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Perspective
Life, Desire,
Happiness and Sustainability
by
Dr. Anil K. Rajvanshi
 All of us aspire to have a
good life. There are as many definitions of good life as there are
people. But generally people want a decent place to live, mobility, good
education for their children, clean environment, a challenging
workplace, good and wholesome entertainment and enough money to meet
their usual daily requirements. These are the issues around which the
modern industrial societies have evolved and yet they have created the
biggest problem of totally unsustainable lifestyles fueled by greed.
Thus the climate change, economic meltdown and other consequent social
problems are direct result of our greed for resources and energy. Hence
the control of greed or better yet the sublimation of greed emotions
into higher ones like humility and simplicity can lead to
sustainability, happiness and a rewarding life.
We will try to explore in
this essay how one can lead a very happy life by channeling our desires
into fruitful avenues and by curbing or sublimating our greed impulses.
All these strategies combined will lead us to a sustainable lifestyle.
Happiness
Happiness is a state of mind.
We feel happy and enjoy life through our senses and the mind. Brain
processes the information from the senses and our level of happiness is
dictated by its processing power. A powerful processor can therefore
extract more information from the sensory signals and hence can give us
more happiness since the mind gets satisfied easily. A smaller processor
obviously needs many more inputs to reach the same enjoyment or
satisfaction level. Thus weaker brains need more resources to occupy
them and this leads to unsustainable lifestyle. Therefore one of the
most important factors for having a sustainable lifestyle is development
of a powerful and smart brain. This process allows us to think deeply or
concentrate during which we can get “lost” in processing that
information. This is the genesis of meditation and samadhi.
This is also the genesis of sustainability because a powerful processor
shifts the priorities in life. Thus the focus shifts towards getting
personal happiness through mental peace and less on material needs. When
concentration on single thought is done regularly and continuously this
takes our mind away from our insecurities and hence gives us a feeling
of well being.
The insecurity of human beings comes when they do not have anything to
do. Thus activities such as hoarding of wealth, material goods etc. are
the result of a shallow mind. Mind seeks enjoyment and gets it in
activities like binge shopping etc. A mind which is very powerful is
capable of finding enjoyment within itself and makes a person
self-contented and happy. Thus the act of accumulation or hoarding of
anything is a sign of a lower life form, since it is driven by fear
complex of loosing out or not having enough.
An evolved human being on the other hand will try to hoard as little as
possible and will possess only those material things required for his or
her use and enjoyment. This is the essence of sustainability.
Modern examples of evolved humans are Gandhi and Einstein who lived very
simply and yet produced a very high quality of thought since they were
very secure human beings.
Geneticists tell us that we are born with a certain type of brain and
that puts the limit on its processing power. However any type of brain
can be nurtured to work efficiently and it is this capability that needs
to be imparted to all children. Surely there will always be differences
between brains but with proper nurturing during childhood the average
capabilities can be raised very high.
When we are young our brains are powerful and pliable. This is because
it is relatively free of memories and psychological knots. Besides there
are lots of sex hormones flowing through them. These chemicals are very
useful for memory enhancement and hence in producing a powerful brain.
Thus to increase the brain capacity and have more focused thinking it is
necessary that teenagers should be made to focus on various interesting
things and less on sex. Too much sexual activity fritters these
chemicals away. Probably this was the basis of celibacy propagated by
all religions in different civilizations.
Sexual abstinence is a very difficult thing to teach the teenagers. The
evolutionary forces cause a tremendous hormonal flow in young people
since procreation is the most important part of life. This hormonal flow
should be utilized for making the brain powerful and should not be
frittered away. Because of our hedonistic society we tend to create more
sexual opportunities which sometimes result in overindulgence. This is
disruptive and not very productive. Sex is enjoyable and when practiced
among consenting adults in moderation is good for human health.
Therefore it is difficult to curb the powerful sexual tendencies of the
young people. Sex desire should not be suppressed but should be
sublimated. We can do this by inspiring them and make them work hard so
that they do not have much time to think about sex and related things.
An empty mind is a devil’s workshop. This requires that parents and
teachers create work environment for children which is challenging,
interesting and physically taxing. A “soft” society leads to obesity and
compulsive sexual disorders.
If we want to shield the children and young adults against the
disruptive “too much sex” society then we have to first put a reign on
the behavior of the adults. If adults want sex to be depicted openly in
mass media then it will automatically be seen by children. Nevertheless
it is very difficult to censor out sexual content since in an open
society adults have the freedom to do more or less whatever they want.
Thus the ancient Indian concept of ‘Gurukul’ becomes useful where the
children were put in the schools and colleges in isolation and where the
focus was on Yoga, learning and sexual abstinence. The practice of Yoga
by children will help them to develop the power of concentration which
ultimately can produce a powerful brain. Since the brain is pliable
during the impressionable age hence teaching of Yoga in schools should
become compulsory.
However in the modern world this concept may prove difficult to sell.
Also the teachers of such “gurukuls” have to be very disciplined and
highly evolved human beings. Presently teaching profession generally
attracts only the lower strata of the society. Still we can aim and plan
for modern “gurukuls” which can be excellent schools with focus on Yoga,
moral science and sports. Creation of very intelligent children and
young adults who will pass out from such schools is necessary for the
betterment of society.
Life as a Continuum
We all have the arrogance
that we want to see the results of our work in our lifetime. This gives
us tremendous energy to achieve our goal and also makes us impatient.
Most of our problems come because of this impatience. It forces us to
work in a focused fashion in a certain direction for a specific time and
hence does not allow the system to come into equilibrium with the
surroundings with its consequential effects.
However if we consider that we are a continuum i.e. we will continue on
this planet earth for a long time in different life forms and that all
of us will work together for the benefit of mankind then the task at
hand looses a lot of its urgency and time its immediacy. As individuals
we have a free will and work for our own good but as a part of the whole
mankind we all move towards speeding up its evolution.
The only requirement for this scheme to succeed is for reincarnation to
be a reality. For people who do not believe in it then the above
framework can create conflicts and problems.
If we believe in reincarnation then the time stretches and we get a
better perspective on life. It causes all our actions to become focused
on achieving the general good of mankind for its evolution on a large
scale. With this perspective one also gets a global outlook and the
country boundaries vanish. And this is the essence of being a human. In
a way the development of science and technology allows us to proceed in
this manner, though sometimes patents, technology control and
intellectual property aspects come in the way of achieving it. The
latter issues come into play because of our insecurities which lead us
to arrogantly focus only on our present lifetime.
This behavior cannot change overnight but will do so slowly and I feel
that in another 100-200 years we will become more benevolent and
sharing.
Secondly, what is the possibility that each human being will be born
again in the form of human being? I think the birth in human form is
probably by chance though we still do not understand the exact mechanism
of how it takes place. Nevertheless with the passage of time the
inter-exchange of species will reduce since it will be taken care of by
the evolutionary process (most of the lower forms will disappear) and a
large proliferation of human population will take place. The limit of
human population will then depend on the resources available and will be
governed by forces of sustainability.
Heightened Awareness
Production of huge human brain is still an evolutionary mystery. Its big
size cannot be explained by the pressures of evolutionary forces. I feel
that it developed so that we can become conscious of the universe and
universal consciousness.
Hallmark of an evolved brain is that it becomes acutely aware of its
surroundings and through this powerful processor we are able to expand
the horizons of our surroundings to encompass our world, solar system
and universe. This expansion gives us a tremendous sense of peace,
tranquility and perspective on our life. This is the genesis of wisdom.
Also the expansion of our horizons gives us an awareness of reality and
life in different dimensions. This is the genesis of “God Sense” that
each one of us possesses irrespective of our caste, creed or religion.
It is possible that our brains have this in-built idea because this
earth was seeded by intergalactic civilization and hence through ages we
have carried that genetic code through our ancestors who were more aware
than us of the reality of other planets and of higher dimensional space.
In fact as we evolve technologically and otherwise this awareness will
become stronger and the boundaries between our four and higher
dimensions will become blurred. This concept has been written up in our
ancient books like Patanjali Yoga and the modern science and technology
makes it possible to visualize it and possibly to experience it.
This awareness of higher dimensional space and reality also makes us
fearless and removes our fear of death since death is a simple
transition between various forms and dimensions. This is also the lesson
of Gita. With fearlessness comes the ability to do new things and follow
unchartered paths which can give us a quantum jump in our technological
developments and understanding of natural forces.
Because we have roots of advanced galactic civilization hence the
concept of gods with super human powers and dazzling lights are embedded
in our memories.
Our roots in intergalactic space also made us very much aware and
focused on heaven and hell concept. Heaven was always about the great
place from where we came which I feel must have been very
technologically advanced civilization where there was no physical pain
and hopefully no emotional pain also.
As we become technologically advanced and become gods ourselves we will
eventually loose the “god” thought and become more tuned to making this
world a heaven.
This is what we are aiming to achieve in this world. Once that happens
then we will talk less about heaven and future births and more about
what is possible now and can be achieved. With our present technologies
the easiest way to travel inter-galactically is to transfer soul from
this earth to other planets. This has been preached by almost all
religions throughout the ages. I believe our ancestors understood that
this was the easiest way to overcome gravity barrier of earth and hence
the focus on future births in heaven etc.
However I feel that once our earth becomes really good, sustainable and
a very nice place to live, then we will have no problem in being born
again and again on his earth. This is evolutionary in nature and hence
technological evolution is bound to take place no matter what we may or
may not believe in. And as we become technologically advanced we will
become an inter-solar and intergalactic traveling civilization just what
the gods may have been.
Nature of Desire
It is also possible that as
we expand the boundaries of our consciousness we may also desire more
inputs and resources for our brain so that it can keep itself occupied.
Thus a powerful brain will channel the desires into new avenues which
will benefit the humanity more rather than our greed. In order to do so
we must however first try to understand the desire emotion.
What is the socio-biological basis of desire? Why do human beings have
it and what is the nature of its fulfillment and that of unfulfilled
desires?
The desire emotion manifests in different forms – lust, aim, ambition,
control, goal, etc. However, the driving force is the same – power, fame
and money and I think it ultimately boils down to control and hence
power. Some also call it an ego trip.
Desire is fueled by experience. A living being wants to experience the
world. This is an inherent trait of all life forms. We are wired for
experience. Urge for maximization of experience fuels the desire.
Whether the desire is for sex, money, fame etc. it is driven by the same
need to have experience.
As our brains develop (right from our birth) the neurons need to form
the memory pathways. This process is accomplished by sensory perception.
We are hardwired to increase our experience and memories. This is the
genesis of desire. Thus desire and brain are interlinked. As long as
brain exists desire will always be there.
One of the outcomes of desire is possession. We feel a need to possess
whatever we desire whether it is a person, object or even an idea. This
possession helps in maximization of experience. Besides the absorption
of “experience” through the sensory perception, our brain also processes
this information and experience. It is during this process that we
“decide” whether our desires are fulfilled or not. Fulfillment of desire
therefore helps us in releasing the “possessions”. However a powerful
processor or the mind can get its desires fulfilled quite easily without
physically possessing the objects of desire. This is much better for
sustainable development.
Desire is a useful and necessary emotion. It allows us to do something
and be active. Without desire we will be lifeless, dead or like stones.
However what we need to do is to channel our desires so that they get
fulfilled without too much taxing of resources, materials and energy.
For example a desire to invent a new process, to create a new thought or
discovery does not require much energy or resources, say as that for
possessing a 100 ft yacht or a jet liner etc. The desire emotions for
non material goods could be good for humanity at large and will lead to
sustainability.
Satiation of desire requires resources of energy and materials and
excessive desire leads to greed and hence to unsustainability. The
wisdom of “I” or ego keeps a check on the desires. If not, then the mind
goes into an ever expanding spiral of greed and excesses. Unresolved
desires produce memory knots which have the mechanism of always
directing the brain to them and creating frustrations and hence
depression. This happens because the thought production is channeled or
influenced by the existing memories. If the brain has more of the
unfulfilled desired memory knots then the new thoughts will be centered
and focused around them leading to frustration etc.
The power of the brain processor is increased by availability of its
working memory. The maximizing of this memory can be achieved by
increasing concentration on a single thought as practiced in Yoga. This
allows the dissolution of other memories and psychological knots and
hence makes available to the brain increased working memory. As this
memory increases the absorption and digestion of inputs also get
enhanced since the mind becomes hungry for more experiences and this
increases our desires. As our desires increase both in quantity and
quality the brain/mind complex starts looking for higher purposes. This
“mind opening” experience allows interaction of mind with external and
higher dimensional space. This is the first step in satiation or
morphing of desires to higher space dimensions. This is when we become
mediums of higher dimensional thought and is the basis of probably most
discoveries, inventions etc.
Thus to live a happy and sustainable life we need to make our brain very
powerful by Yoga and also by conserving energies which are too often
frittered away in unfulfilled desires and emotional knots. This process
also helps us in curbing our greed impulse and hence can lead to
sustainable and emotionally satisfying living.
April 12, 2009
Image under license with Gettyimages.com
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