Psychoanalysis of Shlokas 4-39 and 4-40 (Samshaya)

Today let us pick 39 and 40th shlokas of 4th chapter for our Psychoanalysis Mano Vaijnanika Vishleshane. Here there are certain words like Shradda, Shanti, Ajnate, Ashradde and the most important one "Samshayatma vinashyati". Today's biggest trauma is this Samshaya (doubting).

श्रद्धावान् लभते ज्ञानं तत्परः संयतेन्द्रियः।

ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति॥गीता ४-३९॥

अज्ञश्चाश्रद्दधानश्च संशयात्मा विनश्यति।

नायं लोकोऽस्ति न परो न सुखं संशयात्मनः॥गीता ४-४०॥

Doubting and Shradda do not go together. Wherever there is deep Shradda (Commitment), there is no place for doubting. India's ancient literature has given two dimensions for this doubting, positive and negative.

Tarka Shastra / Nyaya Shastra prescribe 16 tools to reach Tatva Jnana (Realistic Understanding). A few of them are Pramana, Prameya, Samshaya, Prayojana, Drushtanta, Sidhanta, Avayva, Tarka, Vada, Nirnaya, Kshetwabhasa, Samanvaya and so on. All these tools lead to realistic understanding, objective understanding of the subject matter. So in this context, Samshaya is a necessary tool which ultimately leads to clarity of understanding.

In today's modern research methodology, we shortlist all probable scenarios to start with and gradually proceed to negate one by one depending on probability of occurrences, ultimately leading to clear understanding and confirmed conclusions. Samshaya or doubting is what works here. So in the path of Tatva Jnana, Samshaya is necessary and useful.

Sometime back, a parent in Dharwad started doubting the behaviour of their child, every day the child was going out of the school for some or the other reason. This doubting of the parent led to unraveling a big racket of antisocial elements feeding school children with food items laced with drugs. This was happening just outside the school. So, doubting led to unraveling of such a big menace. Similarly, a small doubt of a press reporter in America lead to exposure of large scale mal-practice and under handling in elections because of which an elected leader had to resign.

So Samshaya is not bad always, it leads to Vichara, Vimarshe and Vishleshana. People, who have such Samshaya, will be constructive thinkers, they will be inclined to unravel the truth, they always think in terms of societal welfare and national security, nationalistic at heart. With this as the basis, they start with a small thread of information and go on researching to unravel the truth, which is in the interest of society and nation. In this way Samshaya is good.