Does nerve system provide the perfect defenition for Mind?

I was referring practical psychology by EDWARD STEVENS ROBINSON  last week. In that book he explains the mind as the function of nerve system. The basic for this conclusion is that when a man subject to anesthesia his nerve system is affected and becomes unconscious. I thought that it might be true. And I continued reading. 

    Psychology divides organs into two group receptors and effectors. Receptors(sense organs) are those organs that receive stimuli from peripherals and send them to nerve center. When these stimuli reach the nerve center it produce some effect, they send some signals to some other peripheral organs, glands and muscles, and produce effects so they are known as effectors. When we consider these stimuli and their respective effects, it can be seen that these cause and effect are not the same in all individuals. This phenomenon determines the behavior and character to a great extend. How is it? If one person responds to some stimuli continuously in a particular way, it becomes a habit. The reason for that is a neural arc takes place in him. What is neural arc? It is specific route of sending one stimulus to nerve center and its result to effectors. That is why when dusts come to eyes we close our eyes, first we see dusts come, stimulus, and then signal goes to nerve center and as a result some signals from nerve center come to the muscles of eyelids to function it. 

     But in many cases these neural arcs can be altered and we can establish new neural arcs there by new habit can be established. This is the basic of most training and character building and all. But if we want to alter the existing neural arc we have to interfere in it deliberately. It’s a mental training, means our mind should interfere in it. Our mind controls the functions of our nerve system; internal functions are not easy to control so but possible. Here is the contradiction with what the book stated first. “Mind is the function of nerve system”, but here mind interfere in the function of nerve system. What we have to think about it? Anyway psychology is not succeeding in proving that mind is completely the product of the function of some physical organs. 

      Here the important of Chapter 3 of book Genesis in Bible prevails. Eve's mind couldn’t control her sense organs but sense organs controlled her mind and habits. That was the wrong she committed.

If you are OK, You are not OK something wrong!

 

I would like to tell a story from an Indian classic. It goes like this…..

There was a hermit in India. He was very pious and he always adored God in different way. He never hurt any one by deed, word or by mind. He always worshiped and roamed along villages. Seeing his faith and righteousness all villagers used to provide everything what he wanted. But as he had been very righteous, he would not accept anything more than what he needed for his existence. God had also been very happy seeing his pious and faith.  Gradually people began to respect him like anything. He understood that he was the biggest spiritual man in the world. He began to contemplate this thought in his mind. One day he decided to ask God to know whether he was his best devotee. He met God in a vision and asked his doubt. God answered with a smile “My best devotee is there living at the gate of one particular village.” Hearing this he wondered and decided to meet that devotee. He started to that village gate and reached the specific house God mentioned.

 It was a farmer’s house. He inquired about the man of the house. The lady answered that he had gone to farm to plough the field. Hermit waited there till the farmer returned. In the evening the farmer came back with his bullocks, tied them in their stable and entered home. He prayed, “Thanks God you provided a good day, protected us.” Then he turned to the guest who was waiting him. The guest, the hermit, asked about his way of worship, the things he did every day and the spiritual knowledge he posses and all. He had nothing in his hand as answers for hermit’s question to satisfy him. He answered that God was there who provided him everyday; he worked up to his capacity; no scriptures or spiritual routines he knows; he prayed twice in a day, immediately after got up and after returned home. Having heard this hermit surprised. He returned and met God again and asked what had the farmer been doing so specific to please God so much. Only twice he remembered God in a day, nothing else. God smiled and gave him an assignment to round that village with a pot full of oil on his head. One condition was there, not to spill even a drop of oil from the pot. He went around the village with pot full of oil on his head with utmost care and came back to God. God smiled again, hermit couldn’t understand. God asked the hermit how many time he remembered him while he was going round the village. Not even a single time, he concentrated on the pot in order to balance it in such a way that no drop of oil would spill out.

Hermit could understand the fault, but he argued that the farmer was living for himself and for his family. But he was solely living for God that were the substantial difference. God answered that were the substantial difference. God continued, that farmer’s devotion was for the sake of the devotion towards him, but hermit’s devotion gradually became for the sake of becoming the 'best' spiritual man(to compare with others), so the thought came that he was the best, none else . But in the case of farmer he didn’t even thought about a comparison to make, because his sole purpose was to please him, to worship him with his capacity.

Then hermit was advised not to compare with others’ spiritual grade, comparing with others’ spirituality was not coming under the devotion, worship or spirituality.

Look in to Bible there is a good example , Luke 18: 10-14

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed¹  thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Personal growth is not possible comparing or pointing to others qualities. They have their own we have our own. Concentrate to what we have. Whenever we begin to think the other person is not so………….. Or I am the better …….., there the paralysis begins, not the growth. What we need is, finding out the short comings we face in our life, means what we or I don’t have, that is the way to prosperity. Not ostentatious performance.

Role of Heart or Emotions in personal and social Changes

Inthe ancient Roman world the social system that prevailed was slavery.  Men considered men as animals. The slave owners considered the slaves as animals and these owners used the slaves for all works, sometimes for the jobs which were done by animals. So the slaves had not only been deprived of all kinds of human considerations but they had also been driven into the state of irrational or abnormal mental state because of the social treatment they had been subject to. So in behavior there was not much difference between the animals and slaves in those days. Mentally, most of the slaves lead a beast like life. Most of them were without clothes or some times nominal. They used to expose to all kinds of weather and gained high immunity against any kind ofweather. They could sleep in nights anywhere in any situation whether it is in the severe winter, blistering summer or heavy monsoon.    In those days one of the most popular means of income was cattle rearing.  The owners of folks used slaves extensively in this area as shepherds but their lives were as same as that of the sheep, sometimes lower than that of the sheep. The shepherds would lead folk kilometers away searching good place to graze them.  At this time shepherds would eat what allowed to sheep, no better food, and slept in open places along with his sheep to prevent stealing sheep and to keep away cruel animals that might attack them innights. This situation made them away from social life and become like animals.Social and economic immorality together weaved the weft and warp of the then socio-political system.

To this social system the greatest revolutionary, Jesus, that world has ever seen came. He approached the society and the injustice prevailed in it from a different point of view. He approached this ground trodden people not with long teachings and scriptures but with a heart full of emotions and emotional involvements. Look into the book of Luke chapter 8 in Bible

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

 26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,²  which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus³  had stepped out on land, there met him a manfrom the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and hehad not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and felldown before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me,Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spiritto come out of the man (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept underguard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and bedriven by the demon into the desert.). 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said,“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into theabyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feedingthere on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gavethem permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man andentered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake anddrowned.

Look,where had this man been living? He was deprived of house and all social contacts, he was in abnormal state. No ordinary man approached him. But Jesus became ready to visit him. In those days it was an extra-ordinary deed approaching such a slave with a philanthropist’s view. Masters approached this sort of slaves only to torment or to kill. Because of this situation, either by surprise or by fear he cried out to Jesus asking what he was going to do with him. What made him to visit this mad man? In those days nobody gives a title,award, crown or anything to those who mends the lives of mad slaves. So it is not any such vested interest or personal gain motivated him but the compassion,one of the positive emotions. Emotional involvements make changes. But most of our deeds don’t have the support of positive emotions. If there is any emotion that supports our deeds, that is the desire for personal gains or achievements -selfishness. It will not work in the case of making personal changes. Whether we want to make personal change in our own life or in anyone else’s, we should posses the positive emotions. The set of positive emotions is the right tool to make changes in persons and thereby in society. And these emotions should motivate us. No other tools can make permanent changes. Permanent changes cannot be brought about by guns, bayonets or bombs. The people who try to do so are in the place of the abnormal slave mentioned in the above scripture. They are lead by abnormal psychology; they are slaves of some social, political or economical immorality. They don’t have the tools of positive emotions - love, compassion,mercy, faith, hope, enthusiasm, romance etc.

Jesus’ compassion and love towards this diseased   freed him from his bond. Look what happened? The herds ran and fell into lake and drawn away. When the man became free from the social immorality the same reflected upon the economy. The herds lost. Later we can see when we read Bible; all the villagers came to him and begged to leave that place. Why? They afraid the change Jesus tried to implement. That would reflect not only in social structure but also in economy. Everything would change upside down. That was their fear.  Without personal changes no social change, real changes begin from individual changes, emotional changes in personals. When such changed persons increase quantitatively and reach a particular level, a sudden qualitative change will take place insociety. Simply focusing on economic change or growth without focusing personalchanges and thereby social change, is foolishness. As the men, so the socio-economic system is. Think about a nation infested with revenge, hatred, jealousy, enmity and all. What will be the result? Communal as well as racial conflicts and riots will be the order of the days. How it will make growth in any area? So basically positive emotional involvement is necessary in human life, and that leads to the necessity of training in good doctrine. Don’t misunderstand;learning some doctrine will not bring change. Because change doesn’t come from brain but from heart, means not by knowledge but by emotion. Ex: a criminal can be changed sometime very easily by the emotional involvement (love) of a ladybut not by moral teachings and trainings. Napoleon Hill says in his book “Thinkand Grow Rich” (The first book of practical success psychology in history), a lady either make or brake a man(The opposite is also true). He mentions the importance of the emotional support she provides in the life. As I quoted from Bible some may think about the verses Mathew 28: 19-20. And may claim teaching has importance. OK, let us have a look. It says like this “Therefore go and makedisciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” In the first line we can see what he instructed first,to make disciples, means make change in persons then only the teaching comes to practice. Don’t think go teach and make disciples (changes). It is not possible. The thing is opposite.

If we are motivated with right positive emotions, it would make tremendous changes not only in our life but in others also, no doubt. It will make possible enormous social changes. Jesus’ such positive emotions are still working powerfully. Actual change means change in emotional patterns, emotional habits.That will make changes in behavioral patterns and thereby in relations, means social change. Look how did this mad man in the above scripture behaved in the end?  A successful life means, drive away negative emotions or keep away from negative emotions. It will take a lot of effort, time and help from others to make such emotional changes in personality.We ourselves cannot control our emotions and make changes in them. We need some selfless friends who are interested in making changes in us. Like Jesus in the above example. Then we can also help them in turn, means it becomes a bilateral process, a social process. We need to create a small group specifically for this purpose and meet together, discuss everything without canopy. The involvement should be based on positive emotions. The activities should aim the emotional welfare of the group. The other results will come up spontaneously. One more thing we have to bear in mind that we need the essential awareness about all emotions. I have seen people using emotional concepts interchangeably. Compassion and sorrow are examples. Compassion often leads to sorrow but sorrow is not compassion. Sorrow is selfish, that is the result of the thought of ‘I lost’, but compassion is selfless thought of about the state of others and it is positive. So dealing with emotions needs much preparation and awareness, otherwise it will be like the sharp weapon inthe wrong hands. And don’t take the emotional fault and problems of the group members to the street or to other groups that will not help, but will hurt and will result in negative emotions. That is another principle.