Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academy-advaita.com
The Netherlands
4th July 2017
Bondage
“Dependency”
Bondage implies dependency. Apparently, this bondage or dependency does not leave man or woman to live in freedom, because freedom is searched for by everyone. So the first question to be understood is: What is it that man is dependent upon in daily life?
He has endeavoured to be free of bondage or dependency since aeons of time. That freedom from dependency is still searched for indicates that man or woman is not free from bondage or dependency as yet.
Bondage needs to be understood deeply, if freedom from bondage is wished, desired or wanted by humanity. How could bondage be understood deeply is the question? This question becomes clear by pondering the first question above: What is it that man is dependent upon in daily life? Now, let’s ponder deeply.
Man or woman is totally dependent on memory. He or she is totally dependent on memory because it is only by memory that he or she is able to know and recognise his or her surroundings.
Also, it is only by memory he or she is able to know who he, she or others are.
Actions, beliefs and what to do and what not to do is known through memory, otherwise it cannot be known.
Similarly, only because of memory man or woman comes to know what to speak and what not to speak and also what to think and what not to think. This applies to behaviour as well.
Memory is made up of thoughts and man has not made his thoughts. Thoughts have evolved which make up memory, and man does not control evolution. This signifies that memory has evolved due to the intelligence of life and not because of the intellect in humans.
Man or woman needs to understand deeply that they cannot correct evolution by their intellect. They also need to understand that even the intelligence of life cannot correct evolution, because evolution is spontaneous, uncontrollable, unpredictable and a continuous flow.
Man or woman needs to understand deeply that memory is needed to live his or her daily life. They also need to understand that his or her memory cannot be other than what it is in any moment of daily life.
Man or woman needs to understand deeply that his or her memory cannot be other than what it is in any moment, because they do not make the moment in life.
Man or woman needs to understand deeply that a child appears free because the child does not have a functional memory in daily life. When man or woman deeply understands that they are bonded to their memory by the intelligence of life to enable them to live their daily life and not because of their intellect or effort, he or she begins to live in freedom of bondage.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V. S. Shankar 2017
Editor’s Note:
Man’s reliance on memory to function in life cannot be disputed. The development of this function in children at an early age is encouraged and trained. When the child sees a dog enter the room and calls out ‘dog’, the parents are pleased and proud in front of guests: ‘what a clever child!’ However, when the child sees a dog enter the room and calls out ‘cat’, the parents are embarrassed in front of guests. Memory is a given in life, not yet understood to be a given by life to enable man to live life fully. Understanding this is freedom.
Julian Capper, U.K
German Translator‘s Note:
A good memory is desired, appreciated and praised by all, because it is considered a tool of personal success. Without memory there is no comparison between past, present and future. This enables the mind to function logically in everyday life. But comparing affects human feelings and emotions. Comparison often leads to wistfulness for the "good old days" or to desperate hope for a better future, but sometimes also to temporary complacency. Fear of the future is also based on memory. In short: The bondage of man is dependent on memory. To cope better with the ups and downs that memory produces in the mind, we are advised to use our memory only when it is useful or gives pleasure, and to block it out when it has the opposite effect. That this is not always possible proves that nobody is in control of his memory, as Dr. Shankar's article "Bondage" reveals, because man did not make memory and therefore cannot prevent it when it happens. Liberation from memory, which keeps man in bondage, exists as the timeless Here and the Thoughtless Now rather than in the control of thoughts, which are memories. |
Marcus Stegmaier, Germany.