CONCLUSION

 

Now that we have come to the end of our work, we could spend some time reflecting on the relevance of Shankara=s Advaita philosophy, that is centered on the concept of Brahmaanubhava, to the present day world. As a matter of fact the world has become a global village with the development in various means of communication. People to people contact, in spite of vast distances, has been made the order of the day. In recent times the development in the information technology has made it easier for people to communicate and reach out. News and views are exchanged at a rapid speed that a person, who lives in one side of the globe, can get to know what happens in the other side of the globe within a short time. Similarly goods and services are transferred from one place to the other, with the developments in the means of transportation. There are greater facilities today for interaction and contact among people than ever before.

In spite of these technological facilities to bring people together, the world still stands a divided world. There are deep-rooted barriers that separate people from each other. These barriers stem from linguistic, racial, cultural, religious, economic, political or any other similar prejudices. Language, which is meant to be a medium of communication, has become a medium of alienation among different linguistic groups. Often we see language in stead of bringing people together separates them. The racial divide among the blacks, the colored and the whites is there for all to see in different parts of the globe. In some places it is out-right, while in other places it is subtle. In some places the racial divide manifests in caste and communal animosities, rivalries and clashes. Culture, which expresses the deeper yearnings of the people of a society and all that is finer in them, often becomes a cause of fight among people. Religion, whose aim is to take people to their ultimate destiny and to the experience of the Divine, often forgets this responsibility. We see wars are fought in the name of religion today. The world is also divided on the basis of economy. We generally group the nations of the world economically as under-developed, developing and developed. The gap between each of these is very large. We find similar economic divide within every nation and society. Thus, we speak of the upper class, the middle class and the lower class. Politically the world is broken into pieces. There are boarder disputes plaguing every nation. Claims and counter claims are made by many a nation for a piece of land. The world has witnessed many wars being fought to settle score on this count. Thus the world is a divided world. The more we progress in finding means to unite the world and its people, the greater the distance that is generated among them.

One may wonder as to the reason for such divides existing in the world, in spite of the progress that has taken place in many a fields. The reason for this state of affairs comes from humankind=s attitude towards life and the world. People in general today, base their life on the peripheral and the accidental. They have lost sight of the essential and the fundamental. People look for that which works and bring results, without being fully aware of their consequences for themselves and for the world. That which works is mistaken for truth, that which is useful is seen as a moral good and that which satisfies one=s emotional need is viewed as a religious value. A person caught up in this shallow attitude to living does not experience anything beyond the level of the senses. So he is not able to experience the underlying principle of unity behind the diversities of everyday experience.

Thomas Aquinas speaking about unity among beings points to a threefold unity. Firstly, unity in the level of accidental perfection, which consists in unity among beings in the external and peripheral level. For instance there is a oneness among all white beings. To this class belongs unity based on caste, color, race or creed. Secondly, the essential unity, which is a participation among beings in the level of essence. It is the unity among the same species. For example the natural solidarity a human person feels with other human person as they share the same human nature. Thirdly, the unity of existence, by which every finite being participates in the being of the Divine Pure Existence. The last type of unity is the most fundamental one, because it is the participation in the absolute being that makes a being really what it is both in its essential and accidental levels.1

This division of Thomas Aquinas helps us to understand the reason why our world is a divided world. People, being caught up in the accidental level of unity has forgotten the deeper levels of unity both in that of essence and existence. Since human person has forgotten that he is one with all other persons, as they share the same nature, there is discord within the human society. Again as he has lost sight of his fundamental unity with the Divine Existence, he finds disunity in the whole universe, not only among human persons, but in his relationship with the universe as well. Thus, the loss of this sense of unity is the reason for our experiences of differences, multiplicity, discords, rivalries and animosities at every levels of our existence.

Shankara=s Advaita Vedaanta with its goal of self-realization brought to the focus, the all-important truth of the fundamental unity of all in the absolute Brahman. It was Shankara=s endeavor to communicate the truth that >behind the diversities we experience in our life and in the world, there is an underlying oneness= and help people to achieve this oneness in their lives. Thus, Shankara=s Advaita is not a useless, impractical and otherworldly vendetta, but a philosophy of life that attempts to flower all that is genuine and authentic in a person by taking him to the depth of his being, viz., Brahman. The call to oneness and unity within oneself, with others and finally with the whole universe in the absolute Brahman, which is the message of Advaita of Shankara, is a message not bound by time or culture. It is a message applicable to all times, all peoples and all cultures. Understanding this message of unity and attempting to live it would bring in a person a number of attitudes, which would make the world a better place to live for all. We could spell out some of these attitudes and their consequences for humanity.

The cultivation of the unitive perspective of Shankara would help a person to acquire a sense of balance in the manner he looks at life and the world. According to Aristolte >the principle of moderation= is very fundamental to existence in every aspect. The unitive perspective gives a person an authentic and a holistic view of reality, which in turn helps the person to avoid the extremes. Forgetting the middle path and choosing extreme course of action are the main reasons for the evils that exist in the world today. For instance science and scientific approach are very beneficial to humankind, but an extremist approach regarding these has led to the emergence of scientism and technologism, which has in turn victimized humanity. Acquiring an absolute perspective of life would help a person to treat nature with respect. As Martin Heidegger would say, from the Being-perspective a person would not be a master of nature, but a shepherd who shepherds the absolute, which is at the core of everything that exists. Such a person would use science to explore nature, but not to exploit it; use reason to facilitate the flowering of the inner spirit, but not to dominate it; and see world and life in its totality, but would not attempt to fragment it.

The constant focus on the oneness of existence would help a person to give up the ghetto mentality and an outlook that is caged. The world is divided in the manner we have described earlier on the basis of caste, color, creed and language because people=s view of the world is conditioned and limited by this caged outlook. Since a holistic perspective is lacking, they look at life in a fragmented way. Oneness with the absolute and oneness with humankind is totally lacking because people are only open to the accidental and the peripheral dimensions of existence. This deeper fragmentation of not being open to the essential and existential unity is the reason for people to consider the accidental realm of existence as essential. The cultivation of a perspective that is centered on the oneness of all in the absolute would help one to de-fragment the fragmentation that has led to a superficial living.

The unitive perspective would counter the attitudes of materialism and consumerism that sways the world today. Living a life founded on the absolute perspective opens a person to the truth of the existence of a realm that is beyond the phenomenal reality. The truth Shankara=s Vedaanta philosophy wants to communicate to every human person is that he, by his nature, is much more than what he thinks he is. He has a destiny that is so sublime and so real, that in relation to it, the phenomenal existence would be considered unreal. The realization of this truth makes the aspirant to live a life in this world as if he is not of this world. It helps him to renounce the allurements of the material world and its domination and move towards higher planes of existence. By providing various means, to transcend the phenomenal existence and move towards the nomenal existence, the seeker is led to the final fulfillment of his seeking. In this manner Advaita philosophy remains an anti-dot to the poison of materialism that holds the world of today in chains.

The experience of the oneness of all in the absolute cultivates in one an accommodative spirit. Seen from the absolute perspective all differences vanish. Untouched by differences one is able to let go and accept life as it comes. A flexible mind and accommodative spirit is vital for peaceful co-existence among nations and peoples. It is the lack of flexibility in thinking and living that makes one come into conflict with others and make this world difficult for all to live. The ability to accommodate with others implies that one recognizes that truth, goodness and value are not one=s own monopoly, but they belong to all. The recognition of truth, goodness and value in the other leads to better understanding among nations and peoples.

In this manner, Shankara=s philosophy of Brahmaanubhava (self-realization) has a great potential. It not only helps the aspirant to arrive at self-realization, but also by propagating a world-view that is holistic it emanates a great number of positive attitudes. These attitudes if recognized, accepted and cultivated would enable individuals, societies and nations of the world to live in harmony and peace. These attitudes would bring about a living among nations and peoples that recognizes each other=s differences and diversities, but moves beyond them and sees the underlying unity of all. When such attitudes take hold of people=s minds in a large way, there will emerge internal integration within a nation or a community and international understanding among nations. Such a state would bring about an end the different types of divides we talked about among individuals and nations. Thus, Shankara=s philosophy of self-realization has much to offer the world of our times.