The Self is not free
(Vinod Anand)
Doing whatever you have done, you will continue to get what you have L.F got. So, to live wisely and happily, question the way of doing you have been following. In today’s world where the pace of life is so hectic, fast food has become a popular source of convenience.
There is no time for you to look into how harmful fast food could be because you are so busy getting what you want. To earn money—rather, to make a quick buck— you go to any ridiculous extent and thus you end up spoiling the quality of your life.
So, you are caught up in the activity without experiencing true fulfillment. Hence, you need to learn to question your actions. Pause, stop and take a relook at what you’re doing and don’t blindly follow what you think are your values or what you are doing and do not allow yourself to be blindly led by others.
A French entomologist conducted a breathtaking experiment. This experiment used processionary caterpillars that travel in a long line with the same pace and rhythm, giving no attention to the final destination. They are known to follow the leader. The French entomologist took a giant flowerpot and placed a large amount of food in the centre of the pot. Then, he placed the caterpillars onto the thin rim of the flowerpot.
After some time, he could not find out who was the leader as the creatures were moving in circles, one behind the other. Even after seven days and nights, they were moving on the rim in single file and did not break the pattern to eat the food placed in the centre of the pot. In the end, they died of starvation and exhaustion.
Their source of life was visible and yet it was invisible because they did not stop to look. They could not alter their habitual and instinctive processionary process. This is also true with us humans. We are so involved with our pattern and, therefore, we end up without true fulfillment. That is why you need to question any and every action. Also, question who is the doer? Is it the self? If one sees the whole process of the ‘self’ and how it unfolds itself inaction, then one will see, it is more harmful than being truly useful.
This may be hard to believe or grasp but it is true. The self wants to be better than the other and in the process only becomes bitter. This creates division and any division leads to conflict. Nations have divided themselves, and in the fear of protecting themselves, they build lots of arms to destroy each other.
The urge to be secure creates more insecurity and chaos. Can one see this deeply? The ‘self’, if you go little deeper, you will understand that it is nothing but your thought. When there is no thought, there is no ‘self’ as in the state of deep sleep. So ‘self’ hangs on thought. Thought is an expression of memory Thought is conditioned by conclusions, dogmas, opinion, likes and dislikes. Thought, therefore, is not free, for it is bound by its conclusions and dogmas and hence the ‘self’ is not free. This bound ‘self’ creates disorder and chaos.
If one seas this totally and non-verbally, then intelligence will be born, and that will end the egoistic self. You will then begin to become aware of the higher Self.
VINOD K.ANAND: A BRIEF PROFILE
Born in 1939, and holding Master’s Degree both in Mathematics (1959) and Economics (1961), and Doctorate Degree in Economics (1970), Dr. Vinod K.Anand has about forty five years of teaching, research, and project work experience in Economic Theory (both micro and macro), Quantitative Economics, Public Economics, New Political Economy, and Development Economics with a special focus on economic and social provisions revolving around poverty, inequality, and unemployment issues, and also on informal sector studies. His last assignment was at the National University of Lesotho (Southern Africa) from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that he was placed as Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at the University of North-West in the Republic of South Africa, and University of Allahabad in India, Professor at the National University of Lesotho, Associate Professor at the University of Botswana, Gaborone in Botswana, and at Gezira University in Wad Medani, Sudan, Head, Department of Arts and Social Sciences, Yola in Nigeria, Principal Lecturer in Economics at Maiduguri University in Nigeria, and as Lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in Nigeria. Professor Anand has by now published more than 80 research papers in standard academic journals, authored 11 books, supervised a number of doctoral theses, was examiner for more than twenty Ph.D. theses, and has wide consultancy experience both in India and abroad, essentially in the African continent. This includes holding the position of Primary Researcher, Principal Consultant etc. in a number of Research Projects sponsored and funded by Universities, Governments, and International Bodies like, USAID, IDRC, and AERC. His publications include a variety of themes revolving around Economic Theory, New Political Economy, Quantitative Economics, Development Economics, and Informal Sector Studies. His consultancy assignments in India, Nigeria, Sudan, Botswana, and the Republic of South Africa include Non-Directory Enterprises in Allahabad, India, Small Scale Enterprises in the Northern States of Nigeria, The Absolute Poverty Line in Sudan, The Small Scale Enterprises in Wad Medani, Sudan, Micro and Small Scale Enterprises in Botswana, The Place of Non-Formal Micro-Enterprises in Botswana, Resettlement of a Squatter Community in the Vryburg District of North West Province in the Republic of South Africa, Trade and Investment Development Programme for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises: Support for NTSIKA in the Republic of South Africa, and Development of the Manufacturing Sector in the Republic of South Africa’s North West Province: An Approach Based on Firm Level Surveys. Professor Anand has also extensively participated in a number of conferences, offered many seminars, participated in a number of workshops, and delivered a variety of Refresher Lectures at different venues both in India and abroad. Dr. Anand was placed at the prestigious Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla in the State Himachal Pradesh, India as a Fellow from 2001 to 2003, and had completed a theoretical and qualitative research project/monograph on the Employment Profile of Micro Enterprises in the State of Himachal Pradseh, India.