Reinvent The Self!

There’s very famous exploration exploitation dilemma, wherein the crucial challenge is to strike a balance between the two.

I don’t think there’s a dilemma in the first place. Both are totally independent. Both are noble. One doesn’t affect the other in anyway. In fact, both complement each other. Let me explain.

Let us first think of exploitation. The option or machine or arm which is always available to us all the time, is to chant His name. Exploit this option. Valya was a dacoit before he turned himself into Sage Valmiki. He only knew one arm, that is, to rob the people for the sake of his family. In other words, he always chose the same machine to play. Once, Narada asked him, “You know robbing is a sinful act. And you do that for the sake of your family. Why don’t you ask your family to share the sin you commit?”. After that, Valya asks his children and wife, whether they are ready to be a part of the sin. All of them reject his request outright. He realises the futility of choosing that one arm (robbing others). Then Narada advises him to chant the Lord’s name Ram. In short, Narada offers him another arm, another option, or another machine to play. Ram! This so happens that Ram is an anagram of arm! Valya then fully exploits this arm and becomes Valmiki! Perhaps that’s also one of the reasons why the problem is called a multi-armed bandit problem. Valya was really a bandit, a dacoit, a robber, a gambler!

Now coming to exploration. Instead of exploring possible options, how if I keep on exploring all options to see my Self? The most effective example of exploring, is Self-enquiry as proposed by Ramana Maharshi. You choose an option, and explore where’s the Self in it. In other words, we can think of Self to be the reward itself. This Self can also be thought of as the essence, the meaning, the truth, the reality, the Ram! The process of exploration goes like mentioned in the Necklace, where Hanuman chooses a diamond (birth), explores it to find no essence, no Ram, or no meaning in it (life) and eventually throws it away (death). Like a perceptron model. This is eternal process. The exploration goes on! Now, at any point in time, I have nothing to exploit. What arm can I exploit if I have found no Ram in any arm?

In short, the exploration tells me that there’s nothing to exploit. Exploitation tells me that there’s nothing to explore! All that is here, there, everywhere and all the time is Ram!