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Note: Website sikhnet.com found this article appropriate to reproduce at their website in Jan 2012.
Click here to view.)
The Hardware and Software in Humans
When you look at a computer,
what you see is the monitor or the computer screen, the keyboard and
the box which is called the CPU. Some of us are aware of the circuitry
within consisting of the silicon chips and other electronic devices.
These physical components of the computer which you can see with your
eyes are called the computer hardware. What we do not see and most of
us are not even aware of is the software or the computer programs which
run inside to give it the real power of this miraculous device. What
gives computer its 'life' is the software.
Drawing an analogy with the
digital world, human beings too are made up of two basic constituents -
hardware and software. Hardware is the physical matter of which our
body is built, or our physical being. The software is the bundle of
thoughts, emotions, feelings, and complexes. The hardware is more or
less the same for everybody, but the software is different for every
human being. What is different is the thinking - the thoughts that arise
for everyone every moment. The thoughts, feelings and emotions
are different and they depend
on our background, life history and experiences. Since no two persons
can have exactly the same experiences and surroundings in life, no two
softwares are ever equal. It means that every man broadly has the same
constitution physically, but is mentally different from the other.
The software is dependent on
our past history and experience. At the same time, the thoughts
that come to our mind are in turn dependent on the software. The
software is different because the experiences in everybody's lives are
different. Some experiences in our childhood create some fears and
complexes in our mind. As the experiences is different and software
decides today's thoughts, the thoughts which come to two different
persons on the same stimulation or in similar situations are different.
For example, if a person has inferiority complex about some particular
personal attributes, a remark from another
person related to that attribute will immediately give rise to a
thought that it was an attack on
his person, whereas the same remark may not give rise to the same
reaction or thoughts for another person who has no complex. The
reactions of the two persons will be different because of the different
thoughts. So it is the thoughts which are sparked
off at the instant of a provocation or action that make the
reactions different. I am sure the cricketing greats like Gavaskar and
Tendulkar, while hitting a shot do not think of anything but only
concentrate on the ball - and that makes them great players.
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Software Makes all the Difference
I remember an instance narrated
by my friend relating to a training programme that he had attended. The
trainer asked any one such participant to come forward who thought that
he or she was incapable of catching the ball. The trainer then threw
the ball to the lady who had volunteered and predictably enough, she
dropped the ball. The trainer then repeated the experiment with a
difference. This time he asked her to watch the spin of the ball
as he threw it to her, and to see whether the ball was spinning right
or left. Surprisingly, the ball was in her hands as she told him which
way the ball was spinning. She could now catch the ball - when she was
asked to divert her thoughts and attention to see the direction of
spin.
In the first instance when she
was asked to catch the ball, the thoughts of her inability to catch the
ball filled her mind. When she was thinking 'how will I catch the ball,
will I or won't I, what will happen if I drops it?' and so on, she
dropped the ball and when she was busy watching the spin of the ball
and as a result unable to have such thoughts, she was able to catch the
ball.
The next time, when she was
busy watching the spin of the ball, the thoughts were different. She
was therefore in a different state of mind. And she succeeded in catching the ball.
Every person has the same
potential. If one can dissociate the software from the hardware, then
all humans are alike. But software is very deeply ingrained into the
subconscious, and it is not so easy to change it. (To know more about
the Subconscious Mind, read my article "
What is Subconscious Mind? How Does it Impact our Behaviour?")
It is not possible to change
the software, but one must try to dissociate it with his new thoughts.
Some might argue that
individuals are differentiated by their genes and chromosomes. Man's
ability might differ slightly by his chromosomes, but he makes himself
more different and able by his software.
However hard one tries it is
not possible to change the software (i.e., the complexes, emotions).
But fortunately there is no need to try and change the software. One
does not have to try to change it. All that is required is only to
notice what is in the sub conscience, experience it, notice what
happens inside oneself and automatically it will disappear. For
example, if you are in an unpleasant situation any time of the day, go
back home, sit down in a relaxed mood and recreate that unpleasant
situation by imagining oneself in that situation. Then observe what
happens inside the body, what thoughts come to mind, what feelings and
emotions are there, what sensations are there in the body. Experience
the unpleasant situation fully and do not try to ward it off. This
exercise, quite often, helps bring to surface certain things which are
deeply ingrained into the subconscious.
One may say, what is the use of
knowing what is in the sub conscience? Often, one is driven by his sub
conscience and he does not know why he behaves in that manner. This
leads to a considerable amount of mental fatigue. I can share my own
experience. I used to sometimes think that I play so many games; I
learn a new game so fast but why is it that I do not have mastery in
any game? When I did some introspection, I suddenly realised that my
idea of "looking good" was to be able to play a lot of games. which
meant that I learnt a lot of games because that way I looked good to
myself. I always admired someone who appeared to be knowing so many
sports. Subconsciously, simply playing the games satisfied my main aim
of looking good and there was no need to master it. My subconscious
desire was only to be able to play games and never to master it, so I
would never really try to be an expert. Hence it is said that we always
get what we TRULY desire. The truth is that we always get what we
SUBCONSCIOUSLY desire. Quite often, we do not know our subconscious
desires. Trying to be what one is not gives a lot of mental fatigue
whereas spontaneous actions are never tiring.
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Examples of How the Software Drives our Life
Other examples of how our subconscious desire drives our life into involuntary actions -
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A father wants his son to do very well in the exams. The son who hates
his father and subconsciously wants to hurt him fails in the exam. He
feels bad having failed, but subconsciously, he is happy having hurt
his father. He may say that he studied hard and wanted to pass, but
really, in the heart of hearts, he never wanted to pass.
- There are several examples of children who
have ruined their lives and taken to drugs because subconsciously, they
wanted to hurt their parents, take revenge for something, however
illogical it may be.
- Desire to win sympathy as 'someone who gave love but
did not get love', or 'someone who sacrificed' leads to making one's
own life miserable and being mistreated by people, because although you
suffer, you also win as your subconscious desire to win sympathy is
fulfilled.
We often say that some people
never change. Man's software cannot change as his past cannot change.
But it is possible, though difficult to delink the present with the
past, so that the past does not influence one's actions today. Only
then can his actions change.
(Note: Website sikhnet.com found this article appropriate to reproduce at their website in Jan 2012. Click here to view.)
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