Antardrishti

I was delighted to know that the students of MBA (Business Analytics) have named their publication as ‘Antardrishti’ and when they approached me to write a piece for them then I thought that I must write on ‘Antardrishti’ itself.

The journey of looking inside into one’s own heart or mind or doing introspection or discovery of self can be called as ‘Antardrishti.’ The mind generally wanders outside using the five types of Sensory organs (‘Indriyas’). The outer world is an interplay of five elements of life including our body. However, the journey of discovery of self starts when one starts looking inwards for which one has to withdraw the attention from the outer world.

Following five questions helps a person to initiate the process of discovery of self:

Who am I?

Why am I here?

Where do I want to be?

How do I want to be there?

How do I want to be remembered in this world?

The following table provides a summary of various aspects related to various levels of our existence. The five sheaths from gross to the subtle have been mentioned. The grossest level is the ‘anna-maya’ kosha and the subtlest level is ‘ananda-maya’ kosha. As we move from the gross to the subtle, we may also move from ‘tamas’ to ‘rajas’ to ‘sattva’ and then move above all gunas by becoming ‘gunatit.’

It is important for every individual to balance the achievements of material world and spiritual world. If we focus only on the material world or only on the spiritual world then we may get success but we may not get fulfillment. ‘Antardrishti’ allows one to move towards balancing the two aspects i.e., material and spiritual. Lord Budha had access to all the material wealth by virtue of his birth but decided to explore the spiritual world by renouncing the material world. After attaining enlightenment, Lord Budha started sharing with his disciples so that other people can also be benefitted through his teachings. Hence, balancing both the material and spiritual world is the key to success and fulfillment. Material world requires outward looking and spiritual world requires inward looking and a combination of both makes a holistic person.

The education system generally prepares one for the material world with outward looking aspects and as per the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the focus has now shifted towards holistic development of individuals. It is important to excel in both the dimensions for which the journey within is a must which can be started by answering the questions given above followed by the journey of five sheaths or layers of existence. ‘Ashtang yog’ or Eight limbs of yoga is a recommended path on this journey.

These methods are to be adopted as a way of life only then one can be developed holistically.