When Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of the train in South Africa, the default option was that he would have accepted the insult as normal. Had he discussed with his colleagues and friends there, at best they would have sympathized with him and also narrated their own instances of such insults. Everybody would have shown helplessness and cursed the whites. However, Mahatma chose a different path. He came from a country that was not free. This was time for him to concentrate on his career and he could have easily become a wealthy lawyer. But what went into his mind? How could he put everything at stake and start fighting for the freedom? Where did that conviction to fight for freedom come from? Why is that conviction so rare?
Leading neuroscientist V Ramachandran coined the concept of mirror neurons. He says that the human brain has mirror neurons that mirror whatever it sees. These neurons help us learn to walk and different languages. That is why we learn our mother tongues so naturally and without much effort. These mirror neurons help us mirror society and the ecosystem, which is quite useful for living in a society. However, this is also a reason why we face inner conflicts when we take a stand against any of the social conventions. The moment we try to do something that is against the widely held beliefs and conventions of society, there is an inner conflict. The brain gets conflicting signals from the mirror neurons which just want to mirror the beliefs of the society and the alternative perspective that we have. Since the society of British Colonies accepted slavery, mirror neurons would tell Mahatma to accept slavery and move on. But there would have been some inner conviction that could overpower that.
There are some beliefs and convictions that vary from society to society. For example, ethics and morality of the food. In some cultures, there is a very strong belief that non-vegetarian food is immoral. If a person has never moved out of that community, it will appear to be a gospel truth to that person. However, as we move out, we see acceptance of such food in other communities and learn intuitively that food choices are by and large the product of the availability of the food in a specific region. These frames are relatively easy to break. There may be a strong belief and convention in a community that we should marry only in close community or caste. However, as we move around, and see people marrying across castes, religions, and nations, we are able to break free of our frames of beliefs and social conventions.
Some beliefs are so widely held that it is quite difficult to get an alternative perspective. For example, when he started his struggle for freedom in South Africa there would not be many who could believe that South Africa would be free of British rule one day. The widely held belief is that they are born in slavery and will die therein. There is no sunset in the British Empire. Mirror neurons are flooded with the signals to accept slavery and yet a person gets the conviction to fight for freedom. That's a very difficult frame to break. Not only does it need the utmost conviction but also the highest degree of courage. The entire society is telling Gautama to live a comfortable life as a king. He is born with all the comforts and luxuries anybody may dream of. He marries and has a son. Yet he gives away all the comforts and attachments to go to the forest where there is a great danger to life almost every moment. Almost every mirror neuron is crying hard that life is all about comforts and he has to make no efforts to get the same, and yet the inner conviction to know the truth is strong enough to overpower the conflicting signals sent by the mirror neurons.
Where does that conviction come from? The conviction to break free of the widely held beliefs and conventions of society. Only "love" has that power. We often see in Bollywood movies that many heroes break free of the constraints of society, such as caste, religion, and status, to unite with their beloved. We see Mira breaking free of a very strong societal frame to unite with her beloved "Krishna." Mahatma had "love" for freedom and Buddha for "truth." When we love something or someone unconditionally, it gives us the conviction to break free of the strongest frames. Savitri could break free of the frame of even "death" to bring her husband from the clutches of death. Nachiketa could break free of almost every frame to know the truth from Yama. One can have the courage and conviction to walk alone only when one loves that "aloneness" unconditionally. "Love" can't be forced or taught. "Love" comes naturally. Unless we have "love" in life, we are just puppets dancing on the strings of "mirror neurons."
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