Our Ancestors' Ways of Knowing (And Why An Israeli Professor Made Me Think About Them)

    On Youtube, there is a channel called Big Think. It’s basically a stage for public intellectuals, many of whom are noted academics as well, to come and share what they have learnt. I watch it regularly. A few days ago, I watched a video featuring Tal Ben-Shahar titled, “Don’t Chase Happiness, Become Antifragile.” In the video, Ben-Shahar, the man who designed the most popular class at Harvard, breaks happiness down to five components: spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational, and emotional (acronymed the SPIRE model for happiness). You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-or_D-qNqM.

Ben-Shahar is a white (albeit Jewish) man who has integrated himself into the Western tradition of understanding and knowledge production. That’s why most of you will probably roll your eyes when I tell you that what Ben-Shahar is talking about is basically a Harvard-version of the yogic concept of ‘pancha-kosha’ originally developed by yogis in the Indian subcontinent. (Are you rolling your eyes yet? In more extreme cases, are you calling me a bhakt? Since I’ve already predicted these reactions, bear with me a little longer.)

The ‘pancha-kosha’ concept breaks human existence down to five sheaths: food (in modern terms this would probably be physicality), vital life-force (in modern terms this would probably be kinesiology), mentality, intellectuality, and spirituality. Not too different from what Ben-Shahar is talking about, right? In his video, Ben-Shahar also explains how investing in all of them equally is basically what helps us bounce back from an attack on one a lot more easily, therefore making us antifragile. But the yogis went one-step further. After acknowledging the need to invest in all five koshas, they claimed that an illness in one sheath cannot really be treated by treating another sheath, or at least treated fully. Consider the following examples:

1.      Someone who has become bitter and angry due to a physical ailment (source of pain: physical kosha, manifestation of pain: mental kosha)

2.      Someone on anxiety medication that reports fewer symptoms but still doesn’t feel any better (source of pain: mental or spiritual kosha, remedy of pain: physical kosha)

3.      First-world diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure (source of pain: quite literally the food kosha, manifestation of effects: physical, kinesiological, and in a lot of cases, social and therefore intellectual and spiritual as well)

4.      Working a high-paid, socially validated job but still being miserable (source of pain: in my opinion, intellectual and spiritual, remedy sought after: physical or vital life-force related).

So my first question is, what is it that our ancestors figured out that we are now laboring to rediscover instead of building upon? We are all familiar with the phrase “reinvesting the wheel” when it comes to the physical and technological world, why do we disregard the social, psychological and spiritual knowledge generated in those wheel-inventing times as “outdated” without even testing it first?

My second question is, why is our current government act like its so committed to reviving and rejuvenating Indian traditions, but so neglectful of the real wisdom of our ancestors? Why is it only about praising and celebrating certain men in certain epics and historical episodes, and performing rituals? What about all the contributions our ancestors made to botany, science, psychology, economics, and so much more? Yes, a lot of the actual knowledge has been debunked now or become outdated due to more nuanced knowledge generated in the past, but what about the theoretical frameworks and intellectual traditions? I can understand that more modern people want to reject certain findings of our ancestors, but what if their “ways of knowing” had timeless merit that we’re now ignoring in favor of more superficial aspects of “Indian culture”?

Now are you expecting me to end this post with some wise words of wisdom, something prescriptive to help you with your life. Unfortunately, I can't do that. Unlike ancient yogis and Harvard professors, I actually have very little competence in terms of giving people fool-proof advice. So once again, I have no answers to my questions. Just more questions. I leave you with these questions, hoping maybe someone will read and have answers to give.