Are we the view or the viewer?

by | Jun 1, 2021

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There has been a well-orchestrated campaign in the media to amplify the devastating effect of the pandemic in India. While the excitement of some foreign channels to show emerging India in a bad light can be understood, why Indian channels chose to add to the mood of despair was baffling. If it was to put down the government in power, it was a pity. The nation is bigger than governments, and political parties have lost all credibility when it comes to serving people or working for the national cause. They are all in the business of powers with different optics.

Who makes the state? The civil service, the police service, medical doctors, nurses, and so on. These are made of people who are inducted through well-established selection procedures, are trained extensively, and who work as a well-knit bureaucratic system. All media houses are owned by business houses, indulge in rampant advertising for making money and use it to manipulate the power structure in the society. It is a vicious circle that the modern world is sinking into.

So, this brings up the question – are we living in a pre-set system, watching a game whose result is already “fixed,” like mere audience in a cinema theater watching a film, or, are we part of a civil society, stakeholders in the governance of the country and participants in its social development? The plight of the migrant workers in 2020, and the helpless people on the roads outside hospitals gasping for oxygen in 2021 have proved that the system as it exists has been highjacked by the powerful, and the ordinary people are fated to only struggle and endure. They are not even the viewers; they make the view, watched by the more fortunate others who feel good that it is not happening to them.

I read in the 1980s, Games People Play, a book written by Canadian American psychiatrist, Eric Berne (1910-1970), who created the theory of Transactional Analysis as a way of explaining human behavior. Everyday examples of the ways in which human beings are caught up in larger games was very insightful. People are born and die in poverty in spite of their best efforts.

As the world runs today, a young person joins an organization to become a life-time slave. All businesses are eventually owned by a few. And the elite have rigged democracy. You can never win an election if you are not supported by those holding the levers of power. The Electoral Bond scheme, by virtue of the anonymity it offers to donors, has already streamlined the financing of political parties by the big businesses.

Recently, I read, The Master Game, written by English biochemist, Robert S. de Ropp (1913-1987), a prominent author in the fields of human potentials and the search for spiritual enlightenment after his brilliant scientific career. He lamented that contemporary man, hypnotized by the glitter of his own gadgets, has little contact with his inner world.

In the 1980s, when de Ropp said so, there was no 24×7 TV, Internet, and mobile phones. In 2021, our minds are bustling at the seams under cognitive surplus and our inner worlds have indeed gone numb. An increasing number of people have slipped into a trance of indifference, and we are fast losing the collective consciousness that keeps a society functional and healthy.

Interestingly, de Ropp called the games played for wealth, fame, glory, and victory, as “low games.” He compared modern day “strivers” to pigs – getting their noses in the trough as deeply as possible, guzzling as much as possible, and elbowing the other aside as forcefully as possible. They are hungry to be known and talked about, like the proverbial cock on his dunghill, primarily to inflate the false ego and to keep it inflated. And there are leaders who would use these masses as bricks and mortar to make their citadels.

The family system is a meta-game so that people raise good children to work in the wealth-generating machines later. Religion is another meta-game. It peddles “salvation” to its followers and besides “attracting strategic investments,” an enormous amount of money is extracted from the followers for “operational expenses.” The great meta-game of science and technology is played for “knowledge”, defined to perpetuate power and profit of the corporations. What options do you have except for buying a 5G telephone, as and when it is available for sale? 

The Upanishads described the four states of human consciousness – waking, dreaming, dream-less sleep and a formless background for these three, called “Turiya.” American philosopher, William James (1842-1910) divided Turiya into Self-transcendence (self-remembering) and Objective Consciousness (cosmic consciousness). An increasing number of young people are getting attracted to alcohol and psychedelics in their desperate attempt to jump to the fourth level of Turiya, by taking a short cut. They are manipulating their minds by chemicals rather than going by the evolutionary path of struggle, pain and making the right and not popular choices.

Actually, before I find fault with younger people taking the short cut of substance abuse, I can see the grand failure of our vast religious enterprise to popularize the right techniques of introspection. Religion has become a branded business run by cults rather than being taught as a way to explore the real meaning of life. There must be some simple and practical system to help an individual to emerge out of a confused, hypnotized automaton state into dynamic, clear-minded self-realization, rather than making a puppet out of him. I found two promising methods which can be adapted to this effect.

Russian mystic and philosopher, George Gurdjieff (1866-1877 – 1949) felt that the traditional methods of self-knowledge—those of the fakir, (acquired through pain), monk (through devotion), and yogi (through study)—were inadequate on their own and often led to various forms of stagnation and one-sidedness. He gave a “fourth method” of inner development in oneself to shift from a semi-hypnotic “waking sleep,” to higher levels of consciousness by feeling and thereby remembering memories of our eternal journey buried in our consciousness.

American mystic, Richard Rose (1917-2005), used the humble term “retreating from error” for high-sounding “spirituality.” In his approach called “Psychology of the Observer: The Path to Reality Through the Self,” Rose proposed a method of becoming an observer of your inner world and feeling all the conflicts going on by sitting alone, cut off from the outer world, every day for some time. This simple practice, over time, will convert your fears and emotions into life-energy, your doubts into substance and facts, and you can live the life of a happy and healthy person.

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27 Comments

  1. During the Corona pandemic, we have all had to change how we live and work. Healthcare workers are especially overwhelmed, busy, fearful, coping and dividing their lives. Patients with pre-existing anxiety, depression or psychosis may feel overwhelmed by additional worry or fear. Attenders of the sick are having an additional burden of care with loss of any time to themselves and loss of support.

    Household units are living in pressured environments, not used to spending so much time in small spaces. Children and adolescents have lost the structure provided by school and may have their own worries and fears, with loss of support external to their own families. Older people have been cocooned away and may have lost not only external support but may have the perception that once you are over 70 you are deemed vulnerable and no longer useful. Add financial and employment instability into the mix and we have a society structure that is challenged.

    Your blog tells, in a very assuring way that despite the despair, the fear and the anxiety, there have been glimpses of a world with an increased sense of community and kindness. Thank you Sir.

  2. A thought provoking insight into the current situation Prof Tiwariji !

    Your embedded optimism for the unfolding scenario that our collective consciousness will ultimately harmonise the View and Viewer to keep the society healthy will definitely come true !!

  3. Prof Tiwari, this article is timely in its setting and accurate in its content. Sadly only those who read it will benefit from the reflection. In simple terms when a society has reached a state where ‘all is well with us for as long as the situation hurts others’ we have failed the reason for our existence!

    We were created to be of help to each other at all time! We are blessed to be a blessing. The Pandemic has just revealed once again what needs to be refined, and that very urgently.

    Your assertion in the reason for the current situation that which has led the youth to adopt short cuts in achieving certain ends is fitting, ‘before I find fault with younger people taking the short cut of substance abuse, I can see the grand failure of our vast religious enterprise to popularize the right techniques of introspection……..’

    Religious organizations have a perpetual role to play in all ages if civility is anything to live by, leaving crooked humanity to lead as they think has never been ideal in the past, nor is it appropriate in this day and age, we need to turn back ourselves and retrace our steps to a place where we lost the RIGHT way, we also need to teach our children the same that can only make them reflectors of the human that the Creator intended them to be, this duty can not and should not be delegated.

    A thus saith The Lord…. is the only solution to all that ails our society. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, taught us to do to others what we would want them to do to us Matthew 7:12. The foundation upon which Ubuntu spirit is built “I am because We are” , we shall do well doing so.

  4. Dear sir, thank you once again for a very thought provoking blog. We are the view and we are strongly contributing to the viewership by silently observing, passively accepting what is being shown. For all our channels of TV, TRP is very important and comes first and interest of the nation is at the end of the list or it is not there. They donot mind showing India in poorest of the light only because they hate one person. That gives them the satisfaction that they scored a point against one individual. They are not just bothered about how India will be viewed outside. They are all sold out and they donot mind selling the dignity of the nation.

    Worst things have happened in the first wave pandemic. There were these highly developed countries, who couldnot handle the pandemic and at one stage they left the whole population of the country to fate. I am not trying to derive solace in that, but the magnitude of the problem for our kind of population and beliefs is of different order. Those countries didnot show their countries in the poor light and their inability to handle the situation. but we derive pleasure in showing our failures. There is no denying the fact that everybody is responsible for the state of things during second wave. The leaders in power, the opposition, the media and the general public.

    As you rightly brought out in the blog, there is a great requirement to look inwards. Let people learn, to introspect, to reflect on what is right and what is wrong, understand the responsibility towards self and Nation, I wish the younger generation is taught, the ethics and values of this great nation. other wise we are living like vultures.

    We are a resilient nation and I have no doubts in my mind that we will defeat pandemic and emerge stronger defeating all those people who are out there to malign the image of this country.

  5. Prof Tiwari Ji, thank you for sharing such a remarkable view on Humanity. It is true COVID has taught us several lessons including our attitude and behavior towards society. A set of scary people at one side, who are scared to extend any helping hand to needy, and there are front-liners saving the humanity which deserves much more than salute.

    I feel moral stories and moral education imparted during childhood days also might have some role to play in such times of distress. Not only stories in books but even stories by our parents and grand-parent influence fabric of young minds and last for ever. It is true, it is time to relook and introspect!

  6. The practice of “looking inwards” for achieving proper body-mind-spirit connection is crucially important in these troubled times. The growing popularity of Yoga and meditation is a very welcome development.

    The noted management scholar Jim Collins discussed the importance of the ” Stockdale Syndrome Concept” for dealing with periods of prolonged uncertainty and associated anxiety. According to this concept, individuals and businesses should cultivate two opposite attitudes of Optimism as well as Realism simultaneously. I think we should learn to be Optimist as well as Realist –both at the same time.

  7. We citizens definitely need to go inwards Sir – to have a better understanding of right, wrong, necessary and unnecessary. Perhaps this forced seclusion and hardships that we are facing will also lead to a renewed understanding gradually. The danger here, of course, is about people losing mental balance and taking to unwholesome ways to beat stress. That needs safeguards.

    really liked your point about ‘Religion’ showing the way and giving techniques. One wishes its value is realised by all – to allay anxiety, and build inner resilience. The need of the hour is for it to step in now and literally become “the opiate of the masses”, as Marx said. Your suggestions regarding the two methods are greatly appreciated, and thank you for the same.

    Additionally, with the benefit of hindsight, I feel learning Verses and Mantras that are known to provide strength and healing at a young age would help. It should perhaps become part of the school curriculum from the kindergarten itself. Also, other simple Yogic techniques, counselling and allied ‘inner sciences’ must be introduced at an early stage – so that the existence and working of the inner mechanism and inner man occupy equal space in both the conscious and subconscious minds of people.

    With a sense of right and wrong choices thus ingrained, only then will citizens have the right to question governments and all those in authority.

  8. Dear Prof. Tiwari, Thank you for your post highlighting the ills of the present day inhumane society. The ills are too many. Any change for the good in society will come only when we all start a fight within ourselves to go for this change.

    The business of powers is a very complex and subtle game. All political parties, governments, business houses, media barons and lobbies and criminals and out-laws at various levels indulge in it. It is naïve to expect our media with a few exceptions to place our nation above all party politics and money game. It is a very poor reflection of our society and the State. The training and selection procedure of all the constituents of the State (as defined by you) needs complete revamp. The colonial hangover still continues in the State. We need a strong antidote to this colonial hangover.

    The present system of democracy has given us a delusion of believing that we are a part and stakeholders in the governance of the country. I wish it were true. We are not only a viewer but also a participant (actor/view) in ensuring the success of pre-set agenda with desired results. The better off section of the society is indifferent and the poor are helpless. They are born in poverty, will live in poverty and die in poverty. Their only consolation is theory of “Karma”, with a hope that in the next birth, they will have a better life.

    Religion in the present form has lost its relevance and has become a money spinning enterprise. Our parents, teachers and the society at large have failed to convey real teachings and practices of the religion so that young minds could seek clear-minded self-realization. Meditation and introspection, if taught and practiced properly, will allow the young minds to pursue the path of “Dharma”.

  9. A very informative blog, strictly as per the USP of Prof Arun Tiwari.

    You started with the narrative of orchestrated media critical of the establishment and not bothered about impact this will have on the image of our country. One has to figure out, when the citizens of our great nations are put to the conditions we all went through, should we not speak what is in the clear view. We may agree or disagree with the ‘orchestrated’ media but we will all admit this time the media was ‘different’. For a change the common man acted as a ‘view’ and also the ‘viewer’. Keep educating us with such nice readings

    Congratulations again.

  10. I just recovered from COVID – 19 infection and felt the need to detox myself from social media and meditate. At the same time, the internet connection got disrupted at my end so, I was away from the cyber world for the past few days. It’s a great feeling to be alone in isolation and meditate on the goodness of God who blessed me to come out alive from this deadly pestilence.

    It’s unfortunate that fake news bombards us in our everyday techno-savvy world and unfortunately, thousands of people believed it as the truth without questioning it’s credibility. I fully endorse your last lines that we need to ponder and become an observer of our inner world.

  11. Dear Sir, As individuals our society have generated great characters like Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Sachin Tendulkar but as a nation we failed to build a national character. This is a biggest hurdle for our nation to become a developed nation.

    The current situation of Covid-19 is handled easily by nations like Australia where each person is aware of his duties towards the nation and followed the given Covid-19 guidelines strictly and shown a national character. At present there is hardly any case of Corona in Sydney.

    Indians really need to work out and build a national character if they really want to become super power in future. We need more Dr. Kalam’s amongst our leaders. Warm Regards.

  12. Yet another insightful and thought provoking piece, Sir, thank you! It’s all indeed an unfortunate, vicious circle that we are sinking into. We should find an anchor that can help us from falling in too deep. And looking into our inner world and practicing self consciousness could be of great help during this season of surplus, for sure.

  13. Prof, Always a measure reading your philosophical insights on life as we see and live it. How so very true to see that humanity is losing itself and/or it’s direction taken over by impure interests of money and power.

    The media houses shape public opinion, and yet they are guided by vested money and power interests. Governments, supposed to fight foe public good and interests, are commonly taken over by unclean or mafia-like interests; they hide or misrepresent facts and truth and honesty are left in the backseat.

    I join you in crying out for authentic religious guidance – probably the best placed to provide and steer our common moral campus.

  14. Sir, I am strict follower of all your blogs. It evokes insightful thoughts on our mind and lights to reach a correct determination . I don’t know how a classic will analyse by different prospectors to clear messeges. It all because of the damp happenings around us. People are agitated and worried so they are not settled to live sustainably.The eyes of the people are dimmed with externalities.Anyway I think all people will come to unite for a greener pasture which gives serenity in their mind and oxygen to breath. Thank you sir!

  15. Power and money….the two detrimental words and deeds, form the nucleus around which several other human temptations spin a web of no return. Aware, the viewer is not immortal to enjoy the view forever but the greed the lust the mindset is such that one tends to believe, the spoils created are infinitely for keeps. If wishes were horses life would have come to a grinding halt, the universe would have stopped spinning around and we would have perished long back. There would have been no view and no viewer.

    You have rightly captured Arun ji, one does not digest the betterment or superiority or rise in power in a fellow human, country, colleague, neighbor, relations or even friends. I attribute it to human weakness, and thus to prove righteous and superiority one goes all out masquerading whatever and whosoever comes in the way. The mind which during earlier times was channelized and molded towards positive thoughts and deeds imbibed by the gurus preaching, no longer is in vogue.

    Remember, the game of Musical Chair… by hook or crook, manipulating the movement around a row of odd and even lined chairs, pushing, pulling and fighting it out. The winner is one who finally occupies the lone chair left out at the end. Accordingly, many strategies are made in politics be it based on religion, cast, rich, poor, national international, quick ones for immediate result or long drawn ones played over years, it’s no less than a well planned battle to be triumphant and to finally attain that elusive ‘Chair,’ With Power in hand one feels no less than ‘The world is at my feet.’

    The other spoils, Money …. Simple living high thinking appears to be passé, neatly packed and put in the dust bin. With the advent of technology, exposure to the digital world, availability of spoilers for the young, easily accessibility of luxury and comfortable living is the new norm. All this primarily requires money, the absolute vertical rise in the graph of corruption, crime, hatred and like justifies itself, it couldn’t be far behind. All want to be rich over night. Nobody has the time to build on a good pure logical business. Quick money is the call of the times. It is rampant and thus a bait for the ones seeking to gain power, to rule the world.

    Destabilizing system for creating wealth by dubious means, destabilizing Governments for their own benefit or even destabilizing the country itself in order to gain superiority is what has transpired out of this present pandemic in India. It’s easy to blame others but the citizens, the media, the politicians and in fact all have to take the blame. There is no purpose solved in airing the fire, on the contrary to douse the same would qualify one as the knight in shining armour.

    Not to be bowed out, not to surrender and not to drift away in the current of flowing water, dear countrymen… hold on to that lone tree, that log of wood and swim to the shore … there always is light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you Arun ji for your guidance to tread the path paved with Gold.

  16. Walter Cronkite was an anchorman for the CBS evening news in the U.S., during the 60’s and 70’s. He was often referred to as “the most trusted man in America”. Americans could rely on his broadcasts to present an accurate representation of news events – just reporting, with no bias.

    Sadly, today there doesn’t exist trust in American journalism. The elite running mass media, social media and the deep state are clearly leveraging their power to manipulate public opinion for their own wishes. Nothing is clearer to me than the three-year period of virtually daily allegations of “Trump-Russian collusion”. Their hatred of the man in office and desire to oust him was so strong that facts didn’t matter anymore. I could give several more examples. Sometimes I feel I’m in a bad dream with what’s going on in America these days.

    Thank you Prof. Tiwari for once again reminding us of the need to be mindful of one’s inner self and how best to manage the stresses of modern day life. I will heed the advice.

  17. Dear Sir, Thanks for the insights as always very interesting observation, with anecdotes. Unfortunately the media is pedaling based on their allegiance and have started delivering verdicts. The amount of fake news being circulated is unbelievable, and extremely difficult for a common person to decipher. Everyone has started judging the other using their lens that’s cluttered, there is no honest introspection before pointing the fingers at others.

  18. Thank you for a very useful blog. Meditation and mindfulness are terms that have crept into mainstream culture. Meditation in its many guises has been practised by diverse groups of people in many different traditions. But now it is increasingly being used as a therapeutic modality.

    Your suggestion of being aware of the inner being is very attractive. I tried briefly today after reading your blog and felt an instant difference. It was very brief, but I could taste what you are saying. When we have no control over what is going on, it is better to anchor our ship and wait.

  19. A great blog “Are we the view or the viewer?” as usual by Professor Arun Tiwari jee. I wonder it’s who’s views ! and who is the viewer ! To me, it is viewer’s view. As for as the influence of viewer’s views on the general populace is concerned, it depends on how powerfull and influential is the viewer and weak the audiences that can be influenced by other’s views.

    The achieved and enlightend people are hardly affected. They know the nature and follow the nature knowing that they are the mere creation of mother nature. Those who realy understand and live in the cradle of mother nature, are least affected. Because, she takes care of them.

    As for as the pandemics of external origin are concerned, they are caused by external pathogenic micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses to name. Such diseases can be fought and eradicated. But, what about the pandemics that originate from shrewd human minds and affect civilizations and societies!

    Several points mentioned by Tiwari jee I found are very interesting:

    1. “Ordinary people are fated to only struggle and endure”

    2. “People are born and die in poverty in spite of their best efforts”

    3. “A young person joins an organization to become a life-time slave”

    4. “Contemporary man, hypnotized by the glitter of his own gadgets, has little contact with his inner world”

    5. “We are fast losing the collective consciousness that keeps a society functional and healthy”

    6. “Pigs – getting their noses in the trough as deeply as possible, guzzling as much as possible, and elbowing the other aside as forcefully as possible”

    7. “Religion has become a branded business run by cults rather than being taught as a way to explore the real meaning of life”

    In fact if we read, understand, follow and practice what has been written in our Sri Ram Charit Manas and Srimad Bhagavad Geeta, no quotation from non-Bharateeya writings are required to teach and preach us about the Life !

  20. Great topic Arunji. As advised by you, cutting off for some time, I experienced more happiness and it improved my health also.

  21. Thank you Arunji for this deep, thought provoking piece starting with the viewer or view duality. And the questions of media vs Govt., State vs subjects, audience vs scriptwriters, information overload vs inner contemplation etc. Games upon games leading to meta games of family, religion, society et al!

    The lay reader may wonder at the seemingly sudden transition from such worldly dichotomies to other worldly ideas like William James’ Turiya analysis, Gurdjieff’s ‘fourth method’ or Richard Rose’s ‘retreating from error’.

    Regular followers of your oeuvre would however have delighted at the underlying harmony of your ultimate synthesis of the apparent pluralities to merge the viewer and the view (observer becoming the observed) to arrive at Advaita’s lofty singular!

    Glad to be back, reading you. More strength to you!

  22. Respected sir, Very informative Blog. Current pandemic situation in India is challenging and just like a storm need handling very cautiously by each of us. Let us give respect and support to Nature and Nature will in turn protect us every time forever like a Mother.

  23. The best way to find peace as I have found is by being both the view and the viewer. Be conscious of everything outside us and be the viewer. Also, be the view through introspection and see what’s inside us. A seamless coexistence of both inside and outside worlds is the way forward.

  24. With the pandemic going on, the second wave has indeed shattered confidence. Young professionals, who have just started their careers have been living with an underlying stress in their daily lives. Instead of going all out to shine, they are trapped working at home. It’s not good to keep all the stress bottled up inside so I began to search for a way to relax and it led me to meditation, and your blog arrived – so timely indeed.

    Meditation is an interesting subject. I am curious about what the benefits of meditation were, and the pros and cons. You define meditating to engage in thought or contemplation. Thank you for keeping transcendental meditation and devout religious out. These two are indeed over emphasized and putting off many young people. Focussing on calm introspection looks both sensible and practical.

  25. Sir, I am indeed very much touched by this very useful blog. No one seems to understand what kind of stress people are going through – locked in their homes, uncertain jobs, and fear of suddenly getting infected and becoming a helpless person dying in front of a hospital.

    I read your blog many times since I saw it and found it very soothing. To be aware of our inner being is very empowering and like an anchor if I may say so. Our mind must be still, calm and clear and what you are suggesting is the best course of action. I have already stopped watching news, which is indeed ‘sponsored propaganda’ by different lobbies.

  26. Sir, thank you very much for saying what is most needed by us young people, fresh in our jobs, just started our jobs and unsure of what is coming next. Your advice on Meditation is most timely.

    Covid-19 pandemic has brought us to our knees forcing us to look inside! I can say that meditating on a regular basis helps improve the immunity system thus creating a shield in a fight against this highly infectious disease.

  27. Sir, Thank you for writing a very soulful blog. I chant daily Shanti Mantra and can vouch for your message of staying aware of Antaryami God.

    ॐ सर्वेषां स्वस्तिर्भवतु ।

    सर्वेषां शान्तिर्भवतु ।

    सर्वेषां पूर्णंभवतु ।

    सर्वेषां मङ्गलंभवतु ।

    ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

    O omnipresent God, may there be Well-Being in All,

    May there be Peace in All,

    May there be Fulfilment in All,

    May there be Auspiciousness in All,

    O omnipresent God, grant us Peace, Peace, Peace.

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