Welcome to my blog, The Enlightened Man. I have embarked on this journey to write about my thoughts and ideas. I intend to write mostly for my benefit to keep a record of my thoughts in the public view. I have named this blog ‘The Enlightened Man’ to reflect the purpose that I want to achieve, rather than the person that I currently am. I am in my early thirties and have a long way to go to become enlightened. But I am fortunate to have been shown the path by strangers whom I have stumbled upon in my life and since then have become best friends, buddies, well-wishers, and mentors.
This blog is not about me. It is about the ideas, knowledge, and wisdom that I have gained along the way. I have decided to remain anonymous because I want my audience to consume the information without having any judgment or preconceived notions that might arise out of my identity. Having said that, let us dive into the topic of my very first article.
Every decision we make in our lives is shaped by our beliefs. Throughout history, humans have constantly tried to change each other’s beliefs. People who were successful in changing other people were usually regarded highly. They were influential in shaping the current world. Albert Einstein changed people’s belief about the fundamental nature of the universe by his theory of relativity. Jesus convinced a lot of people to believe in the bible and the holy trinity. As a result, the majority of the world population is Christian. Steve Jobs did not just sell cell phones. He sold the idea that rectangular glass slabs that fit in our pockets are the future of the world. Karl Marx persuaded a lot of workers (proletariat) to rise against the ruling class (bourgeoisie). During ancient times, a huge number of people were ruled by a single ancestral line because somehow, they were to convince the civilians that this is the natural order of life.
However, this is not an easy feat. People have put a tremendous amount of effort into accomplishing what they set out to do. Would anyone have believed Einstein without his incredible mathematical calculations, elaborate theories, and above all empirical evidence that verified his theory several years later? I doubt so. Religions and spiritual gurus must have had massive conviction to share their beliefs with their disciples. It takes years of practice to build up that kind of conviction.
It is crucial to ask ourselves the most important question since time immemorial “Why?”. Why do people go to that extent to share and impose their beliefs on others? Let us set aside this question for later. The general theme of the “The Enlightened Man” blog is going to be about why we do what we do.
Now let us focus on the smaller scale – you and me. We do try to change other beliefs using the easiest way possible – by words. Everybody and anybody has an opinion about how you should live your life. Whether it comes through genuine concern or malice, the result is the same. We usually try to change other people’s beliefs by words, written or spoken. At the same time, we resist change. Somewhere deep inside, we do not like to change our beliefs. We live in the comfort zone of our belief system. If someone tells us what we have believed so far is wrong or is not helping to achieve our goals, our ego prevents us from even examining the possibility of that being true. Of course, the world is such a noisy place. If we get influenced by everything we read or listen to, we become mentally tired, unable to make any decisions and we get stuck in a loop. Despite this, we expect other people to believe in us without any effort. “Why is he/she not understanding my point of view?” “Life will be so much better if people know exactly what I am going through “ These are the common complaints that we generally hear from people.
It is difficult to change other people’s beliefs. But as we have seen in the earlier paragraphs, it is not impossible. “Be the change you want to see in the world” the famous quote from Mahatma Gandhi always resonated with me. But the full weight of the idea only landed on me only recently. I came to a stark realization that in my thirty-odd years of existence on this planet, I have never been able to change anyone’s beliefs by mere words. I resisted their ideas and they resisted mine. Neither party took anything out of the conversation. However, I was able to influence a lot of people through my actions. People who respected me believed in what I did rather than what I said. Demonstrating your beliefs by taking action and leading by example is the only way in the world to change anyone’s beliefs. Anything else is futile and is a waste of time and effort.
With consistent efforts and a lot of time, it is possible to inspire other people to share your beliefs. But how do we know what we should believe in? Does it matter in the end? Is there any absolute truth? If there is one, what are the consequences of having a belief system that is far away from reality? Let us examine these questions elaborately in the future blog posts.