Jivan – The Key to Happiness

The model of Jivan Vidya

The model of Jivan Vidya shows the steps that are necessary to provide us with a clear understanding of how we awaken and sustain an ongoing state of happiness, in other words, how we can choose happiness.

The answers to many fundamental questions are still eluding even the greatest of scientific minds. Many still ask what is the mind, where does consciousness come from, is there a purpose to life, if so what is it, what makes us the person we are? And so on. Babaji believes some of the answers are contained within the model of Jivan Vidya, which shows that life comprises the components of body, mind, attitude, consciousness, wisdom and soul. The mind plays a vital role in determining whether our lives are happy or unhappy. However, as the mind is such a complex and multi-faceted part of our being, finding the way to live our lives in happiness is not easy.

In Jivan Vidya we show that to achieve whole-ness, we need to do more than integrate body, mind and soul” we need to understand the powers and functions of the many dimensions of life and bring to light the various layers of mental processing that provide the building blocks of the bridge between body and soul. Without these links we will not be able to experience continuous happiness” instead we will experience feelings of separation, disconnection and dissatisfaction. In order to be whole, man must learn to harmonise body, mind and soul. He can achieve this by balancing his understanding of his inner self with his view of his outer reality. Man cannot survive if he spends all his time in the spiritual or psychic domains, but if he tries to live without awareness of these aspects of his being, he is less than he can be and is robbed of much of his potential. The key is to awaken the mind to its full potential, unlock its dimensions and so find whole-ness.

Jivan’s quest is to live in harmony with both its inner and outer realities and so achieve happiness. However, many lives are beset by problems, challenges and disappointments, unfulfilled desires and unachieved goals leading to unhappiness and depression. When we focus on the outer aspects of our lives that give us pain, when we focus on problems we are binding and limiting ourselves. When we focus on solutions we liberate ourselves. Jivan aims to live a solution-led life and experience tranquility and freedom. In other words it seeks yoga, or union, between the inner and outer selves. How can it achieve this in a world dominated by the physical and material? THE MODEL OF JIVAN VIDYA ” THE WISDOM OF LIFE The five components of Jivan, the life force (reference A Nagraj)

BODY PHYSIOLOGICAL/SAFETY NEED

The model of Jivan Vidya is based upon experience not assumption, or knowledge, which whilst a valuable asset is nothing more than learned memory or learned assumption. Knowledge is not the same as wisdom. We find wisdom in the deeper part of our selves and we acquire wisdom through experience. Experience cannot be taught and it is only through experience that we can truly know ourselves or understand our lives. Teaching unlocks the door to learning and belief, or faith, provides the key to unlocking the door. Our teacher or guide can tell us what is behind the door and we can have faith in what they tell us if we trust them, but we can only truly know what is beyond the door by stepping through and discovering what is there for ourselves. The origin of the word ‘sacred’ is hidden and when we refer to the sacred mind, we realise that this is intended to be what is hidden from the conscious mind” in other words, the inner conscious, which is where we will find the divine, or our soul, within us.

3.2 The body-mind

Essential to every human being is our ‘operating system’. Key to our successful functioning in the world, our physical survival, is that part of us which connects directly with the physical” we might call it the body mind. It is that part of the mind (which as we now know is complex and multi-layered) that is linked to our sensory responses. Much of our behaviour is dictated by our five physical senses” sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell. Our perception of our SELF is typically determined by our sensory connection with our world and our selves. Our five senses allow us to function in the world and also shape our JIVAN” THE KEY TO HAPPINESS

view of our world. As a result our physical experience of the world is totally bound up with our sensory perception of it – our senses provide a way of communicating with the outer world and we acknowledge that our senses are a function of our body.

These are attributes of the physical body without which we could not function in the material world. At the most basic level of life we might find an individual behaves almost exclusively in response to the messages received as a result of a sensation. The sensory response means that a part of our body is having an experience and a message is sent via the communication network which triggers a reaction. For example, we experience thirst and we get a drink; we feel hungry and we eat; we feel cold and we put on the heating or extra clothing; we see danger and we run away or we prepare to defend ourselves. Put simply we are having a sensation; our senses are acting to provide information that is received by the brain which then sends out a message to enable us to react. There are some illnesses and diseases that cause this simple yet effective system to break down, but for most human beings it is a chain reaction to which we might not even give a moment’s thought.

So our bodies are at the core of how we identify our selves. Many of us think our body is who we are. But the body is nothing more than a vehicle for our inner person, our consciousness, the vital life force, in other words Jivan.

3.3 Beyond the Body Mind – Attitudes

In the model of Jivan Vidya, Babaji suggests the components that make up life in its totality are the body, the body-mind, attitudes, consciousness, wisdom and the soul, each component having its own powers and functions. These are the components that differentiate human beings from the animal kingdom.

The first step beyond the body-mind is attitude, which has the power of thought and the functions of comparison and analysis. When we respond to an external event or stimulus we are interpreting information provided by our five senses and acting according to that interpretation – and that interpretation is usually dependent upon our attitudes. Attitudes are some of the primary determining factors in personality and personality shapes our lives. Attitude is basically a settled way of thinking” in other words a way of thinking which is ingrained. Our attitudes are powered by the quality of our thoughts and our thoughts determine our actions and our behaviour. For the most part individuals in every part of the world, from different backgrounds, countries, religions and cultures, behave in ways dictated by the attitudes that have become a part of who they are throughout their lives on earth.

Attitudes tend to be the result of our experience of the physical world. Man developed his thought processes as a result of his life experiences; through trial and error he was able to start to discern what worked and how he could better survive in the world. Accordingly, our thoughts and attitudes are usually closely linked to the basic physical, material and security driven needs. Attitudes are generally the result of conditioning and habit built up over a period of time influenced by our background, our childhood experiences and our education as well as our birth influences. Our reality is a reflection of our thoughts and so our reality is also a reflection of our attitudes and this is a key reason for many of the attachments that limit and bind man. DIWAKAR SUKUL, SARA IVES

3.4 Beyond attitudes – consciousness

In the model of Jivan Vidya the next component of life is consciousness, which is powered by desire and has the functions of picturisation, or image-ination, and contemplation. It is at this level that Babaji suggests most individuals stop using the full powers of life. The power of ‘desire’