Bondage & Liberation

1. Bondage & Liberation

2. The Present state of Society

3. The Present state of Society • Root cause of Problems: Wisdom Deficit • Increasing avarice, envy and pride • Stinginess : lack of generosity , apathy • Anger, ill will , hatred • Increasing economic well being & increasing un-ease and dis-quiet • Invisible mental bondage => Sense of lack • Message of the great Masters => for abiding happiness look within P L Dhar ( NRCVEE Lecture )

4. Genesis of Bondage

5. Perspective from Developmental Psychology • During the first two years or so, a child doesn’t have any notion of individual self • Guided entirely by pleasure pain principle • No sense of identity • gender, caste , creed, religious, nationality • All these are drummed into him : mental conditioning • Identification with body, various traits, opinions, preferences, desires, apprehensions, habit patterns

6. Perspective from Developmental Psychology • Role of memory : persistent feeling of self • This notion of ‘I’ am puts ‘me’ in conflict with ‘others’ • Notion of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ • Both failure & success in fulfillment of ‘my’ desires leads to intensification of the mental defilements & strengthening of the notion of ‘I’ • Escalation of the sense of ‘lack’ • Increase in un-ease and dis-quiet : BONDAGE

7. Notion of Self

8. The Notion of Self • David Loy : Self is a psychological-social-linguistic construct • Gaussen / Allan Schore: • The evolution of brain structure influenced by infant caregiver interaction: emotional memories • The core of sense of self lies in the patterns of emotional behaviour exhibited by a person which are determined by the brain structure evolved primarily during infancy

9. The Notion of Self • Damasio : Notion of self arises from the brain’s ability to sense somatic sensations and associated feelings. • Since both these change incessantly, the sense of self arises from moment to moment • Our individual identity is anchored on predominantly invariant structure of background feelings, and the slowly evolving autobiographical data.

10. The Notion of Self • Insight of the Buddha : the notion of self arises due to strong attachment to the body-mind complex • Mind : consciousness, perception, feeling, volitional mental formations • Body & mind are intricately inter related and incessantly changing • Apart from the five aggregates there is no distinct being • no forest apart from the trees, no car apart from its components, ….

11. Liberation Bondage Egoic Identity Seeing through the illusion of Self Reconstruction of Self Deconstruction

12. De-construction of Self • Abandoning desires based on attachment to Body & Mind • Not suppression by will power • By acceptance of the reality of desires as and when these arise • these would naturally cease ! • Detailed instructions on gaining this ability • Steps : Dis-enchantment => dis-passion => abandoning craving & aversion => Awakening from the illusion of personality • Manifestation of dormant potentials => Reconstruction of self

13. Practical Implementation • All humans are endowed with the ability to experience emotions and feelings and also to be aware of how we are feeling! • I do become aware, ‘I am angry’ ! • Usual response to this awareness : justifying and defending ‘my’ position • Possible responses when imbued with insight of ‘no –self’ : • Investigating : who is getting angry ? • Investigating: ‘what is going on inside’? • Training in Mindfulness

14. Implications for day to day Life • Personal life : reducing negative emotions • Excellence in work : Normal paradigm • Focus on ‘self’ aggrandizement , profit or power • Any obstacles or difficulties taken ‘personally’ • Resentment , anger burn up energy • Inner distance from one’s ‘own’ actions • Detachment from success or failure, praise or blame • Exclusive devotion to work, not a constant ‘concern’ about its consequences P L Dhar ( NRCVEE Lecture )

15. Implications for day to day Life • Observation of ‘what is happening inside’ • any deflections or failing are brought to the fore through inner awareness : self policing • As pre-occupation with ‘self’ reduces, kindness and compassion naturally emerge and can manifest in various ways • Work done impersonally is a great joy; everything else is suffering ! P L Dhar ( NRCVEE Lecture )

16. Concluding Remarks

17. Modern Science & Ancient Wisdom : stubborn notion of individuality is ‘optical delusion of consciousness’ ‘Hell is other People’ : Sartre P L Dhar ( NRCVEE Lecture )

18. Consciousness has multiple dimensions : sense-sphere consciousness & self- awareness P L Dhar ( NRCVEE Lecture )

19. The practice of Mindfulness: Abiding in ‘pure’ consciousness Liberation : Let go the ‘one who is in bondage’ P L Dhar ( NRCVEE Lecture )

20. The practice of Mindfulness: Facing the Brutes ! Conscious surrender to Reality P L Dhar ( NRCVEE Lecture )

21. Thank you all