permanence that it does not have. The only thing that is permanent is the Spirit that resides in all of us; and that which is in a journey. The relationship is an intermediary intrusion in this journey of the Spirit from the source to destination. The divisive concepts are actually alien to the Spirit that is pure and universal. It only recognises the universal brotherhood. It realises that we are all travellers with the same source and destination.

Relationships bring in the pollution that is associated with the Body. Relationships are sociological concoctions for an orderly living. They are associations between two or more living beings with mutual consent – either tacit or explicit – for achieving physical objectives. The origin of the relationships is therefore in the need for physical existence. It is an instrument to meet needs and wants – of the Body. Relationships therefore pertain to Body – its desires, its wants, its aspirations, its pollution, its angularities and its anguishes.

All relationships are meant to satisfy physical needs. (‘Physical’ means and includes all wants other than spiritual wants). Physical needs arise out of the Body. Even a relationship between a teacher and the taught exists only at the body level – because it tells you how live better in a physical world. Even a relationship claims to be purely altruistic - comes in to satisfy a physical need of creating a positive self-image.

All Relationships will end, many a time, rather abruptly. All relationships are temporary. If the relationship has been unpleasant, it adds to your cup of woes. If it brings a ‘lot of pleasure’ (as most families think) it is only a harbinger of untold miseries lying ahead, deepest of sorrows. Because all that is completely ephemeral. You tend to gloat in its success, think and pray that it would never end. And it ENDS. Surely and certainly. And when it ends, your sorrow knows no boundaries. So you tend to end up in deep sorrow, deeper than what an unpleasant relationship has given. So either way, a relationship either exists or ends in sorrow.

Since relationships exist in the physical level of the Body Spirit Continuum (BSC), they contain all the evils associated with the body. They bring in the greed, the acquisitive nature, the jealousies, and the petty nature of the body to the fore. Relationships therefore come in at a heavy price. They are the springboard for– negative energies like greed, possessiveness, jealousy and sorrow. So can any relationship be ‘good’?




Draining out the Spirit

Relationships have nothing to do with the journey of the spirit. But, relationships cannot be created or sustained without being powered by the spirit within. When the spirit gives / lends its energies for bringing forth a relationship, the Spirit is giving in; and in the process weakening its strategic position in the Body-Spirit duality. It is like sacrificing a ‘Queen’ for taking a ‘Pawn’ in the game of chess. When the Spirit gives into the demand of the Body for creating a relationship, it is compromising its position to command the Body.

In a way, they drain out the power of the Spirit. Every relationship needs investment of emotional energy. It needs energy to create and continue a relationship. It needs energy to feel possessive. It needs energy to fight for it; it expends energy on promoting it; it drains energy in negative feelings of jealousy, deceit and possessiveness. Every time you make a relationship, you are draining out spiritual energy in building up a web of emotions around it.

They multiply the desires of bodily existence. One desire takes to other and the result is you get deeper into the physical state – at the exclusion of the Spiritual state. It in fact, denotes a victory of Body over the spirit in the Body-spirit Continuum.

Who is gaining through a relationship? Is it the spirit or the body? Spirit does not need any additional baggage in its journey. It is the body, which is interested in its self-perpetuation, which engineers relationships. Relationships are diabolic plots of the physical body for its self-perpetuation.

Hurdle in the march of universal consciousness

Relationships put hurdles in the march of the universal consciousness. They bring in bondage, which is inherently stifling. They create artificial divisions in the universal consciousness. The only true thing is that we are all co-passengers with same path and destiny. The goal of the Spirit is the realisation of this Truth and its Universalisation. This can never be served by the unending and myriad relationships that we choose to create in our lives.

Minimalist relationships

Should we then approve the actions of the RSS activists who release a diatribe against the revelry now got associated with Valentines’ Day? Certainly not! They represent another, much deeper level of ignorance that creates further, more violent divisions in the universal consciousness.


Do we eschew relationships in life? And live a life of an ascetic? Though it presents an attractive proposition, it means withdrawal from the active world. Is that what your Spirit ordains you to do? If so, yes – you should.

If your spirit ordains you to be active in this journey, and this process needs relationships, maintain minimalist relationships devoid of emotion to the extent possible. You should realise your aim in life; and choose only those relationships that are inevitable. Avoid all relationships that can be avoided. Even when you are in these relationships, keep away from the emotional web that the relationship tries to weave.

Keep detached even when attached.
Life the drop on a lotus leaf.

Reality as I see it: II - Dynamic competitive duality

The concept of the competitive duality between the Body and the Spirit coexistence within each living being has been enunciated earlier.
Body
Spirit

Any living Being is a combination of the Body and the Spirit - the ‘Spirit’ that is permanent and in a journey; and a ‘Body’ that is temporary and which belongs to the earth. The combination of these forces decides how a Being behaves and conducts itself. It is exhibited in every action, and decides the very nature and behaviour of each Being. We see people who are petty, greedy, jealous – these are led by the Bodily elements. In Chemistry, when we combine two elements in the presence of other enabling elements – in short, the WAY they are combined - give rise to different compounds. Similarly, the way the Body and Spirit is organised in each Being results in vastly different persons. Although the Spirit is the same, has the same origin; and all the Bodies originate from earth – when they are combined, they produce different personalities.

These differences are further accentuated by the origin of the Body on earth. Depending on where the body is originated, it come pre-filled with different desires. For example, although component of soil are largely same there are many variants of the soil. We see alluvial soils, black cotton soils, red soils and barren soils. We can grow only some types of crops in each of the soil. Without a major change, one cannot plant paddy in a barren land. Similarly, the place of origin of the Body counts in understanding how its behaviour would be. That however is only the base. The environment where the Being is raised would have substantial influence in shaping it up. For example, in the same barren land, if we drill a borewell and irrigate the land, yes, we can grow paddy there too. Similarly, a fertile alluvial soil can also be laid waste. What is crucial to understand is that the fundamental elements in all Beings are the same; the differences between them have lowly, earthly origin; whereas the unifying factors have high, heavenly origin.

Decides the general behaviour

This combination of the Body and the spirit in the presence of enabling factors decide the way a being behaves generally. That means we can slot a person as a ‘Bodily person’ or a ‘spiritual person’ depending on how the Body-spirit combination expresses itself. When we say a ‘Bodily person’, we need not mean that he is a bad person. He is only led by his senses and selfishly pursues pleasure-seeking activities. It only means that he can’t see the Reality and lives in ignorance that is bound to give him suffering in not too distant future. When we say, ‘he is a good person’, we are actually meaning that he is led by the spirit within rather than the Bodily elements. He is unperturbed by the disturbances caused by the earthly elements in the body. He tries to understand them, and channelises them in the direction that he wants.

Determines the actions

Behaviour is a collection of large number of individual actions and reactions in response to the stimuli from external environment. In both the individuals described above, there is a bit of both the Body and the Spirit. That is why we see some deviant behaviour in seemingly elevated individuals and some very spiritual actions by even the worst of goondas. In packing apples, let us say, our tolerance limit is 2% of defects. That means if a basket consists of 2 defective apples in 100, we say it passes. A basket that passes the quality test need not mean that ALL the apples are good. Similarly, a good person that we talked about in the previous Para has both Bodily elements and the spiritual elements within him. Although in each of his actions, he shows the predominance of the spirit over body, it does not mean that there are no bodily elements in him. In fact, some of his actions may even reflect the Body more than the spirit. Let us take the example of characterization of Krishna. If he has stolen the butter, acted in a way a bodily person has acted, that particular action is a reflection of the bodily elements within him. However considering the overall persona, we look at the power of divinity expressed through his myriad other actions.

If all Beings act both bodily and spiritually, what is the tolerance limit to slot a person? It is a very difficult question indeed! Even identification of all actions is a difficult process – leave alone decide whether it is predominantly Bodily action or Spiritual action. Unlike assessing apples, assessing actions of a living being is exceedingly complex since they reflect both the body and the spiritual elements in proportions that constantly vary, as the actions of the individuals are changing every moment in response to the environmental stimuli.

Since rating each individual action is impossible, we can try to understand which force is predominant in each of us while we generally act. Suppose a Child who is very overweight has been advised by the doctor to avoid chocolates. On the way back from the school, she is overcome by the urge to eat chocolates. She goes to the shop nearby, buys 5 chocolates and feasts on them. At that time, she is accosted by the father.
The father asks, ‘Why did you act the way you did?’
‘I felt hungry’.
‘If you have felt hungry, you could have had bread!’
‘But there is no bread in the shop!! and if I did not eat, I would have collapsed of hunger!!’
‘Okay, if that is so, eating 5 chocolates necessary?’
‘Actually no!’

Three questions

Quality Control has become a watchword in the manufacturing business. We now talk of Total Quality Management, the Six sigma – which underline the need to keep checking the product constantly, at every level – in order to deliver products that are virtually defect free. Six sigma means there can be only 2 defects per billion units produced! Sad that the same man who could think of such advanced concepts in quality management does not apply the same to his own actions in real life.

If concept of Six sigma is to be applied to the actions of the living beings, we can do so only when we are highly AWARE of ourselves and our actions. We therefore need to UNDERSTAND ourselves. We need to deliberate on each of the actions to decide whether it originated from the Body or from the Spirit. If it has originated from the body, we can reduce its influence and restore the predominance of the spirit. We can do that by asking three questions:

1. Why did we act the way we did?
2. Could it have been avoided?
3. Could it have been postponed, reduced or tempered?


The Body and the Spirit

‘That is fine, but how do I know what is the Body and what is the spirit within me?’

By Body, I do not mean the physical structure that we live in. It is that, and much more. It expresses itself in seeking pleasures, comforts which are highly temporary. So any expression of a Being which seeks things ephemeral is an expression of the Body. Body is that part of us which is rooted in earthly elements. It therefore demands fulfillment of earthly desires. It feels that raising a family, having children, earning for posterity – are real. It gets angry, feels upset if it does not get what it wants, and gets jealous if someone else succeeds. It wants to accumulate the physical possessions. It would vociferously argue that since we SEE these things, they are actually REAL. Body seeks evidence in physical form. True to its roots, it cannot see beyond what it can see with the physical senses. The problem with this feature of the Body is that its pursuits sap the spiritual energies.

The Spirit in us represents the cosmic force that caused us. It is calm, bright, sober, peaceful and is placid. It is in pursuit of permanent happiness that has no relation with the earthly presence. It wants to complete the journey from the source – through the earth, to the Destination and from Destination to the source - unsoiled by the earthly desires that Body, its vehicle, represents. If in the process of residing within the Body, it picks up earthly muck, it has to undergo a cleansing, washing process when it reaches the Destination.

Actions represent this Body-spirit continuum (BSC)

Both Body and the spirit represent themselves in varying proportions in each of us and in each of our actions. The proportion of body and the spirit in each of us is highly dynamic and keeps changing. This is the reason why we behave in ways contradictory at times. Suppose you get angry and lose temper - The body is asserting itself. When you regain your composure - the spirit is taking control. The person has moved on the Body-Spirit Continuum (BSC) from one end to the other.

In each of the activities that Beings indulge in – there is an expression of both Body and the Spirit.

Let us think of the most common occurrence, the attraction we feel to the opposite sex. This attraction is a mechanism devised by the Body - in order to ensure its continuity through creation. If there is no attraction, the Body will remain inert and inane; cannot express itself and would remain motionless (which is its primary characteristic). Attraction to opposite sex is therefore an expression of Body. Body element seeks the opposite sex for fulfilment of desires – the sexual desires, the desire to own, the desire to possess. This attraction can be seen across the living organisms and therefore perpetrates the Body. When a Being woos the opposite sex through various colours, various ways - the energy of the spirit is being used by the body for the purpose of sexual fulfilment.

But the Spirit, per se, is beyond sexual attractions. It might seek others, its fellow passengers in this journey, without any expectation and seeking nothing. Just as we converse with fellow passengers on a train journey without seeking anything in return, spirit converses with other Beings.

Let us see how this continuum works in a typical man-woman relationship. If the two Beings seek each other for fulfilment of desires, they are on the Body side of the continuum. All forms that have root in the bodily desires – the dreaming, fantasising, pursuing, wooing, loosing sleep, going crazy etc – are all expressions of the Body. When a person gets afflicted by this, he should realise that the Body is trying to use Me (the spirit) to fulfil its own selfish goal – of self-perpetration.

Suppose if the seeking is without any expectation or attraction those Beings are acting on the spirit side.

In reality, the Being acts sometimes by the Body and sometimes by the Spirit. If one flirts with the opposite sex, she/he is on the bodily side of the BSC; the moment she/he addresses him/her as a fellow traveller, she/he is moving on to the spirit side of the BSC.

In the above graph, the Y axis shows the Body-Spirit continuum (0 – pure Body level and 10 – pure spirit level) and X axis shows the series of actions a person exhibits.

Most usual occurrence is the movement along the BSC constantly in a zigzag manner. A person in this stage is a mix of the bodily wants and the spiritual control. Sometimes, the bodily pursuits take over leading him on the path of bonds and desires. When they lead to grief, he is repentant and vows to follow path of virtue. That is temporary. He goes again on the path of pleasure seeking. He is confused with his own feelings. He commits mistakes, does things he knows should not be doing. When he does the things dictated by the Body, he is troubled by guilt and returns to the spiritual side. But that State is again temporary. He returns to the pursuit of bodily wants and comes to grief all over again.

Only a person purely dictated by his bodily pursuits will remain placid on the lower end. He/she lives in happy existence – like the pig in the mud. In the feeling that he is happy, he does not realise that he is expending all his spiritual energy on pursuits which are purely temporary and which give grief in the long-run. He is living for the present, mortgaging his future.

On the other hand, the person led by his spirit remains stable at the top-end. He is not free of the bodily elements. But he realises and feels his bodily wants; and then he regulates, CHANNELISES them for the larger vision of the spirit. He does not suppress the bodily elements, he only commands them, and uses that energy in a positive direction.

The flowing stream

Let us take the example of the stream in motion. The stream is flowing through your land. If that water is left alone, it goes waste into the ocean. It also destroys, causes floods, and erodes the land around it.

The person following the Bodily pursuits and living in a bodily state watches the water flow by. He goes by the tide and flows the direction that it takes. For him, it is most comfortable to let the stream flow the way it does. No need to exert and no effort needed. No anxiety either. There will only be grief when the water of the stream is not used for cultivation; and when the stream drowns all that he has by flooding.

The middle person tries to use the water to irrigate the rest of the land. He uses a motor to pump up water. But that motor will only pump water when there is sufficient water in the stream. When the flow becomes thinner, he goes hungry. When it swells up, it takes the land and the motor along. He comes to grief and tries to buy another motor and restart his life. He is moving up and down as shown in the graph.

A person led by the Spirit tries to understand the flow and constructs a dam above his land to store and divert water. He is free from the travails of not having water for his needs. He does not despise the stream for running through his land. Nor does he deny the existence of the stream. He understands that stream exists, does go through his land, and tries to channelise the stream flow to meet his objective. The solution is accomplished after hard labour of understanding the flow and after painstaking construction.

Beings in pursuit of Bodily activities lose their energy levels. They use their spiritual energy in pursuit of temporary goals that bring only grief to them. They operate with a negative spiritual balance, in way, go spiritually bankrupt. By pursuing these activities, the spirit gets clouded like the burning coal gets covered with cinder. Unless the coating is blown out from time to time, the fire will extinguish. The Beings who zigzag on the BMC, also lose their energy since they keep coming to Zero every time they are overtaken by the bodily elements.

The effort should therefore be to remain on the spirit side of the BSC, which would be possible only with constant training of the spirit in the ‘spiritual gym’.

Reality as I see it: I - Cosmic energy cycle

Have you ever observed the cycle of the day-night, of seasons, of water and ever wondered if they are all trying to communicate something to us? Why should all celestial phenomena always move in unending cycles? What is that makes our body move? What is this phenomenon called ‘life’ – that exists in myriad forms? Where does it come from and where does it go?

These questions have long bothered the thinking individuals across the world resulting in several theories, religions, symbols and rituals. All these theories aim to explain these basic questions in their own way. If we want to go from Delhi to Mumbai, we can take several paths, several modes of travel with varying speeds and costs. Sometimes when the choices multiply manifold, one gets confused about which way to take. Some of us have a preference to one type of travel mode and detest other travel modes. All the time when we debate on the best mode of transport, we ignore the basic fact that all these are only modes of travel, which are devised to attain the basic purpose of reaching Mumbai. Religious disputes precisely arise from this type of ignorance. Religion and Rituals are only modes of travel, which should not be confused with the fundamental truth that nature has been trying to convey. What is that truth?

We know that Energy moves matter, it cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only change forms. That is the matter of Physics. What is not understood by Physics is - what is the source and destination of this energy. When we investigate this, we are moving from the physical level to metaphysical level.

Let us start from the physical level. We know that light is made up of particles that move at rapid pace. Any movement needs energy. Light therefore is the repository of all energy. Since energy is what moves all life, and light is energy, light is life. To differentiate it from the light we see when electricity passes through a bulb, let us call this light as ‘Cosmic light’.

Unlike the light that is generated by electricity, this cosmic light has an origin that is self-subsisting. Let us call it the SOURCE. Why and how is the cosmic light generated at the source is not very clear and can be ignored for the time being. What is important is that the nature of the SOURCE is pure; and has low threshold levels to tolerate impurities.

The triangle shown above depicts the journey of the light from the source to Physical matter (Phase 1); movement from Physical matter to the destination (Phase 2) that is what we call death and from Destination back to source (Phase 3).


The 1st phase of the Journey

Transmission of cosmic light

Cosmic Light is emanating from the SOURCE in a constant flow of particles. In a way, light particles are thrown out of the source with great force. Why does this happen? Suppose you buy best quality Oranges and store them in a cupboard for 10 days. Many of them will go bad. Unless you remove the bad oranges and preserve the rest, over a period of time, all of them get rotten. Similarly, impurities develop in the light particles residing in the SOURCE. The original source of impurities is therefore in the source itself. This is what is probably conveyed in the Adam Eve story by the Christianity. Unless these imperfect particles are thrown out, the source cannot preserve itself.

These particles are thrown out from the source with a great speed. As these particles travel from the source, they get embedded in various physical matter. These light particles are free of feelings and desires. Let us call these light particles ‘spirit’.

Physical matter – the body

The physical matter is lifeless matter originated in the earth, which is made of physical elements. By itself, it cannot move. Let us think it is like the dust on the floor. It is full of all bodily elements – the desire, the greed, the jealousy, the anger, the possessiveness etc. Its primary aim is to fulfill its elements and to sustain itself. This would not be possible without energy.

That energy is provided by the light particles that are expelled from the source (the spirit). Now we have a physical form powered by an energy source. What we call ‘life’ has come up on earth in various forms and in enormous numbers.

The competitive coexistence

When we understand that light gets embedded in the body and activates it, you realise the DUALITY. Between YOU and your BODY. The truth is that YOU are not your BODY. You RESIDE in your Body to perform a journey - from the source to the Destination. In a way, Body is your vehicle to pass through this phase of the journey. Understanding this duality (Dvaita) between the two is the key to understanding the Advaita philosophy. If you are not your body, and body is only an instrument, an implement to perform the Journey, the question arises as to why we get so attached to the Body, its desires, its wants. Why we grieve when the spirit leaves the Body to perform Phase 2 of the journey?

Although Body is different from you, you are empowering the Body to seek itself. Body is therefore dependent on you; not the other way round. Both are however, coexisting in this journey on principle of mutual dependence. But it is not a collaborative coexistence, it is a competitive coexistence – since the wants of Body and the Spirit are completely different and each pursuing divergent goals. There is a competition between the two for control of the living being (being.

What Body wants

Body needs the spirit to fulfill its carnal needs and for its self-perpetuation. Spirit provides ‘life’ to the intent of the body- something like what a battery does to a transistor. With the help of the spirit, body can pursue its desires. Just as battery loses its power through excess use, the spirit loses its brightness and luster when engaged in bodily pursuits. Spirit actually does not lose its power, but it appears as though it has lost its power. Think of the coal covered with cinders. If you polish the cinders off the coal, it light up again.

What spirit wants?

Spirit needs the body because it is its vehicle on the round trip journey from Source–to–Source. It is used for the Phase 1 of the journey. Spirit wants that the vehicle for this journey is kept in good order instilled through discipline, concentration, good company and clarity of thinking. In short, unless the vehicle is good, one cannot reach destination safely. Spirit therefore wants to maintain the Body in a perfect shape.

Who is in control?

In a competitive coexistence, while both body and the spirit need each other, the issue is who will control whom. If the body is dominating, man gets to spend all his energies in bodily pursuits, which may dim the spirit. Dimmed spirit cannot attain its objective of reaching back the source. Not only does the spirit get dim; it can further get contaminated by the desires of the Body. Not only that such person experiences suffering in the life through the body, but would have to go through the cleansing process at the destination. So, it is a bad bargain.

If the spirit dominates the being, it will use the body purely as an instrument for its journey. In the process, it would refuse to lend energies to the bodily pursuits, which may emaciate the body. That possibly is the reason why many saints like Ramakrishna had frail bodies.

In an equilibrium state, the body and mind coexist. Both are in competition to dominate the Being; but both agree to an arrangement. In this arrangement, if the Spirit takes charge - lends power to the bodily pursuits in a miserly fashion. This will help in expending only on the essentials and using most of the energies on the spirit’s ‘journey-related’ issues. The equilibrium is therefore led by the spirit, which only accommodates bare minimum of the bodily needs, only to maintain ‘the vehicle’ for traveling the distance.

Equilibrium can also be established with Body in command. The spirit becomes subservient to the needs of the Body. Body demands not only fulfillment of all its desires, but would do so more increasingly. Fulfillment of one leads to coming up of another. It wants to accumulate, compete with others, win, possess and rise. The temporary nature of these victories are never understood. It would become arrogant, gets intolerant, jealous, irritable, unscrupulous and would expend all energy on such pursuits. As a living being In this state, man believes that contentedness is anathema of success. In the end, it would all come to grief since these so called pleasures will only lead to misery, ill health and unhappiness. None of the so called successful men in this world have ever lived a happy, contented life. After his death too, the disputes would continue spreading unhappiness among all people known to him. The only thing constant in this equilibrium is unhappiness which follows him.

Maintaining spiritual equilibrium

To maintain a Spiritual equilibrium, one ahs to clinically examine each bodily demand – whether it can be denied/postponed/reduced.
· Whenever an urge arises, identify its source. Is it emanating from the body or the spirit?
· If it is emanating from the body, ask the question whether it can be denied.
· If it can be denied, deny.
· If it cannot be denied, can it be reduced?
· If it can be reduced, reduce.

Remember that with each of the bodily pursuit, you are expending energy – which would dim the brightness of the spirit. If the light is dimmed, you cannot see your way in the darkness. The negative energies like jealousies, anger, desires to possess are all dissipating the power of your spirit and therefore are not in the interests of the spirit.

Recharge the spirit

Spiritual recharge is an essential element if the power of the spirit is not dissipated. Like a lighted coal, spirit is the source of light and heat. But its brightness is reduced when you don’t maintain the fire. After sometime, the fire may just extinguish leaving one in the dark.

How can you charge the spirit? The Yoga Shastra is all about this aspect. The asanas, pranayam and mediation is the three-fold path of Raja yoga. Yoga therefore is not a tool for body maintenance but for recharge of the spirit. The power of Kundalini, when aroused, can activate the spirit with enormous heat and power. That will, of course, tilt the equilibrium towards the spirit.


Can rituals recharge the spirit?

Puja and Rituals, per se, are instruments for understanding the real purpose of one’s life. They are instruments to realize the reality behind this journey. They can be used to recharge the spirit by connecting straight to the source. They can recharge only when they are connected with the source. If rituals are failing to connect you with the source, it is better to stop such rituals than wasting time.

So the fundamental things when we do Puja are:
· Understand the purpose behind the ritual
· Check whether you are able to connect with the source of not
· Ensure that you don’t mix up puja with the bodily wants.

It is essential to understand that rituals are tools to connect with the source and therefore for recharge the spirit. They have nothing to do with the bodily elements. So if you go to a temple or do a good puja and ask for fulfillment of a desire, you are using wrong instrument.

If you really want to satisfy a body desire, you should WORK for it. Puja is not the vehicle to get to the bodily elements. It is essential that we don’t confuse and mix up these two. Purpose of Puja and rituals is to charge the spirit so that it takes control of the equilibrium process. Do not mix the bodily issues and desires with the puja, a common mistake made by most. If you want to go to Mumbai, you don’t board a train that goes to Jammu. Nor can you board a train going to Jammu and pray that it goes to Mumbai. The right thing to do is to get off the wrong train and take the right train.