Unit 4 Notes | Universal Human Values Notes | AKTU Notes

Unit 4 Human Values AKTU Notes | Human Values Notes

Understanding the Harmony in Nature:

Definition of Nature:
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
• Human order
• Pranic order
• Animal order

Interconnectedness and mutual fulfillment in nature:

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.

Material Order and Plant/Bio-Order: material order provides nutrients to plant/bio order in the form of soil, minerals, etc while plant/ bio order decays and forms more nutrient, thus enriching the soil.

Material Order, Plant/Bio- Order and Animal Order: 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. Animal order helps enrich the soil with its excreta and this excreta helps the plants with nutrients.

Material Order, Plant/Bio- Order, Animal Order and Human Order: 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.

Recyclability and self-regulation in nature:

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 plants and animals are similarly self-regulated in their environment. 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.

Understanding the four orders in nature:

Things (Vastu): Each one of these ‘things’ is also called a ‘unit’.

Activity (Kriya): An activity means something that ‘has motion’ and /or ‘has a result’.

Innateness (dharana): An intrinsic quality that cannot be separated from it.

Natural Characteristics (Svabhava): ‘Value’ or ‘participation’. The ‘characteristic’ the order displays in ‘natural to itself’.
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.

Conformance(Anu-Sangita): continuity in nature

Harmony in Existence:

Existence: All the units together constitute nature. All the units of nature exist in space. Existence is nothing but the nature in space.
“Existence = Nature submerged in space”.

Existence = Exist (To be) + Essence(harmony), whatever exists.

Co-existence of Units in Space: Co-existence is a state in which two or more groups are living together while respecting their differences and resolving their conflicts non-violently.

Existence Is Co-Existence:

The existence is ‘units in space’. The units are of two types:

1. Material (insentient): Transformable, and their composition keeps on changing, hence these are gathansheel.
2. Consciousness (the sentient ‘I’): Do not transform and are complete in composition, hence gathanpurna.
Completion of right understanding in human being is called kriyapurnata and ability to live with complete understanding is called acharanpurnata

Things (Vastu): Each one of these ‘things’ is also called a ‘unit’.

- Material order: Most abundant in nature. Soil, water, metals, etc.
- Plant/bio order: Pranic order exists as the smallest seeds to the plentiful grass, the various plants and trees and all the vegetation in the ocean.
- Animal order: Various kinds of animals and birds. These entities display both a body (physico-chemical activity) as well as a conscious activity (self or ‘I’).
- Human (knowledge) order: All the human beings. Each human being is co-existence of the self (‘I’,conscious entity = consciousness) and the body (pranic order).

Activity (Kriya): An activity means something that ‘has motion’ and /or ‘has a result’.
• Material Order: An acitivity of ‘units’ coming together to form a bigger unit - ‘composition’. Bigger units can also separate from each other to form smaller units - ‘decomposition’.
• Plant/bio order: Not only do plants compose (following new plants) and decompose (decaying), they are also breathing, or pulsating, - 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 as the plant.
- ‘I’ In Animals – Conscious Activities: has the ability or capacity of assuming. This consciousness or faculty of assuming is not in the body.
• Human (knowledge) order: Similar to that in the animal body as: composition/ decomposition and respiration. However, ‘I’ has the acitvities of desiring, thinking, and selecting/tasting, with a possibility or need for understanding and realization.

Innateness (dharana): An intrinsic quality that cannot be seperated from it.

- Material order: We cannot destroy matter, we can only convert it from one form to the other.
- Plant/bio order: It also has the innateness of ‘existence’. It also exhibits the ‘growth’.
- Animal order: Inherits the innateness of the previous order namely ‘existence’ and ‘growth’ in body, In addition, all units in this order have the ‘will to live’ in ‘I’
- Human (knowledge) order: ‘Existence’ and ‘growth’ in the body. ‘will to live with happiness’ in ‘I’.

Natural Characteristics (Svabhava):

‘Value’ or ‘participation’. The ‘characteristic’ the order displays in ‘natural to itself’.
• Material order: Svabhava’ of ‘composition/decomposition’ enables units or entities to come together and form a bigger unit. Bigger units transform to smaller units.
• Plant/bio order: Nurture or worsen other pranic units. To nurture means to be supportive, to aid other pranic activities in the growth of pranic units. For ex., vegetable is a pranic unit and our body is also a pranic unit.
• Animal order: ‘Nurture/worsen’ (body). non-cruelty (akrurata) and cruelty (krurata) in self (‘I’)
• Human (knowledge) order: It either nurtures or worsens other pranic units. 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.

Basic Activity: In the material and pranic order, there is only recognizing and fulfilment. A plant recognizes 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. When we look at the animals and humans, we find selection taking place.

Conformance (Anu-Sangita):

• Material order: The continuity of the fundamental nature is preserved through the physical and chemical processes.
• Plant/bio order: A neem seed will always sprout a neem plant. This ‘seed conformance’ method is the mechanism by means of which the continuity of a plant species is mantained in nature/existence.
• Animal order: According to their lineage or race 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 are according to our desires, thoughts and selections. Together, we call these ‘sanskara’.