 27 Feb 2002 @ 07:27, by Rao Maharaj
Human brain, under various social and cultural influences, loses its natural abilities and instincts. It dwells in the slavery of words, thoughts, memories, logic and thrives on the illusory existence of ego or "I".
Mind & Brain : a scientific purview
Human brain, under various social and cultural influences, loses its natural abilities and instincts. It dwells in the slavery of words, thoughts, memories, logic and thrives on the illusory existence of ego or "I". This is the basic problem of human life; lest we are even able to identify this problem. We have learned that the pseudo image of "I" gives birth to contemplative factors such as religion, cast, sect, society, nation etc. Due to these worldly attachments, emotions like hate, jealousy and animosity erupt and cause wars, riots, terrorism and alike. The human body, in the context, loses its natural sensations and inhabits various ailments and deficiencies.
The Inner World
One hundred and eighty million muscles and veins in the body are under continuous influence of the thought waves. Since the thoughts are usually conflicting in nature (uncertainty, yes, no etc.) , the body cells undergo the same duress. Naturally, each cell of the body should work in consonance with each other for healthy existence. However, due to imposed conflicts, they tend to work against each other and send paradoxical signals to the brain. That is how so many thoughts erupt at one time in the mind. As a result, brain cells and nerves always remain tense and the brain is unable to deal with the whole body at one time. The body, thus, become less sensitive and starts weakening. Over a period of time, the body completely wears away to what we call death.
In comparison, other creatures in the Nature live in much more harmony since they do not have the thought process as ours. They have healthy bodies and do not require doctors. Their mind and body cells are in complete equilibrium and they are very much part of the ever flowing Nature.
One drop of dew makes the grass to bend. The brain cells, which are hundred times lighter than grass are continuously weighted under millions of thoughts. Besides, it has to bear the burden of something which is not there. We are talking about the illusory existence of mind and "I" which induces an additional weight on the brain cells. With "I" comes the supplementary afflictions such as social, cultural, emotional and financial factors. Moreover, it has to perform superfluous tasks of controlling the feelings of hate, love, animosity, friendship and many more. It has to also maintain the pseudo image of "I" and make the false thoughts appear as reality. Thus, the added burden of religion, family, duty, ambition etc.
The fact of the matter is that beside all these needless activities, the brain has to take care of natural body functions like breathing, blood circulation, digestion, defecation and immune system. All these activities are incessant and the brain is therefore performing dual tasks. That has affected its longitivity and as the consequence, the human life has become shorter. Even today, people living away from modern civilization have longer life span than rest of the world. Life is NatureÂ’s gift and the humans have no right to corrupt and reduce it by senseless means. The mind makes us think that thinking and practical life are necessary for survival. Ignorant of the truth and giving in to the mechanical process of mind, the humans have been unknowingly and constantly leading a suicidal life. Humans have created Gods, demi-Gods, Scriptures and scientific means in an attempt to make the life peaceful and happy. Yet, nobody seems to be happy regardless of oneÂ’s social or professional status. The other creatures in the Nature, however, do not think and therefore do not need such flimsy aids to live a happy and natural life.
The modern science has progressed tremendously in last few decades. It has, sort of, transformed the life of every person on the earth. It has invented numerous objects of comfort and convenience. In fact, artificial intelligence is invented in the forms of computers and digital machines. The science has, however, not bothered to see for whom these facilities are created. Everybody, collectively, assuming that "I" is real and the external means to satisfy and comfort the body can make the mankind happy. They are, however, not inclined to investigate if there is really somebody in the body to enjoy the materials. In fact, they are not ready to look beyond the physical body.
An Illusion called "I"
Nobody has the insight to observe that "I" is merely a hallucination. it does not exist in truth. Since our thoughts are influenced by past lives, the strong feeling of "I" is inherited by all the human beings. We are born with desires, memories and delusions of numerous past lives. We have been genetically conditioned to believe that "I" is real. Since our thoughts are always influenced by this fallacy, it is not possible to achieve liberation by "thinking". We have to first acknowledge that we are caught. If we continue to live the way we are, how will the illusion end? "I" is imaginary and how can one satisfy something that does not exist? We have only known the unnatural side of life and have not actually realized the existence of the natural and real one. That is how we do not see the web. To be able to see it, we need a thoughtless mind and awareness.
We shall also have to analyze the way science and scientists work. It seems that all their activities are based on the "thinking process". Whatever they invent is a creation of mind. Though the inventions and creations cannot be termed as illusory, they seem to be only helping and satisfying the "I".
Modern Perspective
A mind caught in the imaginary world of "I" will keep on making instruments that will only support the illusion. If the scientists can be made aware of this deceit and if they work in harmony with Nature, the whole mankind can be benefited. We are all living in a dream and accept it as a reality. The scientists are no exception. They are as human as we all are. Whatever intellect and genius they have, they are also caught in the web of the thoughts and ego. Anything coming out of such mind will only be a manifestation of "I" or the illusion. The world will seem to be progressing and advancing but the basic problem of "I" will always remain same. If we do not know who is there in the body to enjoy all the perceived success, nothing is achieved.
The science, today, has an authority over ancient scriptures. It has proven them wrong in many way. The science has come a long way from first telescope to nuclear physics. Einstein gave the theory of relativity which has revolutionized the quantum physics. Contribution of Newton is equally commendable. Together with the laws of motion, gravity and relativity, the modern science is reaching out to explore the Universe. On the other side, the quantum physics has helped dissecting the matter and understanding the power of energy in the nucleus. In spite of these discoveries, the scientists have not been able to completely break up the atom. They have been able to discover that something is there but they do not know why. They know that the Amino Acids are building blocks of human life but cannot understand the DNA and its molecular patterns. Of late, the genetic research has also started but again the science will only able to know "what is there" but not "why it is there". With millions of words available, they are not able to name a lot many natural phenomenon.
This forces us to believe that still the knowledge is incomplete. We have daft physicists like Adington who has said, "Some unknown power is controlling the world and we do not know how it works". It is very clear that we cannot find the truth through words. It can only be a natural basic mind, devoid of thoughts, that can be in oneness with the Nature. The brain has the capacity to synchronize with the Nature and control the life through natural instincts. If the humans can understand the truth and come out of the slavery of thoughts and "I", they can lead a very intrinsic, peaceful and happy life.
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