Why Do You Want To Change Me? by Santosh Jha - HTML preview

Reception of pain in mind is a sensor mechanism; one cannot stop that at entry point. However, mind also has ‘processing’ neurons, which is what science as well as religion-philosophy calls ‘higher conscious’. These processing neurons, forming our higher consciousness, can be trained not to react to the pains in usual emotions, rather accept it as an emotion of larger ‘wellness’, thus creating a ‘feeling’ that results in less suffering. Science admits, effective meditation can curb the sufferings upto 70%.  Buddhist monks do it 99%. This is mind training, no miracle.

The sensory organs shall automatically inform the brain about the pain and if not trained and attained, the brain shall react to the pain situation in the usual way. However, this reaction to pain by our consciousness is only generic as it is common to all living being. However, when we introduce elements of mind consciousness into it, we have a completely different processing of the same stimulus of pain. The mind consciousness is a functional pathway and handles the intangibles, which are part of our knowledge. This is different processing from what brain does as it is physical pathway and creates generic subject. The mind consciousness introduces intangible elements like determination, perseverance, endurance, imaginative brilliance, past experiences of handling other pains and suddenly, the same pain is accepted and valued by the subject differently. An average person with an untrained and unattained mind consciousness is a generic subject and it shall react to a pain in a generic way, as his or her physical pathway of brain processing shall deliberate. A monk has a trained and attained mind consciousness and for the monk, as intangible elements of endurance, imaginative brilliance et al come into processing of the same stimulus of pain, the specific consciousness overrides the decision-matrix of the generic subject and the same pain becomes a pleasant proposition or the pain is felt less. This is the magic of intangible elements and the specific mind consciousness. We all need to change this generic consciousness into the specific consciousness by imaginatively building up the intangible elements, which form our knowledge.

A situation is not the same for different people. How good or bad one accepts a situation as, depends on his past experience with a same or similar situation as well as the iconic-reaction one had earlier stored in mind as ‘experience’. For example, I fell from my cycle when I was a kid. It hurt a lot but blood did not come out. Therefore, what I said to myself was, “Oh, it is nothing as blood has not come out.” And, I continued with cycling even as it pained a lot. I did say so because my mother would scream at me only when she would see me with a mishap where blood came out. Therefore, it was already there in my mind as ‘referral’ experience that bad is something which has a relationship with blood.

Next time I fell and if again blood did not come out, I would say, the mishap is not bad, even if it broke my bones. However, if I fell and blood came out, I would say, the mishap is a huge one, even when I would feel no or little pain. The feeling I shall have of a pain depends on my ‘particular and subjective’ emotions “learnt” from my experience. This is a cultural burden on my mind-consciousness, as I am being subjective in my decision-making about ‘actual problem’, as against the requirement of being objective.

I need to “undress” my mind-consciousness of my archetypal subjective ‘benchmarks’ of ‘pain-assessment’. It is clear to an outsider that I am either under-assessing or over-assessing my actual pain because of my subjective consciousness. I need to ‘undress’ the element of my ‘mother-factor’ in my ‘assessment’ of pain. This is tough for me, easy for anyone else as the ‘subjectivity’ has now engrained in my mind and has become part of my instinctive decision-making. I can be ‘intelligent’ only when I am able to understand that and do this “undressing”, before it is too late.

Experts say, ‘You’ are a mental function that is filtered through selected memories. ‘You’ have chosen (probably not consciously) these memories to dress up the function that creates you.  If the function that is ‘you’ were not dressed up with subjective personality and character, it would be a ghost. The basic function that makes ‘you’ possible is more of what ‘you’ are than how ‘you’ have dressed it up. What we (outsiders, and even ‘you’) recognize about your ‘self’ is your personality and character that manifests in your organism’s internal and external behavior. The function that creates ‘you’ is made apparent by being dressed up with character and personality.”

From the functioning of our minds, we now know that it is instinctive in human neural system to accept training and compete to become better. We also now know that what works for us is instincts. Majority of our decisions are instinctive and intuitive. So, intelligence is in conditioning our instincts through self-control, self-discipline and objectively train it to accept only those values as referral for instinctive value-summation which are proven, measurable, singular and objective. We now have a scientific value matrix, which also must be known, understood and accepted for mind-evolution of a uniform global culture, as against multitude of conflicting and competing ethnic cultures.

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No Truth Is Truth, If Not My Truth

Change has never been that important and optionless as it is now. We all live in a contemporary culture, which needs to change drastically. There are larger issues of hypocrisies and sadomasochism, which have become part of our popular cultures. There are perfunctory pursuits of pop benchmarks of successes, a passion-oriented male worldview of karma and life’s purposes. We need to opt for a journey that takes us far away from the stupidity of self-worth, calculated in terms of personal utility, individualistic possession and unfettered consumption. The hypocrisies, which the popular benchmarks of the societal notions fill up our professional as well as personal universe with, the hypocrisy of art and lies about idealisms are taking a toll on our wellness and personal excellence. This is high time we all need to change.

Interestingly, it is this pop culture and milieus filled up with hypocrisies, which make us defend status quo. It is this inertia of comfort with the current hypocrisy that makes us say, “Why do you want to change me? Why cannot you accept things with me as they are? After all it is my life… and what’s wrong if I live happily with my truths… I do have the right to do so… and why not?...” etc..

One can say, “why not… this looks like a very just desire… a very simple and honest requirement, not to mention that it is the core-idea of modern liberal philosophy”. And, these are not modern words. Since millions of years, man has been mouthing them and today, it is a popular social benchmark of all successful people. The questions have ‘singular’ answer, though not acceptable! The populist mantra, which pampers you saying, “Be Yourself” is something the markets and economics make you believe in. Being yourself is a sure call for you to remain as indecisive as you are and keep drifting with the populist benchmarks of self-worth, calculated in terms of personal utility, individualistic possession and unfettered consumption. This suits the bazaar and liberal economy.

Look at some facts available in public domain:

“The world is facing unprecedented food crisis… about one billion people worldwide are starving and many nations facing unprecedented food-crisis. This despite the fact that global food storage is 1.5 times the food requirement, growth in food production is higher than population growth. Interestingly, many nations, having large chunk of hungry population have surplus of food production & storage and markets are flooded with food stuffs but the buyers have gone away as large many of them can’t afford them… etc.”

The singularity of truth is that the crisis is all man-made, the problem being structural, not real but it has no acceptance with larger population and leaderships. Now, sample some facts that are also common knowledge for almost all those who are aware and concerned:

• 80% of world’s food products are consumed by only 20% of affluent people, rest of 80% people has to struggle with remaining 20% food. One billion people worldwide face starvation and hunger. 

• 70% of USA’s food grains are used as cattle-feed to raise beef output for human consumption at cheap rates. Cereal prices have risen many times.

• A large chunk of productive lands of the world are being used to raise sugarcane, tobacco, coffee, and some other products that are largely consumed by 20% of the affluent people of the world. None of them has good nutrient value, rather they are unhealthy, leading to myriad of diseases.

• World’s best lands are being used to produce cash crops at the cost of cereals, making cost of poor man’s food rise beyond their meager purchasing power.

• 5% of developed and developing nations’ grain coverage areas have been diverted to raise biofuels to make fuel for cars cheap. As per experts, this has caused food prices to go up by 75%.

• Large tracts of productive forestlands of poor nations are being cleared to raise cattle to supply them as beef consumption of USA and Europe. Etc.

• Productive agro-lands, hitherto producing cereals are being made available for construction of apartments, malls and multiplexes.

• Farmers providing food to you is now a misnomer. Farming is growingly being overtaken by corporate. Today three big companies control the world’s grain trade. A Chemical giant controls three-fifths of seed production.

• Over 10% of food is wasted globally by affluents as left-overs and selective-eating is on the up. America wastes around 40% of its food.

Still, we can say, “So..?, it is my life, my choice of my truth…! I may like to eat a lot of sugar… the cakes, pastry and sweets… what’s your problem… it’s my life… what harm am I doing to anybody?” The harm is quite visible. It results in one billion people on earth going hungry as they cannot afford rising prices of wheat and rice… we have made something our daily consumption need, which is supposed to be a luxury!

One can say, “What I can do if a billion people are hungry, I did not ask them to come to this world… and, why on earth can they not work out what their problem is? … so foolish of them…!” And then, a quarter of world’s population becomes diabetic… the precious moneys are drained in medicines, hospitalization, lifestyle correction, lost productivities, which is at the cost of withdrawing the precious subsidies on food. Half of USA’s population is facing the epidemic called obesity, many nations have 20-30% population as obese and still, one billion people on this planet are starved and hungry. Another billion is malnourished. This truth is ‘No Truth’ as it is not ‘My Truth’.

A less than two-dollar burger with beef actually costs 35 dollars to the nation (half of USA’s water goes to raise cattle, etc) but then, “it is not ‘my truth’ so cannot be the ‘truth’…” Strange singularity! Billions of individual truths are emanating from the ‘singularity’ of one truth – the base human instinct of self-gratification… the ‘me-my life-my truth’ has 7 billion shades but the parent color is one – ‘self-gratification/Self-importance’… and, why should anyone want to change it… why?

Still, many cannot understand, why some people want to change this all… “God has created this all… whatever has happened, whatever is happening and whatever shall happen… if one billion people are dying of hunger then it is God’s trouble, or of those who say they are world leaders … only God knows what needs to be done, or politicians do … anyway, they will soon go to God… why should I bother… I am only doing what I think is right… and I have the right to do so… why not?”

They said, “a man’s right to stretch his hands ends where the nose of other starts”. And we are always very sure that we have this right to stretch our hands as far as possible… but then, we are far too many and far too closely huddled in this overly over-populated world… and, far too linked in our individual destinies than we can feel comfortable of… such a nosey state of affair this! This needs to change, we all need to change… this culture, this worldview needs decisive correction… things need to change…!

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Only Compassion Can Effect Changes

There are lot many things we all cannot definitively say with utmost conviction that they are the right ones. This is almost a classical position because, we all accept that wisdom and knowledge is no static entity. It is an evolutionary and dynamic thing and the consciousness of a human being is too negligibly and insignificantly small and immaterial to have a good grasp of this colossal dynamism.

Still, this acceptance and larger wisdom apart, it has to be accepted that almost everyone has this feeling at one time or another, or probably perpetually too that what he or she knows is the right thing. The reality remains that whichever approach or perspective we accept as the right one; we tend to believe and accept all those answers, which this accepted approach throws for us as the right one. The consciousness mechanism has been designed this way.

For example, a person who has faith and acceptance that religion and spirituality is the right approach for looking at the realism, he or she would tend to largely believe and accept that religion and spiritualism alone must have all true and right answers of all major or small questions of life and living. This is our mechanism and design.

Now, those believing and accepting that secular scientific knowledge of cosmic realism is the right one, shall feel the same way. ‘What is received as real is what is accepted as real’. There can be many approaches and perspectives for looking at the realism. There are different shades and colors of consciousness and different perspectives of realism that these shades lead humans to. Everyone sticks to its choices, which seems a conscious one but has a precarious mix of the subconscious mind positioning.

Somehow, as humanity now has a good measure of knowledge about working of human brain and the resultant consciousness, it is established that the brain is the real hero or culprit in making this happen. If human brain accepts a certain framework or point of reference for the validity and acceptance of a broad value-summation, it would unconsciously lead the human mind to accept all other smaller things under the same framework or point of reference.

This mind-mechanism leads to a human consciousness in an individual where if he or she accepts religion and faith as the broad framework, he or she would innately and subconsciously tend to see every other smaller issues, events, problems, life and living choices as something essentially as compatible to his or her religious framework.

The important point is, is it right? Well, this question again shall have to be processed by a mind, or a mindset, which has been colored and inclined to a particularly ‘preferred’ framework or point of reference. The answers would never be easy and singular.

There looks like two key questions in such a state where there is a conflict, dualism and pluralism of answers about one question. The first is:

* Can we say that it is always profitable in such a state not to be bogged down by a fixed or fixated singular mindset and allow equal or at least equitable importance to all possible viewpoints and frames of reference?

The second question is:

* Can we say that, it seems, different frameworks or points of reference may co-exist and prevail simultaneously still, particular issue, event, problem or choice may ideally be better handled by one single framework? Some troubles the faith can handle better and still other trouble may be exclusively assigned to medical science or the brain outlook?

If this is interpreted at mind or consciousness level, the problem can be better understood. The human brain mechanism has essentially been designed for ‘self’ and works instinctively for individual survival and excellence. It accepts even the collective and societal checks and balances in terms of self’s survival and excellence. That is why; its value-summation usually is individualistic.

The human brain has the innate mechanism to process all sensory inputs in the subjective iconic reference framework of individual’s personalized value system. That is why; human mind would usually prefer personal ideas to collective wisdom. To ensure that all humans have consciousness, which is conducive and inclined towards a peaceful and co-exiting collectivity, it looks right and desirable that the above two questions have an answer in affirmative.

It is observed that almost all societies, where tolerance and respect for plurality is high, it has invariably ensured very high individual freedom and level field for excellence of all. It is a very practical idea that an individual’s own freedom and individuality is best ensured where and when he or she is part of a strong and powerful collective believing in and practicing plurality. A strong collectivity is the best guarantee of liberalized individuality.

The other practical part, as we have been continuously talking about is the process of dualism of consciousness finally evolving into a non-dualistic consciousness. We all can start with one belief and then grow to assimilate all other beliefs and as everyone in the collectivity does so, there shall be an evolution where a singular and non-dualistic consciousness may evolve. In the past, human civilizations have done this.

If hydrogen and oxygen remain compartmentalized and egoistically exclusive to each other, there can never be water, the lifeline of humanity. The water has molecules of both but it is neither hydrogen nor oxygen. It is a singular and non-dualistic evolution of dualistic entities, which finally evolved to shed their dualistic consciousness to merge into one.

Let there be water, let there be non-dualistic mergers and union, let water flow everywhere so that humanity survives and thrives. Let dualistic and egoistic identities be compassionate and affectionate enough to rise above ‘preferred’ mindsets and ‘fixated’ framework of references, let there be only a non-dualistic consciousness for larger humanity.

This shall necessitate a major change in our mindsets and perspectives. We have huge challenges ahead of us. Our very survival is questioned. The world is full of personal as well as spatial conflicts and strife. These are primarily because of our egoistic and subjective perspectives about right and wrong. This need to change. A compassionate and non-egoistic mind, which affectionately accepts dualisms and pluralisms, allowing compassionate assimilation of even competing ideas so that there could be a gradual evolution of humanity’s one singular and non-dualistic global culture. This change in all of us need for our own survival. If we do not change, we are sure to face major troubles for our life-living wellness.

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The Somethingness In Nothingness

We can say, there is nothing called ‘ignorance’! The word looks like, at best, an accusation by one for another. Somehow, tragically enough, people often use the word for one-upmanship against competing persons.

There may not be even a handful, who would accept this tag for themselves, even when almost every human being faces this label so many times in his or her life. Actually, more knowledgeable one accepts himself or herself, more ignorant he or she stands to be labeled. This is the way our cultural mind consciousness works!

Nothingness is never a reality as it seems, there is always a ‘somethingness’ called ‘knowledge’, tiny bit or colossal but always relative and subjective. In this subjectivity and relativity is the genesis of the accusation, called ‘ignorance’.

Often, ‘ignorance’ at one time presents itself as the ultimate ‘wisdom’ in a particular linearity of time and space for the same person. In addition, one’s wisdom invariably seems ‘ignorance’ for other. The objectivity of the realism apart, the subjectivity and relativity of situation and position makes it happen.

Sunset in one part of the world is sunrise for another in extreme other part of the globe, even when sun actually never rises or sets. Most of ‘realisms’ of life present knowledge this way in our popular culture. It is the convenient way to look at reality around us. Goodness of life is like the Sun, which never ever rises or sets but we in our subjective and relative mind consciousness accept this ‘virtual imagery’ of the goodness of Sun.

The wise and arrived also call it a cyclic realism. Relativity and subjectivism wraps in its warm embrace almost all realism, in one time or other. The trouble is; both sunrise and sunset are realisms at one particular frame of reference. This ‘superposition’ (ever-presence) of realisms is also an intricate but interesting realism. This however is tough for individuals to accept in normal walks of live.

So, can we say, there is never a ‘nothingness’, always a ‘somethingness’ and this something is always subjective and relative, enabling the engendering of the term ‘nothing’.

A something, or a knowledge is the ‘right’ and ‘best’ thing for an individual but at the same time, it is the source of accusation for other that it is ‘nothing’ and sheer ‘ignorance’. In absolute reality, even nothing is something and even ignorance is some knowledge. There is seldom a vacuum… it is not a natural state of things…!

There always is a truth; subjective and relative it may be. This is the energy, which creates and celebrates the ‘label’ of ‘false’. One’s subjective truth is other’s ‘false’; one’s subjective ‘good’ is other’s ‘bad’. Sunrise in USA is sunset in India but from the space, a person would say both are ‘ignorant’ as the two terms are only ‘virtual imagery’ of the absolute reality of the Sun. Objectivity seems in superposition but never a vacuum.  

There may be one truth or good that may truly stand as everybody’s truth and good but it cannot stay as one ‘objective’ truth or good for all for another second as it shall fall prey to the subjectivism of energy of human consciousness. It seems, vacuum cannot stay for long, or probably, it does not even exist. It does not seem like a natural state of things for conscious subjectivism.

Is it that we live in a world that has no singular and objective realism? It is there as it must be there. It is altogether different matter that either we have not yet found it or not yet establish it. Nevertheless, what human consciousness sees and accepts as ‘real’ is not the objective and singular one, but the subjective one and that is why, the world we live in is seen, observed, accepted and retained as subjective multiplicity. The pluralism of consciousness of humanity makes it happen.

Consciousness is almost always subjective and truths and goodness for each individual has to be in line with this pluralistic subjectivism. This subjectivism ensures relativist words and terms like ‘ignorance’, ‘false’ and ‘bad’ etc. As truth and false, good and bad are in essential nature of conflict and competition, there shall always be strife and battle for one-upmanship and supremacy of subjective truths and goodness.

The world we live in has therefore truly turned into a theatre of insurmountable conflicts and chaos. Be sure, there is no looking back for humanity… it shall always continue its journey ahead. The key question is, ‘Is pluralism and subjective consciousness bad?’As we said earlier, it seems, there is nothing called ‘bad’. It is just a relative positioning. So, what is objectively and singularly bad?

It is a tough question; needs to be understood. If bad is taken as something which stands against larger wellness of humanity (and not only personal wellness), then it can be safely said that the intrinsic and instinctive energy of ‘narcissism’ within an individual subjectivism of consciousness is what we can refer to as objective and singular bad.

The simple and understandable to all realism for humanity is – we all live in a world that is a ‘totality of multiplicity’ of ‘subjectivism’ and ‘pluralism’. This presents to all, one singular, objective wisdom, that is – “Subjectivism is the core creed, therefore, every individual must be very respectful, compassionate and affectionate towards other’s subjectivism and never allow narcissism about one’s subjective truths to label other’s truths as ‘false’ and ‘bad’.”

Is it this simple! No. If it were, there would have been no ignorant on earth. We all can always know only a part of the truth or wisdom. So is every entity and individual’s position and situation in the cosmos. Real intelligence is in accepting this relativity and subjectivity allowing the part truth to evolve through holism, integration and assimilation. Narcissism is definitive ignorance. The world has loads of it and this energy ensures, we have many losers, few winners.

The higher consciousness within us is one who understands and accepts this life positioning. This super consciousness has the holistic, assimilative and integrative perspective of realisms. He is bereft of the narcissism of subjective consciousness. His real intelligence is his innocence and objectivity; a sincere acceptance of the utility and fruition of every little idea and part truth, which subjective consciousnesses of seven billion people on earth engenders. We all need to change our generic consciousness and evolve it to the stage of specific consciousness, where this innocence stands tall.

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Do Not Be, You Shall Be

The journey from dualism to non-dualism is very tough. Religion as well as science says, it is not amenable and available for everyone. It is only for a few blessed ones! This, they say, is not ordinary but ordained by almighty!

The human mechanism also confirms this. Brain structure and consciousness varies and it decides the ordinary and ordained. However, the wise have also said that this tough facility is available for all, even the most stupid of all. Some wise said, “Both stupid and genius can learn; only those even God cannot make learn, who are in the pride of knowing.”

The wise says, ‘talent is important but what makes a genius is practice not patronage and lineage’. Ustaads, the gurus and wise have said, ‘the real master is