The Human Workshop-hi
The Human Workshop
If today man is confused, troubled and unable to derive joy from Nature, surely he must search, identify and eliminate the root cause of this unhappy state, which obstructs him from experiencing that bliss and harmony which is his birthright. He must therefore understand the Human Workshop.
In order that man enjoys the five attributes of the elements, he uses the five senses. The external world enters the human body not just through the mouth and the nose, i.e. when we eat or breathe in, but through the other senses as well. From the time we are born till we die, all our experiences about the world are through the medium of these senses. The five senses are our windows to the outside world. No sooner these attributes of nature and our senses start interacting, than the mind comes into existence.
To understand how we acquire information and use it, let us consider the working of the mind with a simple illustration. Suppose that a big circle shown below represents the physical body.
The conscious mind is a part of the mind that we are aware of. We use the conscious mind to think. When we receive information through our senses, it is the conscious mind that becomes aware of the message being received.
The sub-conscious mind is the seat of our memory. This is where we store all information. Whatever information we receive through our senses, or whatever we have thought or done through our actions, are all stored in our sub-conscious mind. The sub-conscious mind contains the sum total of all our past. We are what we are today as a result of the sub-conscious. Our habits, our emotions are formed in this part of the mind.
When a new stimulus reaches us, such as a picture we see, or a song we hear, we respond or react to it according to the pre-recorded information or experience already in our memory bank. This action and reaction is constantly going on within us. A child sees fire, touches it, feels pain and recoils. A lesson is learnt through sight and touch. This information is stored in the sub-conscious to be used in future situations.
‘Just as the wool and warp of cotton thread make up a cloth, so too it is the wool and warp of thought that make up the mind.’
– Sri Sathya Sai
Thoughts occur in our conscious mind as a result of some stimulus from our senses, which automatically awakens desires or emotions already stored in our sub-conscious. Thus, when the five senses interact with the five attributes for our pleasure, they create thoughts within us. When we repeatedly put these thoughts into action straightaway, we form habits. Then we have to face the consequences of our actions down the line. Every time a thought is put into action that was not right, it upsets the rhythm of the entire body, and the balance of the five elements within us is disturbed. For example, when we utter a lie, we realise that something in the system has gone haywire. Something in the system tells us that it is not a correct action. Harmony between the thought and the inner voice is de-linked. It makes us unhappy; we lose the peace within.
When thoughts persist, they create desires. Desires are a part of the sub-conscious. When strong inputs from the senses blur the mind with images and thoughts, the mind blocks or dries up the constant flow of Divine energy of Love from within. This leads to deluded actions, and upsets the balance of the five elements within.
‘Thoughts arising in the mind fill the atmosphere with waves of energy. Like radio waves, they are present everywhere and are just as powerful and sacred. Hence, our thoughts should be sublime and sacred.’
– Sri Sathya Sai
The super-conscious mind is the pure consciousness. It is the part of the mind that contains all wisdom and knowledge. It is the conscience within us. It is the Truth. It is the divinity within. The heart is also the seat of Love. When we fill our heart with unselfish Love, negative thoughts disappear. With Love in our heart, there is harmony with others, with all things and in nature.
When Love energy spontaneously emanates from our innermost core of conscience, it transforms our thoughts, feelings and actions into Truth, Peace and Dharma. Love is a natural spring within each person waiting to be released. Where there is Love, it means that a channel has been found for the soul to express itself.
Thus, the gross and the subtle are inextricably related; without the subtle, the gross cannot function. The entire world is a projection of the mind. To control our desires and to attain a state of bliss, we must ensure that pure and sacred thoughts surface to the conscious mind.
Hankering after the material world, man has developed several desires transgressing the limits of the five elements. Today all the five elements are polluted and, consequently, man is mired in insecurity, misery and lack of peace. The world is losing its ecological balance as man, out of utter selfishness, is robbing the Mother Earth of her natural resources. The food we eat, the water that we drink, the air that we breathe are all polluted. As a result, he cannot derive the benefits from these elements by way of sound, touch, form, taste and smell. He has forfeited Divine Grace. And the five elements have now retaliated.
‘The senses are also known as mathras, meaning measures, since each sense has a certain capacity to measure the experience. Man must use each sense organ with the consciousness of the limit inherent in it. Beyond the limit it becomes misuse and a sacrilege. The nose is meant to breathe and smell good fragrance but many stuff it with snuff or exhale smoke through it. The tongue is used by many to eat rajasic and thamasic food, and swallow liquor, which demean man. All sense organs are being misused by man today resulting in mental distress and illness.’
– Sri Sathya Sai (21st November 1979)
Due to the loss of his human values, there is degradation of the five elements within man; they have got poisoned. Hence, elements in Nature have also got poisoned and we feel the effects everywhere. Nature’s reaction affects earth, resulting in earthquakes, famine and diseases; its reflection affects light resulting in distortion of our vision; and its resound affects the water, resulting in drought, floods and pollution of water. The sounds that we hear are a cacophony of gossip and scandal. We take joy in criticism of others and gossiping, but turn away from the sweet sounds of the Divine name.
‘In the vast cosmos, man is like a speck. Essentially, there is no conflict between man and creation. Just as a child is entitled to enjoy the milk from its mother and the bee is entitled to enjoy honey from flowers, there can be no objection to man enjoying the resources of Nature. But, as a result of uncontrollable desires and reckless exploitation of natural resources, Nature is exhibiting frightening disorders. Natural calamities like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts and floods are the result of disturbances in the balance of Nature caused by reckless exploitation of natural resources. Mankind today appears like a foolish man who is wielding an axe at the branch of the tree on which he is sitting.’
– Sri Sathya Sai (13th January 1997)
Real learning for man, therefore, lies in mastering the relationship between the senses and the mind so that the inner consciousness is brought in the forefront, and the conscience acts as the guiding force in life to monitor the vagaries of the mind.
The practical method in establishing a balance within and outside will focus on synthesising:-
a) Information of the external objective world acquired through the senses has to harmonise with the subjective world of inner life;
b) The inter-relation and inter-dependence between body, mind and the spirit in the human being has to be well established.
c) The subjective nature of the environment in which an individual is born and brought up has to merge with the objective nature of the Omnipresent divinity resident within; and
d) The needs and expectations of the family and the community at large have to coincide with the inner motivation and aspirations of the individual.
- Understanding of the Human Worship is essential to bring in Purity, Unity and Divinity within us.
- Inputs from the senses require to be controlled.
- Utilising full potential of the Human Workshop is essential to bring in Purity, Understanding utilising full potential of the mind is the key to human transformation.
- Love should fill all thoughts, words and actions.
- There should be harmony between our thoughts, words and actions.