The असन्तोषी I was
wondering about the relationship between कृतज्ञता
and सन्तोष. I thought that universal gratitude was equivalent
to Yoga’s ईश्वरप्रणिधान,
while सन्तोष came from the knowledge of expending enough
effort. So, I checked Vyāsa’s commentary (II.32). He says: ईश्वरप्रणिधानं परमगुरौ सर्वकर्मार्पणम् and सन्तोषः
सन्निहितसाधनादधिकस्यानुपादित्सा.
Turns out, I was very wrong.
Any कार्य is
कृत by a कर्ता. One who knows that a कार्य
is कृत by a कर्ता is कृतज्ञ, and the state of knowing such कार्यकारणभावs is कृतज्ञता. At least, that is my understanding. From
what little I have read about Nyāya so far, ईश्वर is
approximately a lumped पदार्थ for unknown causes, which exists to satisfy the assumption of universal
causality. So, since universal gratitude would be equivalent to acknowledging
the chain of causes until you reach the limit of your knowledge (“Ah, this is
how things came to me.”), I thought that universal gratitude is also equivalent
to ईश्वरप्रणिधान. Vyāsa, however, describes it as परमगुरौ सर्वकर्मार्पणम्. अर्पण
has a very different flavour, in my opinion, compared to just acknowledgement. The
offering of all effort hints more at फलत्याग than कृतज्ञान.
Secondly, I
thought सन्तोष was
satisfaction with one’s effort. So, if I perform to the level I
expect, I should feel सन्तुष्ट;
and, in contrast, if I am unable to perform to the level I expect, I
feel discontent. Perhaps you have caught hold of the crux of this write-up
already. Vyāsa, on the other hand, simply states that contentment is सन्निहितसाधनादधिकस्यानुपादित्सा, or [नञ् उप आङ् दा सन् टाप्]
not expecting in excess of the resources at hand. This definition
suggests that my insufferable असन्तोष might be due
to overexpectation… or a misevaluation of how much I have to work with.
So, then, the
next objective is to characterise my constant overexpectation about things. My
initial guess is that it stems from a misplaced, self-contradictory कृतिसाध्यताज्ञान. It is self-contradictory because I have attributed the cause
of perfection-driven procrastination to the lack of कृतिसाध्यताज्ञान. Sigh ~
Further, more.
