MONDAY MUSINGS SEASON 2 - EPISODE 329
1st September 2025
#SelfRealization
New #BhagavadGita sloka and new learning
इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुरिन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः । मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्यो बुद्धेः परतस्तु सः ॥ Bhagavad Gita 3.42 ॥
indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ manasas tu parā buddhir yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ
param in Sanskrit means superior and is repeated thrice here. This sloka mentions three things in the order of superiority, and they are indriyani, manah and buddhi. The sloka does not mention body directly. It starts with ‘It is said that indriyas are superior but mind is superior compared to indriyas”. Body is understood to have been referred to first in the chain and soul the most powerful..
Senses (indriyani) are superior (to the body); mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and the soul is even higher than the intelligence.
We understood from the previous episodes that it is possible to realize Self with positive thoughts. Through this sloka, Lord Krishna points out that Self is all powerful and thus #SelfRealization is very important for growth. Lord Krishna gives a beautiful model for Sel-Realization. Path for self-realization is through the body, senses, mind and intellect.
In terms of power, superiority and depth, the order is Body to Senses to Mind to Intellect to Atmah (Self). Body is on the surface easily understandable, whereas Self is on the other end of the spectrum, ie hidden deep and difficult to understand.
If the soul is the most powerful of all, can we not search for it directly? Why do we need to understand lower things, including intellect, mind, senses and the body? It is not that easy to understand and realize the potential of Self. The order in terms of difficulty to master is Atmah, intellect, mind, senses and the body. It is easier to start with the body and achieve self-realization gradually.
There are two types of indriyas making our helpful body, healthy and productive, and they are karmendriya(ni) and jnanendriya(ni). The Body is inert without the functioning of the indriyas. Thus, Lord Krishna makes it very clear that action, intelligent action, is superior to dull inaction.
Five #karmendriyas are:
1. Hasta: Hands (for actions)
2. Pada: Legs (for movement)
3. Vagindriya: Mouth or speech organ (for speaking)
4. Guda: Anus (for excretion)
5. Upastha: Generative organ (for reproduction)
Five #jnanendriyas are
1. Chakshu Indriya: Eye (sight)
2. Shrotrendriya: Ear (hearing)
3. Ghraana Indriya: Nose (smell)
4. Rasanaa Indriya: Tongue (taste)
5. Twak (Sparshana) Indriya: Skin (touch)
The body is inert and dysfunctional without the help of these indriyas. Thus, understanding these indriyas and keeping them healthy and optimised paves the way for better body functioning. Clearly, indriyas are superior to the body.
The first realisation from the sloka is that intelligent & positive action is superior to inaction.
Some consider manas (mind), buddhi (intellect) and ahamkara (ego) also as additional indriyas. However, Lord Krishna keeps the mind and intellect at a higher level. The mind is at the next level, higher than the indriyas, and the intellect is at an even higher level than that of the mind. The mind controls and enables the indriyas, and the intellect controls and enables the mind.
I can hear your mind voice. Are mind and intellect not the same? How can they be at different levels? Wait for the next episode to know the difference between mind and intellect.
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Adopted from https://thebetterindia.com/
In September of 1970, in a small village in Belgaum, Karnataka, a baby boy arrived as the first child of a new generation. His birth was met with celebration. But six months later, a sudden illness struck. Though the boy recovered from Typhoid, the damage to his optic nerves was irreversible. From that point on, Mahantesh G Kivadasannavar would live without sight.
The news brought heartbreak to his family. In a town with no accessible schools, no trained teachers, and no one to guide them, they had little to fall back on. But they made a firm decision. Mahantesh would not be treated differently. His life would be full of participation, affection, and belonging. He would learn to live in his own way.
Years later, that same boy would go on to transform thousands of lives across India. As the founder of ‘Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled’ and the man who shaped India’s blind cricket revolution, Mahantesh built systems that gave others what he had to fight for on his own — opportunity, education, and respect.
Inclusion began on the playground
Mahantesh grew up playing with cousins who altered games so he could take part. He joined every conversation, every festival, every evening gathering under the stars. At home, inclusion wasn’t a philosophy. It was simply a way of life.
Outside the home, it was a different story. The local school refused to admit him. Teachers said they lacked the resources. So, his parents did the only thing they could — they asked if he could at least sit in the classroom.
Despite the isolation, his curiosity thrived. What captured his imagination wasn’t textbooks, but something else entirely — cricket. Specifically, the booming voices of radio commentators calling live matches. This early love for sport, sound, and rhythm would later shape not just his future, but that of thousands of others, too.
The teacher who changed everything
In 1981, an unexpected visitor set his life on a new path.
A school inspector happened to visit the classroom where Mahantesh was sitting and noticed him solving a maths problem with ease. When he learnt that he wasn’t officially enrolled, he was stunned. That day, he went straight to Mahantesh’s home. His message was clear: this child needed more than goodwill. He needed a school that could truly support him.
Soon after, Mahantesh was enrolled at the Ramana Maharshi Academy for the Blind in Bengaluru. It was the first time he saw an environment built for children like him.
Mahantesh poured himself into learning. He completed ten years of schooling in just six, encouraged by his father’s unwavering belief that he would achieve the “first rank.”
He explored drama, music, and cricket. He excelled academically. In 1986, he had the opportunity to travel to the United Kingdom as part of an educational exchange programme.That trip changed his understanding of what life could look like for someone like him.
Learning to belong, again and again
When Mahantesh transitioned to a mainstream college, the shift wasn’t easy.
He joined National College in Bengaluru — a space far removed from the accessible environment he had known. There were no ramps, no assistive tools, and no one who had been taught how to support a blind student. His Braille notes made noise in silent classrooms. His peers hesitated to speak to him. He often felt like he didn’t belong.
But he stayed.
His determination didn’t go unnoticed. He went on to complete a master’s and an MPhil in English from Bangalore University — milestones that carried both academic and personal weight. Later, he was invited to teach at the University of North Carolina, where he spent five years as a faculty member.
Turning barriers into blueprints
By 1997, Mahantesh had a clear goal. He aimed to bridge the significant gaps in education and employment for people with disabilities. Waiting for the system to evolve wasn’t an option. He decided to create something from scratch.
That year, he co-founded the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled. What began as a modest effort has since become one of India’s largest inclusion-focused organisations.
Samarthanam now supports over 22,000 students through inclusive and special schools. It has trained more than 55,000 individuals with disabilities and placed over 35,000 people in jobs through its Livelihood Resource Centre, which offers free accommodation, training, and placement services.
Sustaining work at this scale takes more than commitment. Samarthanam relies on a mix of donations, institutional grants, and corporate partnerships. The organisation is affiliated with national and global networks such as United Way, Give India, Give2Asia, and has received CSR support from corporates to build accessible infrastructure.
Samarthanam also runs schools for children with intellectual challenges, based on the understanding that true inclusion means adapting to different needs, not fitting everyone into one mould.
Mahantesh places special focus on women from marginalised backgrounds. The trust also runs ‘Sunadha’, a performing arts group that showcases the talents of persons with disabilities through music and dance.
Today, Mahantesh and his team are working to build something even bigger — an inclusive global university and an accessible sports city in Bengaluru, both designed to support people with disabilities in creating independent, meaningful lives.
Scoring for a future in blind cricket
The love for cricket that began with a radio broadcast never left Mahantesh.
In 1990, he began playing competitive blind cricket. By 1994, he was captaining his team. As the years went on, he moved from player to organiser — but his vision for the sport only grew clearer.
In 2010, when the organisation managing blind cricket in India was on the verge of shutting down, Mahantesh and a friend stepped in. They rebuilt it from the ground up. Under his leadership, the Indian blind cricket team has won three T20 World Cups, two ODI World Cups, and an Asia Cup. Today, over 30,000 players, including women, compete through state-level associations across the country.
Leading from lived experience
Mahantesh received NDTV Spirit of Sports Award in 2012, to earning consultative status with the United Nations ECOSOC in 2015. With a team of 700 people across India, Samarthanam is now working to build an inclusive global university and an accessible sports city in Bengaluru — spaces where people with disabilities can thrive, learn, and lead.
Life didn’t go the way anyone expected. But Mahantesh never waited for the world to change. He built his own — and then kept the door open for everyone else.
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Conceived, compiled and posted every Monday as a weekly inspirational newsletter #MondayMusings by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com)
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