Angel
New Member
By Sameer Golwelkar
‘Who’ said it becomes more important than ‘what’ was said. The human mind has been a slave to objectivity since ages. Fundamentally, life is subjective while the mind tries to convert every aspect of it into the objective. For instance, light is subjective and the mind looks at the bulb; weather is subjective and the mind looks at the temperature and humidity; love is subjective and the mind finds it in a person; spirituality is subjective and the mind invents a religion and so on.
Due to this nature of mind, one jumps to make comparisons and conflict arises. Only that which can be measured can be compared. The mind is heavily conditioned to measure whatever it perceives in order to make comparisons. When quantification takes place, that is when relativity gets created. Comparison is a source of suffering.
In this process, the teachings of the virtuous and noble are kept aside and the propagator assumes importance. Gradually, society starts worshipping and following a teacher. The mind takes one away from the teachings and one ends up worshipping the image of the teacher. The teachings, over a period of time, get lost and what remains is the idolised teacher.
Shraddha and saburi, that is, faith and patience, were the key teachings of Sai Baba, whose shrine is visited by millions of devotees. How many of us followers adopt this attitude in our lives? Wouldn’t following the teachings be the best offering to him?
This applies to most entities worshipped. The statue of the Buddha that has been relocated to our drawing rooms becomes a decoration piece and many of us perhaps completely ignore his teachings.
We venerate the Bhagwad Gita and many of us pray in front of the holy book. We debate the teachings of Krishna and derive pride in possessing a copy of the manuscript. How many of us actually let the teachings manifest in our lives? How many of us work without ambition, without expecting something in return?
We have converted Gandhiji into a big brand and use it to encash anything that we think can create wealth and power. How many of us dared to experiment with his truth and live our own philosophy? Didn’t Gandhiji say, “My life is my philosophy”?
Have you ever wondered why there is a huge gap between our thoughts, emotions, actions, speech and behaviour?
This basically happens because the mind is trained to convert every experience into memory. The former is subjective while the latter is objective. In the process of doing this, quantification happens and measurement follows.
Can we imagine a teaching without the teacher? It is very difficult to do so. But if you succeed in doing so, it would be a tremendous liberation from the prison of propaganda and exhibition.
How can the mind learn to accept subjectivity without rushing to convert everything into objectivity? There is perhaps a discomfort in subjectivity while objectivity offers solace and pleasure. One pays a price for this pleasure by breeding conflict and thus sorrow.
Objectification is a kind of sickness that needs to be treated and cured. The realisation – that this is the trap of the diabolic mind – itself can free one from this bondage.
(The writer is a practising psychotherapist)
DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author’s own.
Thank you
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/we-tend-to-objectify-almost-everything/