There are many mystical thought traps in the world. They take up lot of our energy of thinking and here is no definitive answer to most of these problems. Over thinking about these problems does not yield results most of the times and hence while starting our journeys, we should try to avoid such thought traps!
Dr. Abhay Bang uses a term known as ‘paralysis by analysis’. Maybe he uses this term to hint at these mystic thought traps!
I will try to avoid giving examples of such thought traps because it will be inconvenient for those who are in the ‘selling’ of these thought traps. Please note that I do not mean to say that these thought traps are useless totally or they never give benefits. They might give or might not give but they take up huge resources. Someone might say that they give great rewards too. It might be true that they might be giving great rewards, but they are mostly absent in terms of these fields of mysticism.
One might ask that if no one will indulge in mysticism and if no one will be ready to deal with difficult and critical thinking, how progress will happen? It is true that there can be huge progress if we can crack some difficult problems and can take humanity ahead but it should not be a compulsion on anyone especially on the person who is trying to start their journeys in the field. Maybe difficult questions can be reserved for people who are older and are in the field since long and who have been benefited from the system the most.
The biggest problem comes when we deny mysticism! Denial of mysticism is food for it! Never deny it! Because the moment we deny it, someone will stand for it and the debate starts! Its our loss of time and energy to keep debating about mysticism. It is mysticism in the first place because there is no definitive answer and trying to find answer for it is getting trapped in it! For a rational person, it appears very challenging and he jumps to it in hope of solving it. Because he feels that his logic will be tested there. Intelligent people like to solve difficult problems but if they are really intelligent, they should be able to identify these traps too eventually. More intelligent are those who do not fall in the traps of mysticism at all!
It might appear non attractive to leave mysticism. It might appear unintelligent. But it is highly productive because we generally are not aware how much time and energy mysticism can take up! Lot of thinking about mysticism happens in our subconscious mind hence we do not realize how much energy it is dissipating.
Time and again mysticism will take up charge of our minds. But the moment we get aware of it, the best strategy is to leave it! Once we become aware of the mysticism (and its nature) in our life, we will also be able to identify it in others. The strategy can be then to remain away from people who indulge in mysticism or at least to remain away till that time till which they are indulging in it. We must help also to those who wish to identify it and remain away from it but getting trapped in mysticism is no help to anyone. It is necessary to remember this because the person trapped in mysticism often throws challenge at us and asks us to investigate it ourselves.
When mind become free from thoughts of mysticism, it experiences huge stores of energy and time. We should be ready to invest this great energy into something productive and good. We should have some idols ready to invest these energies.
I must mention that I could articulate this thought clearly after reading Vivekananda where he says that youth should not indulge in mysticism. I have heard Naidu sir also saying many times when someone asks him (about some irrelevant problem) “what to do of this problem now?” and he simply says, “Leave it!” It sounds funny now to share it but its no fun to get trapped in mysticism.
I remember here now the PM Modi’s interview with 3 journalists including Editor of ABP Mazha, Khandekar. He said “Even if you will tie me by role and will try to pull me in this issue, I am not going to come with you in this issue.” The point was discussion related to a crucial point. He said I do not recognize any ******** (point of mysticism) and I work for my countrymen! He was not entering in the mysticism, I think. That is the way to reject mysticism! He is a heroic person in my opinion about this issue of rejecting mysticism who has shown us how to reject mysticism with courage! It appears very strange for a non-involved person while watching that interview as why he is so aggressive about not answering the way in which those reporters want him to answer.
But why in the first place we get trapped into mysticism? The slavery comes to us in form of help and our freedom is taken away. Likewise, we get trapped in mysticism because of its attractive nature. Mysticism looks attractive because we think that there are fair chances of winning or finding something new in the field and it appears easy in the beginning. The easy appearance of mysticism is pseudo. It looks easy but it is not easy. The people who have brought us to mysticism run away when they face difficulty in the field of mysticism or try to fool us or silence with power but till that time we are trapped. They in fact even tell us how intelligent we are and how we only can bring them out of this mysticism etc. And again try to throw challenge to solve the problems and that is even again a trap of mysticism.
Forcing mind to not to think about it a great struggle but it is worth to do this struggle because the benefit we get out of this struggle is we get freedom from mysticism. Sometimes the struggle is more sometimes its not so. In fact, if we think clearly, the amount of energy it takes to ignore mysticism is too less than the amount of energy needed to fight it when mysticism has taken charge of our system. In fact, nothing should take charge of our system but surely not mysticism in particular.
But the fields of mysticism look as if mysticism ‘is working’ in the external world and sometimes we might have had done lot of investment in these fields as well. Gradually trying to come out of mysticism really helps is my personal experience. Each small decision we make can be towards or away from mysticism. In fact, we are free! We were and we are free. Its non-realization of this freedom that ties us down with mysticism. We are free to think about it or not to think about it. Our thinking habits creates patters and we feel ease in these patterns. It will be difficult to break the patterns of mysticism. But so what? Even to start thinking in the field of mysticism also required efforts in the beginning.
Mysticism generally enters in weak minds or at a weak stage of mind! So, we should be alert when mysticism starts taking charge of our mind. It is an indication that our mind is getting weak, I think.
Hard work is also a way to remain away from mysticism. Doing the work in hand currently as good as possible is a key to remain away from mysticism. It might not look attractive but remember that the work you are doing now is attractive for someone else. So, every work is attractive in that sense. Even if it is necessary to go in the field of mysticism for now, we should do some other work first and then do the work related to mysticism. Reducing its importance by ignoring it is the best way to get out of mysticism. Some other real problem will catch hold of your mind and that is ok. Solving real problems is the best way to get rid of mysticism. Please note that mysticism is not untruth. It is not truth as well. If is half truth and half untruth. Finding out what is truth and what is untruth in it is very difficult and an intelligent mind gets attracted by the challenge of finding truth in it.
We should also see what mysticism is not. As mentioned above it is not untruth. It is not solving some genuine problem with scientific methods. It is not mere miscommunication. It is not genuine struggle for survival. It is not simple curiosity but sometimes mysticism takes form of curiosity. It is not finding the causes of injustice. In fact, by getting into mysticism we are creating the biggest injustice with our intelligence.
One might say that if anyways mysticism is to be ignored, why to think so much on it and why to even write something on it because written word is retraced! (Link) But there is difference between thinking about a particular topic of mysticism and talking about mysticism in general. We will need to keep on thinking about the process of getting trapped in mysticism if we need to come out of it and if we do not wish to get trapped in it again and again.
In any topic, there will always be room for mysticism and one can connect it with well-known mysticism topics, but the real heroism is in refusing to indulge in it. Ideally even thoughts related to these topics of mysticism should also end but if that is not possible for us now, at least talking and writing about it should be stopped by us. Acing on mysticism is a sure shot way of getting into a bigger problem.
There would be some unfortunate people who will be trapped in it all the times. We must try to help them as far as possible if they are willing and cooperative but to go into mysticism by us is surely not the solution. While helping others especially in this area, one should be most careful. Otherwise the person who is trapped in it might get out of it (or may not) but we get trapped in it!
On this Independence Day, let’s get free from all the mysticism! 😊
- Dr. Abhijeet Safai (15 August 2020)
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