The Universe Within You
Rule 17 : “The whole universe is contained within a single human being: you. Everything that you see around you, including the things you might not be fond of and even the people you despise or abhor, is present within you in varying degrees. Therefore, do not look for Sheitan outside yourself either. The devil is not an extraordinary force that attacks from without. It is an ordinary voice within. If you get to know yourself fully, facing with honesty and hardness both your dark and bright sides, you will arrive at a supreme form of consciousness. When a person knows himself or herself, he or she knows God.”
I have been avoiding to write an explanation about this rule for a long time. Although it seems simple enough, I did not know how to approach this subject. Is it about how every relationship is a mirror of our own personality? Or, does it have a spiritual tangent and shows it a perspective of quantum physics which explains how microcosm is macrocosm? Every time when I start explaining my understanding of these rules, I realise that it is all about looking inwards, knowing as well as understanding our own body and mind well. We become more conscious of our own experiences when we focus on them or feel them with more awareness. Our consciousness is a complex topic and is being debated from time immemorable. Modern scientists might differ on the subject, however, more advanced techniques are taking us back to the same conclusions what our sages are preaching us for a long time now.
Neuroscientist Christof Koch explains that consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe i.e. everything has a consciousness. In scientific terms, ‘consciousness’ is integrated information through subjective experiences. Koch says that “the entire cosmos is suffused with sentience. That would also mean that we are surrounded and immersed in consciousness”. So, basically at the micro level all of us are not only made of the same energy but we are also interconnected through consciousness. Twice Nobel price nominated Hungarian philosopher Ervin Lazlo writes that "Interactions in the domains of nature as well as of consciousness operate via a fundamental field that retains energy and information and forms the heart of the universe." Thereby showing how interconnected we are and how much we resemble each other.
How can we relate this information to what Shamz is saying in this rule? As per him, everything that surrounds us – even the things that we do not like – is present in us in varying degrees. This is quite similar to what modern science is trying to prove. Also, this brings to my original thought that when we start knowing our body and mind better, we start understanding our ‘self’ and all our surroundings much better.
In Yajurveda it is written that “Yatha Pinde Thatha Brahmande, Yatha Brahmande Thatha Pinde” – “as is the human body, so is the cosmic body and as is the cosmic body so is the human body”. Modern science is proving as well that all things are made of energy and hence the same source of being in everything and everyone. Hence, everything is a part of an interconnected whole. Since our perceptions are limited, it becomes difficult for us to fathom that a seed is the same as a huge ancient tree or in the human body context, our cells have the same make and patterns as exist in the universe.
In Ayurveda, it is said that the five senses of the human body correlate to the five basic elements of the universe: water, fire, earth, wind, and space. So, whatever we experience through these senses is in essence all whatever there is in this world. Therefore it is important to know our own body. When we know our body well, we would know how sophisticated a machine it is and then we shall start treating ourselves much better. This will also enable us to have a sort of balance and harmony which is already prevalent in the larger system of the cosmic body. Simply put, knowing your own body can always make you aware of what is good for your health and what measures can you take to be in as much harmony as exists in the outer cosmic world, etc. Our food choices and lifestyle will become better with just knowing our bodies better.
Knowing about the body is not enough. We also have to know about our minds and through our internal states. It makes us understand the expanse as well as the limitations that our mind has. Being conscious of our own thoughts, emotions, feelings, and intuitions is the first step. Awareness about how our perceptions, memories, and imaginations are being formed is a stepping stone in knowing our ‘Self’ better. Our minds would be balanced only when we know our unhealthy thoughts, perceptions, desires, and fears. A balanced mind makes us better equipped to make the right perceptions and take the right decisions.
The quality of our life depends on how much we know ourselves and how we feel about ourselves on a physical, mental, and emotional level. We experience this world through our knowledge of ‘self’. This knowledge gives us input about the outer world and hence every experience that we have is subjective reality. Once we start looking inwards and know about the causes of our perceived realities, we might see the world differently because then we will have the power to change our own experience as per our knowledge of our inner self.
I was watching a TED-talk by Daniel Gilbert[1], a professor of psychology at Harvard University,
who said that our brain has the capability to be happy. It is important for us to know about this capability: As per Daniel Gilbert, we have within us to manufacture happiness by what we choose to experience. Isn’t it what Shamz is saying with this rule? We have the ability to feel ‘God’ within us. As soon as we are aware of the capability to be happy, we can know and understand ourselves and the world in a better way. We can find that blissful existence which we keep chasing but never attain. In short, we should know ourselves so that we can have a balanced and happy life. I completely agree with it. It is just a matter of perception.
As soon as we bring balance and harmony to our body and mind we reach a higher state of consciousness which can take us to the true bliss of knowing ‘God’. It is through the enhanced awareness of ‘self’ that we would be able to see the interconnectivity and coexistence of the entire world. This also indicates that we already have all the ways and means to know our self and the external world and we just need to look inwards to reach the higher consciousness.
People have different ways to look inwards, for instance, meditation, religious practices, being open to different experiences, pursuing a passion or simply being aware of the moment they are in. What do I do to look inwards? Well, apart from taking care of my health by doing yoga and trying hard not putting rubbish into my mouth, like Daniel Gilbert I also try to have ‘bounded ambitions’. In this way, I do not have to cheat and lie to achieve those ambitions or get disappointed if something goes wrong and I need to change the direction. I also try to have ‘bounded fears’ so that I don’t become either overblown or reckless but also not cowardly. I try to be aware of my physical and mental state. I try not to have negative thoughts, I try to see the positives in the negatives. I engage in various activities that I feel, can make me happy. Do I succeed in my pursuit of happiness? Well, sometimes I do and sometimes I do not. But, I do try to be conscious of what I think and also by being grateful for what I have. What it brings to me is a positivity that is so difficult to find in these ‘corona times’.
Currently, as we are all exposed massively to COVID-19, these are unprecedented times: all of us have to sacrifice so many of our hobbies, habits, things, and activities not to mention the distance from friends and loved ones. In the last few months, many of us have felt loneliness, desperation, depression, and stress. But if we actually look inwards, we realise that just by being aware of any mundane experience we can change the state of our mind. If you perceive any experience as negative it will definitely give you pain but if you experience the same experience as good or not bad for the given situation, this very same experience would make you feel better. Let us be more aware of our ‘self’ and the experiences that we have, I am sure that we would find happy and peaceful experiences if not ‘God’ as suggested by Shamz.
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