How a 19th century novel sparked my interest in quantum physics, psychology, anthropology and consciousness…
Curiosity is the key.
Many great personalities have emphasized the benefits of reading and a million times at that. Read as much as you can, for you will be stunned by your own imagination and curiosity once you have exposed yourself to the knowledge that books have the power to impart.
While we work hard to make ends meet, life can become an endless race for survival and a series of checklists. Naturally, there is no room for curiosity in the world of inflexible schedules and deadlines. It can lead to decay of your memory and can possibly make you bitter. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Reading regularly will prevent this decay. It will enlighten you and benefit you in ways you never imagined. Your existence need not be so mechanical.
So, rather than listing down the benefits of reading and quoting dozens of scientific studies to support the statement, I will share my latest experience with you. An experience which reaffirmed my faith in the habit of reading.
Fast forward to my experience.
An idea hit me like a lightning bolt while I was reading the famous “Crime and Punishment” by ‘Fyodor Dostoevsky’. The idea was simple and was thus, “Is our mind really ours or are we its?” How I came to this conclusion on my own was rather interesting and so I will share with you the story of its genesis in the following paragraphs.
Meanwhile, for all those who haven’t yet read ‘Crime and punishment’, let me tell you that it is one of the five most famous works of Dostoevsky. The novel majorly appeals the reader to analyze the actions of a guilty conscience. Dostoevsky’s writing style, his grip on the philosophical and psychological aspects of crime and its effects on the life, health and mental stability of a man, has the reader so engrossed in the story that one bears witness to the suffering of Raskolnikov, the protagonist, like his own. Although the story takes place in 19th century Russia, the reader can effortlessly relate to the moral conundrum that consumed the destitute working-class families of those days.
Indeed, society has evolved today, but the fear that is experienced by criminal’s guilty conscience, the fear that his crime would be sooner or later discovered has the criminal sentenced to perpetual doom from the very moment a crime is committed. This story convinced me that it doesn’t matter whether the criminal is punished or not, whether their crime is discovered or yet to be, the perpetrator’s mind runs its own trial and sentences the soul.
I realized that man’s notion of ownership of his mind maybe false. We believe human is by nature sinful but does the mind bear full liability of our sins? I don’t think so! Because, if it was so, the mind would have done everything in its power to hide its sin, justify it, protect the criminal from the consequences of it! So why does a criminal instead find himself so lonely in company of this mind? In company of his sole confidante? We call ourselves the masters of our mind but in reality, upon commission of the unforgivable, this mind disowns and distances itself from the body! The mind abandons the sinner, it betrays him! It runs an interrogation more like a torment to usher the sinner to penance. Sinner may call the crime one of the schemes of the mind. Criminal trials will brand criminal’s mind as mischievous. But is it really?
We assume our mind to be ours merely because we are in possession of it. We conclude ownership because it resides in our body and thinks and works for us. Now, I believe that there is a very, very high chance of the mind permitting us to possess it, chance that the mind is omnipotent and merely needs a body as its puppet. Why else do you think man would try so hard to understand his own creation? That which is created by their own thoughts and energy?
Its curious! Isn’t it? So, I dived deep into the subject of mind.
MIND seems like a highly complex structure with innumerable layers, abundant memories and perhaps countless identities. We may not know if it came into existence with us or has been existing before. But once the novel had spiked my curiosities I was wondering if the mind and brain are synonymous or completely independent of each other. What if the mechanical entity we call the brain was separate from the moral, emotional and much more enlightened mind? I dived into the science of it all. I discovered that scientists are studying consciousness for quiet sometime to confirm if there are depths of mind that lie beyond our understanding! And it blew me away! It is a vast subject in itself and I will not go into details but if you are like me it will definitely interest you!
All in all, it may be a little spark, but this book inspired me to read about the psychology of fear and guilt. How I ended up reading quantum physics you ask? Long story short, after I exhausted good amount of material on guilt and fear, I went for the meaning of mind and soul. From there it was a quick transition into exploring the concept of reality as we perceive it and as the possibility for it exists. I was soon reading concepts of ‘E8 theory’ and the physics of sub-atomic particles. I also happened to stumble upon formative behaviors of men that stem from the social structure we live in and hence it was but natural for me to dig deep into inception of the institution of family and social behavior and culture…hence anthropology! It is true that the mind wanders but sometimes it is in your interest to let it!
My curiosity makes me feel alive. You may be crunched on time but do yourself a favor… READ!
After all, it wasn’t intelligence that made Albert Einstein one of the most esteemed and successful scientists of this century… it was curiosity!
And as he himself put it…
“I am neither clever nor especially gifted. I am only very, very curious”
-Albert Einstein.
So always keep reading and forever endeavor to evolve.
TTFN (Tata for now!! :D)
