Sense Peception and well being
Sense Perception And Well Being
 |
| Sense Perception And Well Being The middle path should be the aim of anyone desiring a life in harmony with oneself and with the world without. |
Introduction
Sense Perception
The wholesome life is rooted in harmony between the world and the individual. The physical world is known to us through our sense organs. The sense organs are not visible but their existence can be inferred through their presence in the eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin. Each sense organ picks up a special object which is not accessible to other organs. The eye cannot hear any more than the ear can see.
The objects of senses are vision, sound, smell, taste or touch. Like the body and its surroundings the sense organs are composed of five elements. Each mahabhuta dominating a given sense organ. Akash, (ether) vayu (air), tejas (fire), ap (water) and prithvi (earth) dominate tactile, visual, gustatory and olfactory organs. It follows that each organ perceives the objects which share the same dominant elements. Accordingly auditory sense take note of Akash either and its derivatives, tactile of air, visual of fire gustatory of water, and olfactory of earth. However perception of objects is more than mere sensation, it occurs only when the sense organs, sense object, mind and self come together in an integral relationship. The relationship is variable in duration but crucial never the less because sense organs cannot perceive anything unless they are joined by the mind. Mind on other hand not only supports the five senses but also performs the analytic activity and provides a forum for interplay of the three qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas. With so many functions, is it possible that each person has many minds. This is not the case because the mind only attends to one function at a given moment.
Similarly the three qualities operate in a single mind even though one dominates and confers the tittle of sattvic, rajsik and tamasic on the mind. When one dominates, the other two qualities are passive, but no mind is the exclusive seat of one quality.
Sense perception fit with the concept of well being and good health. Yes it does. When the sense organ- object= mind-self complex take the middle path, is not overused, underused or misused, the individual attains well being and is in harmony with the world. When the complex id deranged, or act too fast or too slow or is in disorder, disharmony or illness occur. Happily, the disharmony is not irreversible in so far as harmony is restored when the sense organ complex returned to balanced structure and function which is its natural condition.
What is true for the relationship of the sense organ to its objects is equally valid for the mind As the sound is the object of the auditory sense, any object of thought, or what ever can be thought of , is the object of mind.
A balanced mind would shun idleness as much as the overuse and misuse of the thought process. Adoption of the middle path ensures the right kind of connection not only among the sense organs, their objects and the mind, but also between the mind and its object-thought. This should be the aim of anyone desiring a life in harmony with oneself and with the world without. The choice is implemented by intellectual effort (buddhi) which enables one to direct one's conduct with qualities. Oppose to those of place, time and self. This is a cardinal principle of the wholesomeness and indeed the ayurveda. These qualities have been classified, but for a physician. The appropriate example for place, time and self would include pair of qualities such as
- Moist / dry (Snigdha/ Rakshana).
- Cold/hot (sita / usna)
- Desire/ aversion (iccha /dvesa )
Comments
Post a Comment