Lowly thoughts & disease
Namaskar,
Whenever anyone's mental plate gets polluted and deformed due to defective thinking and faulty ideas then we say there is a deformity in their objectivated mind. And when those ideas enter the objectivated mind in an uncontrolled manner and people become obsessed with that idea, then we say it is a psychic disease.
So a psychic disease occurs when one is fully consumed by a particular deficient thought process such as “everybody hates me”, or “there is a ghost in the house” etc. And this stems from a defect in the objectivated mind. By constantly thinking about those faulty ideas, day after day, then a particular psychic disease develops.
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Simple analogy: How your mind thinks & sees fake ghost
In the mind, there are two chambers: the objectivated mind and the subjectivated mind. Now, suppose in real life you saw a cat walking in the grass. And then you closed your eyes and you recollected that cat. In that case, one part of the mind creates the image of the cat and another portion of the mind sees that image. So the part of the mind that took the shape of the cat is the objectivated mind, and the part of the mind that is watching that cat is the subjectivated mind.
Everyone has an objectivated mind: It is that chamber or part of the mind which contains one's object of thinking. So the first step is to look at how the objectivated mind works. If someone is thinking about the post office then the post office is in their objectivated mind. And if a frog is thinking about a mosquito then a mosquito is in its objectivated mind. So anyone's object of thinking is what comprises their objectivated mind.
This objectivated mind functions in two ways. Suppose your eyes are open and you see a cat in front of you. Then when you close your eyes and see the cat in your mind, then the picture of the cat in your mental sphere is your objectivated mind. The second way the objectivated mind works is as follows. Let's say you start imagining something that does not exist - like a ghost. That ghost has no basis in reality. In truth it does not exist. Yet you start thinking that there is a spider monster in the room which has big fangs and twisted feet, and lives in the dark. This is completely imaginary, but when you start thinking of that spider monster then it takes shape in your objectivated mind. And your subjectivated mind is watching that fictitious image of the ghost.
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Let’s take it a step further. Suppose you are awake and thinking that there is a spider monster in a dark room then in that awakened state you will rationalise with the help of your conscious mind that it is just a fleeting thought and you will not take it seriously. And you will not be terrified. But if that same thought occurs when you are “sleeping” then at that point the conscious mind is sleeping so without the help of your conscious mind you will think that it is real. You will see the fangs of the spider monster coming towards you. and you will be terrified. That is called a nightmare. The thought which was not so serious in the daytime due to the awakened stage of your conscious mind becomes deadly at night when you are dreaming, because the conscious mind is inactive or “sleeping.”
Conclusion
By ideating on Him we can overcome all defects and become pure and pristine - physically, psychically, and spiritually.
Ananda Marga ideology teaches us, "In Brahma, the Entity who liberates one from all mundane ailments and the cycle of rebirth, lies the total cessation of all afflictions, the freedom from all ailments. He is the only dependable panacea for microcosmic distortions and imperfections; there is none other than Him - Na'nyah pantha' vidyate ayana'ya." (1)
How to keep the mind free from psychic disease: For the situation to be remedied, allopathic medical science has to accept the existence of mind and then treat ailments related with the objectivated mind as psychic diseases - not brain diseases. Baba guides us that sadhana alone is the proper treatment for psychic diseases.
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Sadguru Baba says, "Most psychic diseases, if not all, grow out of the defective control over the objectivated mind. If one is alert, any trouble can be avoided. Those who regularly practise Iishvara pran'idha'na or dhya'na (meditation) can remain free from these diseases, as their minds will remain in a balanced state. One of the numerous benefits of sa'dhana' is that it keeps the mind free from psychic disease and encourages the natural growth of the mind." (2)
In Him,
Ananda Sagar
~ In-depth study ~
Multidisciplinary approach for curing criminals
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Psychologists cannot treat the mental diseases which inflict born criminals all alone; the cooperation of physicians and sociologists is essential. Psychologists will diagnose the mental disease and explain its origins, and they will also play a role in helping cure it as far as possible. Doctors will be responsible for curing the disease through medicine or surgery, insofar as it is caused by physiological abnormalities. Then sociologists will have to arrange for the social rehabilitation of the criminal after he or she has recovered. If psychologists only describe the nature of the disease, or if doctors only diagnose the physiological disorders and nothing more, it will not be possible to accomplish anything productive. Of course at the present time the patient may not make a complete recovery despite the concerted efforts of psychologists and sociologists, because psychology is still in an underdeveloped state. Moreover, doctors have not yet acquired the skills needed to remove the physiological abnormalities responsible for mental disease. And furthermore, the science of sociology has only just emerged; it is developing extremely slowly. However, we must take the above measures for born criminals.” (3)
Types of diseases cured by psychological treatment
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “A disease can be mental or can be physical. Similarly, medicine may be mental or may be physical; hence it is most desirable and productive if both kinds of medicine are administered simultaneously in all diseases, whether they are physical or mental. Those who only believe in psychological treatment for mental disease know from experience that such treatment will not permanently cure the disease and the patient will soon relapse. Only where, along with psychological treatment, guidance concerning diet, bathing and behaviour is given, and to normalize the diseased glands of the body medicines prepared from the five fundamental factors are prescribed, can the disease be permanently cured.” (4)
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “After having analysed the various types of ahaḿkára and their evil effects, we need to examine the ways and means of getting rid of these defects. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has offered a psychological method to save oneself from the malady of ahaḿkára. Ahaḿkára is really a mental ailment, and a person suffering from this disease requires psychological treatment.” (5)
Ananda Marga philosophy says, “Epilepsy arises when a person comes in sudden contact with something or some event completely outside the realm of his or her experience. Through proper counselling, attacks of this disease can be checked and through psychic treatment along with the use of small amounts of medicine the disease can be treated.” (6)
Criminals suffer from psychic disease or brain disease?
Baba describes how criminals may suffer from either (a) a mix between brain disease and psychic disease or (b) exclusively from a psychic disease.
[A] Here below Baba guides us how in-born criminals suffer from both brain disease and psychic disease.
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Psychologists cannot treat the mental diseases which inflict born criminals all alone; the cooperation of physicians and sociologists is essential. Psychologists will diagnose the mental disease and explain its origins, and they will also play a role in helping cure it as far as possible. Doctors will be responsible for curing the disease through medicine or surgery, insofar as it is caused by physiological abnormalities. Then sociologists will have to arrange for the social rehabilitation of the criminal after he or she has recovered." (7)
With inborn criminals, the problem is twofold. They have defects in their objectivated mind which makes it a psychic disease. Plus there is often a faulty development in the formation of the brain organ, which makes it a brain disease as well.
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[B] And here below in this next example Baba discusses how some criminals - i.e. criminal by snap volition - suffer from kleptomania which is exclusively a psychic disease.
Ananda Marga philosophy guides us, "Another type of crime occurs occasionally. This is a temporary criminal urge, a special type of mental disease which suddenly appears in a certain type of environment and again subsides after a short time. Kleptomania is an example of this kind of mental disease. After committing a crime kleptomaniacs feel ashamed and are anxious to return the property that they have stolen to the owner. They have sudden fantasies about stealing, abducting people, becoming drunk or indulging in decadent activities. But analysis shows that they do not in fact have the slightest personal interest in such things." (8)
Tandava is the only exercise for the brain and this will help in both curing and preventing the onset of brain disease. The medical community should conduct research on this. Soon this is going to happen because already the medical community is allotting money to investigate how yoga asanas help prevent and cure diseases. So the day is not far when it will become known that tandava is a great exercise for the brain.
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References
1. Ananda Marga Ideology in a Nutshell - 6, The Only Way to Salvation
2. A Few Problems Solved - 7, The Faculty of Knowledge – 3
3. Human Society - 1, Justice
4. Human Society - 1, Various Occupations
5. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 23, Safeguards against the Defects of Jiṋána and Karma
6. Shabda Cayanika - 1, Acala to Atha (Discourse 2)
7. Human Society - 1, Justice
8. Human Society - 1, '87 Edn, p.80
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The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
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== Section 2: Important Teaching ==
Hardship for naught: no spiritual gain
Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Very often, ignorant of real spirituality and goaded by religious dogma, people undertake long and hazardous journeys to places of pilgrimage, sometimes even selling their earthly possessions such as houses and cultivable land to make the trip possible. They hope to attain virtue by taking a holy dip in sacred rivers. Needless to say this not only causes a loss of energy, time and money, but also causes much trouble and brings no spiritual gain." (1)
Reference
1. Pramá – 1, Dynamic Equilibrium and Equipoise
== Section 3: Links ==
Postings to Read“Early bird” fallacy + Prout: preventing ecological disasters
When money is tight - what to do
Animal suffering & rhino tale
Natural call: keeping clean
Reply to skeptics: singing His glory
Baba’s childhood pledge: obliterate casteism
