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yajvan
16 October 2007, 10:20 AM
Hari Om
~~~~~

Namaste,

Many on HDF have read the work of Maslow and his hierarchy of needs.
It is uncanny on how his notion of Self-actualization nicely parallels many of the principles we talk of on HDF. If you have interest take a look below.

I will take a stab at aligning his qualities, of one self-actualized, with many of the Sananta Dharma principles and how they(nicely) fit in.

Why mention this? To offer a view that some in the West have a clue on self-actualization even though they do not use the terms of Moksa; yet later work by Maslow starts the discussions of Atman!

So, in a wholesome way, many paths could be different, yet the end state , that of the human blossoming to what it is, Visphulinga, a spark of the Divine is the same. See what your opinions are on this , if you choose to read the post below. The resource site I have used for Maslow research is the following> http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html (http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html)

Some Principles
We as humans are multidimensional beings. We have needs, yet we are more then a bucket of wants and needs. We have higher values and abilities that we aspire for once the basics are in place. This is one of Maslows take-aways.

The good news is I see many of these qualities in people I know. I see many of these qualities from what I can discern from people on HDF. And most importantly, many of these noble qualities are worthy of pursuit, either by natural causes unfolding or by the achievement thereof.

Maslow's Hierarchy -the pecking order of needs. Maslow calls out 5 levels, so I grouped them into a triad. The levels:

Fundamental: The Basics of physiological + Safety and Security
Humanizing or social : Love and belonging + Self esteem
Full maturity: Self-actualization ~ Being and Becoming

Here's the components:

Physiological needs -These include the needs we have for oxygen, water, food, body maintenance.
Safety/Security needs - Finding safe circumstances, stability, protection for yourself, family, etc.
Love and belonging needs - When physiological needs and safety needs are taken care of, a third layer; The need for friends, a companion, children, affectionate relationships in general, even a sense of community.
The Esteem needs - Self-esteem or I am okay. The respect of others and the need for status, fame, glory, recognition, attention.
Self-actualization - That of Being and Becoming. This is the interesting part.He looked at a group whom he felt clearly met the standard of self-actualization. I would have been a boon to Maslow to have some of the yogi's, swami's and the like in the group, yet he is a westerner and used his reference points accordingly. Here's some of the people:

Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson
Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Adams
William James, Albert Schweitzer, Benedict Spinoza,Alduous Huxley
Plus 12 unnamed people who were alive at the time Maslow did his research. Perhaps a few jivanmuki's in the group?He then looked at their biographies, writings, the acts and words of those he knew personally, and so on. From these sources, he developed a list of qualities that seemed characteristic of these people, as opposed to the mass of humanity.

Qualities these people reflected - note how 'healthy' these points are.



Reality-centered that is they could differentiate fake from dishonest, real from genuie; Viveka.

Problem-centered, meaning they treated life’s difficulties as problems demanding solutions, not as personal troubles to be railed at or surrendered to. That is, a high level of maturity.
They had a different perception of means and ends. They felt that the ends don’t necessarily justify the means, that the means could be ends themselves, and that the means, the journey, was often more important than the ends.
They enjoyed solitude¹, and were comfortable being alone. .
They enjoyed deeper personal relations with a few close friends and family members, rather than more shallow relationships with many people. They saw others as a reflection of a higher quality].
They enjoyed autonomy, a relative independence from physical and social needs. [They were complete in them selves and the tapas of solitude was a reward not a constraint].
They resisted enculturation, that is, they were not susceptible to social pressure i.e. nonconformists in the best sense. They were independent, secure in themselves; again a maturity principle.
They had an unhostile sense of humor, preferring to joke at their own expense, or at the human condition, and never directing their humor at others. A balance in life.
They had a quality of acceptance of self and others, by which he meant that these people would be more likely to take you as you are than try to change you into what they thought you should be.This same acceptance applied to their attitudes towards themselves: If some quality of theirs wasn’t harmful, they let it be, even enjoying it as a personal quirk. On the other hand, they were often strongly motivated to change negative qualities in themselves that could be changed. Along with this comes spontaneity and simplicity: They preferred being themselves rather than being pretentious or artificial. In fact, for all their nonconformity, he found that they tended to be conventional on the surface, just where less self-actualizing nonconformists tend to be the most dramatic.

They had a sense of humility and respect towards others, something Maslow also called democratic values i.e. they were open to ethnic and individual variety and diversity.
They had a quality called human kinship - social interest, compassion, humanity. [ The comprehension that people are an extension of themselves ].
And strong ethics, which was spiritual but seldom conventionally religious in nature. [Dharma].[B]What Self Actualized natives aspired for, lived, and wished to mature in their lives.
Here we can see the quality on the left then my note on Sanatana Dharma on the right.

Truth, rather than dishonesty. | Truth as found in yama&niyama principles.
Goodness, rather than evil. | Sattva principle and part of their nature ; 3 guna expression.
Beauty, not ugliness or vulgarity. | That of the expression of the Divine.
Unity, wholeness, and transcendence of opposites, not arbitrariness or forced choices.| Brahman and its expression of Buma, of wholeness, fullness. This is called samasta - pervading the whole.
Aliveness, not deadness or the mechanization of life. | Visphulinga, a spark of the Divine.
Uniqueness, not bland uniformity.
Perfection and necessity, not sloppiness, inconsistency, or accident.
Completion, rather than incompleteness. | This is Svarajya, the sovernty of oneself.
Justice and order, not injustice and lawlessness. | Dharma - yet with the discrimination (viveka) of sreyas [ higher values] and preyas [ earthly value].
Simplicity, not unnecessary complexity. | That of self reflection and the simplicity of Being.
Richness, not environmental impoverishment. | Abundance based upon fullness of Being, and ubiquity of Brahman; that is , ananta of creation and the human as an expression of this.
Effortlessness, not strain. | That in the final analysis, this cosmos and me, my prakriti is operated by Universal Being, that does this whole play and display with ease.
Playfulness, not grim, humorless, drudgery. | Life as the expansion of Madhu, of happiness and connectivity for the joy of it.
Self-sufficiency, not dependency. | This is Svarajya, the sovernty of oneself
Meaningfulness, rather than senselessness.| Purposeful actions anchored in Dharma that contribute to society and oneself in one motion.


1. All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone ... Pascal (the French mathematician)


Please add/contribute/comment if inspired to do so.


pranams,

Znanna
16 October 2007, 04:51 PM
Why mention this? To offer a view that some in the West have a clue on self-actualization even though they do not use the terms of Moksa...


I would like to think "that this Truth is self-evident" :D


ZN