Practical Holism
Vrishabha:
Symbol of Practical Holism
The Pranava, OM, is the most ancient and primary symbol of Absolute Holism.
Om is the Nirguna Brahman and Atman of the advaitist, the Saguna Brahman of the dualist and the Supreme transcendental symbol of the Ultimate Reality.
"Omkaar" is accepted by all religions of India as denoting the highest divinity
that man's mind can conceive.
Om represents the holistic unity of the sensory and para-sensory worlds and phenomena, from the lowest levels of the pyramid of universal phenomenality upto its pinnacle, where the difference between the subject and the object is lost for ever.
On this pinnacle lies the ultimate synthesis of the perceiver and the perceived in a singleness existing beyond all human comprehension.
Om can be perceived, experienced or realised only in the supreme consciousness of Pratibhaa ( divine gestalt ) or Pratyabhignam ( self-recognition ).
Om is the ultimate state of "being" rather than "knowing".
Avathaar Meher Baba has brilliantly described this state in his magnum opus "God Speaks" and delineated the process of human reincarnation which makes
it possible for man to achieve this goal once biological evolution has achieved the primary objective of human evolution.
The Technique
To holistically reach an understanding, in fullness, of anything, one has to be
or become the object itself, not just make attempts to know about it or comprehend it from the station of an independent researcher who remains in the periphery uninvolved with the phenomenon.
Holistic understanding is only possible by the practice of YOGA .
The steps by which Yoga achieves this superhuman task is outlined clearly in the Yoga Sutras of Maharshi Patanjali.
A disciplined life of long duration is required to achieve this objective making the practice of yoga the work of a life time.
In the quest of yoga, the devoted specialist may have to sacrifice, in the long run, parts of other human interests, to enable him to gather into himself the ability to achieve perfection in consciousness.
This not possible for the common man, to serve whom, civilization, tradition, culture and education have all come about.
It is in the midst of this predicament that has faced man and civilization that the pioneer work of Vrishabha takes its stand as a colossus showing the way to the Science and Art of Holistic Living that all true servants of humanity have been seeking.
King Vrishabha's Holism
The greatest teaching of King Vrishabha was how to integrate this superhuman quest with the normal life of the common man by the intricate but highly scientific system of Varnaashrama Dharma which makes it humanly possible for men of every genetic trait , inherent capacity, social breeding, and spiritual calling to find a way to achieve this apparently impossible harmony between one's true nature and the nature of sensory and supra-sensory phenomena.
Vrishabha was the first pathfinder of the world who wove human society into an intricate organic whole and paved the way for establishing a civilization wherein every citizen had the opportunity to live a wholesome life, earn an honest living, safeguard his dependents and strive, simultaneously, to reach, by stages, the ultimate goal of human evolution.
Vrishabha's Practical Teachings
Vrishabha's own life exemplified his teachings. His moto was :"Do as I do": NOT "do as I say".
Vrishabha remains the greatest practical example of a holistic approach to livi9ng the world has ever seen.
Srimad Bhagaavatha Mahapuraana presents to us an appealing description of this achievement of Vrishabha as it moves on to record the early history of this sub-continent.
The life and teachings of King Vrishabha should be read and appreciated by all who desire to have a glimplse of how Practical Holism became an established fact in India at the very beginning of its long and chequered history.
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