Notes from Bhagavadgita: Understanding Truth

Truth in Sanskrit is Satya. There are multiple theories on what is truth (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth) . However from Bhagavadgita we derive a very simple definition of truth.

Truth is one that is never born nor ever dies. It is eternal; it is constant. Now let us look at some examples to understand this.

Q: What breakfast did you have on 30th of April, 2011?
A: Idli (assuming that the person really ate Idli)

If we ask the person the same question on some other day we expect the same answer. If the answer changes we conclude that the person is lying. He is then telling an untruth. The above answer is now cast as truth for eternity. This question was not valid before breakfast time on 30thApril, 2011 but is valid for all times that and the answer remains a constant.

Next example:

Q: Why do day and nights occur?
A: Since sun shines on earth and earth rotates on its axis

Is the answer true ? Will they occur always? We don't know. As per current observations it is true. There are possibilities that sun might stop shining or earth might stop existing or stop rotating, etc. However once we accept the given conditions, this is a truth.

Q: How does Solar eclipse occur?
Scientific Answer: Moon comes in between earth and sun while it is revolving around earth; it is not deliberate it just happens.
Hindu scriptures: Rahu/Ketu suck the blood of sun for that time and it is an inauspicious time

Which one is true? Many of us accept the scientific answer as true? But why?

Q: Are scientific truths eternal?
Not really. Scientific answers evolve as our understanding of the universe improves. What exactly is scientific way of realizing a truth? What makes us accept scientific truths versus other truths? In short, science puts emphasis on observation and experimental proof. Without experimental proof scientific truths are untrue or mere speculation. These experiments have to be well documented and be repeatable by anyone who is interested to verify the results. It is this approach that convinces us of the validity of scientific truths. One also discovers the path to knowledge is infinitely long and science is the journey with right tools and techniques.

That means as our understanding of the universe improves our beliefs get closer to truths. Our formulas will become more accurate.

Is there anything at all that fits into the definition of truth that we started with? Music, sculpture, other art forms, etc also change over time and hence they don't really fit here. What about mathematics? Maths seems to be different from other branches of knowledge.

2+2 = 4 is a truth!

This truth is eternal. It was never born nor will it ever die. Similarly Pythagoras theorem on right angled triangle on a plane surface is another eternal truth. Thus every truth in mathematics seem to fit our definition very neatly,. Mathematics is a journey by itself to discover truths related to numbers and ascertain if they are really true!

Almost all material objects have birth and deaths and hence they are not truths. Is it fair to conclude that whatever we see in the physical world, the world that we experience through our mind and five senses are not Truths.

This is exactly what is called as Asatya, in Sanskrit. The world as we know is Asatya and Bhagavadgita urges us to discover the Satya hidden behind this world of Asatya. The sun, moon, planets and all the stars appear to be moving around the earth. However we are required to inquire if that is true? The truth is probably hidden and not obvious. The world of Asatya surrounding us is also known as Maya that deludes us of the Truths hidden behind every object and every phenomenon.

Each living being is supposed to be an embodiment of Self, called as Atma. Atma is truth; it never dies, It is never born. It has no emotions, It doesn't change; It is a constant; It is ancient; It is eternal; nothing can destroy It; nothing can burn It, wet It, tear It, etc. It is neither accessible to our mind nor to our sense organs. We can only realize It; there is only Saakshaatkaara of It.

Atma is also supposed to be the same in all living beings. There is no superior or inferior Atma. Atma is no different from Brahman, the God! Thus Atma and God are the ultimate Truths.

Life's aim would then be to realize this Truth; such a realization is expected us to put us in a state of eternal Bliss, Ananda!

Isn't there a similarity between mathematical truths and Atma? In that case what really is Atma? Something to ponder upon......

Coming back to Asatya. The material world that surrounds us is Asatya. They have births and deaths and hence things are transitory. Hence we need to live our life and enjoy the same without getting attached to this transitory world!

Environmental Friendliness in Germany

The awareness of enviornmental issues is pretty high in Germany. Compared to most developed countries the environmental movement is strong here. Some of the things to notice immediately are:

• Separation of waste into 3 categories: Bio, recyclable and others
• Extra charge for usage of plastic bags in supermarkets and encouraging people to reuse
• High cost of petrol/diesel
• Bicycle friendly streets
• Excellent public transport system
• Various environmental activities like protecting forests, plantations, etc. Opposition to 3rd runway in Munich is a significant movement
• Existence of Bio-products

When one travels through Germany, it is impressive to see that there is almost no visible air pollution and most cities are extremely green.

Does this mean Germany is environmentally friendly? Sadly, the answer is no when one observes the life-style and the society closely. Among the developed nations, probably, Germany might be better off w.r.t. environmental awareness. However when it comes to practice the country is way behind. Here are some of the reasons:

Air pollution: It is true that visible air pollution is almost nil in Germany. This is not due to any technological breakthrough. It has happened mainly by shifting out all the polluting industries to the so-called third world countries and importing finished goods.

Greenery: Germany is a pretty green country through the year except during winter. However much of this is artificially maintained. In fact home and garden plants looks to be a billion Euro industry here. There is very little support available for indigenous growth and maintenance of plants and trees. Much of the emphasis is on the commercial aspect of buying and selling exotic plants.

Animals: It is shocking to see absence of animals in all the greenery visible in Germany. Cold weather is probably a partial reason for seeing less animals here compared to tropical regions. However a bigger reason is the attitude of people in general towards animals. Animals, unlike plants, like to be free. However people in general want animals to be under their control. This desire for control has lead to elimination of most of the carnivores. That leaves only herbivores. Due to absence of their respective predators, the herbivores have the ability to rapidly increase in numbers and cause wide spread destruction of vegetation. This requires again human and technological effort to keep this under-check!

Why don't people let the respective predators survive? Animals in general flourish best when they are least disturbed. Which means gardens, forests, mountains, lakes and rivers need to have less disturbance from humans to enable the animals to thrive. In cases where animals are closer to human dwellings they require compassion and an attitude of "live and let live" principle. In an industrialized society human interference with nature is strongest and absence of compassion is stark. This has lead to wiping out many of the animal species here.

Recycling: Recycling of products and packaging material is almost a myth. It is true that a small percentage of these materials do get recycled. However majority of the materials are either buried in some remote place or exported to some "poor" country, from where no one wants to hear any more news of the same.

Supermarkets and Superstores: Almost all end user purchases happen in supermarkets and super stores. It is interesting to see that most products sold in germany will just have a German address and may or may not contain the information on the country of origin. Majority of these products would have travelled thousands of kilometers before reaching the supermarket shelves. How on earth can a supermarket be environmentally friendly?

Bio-products: Bio products are a niche. It is possible that these products are grown and produced in the most enviornmentally friendly ways. However as long as they are priced higher they cannot replace the non-bio, environmentally harmful products!

Public transportation: Existence of good publich transportation is a big thing here. However as long as they are more expensive than travelling by car most people would prefer cars. As long as the government promotes car industry and as long as the car industry pumps millions of Euro in promotion of the same how can the lure of the car decrease. Public transportation will remain a nice-to-have back-up solution for the majority of the population.

In summary some of the key things required to put Germany on the path of enviornmentally friendly nations are:

• Introduce enviornment related topics early on in the schools
• Spread awareness on the dangers of widespread usage of technology
• Promote business models and lifestyles that cause less burden to the environment
• Protect natural habitats from human activities
• Encourage human activities which are in harmony with Nature
• Ban imports of any item from anywhere in the world that is produced or hunted in an unsustainable manner
• Export and import Knowledge and not machinery and industries:
• Stop pumping money into the so-called third-world countries in the form of "Aid" and instead spread education on enviornment and encourage local sustainable life-styles
• Make the reports on environmental damages caused by modern machinery and industry easily available to any country receiving the German technology.

Let the world remember Germany for its Environmental leadership! Let Germany become synonymous with Peace and Non-violence in the broadest sense.