J - I've heard you talk about it multiple times in the past, but I never quite feel comfortable with the idea that you need to fix yourself first before you fix the society.
JJ - I would rather say that you need to fix none - neither your "self" nor the society. If you feel the need to do anything, transcend both.
J - What do you mean by that?
JJ - Well, if we're asking questions, I'll go first. What do you mean by you trying to fix the society?
J - You know, there's so much evil in the society, so many things demand change, so many bad people and happenings all around us - working on improving all those things is what I would call fixing the society.
JJ - Ok, I get what you're talking about. It appears to be a noble thought, and I sincerely appreciate you trying to help out unfortunate people by fixing what is 'evil' in the 'society'. But that's exactly where the catch lies. Let me ask you a question, what is this 'society' that you wish to fix?
J - I'm not sure I understand that question. What do you mean by that?
JJ - I'm asking you to show me this 'society' that you want to fix. What exactly is this 'society' thing that you want to fix and improve and so on? Let me try to tell you what I'm reaching towards. The 'society' is nothing but the sum total of all relationships between human beings, it is not a separate thing in itself. Isn't that so?
J - Ummm I'm not quite sure.
JJ - See, there are all these human beings living together, or rather living close by but in their respective homes or rooms, and the sum total of their relationships with each other is what the 'society' is isn't it? It is not something tangible that you can put your hand on, like you can touch my hand here and say if it has gone bad and needs a repair or not. In that sense, the idea of 'human society' exists in human minds, not the other way around. That is to say, human beings do not exist in society, the 'society' is an idea that exists in human minds. Do you follow?
J - I think I do, but isn't it also true that human beings living together constitute a society? I mean humans live in a society, that just appears to be very logical to me. Can you explain it a bit more? And also, I'm not sure where you're going with this.
JJ - Don't rush, you will see soon enough the point I'm trying to make. So yeah, it's true in everyday language, we talk in this manner that human beings living together constitute a society and human beings live together in a society. But this is how words can be tricky and deceptive. Just because we say these sentences in our everyday talks does not mean that something called 'society' now exists outside of our minds. That is why you were uncomfortable with the question when I asked you to show me where this society is. Because there is no such thing as society. It does not exist. It's only human beings and their relationships with each other. We call them serious names and then imagine their existence outside of our minds, call it society, marriage, and so on and so on. All of these are nothing but relationships between human beings, they exist only in human minds and do not really have any tangible existences outside of our minds.
J - OK, but then tell me this. If it's all just a figment of our imagination, how come we all together imagine the same society then?
JJ - Well, high five man. What a beautiful question. You see that is the beauty of what you may call our collective consciousness, or rather our collective psyche. We together imagine these constructs and transmit these ideas to and from each other and everyone kind of believes and imagines these constructs to be real. And our believing in them and living by them also makes them kind of real in some sense, but then we need to remember that eventually it is just us humans and all of these constructs like society for example are our creations, our imaginations.
J - OK, I get this idea now that we create society and that 'society' is not really something tangible and does not exist outside of our minds. And in your own words, society is nothing but the sum total of all relationships between human beings. Agreed. But how does this relate to what we were talking about?
JJ - Relax, I'm coming to it now. It will follow quite automaticaly if you let it. See, if you really do accept that this 'society' is an idea in human minds, then you know that it is not really something to fix, something to change. What needs to change, to change the 'society', is the human beings who are creating the 'society' in the first place. Correct?
J - Correct.
JJ - Well, there you go then. So unless there are peaceful human beings, there cannot be a peaceful society. Unless there are human beings free of greed, jealousy, hatred, anger, violence, exploitation and all the rest of it, you can not have a society that is rid of all these so-called 'evils'. Correct?
J - Yep, sounds correct.
JJ - And so, I ask you this. You do not need to answer me, but ask yourself this question. Are you free of all of this? All of what I mentioned above? Because unless you are, you cannot expect to free someone else from it. You cannot expect to create a society which is 'fixed' in the sense that you used the word when we started our conversation.
J - Well, I guess I understand what you're saying. And I also can now relate to that initial idea of fixing yourself first. But then, pardon me if I'm being too aggressive, but it appears to me to be nothing but just a very clever play of words. I mean I don't really see anything changing in the world if I'm just sitting in my home trying to 'fix myself'. There is a lot of evil out there in the world, and I cannot really understand how me getting rid of all these 'negative' emotions solves anything for anyone except maybe just me.
JJ - That is an excellent question again. Man, you're on fire today. Let me try to explain a bit more then. First things first, this is not what I'm saying at all. I'm not asking you to 'fix' yourself. You used this word when we started our conversation, when you said that you aren't comfortable with the idea of fixing oneself before fixing the society. I'm not asking you to 'fix' yourself or the society or anything else.
If anything, all I'm trying to get you to do is to 'observe' yourself. Why is that important? Because that is the only way you can get to the root of what really is happening 'out there' in the world. And unless you understand something, you can not really expect to do anything about it.
You see, it's a very uncomfortable fact to digest, but everyone, and I mean everyone, is a human being just like you. What goes on inside our minds, varies in degree but not in kind. The same urge, that makes you want to make more money even after having more than what you need on a regular basis, made that poor man loot a store or rob a bank. The same urge that makes you want to lie on your taxes to save some more money, made that greedy autorickshaw driver overcharge you while taking you home. The same urge that makes you want to want to hit or abuse someone when angry or irritated, made that guy hurt and kill his victim. And this is true, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you, no matter how difficult it is to absorb. As Swami Vivekananda once said, "The difference between man and man is one of degree not of kind."
What we usually try to do, is solve things at the surface. And that is needed at times. You see when someone goes so much off the track that no society can tolerate his/her actions, we take certain decisions as a society that have to be taken. Case in point being laws like capital punishments, life imprisonments, etc. But they should never be a cause for celebration, because they don't solve anything. They get rid of a 'bad' case for sure, but that's pretty much it. No amount of legislation or law can 'solve' these evils. Because laws and legislations occur at the surface. The root remains untouched by them. You can not legislate love. You can not legislate peace. It comes from within. And if you're not peaceful yourself, if you're not loving within, how can you try to spread peace and love and joy. You can not bully the bully and expect the bullying to stop right there. Catch yourself the next time you're angry at there not being peace in the world. Because that anger, the root of that anger, is the root for there not being a peaceful world too. And right there lies the solution too.
So that is my entire point. If you really want to change something, and I mean really in the sense of really wanting to bring about a change in the society, you have to start with yourself. You have to go deep into yourself and see what is at the root of all that we call 'evil'. And it is present in all of us. Do not for a moment deceive yourself by imagining that there is no trace of evil in you. It manifests itself in different forms and in different degrees in different people, but it's present in all of us. And unless you understand it, you can not get rid of it. And unlesss YOU are rid of it, you can not get some one else to be rid of it. And unless we humans are rid of it, the so-called 'society' will never be rid of it.
That's about it, man. I don't think I have any more to say on this. If you reflect on all of this, I'm pretty sure it'll make sense to you. And that's all we can do for each other. After all, like that beautiful man Ram Dass said, "In the end, we're all just walking each other home."
J - Well, to be honest, it is a lot to digest, but it sure made sense to me. And one thing is for sure, I am looking at crime and evil more compassionately with this view point. But yes, a lot more to think about. I have one final question though. If you can, talk to me a bit about what is the root of all these problems.
JJ - Ohh sure. Let me touch upon it. At the root of it all lies your sense of identity, your ego. Ego, not in the sense of pride that it is commonly understood, but ego in the sense of what constitutes your identity, your "I". What you give as the answer to the question - Who am I? If you get a grasp of all the illusions surrounding it, you would begin to understand the world in a very different manner. In one manner of speaking, you would observe things the way they are, not the way you think they are. Because the more attached you are to what you define as your identity, the more you separate yourself from 'others'. And as is pretty obvious, with more separation comes more conflict. That is why, in the beginning of our talk, I said that if you feel like doing anything, transcend both - your 'self' as well as the 'society'. In that manner, you transcend your limited sense of identity, and that is the beginning of all real transformation.
<Recommended follow-up reading: Who am I really?>
I mentioned two people in this blog - Swami Vivekananda and Ram Dass. If this blog made sense to you, I highly recommend reading a book or two from these two gentlemen. You may find a couple of my favourites among them here below:
Swami Vivekananda - Jnana Yoga
Also, if this blog sparked something in you and you want to understand what these two books might be about before actually buying them, I wrote a couple of blogs about them too. You may find them here below:
Books I love - Swami Vivekananda's Jnana Yoga (2 min)
Books I love - Be Here Now (2 min)
In all honesty, I prefer having personal chats rather than back and forth in the comments' section. If you feel like you want to have discussion with me regarding the content on my blog or anything else, please connect with me on my Instagram here: Chetan Narang - Instagram
Soooo awesome blog
ReplyDeleteThanks a bunch Fahad! :)
Delete