Self, Free Will and UG

  

‘SELF’, 'FREE WILL' & UG

Cartesian Theatre

(Derivative work: Pbroks13 Original: Jennifer Garcia (Reverie) - Image:Cartesian Theater.jpg)

 A tiny person sits in a movie theater inside a human head, watching and hearing everything that is being experienced by the human being. An illustration of the Cartesian theater.

Self, Freewill and UG 

Are events and results predetermined? Are they beyond human control?

Or

Is there a ‘free will’, can we influence events and results?

According to the dictionary, the word ‘will’ denotes determination, insistence, persistence, or wilfulness.

Free will is one’s ability to ‘consciously’ exercise choice, to influence a decision or an action, so as to bring about a predictable outcome.

‘Free will’ cannot be thought of in isolation. It presupposes a ‘self’ or agent that has the power to consciously exercise choice! When we say consciously, we append yet another important attribute to the ‘self’, namely, ‘consciousness’.

‘Free will’, ‘self’ and ‘consciousness’ constitute our rich mental or psychological world. They share common traits and roots. To use a philosopher’s expression, they have a common ‘ontological basis.’

The idea of ‘self’ and ‘consciousness’ introduces the mind-body problem. Philosophers and scientists consider this as one of the toughest problems in understanding the nature of reality. Is our reality physical or mental or both?

The mind-body problem goes somewhat like this: How can the ‘self’, existing in a pure mental domain (or psychological domain), impact events in the physical domain? Does mind rule over matter? How does the mind arise in the physical system, in the first place?

Science is prodding on with this single most important question…

If you dare any philosopher to prove mind over matter, he will waste no time, “Mentally I decide to raise my arm (intention) and the damn thing goes up (action)!”

Renowned philosophers like John Searle from Berkeley advance formidable arguments for logically proving the existence of ‘free will’, even ‘self’ and consciousness. 

According to John Searle, “consciousness has a first-person or subjective ontology, and is thus not reducible to anything that has a third-person, or objective ontology.” [1]

This simply means that the phenomenon of consciousness is purely subjective experience and cannot be further divided or reduced to simpler or more fundamental units.

Reductionism is the typical approach of modern science. The idea is to reduce or break down a complex system into simpler, more fundamental units to understand its workings.

Unlike an atom that could be reduced to its constituents like protons, neutrons or electrons, consciousness cannot be further divided into its simpler units, say, ‘selftrons’ or ‘mentrons’!

Consciousness is a hard problem for science, as the Australian philosopher David Chalmers put it. Because it is irreducible!

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Let us now find out what neuroscience has to say considering recent discoveries in brain anatomy.

But before that, what does ‘self’ mean to you and me?

It is strange but true that one may or may not believe in God, but all of us, without exception, including theists, atheists, agnostics, philosophers and scientists (that is pretty much everyone on the planet!) tend to believe in the existence of a conscious ‘self’ , a mental or psychological being, or the first person ‘I’ that exhibits awareness, that experiences pleasure and pain, that reasons out, that chooses or exercises the free will.

Self dominates every moment of our social existence.

Without ‘self’, there is no name, there is no social identity, there is no degree, there is no social security, there is no voter ID, there is no passport, there is no filing of tax returns, there is no death certificate!

The entire edifice of ‘society’ seems to have been built upon the notion of the ‘self’. And the ‘self’ too gets its legitimacy through and from society.

This social ‘self’ could be appropriately labelled as autobiographical self to borrow the words of the famous neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio.

Antonio Damasio has proposed a thought provoking theory of consciousness that is truly remarkable as it is thoroughly grounded in neuroanatomy. According to him, consciousness is centred upon the ‘self.’

The ‘self’, says Damasio, has evolved with the evolution of brain. He describes three distinct stages in the development of the ‘self’ alongside the evolution of brain – Proto-self, core-self and the autobiographical self.[2]

Proto-self is the most primitive form, a true biological entity, ‘it maintains its active model of the body, the chief object of its concern, and has the basic foundations of homeostasis (internal body) management.”

“On top of the proto-self is the core self. The core self is the momentary self. It exists in “pulses.” It comes into existence when the proto-self perceives objects and how those objects relate to the body. Is the object food? A predator or some other kind of threat? Another body like ours? Something else?”

“On top of the core self is the autobiographical self. This is the self that comes into existence as the organism lives its life. It is heavily dependent on memories, along with the projections it makes for the future.”

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The core-self spoken of by Damasio comes closest to the observations of Eastern thinkers like UG or Nisargadutta.

UG’s description of how he operated in his Natural State completely resonates with the ‘core-self’ description of Damasio as that ‘pulses’ or ‘comes and goes’ momentarily.

UG explains, “What you call ‘I’ is just a first person singular pronoun. The ‘I’ or UG comes into operation here only when there is a demand. Otherwise there is no one here…” 

He adds further, "Every time a thought is born, you are born. When the thought is gone, you are gone.”[3]

Also, interestingly, the concept of core-self finds resonance with the Buddhist Doctrine of Momentariness or ‘Kshanika Vada.’ 

‘Autobiographical self’ on the other hand could be thought of as the ‘social self’ or ‘ego’ (with all its social trappings), a pure creation of society, a finished product of culture.

Autobiographical self is resurrected or reborn in every thought, during every social transaction or interaction. It shall be maintained at all costs for the sake of its own continuity (everyone craves immortality) as well as that of its very creator – the society.

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Is the ‘self’ then a product of environment?

Animals and humans are subject to natural conditioning to be able to adapt, survive and function in the natural environment. This conditioning or adaptation ensures that the biological entity is not only capable of handling its function and operation, but fully capable of detecting and avoiding natural threats in the environment, and to survive on its own.

Perhaps natural conditioning could be the trigger for the evolution of Damasio’s proto-self.

On the other hand, humans are subject to a different form of conditioning. This apart from the natural conditioning. This is social conditioning imposed by life in the social environment and layered on top of natural conditioning.

Social conditioning largely happens through societal interactions, starting with mother, father, siblings, schoolmates, teachers, friends, groups and gatherings.

Language, learning, experience or socio-cultural interactions are some ways that ensure that one becomes socially conditioned and becomes acceptable to society.

Social conditioning has its roots in tribal communities in the distant past and over the centuries, has gradually developed into its most complex and sophisticated form of today.

It is crucial to understand that conditioning is essential in all its forms for adaptation, survival and operation in the environment. Conditioning helps one to ‘function sanely and intelligently in the world.’

Certain pathological conditions could lead to certain brain disorders like ‘autism’ with the loss of identity or the loss of ‘self’ characterised by serious difficulties in social-interaction.

It is important to note that thought or memory plays a tremendous role in conditioning. UG offered a simple but powerful definition of thought that describes its role or function, especially related to conditioning:

 “Thought is the translation of a sensory perception within the framework of YOUR experiencing structure.”[4]

It is the thought that makes it possible for us to experience the world. Thought perhaps is the very instrument of conditioning.

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This is what UG has to say about ‘free will’ or ‘freedom of action’:

“There is no way you can say that you have freedom of action or free will! Metaphysically you can explain, logically you can establish a point of view, but actually there is no freedom of action, because all the actions are born out of our thinking. And thinking is born out of the thoughts that are put in there, and I question the very, very thoughts and thinking you see. I say there are no thoughts and there is no thinking there at all! Thought is nothing but memory.” [5]

Free will or ‘freedom of action’ implies the ability to make a choice. Choice means deliberation, choice means thinking, choice means reasoning.

Scenario One: I get slapped, I hit back, there is no thinking. There is no ‘gap’ between stimulus and response. This is what UG calls the ‘unitary movement’. This is simple action.

Scenario Two: I get slapped, I stop, I deliberate,

“Should I hit back, or should I hold back’, Is it the right thing to do? Is it ethical? What about turning the other cheek?......”

This is thinking. Now there is a ‘gap’ between stimulus and response. Thought has created the gap, thought has brought about this division between stimulus and response.

These are conscious choices. Every choice is based on my previous experience or my learning or my cultural background. Every one of my choices (reasons) is coloured by environment, cultural or social. There is no choice that I can call my own.

UG often reiterated, “There is nothing original. Nobody is original. Every thought comes from outside (environment), everything is put in there by culture. They tell you what to do, what to wear, what to eat, what to think…there is not a single thought that you can call your own!”

Cradle-to-grave, every experience of ours, everything we know of, every thought of ours is externally acquired, borrowed from the social environment. There is nothing that we can call our own.

UG reiterates that free will or freedom of action doesn’t really exist at all, as there is nothing to really choose from, except what is offered to us by society or culture!

Also, there can be nothing original. Originality lies in expression, in ‘how’ something is said or done, and not in ‘what’ is being said or done.

We all are imprisoned and restrained in our thoughts and actions by the invisible golden chains of culture. UG could clearly see it, as his Calamity on his 49^th birthday flushed out every trace, every remnant of culture from his system, putting him back into primordial Natural State or Sahaja Stithi.

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Here is UG’s last word on the ‘self’.

UG’s explanation of ‘self’ is much closer to the ‘pulsing self’ or the ‘core-self’ alluded to by Antonio Damasio earlier. It is that of a ‘self’ responding to the continuous stream of stimuli or perceptions pouring in from the environment.

Here UG explains in very clear terms the real nature of ‘self’ as well as the real place of thought (or conditioning) in the scheme of things:

“You may not accept what I am saying, so what you call ‘UG’ (or self) in one frame is the microphone, in another frame- tape recorder, another frame - cassette – audio cassette or the video cassette as the case may be! In another frame, it is a remote-control instrument. There is an illusion or impression that there is a person, or that there is one who is saying all these things, (but) each one is an independent frame. So, the identity (or self) can be maintained only by assuming that it is the same thing (UG) that is saying all these things….[6]

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" I do not see that there are any individuals at all...there is no free will at all. "

Metaphorically, the raindrop falling into the ocean does not lose its 'essence' (as water) but has no 'sense' (of being the drop).

UG used to convey this powerful message sometimes through his sounding board, Mahesh Bhatt:

UG: " Hey Mister! Who are you?",

Mahesh, " Mahesh Bhatt, sir "

UG, " You call yourself that?! They (parents, society) put in the name 'Mahesh' there! Actually, I don't see anyone there."

Sages, over the ages, have emphasised that the self- the psychological buildup is purely an artificial construct ( just like the VR & AR - Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality), society being its lead programmer.

Society tirelessly builds and maintains the psychological identity ( Family ID, Passport ID, Tax ID, Voter ID), (like the 'Object' in Object Oriented Programming (OOP)).

It defines, supplies everyone with a unique IDENTITY and FUNCTIONALITY in creating and maintaining an artificial reality.

Society or the transactional world will collapse in the absence of identity or agency.

Without identity (self), there is no agency (purpose), without agency, there is no 'free will'!

This is the real world where sages live and breathe, (where they do not initiate anything but only respond).

We in Facebook with email IDs & DPs certainly have no clue about its inner workings!

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[1] Searle, John. Freedom and Neurobiology: Reflections on Free Will, Language, and Political Power (Columbia Themes in Philosophy), Columbia University Press. Kindle Edition.

 

[2] Antonio Damasio: https://selfawarepatterns.com/2016/06/27/damasios-theory-of-consciousness/

 

[3] Mind is a Myth: Disquieting Conversations with the Man Called U.G.

[4] Courtesy: UG in conversation with Dr. Sreedhav, Chennai, India

[5] Transcribed from the video clip:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs4C91-_eqQ

[6] Transcribed from the video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs4C91-_eqQ

Dedication:

Am neither a philosopher nor a scientist, only a student of life. I am grateful to Dr. Narayana Moorty, Retd. Prof of Philosophy, Montery, California. He has been my mentor and guide having introduced me to Western philosophy. He has been of great help in streamlining my presentations as well as in the development of structured writing. A tough task master but a kind heart. This is my humble and respectful dedication to him. 

Affectionate Regards,

Suresh 

“This certainty ….I cannot give it to you.” - UG

 

UG Krishnamurti

Many books, gurus, teachers have spoken about Life. But the certainty with which UG spoke about Life and how It operates, carried a force and strength that has very few parallels. UG breathed ‘fire’! His words carried clarity and certainty that is indeed rare!

UG 'died' on his 49^th birthday and somehow revived. Did this ‘death’ trigger the certainty?

UG has taken great pains to describe the physiological processes that were set in motion by the ‘Calamity’ on his 49^th birthday. To his credit, Douglas Rosestone seems to have made the epic telephone call that somehow revived life in UG and triggered the cascading physiological changes.

We also have heard or known many a strange anecdote where people declared ‘dead’ by doctors, somehow revived and came back to lead normal lives. Obviously, ‘death’ in their case was not the Calamity that UG spoke of, and certainly it made no difference to the functioning of these people. They resumed their familial relationships and moved on with their ‘old’ lives.

The strange Calamity (or ‘death’) that wiped out the identity called 'UG' in this sense is quite unique!

UG’s oft-repeated line was, “The chance that this might ‘hit’ you …. is one in a billion.”

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UG was ‘certain’ that he somehow ‘stumbled’ into that state which is nothing but the primordial or primal state of operation of every natural human being.

There were two occasions when UG drilled this into me personally, thrusting his index finger into my chest. The first time, “Look here! There is no difference between you and me. We function in exactly the same way but you are preoccupied and I am not!” Second time, “There is no difference between you and me. Only thing is you are in conflict with society but I am not!”  

UG repeated these statements endlessly, almost every day and with so many people.

UG brushed aside all ‘sadhana’ or preparation or methods or techniques to ‘regain’ the natural state. All of these implied ‘will’. But in case of UG, we see the complete withering away of the will before Calamity. In short, this is not a ‘wilful’ thing at all, rather its complete or total absence!

Post Calamity, UG in his natural state, lived in a ‘state of wonderment.’ His words, when uttered, exposed the social ‘lie’ about our unreal psychological existence, our fictitious identity, our fabricated autobiographical self.

UG spoke with great certainty and pointed to the natural functioning of the entity that is fully endowed with tremendous intelligence and resources, essential for survival and operation in the natural environment.

It is this certainty or authenticity that sets the sage apart.

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There is a very interesting episode in the life of Kalidasa, who is hailed as the greatest Sanskrit poet ever, that sheds light on the quality of certainty and authenticity.

The story goes like this!

The Emperor Vikramaditya, in whose court Kalidasa reigned as the Poet Laureate, was in awe of his greatness and held him in high esteem. In fact, there were many brilliant poets in his court. Among them there was one other great poet whose expression exactly matched and resonated with that of the great Kalidasa. Their expressions were so similar that it was impossible to tell the difference.

The Empress unlike her husband, felt that both Kalidasa and the fellow poet were of the same calibre and strongly advised the Emperor to treat both on par.

The Emperor was convinced that Kalidasa was unparalleled and wanted to demonstrate this truth to the queen. He hatched a secret plan that would prove the greatness and authenticity of Kalidasa to the queen. According to the plan, the Emperor and the queen were to enact a public drama!

Before the drama began, the Emperor summoned his messengers and sent out a word to all his poets that a beggar had approached him with his wife and the corpse of his only child. The beggar had earlier prayed to the Lord to restore his child’s life and the Lord had appeared to him in a trance and assured him that he would restore the child’s life on completion of a small task. The beggar, incapable of fulfilling the task had now surrendered to the Emperor to help him out in completing the task and revive his child.

In the dream, the Lord, it seems, had uttered an incomplete quatrain (a poem with four lines) with only three lines. The Lord had promised that upon completion of the quatrain, that is, by supplying the missing line, the child would raise from the dead!

The Emperor wanted to help the poor man and announced a great reward for anyone who could complete the quatrain and restore the life of the child.

As per plan, at the appointed hour, the Emperor and the Empress put on the garbs of beggars and along with their infant child appeared in front of the palace. The lady sat on the ground with the sleeping baby on her lap, covered with a cloth, and started wailing out loudly as advised by the Emperor.

All the poets including Kalidasa and the great poet made a beeline to the palace. One by one, each of them made an attempt to complete the poem and revive the dead child.

The first poet came and sang the quatrain supplying the missing line. The beggar went over to his wife, uncovered the child and found the child lying motionless and came back nodding his head in disappointment. 

The poet announced, “Perhaps there is a better way of completing the verse and wake up the child”, and walked away in dejection, giving way to the second poet, then to the third and so on….

Now it was the turn of the poet who was as great as Kalidasa. He too went up to the beggar couple and uttered the missing line. The child did not get up!

Finally, Kalidasa took his position and uttered the missing line.  The beggar again went over to his wife, uncovered the child and came back announcing that the child still did not wake up!

Unlike the previous poet who had accepted his helplessness and walked away, Kalidasa stood his ground and asked the beggar to repeat what the Lord had  instructed in the dream. The beggar repeated that the Lord had promised him that upon completion of the missing line, the dead child would get up!

Then Kalidasa ended the high drama with these words, “True! The dead child will get up… and if the child does not get up, the child is not dead!”

Kalidasa and the other great poet had in fact uttered the same missing line. This was exactly the same line , word for word, the exact replica! What lacked with the other man was the certainty. He was a great poet and a great wordsmith but singularly lacked the confidence and certainty of Kalidasa!

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In the Upanishads or Vedanta, the sage is categorised as Brahma Nishta, as the One rooted or grounded in Brahma or Natural State whereas a Brahma Jnani is said to be aware and knowledgeable about the Natural State or Sahaja Sthiti but not grounded. 

Jnani howsoever subtle and harmless still denotes the ego!

This subtle difference between the Jnani and Nishta was highlighted by the great sage of yore, Yagnavalkya, in no uncertain terms!

The certainty or authenticity is the hallmark of a Brahma Nishta.

To paraphrase UG’s words, “(A Jnani) may have seen ‘the sugar cube’ but not tasted it (like the Nishta)!”

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“It never occurs to me that you are different from me.” - UG

UG with Dr. Moorty ( video courtesy: Chandrasekhar Babu)

This write-up revolves around a very interesting excerpt from Dr. Narayana Moorty’s Book on UG, Being Yourself.

The book is a compelling account of Dr. Moorty’s long association with UG. In his characteristic ‘no-holds-barred’ style, Dr. Moorty shares some interesting episodes and encounters with his readers. This is a ring side view of the sage from an accomplished scholar who straddled both the Eastern and Western philosophies.

UG and Dr. Moorty shared many common interests and remained buddies for decades till the very end. UG personally paid for the First Class round-trip ticket from US to Italy to have Dr. Moorty visit him during his last days.

I admire the sheer guts of this nonchalant professor.

Seems once UG and Dr. Moorty set out on a wandering spree and ended up in a way side inn with a kitchenette. Between friends, they wanted to hammer out a deal as to who should pay the bill, and who should cook. UG was magnanimous and let Dr. Moorty take the call. Guess what – without batting an eyelid, Dr. Moorty gleefully offered to pay up the rent and enjoy the stay, while UG ended up in the kitchen cooking for both of them, for the rest of their stay!

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Here is the excerpt from Dr. Moorty’s book:

“Another morning, UG was talking away and was trying rather unsuccessfully to remember a Sanskrit verse about Vedantins, Naiyayikas, Bauddhas and other philosophers. I told UG that it was possible to get the exact text of the verse from the Internet. He said “Do it!” I went into the anteroom and fished for the verse on the Internet. It didn’t take long. I copied it in the Devanagari script and showed it to him. He said he would be more comfortable reading it in the Telugu script. So I wrote it in the Telugu script on another sheet of paper and he was able to read it with ease.” 

(Source: Being Yourself: Essays on UG Krishnamurti and Related Topics, Kindle Edition.)

This was really interesting ! After reading this, I promptly got in touch with the ever reliable and resourceful Chandrasekhar Babu for more details . The meticulous and kind Babu dug into his archives and shared with me not just the verse, but even the video clip that showed UG and Dr. Moorty engaged in conversation about the very verse. Babu even sang the verse for me in his melodious voice. Seems this was a personal favourite of UG!

The verse bears a special significance in light of the sombre settings of the scene. These were UG’s final hours in the physical realm.

(Image Courtesy: Chandrasekhar Babu)

The verse is self-explanatory. It is supposed to be inscribed on a stone tablet (dated 1380 A.D.) in the world-renowned temple of Belur in Karnataka. The author of the verse is Udayanacharya, a 10^th century scholar and logician of Naiyyayika school of Reasoning.

Here below is the most ancient source for the idea of the inscription, from the Vasishta Gita of sage Valmiki. 

The verse attempts to reconcile the essence of all religions and doctrines, just in three short pithy lines. It boldly proclaims that there is one Cosmic Spirit that is animating the entire creation and that its votaries call it by various names.  

Chandrasekhar Babu pointed out that Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Ex-President of India, a good friend of UG, had at some point improvised the same verse to append a line that brought into fold the other two names - Christ and Allah.

“Kraistvah Kristuriti kriyapararatah Alleti Mahammadah Soyam”  

(“Whom the Christians devoted to work as Christ and the Mohammedans as Allah.”)

UG’s choice of verses is truly amazing! He had a ready stock of Sanskrit quotes in his repertoire and could easily handpick any verse from any source, in a flash. He enjoyed a profound understanding of all the major religions and doctrines. He was well-clued in Vedas, Vedanta (Upanishads), Buddhism (he especially liked the Chan Buddhism), Taoism, Eastern and Western philosophies as well as psychology. 

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In the early ‘70s, in the years that followed his Calamity, UG is known to have interacted with many pundits, scholars, intellectuals, many who were well versed in Vedas and Vedanta (Upanishads).

UG met Dr. K B Ramakrishna Rao, the Principal of Sanskrit College in Sringeri (North Karnataka) who later moved over to Mysore as Professor of Philosophy in Manasa Gangotri, University of Mysore. He was an accomplished scholar in Advaita philosophy. UG regularly visited his home in Mysore for several years till Dr. Rao’s death in the late ‘80s.

Dr. Rao created the first UG portal in Mysore and introduced UG to many of his learned friends. UG met up with many luminaries of the time there.

Also, Dr. Rao personally held many discussions with UG on Upanishads or Vedanta, the distilled wisdom of the Vedas, the crest-jewel of Oriental teaching. These interactions with UG seemed to have inspired his own book on the Bhagvad Gita. Also Dr. Rao penned the first ever biography of UG ( Illi Vaadavilla, Iruvudella Veda - ಇಲ್ಲಿ ವಾದವಿಲ್ಲ, ಇರುವುದೆಲ್ಲ ವೇದ ), a short introductory book in Kannada.

This was the same period when UG came in touch with another friend, Brahmachari Sivarama Sharma, a great scholar, also well versed in Vedanta and a close associate of Dr. Rao. 

At the time, Brahmachari was getting groomed to take over as the pontiff of Kudli Mutt, as its successor. Kudli Mutt is a spiritual centre in Shimoga that owes its allegiance to Adi Shankaracharya of the seventh century, the proponent of Advaita doctrine or Monism.

UG immediately saw a threat to his friend’s life and prevented Brahmachari from getting embroiled in the ‘politics of spirituality’ and weaned him away from his pursuit and let him lead a peaceful and contented life.

While in Udupi, UG briefly interacted with another great scholar Bannanje Govindacharya, an expert in the Vedas and Indian philosophy, a scholar of great repute and renown. During this meeting, UG and Bannanje seemed to have exchanged their notes in Sanskrit!

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Coming back to the verse, it is interesting to note UG’s recollection of the verse at a time when he was nearing the end of his earthly sojourn!

What makes this verse and its timing significant is the fact that it is a pointer to UG’s position on God!

Did UG ever consent to the idea of a personal God or Godhead?

Never! There was not even a slightest hint about his stance on Personal God anywhere in his innumerable talks and discussions. Rather, he was always seen ridiculing and blasting gods and goddesses, and calling names.

Obviously, UG could not bring himself to reconcile to the ‘idea of a Personal God’. According to him the ‘idea of God’ is born in a mind that is infested with fear.

“It is the mind that has created God, out of fear!”

The weak, fearful and greedy minds have a need for God and therefore invent one!

Devoid of 'self' or 'ego', the sage does not suffer from separation or division from rest of creation. Life is just one boundless ocean of energy for the sage, everything is his, he is everything and therefore there is nothing to seek, nothing to fear.

The sage is just the pulsing of Life Energy! Sage and Life are not two separate things!

This is not some far-fetched theory, but a living reality that we see operating in the life of sages.

A sagely life validates the universal truth that “Life is undivided organic whole!”

World has seen great sages and seers, many unsung, unknown teachers ‘whose footprints have been lost in the sands of time’, from every ancient land. Whether from Africa, Egypt, the Middle East (the cradle of the three Abrahamic religions), India or China. all the sages spoke in unison and proclaimed the truth about the ‘Unity of Life’!

On numerous occasions UG pointed out, “There is no one here. UG comes and goes whenever there is a demand!”

Again, “It never occurs to me that you are different from me.”

Our minds were confounded and then UG explicated his situation with the beautiful analogy of the circle.

Wherever there is a 'centre', the circle is limited and bound by its circumference. In other words, it is the 'centre' that defines the circumference and limits the circle. In the absence of the 'centre', there is no more circumference, and the circle just explodes into infinity.

UG explained that, in our case, it is the ‘self’ or ‘ego’  that forms the centre. It is this centre that imposes serious limitation and defines the bounds of life energy. Without this centre, Life is boundless and infinite, encompassing everything in the universe.

Sages seem to operate in this boundless, limitless field of Life energy.

UG referred to this limitless energy field in his talks as 'Intelligence' or 'Life Energy' just to keep matters simple and uncomplicated.

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There are countless anecdotes where UG ‘encompassed and became’ the person he was watching….In Casino de Paris, he couldn’t tell whether he was the dancer or there was some other dancer on the stage!

Dr. Sreedhav narrates another anecdote in Major’s farm house in Bangalore, when UG refused to use the toilet for three consecutive days. He had discovered a lizard in the commode that stubbornly refused to leave its new abode. UG could never bring himself to flush away the poor creature, how could he ever do that to  himself?

Dr. Moorty recollects yet another incident. 

Once UG and himself were sitting in a hotel lobby waiting for their turn to check in. UG, for some reason, appeared extremely agitated and in intense pain. It turned out that he was fixated on the front desk where a young girl was struggling to cope with her multiple roles as a receptionist, telephone operator, manager, and concierge loading, unloading heavy luggage pieces for guests. The extreme stress levels of the girl, as she laboured on and struggled, to cope up with her gruelling work, began to manifest in UG!

In UG's life, we see the practical demonstration of the universal truth about “The Unity of Life”

If there is a singular message that keeps reverberating time and again, in the ancient wisdom of the Vedanta or Upanishads, in the spirited discussions and debates that resounded in the serene forest universities of eminent sages, or in the discourses held in spectacular courtyards of India’s greatest emperors and kings, it is this plain truth– ‘Universe is an organic whole’! This is the essence of Vedanta, Brahma is that organic whole!

Short of acknowledging God, UG took a much more rational, sensible and realistic position, “God is irrelevant!”  while re-emphasising the Unity of Life! 

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Here is the audio clip carrying the melodious rendering of the verse sung by Jesudas in the Kannada movie Malaya Maruta.