Are we really who we think we are?

There is little hope for us until we become tough-minded enough to break loose from the shackles of prejudice, half-truths, and downright ignorance.

The shape of the world today does not permit us the luxury of soft mindedness. A nation or a civilisation that continues to produce soft-minded men, ignorant men, purchases its own spiritual death on an installment plan.

~ Martin Luther King Jr., Source: ‘A Testament of Hope.’

Are you really who you think you are? Ask anyone; and he or she would be emphatic in their reply: “Of course, I know who I am;” and they probably would counter back; “what makes you think I do not know who I am?” Well it is best we maintain silence at that stage. If you argue with the ignorant, they will succeed in bringing you down to their level of benightedness.

“The darkest night is ignorance,” said the Buddha. In Buddhism, we frequently come across the word Avijja originating from the Sanskrit Avidya meaning lack of knowledge or ignorance. According to the Majjima Nikaya, the Buddha says, “not knowing about sorrow (dukkha); not knowing about the origin of sorrow; not knowing about the cessation of sorrow; not knowing about the way leading to sorrow: this is called ignorance.

Through detachment, ignorance is overcome; and when ignorance is overcome, a monk gains true knowledge.” To the question as to how ignorance arises, the Buddha identified improper discernment as the root cause of ignorance. An age is called dark, not because the light fails to shine; but because people refuse to see it.

However, the gift of imagination, humans possess, has brought man through the dark ages to its present state of civilisation. Yet, the mind of man, and its fickle nature, can make a heaven out of hell, or a hell out of heaven. Most of us use our power of imagination, not to see reality; but to see what we believe is actuality. We fail to distinguish the difference between existence and reality.

Definition

Reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible. A still more broad definition includes everything that has existed, exists, or will exist.

In reality; you, me, the world we live in, is nothing more than an illusion: a sensory impression, which misrepresents the true character of the self; a false perception. The self exists only in our mind.

The brain is an often over-looked area by most of us. Ninety percent of mankind does not think and therefore do not use it as befitting a human being; the other ten percent only think that they think, and do likewise as the rest of their brethren. Do we understand the events that make us who we are? Do we understand the factors that make us do the things we do? Most likely, that we do not. In periods of rapid personal change, we pass through life as though we are spell-cast. We speak in sentences that end before finishing.

We sleep heavily because we need to ask so many questions as we dream alone. We bump into others and feel bashful at recognising souls so similar to ourselves.

We do not realise that deep inside all of us, a huge potential beckons, waiting to open us to the joy, genius, freedom and love within.

We comprehend not, that it is through this mysterious power that we too have our being; and therefore, fail to yield to our neighbours, even to our animal neighbors, the same right as ourselves to inhabit this vast land.

“The self” is a term that seems to cause far more confusion than clarification. The term may sound good to our ego; but it is contested by many different theories, and is used in so many ways; in popular discourse, it is either used in a precise, highly theoretical fashion, or, much more often, in a vague and indeterminate way that brings together all sorts of ideas, mostly wrong ideas.

Slant

Arnold M. Ludwig, M.D., Psychiatrist, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour at Brown University and past chairman and professor of psychiatry, University of Kentucky, College of Medicine; in his book The Price of Greatness: How Do We Know Who We Are?, takes an interesting philosophical position.

He does not identify himself with any well-established school of thought, but his rejection of the notions of “true self” and “authenticity” gives his thought a post-modern slant.

I rejoiced on reading, “All that the distinction between a true and a false self signifies is a value judgment, and a not necessarily defensible one at that…” The author begins by explaining the roles that language, math’s, our five senses, and even such concepts as time and relativity play in allowing our thought process to work.

After laying the groundwork, he then delves into the deeper, more philosophic questions about what it means to be human.

The significance of conscience, rationalisation, morality, altruism, emotion, and logic, to name a few, as well as, what motivates the choices we make, are the types of topics discussed.

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world” - the Buddha.

The mind of man makes the man. All distinctions: Sinhalese, Tamil, or other; white, black, brown, or yellow; female, male, or the third gender; youth, middle aged, or elderly; educated, or not; intelligent or ignorant; lower middle class, middle class, or the ruling class; rich or poor; heterosexual, or otherwise; a bit of a hippy....and shy; all these are self concepts. In reality, that list is only a list of one’s various rankings. One cannot change that. Such rankings may sound dramatic, but it is not. None of us are who or what we think we are. We change all the time. Humans are like rivers, but we think we are like glaciers - we think we change slowly and only when we notice; but really, we are in a state of constant flux.

If we understand this, we will appreciate the fact that we are not who we thought we are. That all labels attached to us, as rankings or otherwise, is but an illusion. After all, all that man is, is made of matter. All matter in the universe is of single origin.

The stars, the planets, all life forms, originate from a single source. That being so, where-from do the differences arise except in our minds. If we clear our minds of all illusions, we will realise, all is, but one - you, me, and the universe included.

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

For views, reviews, encomiums, and brickbats: [email protected]