Brain conditioning Vs Intelligence
Brain is the only organ in our body which is partially biological but mostly social. All organs work on their own with a minimum control from outside. But, brain is the only organ whose entire contents have come from outside only. It can be easily manipulated by others.
Somebody can say or do something and it may affect the brain function and change our perception. That's how it has been conditioned by family, school, culture, religion, Society, TV, media etc., Any piece of news in TV can induce fear or violence. The social systems can induce greed in the brain, can trigger fear and insecurity. What else the insurance companies do? They instill fear of death and we invest money in policies. What else the movie industry do? What else the politician do? Condition the brain for their selfish profits.
A professional marketing person can influence the brain to believe that you desperately needs that product. You may be attracted towards a particular model of mobile and it may appear to be our own desire. No sir. It has been put into your mind by advertisement agencies. You saw the advertisement everywhere in the newspaper, television, social media and even the road hoardings. One day, suddenly you got the idea of buying a new phone though the old phone is only 6 months old. Day and night, TV channels are showing news about how many people died in viral infection and how it is dangerously spreading around, and you are scared. All the programs in TV have been well planned and prepared to attack and mould the brain only. We are simply not aware of this. Our life is not at all our own, but controlled by others, controlled by society, media, culture etc.,
The world is not just outside, it sitting inside our head. We cay even say that the brain is an agent of world inside us. Every bit of it, the thoughts, ideas, beliefs, concepts, dogmas has come from the world only. And, there is an entity standing along with the total conditioning, we call it as "Me", Myself. This is called as Ego or Self image.
It is good as far as the brain controls our body functions like heart beat, digestion and immune systems etc., It can save us from danger by producing adrenal gland. But, it does not stop there.
Each one of us have different experiences, so our conditionings are different. That's how one person would be weeping for something and the other one would be laughing at the same thing. It's all pre-determined. We know already what will make us angry. We know what kind of behavior will make us emotional. We move about in life as if we are under the spell of something. Since the brain is a container of past, there is no scope for anything new or fresh in the brain, yet it has tremendous force to put us in a groove of patterns. Have you seen how a hamster rotating in a wheel continuously? Exactly the same way, we live by our conditionings.
Don't be discouraged. Don't get disappointed. There is a way out of this trap. There is something in us which can not come under the control of brain and not even touched by thoughts or feelings or emotions. If you are reading these words with complete attention and understand its meaning, then, you know what it is. That is "Attention". The brain can think, but cannot know. But, there is something knows in you, that is not at all coming from brain. This faculty which is knowing and understanding is called Intelligence. This intelligence is your own. Everything in you has come from the world, except this one thing, that is your intelligence. It is not a thing at all.
After millions of years of evolution, our human brain has acquired the capacity to look at itself. It has matured to watch its own mechanism. Machines can't watch and inquire its own existence. But we ask, who am I? what is happening to me? where did I come from? This is the function of intelligence. Only human brain has this capacity to understand its own nature, no other species has this quality, so, human life is precious. We have the potential to come out of the cycles of pleasure, pain, happiness, sadness, confusions, conflicts, feelings and emotions, which put together called by one name, suffering.
The real "I am" is intelligence. It is Knowingness. Our true Self can not suffer, because it is formless and changeless. Nothing can touch the true essence of what we are. But, if we are careless and inattentive, then, conditioning will take over the seat of intelligence and lord over us.
In short, emotions are outcome the deep conditioning of our brain, either biological or social. Just as fish in the ocean is wet, we are conditioned by time. It is unavoidable. We can't even live without some basic conditioning of body. But, when it dominates and dictates terms and conditions of our life, then, it is a big problem.
As a human being, now the brain has got the maturity to watch its own functioning. This capability to be attentive and watchful is not the function of brain, but it is coming from the intelligence of life itself. When the brain is alert and conscious, then, it is called as mind. Mind is brain plus intelligence.
One may feel worried, depressed or anxious and nobody likes to be in those states. Either we suppress them or try to escape from them. Go and talk to a friend, feel better for sometime, or watch a movie, browse the net, be lost in fb or instagram, do some breathing exercise, sit in meditation for 20 minutes and try to be calm and quiet. You may do hundred and one thing, but they are all short lived, tiresome and temporary treatments only.
The root cause of the disease is our lack of awareness. We live our life in a very automatic way. As long as our lives are run by our conditioning, we must go through suffering.
Living our life guided by intelligence is the only solution for all our mental diseases and disorders. There is no other way. Peace, joy, love and compassion are the fragrance of intelligent living.
If you are bored, restless, worried or anxious, it is a proof that you are not a machine, at least. Machines never get bored. If we feel thirsty, then, that is the proof that water exist. This thirst for freedom is the thirst for Truth. This is a calling from beyond.
In the next part, we will see what is intelligent living and get some important guidance from Masters, gnanis, who have lived and living such a great life.
