Building Self-Knowledge Through Consistency

Bhagvad Gita says that those who do not possess self-knowledge are ever doubtful. Doubts, if not cleared, lead to sansayatma vinashyati, self-destruction. Self-knowledge is knowledge that you create for yourself, through a self-consistent approach. Self-consistency involves several repetitive steps, until you get almost the same results as a solution for a problem.

There are various ways to create self-knowledge. It cannot be independently created; that is, it is not independent of the external knowledge. Indeed, external observations ultimately lead to self-knowledge. Once you obtain this knowledge, you cannot store it in you forever. You have to share it with the external world for testing and consolidation. Only when the external world confirms through reason and experimentation do you become a pathfinder, the enlightened one.

Gautam Buddha followed this example. From birth, he was found to be inward-looking. However, he was restless until he observed the external world and disturbing but unavoidable events concerning suffering, misery and termination in death. He decided to abandon worldly pleasures, pursued the course of meditation, and achieved self-knowledge. He realised the absolute Truth. His words came from his own realisation of truth. There was a huge acceptance of this truth, and he became the enlightened one, the Buddha. Thus, self-knowledge is relevant only when the external world accepts it. Even after hundreds of years, his messages to humanity are followed by a large number of people and respected by all.

On the other hand, MK Gandhi acquired self-knowledge when he fought for the abolition of inequality and discrimination prevalent in society. His procedure was based on adherence to truthfulness, non-violence, and zero-yielding to pressure and intimidation. It was not an easy path. His experiments with truth became a formidable weapon against a mighty colonial power.

Self-consistency is a commonplace word in science, particularly when searching for solutions to problems in theoretical physics and chemistry. It is also understood in realms of quantum chemistry and computational physics. In this approach, a problem is handled in terms of a mathematical equation. Then, efforts are made to solve this equation using empirical methods or self-consistent methods. Since problems are often complex, scientists resort to approximations and prove their closeness to reality by reiterating solutions until there is convergence. Empirical methods depend on external parameters, whereas self-consistent methods lead to solutions that are gradually built in by the process itself.

Now, the question comes to mind of whether solutions to problems in life can be studied through self-consistency. It could be possible by cultivating self-knowledge. Scriptures and philosophers suggest ways. The realisation of self-knowledge is also a gradual process that traverses mistakes and corrections. Repeated applications of this process can lead towards the reality. When we master the process, we become self-confident and no goal in life appears formidable.

Gita says that there is no purifier as knowledge. Those who persist in the cultivation of knowledge find it ultimately as self-knowledge. Once it is achieved, our perception of reality becomes meaningful for the self as well as society.

Authored by: GS Tripathi
The writer is adjunct professor of Physics, Berhampur University