THINKING FOR OURSELVES
Human life, spirituality included, is full of paradoxes and contradictions, real or imagined. A diamond may have many facets, each reflecting a different colour. Yet the various colours do not detract from its oneness. The ten blind men, who each got hold of a different part of the elephant, all described it differently. Yet their descriptions were all accurate, so far as they went. The fact is that mind and intellect have a limited sphere of activity and usefulness. Those who feel that “the answer to life, the universe, and everything” can be codified and explained in rational and intellectual terms have set out upon an endless journey. You cannot contain an ocean in a teapot.
So much of life is a matter of concepts, opinions, and perspectives. Everyone has a different take on things. Yet the world is full of self-appointed ‘authorities’ on every conceivable subject, who will gladly tell you how and what to think. Just give them a little prod, and you’ll be lucky to escape within the hour (or two). They will argue with you, and try to convince you of their perspective. Give them less than half a chance, and they’ll do all the talking. Did you ever meet someone who tried to convince you of someone else’s viewpoint? Of a viewpoint he did not share?
It’s all a question of concepts, opinions, and uncertainty. If things were completely clear, there would be no viewpoints, no discussion. So as soon as a person tries to convince you of something, you can be sure that, deep down, they are themselves uncertain about it. They have just never addressed their own uncertainty. And the less certain they are, the more they’ll shout. When the argument is weak, shout louder! It’s human nature. And in human affairs, there are few certainties, because the realm of certainty is beyond the sphere of human perception.
Therefore, to avoid being blown off course by every passing breeze, we need to learn to think for ourselves. There’s no point in quarrelling with anyone, but we do need to assess things against our own inner touchstone of truth, realizing that we are dwelling in the realm of uncertainty. True freedom of speech may be a rare privilege in this world, but no one can take away our freedom of thought. To avoid getting into trouble, we may need to keep quiet about what we think. But we need never surrender the right to think for ourselves.
Even so, losing the right to say what we think is a step in the wrong direction. The modern ‘buzzword’ is political correctness. We’re supposed to avoid saying anything that will upset certain groups or cultures. We are expected to conform to a particular social dogma. Well, there’s no reason to go about challenging and disturbing others unnecessarily, but the idea has been taken on board by many of the world’s ‘authorities’, especially the religious authorities, and is being used to suppress freedom of expression. But surely it is only fair that any individual or institution who takes it upon themselves to tell others how and what to think should be open not only to criticism, but also to ridicule?
Conflicting religious dogmas each claim to be the last word on such matters as ‘truth’, ‘salvation’, and ‘God’, as well as how to live as human beings. But these are such fundamental questions that they must be open to discussion, and to freedom of expression and thought.
And since – it has to be admitted – religious dogmas and practices include some of the most bizarre constructs of the human mind, surely it is simply a matter of human honesty and decency to permit questioning and criticism? And if someone wants to make fun of our beliefs and practices, why not? This would also seem to be quite acceptable, if not essential. It’s a way of pointing out inconsistencies without getting into long debates. Why should we be so sensitive to criticism? Let’s develop a little maturity.
After all, if Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, atheist, and other belief systems are in conflict on the same basic issues, it seems reasonable to suppose that at least some of their doctrines are misguided. And given the significance of these issues, surely they must remain open to discussion? The more we give way to the dogmatists who claim their feelings will be hurt if anyone disagrees with them, the less freedom there is for everyone, and the more effort we have to make to maintain our own internal freedom of thought. But if we are to be held responsible for our choices by the cosmic accountant, we must remain free to exercise our right to choose.
We go through life the best we can. We have no idea why we were dealt the set of cards we were born with. We don’t know why things – good, bad or middling – happen to us in the way they do. Disasters of all scales, from global to personal, come uninvited. Good things, too, are difficult to orchestrate, and often what we think desirable, when acquired, turns out to be a source of problems. Even if we regard reincarnation as a reality, we can’t see the processes by which we are given our just deserts. Just about everything is hidden from our eyes.
And yet the sages tell us that we are held responsible for all we do. Strangely enough, that makes sense to us. Even in our legal systems, we are deemed responsible for our actions, and are punished for our misdeeds. Yet the cosmic accountant keeps a far more exacting record. All our thoughts and deeds are recorded – not in some heavenly tome, but in the soft, impressionable putty of our own minds. We are the ones who keep the detailed record, deep in our own unconscious minds. If we are unaware of this, it is because we are almost infinitely forgetful, not only of our own thoughts and deeds, but also of the One Being.
So, if we are answerable for all we think and do, we need to learn how to control our own mind, and how to think for ourselves. And we will have taken a huge step in that direction, if only we can become aware of His unending presence within ourselves. It will also be of significant help in dealing with all the suffering we encounter.
