1. There are two types of experiences constituting human life – non-dual and dual. Life in duality demands clarity.
a. Non-dual experiences – when we don’t experience the distinction between self and other
i. One, in dreamless sleep there is neither the awareness of self nor the other.
ii. Two, when deeply engrossed in some activity, with a great deal of interest, there is only complete awareness of the thoughts and actions required for the progress of that activity. This experience is referred to as ‘flow’ experience. The opportunities for flow experiences are all around us; watching a thrilling movie at the edge of the seat or playing a tennis game with great involvement or working to solve an interesting and challenging problem at work are all examples of moments of flow.
iii. Three, dream experiences of all kinds. Here too, like flow experiences, we are deeply engrossed in the activity but the difference is we don't control it. Thoughts during dreaming in sleep and during daydreaming arise spontaneously and we get carried away under its influence until we snap out of it. As, we are in no control of this mind churn, we may have pleasant or unpleasant experiences.
iv. Non-dual experiences ( especially (i) and (ii) ) are the most exciting and pleasurable to us. We crave for such experiences.
v. If we were to just experience ‘sleep’ and ‘flow’ experiences, we would be like machines/computers. A computer is either sleeping (powered off) or in flow (in complete attention and proceeding work on a pre-programmed instruction). Clearly, we are not machines; thanks to Duality.
b. Dual experiences – when we do experience distinction between self and other
i. All experiences when you think about yourself in relation to the world are dual experiences. For example, thoughts like, “should I have a burger or a salad or a burrito for dinner?” and "I think I am a better tennis player than him" are in the realm of duality. Because of self-awareness, we are able to distinguish and say what is 'not the self' or 'not the subject'.
ii. Our sensory organs, mental faculties and the tools we created (telescope, microscope etc) are used to objectify all things that are not our 'self'. Duality gives rise to awareness of multiplicity of things and concepts. This multiplicity of things gives us options and consequently choice. As an illustrative example, if we didn’t know we were different from the plant or the cow, we couldn’t possibly be aware of the choices we have for dinner; a burger or a salad.
iii. So, how to choose what’s for dinner? That is a relatively simple problem as we know our likes/dislikes with respect to foods very well and also have a good degree of scientific knowledge about chemistry of foods. We can use subjective or objective information or both to make the dinner decision. Once we decide to eat the meal of our choice, we may experience ‘flow’ if we become completely indulged in eating the delicious meal. So, humans go in and out of dual and non-dual experiences all through life.
iv. We were able to figure out a plan to answer the dinner question. But there are other questions we can raise for which we may or may not have a plan. We need a Philosophy to answer these questions. It is to answer such questions that religions have been invented since time immemorial. An important representative of that set of questions is; how to live a happy and meaningful life?
v. If you do not already have a philosophy/religion that addresses this important question, you absolutely need to figure one out to get clarity in life.
2. To navigate through life with clarity, we need a philosophy/religion.
a. The most important criteria prior to choosing a religion is that we should be reasonably confident that we won’t become skeptical about its fundamental precepts later on life. A hint of skepticism will cast a doubt on the meaningfulness and pleasures of life. Both meaning and pleasure are critical components to a great and happy human life; one without the other makes life empty.
b. One might think that finding the answer to the existential question; “what is the purpose of this Existence (Universe) and what is my place and role in it?” will give us insights on how to live a happy and meaningful life. But, the answer to that question is beyond human knowledge and this is why. We need to understand the purpose of the whole (Existence) before we can understand the purpose of the part (us). However, purpose of an object can only be described using concepts outside of it. For example, purpose of the house is to provide shelter, purpose of a bulb is to provide light, purpose of a phone is to communicate long distance etc; in all such examples of things of human creation, we find that to describe the purpose of an object we need to use concepts outside the object. If we apply the same rationale, the purpose of Existence is outside of it! What does that mean? What concepts are outside of the entirety of Existence? We have to conclude that irrespective of whether there is or isn’t a purpose, the answer to that question is beyond human intellect.
c. So, it is up to our wits to figure out a philosophy that is reasonable. Our knowledge about the world has never been perfect, we are continuously updating it. We know more today than yesterday and hopefully that trend will continue for foreseeable future. Ultimately, right now, imperfect knowledge is all what we have at our disposal to synthesize a philosophy/religion to give us clarity and to show us the path to have a meaningful and happy life.
3. Here I present a philosophy that paves a way for meaning and pleasure in life for anyone who wishes to look at life through these lenses.
a. Love at Home: You are one among infinite things in the Universe and a feeling of loneliness is inevitable unless you receive genuine love. Love gives a sense of belonging and feeling at home.
i. Meaning: If we strive to advance our society in which all mothers and caretakers are given all the support they need to shower their children with unconditional love especially in their tender ages with the understanding that seed of love has to be planted in the child for it to mature into the adult’s capacity to love later in life; activism in this area gives meaning to life. Realizing ‘Self-Love’, the feeling that one is in fact lovable is a gift that we receive when someone else loves us, gives us comfort.
ii. Pleasure: Receiving genuine love from your mother or caretakers and family especially in childhood, finding mutual love with a partner and having great social companions all through life removes loneliness and gives a sense of belonging. Doing all the fun and entertaining activities and the not-so-fun chores with family and friends give us companionship and pleasure.
b. Respect in the Community: Everything in Existence exists because of good causal reasons and unless you make a subjective judgment, there is no superior/inferior ‘thing’ out there. All things are equal by virtue of their existence, so, a basic sense of respect and acknowledgement of all things in existence is elementary.
i. Meaning: If we strive to advance our society to protect fundamental rights of all humans and other non-human entities too, like ethical treatment of animals, judicious use of natural resources; activism in this area gives meaning to life. Realizing ‘self-respect’ is an intrinsic right that can never be taken away, gives us confidence.
ii. Pleasure: A nod, a Hi, a smile, a helping hand, hospitality, compassion, freedom, beauty etc are various degrees of expressing respect for the other. When it is bestowed on us, it fills us up with gratitude and pleasure.
c. Value at Work: As we go through life, we consume all kinds of things from the world for sustenance and enjoyment in our life. It is only fair that we give back to the world the best within us.
i. Meaning: If we strive to advance our society in which kids are educated in such a way that their strengths shine through and weaknesses minimized and enable them to move on to an enjoyable career in which their creativity will grow leaps and bounds in the areas of their interest is a worthy aspiration; activism in this area gives meaning to life. Realizing ‘self-value’ is earned by creating value in the world, gives us control.
ii. Pleasure: Every individual has unique passions and strengths, identifying and pursuing them and making use of them to create value in the world is the best way to contribute. When we find a job that lets us work on our passions and create value for the society; that will give us a great sense of gratification and pleasure.
4. In summary, the key to a great and happy human life is to have meaningful and pleasurable dual and non-dual experiences every day. When confronted with choices; choose love over loneliness, respect over disrespect, and passion over mediocrity.
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