Hello! Ashris here So ever since I made the last Marathi video something in me has like changed I don't know how to explain but it's like my inner sass has been unlocked and I'm pretty much offending people left and right yeah so in this sassy iip zone I thought of making a meme what if Indian philosophies were like strategies in a game it kind of blew up on the Internet a lot of you also asked me to make a detailed video about it so this is that video. So, before we dive right into the heart of it all let's take a step back and think about what is Indian philosophy in general.
You must have heard that India is a land of seekers not a land of believers cos in this country we have always sought for something - sought for what exactly? well you know the usual fun stuff ways to reduce suffering finding the meaning of life attain enlightenment When society becomes affluent, it climbs up the Maslow's pyramid and we move to doing all this deep sh** about life and all that stuff and because once Indian civilization you know had 25% of the world's GDP it had enough time and energy to experiment with all the deeper questions of life and as many people were there, those many approaches to life, strategies to plan how life should be much like playing a game of pubg. .
. uh bgmi sorry different players have different strategies to win some prefer close range combat while others like sniping from a distance - you can play defensively or you can drop into Pochinki and wage an allout War the goal is the same to emerge Victorious but the paths to get there are multiple so there is a natural analogy to how you play a game and how you live your life okay another disclaimer all of this is in good fun so don't take it too seriously if you're easily offended maybe grab like a chai or something and come back when you're feeling a little more chill all right lessgo let's start with the first category the easy mode this is the easy mode where we are just playing the game casually the strategies in this mode are beginner friendly meaning they are easy to understand and get started with but that does not mean that they're necessarily easy to master that is also why they're the most popular of all the strategies in this chart - in gaming terms it is tough to get a high score using these strategies but you can very well enjoy the game, so let's start with the first strategy - Bhakti. Bhakti is the most democratic strategy out there the Sanskrit word for devotion, Bhakti is all about surrendering yourself to the game creator in Bhakti you use your emotions to please the Creator worship the Creator and basically dedicate yourself to him hoping that along the path he will be impressed with your devotion and also maybe help you out.
In Bhakti strategy you don't imagine God is a mysterious abstract force in the sky instead you give him a form often an idol or a image and not just that you see him like a person like a friend a child a master or a lover you you basically humanize the Creator now if you're not the emotional kind you might find all of this kind of sweet but also a little bit cringy I mean these guys are playing the game more from their hearts than their minds you could also say that since Bhakti folks primarily operate through emotion Noob Bhakti players can easily get corrupted they might end up following all sorts of Cults becoming excessively obsessed or even getting lost in the theatrics of it all and also get exploited in the process but well because of its raw appeal Bhakti is incredibly popular and not just in India but everywhere you could also say that Bhakti is like the gateway drug of religion it's often the first step that people take towards exploring their spiritual side whether you're a casual player or a hardcore devotee Bhakti offers a way to connect with the Divine on a very deeply personal level moving on the puran strategy the puran players are the second most popular players of the game puran or purana however you want to pronounce it literally means old or ancient stories if you are a purana player you are basically the ultimate lore nerd of the game you know everything about the game's mythology the stories of the top players the many gods and demons Heroes side Heroes all of that technically the purans are the collection of 18 major texts each focusing on different aspects of the game Lore some like the bhagavat puran are all about the avatars of Vishnu which are also popular among the Bhakti players bhagavat puranam starts where mahabharatam ends it elaborates about the end of mahabharatam and its aftermath it talks about the history of parikshit Maharaja start of kalyugam and how it would unfold bhagavat puranam also elaborates the account of the conversation between udhava and vidura others like the shiv puran are a little more abstract and delve into the mysteries of the universe Shiva puranam illustrates the origins of Shiva in the form of Agni stambham, the conflict between SRI mahavishnu and Brahma talks about the sacred rituals of shivalingam it talks about the Shiva Tatvam the philosophy of Shiva then there's the skand puran the longest puran actually which is about karikeya the son of Shiva and Parvati skanda puranam it is the largest of all the 18 puranas almost every sacred place in India has a place in Skanda puranam but the purans aren't a bunch of Dusty old stories only they're also packed with practical advice and spiritual wisdom they teach players about Enlightenment the nature of karma reincarnation all of which help you level up in the game puran shouldn't be confused with itihas although they are often mentioned together side by side and purans and ithas together are considered to be the fifth Veda or Ved fifth Ved for players who love to LARP or liveaction roleplay or imagine themselves as the great Heroes the purans and itihaas offer a wealth of inspiration these epic Tales provide a framework for understanding the world and your place in it and enact yourself as maryada purushottam Ram or Dharma pitamah bishma or the clever shakuni or the strong Bheem so if you're ready to geek out on some ancient Indian lore, grab a copy of your favorite puran and dive in just be warned you might end up spending more time reading than actually playing the game and if you don't understand the symbolism you might take things literally and then be confused with all the conspiracy and but hey that's the life of a true Puran fan next we move to the smarta strategy or as an Australian would say Smarter cuz it claims to be the smartest strategy (compulsory dad PJ beat) - the Smarta strategy is the Jack of all Trades strategy - it is all about bringing together the best bits of Hinduism into one package - the founder of smartaism was Adi Shankaracharya ji who was kind of like the Steve Jobs of Hinduism - he looked at the different philosophies and practices spread all over India and he thought to himself hey we can simplify this for everyone so he took the vidanta philosophy mixed in a bit of yoga and then blended it all with a pinch of Bhakti traditions and thus was born a streamlined userfriendly version of Hinduism that anyone could get into the Smartas are known for their Panchayatana Puja which is kind of like having a All-Star team of deities youve got Vishnu Shiva Shakti suryya and Ganesha in some smarta tradition there is even a sixth abstract and impersonal deity to represent the Ultimate Reality and if you are in South India you might see even Kartikeya join the party too but here's the thing Smartas believe that all these deities are just different ways to connect with parmatma it's like having multiple paths leading to the same destination you can choose one that resonates with you the most but ultimately they all lead to the same place today most Hindus including you have a bit of smartism in you even if you don't realize it When there's a puja at your place, you see statues of multiple gods and goddesses they all come from the efforts of Adi Shankaracharya ji. Next on, Karma Yoga. Karma yogis are the unsung heroes of the spiritual World they are like the best supporting actors who sadly never get an award for it karma yoga is all about doing your duty without making a fuss about it or without expecting any kind of rewards it's the ultimate just do it mentality as we all know in the bhagavat Gita Krishna famously tells Arjun yo parth you've got a job to do my man just do it bro just do it uh all right there's a slight chance that Krishna didn't say that but well you get the vibe right Karma Yoga is one of the four main paths to Enlightenment in Hinduism it's often seen as the easiest path because it does not require any special skills or knowledge all you need is a willingness to work hard and have a sense of Duty Indians have long been Karm yogis I think at a time when some countries would resort to violence and destroy their culture our parents and Grandparents were Masters at showing up to work every single day and putting in the hours no matter how tedious the job was like seriously can you imagine working a single job for 30 years they had a knack for accepting whatever life threw at them with a smile hoping to be good parents for us in a way this attitude has helped India weather many storms and emerge stronger today however it's also important to remember that being a Karm Yogi does not mean to be a pushover sometimes all that selfless action can lead to people taking advantage of your good nature and if you're not careful you might find yourself stuck in a deadend job or a stagnant situation and because you are so detached from the end results there is less incentive for you to innovate I feel sometimes you do need Obsession and attachment to give you 100% but well those are just my thoughts who am I to argue with Krishna - so yeah guys that concludes our easy tier before we move on to the next tier guys if you have been liking the this video please do like and hit the Subscribe button it really means a lot and yes if you like this poster and would like to hang it on your wall to have a conversation starter with your friends you can find a link in the description box below - alright let's now move on to the Hard Mode these strategies are definitely not for the beginners they require us to carefully understand a new framework to look at reality and all these strategies involve breaking down reality into smaller fundamental components this is kind of like looking under the game and tinkering directly with the code yourself you won't find many casual gamers talking about these strategies at parties but the true Geeks the ones who are hardcore nerds about the Vedas and the Upanishads will find a way to these strategies all right let's begin - Nyaya Nyaya is all about logic and epistemology the study of truth it's like Sherlock Holmes of Hindu philosophy using deductive reasoning to solve the mysteries of the universe Nyaya players have an algorithm developed to infer at Universal truths the nature of knowledge and even the existence of God - nyaya players were the first to develop logical axioms like inference for example all humans are Mortals Shah Rukh Khan is a human (not really 🤩) and therefore shah rukh Khan is a mortal - this kind of way of thinking was the innovation of the Nyaya people so you can imagine the Nyaya players as the detective debators of the Hindu world next is Vaisheshika Vaisheshika is the atomic theory of Hindu philosophy if Nyaya deals with epistemology Vaisheshika deals with ontology rather than an abstract truth Vaisheshika looks at the physical existence of reality it breaks down reality into its smallest components which it calls parmanu and then Vaisheshika players try to understand how these paramanus combine to create the world that we experience it's kind of like playing a philosophical Minecraft building up complex structures with simple building blocks Vaisheshika have also come up with the concept of new entities forming from the combination of basic entities which they call Sam yog kind of like how in Minecraft combining a stick and a coal gives us a torch Vaisheshikas believe that everything in the world is built with such combination of building blocks blocks like Drvya, Gun, karm, Samanya Vishesha and Samvaya.
next in line is Sankhya Sankhya is the dualistic philosophy that sees the world as an interplay between purusha and prakriti purusha is consciousness and prakriti is matter Sankhyas believe that prakriti is made up of satwa rajas and tamas which are the three abstract qualities out of which everything is made up of prakriti is drawn to purusha like iron to magnet and from this interaction of purusha and prakriti buddhi or intelligence is Created from this intelligence ahankar or identity emerges and then from this ahankar 23 tatwas come into existence Sankhyas believe that the world is real and cause and effect are tied together in one unit excellent description of the game mechanics I must say finally comes mimansa mimansa folks are the most conservative intellectuals of the tier they focus a lot on vedic interpretation it's all about understanding the deeper meaning behind the rituals and the hymns of The Vedas mimansa philosophers have developed complex rules of interpretation kind of like a secret code for unlocking the wisdom of the ancient rituals in the Vedas so yeah there you have it the hardcore mode of Hindu philosophy these strategies may not be for everyone but for those who are willing to put in the work and the effort and the time this tier offers a deep and rewarding path to understanding the nature of reality - alright let's now move Welcome to the hacker mode look who decided to venture into the dark underbelly of Indian philosophy the hacker mode the place where the rules are bent the boundaries are blurred and the mind is pushed to the end limits if you thought the hard mode was intense you haven't seen anything at all my dear friend let's start shall we? Buddhism Once Upon a Time in the Game of Life there was a player named SG. he was born into a wealthy family and all his abilities were maxed out but as he leveled up and explored the world more he realized that the whole game is rigged no matter how many points he scored or how many enemies he defeated or how many Treasures he acquired the feeling of winning was always temporary but the pain of losing again and again that suffering sidharta realized was the only constant sidharta or as he would be later called the Buddha had a revelation the root of all suffering he realized was attachment the desire to win to conquer to possess these were the chains that bound players to the cycle of playing again and again and again and thereby suffering again and again and again the only way to break free from this was to let go of the game entirely and so the Buddha quit the main quest he abandoned his clan his wealth and his status and set out on A New Path instead of competing for high scores and rare loot he found happiness in the simple things of Life chilling out in the scenery driving a car around all the peace stuff we know Buddhism for right here is where it gets trippy according to Buddhism there is no player there is no true self there is no Atma there is no soul instead the whole game is a set of predefined scenarios like nodes in a cosmic Network our identities our memories our sense of being all of these are Illusions projections of the mind that are already predefined so you see Buddhism isn't just about finding inner peace it's about confronting the void that void that exists in the heart of existence that void that exists everywhere.
. . Jainism takes a unique approach to The Game of Life they believe that the simple Act of existence causes violence every time we breathe we walk we talk we eat we kill millions of creatures this violence is ingrained in the game this is what causes suffering Jains however don't just quit in the face of suffering they've got a strategy to deal with it Jains see suffering as a way to level up your character they believe that by facing challenges headon you can delete your negative Karma points and ultimately conquer the game it's like when you're playing a tough level and you keep dying and dying you still know that you are getting better with each attempt in the world full of suffering reducing that suffering must be the only logical thing to do maybe this is the reason why Jain players do so well in the business World They're Not Afraid of working hard and simultaneously they don't get attached so much to their wealth no wonder we have folks like this Gujarati couple who gave away 200 crores of their life earnings so in a game where suffering is built in where being aggressive is not just accepted but also appreciated the Jain strategy of embracing suffering is a hack of its own kind Charvaks - ah the Charvax the ultimate rebels of ancient India these guys made the Jains look like hardcore devotees in comparison charvaks are all about that seeing as believing life if they can't see it they ain't buying it so much so that instead of the Pancha bhoot fire water earth wind and sky they just believe in four cuz they are like what even is Sky can you touch it can you feel it what even is it the Charvaks are also Master hedonists they don't believe that life is full of suffering in fact they think life is full of enjoyment so much so that a famous charvak quote can actually be seen somewhere in a bar in Kanpur Pitva Pitva Punah Pitva Yavat Patati Bhutale Utthay cha punah pitva Punarjanma na vidyate drink drink again drink drink till you fall down and after you get up drink again cuz there's no next life my bro there's another one Yavat jivet sukham jivet Rnam Krtva Ghrtam Pivet as long as you live live happily drink ghee even if you have to borrow money that's a hardcore application of ZNMD charvaks unsurprisingly don't believe in karma punj or any kind of afterlife they think that life is all we got and we have to make the best of it they're like the players who don't care about their score or leaderboard rankings they just want to enjoy the game while it lasts and that's a segue to the ultimate realists of the game the ajivikas imagine playing a fun video game you have played it for days applying your brain your mind your energy you're about to be the best player in this game you feel like you have achieved something and then your eyes move towards the joystick you're holding you see that its wire is hanging disconnected from the game console it turns out that the game has been in the autoplay mode all along all that feeling like you are a player who is winning at this game was all an illusion welcome to the ajivika view of the world in this strategy your choices don't matter your stats your skills your moral decisions they are all predetermined by the game developer the very moment the Big Bang happened everything you have done everything you're doing and will do was all predetermined some modern day thinkers like Elon musk have suggested that we might be living in a simulation but hey if everything is decided maybe there's a weird sense of comfort in that isn't it if all your victories achievements success was not caused by you that also means that all the suffering pain and failure was also not because of you there's no need to take blame on yourself it's not like you have a choice do you?
dear Seeker congratulations you have made it to the final part of our philosophical Journey the advanced mode here on we move into the domains that defy simple explanations Concepts that are so vast and profound that entire libraries could hardly do them Justice let alone this video brace yourselves dear Seekers for the ideas we are about to explore now will challenge your perceptions of reality Consciousness and the Very nature of existence itself let's start off with advaita Vedanta - it won't be an overstatement to claim that AV is probably the finest philosophy that has evolved from Hinduism everything converges here centuries and centuries of Dhyan research logic all merged into one fabric AV. Advaita is a realization that you the player are not separate from the game itself you are the game you are both the Creator and the creation you my dear friend are just the universe pretending to be whoever you are advaita vedant teaches us that the boundaries between the self and the non self is just an Illusion in reality there is only one player one game one Consciousness experiencing itself through infinite forms and scenarios birth and death joy and sorrow success and failure all of these are just different levels in the great grand game advaita compels us to realize that the other players are not somehow our competitors who might be competing for limited resources advaita tells us that they are all extensions of the same infinite creativity the vibration that vibrates in me is also the vibration that vibrates in you and you is me and me is you this is the ultimate message of Advaita vedanta you are not a disconnected fragment a lost lonely Soul you are literally the universe you are blessed to be the form that the universe takes to express itself to discover Itself by embracing this truth you tap into a source of power and creativity that is unbounded this is similar to what Kashmir Shaivism has to say in many ways KS is the sibling of AV and also adds a new dimension to it while both schools agree that the Ultimate Reality is one Kashmir Shaivism emphasizes that the Brahman which it calls the param Shiva is not an inert Observer it is a dynamic creative force that lives and breathes within you in Kashmir Shaivism the universe is not an illusion to be overcome it is real it is real unlike Maya we are not expressions of one passive originator we are literally the canvases the playgrounds on which Shiva dances and manifests himself according to Kashmir S. it is not about escaping the game but realizing that we have the power to shape our experience within it Kashmir S invites us to tap into this creative potential and not give into nihilism it challenges us to recognize the param Shiva in us and break away all Illusions and shape reality not just be a slave to it Tantra Tantra is an ancient philosophical tradition and believe it or not it has been shaped by not just Hinduism but also Buddhism Jainism and even Sikhism at its core Tantra emphasizes the divine feminine power or Shakti tantric practitioners have their own set of mantras and rituals that are quite unlike any other kind of worship some believe that these practices including the use of yantras meaning sacred diagrams and mantras or sacred sounds can be used to mold reality itself the idea is that by tapping into the fundamental energies of the universe you can alter the fabric of existence certain tantric rituals also use unconventional or taboo substances such as alcohol or even blood these shocking methods are intended to break down the space between the sacred and the unsacred allowing the practitioner to truly bypass the material world while some may dismiss these practices as superstitions Tantra players believe that they have deep spiritual significance there is something so Primal and instinctive in Tantra that we find versions of it everywhere from the agoris in Northern India to Vajrayana Buddhists in Tibet.
