Unit 2 Notes | Universal Human Values Notes | AKTU Notes

Unit 2 Human Values AKTU Notes | Human Values Notes

Understanding the Human Being as the Co-existence of Self and Body:

Human Being is the coexistence of SELF(I) and BODY

Exchange of information between self and body

Human being is more than just the body:
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. This co-existence must be harmonious.

Understanding the Needs of SELF(I) and Body –Sukh and Suvidha:

Suvidha: It implies that it is looking for physical comforts and all the sources of attaining such comforts.
Sukh: It is a holistic and all encompassing state of the mind that creates inner harmony.

Needs of self and body:

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 three ways in terms of the needs, activities and the types of these two entities, as shown in the table below:

Understanding activities in the self and activities in the body:

1. Activities in the self:
Thinking ,Believing, Speaking, Feeling ,Understanding, Desiring ,Dreaming ,Imagining ,Analyzing These activities take place irrespective of the state of the body.

2. Activities involving both the self (I) and the body:
There are some activities that we do, in which both ‘I’ and body are involved. The decisions and choices are made in ‘I’, and these are carried out via the body. These activities are:
Walking, Eating ,Talking, Seeing, Listening

3. Activities in the body – but only with the consent of ‘I’ :
The body is a set of ‘self-organized activities’ that are occurring with self (‘I’’s) consent but without my (‘I’’s) active participation.
These are functions like: Digesting ,Blood flow, Heart beat, Breathing, Nourishment
Here knowing and assuming are not there.

Activities of self and body:

Understanding the body as an instrument of ‘I’ (I being the Seer, Doer and Enjoyer):

• Body is my instrument. I am the one who takes decisions, the body acts accordingly.
• I want to live with continuous happiness. For the body, physical facilities are required in a limited quantity and temporarily. For the nurture of the body, food is required. For protection, clothing is required. For right utilization, instruments are required.

I am the seer(DRASTA): I see through eyes, the eye don’t see, they are just an instrument used by me. In the eyes, different images are formed every time - it is ‘I’ who is able to relate it to its meaning. Seer also means the one that understand.

I am the doer(KARTA): I select to do, and use the hands or feet or other parts of the body to do the things. Doer means the one that takes decisions.

I am the enjoyer(BHOKTA): When I eat, I get the taste. The body just gets in touch with the food and sends the information to me, it is ‘I’ who enjoys the food. Enjoyer means the one who enjoys.

Harmony in Self (I) – Understanding Myself:

Power: The basic capacity in the self (‘I’). They are: Desire, Thought, and Expectation

Activities: 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.

Preconditioning: Preconditioning means we have assumed something about on the basis of prevailing notion.

Sensations: Sensation means a perception associated with stimulation of a sense organ or with a specific body condition: the sensation of heat; a visual sensation.

Harmony of Self (I) with The Body – Sanyama And Swasthya:

The harmony of I with the body is in the form of Sanyama(Self regulation) on the part of ‘I’ and Swasthya(Health) on the part of body.

• Sanyama (self-regulation): Sanyama means the feeling of responsibility in the self (I) for nurturing, protection and right utilization of the body.

“When I live with Sanyama,there is harmony among the different parts of the body and the body acts accordingly to me as a useful instrument.”

• Swasthya(Health): Swasthya is the condition of the body where every part of the body is performing its expected function. The word swasthya literally means being anchored to the self, being in close harmony with the self.

Aspects of Swasthya:

• Physical Health: For humans, physical health means a good body health, which is healthy because of regular physical activity(exercise), good nutrition, and adequate rest. Physical health is physical wellbeing.
• Mental Health: Mental health refers to people’s cognitive and emotional wellbeing.

Understanding and Living with Sanyama:

1. Nurturing the Body:
Proper food, air, water etc.The food needs to be eaten only when we feel hungry.The choice of the food is such that it is easily digestible and the food needs to be taken with proper posture of the body and in right quantity.

2.Protection of the Body:
To ensure the health of the body, we need to take care of the following:

-Proper upkeep of the body: Need to ensure proper time, posture and ways to work and to rest.
-Labour: Employing the body physically for production. It helps each part of the body to function properly.
-Physical Exercises: We can employ all the parts of the body in the desired way.
-Asan-Pranayam:
1. Asan: We give the body proper posture.
2. Pranayam: We ensure regulation of breathing.

3.Right utilization of the Body:
Right utilization of the Body as an instrument necessitates understanding the purpose for which this instrument is to be used.I need to ensure that I use my body for right behavior and work.When I do so it has favourable effects on the body.