The Nature of Man according to Hinduism By Swami Brahmeshananda Sri Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math According to Swami Vivekananda,

the greatest e !onent of the !hiloso!hy of the Vedas, which is also called Vedanta, man is "ivine# To $e a$le to gras! the !rofound significance of the Hindu conce!t of the "ivinity of man, we must first review the various !revalent conce!ts of man# Various conce!ts of man Biologically, man is an animal with the s!ecies name homosa!iens, whose fore% $rain or neo%cere$rum is more develo!ed than that of other animals# &onse'uently man is less governed $y his instincts than other animals, who, due to !re!onderance of the lower $rain or !aleo%cere$rum are !rimarily driven $y instincts# According to the medical materialists, man is a !hysiologically driven machine made of com!le $iochemical molecules# These $asic conce!ts of man have $een acce!ted $y almost all the non%theological !hiloso!hers of the (est, each of whom has added his own ad)ective to the animal%man# *reek !hiloso!hers considered man a rational animal# Aristotle has defined man as a !olitical animal, and the American !hiloso!her Ben)amin +ranklin calls him homo% fa$er, or tool%making animal# Man has !roduced tools as e tension of his own $ody, as it were, and has increased his !roductivity manifold# He has harnessed energy, like steam energy, electricity, atomic energy, etc# He has !roduced devices that re!lace thought itself ,automation, cy$ernetics-# .#&assier has em!hasi/ed that man is a sym$ol making animal and the most im!ortant sym$ol invented $y him is the word through which he can communicate with others# 0f the (estern thinkers, s!ecial mention must $e made of Sigmund +reud and 1arl Mar # +reud2s outstanding contri$ution is his discovery of the unconscious# But $y laying too great a stress on se as the most im!ortant driving force, he has reduced man into a se ual animal, the homo%se uals, with far reaching !sycho%social conse'uences which are too evident in the contem!orary society to $e mentioned# The whole aim of his system of !sychothera!y is to hel! man attain se ual maturity# Mar $elieves that man is driven !rimarily $y a desire for economic gains3 he is a homo%economicus# However, in "as &a!ital, he has defined man as a social animal# According to him, if man fails to relate himself actively with others and with nature, he loses himself, $ecomes alienated4 his drives lose human 'ualities and assume animal 'ualities# He $ecomes sick, fragmented, cri!!led human $eing# According to Mar man is driven $y two sets of drives3 fi ed or constant and relative# Se and hunger fall under the first category, while relative drives like hate, avarice etc# owe their origin to certain ty!es of social organi/ations# The Hindu conce!t of man

This conce!t, to some e tent, resem$les the Hindu conce!t of man3 2.ating, slee!ing, fear and se are common to man as well as animals# 5n human $eings dharma ,i#e# restraint $y moral rules- is e tra and s!ecial# (ithout dharma men are no $etter than $easts#2 According to Shankaracharya, this dharma is of two ty!es3 !ravritti%lakshana and nivritti%lakshana# (hen one, o$serving the moral codes of conduct a!!lica$le to one2s station in life and society !erforms actions for en)oyment ,kama- and ac'uisition of wealth ,artha-, one is said to $e following !ravritti dharma# A time comes, however, when one gets disgusted with sense% en)oyments and ac'uisition of wealth and as!ires for final emanci!ation ,moksha-# The one em$races what is called nivritti dharma, characteri/ed $y renunciation of all worldly desires and selfish actions, and resorting to s!iritual !ractice to attain li$eration# Man rises from animal to human level $y acce!ting !ravritti dharma i#e# $y o$serving social in)unctions# He ascends to godhood and $ecomes divine $y em$racing the nivritti dharma# This Hindu conce!t of li$eration, in turn, is $ased u!on another conce!t of an ever !ure, ever free, ever !erfect, ever conscious s!iritual entity in man called Atman ,soul-# According to Swami Vivekananda this Atman is the Real Man as against the $ody%mind com!le which is only the a!!arent man# The relation $etween the real and a!!arent men has $een $eautifully descri$ed through an allegory in the 1atha 6!anishad3 1now the soul to $e the master of the chariot and the $ody the chariot# &onsider the intellect the charioteer, and the mind the reins# The senses, they say, are the horses, and their roads are the sense o$)ects# The wise call Him the en)oyer when He is united with the $ody, senses and mind# Real and a!!arent man The Hindus have further ela$orated this conce!t $y stating that the real man or Atman is conscious, ever free, $lissful and immortal# The a!!arent man consists of five sheaths which cover the soul or atman# These are ,7- the !hysical $ody or the !hysical sheath, ,8- the vital sheath or the sheath life%force, ,9- the mental sheath, ,:- the ego sheath, and ,;- the Blissful sheath# According to another conce!t, the real man or the conscious soul or Atman has three $odies3 ,7- the gross !hysical $ody, ,8- the su$tle mental $ody and ,9- the causal $ody which is made u! of !ure ignorance# At the time of death, the !hysical $ody dies, $ut the su$tle mental $ody and the causal $ody remain and together with the conscious soul or real man, transmigrate to another !hysical $ody to $e $orn again# (hen we are awake, the gross !hysical $ody is active# 5n slee!, when we are dreaming, the !hysical $ody is inactive, $ut the mental $ody is active# But when we go into dee! slee! and do not even see dreams, at that time even the mental $ody is not active and only the causal $ody in the form of ignorance remains covering the !ure soul or Atman#

(estern and Hindu conce!ts com!ared +rom the a$ove resume it would $e evident that the Hindu conce!ts of the nature of man, his destiny and his drives are far more com!rehensive and vastly su!erior to the western ones# +or western thinkers man is either an animal or a machine# Hindus on the other hand $elieve that he is essentially divine# Secondly, whereas western savants have !ostulated only three ultimate goals for man, vi/# sensual en)oyment ,kama-, ac'uisition of earthly riches ,artha-, and fulfilment of social o$ligations ,dharma-, the 5ndian !hiloso!hers have !ostulated a fourth and final goal3 li$eration ,moksha-, the state of fullest manifestation of innate divinity and !erfection# Thirdly, whereas +reud thinks that man must satisfy his !assions to remain whole and healthy, Mar states that man cannot truly $e a man unless he actively relates with others# Swami Vivekananda, however, says that 2man is man so long as he is struggling to rise a$ove nature2, $oth internal and e ternal# +inally, western !hiloso!hers say that man2s evolution is governed $y drives and instincts# But the Hindu sages say that man2s innate !erfection is constantly trying to manifest itself and every effort on our !art sim!ly acts as a remover of $arriers to its manifestation# 5m!lications of the conce!t of divinity of man Swami Vivekananda laid the greatest stress, in his message, on the divinity of man $ecause he knew men are divine, and since truth li$erates, the only way to $e free was to !erceive the truth of one2s divinity# Secondly, we tend to think and act according to our conce!t of ourselves# This has !rofound !ractical, !sychological and social im!lications# The conce!ts of man as a se ual, economic, tool%making or social animal may $e useful to individual or society to a certain e tent, $ut they are restrictive# 5f we consider ourselves se ual animals as +reud wants us to $elieve, se ual shall we $ecome# 5f we $elieve we are economically driven machines, we shall run after money# 5f we think we are social animals, we shall $ecome slaves of society# But if we consider ourselves ever free, $lissful divinities, we shall en)oy freedom and $liss# Swami Vivekananda used to illustrate this truth with the hel! of the story of a lion cu$ which was reared along with a herd of shee! from the very day of its $irth# As it grew, it learnt to $leat and eat grass# Then this flock of shee! was attacked $y another lion# He was sur!rised to find a full grown lion running away in fear# He caught hold of this younger lion, dragged it to the forest and told it that it was a lion and acting like a shee! did not $efit it# To convince it, the older lion showed its reflection in the lake# The young lion was convinced that it was a lion and not a shee! and in a moment gave u! its fear# 0nce two young sons of a devotee were !laying# 0ne was Vivek and another, Shirish# They, for the sake of fun, added 2ananda2 to their names, and $ecame Vivekananda and Shirishananda, and, as their !lay demanded, started acting according to their new names# Vivek folded his arms and stood erect like Swami

Vivekananda with a grave face# Shirish did the same# But then, for some reason, Shirish started wee!ing# Vivek was sur!rised, and asked his mother, 2&an Shirishananda wee!<2 That2s it= (ee!ing does not $efit Shirish as long as he is 2ananda2, a dignified monk# 5f children can tem!orarily change their $ehaviour in !lay according to their assumed identity, can we not change our identity and $ehaviour !ermanently< Normally, we consider ourselves as !hysical $ody or a $ody%mind com!le # 5t is e tremely difficult to consider oneself as a conscious soul free from $ody and mind, and free from the five coverings or three $odies# All the Hindu scri!tures are meant to teach this conce!t of immortal, !ure, $lissful, eternal soul as man2s real nature# This is the central theme of the whole Hindu !hiloso!hy and religion, which is taught in various ways through reason, mythology and stories# (hat do we mean $y divinity< (hen it is said that according to Hinduism, man, in his essential nature, is divine, it causes confusion in many minds# Because $y divine we generally mean *od, and there are various views a$out *od# Not only that, there are a large num$er of !eo!le%% secularists, materialists, communists, even Buddhists and >ains%% who do not $elieve in *od# So unless it is clarified what we mean $y divine, and what is the conce!t of divine in the scri!tures of the Hindus, the Vedas, the confusion would !ersist# ?et us $egin with certain !rimitive conce!ts of *od# 0ur ancient a$original ancestors worshi!!ed a *od# Their *od was generally a tri$al *od, a *od which !rotected their tri$e and hel!ed the tri$esmen to defeat the other tri$es, who too had their *od# This tri$al *od was very similar to the tri$esmen, $ut was much more !owerful# 5t is said $y Swami Vivekananda that if a $uffalo were to think of *od, it will think of it as a $ig $uffalo# 0ne conce!t of *od found in the Vedas is that He is the ruler of certain elements of Nature# *od 5ndra was the controller of clouds and rain# Varuna controlled the ocean# Vayu was the wind% god and Agni was the fire%god# Now, if we analyse the a$ove mentioned two conce!ts, we shall find an interesting common factor# 5n $oth the tri$al god as well as the god as controller of natural element, there is less limitation than an ordinary human $eing# The tri$al man cannot defeat hostile tri$es, $ut the tri$al *od can# Man has no control over nature, $ut 5ndra, Varuna and Vayu have# Thus *od is he, who can control the e ternal nature, $e it man, animals or elements# Hence Swami Vivekananda has said, @.ach soul is !otentially divine# The goal is to manifest the divinity within $y controlling nature, e ternal and internal#@

5n the course of human evolution, human $eings have gradually learnt to control nature with the hel! of science# Man has con'uered the ocean $y making a shi! and a su$marine# He has con'uered s!ace $y making an aero!lane# He can !roduce fire and e tinguish it at will# He can !rotect himself against rain# The whole history of mankind is an attem!t to con'uer nature and $ecome *od himself# Sociologically it will $e noticed that those !eo!les or races or nations who have greater security and !ros!erity are less !rone to worshi! a *od outside# They are less religious as com!ared to the !oor nations, !oor !eo!les, $ecause !oor !eo!le have not $een a$le to manifest the divinity defeating the enemies in the form of nature and hostile men and animals# &on'uest of internal nature But as civili/ation !rogressed, the humankind searched within and found that there is also an internal nature%%the mind# Mind has its desires, am$itions and weaknesses# Man can $ecome greedy, angry, and in the fit of anger and greed, he can do evil deeds which might cause suffering to himself and others# 5t was reali/ed that to con'uer our mind is far more difficult than the con'uest of e ternal foes# So, man started finding a way to con'uer the internal nature# The religious way is essentially the method of the con'uest of the internal nature or the mind# A !erson who fully con'uers his !assions, desires, likes and dislikes, aversions and attachment, even his love for life and fear of death, such a man in 5ndia is called Mahavir, the great con'ueror# Such a !erson is worshi!!ed as *od $ecause he or she has manifest the divinity within fully# The Hindus have evolved a num$er of methods to con'uer the mind and thus manifest the divine nature# 0ne such method is yoga# A !erfected yogi develo!s tremendous !owers# According to the $ooks on Aoga, a Aogi can fly in air, can $ecome small as an ant or $ecome $ig as a mountain# He can disa!!ear from sight# He can even create new !lanets and govern them# He can read the thoughts of others, see things far away and can listen to very distant sounds# 5f a Aogi gets !erfectly esta$lished in truth, whatever he would s!eak will come to !ass# 5f he !ractices non%in)ury to !erfection, a stage comes when !eo!le lose their hostility in his !resence# A lam$ and a lion will sit fearlessly in the !resence of such a Aogi# There are a num$er of such results !ossi$le $y the !ractice of Aoga# Thus we find that "ivine or "ivinity of man also means the con'uest of 5nternal nature or mind# Hindus $elieve that all minds are interconnected# 5n fact the yogis $elieve that there is one ocean of mind throughout and our individual minds are like whirl!ools at locali/ed !laces# So they say that if one can control one2s own mind, one will $e a$le to control all minds# A third higher conce!t of divinity is also found in Hinduism# Although, as descri$ed a$ove, $y the !ractice of yoga one can get these su!erhuman !owers, the highest yogic attainment is freedom from the $ondage of nature# 5n s!ite of attaining the !owers descri$ed a$ove, a yogi may still $e egoistic and selfish# He may use them to harm others# 5f he misuses them, he

loses them and again $ecomes an ordinary human $eing# So the highest manifestation of divinity is the total freedom from the internal nature ,mind- and e ternal nature# Relation $etween *od and soul According to the Vedas, the scri!tures of the Hindus, the highest "ivinity or *od is called Brahman# This is actually another name for *od# Brahman is said to $e !resent everywhere, !ure, conscious, immortal $liss and knowledge a$solute# 5t is said that the human soul is also of the same nature# According to one school of Hindu !hiloso!hy, man and Brahman in their real nature are one# According to another school of Vedanta, individual soul is a !art of Brahman, like a lim$ in a $ody or a $ranch of a tree# According to the third school, individual soul is se!arate from Brahman $ut related to it, and of same nature# (e do not need to go into these !hiloso!hical details# The main !oint is that the soul of man is !ure, immortal, conscious, full of $liss and knowledge# These characteristics are covered due to mental im!urities like attachment and aversion, fear, hatred, anger, lust, etc# As one removes these, one gets more and more )oy, more and more knowledge# "ivinity in all (hen the Hindus say that man is divine, this means that all men and women are divine# (hen $y following the disci!line of yoga, one starts reali/ing that one is divine and not mortal, he also, to that e tent, starts seeing that others are also divine and he starts $ehaving with others similarly# There was a saint named Bavahari Ba$a in 5ndia a hundred years ago# 0ne day a thief entered into his cottage# As he was tying the $undle of the stolen goods, the saint woke u!# ?eaving the stolen articles $ehind, the thief ran# The saint also followed him with the $undle of articles# After a long chase, the saint caught the thief, and with folded hands addressed the thief as *od and gave the $undle to him# The result was that the thief was transformed, gave u! stealing and $ecame himself a saint# Since the saint saw the divine within himself, he actually saw the same in the thief# His e !erience of this divinity was so strong that he $ehaved also in the same manner# This conviction forced the thief also to think that he too was *od# Bavahari Ba$a used to see *od in snake, cat, rat, dog, in every creature# 0nly such saints of s!iritual reali/ation can !rove $y their actions the truth of the "ivine nature of man# But they also !rove that every one can reali/e one2s true divine nature# CCCCCCCCCCCCCC A$out the author3

Swami Brahmeshananda is a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Mission, a world% wide religio%s!iritual Hindu organi/ation, founded $y Sri Ramakrishna, a great man of *od, and his chief disci!le Swami Vivekananda who !reached the !hiloso!hy of Vedas ,Vedanta- all over the world# +or details, visit www#sriramakrishnamath#orgD Swami Brahmeshananda has $een trained as a medical doctor and has served the sick !eo!le considering them as *od for more than two decades in the hos!ital of the Ramakrishna Mission in Varanasi, 5ndia# He served for several years as the editor of the Ramakrishna Mission2s .nglish monthly )ournal, Vedanta 1esari# He has written four $ooks on religious and !hiloso!hical su$)ects# EEEEEEEEEEEEEE Related articles (hat Religion is &ulture F &ivili/ation To! To to! of this !age 5nde Al!ha$etical G5nde to BagesH