Feelings in Nature and in the Concrete Jungle: A Hindu Philosophical Inquiry into Consciousness, Experience, and Environment
Abstract Human experience oscillates between two environments: the natural world, untouched or minimally shaped by human ambition, and the urban world, a constructed ecosystem of concrete, steel, and relentless motion. While these appear to be oppositional spaces in modern discourse, Hindu philosophy portrays them not as dichotomies but as two manifestations of the same Brahman—the underlying reality that expresses itself through myriad forms. This essay explores how nature and the city evoke distinct emotional, psychological, and spiritual responses within the human being, and how these responses correspond to the fundamental concepts of Prakriti, Purusha, Gunas, Maya, Dharma, and Yoga. Drawing from the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, classical commentaries, yogic psychology, and contemporary philosophical interpretations, this essay argues that both environments serve as mirrors for inner states, teachers of different modes of awareness, and essential fields for self-realization. The ultimate realization is not a rejection of one and an embrace of the other, but the integration of both through nondual awareness. I. Introduction: Two Landscapes, One Search Human beings have always lived in tension between the natural and the constructed. In ancient India, forests (aranya) were revered as spaces of contemplation, while cities (pura) represented the activities of society, culture, and dharma. The sages moved fluidly between them: the forest hermit found truth in silence, the householder discovered truth amidst responsibility. Modern life sharpens this contrast. Nature seems like an escape. The city feels like a demand. Yet Hindu philosophy insists that environment is an extension of consciousness, not a determinant of it. The Upanishads describe the world as “sarvam khalvidam brahma” — all this is Brahman. If all is Brahman, then both the forest and the city are sacred possibilities. Still, our emotional states differ drastically in each. Why? This essay examines that question through a Hindu philosophical lens. II. Prakriti and Purusha: The Metaphysical Foundation Any exploration of human feelings in different environments must begin with Samkhya metaphysics, which divides reality into: Purusha — pure consciousness, unchanging witness Prakriti — primordial nature, dynamic, evolving Everything perceptible—body, mind, emotions, environment—is Prakriti; consciousness alone is Purusha. 1. Nature as Original Prakriti Nature is the “unmodified” face of Prakriti. Its rhythms are cyclical, not linear. Its movements arise from gunas, not human intention. 2. City as Modified Prakriti The city is Prakriti rearranged by intellect (buddhi) and desire (rajas). Yet it remains Prakriti. It expresses the creativity of Maya in a new form. 3. The Emotional Implication Nature reduces the distance between Purusha and Prakriti; thus emotions quiet. City increases the entanglement between Purusha and Prakriti; thus emotions amplify. This structure forms the backbone of the essay’s subsequent chapters. III. The Gunas and Emotional Landscapes The Gunas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—determine both the world we experience and the feelings that arise within us. A. Nature as Sattvic Space Nature is predominantly sattvic: clarity spaciousness harmony balance luminosity In such an environment: anxiety dissolves breath deepens emotions simplify perception expands mind becomes reflective This is why sages retreat to forests for meditation. B. City as Rajasic-Tamasic Space Cities amplify rajas, the guna of activity: speed ambition competition stimulation They also carry elements of tamas: pollution noise stress sensory overload This combination creates: restlessness hyper-reactivity emotional fragmentation heightened desires The gunas explain why environments feel different without romanticizing or demonizing either. IV. Phenomenology of Nature: The Experience of Being 1. Stillness and the Expansive Self Nature induces a subtle dilation of inner space. The mind becomes less of a dictator and more of an observer. This experience resembles the yogic state of pratyahara, the withdrawal of senses. 2. Non-Conflictual Perception In nature, nothing asks you to be anything. A tree does not expect. A river does not judge. Mountains do not compete. This non-conflictual presence reduces the ego’s defesive habits. The emotional system moves toward equilibrium. 3. Sensory Entrustment Natural sounds—wind, water, birds—do not overstimulate. They entrust the senses rather than hijack them. This fosters manas-Shuddhi, purification of mental impressions. 4. Time as Cyclical In nature, time feels circular: sunrise and sunset, tides, seasons. Circular time reduces existential pressure, allowing the self to simply be. V. Phenomenology of the Urban World: The Experience of Doing 1. Hyperstimulation and Fragmentation The city bombards the senses: advertisements traffic noise constant digital stimuli This creates “attentional fatigue” and emotional clutter. The mind is pulled outward, creating vṛttis (whirling waves of thought). 2. The Ego as Performer The city constantly activates identity: status role ambition comparison The ego becomes a performer on an unending stage. Feelings intensify: excitement, jealousy, anxiety, anticipation. 3. Linear Time Urban life is structured by schedules. This linearity creates pressure: deadlines clocks productivity expectations Time becomes a battlefield rather than a rhythm. 4. Maya in Motion The city is the most sophisticated expression of Maya, the creative illusion. It dazzles, distracts, inspires, overwhelms. Emotionally, it awakens desire-driven states. But Maya is not evil—it is cosmic play (lila). VI. The Symbolism of Forest and City in Hindu Texts Hindu scriptures provide archetypes for these environments. A. Forest Archetype Rishis meditate in forests Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana experience spiritual liberation during exile The Upanishads were born in hermitages Forest represents: renunciation inwardness sattva revelation B. City Archetype Cities appear as centers of: dharma duty social order ethical responsibility Krishna’s entire teaching in the Gita occurs in a battlefield, not in a forest. City symbolizes: karma responsibility rajas complexity Both are necessary for holistic realization. VII. Emotional Intelligence in Nature vs. City A. Emotional States Amplified in Nature awe gratitude quiet joy reflection belonging wonder These emotions arise easily because the nervous system is safe. B. Emotional States Amplified in City anxiety competitiveness ambition loneliness in crowds overstimulation irritability But also: inspiration collaboration motivation Urban emotions are intense and layered. VIII. The Spiritual Function of Nature 1. Nature as Guru Nature teaches: impermanence balance interdependence It reveals dharma through ecology. 2. Nature as Mirror of the Inner Self The quiet environment reflects subtle inner states. What is unresolved becomes visible. 3. Nature as Healing Ayurveda roots healing in natural elements: earth, water, fire, air, ether. Nature restores physiological and psychological balance. 4. Nature and Meditation Silence + repetition + open space creates ideal conditions for: Japa dhyana breath practices contemplation Nature is the sattvic cradle of enlightenment. IX. The Spiritual Function of the City 1. City as Karma Yoga Field The city demands: responsibility discipline selfless work Krishna insists that spiritual life must include engaged action. 2. City as Maya’s Playground Maya is not deception but creative dynamism. Cities display human creativity at its peak. 3. City as Test of Equanimity Urban life reveals: attachments fears ego-traps emotional triggers It is a testing ground for vairagya (non-attachment). 4. City and Social Dharma The city enables: collaboration governance ethical responsibility community service These are essential for fulfilling laukika dharma (worldly duty). X. Integration: Advaita and the Non-Dual Vision of Both Worlds 1. Moving Beyond Duality The core teaching of Advaita Vedanta: All distinctions are imagined; the Self alone is real. Thus: nature is Brahman city is Brahman emotions in both arise in Brahman the witness remains unchanged 2. The Mature Seeker A realized being feels: peace in noise clarity in chaos stillness in motion The environment no longer dictates the state of consciousness. 3. Equal Vision (Sama Darsana) The Bhagavad Gita repeatedly describes the sthitaprajña, one of steady wisdom: unaffected by pleasure/pain sees gold and stone alike remains calm amid activity This equanimity is the goal—regardless of setting. XI. Practical Synthesis for Modern Life Carrying Nature into the City morning meditation intentional breathing pauses of silence green spaces mindful walking Carrying the City into Nature responsibility intentionality structure conscious purpose Bridging Both Worlds Practicing yoga that harmonizes rajas Cultivating gratitude that stabilizes sattva Studying scripture to strengthen awareness Engaging in service to ground the ego Integration is not balance—it is transcendence. XII. Conclusion: The Inner Landscape as the Ultimate Truth After examining: metaphysics psychology scripture environmental phenomenology emotional states spiritual practices symbolism One truth remains: There are not two environments—only one consciousness encountering itself through different forms. Nature reveals who we are without effort. The city reveals who we become through effort. Together they create a complete human being. The final realization is this: The forest is within. The city is within. The divine is within everything. The journey is not through environments but through consciousness itself. K Rajaram IRS 121225 (adopted from Krishnan Nanda Sivananda articles) On Fri, 12 Dec 2025 at 05:32, Markendeya Yeddanapudi < [email protected]> wrote: > > > -- > *Mar* > > When Feelings Conversed > > > > Communication is the basic faculty of living. Every life form > communicates. There was a time when nature was completely free, every > organism inhaled communications by smelling and exhaled responses with > smells which the other organisms’ inhaled and responded with smells. There > must have been communication floods from the air. Loneliness was > impossible. Every organism perceived and understood the feelings of every > other organism. The air must have been creating the macro consciousness, > connecting the consciousness of every life form from bacterium to whale. > The individual biologies of each organism must have been actively and > functionally connected to the biology of every other organism, making the > air the great ocean of hormonal communications. > > The very life in such totally free nature, with absolutely no human > tampering must be the life of unending experiences which we call miracles > today. The ordinary life form in its ordinary daily life must have > experienced continuous miracles as discoveries and revelations. No > definition must be stagnant. Ageing must be experiencing of miracles in > discoveries, revelations, inspirations creating responses, their > exhalations as messages which the other organisms inhaled creating > inspirations among them. The air must have inspired continuously. > > Actions must have followed implementations, creating a grand symbiosis. > There could be no neurotic procrastination and suffering of worry caused by > the procrastinations. Imagine life today, where everyone suffers from a big > gnawing procrastination burden. In the free nature, the air continuously > lubricates action via inspirations. > > We cannot capture the communications flow of that free nature, from the > troposphere with our present language.Subjects, predicates and Verb > Contexts overlap and blend. > > WE are struggling to develop the TOE with the Strings Theory, The M > Theories, The Loop Quantum Gravity Theory and the concept of the Universe > as a Hologram. In none of them consciousness has a place. My simple > question is where are you in all these theories? And what is the place of > consciousness of every life form? Why does your science ostracize > consciousness, why do you eliminate yourself from nature? Nature has > constituted you as a link, a vibrating link. > > In the free and healthy nature one can actually experience the ‘Theory of > All Pervading Consciousness’ that can extend into the Cosmos. You don’t and > elaborate Technology of the CERN or Fermi Labs. What all you have to do, is > to sit in the free nature, close your eyes, make your mind blank and allow > the free nature wash you with discoveries, revelations and even out of the > body travel into the deep space. > > But then you need freedom from the dependence on technology and nature > also free from technology. But how to make the patient institutions, the > Universities which are suffering from many shackles of Technology, even > conceptualize education from the stranglehold of mechanization and > cartesianism? > > YM Sarma > > As edited by chat gpt > > > > Below is an edited and improved version of your essay. I aimed to preserve > your voice, imagery, and philosophical intent while strengthening clarity, > flow, and coherence. I did *not* alter your core ideas—only refined > language and structure. > ------------------------------ > > *When Feelings Conversed* > > *Revised and Edited Version* > > Communication is the basic faculty of life. Every living being, in one > form or another, communicates. There must have been a time when nature was > completely free—when every organism inhaled messages carried in the air and > exhaled its responses back into that same atmosphere. Communication > happened not through words, but through scents, signals, hormones, and > subtle vibrations. The air must have been filled with floods of meaning. In > such a world, loneliness would have been impossible. Each organism sensed > and understood the feelings of the others. The atmosphere itself formed a > kind of macro-consciousness, binding together the awareness of every > creature, from bacterium to whale. Individual biologies were not isolated > systems; they were actively connected in an intricate web, making the air a > vast ocean of hormonal conversation. > > Life in this untouched and unmanipulated nature must have been a > continuous flow of experiences—what we now call miracles. Ordinary beings, > in their ordinary routines, would have encountered revelations and > discoveries at every moment. No definition would have remained fixed. > Ageing would not be a slow decay but a deepening of discovery, a procession > of inspirations exhaled as messages for others to breathe in, triggering > new inspirations in them. The air itself must have been an ever-present > teacher. > > Action followed inspiration seamlessly, producing a grand symbiosis. There > could have been no neurotic procrastination, no suffering generated by > hesitation. Compare that to life today, where so many carry the heavy > burden of delay and internal conflict. In a free nature, the air > continually lubricated action with inspiration. > > We cannot capture the flow of communication that existed in that free > nature using our present languages. Subjects, predicates, and verbs blur > and merge; boundaries dissolve. Even as we struggle to construct a Theory > of Everything—through String Theory, M-theory, Loop Quantum Gravity, and > the hypothesis of a holographic universe—none of these frameworks offer a > place for consciousness. My simple question is: *Where are you in these > theories?* Where is the consciousness of every life form? Why does > science ostracize consciousness—why does it remove the self from nature, > when nature has constituted us as living, vibrating links within its fabric? > > In free and healthy nature, one can directly experience a “Theory of > All-Pervading Consciousness,” a field that extends into the cosmos. You do > not need the elaborate technologies of CERN or Fermilab. All you need is to > sit quietly in an unspoiled natural space, close your eyes, empty your > mind, and allow nature to wash over you with its discoveries and > revelations—perhaps even lifting you into an experience of out-of-body > travel through deep space. > > But such experience requires liberation—freedom from dependence on > technology, and nature itself freed from technological intrusion. The > question then arises: how can our institutions—our universities, so > entangled in the mechanisms and shackles of technology—begin to imagine > education beyond the grip of mechanization and Cartesian thinking? > > *—YM Sarma* > ------------------------------ > > If you'd like, I can also: > > - create a more concise version > - adapt it for publication > - make the tone more scientific, poetic, or philosophical > - help you prepare it for a journal or book > > Just tell me what you prefer. > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "societyforservingseniors" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/society4servingseniors/CACDCHCKsX8_s-F30nQ1c1j1Q%2BJubXUb%2B6u%3DvUjaYo3KpxX9skQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/society4servingseniors/CACDCHCKsX8_s-F30nQ1c1j1Q%2BJubXUb%2B6u%3DvUjaYo3KpxX9skQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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