Philosophy for the Divine Life
Philosophy is not a theory but
a vision of life (Darsana). It is not merely 'love of wisdom' but signifies
a real 'possession' of it. The philosophers are therefore not professors,
academicians or doctrinaires, or even 'spectators', but true participants of
life in its real meaning and relationship. To be a philosopher, thus, implies
more substance than what is often taken to be its value in life. A philosopher
is not concerned with human beings alone: his concern is with all creation, the
universe in its completeness. His thought has to reflect the total import
of existence in its togetherness.
A philosopher's task calls for
a great strength of will and clarity of understanding, side by side with an
exalted moral consciousness. The usual prerequisites for a student of
philosophy have been stated to be...
1. Viveka or
discrimination of reality as distinguished from appearance
2. Vairagya or
disinterest in those appearances which are divested of reality
3. Sama or tranquillity
of mind
4. Dama or
self-restraint, meaning control over the clamours of sense
5. Uparati, or freedom
from the distractions characteristic of selfish activity
6. Titiksha or power of
fortitude in the midst of the vicissitudes of life
7. Sraddha or faith and
conviction in the meaningfulness of the pursuit of philosophy
8. Samadhana or ability
to concentrate the mind on the subject of study
9. Mumukshutva or a
sincere longing to attain the practical realisation of the Absolute.
Without the equipment of these
necessary qualifications, a student under the scheme of philosophy will be a
failure and cannot get at either its method or its purpose. Though the
discipline needed is arduous indeed and no one, ordinarily, can be expected to
be full with it to perfection, it has to be accepted that it is an inviolable
condition of the pursuit of philosophy, at least in an appreciable measure.
Else, philosophy would only shed as much light to the student as the sun to the
blind.
Philosophy has often been
identified with a life of contemplation, without action. That this is a
misrepresentation based on ignorance would become obvious from the nature of
philosophic wisdom, as has been stated above. Though wisdom is a state of
consciousness and implies concentration and meditation, it does so not in any
exclusive sense, for philosophic wisdom is all-inclusive. It synthesises the
different sides of the psychological nature, e.g., the knowing, willing,
feeling and active. Any lopsided emphasis is contrary to the requirements of a
wisdom of life. The teaching of the Bhagavadgita, a monumental embodiment of
the gospel of the philosophic life, is a standing refutation of the notion that
philosophical knowledge is tantamount to actionlessness. A philosopher, in his
heightened understanding, has also the power of sublime feeling and action for
a universal cause.
Philosophy is not also opposed
to religion; on the other hand it is the lamp which illumines the corners of
religion both within and without. Philosophy supplies the raison d' etre of
religious practices, even of ritual, image and symbol. If religion is the body,
philosophy is the life in it. Philosophy ennobles religion, sublimates art and
stabilises the sciences, such as sociology, ethics and politics. It was the
hope of Plato that the philosopher and the ruler be found in the same person,
if the world is to have peace. Philosophy is also the remedy for the illnesses
which psychoanalysis has been immaturely attempting to trace back to a supposed
irrationality of behaviour. Philosophy discovers the rationality behind the
so-called irrational urges.
In India, philosophy as Darsana
has always been associated with practice or Sadhana. What goes by
the name of Yoga is the implementation of philosophy in practical life, with
reference to the psychological functions predominating in an individual.
Philosophy has therefore relation to one's being more than to one's
intellectual grasping of outer situations. The philosophic truth is neither the
inner nor the outer merely, for it is the whole. The cosmic gets
mirrored in the consciousness of the philosopher who lives it more than
anything else.
Philosophy is different from
any kind of extreme, whether in thinking or living. The golden mean is
its rule, which excludes nothing, but includes everything by way of
transformation to suit the constitution of the whole which is its aim. To
arrive at this finale of knowledge, it considers the cases of perception,
inference and intuition; observation, implication and the testimony of
experience. It neither denies nor affirms peremptorily. Philosophy is, thus,
necessary for every stage and kind of life to make it a joy. There is no
satisfaction where there is no meaning. Philosophy is the discovery of the
meaning behind life.
Philosophy is impartial
judgment without prejudice, underestimation or overestimation. It recognises
the values accepted in the different fields of knowledge and iterated in the
various viewpoints of observation and logic in order to construct an edifice of
integral envisagement. From this it follows that philosophy does not take
sides, has a place for every standpoint of thinking in its proper perspective,
and its function is to so fit everything into its broad scheme that nothing is
either ignored or made to strike a dissonant note in the harmony of its
development. Its position is that of the chief judge in the government of the universe.
It listens, understands, sifts, weighs and considers the status of any given
circumstance not from the standpoint of the circumstance in its isolatedness
but in its relation to the whole of existence. No one can, therefore, afford to
turn away from the divine gift called 'philosophy'.
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