Who is superior?

Look at the plants and animals around us. Cows give us milk by consuming just grass. Trees give us fruits taking even effluent water. They all give more than what they consume. Only human beings can be greedy and get more than what they give. We can also save for the next generation! Can this make one really superior?

I am always amazed at seeing plants. From tiny seed they grow in to giant trees. They only have the capacity to produce food (annam ) form earth. We will only have stomach problem if we eat earth! Animals and human beings cannot live without plants. Taittireeyopanishad says, from annam alone all these beings are born, exist by annam and go back to annam-“Annadhyeva imani bhutani jayante, annena jatani jeevanti, annena abhisamvisanti”. Finally we become annam to annam. This is just a cycle when you consider only the body, whether it is human, animal or plant.

However plants only have the capacity to create annam from earth. Are they not superior to human beings from this stand point? If we consider our body as ourselves, we are not superior; on the contrary we are helpless without plants.

In Maneesha panchakam, Adi Sankara makes it clear that no person is different from the other as all are annam or atma. From which ever stand point you look at there is no difference. Finally it is atma alone. In this way one person can never be superior to the other. Purusha suktam says, everything here is nothing but Purusha, God-“Purusha eva idam sarvam.”

Then, where are we? If all that is here is only God, we need to first know that. This will help us to know who is superior and what superiority really is. Then we can reach there.

One of the important steps is explained in the 3rd chapter of Bagavat Gita- “Always perform well the action that is to be done without attachment because, by performing action without attachment, a person attains the highest. Further in 4th chapter, there is guidance to reach the supreme nature-,”Free from craving, fear, and anger, totally resolved in Me, purified by the discipline of knowledge, many have come back to My nature”.

By doing the right action and getting the right knowledge one can reach the highest. This is not just philosophy; this is very practical because when we work towards this goal we certainly have the strength to attain all other worldly goals with ease.

For more details to gain this knowledge and strength, we need consistent study of this teaching with proper guidance.

-Arasu Ramanujam