Revelation

Introspection can be regarded as a tool to clean the mind. Does introspection lead to any valid answer? Of what importance is this tool for? These questions can’t be answered outright, but such an inculcated “habit” would lead to understanding fundamental issues that confront all of us. Therefore, its role can’t be underestimated. At the core is the question of ‘why’. At the core, is the question of coming to basics of thoughts and identifying how connections between thoughts get made, altered and how does that lead to a certain perception, attitude, idea or a feeling. It also involves what do we understand by outside environment and how do we seem related to it? It involves knowing the nature of ‘memory’, our tendency to cling to certain events/ objects/ people and also to create some kind of ‘special’ moment for us (pursuit of happiness) and keep running. It involves condensing all the billion thoughts that occur everyday and see how they affect us. It involves understanding how thoughts generate and whether they can be controlled? It involves understanding the phenomenon of place and time. It involves realizing the pressure of Time on us and what needs to be accepted as humans. 

Such analysis can confront anybody at any point in his/her life. The mind turns ‘inward’ and digs deeper till nothing is left! The conclusion one comes to is – was our meaning of life ridiculous?!! I have encountered this question at least once and it is the most vulnerable state to be in. From ‘zero’ state of mind to where one is right now, requires effort and as I (again) began to climb up the ladder of mental connections, a lot of things were realized along the way – 

1.       We all perceive the world around us differently. By perception – I mean that we create our own “meaning” of life. This meaning depends on all our past actions, future tense, present conditions and the connections between billions of thoughts that we create and which we reinforce on us everyday. They consist of our desires, tendencies, intellect, emotions, and many other dimensions of the mind. Summarily, they are our constructed identity and maybe referred to as the ego. Thus, the objective external world is made “subjective” by our perception. Therefore, people respond differently for the same environmental stimulus and that need not be challenged. The people’s tendencies need to be accepted, not judged. Just as we realize that thoughts require effort to change, it is difficult to change one’s tendency. This should make us more accepting and empathic to other people’s point of view of life. Why do we create such connections of thoughts – you may ponder. Probably that is the nature of consciousness….that the ‘void’, once born, creates thoughts. The only thing is to be aware of what thoughts one is creating, because all other things depend on that. Therefore, external environment is just a backdrop of events – they can affect us according to how you let them! This means that there is nobody to blame for your own position in life, but you yourself are entirely responsible.

2.       Other people’s thoughts can’t be analyzed in an objective way beyond a certain point. People’s thoughts represent a ‘pattern’ – which is uniquely theirs. We analyze a person’s thoughts by using our ‘own’ patterns so we do not get the clear picture at all. What I am referring to is that the method of analysis is also biased based on our own patterns of thoughts. This means that we can understand a person only to a certain extent – at a more fundamental level, each individual has to walk his own path.

3.       The above point also means that there is no point in justifying your actions to anybody. There is no point in justifying your tendencies or emotions or desires – anything that represents thought patterns. One need not take the burden of justification, and need not feel guilty that one is not understood properly. In fact, the art of effective conversation involves implicitness and abundant doses of silence. Thus, one need not justify one’s past or present or future – it will not be understood properly by others. The requirement is to remain honest to oneself. That’s all one can do. 

4.       Where does this need of justifying come from? What is to be proved by your thoughts or actions or life anyway? To whom and for what reason? I encourage you to think deeper about these questions. In trying to decode incidences and thoughts, one finally reaches the “void” – from where all thoughts emerge. Thus, no object or action has any absolute validity or absolute worth. At best, it represents a process and an intention/ concern/ idea. Beyond idea, there is only void or the unmanifested phenomenon. Hence intrinsically, we are beyond judgments. And we tend to change, are unique and display characters. Seeing yourself composed of such tendencies and how they arise and how limited control you have over your own thoughts, you are then able to identify with the fears/ tendencies/ desires expressed by others. Is this required? Depends. For a much more humane and effective communication, understanding the other person requires all above things. 

5.       In understanding the nature of our mind, we realize how we create the notion of ‘Time’ (existence and of limited period) and what are we faced with! Is it required to fight this perception? We won’t win. But what can be attempted is to loosen the grip of Time on us – to loosen the effects of thoughts on us – to loosen our identification with the thoughts – to loosen our self created egos and thereby create a blissful state of mind that does not crib or race ahead or argue or get exited or display any emotional upheaval. What we thereby ‘see’ in front of us, is the manifestation of the void!