Sanskara Approach

The Tree Of Wisdom

Our scriptures have frequently referred to the Human Being as A Tree of Wisdom (In the Bhagavad Gita especially), not a Flower of Wisdom or a Star of Wisdom. Why is it always the Tree of Wisdom? Is there an inner meaning that we can decipher out of that! Let us explore this further with a simple analogy.

A tree gives us fruits, wood, shade, medicines, and so many other things. Most importantly it gives us clean and fresh air. Is giving all of these things the Purpose of the Tree?

The Purpose of the Tree is what the Tree Does; what we get from the tree is incidental and are by-products of what the tree Does.

As a tree Grows through different phases, there is one process that occurs constantly. That is Photosynthesis. That’s the purpose of the Tree. And we know this because facilitation of this process is at the core of the design of the tree. Everything in creation aligns its purpose with its construct.

No other living thing can produce their own food except plants. They are the Kitchens of the World. Every other life form depends on trees for their food directly or indirectly.

What do we know about Photosynthesis?

Synthesizing Photons from the Light of the Sun is what Photosynthesis is and that is what a tree is constructed for – The Purpose of a Tree!!!

The roots of a tree absorb water with nutrients from the soil. Its leaves take in carbon dioxide(CO2 ) from the atmosphere and light from the sun.
The leaves have Chlorophyll, a pigment which synthesizes light in the presence of water and CO2 and converts it into food and releases Oxygen.
The food thus produced is stored and shared with different parts of the tree through networks, to help it grow further.

Stages of Growth of a Tree

SEEDS sprout from the soil at an appropriate time, in a conducive environment. Before the plant sprouts, the roots emerge first and soak up nutrients from the soil, providing the shoots enough energy for it to push itself out of the ground.

This process remains invisible and hidden beneath the soil, till the first SPROUT comes out. By that time the roots have already become longer and stronger. A young SAPLING with leaves grows into a PLANT, then a YOUNG TREE and finally it becomes a full-grown TREE which will have branches and may bear flowers or fruits.

Photosynthesis starts from the time the first set of leaves form and continues till the last day of the tree’s life. Till the emergence of the tender leaves, the plant survives on the food stored within the seed.

Applying the Analogy of a Tree to Human Life

Human Beings are capable of infinite expressions of wisdom through their thoughts, deeds and words. A human being is creative by design. Every human creation is a manifestation of Inner Wisdom. These creations are like the fruits, flowers, wood and other utilities of the tree. Human beings can create and influence life experiences for their own self and for others. These are the fruits of the Tree of Wisdom.

Just as in the case of the tree, if we move away from what a human being “produces” or “gives” and focus on the construct and design of the human being, we arrive at the purpose. Human beings have the faculties of Body, Mind and Emotions which can be experienced and are the transactional layers. Our ultimate reality is our Awareness. We are Self-aware beings. Knowing occurs when something comes into our awareness. This knowledge is then arranged into templates called Wisdom, which is the application of knowledge.

This process is called “Learning” – knowing more about what is known in as many different ways as possible. This possibility is defined by each one’s unique Learning Potential. Wisdom is then expressed through body, mind and emotions and creates life experiences. The human construct is designed for learning. We are super learners by design! Learning is the synthesis of knowledge. Therefore the very purpose of human beings is knowledge synthesis or learning.

What we know about knowledge synthesis

Our roots are our Lineage, Heritage, History, Culture from which we draw our emotional essences. This is like the water in the case of Photosynthesis. Learnings from our Past are like the nutrients in the soil which are drawn along with water. In the case of human beings this is Cultural and Ethnic Identity.

Conditioning received through parents, family and Society are influences absorbed by a human being which is like the CO2 which is taken in by plants. Wikipedia defines Education as the Facilitation of Learning. Collective wisdom of members of society, family and parents is the facilitation provided for learning. Sanskaras are the guidance given in order to facilitate learning consciously and intentionally.

In the case of Photosynthesis, leaves synthesize photons found in the visible light spectrum of the sun. While they do this, they are affected by the heat of the sun. Photosynthesis in leaves occurs with the help of the green coloured pigment called Chlorophyll. Like the spectrum of Light in plants, human beings synthesize subtle truths in the presence of “Guru” which is equivalent to Chlorophyll. The “Guru” which is a Potential inside me called the Learning Potential. “My Learning Potential is My Guru.”

A human being seeks Inner Beliefs and Narratives to synthesize and build his/her own narrative and beliefs which is a unique wisdom complex. For this, one needs a certain spectrum of information, data or knowledge which is subtle, flexible and spiritual. Just like plants need protection from excessive heat of the sun, a human being needs to be shielded from judgements and opinions to form flexible application templates of wisdom.

Stages of Growth & Development of a Human Being

The Preconception period ( which is the period of about 3 to 4 months before Pregnancy) is like the preparation of soil in the case of trees. Conceiving the child is compared to planting the seeds in fertile soil. Journey of Pregnancy is like the seed forming roots below the soil and preparing to sprout. The period of Infancy is like the sprouting of the seed

Then you have Early Childhood which is like the young sapling. Followed by the Childhood and Preadolescence phase which is like the young plant. Then comes Teenage and Young Adulthood which is the young tree. And finally Adulthood which is like the fully grown TREE.

Sanskara Guidance

The design and laws of the tree is not focused on producing fruits while it is growing but rather on continuously synthesizing photons. While a gardener is expecting the fruits in a few years, the tree is centered around growth. At every stage of the tree’s development, a gardener does his/her duties according to the needs of the tree. An informed gardener follows the laws of nature to facilitate growth and development of the tree.

Similarly a growing child’s spirit is focused around its inner evolution and wisdom. At the same time, parents and members of society may expect and look forward to the end results [fruits] that emerge from this child. Expectations are great motivation but not guidance.

Sanskaras are guidance provided to parents and educators to facilitate the growth of a human being at every stage of development. Following these, a parent or an educator is able to provide the right nourishment and provide the best protection for the growing child. Fruits of wisdom are ensured!!!

The Flow of wisdom - Evolution of the spirit the flow of Wisdom

Sanskaras in a simple and spiritual way creates an understanding of the cycle of independence, dependence and interdependence as a human being develops with time and age. In each phase, between the Sanskaras, lies a redefinition of Human and Universal relationships.

Golden Period of Human Life

The Golden Period is the first 1100 days of human life starting from before conception, through the womb journey extending upto the completion of infancy. This is the period where there is a consolidation of knowledge into subconscious patterns of intellect and wisdom. This happens through 3 distinct stages that express through various phases of development as the Spirit Baby, the Baby in the Womb and the Infant. Parents too resonate in these three distinct stages. The Golden Period is the primary player in the unfolding of destiny as a child grows into the human world.

Stage 1 - Preconception, Garbhaadana [Approx. 3 months before physical conception]

In this stage the spirit baby consolidates all knowledge required to construct a complete human being, the energies required to begin human life are manifested. The spirit baby selects the parents, family, ancestry, regional and cultural identities and creates connections with all its previous lifetimes. These cosmic impressions consolidate to form templates of expressions, talents, skills, unique individuality, physical and gender identity and relationships for a new human life.

Stage 2 - Prenatal Pumsavana, Seemantonayana [The 40 weeks or 9 months of Pregnancy]

The baby in the womb absorbs all the impressions from the universe, parents and its environment to create its own unique path of expressing life on earth. The womb is its first classroom of wisdom. The baby is connected to the mind and emotions of its parents , the same way as the baby is connected to their spiritual learning. Every stage of pregnancy adds to the baby’s inner constitution. The nine months of pregnancy are the time for the baby to consolidate its physical, mental, intellectual, emotional and spiritual identity as it emerges as a fully self-aware-human-being who is unique in construct and embarks on a self-charted journey.

Stage 3 - Infancy : Jaatakarma, Nishkramana, Naamakarana, Annapraashana, Karnaveda, Chudakarma [Birth to Approx. 2 years]

The final stage of consolidation is the lucid state of infancy where a baby is in a highly meditative state with brain activity in the Delta / Theta ranges of frequency. A human baby absorbs millions of bits of data and creates possibility filters in preparation for life in a human world. A baby has access to the Vijana, wisdom of the parents and multiple dimensions of their thoughts and feelings. Absorbing all of these, the baby makes paths for its journey of life.
The infant human being is a super learner who is connected to both the spirit and the human realms and goes through highly intensive phases of securing its place in the world, anchoring in self identity and exploring the scope of human life.

Toddlerhood and Early Childhood

Stage 1 - Chudakarma to Vidyarambha [Approx. 2 years to 5 years]

A toddler’s subconscious actively arranges the ‘Consolidated Knowledge’ from the previous phase, into templates of application. This is the period of life when a human being as a toddler, just emerging out of infancy, is still very much in the plane of imagination and cosmic projection.

Since an active conscious mind is not yet developed, the toddler functions out of pure emotional essences and relies on the parents for thought faculty. A toddler seems to thrive in the world of its parents, while it parallely builds a private world where it lives the wisdom consolidated within its spirit.

Not many have access to this world which is brimming with concepts and ideas that are sourced from the astral, cosmic, divine and ancestral realms. A toddler is constantly ideating. The more holistic and resplendent this inner world, the better the expressions and achievement of external milestones in toddlers.

Stage 2 - Vidyarambha to Upanayana [Approx. 5 years to 7 years]

As a toddler progresses towards early childhood, emotions begin to get more processed and refined, acceptance and validation gain importance and mind development begins. The child now has more access to “the world” through the perceptions of parents and the differences between “my world” and “the world” emerge vividly in the awareness of the child.

The personal private world of the toddler, ideas and concepts that build it and the transactions within it now do not seem to match with the external human world. The inner world begins to dissolve through contradictions and conflicts. This process of idea dissolution emerges as a superimposition of a new kind of wisdom over the learning of the previous stages. While this occurs internally, the observable milestones in early childhood may present an apparent metamorphosis of completely new personality traits in a child.

Childhood and Pre-Adolescence

Stage 1 - Upanayana to Praishyaartha [Approx. 7 years to 10 years]

Childhood brings out the seeker within the child. The dissolution of the previously built inner world, leads to questions and enquiry. The spirit within the human being now seeks a new consolidation of knowledge with which it can attempt to rebuild its inner world. Unlike the Golden Period, the child now has complete access to the external human world.
In Stage 1 of this phase, questions arise in the heart with no definitive answers being sought. This outpour of seeking takes the form of questions including about the abstract nature of life, the world around us, society, family and creation itself. Higher the spiritual quotient of a child, deeper is the questioning.
While questions arise on one hand, negation of ideas that have been tried and tested in the previous inner world occur on the other hand. This is sometimes expressed as boredom in children and parents may find it hard to “convince” children easily which was not the case in the previous phases of toddlerhood and early childhood. This phenomenon is essential for the final stages of mind development.

Stage 2 - Praishyaartha to Ritu Shuddhi / Keshaanta [Approx. 10 years to 13 years]

The second stage of this phase is where the child begins to receive answers. When empowered with spiritual learning and metaphysical practices, the child receives answers from the wisdom embedded within its own heart. In the absence of such preparation, answers are induced by nature, society, peer and external influences. With progress towards puberty, the subconscious gets connected with the spirit realm, especially those of the ancestral wisdom. This offers a great chance to the child to divine its own inner potential. This stage is indeed the second womb journey, which births the ‘Personality’ of the human being.

Teenage to Youth

Stage 1 - Ritu Shuddhi / Keshaanta to Samaavartana [Apprx. 13 years to 21/ 24 years]

The projection of questions and answers received through the previous stages, leads to further consolidation of knowledge within human beings. The child is no longer a child, but an adolescent who now uses the renewed opportunity to build its own world and creates new patterns of wisdom from the answers received in the previous phase.
This time around, this world is not private, but rather in full display of the family, friends and rest of the world. This time “My World” will be as close as possible to “The World”. This process brings forth a ‘role and identity’ clash when the templates used are derived from external sources. A holistic progressive personality emerges from self derived templates of inner wisdom. The notion of the world impressed during this phase creates the foundational personality with which your child will enter as a participant in society. Flexibility becomes a key point of wisdom development in this phase, and decides the quality of adult life.