Digitizing information, human consciousness…the soul?
Pt. Varistha Persad
Director, Swaha International
अश्वत्थामाबलिर्व्यासोहनुमांश्च विभीषण:कृपश्चपरशुरामश्च सप्तैतेचिरंजीविन:।
Ashwathaama Balirvyaaso Hanumanshcha
Vibhishanaha Krupascha Parshuramascha
Saptaitey Chiranjivinaha
We are living, experiencing and being forced to deal with it, so no need for an elaborate introduction or any grand thesis on what it means to be living in a digital world. Strangely enough though, as technology violates our normal lives, as some would describe it… there is a greater need for understanding the extent to which we may have to live in the “new normal”. As such, there are trajectories of research that are looking seriously at digitizing the human soul. Obviously, this is within a scientific understanding of what the human soul is to the researchers and not how we attempt to understand the soul in Sanatan Dharma.
Digitizing the human soul according to popular definition simply means entangling human consciousness. Again, I am reminded that this is a Hindu newsletter and the best examples actually do come from Hindu scriptures. Before that, however, why is there this obsession with extending human life, even beyond the mortal coil? For all of us, gripping to the vestiges of loved ones lost, no longer in fancy urns or burial chambers, but now on our digital devices and stored in the cloud (pun intended), it creates a sense of longevity and survival beyond our biological limitations. Why not? If our late ancestors’ voices can nourish the ears of our children and mould them into productive individuals then there is need for such. However, there is almost a selfish and egotistical desire to be digitized in some way, as a way of dealing with our own mortality and this is where it gets tricky. As a lasting memory for our families, many perceive these possibilities in a purely self-centred manner and wish, rather foolishly, to live beyond our natural lives.
The opening verses refer to the seven Chiranjivis or seven death-defying, imperishable personalities in the world. They are Ashwathama, King Mahabali, Ved Vyaasa, Hanuman Baba, Vibhishana, Kripacharya and Parashurama, each with his own very interesting circumstances. Our focus is on Hanuman Baba, who is most popularly referred to in any temple or satsangh as the immortal one. In the Hanuman Chalisa:
“Charo Jug Pratap Tumhara, Hai Prasidh Jagat Ujiara”
If we actively listen and analyse these simple phrases and what they actually mean, you would notice that they create guiding and almost regulatory principles. Digitizing the human being as mentioned in the first paragraph is a means of extending the natural life of human beings by entangling their consciousness. In Hinduism, we understand the soul as a part of the divine, and divine by nature. Therefore, digitizing divinity is just not possible. The material nature of machines and technology, in the world as we know it, will always be temporary. Our focus in this digital world should be not be on digitizing the ego; instead, as Hanuman Baba reminds us, the legacy of pure devotion, complete surrender and absence of ego or the lower self should be passed on and inherent in our children for a better future.
