Spiritual Detachment of Jeevas (MTS-6: Towards a Mathematical Theory of Spirituality Based on Advaita)

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Ref: (Pages 11-15 with frequent reference to Fig 3 on page 8)

http://sunyaprajna.com/Advaita/Advaita_Math.pdf

 

In the last posting, creation was modeled as waves in the Total Mind, the latter

being the quadrant space enclosed by the two axes of Experiencer and

Experienced. Everything of the phenomenal world, i.e. all non-Self, from the

grossest Experienced O-E-T to the subtlest (namely, Experiencer) is represented

within the quadrant. O-E-T itself is the “material world” whereas the rest of

the quadrant space may be viewed as the “spiritual realm”. As spiritual

entities, jeevas, and their creator Brahmaji, have their being in this spiritual

realm. While jeevas differ among themselves in countless ways materially (i.e.

B-M-I wise), the spiritual distinction among jeevas is captured in our model by

a single parameter, a parameter denoted by the greek letter theta. This

parameter represents the “spiritual detachment”, or spiritual orientation of the

jeeva. It is a variable determined by the degree of purity of the jeeva’s

mind-intellect, the cumulative result of its sadhanas over many a lifetime.

 

Jeevas vary in their degree of spiritual detachment all the way from total

attachment to the O-E-T (represented by the horizontal axis corresponding to a

theta value of zero) to total detachment from samsar (represented by the

vertical axis corresponding to a theta value of 90 degrees, or pi/2 radians).

Most jeevas that have attained a human form possess some viveka and usually fall

somewhere in between, with a theta value between zero and pi/2. We must note

too that theta due to presence of spiritual forces (such as sadhanas, grace of

Guru etc), the spiritual detachment of a jeeva, can and does vary over time. A

jeeva’s spiritual state may be represented in terms of two coordinates (t,

theta) as shown in Fig 3 indicating its spiritual detachment theta at time=t.

To start with, we will assume jeevas with same theta over all time, which is to

say jeevas in a “spiritually inertial” field. The “path” of a jeeva in this

inertial field (i.e. a plot of its positions over time) is a straight line going

through origin A.

 

“Time and tide wait for none”, goes the old adage. In Fig 3, time indeed shows

up as tides. No jeeva can escape moving with time; however, the direction in

which a jeeva moves in the spiritual field depends on its spiritual orientation.

A jeeva fully attached to O-E-T (e.g. J1 in Fig 3, with theta=0) is pushed from

change to change along the horizontal axis by this tide of time. This is the

pitiable case of a jeeva drowning in samsar “now sinking, now coming up for a

gasp of air”. At the other extreme, a totally detached jeeva (J3 in Fig 4 with

theta= pi/2) moves with cosmic time along the vertical axis without being

affected by any changes in the O-E-T.

 

How about jeevas in the middle (e.g. J2 in Figs 3 and 4)? We can hazard the

guess that their condition will be better than that of J1 but not nearly as

perfect as that of J3. The model indeed confirms this guess. In doing so, the

model uses the picturesque analogy of “twin-birds” from Mundaka Upanishad.

According to this analogy, every jeeva has a “lower-self” attached to O-E-T that

eats the fruits of samsar; it also has a “higher-self” that merely is a witness

to the samsar. The higher self sees the samsar without eating its bitter sweet

fruits.

 

Spiritual detachment does not imply or require physical or mental separation

from the material world. The lower-self of the jeeva (i.e. its Body and also

its extroverted M-I) is necessarily in the O-E-T. But the jeeva, at any and all

times, has the freedom to identify wholly, partially, or not at all with its

lower self, identifying instead with its higher-self. Theta, spiritual

detachment, denotes the degree of identification with the lower-self. In Fig 4,

J2 is a jeeva with theta=60 degrees and its path, the line AC, is at an angle of

60 degrees to the horizontal axis. How much does this jeeva identify itself with

its lower self? The reasoning given in pages 12-14 is to show that the answer

may be given in geometrical terms as the “projection of the line AC on the

horizontal axis”. The jeeva J2 projects itself on the O-E-T half as much as a

jeeva (such as J1) bound totally to O-E-T. Following the Mundakopanishad

analogy, we may say that J2 eats only half many fruits as it would have eaten

had it been, like J1, fully bound to O-E-T. In the true spirit of the

Upanishadic analogy, we do not say that J2 “sees” only half of the fruits. It

sees them all, but eats only half.

 

What does “eating” versus “seeing” mean? All Advaitic masters have held that

life and life’s activities are not bad by themselves and are indeed unavoidable

due to praarabdha. But being involved in life with the self-centric notions such

as “I want”, “I do” and “I enjoy” determine whether or not we are merely

“seeing” and not also “eating”. In a jeeva where these self-centric notions are

constant, its identification with lower self is complete and spiritual

detachment is zero.

 

We previously defined a unit of experienced time as the interval between two

consecutive experiences of a jeeva, experience being “eating”. J2, in Fig 4,

experiences, over a given interval of cosmic time, only half as many changes as

it would have, had it been bound to O-E-T. In this sense we may say that

experienced time contracts by 50% due to J2’s spiritual detachment and its

suffering in O-E-T also diminishes to the same extent. Generalizing, we

conclude that as spiritual detachment increases, the jeeva’s suffering in O-E-T

decreases. This, we note, is consistent with a basic promise offered in all our

Upanishads, Gita (e.g. “..kauntheya prathijanaahi…” in Ch IX) and other

scriptures. This result is so fundamental to what spirituality has to offer to a

suffering humanity that one may well call it as a fundamental theorem of

spirituality.

 

All religions of the world make similar promises to their faithful

practitioners, but may use different terms of expression. The saadhanaas

emphasized can be different and the benefits of the saadhanaas may be described

in such terms as paradise and eternal life. Sometimes even benefits in the

material world are held as a reward for the saadhanaas. In Advaitic teaching,

however, all valid saadhanaas have the singular goal of purification of mind

leading to spiritual detachment from O-E-T. Advaitins also hold that spiritual

practices should have no negative impact on either the physical and mental

health of the practitioner or on the world around them. Whether or not this is

true of all religious practices of all world religions is debatable.

 

In our next posting, we formalize the fundamental result relating experienced

time to spiritual detachment.

 

 

Hari Om!

 

- Raju Chidambaram