Is HUMAN LIFE on earth a matter, fundamentally, of
misery and sorrow? This is a problem which seems to
have engaged the minds of the Indian thinkers since
ancient times. The answer to this question, as most of
them appear to believe, is in the aflirmative. It is an
important business of philosophy, according to the
Indian tradition, to seek to attain a state which is com-
pletely free from the clutches of misery and sorrow.
This state has been variously spoken of as moksha,
mukti, kaivalya, APA Varga, nirvana, and so on, by the
adherents of various schools of philosophy in India,
and philosophy is, therefore, tmly called tattva jnana, or
darshana. Whether all these words signify one and the
same state, may be a moot point. But the fact of a
complete cessation of suffering applies equally to all of
them.
The notion of suffering as a dominating factor in
human life has loomed very large in Indian philoso-
phy. In fact, it may be called the starting point of
philosophical inquiries. Human suffering is traditionally
supposed to be divided into three main types as
follows:
i) The bodily and mental conditions of an
individual, such as ill health, disease, and emotions like
hate, fear, passion. and so on .
ii) Suffering imposed on an individual through
harmful behaviour of other human beings, animals,
insects, and so on.
iii) Suffering which cannot be attributed to other
beings, which is largely beyond the control of an
individual e.g., earthquakes, floods, famines, epi-
demics, and the like.
Beaten by the three-fold impact of suffering in the
above manner, an individual is motivated or induced
to think or act in such a way that he would ultimately
succeed in overcoming the suffering. Naturally, the first
response of an individual springs from the experiential
field, and is based on common sense considerations.
For example, one works at one’s job in order to avoid
starvation, takes medicine to get rid of diseases, con-
structs buildings, business industries, centres of pro-
duction, etc., to foster good living conditions for the
members of a society. In addition to this, an individual
tries to belong to various organizations, parties, sects,
blocks and groups, in order to overcome fear and the
feeling of insecurity. Besides these common sense
measures, and especially when these are found inade-
quate or ineffective. one turns to religion, to the gums,
to the spiritual guides and masters, and indulges in
prayer, devotion, faith and the like. It is found, how-
ever, that both these ways lack the power of wiping out
sorrow completely and in a once-for-all manner. For
example, one may temporarily become physically fit
by taking medicine, but some other disease may crop
up after some time; the religious organizations and
practices may not give full satisfaction, and one may
have to run from one spiritual teacher or book to another.
misery and sorrow? This is a problem which seems to
have engaged the minds of the Indian thinkers since
ancient times. The answer to this question, as most of
them appear to believe, is in the aflirmative. It is an
important business of philosophy, according to the
Indian tradition, to seek to attain a state which is com-
pletely free from the clutches of misery and sorrow.
This state has been variously spoken of as moksha,
mukti, kaivalya, APA Varga, nirvana, and so on, by the
adherents of various schools of philosophy in India,
and philosophy is, therefore, tmly called tattva jnana, or
darshana. Whether all these words signify one and the
same state, may be a moot point. But the fact of a
complete cessation of suffering applies equally to all of
them.
The notion of suffering as a dominating factor in
human life has loomed very large in Indian philoso-
phy. In fact, it may be called the starting point of
philosophical inquiries. Human suffering is traditionally
supposed to be divided into three main types as
follows:
i) The bodily and mental conditions of an
individual, such as ill health, disease, and emotions like
hate, fear, passion. and so on .
ii) Suffering imposed on an individual through
harmful behaviour of other human beings, animals,
insects, and so on.
iii) Suffering which cannot be attributed to other
beings, which is largely beyond the control of an
individual e.g., earthquakes, floods, famines, epi-
demics, and the like.
Beaten by the three-fold impact of suffering in the
above manner, an individual is motivated or induced
to think or act in such a way that he would ultimately
succeed in overcoming the suffering. Naturally, the first
response of an individual springs from the experiential
field, and is based on common sense considerations.
For example, one works at one’s job in order to avoid
starvation, takes medicine to get rid of diseases, con-
structs buildings, business industries, centres of pro-
duction, etc., to foster good living conditions for the
members of a society. In addition to this, an individual
tries to belong to various organizations, parties, sects,
blocks and groups, in order to overcome fear and the
feeling of insecurity. Besides these common sense
measures, and especially when these are found inade-
quate or ineffective. one turns to religion, to the gums,
to the spiritual guides and masters, and indulges in
prayer, devotion, faith and the like. It is found, how-
ever, that both these ways lack the power of wiping out
sorrow completely and in a once-for-all manner. For
example, one may temporarily become physically fit
by taking medicine, but some other disease may crop
up after some time; the religious organizations and
practices may not give full satisfaction, and one may
have to run from one spiritual teacher or book to another.
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