We have a general notion that there is no limit for the thoughts. According to this general notion, thoughts can go anywhere and can see anything. But it is not. Thought has its limitations. It is the limitation of our ego and our knowledge. The thought can go only to the extent that the “me” or “I” or our ego can expand from its center. The knowledge is the contributing factor for expansion of ego.
Before understanding the limit of thoughts, we need to understand the domains of thoughts. As discussed earlier, thoughts can be divided into thoughts belongs to functional domain and thoughts belongs to psychological domain. Our education system just looks into knowledge on functional domain only. Probably the education system for philosophical studies may little bit relevance to the thoughts of psychological domain. Hence in general we give no attention to the psychological domain of thoughts and hence rarely able to distinguish between these two domains of thoughts. Due to this difference, thoughts belongs to psychological domain interfere with the thoughts belong to functional domain, which greatly affect our functioning in general.
In the functional domain, in general, we think to the extent it is required for our day-to-day life and work. In functional domain, hence it is clear that our thoughts are limited to our knowledge on that function. If our thoughts need to go to additional distance, we gain knowledge from different sources and let the thoughts to travel this additional distance. There is no confusion on this. We are the product of gradual evolution. If it is true, it may be possible that the entire knowledge of evolution/creation is embedded in our brain. Probably, only the knowledge invoked by our intelligence can be expressible by thoughts.
For understanding the psychological domain of thoughts, we have to understand what is the knowledge or memory within us, with respect to the psychological domain. Any act or knowledge or memory which sustains our ‘ego’ or ‘me’ or “I” within us is in the psychological domain. The knowledge or memory or thoughts which are totally irrelevant to the ‘ego’ or ‘me’ or ‘I’ is in the functional domain. In general, we are not giving any attention to the psychological domain of thoughts and hence it interferes with thoughts in functional domain. The result is that seldom we distinguish these thoughts within us.
Let us look into the limit of thoughts in the psychological domain. Knowledge or memory is the source of any thoughts. Hence the psychological knowledge is the source of our thoughts in the psychological domain. Any thoughts which sustain our ego are within the psychological domain.
The notion that there is no limit for our thoughts is because our thoughts can go anywhere which we have not seen by ourselves or the thoughts can live in prosperity which in reality we are not; the thoughts can perform any actions which in reality we are not capable of doing and so on. Is it that limitlessness of thoughts? It is not. It appears so because, we are not aware of the distinction between functional and psychological thought. If we see the psychological thoughts with respect to our functional limitation, the thought is limitless. But these two are two different domains and hence cannot be equated.
We may be at our home. Our thoughts might have completed a round across the globe and returned back our home. If we closely observe these thoughts, we can clearly understand that it can go to the countries and continents which we have some knowledge about. Our thoughts cannot visit a country about which we have absolutely no idea. Or our thoughts cannot visit any terrains in which we have absolutely no idea. The idea about the terrain which our thoughts are visiting might have gained by means of stories, mental projection of some thing we heard and so on. But there must be some knowledge about anything the mind is thinking. If there is no knowledge, the mind cannot think. On the other hand our knowledge is the limitation of our thoughts – The derived point from here is that if we gain freedom from our knowledge what so ever it be, we will be free from thoughts.
We know that all our problems in this life are due to the thoughts in psychological domain. To make it more clear, all our problems are created by us only – by our thoughts. Nobody else can create problems for us. The major part of the brain’s energy is wasted on this psychological domain, due to the problems created by thoughts. This energy can be preserved if and only if there are no more thoughts generated by the brain in the psychological domain. It is possible only when there is no need to sustain the ego. As long as there is ego, the brain is conditioned to sustain it and hence thoughts in the psychological domain. Hence the only possibility to preserve the energy is, possibly, by completely dissolving the ego. Dissolving the ego involves understanding of its content – the qualities and relationships. Understanding of the content is possible only if we are free from all our beliefs, fear, morality etc. Such a freedom is possible only if we have the willingness to gain freedom. Willingness is possible only if we know the possibilities. It is an endless circle. Somewhere we have to break the circle, if we are concerned with the significance of our lives. If not, just go with the flow as we are going now – No botheration about significance of life and what so ever it. Let us undergo, whatever happiness and pain the life is offering as well as the happiness and pain created by our own thoughts. If we ourselves are not concerned, nobody else, who so ever it may be, will come and save us, even if we call and cry to any extent.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
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2 comments:
I could relate to this para..
//"We may be at our home. Our thoughts might have completed a round across the globe and returned back our home. If we closely observe these thoughts, we can clearly understand that it can go to the countries and continents which we have some knowledge about. Our thoughts cannot visit a country about which we have absolutely no idea. Or our thoughts cannot visit any terrains in which we have absolutely no idea. The idea about the terrain which our thoughts are visiting might have gained by means of stories, mental projection of some thing we heard and so on. But there must be some knowledge about anything the mind is thinking. If there is no knowledge, the mind cannot think. On the other hand our knowledge is the limitation of our thoughts."//
However, it is not clear whether the decision making by humans within a fraction of second is driven by "thought" or "memory" or "thought+memory+...". Which is the higher percentage driver? What drives us to that fleeting impulsiveness of action that is our DNA chararcteristic? Does the brain "think" at the speed of light (or higher) for every action or cognitive thought?
I may suggest the following, for this question.
When we say decision making within a fraction of second, it is not at all a decision. It is pure action out of intelligence. It is because in such action there are no choices available. If there are choices then only there is a question of decision – we decide to select one of the choices.
Since there are no choices available, it is clear that there is no thoughts are present at that instant of action. If thoughts are there, it brings in choices and then we have to take decision.
We have inherent intelligence within us. The fact is that the thoughts, in general, never allow the intelligence to act and always override the intelligence. When we do such actions instantaneously, our brain is aware of the urgency of action. Hence it act immediately and take the required action. In this instantaneous action, there is no space left in the brain to generate thoughts to interfere with the action. Here the intelligence probably uses the memory even at the deeper layers of brain, which we might not be aware of. When we allow the intelligence to act, it acts instantaneously utilizing all the available resources of brain. When the intelligence is on action, there is no space for thoughts and hence it is pure action. In this pure action, the “Karma” accumulated by us and the “Karma” inherited from the past are not interfering the action.
In spiritual terms, this is referred as living in the present. If we can always live at the instant, all our actions will be out of intelligence and it will be the pure action!
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