CHAPTER 1
There is this primeval, ubiquitous and transcendental question about purpose of life. Somehow, this question spares none, at least most. This itself suggests, the question essentially is not a question but an instinctive mechanism, a wired situation, an embedded cognition in our consciousness; somehow a visceral drive of humans in general. If something is common in a species, if a behavior and action is universal in all members of a species, it needs to be accepted that it is then wired in body-mind mechanism.
However, this also then suggests, as the question or a life-situation is there in all of us, there also must be answer wired in our body-mind mechanism itself. This hypothesis needs to be tested and understood well as it may lead us to larger wellness.
Somehow, it seems; this correlational incidence of question-answer and problem-solution being installed in the common structures of our body-brain mechanism is the beauty and magnificence of life and living. We have so-called questions about life and living, ingrained deep inside our neural make-up of brain states and therefore, every one of us has this question. There are so much of differences in physiological, sociological, cultural and psychological milieus for over seven billion people on earth, still the question’s singularity probably proves, it is probably wired in our core mechanism.
Naturally, as humanity has successfully survived and thrived for over 4million years, there must be the right answer of this ubiquitous question in the same neural make-up of our brain states. It seems, many humans have understood the question right and deciphered the appropriate answer, otherwise human survival itself would have been in question. However, it is also very clear that in all stages of human civilization, most humans have neither understood the question not deciphered the true answer. The human history of perpetual chaos, conflict and confusion only proves this.
It seems, it is about accepting a question inside our minds as some bio-chemical-neural situation; like hunger. What we feel and call as Hunger or Thirst, are also like ‘questions’, which happen because of a bio-chemical-neural situation within our body-mind mechanism. Naturally, the question of hunger and thirst has answer also within the same mechanism, with another set of bio-chemical-neural situation…! It is essentially about a higher cognition of our bio-chemical-neural mechanism…
Somehow, from our own life-living-experiences we know and accept that solution of problems is not a big task. If you have a problem, we already know it that solution is somewhere ‘inherent and embedded’ in the problem itself. The milieu around us presents some factors in an ‘arrangement’, which stand in our disadvantage, at a particular stage of our life positioning and we call the outcome of such an arrangement as a ‘problem’. We can accept it as question.
Often, solution presents itself as some ‘alternative’ arrangement or placement of the same factors in such a way that they turn advantageous for us, hence qualifying as a ‘solution’. In most cases, especially the modern day problems we face, the artistry of arriving at solutions is not in ‘creating’ or generating something externally but in ‘rearranging’ and ‘repositioning’ the already present factors and elements in some alternative ways. This qualifies as answers.
That is why, we already know and accept it that we actually need little ‘action’ but loads of calm and objective ‘reception’ in analyzing the ‘factors’ that essentially constitute a problem. The ‘genesis’ of solutions is in total and perfect reception of the ‘genetics’ of the problems. As evolution has created lives and sustained it for millions of years, despite loads of crisis and chaos, it seems, lives have been created in symbiosis and symmetry with ambient milieus for survival and human brain has imagery and simulated neural structures of these outside milieus, wired in brain states so that all essential ingredients of human survival and excellence comes pre-installed. Therefore, we can say, all questions and therefore all answers are wired in neural make-up of brain states. We just have to understand questions and decipher-decode answers.
That is why, classical Indian spiritualism and contemporary quantum science also say – ‘Nothing outside you has any meaning and worth’. This means – all our questions and all our answers are wired deep inside us – in our bio-chemical-neural mechanism. All realism, all cognitive factualism and all situation of life-living are installed innately in neural make-up of our brain states, with bio-chemical structures of body aligned to it in some commensurate symmetry…!
That is why, classical Indian spiritualism and modern science stress on ‘aatma-sakhchhatkaar’, a Sanskrit language word for ‘self-dialogue’ or ‘self-actualization’. The truth, the realism, the idealism, the purpose and poise; everything are already within our own body-mind mechanism. However, truth can never be ‘created’ as it is already there but it has to be ‘unraveled’ and ‘deciphered’ by every individual. Therefore, since early days of settled human culture and civilization, the wise of humanity have insisted on processes of ‘self-introspection’ and ‘self-actualization’…!
This needs to be understood and accepted. We have a mechanism but everyone cannot qualify automatically to see and understand this mechanism. The ‘truth’ may well be there within but there is no easy route to automatic access to it. There is a persevered and conscious awakening mode of ‘self-actualization’ for deciphering and decoding this truth about our mechanism.
Let us see, understand and accept this simple realism, which however is considered as the greatest conundrum of life. We first need to accept that all species on our planet earth have evolved in millions of years and humans are also a species, evolved in billions of years. If this planet has witnessed millions of different species and many very old species still surviving since millions of years, then the evolution has been successful in its mechanism. Naturally, the core mechanism of evolution, which installs ‘drives’ or what we may call the ‘neuron-plexus’ of instinctive roadmap of life-living, must have been very powerful and successful. We can see, how the evolution has installed the three (some list it as four) core drives in all creatures of millions of species on earth and these drives energizes everything for all living being, including humans. These drives are –
Some list four drives in humans as –1. Acquire 2. Defend 3. Bond 4. Comprehend. The first three drives, though different in nomenclature are the same in all living being and only the fourth drive of ‘comprehension’ is added for human species. However, this drive of comprehension is not exclusive to humans. As science says and even classical Indian spiritualism accepted; many higher animals like elephants, whales, dolphins, dogs, primates, etc have varying degrees of consciousnesses, facilitating some shades of comprehension.
So, the very question about purpose of life emanates out of our core drives. As we said above; we may need to accept the questions of life-living like Hunger and Thirst, which also emanate out of our installed drives within. There is this hypothesis, which insists since thousands of years and now validated my contemporary science that there is no realism outside our mechanism of consciousness and cognition. As evolution has sustained us long enough, it has wired our mechanism in symbiosis and symmetry with cosmic constructs. This leads to the fruition of the core and primary hypothesis that all questions and all answers are within us.
Now, we think, humans do seem all similar but they are all different. Science says – no two brains are similar. This means, we all have different neural wirings. Therefore, different people shall have different neural make-up of brain states and this shall in turn create differentiated ‘Consciousness’. As consciousness is differentiated, people shall have different cognitions. It is therefore only natural that even when core drives of humans being same, as consciousness and cognitions are different, the questions of life-living shall also be felt, realized and accepted differently. The answers therefore are bound to be differently expressed…
Within the above-mentioned singularity of hypothesis about commonality of mechanism of body and mind, the idea of different dimensions of perception, owing to different shades of human consciousness and cognition is added. This somehow further complicates both questions as well as answers.
This is probably the beauty of life-living, yet the primary and core trouble for humanity. Most animals look alike and may also feel and act alike. However, humans cannot and this diversity, despite being beautiful, is core trouble for humanity as it makes it impossible for humanity to develop and accept singular ‘Theory Of Everythingness’…!
So, different people shall have different personal expression of their core drives. Someone shall feel and accept that life is futile and there is no meaning of eating, drinking and having sex. Many however shall readily accept life’s purpose as simple as the above. So, your core drives themselves create all shades of questions within you and accept answers as per their neural make-up in brain states.
Science says, there are seven shades of consciousnesses and 16 brain types, which make people different in their thoughts, perceptions and actions. This in turn ensures that human conflict with each other is perpetual. Science insists – ‘We do not see and accept things as they are, but we see and accept them as we are. This is beautiful but core trouble for humanity.
This new millennium has this empowerment for all of us that we now have this knowledge about ‘How And Why We Are What We Are’. This body-mind mechanism and how it creates different shades of subjective perceptions, is now a well-accepted knowledge for all the humanity. This is the true education and real knowledge, every one of us has to imbibe. If we want answers, we need to first understand the mechanism of questions – how and why they are what they are. As we understand the origin and seed-situation of questions, we can decipher the answers, which cannot be created individually, but are already there within us, for each of us to see, understand and accept.
The populist cultures and the so-called intelligent social, economic, political and religious leaders shall all offer you wisdom to look for ‘answers’ in ‘external’ milieus. They shall make you see all questions and all answers outside you. They shall say that they have ‘created’ truth and answers for your wellness and excellence. They all are saying things contrary to truth, which classical spiritualism and modern science has unraveled since long. Nothing outside human body-mind mechanism has any meaning and worth. This clearly means – all questions and all answers are within you as they are installed in your ‘drives’.
However, there is a warning. Many in contemporary world shall advise you – ‘Be Yourself’. This is calamitous populism. This ‘Be Yourself’ prescription makes you believe that all your innate instincts are true and your visceral being is your God – the epitome of righteousness.
Be warned – this is a huge trap of conundrum! This ‘Be Yourself’ is the seed of solipsism, anti-rationality and anti-intellectualism. The populist version of ‘Be Yourself’ prescription is somehow an easy and stupid acceptance that ‘I Am Good, Whatever I Am’. We are not…! We can never be!
Our drives are not our God. Our drives are neither ‘Good’ nor ‘Bad’; neither ‘Right’ nor ‘Wrong’. Evolution is a stupid engineering. It has not installed drives in us with an eye to righteousness, idealism or appropriates. Drives are value-neutral. However, righteousness and goodness is an evolved personality positioning, we are not born with. This we learn and unlearn. Moreover, there can be one set of righteousness for ‘self’ and another set of probably contradicting and conflicting socio-cultural righteousness. We already know, humanity never had a singular God…!
Therefore, do not accept your drives, instincts, visceral-self or gut feeling as God or ‘righteousness unto itself’. Rather, the idealism is, as we have said above, assign the instinctive energy of ‘skepticism’ to all your drives. Empowerment is in seeing, understanding and then accepting our drives. Self-dialogue, self-introspection and self-actualization are the tools of empowerment and these tools, we are not born with but evolve as we grow and mature. We shall elaborate the macrocosmic dimensions of this ‘Be Yourself’ idea in later chapters.
In classical Indian spiritualism, there is a proclamation of ‘Aham Brahmashmi’ (I Am God). This somehow can be accepted as true ‘Be Yourself’ consciousness positioning. This ‘I Am God’ proclamation seems like a truly qualified ‘Be Yourself’ positioning because the idea is in beautiful commensuration and symmetry to the evolutionary realism of milieu-specific wired consciousness. It is about elements of outside milieus finding expression in the wired neural make-up of brain states. We shall elaborate it in later chapters.
At the very outset, we need to accept that when thousands of years back, some wise said, ‘I Am God’, he probably meant that he has seen, understood and accepted the mechanism of ‘life-living’ by unraveling the structure and functions of drives within. This ‘I Am God’ or ‘Be Yourself’ idealism is not in being a slave to the drives but in understanding the origin and seed-situation of these drives to unravel the questions and answers of life and living. As and when someone masters the drives, which have the potential to make him or her a slave, then it is only natural that he or she shall humbly but honestly say – I Am God.
The two very popular spiritual practices of contemporary times – Yoga and Vipasyana, are both evolved processes of self-dialogue, self-introspection and self-actualization. Both brilliant spiritual science leads you to seeing, observing, understanding and then accepting your drives. As you see and accept the mechanism and process of your drives, you enter the doors of empowerment. Then the energies of self-dialogue, self-introspection and self-actualization leads you to brilliant journeys ahead. It is all about looking within, to see the questions in their holism and then accept answers in the same states of realism within.
Remember, our forth drive – ‘Comprehension’ is our best empowerment tool. However, in its early stage, this faculty of comprehension also creates loads of confusion, conflict and chaos. Be warned. There is a threshold of comprehension, which we need to cross. Once we are beyond that threshold, we leave behind all confusion. That is why, wisdom is a persevered artistry.
Do remember, ancient Indian traditions always ‘celebrated’ all our drives, because our wise forefathers accepted that the ‘emancipation’ (Moksha) of ‘Kaaya’ (Body) can happen only through the energies of ‘Maaya’ (Drives/Instincts). Classical Indian spiritualism ‘celebrated’ our core drives and accepted that life-living is one huge festival and celebration of ‘Maaya’. However, there always was this insistence on ‘understanding’ our drives. Let us all understand and become empowered and then celebrate all questions; all answers of life-living.
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