We Indians need to “Think outside our Conditioning”

Background

This article was first published in Facebook on 6th February 2015 before the Delhi Assembly elections (https://bit.ly/pkconditioning). Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a small and infant party, was contesting the elections challenging the dirty Indian political system. It was a fight of the Davids against the mighty and criminal Goliaths of the system, attempting the impossible of cleansing the system. Hence the volunteers of AAP have been sarcastically reference as “mad guys”. Moreover, their leader had been referred to as “yeda”, meaning mad, by a ruling minister. This ‘yeda’ group revealed how to think outside your conditioning.

Thinking outside Your Conditioning?

You may have heard of thinking outside the box. But what is “Thinking outside Your Conditioning?”, you may ask. I did not know either, until a group of “mad” guys opened my eyes to “Think out of my Conditioning”.

“To understand what is Thinking outside your conditioning”, they told me, “you need to begin by understanding what is conditioning.”

They showed me a cartoon in today’s Times of India.

(Image Courtesy The Times of India)

“I can’t make head or tail out of this – what’s conditioning and how is this cartoon related to conditioning?”

Elephant Tied to a Stake

“Ok. Let me explain to you a little differently. Have you been to a circus?”, they asked me.

“Yes”, I said.

“Have you seen that after his performance, an elephant is normally tied with a small chain to a very weak stick dug on the ground which the mighty animal can easily pull and break free. But he does not.”

“Why”, I asked.

“Because when he was a baby, he was tied to the same chain and he pulled hard till his legs bled. And he felt severe pain. Now the most powerful animal does not even try to escape as it reminds him of the pain.

He is now conditioned to believe that when the chain is tied to his leg, he has to stay put within the radius of the chain. He may have forgotten that pain, but his subconscious mind still reminds him of the pain and stops him even before he attempts to escape.”

This concept of conditioning was starting to penetrate my hard skull.

But they did not stop there.

“Let us take an example from your own life. You are an Indian, right?”

“Yes, very much so. And a proud Indian too”. I said.

“Let us see how the average Indian mind is conditioned and how it is extremely difficult to change this conditioning.”

Tied With Multiple Chains?

“You mean I too am conditioned?”

“Yes. Whereas the elephant is tied with one chain, you and I are tied with multiple chains”

“And you are going to explain to me how I am conditioned? No way. I am a free thinker. I am not conditioned, blah blah blah…” I protested. “You may please go and explain to someone else”

“Do you have children?”

“Yes I do.”

“Have you ever thought of putting your children into government or municipal school?”

“No. You mean those schools with dirty buildings and kids in dirty soiled uniforms? Are you mad? I KNOW that these schools are not for me and my kids. They are for the poor.”

“Got it. What do you do when you need medical help?”

“I drive down to the doctor or hospital nearby?”

“Private doctor or government?”

Now this was getting on my nerves. “Obviously Private doctor, you fools.”

“Why not to the government hospital or the health centre?”

“Stop irritating me. The govt hospitals and health centres are for the poor, not for me.”

“So when you need medical help, without a second thought, you drive down to the next private hospital or private medical practitioner and spend a fortune. The thought of going to the govt hospital where you could get much cheaper or free treatment does not even cross your mind?”

“Obviously not”.

But have you ever thought, “Why can’t these schools and hospitals be made good enough for me? You pay taxes, do you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Have you ever demanded that the schools and hospitals be made good enough so you can use them as you have paid taxes? ‘They are not for me’, you say. You have got conditioned to believe that these are only for the poor, not for you”.

“Oh, maybe.”

“For ages, these institutions have been so bad that now you have started living with the thought that you HAVE to go to private school and hospitals. What if I tell you that these schools can be improved so that your child can go to these schools?”

“What? My kid in those govt schools? Never!!” I protested.

“You are resisting because you are as conditioned as the elephant. If I try to tell the elephant that he can actually break the chain and run away, he won’t believe me. He will call me a fool.”

“If I am like the elephant, then I can call you a fool, right?” I laughed it off, though I had slowly started seeing my blind spots. These govt schools and hospitals were like blind spots for me – they just didn’t exist in my life and in my mind.

“Oh yes, you can call us anything. They have already called us “yeda” (meaning “mad” in marathi), anarchist,  communist and what not. Honourable ex-Home Minister once called our CM ‘yeda’.”

Opening My Eyes

This “yeda” group opened my eyes for the first time.  Yes, why can’t these govt institutes be as good as private ones? Why can’t they serve me too? I never ever thought that way. After all they are made from my money.

I KNOW  that the money that I pay as taxes is good enough to sustain the quality, and I also know that most of the money gets pilfered and never reaches me. But I have never questioned. I have got conditioned to believe that these institutes are not for me. Even the poor have never demanded a better service from the government. They have got conditioned to believe that this is all that you can get from a govt institution – you can’t ask for more.

I have to be slave to the private doctors and educationists (most of whom are political bigwigs) who fleece me. And most educationists openly do that under the table. I realized that I had completely resigned to my fate. I was conditioned and it was my apathy (“nothing will ever change in India”) which prevented me from thinking the way that these ‘yedas’  were thinking.

I realized that THERE WAS AN URGENT NEED FOR A CHANGE. I had to completely change the way I was thinking.

“So you want me to think out of the box?” I asked. “But that is really difficult”.

“No. you need to ‘Think out of Your Conditioning’. And that is more difficult than thinking out of the box”. I could see a sarcastic smile.

“I am starting to get that… “

They had almost opened my eyes to my blind spots. But I was still confused with the cartoon they showed me first.

“But what does that cartoon of the three dogs have to do with conditioning?” I asked.

The Goons Around Me

(Image Courtesy The Times of India)

“You see that dog in the centre with a faint beatific smile?That is you and me. And the two dogs sitting by the side are the goons, who are an omnipresent part of our society and political system.”

“I see.”

“You have grown up being told that these goondas can harm you and your family if you speak up, particularly against the powerful. You have grown up seeing these dogs snarling and you have forgotten to bark. You have lost your freedom of speech. You have been conditioned not to talk, and to keep flashing that beatific smile.”

“That’s scary!” I could see that the two dogs were like my blind spots again. I was always aware of them subconsciously, but I had learnt to ignore them in my daily life.

“And you have been conditioned to believe that the two growling dogs (representing the goondaism in our society) can never go away.”

Gosh! I now clearly see that I have lost my freedom of speech.”

“But you still have the freedom to vote. With your vote, you can get rid of those two dogs”

The Power to Vote

That’s when I realized the power in my hands. I immediately got on to my feet. And my feet refused to take me anywhere else but the voting booth.

On the way to the booth I met some more members of this ”yeda” group. And I discovered more reasons why they qualified to be called “yeda”. Not only do they want you to “think out of your conditioning”, they want to fight the corrupt and the mighty powerful!

Yes, only a “yeda” mind can think of doing that!!!

[Images: Courtesy http://lifesroadsigns.com]