Panch-Mahabhoot: Five Great Elements

 The intuition of writing about this topic has been for the last few months now. At present, I am at my work desk at my home, and there's a money plant that is taking my attention, intuitively telling me to think about it. My mother told me last month, "Why aren't you planting other trees as you said last month?" We have moved to our new home. I have a dedicated study space on the first floor. Just in front of my table, there's a window. On the edge of the window, I have put a money plant about which I am talking now. I told my mother, "I don't know why I am not bringing another plant, but soon I will bring." 

Intuitively, I brought this small plant, and I am taking care of it each day. Every day I water it. Last week, when I was away from home for work reasons, I told my wife Reena to not forget to water it. Now the question, "Why am I not bringing other plants?" Maybe because I am not sure if I will be able to take care of it. Maybe I am taking some time to get experience in raising a plant. But hey, wait there.. Because I am thinking at present about this and I am asking these questions to my deep self, that's the reason why I am getting these answers. That means, whatever I was doing, I mean "not bringing the other plants," that thought was not conscious but subconscious. That explains my nature? That is how I am? This says my awareness doesn't reveal my real identity. My real identity is somewhere hidden in the subconscious mind. If we ask the right question to our deep self, we may start realizing our true self that we are not even aware of. But where's the relation with "Panch-Mahabhoot"? The Five Great Elements? To understand these five great elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space), we must understand our subconscious mind, which is conditioned by our past experiences and can be understood as our true nature. 

Subconscious Mind

There's a large amount of data stored in our brain, which is not on the surface level of our brain but deep down. These data are stored from our birth. For example, the blood flows in my body, but I do not have control over it. A newborn baby opens its eyes. Who told it to do so? These bodily functions are already there from birth. They are happening, and we are just observers. 

I am typing without looking at my keyboard, which is too subconscious, but I stored it by training myself and gave enough data to the brain that signals my fingers in the right way. That means it's not necessary that a person will die with the same kind of nature as was with during their birth, childhood, youth, or old age. Nature evolves, but this evolution may be difficult since once Nature has already been built, we must unlearn the things that may contradict our new learnings. That slows down the process of self-evolution. That is why true learning is important during childhood, because later the process of true learning may require twice the effort. 

We have been gifted with a Human birth. We have got the body that is capable of doing Karma. We are in "Karma Sharir", unlike the animals, who are in "Bhoga Sharir", where they do not have choice but to accept whatever happens to them and around them, they do not have control on their own "Karma" They are conditioned by birth in a certain manner that they will not be able to act but following a particular pattern designed for them in their subconcsious mind from their birth. The self-evolution is very limited for them. If we are in "Karma Sharir", what kind of Actions (Karma) are we expected to do? That is really a great question, and we must ask ourselves every day. 

Action (Karma) can be done by our body, which is made up of the Panch Mahabhoot (Five Great Elements), mentioning again, which are: 

(I) EARTH (II) WATER (III) FIRE (IV) AIR (V) SPACE

(I) EARTH

Earth is an element we can easily relate our body to. Earth is the densest, has solidity, and strength that we relate to our outer body, teeth, bones, etc. The person who understands themselves as this outer body, subconsciously, is strongly attached to all five indriyas (viz., sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell). The earth element is in dominance for such people, and that is the state most of the people are in. They inherit the properties of Earth, which contains all these senses. They cannot let go of any of the pleasures coming from these senses by choice. However, the dominance of the earth element helps train your subconscious rapidly. 

The primary objective of our human birth is embracing the self (Aatma) and "To Direct Self (Aatma) towards GOD (Param-Aatma)". To do so, the Earth element plays a crucial role, because through bodily experiences and the five senses, Aatma can evolve itself and take the first step towards "Paramatma". 

Therefore, choose your actions wisely and ask yourselves, what kind of actions will help you (considering yourself as Aatma) to move towards Paramatma. 

It is also important to understand that all five senses are inevitable parts of Earth, and it is difficult to separate these senses from Earth.

(II) WATER

The person who wins over the "smell", the smell may not distract such a person, who has moved towards dominance of "WATER". Water characterizes the nature of such a person, which is fluidity. Such people are flexible with the circumstances and can mould themselves as per the need. 

The water does not have a smell in its pure form, but it can be affected by the earth's elements. In the same manner, water-dominated people are affected by the earth elements around them, but the separation of earth elements from water is comparatively easier. Apart from smell, all the other four senses (sound + touch + sight + taste) are controlling the actions of such a person. 

Such a person has already taken his first step to move his Aatma towards Paramatma. 

(III) FIRE

There's no taste and no smell in FIRE. The FIRE-dominated person is distracted, mainly by three senses: sound, touch, and sight. The person may have enough experience while being in EARTH and WATER dominated states, that realizes a person to be wise enough to let go of these two senses. However, a FIRE-dominated person adversely affects the earth elements around it. 

Such a person has already taken a second step in the direction of Paramatma. 

(IV) AIR

AIR neither has taste and smell, nor does it have sight. However, AIR can carry smells temporarily if mixed with earth elements. However, it gets rid of the smell itself after a certain period of time or after moving a certain distance. An AIR-dominant person may be affected by earth elements if exposed for a period of time. However, such persons are also wise enough to come back to their original state after being distracted temporarily. 

The person who is least distracted by taste, smell, and sight has already taken his third step to move his Aatma towards Paramatma. 

(V) SPACE

When there's nothing, there's space. Space can contain everything, including the other four elements, and it can have nothing. Space has only one sense, and that is sound. As per traditional Science, sound does not exist without matter; when there's a vacuum, there's no sound. But space can contain all these elements for only one sense, and that is sound. Space does not have smell, it doesn't have taste, we cannot see it, but sound, once propagated in space, affects all the elements within it. Therefore, SPACE doesn't have anything, but it also contain everithing. SPACE is not affected by any senses, but it provides a way for sound propagation. It acts as a channel for information transfer. 

The person who has space dominance does not get distracted by the other four senses, clearly and actively listens to the sound coming from the Paramatma, and his Aatma is only a step away from Paramatma. When a person gives away all of their four senses, only one remaining sense becomes stronger as if they were damped by the magnitude of the other senses earlier. 

The sound coming from nature evokes his subconscious mind to act in a rightful way, and we call it INTUITION. The universe is sending signals each moment, most of which are not received due to the noise of other senses.

The person who gets distracted by only one active sense, that is "SOUND", is just one step away from Paramatma. 

All these effects of the senses are subconscious and cannot be controlled by awareness, but as I said earlier, through practice and training. For that, we must unlearn so many things that we have learned since birth and then learn the new and true way of living.

THE LAST STEP TOWARDS PARAMATMA

When there's an absence of all five senses, the sixth sense gets activated, which can only be sensed by the Aatma (not by the body). It guides the Aatma to move from the body towards Paramatma.  

This state of Aatma is called Moksha

"सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज।

अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः।।" (अध्याय 18, श्लोक 66, श्रीमद् भगवद् गीता)