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The dubious science(?) of 'thought control'
Thought control is nothing new. It is proclaimed as an effective measure for taming inner demons of restlessness, anxiety, agitation, frustration, fear, uncertainty etc. with a goal to achieve inner tranquillity. Accordingly, there are several meditation or contemplation schools and practices, old and new, prevalent across many spiritual and religious traditions of the world.
But the mechanics or the science (?) of thought control, as it is actually applied or practised, remains questionable and dubious. Thought control is a grey area. Breath control (pranayama) as a means to control thought is a temporary measure and requires professional or expert guidance, else could prove dangerous. Practitioners of breath control report partial relief. Yes, it is just an icepack, a temporary relief, but not a permanent cure for living problems.
Any form of thought control is a sellout in the spiritual bazaar bringing windfall for profit-seekers - greedy gurus, charlatans, con artists who sell their own brand of 'thought control' as panacea for mental maladies.
UG snubs the exploitative gang of thugs who loot and con people promising them 'peace', 'happiness', 'tranquillity' etc.,
" What these guys offer you is shoddy piece of goods. A prostitute is much better, she is an honest person, she does not cheat. She offers you something tangible for your money. "
In this audio clip, UG gives us a glimpse of what we are up against, when we talk of thought control. For him, thought control is a doomed mission right from the word go. He explains that there is no way humans can escape the 'gravitational pull' of the powerful 'thought field' or the 'thought sphere' that has accrued over the ages.
In several of his talks, UG maintains that thought is not a mere human legacy. Thought, functioning as 'memory and recognition', is a common attribute of all living creatures. Birds, insects, animals build their nests, map out their living space, forage far and wide, and return again to the safety and comfort of their nests. All this is made possible thanks to 'thought' in some primitive form.
Natural conditioning means adapting to nature. Thought as memory or 'the residue of experience' makes it possible for living creatures to function sanely and intelligently in the natural environment full of threats and traps. In a way thought acts as the 'primary medium of conditioning' or adaptation.
Like all other living creatures, we humans too undergo 'natural conditioning' for survival in the natural environment. This form of basic conditioning helps us only to survive and live naturally but it does not help for societal living. We might end up more like Mowgli in the Jungle Book (the Rudyard Kipling classic based on true life of Dina Sanichar; a feral boy raised by a pack of wolves).
Therefore, in order to adapt and survive in the human jungle or the cultural environment, we need yet another round of conditioning - the 'cultural conditioning', over and above natural conditioning. UG explains that cultural environment is the 'superimposed reality' and the 'only reality' for all practical purposes.
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Thought has millions of years of momentum
So, as a primordial conditioning tool or adaptation tool, 'thought' has played a crucial role in our survival on the planet. Thought has subsisted for millions of years, preceding the birth of culture or society or religion that happened only a few thousand years ago.
Thought or 'conditioning', therefore, is a psychophysical phenomenon, biologically rooted or hardwired to ensure physical survival.
Therefore, playing with thought, a powerful instrument of survival, could prove highly detrimental with serious ramifications,
" If you try to control your thought, you are not going to succeed, because it has a tremendous momentum, millions and millions of years of momentum.
You have nothing to do with it, you see.
It's just passing through you, you know " ~UG
To borrow from an old African proverb, thought control is like the foolhardy attempt 'to block river Nile'. A mighty river, forcefully blocked, will inundate and drown the entire surrounding land resulting in large scale destruction.
UG uses the very same analogy in one of his talks:
“So, if you try to control or stop the flow of a river through all these artificial means like putting a dam, and all that, then it will inundate the whole thing.
That’s why every time you control your thoughts, to watch your thoughts, to observe your thoughts, to be aware of your thoughts, you find that the thoughts are welling (up) there all the time.” ~ UG
Again, here in the audio clip:
" So, if you say they are good thoughts, they are pious thoughts, they are virtuous thoughts, and the other thoughts are bad, you see, sinful thoughts, they are what they are, you see.
So, what have you to do with them? You have nothing to do with them.
So, when you want to do something with them (achieving a goal, a thoughtless state) then you are creating a problem for yourself. " ~UG
UG cautioned us against thought control saying it is unnatural, leading to serious chemical changes in the body, resulting in pathological disorders.
UG would often repeat (about any thought or experience), "Let it be, leave it alone!"
An ancient Taoist saying echoes his wisdom, "It is not that the objects encroach, but simply I pay no mind ".
Rather than attempting thought control, abandoning needless engagements or pointless goals and simplifying our lives is a wiser approach to peaceful living.
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Audio Clip
Audio Transcription:
UG: You do whatever you want to do.
I am not saying that you should not meditate, or you should
meditate.
So whatever you want is already there, you see. You know.
If religiosity is what you are interested in, it's there, it's
there in your Christianity.
You have never even looked at it, you see.
How can you be dissatisfied and brush it aside without testing
that, you see.
So, try this.
All the fashionable things are coming. I am not saying that you should not meditate, that you
should not do yoga, all that is nonsense.
I am not saying any one of those things, you know.
I am just pointing out what you are actually doing, you see. Your goal, you see, is altogether different.
He wants to stay awake, you know. So this puts you to sleep, that's all that I am saying,
you know.
It makes it difficult for you to stay awake.
If you try to control your thought, you are not going to
succeed,
Because it has a tremendous momentum, millions and millions of
years of momentum.
You have nothing to do with it, you see.
It's just passing through you, you know.
So if you say they are good thoughts, they are pious thoughts,
they are virtuous thoughts, and the other thoughts are bad, you see, sinful thoughts, they
are what they are, you see.
So what have you to do with them? You have nothing to do with
them.
So when you want to do something with them, then you are
creating a problem for yourself. You cannot but do that. You cannot but do that, but you are
doing that, you see.
So what do you want to control your thoughts for? No, not you, you see, that's what we were discussing all
the time.
To achieve something, you see, some goal.
So the goal is here already, you see, not out there, not after
your meditation,
Or ten years of meditation, but whatever you want, you see,
it's already here, it is there.
You cannot look at it, you see, because you are looking there (elsewhere),
there, you see, the goal is there.
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