Souvik's Blog :)

Under the influence of the three gunas, the soul is (1) misled by matter, and (2) subsequently entangled and entrapped. This tendency is termed maya (illusion). Under maya’s influence, the atman, (the soul) mistakenly identifies with the body. He accepts such thoughts as “I am white and I am a man,” or “This is my house, my country, and my religion.” Thus the illusioned soul identifies with the temporary body and everything connected to it, such as race, gender, family, nation, bank balance, and sectarian religion. Under this sense of false-ego (false-identity) the soul aspires to control and enjoy matter. However, in so doing he continuously serves lust, greed and anger. In frustration he often redoubles his efforts and, compounding mistake upon mistake, only falls deeper into illusion. In ignorance (tamas), he is fully convinced that right is wrong and wrong is right. In passion (rajas) he is unsure, hesitant, sometimes enjoying and at others times repenting. Only in good...

Stephen Spender's ' THE EXPRESS ' glorifies the express train. The train here is a symbol of the modern industrial civilization. The poem begins with a description of the movement of the express train from a station. Its sound of horn suggesting its movement from the station and its slow royal movement is likened or is compared to the movement of a ‘queen’. The majesty that is hinted in the opening lines is continued in the next lines when the poet describes how the train passes "without bowing and with restrained unconcern". Just as crowds lineup humbly in the passage of the ‘queen’, the houses, the gas works and the graveyard lineup in the passage of the train. Later, the majesty turns into mystery when the queen-like express leaves the town and enters the countryside. The poet now finds the train as self possessed and brilliant. Consequently, the train now begins to sing. The song of the train has its movement, low and loud and screaming and deafeni...

According to advaita siddhAnta, the jIva is identical to Ishvara in substance and essence. The jagat is a changing and mesmerizing manifestation of Ishvara that binds the jIva in its limited existence. The analogy is of the air inside an earthen pot. As long as the pot exists, the air inside it appears separated. But as soon as the pot breaks, the true nature of the air as a continuum is evident, and there is no more separation. In the case of the jiva which is a pure consciousness, the layers of the gross body, with its 5 internal layers (vital breath or nervous system, etc.), and the various modes of the mind all come together to cause an apparent isolation. Hence each jIva considers itself separate and autonomous from other jIvas. Once it realizes its true nature as pure consciousness, it is no longer a limited, isolated entity but rather a cosmic reality. Or at the very least, the notion of association with temporary identities should be gone. A major misconception abou...